The Net Queen’s brow was pierced.
An arrow, lodged precisely where it had struck.
Thud-!
As the Net Queen’s body fell backward, the spiders, having lost their mother, scattered in a state of panic and chaos and began to flee.
“Wh-where are you bastards going-!”
The greatly agitated Hunter Yi Kang-ho, still not grasping the situation, continued to fire his shotgun.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The meaningless sound of gunfire echoed.
Leaving the worked-up Hunter Yi Kang-ho behind, Lenea and I headed toward the Net Queen.
A hole pierced through its brow.
The arrow had long since disappeared, turning into a halo of light.
“Ahem, it was nothing.” “I haven’t said anything yet.” “It was obvious you were about to praise me.”
Praise?
She certainly deserved praise.
She had taken care of the Net Queen cleanly, without a single hair on the hostages being harmed.
But from my perspective, this was an awkward situation.
Hadn’t I already called a contractor before we left?
“Pant!
Pant!
Mia!
Mia!
Where are you!”
Just then, Yi Kang-ho, having chased away all the spiders, came running urgently.
Seeing him frantically tearing at the spiderweb cocoons even made me feel a sense of pity.
Rrrrip!
Rip!
One, two, three—.
People emerged from the cocoons.
Most of those who looked like hunters were weakened, but not dead.
“It’s a blessing in disguise that it liked to eat them alive.”
Thanks to its peculiar preference, the people had survived.
I immediately called 119.
As I explained the location and situation—.
– Huh?
We can’t go that far.
“What?”
The reply that came back was absurd.
– I mean, it’s outside the city.
We can’t go because of the magical beasts.
You’ll have to move them to the temporary ward yourselves.
“But people are dying-!” – So we should drive an ambulance into a place full of magical beasts?
Do you want us all to die?
Click.
The call ended.
With an irritated sigh, it seemed I’d have to transport as many as I could to the temporary ward with the SUV.
Just then.
“Mi, Mia!
Mia!”
As he tore a cocoon, Yu Mia finally appeared.
A pale face and weak breaths.
She had some injuries, but she was clearly alive.
“Mia!
Mia-!”
Yi Kang-ho lifted Yu Mia with trembling hands.
Fat teardrops fell, wiping Yu Mia’s dirtied cheeks.
“Sob!
Thank goodness… Truly, truly, thank goodness.”
The lover he held dearly in his arms, as if he would never let go again.
I was about to put a cigarette to my lips but put it back.
Now wasn’t the time to be leisurely smoking.
“First, let’s move some people to the car with me.” “Yeah, okay-.”
Lenea, stopping mid-reply, frowned and looked up at the sky.
“Someone’s coming?” “They’re coming.
I called them.” “The friend you mentioned earlier?”
Before she could finish, a shadow fell over us.
Her name was Ryu Seoram, and she stepped off an airboard only sold on the 6th Floor.
A black baseball cap and a baseball jacket.
She was a die-hard fan of the Daeheung Bearforce, a team that ranked last place every year, and my friend.
She immediately pointed a baseball bat at me.
“One-point difference, bottom of the 9th inning.
It was just about to start, and you expect me to believe you called me here?” “You still cheer for that team?” “…I’ll cheer for them just until the end of this year, and then I’m done.”
I heard that last year, and the year before that.
“Haa, I can guess why you called-.”
Ryu Seoram looked around.
The Net Queen’s corpse and the unconscious people.
The experienced Ryu Seoram needed no explanation.
“Looks like it was resolved before I got here, huh?” “The elf over here handled it.” “The ambulance?
They said they won’t come?” “Yeah…” “Hold on.”
Ryu Seoram called someone.
Seeing her look through her contacts, it wasn’t ‘119.’
“Yeah, it’s me.
I’m turning on my GPS, so send an ambulance to my location right now.
The total number of injured is-.”
I held up two fingers.
“About twenty people.
What?
It’s outside the city?
So what?
I’ll protect the ambulance, so just get over here.”
The argument wasn’t long.
Ryu Seoram, ending the call, answered simply.
“They’ll be here soon.” “Thanks, you saved me.” “No, no.
You’re not off the hook yet.”
The moment I was about to smile in relief, she immediately wagged a finger and warned me.
“If our team loses today, you’re getting loaded onto that ambulance with them.”
Ah, that temper of hers.
“Ryu, Ryu, Hunter Ryu Seoram?!”
Hunter Yi Kang-ho, who had been holding Yu Mia tightly, seemed to have come to his senses and shouted toward us.
“Aren’t you a Zenith (極人), one of only seven on the 3rd Floor!?”
The Seven Zeniths (七極人).
A title referring to the seven hunters at the very top.
Ryu Seoram was one of them.
“Ah, fuck-!
We lost!
What kind of three-up, three-down was that in the bottom of the 9th, you idiots-!”
The earth-shaking roar of a Zenith.
The glare she shot me as she seethed was vicious.
“You, how are you going to take responsibility for this?” “It’s the opposite.
Thanks to me, you didn’t have to see that spectacle with your own eyes.” “What the…!”
She was about to retort but seemed convinced, smacking her lips and nodding.