“Aaaargh!”
A scream rang out against a backdrop of gentle classical music.
Giant griffins flew about among the people scrambling to flee. The chandelier had crashed down long ago, and the white marble floor was slick with blood.
Ever since the glass wall shattered, the once-peaceful hall had turned into a living hell in an instant.
Because griffins had charged in.
Monsters with the upper body of a hawk and the lower body of a lion—griffins. Griffins were creatures often used for research, and well-known to that extent.
But the griffins he faced in reality weren't the pushovers he'd only ever read about in text.
There were many here who belonged to the Association but had never faced a monster. They were helplessly overwhelmed by the sudden assault.
Meanwhile, a few Hunters with dungeon-raid experience took up combat stances and fought back. But with no weapons and no teammates, most of them could do little more than defend their own bodies at best.
In the midst of all that, there were two people who fought exceptionally well even without proper equipment.
To be precise, one person.
Seo Sinwoo and Jang Yijung took out the monsters approaching from where they wouldn't be noticed.
Swish—.
A knife that split the air lodged in a griffin's head. The griffin's hefty body, struck dead-on by the current, dropped to the floor.
Seo Sinwoo said in displeasure:
“Are you going to keep hiding behind me?”
“…”
Seo Sinwoo clicked his tongue.
I wanted to figure out what his ability is.
No matter how much he prodded, Jang Yijung wouldn't step up and just stayed put. Standing behind him, watching like it was someone else's business.
Could it be he's not a combat type? It was enough to make him wonder that.
Leaving the unresponsive Jang Yijung be, Seo Sinwoo looked around. There were five or six griffins left.
“Is this a chicken coop or the Association…”
The rescue team would arrive soon, and it was about time to make his exit. It was the moment he was about to move along with Jang Yijung.
A wire that had come loose in a corner caught his eye. Following the wire and inspecting behind the stage, Seo Sinwoo smiled.
“Oho.”
“Kreeeek!”
One griffin blocked the door in the center of the wall. It was the only escape route left in the wrecked venue. An intelligent move, unbecoming of a mere monster. Without even a moment to harbor doubt about it, people had to find another way to survive.
Outside the window was a 30-story drop. Jumping was out of the question.
Several people crawled under the tablecloths to escape the griffins' sight, and a few capable of fighting kept their eyes fixed on the griffins so as not to show an opening.
As the chaos went on like that—
Aah, aah.
Mic test, mic test.
A calm voice, out of place with the moment, spread through the bedlam of the hall. Was it an emergency announcement? Holding their breath, people pricked up their ears, clinging to a small hope.
Hello, diligent civil servants.
A voice tinged with laughter flowed from the speakers connected all around.
The moon is beautiful tonight. Don't you think so?
A greeting offered as if nothing were wrong. The theatrical tone felt bizarre. One by one, people began to sense something had gone wrong.
On such a beautiful night, for all of you who've set down the burdens on your shoulders, we… at SmileClean have prepared a surprise party.
Content that ostentatiously mocked the emcee's earlier remarks. The man who'd given the name “SmileClean” spoke brazenly.
So? Is everyone enjoying themselves?
As if in response, a scream came from somewhere.
“Aaaaargh!”
Haha, thank you for the cheers.
The relaxed tone sneered at everyone listening to the broadcast.
You're wondering if that's the end? Come now, ending things with griffins would be far too dull. We still have plenty more in store. It'll only get more fun from here, so do look forward to— kshtt-.
Along with a burst of noise, the unidentified voice vanished.
Who the other party was, no one could tell, but the purpose seemed clear.
Terrorism…!
It wasn't common for monsters to escape outside a Gate. And yet, on this day of all days—the Association's 10th anniversary—an artificial situation in which griffins charged into the commemorative venue.
As the mysterious voice had declared, it was surely the work of a newly formed organization called “SmileClean.”
Concluding that the monster attack was due to a villain's act of terror, the people fell into terror.
Soon the venue echoed with the screams of people in a panic.
Meanwhile.
Hidden behind the speakers, Seo Sinwoo set down the microphone.
Jang Yijung, who'd been keeping watch, poked his head out.
“Is there more?”
“No, haha. It was just something I said off the cuff.”
For even Jang Yijung, who knew there was no plan, to be confused.
This should get a decent article out of it.
Finding the mic was a lucky break. Now all that remained was to slip away in the confusion, nice and casual.
As the two of them quietly checked their surroundings and moved along—
A griffin perched on a table came into view. Since it didn't react even to a human passing by, he looked closer and saw a human caught under its talons.
…
Jang Yijung quietly looked away. Bothered as he was, he had no choice but to pass by.
But then.
“Whoa!”
Seo Sinwoo's voice came.
The monster fell from the table to the floor. When Jang Yijung turned around, Seo Sinwoo was standing there scratching the back of his head.
“Phew, gave me a fright making eye contact…”
He toyed with a knife, tossing it in one hand. The handle of the knife, spinning through the air, landed smoothly back in Seo Sinwoo's hand.
He'd thrown a piece of cutlery lying nearby and taken out the griffin.
“My apologies. I'm a bit of a coward.”
Seo Sinwoo crinkled his eyes into a smile. It was a shameless face that didn't look the least bit frightened.
That's when.
“S-save me!”
The person who'd plummeted along with the griffin, caught in its talons, thrashed under the dead griffin's foot.
“Ugh, uhh…”
“Good grief…”
Unable to just watch, Seo Sinwoo nudged the griffin's corpse with his foot. The limp griffin's foot was pushed aside listlessly.
To have just threatened people as a villain, and now to save someone. A contradictory course of action.
“Ugh… aaaah!”
The freed man fled without even looking back. Thanks or anything else aside, he seemed out of his mind from having brushed against death.
Watching the man run with a limp, Seo Sinwoo thinks.
Tsk tsk.
If only Jang Yijung weren't here…
Look at how he doesn't even know to be grateful after his life's been saved. This is exactly why you shouldn't save people.
Still, with this he'd done plenty of both good and bad.
It was the moment he was clicking his tongue inwardly again even as he thought that.
“Kreeeeeek!”
“Kyaaa!”
The griffin that had been standing by the exit let out a shrieking scream and flew outside.
People's eyes were drawn to the door.
After the griffin vanished, the door opened and the one who appeared was Yeom Hajae. He must have already gone a round somewhere, because blood was dripping from the sword he held.
Seo Sinwoo stood at a distance and quietly looked Yeom Hajae over.
He didn't run.
He'd thought the man had fled, but it seemed he'd fetched the sword he'd left somewhere else. At this point he didn't know whether to call him kind or stupid.
In any case, there were already plenty of casualties, so there was no need to lift another finger.
“Shall we go?”
Jang Yijung nodded blankly. The two headed for the door.
By now the two huge doors leading to the hallway were wide open.
While Yeom Hajae fought griffins at the door and aided the escape, people began pouring out in droves. The griffins couldn't pass through the door because of their size, so only humans made it out into the hallway.
The two of them blended into the fleeing crowd and came out into the hallway. The hallway was already packed with people. The elevators must have broken down, because people were crammed in front of the emergency door.
He thought he understood why the rescue team hadn't arrived yet. With the crowd trying to flee surging out, it looked hard to get either out or in.
“Out of the way, all of you! Do you know who I am?!”
“Agh, don't push!”
It was utter pandemonium.
“Ugh. Ow. Ugh.”
Swept around this way and that, Seo Sinwoo got his feet stepped on as he barely, barely made his way toward a less-crowded spot.
But once he'd squeezed out, Jang Yijung was gone.
Where'd this guy go now.
Seo Sinwoo was standing at the far end closest to the hall. The side near the hall had comparatively few people. That was because the hallway held only those frantically screaming and trying to move inward to escape the griffins.
Seo Sinwoo looked around, partly to find Jang Yijung. Most of the people seemed to have made it out into the hallway. Except for Yeom Hajae and a middle-aged man further in.
Yeom Hajae, having checked the hall once more, cautiously stepped through the door too.
That's when.
“Kreeeek!”
Provoked by something, the griffin further in began to rampage.
And it chased like mad after the middle-aged man fleeing out last.
Seeing the griffin charge with enough force to break through a wall, Seo Sinwoo reflexively grabbed the collar of the person beside him.
“Wh-what the?”
The nameless person twisted his body in alarm, but the hand gripping his collar wouldn't come loose.
Having secured a shield, Seo Sinwoo watched the situation for now.
The middle-aged man coming through the door flailed his arms wildly. Yeom Hajae, who had his sword pointed at the griffin, got caught by the hands flailing in terror.
Seo Sinwoo knew the intent behind that movement.
It was the very thing he'd just been about to do himself.
But.
If Yeom Hajae dies here…
Before he knew it, his body moved first. Seo Sinwoo bolted out and yanked Yeom Hajae toward himself.
The instant he grabbed him and tried to dive into the crowd—
Someone's pale hand shot out.
Shove.
An elegant gesture pushed Seo Sinwoo's back hard. With all his focus poured into Yeom Hajae, Seo Sinwoo easily lost his balance and was shoved toward the door.
The griffin's talons came right up to his face. Yeom Hajae's startled face looked like it was in slow motion.
“!”
Crash!!!
And then the exit collapsed.
