Chapter 111 - The Timid Coward

As seamlessly as it all vanished, his eyes opened as he found himself sitting in the corridor of the hotel–the one he knew fondly as he gasped out, clutching his throat as he coughed.

…What was that? Was it a dream? No…It felt so real. What did he mean by "visitor?" he questioned.

As he brought himself to his feet, his stomach rumbled, bringing it to his attention that he hadn't eaten the entire day, nor drank anything for that matter.

"...Right," he said to himself, "...Been so busy all day it didn't even occur to me."

He slowly marched down to the lobby, looking out to see members of Gangcheori still working on the makeshift barricade.

A feeling of guilt came over him for not being out there with them at the moment, but he knew he was more useful while well-rested than forcing himself to work, bringing himself into the kitchen as he looked for something quick and easy.

Scouring through cupboards, he retrieved an energy bar, specifically one with almonds in it and a large bottle of lukewarm water. He didn't bother going back to his room with them, instead sitting at the empty cafeteria as he sleepily munched on the almond bar.

"...So don't sleep carelessly? Is that what that weird, cigar bastard was trying to tell me?...He said it wasn't a dream, but it sure seems like one now…" He mumbled to himself, munching on the bar.

Only a single candle sat in the cafeteria, keeping it on the table he sat at as the rest of the room was shrouded in darkness.

Setting the wrapper down, he screwed the cap off of the bottle of water, putting the opening to his lips as he drank the refreshing liquid.

After spending a long time outside, in the ashy heat of Hell's rise, his throat was more parched than he realized, resulting in him gulping down the entire bottle in one-go.

"Aah…"

He let out a satisfied sigh, setting the bottle down as he looked down at the table.

"Huh? I thought I put the wrapper down right here…" He mumbled to himself, checking the ground to see if it simply fell off, but no such luck, "...That's weird. Whatever."

Before he could even have these few minutes to properly relax, he jumped to his feet as the front doors to the hotel suddenly burst open, following a rumbling that shook the entire building.

"What the?!"

He ran out into the lobby, seeing the group that were working on the barricade running in:

During that shift, it was Korain, Binna, Sol, and Moon.

Each of them were clearly exasperated and running urgently into the building from something, with Korain and Binna immediately grabbing a few pieces of stray wood and boarding up the front doors.

"What's going on?!" He asked.

"It's coming through–!" Sol yelled out.

"What is–"

Just as he asked this, "it" came through the street just in front of the hotel.

Its length was unquantifiable; at a certain point, something that large, that long was simply "too big": it was a centipede-like creature, ramming through the street and destroying the barricade swiftly as it pushed through.

Those earlier words spoken from within the mindscape returned to his mind when witnessing the presence of the gargantuan creature beyond the entrance: "Oh, and you should be ready for a certain "visitor" to appear by your doorstep."

Wait a minute…Is this the "visitor" that Flueric was talking about…? He realized.

"Hold…!" Korain yelled out.

Together, the five of them held the front doors shut, with the scruffy summoner manifesting an extra pair of helping hands for them:

"Come, Haetae!" Moon called out.

Summoned from a mystical seal temporarily formed on the ground, a black-and-gold leonine stood, clad in sturdy scales as a bell hanging from its neck rang out.

"Hold the door, Haetae!" Moon commanded.

Understanding his command, the fearsome, mythical leonine used its massive paws and burly body to help support the front entrance as it rumbled greatly.

The walls quaked and dust rained down as he could see the colossal, grimy centipede burrowing through the streets still.

"What the hell is that thing…?!" He called out, straining himself to hold the doors alongside them.

"No clue! It came out of nowhere while we were working on the barrier!" Korain answered.

It was difficult to decipher its complete, unmasked form as its burrow through the city stirred up a massive amount of dust. Paired with the complete blackness of the overbearing night, only scarce showings of the colossal centipede's form was revealed through the city-shaking rumbling.

"...Is it a demon?" He asked, gulping down as he kept his body pressed against the entrance.

"It certainly crawled up from Hell!" Sol yelled out.

"I only got a short look at it…" Binna said, wiping the sweat from her forehead as she used her brawny arms to hold the doors in place, "...It came up as level forty-six, that's all I saw."

"Forty-six?!" He let out.

That number alone was enough to make Sol quiver as he kept his back pressed up against the barricaded doors, opting not to look outside.

Coming down the stairs, Dae-Seong rushed down, holding a lit lantern as a minute after, the bulbous Ho-Jun followed and the vice leader.

"What's going on here?" Ho-Jun asked nervously, gulping.

Dae-Seong and Ma-Ri opted to get answers after assisting, aiding them in securing the entrance as they grabbed the spare sheet metal and planks, completely walling off the entrance.

The leader and vice leader worked efficiently, managing to secure the barricade within a minute.

"...Korain, report," Dae-Seong said, catching his breath.

The rumbling had stopped, or more so grew distant as the city-long centipede had moved a long distance away.

They all moved away from the entrance, heavy and uneven in their breaths as the mix-colored haired man stepped forward, nodding to the leader.

"A level forty-six centipede appeared," he informed him, "It was seen charging forward by Sol; it was wrapped around the trade center. It was only visible because of a red glow it gave off–it seemed to light up when it spotted us."

"A centipede?" Dae-Seong adjusted his glasses as if trying to process the unbelievable information, "It must be quite large to produce a trail like this."

"Large is an understatement…" Korain wryly replied, "If I had to guess, it was as wide as the street itself, and as long as the city…something like that."

It was obvious what sentiment this sudden situation spurred on: "It just keeps getting worse,"--that was the thought they all shared.

He decided not to mention the peculiar encounter he had, mainly for the sake of not having them doubt his sanity.

Dae-Seong breathed out quietly, "It seems for now, at least, it has its sights set elsewhere. Let's hope it stays that way. Should we have to fight it…Well, Baek-Hyeon will be handling that burden."

"Where is he anyway? Baek-Hyeon, I mean," he asked.

"You needn't worry. He told me about how he found you out there earlier," Dae-Seong told him, "He's currently in the basement to make sure nothing that shouldn't be inside got in."

"I see…"

In truth, they all knew this was likely not some sort of "Boss" encounter, but likely just a normal occurrence in the "Final Culling"--a daunting thought, but it was the hellish reality that now persisted.

That's what the "Final Culling" was: a never-ending onslaught of terror, a sleepless era–the last wave of exctinction for mankind before the opening of the mysterious Tower.

It was clearly getting to them on the first day already; there were hardly any breaks to be found, or moments of rest.

–

"It seems we'll be holding up solely within the hotel now," Dae-Seong stated, "It's far too risky to venture out now."

"Do you think this darkness is gonna stick around?" Korain asked, folding his burly arms over his chest.

"Hope not," Binna added, "It's a real pain."

Sol nodded, "...I worked this shift because I couldn't sleep. It's just…It just feels wrong."

The words from the hazel-haired adolescent brought to the forefront of his mind the mysterious encounter he just had.

"Oh, err…about that–try to sleep carefully. Make sure you're safely tucked into your beds, don't just pass out wherever…okay?" He told them.

He didn't exactly know how to explain it, but he had to make sure they all knew that anyway.

"Good thinking!" Korain gave him a thumbs-up, "Can't be careless about anything at the moment. I'll make sure everybody else sleeps tight, too!"

"You all should get some rest, on that note," Dae-Seong instructed them, adjusting his glasses, "It seems we've entered a momentary calm. Let's use that to our advantage and live to fight another day."

"Got it."

They all agreed in unison with the command given by their diligent leader, returning up their rooms, now faced with being sealed in the hotel for the foreseeable future.

"Hey, Jeong-Hui," Sol said, walking beside him up the stairs, "How're you holding up? I haven't got to see you today."

"...I'm holding," he replied with a wry, tired smile, "It's been a long day–for all of us. The same goes for you, right?"

Sol hesitantly nodded, looking down as if trying to hide the stressed bags under his eyes as his smile trembled, "Jeong-Hui, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" He looked at him.

"H-how does everybody stay so strong at a time like this? I don't get it…They're all smiling and acting like it's going to be okay–but, Jeong-Hui, I can't stop shaking…" Sol showed him his trembling fingers, "Does nobody else feel it? It's like death itself is creeping over my shoulder, watching me so intently…waiting for me to give in."

It wasn't something he was foreign to; he felt that fear as well. Even just being the first day, the existence of Hell rising and the persistent threat of complete, indifferent evil was something that shook his soul to the core.

For him, it was easy to understand why somebody like Sol would face troubles in an environment like this.

"Everybody feels it, Sol," he told him.

"They do?"

"They do. At some point, I guess we all just learned to grit our teeth and bear with it–just keep dragging our feet along to the finish line. I still freeze sometimes too, you know? But…you just have to realize being scared isn't helping you," he told him, "I guess at the end of the day…It's not too different from what we've been surviving through."

"If only it were that easy…" Sol muttered.

He didn't know exactly how to comfort Sol, but one idea did come to mind–though he wasn't sure how much he liked it himself.