[Chapter 127]
[Your Heart is Heard (5)]
Yokohama Marina & Walk Shopping Mall was one of the first areas attacked by monsters.
The army that attacked the shopping mall facing the beach then moved to the Akarenga Warehouse and Cup Noodle Museum on both sides.
So there was no way the shopping mall that received attacks without proper response could maintain its form.
"...Ugh...!!"
"It's okay. Just throw it all up. Holding it in is actually worse."
It's too miserable to even call it a shopping mall now.
Corpses are scattered everywhere.
Since monsters disappear when they die, the bodies rolling on the floor are naturally human corpses.
In the end, some students couldn't hold back their nausea seeing the corpses of those who died in hideous ways.
Cha Eun-woo also patted Yoon I-byeol's back while turning her eyes away from the tragic scene.
"Just who did this..."
Eun-ha looked at the collapsed shopping mall while his friends made pained faces behind him.
The building had completely collapsed.
Crushed by the Ferris wheel.
It seems to be at least a 4th rank monster...
Eun-ha found the nearest amusement park on the map Ha-yang was holding.
It's about 500m away from here.
In other words, the monster that did this could throw a Ferris wheel here from 500m away.
Then the important thing is whether that guy was subjugated or not.
Shin Seo-young who arrived at the scene just then resolved his question.
"It's chaos because of that guy right now... Monsters are still swarming, and mana imbalances keep occurring, so they can't move troops recklessly. It seems we barely survived thanks to our help..."
Shin Seo-young said with disgust.
If monsters were gathered in one place, they could concentrate troops and subjugate them, but due to Yokohama's characteristics, infrastructure is mostly located centered on the coast.
Naturally, people tend to be concentrated in areas with infrastructure.
And monsters are beings that crave people's mana.
So monsters that appeared from the sea seemed to be distributed in a crescent moon shape attacking infrastructure located along the coastline.
Players who had to fight them had no choice but to divide their forces.
"That's not all. They say Kaguya-nim is here now too."
"Kaguya?"
"That's what they say. So it seems famous players have left the scene to evacuate her. And players requested for support from Kanagawa Prefecture will take time to arrive..."
Kaguya who usually stays in Tokyo happens to be in Yokohama.
Such bad luck.
Eun-ha clicked his tongue and made the same expression as Shin Seo-young.
Anyway, it meant this situation would continue for quite a long time.
There's no time to rest even for a moment.
"With the building collapsed like that, it won't be easy to find corpses."
"Missing persons. They're not dead until found. Watch your words."
"...Yes. I'm sorry."
Shin Seo-young corrected Eun-ha's words while putting strength in her eyes.
Eun-ha also knew he was wrong and quickly nodded.
Eun-ha sighed watching students lifting debris to see if there were any survivors.
Just when he was about to move his feet to do rescue work.
"Ah, contact came. Wait a moment. Ariel."
"Yes!"
Shin Seo-young stopped Eun-ha.
She chews her lips while wiggling her fingers crossed on her arms, perhaps receiving telepathy from someone.
As if something doesn't make sense, she called Ariel to send telepathy to the other side.
[This is currently small pink fish. Black cat respond. The password is white.]
Ariel soon spread telepathy randomly.
Since Shin Seo-young couldn't know who sent the telepathy, she mentioned identification names and passwords to spread telepathy around.
The reply seemed to arrive soon.
Ariel nodded looking at Shin Seo-young.
"Tell them I want a specific reason why we need to move to Yokohama Station. As far as I know, Yokohama Station doesn't lack troops."
Currently, the information delivery process between telepaths was complicated and time-consuming.
Ariel conveys her words to the telepath connecting with instructors.
Then the telepath delivers it to the telepath connecting with clans in Yokohama through interpretation.
And that telepath spreads it to superiors.
Information delivery occurs while circulating this process.
"...Ah! It came!"
"What does it say?"
"The 3rd rank monster Gyuki that temporarily caused a malfunction in the Cocoon has been confirmed to appear near Takashimacho? from a while ago, so they decided to move important troops there. So they're requesting help rescuing people isolated centered on Yokohama Station..."
"Sigh... Then there's no choice. I'll select appropriate personnel from here and move to Yokohama Station, so could you ask for the fastest route?"
"Yes!"
Shin Seo-young rubbed her temples.
She seems to have a headache thinking about organizing personnel.
Eun-ha could fully understand the feelings of Shin Seo-young who somehow became the academy representative.
Well then, hang in there noona.
There's nothing as hard as moving in a place where you don't properly know the geography.
Eun-ha decided to stay here and participate in rescue operations with students.
So he was trying to sneak away when.
"─Eun-ha?"
"...Yes?"
Shin Seo-young called.
Eun-ha whose name was suddenly called stopped in the middle of backing away.
"You'll come with me, right?"
"..."
"Why. Don't want to? If you don't want to, it can't be helped."
"That's unfortunate."
"Ah, right. I was going to eat with Eun-ah after a long time when we return to Korea."
"..."
"I wonder what I should talk about first when I meet Eun-ah..."
"I'll do it, I'll do it."
"Really? You said you didn't want to earlier."
"When did I? I just said it's too unfortunate for these people."
He owes her too much debt.
Eun-ha had no choice but to follow her like a debtor in the end.
☆
Shin Seo-young created a team of about 20 people by selecting a few people from each group including two instructors.
Among Eun-ha's friends, only Hoshimiya Kaede, Kang Si-hyeong, and Ariel were included in the team.
"...They say Yokohama Station is in a very chaotic atmosphere now. It's originally a space crowded with people so mana imbalances are still occurring..."
The road was congested with motionless cars.
The cars are empty.
Shin Seo-young's team that went up on the highway was heading to Yokohama Station stepping on vehicles filling the road.
And Ariel who gained recognition for her ability from her became the team's telepath and informed team members of information provided by the Japanese government.
"They made complex facilities inside the station so mana imbalances don't stop..."
Eun-ha who heard the story clicked his tongue.
It would be the same in any country, but Japan especially has commercial areas developed centered on subway stations.
Yokohama Station is the same.
There are complex facilities inside the station, and it seems there are passages connecting to large department stores and shopping malls adjacent to the station.
So mana imbalances that occurred once can't help but keep occurring.
It spread into an uncontrollable situation when the Cocoon momentarily stopped functioning.
"So the problem is that the complex and wide station interior has collapsed in places blocking exits, and monsters have rushed into the shopping mall?"
Shin Seo-young pointed out the key points.
Team members' faces weren't bright.
What they had to do from now on was rescue people hiding inside the complex station while also saving people isolated in the shopping mall as monsters rushed in.
Neither is easy.
Shin Seo-young decided to think about what to do first after seeing the scene.
"Ah! They say the 3rd rank monster Gyuki has appeared near Yokohama Landmark Tower just now!"
Ariel delivered new information.
3rd rank monster Gyuki.
Currently estimated as 4th rank due to the Cocoon's influence and previous battle.
Team members listening to her information grasped that Gyuki was a monster that appeared mysteriously manipulating internal mana composing its existence as convenient.
One of Japan's unique monsters, a monster that appears near water.
"We're not going to face Gyuki anyway. Keep the information in mind, but don't be unnecessarily conscious of Gyuki. What we need to do is rescue people above all."
Shin Seo-young cautioned team members.
Eun-ha also affirmed her thinking. They wouldn't encounter the monster that appeared behind anyway, and there was no way they would take down a high-rank monster.
"...We're here."
Soon the team stopped walking.
People who jumped down from the highway and landed on the bridge deployed detection nets and looked around.
It was quiet.
There are elevated roads around the station, and roads or bridges come into view wherever you look.
It was truly the center of transportation.
It seemed it would be quite difficult to find the way to the station without the navigator's instructions.
Fortunately, people around all seem to have evacuated...
The problem is people inside the station and in the shopping mall.
One elevated road crosses the station and shopping mall.
But there must be connecting passages linking the two places underground.
Eun-ha looked left and right while marveling at the technology that made a single station like a complete city.
Left is the station, right is the shopping mall.
From Eun-ha's current position, paths led to either side.
"Hmm..."
Shin Seo-young seems to be contemplating.
Team members are also at a loss.
But their contemplation didn't last long.
Because Ariel newly received information.
"Ah! They say rescue operations at the station and attack operations on Sogo Department Store just started! They're asking us to go down to Marui City and start search operations! It's a building with the letters OI attached!"
Marui City.
It wasn't difficult to find the building located on the right.
Looking for the sign Ariel mentioned, the letters OI were clearly hung on the building's outer wall.
"Thank you very much! Thanks!"
Led by Shin Seo-young, team members quickly jumped down from the elevated road.
Japanese players were gathered at a point not far away.
As if they received information in advance, Japanese players approached them favorably.
Some players even bowed their heads saying thank you out of the blue.
"Kaede. Could you convey my words?"
"Yes."
From here on, Hoshimiya Kaede who could speak Japanese played a big role.
She interpreted Shin Seo-young's words and conveyed them to Japanese players.
She who exchanged dialogue for a while soon shouted to team members.
"15 minutes from now! We'll enter through the main entrance and subjugate monsters occupying the 1st floor first. We will..."
Marui City is a 10-story shopping mall with 2 basement floors and 8 above-ground floors.
People inside the shopping mall are currently stuck due to monsters roaming the 1st floor.
We don't know about the basement yet.
So the attack team will enter the 1st floor and subjugate monsters, then some will head to the basement after securing safety.
Meanwhile, some people remaining on the 1st floor will defend it while safely evacuating people escaping from above outside.
The rest will start rescue operations going up the department store.
"Looks like we don't have much to do."
"I guess so."
Shin Seo-young's team's role was to defend the 1st floor while safely evacuating people isolated in the shopping mall outside.
Eun-ha who heard the plan muttered.
It wasn't a difficult task.
It's probably an assignment considering academy students.
Shin Seo-young also seemed relieved that it was a less dangerous job.
Then a Japanese player shouted to the crowd.
"Now then, we'll start Operation: This Wonderful World!"
☆
The operation began.
One guardian player came out and stamped the ground making a thud sound.
"Come at me!"
The guardian standing in front of the main entrance manifests mana.
Soon monsters drawn to his mana broke through the glass doors and rushed out.
Monsters charge.
The guardian deploys prepared magic, and rangers and snipers shoot the monsters.
Players who built a semicircular encirclement were able to subjugate monsters without any damage.
"Wow... He just volunteered as bait. Well, if you can trust your party members, using such tactics isn't bad."
Kang Si-hyeong quietly admired watching the guardian's battle.
Meanwhile, a hunter who went to the side of a stone pillar watched the interior and signaled the attack team.
The hunter jumps in first.
While they attack recklessly and prepare for possible counterattacks, guardians and dealers jumped in.
While guardians build defense lines, dealers designate monsters to attack.
Hunters nearby assist them while dealers freely swing their swords.
Eun-ha ran too.
Thousand Steps
Mana Crasher
Hands and feet match perfectly.
They seem to be veteran players.
Eun-ha gave a grateful look to the hunter who read his actions and protected his back despite not understanding the language.
The hunter giggles.
Though language doesn't communicate, they exchange intentions through eye contact.
When Eun-ha spotted another enemy and ran, the hunter now moved to help others.
"Stop it! I said stop─!!"
Meanwhile, Kang Si-hyeong draws aggro.
For a moment, all their gazes turned to him.
A moment's carelessness brings death.
Players didn't miss that moment and subjugated monsters.
They all glanced at Kang Si-hyeong and laughed.
Kang Si-hyeong and Japanese players share camaraderie.
"Hah..."
Korean students including Shin Seo-young couldn't raise their heads from embarrassment.
Eun-ha deliberately distanced himself from him.
Weasel Claws
Meanwhile, Kaede climbed on decorations and checked monsters.
Arrows made of mana delivered death to them.
At the same time, she activated detection nets and found survivors' locations on the 1st floor.
When she shouted something in Japanese, Japanese players changed direction and rescued survivors.
"...Is it almost over?"
The 1st floor attack ended smoothly.
Eun-ha watched players who formed small teams go down to lower floors.
From now on, his and his friends' job was to safely defend the 1st floor.
"Looks like the 2nd floor was attacked too."
Soon after, people came down the stairs from the 2nd floor crying.
Some had messy hair, some were covered in blood.
Team members guided them outside. Supporters started treating critical people first.
"Ah! Looks like the 3rd floor was attacked too!"
More time passed.
Ariel pointed at people hurriedly coming down.
The condition of people coming down this time was even worse.
No one is in good condition.
While Eun-ha was trying to guide people outside with gestures─.
"─N-No Eun-ha!?"
"...Huh?"
A man who kept frantically brushing up his hair suddenly spat out Korean.
Moreover, he recognized Eun-ha.
Eun-ha who was surprised carefully examined the man's face.
It was someone he knew.
"...Choi Ye-jang... hyung...?"
"Th-this is great! Eun-ha, big trouble! Seo-hyun is still up there!"
"...What?"
Han Seo-hyun.
A name that suddenly popped out.
Eun-ha was at a loss for words the moment he heard that name.
But Choi Ye-jang who didn't properly grasp him grabbed his shoulders and shook him back and forth.
He cries and shouts.
"I-I was escaping with Seo-hyun... Th-that, suddenly the ceiling collapsed and I lost Seo-hyun..."
"Speak clearly. What are you saying."
"S-Seo-hyun..."
"Are you saying Han Seo-hyun is here?"
"...Yes..."
"What floor did you get separated on."
Han Seo-hyun is here.
Eun-ha who suddenly came
Eunha, who suddenly came to her senses, asked him to explain the situation.
Even though he's 3 years older, he doesn't treat me like an older brother.
Neither Eunha nor Choi Ye-jang had time to think about such things.
"…5th floor. It was the 5th floor! I pushed Seohyun there…."
"…Push?"
"I, I didn't let go of your hand…, Miss, I didn't let go of your hand, it was an emergency so I stopped…."
Pushed.
I let go of your hand.
Although I don't know the exact details, one thing I do know is that Han Seo-hyun is currently isolated on the 5th floor.
"Ugh…!"
Eunha suddenly threw a punch.
Choi Ye-jang falls backwards with a loud thud.
His limbs were shaking, as if he had suffered a concussion.
The galaxy didn't know.
Anyway, it's Japan, and the bias has exploded.
If you put your mind to it, killing him wouldn't be a difficult task.
The first thing to do is─.
─Han Seo-hyun is here.
The galaxy immediately kicked the spot.