Sawon hadn’t been given any special dispatch order. But he had a reason he absolutely had to go.“— You’re saying it’s the same as back then? You mean the mutated fissure?”At Ji Hayeon’s question, Sawon answered as he pulled on his combat uniform.“— Yeah. The one we saw at the burger place.”Even while talking, Sawon didn’t stop getting dressed and ready to head out. Ji blocked him at the front door.“— How would you know that.”“— Back during the spar earlier…”“Kkii.”Just as Sawon was about to continue, Nine jumped into his arms. Then he climbed up Sawon’s shoulder and hung off his head, wildly covering Sawon’s eyes and mouth with his hands and feet.“— Nine. Get off for a second.”“Kki!”“— Fine!”Sawon pried Nine off.The traits of a mutated fissure could be summed up in three points. First, the Metena waves coming from the fissure itself were at 0. Second, even so, Sawon had sensed a strange wave at the moment it turned into a Heukgu. Third, at the spot where the fissure had opened, there had been Metena that reacted to Ji Hayeon’s power.And they had gone to the same coordinates in Hinari and harvested those mysterious leaves.Ji pressed him.“— I asked how you know. That this is the same Heukgu as back then.”“— I just feel like I can tell, on instinct.”During the spar, Sawon had felt the exact same wave as at the burger place. Lowering Nine back into his arms, he stared straight into his black eyes.“Kkii.”Back then too, Nine had been poking at the air. Strictly speaking, he’d given them a signal right before it evolved into a mutated Heukgu.Nine can sense those mutation waves.Maybe what he himself felt was also because his Metena was connected to Nine. No, the odds of that were high.But Nine was pressing him not to reveal the truth that the two of them could detect it in advance. Strangely, he still hadn’t given a reason why.“— Anyway, I’m heading out. Chief, you stay here and wait.”“— I’m coming with you.”“— It’s dangerous.”“— If that really is a mutated Heukgu, I’ve got something I need to check too. I’ll keep a safe distance.”Sawon hesitated for a moment, then nodded. It was only the formation process of a mutated fissure that went off script; the sealing process didn’t. Keeping Ji Hayeon safe on-site wasn’t that hard for Sawon.By the time they reached the main entrance on the first floor, people were moving like a drill.“— Non-Awakened may be in danger, so please evacuate to the basement! Department heads, put up defensive barriers over your department windows!”Under the security staff’s control, the employees bustled around. Passing through them, they headed outside. There, hanging in the air one meter above the exact center of the intersection in the distance, was a black oval.Deaters were coming out of it, one or two at a time.When it opens that close…… there’s no way you wouldn’t notice.Ji immediately turned on the wave detector he’d brought.Beep beep beep.[gate W-G : 0dpon']“— …It’s the same.”They could measure the waves of Deaters and hunters, but the Heukgu’s waves showed a value of 0. No matter the distance, that shouldn’t be possible. Sawon patted Ji’s shoulder.“— I’ll go check it out and come back. You stay here.”Then he mimed drawing a line on the ground.“— This is the safe distance.”***Leaving Ji behind, Sawon charged toward the Heukgu. The entrance of the Central Hunter Bureau building was far safer than anywhere else. If things went sideways, the staff would throw up a barrier right away.The intersection was crammed with stopped cars under control. Some people who hadn’t managed to evacuate had abandoned their cars where they were. Because of that, some cars had been stomped and crushed by Deaters here and there.“— Evacuate! Leave the car and run!”Even so, a few drivers parked further away were still clinging to their steering wheels, trying to save their cars.Sawon pulled his mask up and yanked his hood over his head. He still hadn’t received a dispatch order. If people found out he’d intervened, it was going to be a hassle in a lot of ways. He looked down at his own wrist.“— Nine. Don’t come out today until I say you can.”His wrist guard vibrated violently.“— I told you, I’m sneaking out here. If I get caught again, Director Kwon’s going to chew me out.”Brrrrr.The vibration grew even stronger. Sawon tapped the guard lightly.“— I’ll order you a new squeaky toy later to make up for it.”Finally, the vibration stopped. Sawon smiled at Nine’s simple reaction. Then he drew the longsword from his waist and sprinted toward /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ where the Deaters were pouring out.One Deater bounded over cars one after another, heading for a car further away. There was only one reason a Deater would charge that far out. To eat a human.Sure enough, there was a man frantically trying to turn his car around. Just as he had barely managed to force a U-turn through a gap in the gridlocked road—Thud!The Deater landed on the roof of the car.Screeeeech!Letting out a roar, the thing tore into the top of the car.“— Aaagh! Somebody help!”Whoosh!The sword Sawon threw flew like a shuriken. The blade pierced straight through the Deater’s left chest. The thing screamed even louder, as if enraged. A huge hand reached in to grab the human in the driver’s seat.Wham!Sawon lightly leaped in and kicked the sword’s hilt. The Deater flew back and slammed into the wall of a building in the distance. Sawon’s sword stayed stuck in the wall.Thud!Standing on the crumpled hood, Sawon clicked his tongue as he looked at the cowering driver.“— You got two lives or something, sir.”The driver lifted his head and checked the Deater far away. Then the man opened his car door and got out.“— My car! Do you know how much this thing cost!”“— If you die, are you planning to tow it along to your grave?”Beep, beep! A whistle blew. A security guard was gesturing from the entrance of a nearby building.“— Evacuate over there.”The man glared at Sawon with shaking eyes.“— Y-you should’ve t-taken care of it before the Deater got here! You dragged your feet on purpose, didn’t you!”Sawon just stared down at the man.“— I’m starting to regret saving you. Keep that up and I’ll drag it back over here, how about that?”“— Citizens— huh? I pay my taxes to protect citizens! You live off my money and you’re standing there talking crap?”Sawon folded his arms and let out a short laugh.Every time he went on a mission, they called him a killer, and on TV, where the whole nation was watching, he was branded the source of disaster. But this was the first time he’d run into someone spouting insane nonsense about money.Maybe people like this had been around all along, and he just hadn’t known because he was never the one dealing with civilians in person.Does Mok Geonho run into assholes like this a lot?Screeeech!Just then, an enraged Deater’s roar came from the distance. The one he’d sent flying was getting up, ignoring the sword stuck through the wall. The hilt of the sword, which had been at its chest, was now buried all the way up to the guard as its body slid down the blade to the middle. Dark red blood streamed down the Deater’s chest.In this respect, dealing with Deaters is better than humans.“— Sir. Get a grip and head over there if you want to live.”“— Hey, what’s your name!”Sawon glanced around. He was on the far right side of the intersection. Most of the Deaters and people were clustered on the left. This guy must have decided that where he was standing wasn’t all that dangerous and acted accordingly.Ignoring the man, Sawon leaped. By now, the Deater’s chest was pressed up against the crossguard of the sword’s hilt. If it put just a little more strength into it, it would push through and free itself. Sawon shot through the air and kicked the Deater’s forehead.Wham!Screeeeeeeeech!The body that had almost forced itself off was skewered back down on the blade and slammed into the wall. Sawon wrapped his hand around the blood-wet hilt.“— Let’s do this in one go. Just one. Yeah?”Then he sent Metena surging into it. Vmm. A shallow wave rippled through the Deater’s body. One second later, its chest blew out in a massive hole like a bomb had gone off inside it.Screeeaaam!With a dying shriek, the Deater’s neck snapped. Sawon yanked his sword out and flicked it clean, then scanned the area.Fortunately, the black oval had already been sealed by someone. Hunters were mopping up the remaining small fry.Only then did Sawon walk slowly over to stand in front of the Heukgu. The Heukgu, wrapped in a blue net barrier, churned violently. One look at the sealing membrane and it was obvious it was a high-end product.Maybe because it’s right in front of the Central Hunter Bureau. They used the good stuff. Hm…… nothing looks different.He’d probably have to let them finish securing the area and completely erase the fissure, then keep checking. If this place also showed Metena reacting to Ji Hayeon, then it was definitely the same kind of mutation as at the burger shop.Sawon had just turned away to see if there was anywhere else that needed help when—Grrrk.“…?”Grrrururuk.A sound you’d expect to hear underwater came from somewhere.Zzzzzing, zzzzing.His guard shook violently as if Nine was sending a warning. A sharp jolt stabbed into Sawon’s chest. The short, strong shock was something he recognized on instinct.Metena reaction.The instant he snapped his head back around, a Deater’s hand tore through the barrier. Startled, Sawon sliced off its arm and jumped back a step. Then he yanked the cube from his pocket and hurled it straight into the Heukgu.Bang!With a pop, a Metena net snapped into place. On top of the existing one, Sawon’s barrier formed a second layer.There’s no way this should be breaking already.How long a barrier lasted depended on its quality, but in general they held for at least five minutes, up to as long as thirty. This one was a pretty high-end barrier, and even if it had been a cheap low-grade one, there was no way it should be breaking in under five minutes like this.Sawon narrowed his eyes at the Heukgu. The churning Heukgu swelled even more.What the hell?Like a balloon, the Heukgu grew larger and larger. Sawon adjusted his grip on his sword and went on full alert. At that moment, the barrier started to tear in several places.Boom!The barrier burst apart like a popped balloon and scattered in every direction. From the now larger Heukgu, two Deaters thrust their heads out at the same time. Without hesitation, Sawon took both their necks off in a single stroke. Thud, bodily fluids splattered down.“— What the hell.”They’d broken through the barrier. A double-layered barrier at that. It was something that shouldn’t be possible. As Sawon poured Metena into his sword and readied his stance again—Slash!Dozens of long tentacle-like legs shot out of the Heukgu. Sawon brought his sword down and severed them all.The fluid dripping from the stumps melted the ground. It was a melt-type Deater.But before he could even reset his stance, dozens more tentacle legs lashed out. When Sawon focused Metena in his eyes, their movements slowed like a replay.Just as he was about to swing his sword again, his instincts caught one tentacle that carried an especially heavy force.It shot past a swarm of hunters and civilians, driving straight toward one single point. The entrance to the Central Hunter Bureau. A red warning light went off in Sawon’s head.When he looked back toward the entrance, he saw the thing snatch up its prey. With his back to the creatures, Ji Hayeon was caught helplessly in the tentacle’s grip.“— Oh, fuck!”

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