When Dawn Breaks (2)
“Everyone, fall back.”
In the blazing inferno of the battlefield.
Yuseolhwa's twin swords cleaved through the giant doll again and again.
Legs torn off, arms severed, neck split open—yet the giant doll regenerated every time.
Screams echoed everywhere. Glancing back, another guild member lay dead.
No matter how fiercely Yuseolhwa pinned down the giant doll.
Erosion-maddened guild members turned on their allies, while the witch doll unleashed a barrage of spells from afar.
“Ha…”
Yuseolhwa's instincts screamed it: That thing isn't Grade 4.
The erosion it spewed, the sheer combat power.
Grade 1. Maybe higher.
No clue why the Management Bureau botched the assessment.
But it didn't matter now.
She had to hold out.
At least with Dawn's current strength, there was no way to take those dolls down.
“Sorry…” “Guild master, save yourself!” “Put me down, you bastard…”
She'd rather die herself if it meant letting her guild members escape.
But the witch doll's barrier walled off their retreat. She threw her body in harm's way to shield them, yet she couldn't deflect every attack raining down.
My fault.
The last mermaid doll failure had shaken the guild to its core.
Her incompetence had dragged them into hell again.
“Hold on just a little longer, everyone. Reinforcements from the Bureau are coming.”
Against Yuseolhwa's desperate hope, her guild members crumbled to ash or were devoured one by one.
The dolls knew. Who was weak. Who was strong.
Maybe that's why the screams started fading.
In that instant, a shadow wearing a guild member's face lunged at Yuseolhwa. Eyes vacant, obeying the dolls' command.
All my fault.
If she hadn't boasted they'd reclaim Dawn's glory with this subjugation.
If she'd accepted reality and let them fade into an ordinary guild.
That shadow slashing at her would be living a normal life, not this nightmare.
“Sorry.”
Yuseolhwa's twin swords danced endlessly, over and over.
Not a single living guild member left.
At least she'd take the dolls down with her.
Bang—
How long had she held out? A gunshot cracked from somewhere.
The barrier wall crumbled.
A presence appeared at Yuseolhwa's side.
Finally here.
But too late.
All she'd protected was a mountain of corpses not yet turned to shadows.
“Management Bureau, Kim Doa.”
Kim Doa stared at the scene in shock. “You… you held out alone against that?”
Yuseolhwa had endured this erosion-choked hell on sheer will to kill the dolls.
“…Gotta… kill those bastards.”
“Retreat first. Your wounds are too severe.”
“I can do it, I can…”
Ignoring Kim Doa's pleas, Yuseolhwa charged the giant doll once more, twin swords raised.
Bang—
A bullet pierced Yuseolhwa's leg.
Paralysis round.
Strength ebbed from her body.
“……”
Yuseolhwa shot Kim Doa a look of pure resentment.
“Too many shadows. Can't push the subjugation further.”
Kim Doa scooped up the fallen Yuseolhwa and pulled back.
“…Have to kill them. Those things.”
Those words, wrung from her throat—that was Yuseolhwa's last memory.
“So two dolls show up. One regenerates no matter how much you hack it, the other snipes from range?”
Yuseolhwa nodded at my summary.
“That's a new pattern.”
Dolls usually fought solo. At most summoning shadows.
But the 'Cookie Siblings' Dawn faced? Had to handle both at once.
“Tried the ranged one first?”
“Impossible. The witch never let me close. Ranged attacks? Deflected with magic.”
“Couldn't touch it at all?”
“Not unless I fully neutralized the giant first. That's my judgment.”
With that, she cracked open a tomato juice and chugged it.
Damn. No wonder she held out in that chaos—pure grit.
“Sounds invincible though. Any counters?”
I cracked the orange juice she'd given me.
Endless regen on one side. Untouchable sniper on the other.
Game devs would get flamed for that boss design.
“No idea. I was too busy blocking.”
“Guess I'll have to see it myself.”
Dolls always had flaws. Mermaid? Locked in place once fight started. Wooden doll? Constant weapon swaps left openings.
Something like that. This pair would too.
That aside.
“That really Grade 4?”
No way. Even in my head, the math didn't add up. Compared to other Grade 4s I knew, way too brutal.
“…Looks like the Bureau screwed up the rating.”
She said it casually.
“Then why not call it out in your statement? Doesn't seem like you should shoulder it all.”
Guild wiped, sure. But she held out against a misrated high-grader till Bureau arrived.
Master's duty, yeah—but not all her fault.
“I'm the one who sits in the seat of responsibility.”
Bitter smile crossed her face at my words.
“Bureau mistake or not, I chose it. I was too weak. That's the result.”
“No, come on…”
Too harsh.
She kept locking herself in guilt prison.
I got it, but this was self-torture.
Not even Gwangwon with Seoyeon could've soloed that easy.
“You're a sentimental one.”
“What're you on about?”
Didn't see myself that way.
Righteous acts? Plenty. But not 'cause I'm nice. Magical girl duty. No choice.
“Or is that just what magical girls are?”
“Probably.”
“Doesn't seem that way to me. But if you say so.”
She hid her mouth behind the juice bottle. Lips twitched up just a bit.
Perked her up some? Good enough.
“Time to head out.”
I stretched.
Side-eyed Yuseolhwa.
“Hypothetical: you and me versus those dolls. What're our odds?”
She pondered deeply.
“…Hard to say.”
Hesitation. The guilt screaming to subjugate now. Endless self-flagellation.
All in her eyes.
“Got it.”
Estimate locked in. A pain, but doable.
I stood, opened the hospital door.
Glanced back at her, still slumped in a daze.
“What? Grab your weapon. Gotta avenge your guild, right?”
She froze. Brief silence. Then, for the first time today, her expression softened.
“Let's go, Keter.”
“Yes, miss.”
Deep in the erosion zone.
First time back since subjugating with Banwol.
Buildings melted into black-red sludge, heterostones jutting everywhere.
“Never seen anyone vault an erosion gate like that.”
Yuseolhwa marveled at my flashy wall-run.
No helping it.
Front gate? Kim Doa'd get pinged.
Better delay the scolding.
“Bureau's fault for half-assing security anyway, right?”
Danger zone and all. Last time, busted CCTV left 'em blind.
“Normal folks don't think 'fly in from above' for erosion zones.”
“Huh.”
“Unless they're suicidal. Even for pricey heterostones, who sneaks into madness-space uninvited?”
Just me, probably.
Forums said miners followed protocols—matched levels, gates peeked first by erosion grade.
“I'm confident, though.”
I clenched my gauntlets.
About time for a proper hand-to-hand.
“…I'm curious too. An ancient hero's power.”
“Just don't get in my way.”
“I'll try.”
Deeper in, the cloying unease thickened around us.
“We're close.”
A grotesque stench wafted from ahead. Blood mixed with sickly sweet—like cookies.
“Miss, that's…”
Keter pointed: a massive house. Made of candy. Smeared in gore.
“…What the hell?”
“First for me too.”
You shouldn't be first at anything.
Screeeeech—
Earsplitting wail as the door flew open.
Shadows poured out.
I thrust my gauntleted fist forward.
BOOM—shockwave ripped through, shredding the horde.
“Alright. Let's do this.”