ABFR 09

Chapter 9

―Ajin-nim.

Whenever I rode in Rayleigh’s car, I had control over the background music selection. In other words, the basic Bluetooth device connected to his car was my phone. Thanks to that, when I pressed the call button, Rayleigh’s voice came through the car audio. I minimized the call screen and continued searching while sincerely pleading with him.

“Please don’t tell me that a gate opened, or a portal opened, or creatures are pouring out.”

―Then, instead, I will answer that it is exactly as you suspected.

“Ah, fuck!”

―Please don’t throw your phone. Let us talk first.

“I didn’t throw it!”

I shouted loudly as I pressed the articles one after another. It seemed that there was still no one who could explain why this had suddenly happened. The internet was filled with people who were confused by this sudden and unexpected event, as well as people who were filming and uploading videos, calling even this a scoop. Article after article appeared, telling people to evacuate because it was an emergency. My phone vibrated only later when it finally received an emergency alert.

―I am not sure if we can call it a ‘gate’ or a ‘portal,’ but it seems that a crack has appeared in midair.

“A crack?”

―A crack connected to another dimension. The surrounding scenery looks normal, but the existence of the crack can only be confirmed from a specific direction. If you look from the opposite side, there is only an ordinary space. But from the side where the crack can be seen, it looks like a hole or passage leading to another place beyond it. Do you understand?

“Fuck, the genre of your explanation is way too fantasy-like.”

―Is it difficult to understand?

“But I’m a fantasy writer. Keep explaining.”

Imagining what Rayleigh had described in my head, I clicked on a title that said, ‘Gangnam Live.’

There were five areas where gates had opened this time. Sinchon, Gangnam, Yeongdeungpo, Guro, and Jamsil. Those were the five areas where news reports had appeared so far, but apparently, more than one gate had opened in each area. Among them, Gangnam had become the biggest issue. I clicked a link, wondering what on earth had happened in Gangnam, only to discover that something completely different from what I expected was happening there.

There was a live-streaming video titled ‘Gangnam Live.’

What the fuck? What crazy bastard was sharing something like this in real time?

I frowned deeply as Rayleigh’s explanation continued in my ear.

―I am not sure if we can call them creatures, either. Anyway, something strange is continuously crawling out of the crack.

“You can call it a creature if it’s some kind of monster that doesn’t look human and you can’t even tell whether it’s an animal or a plant. What does it look like?”

―It is a black organism with a hard and sharp outer shell. Its outer shell seems to have evolved like that of a crustacean, but there are eye-like holes glowing white or red all over its body. With this level of hardness, I doubt a handgun would be able to penetrate it…

“You… What the hell are you to know that much?”

―……

This bastard. Don’t tell me…

I muted the video so I could watch it while continuing my call, and Rayleigh’s silence immediately made me uneasy. I stopped what I was doing and frowned.

“Hey, you bastard. I told you not to do anything dangerous and just observe the situation. Were you beating up one of the creatures in the meantime?”

―It was not particularly difficult. These things seem to conduct electricity, perhaps because their outer shells have a mineral-like composition. I have no idea what kind of creature they are.

“What are you going to do if you casually use a superpower like that in front of other people?”

―I disabled the nearby surveillance camera network and lured it into a building before dealing with it. Do not worry.

As if I could not worry.

While cursing inwardly, the video finally finished buffering and began to play. I hurriedly answered Rayleigh and switched the screen to full screen.

“Some crazy bastard is uploading a live video, so I’ll check it through that. Can’t you stop the cracks?”

―They seem to disappear on their own after releasing a certain number of monsters… But please do not watch the video.

“What?”

―Turn off the video immediately.

The moment Rayleigh spoke firmly, a video of Gangnam’s Teheran-ro, turned into complete chaos, appeared on my phone screen.

It looked as if the camera had been set up outside a window of a building, filming everything outside. The road below, seen from high above, was completely jammed with cars, and strange red stains were spread across the ground like brushstrokes.

I cursed inwardly. I felt like throwing up.

The live chat was also filled with people condemning whoever had filmed and uploaded something like this, asking if they had lost their mind. While worried comments continued to appear, telling the person to rescue other people or at least escape from there, a pitch-black figure staggering down the street came into view.

Its overall build looked similar to that of a human.

Considering that the first floor of the building beside it was a double-height floor, it seemed to be at least two meters tall.

There was no clear boundary between its torso and head, and it had no neck, making it look as though it had something covering its entire body.

The thing was pitch black from head to toe. It had no fur, clothing, or visible sexual characteristics. Where its eyes should have been, there was a single long, torn red opening.

Its arms were so long that they dragged along the ground, while its fingers and toes stuck out like sharp, pointed claws.

A person was caught in its grasp.

The person was being dragged by their hair, leaving a red trail behind them like a brushstroke. Their hair was thickly tangled and matted.

I could not tell whether they were dead or alive, but their unfocused eyes met the camera from far away.

The monster’s red eye constantly scanned its surroundings, searching for people.

Then another monster appeared behind it.

Unrealistically, that monster was swinging a human arm around and slamming it against the ground again and again.

Its grip and strength were so powerful that the person’s arm could not remain intact each time it struck the ground, while the pavement was smashed with loud crashes.

When the arm it had been playing with in its grasp was finally worn away, the monster swung its long arm toward a car that was slowly trying to escape nearby.

The result of the collision between the creature’s arm and the car was unbelievable.

The car closest to the attack was crushed into a wreck, while the cars trapped behind it were also crushed, overturned, and sent rolling around like toys.

A groan escaped between my teeth before I realized it.

The reaction in the chat was not much different from mine.

Even if someone was good at watching horror or thriller movies, actually witnessing a brutal situation in real life was a completely different matter.

“Ugh…”

―Do not push yourself. Turn off the video.

Rayleigh repeated himself.

“Th-There too?”

―……

Rayleigh did not answer for a moment before letting out a deep sigh over the phone.

―I will deal with the monsters around here and return. Fortunately, it seems there were not many people nearby, so everyone managed to evacuate quickly. But before they scatter too far, we need to deal with them while the cracks are still present. That will reduce the long-term threat.

“Won’t you be in danger?”

―‘Danger’?

Rayleigh briefly asked back with what sounded like sarcasm before answering quite politely.

―There are few things in this world more dangerous than your butler.

“But…”

The moment I said that, a fierce wall of flames suddenly swept across the screen.

The heat must have been so intense that the camera screen itself briefly distorted.

I instinctively shrank my shoulders and screamed, but I came to my senses when Rayleigh urgently asked what had happened.

A powerful flame swept across the street where no living people remained.

The monsters that Rayleigh had said possessed incredibly sturdy outer shells were also melting helplessly, so this was clearly no ordinary fire.

But it did not seem to be an ordinary explosion, either.

The monsters that had barely escaped the flames and jumped onto the road suddenly began rushing in the same direction, completely ignoring the cars.

I hurriedly pulled my laptop out of my bag.

I connected it to my phone’s hotspot so I could continue playing the video on my laptop instead of my phone.

I needed sound.

Then another message appeared in the chat.

[Hey, the cameraman bastard hasn’t said anything for a while now… If something like this happened and the screen still isn’t moving…]

No further speculation followed, but the chat stopped for a while.

I finally understood why this inhumane video was still being uploaded.

For whatever reason, the person filming had initially thought they needed to inform people about the situation and started streaming it online. Then the cameraman had either died or fallen into some kind of danger and could no longer control the screen.

A groan escaped me.

The cruel live footage was continuing completely against the person’s intentions.

When I let out a whimper, Rayleigh once again asked what was wrong.

I quickly answered to let him know he did not need to worry.

“Hey, someone used magic right in the middle of Gangnam…”

―Magic? Please say something that makes sense.

“I’m serious. I’ve connected my laptop to my phone’s hotspot, so wait. I’ll play it on the laptop.”

The moment the video appeared on my laptop with the sound turned on—

BANG―!

Another deafening explosion erupted, and brilliant red flames swallowed the building.

From beyond the flames, a young girl’s voice shouted through the crackling static.

―Get away! I can’t control it any more than this!

Control what?

At that moment, coordinates for another video appeared in the chat.

I instinctively followed the link and opened another video.

This time, it was being filmed by a fairly well-known internet broadcaster.

Perhaps they were using a drone or something similar, because the screen kept shaking.

A short-haired girl wearing a jacket with a university emblem was wildly swinging an aluminum practice baseball bat, smashing the monsters in the head.

The monsters were focusing their attacks on the girl, but even with her face covered in soot and cuts, she frantically swung the baseball bat and continued knocking them away.

Flames flickered around the baseball bat.

The monsters struck by the bat were engulfed in flames starting from the point of impact. They let out strange and horrifying screams before repeatedly charging toward her again.

After cursing, she shouted toward the people around her once more.

―Damn it! They’re all targeting me anyway, so ditch your cars and just fucking run!

As if those words had been the trigger, the people who had been desperately climbing into their cars to escape the area suddenly opened their doors and jumped out.

They began running with their backs turned toward the girl.

Once one or two people started fleeing, the others who could not hear what was happening outside also hurriedly followed them.

Only after everyone had disappeared from the street did the girl suddenly swing the baseball bat around herself in one sweeping motion.

A huge circle of flames spread across the ground, following the path of the bat.

―What the hell is happening?!

Just as she had said, she had no idea what was going on, yet she was freely using fire.

The moment she surrounded herself with a circle of flames, a powerful explosion erupted.

The drone must have been caught in the flames as well, because the screen suddenly went completely black.

Then the chat became even more chaotic.

What the hell was happening? Was this really happening? Who was that girl? How could she freely control fire? Was she a psychic? But if she was, she did not seem very experienced at fighting…

Those kinds of comments continued.

But I noticed something else.

[I know her. She’s Lee Soryun, Class 32 from Soryun High. I think she went to Cheonsu University?]

I could not believe someone was talking about something like that at a time like this, but a chill immediately ran down my spine.

She had exposed her face while displaying such a supernatural ability.

Even if she survived this situation safely, would her life really be able to continue normally from now on?

I hurriedly spoke into the Bluetooth call.

“Rayleigh, you can beat the hell out of those monsters however you want, but cover your face first!”

―I already did. I slipped a helmet from an abandoned motorcycle.

Rayleigh’s neat and casual answer came through the phone.

At that exact moment, another loud explosion went off on his side.

The screeching sounds of the monsters continued loudly through the phone.

Heavy bursting noises followed one after another, yet Rayleigh’s voice remained strangely calm.

After the muffled sound of wind, Rayleigh calmly added, as if he had seen right through my thoughts.

―The protagonist in that video probably never thought about covering her face before using her ability.

“What do you mean?”

―I mean she must have just gained a new ability. Even my own ability, which had disappeared, suddenly returned just now, did it not? And yet, if she is fighting safely, then perhaps she naturally possessed a talent for combat. But…

BANG―!

Along with the fierce sound of an electrical discharge, a second explosion erupted.

Rayleigh quietly continued in his usual polite manner.

―She will not be the only person who suddenly obtained a strange ability and became confused. There may be many others who are struggling far more. Please check whether there are any other areas that need assistance. And if you find any places nearby where monsters have been released, tell me about those as well.

Kwaduk—

The sound of something being crushed came through the phone.

―I have just finished here, so I will go and help them.

I stared blankly at the black screen of my laptop and the constantly updating chat window.

Then I began moving my hands mechanically.

Psychics.

Heroes.

Strange abilities.

Magic.

And places where monsters had appeared.

I began searching using every keyword I could think of.

Was this truly my reality?

Or was it the grand narrative of a novel?

I could not even be sure of that myself.