ep13. Where Blood Falls (12)
Maybe it was because I'd spent so long wearing it as a ring, wound around my finger.
The fragment of the Big Cat coiled into my hand with a feeling of deep familiarity.
I gathered up the fragments — slivers of bone nearly the size of my forearm — as I found them.
And at that moment:
Keee-rik—!
The Big Cat sensed my presence and roared.
Kuwoong—! Kudangtang—!
It lunged toward me — and tripped over its own feet.
Giii— gurururuk—
It seemed to struggle to rise, but couldn't steady its body.
Looking closer, I saw that the area around its neck was on fire. Had it injured itself internally by using its Fire Breath on a wounded body?
Either way, this was an opportunity that would never come again.
Clutching the fragments to my chest, I made for the corridor.
Kdidididit—!
The Big Cat shrieked itself hoarse.
I ignored it and bolted.
Or, at least, I tried to.
"……!"
Ice water poured over my head — my whole body locked up. Fear crept in on the heels of that reflex, and with it, a palpable aura of death, close enough to touch.
I froze where I stood.
*Run. Run. Run.*
My brain sent the signal, but my body wouldn't move.
*Swish— THUD— swiiiish— THUD—!*
While I stood paralyzed, the Big Cat began crawling toward me.
*Run. Don't move. Run. Play dead!*
The conflicting impulses collided in my head — and by the time they did, the Big Cat had arrived right in front of me.
That was when it happened.
*—You already won. Don't chicken out now.*
The words surfaced unbidden, and I snapped back to my senses.
Keee-rik—!
"Kh—!"
I hurled everything I was holding and dodged the Big Cat's forepaw.
Kuwoong—!
Cherang— jalang—!
The fragments hit the ground with the clatter of metal pipes.
Ducking the attack, I stretched out my arms to gather the fragments back up.
Kuwoong—!
The Big Cat swung another forepaw at me. Injury, perhaps? Graceful was the last word I'd use for it. Hysterical was more like it.
KWAANG—! KWAAANG—!
It stomped its forepaws in a petulant frenzy.
Gritting my teeth, I rolled and snatched up one of the fragments — then, as if it had been waiting for exactly that, the Big Cat struck, and I drove the jagged shard up into the underside of its jaw.
Gyaaaaaaah—!
The Big Cat shrieked and flipped its whole body over. In the space that bought me, I scooped up the remaining fragments.
Kirik— kikkikkikkirik—
And in that fleeting instant, I heard a wind-up sound directly overhead.
Damn it, it's going to breathe fire again?
The Big Cat's body was swelling, glowing — and then:
TAANG—!
A sharp gunshot punched a hole clean through it.
TANG—! TAANG—!
Bullets hammered into the Big Cat's body one after another. The swollen thing deflated like a punctured balloon, collapsing back in on itself.
Seizing the opening, I sprinted for the corridor.
Then something pitch-black came scrabbling along behind me.
"……!"
I flinched and whipped around — then realized what it was and let out a sigh of relief.
It was Cha Si-eon.
Judging by the soot caked all over him, he'd come within an inch of his life too.
With no time for a reunion, we ran side by side into the corridor, kept running until we'd gone deep enough, and finally stopped in the pitch-black labyrinth.
"Hoo, hahh……"
"……."
We caught our breath there first.
"The fragments?"
Cha Si-eon asked, switching on his searchlight.
I smiled and showed him the fragments threaded over both my arms — two of them, all except the one I'd rammed into the Big Cat's throat.
Seeing them, Cha Si-eon let out a long, long exhale.
"Good work……"
Guguguguk—!
He was still mid-sentence when the labyrinth around us began to warp.
What now?
The space was expanding like a rubber ball under pressure, followed by a strange popping noise.
BWOOM— BWOOM— BWOOM—
"……?"
BANG— BANG— BANG—
"……."
Without needing to coordinate, we both spun and ran for the exit.
I had no idea what the sound was. What I did know was that it was getting closer and closer to us.
PWAAANG—!
And when that explosion sounded very, very close:
KIKIKIKIK—!
Damn it, of course!
The Big Cat had returned. It was charging straight at us, smashing its way through the narrow crevices of the labyrinth with brute size and strength. The walls, made of some unidentifiable material, stretched like rubber under that mindless charge and burst open, one after another.
KIIIik—!
Wounded as it was, it hounded us with vicious persistence.
Hell, it must hate losing those fragments more than it hates dying. Fine — then I'll defend them with my life!
We tore across the heaving, buckling floor like madmen — until, ahead of us, a crack came into view.
The crack had shrunk to less than half the size it had been when we'd entered. What had been a double door was now barely a postern gate.
Which was fine by me.
There's no way that thing is fitting through there.
I whooped and squeezed through the narrow fissure. Cha Si-eon came right behind me.
Except——
"It's not stopping."
"……Evade."
"Evade WHERE?"
"First floor — the trap!"
Cha Si-eon bellowed as he sprinted for the mezzanine railing.
KWAZAZAZAZAJAK—!
In that instant, the Big Cat tore the rift in the air open even wider with its own body and burst through to the outside.
"……!"
Damn it, how long was I supposed to watch this lunacy!
Gyaaaaah—!
Directly in the Big Cat's path stood Cha Si-eon, leaning against the railing. The moment it saw him, it charged — and Cha Si-eon, as if he'd been waiting for exactly that, dove over the railing and dropped out of sight.
Watching the Big Cat chase after him, I took the stairs down to the first floor myself.
Kudangtangtang—!
With a tremendous crash, the Big Cat plummeted into the center of the lobby.
The poor creature flailed where it had fallen, pawing at the floor — but it couldn't get up, only twisting and thrashing. It could no longer even bear its own weight.
And by a truly remarkable coincidence, the spot where the Big Cat had collapsed was the exact place where we'd spent all night setting up Cha Si-eon's pile.
No — not a coincidence at all. This was Cha Si-eon's intention, pure and simple.
"Seo Do-woon!"
Yeah, I know — you don't have to call.
I went to the spot where we'd spent the night and pressed the switch.
Click— KWAAAANG—!
2. Hazard Elements
1) Exploding heart ornaments
Stepping on the trap beside the first-floor staircase detonates all bombs placed within that space simultaneously. These bombs take the form of ordinary decorative objects — paintings, vases, porcelain dolls — and can be identified by the red heart pattern stamped on their surfaces.
I lifted my head slowly.
Silence had settled over everything. No more sounds, no more movement. Only the dust kicked up by the explosion drifted mutely through the air.
Before long, even the dust settled, and the Big Cat's form came into view. Its bones snapped, it lay sprawled out as if dead.
Ha. And here I thought we'd wasted the whole night — turns out we got to use that trap after all.
Giiii—
Then, a faint whimpering reached my ears.
It was coming from the Big Cat.
No way. It's still alive?
Just as I was reeling at the thing's sheer vitality:
Jjeok—
Something cracked.
JJEEOK— jjiiik—!
The sound came from above my head, and I startled, looking around — and quickly found the source.
Like old clothes finally giving out under years of wear, the space itself was slowly tearing open.
"……!"
As I gaped at the phenomenon a second time, Cha Si-eon spoke.
"The rescue team destroyed the core."
"The rescue team did?"
Already?
Startled, I checked the time. It was 10:30 — and wait a second. My smartwatch was working again, wasn't it?
"Seo Do-woon here. Can anyone hear me?"
The moment I saw the smartwatch light up, I shouted into it. Almost simultaneously, a familiar voice came through.
*—Do-woon!*
Deputy Head of Field Operations, Yoon Woo-jeong.
*—Do-woon, are you okay?*
Yoon Woo-jeong demanded breathlessly. I turned to Cha Si-eon in surprise, then answered, beaming.
"Yes, I'm fine. And Team Leader Cha Si-eon is with me!"
*—Si-eon? Si-eon's there too?*
"Yes, he's right here. No injuries of note."
The moment Cha Si-eon answered directly, a massive roar erupted from my smartwatch — the cheers of the Situation Control Room staff.
*—Well done, you two. Thank you — both of you!*
Yoon Woo-jeong's voice cracked with emotion.
*—You've been through hell. The core's destroyed, so you'll be able to come out soon. God, you two worked so hard……!*
Something about the raw joy in Yoon Woo-jeong's voice made my own throat tighten.
But this was no time to fire the victory cannons.
Jjeok— JJAK—!
The tear in space was widening steadily. We needed to brace for the release.
Giiii—
And the Big Cat was still groaning over there. What were we going to do about it?
*—Do-woon, first time handling a release, right? Just follow the manual — all you have to do is keep Si-eon in line. Si-eon, you look after Do-woon.*
Yoon Woo-jeong said it breezily, unaware of our actual situation. That was when Cha Si-eon reported in.
"We are currently engaged with the Big Cat. The Big Cat is combat-incapacitated, with weak vital signs observed."
*—The Big Cat is there too?*
"Seo Do-woon has secured fragments of the Big Cat. And additional retrieval looks possible right now."
Of course. Cha Si-eon had his eye on the fragments all along. I understood — the more material, the better.
*—Risks?*
"Unknown. With your permission, I'd like to attempt it."
*—You little…….*
But Yoon Woo-jeong didn't readily grant it.
"There isn't much time."
Even with Cha Si-eon pressing, the answer didn't come. And when the permission still didn't arrive, Cha Si-eon added quietly:
"Section Chief Kwon Mu-seop would approve it."
*—You absolute—— hey, we already held your funeral once, you bastard! You get that, right?!*
Yoon Woo-jeong's roar cracked like lightning. But that, too, passed quickly. She drew a long, deep breath — and finally, irritably, gave ground.
*—If I hear one more word about you dying right after you reported in alive, I will personally tear you apart. Go get those fragments!*
"Thank you."
"……."
Yeah. Team Leader Cha really is a psychopath pretending to follow the manual.
Having thoroughly churned Yoon Woo-jeong's stomach, Cha Si-eon turned away, entirely unbothered — and then approached the Big Cat, which was still twitching in intermittent spasms.
Giiii—
I watched his every move, tension mounting in sympathy. Please, please don't let this end with him overreaching and paying for it.
Apparently unwilling to be torn apart by Yoon Woo-jeong either, Cha Si-eon took careful, measured steps.
That was when it happened.
JJIIK— JJIIIK—!
A corner of space ripped violently open, and something leapt down through the gap.
"……!"
A face I knew all too well.
It was Alpha.
Damn it, you AGAIN?
We both gritted our teeth at the sight of Alpha dropping down onto the Big Cat — and just as Cha Si-eon lunged to keep it from getting the first move:
Wooduk—!
Something unthinkable happened.
Alpha snapped the Big Cat's neck.
What? Why would it turn on its own——
Ppadeudeuk—!
Alpha wrenched the Big Cat's mask, twisting its head clean off. In that instant, a jet of dark crimson liquid burst from beneath its jaw.
One of the Big Cat's weapons — Sticky Blood.
CHWAAAAK—!
"Fall back!"
Cha Si-eon shouted, stumbling backward the instant he saw the blood come flooding out.
That Sticky Blood was a substance similar to Corrosive Blood — the mere touch of it dissolved everything.
But then — what the hell?
Alpha was no exception. Its forearm had begun to melt away in ribbons. And the Big Cat's body was dissolving along with it.
Was this its way of preventing us from retrieving the fragments? Even at the cost of erasing its own body?
And then—
Alpha, ignoring its own flesh sloughing away, drove itself deeper into the Big Cat's body — and from inside, yanked something free.
I recoiled, certain it was pulling out intestines.
But it wasn't.
What Alpha had drawn out was no heart or gut of that monster.
Something slender and delicate, draped over Alpha's shoulder. The silhouette of a woman, almost——?
In the very instant I doubted my own eyes, the space collapsed.
And we were released to the outside.