Chapter 46: Stem
After passing through the main gate of the academy, Do-joon headed straight to the building where the shelter was located.
He remembered the location from the first day after being guided by Kwon Soo-young.
"It's running! Block it!"
"Yes, yes!"
There were already dozens of people fighting monsters. They were security hunters belonging to the Academy.
Among them, a Hunter, who was giving orders appeared to be the team leader. He found Do-joon and opened his eyes wide.
"Are you a Hunter?"
Seeing Do-joon’s long spear held in hand and soaked in monster blood, he asked.
Do-joon nodded and answered.
"Yes."
"Good! We were in desperate need of support!”
The team leader viewed Do-joon with eyes that came to life.
Then, Do-joon spoke to him with a stiff look on his face.
"I'm sorry, but can I go into the shelter for a moment?"
"What? Why is that… … .”
The team leader looked at him with suspicion.
They were obliged to protect this shelter. The blood-stained hunter suddenly said he wanted to enter the shelter, so he had no choice but to be suspicious.
“I have a daughter there. It is because I want to make sure that she is safe.”
"Ah… … .”
The team leader nodded, convinced. He called one of the team members. A team member came running with a frown.
"What's going on? I'm busy."
"Take him and go into the shelter for a second. He's a hunter, and his family is inside."
"Alright. Follow me.”
The team leader returned to battle again, and Do-joon headed to the basement with one of his teammates.
They moved quickly, it was an urgent situation after all.
Droop! Draag!
Eventually, a huge door in the basement opened and he found that countless people gathered.
Tents were set up tightly in the space, and citizens listened to the news with bleak expressions. Among them were many children wearing academy uniforms.
Do-joon went inside and shouted.
"So-eun! So-eun!"
"Huh? Dad!"
The sound of an answer came out right away. Do-joon found his daughter and ran over there.
So-eun also came out of Siwellin's arms and ran to Do-joon.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
"Uh, I fell and hurt myself earlier, but my sister took care of me.”
"Really?"
Do-joon held his daughter in his arms and examined her. Fortunately, there seemed to be no injury anywhere.
He raised his head and looked at Siewellin. She was nodding her head towards Do-joon.
"Whew…"
Only then did Do-joon sigh in deep relief.
"Your father is here."
Then Kwon Soo-young approached him. She looked quite haggard, perhaps because she had a hard time dealing with things around.
Do-joon bowed his head deeply toward her.
"Thank you, teacher. Thanks to you, So-eun was able to evacuate safely."
"No, it was something I had to do."
She had many other children as well. The children remained quiet, perhaps because they sensed the atmosphere of adults around them sensitively.
At that time.
Koo-! Deede de de de-
“Ahhhhh!”
“Wha-, what!”
The shelter shook violently, and stone dust fell from the ceiling.
Citizens were shocked. He looked around in a hurry, but fortunately, no place collapsed.
However, the anxiety grew, let alone the cause. There was no relief, only a worried expression on his face.
The team member who brought Do-joon spoke with a hard face.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go. We need your help upstairs quickly."
His words are tense.
Do-joon called Siwellin. He entrusted So-eun to her.
"Dad?"
"So-eun, Daddy will be right back. You have to listen to your elders and stay close to your sister, okay?”
"Dad, can you not go? There are scary monsters outside.”
"It's Dad's job to protect people from those monsters."
Do-joon smiled bitterly, patting So-eun's head.
The monsters that posed a threat were right above it. He had to get rid of themso this place could be safer.
He stiffly stood up.
"I'll help too."
"Thank you. The team leader will be happy."
The team member quickly answered.
Finally, after stroking So-eun's head one more time, Do-joon followed him above the shelter.
On the way, he looked back once.
So-eun watched him. He made eye contact with Siewellin, who was holding So-eun.
“…….”
Siewellin's lips quivered quietly.
Immediately after that, Do-joon's body suddenly became lighter. He felt like his muscles tightened and each cell in his body overflow with energy.
‘This… … .'
It was a blessing. A blessing of a saint who protected her allies on a battlefield where arrows were rained down endlessly.
If this were the case, there would be no chance of falling down to monsters or their likes.
After mouthing her a thank-you.
"Let's hurry up and move."
"…."
<Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do.>
A strange pillar and a horde of monsters that suddenly appeared. Against this, many guilds participated in the war.
According to the manual organised in preparation for the disaster, they started defending their respective positions that were assigned to each guild.
Defend first, then move to offence and subdue them.
In the meantime, Shin Yu-seong was focused on healing and buffing each guild's area.
"Oh my god… … .”
"Is this an S-class buff?"
Hunters who received his skill had a bewildered expression on their faces.
They received only one buff, but their combat power rose sharply.
There were even hunters who broke their weapons simply because they couldn't control their strength.
"Thank you-….. Where did he go?"
They tried to express their gratitude but Shin Yu-seong suddenly disappeared.
He applied a buff with a simple gesture and immediately moved to another guild's area.
"Hey! Don't space out and get moving if you're buffed!"
"Oh, yeah!"
The mere presence of a reliable healer can double the morale of allies.
Thanks to the fact that Shin Yu-seong and Mir Guild were holding out behind them, hunters were able to subdue monsters by doing better than their abilities.
"The situation has improved a lot with the participation of Hunter Shin Yu-seong and Mir. We succeeded in forming a siege around the pillar and completely blocked the monsters!"
And the report was delivered to the temporary countermeasure headquarters installed in Hwaseong.
"Good!"
"How’s the damage?"
"There are some injuries, but they are all being treated."
"Whew…… That's a relief."
Each guild's contacts felt reassured when they heard the report.
The president of the Association, who sat at the top, bowed his head while looking at Mir Guild's contact’s information.
"Thank you for the quick participation of the Mir Guild. If it had been a little later, the damage would have been much greater than it is now.”
"It's all the will of the guild leader.”
"I misunderstood Mir a lot.”
The president of the Association smiled bitterly at the words of the contact.
In the past, when Mir was the Korean Priests Association.
The Priesthood almost monopolized the resource called Healer and extorted considerable money and interests from the government and other guilds.
Using that to further expand their power, and to pressure others with expanded forces…….
A healer was essential not only for the battlefield but also for disaster situations. It was such a situation where they had no choice but to comply with their demands by crying and biting the bullet.
‘I thought Mir was just a name change at the priesthood.’
Apparently, it wasn't just the name that changed.
The president of the Association stroked his white beard.
"The situation has calmed down a lot with the help of not only Mir but also other guilds. There are still a lot of monsters left, but the siege has been established, so it's only a matter of time before subjugation."
"The appearance of monsters is also gradually decreasing."
“There doesn’t seem to be any more difficult monsters above Grade A.”
It's not yet at the stage of relief, but they were indeed relieved.
At first, he wondered what was going to happen, but fortunately, humanity was ready.
In order not to go through the disaster that happened in the past with the appearance of "root" again.
‘What remains is the identity of that pillar… … .'
Maybe that's what they call a "stem."
With the advent of roots, the world has radically changed, developed, or regressed. What kind of ripple effect will this stem bring?
The Association president's eyes sank deeply.
Meanwhile, at that time.
Shin Yu-seong roamed the battlefield with guild members, using mobility skills.
The headquarters said it was relieved, but the situation at the site is still ongoing. No place needed his help during the fierce battle.
"Ugh… … Ugh… … . I will go to the next place right away.”
A subordinate guild member was exhausted from constantly moving with Shin Yu-seong.
Shin Yu-seong looked at his condition and then sat down on the ground.
"Gui-, guild leader?"
"Take a break".
"You can still do it!"
"This operation is a long-term battle. The distribution of stamina is also important.”
Shin Yu-seong sat on a protruding rock and spread his hands. Then a white shining spear appeared between them.
That spear.
“Aaaahhhh!”
He threw it at the beast rushing from the air.
"Kee-ek! Kee-ek!"
The demonic beast could not stand the spear that pierced his chest and tore the skin of his wings and fell.
The guild member was shocked. It was just a B-class beast. To deal with it so easily… … .
"Then, I'll take a break."
"Okay."
The guild member, who had no intention of answering Shin Yu-seong's words, took a quiet rest.
The break time is probably about 10 minutes. It was also his job to recover as much stamina as possible in that time.
And 10 minutes later, the guild member got up with a slightly refreshed expression.
"It's okay now, guild leader! Let's move on to the next area!"
The guild member spoke with a voice full of motivation.
But it was strange. Isn't Shin Yu-seong still motionless with his eyes closed?
"Guild Leader?"
“Hold on a second.”
He woke up slowly as he was. And looked at one place.
The guild member naturally turned his head along with his gaze.
There stood a mysterious figure covering the whole body with a green hood.
‘Who is it?'
Shin Yu-seong thought with a frown.
First of all, he hasn't seen it among the hunters who were fighting until now. Then a hunter who joined the war late? Or a citizen who couldn't escape?
It was odd for that.
He couldn't pinpoint one place, but his senses were ringing a strange alarm.
A feeling he didn’t hesitate in believing.
Soon, that suspicious person began to move. The pink lips under the hoodie. When those sweet lips moved.
“… … Aquila.”
Curl, rumble!
Dark clouds obscured the sun's rays, and rain began to fall and wind began to blow.
Whoops!
Do-joon pierced the last visible beast's heart with a spear. Without stopping there, he kicked it in the chest and pulled out the spear.
Thwack!
He smashed the beast’s head with the spear and blew it away.
From how harshly he hit it, the beast rolled several times on the ground like stone skipping and crashed into the wall of one building.
Seeing this, the team leader opened his mouth.
"Dude, you're incredible. I can't believe you’re such a strong person.….”
"I guess it was the last one around here."
Do-joon said so and looked around. There were no monsters that could be seen or felt by his senses.
The team leader spoke with a voice of relief.
"That's what it looks like.”
Then, the team leader calls in the team members and instructs them to do something. It was an order to be wary of the surroundings just in case.
After sending the team members like that, the team leader reached out to Do-joon.
"Thank you for your help. It was an honour to be able to work with such an outstanding Hunter."
"Oh, yes. Thank you for protecting where my daughter is."
Two people shaking hands. The team leader was very excited, perhaps because he thought he fought with a high-ranking hunter.
Do-joon didn't say that he was an E-class. If he had to talk like that, he would only be seen as a strange person.
"By the way, what is this stem? Will monsters appear in the air without roots now?”
The team leader worriedly said. Until now, all everyone had to do was be wary of the roots. But if monsters continue to appear without warning like this… … .
It's something he doesn't even want to think about.
"Well… … .”
However, there is no way Do-joon knows the answer. When he spoke vaguely, the team leader did not talk more. Because it wasn't something he brought up expecting a cool answer in the first place.
There was a moment of silence over concerns about the future. At that moment, the team leader's radio rang.
― Captain, we have found someone who has not yet been evacuated.
"What?"
The team leader inquired loudly at the subordinate's report. No, there are still people left on the ground?
― Yes. He is wearing a hoodie, but he's far from the road and he's just standing there… … huh? Ugh, argh!
"What's the matter! What's going on?!"
The team leader urgently asks. However, on the radio, only the static was heard.
The team leader's face darkened.
Are they the hunters who took advantage of this situation and start committing crimes?
“Let’s go quickly.”
Team leader who came to his senses with Do-joon's words. The two ran towards the place where the subordinates were.
What they saw there was a scene where a tall human-like figure wearing a hoodie grabbed his subordinate's head and lifted it.
“Aaaaaah!”
The team member was struggling to remove the hand, but the hoodie person's arm did not budge because he was holding it with such a strong force.
When he saw it, the team leader distorted his face and shouted.
"What are you doing? I can't let you go right away!"
At that time, black clouds began to cover the sky, and suddenly rain and wind began to blow.
It was too sudden to be called a natural phenomenon. Without any time to be surprised by the change, he spoke.
"You. Who?"
It was a strange voice. It's not just the words, but a voice that rang directly in your head.
He thought it was a very beautiful voice, but strangely, he felt nothing but discomfort.
Then the wind blew up and his hood came off.
Do-joon's eyes widened as he saw the long, non-human ears that were revealed inside.
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