Swordmaster of the Fallen World

Chapter 11. Shadow Worm, Chara-Tebil (3)

Three hours later.

The raid team gathered by squads in front of the Independence Gate.

The tension lingered in the movements of heavily armed hunters.

“As soon as we enter the Nightmare Zone, we’ll head down to the Independence Gate Station.”

In front of the city gate, Shin Taeup delivered the final instructions.

“You remember, from Independence Gate Station onward, we must stay quiet. Because ‘they’ are hiding there.”

…Them.

Just the thought of meeting them sent shivers down my spine.

“We’ll avoid combat as much as possible until we reach the assigned mission zone. After all, our target is the boss.”

Next to me, Jung Hayoung, who had been listening quietly, asked a question.

“Them? What do you mean?”

“Who else? I’m talking about the human roaches.”

Jung Hayoung’s expression twisted in disgust.

“Human roaches? Is that… literally a fusion of humans and cockroaches?”

“Of course it is.”

“Ugh, gross… just hearing the name is nauseating.”

It seemed Jung Hayoung had never been underground before.

Well, that wasn’t unusual for Nightmare Hunters.

The underground was one of the most dangerous areas in the Nightmare Zone.

“G Squad, do not follow us. Guard the subway exit and make sure no abnormal entities circle back.”

Everyone nodded grimly.

“And now, the last thing to say…”

Shin Taeup stopped mid-sentence, scanning each of us one by one.

“Brothers and sisters, we’re here to win. That’s all. Message over.”

He flashed a bright, innocent smile.

Truly, that face was a weapon in itself.

With such a cute, cheerful expression, it was impossible to resist.

A warm air spread through the tense atmosphere.

“Alright, let’s move out!”

Shin Taeup gestured, and someone from Squad B activated the mechanism.

Kiiiiiing…

The great gate of the Independence Gate began to rise with force.

Beyond the gate, a swirling mist awaited.

Passing through it would lead to the Nightmare Zone—a descent into death itself.

“Move out!”

The mission had begun.

Squads B and C plunged into the mist.

We were next.

[Area Transition: Nightmare Boundary – New Jongno District]

Emerging from the wall of mist, we faced a ruined city.

Collapsed apartments.

Melted churches reduced to skeletal frames.

Cold winds sweeping through empty streets.

Ominous and desolate, yet painfully nostalgic.

But this land no longer belonged to us.

…Keek-keek-keek-keek-keek…

Laughter echoed from the ruins.

Grotesque monsters roamed the skies, searching for prey.

Shin Taeup and Squad B stayed vigilant, signaling toward Independence Gate Station.

“Move! Move! Don’t stop—run straight to the subway station!”

As I sprinted toward the station, I glanced at the sky.

In this insane world of stars, there was neither sun nor moon.

By day, the starlight blazed; by night, it grew distant.

That was all.

…First, Muak-dong.

I vowed to reclaim everything, starting with this meaningless chaos.

Reaffirming my resolve, I dashed down the subway station stairs.

“Hold! Wait here until the raid leader arrives.”

The concourse of Independence Gate Station was shrouded in darkness.

The subways of Seoul had long since transformed into terrifying hellscapes.

A chilling cold.

The stench of rotting corpses.

A vast silence, fragile enough to shatter at any moment.

“About fifty meters ahead is the stationmaster’s office.”

At the landing just before the concourse, Shin Taeup, who had rejoined us, whispered our objective.

“We’ll head to the stationmaster’s office first. We need to open the platform barriers.”

“But you’ve scouted the area. Why were the barriers closed?”

“In case the boss had moved to another location.”

…Ah.

A female hunter from Squad B listened toward the concourse, then nodded to Shin Taeup.

“The wind flow has stopped. The platform barriers remain intact.”

…Indeed. Thorough in every detail.

If they had been broken, we’d retreat, as the boss would have relocated.

Since they weren’t, we could proceed as planned.

“Okay. Squad C, confirm the safety of the route.”

Squad C descended into the concourse with flashlights.

They were composed of members skilled in stealth and tracking.

Even so, watching them cross the darkness to the stationmaster’s office was nerve-wracking.

Fortunately, Squad C reached the stationmaster’s office safely and signaled with their lights.

“Move immediately. Don’t run, and don’t make any noise. We can’t let them hear us.”

After issuing this warning, Shin Taeup led the way forward.

The other squads, forming a single column, followed.

Our Squad A was the third in line, positioned at the center.

Step… step… step…

Somewhere in the vast darkness, they were watching us.

The thought made my skin crawl with every echo of our footsteps.

“What is this stench?”

Jung Hayoung grumbled in a low voice.

A fellow Squad A member, a middle-aged man named Hong Byunggyu, smirked silently.

“That’s their droppings. Like cockroaches, they smear excrement everywhere they go.”

“The underground is seriously deranged. Coming here first was the right call.”

At that moment, a rustling sound came from deep in the darkness.

My heart leaped, and I hissed, “Shh!”

“Keep quiet. Do you have any idea how sensitive their hearing is?”

The stationmaster’s office had already been secured by Squad C.

We hurried inside, almost fleeing.

Squad B was manipulating the control panel under the dim light of a lantern.

Manipulating it?

I couldn’t hide my incredulity and blurted out.

“There’s no way electricity is working. What are you doing?”

The bespectacled young man at the panel pushed up his glasses and replied.

“Once you understand the principles, it’s not difficult. Ever since Shelter City was built, the Seoul subway has been operating on autonomous local power systems.”

Grinning, the young man tapped the [Enter] key.

“So, if I use my unique skill to supply just a tiny bit of power to the local energy console? Done. Though I’ve used up all my skill charges just for this.”

*Zzzzzzt.*

The sound of the platform barriers lifting echoed from the platform side.

There was no need to worry about the noise attracting them.

…*Rumble… rumble… rumble…*

Farther away, other barriers were being commanded to forcibly open and close.

This generated an even louder noise.

Most of them would inevitably be drawn there.

Impressive.

Truly impressive.

The raid team.

From the leader down, only exceptional talents filled its ranks.

It was no wonder they were famed as a frontline raid team.

“Good. Phase One is complete.”

Shin Taeup sprang to his feet.

“And now, we’ll…”

In that instant, we all froze.

As power was briefly supplied, the lights in the concourse flickered on for a moment before going dark again.

In that instant, we saw it.

The glass wall outside the stationmaster’s office.

A disgusting insect clinging to it, massive in size.

It was only for a moment, so we couldn’t make it out perfectly.

But no insect in the subway could be that large except for them.

“Human roach.”

Hong Byunggyu shouted.

Immediately, both Shin Taeup and I sprang into action.

“I’ll handle this!”

In the next moment, the human roach was engulfed in blinding flames.

Shin Taeup’s unique skill.

“…It huuuuuurts… Huuuuuurts…”

The human roach fell from the glass wall, wailing.

And soon, its cries were echoed by others coming from all directions.

…Hehehe… Ahahaha… Ihihihi…

This was bad.

I grabbed a sledgehammer from another hunter and immediately smashed through the stationmaster’s glass wall, shouting urgently.

“There’s no time to go back! We’ll head straight past here to the platform!”

“Just like he said! Move carefully, and no running!”

Returning the hammer, I leapt over the railing, with Shin Taeup right behind me.

“…Hehehehehe!”

Out of the darkness, one of them lunged toward us.

At that moment.

My blade traced the trajectory of dawn through the gloom.

Slash!

With a wet sound, the creature’s corpse tumbled at my feet.

The severed edges gleamed faintly with the bloodlight of the Dawnblade.

“One down.”

A sharp pain stabbed through my head.

Damn it… It was definitely the Nightmare Zone.

Things were already going off track.

It was then that Shin Taeup dashed up beside me.

“You secure the front, old man. I’ll handle this area by myself. It’s all within calculations anyway.”

“What? How are you supposed to handle this alone—”

“Del, Ver Alberta!”

Shin Taeup chanted something strange, forming hand seals, and then an unbelievable sight unfolded.

Sshhhh!

The rosary around Shin Taeup’s neck expanded in front of him, transforming into a massive wall of fire.

Fwoooosh!

The approaching human roaches were incinerated, crumbling to ash.

The firepower was overwhelming.

What the hell was this?

Even for a unique skill, this was near-absolute power.

“Go now!”

There was no time to stand and watch.

I immediately dashed toward the platform stairs.

At first, I led the way, clearing the path.

Later, I stayed at the landing, covering the rear.

By the time the raid team had all descended, I had killed three more human roaches.

“Kyaaaah!”

Shin Taeup came hurtling down the stairs as I was slashing through the fourth.

“Catch me! Aaah!”

I swallowed hard.

Behind him, a swarm of human roaches surged like a black tide.

Shin Taeup leaped toward me, and in an instant, I understood what he meant.

I sheathed the Dawnblade.

Caught him mid-air and slung him over my shoulder.

Then, without a moment’s delay, I sprinted down to the platform.

“Play, play, let’s plaaaaay!”

Run.

Run, run, run.

If we got swept up in that wave, we’d both die.

The five seconds it took felt like an eternity.

The moment I reached the bottom of the stairs, just as dozens of human roaches lunged at us from above…

“Not so fast!”

From atop my shoulder, Shin Taeup conjured another wall of flames at the base of the stairs.

Fwooooosh…

The swarm of human roaches was blocked by the fire.

Those who had jumped were immediately engulfed, turning into flaming lumps before burning to death.

The rest prowled angrily outside the fire barrier.

From about ten steps away, we watched the scene unfold.

I finally exhaled the breath I had been holding.

Shin Taeup chuckled.

It wasn’t a laugh of amusement at the fire but the hysterical release of tension.

“Phew, nice teamwork, old man.”

“I just piggybacked off what the boss set up.”

“Boss? Boss? Don’t be so formal. You’ve had at least six bowls of rice cake soup, haven’t you? Just speak casually. I’ll do the same.”

What rice cake soup…?

This guy was something else.

As Shin Taeup climbed off my shoulder and caught his breath, he tilted his head curiously.

“By the way, you seem familiar. Have we met somewhere before?”

“Me? No, I don’t think so.”

“Really? Weird. What is it, then?”

“Oh, maybe if you were some delinquent among human trash, you might’ve seen me.”

“Wow! What’s that supposed to mean? Were you a cop or—”

At that moment, Shin Taeup’s gaze locked onto the Dawnblade.

Something stirred in his eyes as he stared at it—an almost wistful, pained expression.

“No… It’s not you who feels familiar… It’s this sword… Why does this… Why is this—”

“—Taeup!”

A female hunter from Squad B rushed over.

In the light, she appeared quite pretty.

Without hesitation, she hugged Shin Taeup and rubbed her cheek against his head.

“Are you okay? Why do you always push yourself so hard alone?”

“No, no, I’m fine… The old man here helped me. Now let go, I can’t breathe. I was just following Plan D, so why the fuss?”

…Plan D?

Did that mean they had anticipated this situation as well?

What a terrifying guy.

Shin Taeup shook off her embrace and regained a serious expression.

“I must’ve lost it for a moment. I was… thinking about something else. Of all places, this isn’t the time. Let’s regroup and move out. Old man, you too.”

Why had he started rambling suddenly?

I couldn’t figure it out.

Had he overused his unique skill and worn himself out?

“…?!”

Abruptly, a faint tremor ran across my back.

The Dawnblade was trembling on its own.

That was strange.

Why would it be doing this now…?

“Old man, what are you doing? Hurry up!”

“Ah, got it.”

Shin Taeup’s shout broke my train of thought, and I quickened my pace.

Though it wasn’t entirely because of his urging.

From what I remembered, the Dawnblade would tremble like this when a powerful abnormal entity was nearby.

It was a sign of danger, so I needed to hurry.

Wait a minute.

Was that really the only time it trembled?