Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 003
Chapter Title: End of Childhood, Start of the Hunt (3)
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4. [???, The Master of the Broken Dawn Gazes Upon You.]
It was different from the Holy Apostles. I couldn't explain it well, but something was fundamentally different at its core. The Holy Apostles made my mind feel cold and unpleasant, but this was... like being wrapped in the warm spring sunlight...
“...Jun! ...Baek-jun?”
Park Ji-yeon's voice pulled me back to reality. Her face was full of bewilderment. When I followed her gaze, I wore a similar expression. What...? I was single-handedly lifting the building debris that had barely budged even when five people rushed in...
“Mommyyyy!”
The moment I shoved the debris aside, the boy and girl burst into tears and threw themselves into their mother's arms.
“...”
“...”
Park Ji-yeon and Hwang Cheol-man gaped at me. I couldn't comprehend this miracle myself, but there was no time to dwell on it now.
“Hwang Cheol-man. Please transport the lady.”
“T-Transport?”
“Her legs are completely crushed. Carry her on your back and head out immediately!”
“O-Okay!”
Hwang Cheol-man hurriedly hoisted the citizen onto his back and bolted toward the S-042 exit. Splash... splash-splash... splash-splash-splash. At the same time. Something suddenly started charging in. I calmed my wildly pounding heart. As I drew my revolver, I shoved the children toward Park Ji-yeon.
“Ji-yeon, take the kids!”
“What about you, Baek-jun?!”
“Go!”
In that instant. The outline of 'it' emerged from the thick fog. At a glance, a giant over 3 meters tall. Before I could even confirm properly, it suddenly accelerated, and I bellowed while pulling the trigger madly. ─Ting ─Ting ──Tingting! Ting? Isn't that the sound bullets make when hitting reinforced armor? But it's a living thing—how is it deflecting live rounds so easily? In my panic, as I reached for my telescoping baton, a grotesquely massive arm swung at my side.
“Guhh!”
The arm sank deep into my side. Before the shock even registered, I flew off to one side and tumbled violently across the ground several times. ...What speed and power is this? Face-down on the floor, I gasped for breath. Crushing pain as if my bones were shattered buzzed through my entire body. I... I can't breathe...
“Hurry, run! Hurry!”
Park Ji-yeon's breathless voice. I barely lifted my head to glare into the fog, and the worst sight unfolded. Three people fleeing desperately. A single monster pursuing them slowly, as if toying with its prey. Then, one of the small fleeing figures tripped, and a scream pierced the air. A boy? A girl? What does it matter if I know. I can't even breathe now. I'm done. As I tried to close my eyes, something unbelievable happened.
[???, The Master of the Broken Dawn Gazes Upon You.]
The hallucination overlapped with reality. The vision from that day over a decade ago. In the fallen child, I saw myself crying amid the flames. In Park Ji-yeon rushing to the child, two firefighters overlapped. My adoptive parents.
- We're here to save you.
The starlight spotlights shining down on me mocked me. The fragments of my life and my death laughed clearly in my ears.
...Yeah. What a fool I am. A life that prioritizes others over oneself. But because two such fools existed, I survived until now. I admired that foolish life and vowed to emulate it. How could I face them if I ended it so pathetically?
[???, The Master of the Broken Dawn Gazes Upon You.]
I clenched my left fist desperately. Ideals are proven by actions. Aspirations are achieved through actions.
“Haaaaaaaah!”
The desperate shout I forced out. A gush of blood cleared my airway slightly. It felt like an eternity in a split second. Trembling fingers fumbled into the ammo pouch. After frantic groping, one bullet was grasped. The revolver clutched tight in my right hand. I ejected the cylinder, removed the spent casing, and loaded the bullet. Suppression wasn't the goal. Just draw its attention here. Yeah, that's enough. In this moment of crisis. As the massive being reached out its arm toward Park Ji-yeon and the child, I aimed the muzzle and pulled the trigger.
Two strokes of heavenly luck aided me. The loaded bullet was a tracer round. And despite my sloppy aim, it struck the monster's chest. Pssshhh... In the burst of hot, bright light, I glimpsed its form for an instant. I thought I was going mad. It was that horrific, beyond even a madman's imagination. Its jade-colored body vaguely resembled humanity. But instead of hands, it had crustacean claws; instead of feet, duck webs. The most nightmarish was the squid head. Massive eyeballs blinked, and writhing tentacles twitched pathologically—it was a nightmare incarnate. The monster, struck by the flare, unleashed a ferocious roar.
「BIRASHIAAAAAAAAAAAA!」
Having shaken off the flare, it glared at me fiercely. Enraged, perhaps. Gratefully, it abandoned the prey before it and charged straight at me. Just before those claws gripped my body, I mustered my dying strength and shouted at Park Ji-yeon.
“...Go!”
A single syllable. The best I could yell. Relief washed over me. This was enough—I'd done it all. The next moment, tentacles and claws seized my limbs and head, hoisting me into the air. It seemed intent on revenge through utmost agony. It slowly pulled at my limbs—crack—released, then pulled again. Sorry, but I've had no sensation since earlier. You've bought me so much time—I'm grateful. After prolonged torture, as my limbs tore away and my head was about to be ripped off in the final moment.
[???, The Master of the Broken Dawn Has Chosen You as Successor!]
- All indirect messages from other Holy Apostles are blocked.
[Transcendent Radiance is Inherited to You!]
- Unique skill, 《Time Regression》 acquisition complete.
- Unique skill, 《Holy Flame Succession》 acquisition complete.
Dazzling strings of text unfolded in my darkening vision.
[Unique skill, 《Time Regression》 is activated!]
5. The first sense to return was hearing.
“...Jun! ...Baek-jun?”
Next came the weight of lifting the heavy object. From that point, my other senses recovered, and reality snapped back. What? In that reality, I exhaled the blocked breath. The surroundings quickly entered my vision. A heavy weight in my hands. I was holding up the building debris. Superhuman strength. The dazed stares of those around me. The thick yellow fog blanketing everything. ...Why does this feel so familiar? Recalling memories, I shoved the debris aside. Then,
- M-Mommyyyy!
“Mommyyyy!”
The children reacted exactly 100% like in my memory. It was absurd. Déjà vu overlaid reality, and cold sweat soaked my back. I frantically felt my limbs and ribs. ...My whole body is intact? Was it a hallucination? But it was too vivid for a mere hallucination. The moment that doubt arose, light strings of text appeared as if waiting.
[Unique skill, 《Time Regression》 activation complete.]
- Regression executed to 300 seconds before death.
- Remaining regressions (0 / 1)
- Unique skill, 《Time Regression》 deactivated.
Staring into empty space, I sorted the information to understand the situation somehow. Time was pressing... Yeah, that's it. For now, accept that a virtual reality game has overlaid reality. Even I, a Korean guy, had played some games. Thinking on that premise. I don't know what the 'Master of the Broken Dawn' is. But thanks to the transcendent power from that being, I'd clearly 'returned' to this time. ...Wait. Returned? Pondering those words made my head ring.
“That means.”
Splash... splash... Thick stench mixed with blood. Goosebumps raced down my spine. 'It' is coming.
“What did you just say?”
Hwang Cheol-man asked breathlessly, but I urgently countered.
“How many flares do you have?”
Live rounds meant nothing to that monster.
“T-Two, I think. Per regulation on ammo─”
“─Give them all to me.”
Splash.
“P-Pardon?”
Splash.
“Hurry! Support this citizen and run to S-042. Park Ji-yeon, take the kids and go first.”
Hwang Cheol-man rummaged in his ammo pouch and handed over the flares. As he carried the citizen and scurried off, Park Ji-yeon asked in a frail voice.
“What are you going to do with the flares?”
“Well...”
I was about to say 'buy time,' but shut my mouth. My fingers trembled as I loaded four flares into the cylinder. Splash-splash... splash-splash... The best was buying time. No matter how many flares, no matter rewinding time again—there was no option to defeat it. Splash-splash-splash-splash-splash-splash-splash-splash-splash-splash-splash. In that future, I had to die. Only by dying did these five survive. Saving all five was pure miracle.
「BISHUIAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」
In an instant, the monster roared and lunged. I closed the cylinder and raised the muzzle. Aim: the face. Its general features were already noted before the regression. As soon as I aimed, I fired the flare.
“Don't look back no matter what—run!”
Pssshhh! The flare spewed sparks vigorously, and the monster roared. Perhaps because it hit the creepy squid face dead-on, unlike before, it writhed violently. ──Splash! I extended the electric baton. Its body was wet, so maybe vulnerable to shocks. To save everyone including myself, I had to subdue it. For that, I needed a vital hit somehow. After embedding two flares in its face, I advanced cautiously. One step, another. Breath-holding tension. Three steps to the baton's range. Flash. In that moment, it opened its massive eyeball and looked at me. ──Kwaaaang! Monstrous claw slamming the ground. A gust erupted. If I hadn't rolled back, instant death from that fierce attack. Kwaang── Kwaaaang──! The opposite claw followed, smashing the ground. I barely rolled aside and fired the third flare. Pssshhh! Maybe blinded three times? Enraged, the monster smashed the nearby ground indiscriminately.
「SHYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」
Retreating briskly, I nearly tripped. The shattered ground scattered countless pebbles. Three or four embedded in my calf.
“Urk.”
I gritted my teeth and endured, but the situation was dire. One flare left. How the hell do you beat a monster like that? ...I need a 'weapon' for a vital hit besides the baton. Is there anything around? But will a 'weapon' alone do? ...What? A thought not my own flashed through my mind, and strings of text unfurled.
[Unique skill, 《Holy Flame Succession》 is activated!]
===== 《Holy Flame Succession》: Inherit Flame - Battle Memory Selection.
* Only one memory can be selected for inheritance.
[Regular (99 / 99)]
* Based on achievement threshold.
1. First Successor, Apostle of Grace
2. Second Successor, Knight of the Mirror
……
42. 42nd Successor, Sorcerer of Tears
……
98. 98th Successor, Artist of Radiance
99. 99th Successor, Pray-er of Anguish
=====
What is this? Holy Flame Succession? Roughly, inheriting combat talent? Like loading a save data onto a single-player game? Scrolling to the bottom in confusion, I paused. What's this translucent entry?
[Exception (1 / 1)]
* Achievement below threshold.
Perhaps because it's below threshold, it looked hidden in shame. Huh. Could this be...?
Just then, I sensed danger and looked up. As expected. The monster, having shaken off the flare, was charging this way. No time. This is it. This is the best choice. No leisure to deliberate deeply, but no need either.