Guest Ch 36

A Visit from a Strange Being (2)

I tugged Toya’s collar. The arrow left her hand, flew into the air, and then rolled on the floor with us.

Bang!

“Ugh!”

Unlike me, who slipped and hit the floor shoulder and arm first, Toya nimbly straightened up.

“Whoa, these things go all the way to the end!”

She knelt on one knee and stretched out her arm. At the tip of the bow she held, three arrowheads glinted simultaneously. The bowstring, drawn taut by her fingers, touched her lips. The taut bowstring creaked, emitting a sharp sound like a violin string.

Toya, holding her breath, released her bent fingers. Three arrows, each at a different angle, found their marks. One in a dog and two in people. She didn’t revel in the hits. Calmly, she scanned her surroundings, searching for another target. Her fingers were bleeding. Even for a skilled archer, simultaneously nocking and releasing three arrows with a still-growing body would naturally take a toll.

One, two, three… More than eight wild dogs were chasing us. Including those lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity, there were at least fifteen. Fifteen wild dogs, plus wild dogs and wolves. It seemed overwhelming for me, weaponless, and Toya, running low on arrows.

There was no choice. I had to grab her.

“Run!”

Toya didn’t even seem to hear me.

“Go! I had to put holes in those crazy furballs!”

“Hey, you crazy…! Aren’t you running?”

Lacking the strength to carry her like before, I simply grabbed Toya’s hand and ran. Unable to shoot her bow with one hand occupied, Toya, fuming, slung it over her back.

“I’m furious! So furious!”

This isn’t the time for anger, our lives are at stake.

The wild dogs that had caught up tried to kick Toya. Startled, I pulled her into my arms. The knee aimed at Toya slammed into my lower back.

“Ugh!”

The heavy impact, as if splitting my spine, stole my breath. The shock, like my lungs seizing up, sent me crashing to the ground. Utterly helpless, I couldn’t even mount a proper defense.

“Oppa!”

Toya cried out in alarm from within my arms. I barely registered her shout. The pain was so intense that I could only clench my teeth, unable to even writhe.

Drip.

A drop of sweat from my forehead landed on the dry asphalt. Watching the dark stain quickly evaporate, I struggled to draw a breath.

“Prophet oppa, are you okay?”

Seeing my labored breathing, Toya stared at me, her face etched with fear. She struggled to free herself from my embrace. I couldn’t release her. I didn’t know what those wild dogs would do to this small, young girl if I let her go.

“Let go!”

I can’t let go, damn it.

My lungs spasmed, making it impossible to breathe. My body was limp.

“Cough, cough!”

At the sound of my coughing fit, Toya’s eyes narrowed fiercely. She drew a small knife from her belt. She wanted to confront the wild dogs who had hurt me, but she was hopelessly outnumbered. I clung to her, preventing her from breaking free.

Thud!

A wild dog’s knee slammed into my back again. The agonizing pain, like my spine shattering, forced my arm to release Toya. My body trembled with the agony of being unable to draw breath, even with my mouth open.

I needed time to recover. Even the simple act of lying prone, trying to regulate my breathing, brought on a cold sweat.

“Prophet…”

I clamped my hand over Toya’s mouth as she tried to call my name. My voice a mere rasp, I forced out a whispered, “Shhh.” I was terrified of what the encircling wild dogs might do if Toya panicked and acted rashly.

I was more afraid of the shadows of the wild dogs looming over Toya than of my own pain. So, even when a wild dog grabbed my hair and yanked me back, I submitted.

“Ha… ha… ha…”

I let out a suppressed groan. The pain of my scalp being pulled contorted my face. The lingering shock left me powerless.

I looked at Toya. She was watching me, knife clutched in her hand. Seeing the situation, she was about to intervene. I desperately shook my head.

Don’t do anything, please. Please, Toya.

As if understanding my silent plea, Toya remained still, huddled on the ground. She watched me, jaw clenched, but that was all. She didn’t aggressively reach for her arrows like before. That, honestly, was a relief.

Fortunately, the wild dogs seemed uninterested in Toya. They might kill her if she interfered, but if I endured this alone, she might remain safe.

“Where’s Wolf Fang?”

The man holding my hair asked. Another wild dog, who had just arrived, answered.

“He’s facing off against Blue Hawk in the west quarters.”

“He can’t come here?”

“No way. They’re locked in combat.”

“Then tell them we’ll take Prophet.”

He produced a rope again, intending to tie it around my neck. The sight of the roughly coiled rope brought a burning pain to my bandaged neck. They would drag me around like an animal again. This time, Lee Yiseon probably wouldn’t come to my rescue. No, not just Lee Yiseon, I couldn’t expect help from any Garrison or Stand-in.

It’s my life. I have to protect it. I decided to do everything I could.

I raised my hands above my head and grabbed the forearms holding my hair. Distracted by their conversation, the man was too slow to react. I kicked his ankle while gripping his arms.

Crack!

“Whoa!”

Before the man, his ankle buckling, could regain his balance, I curled my body and flipped him over my shoulder.

Bang!

The wild dog slammed onto the asphalt, screaming.

“Aagh!”

I grabbed my lower back, which had taken the brunt of the fall. I must have landed awkwardly. Pressing my hand against the painful area, I rolled on the ground.

I snatched the rope from the writhing man’s hand. I tossed it towards Toya and pushed myself up.

“Ha… ha… hoo…”

Watching me struggle for breath, the wild dogs kept their distance, not attacking. They glared at me with menacing expressions, but they didn’t try to kill or injure me. As if their objective was to take me alive, they didn’t threaten me with knives or arrows.

If there’s anything to be thankful for, it’s that. At least I know one thing for certain, they wouldn’t kill me. Yes, they wouldn’t kill me.

“Toya.”

I extended my hand to her. She, tense, took it and stood up, the rope slung over her shoulder. I positioned her behind me. I didn’t have time to acknowledge her worried gaze.

Ssuk.

I retreated, widening the distance between myself and the wild dogs. They followed, closing the distance as much as it had widened.

Susssseu.

More people hiding in the darkness were revealed. Their number totaled thirteen. There were about eight wild dogs and wolves, baring their teeth and growling. It would be impossible for me to handle them alone.

What should I do? I thought briefly and held out my hand to Toya.

“Toya, could you give me the knife?”

Toya took out a spare Swiss Army knife and placed it in my hand. It was an item I had seen her carry while camping. The knife was not made for harming people. But now, I had to take down at least one person.

It meant killing a person. I had to kill to live. If I were afraid of killing, this little girl and I would be the ones to suffer, so I had to kill to live.

Sweat dripping from my forehead caught on my eyelashes. Just blinking once caused the sweat to enter my eyes, blurring my vision. Still, I ignored it, glared at the wild dog people, and said.

“Toya, could you bring someone to help us? I will try to buy some time. In the meantime, please find someone.”

I said this because it seemed like the only option, but Toya would not heed my suggestion.

“Nonsense!”

As soon as she finished speaking, she adjusted her grip on her bow and drew an arrow. This startled me even more, and I grabbed her wrist.

“Don’t provoke them!”

“A retreat is out of the question! I’m telling you, I’m going to wipe them all out!”

“It’s not the right situation for that!”

“Someone who can’t do anything dares to step forward. I’ll commend you for your courage!”

“That’s not it, they won’t kill me, but they will kill you… Ugh, damn it, anyway, you can’t do this! Find someone who can help us!”

If you were alone, you could do something. But right now, I am a burden to you. I am not like Lee Yiseon, able to assess the situation and devise a strategy. I cannot twist people’s necks and kill them with my bare hands like Black Foot. Even if you shoot arrows while burdened with me, your limitations are clear.

If Toya were to go out there, she could hit and kill the first one or two people. But she would be torn to shreds by the attacking wild dog people. I would not want to see such a horrific sight. Toya, oblivious to my worries, raised her bow and drew the string.

“Toya!”

I tried to stop her, but Toya would not stop. She looked up at me with the bowstring pulled taut.

Her sweaty, short hair swayed in the night breeze. Beyond the tangled strands clinging to her face, I could see her eyes without double eyelids.

They were elegant eyes, as if delicately painted with a thin brush. She was at an age where she should only experience good things. Even in this wretched situation, her intelligent gaze remained clear. Toya even curled her lips, as if teasing me.

“I’m not being reckless, Prophet oppa.”

The arrow left the bowstring. A wild dog was quickly trying to dodge it.

Kaang—.

At the moment the arrow began its descent, an unfamiliar bursting sound came from somewhere. Something flew at high speed, tracing a lower parabola than the arrow. It struck the head of the wild dog who had been dodging the arrow. The sound of a skull cracking echoed.

Crack!

It was the first time I had seen a human head shatter like that. Brain matter and blood splattered onto the asphalt. What landed on the blood with a thud was an iron ball.

I looked back in the direction from which the ball had come. Four women stood there. They had set down nets filled with iron balls and were swinging large baseball bats.

“They’re here.”

Toya grinned. It was a more mischievous smile than usual.

“Prophet oppa, we will win.”

And she added in a voice even more certain than her smile,

“Like always.”

One of the women shouted,

“Toya!”

Toya took my hand and ran towards the women. As if they had been waiting, the women tossed iron balls from their nets into the air. The balls ascended vertically, and the bats fiercely struck them.

Kaang!

Kang!

Kaang—!

It sounded like small cannons firing. The balls cut through the darkness and exploded the heads of the wild dogs.

Pow!

Crack!

The wild dogs could not handle the precise hits and the barrage of iron balls. At first, they had drawn weapons to attack the women, but the women were faster at launching the balls with their bats than they were at preparing to attack.

“Wheeik!”

Someone whistled. The scattered wild dogs converged. They began running towards Toya and me, not the women. Wolves, baring their teeth, led the charge. I gripped the knife tighter, tensing my entire body. Just then, one of the women approached.

“Will that be enough?”

It was one of the women who had been launching the iron balls. She was a little shorter than me, perhaps a little over 170cm tall, with a strong, muscular build.

She had gentle eyes, but her actions were the opposite of her harmless appearance.

“Heave-ho!”

With a powerful swing, she struck a charging wolf with the baseball bat she had been twirling in one hand.

Crunch!

The sound of bones breaking echoed. The wolf, its spine shattered, flew through the air like a crumpled plastic bag. Its body rolled on the ground, its spine completely caved in.

The woman spread her legs wide again and took her stance.

“Here goes!”

Like a batter in a full-count situation, twisting her waist to generate power for a long hit, she unleashed a full swing, treating the charging dog like an incoming baseball.

Thwack!

The bat whistled through the air, connecting squarely with the wolf. There wasn’t even a yelp. The number of dogs rolling on the ground, their bodies crushed, now exceeded four. The wolves stopped their charge.

“Growl.”

“Grrr.”

The aggressive creatures tucked their tails between their legs. They hesitated and backed away, seemingly having lost their will to fight.

“Security unnie!”

At Toya’s cheerful call, the woman turned her head slightly to look at her. The woman, with her long hair tied up in a high ponytail, wore a practical jumpsuit. She had removed her arms from the sleeves and tied them around her waist, leaving her in a black tank top.

She nodded at Toya.

“I have left the side emergency exit open. Go in quickly. Leave the man here.”

At those words, Toya’s welcoming expression twisted.

“It’s Prophet. I have to take him with me.”

The woman’s eyes widened. Her gaze, which scanned me from head to toe, was full of disbelief.

“Prophet? This pale kid?”

Well, this isn’t the time to argue about judging people by their appearances. The woman clicked her tongue, saying, “Tsk,” as she caught sight of and sent a wild dog flying with a full swing of her weapon.

“Okay, take him. But you can’t go past the guard post at the apartment entrance. I will only leave him at the guard post for a while. Do you understand?”

Toya quickly nodded at those words.

“The Captain said we just have to get through tonight.”

“Okay.”

The women were merciless. When the wild dogs got close, they would personally swing iron bars, breaking their bones. If they kept their distance and retreated, the women would hurl projectiles, shattering skulls. It was a situation that made it difficult to approach rashly or to escape. The wild dogs began hiding behind alleys and abandoned cars.

Taking advantage of the lull, Ponytail opened the heavy emergency door, taking Toya and me with her.

“Go in.”

As we entered, the women followed. After confirming that everyone was inside, they closed and locked the door. The sounds of people followed, reaching even outside the iron door. The women, including Ponytail, looked at each other and spoke.

“Will they keep doing that out front?”

“They’ve even invaded the fortress recently. I think they will continue like this until they achieve their goal.”

“We will have to subdue them with the others. It would be difficult for just us.”

“I will find a way to contact the Watchmen.”

Clang

The sound of someone gripping and shaking the thick emergency door could be heard.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang.