Staring Down the Stairs
Staring down the staircase.
Pop-pop-pop-pop!
Card after card struck the ghouls’ foreheads, necks, hearts, and both Achilles tendons.
It was a shot in the dark, not sure if the attack would land, but luckily the creature froze in the position it was about to rise, head drooping as it fell.
Thud!
'So the attack connected?'
Swish-swish-swish!
Following cards spiraled like a whirlwind and disappeared down the stairs.
Only about three ghouls remained climbing up from below.
Pop! Ting! Tang! Thud!
“Kruuek……!!”
Some missed because of the distance.
Dull thuds on flesh, clangs on railings, and impacts on walls echoed.
But it didn’t matter.
One pair in poker cards means two cards of the same number or suit overlapping.
Considering the other three non-overlapping cards, the combinations possible were infinite. As long as mana allowed, I could throw as many as I wanted.
I kept summoning cards until I heard no more sounds of ghouls jumping.
Obtained Low-grade Reinforcement Stone.
Obtained Low-grade Reinforcement Stone.
Obtained Low-grade Reinforcement Stone.
'Oh ho.'
“Hey, sis! Sis Pecia!”
“……!”
Somehow, Yena started calling me from above.
She had opened the door and waited instead of coming in alone. I was worried the little one might be scared and unable to move, but it was fortunate.
'This should be enough. Don’t overdo it.'
Tatat!
I bounded up the stairs, skipping six steps at a time.
In an instant, I reached the ninth floor, hugged Yena, and closed the door.
……Thud!
'Should be fine?'
According to the setting, apartment doors in the city are reinforced with magic stones. Unless it’s a strong monster, it couldn’t break in.
But I locked the door automatically and then engaged the secondary lock.
And entered Yena’s room, where we both pulled the blanket over us and shivered.
“Hey, sis. Are you okay? Our mom will be here soon.”
I hugged the trembling Yena.
“Mom will be fine.”
“What I mean is……”
“It’s okay, Yena. It’s okay.”
Your mom is stronger than me right now.
Even if I don’t know which gate broke, if the monsters die, Kang Jiye won’t be in trouble.
She’s an S-class hunter, after all.
'The only thing I’m worried about is……'
The civilians outside.
If they were caught defenseless while playing at the playground, there will be many casualties.
If a boss appeared, the situation would escalate out of control.
Because it means the apartment’s security company was breached.
“Ah! It’s over.”
Luckily, the vicious mana shooting from outside started to decrease gradually. Conversely, the pure mana estimated to be from hunters was increasing in number.
By now, people’s screams were almost unheard.
Yena blinked.
“What’s over?”
“It means the hunters are eliminating the bad monsters.”
“How do you know?”
“……Um, so.”
I answered vaguely.
“You can see with the eyes of the heart.”
“…….”
Then Yena stared at me intently.
“Sis.”
“Huh?”
“I saw you throwing the cards earlier.”
“……!”
“I heard that if a normal person uses magic, it’s strange. Mom said.”
Suddenly, my spine went cold.
A certain sense of crisis was starting to rise.
I had been relaxed thinking I had overcome the hurdle, but I needed to review the situation for a moment.
So, to summarize, I was hiding my mana.
And Yena had found out.
Yena’s mother is a hunter administration official……?
'Oh, this is dangerous.'
It was hard to point out specifically.
But I could feel that if it got out, it would become quite complicated. I had to prevent the secret from spreading.
I told Yena.
“That was magic.”
“Magic……?”
“Yeah, magic.”
I raised my right hand and snapped my fingers.
Pang!
I made a small chocolate and threw it into Yena’s mouth.
“Wah!”
With the sweet thing in her mouth, Yena’s eyes widened.
Children love sweets. It’s not that guardians can’t let them eat because of health issues.
Yena’s eyes started sparkling.
“Sis!”
“Yeah.”
“Can you make more of this?”
“Um……”
I deliberately showed a troubled expression.
“Sis would get scolded by auntie. For feeding her sweets.”
“Aaaaa! I’ll keep it secret!”
“Really? Then magic should be kept secret too. Can you do that?”
“Of course!”
I smiled inwardly.
'Naive little child.'
It was fortunate she couldn’t distinguish right from wrong yet. With cheap chocolate or candy, I could easily shut her up like this.
Although there’s no eternal secret in the world, at least for now, it was a good solution to the worry.
'But……'
I suddenly stared at Yena. Something strange came to mind.
“Yena.”
“Huh?”
“Aren’t you scared? The monsters were chasing me hard, weren’t they? Didn’t you call Mom?”
I had been at the scene where blood and flesh were flying just moments ago. No matter how much I covered eyes and ears, I couldn’t not know the situation, yet she looked too calm.
Even more so than me.
Yena blinked and replied.
“Um…… We always play tag in class.”
“Eh?”
“In kindergarten, it’s always monster stories. If you go to adults or hide, you’re safe. And since the phone makes a sound, don’t use it carelessly.”
“…….”
Is that so?
……No, no matter what, isn’t it strange?
Can a child like Yena be this calm with just education?
It felt oddly out of sync with the common sense I knew.
“And I play tag with Mom every day. If I hide well, she buys me snacks and hugs me.”
“Tag?”
“It’s when you wear monster masks and chase!”
“……I see. That’s quite detailed.”
“Detailed what?”
“Ah, I mean Yena is impressive. Here, candy.”
I gave Yena a candy while thinking. This world is surprisingly well-made.
Of course, I’m in the position of living and breathing here too, but the thought that this was originally the game background hasn’t completely disappeared.
It was often surprising to see people’s lives changed to fit the setting.
I asked Yena again.
“So, Yena, this situation shouldn’t be scary, right?”
Yena answered while sucking on the candy.
“It’s scary, but with sis, it’s okay. And this has happened before.”
“……It happened before?”
“Yeah. A really big ugly robot.”
“…….”
Yeah, this is the Gate Apocalypse.
Gates that are hard to detect because mana is weak often cause breaks even inside the city.
So, monsters that are at the level of ordinary private security companies are actually treated like small disasters or traffic accidents.
They don’t happen often, but if you’re unlucky, you encounter them.
'Of course, it will be very different in many ways later.'
Anyway, most questions were resolved.
To live in this world, it’s better to read the atmosphere to some extent.
“Well, then, Yena.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s have a deep discussion on how to maintain our secret.”
Now, as long as this is clear, it’s fine.
So that no one finds out.
“It seems like something like a card is stuck in there. Team Leader Im.”
“A card?”
Team Leader Im tilted his head, and the 30-year-old man wearing sunglasses laughed mischievously.
“Ah, I play poker often. The wound size stuck in the neck here is exactly the shape of a trump card.”
“…….”
Upon hearing his subordinate’s words, Team Leader Im Sung-hwan carefully looked at the ghoul’s corpse.
Forehead, neck, heart.
Precisely straight wounds carved into vital points. At first, I thought it was a very thin sword or some wind magic, but now I see it’s exactly the size of a trump card.
Creak-
By slightly opening the wound on the neck, it was even clearer.
“Does that mean you stabbed it with a card enhanced with mana?”
Then the subordinate’s shoulders trembled.
“Hey, why are you looking so seriously? Is there a resident who knows how to do such things?”
Enhancing regular trump cards to use them is no better than using bare hands.
Because it’s essentially just wrapping the cards with mana to protect them. Unless you’re an exceptionally free-spirited strong person, there’s no reason to use such a method.
But……
“No, you wouldn’t have said something like that for no reason.”
Team Leader Im shook his head.
The Hunter Administration Emergency Response Team must have sharp eyes and instincts to enter.
Because they have to respond flexibly to various sudden situations.
Especially the guy who was winking in front of us is a skilled person who has caught and arrested five ability criminal offenders so far.
Team Leader Im said.
“Hey, Siwoo. Kim Siwoo.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Do you think we should investigate this, or is it better to just pass it since it was handled without a problem?”
“Huh? Why are you asking me that?”
“Just asking once.”
“…….”
Kim Siwoo, staring at the ghoul corpse, replied.
“Let’s eat jjampong for dinner tonight. Let’s talk slowly while eating.”
Team Leader Im laughed dryly.
“Okay, got it. Order some tangsuyuk too.”
Then Kim Siwoo’s mouth curved up. Pointing at the ghoul corpses, he opened his mouth.
“Team Leader.”
“Yeah.”
“The wounds aren’t consistent. This one seems to have properly stabbed the vital point from close range, but the others over there got hit dozens of times randomly.”
Team Leader Im’s brows furrowed.
“……So?”
“Maybe it was quite urgent? By the way, the residents said they heard the sound of girls jumping up the stairs, and…… it might not be, or it might be?”
“…….”
Team Leader Im’s head turned.
It was the line of the apartment where the ghoul corpse was found.
At that moment.
“Oh, it’s the emergency response team?”
The two men’s gazes turned to one place.
A tall woman in black combat gear was approaching.
Team Leader Im slightly bowed his head.
“Deputy Director Kang.”
Kang Jiye bowed back.
“Hello. I see you two were dispatched.”
Kim Siwoo smiled brightly.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Siwoo from the Emergency Response Team.”
“I’m Kang Jiye. Nice to meet you.”
After a brief handshake with Kim Siwoo, Kang Jiye immediately looked at Team Leader Im. Asked with a worried tone.
“Um, are the monsters not all eliminated?”
“Huh?”
“I was looking at your house……”
Then Im suddenly panicked. Then he smiled awkwardly and shook both hands.
“Ah, it’s not serious. But, Deputy Director, is there a little girl you’re protecting at home?”
Kang Jiye blinked and nodded.
“Her name is Pecia. Since she said she doesn’t remember, I was temporarily protecting her.”
“Oh, the atmosphere must have been tough lately. Impressive. But, is the mana……”
Kang Jiye shook her head.
“None. I checked a few weeks ago.”
“Um.”
“Ah, it’s not like this. Would you like to have a cup of tea with us?”
“Huh?”
“Anyway, since you two protected our house, if you’re not busy, come and go. After all, you seem to be interested in Pecia too.”
The gazes of Team Leader Im and Kim Siwoo collided in the air.
“Thank you for the tea, Deputy Director Kang. I’ll see you again next time.”
“Be careful! Thank you for today.”
……Thud!
After the door closed.
Team Leader Im shrugged with a helpless smile.
“Tangsuyuk should be out, right? It’s a waste, man.”
It was as Kang Jiye said.
The girl named Pecia was just a fragile little girl with no mana at all.
Except for the fact that she lost her memory and had a noble-sounding name, there was nothing special about her.
'Name, pretending to be a hunter. She must like pretty things.'
“Well, let’s go eat something.”
Whoever processed the ghouls, at least it wasn’t Pecia.
Team Leader Im, judging there was no more to think about, grabbed Kim Siwoo’s shoulder.
But at that moment, Kim Siwoo’s body trembled.
“Ah, yes, yes?”
“Let’s go eat. Why? Suddenly.”
“…….”
Team Leader Im blinked in confusion.
Somehow, Kim Siwoo’s face had turned pale.
“Are you okay?”
Kim Siwoo’s mouth, which had been tightly shut, barely opened.
“Yes, I’m fine……”
“…….”
But the bizarre thing was that Kim Siwoo himself was the same.
Just a moment ago, he had been in the best mood, but after visiting Kang Jiye’s house, sweat started pouring down his back like rain.
'Why am I like this?'
It was inexplicable.
Because he had never experienced such a thing in his life.
But one thing was clear.
He wanted to get out of here quickly.
Kim Siwoo pressed the elevator button repeatedly with his trembling hand.
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
“Ah, I think I’m going to pee. What the hell is this.”