It'll take an hour to get to the Association. Pointless chatter fills the time as we walk through the streets and by the pedestrians. Some stop to watch, others look in awe, some even glare, while most keep to themselves.
While walking through the city, we arrive at a tri intersection, like a Y shaped road. Anyways, I start get a uncomfortable sensation here. Like a gut feeling saying that something big, and something bad, was going to happen.
I look up and left and right and see nothing, fuck all. So why is the dread getting heavier?
"Hey, guys, am I the only one who's gut is telling them something's wrong?"
Soon as those words leave my mouth does a truck suddenly crash into a building. Well, maybe truck isn't the right word, it's more like a military escort vehicle or, what would be escorted.
Like a Military Container, and it was crashed into a Kim's Coffee chain building. Screams come from inside the coffeehouse which quickly spreads to outside of it. Before the chaos can get to too much, Seok yells exceptionally loudly which gets everyone's attention.
"Quiet! Now that I have all of your attention, I'm going to ask you all to calm down. Panicking won't do anything. Follow my group and I's instructions until the police and Hunter Association Arrive."
He then changes his speaking to us, "Iseul, Seong-Jin, help me evacuate the civilians. Seung and Choehabu, you two go investigate the truck."
We all respond with a "Understood.", and move out. I snap seven times just in case while Seung takes her shield off her back.
The Military Container had gone through the door and several windows, rendering that way unusable. It had broken some of the glass panes but not enough for us to squeeze through, so some more had to be broken in the name of safety.
Seung and I step into the dust filled shop. It was quiet, unlike when it first was hit. Stepping through, we see overturned tables and chairs, and looking at the ground, we see the life liquid all mortals have; blood. Seung looks behind the counter for survivors while I investigate the vehicle.
Stepping up to the door and forcing it open, I see the driver on the steering wheel, dead. Not dead from the crash, no, far worse than that, he was dead from something behind as there was a massive spike protruding through his chest. I close the door and call out to Seung.
"Whatever this was carrying it broke out!"
I step down from the vehicle and pull out my weapon. The Wodao offers a nice stability in the dusty place. Wait, why was it dusty? It wasn't big enough to warrant dust. I heighten my guard and awareness to higher levels
The Dust gets thicker, stinging my eyes and clouding my nose. I call out to Seung again.
"Seung! Are you in here!?"
No answer. Slowly, slowly, I move through the coffeehouse, checking dark corners and vacant floors. The clack of my shoes is the only sound I hear as I move around the tables and chairs and into the back.
It's pitch black, I see nothing. No light pierces through here. I take my left hand of the blade to grab a glowstick or something similar when all senses warn of something small and fast.
In a split second my chest and hips twist while move the blade to intercept. My blade and the object connect, sending a dull shock that slightly numbs the hand. I grab the glowstick, crack it, and then throw it into the room before putting my left hand back onto the handle.
A mild green light shows off the room and the thing I'm fighting. It's constructed of white bone, elongated human skull with six limbs and a tail, it was like a xenomorph if it was necrotic instead of alien.
It had dull blue light in its sockets, like a fire in a brazier. In its arms was an unconscious Seung with a deadly claw put to her neck. The intention was clear, put down your weapons or else she would die.
I hold for a second before Skelomorph digs its claw into Seung's neck, drawing blood. I drop my sword while putting my hands in the air. Though it's skull-face doesn't change physically, I can feel it smiling.
I start to migrate Gi to my palm, forming it into a small, crimson sphere. I show mock surprise at what was happeneing and shake my hand. The sphere doesn't stop growing so I continue shaking it, harder now. Eventually, the sphere is the size of a closed fist and I'm shaking it like crazy. As if there was a spider that was about to bite me levels of crazy.
Skelomorph seems to be confused as it hasn't killed Seung or attacked me yet. Using its apparent confusion, I go to shake my arm again before changing it into a throw like movement with my index and middle finger pointing out, pointing towards its skull.
The Gi pierces through the air and into the Skelomorph's skull, stopping for only a moment before going through and continuing on. In return, I get hit with a spike like the one earlier, but this hits just a few centimeters from the heart. The Beast stays still for a moment before the floating blue light that was once its eyes, goes out. It then crashed to the ground with Seung.
I lay for a moment on the floor before painfully getting up, the spike protruding from my chest. The pain is nearly overwhelming, but I've had worse, I can do this, I can do this...
I move over to Seung and check her carotid artery. My heart stops a moment when no pulse if felt, but a moment later it's there. I breathe out a sight of relief while grabbing Seung and carefully putting her in a princess carry. Don't want to impale her on the spike.
Looking around while I walk out of the back, I see the corpses of the customers and baristas, mutilated beyond recognition. Ribs and spines and pelvises torn from the cadavers, leaving a terrible and bloody mess. I vomit at the sight but keep my lips shut, the acid burning the tip of my tongue as I walk out.
Outside, I see the world is in a much better situation than in the coffeehouse. Seok notices me and subsequently Seung, first. He stops herding the civilians and sprints over. He takes Seung away from me while making sure she's alright.
Now that she's out of my arms, I release the vomit I have been holding in for the past half a minute. In the time it takes for me to finish, Iseul and Seong-Jin have stopped herding and joined in on the care for me and Seung.
I look up from my vomiting and see Iseul chanting some clerical chants. I go to ask what's going on but receive a look that says, "Don't you say a thing.", from Seong-Jin. I decide to keep my mouth shut while watching.
After three full minutes of chanting, Iseul opens her eyes and puts her hand into Seung's mouth. She does a little something which causes Seung to throw up before turning her over so she doesn't drown in vomit.
Seung releases something from her mouth that surprises everyone besides Iseul. The thing was like a miniature spine with a dog's skull. It squirms in the vomit before getting crushed under Iseul's heel.
Finally, she speaks, "All better now. Seung just has to rest now. Also, Choehabu," "Yeah?" "I can't fully heal that, you should go to a hospital. I'll reduce the damage so the fee is less."
"Oh, thank you."
"Mhm", and then she walks over. She puts her gloves hand on the spike and her other hand on my shoulder. Oh wait is she gonna FUCK! Like a sore tooth, Iseul rips out the spike, causing my lungs to be exposed to the air. What joy.
She then starts chanting with both hands over the wound. The pain I thought was originally horrendous, gets even worse as the skin, bone, flesh, and organ starts to knit itself back together. After a minute of indescribable torment, it's done. By the end, tears are streaming down from my eyes.
And Iseul's eyes held a surprised look. She takes a step back and admirers her handiwork which, when looked upon, shows a toned and fully healed pec. Gazing upon such wonderous sights, she whispers a thought out loud.
"That shouldn't of healed fully. Why did that fully heal?"
It's a good thing it fully healed, why are you upset at that? I voice my complaints in a slightly slurred voice, "Why are you upset I'm fully healed?"
She shakes her head, "I'm not upset, just surprised. Usually it takes a better cleric to heal such your injury, but it healed just fine."
"Then maybe, you're a better cleric than you thought."
She shakes her head again, woman take the compliment, "No, that's not it. My output stayed the same so it couldn't of been from me. Perhaps you're just more receptive to healing?"
"I do regenerate."
Seok and Seong-Jin who were talking amongst themselves looks over at my words, and all three of them say at once, """WHAT!"""