Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: Daughter of the Abyss, Northern Lead Hunter (1)
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0.
April 5, 2045.
“Humanity is no longer alone.”
The entire world was suddenly devoured by nightmares that poured out.
“……I will save all of you, no matter what.”
The power of the nightmares was absolute.
Humanity’s power was feeble, so the world turned to ruins in a single day.
That was when the Holy Apostles appeared.
To bestow transcendent power upon the surviving humans to fight the nightmares and to assign them a mission.
“Complete the hunt. If you wish to reclaim your world.”
Humanity did not know.
The intentions of the Holy Apostles. What they sought to see and achieve.
And whether the Holy Apostles were saviors of the apocalypse.
Or…… spectators enjoying this apocalypse as entertainment.
They knew nothing.
But with no other choice.
The chosen few among humanity…… had to enter the nightmares.
Thus, the reason remains veiled in ignorance.
1.
“I’m…… really sorry…….”
At some point, strange memories began to peek through during Subordinate Transformation.
“Sorry…… sorry…….”
It was a sobbing woman.
For some reason, Do Ye-jin could see her from a child’s perspective.
“You can do it…… so…… we can meet again…….”
The trembling embrace of that young self.
It was so desperate and heartbreaking…… it left her confused.
“Enough now. There’s no time.”
Who are you?
Why are you in my memories?
“They’re right up front. I have to send you now.”
She seemed familiar…… where have I seen her?
Every time she thought that.
Her concentration wavered, and the Subordinate Transformation control collapsed.
Ah…… my consciousness……
Being dragged into a sticky swamp──
“──Jin-ah! Ye-jin-ah! Wake up!”
A familiar voice rang out in that instant.
Immediately after, clamor enveloped her entire body.
Starting from her hearing, all her senses returned.
She coughed out her blocked breath and barely opened her eyes…… to see a familiar figure right there.
“……Hwa-yoon unnie?”
Chestnut-colored topknot with silver-rimmed glasses.
Relief washed over her. She could see the expression beyond those glasses soften.
“Whew, you troublemaker. Do you know how worried unnie was?”
“Did I…… go berserk again……?”
“No. You didn’t go berserk. It’s like your unconsciousness puts the brakes on itself…….”
Seo Hwa-yoon nodded toward the side.
Arishel’rab’s corpse was there.
Evaporating while spewing out massive amounts of dark blue steam.
“Same as with the others. It just keels over on its own and stops moving. What happened?”
“Ugh…… I don’t really know…….”
“Oh. Unconsciousness means [a state where you don’t recognize your own actions]. Was the word too hard?”
Do Ye-jin suddenly pulled away from Seo Hwa-yoon’s embrace, feeling a surge of emotion.
“I-I know that! That’s not what I meant!”
“Hm? You really know? Then what’s unconsciousness? Unnie forgot, so explain it.”
“Uh…… unconsciousness is…… like, you know…….”
“……?”
“……!”
“………?”
“……………!”
“………………?!”
When she kept fumbling to the end.
Seo Hwa-yoon finally clutched her stomach and burst into laughter.
“Ah, so cute! How is our Ye-jin this adorable!”
“Argh! Don’t pat me! I know it roughly! I just can’t explain it in words!”
“Yeah, sure, that must be it. In Ye-jin’s imagination, anyway.”
That was when someone handed Do Ye-jin a glass of cold water.
“Division Chief. Stop teasing Ye-jin unnie. She might not know what unconsciousness is.”
Lee Seon-hyo……!
Realizing this kid a year younger than her had heard the conversation made her face flush red.
“No, I know, okay?”
“Whoa. What is it then?”
“…….”
“……Ow! Why’d you hit me?!”
After flicking his forehead, Do Ye-jin turned back to Seo Hwa-yoon.
“Hwa-yoon unnie, about that question you asked earlier…….”
“Unconsciousness?”
“No, not that! You asked if something happened.”
At first, she thought it was just a hallucination.
Even after the second, third, and fourth times.
But now it didn’t seem like it. It was time to ask for help.
“Oh…… you’re trying to say why the control is breaking?”
“Yeah. It’s──”
“──Hold on! Don’t say it. Let unnie guess.”
How are you going to guess this?
No, Seo Hwa-yoon was different from others.
“This.”
Seo Hwa-yoon grinned and leaned in close to her ear, whispering.
“Boy trouble, right?”
Maybe because she had expectations.
“……What?”
A dumbfounded sound slipped out for a moment. Seo Hwa-yoon cackled in self-satisfaction.
“Right on the money? Knew it. It’s obvious. What shakes up a pubescent girl?”
“It’s not that. What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“You were cooking up a storm with that blond ponytail pretty boy, something went down, right?”
Blond ponytail? Pretty boy?
Shin Tae-yeop?
She could see Seo Hwa-yoon and Lee Seon-hyo exchanging sly grins.
No, these people?
For a moment, sheer absurdity made her roar out with a deep breath.
“Are you kidding me right now? I’m being dead serious!”
At that echo.
Seo Hwa-yoon and Lee Seon-hyo huddled together in mock fear, nodding to each other.
“Uh…… not kidding…… so, what is it? Tell us.”
Do Ye-jin sighed and explained the bizarre memories.
Silence.
Lee Seon-hyo stroked his chin and spoke first.
“Not a scene from a movie?”
“A movie?”
“You saw a sad movie, and it stuck in your memory…… something like that?”
Was it really?
The one refuting that claim was Seo Hwa-yoon, who had her arms crossed deep in thought.
“No, low chance of that.”
“……?”
“Let’s put together everything Ye-jin has said so far.”
That sharp expression she got only when investigating something.
Seo Hwa-yoon wore it now.
“The memories that surface during Subordinate Transformation are overwhelming despair. Just recalling them hurts and exhausts you. Right?”
“……Yeah.”
“So it’s weird. What is it…… unconscious? Really unconscious? Memories buried in the unconscious? Argh…… should’ve studied some psychology.”
That was when she was about to ask what those hard-to-understand words meant.
“Memories in the unconscious……?”
Someone burst into the lab courtyard without permission.
“D-Division Chief…….”
Do Ye-jin gasped.
The staggering Hunter who entered…… was covered in blood.
“What is it? What happened?”
Seo Hwa-yoon rushed over and supported the collapsing Hunter.
“Big trouble…… big trouble…… big trouble…….”
The Hunter gasped in pain, and Seo Hwa-yoon urged him on.
“What kind of trouble?!”
“The Lead…… Lead Hunter…… the Lead Hunter is here…….”
“Baek-jun? That’s good news, isn’t it?”
Seo Hwa-yoon tilted her head.
The Hunter barely shook his head.
“Not the Association President…… another…… another Lead Hunter…….”
Seo Hwa-yoon felt her mind freeze for an instant.
Another Lead Hunter?
There was another Lead Hunter in Seoul? Wait…… that means?
“They invaded from another Paradise? Is that it?”
“Yes…… Pyeongchang-dong right now is…… completely…… completely smashed…….”
“Pyeongchang-dong…… that’s where Su-jin is right now…….”
Seo Hwa-yoon muttered to herself, then flinched.
Did I just say that out loud?
She whipped around hurriedly…… Do Ye-jin’s face was ashen.
“That crazy bitch…… she’s a real lunatic…… but insanely…… insanely strong…….”
“…………?”
“Pyeongchang-dong already…… Buam-dong…… Cheongunhyoja-dong…… she’ll hit here soon…… it took me too long to get here…….”
That was certainly…… unavoidable.
The old Seoul Red Cross Hospital building.
Soon, this Subordinate Weapon lab was in the remote wall area of Jongno-gu, Gyo-nam-dong.
To avoid harming Paradise residents due to Arishel’rab’s presence…….
“Run……! Take her and run…… take Do Ye-jin…… to the Association President…… they won’t touch anyone but the Association President…….”
“What are you saying? Don’t you need help?”
“No…… that crazy bitch…… she’s after Do Ye-jin…… from the start, Do Ye-jin…… Do Ye-jin…….”
What?
No way. That can’t be.
“No way. How would she even know Ye-jin? We’ve never interacted.”
“I don’t know…… but from the beginning…… she kept asking where she was…….”
In that instant, a terrifying realization hit.
So it was a diversion from the start……?
The attack on Dongdaemun-gu was bait?
While the <Association>’s main force was away…… to capture Do Ye-jin?
“Because of me again……? Is that why Uncle got hurt too?”
Do Ye-jin asked.
In a voice trembling pathetically.
“That’s…… not it.”
The Hunter tried to shake his head but couldn’t due to the pain.
“But you said she was looking for me from the start.”
“…….”
“What the hell…….”
Do Ye-jin dropped her head powerlessly, then suddenly bolted outside.
“Ye-jin-ah! Ye-jin-ah! Wait!”
No time to stop her.
The Hunter urgently grabbed Seo Hwa-yoon’s shoulder as she tried to stand.
“Catch her……! You can’t win against her!”
“……!”
“Go Hoon and Oh Jin-guk fell first…… Do Su-jin…… even Division Chief Do Su-jin might be…… by now…….”
Go Hoon and Oh Jin-guk…… they’re among the <Association>’s most veteran members?
This isn’t a joke……?
Seo Hwa-yoon felt her breath quicken as she whipped her head around.
“Seon-hyo!”
“Y-Yes?!”
The boy who had been panting helplessly beside her, Lee Seon-hyo, responded immediately.
“Unnie has to go right now, so you send the crows! To Yongsin-dong!”
“H-How many?”
“How many? All the crows here!”
2.
The closer she got to the city center, the louder the murmurs grew.
The world had turned chaotic.
Citizens running through the streets in a panic.
……Dong…… dong…… dong……
Every bell tower in the city ringing madly.
What the hell happened……?
Do Ye-jin kept running, panting for breath.
“Stop! Ye-jin-ah!”
She could hear Seo Hwa-yoon chasing and shouting from behind.
- Pyeongchang-dong…… that’s where Su-jin is right now…….
No, no way.
Do Ye-jin shook her head wildly. How strong is Su-jin unnie?
She tried to stay optimistic.
But after running nonstop for 10 minutes, entering the northern part of Sajik-dong.
When she encountered the refugee column fleeing from the north…… Cheongunhyoja-dong side, cold sweat drenched her body.
“……Mommy, Mommy, Mommy.”
“……Someone, please help, please!”
A child wailing while clutching a corpse.
A young man soaked in blood, begging for help while holding a child.
Oh god……
Under the clock tower.
Overwhelmed by the sight, she froze in place when a familiar voice called out to Do Ye-jin.
“You…… what are you doing here……?”
Right in front of Do Ye-jin.
From the Cheongunhyoja-dong side, a Hunter barely clinging to his horse was visible.
“Huh Cheon-gyeom?”
Do Ye-jin’s mouth wouldn’t close.
What……?
Why is this guy covered in blood?
Huh Cheon-gyeom sighed and yelled as if scolding her.
“……What are you doing here? Retreat order from the front lines! Don’t you know those lunatics are looking for you?”
“Ye…… Ye-jin……?”
That was when someone peeked out from behind Huh Cheon-gyeom.
“Idiot, the idiot came.”
“Told you not to come, but you wanted to more, huh, idiot? Hehehe.”
A girl with a pure, shy look.
Beside her, the ever-playful black-and-white.
Ryu Hyeon-ji.
Even Ryu Hyeon-ji…… looked a mess.
“Ah…… you’re safe…… really glad…….”
Ryu Hyeon-ji let out a sigh of relief.
Then she staggered and tumbled off the saddle.
“Hyeon-ji unnie!”
Do Ye-jin kicked off the ground in that instant.
She caught and held Ryu Hyeon-ji before she hit the ground.
“You’re hurt?”
“Ah…… no. Not as bad as I thought…… ahn…….”
Ryu Hyeon-ji let out a pained groan but forced a smile.
“S-Still, glad…… Ye-jin…… you’re safe…….”
Unnie isn’t safe.
Looking at Ryu Hyeon-ji like that, Do Ye-jin muttered softly with a blank face.
“This…… it’s my fault again. Because I’m a Subordinate Weapon.”