episode_0017

7. Falcon Gang (1)

Kang Ara, the daughter of Kang Han-cheol, who leads the Mokdong settlement, still cannot forget the child she met when she was young.

When I met Ho-ryeong, the daughter of Walnut, we became close friends pretty quickly because we both liked similar animals and hobbies.

We kept in touch occasionally after that first meeting, but it became increasingly difficult to keep in touch after Top appeared in the world.

Even when the government collapsed due to a pandemic caused by a virus from another world, they somehow managed to keep in touch with each other and check in on each other’s well-being.

When his father, Kang Han-cheol, was building a settlement through Mokdong Stadium, which was in pretty good condition among the crumbling buildings,

Kang Ara recalled the story about the walnuts to her father, and after barely being able to contact them, she waited for them to come.

But when she heard the news and met them, the child she had thought of as a younger sister no longer existed.

On the day Horyeong died, Kang Ara gained the ‘ability’.

*****

After a big fight with her father, Ara went out the door and was relieved to see Hodoo-sik back, so she quickly greeted him.

He ran towards the source who had told him the location of the Falcon Gang.

‘You clearly said you lived here…’

A shantytown located a little way past Mokdong settlement

Although Mokdong settlement is a certified place, the space inside where people can live is limited.

They built a wall nearby and created a shantytown inside it to help people from outside live there.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that people living in places like this are necessarily good people.

As Ara was walking around the shantytown, the man who was her informant came out of a building that looked like a chapel.

” Hey there! ”

When Ara waved her hand and shouted, the man was startled and ‘shocked’, but soon calmed down and showed a kind expression towards her.

” Isn’t this you, young lady? Why have you come to see a lowly person like me? ”

” Hey, why are you saying that? We’re the same person anyway ”

” Haha, but still, she is the daughter of the person who manages the settlement, so how could I treat her like that? ”

” I said it was okay. Ahem, but before that, there was something you told me, right? ”

” Hmm, what are you talking about…? ”

The man’s half-closed eyes sparkled as he looked at Ara and spoke slyly.

” You said you passed by a group of outlaws before coming here, right? ”

” Oh, that was the story? Oh no~ Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t want to think about it again. ”

” Could you please say that again? I think the group of outlaws caught this time are from that group. ”

” Oh my, you did a good job. But then why are you looking for that place?

Why don’t you just hand over the guys you caught to the ‘management department’ under the ‘Blue House’? ”

The man slowly approached Ara and asked.

” Oh, it’s nothing special, I just thought you might be interested since they came all the way here.

If it’s okay, we were talking about gathering people and doing a punitive expedition. ”

When Ara turned her eyes slightly while saying that she was gathering people, the man smiled meaningfully at her reaction.

” If it’s such a good intention, then I should tell you. Isn’t it for everyone’s sake! ”

” Ah! Thank you. ”

After finding out from him the location of what she suspected to be the ‘Falcon Gang’, Ara left the man.

” Phew, things worked out so easily. I guess I’m still a child. I have to spread the news quickly. ”

The man went back into the building he had come from.

” For the glory of the tower. ”

But his words were drowned out by the noise of people arguing and talking among themselves, which was a common occurrence in the shantytown.

*****

After finding out the location from the man, Ara went straight into her room, packed the equipment and items she needed for battle, put them in her bag, and quickly left.

” Anyway, the top raid will be done well without me. Those two people are there too. ”

The man and woman who helped him when he was surrounded by outlaws were much stronger than he was.

And in the case of the man, for some reason he seemed to like helping people, so I thought that if I disappeared, he would somehow help me conquer the tower.

Just because of the way the girl looked when she came out after fighting with her father, Ara’s dying flame of revenge seemed to be rekindled.

‘He was a child of similar build to Yeong-i. That’s why Uncle Du-sik kept him by his side.’

Ara left the settlement and arrived at Mokdong Station, where the outlaw group was located, late at night.

The scenery I saw on my way there was the complete opposite of what I could see just a few years ago, as if it was telling me that the world was ending.

The trees that should be blooming due to the influence of the tower are all dried up and twisted.

A broadcasting station building that is busy broadcasting various programs,

People playing or walking in the park, relying on the night lights,

And the high-rise buildings, such as apartments where people are supposed to live with their families, are no longer shining.

It just added to the eerieness of this ruin in the depths of the night.

The destination, ‘Mokdong Station’, had a wall made of barbed wire and scrap metal, as if it had been touched by human hands, unlike the scenery I had seen while passing by.

At the entrance, a large barrel was lit with a fire made of pieces of wood, and a group of lawbreakers could be seen making a lot of noise nearby.

I couldn’t figure out what the heck was fun.

Ara takes out the sword of revenge that she had kept in her heart when she sees those lawbreakers taking the life of an innocent child and tormenting others.

I ran out to them.

*****

Falcon, the leader of the Falcon Gang, Han Jin-oh, was in a terrible mood after seeing that there was no news of his subordinates who had gone on a raid near the Mokdong settlement today.

” What the hell, you idiots, what are you doing with those worthless guys?! ”

He stood up from his seat, using the wings that grew from his back to toss the empty bottles of alcohol that had been placed on the table.

Originally, he should have just been caught as an outlaw, but one day he met someone who called himself the ‘Messiah’ and became his lackey.

No, rather than saying that I became a slave, I should say that I had no choice but to kneel before the strength he showed.

” Oh my, there’s not much time left until the deadline…!? Why can’t you just bring a few random ability users?!

You must have lost all your strength from conquering the tower..! ”

According to informants who relayed information to them from within the settlement, this was certainly the case.

Anyway, the only person with strong abilities in Mokdong settlement is a man called Hodushik.

” Ha, that man’s daughter was such a shame. If I had been a little stronger, I would have brought her back instead of killing her. ”

At that moment, Han Jin-oh felt alive.

As he quickly flew up, thorns made of dirt sprouted from under his feet.

” Haa… Haa… What did you just say? ”

Below him as he flew up, he saw a girl gasping for breath and suffering from injuries ‘here and there’.

” What are you? Why are you here? What are those idiots who sent me to be on guard doing? ”

” Well, the guys I saw while coming this way should be lying on the ground by now. ”

” Huh! What can a little kid like you do? ”

” I can take you down, I guess! ”

Kang Ara creates thorns made of dirt from the floor or ceiling and targets Han Jin Oh.

But before she knew it, a group of outlaws from the Falcon gang, who had been making a fuss, came up to her.

Even if Han Jin-oh had made a surprise attack, he was not weak enough to be attacked by Ara.

Because it was a fight between one and many, not just two people.

In the end, Ara was hit in the stomach by Han Jin-oh’s blow that flew at an invisible speed and lost consciousness.

” Boss! What should I do with this woman? ”

” Just lock him up! It’s nothing but a nuisance. What about the quota? ”

” It’s a little lacking, but wouldn’t that bitch I just caught be fine? ”

” Hoo, now that I think about it, a person with just the right ability has come to me!

Hahaha!! I thought things weren’t going well, but that wasn’t the case! ”

Leaving a few of his men to watch the woman, he returned to his room, opened the safe, and fiddled with a vial containing some unpleasant pills.

” They said it was a recent success… I guess it might be safer for me to keep it just in case. ”

After re-locking the safe and heading to the warehouse to find alcohol, he suddenly received a note from an informant from one of his subordinates who ran up to him and read it.

Han Jin-oh A mean smile appeared on his face.

” Ha! Ha! Ha! Was this a total disaster? That strong iron’s daughter?! I guess I’ll have to gather some kids and send them back. Hehe. ”

Deep in the night, only his bitter laughter echoed through the basement.

*****

A church-shaped building was erected in front of a tower deep in the mountains. Inside, many people were praying toward a mural in the shape of the tower.

And the man wearing a robe turned inside out, watching the scene, was standing there holding a staff carved in the shape of a tower.

” Today too, Toph is purifying this world for us.

However, a group of evildoers are distracted by their own selfish interests and are hindering the tower’s noble purpose.

We will soon have the power to punish them!! ”

As the man spoke, many people continued to pray toward the tower, screaming or shedding tears.

The fanatic group that worships the tower, ‘Obelisk’, is still praying towards the tower today, waiting for the day when they can gradually spread their wings that they had closed towards the world.