Chapter 174
As expected, the situation was close to the worst, but there were also fortunate moments of misfortune.
The first of these was that my level was definitely higher than before.
‘Honestly, it’s more than I thought.’
Of course, I understood numerically. Despite this, I felt a more stark difference when I fought like this in actual combat.
In fact, the Madou Yuksa I met earlier would have been an individual that could only be captured through various hardships.
‘Now it’s definitely possible to subdue the A rank alone.’
Considering the trump card, Gsondae, it probably won’t be too far behind even an A+-class youkai.
However, carelessness and arrogance were forbidden.
Because in the first place, it was all on the premise that I maintained my maximum skill and concentration.
If I make a mistake even for a moment, I too will follow the precedents of many exorcists and lose my life.
‘In the first place, right now, there is no need to overdo it.’
The Baekgwi-yahaeng incident was indeed a great crisis, but it was also an opportunity.
Just like Yoo Ha-on and his group did in the original, I would be able to grow rapidly by catching the overflowing monsters.
‘Until a full-fledged strong enemy appears, raise the level as much as possible.’
That was my current goal, and it was also the reason I accepted Hwang Kwang-seon’s offer to lead the search team.
Arriving near my first destination, I stopped the exorcists with a gesture and opened my mouth slightly.
“There are ghosts everywhere. Whichever way you go, you will bump into it.”
“I don’t feel anything here… … .”
“It is quite a distance, yes.”
Of course, my detection technique was much more systematic, but there was certainly a noticeable difference in skill between them and me.
Except for Lee Chang-soo, a middle-aged man who introduced himself as a second-class exorcist, he would not be able to deal with monsters of B+ rank or higher.
‘… It’s been a while since I’ve felt this way.’
After falling into this world, in most situations, it was on my side that was the most powerful.
But now, the experienced exorcists of the garrison are feeling cumbersome, so the changes in the past have been recognized even more.
‘There are three main destinations.’
This course passes from Bongcheon-dong through Nakseong Grand Park and through Yuhan Hospital, the largest in the area.
Perhaps that alone can be expected to obtain effective information along with news of the missing.
It was thought that it would be premature to withdraw the power already, so I restrained the party and called out the tone and black tone from the shadows.
“We will secretly exterminate only the monsters in our path. If there is a commotion, everything around you will come, so I would appreciate it if you could hide your presence as much as possible.”
“Hey, is that possible?”
It is possible if these two are good at stealth. I strengthened the tone and dark tones through the mist of the dark barn in my arms, and shared the sight to quickly eliminate the enemies.
“Yes. it’s over.”
“… … .”
The exorcists had an expression that they did not understand the English language, but they looked at me with a surprised gaze when they encountered the corpses of the monsters in the process of moving.
It’s like looking at a monster that doesn’t understand common sense. From the other side, it’s a gaze that I’ve been getting quite tired of.
We arrived at our destination effectively avoiding the monsters, and hurriedly started searching for the missing.
“Are you exorcists?”
“Yes. Your family is waiting for you. I will take you to a safe place.”
Of course, we couldn’t find all of them, but surprisingly, a significant number of people stayed in the houses taught by the citizens of the shelter.
Also, their testimony was common.
Suddenly there was a commotion and communication was cut off, and he was hiding in the house in fear.
“Isn’t it clear that communication is being done normally?”
“Yes. I still get the signal… … .”
However, even though one exorcist had contacted other figures over and over again, no one responded.
“Hey, hey. sorry. It seems that actual communication is blocked.”
“… okay. All right.”
If so, there is probably a yokai with the kind of ability that interferes with it.
I had already defeated the Yokai in the Game Center, so I didn’t think something similar would happen, but this part was also my mistake.
‘Well, in reality, there must be a mountain of youkai that did not appear in the original.’
Besides, as I have said many times, this is a world of Hell difficulty. You can’t predict when, where and what will happen.
We were more careful and continued our search.
In the process, I was able to find several people who were already too late.
“Go, thank you. whoops There is no family at home, and there is no contact… … .”
Without hesitation, I shot the magic at the girl who was crying out in fear with tears in her eyes.
Whoops,
👌👌👌👌👌
“Clean squash.”
“Wow, what are you doing!”
The exorcists were terrified and discouraged me, but the identity of the monster who took the girl’s body was clearly visible in my eyes, which already had emotional powers.
【Food side ears】
▶Level: 43
In the end, the exorcists were stunned by the girl wielding sharp claws while revealing her true nature and had no choice but to watch the end.
“… You have to think that anything can happen. There is no need to be vigilant.”
“sorry. Hopefully, there will even be a guy like this.”
The eyes of the exorcists, who had remained a little sloppy until a while ago, had completely changed as if they were soldiers on the battlefield.
He realized once again that his life could be blown away if he really touched it.
“It looks like this place has been cleaned up. I will now go to Yuhan Hospital.”
So we headed to our last destination before returning to the shelter.
***
The scenery of the hospital that finally arrived was not in a normal state no matter who looked at it.
The corpses of monsters were all over the place, and there were also several corpses of those who looked like exorcists.
Even the inside of the hospital is like a ghost town, and no one exists.
The exorcists swallowed their saliva at the alien sight.
“… What the hell happened here?”
“This is truly awful.”
If something like this had happened, I would have heard it in one way or another, but I did not hear any such information at the shelter.
The reason was easy to understand.
“There is no communication here either. Maybe that’s why no one knew about it.”
In other words, we were effectively the first discoverers.
“Hey, how do you do this?”
Currently we have two options.
First, move the secured citizens to an evacuation center and pass on this information to others, or find and solve the cause of the situation right away.
Without hesitation, I made a conclusion and gave instructions to everyone.
“I will go back to the evacuation center once and improve my posture. It is not too late to act after that.”
I felt it the moment I saw it, this place is unusual.
Sure enough, the inside of the hospital was completely empty for some sort of attack.
If there is a battle, at least the corpse of either a ghost or a human must remain.
‘But this place is empty as if everyone had teleported.’
I don’t know for sure, but it was clear that something beyond common sense had happened here.
And I already know of beings capable of doing that.
‘Minimum A+ rank.’
A yokai of that level is lurking around here.
‘It is dangerous to meet in this state.’
There are many accompanying citizens, and I also do not want to fight alone against a monster of that level.
Well, in the first place, battles with high-ranking monsters were basically team battles.
It was better to refrain from subjugating alone, unless you can produce more firepower than a group by yourself like Sofia or Jung Hae.
‘In my case, there are food gods, so there’s nothing I can’t do… … .’
You don’t have to take risks. In the midst of this war, it was a very important policy.
But, sadly, it happened at that very moment.
“everyone. Something strange here… … .”
Beautiful flowers with crimson leaves.
But it looks like it’s sprouting on the floor of the hospital room, not in a flowerpot or something.
Of course, this was not a normal phenomenon as the floor was made of hard material.
The moment I checked it, I could immediately figure out what was happening here.
“You must not approach!”
However, at the strange sight, the exorcists had already approached the flower, and a powerful wave of power rushed in from there, and their eyes flashed.
Before long, what unfolded before us was a gigantic garden full of gloomy energy.
“Hey, what is this… … .”
“What happened now?”
The surroundings were already dark as if the sun had gone down, and a moon with a reddish hue was floating in the sky, unlike usual.
As I expected, it was clear that this very place had swallowed the people of the hospital.
‘… I wish I could, but was it really?’
When I went to hear information about the former Myeong-yul, Cheongjong said: At the time of the Baekgwi Nights incident, very occasionally, this unknown space or structure would appear.
In fact, he said that Geum-ju, who was involved in Myeong-yul, also existed in an unidentified shrine.
‘I didn’t know I would experience this myself.’
It was information I knew, too, but honestly, I didn’t pay much attention to it.
This was because the odds were so rare that even Yoo Ha-on and his party, the main characters, met only once throughout the entire story.
And near the entrance to such a gigantic garden, dozens of people who seemed to have gone out of their minds for some reason had gathered.
They found us too, and they approached us with a surprised expression and opened their mouth.
“Everyone, how about you? Where are you from?”
“I got caught up in this place while searching for citizens who could not evacuate. What happened here?”
However, in response to our response, the man showed a visibly despairing sign and bowed his head.
“Damn it, you shouldn’t have come here.”
“… … .”
“T, express. You need an elite exorcist. Otherwise, we will all die here.”
When I glanced at the information, the male level was 50. It was by no means a low level.
Despite this, he looks terrified and completely lost his will.
Looking at it, I should have thought that there was a high possibility that his words were also true.
‘This is difficult.’
Of course, the reason they are dying at the entrance is probably because there is no way to get out of this place other than to eliminate the cause.
“… There is a monster in the form of a woman in front of me. It feeds on anyone who enters the garden.”
“Then why are you all okay?”
“It’s his whim. I will not touch anyone who does not step on the garden.”
From the man’s words, I could grasp two facts.
The first is that the gnome has enough intelligence to communicate with humans.
And, despite his whims, he skillfully controls his desires as a yokai enough to keep them alive.
What that meant was clear.
‘… Damn, isn’t this an S rank?’
Just one day after the second Baekgwi-Yaeng incident happened, it was a moment I was faced with unexpected difficulties.