episode_0010

-Boom!

With a loud crash, Beta’s body slammed into the iron shutter. Fortunately, Ian narrowly avoided it by throwing himself to the side and ended up lying on the ground.

Despite his bulky size, Beta, agile as ever, quickly turned around as soon as he missed his prey.

“Roll!”

With the force to crush anything in its path, Beta’s log-like foot pounded the ground. Once again, Ian narrowly rolled out of the way, hiding his body within the barricade.

“Kraaah!”

Was it anger at missing its prey twice? Beta let out a roar.

Damn it! Why is Beta suddenly…!

The barricade, hit by Beta’s body slam, was deeply dented. The bigger issue was that the shock from that brutal attack caused it to stop descending.

Beta may be too big to crawl in, but for regular zombies, there was enough space for them to enter if they were to lie down.

First, I need to figure out how to deal with that.

I glanced back at Jiyu. His tense expression showed his anxiety. To pull him away from the barricade, Jiyu needed to draw Beta’s attention. But the odds were not in our favor.

A monster that could only inflict brain damage by repeatedly hitting the skull with a large sniper rifle. Otherwise, it would need to aim for the eyes to incapacitate it or target the neck through the mouth, but considering the height difference and Beta’s physical abilities, even Jiyu with just a sword would be ineffective.

I briefly considered evacuating with Ian, but immediately shook my head. Staying here alone wouldn’t stop Beta. Somehow, it would try to break through the barricade and get to where the humans were.

I recalled the memory from the lab. The scene where a thick iron door was smashed with a few punches. No matter how reinforced the barricade was, it wouldn’t hold for long.

If the wall was breached, everyone here would be wiped out, and even our group couldn’t guarantee our lives. If Ian had a revolver, he would have done something to try and stop it…

Frustrated by the unfolding events that seemed to indicate a malicious intent to kill Jiyu no matter what, I clenched my fist.

“Ugh…”

I couldn’t stall any longer. I had to stop it here somehow. I made up my mind.

“Jiyu, hold that monster off for a moment. You saw it earlier, right? After it roars, it charges at frightening speed, so be careful. To capture it, you’ll need to target the neck through the mouth…”

It’s impossible, right?

“For now, I’ll bring down the shutter.”

Jiyu remained silent with a stern expression. I wondered if he was scared, but it was the opposite.

“You, too, run inside. I’ll manage somehow here.”

His voice trembled slightly. It was clear he was prepared for death.

This is why nothing changes from the original. Anger welled up within me at the thought of the situation.

“Don’t say that. I’ll figure something out, so just buy me some time.”

Jiyu’s unexpected reaction made his eyes widen, and he soon smiled wryly.

“I’ll gladly accept even just your words. Run away.”

With those words, as if there was no need for a response, Jiyu dashed towards Beta.

-Boom! Boom!

Every time Beta swung its fist at the barricade, the reinforced shutter cracked.

“Shaaaah!”

“Kieeeet!”

A few zombies blocked Jiyu’s path, but they couldn’t even slow him down before their heads rolled.

Turning around amidst the chaos, Beta noticed a human rushing towards it. It quickly turned and used its momentum to throw a punch. The attack was so fast and powerful that even from a distance, the pressure could be felt, capable of instantly killing anyone, regardless of their humanity.

However, Hajiyu seemed to have anticipated it as she lightly bowed her body as if to avoid the fist while simultaneously swinging her sword downwards.

The blade precisely sliced through the front paw ankle, leaving only a small scratch. Beta, as if not bothered by the tickling sensation, kicked her knee towards the face of the small human digging into her chest.

As Hajiyu rolled her body, a knee the size of a human torso narrowly passed through the spot where she had just been. An attack without considering evasion, an unavoidable strike.

Locking eyes with Hajiyu, Beta nodded her head once and then dashed towards the back.

Beta, who was preparing for the next attack with a grim expression, glanced at the opponent who was momentarily moving away as if dumbfounded. Then.

“Kraaaahhhhh!!!!!”

A human worth fighting appeared after a long time. An enraged roar echoed through the air, as if shattering the previously built up momentum.

The thigh muscles swelled as if about to explode. Beta began to charge towards Hajiyu.

I turned my gaze away from there. I will hold on. Because it’s Hajiyu.

When they reached the checkpoint, Ian had retreated back inside. He grabbed Ian, who was trying to rush out to help his friend in danger.

“We need to close this shutter first!”

It seems he had lost his senses in the face of his friend’s danger. Ian, who came to his senses at my words, immediately tried to close the shutter from the inside.

I grabbed his wrist again. His eyes, slightly annoyed as if asking why I was interfering in such a hurry, met mine without looking away.

In the original work, Ian turns away after witnessing Hajiyu getting infected. He couldn’t abandon his friend until it became an irreversible situation.

“Come over here quickly! We’ll all die at this rate!”

Isangyeop, who was holding his position well, pleaded anxiously from the opposite side.

It may be revealed later, but it doesn’t matter if I say it now.

“Go and stop Kim Munhyuk. There’s a bomb detonator in the control room.”

At the mention of a bomb, Ian’s pupils shook.

“Are you lying to send me away? You don’t need to sacrifice yourselves. If we join forces, there must be a way…”

“Sir, is it true that there’s a bomb installed here?”

Isangyeop hesitated for a moment behind the wall.

“…It is, but how do you know that…?”

“I overheard it yesterday. Go quickly. Kim Munhyuk is planning to blow up everything with zombies by detonating the bomb.”

Even if it’s Kim Munhyuk, he doesn’t seem like the type to lack common sense, but this is the only way to convince him.

Even after saying all this, Ian still hesitated.

“I will definitely bring Hajiyu back. Hurry!”

Perhaps feeling my determination, Ian reluctantly nodded and crossed over to the other side.

With the weight of three people pressing on both sides, the shutter, which had not budged at first, made a thud sound as it closed.

Alright, now I have to stop Beta…

Hajiyu was still moving her small body around, dodging here and there, but her speed had noticeably slowed down compared to before.

With each charge from Beta, there were red welts and a few buttons torn off here and there on Hajiyu’s body.

Panting heavily, disheveled clothing. It was a sight unseen on the usually neat Hajiyu.

It was a natural result. To both fight off zombies and escape from Beta at the same time was an unimaginable feat for me.

Beta also had traces of cuts from the knife all over her body, but compared to her massive frame, they were just scratches from a cutter knife.

I didn’t know how long they could hold out like this. I dashed to a corner for now. There were various things gathered there just in case.

It’s difficult to directly assist in combat. Even if I manage to go unnoticed by the zombies, getting caught between them and getting hit by Beta’s swinging fists or body slams…

In that case, all I can do is support. Giving buffs to allies is impossible from the start. Then how about debuffs…

I survey the situation. Beta is chasing after us. The ordinary zombies are also forming a group like a school of fish, following the pursuit.

In this case…

I grab a rope and a bag of flour, and dash towards the swarming horde of zombies.

Ha Jiyu’s eyes widened at the sight.

“Yoon Siwoo! What are you…!”

From Ha Jiyu’s perspective, it wouldn’t be surprising if she thought I was crazy. Running back towards a horde of zombies as if trying to commit suicide after being told to run away was definitely not normal.

“Don’t lose focus!”

Even as Beta’s fist flew towards us, Ha Jiyu narrowly dodged it and looked back at me.

And this time, her face was not just surprised, but filled with shock.

I had grabbed one of the zombies on the outer edge of the horde, wrapped a rope around it, and was holding it close.

The smell was pungent, and the touch of the brown, dried skin was horrible, but now was not the time to be picky about such things.

“I’ll explain later! Can you run in the direction I’m pointing!?”

Ha Jiyu nodded her head, breathing heavily.

“Draw a circle from the corner of the bathroom to the tool corner and run!”

Avoiding Beta’s attacks, she followed the direction I indicated.

I held onto the rope tied to the zombie and ran along the outer edge of the horde in the opposite direction of the direction I had indicated.

By running in opposite directions like this…

When we met up in the opposite direction, we were able to gather the zombies swarming like a school of fish.

“Haa…, haa….”

I ran with all my might, my breath reaching the tip of my chin. Sweat beads formed on my forehead and trickled down my jaw.

Alright, now is the crucial moment.

The battle was still raging on the other side. Ha Jiyu’s condition was deteriorating rapidly. Her sweat-drenched hair stuck to her body and face, and her breathing was almost gasping for air.

Her stamina was depleting faster than I had thought, causing panic.

I threw a bag of flour into the air and shouted.

“Step back!”

At my shout, Ha Jiyu stepped back.

Beta instinctively swung her fist at the projectile flying towards her. With a loud thud, the flour bag burst open, obscuring the vision.

I immediately ran towards Beta.

“Keep your distance as much as possible! Let him do the body slam!”

If the distance was far enough, she would know from experience that Beta would perform a body slam. Despite her current stamina, it would be difficult to avoid that attack, but Ha Jiyu trusted me and nodded, moving further away.

As the obscured vision cleared, Beta, who had already fled far away, glared at me with red eyes. In that moment, I slid under Beta’s legs and tied the rope connected to the horde of zombies.

“Krrraaaahhh!!!!!”

I heard a scream from below, my ears ringing and my skull throbbing.

Beta’s thigh began to swell as if it were about to explode. If I were to be dragged along with her like this, I couldn’t guarantee my life.

I tied a knot around the rope wrapped around her tree trunk-like leg. Trying to calm my hands that kept fumbling in anxiety, I finished tying the knot.

The world spun around several times. I couldn’t keep up with what was happening. Soon, with a thud, I was thrown out by the force of Beta’s explosion…

Damn it… Was I thrown out just by the aftermath of Beta’s explosion…

*Cough… Cough!*

Forced to cough while lying down, Ha Ji-yoo lifted her head.

Bullets shot out like lightning from Beta towards her. With each charging step, the ground trembled.

Exhausted, Ha Ji-yoo couldn’t avoid the attack at all.

The gap between them closed in an instant. Now, there were only a few steps left between them.

Her clenched fist was damp with sweat.

Perhaps realizing that running away was no longer an option, Ha Ji-yoo raised her sword directly towards Beta.

And at the moment when the loose rope was pulled taut.

Beta’s body floated into the air.