The Binder's Song (1)
Buooooaaang—! Crunch! The spiders blanketing the car windows were flung backward by inertia. Seo-ha wrenched the steering wheel hard, shoving the car into a narrow alley. The ones clinging to the glass were crushed, splattering purple fluids everywhere.
"Sang-woo! Hold on tight!"
With her shout, the car tilted sharply. Tires screeched around the alley corner, belching smoke. The spiders on the side slammed into the residential walls like falling leaves. The sleek black paint job was scarred and gouged by their legs and shells, a pitiful sight.
Shh-shh! Scratch-scratch!
But the bastards were persistent. From rooftops. From telephone poles. From shattered windows—spiders rained down like a storm. Seo-ha didn't even glance at the rearview, just worked the gears.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
She snapped the wheel the other way, pulling off a drift. The car's rear whipped around like a massive flail, smashing the cluster of spiders on the tail. Boom—!
The impact sent a nauseating vibration through the cabin, but her driving didn't falter. She plowed through market stalls in the ruined alley, barreled over trash piles, pressing forward. Engine heat, burning rubber, and the fishy reek of pulverized monster filled the air.
"Ah, shit—dead end."
Without a second thought, she slammed it into reverse and floored it. Twisting halfway around, arm over the passenger seat, she glared back at the path behind. The car slid backward through the narrow alley at high speed—impossibly precise control for reverse. With a bit of breathing room, she spun the car around and drove forward again.
Finally, she spotted the entrance to a half-collapsed villa's underground parking and yanked the wheel. Screeech—! Tires screamed against concrete as the car barely slid into the darkness.
Sure, she was the hungover senior who'd dozed off on night watch with me. But her driving? Top-class.
Thanks to her skills, we shook the spiders and hid in this nearby villa lot for a breather. Even after the engine cut, the chassis radiated heat like a living thing. The once-smooth paint was slimed with spider ichor, turned bug-shell matte. Luminus Entertainment's insurance guy would probably foam at the mouth on the spot. A multimillion-won sedan turning into scrap in some rundown old-town parking garage.
"...Play the dashcam at my funeral."
Aigoo, what a lucky life.
"If we even get a funeral... Ah, they'd probably call it an act of God and short the payout anyway."
"Insurance is insurance... but we're alive, right...?"
Adrenaline crashed, leaving us drained. Luckily, we'd both dealt with monsters long enough—directly or not—to avoid full panic.
"For now. Doesn't look like the spiders followed us here."
"Comms still down... What do we do?"
"Half of Seoul District D's probably the same. Options..."
We pondered hard.
"Ah, Senior. Got a good idea—wanna hear it?"
"Good idea?"
I got out and popped the trunk instead of answering.
"Bingo!"
Equipment that suppresses natural human energy emissions, reducing monster detection.
"Senior, it's this: we either both die here, or we gamble."
"Gamble...? What're you getting at?"
"You take the car and head back out. Make noise, draw the spiders' eyes. With your skills, you can shake 'em."
"And...?"
"Meanwhile, slip out of the district to high ground where comms work. Call the Association for backup."
Her face went pale.
"Then... you're staying? Alone?"
"I'll suit up and head to where Cherry Dream's signal cut out. She's our only hope till reinforcements arrive."
Her eyes wavered.
"Hate to say it, but Sang-woo, are you an idiot?"
Firm tone.
"Sang-woo. This isn't an action flick."
I paused. Faint light filtered through the parking entrance. Dust motes danced in it, and distant metal scraping echoed—from the shadows near the entrance.
Spiders. Not close yet, but definitely there.
I looked back at her.
"We have to."
Silence. She rubbed her face with both hands.
"...Then come with me."
"Only one suit. And I'm the one who should go. I can't drive like you."
"Argh... damn it."
She muttered like she was swallowing a curse.
"...Why's it always just one of these?"
She thought a moment, then opened the driver's door. Click.
"Fine."
She climbed back in.
"Let's do it. But."
Hand on the start button, she glared.
"If this fails, I'll kill you myself."
"Kill me all you want if I make it back."
She barked a hollow laugh.
"Ha, yeah! We survive, no matter what."
Vroom. Engine roared back to life. She gripped the wheel tight.
"Sang-woo."
"Yeah."
"Live. Let's go eat after."
"Pasta this time."
She burst out laughing at my joke.
And—
Buooooaaang—!
Engine bellowed as the car shot out the entrance. The instant it hit open air—
Shaaaa!
Black clumps poured from above. Spiders. Dozens chased after.
"Ahahaha! Catch me if you can, you dumb spiders!"
She flashed a thumbs-up my way and sped off.
Buooooaaang—! The roar faded into the distance.
Parking lot went quiet again. I stood there till the engine vanished completely.
Then slowly looked up.
Calming pill, calming pill, calming pill...
Who knew? It even worked like herbal meds.
I picked up the silver-gray blocking suit from the floor. Full-body sealed suit, like radiation gear. Cold to the touch. Rubber-soft outside, but packed with fine mana-blocking film inside.
Monster deception gear. I'd worn it a few times as an Association investigator, but never solo like this.
"Hoo..."
Deep breath. Zipped it up. Ziiiip—the seal cut off outside air completely. Helmet on, and my own sounds amplified: breathing, heartbeat.
I stepped slowly out of the parking lot.
The street-filling spiders had mostly chased Senior. Only one left, on a half-broken streetlamp above, twitching aimlessly. Its compound eyes scanned empty air. Purple drool from its fangs splashed past my shoulder, hissing smoke on the ground.
But no biotic mana, no energy trace from me. Just an inorganic lump—not worth bothering.
Still, no sudden moves or getting too close. Hope this pricey gear earned its keep.
Can't claim insurance if you're dead.
The spider lost interest, vanishing silently into shadow. I pulled out my tablet.
Cherry Dream's last signal: gray dot at the abandoned factory's old smokestack, looming like a gravestone.
That's where it started.
The closer to the factory, the weirder the landscape twisted. Sticky webs wove between buildings like giant veins, cocoons dangling like grotesque fruit. Fresh ones, by the look.
Finally, the factory's massive iron door loomed. Trembling hand on the handle. Rusty hinges screamed as it creaked open, revealing the interior.
Cleaner than expected inside?
Unexpected. Layers of webs everywhere, but otherwise a normal abandoned factory.
Deeper in, the floor gaped like a sinkhole. Residual traces from Cherry Dream. Meant she'd fought hard enough to crater the ground.
Her signal cut right in the hole's center.
She was down there.
Grabbed a portable winch from upstairs...
Time to descend.
Air grew stickier the lower I went. About 30 meters down, my feet hit solid ground. Crackle. Monster shell shards crunched unpleasantly underfoot.
Looked up—and beheld something overwhelming.
This underground drainage—now a monster nest. Ceiling and walls papered in off-white webs. At the center, twin massive cocoons, big enough for three people each.
One was torn open from inside, ragged and ruined.