# Chapter 77
Junwoo placed his empty glass on the table and smiled brightly.
“Isn’t that why you asked me? To examine it separately? But I couldn’t examine Dohyuk freely.”
“Why? You can certainly run tests using the Headquarters’ machines with an Esper’s consent.”
“That’s true for regular Espers. But Dohyuk has a high security level. It’s the same as S-class. Even with the Esper’s approval, you can’t conduct tests freely unless you’re the assigned doctor approved by the Headquarters.”
“Who’s the assigned doctor?”
“Originally it was Dr. Choi Jongwook and Dr. Jeong Byeongseok, but now it’s only Dr. Jeong Byeongseok.”
Junseo twisted the corner of his mouth, as if he had received confirmation from that answer.
***
It had already been ten days since they left the dungeon, so he thought it was about time for the limit. The moment Dohyuk had been waiting for finally arrived without delay.
PM 02:39
The communication device issued to Dohyuk flashed with an alert message. It was a bright red light signifying an emergency alert.
[Emergency Alert: Dimensional rift occurring inside Headquarters! Latitude 37.567495, Longitude 126.983534.]
Dohyuk estimated the coordinates in his head. The location of the dimensional rift was, as expected, close to the research building.
Soon, a swift evacuation announcement flowed through the speakers. The subtle gap between the monotonous mechanical voice suggesting emergency evacuation routes for non-combat ability users and civilians, and the beeping warning sounds, made people even more anxious.
Currently, there were only two high-grade Espers remaining at Headquarters: S-class Esper Sangjun and A-class Esper Dohyuk, plus about five B-class Espers. They barely met the minimum required personnel. This was because there had been no monster invasion at the Headquarters, located in the middle of Seoul, since the period of the First Upheaval, which was as chaotic as the Anarchic Era.
As soon as the emergency broadcast ended, Sangjun’s instructions came through Dohyuk’s earpiece. S-class Esper Sangjun would escort and evacuate high-ranking officials within the Headquarters, while B-class and below ability users would protect non-combat ability users and civilians. It was an order to maximize the use of limited personnel.
S-class Guide Junseo would probably be included among the non-combat high-ranking officials. If Sangjun was escorting him, there would be nothing else to worry about.
[Esper Choi Dohyuk, watch the dimensional rift and prepare to hunt.]
“Understood.”
Sangjun would join Dohyuk immediately after evacuating the high-ranking officials. Dohyuk calculated the time while arranging various movement paths in his head. Maximum 15 minutes. He had to finish within that time. Dohyuk quickly moved.
The dimensional rift he arrived at rippled pitch-black as if space itself had been torn. Dohyuk observed the 3-meter-tall darkness. Despite being a familiar place, just that single rift made the familiar space feel strange. The damp energy blowing from beyond the elongated torn space was enough to make one’s skin crawl.
Had he waited about 2 minutes? A pitch-black hand, like compressed ash remains from burning red, suddenly protruded from the other side of the rift. It was a small child’s hand, making the dry tension seem almost absurd. As soon as the hand emerged, the elongated rippling darkness was as eerie as smoke emitting a stench.
A child’s hand. Black smoke. From these two things alone, he could infer the identity of the monster about to appear.
“Eudeuksini.”
Unlike lower-level monsters, Eudeuksini had some cognitive ability. And the fact that they don’t travel alone was also the reason why Eudeuksini were given an A-class rating despite their lower combat ability compared to other typical A-class monsters.
Dohyuk counted the number of hands being extended in quick succession while holding the dagger he had taken from his leg holster.
A total of five pairs of hands.
The hands, swaying while hiding their bodies as if trying to adapt to the outside air, were densely packed. From a distance, they might have looked like the swaying of reeds heavy with shadows under the night sky. Soon, a small head, like the hands, popped out through the rift.
The first Eudeuksini stepped onto the ground of the Headquarters. The monsters that followed, slipping through the rift one after another in succession, moved while pounding the floor. Dohyuk stared intently at their appearance. A damp breeze blew through, brushing Dohyuk’s nape.
They must have felt his gaze. The Eudeuksini’s pupils, so black that no whites were visible, turned toward Dohyuk. The size of the pupils, moving finely like a heart that expanded and contracted, was bizarre. Despite the sight that would make one’s hair stand on end, Dohyuk didn’t avert his eyes. He just stood still, focusing on the Eudeuksini’s gaze.
After deliberately taking a moment, Dohyuk opened his mouth.
“I’m scared.”
At Dohyuk’s emotionless words, the Eudeuksini, who had been hopping around as if showing off, suddenly stopped. Something gaped open within the black rippling face where features were so blurred they were ambiguous, except for the glistening eyes, like the space that had just been torn. Although the space where a tongue should have been was just empty, the Eudeuksini effortlessly made a sound. It was a strange tone, as if burrowing into one’s mind.
‘Scared?’
‘Scared?’
‘Scared?’
‘Scared?’
‘Scared?’
Five voices crept toward Dohyuk as if excited. The body, which had looked like a small child, rippled strangely and then suddenly grew to more than two hand spans. Dohyuk checked for signs from the research building. Emergency evacuation is an order that must be carried out within 3 minutes. Since enough time had passed and there were no particular signs from the research building, Dohyuk responded to the Eudeuksini with peace of mind.
“Yes, I’m so scared.”
The long, stretched mouth revealed a sound like “kyahahahak.” It was similar to the sound of fingernails scraping against glass.
‘He’s scared.’
‘He’s scared.’
‘He’s scared.’
‘He’s scared.’
‘He’s scared.’
Looking at the Eudeuksini, who had now inflated their bodies to a size comparable to Dohyuk’s like lengthened shadows, Dohyuk deliberately turned his head and ran toward the research building.
*
Eudeuksini are monsters that feed on the reactions of their prey. The best way to hunt such Eudeuksini was “indifference.” To hunt the smallest-sized Eudeuksini without showing any reaction.
Dohyuk blew up the head of one Eudeuksini, already adult-sized, in the research building lobby where CCTV was installed. The four Eudeuksini who had been chasing Dohyuk, making “kihihihi” laughing sounds, thinking he was prey trembling in fear, scattered in panic when the one they thought was prey instead began hunting.
Dohyuk amplified his ability while striking another Eudeuksini’s head with a dagger filled with poison energy. Long nails made a deep cut on Dohyuk’s arm, but he only focused as he twisted the dagger handle he had plunged in.
‘Kaak!’
The Eudeuksini’s upper body completely melted away. As he shook off the dripping poison energy and monster fluid from his dagger, Dohyuk spread the dense poison fog as widely as possible. Judging that the swirling fog was enough to block the CCTV’s view, he turned to look at the Eudeuksini.
Dohyuk, who had closed the distance in an instant, quickly cut off one arm of the remaining three Eudeuksini.
‘Kraaak!’
Smoke seeped from the fragments that hit the floor and the severed body parts. The sound of the monster howling in agony was enough to make one’s spine chill, but Dohyuk just stood there without emotion. A cold chill spread over his face, from which all expression had disappeared.
Bang, bang, bang, one of the Eudeuksini that had been smashing its head against the wall in pain suddenly raised its head. Red flames were blazing between the pitch-black darkness.
Despite the killing intent stabbing at his body, Dohyuk stood slightly askew without any other movement, guarding against the Eudeuksini’s movements while estimating the time. Since he had been reciting the Esper Code of Conduct in his head up to the middle of Article 67 as soon as he entered the laboratory, about 5 minutes must have passed.
Only then did Dohyuk look at the Eudeuksini and distinctly “react.”
“I’m scared.”
At those words, the Eudeuksini howled “Kiaaak!” and swelled to more than twice Dohyuk’s size. The sight of all kinds of shadows and darkness clinging to the Eudeuksini was something he couldn’t get used to no matter how many times he saw it.
Every time the large Eudeuksini moved, the ceiling crumbled. The exposed concrete over the fallen ceiling finishing material helplessly split, spewing out red steel reinforcement like bones. Dohyuk shot a poison energy condensed like a long spear into the left chest of an Eudeuksini. If not the head, it wouldn’t die. Once more, a long scream poured out.
It should be about time to flee now.
These Eudeuksini were moving quite slowly. Perhaps they were filled with a competitive spirit again after their size inflated. One Eudeuksini, whose arm had been blown off, who Dohyuk had assumed would naturally flee following survival instinct, rushed at Dohyuk again. A hand that suddenly sprang from Dohyuk’s shadow grabbed his ankle. It felt like ice touching bare skin. Being firmly fixed, Dohyuk couldn’t move his lower body to avoid it, so he tilted his head back as if falling backward. The fist that passed by with a fairly heavy sound, leaving only a small gap, came back again.
Dohyuk finally shot his poison-wrapped dagger into the Eudeuksini’s head. The shadow that had grabbed his ankle transformed into body fluid and flowed down. Roughly shaking off his messy shoes, he pulled out the dagger from the Eudeuksini’s corpse.
Two remain.
He had used more energy than expected. It was a miscalculation.
