Chapter 66
If it were just one or two Awakeners attacking, I thought the elves' fighting power would be enough to hold them off.
I had seen with my own eyes a spider monster that would have given a normal Awakener trouble explode from a single kick.
But this time, the story was different.
'This could be dangerous...'
The Administration Department had moved in an organized way.
They had trained Awakeners and a lot of items.
If they ambushed elves who approached them in good faith, without even suspecting a thing?
Even the elves couldn't claim they were completely safe.
"...Damn it."
I irritably swept my bangs back and sank straight into the cockpit.
"Sowon, what are you going to do?"
When Ha-seon asked with worried eyes, I gripped the controls.
"I'm going to stop them."
I couldn't just stand by and watch.
Kreeeek!
As I quickly picked up speed, the train made a rough scraping sound against the tracks.
Even if the Administration Department agents moved by car,
mobility-wise, the train wasn't losing either.
"When did that man in the suit disappear?"
"About ten minutes ago...? It couldn't have been much longer than that."
That was enough.
The train quickly built up speed and sped out of Singil Station.
"...Huh? T-there!"
"...Looks like that's them."
As soon as the train left Singil Station, I spotted two black SUVs racing somewhere, kicking up dust outside the window.
Those had to be the Administration Department people Ha-seon had mentioned.
We had left at almost the same time, but a car driving on roads wrecked by scrap cars and building debris couldn't catch a train barreling down clear tracks at full speed.
The train started pulling ahead.
I set the destination and, during the ride, took out my smartphone to check the survivor gallery.
I was looking for clues about the agents dispatched from Yeouido.
The gallery had all kinds of information.
But I couldn't find any information about those guys.
Instead, a post from a group of survivors that had set up a safe zone near where the elves were staying caught my eye.
---
[Title : I think I just saw another race outside.]
[Author : ElfTown]
While I was keeping watch out the window, I hid at first because I thought it was a monster, but when I thought about it, it seemed human-shaped, so I poked my head back out to look.
He looked to be no more than 140 centimeters tall, but a muscular middle-aged man was walking along with a huge hammer about his own height slung over his shoulder.
He saw a wrecked car blocking the road, shoved it aside with a huff, checked inside, and then just coolly walked on;
His beard even went all the way down to his waist like a Viking's. That's that thing, right? Dwarf?
[Comments]
Anon : Dwarf?
ㄴ ElfTown : Ah, right, dwarf. I couldn't remember the word.
Anon : I thought it was a mob;
MeowWoof : Why is it only there that elves and dwarves are showing up...
ㄴ Anon : Is it because of that Dungeon Break thing?
ㄴ MeowWoof : I hope beastfolk start pouring out of a dungeon in front of our house too...
ㄴ Anon : Argonian, please;
---
"Even dwarves?"
Was there a reason the skill book the Constellation had thrown at me came as a set with Elvish and Dwarvish?
If that sighting was true, there might be dwarves in that city as well as elves.
I wondered whether I should message that safe zone and tell them the Administration Department was heading there after the elves.
But I quickly closed my smartphone.
There was no need to drag them into this and put them in danger.
I only needed to get the elves onto the train quickly.
"...Huh? There—"
Ha-seon pointed through the cockpit window with a finger.
I had thought it would take much longer since the roads clearly weren't maintained.
"So fast...?"
Looking closely, the obstacles in front of the vehicles slid aside as if they had wheels, even before the vehicles reached them.
Things had become more urgent than I expected.
As soon as I stopped the train near the city that had turned into a forest, I kicked open the door of the first car and ran out.
"I'm getting off!"
With the drones and the golem in tow, I sprinted toward the abandoned building where the elves were staying.
But just as I reached the intersection in front of the building,
Screeeech-!
With a screech that tore at the ears, three black vehicles stopped beside me.
The timing of my arrival—having had to run all the way from the station because there was no track—and the timing of the guys who had come by car and forced their way through matched up absurdly well.
The car doors opened, and armed men in suits spilled out in a rush.
"...So it really was that monster train...?"
"Monster train..."
Not exactly wrong.
The man who seemed to be their leader recognized me and stopped in his tracks.
He alternated his gaze between the hovering drones, the golem, and my face, then smiled.
"Seeing you come running over in such a hurry... what exactly did you come looking for?"
He asked that and then studied my expression.
I deliberately changed the subject.
"...Are you with Candidate No. 1's side? I heard the person who spoke with me a few hours ago was an agent from Candidate No. 1's side."
The man let out a little laugh and shook his head.
"No, we are assisting Candidate No. 2. Would you answer my question as well?"
He pulled a heavy necklace, clanking as it flashed blood-red light, from his waist and shook it.
At the same time, several other suited men stepped out to block the way.
"What did you come looking for? ...By any chance, do you know the elves' whereabouts?"
Their expressions clearly hardened.
"Well..."
Even as I dodged the question and refused to back down, their gazes shifted to the drones and the golem.
The tension kept rising, wordlessly.
Honestly, I was more tense than when fighting monsters.
What skill did they have, and what was that necklace?
I had no clue.
The man smiled when he saw how tense I was.
"You may not know what kind of necklace this is, but it's plenty effective on humans too. If you interfere, I'll have no choice but to put this necklace on you—"
Then a voice came from somewhere.
"Hey, you can't go around threatening to put a dog collar on people like that. That won't do."
From a corner of the alley, in the shadows of the collapsed building rubble, a deep, heavy voice that seemed to reverberate from a cave boomed out.
"W-who's there!"
The gazes of the men in suits all turned toward the source of the sound.
And from there, a tiny silhouette with a huge steel hammer slung over one shoulder was walking out, each step thudding heavily.
If you only heard the sound, it felt like some huge monster was walking up—
But since the silhouette itself wasn't all that big, the tension among the suited men eased a little.
"What is that..."
"Who are you!"
"Hmm...? Huh?"
The man with the huge steel hammer on his shoulder studied the blood-red necklace in the agent's hand from a distance, as if appraising it.
Like a craftsman, he snorted and muttered.
"What in the world is that thing? It's got electricity, hypnosis, even noise suppression all mixed together with all kinds of bizarre effects. No sane person made something like this!"
He roughly brushed back his long braided beard and jabbed a finger at the agents.
"You bastards! If you were born a man, you ought to have some decency—trying to fasten such a cowardly thing around a woman's neck...!"
At his roar, the agents flinched and stepped back.
To think such a huge voice could burst out of that tiny body.
That was surprising enough, but as the small body drew closer, another surprise came with it.
"Seen up close... there's no mistaking it..."
"It's a dwarf, isn't it...?"
Our suspicion, mine and the agents', was confirmed.
Unnaturally developed muscles for such a small frame, a giant hammer nearly the size of his body, and even the elaborately braided beard and armor that brought a Viking to mind.
Anyone could see it—it was the very image of a dwarf straight out of a fantasy or game.
"...Grab that one too!"
"It's a dwarf! Catch him, no matter what!"
At the leader's order, the agents charged toward the dwarf instead of the elf, brimming with killing intent.
The dwarf recoiled in alarm and stumbled back.
"These crazy bastards...! Look at these shameless creeps! They don't even care whether it's a woman or a man! What kind of sick tastes do they have!"
Tap-tap-tap!
Even as the dwarf freaked out in disgust, the agents didn't stop, and two of them quickly scaled the wall of the neighboring building.
Whether they were using a skill to boost their physical abilities or not, their speed as they ran along the wall was no joke, but the dwarf didn't panic and swung the hammer on his shoulder roughly at the wall.
BANG-!
The moment the hammer slammed into the wall, a heavy tremor, as if the entire area were shaking, rolled through the building.
"Ugh...?!"
"Shit...!"
The two men who had been charging up the wall lost their balance and staggered, and the dwarf didn't miss the opening, hurling his small body like a bullet into a dropkick.
"Get lost, you perverts!"
The two agents each took a dropkick and flew back side by side, smashing into the wall.
Then, before anyone knew it, the agent who seemed to be their leader rushed at the dwarf's back and tried to force the necklace on him.
But there was one thing he had overlooked.
Clink, clink!
"Damn it! Why won't it fit?!"
The dwarf's neck was far thicker than expected, and his braided beard even protected the area around his neck like armor.
While the man struggled in confusion to get the necklace on him, the dwarf scowled and grabbed the man's collar with one hand.
"Don't you dare touch someone else's precious beard!"
The dwarf lightly swung him and hurled him straight at the black SUV parked beside them.
CRASH-!
The moment the thrown man slammed into the side of the vehicle, the windows shattered to pieces, and the sturdy car door caved in like paper.
"What kind of strength was that..."
The dwarf's brute strength seemed comparable to, if not greater than, the golem's.
I stared blankly at that monstrous strength and thought.
'...Maybe I don't need to step in after all?'
Still gripping my spear tightly, I exchanged awkward looks with the drones and the golem.
Even the ones who had been aiming their guns and cannons quietly lowered their muzzles and watched.
It seemed like we could wait a bit and help if things got dangerous.