Faster Than Expected?
Yi Suk-young wrapped Kang Moo-hyuk in her armor coat. Flames erupted from behind her back in a massive explosion. Debris from the collapsing building flew in all directions. Clutching him tight, she rolled her body to escape the blast radius.
Once clear of the danger, she looked up at the sky and bellowed.
"Why the hell is a Bomb Spore Flower here?!"
Spore Flower or Bomb Flower. Full name: Bomb Spore Flower.
It was a monster that floated like a balloon, scattering explosive seeds in every direction.
At that moment, the spore seeds drifted outward like dandelion fluff carried on the wind.
When the parachute-like fluff on each seed ran out of lift, they plummeted straight down.
The seed's outer shell burst open, combining with the snowflake-like pollen already scattered nearby to widen the explosion radius.
It was a defensive mechanism to eliminate predators that targeted the seeds at their most vulnerable moment.
"Thanks to you, we survived."
"Survived? The real problem starts now, ya know. They're blowin' up everywhere!"
The guild hall's roof had been half-blown off. Screams and shouts echoed from inside the building. Hunters burst out through shattered windows and crumbling walls. Trailing behind them were small, stubby creatures hurling themselves forward.
"That's... the inner seeds!"
Yi Suk-young tossed Kang Moo-hyuk into the passenger seat of the SUV she'd brought like he was luggage. Then she vaulted onto the hood, slid across, and dropped into the driver's seat on the other side.
At the same moment, another explosion rocked nearby. The car shook violently from side to side.
Ignoring it, Yi Suk-young gripped the wheel and turned the key.
"To the county office!"
No sooner had Kang Moo-hyuk shouted than she floored the accelerator. Tires screeched and spun in the smoke, kicking up dirt that enveloped the vehicle. The car lurched forward just as their previous spot erupted in flames.
"Ahead!"
A pit had opened where Kang Moo-hyuk pointed, and one of those inner seeds Yi Suk-young had named was crawling out.
It looked like a walking flower, a plant-type monster only about 50 cm tall.
Once it found a host to parasitize, it grew rapidly into an adult. Then it took to the skies to spread its seeds.
If not dealt with quickly, it could turn a small city into a warzone.
"Take this!"
Before Kang Moo-hyuk could even yell, Yi Suk-young stomped harder on the pedal. The freshly emerged inner seed slammed into the front bumper, letting out a bizarre screech as it got sucked under the wheels. The car jolted up and down with a thud. A glance in the rearview showed it mangled and tumbling.
"No answer. Looks like they're under attack too."
Kang Moo-hyuk, who'd been trying to reach No Song-rin, slipped his smartphone back into his pocket. He regretted that Yi Suk-young lacked a messaging skill.
He opened the sunroof's interior shade. Seeds floated across the sky.
"Those little bastards were hard to spot, but thanks for pointin' 'em out."
Yi Suk-young alternated glances between the road ahead and above, plotting her path. With her hunter instincts, she dodged the falling seeds now that visibility was clear.
She avoided the blasts, but couldn't shake the inner seeds' assaults. Ones charging from the sides latched onto the vehicle.
She overreacted, swerving left and right to shake off the ones climbing the roof.
Kang Moo-hyuk grabbed the handle to steady himself and shouted.
"Leave 'em be! They can't get inside the car anyway!"
"Huh?"
"They're aggressive toward living things, but their attack power against inorganic stuff is ridiculously low! They can't pierce glass, concrete, or even plywood."
The Bomb Spore Flower was a monster even she, a hunter, rarely saw—only occasionally in the Makyung. She'd endured its explosions before, but hearing that inner seeds were weak against inorganic materials was news to her.
Not surprising, since there were no buildings or vehicles inside the Makyung.
A proper hunter education might cover it, but few from the North had access to formal curricula. Most honed their skills through connections, training, and raw combat.
Yi Suk-young couldn't believe a monster that couldn't break glass existed and pressed him.
"How d'ya know that?"
"Saw 'em enough during the Mini-War to grind my teeth to dust."
Kang Moo-hyuk knew the Bomb Spore Flower well—not just from reports.
Sixteen years ago, the Mini-War.
The day the world called the "Gate Hole" incident, he'd lost his mother.
Separated from his family in the panicked crowds, the nightmare of seed bombs raining from the sky remained vivid. He'd witnessed inner seeds swarming people up close too.
Recalling that time, Kang Moo-hyuk glared at the inner seeds clinging to the car.
"Hurry to the county office. Saving people comes before killing these things."
* * *
The county office was in just as much chaos.
No Song-rin thought war had broken out from the sudden artillery falling from the sky.
He figured the Chinese had gone mad and brought weapons, but spotting the countless fluffy seeds floating overhead clued him in.
"Of all the filthy bastards to get tangled with."
Recognizing the culprit as Bomb Spore Flowers, he immediately herded people inside the building. As a hunter who'd survived the Mini-War—back when he was a rookie—the thing that pissed him off most about those monsters was...
"Everyone inside the building! Hey, Hyeon! Cover the rooftop! If holes get punched in, those seed shits'll make it a headache!"
The inner seed wave.
Boom!
No sooner had he spoken than one corner of the roof exploded.
Hyeon Jeong-geon clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Already punched through?"
"Evacuate from the fifth floor and seal it off! Hey, you two."
"Yes, sir!"
"Me?"
Choi Mi-ran and Kim Seong-hyeon, who'd just evacuated into the county office, got grabbed by No Song-rin.
"Help Hyeon up top. No more holes! Kill every inner seed you see!"
Inner seeds were crawling out from explosion craters across the chaotic county office parking lot.
"What're you doing?! Get outta here!"
Hwang Dong-soo slashed at inner seeds emerging from blast pits with his greatsword. He held the rear until nearby people safely reached the building, but he couldn't block every one dropping from all sides.
"Wish that telekinetic girl was here right now."
No Song-rin regretted the absence of Go Eul-ji with her telekinesis.
Melee types like him could only hack and block up close. Magic or esper hunters could snag seeds mid-fall. Efficiency-wise, it made a huge difference—power aside.
"At least it's cold out. Windows are all shut."
Inner seeds charging at people reflected in the windows grew furious at missing hosts and turned on the hunters. Some trailed after people opening doors to enter.
No Song-rin and Hwang Dong-soo guarded the entrance until everyone evacuated.
"But what about the Leader? Shouldn't we go rescue him?"
"That guy's not dyin' here! With that North Korean woman along, he'll be fine."
As he finished speaking, a roar echoed, and a car came screeching in, laying down skid marks on the road.
"See? Handlin' it himself."
The vehicle plowed through the pile of inner seeds at the entrance. Brakes too late, it rammed the doors and spun in a drift, side exposed.
Hwang Dong-soo slammed his greatsword into the ground and charged the car. Mana surged through his muscles, enhancing his body and strength.
He took the car's side with his chest, shoving it back with both hands. The door crumpled. The vehicle, seconds from crashing, halted after a few steps.
"Yi Suk-young Hunter. Cover us!"
"Leave it to me!"
At Kang Moo-hyuk's order, Yi Suk-young leaped from the driver's seat and subdued the inner seeds swarming in.
Hwang Dong-soo ripped off the jammed, crumpled door.
"Glad you're safe, Leader."
"You handled things well here too."
"That spy's pretty capable."
"Call me a spy, not some damn infiltrator! What kinda word is that?"
No Song-rin grumbled as he cleaved inner seeds.
Kang Moo-hyuk nodded in approval of his efforts and stepped inside the county office.
"Let's head in. Secure the doors tight."
As he entered, the other hunters followed, dispatching inner seeds.
Hwang Dong-soo shut the last door. No Song-rin dropped the shutters for good measure.
Kang Moo-hyuk surveyed the county office lobby. People who'd come for business and gotten ambushed by monsters unawares stood dazed. Some were even having panic attacks.
He had Yi Suk-young knock out the hysterics, then pointed to one sprawled on the floor among the evacuees.
"You're a civil servant, right?"
The man nodded at the ID badge around his neck.
"Y-yes... that's right, but..."
"Where's Safety Measures? You have the system for local emergency alerts, right? The kind local governments can send just in case."
"Yes. Probably in the second-floor situation room."
"Come with us. Send out texts with countermeasures for these monsters. Hwang Dong-soo Hunter, guard this place just in case."
"Got it, Leader."
As they hurried up the stairs, Yi Suk-young caught up and asked.
"But why tell civilians about these things? They ain't huntin' mobs. Just tell 'em to run, right?"
"Can't let 'em out of the buildings. Always those types—head out 'to escape' and get nabbed. Lots died that way in the Mini-War."
No Song-rin answered for him. Kang Moo-hyuk added.
"Right. Best move now is stay indoors. Without solid info, people panic, distrust the system, and head out to 'check' on their own. Tons died like that before."
The hall to the Safety Measures situation room overflowed with panicked folk. A few sane civil servants were calming them and closing window curtains.
Kang Moo-hyuk muttered, surprised by the proper response.
"Front lines, maybe? Good handling of the inner seeds. Drawing curtains to hide too."
"Sent guildmates earlier. Hyeon's there, so probably givin' orders."
"Hyeon Jeong-geon Hunter?"
"Rooftop got breached. Had to evac fifth floor, seal it, block more bombs."
"Thanks to you, No Song-rin Hunter, this place held. We can form a response team here."
In the situation room, civil servants were already sending disaster texts and notifying Da Hong Dan County while contacting the central government.
"Over there."
The guiding civil servant pointed to a corner computer.
Kang Moo-hyuk shoved aside the one sending texts and took the seat.
"Wh-who are you?"
"We're the experts here. Just sit tight."
No Song-rin gently nudged back the protesting civil servant, who stumbled and fell on his ass despite the light push—realizing he faced hunters.
"Hunters?"
"Yeah. That's our guild leader. Place is a mess, so we're takin' over till the danger passes."
It was a lawless takeover ignoring procedures, but in chaos like this, sometimes necessary.
No Song-rin, veteran of every mess imaginable, knew it well and shut down objections with a show of strength. His grim face helped.
"Evac alerts and countermeasure texts sent. Now contact local hunters..."
"Takin' out inner seeds first, but guild hall's wrecked—dunno if they can muster. Sudden hit, casualties unknown. Better call Defense Force contractors."
Kang Moo-hyuk shook his head at Yi Suk-young's suggestion.
"Defense Force won't move."
"Huh?"
"Monster air raid means the Tumen River line's at risk. They'll reinforce the front to hold it."
"Then nearby cities for backup..."
"No time."
"No time?"
"When inner seeds run out of hosts..."
Grrrrroooowl!
An ominous howl echoed from somewhere.
Kang Moo-hyuk and No Song-rin bolted to the situation room window simultaneously, yanking back the curtain.
"This is... faster than expected?"
No Song-rin sighed at Kang Moo-hyuk's words.
"Damn brats can't wait when hungry. The mothers are movin'."