Chapter 19: Chapter 19

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Chapter 19: One-on-One (4)

— Boom!

A massive mace hurled by the ogre in Car 17 grazed past my ear and slammed into the wall.

Crash!

The train wall crumpled and shattered instantly, sending dust-like debris flying everywhere.

[You have defeated the Ogre!]

[Car 17 cleared.]

That was close.

To think it would still throw its mace even as it was dying.

‘At least that's one more down.’

I thought, letting out a sigh of relief.

The ogre, with its left arm and leg severed and its balance lost, fell backward.

Thud!

Carefully, I walked, making sure to avoid stepping in the thick, dark-red blood and the strange fluids pooling on the floor.

And just as I was about to open the door and move on—

Grip.

“?!”

Something small tugged at the edge of my shirt.

“You... How did you...?”

It was Yura, the little girl left alone without her father.

Her black patent leather shoes and white socks were soaked and stained with the ogre's blood.

“I... I was hiding.”

“Hiding? Really?”

Was that even possible?

Even for someone as small as her, this cramped train car didn’t offer any real hiding spots.

It didn’t make sense, but there was no time to question it.

“Let’s get moving for now.”

* * *

I hid Yura in the hallway between Cars 17 and 16 and then took care of the ogre in Car 16 as well.

Think, think, think.

I needed a plan.

A way to clear all the sections within 10 minutes.

“What are you doing out there?”

“Well... I realized as long as I return before the time limit, it’s fine, right?”

“So you just decided to hang outside the train instead of fighting?”

…Correction.

A way to clear all the sections within 10 minutes alone.

Sigh.

Looking at the cowardly foul mouthed guy crouched near the restroom, too scared to fight, made me exhale in frustration.

“You must’ve been really scared.”

“Well, yeah...”

His cap had rolled onto the floor, and he hadn’t even noticed.

“Just buy any weapon from the shop and use it. You’re not taking those points with you to the grave. And…”

He looked bewildered, probably unable to follow half the things I was saying.

“When we get to the third round, clear your car quickly and help out Car 14. I’m going ahead.”

“I almost died without taking down even one of them, and you want me to...”

“Acceleration.”

“Wha—?”

— Clang!

I opened the door, forcing my brain to work overtime.

Beyond the glass door, the ogre in Car 14 was in the middle of swinging its mace.

And near it was...

A petite figure with long hair wearing a tight pencil skirt.

It was Lee Yeji from the accounting team.

From the look of the deep-blue blade lodged in the ogre’s abdomen, it seemed like she had managed to muster some courage.

Though her attack had no real effect, it was admirable that she hadn’t just frozen in fear.

Still, there was one glaring problem.

‘Why are your eyes closed?’

Even while thrusting the sword, Yeji had her eyes shut tight in fear.

Like that, she’d only get herself killed.

— Thud!

Quickly, I yanked out the sword she’d barely embedded in the ogre and plunged it into its heart.

The blade was stiffer than mine but went in without much trouble.

And a moment later—

Tick!

“—Aaaaaaarghhh!”

[You have defeated the Ogre!]

[Car 14 cleared.]

As the notification sound chimed, Yeji let out a final shriek of terror.

“Hnnngh!”

Her face scrunched up so tightly that all her facial features seemed to merge into one.

Watching her, I couldn’t help but think, You’re going to give yourself wrinkles.

“Alright, you can open your eyes now.”

“H-huh?!”

Yeji opened her eyes slightly and met mine.

“Eunho? Where did you suddenly come from?!”

“You have to aim for the heart if you want to kill them. Keep your eyes open next time.”

“Th-thank you!”

06:35

Roughly six minutes remained.

From Car 18 to Car 14, I’d cleared five sections, taking about 40 seconds per car.

If I kept this pace...

At best, I could reach Car 4.

‘The third round is the key. For the second round, I’ll focus on spreading the word to as many people as possible.’

But I only had five charges left for Electric Discharge to speed things up.

What to do?

My head was heating up from all the thinking as I prepared to leave Car 14 when Yeji called out behind me.

“Eunho! Did I succeed in my mission?”

Her voice trembled with desperation.

I wanted to tell her yes, that we’d all succeeded, and we’d all survive.

But...

“Probably not.”

“What? But we killed the monster! Well, you killed it, but still...”

“This mission seems to require clearing all the train cars.”

“No way...”

Thud.

Yeji sank to the floor, her face filled with despair.

I felt bad but didn’t have the time to console her.

I turned silently to leave, but then—

‘Hmm? Wait a second.’

An idea struck me, and I paused mid-step.

If this round was a throwaway anyway...

“Hey, Yeji.”

“Y-yes?”

“You’re grateful, right? You’d be dead if it weren’t for me.”

“G-grateful? Of course, I am!”

“Then...”

No point wasting my precious skills.

“Lend me your sword.”

Due to the high voltage current, it was impossible to use the Bladebeak Sword without a petrification skill.

Besides, using the skill meant for the third round now would be a waste.

Of course, you can’t just take someone else’s weapon by force, so I politely asked for cooperation—just like Jieun did.

"Uh... then I..."

"You’ll lend it to me, right? I helped you up earlier when you fell, and I just saved you."

"Uh, but, um..."

"We’re all trying to survive here, aren’t we?"

Politely, very politely.

"...Here."

* * *

Thud!

Instead of the Bladebeak Sword I had kept so carefully, I wielded Yeji Lee's sword.

The deep blue blade drove straight into the ogre's crown.

Screeeeeeech!

[You have defeated the Ogre!]

[Train Car 13 Cleared.]

"Cleared..."

Yoon Sola muttered as she collapsed onto the floor of Car 13.

Her legs, bloodied from a glancing blow by a mace, shimmered faintly with blue light.

"But the mission… it’s not a success."

She froze.

The bluish glow descending to envelop her legs suddenly faded.

It reminded me of a humidifier running dry.

“To succeed, probably…”

“You have to clear the entire train.”

“!!”

“That’s why I came.”

Despair flashed across Yoon Sola's face as she panted for breath.

Her expression made it obvious she thought we were doomed.

She’s young, so her emotions are easy to read.

“Do you have any way to contact other people? Like your friends?”

“I’ve tried calling, texting, using social media… nothing works.”

I asked on the off chance, but Yoon Sola just shook her head, frustrated at being unable to help, biting her lip in resentment.

“If someone could clear even just the cars up front, it’d help a lot.”

“Then the mission will succeed?”

“Yeah. Based on the calculations, if someone clears up to Car 4, it’s doable.”

Up front—Jieun, who should be in Car 1.

But...

“The problem is we have no way to let them know.”

“No way to let them know…”

Yoon Sola furrowed her brow, lost in thought.

“I feel like telling each person in each car to pass along a message would work.”

“Like a relay race?”

“Yeah. Everyone should clear their car quickly and help the surrounding cars.”

“That could work, but…”

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Yoon Sola trailed off, lowering her eyes hesitantly.

“Most people won’t be able to defeat that monster alone. If you weren’t here, I’d already be…”

It would’ve been an endless cycle of running, getting hurt, healing, and running again.

“A horrible fate.”

Yoon Sola shuddered, imagining something terrible, and even started tugging at her long hair.

Seeing someone so young tormented by the threat of life and death was heartbreaking.

I was about to reassure her when—

“Don’t worry too much. We’ll figure something out…”

Ding!

A clear chime rang through the air.

[Congratulations!]

[The target 'Lee Eunho's Eyes' have been upgraded to Level 2.]

With an unexpected congratulatory message.

“Eyes?”

Ssssssssssshhht—

The enormous eye that had been filling the ceiling slowly closed.

At the same time, all the lights in the train flickered out.

“!!”

“Hey! I can’t see anything!”

[Upgrade complete.]

[Limited communication with observers is now possible.]

[The synchronization rate of target 'Lee Eunho' has greatly increased.]

Flash!

The lights returned, illuminating the train as if nothing had happened.

The massive eye opened again, and a palm-sized eye emerged from it with a soft pop!

It floated midair, round and white, with a pitch-black pupil in the center.

‘Did the eye have a kid or something?’

Or maybe it shrank itself to follow me more discreetly.

“What was that?! Was it a blackout?”

“Huh? You can’t see this?”

“What are you talking about?”

I pointed at the floating eyeball, but Yoon Sola looked at me in utter confusion.

Is this visible only to me?

As I wondered whether I was losing my mind—

【An anonymous observer is curious how you’ll overcome this situation.】

A strange voice echoed in my head.

Accompanied by unfamiliar text appearing at the edge of my vision.

“What the hell is this now?”

【An anonymous observer greets you warmly.】

【‘Prince of the Investigation Bureau’ folds his arms, saying this won’t be an easy challenge.】

【‘Raven of the Administration Bureau’ laments over this raw talent, wondering if this is as far as it goes.】

“This is crazy.”

‘What is this, a livestream?’

And what’s with these names—“Bureau” and “Administration”?

I let out a hollow laugh at the absurd development, making Yoon Sola frown.

“Did you hit your head or something…?”

“...Forget it. For now, there’s no time to waste.”

「01:45」

To summarize—

“What we need now is a way to contact everyone.”

Especially Jieun in the lead car.

As I said this, Yoon Sola fiddled with her long hair, muttering to herself.

“Yeah. Like in a movie, putting a note in a jelly bar or something…”

“A jelly bar… a note… Hmm?”

“Yes?”

‘Ah!’

I got it.

That might just work!

Bang!

That's it...!

* * *

— Bang!n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

A massive mace narrowly missed Jieun's head, grazing her ear as it swept past.

While the giant ogre struggled to pull its weapon out of the floor it struck instead of Jieun's head, she quickly dashed to the other side.

The brief relief was swiftly replaced by a sharp, burning sensation.

‘Ouch...!’

Blood flowed from her torn earlobe, seeping into her ear with a hot, sticky warmth.

The stinging pain and muffled sensation made her want to run away, but—

This was nothing.

‘If I let this pain get to me, I'm done for. Eunho fought on even with burns.’

Jieun clenched her lips, once again repeating the resolve she'd told herself over and over for the past two days.

Get a grip, Kim Jieun.

Defeat this monster and clear the mission.

‘But... how do I clear it?’

Not long ago, Jieun had indeed taken down one of the ogres.

A lucky throw with her dagger had struck the heart of the slow-moving ogre.

But the mission had still failed.

‘Eunho would have figured out the rules, no doubt…’

No matter the situation, Eunho always found the optimal solution.

She was certain he’d know exactly what to do even now.

The problem was that she couldn't ask him, with the distance separating them.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

While Jieun was lost in thought, the ogre, now free of its mace, began staggering toward her again.

‘What would Eunho do in this situation?’

He was someone who always gave his all, who acted decisively.

If it were him…

‘Let’s panic later. First, let’s solve the mission.’

He would’ve dealt with this monster right in front of him first.

Of course.

— Kieeek! Kiiiiieeek!

In that moment, Jieun's eyes changed as she stared down the charging ogre.

A determined, unwavering gaze.

In what felt like a long second stretched to an eternity, she studied the ogre’s movements and raised her dagger.

And then—

— Whizz!

The dagger tore through the air, piercing the ogre’s chest.

Calculating its staggered movements, swaying right and left, Jieun had unleashed a calm, precise attack.

Her second miracle in this second attempt.

— Kieeek!

"Hah... Got it..."

As the tension drained from her, Jieun slumped onto a nearby seat with a deep sigh.

Scared and trembling, but she had managed to take it down.

However—

[Mission failed.]

[A penalty will be imposed for mission failure.]

The dreaded announcement echoed once again.

"Please...!"

At this rate, even a third attempt would end the same way.

The monster would evolve again, and even if she barely managed to defeat it, failure was certain.

Feeling hopeless, she sat frozen, as though sinking deep into the ground.

There was no solution.

Even if there was one, she couldn't find it.

"Eunho... What am I supposed to do?"

Who would have thought she'd call out so desperately for someone she’d thought of for two years as just a diligent colleague from another team?

Caught between astonishment and desperation, calling out her coworker’s name felt more like a prayer than anything else.

[You’ve received a gift!]

[Would you like to check it?]

"!!"

An answer from above—or rather, from Eunho—had arrived.

──── ────

ㆍRecipient: Kim Jieun

ㆍSender: Lee Eunho

ㆍSafe zones during missions are not fixed. Clear the entire train. Assistance incoming. Reply with a junk item gift.

──── ────

‘What is this...?’

Along with a moldy piece of bread.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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