Chapter 36: Chapter 36- A Problem In The Distance
"Sigh, what did you find?" Hyun-Jae asked as she approached Talon and took a peek at the snacks in his hands. Even though she almost had a heart attack because of his scream, she still wanted some candy.
"Hmm, some fruit candies and chips," Talon said. "What do you want?" He asked.
"Is it really ok for us to take these?" Hyun-Jae hesitantly grabbed one of the bags and read its expiration date.
"Hmm, I mean, no one will come to get these and they might spoil so we might as well use them." Talon shrugged.
"You got a point. There, can I have some fruit candy?" Hyun-Jae didn't resist much and immediately went for the thing she wanted.
"Sure. Here." Talon gave her the bag which Hyun-Jae opened and quickly took one candy into her mouth.
Talon watched with surprise as she enjoyed the candy silently. Never did he expect to see Hyun-Jae look this delighted because of a piece of candy.
"I didn't think you liked candy that much." He chuckled as he spoke.
"Hm? Oh, I have... Ehem, I have a sweet tooth. Can't hold myself back when it comes to anything sweet." Hyun-Jae coughed awkwardly.
"Hahaha, now that's unexpected."
"Why is it unexpected?"
"Hmm, I guess I thought you were the type of person to enjoy a no-sugar black coffee or something like that."
Hyun-Jae raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I was never a fan of coffee. Too bitter for my taste."
Talon could only smile at her reply. For some reason, Hyun-Jae's frown at that moment looked so cute. He knew that she probably tried coffee a long time ago and hated it so much that she could only react that way by just remembering its taste.
"What about you?" The girl asked.
"Me? I guess I do like coffee. Just not as much as some people do. I enjoy one in the morning but no more than that."
"Impressive..." Hyun-Jae gave Talon a surprised look as if he was doing something she couldn't comprehend.
"Pfft, hahaha, it's nothing big! You make it sound like the hardest task possible!" Talon exploded into laughter.
"Hey! No laughing!"
As the two bantered playfully, they continued looking around the kitchen till they found a shopping bag hidden in one of the drawers. Quickly, they stored the cores inside of it before they finally made their way to the kitchen door and opened it.
"Is it safe outside?" Hyun-Jae asked as she stood behind Talon.
"It seems safe. Let's go."
The two then exited the kitchen and made their way through the corridor toward the stairs. The reception building had two floors, one for visitors and the other for staff. It was always a bustling area of the university.
Imaginably, what they saw in the corridor was the result of that large number of people. Blood was everywhere they looked. So much blood, in fact, that the duo couldn't find a clean spot in the whole place.
'This isn't the work of the Dimension Walkers.' Talon thought to himself as his face darkened. The smell of blood was truly nauseating. Disturbingly enough, Talon was starting to grow accustomed to it and he didn't know how to feel about that.
From what he saw, the way the Dimension Walkers killed was through biting their target and they didn't seem to leave a blood trace from doing that. This meant that whoever was inside this place was killed by evolved monsters rather than Dimension Walkers.
'But, if that was the case, then where are the corpses and the monsters?' He asked himself as he tried to ignore the gore.
Hyun-Jae was oddly silent the whole time they walked through the corridors and even when they started climbing the stairs. Talon didn't know what she was thinking of but he knew that it wasn't pleasant.
Slowly, they made their way to the second floor and from there to the rooftop. It was a smooth trip that didn't take long. When they reached the rooftop's entrance, they found it locked.
Talon didn't have any other choice but to kick it open with his leg.
*BANG*
With brute force, the door was opened with ease. The duo then walked into the rooftop. A wide view of the area presented itself to them.
The entire campus could be seen from that rooftop, including the place they wanted to go to: The research center.
However, What they saw in the far distance was shocking, to say the least. To understand the situation, one has to understand the layout of the campus, especially the area of the research center.
Because of the nature of their work, the research center was built in a remote area of the campus, precisely in an area surrounded by thick trees and greenery and as far away from other buildings as possible. In other words, it was built in the heart of a small forest.
That precise area which they can see from this far, was completely covered with monsters. So many monsters that for a second, Talon thought that they were small ants moving chaotically around.
The entire forest, the research area, and all around that in a 2-kilometer radius was filled with them.
Staring at that, Talon stood there, silent for a long time before he crouched down and rubbed his face.
"You have to be kidding me..." He said in a low, borderline defeated tone. The worst possible situation turned out to be reality.
If reaching the research center was a hard task, now it was borderline impossible. Unless the two of them somehow can kill all of those monsters, it was going to be a ridiculously hard challenge.
Hyun-Jae stood still next to him, not saying a word before she wiped the sweat and dirt off her face.
"It's not over yet, Talon." Looking down at her companion, she spoke in a serious tone. "You aren't giving up this easily, are you?"
"..." Talon rubbed his face before he looked up. He felt so down at that moment that he could only curse himself for it.
'Fuck! How am I supposed to reach that goddamn place if it's this choke full of those bastards?!' He yelled in his head as he balled his fists till his knuckles were white.
Deep inside, he wasn't ready for this harsh reality. If he doesn't reach the research center, he can't come in contact with anyone who could tell him if his parents are safe or not. That was his biggest and most important goal.
Seeing that goal being crushed slowly was painful, incredibly so.
"Come on, stand up." Hyun-Jae grabbed his arm and pulled him up. "It's not over yet. Look at me!" She pointed at her eyes.
Talon stared at her with a complicated expression. Hyun-Jae's beautiful pupils were as bright as ever, still filled with endless will.
"We already knew that this could happen. We're going to find a way to that building and we're going to finish what we started. I know that."
"..."
"But, I can't do that alone, Talon. I need your help to do it. We're a team, aren't we?" She asked before she tapped his chest with her finger. "Your parents are going to be fine waiting for you on the other side. All you have to do is just reach them."
Hyun-Jae's words struck Talon deep in his heart. She wasn't joking around or saying whatever that could make him feel better. Hyun-Jae meant every word she said and that ignited Talon's dwindling spirit again.
'What was I doing? Letting this crush me is dumb.' Shaking his head, Talon got rid of the dark thoughts before he looked down and suddenly slapped himself powerfully. The sound of the hit echoed around them.
"You're right. I was a little overwhelmed by that. I'm fine now." Talon said as he shifted his gaze to the research center again.
"We can reach that place. Even if we have to kill every single one of those things. We're going to do it and we're going to do it right."
'No matter how many days or weeks it takes. Mom, Dad... I will have to make you wait a little longer. Just wait a little longer please.'
Hyun-Jae looked at Talon silently for a good second before she smiled. That was the Talon she wanted to see. A man full of hope and will to do what it takes to reach his goal. She didn't know him for long, but she knew that he wasn't going to fall back because of one setback.
"Hm?" As she was like that, her eyes noticed an anomaly in the distance. On the opposite direction of the research center.
***
"Why are there this many monsters?! Shit!" Go Young-Soon exclaimed as he shoved a Dimension Walker away with his shield and looked at his companions.
"We need to keep them away from the gymnasium! Don't let the formation break!" Un Hei-Ran replied as she aimed her gun at a Dimension Walker.
"I need help here, guys!!" Mo Shin added from the other side. His face was pale with sweat as he aimed his hand at a monster tiredly.
The trio's situation was horrible and was getting worse and worse the more they tried to fight the Dimension Walkers. Luckily for them, there weren't any Evolved Monsters in that group of creatures.
Slowly, their formation was breaking and they were getting pushed back into a corner where they couldn't escape. The fear of death started taking over their minds.
"Help!! Please, anyone!!" Mo Shin yelled as he barely dodged the jaw of a Dimension Walker.
The distance between the monsters and them were barely a few meters and was shrinking in real time.
"It's over..." Un Hei-Ran murmured as she fell to her knees with a disturbed look on her face.
Reality finally weighed down on her mind and broke her will to fight anymore. They were already thrown away by everyone else to fend off the monsters away from their base. In reality, they were simply too scared to go out to fight on their own.
Now, these three have to pay the price for it.
(A//N: Thanks to everyone who supports the book with power stones and golden tickets, you guys are the best:) )
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