Chapter 84: Isia (3)"What the fuck."
Lee Ho-young had a seizure, perhaps due to PTSD resurfacing.
"How did she obtain the power of a Dimensional Gate?"
The Staff Officer shouted while preparing magic, voicing his doubts.
"Seol-hwa? What the hell are you doing all of a sudden?"
Isia appeared belatedly.
She panicked upon seeing the unfolding situation.
"Hello, Guild Master. It's been a long time. How many months has it been?"
Seol-hwa greeted her with feigned innocence.
At a casual glance, it might have sounded like an ordinary greeting, but massive lumps of flesh undulated around her.
Whoosh.
It wasn't just a threat.
The flesh lumps shot toward the Staff Officer.
A pre-prepared barrier deflected my tentacles.
"Snap out of it! This isn't inside a Dungeon. The situation's different from last time!"
Isia, having regained her composure, issued commands.
Her voice brought Lee Ho-young back to his senses.
The momentary opening he'd shown completely disappeared.
The coordination continued like precision gears.
The doppelgangers I'd brought were being ground down by the gears.
"All these doppelgangers have died."
Every last doppelganger perished.
The doppelgangers turned to shadows before returning to nothingness.
"It's fine. I can just summon them again."
But killing all the doppelgangers wasn't the end.
Dimensional Gates formed on both sides.
The recently killed doppelgangers crossed over through the Gates.
"Fuck..."
Lee Ho-young spat out a curse.
Even in her position, I'd have cursed too.
I summoned additional monsters to shake her mental state.
"Killed two birds with one stone by calling monsters too. It won't end as easily as before, right?"
Thud.
The monster threateningly stomped its foot.
Isia closed her mouth, seemingly at a loss this time.
Lee Ho-young gnashed her teeth at my sneer.
A flash of despair crossed her eyes.
No reinforcements were coming.
The entire city of Seoul had suffered a Break.
In this land overrun by monsters, absolutely no one would help them.
At least until moments ago.
Boom! Boom!
Artillery fire tore through the atmosphere.
The dull noise transmitted through the air - the military had arrived in Jongno District.
"Haha, luck's on our side?"
The tide turned instantly.
Now we were the ones short on time.
No matter how numerous our doppelgangers and monster army were, they paled in comparison to humanity's military forces.
Lee Ho-young turned around without looking back.
The Staff Officer followed her.
"Catch them!"
We couldn't let them escape.
If Seol-hwa's identity were exposed, it'd be disastrous.
An enraged Sword Queen would tear us to shreds.
Seol-hwa took the lead in pursuit.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Isia blocked Seol-hwa's path.
Their swords clashed before separating.
Seol-hwa was pushed back.
Though strengthened by my power, she still couldn't defeat Isia.
Clang!
Meanwhile, the Staff Officer and Lee Ho-young smashed through a window and jumped down.
Isia immediately turned to follow them.
Her body fell toward the building's lower levels.
Seol-hwa regained her posture and rushed toward the window.
The three figures raced down the street at high speed.
"What are you doing! Hurry up and get down already!"
I urged the monsters onward.
If information leaked to the Guild or military, everything would be over.
The monsters moved at my urging.
Watching them sluggishly descend the stairs was maddening.
Too slow.
Some bravely jumped through windows but couldn't overcome gravity, turning into mush.
"This won't work. Seol-hwa. We need to move ourselves."
No time left.
We could always summon more monsters nearby.
Seol-hwa and I jumped through the window.
Then we pursued the trio.
But even chasing them, we could do nothing.
We couldn't handle Isia alone.
Facing all three at once, escape was our only option.
We were about to lose them.
"Wait, Seol-hwa. Let's get ahead of them."
A good idea came to mind.
"We happen to have just the thing, don't we?"
We possessed the perfect bait to lure them in.
****
Boom. Boom. Boom.
The artillery roared.
The military poured out every shell as if prepared to obliterate the entire city center.
"We're almost there."
Yuna-young gauged the distance upon hearing the sounds.
The military was within reach.
The women strengthened their legs.
"Unni... help me!"
Sia stopped walking upon hearing Seo-ah's voice from across the street.
No mistake.
This was her younger sister Seo-ah's voice.
"It's fake. You said your sisters were home. Must be that strange shadow ability."
Lee Ho-young tried to restrain Isia.
Left alone, she'd clearly go searching for her sister.
As if anticipating her thoughts, Seo-ah's face appeared on a building rooftop.
No mistake.
That was Seo-ah.
Whether real or fake remained uncertain.
"Unni... help me!"
Seo-ah waved her hands frantically.
A white cast covered her arm.
People resembling friends surrounded her.
Civilians were visible too.
They seemed to have come to play with friends before getting trapped inside the building.
They likely injured themselves while struggling to protect civilians.
"You two go ahead. I'll check if it's really my sisters."
Isia made her decision.
She'd retrieve her sister.
It might be fake, so she'd verify alone before returning.
Lee Ho-young sighed at the predictable behavior.
"Haah, leave you behind and run alone? You're telling us to cowardly escape?"
Lee Ho-young followed her.
"We'll just verify quickly and come back."
Yuna-young didn't back down either.
She'd rather go with Isia than escape alone.
Isia smiled at her comrades' steadfast loyalty.
All they needed was to enter the building and retrieve Seo-ah.
She ran toward the building.
Slaughtering monsters drawn by the noise, she advanced forward.
"Unni... hurry."
They reached the rooftop where Seo-ah waited.
Seo-ah, her arm bandaged, welcomed them.
'Is she real? Or another fake?'
Sia hardened her expression in caution.
The Seo-ah before her might be another shadow-made fake.
She met the girl's eyes.
Isia recalled the Shadow Giant.
The transcendent being that tried to make her an Apostle.
Perhaps because she'd once touched the source of doppelgangers?
Even without Peer Detection, distinguishing doppelgangers felt natural.
The Seo-ah before her was her real sister.
Moreover, every person here was genuinely human.
"Unni... what's wrong?"
"It's nothing."
Sia lowered her weapon.
Following her lead, Ho-young and Na-young lowered theirs too.
While Na-young only pretended to lower her guard while preparing magic, Sia saw no need for caution.
"How did you end up here?"
"We came to hang out with friends when the Break happened."
Seo-ah began speaking haltingly.
In summary: came to play, encountered disaster.
They'd somehow held off monsters with their team members, but with too many to protect and limited numbers, injuries eventually occurred.
"Thank goodness. At least it's not a severe injury."
Not an empty consolation.
Though her arm was broken and casted, no limbs were severed or lost.
"Get up. I'll carry you back."
She hoisted Seo-ah onto her back.
Light.
How long had it been since she last carried her like this...
Over ten years had passed.
"It's been so long. Since I carried you like this."
Just as she lost herself in nostalgia-
"Guild Master Isia! I'm here. Let's find happiness together."
Seol-hwa came stumbling in.
She looked like a fanatic forcing herself upon them with "good news."
"Get lost!"
Enough was enough.
Lee Ho-young shouted while firing his crossbow.
Sia tried to put Seo-ah down and join them.
But an unexpected attack made her collapse.
Seo-ah, riding on her back, launched a surprise attack.
Liquid from a syringe entered Isia's body.
'A fake?'
No.
Seo-ah was real.
And everyone here was real too.
Yet the scene unfolding was completely opposite.
The real people had united as one to attack them.
"What the actual fuck."
Civilians rushed Lee Ho-young.
Though foul-mouthed, she couldn't bring herself to attack civilians.
"Have you all lost your minds?"
Team members swarmed Yuna-young.
She recognized them all.
Children of guild masters or from prominent families.
They lacked nothing in life.
Gaining nothing by siding with monsters, only losing.
"Seo-ah...?"
Her two supports were restrained.
"Finally caught up. Guild Master, are you ready to find happiness now?"
Seol-hwa blocked her path.
"Grrk."
Sia ground her teeth.
They'd fallen perfectly into the trap.
Somehow, everyone here had been brainwashed.
Gnashing her teeth, she raised her sword.
This wasn't over yet.
Subduing Seol-hwa might provide a solution.
She charged toward Seol-hwa, sword swinging.
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