EP6. Amusement Park
“Damn it!”
Choi Jae-jun bit his lower lip.
He was Blink-jumping nonstop to get there, but gauging the exact direction was proving impossible.
The horrific footage of the amusement park disaster he'd seen on his phone kept flashing through his mind.
An ominous premonition kept ringing in his head.
I have to hurry!
A few passersby spotted Jae-jun flickering in and out of existence and shouted in alarm.
I don't give a damn about anyone else!
“Hestia!”
A subspace rift tore open, and the red-scaled Red Dragon burst into view.
Kroooaaargh—!
Hestia spread her wings wide, circling the sky in a tight loop to scan the area.
Each powerful flap sent gusts of wind howling down to the ground.
“L-Look at that!”
“It's a monster!”
Thinking some gate break had happened nearby, people screamed and fled.
Ignoring the chaos, Jae-jun kicked off the ground and vaulted onto Hestia's back.
Full speed to the amusement park!
As if reading his intent, Hestia beat her wings with ferocious power.
Whoosh!
The mighty downstroke sent parked cars tumbling sideways across the street.
Boom!
With no obstacles in her way, Hestia reveled in the freedom, her mood soaring.
Kroooaaargh!
The dragon's roar carried an awe-inspiring dignity that made onlookers shrink back in terror.
Soon, Hestia melted into the distant sky.
Deep beneath the Ghost House.
Monsters were pouring endlessly from the gate, now glowing an eerie red.
Lizardmen had emerged first, followed by Nagas slithering into view.
Once the last Naga vanished inside, the gate began to shudder violently.
“Euuummmeeeehhh...”
The goat-headed monster that had been staring at the gate the whole time dropped to its knees, bowing its massive frame low.
Shooooosh!
The gate shrank rapidly, its glow fading.
Forcing its way through the closing rift came not a monster, but an elderly man.
His face was dominated by a massive nose, covered in dark age spots.
Squelch.
Squelch.
With every step, the sagging flesh of his body jiggled grotesquely.
The old man panted heavily after just a few shuffling steps, as if utterly exhausted.
Drool dripped steadily from his gaping mouth.
“...The human world is hot.”
“Euuummmeeeehhh...”
“Yes, yes. Let's go. To a place to rest.”
The goat-headed monster carefully cradled the old man in its arms and slipped out of the amusement park.
“Wait.”
The old man halted it then.
His gaze pierced the empty air, fixing on something hurtling toward them from afar.
“Tch.”
He swallowed hard and whipped his head away.
His expression was like a child regretting a toy he couldn't have.
“...Such delicious prey. But too weak to bother with.”
“Euuummmeeeehhh...”
“The sacrifice is prepared?”
“Euuummmeeeehhh...”
“Good. Still, what a shame. Maybe leave a little gift behind.”
The old man's long, withered finger sliced across his skin, drawing blood. He dragged it across the ground.
A pentagram formed near the droplets, and a colossal monster began clawing its way out from within.
The old man nodded in satisfaction, and the goat-head resumed walking.
Each heavy footfall cratered the earth, spraying dirt.
In moments, man and monster vanished without a trace.
The Lizardman warrior scanned its surroundings.
This wasn't the verdant swamp forest it called home.
Hard ground. Stale air. And massive, bizarre decorations everywhere that filled it with unease.
Hiiiisss!
Even its fellow warriors had no answers.
Humans! So many!
The thick stench of humanity made their heads throb and their spirits quail.
Humans who ventured into the swamps were rare but always elite warriors or mages.
The Lizardmen began hunting for cover.
Then—
Humans appeared.
Hiiiisss!
Grrrrr...
The Lizardmen bared their teeth in shock.
But these humans were all young. Frail-looking.
Nothing like the burly brutes who blasted spells on sight.
One approached without caution, reaching out to touch the Lizardman warrior's arm.
“It feels so real!”
The human hand felt soft, delicate against its scales.
Tender enough to devour in one bite without a hint of toughness.
The Lizardman warrior's eyes gleamed red with bloodlust.
The human remained oblivious.
Only then did the Lizardmen realize.
These humans are different!
Weak!
Edible!
Drool poured from the warrior's maw.
Its razor claws plunged into the human's chest.
Stab!
“Wh-What the—?”
No resistance, as expected.
These humans were food!
Hiiiisss!
Kill them!
Devour them all!
The Lizardman warrior seized the despairing human and tore into its face first.
Crunch! Crunch!
And so the true slaughter began.
Choi Hye-seon ran frantically with her friends.
They gripped hands tightly amid the surging crowd to avoid getting separated.
Kraaaagh!
“S-Save me!”
Trampled underfoot in the human tide, people screamed from the ground. Others groaned as monsters dragged them to their deaths. Chaos reigned everywhere.
Hye-seon and everyone else shared the same desperate thought: Get out of this park first!
“Th-This way!”
Her friend pointed toward the exit, and she was right.
But with everyone funneling that way, it was jammed solid.
People trickled out like water from a clogged drain.
Lizardmen and Nagas naturally zeroed in on the densest clusters of prey.
Hiiiisss!
Slash!
“Kyaaagh!
Monsters! Back! Go back!”
“Go back! Monsters!”
At the entrance, monsters gorged themselves on the crowds.
The people behind, unaware, shoved forward in blind panic to survive.
A deadlock: push from behind, retreat from ahead.
“Wait!”
Hye-seon grabbed her friend before she could charge the exit.
She climbed onto a nearby bench for a better view.
Screams erupted from the entrance.
“Monsters at the end too! We need another way!”
“Where?!”
Her friend snapped, terror clawing at her throat.
Hye-seon looked around.
Yes! That spot'll work!
She dragged her friends out of the mob.
Whoosh!
Even with Jae-jun on her back, Hestia's top speed was insane.
The open sky let her accelerate relentlessly.
Far faster than Jae-jun chaining Blinks.
Fwoosh!
Each wingbeat rocked her body, jolting Jae-jun with tremendous force.
Without his Strength stat, he'd have been flung off long ago.
Still, he urged her on.
Faster!
His chest burned black with worry over Hye-seon's suddenly dropped call.
And then—
A massive green lot and rides came into view far ahead.
Thick black clouds hung only over that area.
One glance screamed magical corruption.
Kyaaagh!
Human screams carried on the wind.
Damn it.
Jae-jun's face darkened.
You fucking monster bastards.
If anything happened to Hye-seon—no, even if it hadn't—he'd wipe every last one out.
Finally, the main gate loomed in sight.
Jae-jun launched himself from Hestia's torso.
His body plummeted under inertia and gravity.
BOOM!
The earth-shaking blast silenced monsters and humans alike nearby.
A nearby Naga and Lizardman were swept away by flying debris.
The impact cratered the ground around Jae-jun, the pavement shattered.
His body creaked in protest, but Body Reinforcement kept him unscathed.
Fwoosh!
Flames erupted from the red blade in his hand, blazing up past head height—visible even through the dust.
Burn, all of you!
“Blade Storm!”
Blade Storm!
Tension thrummed as flames coalesced rapidly into blade shapes.
Dozens formed in an instant.
Kill them all!
The fiery blades streaked through the air, raining down on monsters everywhere.