ALL NOVEL Chapter 38
-Bang!
I barely dodged the fist of the clay doll swinging down, rolling back to avoid the impact.
“It doesn’t look like it’s going to end anytime soon!”
Yu Da On shouted as she maneuvered to my side.
“I agree completely!”
I had no choice but to concur with her words as I reloaded my magazine.
If only Jang Chae Yeon had been around; without anyone to wield real firepower, there was no way to stop this mindless mound of clay from throwing punches.
In fact, despite firing a few rounds at it, the doll merely flinched, not a single one going down.
“When is A-Rin going to arrive?”
“I’m waiting just as eagerly!”
Among us, the currently least useful figure, Song Ah Rin, had taken on the role of the scout to find our escape route.
But why was she taking so long?
I glanced at the incoming fist again.
Before it could connect, I quickly rolled on the ground to evade, and Yu Da On managed a narrow escape behind me.
“This way!”
Finally, a voice I had been waiting for pierced through the chaos.
Song Ah Rin was vigorously waving her hands from a building that looked like the town’s cathedral.
“There it is! Let’s go!”
“Okay!”
We charged toward freedom, pushing aside the dolls in our path.
The lucky part was that our legs were faster than theirs.
-Thud!
Yu Da On crossed her arms to block the blow from the clay doll.
I heard something crunch in her limbs, yet she didn’t flinch, continuing to deftly dodge her way through.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m perfectly fine!”
She spoke as if her arms breaking was just a normal occurrence.
Even if fighting was impossible, as long as Yu Da On was with us, we could somehow escape.
Sometimes I stopped a doll with my gun, and when I was too slow to dodge, Yu Da On took the hit, allowing us to make it toward the cathedral.
As soon as we arrived, Song Ah Rin hurriedly grabbed both Yu Da On’s and my arms, dragging us inside before grunting to shut the massive door behind us.
With a loud crash, the door sealed shut, and after locking it with a huge wooden bolt, Song Ah Rin rushed toward us.
“Are you hurt?”
“I just have a few cuts and my arm aches.”
“My clothes got a bit torn!”
“Well, we’re alive, so that’s what matters.”
-Bang! Bang!
I heard something thumping against the door from the other side.
Luckily, it didn’t sound like the door was going to give way anytime soon.
“I was going to take the car, but I found something here.”
“What do you mean ‘something’?”
“There’s something in the basement.”
Saying this, Song Ah Rin bit her lip.
“As I mentioned before, this is the dawn of a god.”
“But didn’t you say there’s no such thing as a god?”
“Right. It’s human belief that creates a god.”
Song Ah Rin stared intently at me.
“So right now, a god is being born.”
It took me a moment to comprehend what she meant.
“…Ah.”
“Do you understand? A fanatic belief of some organization is currently materializing the Mountain God.”
“If that’s the case, shouldn’t we quickly find that organization and smash it?”
“Unless it’s too late. But soon it will be too late.”
Song Ah Rin bit her lip tightly.
“Once all conditions to become a god are fulfilled, what do you think will be the first thing the god does?”
‘And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.’
I recalled the background of the clay doll.
The Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, and those oddly humanoid dolls.
“…Creating humans.”
“Exactly.”
She nodded in agreement.
“When a god is born, the first thing everyone does is create their own beings.”
“And those creations will begin to move.”
“Eventually, they will be integrated into this world as conscious entities.”
“Ugh.”
“If that happens… it will become an entity that’s hard to take down.”
Song Ah Rin gazed beyond the high cathedral windows.
“What happens if we can’t stop it?”
“A great war. To gain faith, the creations will wage a holy war.”
“If only the Management Agency hadn’t become useless and had warned us about this earlier!”
“I think the same.”
I sighed heavily.
“And communications are down, and the way back is blocked. In the end, unless a powerful Isolation Team suddenly shows up, we’re the only ones who can solve this?”
“…”
Song Ah Rin nodded grimly.
“…Then we have to do it.”
In the end, we were the only ones who could handle this, and we couldn’t run away.
The world had pushed me into taking up this sword.
What big sin did I commit in my past life to deserve this?
“What do we need to do?”
“As you said earlier, first, we need to wipe out the followers. Then… we’ll quickly deal with the main body.”
“Dealing with the main body? Do we know where it is?”
“…”
Song Ah Rin pointed to the ground with her finger.
“…Are you saying the ‘something’ in the basement refers to this?”
She nodded.
I still wasn’t fully prepared for this.
And somehow, I felt like I was still missing something.
While I wrapped my head around it, the loud banging began to grow louder.
“Then you two should go down.”
Yu Da On replied calmly as she stepped to the door.
“I’ll hold them off.”
“Can you really hold them off by yourself?”
“Well, I guess?”
Yu Da On tilted her head slightly, giving me a confident smile.
“I can hold them off until Jae Heon finishes his work. No, I will.”
“…”
Is this really okay?
No matter how much I think about it, facing off against beings made of clay…
Humans, right?
“Song Ah Rin.”
“Are you saying I should stay behind?”
“That’s not it.”
It was true she was staying behind, but…
“If the Mountain God is becoming ‘a god’ over time, then those creations are getting closer to humans, right?”
“Well… usually, that’s the case?”
“Then doesn’t that mean they will eventually develop intelligence?”
“…I think I understand what you’re saying.”
With her chin resting on her hand, Song Ah Rin nodded seriously.
“That’s right. I’ll stay behind.”
“A-Rin, you’re going to die with just one hit!”
“Black-haired girl has a point.”
Ignoring Yu Da On’s words, Song Ah Rin grinned fiercely as she stepped forward.
“But as long as I don’t let them touch me, it will be fine.”
“I believe in you.”
“Honestly, I can say this now, but if you trust me, I think you’ll do even better.”
I exchanged a glance with Song Ah Rin and pulled Yu Da On down the stairs.
Yu Da On muttered anxiously.
“Will A-Rin be okay?”
“She’s the most suited for this situation.”
Yu Da On couldn’t stop all those dolls.
Me? What could I possibly do? Shoot a gun?
Even with a process of elimination, only Song Ah Rin could truly block them.
Had Jang Chae Yeon been here, it would have been a different story.
To lighten the mood, Yu Da On declared in a bright voice.
“Then we just have to take down that Mountain God, right? Jae Heon, you have a good plan this time too, right?”
“Um.”
“It’s okay if you don’t! I can buy us time!”
Yu Da On’s trust was so heavy it felt like it would crush me, yet no matter how much I tried to think of a good plan, the words just wouldn’t come to me.
[Critical: 0]
I kept staring at the still silent window, feeling like my thoughts were lacking.
While everyone else solves problems at the snap of their fingers, why must it always be so torturous for me?
It’s infuriating.
With a deep sigh in my heart, I rushed forward, soon revealing a vast basement.
“…This must be it.”
It was unmistakably a place of worship.
Chairs that you’d expect to see in a church or cathedral were scattered around, and curiously, even a wooden clapper lay overturned – a site of religious amalgamation.
“There should be people here… but there aren’t?”
“True.”
If this is the case, wouldn’t we fail to accomplish our goal of eliminating the followers?
“Should we make a mess of it?”
“I have a lighter!”
“Are you planning to smoke?”
“I won’t get lung cancer, but I really don’t want to smoke!”
Yu Da On energetically started lighting up paper and books with her lighter.
Burning desks and chairs with the lighter was impossible.
If I’d known this would happen, I should have stealthily stolen some butane gas.
Should I really steal it next time?
While lost in thought, I lit those papers and books, watching as they turned to ash.
“Shall we go?”
Snapping to attention at Yu Da On’s refreshing voice.
“Let’s.”
I followed her down the stairs.
*
Song Ah Rin’s gaze was fixed on the two departing figures.
A girl with black hair who always smiled but whose thoughts were a complete mystery, and…
“…”
She continued looking at the man’s back for a long time.
He was said to have piercing eyes, yet when hearing his thoughts or solutions, it seemed that he proposed ideas that couldn’t be discovered with mere looks alone.
He wasn’t one for pretty words nor was he excessively foul-mouthed, making him hard to hate.
And there was the beggar-like white-haired man who caught her attention for no good reason.
Just how much does he love him that her eyes can’t stray?
“I must not get hurt… I’ve lost my mind. Better worry about myself.”
She bit her lip, pushing her feelings aside, and turned her gaze towards the door.
-Thud! Thud!
A loud rumble echoed, and soon the door burst open.
Clay dolls poured in.
In that brief moment, their movements became coordinated, exhibiting a far greater sense of intelligence than before.
And this was her moment of opportunity.
If they had intelligence, they could be hypnotized. Especially the ones newly born into awareness were even easier to ensnare.
The creations awakened with the Mountain God were still like children.
Song Ah Rin focused her mind.
Miraculously, the multitude of clay dolls froze in their tracks.
Cold sweat dripped from her forehead, but she remained undeterred, eyes widened in intense concentration.
Soon, silence enveloped the atmosphere.
No doll dared move, frozen in place.
Still sweating coldly, Song Ah Rin murmured.
“Come quickly. Right now, it’s only you I have to hold off.”
In her mind, the figure of a man continuing down the stairs kept replaying over and over.