This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 657

Let’s assume you’re walking in a narrow tunnel.

Now, imagine that in such a situation, a sound like a building or ground collapsing echoes from afar.

How many people in this world could calmly act in that scenario?

And what are the odds that such a person is a Hero, with overwhelming Talent, who can boldly put their name on an Expedition Team formed to completely establish Another in this world?

If you looked at the two separately, it would be entirely possible for them to exist. But if you consider them as one?

It would undoubtedly be close to zero.

That’s why, at the moment when an unsettling sound echoed from afar, it wasn’t surprising at all to see panic settle on people’s faces.

However, just as not everyone is the same, some fall into panic in a crisis while others shine brighter in such moments.

“Run for it!”

“Uh, where to?”

“To a place that feels safe enough!”

Thanks to that shout, our group, which had fallen into panic for a moment, was able to resume movement before it was too late.

The race had begun.

A deadly race where stopping or falling behind might mean losing your life.

No one wanted to be eliminated in such a race, so everyone gritted their teeth and began to dash along the winding path.

However, the entity that had driven them into such a situation didn’t seem satisfied with just that.

“It’s closing in!!”

As evidence, not only the path they had run but also the way ahead began to narrow little by little.

At any moment, their group could separate. Being isolated from the group in such circumstances was the worst-case scenario, and it seemed no one wanted that.

In a situation where the sound of panting filled the air, everyone gritted their teeth and ran forward.

Among them, a few boldly launched themselves, accepting potential injury to get through the increasingly narrow passage.

But that was just the beginning.

“Something’s coming!”

The entities made of flesh began to split apart with a thick sound, revealing the familiar Peculiar Entities.

By the looks of the dozens appearing, there was surely a “Nest” where these creatures were born nearby.

Yes, it had to be.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for those entities, which usually appeared three or four at a time, to show up in such large numbers.

Considering the reason for entering this perilous world, that was information one couldn’t just ignore.

Even so, instead of blinking with shining eyes, they chose to grit their teeth and continue forward because things weren’t looking good.

Securing a clue to restore Dogun’s left arm and delivering it to reality was a story for after they safely overcame this situation; if they died here, clues would mean nothing.

After all, even if they managed to secure valuable clues or samples, such things could only happen if they survived. Otherwise, who would take on that role?

So, though the reluctance people typically call stubbornness had turned into mud that gripped their ankles, they chose to grit their teeth and race forward instead of getting stuck in it.

Of course, that was easier said than done.

The reluctance to leave behind what had been sought for so long and the fact that the terrain itself wasn’t suited for running made it difficult.

Have you ever tried running on a sandy beach?

In movies and dramas, the scene of lovers running along the beach is portrayed as incredibly romantic, but the reality is far from that.

Running on the beach is an exhausting task!

Especially in fine sand.

It’s not for no reason that sports manga characters do not run on the beach instead of on a solid path; the energy consumed is completely different.

How do I know this well?

Because…I’ve done it.

Five years ago, during the summer vacation of my second year of Middle School, Dogun suddenly came to my house and said we should go to the beach. I thought my long-held dream since kindergarten was finally about to come true. But as soon as we arrived at the beach, the reality was nothing short of intense training.

“Dude, you really need to build up some stamina!” he quipped, torturing me under the blazing summer sun—he almost drove me to hate him.

I had even brought a cute swimsuit, thinking about what might happen after a confession, but instead, all I got was his shout to keep running.

Still, it wasn’t easy to express my dissatisfaction towards Dogun.

Because during such training, he was always right next to me.

How could I sit comfortably in the cool shade while he was suffering through such training?

So, I couldn’t complain as he took on the burden of unnecessary hardship.

In any case, the training was so intense that it was practically torture compared to what I was experiencing now.

The beach at least had beautiful scenery; here, everything I saw was horrendous.

Not to mention the terrain was utterly terrible.

While the sandy beach allowed for my foot to sink but was relatively flat, the ground I was now running on was exceptionally uneven.

Perhaps it was because both ahead and behind were gradually narrowing, but the terrain occasionally warped unpredictably, causing me to almost trip more times than I could count.

And on top of that, I had to keep an eye out for the Peculiar Entities that could strike at any moment.

Every time I set my foot down, it felt like I was simultaneously exhausting my physical and mental strength.

“Left!”

“I’ll take care of this one!”

If I had to pick at least one fortunate aspect of this situation, it was that it wasn’t dark.

If it had been dark, it would have been the worst case possible, but thanks to Miss Almighty, who was running up front, there was an amazing amount of light illuminating the surrounding area and the path we needed to take.

Then, amidst the frantic running, something incredible happened.

The ones running ahead suddenly began to stop, and I thought the path had been blocked.

As we also stopped right behind them, the flatness I felt beneath my feet was a completely different kind of ‘flatness.’

The moment I instinctively looked around, what caught my eye was—

“What is that…?”

A vast chasm large enough to fit hundreds of people easily.

With a space this big, there was no need to worry about being isolated anywhere.

Was that why everyone ceased to walk as soon as they discovered it?

Initially, I believed that.

I thought that to be the case at first, but soon I realized.

The gaze of those who reached here first wasn’t directed at the ‘chasm.’

As evidence, everyone was looking up.

It was as if something up there demanded their gaze not be averted.

I followed their line of sight upwards, and what I finally laid eyes on was… a gigantic, brown mass.

Yes, that’s the only way to express it.

If I were to label ‘that’ as a tree, it would feel like a grave insult to the ordinary and normal trees working hard to purify the air on Earth.

Through a small gap amidst the massive brown entity covering the ceiling of the chasm, Yoonseo and the Expedition Team faced the horrifying sight of humans being ‘farmed’ like livestock, even worse than livestock.