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[Translator – Minstrel]
[Proofreader – Minstrel]
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"Kyaaaakkkk!"
The situation was dire. Cries and screams echoed everywhere. The emergency evacuation orders were being shouted frantically. Countless Mistborns had swarmed the area, continuously creating new victims.
"If we stay here, we'll end up like them!"
Assistant Lim screamed. Mistborns were not monsters they could handle at their level. Moreover, these Mistborns happened to be the beings that triggered their most painful traumas.
Whoosh!
"Hey? Assistant Lim, where are you going?"
Suho was startled. Lim dogyun, the only hunter present at this moment, was running away! Dodging the Mistborns' attacks with narrow margins, Assistant Lim fled the exhibition hall alone, and Suho couldn't decide whether to follow him or not.
But suddenly, Suho made up his mind and moved his body. However, he was running in the opposite direction to Assistant Lim. Rushing to a corner of the exhibition hall, Suho grabbed a fire extinguisher.
"I don't know if this will work, but…"
He couldn't leave others behind and ran away. With the fire extinguisher in hand, Suho dashed toward the group of Mistborns.
Shaaaah!
White powder sprayed out, covering the Mistborns.
[Screech!]
Of course, it was an attack without any magic, so it wouldn't cause significant damage. But it was enough to temporarily suppress their firepower.
"For now, this should do."
Having confirmed the effectiveness of the fire extinguisher, Suho kept moving it, spraying it at other groups of Mistborns.
[Screech!]
[Roar!]
In the meantime, he scanned his surroundings. Suho spotted a fallen friend and rushed to support him.
"Are you okay?"
"Sob."
Tears and mucus covered his friend's face.
"Hey, snap out of it!"
Suho shook his friend, but his eyes were still vacant. Suho even slapped his cheek to force him to regain consciousness.
"Su-Suho?"
His friend's focus slowly returned to his eyes.
Suho's gaze shifted slightly downward. "Did you twist your ankle?"
"For now, let's get out of here."
Using the fire extinguisher's temporary advantage, the two friends began to make their escape.
To escape from here, they had no choice but now.
"Cough, Ass–, Assistant Lim where is he?"
The friend supported by Suho asked tearfully. Everyone in the painting department knew that Assistant Lim was a hunter. But in this critical situation, he was nowhere to be seen.
"Didn't he request support from the Hunter Association earlier?"
Suho thought there was no need to mention that now. "Already feeling scared as it is," he thought.
They made it out of the exhibition hall, but it wasn't over. Outside was even more chaotic. Mistborns were everywhere.
"They didn't just appear in the exhibition hall."
It seemed like the entire art museum was filled with Mistborns.
"They said they were reproducing type monsters. They're really persistent."
Suho bit his lip. He thought they could escape once they were out of the exhibition hall.
"Ahhhh!"
"Help…!"
"When will the hunters arrive?"
People were trembling all around, and the museum's escape routes were obvious – stairs and elevators. But the Mistborns were lurking everywhere, blocking every way out.
"If we go like this, people will be in danger."
Suho quickly assessed the situation. All escape routes were blocked, and the Mistborns were increasing in number. If they panicked, who knew what they would do? Jumping out of a window wouldn't solve the problem, and rushing out without a plan would only lead to being fully transformed into Mistborns.
"At least, if they have some means to protect themselves…"
Suho held up the fire extinguisher he brought and shouted, "Everyone, pay attention!"
Some of the people, who were trembling with fear, turned to look at Suho. They noticed the fire extinguisher in his hand.
"That's right!"
"Yeah, with a fire extinguisher…"
"We can kill the monsters!"
Hope returned to the eyes of those who were previously dazed. Suho felt a bit uneasy. "Well, it's not like we can kill them, but… well, it doesn't matter." The important thing was that he gave them hope.
People scattered in search of fire extinguishers. "Found one!" "Me too!" Cheers erupted from those who found them.
For those who couldn't find any, it was a lost cause. There weren't that many fire extinguishers on one floor in the first place. But it was enough.
Suho called out to them, "You all don't need to have fire extinguishers! Those with fire extinguishers, follow me!"
Gulping, the faces of those holding fire extinguishers turned pale. Now that they realized, only those holding fire extinguishers would be at the forefront of the fight.
Suho led the way, pointing the fire extinguisher at the Mistborns. The Mistborns' firepower noticeably weakened. Seeing this, the people's faces brightened.
"It's working!"
"Great! Me too!"
Gulping, the fire extinguishers sprayed from their hands.
"Alright! Let's keep pushing forward!"
Suho continued to lead, pushing the Mistborns back. Behind him, people cautiously descended the stairs.
And then… Mistborns attacked from behind as well.
"Ahhhh!"
"They're behind us too!"
People who had just stabilized began to panic again. Almost there, Suho thought. Sure, here's the translation line by line:
As it was, it felt like they would all collapse on the stairs if they continued like that.
Suho helped his friend down and said, "Alright, from now on, you can go alone, right?"
"Huh? What are you going to do?" His friend looked at Suho with a puzzled expression.
With a determined expression, Suho shouted to the people holding fire extinguishers, "I'll take care of the back, so those in the front, clear the way!"
"Ah, understood!" The people acknowledged.
Suho eventually turned around and climbed the stairs again, thinking, "I don't know what I'm doing."
The non-hunter was mimicking a hunter in vain.
But there was no other choice. His body moved first.
Boom! [Roar!] Suho's fire extinguisher attacked the mist creature coming from behind.
Then suddenly, it stopped.
"…Huh?"
[What?]
The powder that was shooting out vigorously came to an abrupt halt. At the same time, the charging mist and Suho's eyes awkwardly met in midair.
"Sigh."
Suho let out a frustrated laugh.
"It's over."
The mist creature came rushing towards Suho.
Swoosh!
Blue smoke engulfed him. And it, too, multiplied into new mistborns…
That's when it happened.
Shoo-ack!
[..?!]
In that moment, the mist creature faced something – the deep and profound abyss within Suho.
The mist creature, born from the remnants of magic, was a feeble being that moved only by instinct. At the same time, with enough fuel, it could become strong and endlessly create duplicates, making it a troublesome creature.
So, what was the best fuel for it? Living organisms. Especially humans with abundant life force were the best fuel, just like dry logs that burn well.
In that sense, Suho was the perfect prey for the mist creature.
However…
Shoo-ack!
The moment the mist creature swallowed Suho's body, it was engulfed by the pitch-black abyss hidden within him.
[…Krark?]
The perplexed mist creature looked around. No matter where it looked, there was an endless abyss.
But in the deepest part of the abyss, someone was looking at it. The mist creature raised its blue smoke and growled fiercely.
"That person, did they say they would go back up again a while ago?"
"Well, no way…"
"Are they still not out?"
The people murmured anxiously.
Someone spoke with a hopeful voice mixed with concern.
"But it's okay because they are hunters, right?"
"Suho is not a hunter!"
Daehyun shouted urgently.
That statement was even more shocking.
"What? Not a hunter?"
"He's not a hunter, so how could he…!"
Their gaze simultaneously turned towards the museum.
Suho… was still trapped inside.
Just then, the hunters arrived after receiving the report.
"Here!"
Lim Dogyun, the first to escape, brought the hunters with him.
Seeing the people who had safely escaped the museum, Lim Dogyun let out a relieved sigh.
"Ha, it's really fortunate. It seems everyone managed to get out somehow."
He tried to convince himself that he had chosen the best course of action as an E-rank hunter, but seeing the people, he felt guilty for his cowardice.
"But how did you all manage to get out?"
Assistant Lim and the accompanying hunters looked at the people with puzzled expressions.
Mist monsters appeared in such an isolated space, yet so many people survived? It was a stroke of luck, but they were curious about how it happened.
"More importantly, there's still someone who hasn't come out!"
Daehyun shouted urgently.
"Suho is still…!"
"Suho? Is Suho still inside?"
Assistant Lim was taken aback and turned his head towards the museum.
"If it wasn't for Suho, we would all be dead!"
At Daehyun's tearful words, the faces of the survivors became gloomy.
Seeing their reaction, the hunters asked in confusion, "Is this Suho person a hunter? What rank?"
"…He's just an ordinary person."
"What? How can an ordinary person…?"
Just as the hunters were about to ask for more details, a foreboding sound echoed from the museum building.
"…!"
Everyone's heads turned in unison.
A sinister aura surged above the building.
"Oh no. Has the erosion begun?"