Chapter 903

EP.903 [Light Novel Side Story] Death Dinus of the Sky 2 Volume 020

Drip, drop.

Blood flowed. Cheon Bom’s senses were fading as she blinked her eyes repeatedly.

“What is this?”

Her body kept bouncing around, and she could hear the heavy breathing of a man. Realizing that the man was supporting her rear with his left hand, Cheon Bom finally understood that she was being carried piggyback style by some guy.

“Who are you?”

Her vision was blurry. It felt like her eyes had burst from the last gunshot, and everything was dyed in shades of gray.

But her consciousness returned somewhat, and Cheon Bom carefully thought about who would bother to carry her while fleeing.

“…That bastard?”

The guy who threw her into the pit of hell.

If they found his corpse, chewing it wouldn’t be enough to vent her anger. That guy surely was someone who would still take care of her escape amidst all this chaos.

With no sense of camaraderie or honor, he was the scum of the earth who only cared about her body—his only remaining asset—as Cheon Bom.

“……?”

But something was off. Through her blurred vision clouded like gray fog, she saw blonde hair drenched in blood. In this monochrome world, only the golden locks tickling the corners of her eyes stood out vividly.

“Could it be… No, it’s not him?”

That guy with sunglasses wouldn’t have the guts to dye his hair yellow right in the middle of Seoul.

Then who is this man carrying her on his back and fleeing from the collapsing cave?

One name came to mind, but there was absolutely no reason for him to save her.

Xian. He was the one who shot a bullet into Raon-transformed Cheon Bom’s heart to turn her into a core, and when Cheon Bom got another chance, she slashed his right arm off in the dark.

So why is he now carrying her on his back and “fleeing from the collapsing cave”?

Though awake, Cheon Bom pretended to be unconscious and perked up her ears.

* * *

“Raon! Is there a way out over there?!”

“There isn’t! I don’t see any other device either!”

Xian, carrying the unconscious Cheon Bom on his back, looked around.

The tunnels branched out like an anthill, but the most crucial “exit to the surface” was nowhere to be seen.

“…Uncle, this keeps going deeper underground, doesn’t it?”

Nuri pointed at the slope of the floor with a troubled face. There were no stairs, but the tunnel clearly sloped downward.

“…Huhk, Huhk!”

Yuna sobbed uncontrollably, hiccuping.

Ever since Xian started bleeding after his right arm was cut off, Yuna had been half out of her mind. Even though Xian himself called his arm a “prosthetic,” the sight of the severed stump and the metallic smell of blood was too real.

So she pulled the trigger. Whether the tunnel collapsed or not, removing Cheon Bom blocking their path was the priority, and without looking back, Yuna pulled the trigger.

“Yuna, calm down. See? Look, I’m not bleeding anymore.”

Xian fidgeted anxiously as he offered his right shoulder to Yuna. There was nothing there but an empty coat flapping loosely.

“So stop crying. Initially, it was just a fake, so I used my right arm for defense.”

As Xian said, his right arm was indeed a prosthetic. According to him, it was a highly sophisticated “biological prosthetic” created through magitech cellular replication.

“See? I’m fine, right?”

Even though his forearm below the elbow was completely gone, Xian waved his reddened sleeve casually. Raon massaged her throbbing head.

“…When we were attacked, the pain seemed very real.”

“Yeah, that’s true. The nervous system is linked.”

“…What?”

“I tried to make it as realistic as possible. …We don’t have time to explain in detail now. Let’s find an escape route first. This way leads further underground.”

Having evaded detailed explanations, Xian adjusted the position of the unconscious Cheon Bom. At this, Nuri frowned irritably.

“Do you even have limits to how good-hearted you can be? Why are you taking care of the monster who cut off your arm? Even if it’s a prosthetic.”

“…Isn’t it worth recovering at least 100 billion won?”

“Then turn her into a core and insert it. Put her down. If you can’t handle it, Uncle, I’ll extract the core.”

“…I understand your feelings, but shouldn’t we leave at least one informant?”

Xian wiped the sweat off his forehead with his left hand while adjusting his grip on Cheon Bom leaning against the wall. As his left hand went numb and began to tremble, Xian straightened his posture, readjusting Cheon Bom on his back.

“Other hunters will capture the monsters, and most likely turn them into cores. So we need to secure at least one with a mouth that works. It’s insurance.”

“Why didn’t you just order a live capture from the start then?”

Leaning against the wall, Nuri pointed out flaws in Xian’s argument. Though her tone was sharp, her criticism wasn’t entirely wrong.

“You just shot her dead when you caught her, so why are you making such a fuss to save her now?”

“That’s something I agree with. If it’s due to human rights issues, monsters don’t have human rights internationally since 2023-”

“..It’s because she’s Fenrir’s monster.”

Xian laid Cheon Bom against the wall and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his left hand.

There was no reaction from Fenrir himself, but it was necessary to find out who gave this woman the power of “Fenrir” to resurrect her. How did the power of the beast that should have stayed in Northern Europe end up here?

“One possibility is that Fenrir himself is hiding somewhere. But if that’s the case, we’re already dead anyway, so let’s skip that.”

“Fenrir appearing directly would have turned not just Seoul, but New Seoul into ruins.”

Who could stand against a super-class monster standing forty meters tall? A chill ran down Xian’s spine.

“And the second possibility is that there’s a ‘henchman.’ Someone baptized by Fenrir creating new monsters on this land.”

Xian judged the latter scenario more plausible.

While the purpose behind Fenrir’s henchman creating new monsters in Seoul remains unknown, the monsters led by Cheon Bom were fragmentary clues to uncovering that purpose.

“But there might be an insider, so asking for a live capture could cause misunderstandings. Monsters are usually killed outright… …sigh.”

Xian leaned against the wall, feeling dizzy.

“Mr. Xian… Are you okay? Huhk!”

Yuna approached him, sniffling as she supported him.

“I’m fine. Just a bit tired… Anyway, let’s go up. We can’t die like this-”

Roar!

A beast’s cry echoed. The four of them startled, immediately entering defensive stances and turning around.

Two green eyes shone in the darkness, and Raon stepped forward, swallowing hard. Soon, they took in the figure of the creature emerging from the shadows.

“…Is that a cat?”

Meow!

Xian felt a sense of déjà vu seeing the cat that resembled something he’d seen before.

The cat, exuding a minty scent, licked its lips toward Xian, then walked past them into the darkness.

“What’s a cat doing here…?”

“Mr. Xian.”

Yuna wiped her tears with her sleeve, her eyes red-rimmed as she hiccuped.

“That cat… seems to be telling us to follow. Hic!”

Though her crying had stopped, her hiccups hadn’t, and she pounded her chest trying to calm herself. Xian hesitated to place his hand on Yuna’s shoulder, keeping his hands crossed behind his back.

“…Let’s follow it. That’s-”

“I’ll carry her.”

Just as Xian was about to hoist Cheon Bom again, Raon beat him to it, picking her up princess-style by cradling her thighs and back. Nuri blinked in surprise.

“Raon, aren’t you taking too good care of her?”

“There’s no way. It’s just better preparation for preliminary work. Speaking of which, Nuri, there’s something you can help with.”

Raon gestured towards Cheon Bom’s arms and legs. Holding her thighs firmly, Raon explained the plan verbally while Nuri nodded and immediately summoned magic power.

“Hmm…?”

“…”

Raon adjusted her position, pressing lightly on Cheon Bom’s side, then tilted her head curiously at an odd sensation. But soon, her curiosity faded with Nuri’s question.

“Nuri, is this fine?”

“Raon, where did you learn this kind of restraint method?”

“Kim Gaon’s novels always showed things done like this…”

Raon sighed deeply.

She needed to have a heartfelt talk with Kim Gaon, Nuri’s older sister.

* * *

Though the area where Yuna fired twice collapsed due to the recoil, surprisingly, the other tunnels remained intact.

“I want to keep a cat when I get home.”

“Me too.”

Nuri and Xian marveled at the cat strutting around the monsters’ secret passage as if it were its own territory.

The cat moved boldly, as if daring to encounter any monsters, leading Xian’s group confidently.

“Is this really the exit?”

“The slope was downward until now, but we’re definitely going upward.”

While Yuna stopped crying and mapped the dungeon using her magical gear app, Raon swung the staff slung over her shoulder like a fishing rod.

At the same time, the body tied to the staff swung violently left and right. Cheon Bom’s brow slightly furrowed, but none of the group noticed.

“…Isn’t that a bit rough?”

Seeing Cheon Bom tied to Yuna’s staff, Xian couldn’t help but look away. Raon glanced briefly at Cheon Bom and shook her head.

“If she wakes up, we don’t know who she’ll transform into, do we? She needs to be tightly bound.”

“Her neck, stomach, thighs, ankles, and wrists aren’t tied though… …Uncle, look away. What are you staring at?”

Raon secured her feet and wrists with water imbued with magic power.

Nuri added more magic power to the water ropes designed for restraint, coiling them around Cheon Bom like a coil. Then Yuna suggested tying her to her staff for transport.

The binding method made Xian sigh deeply.

“Even if she’s a monster, this treatment is…”

“Mr. Xian, she’s the villain who cut off your arm. This is light punishment.”

“I was thinking of tying a rope around her neck and dragging her across the floor, but I restrained myself. If given permission, I could do it right now, couldn’t I?”

“Mr. Xian?”

“Alright. …No, seriously, I get it.”

Xian muttered to himself as he followed the cat, thinking he should’ve carried her piggyback style despite the fatigue. Thanks to Xian’s complaints of exhaustion, the monster Cheon Bom ended up being carried like a fish on a rod by Raon alone.

“Annoying in many ways, but still an important witness…”

“Uncle, are you serious? Who’s the weirdo who cut off your arm? If her powers were just a little stronger, your head would’ve flown off. Recognize that!”

“Thinking about it, I almost wanted to drag her on the ground with just a rope around her neck, but I refrained. If you allow it, I can do it right now, can’t I?”

“Mr. Xian?”

“Got it. …Seriously, I understand.”

Xian followed the cat, wondering if he should’ve endured the fatigue and carried her piggyback style. The cat giggled while looking back at Xian, then proudly strode forward again.

Following the cat’s tail for dozens of minutes, the cat turned left at a fork in the road and growled.

Meow!

Before long, the cat climbed steeply uphill, heading toward the top. They could feel a cold breeze blowing from far away.

“…Maybe that’s not a cat.”

Xian tilted his head following the cat, but the cat disappeared completely at a dead-end.

“??”

“?????”

Everyone looked around as if possessed by a ghost, searching for the cat, but instead, they found a hidden mechanism covered by dirt.

Creak.

The concealed door opened, and they stepped onto an abandoned subway tunnel.

By now, the external communication signal on their magical gear had improved, and Xian’s device rang loudly.

“Unknown number?”

Xian tilted his head and answered the call, revealing an enraged white-haired witch on the screen.

[What are you?! I blocked you! Why don’t you answer my calls, but pick up others’ instantly?!?!]

Xian could only say one thing.

“…Misunderstanding.”

What impeccable timing. Xian stuck out his tongue as he relayed the situation via magical gear. The furious white-haired witch, Seok Harang, listened intently to Xian’s explanation and dispatched a rescue team.

“We’ll survive.”

The rescue team found them at Yeouido.

The monster Cheon Bom, who hadn’t become a core, was secretly transported frozen in ice crystals by Seok Harang’s abilities, and Xian, habitually waving his right arm to greet, exposed his missing limb and was sent to the hospital.

“It’s a prosthetic!”

“Don’t lie! No, it must be a lie!”

“Yuna, are you saying you want me to have really lost my arm?!”

“It’s not what I meant! Fine, let’s check with the doctor right now! What will the doctor say?”

Medical diagnosis.

“It’s a prosthetic.”

Xian’s right arm was truly a prosthetic. Yuna burst into tears again in the hospital room.

Thankfully, Xian didn’t die from excessive bleeding.

* * *

March 2, 2025, 23:07.

With the monster Cheon Bom hiding underground in Guro, the total count of captured monsters reached nineteen.

Although there was a discrepancy between the number of stolen cores and the captured monsters, the discovery of a dead Fenrir monster at the entrance of Yeouido brought the commotion to an end.

<Seoul Underground Purge Operation>.

This operation, an extension of the Seoul restoration mission, achieved remarkable success within a single day, capturing approximately a thousand villains, three hundred monsters, and twenty Fenrir monsters for reasons yet unknown.

– World’s highest single-operation record.

The hunters and heroes of Seoul celebrated their victory with joy, relief, and lingering tension.

Meow!

And they failed to notice a small black cat slipping out of Seoul.