Ch.43Yeouido

Firin and I continued walking without much conversation.

However, even as we moved forward without obstacles, there came a point where we had no choice but to stop.

A place we absolutely had to pass through to reach Yeouido.

The Han River.

The wide, vast river continued to flow even though the world had collapsed.

Swoosh—

“Hmm…”

I looked down at the Han River with a sour expression.

Only the pale moonlight floating in the sky above illuminated the dark river water.

Like shadows writhing, the black currents rippled faintly.

Fortunately, there was a bridge built for crossing this river.

Of course, not all bridges were intact. Mapo Bridge had a section completely broken off, making the gap too wide to cross.

Judging by the black burn marks, it seemed human users had destroyed part of the bridge while fighting Fusion Bodies.

I began crossing Seogangdae Bridge with Firin.

This bridge appeared to be in relatively better condition.

Though “better” was relative—even Seogangdae Bridge looked like it could collapse at any moment.

Traces of the past remained on the bridge.

Human-looking white bones and crushed vehicles abandoned in corners.

Looking at the unknown weeds growing through the cracked asphalt, it seemed this bridge too might collapse soon.

Hoping that moment wouldn’t be now…

I fixed my gaze forward, trying my best not to look at the river water below.

The silence between Firin and me continued.

We weren’t particularly close, so it was natural we had nothing to talk about.

I carefully glanced to the side.

Firin, like me, was only looking straight ahead.

She didn’t seem particularly bothered by the silence.

I carefully opened my mouth.

“Firin…?”

“Yes.”

A calm response.

Her gaze remained fixed straight ahead.

I mumbled, unsure what to say.

I’d broken the silence but didn’t know what topic to continue with.

Just then, I noticed the small teddy bear she was holding.

She’d been holding it when we first met, and even during the Fenrir subjugation.

Could it be something with special meaning?

“What’s with that teddy bear?”

Firin stopped walking at my question.

Just as I was about to apologize, thinking I’d made a mistake, she pressed the teddy bear against her cheek.

“What do you think?”

“W-what do I think…?”

“The bear and me. Don’t we match?”

“Ah…”

I gaped at Firin’s words.

Indeed, the small teddy bear was a plus factor with Firin’s cute appearance.

If she had been taller, it might have looked strange.

But a girl shorter than Charlotte carrying a doll didn’t look odd at all.

In fact, it suited her very well.

“Y-you match well…”

“That’s why I carry it.”

I closed my mouth at Firin’s answer.

She started walking forward again.

As I maintained my silence, this time Firin spoke up.

“It would suit Charlotte too.”

I nodded.

I thought it might be an important item with a story behind it, but it seemed to be just a simple accessory.

I sighed and turned my head.

“We’ve arrived.”

I looked around at Firin’s words.

While we were talking, we had already reached Yeouido.

We had crossed that long, straight bridge.

Thankfully, the bridge hadn’t collapsed.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I stepped onto solid ground.

Good. Now we just need to find this Aborix’s clan and investigate.

I turned to Firin and asked:

“Where is this Aborix guy?”

“Over there.”

Firin pointed to a building in the distance.

Looking carefully, I could see a tall structure.

Of course, it too was half-collapsed.

If the building had been intact, it would have been the tallest in Yeouido.

There was a werewolf clan in Yeouido as well.

As Firin and I headed toward Aborix’s clan, we spotted some werewolves.

They were sitting and resting with large backpacks.

They seemed to be taking a break after farming.

This was perfect. I approached the werewolves with Firin.

“What is it? Do you have business here?”

As we got closer, a male werewolf sniffed and asked.

He seemed to have identified us as vampires through our scent, and his attitude was quite friendly.

“Do you live in Yeouido?”

“What if I do?”

I smiled lightly at the werewolf’s response.

If he was a local resident, he would know the movements of humans nearby.

Even if not, he would at least know where human clans were located.

“Perfect timing. Do you know the vampires living here? Someone called Aborix.”

“Aborix…? Ah, I know them.”

“Have you noticed any suspicious movements? Like meeting with humans?”

“Humans…? Now that you mention it, they did have a faint human scent on them at times.”

I nodded at the werewolf’s words.

There was definitely something going on.

Unfortunately, this was all the information we could get from the werewolf.

“Thanks!”

Before parting, I took out a Blood Fruit and handed it to the werewolf.

Though it was meant to reduce vampires’ blood thirst, I knew it had some effect on werewolves too.

The werewolf sniffed the Blood Fruit, then opened his mouth wide and swallowed it in one bite.

Judging by the smile spreading across his face, he liked the Blood Fruit.

Firin and I left the werewolf behind and continued on our way.

“I don’t see any Fusion Bodies around.”

“They must all be focused on leveling up.”

I looked around as I responded to Firin’s comment.

The users in Yeouido seemed to be busy hunting respawned Fusion Bodies to level up.

After walking for a while, we arrived in front of a large building.

It was once known as the 63 Building.

Of course, it was no longer 60 floors tall.

So this is the place.

I looked up at the large building and raised the corner of my mouth.

But there was no response.

If this was a clan hideout, there should be at least one sentry on guard.

Firin and I hadn’t even tried to hide our approach, so by now, a clan member should have come out to greet us.

“Hmm…”

Firin tilted her head, also finding it strange.

Waiting wouldn’t solve our curiosity.

I stepped into the building with Firin.

As soon as we entered, a faint smell of blood wafted over.

It was evidence that vampires had been living here.

“Hmm…”

I looked around.

Red footprints stained with blood, handprints on the inner walls.

There were traces showing vampires had lived here, but no notable items were visible.

In fact, the building seemed completely empty, without even the slightest sign of life.

“Is this really Aborix’s clan hideout?”

“Yes.”

Firin nodded calmly at my question.

She approached a corner, crouched down, and began rummaging through the building debris.

Could they have abandoned their hideout after realizing we were coming?

I sighed and began climbing the stairs.

Of course, the stairs were in no better condition than the exterior of the building.

Some sections had collapsed, and others were completely broken, making further ascent impossible.

Though vampires could probably jump over these gaps with their high jumping ability.

“Ha!”

I too jumped from my spot to reach the next floor.

Firin and I climbed the stairs, checking each floor one by one.

After searching for quite some time, all we found was one suspicious bag.

And it reeked of human scent.

“This is what I saw.”

“Hmm… Is this what they received from humans?”

“Yes.”

“But why would they leave it behind?”

“Maybe they forgot it?”

Firin and I put our heads together over the large bag.

Why would Aborix’s people leave this bag behind?

Was it really because they forgot about it, as Firin suggested?

No, that couldn’t be.

How could vampires forget an item with such a strong human scent?

I carefully opened the bag’s zipper.

Ziiip-!

“Oh…”

What came out of the bag were rectangular, heavy objects.

Not just one, but five of them.

Wrapped in tape with bundles of wires connected, they naturally reminded me of bombs.

Bo…

Bombs?

Tick-!

At that moment, a small noise.

Something moved inside the object I was holding.

Not just that one. The same sound came from everything still in the bag.

An eerie sense of foreboding crawled up my spine.

A chilling feeling that made all my hair stand on end.

I immediately threw away the object in my hand and spread my shadow.

Swoosh-!

In that moment, I saw a girl with wide, surprised eyes, clutching her teddy bear tightly.

It was Firin.

Firin’s build was a long-range mage who used extreme mental power for psychic abilities.

That meant her defense was weak.

I might be able to withstand this bomb barrage.

But Firin?

The deliberation didn’t last long.

The shadow wrapping around my body began to move sideways.

Eventually, it enveloped Firin’s body.

At that moment, a huge flash erupted.

Hot flames engulfed my body.

Additional shadows rose belatedly to protect me, but the flames had already caught on.

BOOM-!

A massive explosion sound erupted.

The shock of the explosion shook the entire building and sent my body flying backward.

I could block additional damage using shadows, but the damage from the initial explosion was substantial.

My disoriented body crashed through the inner wall of the 63 Building and fell to the floor.

A second impact came before I could regain my senses.

Thud-! Crash-! BOOM-!

Having fallen from a great height, my small body bounced around like a rubber ball and crashed into a nearby building.

“Ugh…”

I grabbed my throbbing head and got up.

The pain throughout my body was considerable.

Judging by my reddened vision, blood from my head must have seeped into my eyes.

But I wasn’t dead. My arms and legs were twisted, and bones protruded through my skin, but I was still regenerating rather than dying.

It was the ridiculous regeneration speed I’d gained from the bracelet.

The torn and ripped wounds were already healing.

I took out potions and Blood Fruit from within my shadow and stuffed them into my mouth.