The Crimson Alarm and a Split-Second Plan
The shrill emergency alarm blared sharply, its piercing tone slicing through the air. Red emergency lights mounted on the ceiling flickered wildly, bathing the entire hallway in a blood-red glow. The once-peaceful workplace that was supposed to be the most tranquil place in the world had suddenly become a nightmare filled with terrified screams and frantic footsteps.
The problem was that the intruder had chosen the central corridor—the one everyone was rushing toward—as her escape route. Panic spread unchecked, like a snowball rolling downhill.
"Everyone, get out of the way! Clear the path! Now!"
Park Cheoljin shoved the crowd aside with his massive frame, roaring at the top of his lungs. The brute force of a physique-enhanced awakener. But even he couldn't ignore the risk of casualties, so his steps carried a clear limit.
By contrast, the intruder's movements were nothing short of miraculous. She wove through the narrow gaps between fallen people with the grace of flowing water while screaming. Sometimes she used the walls as springboards, leaping across open space with impossible agility. It was as if gravity itself couldn't touch her.
Siwoo, Cheoljin, and the security team members who had joined them from the radio all poured every ounce of their strength into chasing her from behind. But the distance refused to close.
I clenched my teeth as my lungs burned and my vision began to blur with exhaustion.
*This is insane. How the hell am I supposed to catch up to her?*
Physique-enhanced awakener like her could pull explosive physical power from mana within their bodies. Catching up to her at a run was nothing short of absurd. Just when the pain of suffocating lungs made everything spin before my eyes, I made a quick, realistic decision. If I kept pushing myself, I wouldn't be able to do anything after this.
"Brother Cheoljin!"
I shouted desperately toward his broad back as he ran ahead, panting heavily.
"If we keep going like this, we'll lose her! I'll take another route and wait up ahead. Keep pushing her from behind, okay?"
Cheoljin didn't even look back, his voice booming loudly as he ran.
"Got it! If you see anything suspicious, call the radio immediately!"
"Yes, sir! You can leave it to me!"
With that cheerful reply, I rounded the corner at the corridor junction, halting the chase. Only after confirming that Cheoljin's footsteps and the others' were fading into the distance did I lean against the wall, sit down heavily, and gasp for air.
"Haa... haa... She's ridiculously fast."
I muttered between ragged breaths. I was an awakener who'd seen my fair share of combat on the front lines, yet watching Cheoljin and the intruder race felt like watching an entirely different species.
*If I ever get to awaken, I'll make it a physique enhancement. What good is that skill when you just want to peek into someone's mind?*
A mix of frustration and longing escaped me. Still, even as a mere awakener waiting for my turn, I inhaled mana through my breathing and began circulating it through my body. My breathing, which had been shallow and strained, gradually stabilized. My stiff calf muscles slowly loosened, and I felt my body recovering.
Wiping the sweat from my forehead with my sleeve, I slowly recalled the fragments of memory that had flashed through my mind the moment I'd grabbed the intruder's wrist earlier.
*Fragment of the Abyss? Corruption?*
I had no idea what any of that meant. From everything I knew, there had never been an experiment in the research facility involving the term "corruption." But there was one clear fact I could infer with absolute certainty. The item this intruder was trying to steal was something called the Fragment of the Abyss. And it was almost certainly a valuable mana stone or artifact that absolutely could not be leaked outside.
*Wait a second. If the most dangerous and valuable mana stones or artifacts in the facility are gathered in one place...*
A thought flashed through my mind.
The valuables storage on the fourteenth floor.
General researchers couldn't even approach it. A massive vault that only opened with ironclad security. Right now, the intruder was being driven toward the central stairs by Cheoljin's pursuit. Judging by her direction, she was clearly heading upstairs.
*Bingo.*
I quickly stood up. There was no point in clumsily chasing her up the stairs and wasting my stamina. I turned and hurried toward the security elevator at the end of the quieter side corridor.
One security team member had fallen to his knees, panting, right in front of the elevator—someone who hadn't even been properly introduced yet. Choi Cheolmin.
"Hey, Choi Cheolmin. Fancy meeting you here."
I approached him with a friendly tone, flashing a grin. He jumped at the sound of my voice and looked up, his face still stiff from the alarm.
"Yoon Siwoo, awaken... awaken? Everyone's chasing them down the stairs, but what are you doing here?"
"How the hell am I supposed to keep up with those monsters on foot? We need to use our heads. Let's take the elevator straight up and ambush them from above."
Cheolmin blinked in surprise at my words.
"Eh? Up where? Do you know exactly where the intruder is heading?"
I shrugged casually.
"Don't know for sure, but you know the valuables storage is on the fourteenth floor, right? She bypassed security and came straight here. That means her goal is probably something valuable or a high-value artifact. Waiting there would be the safest bet."
Cheolmin nodded, convinced by my reasoning.
"I see. Understood. Let's go together."
We tapped our security cards and boarded the elevator. With a cheerful ding, it began to rise toward the fourteenth floor. Inside the enclosed space, a strange tension filled the air. I casually chatted with Cheolmin, who was nervously fidgeting beside me, while swallowing hard.
"By the way, Cheolmin, what kind of ability do you have? Mine is mainly reading emotions, so I'm not very good at fighting."
"Ah... I emit flames. I'm mostly a flamethrower type..."
Cheolmin scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"The temperature and scale of my flames are still hard to control. If I get too careless, I might burn down the entire research facility. That's why I didn't try anything earlier."
"Flame emission? That's pretty solid."
I nodded and did some quick mental math. Strong firepower but poor control could end up harming our own side. Plus, she was a physique-enhanced awaken who had way better physical stats than me. Direct confrontation was a guaranteed loss.
"So here's the plan. As soon as the intruder appears on the fourteenth floor, I'll use my emotion-reading ability to detect her intentions and point out her location. You don't need to aim precisely. Just spray as wide a fire as you can and buy time. Hold her off only until Cheoljin comes up from below. After that, he'll and the other security team members can handle the rest."
Cheolmin nodded in agreement.
"Got it. That sounds good."
Ding.
The elevator doors opened with a cheerful chime.
The fourteenth floor hallway felt strangely quiet, as if the chaos downstairs had never happened. In front of the thick steel door of the valuables storage, Siwoo and Cheolmin hid in the blind spots on either side of the door and waited in silence. Only the cool air moved through the corridor, but since the restless energy from somewhere inside the facility still lingered, we kept our tension strung tight.
*She's coming.*
Soon, fine strands of emotion began to catch in my weak emotion-reading ability. In situations like this, it was the best possible radar. The cold presence I had felt in the first-floor corridor was gone, replaced by a mix of bewilderment and desperation that suggested she was now in a panicked chase.
My survival instinct, which had saved my life countless times in moments of crisis, began to scream.
"Intruder! Over there!"
I pointed the direction while shouting toward Cheolmin beside me.
At the same time as my gesture, the woman's head snapped toward us as she tried to slip quietly into the hallway from the shadows. Realizing her covert approach had been detected, she pushed off the floor and charged toward Cheolmin at terrifying speed without a moment's hesitation.
"Ugh!"
Panicked, Cheolmin thrust both hands forward and blasted a rough wave of flame. Hot air rushed through the corridor, but she simply tilted her head and leaned her upper body to dodge it effortlessly.
Her right leg shot up like a smooth arc, a heavy high kick aimed at his face. Cheolmin squeezed his eyes shut too late to react.
*Damn it!*
Even with a glance, that powerful kick looked weak. If Cheolmin took it, he would be helpless for a while. Once he was out, she would target me 100 percent. Before my head could decide, my body moved.
I threw myself in front of Cheoljin and crossed my arms into a defensive stance.
*Boom!*
"Kyaa!"
A dull thud echoed as horrific pain shot through my entire body. It felt like being hit head-on by a small car at highway speed. The impact was so crushing that a scream escaped my lips. My body floated into the air and tumbled across the corridor floor.
"Siwoo, you bastard! What the hell!"
But Cheolmin didn't miss the small gap. Gritting his teeth, he released a massive wave of flame from both hands. This time it was wide-range fire that was hard to approach.
She narrowed her eyes, then pushed off the floor with her toes and retreated. The flames scorched the spot where she had been, filling the air with a thick smell. It looked like she had bought me the time I wanted.
*Thud thud thud thud!*
At that moment, heavy, rapid footsteps began echoing from the emergency stairs below.
"You damn girl! What are you doing standing there?!"
Cheoljin's thunderous roar rolled down the stairs. He had caught up to her. Her eyes flashed with urgency. She abandoned her goal of reaching the valuables storage and quickly twisted her body, looking for another escape route.
*Where do you think you're running?*
Ignoring the pain in my throbbing arm, I pushed myself up from the floor. If I let her get away now, the injustice I had just suffered would go unpunished. I drew the awakening dagger from my waist and charged at her.
"Haa!"
With a shout, I swung the silver dagger down hard. But she had clearly anticipated my attack. She leaned her upper body back and easily dodged the blade. Instead, her fist drove straight toward my stomach.
"Ugh!"
I barely read the punch with my emotion-reading ability and twisted my waist to avoid it. I immediately pretended to thrust with the dagger and, with full body weight, fired a low kick at her leg. It was a combination I had practiced on the front lines.
However, she lifted her shin to block my kick. The pain felt like I had kicked a rock. At the same moment, she closed the distance. Without time to defend, her shoulder rammed straight into my chest.
"Kyaa!"
My center of gravity collapsed. I flailed and fell awkwardly. The shock made it hard to breathe, and my vision flickered. Her cold gaze as she looked down at my fallen body burned with pure hatred—the resentment of someone who had finally found the perfect way to end this annoying situation.
*Now!*
I was still on the floor, gripping the dagger in my hand, when a blazing fireball suddenly flew from behind her. Cheolmin's desperate counterattack.
She froze for a split second, then leaped sideways to avoid the fireball.
*Now!*
I threw the dagger with all my strength.
*Tsk.*
In that tiny gap between her dodge and the incoming blade, I squeezed every muscle in my body and launched myself at her. If punches and kicks didn't work, there was only one way left. A stupid, desperate close-range tackle.
I threw my body and wrapped my arms tightly around her slender waist.
"I got you, you damn spy!"
"W-wait... let go!"
The unexpected situation caused her to panic. She shouted desperately and tried to pry my arms away with all her strength. The raw power of a gorilla-like strength pushed against my arms, crushing them. Tears pricked my eyes from the pain that felt like bones were screaming.
"Uwaaaaaah! Brother Cheoljin! Hurry!"
Just as I held her waist and she was about to deliver a punch to the back of my head.
"You damn girl!"
A massive pressure of mana suddenly slammed down from behind her. It was Park Cheoljin, who had just come bounding down the stairs. His enormous fist, veins bulging with rage, smashed down heavily on the back of her head, which was pinned by my arms.
*Crash!*
"Kyaa!"
Even a physique-enhanced awaken couldn't endure a blow from a peer in a completely defenseless state. Her body staggered, and a short groan escaped her lips.
"Nice! As expected from Brother Cheoljin!"
Despite the pain of my arms about to snap, I shouted and used her momentary stumble to sweep her leg and slam her to the floor.
With a heavy thud, she collapsed face-first on the ground. I quickly climbed on top of her and pinned her down with my full weight.
"Get off... me...!"
She gritted her teeth and struggled desperately to throw me off, but it was useless. Cheoljin had already arrived and twisted her arms behind her back, securing them tightly. The other security team members who had rushed up the stairs then piled in, perfectly restraining her.
"Haa... haa..."
Sweat-soaked and panting, I looked down at the woman pinned to the floor and staring up at me with burning resentment. Even though she was completely helpless, unable to move, her eyes were filled with nothing but the grudge of someone who had lost everything because of me.
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