Guest Ch 21

Wolf Fang, The Leader of the Wild Dogs (3)

“Blue Hawk, you son of a bitch.”

The wind pouring into my face hurt so much that I couldn’t lift my head or open my eyes. It was hard to tell whether it was because riding without a helmet was difficult or because my neck hurt from being tied to the rope and dragged. The man didn’t care about my condition. He muttered like he was chewing his words.

“It won’t go your way this time.”

The motorcycle carrying me sped away. It raced ahead, taunting the Garrison and Stand-ins, who couldn’t shoot recklessly because of me.

Buaaaang!

The motorcycle quickly picked up speed and left the jurisdiction controlled by the Garrison and Stand-ins. As soon as we got far from the fortress, the neighborhood, once packed with apartment complexes so tall they blocked the sky, disappeared without a trace. I had heard stories of massive sinkholes swallowing up people and buildings, but this was my first time seeing it with my own eyes.

There were black holes like traps all over the collapsed road, narrowly missed by the motorcycle. In the smaller, shallower ones, fallen electric poles and overturned cars were stuck. But the huge sinkholes had swallowed entire apartment buildings, leaving nothing around.

I felt like I might develop all sorts of phobias just from looking at that gaping hole, which seemed to breathe slowly. It was similar to the fear I felt when looking at the deep sea or outer space. It was the fear of the unknown.

‘You said you wanted to jump and break out of your dream, right? How about jumping down? Who knows if it’ll get you out of this strange world?’

There it was again. The voice that kept telling me to die. It felt like the sinkhole itself was talking to me.

I could feel a presence in the 100-meter-wide hole as the motorcycle passed by. It felt like something in the darkness was calling out to me.

‘Don’t worry too much, just come. It’ll be over in an instant. Just jump down lightly, and it’s done.’

I heard laughter, so close it was as if someone would grab my hand if I reached out.

“Prophet!”

Startled by the voice, I snapped back to reality. The man was holding onto me. If he hadn’t, I would have collapsed sideways and fallen into the sinkhole.

“Stay still. Don’t try anything stupid.”

He pulled the rope around my neck tight. I gasped as the rough rope dug into my skin. The smell of blood lingered around my throat.

“Wheeik!”

He whistled again, and at the sound, the group that had split rejoined. They came rushing in from the intersection, driving in the opposite direction. The wild dogs running in reverse were the first to fire.

Ta-tang, tang, tang, tang!

The Garrison and Stand-ins retaliated. Unlike the wild dogs, who fired small pistols, the Garrison and Stand-ins were armed with hunting rifles.

Taang!

“Keuuk!”

In terms of firepower and accuracy, hunting rifles far surpassed pistols.

Taang, bang!

“Oops!”

“Ahh!”

The wild dogs’ pistols, with their poor accuracy, were no match. The long rifles of the Garrison and Stand-ins lodged bullets into their arms and legs. As the tide turned in favor of the Garrison and Stand-ins, the man holding me roared.

“Stop them, you bastards!”

A wild dog riding beside us shouted in protest.

“They’ve got guns over there!”

“It’s not like we didn’t know! Just stop them!”

“Aaaah!”

The screams grew louder. Amid the hail of bullets, both the Garrison and Stand-ins, as well as the wild dogs, were hit and fell. Some of the Garrison and Stand-ins, shot, tumbled off their motorcycles and rolled on the road, while others slipped into the massive sinkholes, their screams fading as they disappeared.

The sunroof of the military vehicle at the front slid open. Leaning against the headrest of the passenger seat was Lee Yiseon. Wearing goggles, he took out the long rifle slung over his back. He spun it once in the air, as if loosening his grip, and then aimed it directly at me.

Bang!

The wheel of the wild dog’s motorcycle protecting me exploded.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

The gunfire that followed punctured the wheels of the wild dogs’ motorcycles with perfect accuracy.

Kiikik, boom!

The motorcycle skidded and crashed noisily on the asphalt. Some slammed into collapsed walls or the debris of buildings. The sound of burning engines exploding could be heard everywhere. The man holding me tightened his grip, his expression hardening as the scene descended into chaos.

“What are you doing! Get Blue Hawk first!”

At his thunderous command, the scattered wild dogs regrouped and pursued the military vehicle. My heart raced as I saw them wielding pipes, preparing to shoot or throw knives.

What are you doing, Lee Yiseon, you crazy bastard? Now’s not the time to aim here. Look behind you!

I tried to speak, but ended up coughing.

“Cough!”

Blood mixed with the cough. Had my throat been torn up in that brief moment when the rope choked me?

Seeing blood drip onto the road as the motorcycle passed, Lee Yiseon’s expression turned even colder. Even though we couldn’t make eye contact due to the distance, I felt like Lee Yiseon was only looking at me.

And so I was mistaken. I foolishly thought he was worried or flustered because I, ‘Woo Hyunho,’ was hurt, not ‘Prophet.’ Even though I knew better, my mind raced as his gaze wavered.

Are you the type of person to risk your life following ‘Prophet’ like this? I thought you’d give me up to the wild dogs and get me back later. The cold personality you have shown me until now doesn’t match your current reaction.

I tried not to fool myself again. I tried not to get my hopes up and be disappointed.

For now, I needed to focus on my body, not on what Lee Yiseon was thinking. I had to survive first.

Tuk-tuk.

I pressed the blood dripping from my neck with my palm. The wound wasn’t fatal. I just needed to seize an opportunity to escape.

Lee Yiseon, having emptied his rifle, set it down and took out a new gun. This time, he aimed at the tires of the motorcycle I was on. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a gunshot rang out from somewhere.

Bang!

A bullet mark appeared near the sunroof where Lee Yiseon was sitting. If the shot had been 30 centimeters closer, it would’ve hit his chest.

Crazy, look behind you! You almost died! Why are you jumping in like this without thinking it through!

Even though he must have seen the bullet mark, Lee Yiseon didn’t waver and continued to aim at me. My heart pounded as I watched his recklessness.

What are you doing, like someone who’s bet everything on me! You weren’t like this before!

Lee Yiseon took a deep breath and paused. It was as if he was focusing all his attention on me.

Bang!

This time, the gunshot from behind broke his concentration, and he removed his finger from the trigger. He glanced back and nodded inside the car. The person who peeked out from the open sunroof was Toya.

No, why would you bring a young girl like Toya to such a dangerous place!

Unfortunately, my anxious thoughts didn’t reach them.

Toya, as if accustomed to situations like this, naturally positioned herself to face the back. I watched in shock as her short bobbed hair swayed wildly. She released her grip on the arrow string, twisting it halfway.

Peeing!

The arrow, caught in the tailwind of the moving car, flew in a straight line like a bullet, not in the smooth parabola that I was familiar with.

It hit the left chest of the wild dog holding the gun. With a single powerful shot that shattered his chest bone, the wild dog, who had fired into the air, collapsed and rolled across the ground. Toya pulled a new arrow from the quiver and drew the bowstring again.

This time, it hit another wild dog in the stomach. I was unconsciously shocked by the way they specifically chose and dealt with the ones holding the guns first.

I remembered seeing students of that age wearing school uniforms, going to school and academies. Students of that age who, despite the stress from academic problems, issues with friends, or occasional friction with their parents, are the type that everyone tries to protect. But here, that same student aims a bow at people and, without hesitation, takes their lives, then pulls the bowstring again with no sign of wavering. The weight of that fact alone hit me with a shock that I couldn’t quite explain.

It’s a feeling that lingers on the skin as time goes by. What kind of world is this? How should I approach it?

I grasped the rope tightly around my neck and gasped for breath. I glanced at the man, whose full attention was now focused on Lee Yiseon and Toya’s joint attack. The attention that had been fixated on me was now elsewhere.

Should I take the opportunity to jump off the motorcycle?

I looked down at the ground. I tried to gauge how badly I might be hurt if I jumped off the moving motorcycle. If I misjudged and rolled the wrong way, I could fall into a sinkhole. Maybe it’s better to just wait quietly to be rescued rather than act recklessly.

I looked at Lee Yiseon. He was staring at me, his black hair flying wildly and his coat fluttering. With unblinking focus, he aimed and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The rear tire of the motorcycle burst. The ripped tire skin peeled away, and the bare wheel scraped against the asphalt.

Squeak, crackle!

Amidst the sharp, tearing noise, the motorcycle’s handlebars twisted to the side. The man, who lost his balance due to the sudden shift, jumped off the motorcycle.

Damn leash. If only he had fallen alone. The rope that the man was gripping tightened, yanking me down with him.

I had no idea how to break my fall, so I rolled messily across the cement floor.

“Ha, ha.”

My windbreaker and jeans were torn from rolling over ten times or more. My bones throbbed, especially from falling on my shoulder.

“Ha, ha… cough.”

The motorcycle was pushed to the end of the road and fell into a massive sinkhole. I could hear the sound of it crashing against the walls as it fell into the hole. But there was no sound of it hitting the bottom and breaking apart.

It just disappeared without a trace, as if it had fallen into endless darkness, without making any sound.

The eerie feeling made goosebumps rise on the back of my neck. What on earth could be down at the bottom? A strong curiosity to look down struck me.

“Blue Hawk!”

The man, pulling on the rope around my neck, growled at Lee Yiseon. As I was dragged along, I barely managed to lift my head. Lee Yiseon stepped out of the car, holding a smaller gun than the one he had fired from the car.

“Wolf Fang.”

The man with the animal teeth hanging around his neck was called ‘Wolf Fang.’ Wolf Fang glared fiercely at Lee Yiseon, then shot a glance toward the back of the military vehicle that Lee Yiseon had arrived in.

The wild dogs, with their superior numbers, were tightening the siege. Taking the surviving Garrison and Stand-ins hostage, they slowly surrounded Toya and Lee Yiseon. Toya, with her bowstring drawn, aimed at the wild dogs. Lee Yiseon pulled Toya into his coat as if to shield her.

The situation was in Wolf Fang’s favor. He relaxed his tense shoulders and let out a sigh of relief.

“If you take the Prophet that my men found first, what are you going to do with him? You bastard with no sense of morals.”

Despite Wolf Fang’s words, Lee Yiseon remained immovable. He was more concerned with the fighting spirit of the surviving Garrison and Stand-ins than with Wolf Fang’s words. He had already confirmed that Toya had taken care of the gun-wielding wild dogs, leaving only those armed with knives and iron pipes. After considering several factors at once, Lee Yiseon slowly opened his mouth.