A Painful Mercy
Kuuuung! The moment the creature's head slammed into my shield, a long-forgotten, proper impact traveled up my entire arm. My feet slid back a few steps. The soles of my boots scraped across the tiled floor with a screech, and that thrilling sensation spread from my fingertips all the way to my shoulders. This was a completely different weight from the lower-class beasts I'd faced in front of the museum earlier. 'Oh.' This one wasn't ordinary at all.
Even while injured, it still had this much charging power left. That meant it would've been quite the headache if it had been at full strength. 'Not that I'm scared, though.' It was still just an injured beast. Even non-awakened soldiers could handle something like this if they kept their wits about them and brought heavy weapons. There was no reason for me, a C-class awakened and leader of Mobile Rescue Team 1, to feel intimidated. I could take this thing down bare-handed.
'But... that kind of barbaric fighting doesn't suit me.' After all, I'm Baek Myungmin, aren't I? My principle is to fight elegantly, even in battle. Swinging fists around is something only crude hunters do. A healer's hands should be used for healing.
The beast kept its head pressed against the shield, scraping the floor with all four limbs as it tried to push forward. To me, it was just a pleasant contest of strength, but for this monster, it seemed like an all-out struggle where it had to pour every ounce of power it had left. Through the observation window, its eyes burned fiercely, and the sight of it baring its teeth and even trying to bite the shield while roaring was almost pitiful.
'It's trying hard... but it picked the wrong opponent.' The beast's charging force gradually began to weaken. It was only natural that its stamina would run out after a full-power charge with an injured body. The force pushing against the shield diminished, and though it still braced itself on all fours, it could no longer advance.
"There~ All out of steam, huh?"
I didn't miss the opening and shoved the shield upward. The beast's head was forced up along with it, its neck stretching out as its belly was left completely exposed. It was the perfect position for treatment.
'Treatment is much easier when the patient stays still. This one took quite a while to get here.' I lightly placed my glowing right hand on top of the beast's head. The moment my palm touched its rough skin, the healing light began to seep in through the contact point. The light traveled from its head down its neck, spreading across its back and belly, seeking out and healing the wounds from large-caliber firearms, the scorched skin from anti-beast rounds, and the torn muscle tissue one by one.
The beast felt its wounds closing, blood vessels reconnecting, and tissue regenerating without any painkillers throughout its entire body.
"Kyaaaaaaaak! Kieeeeeeek!"
It immediately started screaming and thrashing wildly. Even the lower-class beasts had screamed horribly when I healed them, but this one was much larger with far more injuries, so the range of healing was wider. The pain of flesh mending, bones fusing, and skin regenerating all at once across its entire body must have been overwhelming. Its four limbs frantically clawed at the floor, and its tail whipped side to side, shattering the wall tiles into pieces.
I kept the shield fixed on its head and continued healing without removing my right hand.
"Heh... You charged in so magnificently, yet you're screaming like a little girl?"
Was this what they meant when they said even Guan Yu screamed like a girl? It was hard to believe this was the same bold creature that had broken through the blockade and escaped. Now it was thrashing weakly and pathetically, clawing at empty air.
The healing light enveloped the beast's entire body. The more its wounds closed, the louder its screams became, and the louder the screams, the weaker its thrashing grew. The pain was draining its stamina. Finally, one last ragged scream tore from its throat before the strength in its limbs gave out completely. Its massive body collapsed to the floor with a dull thud that cracked the tiles. It twitched and convulsed on its side before gradually going still.
I removed my hand and looked down at its condition. All its wounds had healed. The holes from large-caliber rounds and the scorched skin from anti-beast ammunition had regenerated cleanly. It had returned to a perfect body, yet its owner lay unconscious on the floor. The irony wasn't lost on me.
'I heal it and it faints. Not even a thank you.' Well, beasts aren't like humans. They're creatures of instinct. When the pain reaches its limit, their brains just shut down on their own. 'Humans, on the other hand, endure more stubbornly to protect their last shred of pride~'
There had been people who stayed conscious even after receiving my healing. People who gritted their teeth, kept their eyes wide open, and swallowed their groans instead of screaming until the very end. Compared to them, this beast felt rather hollow. Then again, expecting pride from a beast was asking too much.
I picked up the shotgun from the floor and pressed the muzzle against the fallen beast's head. Its wounds were all healed and its body was back to perfect condition. If I left it like this and it woke up later, civilians could be in danger. Knocking it out with healing wasn't treatment—it was just putting it to sleep for a moment.
There was no hesitation.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three gunshots echoed through the narrow space. The unconscious beast's head was engulfed in the blue flash of anti-beast rounds and vanished without a trace. Its headless body convulsed once before going completely still.
Whether Charon ferries beasts too, I don't know, but either way—off you go toward the River Styx.
"Everyone. Situation clear."
[Yes, Mama. A helicopter is approaching from above right now.]
Along with Belpe's report, the sound of rotors faintly reached me through the headset.
"Hmm... About five minutes, I guess?"
Five minutes to handle one boss-class beast alone wasn't bad. Too quick wasn't ideal either, and taking too long would make the civilians waiting outside anxious. I decided it was just the right amount of time.
I nudged the beast's headless neck with my boot. It didn't budge.
'Good. Let's go.'
I turned back down the hallway to find the stairs leading to the rooftop. Fortunately, it seemed this creature had been the building's only occupant. The stairs from the first floor to the roof were spotless—hard to believe this was a place a beast had attacked.
'Maybe we should thank it? Thanks to this guy, the building's clean, so it's easier to bring civilians up.'
There was a metal door at the top of the final staircase leading to the roof. I tried the handle, but of course it was locked. I glanced behind me once. No one was there.
'Since no one's watching...'
With a light tug—crack. I ripped the handle off entirely, lock and all. The metal door swung open, and a rush of wind poured in from outside. The clean breeze, free of any beast stench, brushed against my face, and I finally felt the tension inside the building ease.
'Perfect. This is the rendezvous point.'
I quickly scanned the rooftop floor. It was wide enough for a helicopter to land, and there were no obstacles.
'Landing shouldn't be a problem~'
With the door open, I looked down the stairs. The sound of multiple footsteps climbing up from below reached my ears. The civilians were coming up. Mixed among the footsteps was Spica's guiding voice saying, "Slowly, one step at a time," along with the boot sounds of Sirius and Felis guarding the front and rear of the formation.
'Heh heh~ Right on time, right on time~'
Below, civilians were ascending. Above, the sound of the rescue helicopter's rotors grew louder as it approached. It was a pleasant feeling of being surrounded. Being surrounded by enemies was the worst, but being surrounded by allies and rescue targets was the best situation in this line of work.
I stood at the edge of the rooftop and looked up at the sky. The silhouette of the rescue helicopter was becoming clearer. The aircraft, marked with the large Hunter Association logo on its side, descended onto the roof with its rotors roaring. The wind whipped around violently. Dust swirled across the rooftop, and hair and clothes flew about, but no one paid it any mind.
The moment the helicopter door opened, rescue personnel in Association vests jumped out and began guiding the civilians. The civilians needed no further urging and moved toward the helicopter on their own. The man carrying the child boarded first, followed by the woman. The man with the splint grabbed the helicopter handle with his uninjured arm and climbed aboard. The lightly injured man whose hair had stood on end earlier also climbed up with help from a rescue worker. The seriously injured man was carried on a stretcher and settled inside first. Even from a distance, I could see color returning to his previously ashen face.
One, two, three. As I counted the civilians boarding the helicopter one by one, fatigue slowly crept in, as if the hard work was finally over. With the tension released, my brain was presenting all the sleep debt it had postponed at once.
"Haaam..."
I turned my head slightly to the side so the civilians wouldn't see and yawned, but my teammates caught it. Chuckling sounds came through the headset.
"What? I'm not even allowed to yawn?"
[No... it's just... hehe... you looked so comfortable.]
Spica's laughter-tinged voice came first, followed by the others chiming in.
[As expected of Mama.]
Sirius's calm voice.
[Yes! Thanks to you, I feel like yawning too!]
Felis's honest voice came with the faint sound of a tail wagging through the headset. Belpe silently lowered her sniper rifle from the opposite building and watched us. Whether her fox ears were slightly folded because she was smiling or because of the wind, I still couldn't tell.
'Everyone's tension must have eased.'
The fact that my teammates could laugh so comfortably was proof that the mission had gone well. No one was injured, all civilians had been rescued, and we'd even dealt with an unexpected boss-class beast.
Once the last civilian boarded, a rescue worker glanced our way before closing the door. Five team members left behind in the middle of beast territory. To the civilians, it must have been quite a solemn sight—seeing the people who protected them stay behind in a dangerous place instead of boarding the helicopter.
I could see all the civilians' gazes fixed on us through the helicopter windows.
"Get home safely."
That was all I could say. I lowered my shield and raised my right hand, giving them a small wave. It wasn't anything grand—just waving my hand—but the civilians inside the helicopter looked stunned. They probably hadn't expected their lifesaver to wave goodbye so casually. In movies, heroes would nod solemnly or salute, but here I was, waving my hand gently.
'Well... to them I might look like a lifesaver, but to us, this is just another day's work~'
The rescue worker closed the door, and the helicopter's rotors grew louder. The wind picked up again, swirling dust across the rooftop. The helicopter slowly lifted off, and the civilians' faces grew smaller and smaller.
After watching the departing helicopter, I turned my gaze to scan the surrounding sky. Other teams had finished their work splendidly too—rescue helicopters were visible on nearby building rooftops as well. Some were still landed, loading civilians, while others had already closed their doors and were slowly ascending. The sight of multiple helicopters rising into the sky at once was almost like a flock of birds taking flight together.
"Mission clear for today too~"
I muttered to myself and picked up the shield I'd set on the floor. The familiar, reassuring weight settled back onto my shoulder. It wasn't over yet. The civilian rescue was complete, but we still had to clear the remaining beasts in this area so the soldiers could enter safely.
I took anti-beast rounds from the ammo pouch at my waist and began loading them into the shotgun one by one.
Click, click, click.
The familiar sound continued in rhythm.
"Everyone. Let's go finish this."
[Yes, Mama!]
Four voices overlapped in response.
Big Mama's day wasn't over yet.