Pack of Beasts (3)
Crunch, crunch, tick.
I immediately laid both Ingrams flat and released the magazine locks. Then I slammed my arms together hard, crossing them. Slide—the magazines tilted slowly in midair. I righted the guns, pulled two fresh mags from my thigh holster, and slammed them home into the hovering weapons. Clunk. I caught the dropping empties and slotted them into my thigh rig, gripped the Ingrams tight, spread my arms wide, hooked my fingers on the triggers, and squeezed.
Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch!
"...Fuck."
I racked the guns upright and ground my teeth. Mowing down the horde closing in from all sides felt great. But the corpses of the ones I'd headshot up front were blocking the ones behind—they weren't lighting up red. Projectiles didn't curve like some whirlwind bullshit; even if they did, it'd only be a slight bend. No helping it. All I could do was wait.
Acceleration ended.
Whirrreeee!
Agonized death cries erupted from every direction at once, booming across the village. Dozens of heads exploded simultaneously, bodies crumpling. Blood sprayed in sheets.
"Hoo."
"—Hoon? Sung-hoon? Can you hear me? Hello? Sung-hoon!"
Huh? Oh, right. I'd forgotten about this in my ear.
"Yeah, I hear you."
"You okay? I kept hearing weird noises."
I glanced around. Human beasts. A few more crawling up from the riverbank, but they'd thinned out for sure. They were coming from both sides, split by the single house in between. I extended both arms and pulled the triggers.
Rrrrat-a-tat-tat.
...Ooh. So this is what they sound like? Kinda like a low brrrrap?
A dozen more heads burst open in an instant, bodies flopping. These things spat bullets like crazy. Oh, right.
"Noises? What noises?" I turned sideways, squeezed the trigger again. The stragglers tripped over corpses, tumbling—no need for acceleration anymore.
Rrrat.
"Like... a choir singing? Spotty, out of nowhere, like someone suddenly burst into song."
...What the hell?
"A choir? Like a bunch of people singing?"
"Yeah. It just started. Maybe interference? Someone playing music on speakers over there?"
...No clue.
"Nah, nobody's playing any music. Hang on."
I didn't have time for fairy tales right now. I wanted to focus on killing.
Rrrat, rat.
Nearby ones were all dead. Just a few twitching sluggishly in the distance like dying fish.
Your level has increased by 3.
...Ooh. Guess I took down over 150...
...Huh? No?
I scanned the area quick. Fallen human beasts. After hunting thousands, I could eyeball the count pretty accurately. This was under a hundred.
...No way?
I glanced at the dead cat.
...That thing, huh. One of those equaled about fifty human beasts?
...Ah. Makes sense. All those heads inside it. Each one counted as a kill.
So that cat had eaten around fifty human beasts.
...Hold up. What about the other beasts?
...Ones that ate over a hundred? Hundreds? Thousands?
...Surely none like that exist, right?
I looked around. No other beasts besides the cat.
...Can't right now. Stats are too drained. Bad time if something pops.
Right then—my spine crawled.
I whipped around. Nothing. Sparse streetlights lit the village. Beyond them, pitch black. No moon to see by.
The creepy feeling wouldn't fade. I stared into the distant dark.
...Lights.
I saw them. Definitely there.
Again—lights. Two red eyes.
And from the left and right of the house. Beyond the other single homes, in the black—more red eyes blinking into view, one by one.
...Couldn't even count them.
My hand itched. Something trickling down... sweat.
I stood frozen. Couldn't move.
Got too trigger-happy with acceleration. Barely any stats left. Three, maybe four bursts max.
Could I escape their range in three or four...?
Thud.
Footstep. Streetlight gleamed off white fur.
It was a beast covered head to toe in white fur, long muzzle. Dog-like, but no dog that big existed. Even wolves looked like stuffed toys next to it. House-sized.
Far off, but I still had to look up at it.
It stared down at me. I stared up.
No blinking. Staring contest.
Something in my earpiece. No idea what it meant, didn't care. Not the time.
At some point in the stare-down, the white beast lifted its head.
And howled.
Awooooooo—
...Howling.
Everywhere at once. Deafening. Not just high-pitched—my eardrums rattled like static.
Grrr.
I clenched my jaw. Endure it. Hold!
They're not attacking. Just barking.
Howling stopped.
Thud, thud.
Across from the white one—a brown dog. No, monster beast stepped out.
It was small. Relative to the white one. Still house-sized.
The brown monster approached the cat corpse. Jaws split wide.
...Teeth... hundreds, all fangs jutting sharp top and bottom.
It clamped the cat in its maw, glanced at the white beast, then turned and trudged back into the dark.
Vanished.
White beast turned, followed into the shadows.
Red eyes winked out one by one.
Soon, the chill faded.
"...Hah, hoo."
Insane. Sweat poured like rain from my forehead, dripping off my chin. Cold sweat?
First time feeling this since the apocalypse started, even after mowing down hordes of human beasts.
Overwhelmed.
That white-furred monster looked kinda like a Jindo dog at a glance. Who knows. Didn't matter now.
I scanned around.
Far off. Across the river, in the dark—a massive black wall. A mountain, looked like. Sounds came from there.
Crunch, crackle, munch.
Eating. The cat.
No more human beasts crawling from the river.
...They ate every one nearby. The river climbers too.
How many did they chow down? Do dead-headshot corpses count toward their power?
No way...
...Hope not. If so, I'd just fed them.
"Hoo, haa..."
Corpses strewn across the clearing.
...Nah. If corpses counted, they wouldn't have left these dozens behind.
So some other reason for the cat.
Thinking that...
...Quiet.
No sounds. No creepy vibe.
Like nothing happened, the rural village fell silent again.
"...Hoo."
I slowly swapped the Ingram mags for fresh ones. Better safe.
Slotted spares on my thigh, grabbed my bow and duffel. Anyway, got it now. Why folks feared beast packs so much. And how to handle 'em.
"Uh, young man. Y-you alright?"
Far single house. Old man peeking from a cracked window, eyes only.
I raised a hand, nodded.
"Yeah. Think they're all gone now."
"Th-thank you. Thanks, young man. So brave."
...Brave my ass. Froze up against that dog pack.
Damn. Intimidating as hell.
"Heading back now."
Walking away, voices from houses here and there.
"Thank you."
"Thanks, kid."
"Much obliged."
...Saw it all, huh. Shadow Warrior too?
...Whatever, fuck it.
I waved and left the village for downtown.
Arrived around midnight.
Special Forces building, agents waiting. Hit the elevator button.
"Back now. Coming up."
...No reply.
"Hello?"
Tapped the earpiece.
...Battery dead.
Ding—yanked it, pocketed, hopped in.
"Status."
Three points from just now. Dumped 'em in Agility for 12. Level 97.
...Three more to go.
"Hoo..."
Hit the top floor, leaned on the wall.
"...Not good..."
Dog pack filled my head. At least ten of 'em. If they rushed me solo? No chance.
...Need the team's help...
...Nah. Even just Special Forces might not cut it. Civilians no help either.
Gotta meet that US commander again.
Thought that as elevator dinged. Stepped out, into the place.
"Sung-hoon!"
Agents all awake. Ga-yeon bolted up, rushed me.
"You okay? Hurt anywhere?"
"Yeah, fine."
Agents crowded, checking on me. I answered vaguely, toed off my shoes.
Exhausted.
Gyu-hyuk spoke. "A cat, you said. How was it?"
No curiosity or worry on his face. Just fighting spirit. Needed intel on a foe he'd have to face.
I nodded. "You all know how to kill human beasts and monsters."
Agents nodded.
"Beasts are packed full of heads inside. To kill one, don't skimp on ammo—unload on the whole body. That'll do it."
Agents' faces shifted. Imagining the horror.
While they processed, I dropped the duffel, unbuckled the lifting belt. Added offhand,
"Bombs'd work too."
Agents exchanged looks. Meanwhile, I itched for a shower, damn it.
Heading to the bathroom, it hit me.
"What was that noise earlier?"
Ga-yeon turned. "Huh?"
"Like singing?"
"Oh, that."
Ga-yeon approached, fiddled with her phone, held it out.
"Hoo, haa. —Screeech! Gasp! Slash."
Eh? Oh, my breathing... Ah, got it. Knife slicing cat-back hide.
And right then... I threw the sword, summoned Shadow Warrior...
...Shit.
Told it to kill. Shouldn't have.
But the voice from the phone wasn't mine.
Where my voice should've said "kill that one"—a harmony swelled out of nowhere. Strings, or like she said, a choir.
Over in a flash. Then my breathing resumed.
I stared at the phone, frozen.
...What the fuck?
Ga-yeon forced a smile. "Interference... right?"
...Nothing else explains it.
I nodded. "Yeah, looks like."