This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 642

It felt just like watching a TV that had a broken channel.

It wobbled anxiously, then suddenly went poof and turned off.

Silence descended.

The silence was so dense that it was hard to believe a fierce battle had just been underway moments ago.

That’s why goosebumps crawled up my arms.

Such a heavy silence enveloped the surroundings and the people within it.

It couldn’t be helped.

Everyone had resolved to clear the immediate threats, even if it meant perishing here, but there’s a clear difference between not running away and being unable to.

Especially from the perspective of those accepting the situation.

Moreover… Although everyone talked as if they would willingly meet their doom here, who could say for sure?

As the old saying goes, “You may know the depths of water, but you can never know a person’s heart.” Just because they said that didn’t mean they weren’t thinking something else inside.

Anyway, regardless of whether this was true or not, the pressure from being cut off by the enemy was suffocating.

A glance at the faces of those around showed that they were as stiff as rocks, making it feel like not a single pin could fit between them.

However, the silence didn’t last long.

With the escape route cut off, the strange roots—those abominations—began to stir once more, as if they determined to start actively moving toward the expedition team, whose members had taken refuge inside the forward base, aiming to stabilize the rift.

Whether it was because they had absorbed a person each or not, their movements had intensified several fold compared to before.

As if in response to the wriggling, several new roots burst through the ground.

Naturally, it goes without saying that these newly sprouted ones were also hanging onto those grotesque chunks of flesh.

Thus, with the count of roots exceeding ten, they began slithering toward the expedition team, ensuring that the aftermath of the battle didn’t overwhelm them.

It goes without saying that the expedition team snapped back to awareness and prepared to respond immediately.

With no retreat in sight, they had to fend off the Another Ones with only those present until they noticed something was off and took action.

Given that, they couldn’t just let the number thin out any further.

So they aimed to respond quickly, but…

Right at that moment, the ones that had previously fallen back came charging back into combat.

The real issue was that, moving alongside them, the ‘girl’ also began to act.

She, who had merely been floating in the air and observing, gradually started closing the distance to the forward base.

Such a presence was enough to instill a sense of anxiety, leaving everyone in a position where they felt stuck without knowing what to do.

If this were chess, it was like the enemy’s queen, which had been hiding behind the other pieces, finally showing herself.

In response, it seemed that our own queen-like figure also decided to make a move.

…Wait, no. That’s wrong. It’s a first move, isn’t it?

Surely something had happened before…

Watching Miss Almighty quietly rise into the air as if to welcome the ‘girl’ who was drawing closer, I was struck by an indescribable, intense sense of unease.

‘…Hmm?’

What was I thinking?

This is strange.

Until just a moment ago, it felt like my mind had been filled with something…

It was as if someone had wiped everything clean with an eraser, leaving me with an empty head, and I caught myself grimacing while squeezing my temples.

“Yoonseo?”

Suddenly, a voice calling out to me pierced through the air.

I’m not sure if it’s a side effect of excessive power use, but the throbbing in my head abruptly calmed down, just at that moment.

Hmm? Excessive power use, you say?

Sure, I had used some strength to deal with the Another Ones, but that didn’t seem quite right.

As this kind of question wafted through my mind like a wisp of smoke, I didn’t have the time to dwell on it.

After all, there was that voice calling out to me.

“…Miss Oh?”

The owner of that voice was none other than Miss Almighty.

With the leader of the expedition team calling out to me in such a straightforward manner, I couldn’t just ignore it, so I lifted my head slightly to direct my gaze toward where the voice came from.

Of course, I had still kept my hand over my temple.

The throbbing I had been feeling had long faded, but since the sensation had been so vivid, it felt like it lingered even until now.

So, gently pressing my hand against my temple, I asked,

“What is it?”

Well, honestly, there weren’t many reasons to call me in a situation like this.

She was probably going to assign me some task.

To get straight to the point, that was right.

Barely had I responded to her call, when a mission was assigned to me.

It was to handle the wriggling roots currently stirring inside the base.

“Me?”

“Yes, considering the compatibility, I thought that would be best.”

Compatibility, huh?

How had she figured that out?

Had she applied some hidden talent even from our side?

But it didn’t seem like there was anything special…

Feeling like I might have missed something, I quickly sifted through my memories, but even after several attempts, nothing stood out.

Thus, the questions deepened naturally, but…

“Well then, I will do that.”

Figuring it was better to solve the questions later.

Right now, I had to deal with those things.

“To give you a hint… try using ice actively.”

Ice, huh.

Well, despite being grotesquely covered in those slimy growths, they were still fundamentally plant roots.

When battling the Another Ones, pouring water would only serve to nourish the plants.

Ice…

At that moment, in the realm of Heogye, the battle was reaching a new phase.

Meanwhile, in reality, Dogun was… staring nervously at the wall.

He couldn’t help it.

From his standpoint, he was feeling the time stretching longer than he’d anticipated.

Typically, Bora could whip up whatever picture in a blink of an eye, showing off with a shrug of her shoulders…

But now, the fact that she was holding a brush instead of her usual tablet pen was a reason for her slowness.

The confidently expressive face she had shown earlier was now faded as progress was indeed dragging.

According to Bora’s earlier explanation, she needed to complete the coloring for her talent to activate, yet she hadn’t even finished sketching yet.

That being the case, it felt odd to call her out on it.

Knowing firsthand how tough it was to work with unfamiliar tools.

Especially with the wall size that was massive.

As the canvas grew larger, so too did the size of the picture, and with her not used to this… it was obvious why it took several times longer.

Trying to quell the rising anxiety with such thoughts was futile.

To sum it up, those strategies were useless.

No matter how much I tried to calm down, once the moment passed, the anxiety would bubble to the surface again.

And thus, my fingers wouldn’t stay still any longer.

Was it because my struggle was pitiful to someone watching?

My senior, standing a bit away, quietly reached out her hand.

She reached out gently… and took hold of my trembling hand, which had been snapping like firecrackers from the pressure.

And then…