Dirty Sweet Baby Chapter 120

Only then could I clearly see with my own two eyes the α-creature sleeping peacefully inside the round membrane.

It was the size of a house, and the membrane surrounding it was a milky white, smooth like opaque glass.

‘Do I have to break through that?’

If I couldn’t control the intensity of the ability, I might just end up waking it up.

Cha Moogyul sent a hand signal to Heeheon. A blue light began to gather between his fingers, and Heeheon, without a word, immediately understood his intention.

‘Cover.’

He promptly attached a silencer to his rifle, shouldered it, and took a firing stance.

He had to buy time while Cha Moogyul focused and gathered his ability. Just like in the last battle.

As he closed his eyes, a bluish aura slowly manifested around him. As if the floodgates of a magnificent ocean had been opened, the immense power hidden in the abyss overflowed according to his will and shimmered around him. Sparks of lightning crackled, and the recoil made his hair sway. Watching him emit a blue glow in the pitch-black darkness felt like being bewitched by something.

Although the special mission unit members had lured out the β-creatures, the danger wasn’t completely eliminated. Creatures that had been hiding in the dirt or in the crevices of the cave walls began to crawl out one by one, reacting to Cha Moogyul’s power.

Pshewt!

Heeheon fired his gun, splitting open the head of a creature that resembled a giant centipede. The number of creatures slithering towards them was not small. But he was confident.

Heeheon quickly turned his muzzle and swiftly and accurately took aim at the next creature’s core. Thanks to the night vision mode, he could see the target clearly even through the darkness. A bifurcated jaw, slender antennae, red eyeballs. Heeheon pulled the trigger and fired instantly.

Another hit.

The next one. And the one after that. Heeheon was engrossed in firing, in a state of self-forgetfulness.

Sweat soaked his back and dampened his forehead. His breath was becoming ragged from maintaining a precise posture and concentrating intensely. The more he did so, the more the precision of his shooting increased and the more余裕 he had. The bodies of the creatures he shot down piled up at his feet.

At some point, the thought that this was his last mission had completely vanished from his mind.

Heeheon was simply glad to be breathing, his heart beating, and alive in this moment. Because he could live this time to the fullest. That’s why he immersed himself in the moment itself.

They say there are those who become stronger when protecting someone.

Heeheon realized that he was exactly that type.

<I would have rather, I wish I had just broken…>

<Living like this, ugh, I wondered what I was doing, and even when I trained busily every day, it felt like I was wasting my time, everything was uncertain, reluctantly pushed along…>

<I felt like a fake.>

<I was alive, but it didn’t feel like I was living…>

It was really like that.

At one time, it had been nothing but torment.

But now, he felt certain.

Because Cha Moogyul was by his side.

Because he wanted to protect him.

And furthermore, to protect the civilians and their descendants, and the many people who would live on this land in the more distant future.

Heeheon could clearly see his place in the great flow of the era. This moment was Baek Heeheon’s moment, and in other words, it was Baek Heeheon’s era.

The meaning of his existence was right here.

It wasn’t that he had a responsibility because he had manifested as a late bloomer, because he had become an Awakened, because he had a special power not given to others. It wouldn’t have mattered if Heeheon had been an ordinary person, if he hadn’t manifested as a guide.

The reason Heeheon could be strong was not because he himself was special.

It wasn’t because he had trained for a long time, nor was it because he wanted to be a hero. Heeheon was now truly ready to immolate himself. Distracting thoughts had vanished, and he was faithful to the moment. Therefore, Heeheon had no choice but to be strong.

Every single bullet flew to its perfect position, like the notes of a meticulously calculated classical score, and pierced through the creatures. Heeheon’s shooting looked like beautiful art, like music flowing or a dance. It was awe-inspiring, even amidst the gruesome scene of creatures’ black blood splattering and their flesh flying.

The blink of his eyelids, the small movements of his fingertips, the faint exhale of his breath. Discovering his own composure even while annihilating the creatures in an instant, Heeheon realized that he had now reached a certain state.

That he had shed his immature shell and fully emerged.

And in that moment.

A single ray of light cut diagonally across the air and shot down.

Like a well-honed sword, the flow of ability that had been circling Cha Moogyul’s entire body became a complete whole and stretched out in a straight line.

It was both speed and emptiness. It was as fast as light and as heavy as darkness. It was a vast amount of energy gathered and compressed into a single point. The power that had been swirling in Cha Moogyul’s grasp was a totality of energy reminiscent of nuclear fusion.

Tearing the space in two, the blue lightning-like ability shot through the very air, penetrating the womb-like, milky membrane as if passing through it.

As if nothing had ever stood in its way, it simply advanced and reached its destination.

This was on a religious level.

Let there be light, and there was light. Vacate the space, and the space was vacated.

And as it finally reached its target, the α-creature, it let out a deafening roar.

The cave’s ceiling and floor shook from the impact, and small fragments rained down. Cracks appeared in the shaken ground, and the mud split open. Hwaaak, the energy condensed into a single point scattered into pieces, brightly illuminating the cave that had been nothing but darkness.

The creatures, unable to adapt to the dazzling white night, let out screams, lowered their bodies, and cowered.

Keeeek! Ke-eh!

Kiiiiiii!

The electric shock spread out in all directions, felling the creatures. And in the center, the giant α-creature, which had been curled up and sleeping inside the round egg, went limp. Still trapped inside the membrane.

“…Is it over?”

Cha Moogyul flipped up his goggles and checked the target with his naked eyes. Heeheon replied quietly.

“Don’t say that. It might wake up.”

The creature’s bio-response was appearing on Heeheon’s goggle screen. The core wasn’t broken, and the target was perfectly alive. It was just stunned.

“I’ll call the transport unit…”

But then. A commotion began to rise from the east.

Perhaps reacting to the explosive roar and the flash of light, the swarm of β-creatures that had been lured to the eastern coordinates seemed to have fallen into confusion and started to rampage. The creatures that had been quiet so as not to disturb the α-creature’s sleep were now free from its control, running wild and roaring to their hearts’ content.

“Tsk.”

Cha Moogyul put his goggles back on.

Heeheon also quickly reloaded his rifle. There was no need for a silencer anymore, so he removed it and lightly serviced the barrel.

“Wait a minute. The flow is unusual.”

The cave wall vibrated in one direction. A series of loud roars echoed, and the swarm of creatures passed through the tunnel ahead and moved away.

They weren’t rampaging wildly.

“…They’re running away.”

The ability Cha Moogyul had struck down with. They were sensing that power and fleeing. Even with this much distance, their instincts seemed to have sensed the threat. Like an ebbing tide, the swarm of β-creatures began to retreat in one direction.

Unfortunately, this was not the target point of the lure, the east.

“It’s the direction of District 2.”

Heeheon snapped his head around to look at Cha Moogyul.

“We have to stop them. There are a lot of civilians gathered there right now. The residents of District 3 evacuated to District 2.”

In fact, that wasn’t all. In the 2nd Residential District were the family homes of both Cha Moogyul and Baek Heeheon.

“My mother is there too.”

If the swarm of β-creatures followed the underground tunnel, broke through the barrier, and reached District 2…

The special mission unit members returned, chasing after the fleeing swarm of creatures. The agents in their combat suits ran quickly, pursuing the creatures. Like two jet-black rivers, the two black masses moved urgently and forcefully.

The approaching special mission unit members vied to shout out the status of the battle.

“The swarm is scattering!”

“Detection system inoperable! Requesting the search unit again.”

“Don’t let a single one escape. We can’t let them get up to the general residential district!”

Amidst the shouts pouring in from all directions, a familiar voice was heard.

Captain Sung Ahwon, with blood streaming from his forehead and the valiant eyes of a fierce tiger, grabbed a creature that was ahead of him. The wolf-type creature’s hide tore as easily as paper.

Even though its claws came dangerously close to grazing him, Captain Sung paid it no mind and rushed at the next creature. His body, enveloped in a reinforcement-type ability, was truly as hard and fast as a superhuman’s. Even in the midst of the frantic pursuit, he stood out and was conspicuous.

He was fighting back. At the very forefront.

A commotion stirred in my chest.

Gripping the reloaded rifle, Heeheon shouted to Cha Moogyul.

“…I have to provide support.”