Episode 91
Yoo Yoo-seok felt the blood rise to his head, but he held himself back.
“No, wait for a second!”
He raised his voice, but Yoo-seong did not look back. “Oh Yoo-seong! Wait!”
After signaling his team members to wait, Yoo-seok crossed the barrier line and began to pursue Yoo-seong.
Tatatak-!
Yoo-seong was running on the walls of the buildings using Spider Walk.
If he hadn’t stopped on a roof, it would never have been possible for Yoo-seok to catch up with him. Yoo-seok, breathing heavily, landed behind Yoo-seong.
‘This kid wants to show off here,’ he thought.
Yoo-seok was gasping for air, but he had to end their conversation smoothly somehow.
”Sorry. The team members have been very tired from the series of operations… Still, I have taken the wrong actions.”
Yoo-seok’s voice was polite. He could afford to be. No one was around to listen to them.
“If it’s okay with you,” he added. “I would like our team to participate in this operation as an apology. Of course, that doesn’t mean our blame will be erased,” Yoo-seok continued.
He thought Yoo-seong would not be able to refuse him.
‘He can’t do this operation alone,’ he thought. It wasn’t just him who thought so. The current opinion of the hunting industry was the same.
-Only one person blocked the Storm-class rift?
-It’s not like the other hunters on the scene weren’t doing anything. He probably didn’t do it alone.
-Looks like the Special Defense Agency is promoting Oh Yoo-seong.
No one doubted Oh Yoo-seong’s ability. However, it was hard to believe that a single person could cover a Storm-class rift.
Because of the shortage of hunters on the scene, not many people had witnessed the operation. And even those who were on the scene did not realize what Yoo-seong had done, as they had been focused on their own areas. Most important of all, it had been less than twenty-four hours since it occurred.
There had not been enough time for people to digest what had happened.
‘I guess you’re just taking all the credit,’ Yoo-seok thought. No matter how strong Yoo-seong was, he was just one hunter.
‘Gung-on is behind me,’ he assured himself.
His eldest brother, Yoo Jun-suk, now headed Gung-on. They were now on the verge of overtaking Yoon Kang-cheol’s QR, which had been slowing down recently.
Meanwhile, Yoo-seong was silent.
He was standing still, looking at the streets below them.
“Aren’t these difficult times?” Yoo-seok continued. “If you look at the bigger picture, this is a waste of time.”
Suddenly…
Clink-!
Yoo Yoo-seok doubted his eyes.
“Well, what…”
Like magic, a suit appeared on Yoo-seong’s body in an instant. It was the famous suit that everyone knew. Somehow, it had a strange, red glow.
Before putting on his helmet, Yoo-seong turned and looked at him.
“It’s more of a waste to be someone like you.”
Yoo Yoo-seok felt blood creep into his face. “What did you say?!” He raised his voice. “So, you really want to do it this way? You’re pretending you can do it alone so everyone will praise you!”
Yoo-seong did not answer. For him, it wasn’t worth talking to Yoo-seok anymore.
However, he raised his index finger.
“If you come closer, you will get hurt.”
Yoo Yoo-seok clenched his fists. He was wearing an action cam.
Yoo-seok hoped that Yoo-seong would attack him here.
“If you want to hit me, do it.” He stepped forward with his nostrils flared.
Yoo-seong did not hit him. However, his warning was not for nothing.
Yoo Yoo-seok felt heat slicing at his nose. He tried to step back, but it was too late.
“Ouch!”
A Ki thread had dug about a centimeter deep on the tip of his nose.
It wasn’t a deep wound, but it was embarrassing because he had gotten cut.
“You… you are…”
“I warned you. I hope you don’t forget where we are.”
Yoo Yoo-seok looked around. They were inside the established block line.
“It’s the result of you ignoring my warning and interrupting a hunter authorized by the Defense Agency from his duty.”
Yoo-seong flexed his neck.
There was a reason why he was standing on a rooftop.
Even if a Thunder-class rift was smaller than the rift yesterday, there would be no other hunters on the rooftops covering him. Moreover, he had declared in public that he would go alone.
To prove himself, he had to make sure to secure the area with his Spider Webs.
“It’s better not to go down to the ground until the situation is over,” he told Yoo-seok.
“Still, it’s your choice. You can take responsibility for yourself.”
After adding that, Yoo-seong leaped away. Yoo Yoo-seok was frozen in his spot.
After getting his nose cut by an invisible thread, he was hesitant to leave the rooftop. Instead, he pulled out his phone.
Before long, his brother Yoo Jun-seok got on the other line.
-Yoo-seok?
“Oh, brother!”
Yoo-seok explained his situation to his elder brother, the CEO of Gung-on.
“…So that bastard leaped off. He’s going to do the operation alone…”
Suddenly, Yoo-seok fell silent.
-Hello? Why are you suddenly so quiet?
-Hey, Yoo-seok? Yoo-seok?
Yoo-seok could hear his older brother’s alarmed voice on the other end of the line, but he couldn’t speak.
He couldn’t take his eyes off the sight in front of him.
“No way…”
Oh Yoo-seong.
The man who had just been in front of him…
He was far beyond anything he could have imagined.
“Brother… wait a minute.”
He couldn’t explain it with words.
He took his phone from his ear and switched it to video call. Then he pointed the camera so that his brother could see the incredible sight in front of him.
It wasn’t just him.
Other people were holding their cell phone cameras toward Yoo-seong.
***
For the general public, small cracks such as the Thunder-class were preferable.
It wasn’t just because the risk they presented was small.
The blocking lines were also narrower and restricted, so they could watch the operation from their apartments.
For civilians, it was similar to watching a fireworks display.
And so, even though it was officially illegal, when there was a “visible” operation nearby, people would pack up their cameras and telescopes and climb up onto rooftops to watch it.
They were always on the lookout for their favorite hunters. However, today, a slightly different sight awaited them.
“Why aren’t there any hunters?”
“There are a lot outside the blocking line…”
The citizens were speaking in anxious tones. The hunters should have been in their positions already.
The crack was erupting with loud noises, signaling the approach of monsters. However, the hunters behind the blocking line were not moving.
“It’s opening!” someone cried out.
Kugugugung-!
With a sound like thunder, the crack opened. It only had a diameter of several tens of meters, but the number of beasts pouring out was alarming.
“Too fast…”
“Don’t we need to evacuate?”
They guessed the hunters weren’t entering the blocking line because the number of beasts was too much.
“Run!” someone shouted.
That judgment was the most rational for them at the moment. However, after a few moments, it would be judged as an unnecessary fuss.
This was because, soon, their anxiety and fear would turn to shock and awe.
“The monsters… they are melting,” someone with a telescope observed.
“What is that?!”
“Awesome!”
To those watching from a distance, it would seem as if the monsters were melting before they even reached the ground.
However, to be precise, they were being chopped and burned by something invisible.
“They’re dying!”
“Is that a new sort of technology?”
The voices were not filled with fear and concern anymore. They were filled with wonder, as the civilians turned their eyes and lenses toward the spectacular view.
They weren’t aware that what they were shooting was the first appearance of a Single.
***
Hundreds of thousands of threads were connected to Yoo-seong’s fine veins.
It was not a problem for him. He was standing on a rooftop watching the monsters pour down.
The crack itself was about forty-five meters wide.
The blockage area was completely covered with Spider Webs, trapping the falling monsters. Compared to the previous operation, it was not “less” difficult. Although the area had a narrower range, Yoo-seong had been forced to make his Spider Web denser.
There were no other hunters to support him, so he could not afford to miss a single beast.
‘I’m not sure if I can handle a Typhoon-class crack yet,’ he thought.
As far as this Thunder-class rift was concerned, though, he had proven to be capable of a perfect solo operation.
Yoo-seong sighed with relief.
He had faith in himself. Even so, he had been worried about doing what he’d never done before. In the end, though, he was able to do it.
At least, with this alone, he could say that the hard days he’d spent inside the crack were not in vain. In those six long months, Yoo-seong had learned a lot.
With this thought, he focused back on his surroundings. It was time to do more work.
Keeek-!
He raised his head to the sound.
Wildfire Bird-★★★
This was a flight-type monster that would not fall onto the Spider Web he had made. They were coming out the cracks one by one.
Yoo-seong did not move immediately.
He waited until two of them were through the crack. Then, with his Steel Steps, he ran up into the air.
-Keek!
One of them saw Yoo-seong and dived to attack him.
Yoo-seong turned slightly to avoid it, pushing it a little off course so that it would land on a rooftop.
Then he fired a Gellar Gun at the second Wildfire Bird.
Papat-!
The bullets hit the bird’s neck feathers but were not powerful enough to damage its neck. It was enough for what Yoo-seong planned, though.
Kiik-!
The first bird shrieked.
Yoo-seong had not pushed it off just to avoid it. He had wrapped a Spider Web around its neck.
It had remained loose until Yoo-seong shot another web into the second bird’s neck. The birds shrieked as they flew around wildly.
However much they tried, they could not get away from the blockage line. They were pulling at each other with every move, strangling themselves. And Yoo-seong wasn’t done yet.
Tatatak-!
Yoo-seong ran through the air repeatedly, binding more and more birds together.
Then…
Go-oh-!
Yoo-seong blew fire into the threads that bound the birds.
Kieeehik-!
Although they were called “wildfire,” the birds did not breathe fire. They were given that name because of their bright red feathers.
However, at this moment, they were literally caught in a wildfire. It was a trap that Yoo-seong himself had designed.
One they would not escape from.
Then…
Tatak-!
Yoo-seong stepped into the crack.
…
Everyone behind the blocking line had the same expression. They were watching with their mouths wide open.
Yoo-seong had asked them to wait for the doctor and have their conditions checked. However, even without that, they wouldn’t have wanted to leave the area. Initially, it had been because they were worried.
They had been concerned about whether or not Yoo-seong could really control the rift alone.
Now, it was because of wonder. They didn’t want to miss the opportunity to witness the miracle Yoo-seong was making.
In addition to this, as soon as Yoo-seong entered the crack, they held their breaths. A quiet stillness spread along the temporary control center.
“There… but…” someone said hesitantly.
Naturally, everyone’s eyes turned to the person who had spoken.
“Oh, no… it’s just that. Did anyone see him take a breaker with him?”
It was what everyone was thinking.
They had seen Yoo-seong go into the crack without a pulse breaker. After exchanging confused and worried glances, a hunter raised his hand.
He was pretty exhausted from the successive operations he’d participated in, but he liked Yoo-seong.
“It’s not my expertise, but I had experience in rushing before I went solo.”
“If that’s the case, we should go!”
Other hunters began raising their hands.
“We also…”
“I have experience too!”
As everyone was raising their voices, a loud noise stopped them.
Jiii-!
It was a magnetic sound ringing from inside the crack, where Yoo-seong was standing alone.
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