Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Time Pursuer (3)
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"You fucking monster bastard! I'm right here!"
In response to the shout, the empty eye sockets of the wolf, which had been tearing into the corpse that was left with only its lower half, turned toward Choi Ho-min.
In that instant, Choi Ho-min realized he had made the biggest mistake of his life.
"No, fuck! Why the hell is that thing just charging straight at meee!!!"
Everything had gone wrong.
According to Choi Ho-min's plan, the wolf should have paused to probe its prey while maintaining its unstable, noisy state with static crackling away.
In that condition, its speed would slow dramatically, allowing him to shake it off and buy plenty of time.
But the reality unfolding before him was brutal. The wolf was barreling toward him, skipping the phase transition into its noisy state entirely.
Its speed was beyond imagination.
'This is insane! Why the fuck is it so fast?!'
Suddenly, a scene from an animal documentary he'd watched while rolling around bored in the barracks one day flashed through his mind.
「Wolves can sprint at speeds of 50 to 60 kilometers per hour over short distances when chasing prey.」
"Fuck this!!!"
Back then, he'd just thought, 'Whoa, that's damn fast.' But now, that knowledge felt like a death sentence. 60 kph. That was a speed you needed a car for. Pitting human legs against it was suicide.
Running in a straight line offered no chance. In 10 seconds—no, 5—he'd be caught, torn to shreds, and dead.
The wolf's ragged breathing and the pounding of its paws against the ground grew louder behind him.
A chilling sensation crawled up his spine. Choi Ho-min even imagined the beast's hot breath on his nape.
He was about to get caught.
'I can't let this happen!'
On instinct, Choi Ho-min hurled himself into the right passageway.
With a grinding screech, his combat boot scraped across the asphalt, kicking up a spray of gravel.
Boom!
The wolf's massive body slammed into the spot where Choi Ho-min had vanished. The container barracks wall crumpled like paper, sending debris flying everywhere amid a deafening crash.
"Ugh! I lived! ...No, fuck that!!!"
Choi Ho-min barely steadied himself and started running again. Fortunately, the hellish string of night watches and patrols over the past few days had ingrained the local terrain into his memory—he could draw a map with his eyes closed.
'Left leads to a dead end, right opens up. So...!'
No choice. He bolted right.
How long had he run? His lungs burned like they were about to burst, and his legs felt like lead weights. But he couldn't stop. On Choi Ho-min's back rode the lives of Park Corporal and the remaining soldiers.
"Don't underestimate a top-tier grunt, you fucking bastard!!!"
Choi Ho-min bellowed to hype himself up.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Hah, hah, haaah...!"
Zigzagging erratically to shake off the wolf's pursuit demanded insane stamina.
Luckily, the strategy was working.
The wolf struggled to make sharp turns due to its enormous bulk.
That was the only reason Choi Ho-min had survived this long. But even that was reaching its limit.
His breath clawed at his throat, and his thigh muscles screamed in protest.
'Damn it... Park Corporal, you bastard... you got the Cremoa ready, right?'
He wanted to ask, but even panting took all he had—no strength left for words.
Judging he couldn't run anymore, Choi Ho-min looped back the way he'd come and squeezed into a narrow gap between two buildings.
It was a tight fit, barely wide enough for one adult male.
Thud!
The moment he hid, a massive impact shook from behind. The wolf had rammed straight into the building wall.
Rooooaaar!!
The wolf's fury-filled howl echoed. Refusing to give up, it battered the wall like a battering ram.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Choi Ho-min trembled at the vibrations pounding through the wall.
'Just a bit longer... hold on just a little more...'
The Awakeners would come. Then he'd live.
Right then, Park Corporal's shout reached his ears.
"Sergeant Choi!! It's set! Get over here, quick!"
'Yeah, I'm gonna kill that bastard myself!'
Choi Ho-min wriggled out and sprinted toward the ammo depot with his last reserves of strength.
"Good work! You head to safety too!"
Choi Ho-min yelled as he charged ahead. But the sight before him left him stunned.
"No, fuck... you set up two lines of Cremoa facing each other?! What the hell?!"
In other words, the wolf had to charge straight into the narrow gap between the two Cremoas to take the full brunt of the steel balls exploding from both sides.
Any deviation, and the whole plan went to shit.
'Crazy bastard... can't adjust the angle now...'
But misfortune always piles on. The crashing from behind stopped, replaced by an ominous static noise.
He glanced back. The wolf had shifted into its noisy state again. Worse, it was phasing through the building wall like a ghost.
"Ah, we're fucked. Shit."
It was obvious he'd die. No strength left to run. The moment it materialized in front of him, he'd be shredded in seconds.
With grim resolve, he glared at the Cremoa. And for a moment, he pondered seriously.
'Would getting mauled by wolf teeth hurt less? Or turning into Swiss cheese from the Cremoa balls?'
Either way, a horrific death. But he couldn't go out pathetically like this.
At least take the bastard down with him. The only way: get caught in the explosion the instant it solidified to attack.
As the crackling static closed in fast, Choi Ho-min squeezed his eyes shut.
"Fuck it!"
Just before the wolf pounced, he threw his body with every ounce of remaining strength toward the tripwire-set Cremoa.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Kaboooom!!
The explosion roared like the world collapsing, engulfing Choi Ho-min in massive shockwaves. Then came the ringing in his ears, followed by bone-crushing pain ripping through his body.
Riiiiing—
'Ah, fuck... my ears...'
He wanted to plug them with his fingers.
'Huh? But why am I still alive?'
How much time passed? Choi Ho-min cautiously opened his eyes. An unbelievable scene lay before him.
"......!"
The wolf, struck dead-on by hundreds, thousands of steel balls, stood barely clinging to life with its body in tatters.
Its black hide shredded, exposing mangled muscles and bones beneath—yet it lived.
"Hah... hah..."
Choi Ho-min gasped raggedly, trying to move, but searing pain shot through him. He finally checked his own body. And let out a hollow laugh.
'Holy shit...'
His left arm and hand were mangled beyond recognition. Bones crushed, flesh torn to shreds. Caught in the Cremoa blast.
But the pain paled against the despair of the monster still alive before him.
"Is this fucker... really immortal?"
The wolf wasn't unscathed. It staggered like it might collapse any second. But soon, its body began to glitch into noise, the embedded balls clattering harmlessly to the ground. Regenerating.
'No... can't let that bastard live.'
Then, his eyes caught a grenade nearby, dropped by Park Corporal in his escape.
Choi Ho-min crawled with his last strength, using his intact right arm. A trail of blood followed. Finally grasping the grenade, he realized he lacked the power to throw it.
"You bastard... I'll... definitely kill you."
The moment he tried to yank the pin with his teeth—
A heavy combat boot pinned his hand.
"?"
Looking up, a man in black combat gear stood there. Above, soldiers rappelled from a hovering military chopper.
"Ha... fuck... I lived."
The black-clad man checked Choi Ho-min's condition and said something, but Choi Ho-min only saw his lips move—no sound reached him.
Still the tinnitus blared.
Relief washed over him, tension released, and Choi Ho-min's consciousness faded. He passed out.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I'd been on high alert since leaving the checkpoint. All because of the Time Pursuer—I had no idea when or where it might show.
But contrary to my expectations, it didn't appear even after the dump truck hit the highway toward Seoul.
'It's not coming at all. Is it lost or something?'
The moment I scanned around in confusion—
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [The Time Pursuer has died.] "?"
I stared blankly into space at the sudden message.
'What the hell? Is this bastard... a total pushover?'