episode_0063

20. Garam Settlement in Danger (1)

Yeonseo was looking at the map with a serious expression at the place where she followed Dohee, so she approached her and asked what happened.

” Yeonseo…? What’s wrong…? ”

” Ah, you came. Haa, they say bad things happen one after another. ”

Yeonseo sighed while looking at the map, then sat there staring into space.

Although she seemed to be in her own world as usual, Yeonseo’s hands were shaking terribly.

” What the hell is going on? Huh? ”

” Ugh, ugh. Charlotte…! ”

” Wow…! ”

Yeonseo started crying in my arms. Seeing her sudden change in appearance, I slowly touched my head and looked at Hyunseok.

” Sister Dohee. What on earth happened? ”

” First of all… you guys will know if you look at the map. ”

When I looked at the map at that point, I saw that there was a place surrounded by a red dot.

I didn’t know where it was, but I thought that red dot was not good, and Hyun-seok looked at it and then asked Do-hee with a look of deep thought.

” This… This is? Isn’t this Garam Settlement? What the heck is this… This red dot…! ”

” That’s… ”

Yeonseo lifted her head from my arms and opened her mouth, cutting off Dohee, who was trying to tell us what it was.

” Demons. All of them… All of those red dots are demons! Surrounding the Garam Settlement…! ”

” What?! Yeonseo, is that true?! ”

Hyunseok looked at Yeonseo with a surprised expression, and she nodded and started crying again in my arms.

” Why on earth? The towers around Garam… have all been conquered… Wait, sis… right? ”

” Haa, unfortunately, as the old saying goes, sad premonitions are never wrong. That’s right. They’re the demons that came down from Namsan. ”

” But you’re coming this fast? No matter what, this is…! ”

While we were talking like that, Ms. Elena, who came here with us, opened her mouth.

” I just asked the spirits and they say that the area around Namsan is already overflowing with demons. So they are spreading out to the surrounding areas and expanding their power. ”

” Damn, Ms. Elena… Are other places similar besides Garam? ”

” Similar, but… I think there are more of them in Garam. I don’t know why, but… ”

At those words, everyone began to bow their heads or sigh in their chairs, creating a stuffy atmosphere.

Yeonseo began to cry even more in my arms, and Hyunseok just sighed deeply while looking back and forth between Yeonseo and the red dot… the map showing the Garam settlement surrounded by demons.

That kind of atmosphere made my heart ache.

I couldn’t think of how to comfort the first friend I made when I came back and the guy I liked who was having a hard time.

But the only thing that came to mind was something I was good at.

” Let’s go save him. ”

At those words, Yeonseo, who was crying in my arms, looked at me

” Charlotte…? ”

” You were going to Garam anyway, right? So you can go and help me now. Right? ”

At those words, Yeonseo seemed to realize something and started wiping away her tears as she left my arms, and Dohee hit the desk and shouted.

” But that’s too reckless! Even you guys, with that many devils…! ”

” Don’t worry. The three of us… well, there was one more, but we took out all the evildoers in the Capitol, right? ”

” But…! It will be stronger than that demon back then! ”

” Sister Dohee. Nothing will be solved if we just sit still like this anyway. And if we can’t deal with these evil spirits, then we won’t be able to conquer the tower in Namsan, right? ”

At my words, Dohee looked at me silently as if she was at a loss for words, then burst into laughter.

” Haha, yeah. You’re right. If we can’t even solve this crisis, we won’t be able to attack the tower, let alone get close to it. ”

” That’s right. Sister, just like Charlotte said, I’m going to… Garam. I’m going to go and save the people who stayed with my sister! ”

” Then I’ll make sure to get what I need right away. ”

Hyun-seok said that and went out to meet Lee Jun-woo, Do-hee’s younger brother.

” Charlotte. Thank you. ”

” Hey, what’s this? Let’s get ready quickly. ”

” Yeah! ”

Yeonseo and I decided to gather more information while receiving the items given to us by Dohee.

This was because the information that could be known for sure from a map alone was limited.

I thought that I needed to know information like what type of demon was attacking Garam and how much Garam could withstand, so that I could get there and minimize the damage.

*****

We quickly left Nodeul Island and began crossing the Hangang Bridge.

” So which way should I go? ”

I was riding Yeonseo’s summoner and running, but I didn’t know which way to Garam, so I asked Hyunseok, who was leading the way.

” First, we’ll go straight ahead and turn right at the first intersection. It’ll be faster that way. ”

” Got it! ”

Even while riding Yeonseo’s summons and going quickly, a loud crying sound was heard.

A wolf-like howl.

But to call it a wolf at all… it was a strange sound, like a mixture of different sounds.

” Tsk, is it the wolf-type demon this time?! ”

” Is Wolf-hyung having a hard time too? ”

” Hmm, there are cases where they’re just regular animal types, but you know, werewolves? Those guys called ‘lycanthropes’. Those guys show up too. ”

” Really? But it doesn’t sound that hard? ”

At those words, Yeonseo was speaking seriously in a low voice next to me.

” Those guys… are the worst guys. They pretend to be the people they’ve killed. ”

” What?! What the… mean? Empathy? ”

” Literally, he’s a werewolf ‘man’. I like to think he wears the skin of the people he’s killed. ”

” I see… ”

But I couldn’t help but be surprised by what Hyunseok said afterwards.

” The problem is… the guys who impersonate themselves act like they’re that person from the beginning. Maybe they even have memories. But when their leader shows up… ”

” What if it appears? ”

” They immediately shed their usual appearances and started killing people in a disguised manner. ”

” That’s… pretty annoying… ”

” Yeah, because of those guys, my sister almost got hurt badly. They were so fooled that I was fooled… because they acted like my parents…! ”

Yeonseo’s one word left me speechless.

The people they thought were precious to them… were already dead and in the hands of evil spirits.

If something like that happens to me…

A feeling of my heart being squeezed came over me, as if I could hear a sound like, “Kuk.”

So I started to move a little faster, and soon Hyunseok and Yeonseo also picked up their pace, and we ran towards Garam Settlement.

*****

The Garam settlement has been filled with chaos due to the wolf’s clutches.

It was already like hell there.

A place filled with people who are attacked by demons disguised as people they trusted, and people who fight back while shedding tears at those demons.

There, a woman was guarding the people.

” Damn it, it had to be these guys?! ”

She had light green hair and a rather voluptuous body, but her expression was not good.

” Grow up! ”

At those words, vines began to grow from the tips of her feet, forming a wall.

It was possible to briefly block the approach of the demons coming from all directions, giving people time to escape.

However, the power of the demons began to cut down the vines that had been created by her ability, which was originally non-combat capable, quickly enough to destroy them.

” Sigh, I’m going crazy. Why did something like this happen while Yeonseo and Hyunseok were away? ”

” Yeonwoo! We’ve already evacuated! ”

” Really? Any contact from Seojin and Jinhee?! ”

” First of all, Seojin said that they are already coming from all directions, so there is nowhere to run. And Jinhee said that Hyunseok and Yeonseo seem to be coming here right now. ”

” Thank goodness. No, should I call this a blessing…? For them to come at such a dangerous moment… ”

” Yeonwoo, let’s evacuate quickly. ”

” Okay. Jinseok, are you hurt anywhere? ”

” It’s me, well. I’m okay thanks to Seok-hyun. ”

Hearing those words, Seo Yeon-woo, who leads Garam Settlement, and Kim Jin-seok, who helps her, quickly headed to where the people were gathered.

There was a man fighting a giant made of rock with several demons flowing in from in front of him.

” Seokhyun! ”

” Yeonwoo noona! Jinseok hyung, come quickly! ”

As Yeonwoo and Jinseok went inside, Lee Seokhyun created a wall by making rocks around the building, and Seo Yeonwoo built a strong support with tree vines inside.

They sat down in relief, seeing that the demons couldn’t easily enter because of the rocks and vines.

” Phew, I guess I can handle this much? ”

” Yes, it’s thanks to you, Seok-Hyeon. Really. ”

” Haha! Jinseok hyung. Then later, can I get a few items I want… ”

” You’re really… Haa, okay, I’ll let you survive this time. ”

” You two. Are you saying that in front of me? ”

” I got caught like this~ ”

” Well, what do you think? If you survive this time, you can at least get a few looks, right? ”

The three of them thought they were safe from the demons’ attacks and started talking.

A young girl approached Seo Yeon-woo from behind.

” Huh? So… you… ”

” Sob, sob, sister, my mom…! ”

Yeonwoo, who was hugging the whimpering child to calm him down, soon noticed something strange, but it was too late because she had already pulled the child deep into her arms.

” Hey… Yeonwoo!! ”

” Sister!! ”

She was pierced in the stomach by a young girl with a wolf’s hand, with a ‘snap’ sound.

I lost consciousness as I thought of my only brother running towards me.