Chapter 120

***

4:00 a.m., 16 hours after the dungeon outbreak.

The hunters entered nearby buildings to rest. Without even the energy to argue about trespassing or whatnot, they had to immediately enter somewhere and lean their bodies against a soft spot.

The building Soram and Tae-un entered together was a 10-story company. The corridor in the early morning with no one around was desolate. They tried pressing the switch just in case, but the lights didn't come on. Even without lighting, the red light coming in through the windows facing the sea brightly illuminated the interior.

"Ah, there it is."

Inside the open storage room, dozens of large water bottles for water dispensers were visible. In a situation where neither the water tank on the roof nor the buried water pipes could be trusted due to the spread of volcanic ash, this was the safest option.

The first thing the two people who found water did was swallow the painkillers they had been given. Both of them swallowed a large amount of painkillers at once, enough to fill their concave palms. Only then did the sensation of standing in a ball of fire somewhat disappear. Tae-un opened a few more water bottles and said,

"You go first."

"Okay."

Soram took off his shoes and socks and threw them far away, then stood up straight. Tae-un lifted the water bottle above him and slowly poured water. His hair, face, blood-stained shirt, and pants all became soaked. As the blood clotted on his body dissolved enough to make it possible to take off his clothes, the corridor floor became drenched with black ashy water.

"I think it's done now."

Stopping the water, Soram took a pair of scissors he found nearby and started cutting the shirt from the bottom up. There were places where the cloth was stuck to the skin along with the burns, so he couldn't take it off as usual. Tae-un, who had been watching him move his wrists in various ways to avoid the wounds, took the scissors and finished cutting the clothes.

As the scissors reached the collar, the shirt fell open to the side. It was difficult to find a spot without burns on the body that had faced lava all day long in the battlefield of the Great Rift. There were also quite a few cut wounds and black bruises.

The scissors moved to the left arm, making a crunching sound. It was an area with a fairly wide burn. Even on top of the jacket, the blackened dead skin was clearly visible.

Both of them were at a level where they needed immediate treatment, but the medical facilities at the scene were already overwhelmed with hunters who had suffered injuries such as melted limbs or being engulfed by lava. However, in a situation where it was unknown when and what might happen, the two of them, who were among the few 1st-grade hunters, couldn't go far to receive treatment either. In the end, they had to tend to each other's wounds with the supplied items.

"Ouch. It hurts."

"Ah, sorry."

"No need to be sorry..."

Tae-un poured more water over the wound. And he cut the clothes off even more carefully. His expression was as dark as the charred skin when looking at the wounds. However, unlike during peaceful daily life, he couldn't nag about why he got hurt so badly now.

After completely removing Soram's top, he knelt on the sticky floor and cut the pants from the bottom. As the clothes were slowly cut away, avoiding the injured areas, the calves, knees, and thighs were revealed in order.

"I'll do it from here."

"Okay."

"You can't peek at me."

"I'll look."

"Huh?"

He was about to tease him, calling him a prude, but when he raised his head, Tae-un was really staring at Soram intently without blinking an eye.

"Wow, you're blatantly staring, knowing I'll take off even my underwear."

"It's only natural to be curious about how much you're hurt."

"I can't say I'm not hurt much, but it's probably similar to you."

He pulled out the less injured opposite leg after cutting it to some extent. Then, when he completely took off even his underwear, Tae-un's gaze, which had been pretending to be calm, became stiff belatedly.

"If you're going to watch for free, pour water on me one more time."

"...Okay."

Soram was drenched with water once more, and after washing his entire body, he put on only his underwear and wrapped himself in a large towel he had been given.

"Now it's your turn."

Soram lifted the water bottle to do the same for Tae-un. At that moment, he realized. The same angle at which Tae-un had poured water over his head earlier couldn't be achieved.

"Bend down for me?"

"...I'm fine."

With Soram's gesture, a chair from the office flew over. Soram climbed on top of it and poured water over Tae-un's head.

Just like before, both of them lost their words the moment each other's injured bodies were revealed. Tae-un had fewer extensive burns than Soram, but he had many deep wounds that had turned black.

Soram and Tae-un applied medicine and wrapped bandages, then put on new clothes that were exactly the same as the ones they had just cut off and taken off. The attire that had returned to the way it was when they first stood in front of the Great Rift seemed to be telling them that they had to fight endlessly.

They couldn't rest in the corridor, so they found a suitable place and entered a private office with a sofa.

Tae-un cleared the table in the middle of the L-shaped sofa and spread new towels on the sofas on the left and right as a makeshift bed. In the meantime, Soram sat at the office desk and looked out the large glass window. The completely reddened sea and the collapsed buildings in front of it were visible through the window at a glance. Looking at it this way, it seemed just like a movie, but it told them that the real situation was a much more vivid horror than a movie.

The battle was still going on outside the window. Tanks that had arrived late with fire support confronted the lava mutants from behind the wall built with buildings. When morning came and the direction of the waves changed, and the lava rushed in recklessly, they would have to retreat. But for now, it was enough to buy some time. And a few hunters who had postponed their shift fought with weapons between the tanks.

Tae-un pulled out the chair at the desk where Soram was sitting and sat down. The owner of the seat must have been quite rushed when evacuating, as they had left everything behind, including their cell phone and wallet.

"Soram-ah."

"Yeah."

He casually unbuttoned his sleeve and rolled it up, then held out his arm along with a marker pen he found on the desk.

"Cast a spell on me."

Soram, who was about to ask what kind of spell, recalled the memory of writing the blood type on Bukhansan before. A smile hung on the corner of his mouth.

"It won't be of any use this time. If we're in a situation where we have to be carried out of the barricade, it's not the emergency room that's the problem, but..."

Hmm. Soram didn't say anything more. Tae-un wasn't dull enough not to notice what followed.

"Then write anything. You can even doodle."

"Why?"

"I need it."

"...Unnecessarily."

Even as he said that, Soram took the pen. Soon after, magic was drawn on Tae-un's arm with a popping sound.

Ugly bear cub.

"You have nothing to look at but your face and body, and they're all blackened now, so you're ugly."

"...Seeing that it gives me the will to get hurt less and recover quickly, I guess it really is a spell."

"If you want to do it too, go ahead."

Soram handed him the pen and boldly rolled up his sleeve and held out his arm. As if it was an unexpected suggestion, Tae-un couldn't move the pen right away.

"What are you doing? Hurry up."

"Wait a minute. Let me think."

"If you don't hurry, it's gone."

As Soram tried to pull down his sleeve, Tae-un said he got it and put the tip of the pen on his arm. What the large man left after bending over and carefully thinking was…

A single, very small heart.

"..."

"..."

Soram covered the heart with the palm of his other hand. It wasn't that he cherished it, but his deeply furrowed brow showed that he covered it because he didn't want to see it.

"Creepy..."

"It's, it's a spell."

"What kind of spell is this!"

"Don't erase it."

When Tae-un grabbed Soram, who was trying to rub his arm vigorously, and struggled, a signal came through the in-ear communication devices they had taken off and placed side by side.

―Currently, the lava mutants are in a stalemate at the 1st apartment complex. Additionally, the discovered characteristics of the mutants are…

It was followed by an explanation of how many meters the lava could splash up to at most, and that the closer the appearance was to human form, the more terrifying it looked, but the lower the defense. Soram and Tae-un only turned their heads towards the in-ear communication devices and listened to the information. After the explanation ended, there was a brief silence, and then a voice continued.

―Today, the civilian casualties are 16 people who did not evacuate and hid, 2 people who went to move fishing boats, a total of 18 people. And the hunter casualties are…

The names of some teams and members of the Busan Branch followed. The sound of someone wailing "Aaaah!" could be heard not far from the building. A total of 8 hunters had died during the day.

―Next, the hunters who have fallen into critical condition and are unable to fight are Senior Jeong Jun-gyu, 2nd-grade from Busan Branch Team 1, Team Leader Do Jong-chan, 1st-grade from Team 2…

Ah.

A name Soram knew was called. And then more people he vaguely remembered followed. There were also people who had fallen into critical condition among those dispatched from the headquarters.

"..."

―Everyone has worked hard. There are three hours left until the waves rise again, so rest well.

The last encouragement was in the voice of the branch director. With that, the radio transmission ended.

Most of the dead and seriously injured were those who had stepped forward ahead of others and fought most fiercely to protect the land of Busan. The same was true for Team Leader Do Jong-chan, who had momentarily flared up at the words "The Great Rift is manageable, right?" and had carelessly thrown out advice before passing by.

Regret that there might have been a better outcome if he had acted differently at that time slowly pressed down on his chest. Even if he tried to rationalize that there was nothing more he could have done in that situation, the heavy stone placed in his heart did not disappear.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Let's sleep now. They said we have three hours left, so we should get some sleep even for a bit."

He got down from the desk and headed towards the bed Tae-un had made by pushing the sofas together. Lastly, his gaze turned towards the window.

"It's like the fires of hell."

"..."

Tae-un, who followed his gaze out the window, also had a crimson glow on his face. It was a scene where it was difficult to deny the term "fires of hell." Soram plopped down on the sofa and closed his eyes.

"I guess I really hate the current situation. I'm sleepy. For the first time in a long while..."

Sleep that comes as if pulling down a switch in the mind when one wants to run away. The black curtain that hadn't appeared for a while draped over his mind. Tae-un, who had come to the seat next to him, pulled Soram's shoulder and made him lie down with his head on Tae-un's lap.

"What about you?"

"I think I need the painkiller to take effect more to fall asleep. You sleep first."

Asking if it hurt a lot here would be meaningless. And for a moment, Soram felt a throbbing pain greater than the pain left in his body. A bandaged hand pulled the blanket over Soram's shoulder.

Why do we have to get hurt like this? Even though we fought so desperately, the view outside the window was still red. The pain turned into sorrow and resentment, knocking on the inside of his throat.

"What were the rift and the power we have born for?"

"I don't know about the rift, but awakening happens because of earnest wishes, right?"

"...That's right. I had earnestly wished for it. Back then..."

The blanket-covered shoulder was patted.

"You said you were sleepy. Your throat is badly hurt. Stop talking and sleep."

"I was sleepy, but suddenly I'm not sleepy because you told me to sleep."

It was a cheeky answer. A rough hand covered Soram's eyes. Eyelashes fluttered against Tae-un's palm.

"If you don't sleep, I'll ask you."

"What?"

"Did you know that something big was going to happen in Busan?"

"..."

The voice that came was as if desperately suppressing some emotion.