Ch.9Chapter 9 – Defending the Castle (1)

“Senior?”

“Yes, assistant. It’s an emergency. The black sphere, you saw it on the internet?”

“I saw it on CCTV. Videos of small green monsters roaming around Gwanak District and attacking people. What’s happening?”

Shin Jaehyuk explained the situation quickly, but with a calm voice.

“As you might have guessed, that black sphere is a hell gate, and green imps—green demons—keep pouring out of it. The sphere seems to have acted as a localized EMP when it appeared, destroying all electronic devices nearby. Thanks to that, my smartphone is dead too. I barely escaped and I’m calling from Gwanak Police Station now. The area around the station seems safe. At least for now…”

“My God, so that footage was real…”

“Is the upper part of Gwanak Mountain, the university area, safe?”

Yujin’s hands moved busily across the computer keyboard. She soon managed to break through security and access the Seoul National University Integrated Control Center management server. She quickly scrolled down to check if any systems were down. Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any damaged CCTV or buildings without electricity on campus. This meant no hell gates had opened inside the school.

“Yes, I just checked and the electrical systems in the school are intact.”

“Good… That’s a small blessing. Still, the imps might invade that far, so find an empty classroom, block the entrance, and wait. Don’t go home—stay at school until the military arrives and resolves the situation.”

“Understood. I should gather food from the convenience store first. I’ll stay in the department office, so please contact me if you learn anything important.”

“I will. Spread the word to as many people as possible.”

Click. The call ended. Shin Jaehyuk leaned back against the chair and sighed in relief. Thankfully, he had been able to contact all his acquaintances. His anxious heart finally began to settle down.

Looking at the main entrance, he saw staff piling tables and chairs to block the doorway. Confused visitors who didn’t yet understand the severity of the situation were helping with the work, pushed by the staff’s urgency. Some looked at their smartphones, turned pale, and began helping more vigorously. They must have seen videos of imps killing people online.

Shortly after, an emergency broadcast came on the police station’s television.

“This is an emergency disaster announcement. We are receiving reports that black spheres have appeared in various parts of the world, with strange creatures pouring out of them. Citizens are advised to stay indoors, lock your doors, and wait until the military stabilizes the situation. The locations of black spheres reported in our country so far are as follows: Gwanak District, Seoul…”

The broadcast showed footage of a green wave covering the asphalt like a swarm of cockroaches. People caught in the wave were torn to pieces, their flesh scattered in all directions. Those who had been sitting around hesitantly finally recognized the situation and looked horrified. Everyone began frantically building barricades and blocking windows.

Watching this, Shin Jaehyuk thought that humanity’s response was quick. Fortunately, Earth’s inhabitants seemed to have noticed the demon invasion within about thirty minutes. In Eden, during the first invasion, news couldn’t reach neighboring countries in time, causing humanity to suffer great losses. The World Tree burned and the elven kingdom of Erzenheim was destroyed, leaving survivors as refugees…

As the police station became somewhat fortified, his thoughts began to drift. It was his chronic depression.

‘Demons even reaching Earth… Eloah, has Eden truly fallen?’

No. This wasn’t the time to cower in a corner. Shin Jaehyuk pulled himself together and assessed the situation.

Is the police station safe now? Yes. They had blocked the main entrance and windows, which would be difficult for imps to break through with their strength.

Could a horde of imps gather and break through the entrance? While countless imps were emerging from the hell gate, if they reached this far, their numbers wouldn’t be that great.

But wouldn’t imps eventually arrive like an ant colony and break down the police station doors? The military would deploy before that. Imps’ bodies were as weak as children’s, so an army equipped with machine guns and cannons could easily slaughter the demon hordes…

Kim Jaemin returned carrying lots of equipment: protective vests, anti-cutting gloves, shields, riot gear, helmets, batons, and more. He put the equipment down and took some to Officer Jeong Malsuk, who was holding the phone. He seemed to be trying to arm his mother to keep her safe from the demon attack. Shin Jaehyuk put on riot gear over his clothes and equipped a police shield, helmet, and anti-cutting gloves.

While he had decent protective gear, he couldn’t find suitable weapons. There were many baton-type weapons—riot batons, police batons, self-defense batons—but such blunt weapons would be ineffective against waves of imps. He needed a lethal weapon that could kill one imp precisely with each strike.

Among the police equipment Kim Jaemin had brought, there was a pistol, but since he was holding a shield in one hand, he couldn’t hold the gun with both hands. His weak muscles wouldn’t be able to handle the recoil with one hand. Moreover, as an orphan who hadn’t served in the military, he had no shooting experience and his accuracy would be poor.

‘A spear, a spear would be good.’

Kim Jaemin looked around the police station for equipment that could serve as a main weapon. He searched for something that could substitute for a spear. People were running around trying to save themselves. Suddenly, Shin Jaehyuk’s gaze fell on the window curtain. The metal rod used to hang the curtain. It was long and looked quite usable.

Shin Jaehyuk removed the rod. It was hollow and light, made of metal, making it suitable as a temporary weapon. He sharpened one end to a point. Though not pretty, a fairly usable spear was born.

Shin Jaehyuk gripped the spear with his right hand and swung it horizontally. Not bad grip. It seemed he could wield it sufficiently with his strength.

‘Good, my preparations are more or less complete. Hopefully I won’t need to use it…’

Looking around the police station, it seemed others were also somewhat prepared. Police officers and young men were wearing police equipment, staring beyond the barricade, while those without equipment had gathered behind them, each holding some kind of blade—scissors, box cutters—anything that could be used as a weapon. Officer Kim Jeongsu was surprisingly calmly giving instructions to colleagues and juniors, thoroughly fortifying their defenses.

‘He seemed flustered earlier, but he’s unexpectedly competent. Perhaps he becomes calm in crisis situations. Impressive.’

“Ah, ah, they’re coming!”

“What?”

A woman who had been staring outside through the gaps in the barricade screamed. Other police officers and Shin Jaehyuk rushed over at the sound of her scream.

“Shit! A police car! A police car is bringing a horde of monsters!”

Indeed, a police car was wobbling precariously as it approached the police station entrance. It was one of the police cars that had been dispatched earlier. Most had probably perished in the imp attack, with only one surviving and escaping. The green blood and flesh covering its bumper suggested the return journey had not been smooth.

Following the loud siren, a horde of imps seemed to have followed the police car to the station. There were far more than Shin Jaehyuk had anticipated.

‘Damn, the barricade might not hold at this rate…’

“A cop brings monsters to citizens?”

“Fuck, if you want to die, die alone, not with us!”

People panicked and cursed at the police car. Just then, a police officer jumped out of the driver’s seat and ran frantically toward the police station entrance.

“What should we do about that person? He’s running here!”

“Shouldn’t we open the door for him?”

“Are you crazy? If monsters get in, we’ll all die! Don’t open it!”

“Yeah, he’s the one who brought monsters to us! Let him die!”

“So you’re saying we should let someone die when we could save them? Are you even human?”

Shouts and yells were exchanged. People were dividing in the face of mortal danger. Shin Jaehyuk made a quick judgment. The distance between the officer and the imp horde was still quite far. There would be enough time to move the barricade slightly, let the officer in, and block the entrance again.

Shin Jaehyuk immediately gave an order.

“Push the barricade to the side slightly! Open the entrance! At this distance, we can block it again after the officer gets in!”

“Yes, listen to the Inspector! Everyone, on the count of three, push. One, two, three!”

Officer Kim Jeongsu supported Shin Jaehyuk’s words and directed his subordinates and fellow officers. With the count of three, the pile of tables and chairs shifted slightly to the side, revealing the entrance. The fleeing officer slipped through the gap.

“Block the door again!”

People restored the barricade. The officer who had successfully escaped was panting on the floor of the police station, but no one paid him any attention. More precisely, they had no time to. Immediately after blocking the entrance, a wave of imps crashed against the door.

“Push! Don’t let them open the door and get in!”

“Everyone, push harder! Push!”

The imps’ bodies slammed against the door with loud thuds. People pushed the pile of chairs and tables with all their might to withstand the collision force. The leading imps were crushed between the door and the imp horde behind them. Blood and bodily fluids flowed down the glass door from the mashed flesh. As more imps reached the building and pushed against the door, the glass door shattered under the pressure.

“Fuck, hold it! If they break through, we all die!”

People with guns tried to reduce the number of monsters by firing bullets through the gaps in the barricade. The officer who had just escaped also joined them, firing his gun frantically. Each bullet killed one imp, but there were so many attacking that the people holding the barricade hardly felt any difference.

Nevertheless, people continued to fire madly. To escape from the encroaching terror, even if just a little.

Kim Jaemin and Shin Jaehyuk weren’t idle either. Shin Jaehyuk consistently thrust his makeshift spear through the cracks, and each time the spear disappeared through a crack, blood and flesh appeared on its pointed tip. The faint holy power being used activated his muscle cells, supporting his fading stamina.

Shin Jaehyuk steadily reduced the number of imps by thrusting his spear through the gaps, and whenever flesh accumulated on the spear tip making it heavy, he would swing it backward once to shake off the fatty lumps. Then he would thrust the lightened spear through the hole again.

‘Should I use holy power? No, we seem to be holding. Let’s not use holy spells and only use physical enhancement that doesn’t show outwardly…’

Shin Jaehyuk considered revealing his power but ultimately decided to hide it as much as possible. Inexplicable power tends to bring fear. There’s no predicting what an irrational crowd might do.

Kim Jaemin dealt with imps trying to enter through windows, covering vulnerable spots throughout the first floor with his unique stamina. He held a dagger in his hand, probably looted from confiscated items in the police station storage.

Even while thrusting his spear, Shin Jaehyuk glanced at him and thought of defense games. In defense games, units that can’t change position once placed eliminate enemies within a fixed range. From that perspective, Kim Jaemin was clearly a cheat character. He could change his position at will, had no attack range limitation, and never ran out of stamina—a cheat key that would ruin the game’s balance.

‘If he appeared in a defense game, he’d be criticized as an implausible cheat key that ruins the fun…’

Of course, in their current situation, he was the most reliable ally. As these thoughts crossed his mind, time continued to pass, and the number of imps steadily decreased. The imp corpses piling up in front of the barricade formed a new wall. Demons that had squeezed through the gap between the barricade and the ceiling also became corpses, blocking that small entrance. People felt a faint hope as they sensed the pressure weakening.

“Good! The pressure is clearly weaker than before!”

“Just hold on a little longer! Just a little more..!”

The demons knew this too. At this rate, not only would they fail to kill humans, but they would all end up dead. They weren’t intelligent, but they weren’t without cunning either. The demon horde looked at each other, exchanged glances, and changed their strategy. Each individual had such a similar brain structure that they could understand what others were thinking in this situation.

“What’s happening… they stopped?”

“Huh? They’re not pushing anymore?”

“Great! They’ve finally given up, these monster bastards!”

People wondered as they no longer felt pressure on the barricade they were holding. Some rejoiced, thinking the attack was over. But Shin Jaehyuk, from his past life experience, was certain that this momentary pause was definitely not a surrender.

‘No. Demons are beings obsessed with human blood… There’s no way demons would retreat with humans right in front of them. What are they planning?’

Immediately after, they discovered the demons’ plan. The demons were no longer pushing forward. Instead, they were going up. Building stairs with the corpses of their own kind, upward. Toward the second-floor windows that no one was guarding.