章節 3: Chapter 3
Ju-Hui's complexion was incredibly poor; Seong Jin-Woo was deeply taken aback by this sight.
"What's wrong? Are you ill somewhere?"
"T-there. Over there."
Jin-Woo's eyes followed Ju-Hui's trembling pointing finger. She was pointing at the giant god statue. More specifically, she was pointing at the god statue's face.
Jin-Woo could only tilt his head in confusion because it looked pretty much the same as before.
"....?"
Ju-Hui stuttered some words out.
"The, the eyes... The eyes of the god statue moved towards us. Just now."
"Pardon me?"
Jin-Woo looked again several times, but nothing seemed to have changed. There was no visible change to the god statue.
"Eii... I'm sure you've made a mistake."
However, it seemed like Ju-Hui didn't hear him; her head stayed lowered, and as she held onto Jin-Woo's arm, her entire body trembled even harder.
'Hang on a sec here.'
Even Jin-Woo picked up on this strange but ominous sensation now. The world was eerily quiet. So much so, it felt just too bizarre.
'No sounds....?'
Even the sounds of the flames burning on the torches could not be heard anymore.
"First law."
In the meantime, Song's voice continued on as he read the contents of the slate.
"Worship the god. Second law. Exalt the god. Third law. Prove your piety. Those who do not keep to these laws shall not leave this place alive."
It was then.
SLAM!!
Everyone was jolted back to their senses at the sudden explosion of noise.
"What, what was that?!"
"Where did that sudden noise come from?!"
The first person to notice the change in the situation was none other than Jin-Woo. Because his senses were running at full tilt already, he could tell where the noise was coming from right away.
"The door!! The door is closed!!"
As soon as Jin-Woo shouted out, everyone shifted their gazes towards the doorway. The door they left open was now firmly shut close.
"God d*mn it! I can't stand this!"
The Hunter who was the first to oppose the idea of continued exploration of the dungeon began spitting out cusses as he took large strides towards the door.
"I'm going home, so you all can have fun with a boss or treasures or whatever."
That Hunter glared at Song with an expression that contained all of his dissatisfaction before he spun his head around and angrily grabbed the door handle.
It happened, then.
Song's eyes grew extra large.
"No!!"
Splash!
The area above the Hunter's neck suddenly vanished. The headless body powerlessly collapsed to the ground.
"K, kkkkyaaachk?!"
"Uwaa?! Uwaak!!"
Hunters began screaming their heads off.
The stone statue that smashed a human's head apart with a steel mace returned to its original spot next to the door, as if nothing important had happened, its body completely covered in fresh blood.
"That, that thing can move?!"
"What the hell?? Does that mean every statue in here can move, too?!"
"We gotta fight against these things?"
"I couldn't even see that d*mn thing swing the mace, so how can I?!"
Unlike others here, though, Jin-Woo knew the truth.
….Their troubles only had just begun.
Didn't Ju-Hui say it earlier?
"The, the eyes... The eyes of the god statue moved towards us. Just now."
'If what she said is true....'
A chill rapidly ran down his spine.
Jin-Woo forced his stiff neck to turn around so he could look behind him.
"....Oh, sh*t."
The stone statue of the god was looking down at him.
Part 3: Commencement of the attack
It was then, the god statue's two black eyes changed to red.
Was this the instincts of a Hunter?
No, the instincts of a living being were sending out urgent warning signals.
Something was coming.
Something none of them could contend with!
Jin-Woo turned towards the other Hunters and cried out as loudly as he could.
"Get down!!"
Almost at the same time, red beams of light shot out from the eyes of the god statue. Jin-Woo hugged Ju-Hui and threw their bodies to the floor.
BUZZZ!!
The beam shot right by the spot Jin-Woo had been standing.
A tenth of a second.
No, he survived by one-hundredth of a second.
That was definitely too close for comfort.
Unfortunately, not everyone was as lucky as Jin-Woo.
"Uwaaahk?!"
"Euh-ahahack!!"
Those who were swallowed up by the red light evaporated where they stood. Only the ashes of what used to be human Hunters remained where the beam flew past.
The screams came not from the dead Hunters, but those who witnessed their final moments from the sidelines, actually.
"What the f*ck was that?!"
"Euh, euh-euh..."
"How, how can such a thing even be..."
The remaining Hunters began freaking out.
Out of the seventeen Hunters, only eleven survived.
Not one of them had ever experienced such a powerful attack before in their lives.
'I barely made it because he told me to get down.'
'If it wasn't for Mister Seong's shouts....'
Hunters stared at Jin-Woo while nervously swallowing their saliva. Jin-Woo turned out to be their unlikely saviour. Without his timely warning, they could only imagine what would've happened to them and that thought sent chills down their spines.
"....."
While still lying prostrate on the ground, Jin-Woo glared at the god statue.
Its eyes were still glowing in red, but it did not attack again.
'Is the attack... over?'
Jin-Woo looked underneath him. The scared-silly Yi Ju-Hui was trembling in his arms.
This was the reason why she worked for the Association and not for a big Guild, and participated in simple raids like this one, even though she was nominally an excellent Hunter with a rank as high as 'B'.
Ju-Hui's breathing was getting rougher by the second.
He couldn't let her be like this. He had to do something.
Jin-Woo was about to raise his body up, thinking that he gotta do something here, but then, someone grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back down, hard.
"Don't get up."
It was Mister Song, somehow next to the youth before anyone had noticed it. Jin-Woo was flustered, but still did as he was told.
Song then shouted at the other Hunters.
"Nobody move! Stay exactly where you are!"
Song looked around before focusing on Jin-Woo.
"Only those that moved got killed. Those who listened to you and got down survived."
"It seems that way."
Song tilted his head slightly.
"I thought you warned us because you figured something out?"
"No, well, I just felt something dangerous was coming, so...."
A flash of light brushed past Song's eyes just then.
'His instincts are pretty good, in other words. He's a rank E Hunter? If only his abilities were a bit higher....'
Just as Song stared at Jin-Woo with a rueful expression, Jin-Woo too found a little bit of leeway to check out the older Hunter's condition.
And the youth's eyes opened up wider after finding something pretty terrible.
"A-ahjussi, your, your... Your arm?!"
"This is nothing. I can still hold on."
"But, but, still...."
Jin-Woo swallowed down his saliva.
Song's other hand that wasn't pressing down on Jin-Woo's shoulder, his left arm, was gone.
"..."
Song studied Ju-Hui's conditions for a bit, before he took off the T-shirt he was wearing, and while not even showing the enormous amount of pain he must be feeling, he wrapped up what was left of his left arm.
"Help me tie up the end, please? It's difficult to so with only one hand."
Jin-Woo could only nod his head then.
They were able to somehow stop the bleeding for now.
Rather than a scream or a pained moan, Song let out a long sigh. It was a sigh containing ten years' worth of experience as a Hunter.
"Fuu....."
Now that the first-aid was over, Song's gaze became a level sharper as he studied his surroundings. Although the god statue stopped attacking them, their situation hadn't improved in the slightest.
And like so, seconds continued to tick by.
"Sob, sob...."
"Just why do we have to suffer like this, this....."
A few Hunters even began shedding tears now.
"We can't stay like this forever!!"
The patience of the other Hunters was running out as well. Jin-Woo agreed with that sentiment, though.
'Right, we can't stay here forever.'
But, what could he possibly do here? If Song's suspicion was correct, then the moment they moved, they'd get attacked.
And, even if they got lucky and managed to evade the beams and reach the door, there were the two stone statues guarding the doorway to worry about, as well.
They were a big problem too, actually.
The movements of the doorkeepers were so fast that he couldn't see it with his eyes. Could he or anyone else open the door and escape before those statues attacked them?
It sounded completely impossible.
Which meant that the annihilation of the Hunters was just a matter of time.
'Wait..... A matter of time?'
When his thoughts arrived there, a strong sense of disharmony filled him up.
An event that couldn't have happened, but it happened anyway.
But no one else seemed to have picked up on "it" yet.
'Something... We missed something here.'
Without a doubt, the answer to their salvation hid in that 'something'.
It was then.
"Don't move!"
Song shouted at Mister Joo, who was at the far end of the group.
"Shut up! Who knows when that thing will start attacking us again!! But you want me to stay here and wait?!"
Mister Joo was a close-combat type Hunter.
These types of Hunters possessed far, far superior physical abilities than regular human beings. On top of this, Joo was about to sign up with a big Guild after his skills were acknowledged by them not too long ago as well.
"I'll not die here today."
While keeping low to the ground, Joo put all his strength down to his legs.
His aim was at the doorway.
The muscles on his legs were swelling up fast.
"D*mn it...."
Song could only mutter out to himself.
Right then, Joo kicked the ground and exploded forward.
Meanwhile, Jin-Woo hurriedly turned his head to look at the god statue. Just as he suspected, the eyes of the statue were fixed on the back of mister Joo.
And then, the chilling red ray shot out from those eyes.
BUZZ!!
The beam slammed on the back of Mister Joo.
"Kkyaaahck!!"
The female Hunter screamed at the top of her lungs.
She must've developed a leak, because a puddle of yellow liquid formed where she was squatting on the ground.
The expressions of the Hunters froze, hard.
"Oh my god...."
Mister Joo no longer stood where the red beam flew past. Only the pair of ownerless ankles could be seen now.
One of the men with a weaker constitution began emptying the contents of his stomach.
"B-blergh!!"
Jin-Woo's expression also crumpled as well.
As expected, the god statue could easily finish them off if it felt like it. It'd be easier than stepping on squirming bugs, actually.
'If that's the case, then.... Why hadn't it?'
It could kill them, yet it hadn't done that.
This was a completely different pattern of behaviour compared to the monsters that attacked as soon as spotting human Hunters in their vicinity.
These statues only moved if certain conditions were met: the doorkeepers that only attacked if someone approached the door; the eyes of the god statue firing that red beam if someone moved.
It was like a game with a set regulation.
'Hang on... Could there be some kind of rules in this chamber?'
It was here that a piece of puzzle found its place in Jin-Woo's head. He began recalling the contents of the stone slate Song was reading not too long ago, that was why.
'The laws of the... Karutenon temple, was it?'
'Regulation' was 'rules', and 'rules' could be 'laws' as well.
The key to their safe escape from this camber had to be buried within those warnings found on the stone slate.
"....Worship the god."
That was the first law.
"Mm? Did you just say something?"
Song shifted his gaze back to Jin-Woo.
Instead of a reply, Jin-Woo simply placed his index finger on his lips. It was a sign asking for a bit of time to think.
'If my thoughts are right...'
Jin-Woo slowly rose up.
Song hurriedly tried to stop the youth, but Jin-Woo shook his head while carrying a determined expression.
'….Doesn't look like he gave up on living.'
Song nodded his head.
Jin-Woo kept his eyes trained squarely at the god statue and carefully stood up.
Almost right away, the eyes of the statue were fixed on Jin-Woo.
BUZZZ!!
And as expected, the red beam was fired in his direction.
If he got down to the ground a moment slower, it'd be his face melting away, instead of a few strands of hair on top of his head!
Lying face down on the ground, Jin-Woo breathed in and out quite heavily.
"Heok, heok, heok, heok."
He nearly died just then. The moment the statue's eyes met his, he thought he was going to die for sure. He somehow did dodge it, but his legs wouldn't stop shaking from the fear.
'Still....'
Still, he learned something important just now.
'It's not attacking someone who's moving around.'
As long as he was squatting low to the ground, he could go anywhere he wanted to and the statue's eyes would remain still.
However, if one stood up, then the red beam would be fired without hesitation.
'The d*mn thing only attacks if we breach a certain height.'
That was why Jin-Woo bet his life on proving this theory right just now.
And now, he was sure of it.
The meaning behind the first law, that was!
< Chapter 3 > Fin.
章節 4: Chapter 4
Part 4: The Three Laws
Jin-Woo shouted out towards the rest of the Hunters.
"Everyone!"
Their attention shifted towards him in an instant.
Jin-Woo spoke as he met their gazes.
"You must kowtow towards the god statue!"
Hunters began tilting their heads after hearing him.
"Kowtow....?"
"You want us to kowtow to that statue?"
Hunters exchanged glances with each other, before loudly cussing out at Jin-Woo.
"F*ck you! What bullsh*t are you spewing here?!"
"What the hell! How can you say something like that under the current circumstances?!"
"Have you lost your mind, Seong Jin-Woo?!"
Kim's face became boiling-red as he began snorting like a bull.
"I had no idea you, Mister Seong, would be like this! If I could move, then I'd have punched you in the face already!!"
Jin-Woo bit on his lower lip.
Six of their comrades were killed by the god statue. So, it was rather obvious that the surviving Hunters would cuss him out when he told them to kowtow towards that abominable thing.
It wasn't hard to understand what these Hunters were feeling at the moment.
'And, the most important thing is....'
The most important thing was, he had no logical evidence to back his theory up. He only had his gut feelings.
Indeed, that was the only way to describe it.
However...
"I'll do as you say."
That voice came from Jin-Woo's back. Everyone's eyes immediately shifted there.
It was Mister Song, effectively the leader of this group.
"Mister Song ahjussi?"
"You are going to kowtow to that f*cking statue?"
Just as other Hunters began to freak out, Song looked straight at Jin-Woo.
"Young man. You've discovered something, haven't you?"
Jin-Woo resolutely nodded his head.
"Is it your instinct again?"
".....Yes. For the time being."
"I see."
Just now, eleven people survived thanks to Jin-Woo's instincts.
Well, with the death of Mister Joo, there were ten now, but still – if it was Jin-Woo's instincts, then wouldn't it be worth believing it at least once more?
That's what Song thought.
When Song knelt down and kowtowed towards the god statue, the mood had become solemn and silent.
"....He's really doing it."
Seizing upon this opportunity, Jin-Woo shouted out once more.
"Everyone, I beg of you! Please kneel before the god statue. We might be able to get out of here alive!"
Might live.
Might be able to get out alive.
The impact those simple words carried was quite explosive.
'We might live?'
'We can get out of here?'
'With just one kowtow?!'
The hesitant Hunters began to plop down to the ground, as if they were really kowtowing. The number of them performing the act gradually increased. In the end, even the complaining Kim bowed his head towards the statue.
However, there was no visible change to the god statue. Indeed, those chilling red light still shone from the eyes of the statue.
Jin-Woo felt his heart go cold.
'Was I wrong?'
It was here that his gaze shifted to Ju-Hui next to him.
No matter how generous one was, it was difficult to describe her posture of squatting on the ground shivering, while holding her head in her hands as her kowtowing.
'What if....'
Jin-Woo carefully grasped Ju-Hui's wrist.
She raised her head like a scared cat. Seeing her, Jin-Woo wordlessly nodded his head. Only then did she relax her muscles somewhat.
With that, Jin-Woo was able to slowly change her posture.
'Done.'
There was only one person remaining now. And that would be him.
Jin-Woo knelt down towards the god statue, placed his hands on the ground, and slowly lowered his head.
Finally, something began to change.
"Huh? Uh, uhh?!"
Hunters who had noticed the change first raised their voices.
"The god statue!! Look at the statue!!"
"It's eyes!"
The red light buzzing in its eyes was gradually weakening.
"What the hell? Is this really going to work??"
Eventually, the red light completely vanished.
"Oh!! Ohhh!!"
Hunters began rejoicing loudly.
"The red light is gone!!"
"We made it!!"
The excited Hunters began standing up one at the time. Even then, the statue didn't fire the red beam.
Jin-Woo belatedly raised his head and spat out a sigh of relief.
"Whew...."
Just as he suspected – this chamber operated strictly within the set regulations.
'If that's the case....'
Then, this game was far from over. Two more 'laws' still remained. The second law, exalt the god. And the third law, prove one's piety.
It was then.
RUMBLE!!
Accompanied by a goosebump-inducing noise, the entire chamber began to shake.
Jin-Woo's expression hardened immediately.
'As I thought....'
His suspicions proved to be correct once more.
Things were only getting started.
The humongous god statue was slowly rising up from the stone throne.
"Huh?! Huhhh???"
Hunters were hugging each other while shedding tears of joy until then, but when they realised this turn of events, they all froze up like statues themselves.
"What.... what the hell!! It wasn't over yet?!"
"This, this can't be!!"
None of them could articulate what they wanted to say. Despair rapidly dyed their expressions.
"Ah.....Ah, ah..."
Soon, the god statue completely stood up from the throne.
The 'creature' swept its gaze around once, and began walking towards the Hunters.
***
THUD!!
Every time the god statue stepped on the ground, the whole world seemed to shake.
THUD!!
It was so tall that its head was almost scraping against the chamber's indescribably high ceiling.
THUD!!
Even when the Hunters were overwhelmed by the statue's sheer size, the thing was gradually closing its distance to them.
"Mister Seong!! Mister Seong Jin-Woo!!"
"What can we do??"
The Hunters who were cussing at Jin-Woo only a short while ago hurriedly began crowding around him.
"Is there a way out of this?"
"Say something!!"
All these adults were forming tearful expressions as if they'd start breaking down in sobs and wails very soon.
Currently, Jin-Woo was their only hope.
Jin-Woo helped the frozen-stiff Ju-Hui up from the ground and began talking about the second law.
"Exalt the god. That's the key."
"Wait, isn't that...?!"
Kim suddenly butted in as if he knew something others didn't.
"Isn't that what's written on the slate?"
"Correct. Worship the god. Exalt the god. And finally, prove your piety. We need to satisfy all three laws."
Jin-Woo began speaking faster and faster.
Why? The god statue was already a stone's throw away from them.
THUD!!
Everyone's complexion paled as the gigantic shadow loomed over them.
"Let, let me try something."
A young male Hunter who usually kept to himself suddenly took a step forward.
"What the?! What are you trying to do?"
"I've been in a church choir. I'm confident if it's about 'exalting' something."
The young Hunter slowly stepped forward towards the statue while disregarding the dissuasion of Kim. He regulated his breathing while looking up at the god statue before he took a large gulp of air.
"I come to you, Lord...."
His clear voice began reverberating within the chamber.
"....Renew my faith once more..... Bless me with your grace, Lord..."
The statue stopped its march in front of the singing Hunter.
"Oh!! Ohhh!!"
Hunters began gasping out in elation. The god statue didn't move from the spot as if it was absorbed by the singing.
All the other noises in the room vanished. Only the young man's voice could be heard in the chamber's interior.
The young Hunter was encouraged by this and carried on.
"All the weakness found in me... Through your love, I shall overcome..."
Among the Hunters, only Jin-Woo was shuddering from this ominous sensation filling him up.
'This... this is wrong.'
Jin-Woo swallowed up his words several times.
The chamber featured its own set of rules. But the young Hunter was 'exalting' the god statue with the 'rule' of Christianity, not with the rules of this chamber.
Thankfully, the statue wasn't moving – but, could singing that hymn qualify as upholding the rules?
Jin-Woo shook his head.
The only reason why he didn't say anything was solely because he couldn't think of a better way to stop the god statue himself.
It was right then!
THUD!!
The weighty noise reverberated throughout the chamber.
"K, kkkkyyyyaaahhhk!!"
The female Hunter screamed at the top of her lungs.
When the stone statue lifted its leg up, bloody mess of what used to be the young Hunter could be found on the ground as well as on the bottom of its foot.
Other Hunters began screaming in panic and shock, too.
"Ahhhhh?!"
"Uwa, uwaaaahk!!"
The face of the statue, emotionless until then, was now crumpled in pure rage.
"It's angry!!"
"Run, run away!!"
Hunters dispersed away from the statue in a hurry.
Unfortunately for the female Hunter, she lost her reasoning and stood on the spot while screaming loudly after personally witnessing the death of the young male Hunter.
"K, kyaaachk!!"
'D*mn it.....'
Jin-Woo was running away while carrying Ju-Hui in his arms, but he turned around so he could go and help that woman out.
But then, Song stopped the youth.
"But, ahjussi...?"
"It's too late."
As if slapping a fly down, the god statue slammed its palm down at the female Hunter.
SLAM!!
"Keuk..."
Jin-Woo inadvertently shifted his gaze away. It was a truly gruesome sight and he couldn't bear to watch it unfold.
"There is no time to waste like this. Are you planning to let this girl die, too?"
Song's words sobered Jin-Woo up in an instant.
It was as he said.
THUD!!
"Uwaahk!!"
THUD!
THUD!!!
"Help me!!"
The statue was not walking around anymore.
No, it was actually running around and stepping on the humans it found nearby. Whenever the thing stepped on the ground, the entire chamber shook around, hard.
THUD!! THUD!!
Jin-Woo gritted his teeth and began running again. Ju-Hui squeezed her eyes shut and held onto him for her dear life.
"Let's split up!"
"Yes!"
Thinking that moving around together was dangerous, Jin-Woo and Song ran in separate directions.
Jin-Woo made sure to run towards the furthest corner from the frenzied god statue. However, there was another Hunter who had arrived there before he did.
It was Mister Park.
Park was running with everything he had.
Tears formed on the edges of his eyes when he recalled his family.
"Sob..."
Back home, a son who resembled him so much and a wife pregnant with their second child was waiting for him. He couldn't die here, not like this.
Perhaps because he ran with everything he had, he was able to run the furthest away from the statue out of everyone here.
"Pant, pant...."
As Park tried to control his heavy breathing in the corner, his friend Kim urgently shouted at him.
"Mister Park!!"
Park raised his head after hearing the familiar voice.
"Yeah?"
Kim pointed at the spot behind Park and cried out.
"Your back!! Look behind you!!"
It was then, something sharp gleamed coldly behind Mister Park.
"Uh...?"
Slice!
Park was sliced in half from the top of his head right down to his groin. His cleanly-cut two halves fell to the ground.
"PARK!!"
The stone statue that killed Park with its greatsword returned to its position as if nothing had happened, exactly like how the doorkeeper did before.
Kim began tearing up after witnessing this scene.
"You sons of b*tches....!!"
THUD!!
THUD!!
Behind him, the humongous god statue was stepping on and killing humans one at the time, and if you ran towards the corner in order to avoid it, then the stone statues located there would start attacking you.
"U, uwaaaah!!"
"My arm!! My armmmm!!"
The interior of the chamber swiftly fell into chaos.
"Heok, heok...."
Cold sweat dripped down from Jin-Woo's forehead.
His legs were getting heavier. His breathing was getting rougher and rougher. However, his head was filled with only one chain of thought.
'Exalt the god. Exalt the god. Exalt the god....'
The words of the second law circulated in his brain non-stop. The key to unravelling this mystery definitely existed within this chamber.
Something within this chamber that they could use!
However, when the Hunters first entered this place, they had searched every nook and cranny, but didn't find a single contraption nor things that might be some kind of tools.
'No, back then or now, the only things here that can move are the stone statues.'
It was then.
A thought raced past Jin-Woo's brain just then.
'Only things moving in here are the statues?'
D*mn it.
Jin-Woo's eyes widened.
"Why haven't I thought of that before?!"
If the only things that could move were the stone statues, then the only thing he could use had to be them, too.
These statues activated when humans got near them, meaning he had to take advantage of this rule.
'What if....!'
Even though he was running short of breath, Jin-Woo roared out loud enough to shake the entire chamber.
"Run towards the statues holding musical instruments!!"
< Chapter 4 > Fin.
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