Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

Bang-!! Bang-!! Bang-!!

The fight between Sniffles and the looters was no joke. Wild gunshots rang throughout the subway station but the two Sniffles held out. We hid in the bathroom and refined our plans while looking at the map of the Sports Complex Station.

“We have two things to do here. One is to find a spare shelter.”

“The other one is to kill the Sniffles?”

“No. We need to find those crazy doctors who made Sniffles. Their shelter must be close to here… near Bupyeong-gu Office Station.”

Geom-in looked at the map and scratched his head.

“It’s quite far. Wouldn’t it be better to divide the work into two way attacks?”

“It’s hard to kill them if it’s only with the two of us.” I then told him in detail what happened at Gyeryongdae. Hearing the circumstances at the time, Geom-in eyes widened. Seems like Seokhyun didn’t tell him in detail about it. Well, it’s him we were talking about… At most the information would only consist of punch, kick, roll, jump, and seggs.

“Are you saying that even four of you can’t kill the monster?”

“To be precise, I prioritized looting the M-72 first before fighting. Da-jeong and Mikyung were only there to attract its aggro.” In other words, Seokhyun was the only one who really rushed to death.

“What if the four of us… no, the three of you fight against it?”

“It will be difficult. But why three? Are you not sure you can go against it?”

“Because… in this cramped and dark place, blink has limited use.”

“Take this.” I took a flashlight from the dimension slot and handed it to him. Geom-in’s face brightened as bright as the flash that boasted a tremendous amount of light when turned on.

“This should be enough.”

“If things look grim, just bind it and run away. Never fight at close range. They can shoot thorns from their body. Understand?”

“Yeah.” Geom-in said as he slotted a magazine into the K5 pistol and disengaged the safety lock.

I nodded at his fluid movement. It’s apparent that he’s pretty good at it.

“I know that you are aware of this… You can shoot, but the weapon can’t hold on for long. The longest is probably one magazine worth.”

“So, should I use it as sparingly as possible?”

“Yeah. If you can, only shoot it when I give you the signal. While you are at it, just pour it out all at once and also use your binding ability so either Da-jeong and Seokhyun can get the timing to shoot a rocket lancher.”

“I don’t think binding will work.”

“It’s okay even if it doesn’t work. Just be confident in your abilities.” When I said that and patted his back, Geom-in nodded and took a deep breath. Seems like he’s running a simulation in his head.

Da-jeong finished reshaping the body armor inside the portal and came out. Now, in several places of the armor, an additional ceramic plate was sewed. The same also applied on the changed pants.

“I don’t know why I need to do all this.”

“It’s because there’s a good chance that the looters will shoot us in the legs.”

“Why the legs?”

“There is a risk of death if they aim for the head or torso. They don’t want to be a murderer.”

“Ahh. If they make others immobile, the monster will finish the job, won’t it?”

“Yeah.”

In my case, there’s a dimensional wall guarding me, but it was still difficult to guard my leg due to my physical structure. That’s why we’re trying to have the minimum amount of defense reinforcing our legs. After all, coupled with the hard skin skill, it won’t be easily penetrated.

At that moment, Seokhyun, who went out on a scouting mission, returned. Few drops of crimson liquid colored his fist.

“I checked where the shelter entrance was and it turns out to be near the phone box on the platform.”

“What about the looters?”

“I see no one. But there are a lot of tents nearby. I saw barriers and a crane.”

“Looks like they had taken it from the spare shelter.” I whispered. However, why did they stay there? If they already have enough materials, they should’ve run away rather than staying. Why did they decide to fight a losing battle against Sniffles and risk dying?

Geom-in tilted his head after rubbing his chin for a few moments.

“I think… they’re transporting the supplies from somewhere.”

“Where?”

“Look…” Geom-in fingers drew a circle around Sports Complex Station and the Chun-ui Station. “I saw it on our way here, but there is nowhere to hide around this station. It’s an open field around here. So it’s hard for looters to get supplies from this area.”

“So what?”

At Da-jeong’s urging, his finger pointed to Chunui Station. “But this area is a commercial district. There’s plenty of places to get supplies there. They must be getting it from there.”

Looking at the circumstances, it seems like his deduction was right. Which means, the looters were planning to rob the spare shelter.

“Oh, Geom-in… Nice one.”

“It’s nothing much. I’ve been around here before.” Geom-in shrugged.

In any case, it turned out that the looters were fighting Sniffles in order to lure them. That’s the only way they could get the stuff from the storage out.

“If they leave the gun outside, it will only get weaker…”

“Look at his face changing! It’s terrifying!” Da-jeong smiled when she saw my face as I spoke.

Of course it’s terrifying. All of the spare shelter supplies were mine!

“We have to deal with the two Sniffles first. They can’t see, but they are sensitive to sounds and smells. Let’s lure them with firecrackers and kill them at once.”

“Who will kill it?” Dajeong asked

“You and Seokhyun.”

“What about Geom-in?”

All eyes were on him at the question.

“I’m fine. I can’t even use the skill properly if I get it.” He waved his hand. “But if you’re going to give it to me…”

“I’ll give you something later, so let’s yield to the two of them this time.”

“Okay.”

It was quite a surprise that he didn’t kick a fuss or show some restrained sad expression on his face. Maybe it’s due to the fact that he’s content with his current situation.

I explained the plan to Seokhyun and Da-jeong.

“I’ll give you the sign by calling your ID. I’ll take out the weapon from the dimension slot and throw it to you. Take it and shoot it. Beware of the explosion and stay far enough.”

“Can it kill Shield Sniffles, though?”

“The penetrating power of the panzerfaust is no joke. So it probably can kill it in one attack.” If it couldn’t, there’s no other choice but to run away.

Da-jeong summoned the ghouls from within the portal and sent them to scout. Not long after, the locations of the two Sniffles as well as the looters become known to us.

We donned ourselves in bulletproof armor and carried guns. After eating the shadow grape, we were ready.

“Let’s go.”

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Sniffles had an excellent ability to hear and smell. Which means, they would be sensitive to the smell of gunpowder. And there’s where firecrackers come. It would without fail attract their attention.

But before detonating the firecrackers, I had to check their location. We have to be sure about their location. So, aside from the ghoul’s scouting we also had to collect the information circulating in the Auction House.

-The Sniffles are over here! It just passed through the outside of the bathroom!

-This is frustrating. Is there just one bathroom in Sports Complex Station?

-Isn’t there a sign pointing to where the bathroom is?

-There isn’t! All of them are broken!

What a mess…

Da-jeong, who sent the ghouls, snapped her fingers.

“The slingshot Sniffles is at Exit 4.”

As soon as Da-jeong threw the information at us, we ran as hard as we could towards the direction. Not long after we arrived, Sniffles, the one with long arms and legs, appeared. Even without us using the firecrackers, the disgusting monster stopped in its track and looked at us.

“It will fly like a slingshot soon.” As soon as I finished my words, the Sniffles jumped and zoomed towards us. I quickly willed a dimensional wall to appear in the guy’s trajectory. The Sniffles, which hit the wall, fell to the floor.

“Pour everything you got!”

Da-jeong’s ghouls rushed in. And around the same time, a bright light shone on the Sniffles, making it unable to move. Seems like Geom-in’s binding ability worked properly.

However, it’s not Sniffles if it goes down without a fight. The monster let out a deafening roar and a lot of thorns came out of its body, piercing the ghouls which were beating it.

“Ugh!”

Although Geom-in was surprised by the grotesque appearance, he still maintained his binding as hard as he could. If it was him in the past, he would have closed his eyes tightly. But it seems like he had grown quite a bit.

I opened the dimension slot and threw a rocket at Seokhyun.

“Rapwi!!!!!” Now, all he had to do was follow the procedure and shoot.

But as a wise man had decreed, there’s no such thing as a 100% perfect plan. The force of Geom-in’s binding that had been holding the Sniffles suddenly disappeared into the air.

We looked at him to ask what happened, but he just shook his head at a rapid pace.

“N-no, it’s not because of me. I try to keep it under binding!”

So… did it forcibly release itself?

The freed Sniffles grabbed the head of a grasshopper that was running towards him and crushed it.

Crunch-!!

Da-jeong, who had lost a grasshopper, bit his lip and gave an order to the Tank.

“Kill that guy!!”

Thump-!! Thump-!!!

The enormous Tank rushed into the fray. However, the Sniffles had already jumped. I tried to open the dimensional wall, but the guy already rapidly approached us by kicking the wall of the subway station.

I instantly opened the dimensional prison on its path. The close to linear Sniffles went into the portal without any fight.

“It’s done! It’s in!”

“How many minutes will he be inside?”

“5 minutes!”

We quickly moved our feet and stood around the dimensional prison. But suddenly bullets flew towards us.

Bang-!! Bang-!!

Just who in the world shot at us?

I immediately told the Geom-in.

“Go into the bathroom, now!”

“You want me to lure them?”

“That’s right.”

The plan was to lure them into attacking him and use the portal to hide and attack them. We went into the bathroom and left Geom-in alone in the bathroom while we hid inside the portal. Soon after, footsteps were heard and the looters appeared.

“Where have these bastards gone? I’m sure they were definitely here.”

“Those guys ran to the bathroom just now.”

“Hey, you bastards. Are you guys hiding?”

“You guys are regretting your decision to come here, aren’t you?”

“Heheheheh.”

They were all full of themselves. The reason was obvious even to a baby; the guns in their hands. Though, if the Sniffles were here, they would have run away right away.

The three looters took a haughty step towards the entrance to the bathroom.

Just a little bit more, a little bit more…

Seokhyun and Da-jeong clung onto me. It didn’t feel quite good to have a man wearing only panties and exhaling with excitement while sticking to me. Seriously.

I waited for them to approach closer before storming out of the portal. While me and Da-jeong ran normally, Seokhyun’s body literally went out like a bullet shot out of the chamber.

“Falcon Punch!”

One of his fists hit one looter’s chin, slamming him to the floor after flying in a beatiful arc.

“Keuk!”

The two guys next to them hurriedly turned their guns at him. Unfortunately for them, they were cut off by Rapwi’s high kick. The three fell one after another and dropped their guns to the floor.

The ghouls came into the fray at that moment and held them immobile.

“Nice fight, Rapwi!” Da-jeong patted Seokhyun’s ass and walked past him. I retrieved the gun, went through their bodies and pulled out their magazines. Meanwhile, Da-jeong touched the man’s head with his foot.

“How many minutes do we have left?”

“Around two minutes.” However, there was no opportunity for us to wait patiently for the reappearances of Slingshot Sniffle. After all, the Shield Sniffles appeared.

Looking at the bulky monster, Seokhyun clenched his fist tightly. “Look at that bastard’s leisure gait. I want to hit him so bad.”

It’s the same for me. Being looked down by a monster was not nice. I called Geom-in out of the bathroom. His relieved expression was palpable when he saw the three collapsed looters. But when his gaze shifted to the new Sniffle, his brows furrowed instantly.

“What sh-should we do?”

“Fight.” I said. It’s foolish to deal with two Sniffles at once, therefore we have to kill Shield Sniffle in 2 minutes. However, when we already steeled our resolve, the big guy suddenly started to run away. Its action once again reminded me that these guys have some intelligence in their hard heads.

Could it be that it smelled that the Slingshot Sniffles was here?

Did it feel threatened when it saw the other one disappear?

Let’s not think further and just act. I took out the panzerfaust from the dimension slot to shoot it, but it already went around the corner and disappeared. Without any communication, we all ran to catch it.

“Bind it, bind it!!”

As Geom-in stopped and tried to concentrate, Shield Sniffles jumped and ran down the stairs. Blocking it with a dimensional wall was to no avail. The stocky guy was far too quick for its size.

We stopped at the stairs and I opened my mouth. “Let’s go back and kill the Slingshot Sniffles first. Chasing that guy will only be a waste of time.”

Seokhyun clenched his fist and stepped out. “I’ll chase that guy. You guys take care of the other one.”

The Slingshot Sniffles would come out soon, there’s no time to argue with each other even if it would be better for all of us to go together and deal with Slingshot Sniffles.

I tapped Seokhyun on the shoulder.

“Don’t overdo it.”

“I’m immortal. You just need to focus on killing the other one.”

Seeing that he even took his ripped panties off, he seemed to be serious. Seokhyun kicked the ground and ran dow-no, rolled down the stairs.

Da-jeong laughed wryly at his action. “That way is faster indeed.”

Though, it was only doable for Seokhyun himself because of his strong body and borderline crazy mentality.

We headed to the dimensional prison where the Slingshot Sniffles was trapped. I finished preparing to fire the rocket and handed it to Da-jeong.

“Pull the trigger when it comes out.”

“Okaaaaay.”

She put the 13 Kilogram rocket on her shoulder and waited for it. After a while, the portal spit the ugly monster out. It was roaring and thrashing from being wrapped in flames. Its lower body was also melting on top of it.

Groaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr-!!

“What the?” Da-jeong who was startled by Sniffle’s state, picked up the rocket and stood up. Seems like the Sniffle was unlucky enough to fall into pool of Lava.

Da-jeong licked his tongue and then aimed at him again. “Bye Bye.”

Click-!!

Boom-!!

A terrifying flame rose to the air as tremors shook the station. Meanwhile, The already dying Slingshot Sniffle exploded to bits and pieces.

As soon as Dajeong made an okay sign with her fingers, signaling that it had died, we immediately ran to the direction Seokhyun ran to. The more we ran, the more we could hear that Seokhyun was screaming at the top of his lungs.

“Okay, I get it! You have a resilient body!”

Is that a good thing, I wonder?

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The people who flocked to the Sports Complex subway station had only one purpose. It was to acquire the guns stored inside. Of course it was not all of them. There were also people whose sole purpose was to watch the four stagnant waters fight, but they were only the minority.

Since everyone was aware that there were looters and Sniffles roaming around the area, they all hid in dark corners, looking for opportunities. Just like a hyena.

Then, suddenly, they witnessed two people running. From how they positioned themselves, It was clear that one of them was chasing the other one. The chaser was a human: a bald man with nothing on his body. While the one who was being chased was the Sniffles.

“That guy is totally crazy…”

“Isn’t that Rapwi?”

“Isn’t he someone who only wears panties?”

“It might have been torn in a fight.”

Without knowing the Survivors’ murmuring. Seokhyun focused on following the Shield Sniffles. It was strong to the point it didn’t even stop even after Seokhyun’s punches hit its body.

All of a sudden, Seokhyun’s anger flared up.

You are ignoring me?

Seokhyun kicked the ground and flew in an arc. After doing a backflip in the air, he landed in front of Sniffles.

The guy’s stomach wriggled at that moment, and he created a shield-shaped tissue from it.

“Falcon Punch!”

Seokhyun threw out his fist with all his might, but was blocked by the shield and bounced off. He pulled his hand back and lowered his stance, eyes changing from black to red. It was proof that his werewolf’s skill had been activated.

“Kyo-oh clothes!”

The spectators momentarily missed the earthmoving movement.

In the darkness, there was a suffocating sound, and the earth-gong retreated.

There was a thorn in his shoulder and he was bleeding.

“Kiaaaakk.” The Shield Sniffles let out a high pitched roar, annoyed that Rapwi kept blocking his way. Soon after, thorns erupted from its body.

“Come!” Seokhyun crossed his arms in front of his body. However, it was not enough. He gasped for breath as he was turned into a porcupine. His powerful regeneration skill was pushing the thorns away, but the damage was still huge nonetheless

“It’s really no joke…” It seems like it would be unreasonable to fight it with his body alone.

When Seokhyun was thinking so, the tails of the Sniffle’s mouth raised up.

“You are smiling?”

Crack-!!

The Sniffles got into the pose to fight and Seokhyun got down on all four, ready to fight it heads on. But the Sniffles suddenly stopped just before it kicked the ground. Afterall, his target. who seemed to be ready for a direct clash, did a backflip and 180 degrees spin on the air before begin to run away.

“It’s fake, you idiot!” Seokhyun ran away quickly as he laughed like a maniac.

At that moment, the Sniffles saw the people hiding in the corner.

“AKKKKKKK!”

“Everyone, run away!”

The platform became a mess in an instant.