A Legion Grows From My Smartphone - Chapter 21: The Game Board (4)

“Uh… ah…”

“Run, quickly.”

Kang Do Yeon grabbed her frozen friend’s wrist and dragged her along. She still held a fire extinguisher in her hand.

“Die!”

The first time is always the hardest, but the second time is easier. Already excited, she threw the fire extinguisher at another goblin that appeared from the bottom of the stairs. The fire extinguisher flew with fierce momentum, smashing the goblin’s face. She then stomped on the fallen creature like a madwoman.

“Shit…”

She wiped off the blood that had splattered on her clothes. But there was no time to dwell on the aftermath. She grabbed another fire extinguisher and, holding Oh Yoon Ah’s hand, they ran hurriedly. Goblins were everywhere. They barely managed to escape the building amidst the chaos.

Running away was clearly the wise choice, considering the screams they could hear from behind.

“Ah…”

“What do we do! What do we do!”

A panicked Oh Yoon Ah clung to her, screaming. They were surrounded. A dozen goblins had gathered and were baring their teeth, starting to approach. There was no one nearby to help.

‘’…Damn. ’

Kang Do Yeon took a deep breath and lifted the fire extinguisher. Some of the goblins were brandishing rough ropes they had prepared in advance.

“Hey!”

But just then, a car came racing across the field with a deafening honk.

*

“What the hell.”

I gritted my teeth against the grating noise as I slammed on the brakes. Leaving a corpse in the driver’s seat, hijacking someone else’s car, and committing vehicular manslaughter by speeding? But that wasn’t the pressing issue at the moment.

“Get in quickly!”

After mowing down a few goblins, I shouted at the dazed girls. It was only then that Kang Do Yeon seemed to snap back to reality. She struck a reeling goblin’s head with a fire extinguisher and dragged her petite friend towards the car.

‘’Just leave Oh Yoon Ah and come.’

“H-how did you get here? Whose car is this?!”

“Is that really what matters right now?”

I floored the accelerator once more. The priority was to escape. However, my sense of relief was premature. As I attempted to reverse, something came flying in.

“This can’t be.”

“Is this…”

I sighed in disbelief. Could the object that had just flown in and punctured the tire be a bullet?

“Kyaaah!”

More bullets followed. The goblin at the forefront, leading the others and waving his beard, was aiming a stolen police gun at us. He was the commander of these goblins, someone’s unit.

“Oppa…”

“You, stay here.”

The goblin discarded the gun and aimed a large staff in his hand. Flames gathered instantly, forming a fireball. He planned to shoot that at us. I looked at my gloved hand. Even if I used my one-time assassination right to kill him now, what about the others? According to the rules, ‘’units and players’ couldn’t be handled by the app’s basic functions. So, taking a picture was impossible.

“That’s…”

But hope was always present. With a flash of lightning, someone appeared behind the goblins.

“Cha Ji Yeon!”

“The step-up hunter?”

Oh Yoon Ah and Kang Do Yeon recognized her. A woman in a black suit with light blue hair, surrounded by lightning. Thunderous noises erupted as lightning bolts shot out one after another. I watched silently as she slaughtered the goblins. From the noise, it seemed like hunters or police were already handling the situation in the back.

“She’s powerful…”

The girls gasped in awe. She was indeed powerful. The relentless lightning she summoned decimated dozens of goblins in a single strike. Despite the goblins’ illogical increase in strength, her power was overwhelming. The goblin that seemed to be the leader hurled a fireball at her. Cha Ji Yeon, however, split it with her hand, enveloped in blue lightning, and reduced him to a charred husk with a potent electric shock. She then navigated through the scorched corpses and walked towards us.

“Over there…”

“Is anyone hurt?”

Our eyes met. In that moment, I felt something. Something in her eyes. Could she, who was suspected to be a unit, have figured out my identity?

“There are still people in the back!”

“…In the back?”

At that moment, Oh Yoon Ah pointed at the school building and shouted. But she just stared blankly at her and didn’t move. My eyes then met with Kang Do Yeon’s. After all, there were only two players here in the first place.

“Don’t worry. The armed police and hunters have been urgently dispatched, so you’ve managed to escape well. If you had stayed at the shelter, you would have been overrun.”

“Do you need something from me?”

The atmosphere was tense. Oh Yoon Ah and Cha Ji Yeon, each harboring their own secrets, locked eyes in the open air.

“Kasamandis.”

“…?”

“Say it. Kasamandis.”

The first to speak was Oh Yoon Ah. I realized she was conducting her own verification process.

“Kasamandis.”

“You’re fine? If you had received power from someone in this world, it would have been a cursed spell.”

Cha Ji Yeon, having caught on to something, obediently complied. At the same time, she pulled something out. A small pebble-like stone that shone brightly.

“Unit.”

“Player.”

Oh Yoon Ah and Cha Ji Yeon both spoke simultaneously. As expected, Cha Ji Yeon was someone’s unit. From a different world than Oh Yoon Ah. Kasamandis… I made a mental note of that spell.

“So, what’s your player’s position?”

“The goal is to find players from different affiliations and form alliances.”

“I see. As expected.”

I don’t know where she got her confidence from, but the girl who was whimpering just a moment ago now held her head high with pride. Even though she seems a bit naive, she’s cunning enough to brand her own friend, so she must have some tricks up her sleeve.

“I can provide plenty of help, too.”

“Then there’s no reason to hesitate.”

Cha Ji Yeon chuckled, effectively acknowledging the alliance. We, the siblings, had no choice but to become followers. For now, that seemed to be the better option.

“Let’s move to a safe place… Wait.”

Just then, Cha Ji Yeon, who was leading us, suddenly stopped. Her face turned pale.

“What’s wrong? Did your player…”

Oh Yoon Ah, previously brimming with confidence, suddenly deflated and hid behind Kang Do Yeon. Cha Ji Yeon, her eyes tightly shut, trembled and swayed as if enduring immense pain.

“They can’t. They are innocent people…!”

“Could it be.”

The swaying woman sparked lightning once more. The issue was, it didn’t seem like the red lightning was manifested by her will.

“Maintain… the game’s secret…ugh . .”

“Wa, wait!”

While we stood frozen, Oh Yoon Ah unexpectedly stepped forward.

“These people are mine. They already know everything. There’s no need to silence them!”

“…That’s a relief.”

Upon hearing Oh Yoon Ah’s explanation, her lightning gradually faded. Cha Ji Yeon, drenched in cold sweat, looked genuinely relieved.

“Let’s move to a safe place now.”

We followed her as she sprinted away. There was nothing left to do after that. The hunters and armed police who had rushed in had driven away all the goblins. The survivors had fled through the gate, taking with them numerous victims and kidnapped prisoners. It was a disaster that would go down in Korean history, returning after ten years, marking the beginning of a new catastrophe.

*

“So, what did she say?”

“She said she’ll explain everything to you and smooth things over.”

“Is that it?”

In the midst of the chaotic and disordered atmosphere, I sat dazedly on the boundary stone with Kang Do Yeon.

“She seems a bit scatterbrained.”

“She’s good at studying, but she’s a bit sloppy.”

I chuckled. There was indeed something peculiar about Oh Yoon Ah, even in her interactions with me. Kang Do Yeon had mentioned that she had taken me under her wing because she couldn’t brand anyone else. However, her threat to silence me was merely a stern warning. Naturally, from her perspective, her brother was being held hostage, so her threat wasn’t entirely ineffective. Regardless, we had each saved each other’s lives once. I was rescued from the goblins, and she was saved from Cha Ji Yeon.

“But Yoon Ah and Cha Ji Yeon are unaware of your existence. Things have worked out well.”

“Yeah. Somehow, I managed to pull through.”

“Do you know where your units are from?”

“No.”

I sighed. At that moment, I couldn’t even muster the strength to stand, let alone consider other worlds.

“We should head home. We can’t stay here any longer.”

“Alright.”

I had no desire to hear more crying and shouting. With Oh Yoon Ah and Cha Ji Yeon gone, there was no reason to linger. We headed straight home.

“There are really no injuries…sob.”

“Mom, please…”

Upon our arrival home, our mother, alerted by a phone call, rushed over and enveloped us in a tight, sobbing embrace. After soothing her, I quickly retreated to my room. Today’s events had made it abundantly clear: time was not generous, and danger was ever-present.

“Is it confirmed?”

[Yes. The legion is currently dissecting and analyzing the new samples. This will be a historical moment. Perhaps this sample will lead to a breakthrough in our evolution.]

On my cell phone screen, the lifeless bodies of the goblins were being partially digested by the nest. Before leaving, I had taken a few shots of the ones that had been hit by a car. Surprisingly, even if they were units, their corpses could be transferred.