The inside of the cave was silent. Devil Dog grew anxious when the dimensional tunnel didn’t appear right away.
The dimensional tunnel appeared after a short while. It reappeared a little distance away from Devil Dog.
He held his breath and waited. Now, the moment the tunnel approached, he would attack.
But contrary to his expectations, the dimensional tunnel didn’t come straight toward him.
Thud!
Instead, a hard stick flew out from the dimensional tunnel and struck him on the back as he lay there.
‘Damn it, another check! What a ridiculously thorough bastard!’
He ground his teeth internally. It seemed he would have to wait even longer.
As he frowned, a strange sound reached his ears.
Ssszzzt!
The sound was like a fuse burning.
‘A stick? A fuse?’
“Damn it!”
Startled, he turned his gaze and saw dynamite about to explode.
Boom!
With a tremendous noise, his vision turned pure white.
“Hmm, so there was still some oxygen left.”
Yonghoon, seeing that the fuse of the stick of dynamite he had thrown inside hadn’t gone out, immediately closed the dimensional tunnel. As expected, there hadn’t been enough time for the oxygen to run out.
It didn’t matter whether the Awakened lying on the ground had collapsed from carbon dioxide poisoning or was just pretending to be dead to ambush him.
Yonghoon still had some explosives left. If the guy was alive, he could just shove another one inside.
Only now did Yonghoon understand why spatial ability users were so highly valued in the other world. In Korea too, one of the last five A-rank Awakened was a spatial ability user.
If his own ability grew as strong as that A-rank Awakened, ordinary humans would have no way to defend against an assassin spatial ability user.
Awakened could perhaps detect it, and monsters would surely be blocked by Dimensional Power, but ordinary people couldn’t survive a spatial ability user’s touch no matter where they hid.
Without monsters around, the world might have turned into a bloodbath due to spatial ability assassinations.
After some time passed, Yonghoon opened a small dimensional tunnel again.
Fortunately, the cave plaza hadn’t collapsed. Instead, the Awakened inside was smashed against one wall, covered in blood.
It was obvious at a glance that he was dead. Judging by the wounds and the amount of blood, there was no way he could have survived.
Yonghoon threw another stick of dynamite inside just to be sure, but the flame on the fuse went out as soon as it crossed the dimensional tunnel’s boundary. It seemed all the oxygen inside the cave had been consumed.
Only objects moved by Yonghoon’s will could pass through the boundary of the dimensional tunnel. Even if the tunnel opened, air didn’t flow in.
Yonghoon opened the dimensional tunnel and retrieved only the spear the Awakened had been carrying. This cave would now become the Awakened’s grave.
Time passed, and night fell. But Hyangseol, locked in a prison with no windows, couldn’t tell the passage of time. Only a single lantern in the corner dimly lit the room.
Hyangseol sat curled up in a corner, crying endlessly.
It was because she had heard about what had happened in Jian City on the way to being dragged to the prison. Shen Huang had proudly told her.
According to him, the three villains had killed even the last remaining Awakened left in the hall.
The villains killed everyone in the hall and escaped the city. After they disappeared, the people hiding in nearby buildings contacted the Awakened on guard and the former party executives.
The executives, who had been hiding in the shadows because of Hyangseol’s brother and the Awakened who sympathized with him, seized the opportunity.
They quickly gathered their forces, armed themselves, and covered up the incident at the hall. Then, they began to arrest the surviving Awakened.
The remaining Awakened were much weaker than those massacred at the hall. The strongest among them was only E-rank, so they couldn’t stand against a group armed with rifles.
In the end, they were all secretly captured and imprisoned in this old security prison where Hyangseol was held.
Some of them were coaxed into allegiance, but the Awakened close to her brother were all killed.
Hearing this story, Hyangseol abandoned all hope. None of the Awakened who had been like family to her remained.
She had lost her parents to monsters and just days ago lost her only remaining brother. Now, everyone else was gone too, and the will she had clung to disappeared.
She knew she would soon die as well. She was the last remnant of their opposition in this city. There was no way they would let her live.
Before hearing the story, she had believed that these people would cooperate with the Awakened because of the monsters.
But everything had turned out differently from her expectations.
They had underestimated the threat of the monsters. They had stayed inside the wall and didn’t know how fiercely the Awakened had fought outside.
She couldn’t understand it. They must have known that only the Awakened could fight monsters. They had killed too many.
Before long, this city would be finished.
But before that, she would die.
She knew she was only still alive thanks to Yonghoon, who had left Jian City. Once they confirmed he was truly gone, she would surely be killed.
She wanted to see Yonghoon just once more. He was the last person who had cared for her and survived. She wanted to tell him she had wanted to go with him.
But now, she had thrown away that chance.
In a tearful voice, Hyangseol softly called his name.
“Yonghoon ahjussi……”
“Why?”
At the sound of Yonghoon’s voice from ahead, Hyangseol’s head snapped up. Yonghoon stood before her, looking exhausted.
“H-How?”
Hyangseol stared at him with wide, tear-filled eyes.
“It took a while to find you. Luckily, they seemed busy, so the guards were lax, and I managed to sneak in without being caught. Still, sneaking in through a dimensional tunnel consumed a lot of Dimensional Power. We’ll have to escape at dawn.”
Yonghoon didn’t ask if she had found any other Awakened. During his search, he had already found the corpses of Awakened shot to death.
“Ahjussi!”
She could only call out to Yonghoon in a tearful voice.
“Shh! The guards outside are dozing, but if you’re too loud, they’ll hear. First, you need to regain your strength. We can’t escape like this.”
Yonghoon, seeing Hyangseol’s miserable state, pulled out a few chocolate bars and a canteen from his pocket.
“Eat first. It’ll help replenish your energy.”
Hyangseol accepted the food he offered. Her face, trying to hold back tears, was contorted, but her tears now were different from before.
“Eat and get some sleep. I need to rest too.”
Yonghoon spoke calmly and leaned against the opposite wall, closing his eyes. Hyangseol, holding the chocolate bars and canteen, kept staring at him.
“Wake up. It’s time to move.”
Hyangseol snapped awake at the hand shaking her.
It seemed she had fallen asleep after eating the food Yonghoon had given her and staring at him blankly.
When she came to, Yonghoon was standing before her.
Fortunately, the lantern still burned, allowing her to see his face. His calm expression gave her great reassurance.
Yonghoon checked her condition. Thankfully, she seemed stable now.
He asked her again.
“I’m planning to take you to Korea. Since you’re an Awakened, you’ll be able to become independent soon enough. Until then, I’ll protect you. What do you think? Will you come with me?”
Upon hearing his words, Hyangseol lowered her head and choked up.
“Yes, I’ll go with you, Oppa.”
She felt like she was becoming a crybaby. Hyangseol raised her hand and wiped away her tears. He was the person who had returned for her. She couldn’t show him her weak side.
Yonghoon was satisfied seeing Hyangseol wipe away her tears. She was definitely a good kid. Her personality was good, and her Dimensional Power affinity was excellent. She was worth nurturing as a teammate.
Yonghoon intended to keep the promise he had made when he first received the sword. No matter how the situation had changed, it was a vow made to his lover. He would never break it.
Yonghoon placed his arm around Hyangseol’s shoulder.
“Is there anywhere you want to stop by? Anything you want to take with you?”
Hyangseol hesitated for a moment at Yonghoon’s question but then shook her head.
When her family died, her house had been destroyed as well. All her personal belongings had been ruined back then.
Over the past year, all her personal possessions had disappeared. Only a few family photos remained on her phone.
Honestly, she no longer had any memories tied to Jian City. The area where she had lived was the first to be abandoned during the monster attacks. Though the monsters had been dealt with now, nothing of the world she knew remained.
Yonghoon placed his hand on her shoulder and opened a dimensional tunnel.
Moments later, their figures disappeared from the prison.
Yonghoon and Hyangseol’s escape faced no obstacles.
Emerging from a back alley far from the prison, they immediately ran toward the wall that Yonghoon had scouted before sneaking in.
The city at dawn was silent. Most people living in the barrier city still didn’t know about the incident at the hall.
They saw unfamiliar armed forces moving around but didn’t pay much attention since their own safety wasn’t immediately threatened. Survival was their priority.
Upon reaching the wall, Yonghoon was puzzled by the sight. The guards he had seen on the wall the previous night were nowhere to be found. It was confusing, but it was an opportunity.
Yonghoon jumped onto the wall first, and Hyangseol followed. Though she wasn’t as fast as him, she climbed the wall with the speed of a professional rock climber.
Standing atop the wall, Hyangseol looked back at Jian City one last time. It was the world she had lived in. With a sad expression, she silently bid farewell to the city, and Yonghoon leapt down the wall with her in his arms.
“Will Jian City be able to survive?”
she asked Yonghoon as they escaped from Jian City. It seemed she was worried about the city they were leaving behind.
“Well, who knows? It depends on what the people left behind do.”
At Yonghoon’s words, she looked even more worried. After all, it was still her hometown.
But soon she changed her expression. She had to honor her brother’s final wish.
No matter what, she had to survive.
Yonghoon glanced at Hyangseol running beside him.
Fortunately, she didn’t ask him about the city anymore.
Yonghoon secretly checked his smart watch. On the screen, he could see glittering dots. Those dots were slowly moving toward the city.
It seemed the monsters that had gathered in the nearby mountains yesterday were now advancing toward the city’s outskirts.
Yonghoon’s expression grew a bit more serious. The monsters were moving much faster than he had anticipated. The next phase would likely arrive sooner than expected.
Anyway, if the monsters reached the wall at this rate, it would be difficult for Jian City to hold out.
It was clear that the city wouldn’t last much longer.
However, Yonghoon decided not to tell her any of this. Though she had been through many hardships, she was still a young girl. Burdening her mind could make the journey back even harder.
Yonghoon and Hyangseol stopped by the second cave to retrieve the hidden supplies and relics. They divided the load and began walking along the Yalu River.
Yonghoon intended to retrace his steps. His plan was to cross the bridge in front of Manpo City and pass through North Korea.
After walking for a while, Yonghoon and Hyangseol were startled by the sound of numerous gunshots and shouting ahead.
They immediately started running toward the source of the noise.
The sounds were coming from directly ahead, along their path.
As Yonghoon and Hyangseol rounded a forested corner, they saw people fighting against giant red wolves.
The battle was taking place on the road leading from Jian City to the bridge in front of Manpo City.
About a dozen vehicles were tangled together on the road. It seemed the cars had been wrecked during the monster attack while trying to flee.
Some cars had rolled off the road, and around the relatively intact ones, wolf monsters were rampaging.
People were firing useless bullets at the wolves, and a few Awakened were struggling to fight back. Most of the people in the cars had already been killed by the wolf monsters.
“Was it Shen Huang? I see someone we saw in the city yesterday.”
At Yonghoon’s words, Hyangseol narrowed her eyes and stared.
Yonghoon gave a bitter smile as he ran forward.
As they left the city, he had heard the whole story from her. He, too, hadn’t understood the actions of the party officials. Killing Awakened who should have been defending against the monsters seemed like suicide.
But now he understood their actions. They had never intended to truly take control of the city. Once too many Awakened died and the city became indefensible, they planned to escape on their own.
That was why they had kept the incident at the hall a secret, taken control of the city, gathered valuable goods, and escaped with a few Awakened and guards.
They probably intended to flee to nearby Manpo City. However, they had made a grave mistake: driving noisy cars near areas swarming with rapidly increasing monsters.
It seemed the wolf monsters in the forest had heard the cars and swarmed out.
Yonghoon wore a bitter expression. In any case, it was already too late. The majority had been annihilated. A few people were still fighting to protect the former security officers and a fat old man, but it looked like everything would end before he could reach them.
As expected, before Yonghoon and Hyangseol could arrive, the old man was bitten and killed by a wolf, and there were no survivors left around the cars.
As Yonghoon and Hyangseol arrived, the wolves immediately formed a formation and surrounded them.
However, the wolves were only E-Rank monsters. Yonghoon, who had no intention of fighting, released a wave of energy, and the wolf monsters, sensing the danger, slinked back into the forest.
Yonghoon and Hyangseol searched the area for survivors but found no one alive.
Yonghoon looked bitterly at the abandoned corpses and cars. It felt like he was witnessing the final chapter of selfish survival struggles. Now that no Awakened remained, Jian City would no longer be able to fend off the monsters.
“Let’s go.”
Yonghoon said to Hyangseol, who was blankly staring at the corpses. She looked at the bodies with a sorrowful expression, then followed after him.
The two crossed the Yalu River bridge and entered North Korea.