The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

Gentlemen, Welcome to Hell (2)

The underground floor of the department store was filled with colorful, brightly lit facilities.

Everywhere, there were display stands packed with toys, and mannequins in mascot costumes were greeting visitors.

With small Viking rides and a minitrain running along a tiny railway, calling this place a small amusement park would not be an exaggeration.

Had it been open, it would have been crowded with children and their parents.

"Hiccup!"

Arriving there, Sang-ah looked around nervously, her body twitching.

Watching her, Ah-rin smiled shyly and said,

"Are you scared?"

"Of course I'm scared! No matter how you look at it, this is seriously creepy."

"Mm... Honestly, I agree. It's supposed to be a theme park where people come all the time, after all."

"That's probably why it feels even more scary."

Even Ah-rin didn't deny how eerie the place was.

A playground crammed with toy shops and small rides.

It was the kind of cute place that girls around Sang-ah and Ah-rin's age would usually love.

But the moment such a familiar space was plunged into darkness, it became ominous and sinister.

They might not know it yet, but this is what's called a Liminal Space.

It's a phenomenon that happens when there's no human activity in a space usually familiar and public.

If someone suddenly popped out in a place like that...?

"Ah!"

"Kyaaaaa!"

"Ahahaha! Did I scare you?"

Ah-rin suddenly stuck her face in front of Sang-ah and surprised her.

Because of the spooky atmosphere, it worked perfectly.

"Hey! I nearly had a heart attack!"

"What, your heart was shaking just from that?"

"What, like you wouldn't be startled?"

Sang-ah got heated because she'd almost lost her nerve.

But Ah-rin's way of thinking was different from Sang-ah's.

"Really? I think it's kind of cute."

"Cute, my foot. If that's cute, would couples dress up as ghosts and do that on dates?"

"Ghost costumes?"

Ah-rin echoed the words with interest.

"That actually sounds really fun?"

"Don't do it!"

Ah-rin clearly didn't have a normal mindset either.

She was said to be Seongjin's childhood friend, but it made Sang-ah even more curious how the two of them first met.

Just what happened between them back in elementary school?

Conveniently, there was someone present to ask about that.

"Um..."

Han Suyeon and Ma Yunhee were following behind Sang-ah.

Seongjin's mother and younger sister looked utterly unbothered, showing no hint of emotion.

"...."

"...."

"Um..."

Meeting their eyes, Sang-ah decided to give up on asking.

Besides, now was not the time for small talk about trivial matters.

Of course, no conversation would work with these two right now anyway.

That's because they were...

"...!!"

Suddenly, Sang-ah's nerves went on edge.

Her pupils contracted as a signal of danger shot through her entire body.

Someone had infiltrated the basement of this department store and was watching them.

"Ah-rin."

"Yeah?"

"Please take care of those two."

"Got it."

Sang-ah moved Ah-rin and the two women to a corner at the edge.

In the center of the plaza, she closed her eyes and focused all her hearing.

All the sounds echoing from the underground were picked up by her ears.

"!!"

Hearing a suspicious sound and sensing murderous intent, Sang-ah turned her head in that direction.

It allowed her to catch a dart flying her way.

It had been aimed at the women, and that made Sang-ah furious.

"You dirty creatures...!"

In the gloomy space, red gleaming eyes appeared here and there.

There was nothing human in the way those eyes, fixed on their prey, stared.

Soon enough, those eyes slowly stepped out and revealed their forms.

They were strange beings walking on two legs, wearing what looked like reinforced suits all over their bodies and helmets on their heads.

"X-Men...?"

They looked something like the superheroes you might see on TV.

But given the ominous magic power they emitted, they were closer to villains than heroes.

"...."

Without a word, they pulled weapons from their arms.

On their right hands sprouted sharp blades, and on their left, something like a gun muzzle for firing projectiles.

They pointed their swords menacingly and charged at Sang-ah.

More accurately, they were targeting the two women hiding in the corner behind her.

"Not so fast!"

Sang-ah threw a punch at the assailant charging the two women.

Though the blow sent him flying, the attacker quickly stood back up.

Thanks to the suit's capabilities, he hadn't suffered a scratch.

"How are they so sturdy?"

Seeing this, the other attackers turned their attention to Sang-ah.

They decided to eliminate the obstacle before dealing with their prey.

'Where did these guys come from?'

Until just recently, everything had been chaotic because of the Golden Gate's rampage.

With monsters flooding in and confusion raging, who would bother targeting specific people like this?

'Did they come to that event specifically to go after those two from the beginning?'

The assailants fired rounds from the muzzles attached to their left arms.

The dozens of them fired solely at Sang-ah, but Sang-ah dodged the bullets as she charged in.

'It smells like poison.'

While dodging, Sang-ah identified the projectiles by scent.

They were poisonous darts—just like the one she'd grabbed a moment ago.

Finally, Sang-ah seized the face of one of the assailants.

"Yaaaaaaaah!!"

With a shout, scales sprouted along Sang-ah's arm.

The horns on her head grew longer.

Revealing more of her true power without losing control, Sang-ah swung the attacker around wildly.

"Uryaaaaaah!!"

Using him like a club, she sent the other ambushers flying.

Excited now, Sang-ah slammed the attacker she'd been swinging straight into the floor.

Crunch-!

It was the sort of impact that likely would have crushed a skull.

If they had been human, it would have been murder—but with these things, there was nothing to worry about.

"As I thought..."

The helmet tore off from the brutal force.

The face inside was not human.

"Monsters..."

The fallen assailants stood back up.

As their helmets shattered, their bare faces—snake-like with sharp fangs—were exposed.

From the beginning, Sang-ah had gotten a non-human scent from them.

She'd had her suspicions, and now they were confirmed.

― Grrrrrrr!

Having been found out, the creatures gave up the act and began to make their natural sounds.

They brandished the blades on their right arms and attacked with speed.

Sang-ah didn't bother dodging.

〈Counter〉

The creature's blade struck Sang-ah's body.

But instead, the blade shattered and the suit covering the monster exploded into fragments.

A skill that rebounded the damage she should have received back onto the opponent.

It was a way to avoid rampaging and only harm the enemy.

― Grrrr...

The monsters' suits and bodies were annihilated.

Thanks to her improved proficiency with "Counter," its power had increased.

Already, she'd taken down ten.

If she just defeated fifteen more...

"Kwon Sang-ah, behind you!"

At that moment, Ah-rin urgently called out.

Sang-ah belatedly turned around as Ah-rin demanded.

There, the remaining monsters had been sneaking up on her.

Sang-ah sensed them quickly and swung her arm, but the creatures dodged it.

"Huh...?"

Five of them extended their arms, which suddenly stretched like rubber tentacles to tightly bind Kwon Sang-ah.

While she was being bound, the remaining ten gathered together.

Their bodies began fusing into one giant form.

― Kwooooooo!

As if it had always been one being, the massive creature let out a monstrous roar.

Its appearance was like the ones before, only more than ten times larger.

And it wasn't just its size—it grabbed a giant club and charged at high speed.

"Damn...!"

Shaking off the creatures clinging to her, Sang-ah found herself a step too late.

She was struck directly by the creature swinging its club like a baseball bat.

KWAANG-!

Sang-ah flew across the room and crashed into a wall.

The wall and the surrounding pillars instantly collapsed.

The shock was so great that even the nearby rides were smashed.

It was the kind of destructive force that could demolish a concrete building.

"Cough!"

Wincing from the rubble, blood gushed from Sang-ah's mouth as she struggled to stand.

Had she not covered her head in scales at the last moment, she would have lost consciousness.

It was incredibly fast and powerful. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ N()velFire.net

If she didn't use her rampage powers, it would be tough to keep fighting one-on-one.

"Tsk."

Watching, Ah-rin clicked her tongue, as if realizing she couldn't just stand by.

Just as she stepped forward to help—

Bang-!

A gunshot rang out from somewhere.

As the gunfire echoed, Ah-rin collapsed right where she stood.

"...!!"

Sang-ah's eyes widened in shock as she witnessed it.

From the direction the shot had come from, McLean revealed himself and shouted,

"Now!"

At McLean's signal, Eric—who had been hiding elsewhere—charged, gripping a dagger.

Sang-ah was pinned by the giant monster, and Ah-rin had been shot down.

There was no one left to protect the two women!

Thuk-!

"Finally...! Finally!!"

Thuk! Thuk! Thuk! Thuk-!

Eric ran up to the women and stabbed them several times with his dagger.

"Die! Just die already!!"

Eric, filled with resentment, kept stabbing them relentlessly.

Driven by the thought of avenging his daughter, he surrendered himself to madness.

Emily—his daughter—lay bedridden in the hospital, her life as good as over.

The family of that bastard Ma Seongjin, who did this to Emily, had to pay the same price.

"Emily's revenge!! Dieeeee!!"

With a maddened howl, Eric continued to stab.

Watching, McLean felt frustrated at having no chance to step in himself.

'He's hogging all the glory for himself.'

The brutal scene of people being stabbed—yet neither man cared about anyone's safety but their own child.

'Wait a minute, they're definitely being stabbed, but... why...?'

Eric suddenly sensed something off.

He must have stabbed them countless times... So why was there no blood?

It was just as Eric's mind began to wander.

Pop-!

The bodies being stabbed—the two women—suddenly vanished.

Just like a clone bursting in a ninja comic, they disappeared without a trace.

"Huh?"

In the haze of slaughter, Eric finally snapped back to reality.

Though he had stabbed into what should have been a human body, his dagger came out spotless.

Only fluffy fur was left behind where the women vanished.

"What the... what happened?"

Where had the women he worked so hard to kill disappeared to?

"Those were fakes I made with my tail fur."

Swish-!

At that moment, the hand holding Eric's dagger was severed.

Eric screamed in agony at the sudden pain of his hand being cut off.

"Ahhh... AAAAARGH!!!"

McLean, witnessing this, could not believe his eyes.

After all, it had been Ah-rin—who he'd shot in the head—standing up unharmed and cutting off Eric's hand with her blade.

Actually, the bullet hadn't missed its mark.

Ah-rin had simply caught it with her mouth.

"She... caught... a bullet... in her teeth...!"

Terrified, McLean again aimed and fired at Ah-rin.

Bang!-

The gunshot rang out just as before.

But as his target vanished like a ghost, McLean panicked.

"What the! Where'd she go?"

"Are you looking for me?"

Hearing Ah-rin's voice from behind, McLean felt a chill.

Simultaneously, the sniper rifle he held was split clean in two.

"Huh...?"

"Gentlemen~"

Ah-rin dropped two bullets she held in her hand onto the floor and smiled.

"Welcome to Hell."

There was such menace hidden behind that smile that McLean's body began to tremble uncontrollably.