CH 2

I looked down at my hand.

In novels where the protagonist possesses another character, everyone would use the possessed character’s abilities to their heart’s content, so I tried it even though it was a bit suspicious. However, I didn’t expect the ability to be this strong.

“How could he let this power go to waste?”

If I really had this ability, I would have caught all the criminals long ago.

‘Can’t I take this ability back to my world? It would make catching criminals much easier.’

Of course, the important thing right now wasn’t the criminal but Gateway[1]. Shaking my head, I reminded myself of my goal and cautiously moved forward as before. As I got closer to the building with the gateway, I encountered more thorned lizards, but using my experience in infiltration investigations, I hid behind cover and eliminated them one by one.

—Gukk?

“[Create].”

[You have gained experience points.]

‘How long have I been struggling in this tense situation?’

Finally, after dealing with the thorned lizard at the end of the alley, I saw the building with the gateway. The problem was… I also saw the monster that I had seen on the TV at the shelter.

“That must be poison toad.”

The poison toad was a monster with a long tongue. It seemed to be searching for people, sticking its long tongue through the windows of the building. I moved toward the building, muffling my footsteps as if I were raiding a crime scene.

‘A convenience store in the building right next to where the monster wave occurred.’

To be precise, the Gateway was a cash register inside the convenience store. The gateway of the monster wave that killed Seo Go-woon was revealed to be a cash register after the shelter was attacked by the thorned lizards and a hunter fighting the poison toad fell onto the cash register.

‘It wasn’t intentional, but it broke when they fell, so the Gateway was dealt with anyway.’

The protagonist, Seo Taeju, despaired, thinking that Seo Go-woon wouldn’t have died if he had known a little earlier, but I didn’t think so. There was no way to know the location of the gateway when a monster wave occurred, Seo Go-woon could have protected himself using his skill even when monsters attacked.

‘Go-woon’s death was his own fault for being stupid. Or maybe the author just wanted to get rid of him quickly.’

Tsk tsk, I clucked as I looked around. I then saw the convenience store with its door wide open, as if people had evacuated in a hurry.

‘There it is.’

I hurriedly moved inside the convenience store. The interior was a mess, probably because the poison toad’s tongue had already swept through the place at once. However, the cash register, which I presumed to be the gateway, was still intact.

‘If they were going to destroy it, they should’ve destroyed the cash register too. Do these creatures know what the gateway is? Well, whatever, [Create].’

As soon as I used my ability, the marble floor in front of the counter transformed into a cone shape, piercing the cash register. With a cracking sound, the cash register, which was the gateway, broke, and a rumbling noise came from outside. It was the sound of the monster wave closing.

‘It’s done.’

It was at this moment, that I felt a chilling sensation on my scalp, accompanied by the sound of the wind being cut. I rolled to the side in a hurry and narrowly avoided the whip-like tongue that grazed my side.

“[Create]!”

As I shouted while propping myself up, a sharp cone sprouted from the ground, stabbing it’s tongue. However, unlike the thorned lizard that had been pierced like tofu, the venomous toad’s tongue momentarily crumpled like jelly before flying toward me again.

“Damn, [Create]! [Create]! [Create]!”

I rolled on the ground, continuously creating cones. Even though I frantically creating the cones, I failed to deliver a fatal blow to the monster’s tongue. Its tongue evaded the cones skillfully, still charging toward me.

‘No way, it doesn’t even have eyes on its tongue, but how is it dodging so well?’

“[Create]!”

This time, I finished manifesting the cones against the wall. The cone that sprung from the wall pierced the tongue that was flying toward me. A high-pitched scream that could tear one’s ears rang from outside. The monster’s tongue, which had been pierced by the cone, drooped limply.

“Hah. Hah. Hah.”

‘Wow. I thought I was going to die.’

Even though I had rolled and tumbled, my body trembled from exhaustion and soon was out of breath.

‘Does using my ability also depletes my physical strength? If I hadn’t stretched myself earlier, I would’ve been in big trouble. What are those bastards from Noeul Guild doing? Can’t they quickly get rid of a venomous toad?’

As I barely leaned against the wall and cursed Noeul Guild, I heard the sound of the wind being cut again.

“No way… This is crazy!”

‘Was there more than one tongue on the venomous toad?’

Multiple tongues shot at me like sharp spears.

“Son of a bitch. [Create]! [Create]! [Create]!”

Without a moment to catch my breath, I touched the wall and endlessly shouted “Create,” creating more cones. The emerging cones pierced the approaching tongues. Before I knew it, I had caught on to the pattern and was left with only one.

“[Create]!”

As I rolled on the ground, I squeezed out all my strength and shouted Create.’

But,

[Create skill failed due to insufficient mana.]

The skill failed.

“Ah? Damn…”

Before I could finish cursing, the venomous toad’s tongue wrapped around my waist and yanked me.

“Gah!”

The whip-like tongue coiled around me with enough force to crush my ribs. Unable to struggle, the pressure made it difficult to breathe. I heard a faint whistling sound in my ear, as the monster was trying to take me away.

Moreover, because the path its tongue was passing through was narrow, my body continuously collided with something.

‘Damn it…’

I felt my consciousness fading away as I struggled to breathe properly under the pressure. Suddenly, with a loud crack, the pressure disappeared, and my body, which had been floating in the air, fell to the ground.

“Click. Click. Clang.”

As I coughed from the sudden rush of air, a cold voice came from above, “You idiot, you said you were at the shelter. Why the hell are you here?”

Catching my breath, I looked up to see a man glaring at me. Curly black hair, dark double-lidded eyes, a prominent nose, and red lips. A face that could be considered handsome but with an androgynous beauty frowned at me. Then, I remembered reading a passage describing these facial features.

“Hah…. Hah… Seo… Taeju?”

‘You’re different from me. You’re an adopted son, aren’t you? Do you really think you’re my family because you became Seo?’

A suspicious voice asked, and the man’s expression crumpled for a moment, overlaid with a past he didn’t want to recall.

“A useless brat. A brat who only leaves stains on my life,” Seo Taeju spat out curses, just as I had imagined him to be.

However, I felt relief just knowing that Seo Taeju had come.

‘Did I manage to avoid death?’

I lost all my strength and collapsed on the floor. Whether he misunderstood something or not, Seo Taeju grabbed my arm and pulled me up.

“Ouch! What! Are you doing!”

“Quit your whining and get up.”

“Hey. Damn it. Let go, you jerk! I’m in pain!”

At my words, Seo Taeju scowled again and slung me over his shoulder. My chest, which was already throbbing with pain, was now compressed, making it difficult to breathe.

“Hey… Damn it. Let… me down! I’ll walk… myself!”

Even though it was difficult to speak, Seo Taeju paid no attention. If I could, I would struggle to free myself, but doing so would only increase my pain. I could feel cold sweat trickling down my back.

“Shut up.”

“Are you crazy? Put me down!”

As I mustered all my strength to yell at Seo Taeju to put me down, a blonde-haired man quickly ran up to him.

“Deputy Guild Leader! You shouldn’t go alone like this… Huh? What? Why is the kid who was supposed to be at the shelter here?”

At the blonde man’s question, Seo Taeju paused for a moment and then answered, “What do you think, you moron? This idiot did something idiotic. Anyway, I’m going ahead. You guys handle things here.”

“Are you going? Alright. Anyway, this damn Seo Gowoon, acting like a complete imbecile…”

“Shut up. Who are you to badmouth Seo Gowoon?”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

“Watch your mouth.”

After finishing his conversation with the man, Seo Taeju opened the car door and tossed me onto the passenger seat.

“Cough! You… damned… jerk.”

Whether I was gasping in pain or not, Seo Taeju started the car. Ever since I decided to become a detective, I had never broken the law. But now…

‘Am I going to die if I don’t buckle up right now?’

Feeling that the seatbelt might actually be more dangerous, I couldn’t bring myself to buckle up and instead hunched my body as much as possible to brace for any jolting. And that choice turned out to be a wise one.

‘If I were a cop here, I would have given you tons of tickets. You damn jerk.’

The jerk’s driving was aggressive: sudden acceleration, sudden braking, sudden turns. Tickets weren’t the issue. If I were a detective here, I would have wanted to throw this jerk in jail for reckless driving.

‘If it’s going to be like this, you should have just left me to die.’

Now, as my vision flickered and I struggled to stay conscious, the car suddenly stopped with a screeching sound.

“Get down.”

“I can’t move.”

“Quit whining.”

Moving any further would probably kill me. However, under the intense glare of Seo Taeju, I mustered all my strength and painfully got out of the car.

‘Wow, this is driving me crazy.’

My body must have been under enormous strain, as even closing the car door made every part of me scream in agony.

As I struggled to get out of the car, I said, “This isn’t… a hospital?”

I assumed we’d come to a hospital since I was so injured, but a house stood before me.

‘This bastard. If someone is this injured, shouldn’t you take them to a hospital?’

‘Regardless of the protagonist being my half-brother, or even if Seo Go-woon did some terrible things, would you really kill a person like this? You should have just left me alone. What’s the point of this?’

“Come on! What, do you want me to drag you by the hand?”

“I told you I can’t move, you bastard…”

“You really have a lot of complaints. If you want to be dragged on the floor, then stay like that.”

Even if it was a joke, it was a brutal one. No, it didn’t even feel like a joke. Since the jerk who didn’t even blink at my groans from the car wouldn’t kindly drag me, moving on my own was the best choice. But I really didn’t want to walk. No, I couldn’t walk.

Even when I was shot and had a hole in my stomach, the pain wasn’t this bad.

‘Even though we’re not blood siblings…’

I gritted my teeth, recalling my difficult military service that I endured through sheer willpower. Then, with the last of my strength, I stepped towards the gate of the single-story house. With every step I took, I felt a stabbing pain, as if a knife was tearing through my body. Cold sweat dripped onto the floor, but Seo Taeju didn’t even think about helping me, and just entered the door in a swoop.

‘In the novel, he acted like a pushover, but why is he treating me like this…’

I entered the open door, unable to straighten my back or take a deep breath. Before I could even sigh with relief that I had finally arrived, Seo Taeju grabbed my collar and pushed me against the wall. The impact on my already aching body turned my vision blurry.

“Are you crazy? Or have you lost your mind? Do you want to die that badly? If you’re going to die, don’t bother others and go to a discreet place and die quietly!”

“Ugh… you… bastard… let… me… go.”

“Damn it. You crazy bastard. Can’t you understand what I’m saying? Stay still! Do nothing! Live quietly while spending the money I give you!”

His contemptuous gaze, accompanied by murderous intent, made my hair stand on end and my body tremble.

‘Tae-ju, I’m sorry. I’m sorry we couldn’t treat you better. Go-woon isn’t a bad kid. Can’t you understand that he was just jealous that we were giving our affection to you? You’re mature, Taeju.’

“…If it wasn’t for our parents’ will, I would’ve killed a thing like you a long time ago.”

I heard the sound of his teeth grinding.

“If you really want to die, act like this one more time. I’ll show you what I can do.”

“Damn… let… go…”

“This is your last warning. Don’t act like an idiot, and live quietly like a dead mouse. Got it!” Seo Taeju yelled before storming out.

I heard the car engine start and leave, but I couldn’t do anything. The only good thing was that my pain had reached its limit, and I was numb to it.

“Wow, Seo Go-woon. He’s quite something,” I thought, my mind numb. Even though he was like that, he still managed to be an impressive person. “If only he had used that kind of willpower to be a hunter, he wouldn’t have been such a burden,” I thought, forcing a bitter laugh.

Fortunately, my tremors stopped quickly, but as if waiting for this particular moment, the pain soon rose again, suffocating me.

‘Am I really going to die like this? I need to call 119. I have to call for an ambulance.’

Gradually, the pain became unbearable like a tidal wave, and even my breathing, which had been smooth for a moment, became choked. But even after rummaging through my pockets with all my strength, I couldn’t find my phone.

‘Did I drop it?’ a groan escaped my lips along with my labored breaths. ‘I had managed to survive by eliminating the monsters and even closing the gateway, but now am I going to die like this? No, I can’t die like this. I’ve managed to survive, after all.’

Immediately, a brilliant idea suddenly came to my mind.

‘Yes, there’s no rule that says a person must die.’

With all my remaining strength, I crawled into the house.

“Damn… it. Am I supposed to, die at home, huh?”

I gritted my teeth and slowly crawled towards the sofa. Each time I moved my body, pain flashed before my eyes, and cold sweat dripped down. On top of that, tears streamed down as the cold sweat got into my eyes.

“Damn, it.”

It seemed like a short distance if I could walk, but why does it feel so far?

I want to give up. Should I just rest for a bit?

‘No. If I rest like this, I might be discovered as a corpse. I can’t give up.’

Ignoring the devil’s whisper to rest for a while, I crawled diligently towards the sofa.

“Hah. Hah.”

When I finally leaned my body against the sofa, my rough breaths burst out. Whether it was because of the relief of arriving or not, my barely collected consciousness became hazy, and drowsiness swept over me.

‘I can’t sleep. If I sleep, I’ll die.’

I opened my eyes wide and struggled to reach my hand under the left seat of the three-seater sofa.

Footnote

[1] Please note that it’s mentioned as ‘Gateway’, English sounding word in the raws.