The Three Are Idiots, Yet Mighty
The Three Are Idiots, Yet Mighty
"...Motherfucker, we're fucked! Run!"
Ha Hui-ryeong shouted urgently.
She made that call the instant she realized its eyes could see.
However, the thing was faster than we anticipated.
The moment we turned our backs to retreat the way we came—
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
It kicked off the ground and closed the distance to point-blank range in an instant.
'What the hell...!'
My shock at its swift movement, so unbefitting its massive frame, was brief.
Whoosh!
Kim Ha-yoon generated sharp ice from the ground.
A massive chunk of ice shaped like a claw erupted from the earth, halting the creature's tank-like charge for a moment.
No, it would be more accurate to say the creature backed off right before its torso was impaled.
'Whoa! Magnificent, our ice water purifier! I knew I was right to tap that!'
While I was inwardly rejoicing—
-Grrrr...
The creature did not recklessly charge in as before. It maintained a safe distance and inspected its pierced arm.
Blood gushed down, but it showed no sign of pain.
That was because the wound soon bubbled and boiled, sealing itself shut in an instant.
'I think we're genuinely fucked.'
I felt cold sweat soaking my back.
This was not good.
It was far too fast.
Moreover, that overwhelming regeneration ability was a colossal pain in the ass.
Didn't that essentially eliminate the option of wearing it down in a war of attrition?
'And it seems to possess some level of intelligence too...'
One hit.
We needed one powerful strike...
I glanced at the crowbar in my hand. This tool, imbued with the 'Decomposition' attribute—if I could land even one solid hit, maybe I had a chance. Anything it touched rotted and crumbled; perhaps it could counter that regeneration.
The only issue was whether Ha Hui-ryeong and I had the skill to face that thing head-on.
A single graze would be a critical hit, and I wasn't sure if we could land a blow on its body without making a mistake.
Amidst my chaotic thoughts, Ha Hui-ryeong whispered surreptitiously.
"Hey, what do we do? Run? Or fight?"
"...We fight. As you can see, we can't outrun it. It's fast as hell."
"Then it's settled. I'll go in, you land the hit."
Ha Hui-ryeong grinned as if telling me not to worry, to trust her.
But I caught the brief tremor in her pupils.
"Hey, wait..."
I tried to grab her, but she moved before I could.
A flash of lightning.
Blue thunder coursed along the path she dashed, leaving a trailing tail of azure.
Clang!
Sparks flew with the clear sound of metal clashing against metal.
She was rushing in on impulse at a time like this—was she kidding me?!
I urgently grabbed my crowbar and chased after Ha Hui-ryeong's back.
"Damn it all! Provide good covering fire on your own, Ha-yoon!"
"Just make sure you do your part...!"
Kim Ha-yoon generated ice in the air.
Three or four cold frost shards materialized, aiming for the aberrant-type.
And then, the ice danced at her command.
Shunk!
-Grooowl!?
Sharp icicles targeted and burrowed into the creature's flank.
As fresh blood soaked the ground, the creature's swing—the one meant to strike down on Ha Hui-ryeong—faltered.
"Die, you fucker!"
A brief delay.
She didn't miss that opening.
Clang!
-Grrrrr...!!
A horizontal slash caved in the side of the creature's temple.
And the ensuing electric current made the creature's entire body tremble violently.
However, perhaps due to exceptional resistance to paralysis, the trembling subsided in just one second, and its massive bulk surged toward her.
"This son of a...!"
At that exact moment, I sprinted.
I ran with all my might, as if born for this sole moment, wrapping my arms around Ha Hui-ryeong and tumbling across the floor with her.
Boom!
The creature's attack missed by a hair's breadth.
Though it was a glancing blow, the impact alone sent fragments of the ground scattering everywhere.
...My blood ran cold.
A direct hit from that meant instant death.
You couldn't block it, and you couldn't deflect it.
"Whoa, shit, what is that thing? Its tenacity is insane!"
"Still, it seems like CC effects do land? It reacted when I hit its head."
"...In other words, it has no effect on other areas."
"Exactly. Truly unfortunate..."
Her words cut off.
Because the creature had ripped a nearby vending machine from its moorings and hurled it at us.
"....!"
Without needing to say who went first, we pushed each other's bodies away.
And we went tumbling across the floor once more.
Crash! A messy heap of scrap metal waved cheerfully from the spot where we had just been.
Those precious goods... how dare it...!
I scrambled to my feet and readjusted my grip on the crowbar.
Ha Hui-ryeong didn't even have that much leeway.
Because the creature lunged at her before she could pick up her scattered bat.
-Kaaaaaaah─!!!!
"Eeek!? Fuck! Hey, w-wait...! Ack...! Why, why only me...!!"
She was narrowly dodging the creature's attacks with somewhat comical yelps.
It was a feat possible only because her reflexes were superhuman.
Pababak.
Of course, Kim Ha-yoon's support continued even during that.
The damage was minimal, but it was quite effective at creating openings in its movements.
-Groowl...!
A flinch.
Two pairs of eyes turned toward Kim Ha-yoon.
It seemed to be bothered enough by her that its target changed.
"Ha Hui-ryeong!"
I aimed for that gap.
I drew upon every last ounce of strength I had and ran toward her.
While running, I scooped up the scattered bat and simultaneously hurled it forward.
The iron club traced a graceful parabola through the air.
Her weapon flew over the creature's head.
I lowered my stance, used my momentum to slide smoothly between the creature's legs.
In that same breath—
Crunch!
The crowbar tore right through the testicles hanging between its legs, and the creature's agonized wail echoed out.
Success!
Indeed, a formidable, utterly despicable strike aimed at a thread of an opening had landed perfectly.
Even its proud regeneration ability was helpless before the supernatural power of 'Decomposition.'
The red skin turned bluish, then blackened into thick, ominous lumps that dripped down alongside blood with a wet, splattering noise.
But that alone was not enough.
It seemed the creature's regeneration was suppressing the rotting decay, limiting the damage to just that specific area.
"Nice one, Jjintta!"
Now it was her turn.
With the lightning bat in hand, she pressed the creature with the momentum of a thunderclap.
Clank, clang, crash! Brilliant sparks of lightning flickered with each clear strike, rattling the creature's skull.
I couldn't miss the last hit either.
As if possessed, I swung my crowbar in rhythm with Ha Hui-ryeong's tempo.
Its body was so tough that a sharp tingling shot through my wrist with every downward strike.
The stinging pain made me reflexively furrow my brow.
However, opportunity typically doesn't knock twice.
I continued the chain of attacks with the mindset: 'Let's see whose wrist shatters first, or if you die first.'
-Groo! Grrr...!
As the wounds from the crowbar increased, the creature's vigor visibly waned.
Its massive frame, well over two meters tall, was gradually pushed back by our wave-like offensive.
Then, finally, the creature dropped to its knees.
"Kim Ha-yoon!!"
I raised my voice to its maximum volume and slammed the crowbar into the back of its neck with all my strength.
Crunch! The thick muscle was torn apart, and dark, murky pus-filled rot began to fester in the inner flesh.
Yet, it was still shallow.
Painfully insufficient to be a fatal wound.
That was why I had called for her.
Pashshsh.
Having paused her support for a while to prepare 'one big shot,' Kim Ha-yoon made a large motion as if throwing a spear.
A massive icicle, focused on quality over quantity, surged forward with a sound of tearing air.
Thwump! The icicle skewered the creature, driving deep into the gap of its wound like a spit.
"Now just die, you motherfucker!!"
Tap, tap, tap!
At that very moment, Ha Hui-ryeong leaped up.
With a scream of pent-up, world-defying fury, she used her bat like a hammer and drove a full-force blow into the icicle.
Crackle! Electricity violently surged from the point of impact.
The following shock shattered the icicle.
Literally, cracks spider-webbed across it before it burst into dozens of fragments, cleanly severing the creature's head from its body with a snap.
Thud!
As the creature's massive body collapsed, all three of us, without exception, dropped everything we were holding.
The bat, the crowbar, the backpacks. Heavy baggage rolled across the floor.
"Haa... haa..."
The three of us, myself included, gasped for breath and exchanged glances.
At this moment, our thoughts were bound to be in sync.
The adrenaline coursing through our brains, the intense afterglow of battle that hadn't yet faded, the thrill and exhilaration making our entire bodies feel like they were on fire.
At the end of that swirling emotional cycle, a deep sense of relief that we had somehow managed it flickered in each of our eyes.
A camaraderie we had never shared before was springing forth naturally. How could we possibly suppress this feeling?
In an instant, drawn together like moths chasing light, we tightly embraced each other.
Sharing warmth, until the excitement subsided.
Hoping this moment where our heartbeats touched would last forever.
"We... actually work pretty well together."
After what felt like an eternity, I smiled faintly and opened my mouth, my mind much calmer now.
The other two smiled back in response.
"Yeah, well, for our first joint operation, it wasn't too bad."
"I didn't think so."
"Hey! Are you going to be like that even now!?"
"Hmph."
I thought there'd be an exchange of pleasantries given the mood, but I guess not.
Whatever. This was just like them anyway.
As I chuckled inwardly and was about to release the two I was hugging, Kim Ha-yoon suddenly—
"Uh, uhh?"
—stared with round, bewildered eyes.
Why was she acting like this all of a sudden?
Wondering if she'd discovered something strange, I followed her gaze and turned my head.
Then.
"W-what on earth is...!?"
My eyes caught the scene of the mutant we had just defeated rising again.
No, to be precise.
'Its arms separated...?'
Only certain parts got up.
No fewer than four 'arms' had detached and were fleeing in all directions, using their hands as legs.
'How does it make any sense for something to just pop off like a freaking Lego!?'
It was an utterly ridiculous nightmare, hard to believe even while watching it with my own eyes!
So dumbfounded was I that my face was painted with sheer absurdity.
The other two were no different.
Ha Hui-ryeong spoke quietly with a baffled expression.
"Those things aren't going to come back later even stronger, are they? Like, 'I have never experienced death. Ta-da, I return with a grand entrance!' Something like that."
"Let's not say such dreadful things, Hui-ryeong. Words have a way of becoming reality."
"No, no, isn't that a common cliché from the comics you often read? It just feels exactly like that."
I wanted to deny it, but I partly agreed that it gave me an ominous feeling.
But comics I often read? How did you know about that?
"...How is it that you know about that, Miss Hui?"
"Uh, uh? T-that's... it's because you used to read them with such concentration all the time, right? It'd be weird if I didn't know, since you've been reading them since forever."
"Hmm."
What was this?
What was this reaction implying?
I glared at her with narrowed eyes.
But I didn't press further.
I could tell it was a flimsy excuse, as she avoided my gaze with a fuss like a thief whose conscience was pricking her.
But I didn't feel it was worth interrogating any more.
It was suspicious, but what could I do about it?
I didn't feel like getting into an argument right now.
As I was shaking off my thoughts, Kim Ha-yoon spoke to me with her brow slightly furrowed.
"Hey. Did you see it, too?"
"See what?"
"The notification. The notification."
She made a gesture of tapping the air with her finger.
What she meant was clear.
It had to be the block of text always sitting at the edge of my vision.
"Oh? You got something too? Let's see... I pushed it aside earlier because it was being noisy."
I tapped the semi-transparent window located at the bottom right.
Then the window expanded, updating with new content.
[Achievement Unlocked. Weakened the Special Mutant Entity 'Crimson'!
Acquiring coins as a reward.
Coins Held: 44 > 344]
What.
T-Three hundred in one go?