Summoning the Returned Beast (4)
♩♬―
[You have arrived at the 1st floor.]
[The doors are opening.]
As the elevator descended, I gave Ha Dong-geon's party the briefest possible operation instructions.
"Does everyone understand?"
Everyone nodded heavily.
"Then, I'll be counting on you."
""Yes!""
Together, we headed toward the first-floor entrance.
"Help me! Please, help me…!"
"Mom! Waaah!"
"We're all going to die!"
It was absolute chaos.
Even though the area was protected within the designated home zone, people were in a panic.
They had been swallowed by fear.
Thud—
The heavy footsteps of a giant grew closer.
A massive, hulking figure loomed between the apartment buildings.
"Kyaaaah!"
"I-It's coming this way!"
Just the fact that it was approaching was enough to make people feel the terror of impending death.
"I'll handle this. The rest of you, move to your designated positions immediately."
We split into three teams.
Team 1: Ha Dong-geon, Kim Da-jeong, and Kang Deok-soo, led by Oh Won-joo.
Team 2: Kim Ga-young, Moon Byeong-ho, and Kim Geon.
Team 3: Myself and Seo Ye-jin.
After confirming that Teams 1 and 2 had rushed to their positions, I turned to address the panicked civilians.
"Attention, everyone. Please listen to me for a moment."
Even though I didn't raise my voice, I managed to capture everyone's attention.
At the same time, I transmitted my voice through all available broadcasting equipment under my control.
"A giant is currently approaching our apartment complex. Any military-trained individuals, please gather at the main gate. Everyone else, take the children and evacuate to the underground parking lot."
I spoke as calmly as possible, as if this was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Let me repeat: A giant is approaching…"
Perhaps it was because I was feigning composure, or maybe it was a result of my dignity-maintenance skill, but as my voice continued, people began to snap out of their panic one by one.
"Right! The underground parking lot! I forgot about that!"
"Would we be safe there?"
"It's better than staying here!"
People started to move.
"Send the children first! We need to get to the underground parking lot now!"
Now that they had a clear objective, the crowd began moving in an orderly fashion.
"Honey! Take Doyoon to the underground parking lot."
"What about you?"
"I have to go to the main gate. I'm military-trained."
"What are you talking about?! You're just a reservist now—"
"Enough! Just go!"
"…Don't push yourself too hard."
Like that man, some followed my command and gathered at the main gate, but not everyone had that kind of courage.
Only 121 people gathered at the front gate.
Even if there were a high proportion of minors among the 1,200 residents, there were still over 400 adult men.
For only 100 military-trained individuals to show up? That made no sense.
In South Korea, where military service is mandatory, there couldn't be that many "sons of God" who were exempt.
They ran away.
Hundreds of people had fled to the underground parking lot, pretending not to hear.
Cowards.
The ones who gathered here weren't fools throwing their lives away.
They understood that if we didn't fight, we would all die.
They weren't here to protect the apartment complex.
They were here to protect their loved ones—or themselves.
Among the 121 people gathered, there were eight women.
I recognized all of them.
Shin Yu-ra's six-person team was present in full, along with Moon Hae-ri from Kim Min-ho's team.
And finally, there was Yoo Hye-rin.
I turned to her.
"Hye-rin, have you served in the military?"
"No, but…"
"Then why are you here?"
"I just wanted to help in any way I could…"
I smiled approvingly and nodded.
"Good."
Just then, a short man raised his hand and asked,
"So, uh… what exactly are we supposed to do?"
He was Baek Seung-min, the younger brother of Baek Seung-yeob.
I asked him,
"Where is Baek Seung-yeob?"
"That is…"
Baek Seung-yeob and the group of twins were nowhere to be seen.
"So they ran away, huh?"
"..."
A heavy silence fell over the area. Some people were visibly shocked upon hearing that there were those who had fled.
A few even seemed to regret their decision to come to the main gate.
'I'll need to weed them out.'
I decided to give them one last chance and spoke up.
"I will relay the situation as it is, with no sugarcoating."
I scanned the hesitant individuals before continuing.
"To be honest, I am not certain whether I can defeat that monster or not. In the worst case, we may all die together."
As soon as I mentioned death outright, people's eyes started to waver.
"I respect individual choices. If anyone wants to run away now, do so. I won't stop you."
I turned my back to face the main gate.
"I will count to ten. After that, even if you want to run, you won't be able to."
Boom!
Meanwhile, the giant continued approaching.
With every step, it toppled massive buildings, turning the area into a wasteland.
"10, 9, 8…"
Crash!
The debris of a crumbling building, crushed by the giant's hand, slammed into the ground with a deafening roar.
Right after the explosive sound, I heard the footsteps of a man rising to his feet and running away.
Once one person made a move, others who had been hesitating began to follow, one by one.
"…3, 2, 1."
When I turned back after counting to ten, the group had shrunk from 121 to 101 people.
Their gazes still trembled with fear, and their limbs quivered.
Yet, they remained.
"More of you stayed than I expected," someone murmured.
Courage was not the absence of fear, but the ability to act despite it.
In a world drowning in fear, more courageous people were needed to survive.
Thus, I would reward them.
This was not discrimination but a rightful treatment for those who had chosen to stand against their fear.
"Thank you for staying. Please take these."
I purchased 101 handguns and ammunition from the store and distributed them.
"A gun?"
"Is this real?"
"It really is!"
It was just a single handgun.
In reality, its firepower was far from enough to deal with the giant.
Yet, hope lit up on people's faces.
"I respect individual choices. But each choice leads to different consequences."
[Citizen Park Jong-chan's trust has reached 50.]
[Loyalty is now unlocked.]
[Citizen Lee Hyuk-jin's trust has reached 50.]
[Loyalty is now unlocked.]
…
…
Notifications of trust and loyalty increases flooded in for all 101 individuals.
Some even surpassed 30 loyalty points in an instant, meeting the conditions for vassal registration.
'Increase the experience and settlement reward share for these people to 100%.'
After the 'Base Salary' skill had appeared when the number of citizens surpassed a thousand, I had set all citizens' experience and settlement earnings to 0%.
Now, these 101 people would grow twice as fast and earn twice as much as the others when hunting monsters.
At that moment—
"Graaaaah!"
The giant's furious roar shook the heavens and the earth.
It has begun.
I observed the movements of Team 1, where Oh Won-joo was, through the Absolute One's Eye.
***
Thud!
The cyclops, with a spear lodged in its calf, let out a wail and looked around.
Ha Dong-geon picked up another spear that had materialized in midair and hurled it at the giant once more.
Whoooom—
The spear, its attack power amplified fivefold by a skill, plunged deep into the cyclops' calf.
Graaah!
Ha Dong-geon had reached level 36 after taking down the King Snake at Seomyeon Station. Now, with Kim Da-jeong's blessing, his spear-throwing was inflicting considerable pain on the giant.
But that was his limit.
His spears were not powerful enough to threaten the giant's life.
The enraged cyclops locked eyes with Ha Dong-geon.
The moment their gazes met, Ha Dong-geon swiftly retreated, leaping off a three-story building and sprinting away at full speed.
As he disappeared into the maze of buildings, the cyclops roared in fury.
Rooooaaaar!
Just as the cyclops was about to trample through the buildings in pursuit—
Squelch!
A sharp pain shot up from its heel.
Aaargh!
Oh Won-joo, in her beastly transformed state, had attacked its heel.
Clicking her tongue as she examined the wound she had inflicted, she thought,
Too shallow.
She had barely managed to scrape the skin.
Even with Kim Da-jeong's blessing, she lacked the strength.
But the moment she saw the blood oozing from the giant's wound—
"Grrr!"
Her eyes turned blood-red, and her muscles swelled.
With her newly enhanced physical abilities, she lunged again, slashing with her claws.
Slash!
This time, she left a much deeper wound than before.
Graaaah!
The cyclops howled in agony.
One more hit…!
Through the wound, the giant's Achilles tendon was exposed.
She might not be able to sever it completely, but a well-placed strike could effectively cripple its mobility.
Just as Oh Won-joo swung her claws once more—
Whoosh!
The giant's foot shot up at an astonishing speed, and her missed strike sliced through empty air.
And then—
BOOOOM!
The foot came crashing down with even greater force, shattering the ground where she had been standing.
"Guh…!"
Though her agility had spared her from being crushed, she was caught in the shockwave of the impact.
CRASH!
Her body was sent flying like a cannonball, smashing through a building wall before coming to a stop.
"Khh!"
As the cyclops advanced to finish her off—
["Hey! You stupid monster!"]
Kang Deok-su, clad in gleaming armor and holding a spear, taunted the giant.
His voice boomed through a loudspeaker, echoing through the battlefield.
The cyclops' gaze landed on Kang Deok-su's shining silver spear, and for a brief moment, it seemed to mistake him for Ha Dong-geon, the one who had previously attacked it.
This time, it would not let its prey escape.
The giant charged toward Kang Deok-su.
THUD— THUMP!
With the baiting strategy working, Kang Deok-su sprinted at full speed toward the apartment's main entrance.
Meanwhile, hidden nearby, Kim Da-jeong dashed toward the building where Oh Won-joo had crashed.
Watching everything unfold, I turned to the 101 armed civilians beside me.
"Everyone, get ready."
Lined up with pistols in hand, the civilians swallowed nervously.
"Huff… Huff!"
Kang Deok-su ran with all his might, the furious cyclops limping after him.
Oh Won-joo's attack on its heel had slowed it down, preventing it from closing the gap too quickly.
THUD— THUMP!
It's coming.
Team 1's role in this operation was to act as the bait.
Their job was to lure the cyclops into the optimal location for the battle.
And they had succeeded perfectly.
THUD!
As Kang Deok-su safely made it inside the barrier, and the cyclops reached the main entrance—
Caw!
Kim Geon's crow, Kamang, dove straight at the giant's eye.
"Aaargh!"
Blinded by the surprise attack, the cyclops halted and instinctively turned toward Kamang's retreating form.
At that exact moment—
Swish— Thud!
A well-placed arrow from Kim Ga-young, who had been waiting on the rooftop of a nearby apartment, pierced the cyclops' hand and then plunged directly into its only eye.
Kraaaah!
The giant clutched its face, tilting its head back in agony.
Its mouth was wide open.
Swoosh!
Moon Byung-ho appeared before the cyclops.
In his hand was a small rat.
With precise aim, he flung the rat down the cyclops' throat.
Everything is going according to plan.
Oh Won-joo's incapacitation was unexpected, but it couldn't be helped.
For the sake of completing the quest and maximizing the overall benefit, I had wanted to let her land the final blow.
But the giant before us wasn't an enemy we could afford to be lenient with.
End it while we can.
Seo Ye-jin, seated cross-legged beside me, had already linked her senses with the rat.
Through the Absolute One's Eye, I could see the darkness inside the cyclops' throat.
Summon gas.
The storage full of gas I had prepared flooded into the cyclops' esophagus and stomach.
Then, I visualized the largest flame possible within that darkness.
Whoosh—
The flame ignited.
And then—
KABOOOOOM!
A massive explosion erupted from within.
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