Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Nightmares of the Past
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With the system's notification, I opened my hazy eyes.
A churning shadow-like black mist had completely enveloped the campsite.
It was the true form of the C-rank monster called "Nightmare."
It had no physical attack power at all, but it was a non-physical type that forcibly put its targets to sleep and made them have nightmares.
Usually, it stayed in one corner of the dungeon like an earthbound spirit, guarding its territory without moving much.
But every group has its mutants.
And the one that had covered our campsite today was exactly that kind.
Even though it was only C-rank, Nightmare was one of the monsters hunters avoided the most.
Because it attacked by turning the target's darkest and most horrific memories into nightmares.
In other words, the greater the trauma, the more damage you took.
Ironically, that meant hunters who frequented dangerous dungeons were more vulnerable to Nightmare's attacks than ordinary people.
"Hnggh."
A stifled sob came from the tent where the Magma Guild members had gone in.
The filming crew, who had set up a bit further away, were just as deeply asleep.
Their cameras had rolled off onto the ground as they passed out cold.
It was a relief for me since there'd be no footage of the "crime scene"—or whatever you wanted to call it.
"Everyone, you just have to tough it out a little longer and wake up."
There were three ways to escape a Nightmare's attack.
Kill the Nightmare, have someone wake you up, or overcome the nightmare on your own.
But as I listened to the pained groans of the people, I didn't attack the Nightmare that was writhing even more gleefully because of it.
I simply turned around to wake up Na Baek-ho.
But then.
"Whine."
"What? Na Baek-ho, you're okay?"
"Whine!"
It was easy to guess what nightmare Na Baek-ho would fall into from the Nightmare's attack.
'Happy House.'
The place where he suffered from starvation, was forced to fight because of people's filthy greed, and had to watch other puppies die right in front of him.
Baek-ho would be dragged back to that hellish place.
But before I could even intervene, Na Baek-ho had already overcome the dream and woken up on his own.
"How?"
At my question, Baek-ho got up from his spot and trotted over to me.
Then he rubbed his head against my leg.
"Because of me?"
"Woof!"
"I... appeared in your dream?"
"Woof!"
Baek-ho was smiling.
The guy who had gone through such a horrific ordeal was smiling like this right now.
"...Let's go. We'll finish this quick and head home—I'll give you lots of treats."
"Kyau!"
The excited Baek-ho wagged his butt buoyantly and took the lead.
I took one last look at Baek Young and Kang Han, who were leaning against a rock and lost in sleep from the Nightmare, before turning and walking away.
"Aaaah!"
"Monster! Run away!"
"H-Help! Somebody save me!"
Kang Han stood in the middle of Seoul.
It was that exact street on the day the fifth dungeon break had occurred.
"Why am I here...?"
Kang Han muttered.
His mind was foggy, like it was shrouded in mist.
He definitely felt like he had been in the middle of something important.
The moment he tried to recall, thinking that.
Grip!
Someone yanked Kang Han's hand.
"P-Please save me. Please... just save me, I beg you."
A man covered in dust, bleeding from wounds all over his body, pleaded desperately.
The military uniform Kang Han was wearing quickly stained red.
"Y-You're a soldier, right? Could you please... lift this off my leg...?"
The man spoke as if terrified that Kang Han might abandon him and leave.
"Just hold on a moment."
Kang Han approached the massive concrete slab pinning the man's leg.
It had fallen from a building smashed by rampaging monsters.
"Hup!"
He gritted his teeth.
He was a soldier, but as a non-awakener, it was absurdly heavy for him.
But Kang Han didn't give up.
He didn't care that his callused bare hands were scraping raw, that his uniform tore as he shoved his shoulder under the rock to lift it.
All the while, monster roars and human screams echoed endlessly around him, but Kang Han focused solely on saving this one man.
Only after struggling for a long time did the man finally crawl out from under the concrete chunk.
His leg was already crushed and broken beyond walking, but the man was overjoyed just to be free from the fear of death.
"Kyaaah—!"
A woman's scream rang out nearby.
Kang Han supported the man to a relatively safe spot and immediately ran toward the scream.
It was only after several hours later that he finally stopped to catch his breath.
"Do you know what's going on here?"
As he tied off the bleeding wound on his arm, Kang Han asked the middle-aged woman he had just saved.
"It's a dungeon break! The Justice Guild failed the raid!"
"What did you just say...?"
"It's all because of the Justice Guild! Oh man, why did they have to get so greedy!"
Kang Han pulled out his trembling phone and searched.
And despaired.
The phone slipped from his blood-soaked hand.
'Justice Guild raid party all deceased.'
'Hunter Kang Young-won deceased.'
Deceased. Deceased. Deceased.
Kang Han's knees buckled.
"What are all these dead people supposed to do now! If the Justice Guild hadn't been so greedy, all these people would still be alive...! What do we do, what do we do!"
The middle-aged woman pounded the ground as she wailed.
Every word felt like a dagger stabbing into Kang Han's chest.
Kang Han swallowed his ragged breaths and looked around.
Every building in his sight was collapsing.
Mangled corpses littered the area.
"It's all because of the Justice Guild, all because of them..."
Having no strength left even to cry, the woman repeated the words with hollow eyes.
Kang Han straightened his staggering body.
If all this really was because of the Justice Guild.
Because of his mother.
'I have to save at least one more person.'
That was his only thought.
The moment Kang Han turned to move.
"Oh dear, soldier boy. Don't go anywhere—can't you stay by my side? It's so scary..."
Krunch!
In an instant, the middle-aged woman's head was torn clean off.
Splatter—!
Hot blood drenched Kang Han's entire body.
"Kek, kek, khekh!"
At the grotesque sound, Kang Han slowly raised his head.
Through his blood-red vision, he saw a massive monster.
Its bumpy, scale-covered body was already red with the blood of who-knew-how-many victims.
And in its hand dangled the head of the woman who had just moments ago been whining to him about being scared—her face frozen in that exact expression.
"Kek."
The monster let out a phlegmy cry as it raised its other hand toward Kang Han.
Kang Han was powerless.
No gun, no weapon.
No way to resist the approaching death.
He could only stare up at the monster's raised hand aimed at him.
But then.
"M-Mommy! Waaah!"
The monster froze.
Spotting the child, it turned its head, stretched its mouth wide, and grinned creepily.
"N-No...!"
Kang Han forced his rigid body to move.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The monster charged toward the crying child.
Kang Han chased after it.
And threw himself toward the child.
He hugged the small body that fell into his arms and rolled across the ground.
Kraaash!
The monster's claws scraped the ground right by his ear.
Glass shards scattered on the floor stabbed into his body, making his mind go hazy, but Kang Han clutched the child even tighter.
"Waaah!"
Frightened, the child wailed even louder.
Kang Han placed the child behind his back and faced the monster.
Gripping a single piece of broken rebar in one hand.
And in that moment, a bizarre sensation like electricity coursing through his entire body washed over him, and his vision filled with strange text.