This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 391

The image of the Association building vividly remained in my mind as a rather sophisticated place.

At the same time, I thought it was a building that wouldn’t easily collapse unless something truly extraordinary happened…

The moment I arrived near the Association building with Chae-rim and Yoonseo, the sight that met my eyes was nothing like the glass-fronted structure I had envisioned. Instead, it was covered entirely by steel plates, emitting black smoke from various spots.

I was certainly aware that the situation was unusual, but it struck me that I hadn’t expected the main base—the Association building—to be in such a precarious state.

Just from that sight alone, I could tell how serious the circumstances were.

One surprisingly unexpected aspect was the battle unfolding near the Association building.

Another transformed monsters surrounded the area, while heroes—presumably gathered through a summons like us—were fiercely fighting to break through, creating an impression that it wasn’t us but the monsters who were being attacked.

‘By the way…’

That enormous barrier stretching wide around the Association site…

I was probably murmuring that in my thoughts.

“Fortunately, it seems we were nearby.”

Was it that we were seeing the same situation at the same time?

Perhaps it was because the scene looked much more precarious and serious than I had thought that Chae-rim, who had been observing the unfolding events with a deeply sunken expression, let out a voice that seemed relieved for the moment.

And while she was mumbling about that and trying to grasp how things were proceeding, Chae-rim soon turned to us and suggested…

“…Huh?”

“So, you mean… let’s go in there?”

“Yeah.”

While the heroes swarming outside would take care of things, it made more sense to go inside the building and organize it beforehand than to join the fray.

And my thought about Chae-rim’s suggestion was… it didn’t seem bad at all.

After all—

“The Association building isn’t small, but it is still an indoor space, right? If more people gather here, it’ll increase the chances of things getting tangled up.”

As Chae-rim said, once the stage became indoors, an excessive number of people could turn out to be a disadvantage.

Of course, both Chae-rim and Yoonseo would manage well in such situations, but… would it produce efficiency?

So, thinking of efficiency, it made sense to follow Chae-rim’s suggestion.

Nodding in agreement, it wasn’t long before Yoonseo also nodded along.

And what happened next?

“The problem is… Bora…”

As for me, being like a backup battery, I had no choice, but Bora’s presence, being essentially a civilian, became an issue.

As we exchanged opinions on that, Bora insisted that bringing her along would definitely help.

At first, I naturally tried to persuade her.

We had no idea what the situation inside the building was like, and if the number of people to protect increased from one to two, the burden on Chae-rim and Yoonseo would double.

Even I, and Chae-rim as well, tried to convince Bora by saying that it could be much more dangerous than she thought, but… surprisingly, Bora’s will was unwavering.

“I knew it was special, but this…”

“Whoa…”

Also, the reason she felt she must accompany us became evident as she personally demonstrated it, leaving no room for further opposition.

“But… even if we go in, where should we enter? With the walls in that state, it feels like both the front and back doors would be blocked…”

“Naturally, we can’t enter through the doors.”

Then?

Was she thinking of breaking through whatever metallic substance covered the building’s exterior?

Well, even if that material was sturdy, with Yoonseo and Chae-rim here, I figured we could break through after a few tries, but… the thought of potential unforeseen circumstances nagged at me.

And was Chae-rim also worrying about similar things?

After pondering for a moment, Chae-rim finally spoke up.

“Honestly, I’d love to just break through everything and rush in, but… just in case, let’s start from below.”

“From the basement parking lot?”

“No, not there.”

If not the underground parking lot, then what underground was she referring to?

Could it be some secret passage built into the Association building for emergencies?

“No way, this can’t be…”

Amazingly, yes.

Chae-rim suddenly led us to a certain building, and though I was confused, I followed her to find a passage leading underground, which popped out from the convenience store storage on the first floor.

Thanks to that, it was needless to say that Yoonseo’s eyes sparkled with excitement, which had a somewhat childlike aspect to it.

As for me?

I was naturally more concerned.

“Is it really okay to share something like this?”

“…Considering the situation, it is.”

So the answer was a no-go in normal times.

“And anyway, it’s a place that only opens with biometric authentication.”

With that at least, I felt somewhat reassured…

“By the way… you know, right? Bora, this can’t be drawn like in a manga?”

Then, with that joke thrown towards us, Chae-rim stepped into the passage.

Following Chae-rim down the stairs?

As I descended what felt like two levels down, an incredibly thick iron door welcomed us.

So I glanced at Chae-rim, who was taking the lead, and what came out of her mouth was—

“Wow…”

Her tone was laced with the feeling of distress.

Something must have gone wrong, I thought.

Placing her right hand on the iron door and feeling around with her other hand, Chae-rim let out a hollow laugh as she stepped back from the door.

“This won’t do. Let’s just… break through.”

Then she turned towards Yoonseo and said just that.

And what followed was a scene reminiscent of a factory.

First, Chae-rim seized my hand tightly and unleashed electricity towards the iron door.

As the surging cyan current heated the door a bright red, cold water created by Yoonseo burst down upon it.

Heat it up, cool it down, and once it had cooled, Chae-rim stepped forward again, launching a fist wrapped in blue electricity towards the blackened iron door…

“Ugh…!”

“Cough…!”

“Ugh… dust…”

The iron door couldn’t withstand that one blow and crumbled, causing a dust storm that swirled around me, and I thought to myself.

I better not go against Chae-rim’s mood.

“So, shall we go?”

Even if the door was weakened by being heated and cooled repeatedly, to break it down with a fist was something totally different.

Reflecting on how I had spent three years just testing the waters against such a person, chills ran down my spine.

“Watch out for sharp edges since it’s dark, and you might not see them clearly when crossing over.”

Since it was basically underground, and I didn’t know if the lights were out due to the condition of the Association building or if they had never been installed in the first place, but one thing was certain: there were no proper lighting fixtures.

Just as Chae-rim said, the passage was extremely dark.

Thus, we had to rely on the flashlight from my mobile phone as we proceeded.

“Watch your step.”

True to the secretive operation, the passage was so narrow that while one person fit well, two could hardly squeeze through, forcing us to line up single file to cross the dark passage that led who knows where.

We set up a formation to be ready for action at a moment’s notice: Chae-rim at the front, then Bora following, then Yoonseo, and last was me.

Given that we had to be ready to defend at any moment, I couldn’t pay as much attention to the ground as the others.

“Whoa?!”

“Hey, hey…! Be careful…!”

I had to grab Yoonseo, who stumbled on a jutting part occasionally.

While keeping an eye on Yoonseo as we hurried along, something felt off behind me.

A sensation I definitely shouldn’t have felt.

It was as if someone was tugging at the hem of my clothes.

In that split second of confusion, my body suddenly lurched backward, tipping me off balance.

.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.

‘Ugh… seriously…’

Why is it so dark…?

As I mumbled that in my thoughts, the beam of light coming from behind shot up toward the ceiling just as it was illuminating the floor—

“…?”

The footsteps that echoed behind me suddenly stopped.

“Dogun…?”

As if a person had simply vanished into thin air.