Rise, Strongest Warrior - Chapter 21

Rumble.

Suddenly it felt like lightning and thunder struck in the sky.

In reality, the sky drawn with black lines was shaking.

“Is something going on?”

The quaking was only for a moment and the sky was clear as usual.

The sun drawn by the black lines from Yong Shin was always kept at a suitable temperature of around 20°C.

Igeon ignored the sounds from the sky and observed his surroundings.

Even if the sky were to fall he couldn’t ignore the things he had to do.

‘It’s suffocating’

From Gangnam station to Shinsa station.

It was the places Igeon grasped while running.

Next, Igeon sat down in front of the crossroad at Kyobo Tower.

It’s already the 200th day since he had been endlessly wandering around in this ink painting world.

“If the shadow is able to run away then looking for it like this is pointless”

“It does move but it doesn’t run away though?”

Yong Shin grinned at Igeon’s complaint and replied.

She was leisurely sitting at a table outside a café holding a mug drawn by black lines.

Suddenly appearing from the ground and disappearing again, her existence was just like a phantom/ghost.

“Should I help?”

“I would be thankful if you did”

Yet he did not expect her to actually help, since she had never offered any help.

So he replied without expecting anything.

However, Yong Shin gazed at the sky once then opened her mouth.

“If you face towards the sun, you won’t be able to see the shadow”

She said it with her usual tone filled with playfulness and Igeon brooded over her words.

Anyways, he currently needed a way out of the suffocating situation.

Igeon had no thoughts to carelessly ignore her words.

It was a helping hand earned after 200 days.

“Think about it carefully. The answer is there”

After saying that, Yong Shin melted into the ground and disappeared again.

Thinking about it for a long time, Igeon shook his head and stood up.

‘If you think long, you think wrong’

There was no answer even if you agonise over it so Igeon instead stared at the sun.

The sun that had been steady in the sky from the first day dazzled Igeon.

As if time stopped, no if he looked at his hands it seemed like the place was as if he had entered the world of a painter’s painting.

The things that could move were only Igeon and Yong Shin.

Only, Yong Shin didn’t walk or run.

Disappearing into the ground and appearing again was her means of transport.

‘What on earth is the thing that doesn’t run away but moves?’

Also, what is it that you won’t be able to see if you face the sun?

The shadow of the skyscraper and the various things composed of the dark contrasts of light and shade came into his eyes.

‘Would I be able to see if it I don’t face it?’

Then he turned his body around to the side.

With the sun on his right he twisted his body around.

Igeon smiled bitterly.

“If Shin An sees me right now he would probably say I’m stupid”

Igeon slapped his forehead.

The sole thing that doesn’t run away but moves.

Yoo Igeon, it was himself.

The thing that you couldn’t see if you face the sun.

“My shadow”

Rather than the other shadows, it was the dark shadow behind his back when facing the sun that moved.

Then, from the shadow a figure of black looking like Yong Shin came out.

“You found it”

While looking at him, Yong Shin, from god who knows where brought out a rolling office chair and watched Igeon as she crossed her legs.

*

Rumble.

“Hey, be careful so it doesn’t collapse!”

At Captain Kim Nakhoon’s shout replies could be heard here and there.

He leisurely sat on the portable chair the adjutant brought and watched the work site.

‘What could be underneath that they want us to bring’

Orders were to bring all the life-support capsules that were used to forcefully put people to sleep.

The orders weren’t even from the unit he was in.

It was only sent down to us in the form of a request.

Thud!

“Hey you!”

Captain Kim Nakhoon glared at the adjutant.

Just then, a mass of concrete stuck with reinforcing bars loosened collapsing a part of the building.

No, the job in the first place was to dig out the collapsed building.

Even so, there was a need to keep sure the things below the building aren’t damaged.

“Can’t you be careful?”

“I will correct it!”

He swiped off his sweat as he glared.

The temperature was higher than he thought.

‘Is it summer?’

But then again it should be hot since it was June.

“Report to me if something happens, I’m returning”

“Yes!”

Kim Nakhoon wanted to stealthily withdraw.

This place was a field, it was the same as a battlefield where you don’t know when monsters would appear.

Essentially a field isn’t a place where you could enter easily whether you were a civilian or a soldier unless you were an ability-user.

‘Seriously, what a fucking order’

Even after monsters had invaded humans, the absolute commands of the South Korean army had never changed.

He was in a position where he had to obey the orders he had been given, so Kim Nakhoon had no choice but to obediently come to this place.

‘But there were no orders to stay and hold the fort’

There was no need for a Captain to personally hold a shovel and dig.

“Are you returning?”

A guy with a square face asked Nakhoon.

Including Kim Nakhoon, this guy was the second person in this place who did not have to do the manual labour work.

“I will”

The man had only lightly nodded his head at Kim Nakhoon and saw him off.

Since he was such a taciturn person Nakhoon just turned his body around and left.

‘The damn ability-users’

As a soldier, normally he wasn’t a person who could be called a role model but the existence of ability-users were always an uncomfortable thorn to him.

Moreover, the people in the troops typically called them the defeated or shortfall.

Although there are some who weren’t like that, at least based on the people Kim Nakhoon knew, they all were a little crazy somewhere.

‘He’s no different’

Rumble.

As the excavator and heavy equipment dug up the ground, Kim Nakhoon left the site.