Jodie’s nerves sharpened to the breaking point.

The sound of the iron door creaking open was followed by footsteps climbing the stairs.

One opponent…

With Sang-sik on her back, she hesitated.

If it was just one, even a Black Hound, she might be able to take them down. But if that person stalled for time and called in reinforcements, the tables would turn immediately.

Someone like that won’t be easy to put down with a single ambush anyway.

And once combat began, she’d lose her reason entirely.

Yein’s words echoed in her head: Don’t get caught. Get to the plaza.

Find another way down.

She recalled the broken escalator she’d seen earlier at the center of the building.

Carefully smothering every trace of sound, Jodie crept back toward the doorway and made for the ruined escalator.

“……”

The wrecked frame came into view.

She worried what might happen if her pursuer spotted her while she was climbing down.

No!

She squeezed her eyes shut, then snapped them open again.

Yein already cut down their numbers. No matter what, I have to escape now.

She placed her foot on the first step, cautiously descending.

At the third floor, she paused to listen.

“!”

A faint footstep echoed from somewhere.

She held her breath, straining her ears.

Moments later, she slowly let it out.

Not close. Still on the emergency stairs.

She seized the chance to head for the second floor.

CRACK!

“!?”

Her eyes widened as the metal step gave way under her foot.

CRASH! THUD!

The escalator, long abandoned since the Human-Demon War and never repaired, shrieked and crumbled.

THUDDUDUD!

Boots thundered above.

Damn it!

Grinding her teeth, Jodie bounded downward, leaping over the collapsing escalator with Sang-sik on her back.

BOOM! CRUNCH!

Her heavy steps shattered more of the rotten structure, but even with a grown man on her back, she raced downward with terrifying ease.

“It’s the XX Shopping Center building! Get here now! She’s trying to escape!”

A shout rang from above. He was on the comm.

Jodie pushed herself harder.

The escalator finally gave way completely.

“Urgh!”

She released her grip on Sang-sik, twisted her body midair, and scooped him into her arms as they fell.

THUD!

She landed on bent knees, cradling him with one arm while swatting away raining debris with the other.

Then she bolted for the front exit of the derelict mall.

But suddenly, every hair on her limbs stood on end.

She kicked off the floor, throwing herself sideways.

Something crimson streaked past, smashing into the ceiling above the exit.

KRA-KOOM!

Steel and concrete rained down, sealing the doorway.

“Going somewhere?”

Jodie spun.

A man in full combat gear—real dungeon gear—smirked at her.

Enemy.

Kill.

“Khhhhh…”

She bared her teeth, hot breath hissing out as fury flared through her veins like wildfire.

But as she raised her arms to fight, her gaze fell on Sang-sik clutched against her chest.

No!

Her eyes cleared.

She tightened her hold on him, spun, and rammed her free fist into a wall.

KRAAASH!

Concrete shattered, opening a new path.

“Tch!”

The man clicked his tongue as she slipped through, then charged after her.

“Huff… huff…!”

Outside, Jodie sprinted, breath ragged. Not from exhaustion, but from the beast inside clawing at her restraint.

Every instinct screamed to stop, to fight, to rip apart the pursuers closing in.

She glanced back.

Three hunters—two men, one woman—were chasing her.

“Kh!”

She bit down hard on her lip. The taste of blood and jolt of pain cleared her head slightly.

Don’t look back. Don’t fight. If I stop, Sang-sik dies.

Gritting her teeth, she ran on.

“!!”

Her fur bristled again.

She tried to dodge, but fighting against her own instincts dulled her focus.

SCHLUNK!

“Ahhhk!!”

Something slammed into her back, burning agony racing up her spine.

“Aaaaagh!!”

Her reason snapped.

Her gums bared, her eyes bloodshot, Jodie flung Sang-sik from her arms, letting him crash to the ground.

“Just as the doctor said.”

The woman sneered.

“Hit her once and she loses all reason. She’s gone berserk.”

“Hard to believe she lasted this long.”

Another man spoke.

“Stay sharp.”

The leader, the one who had searched the building earlier, warned coldly.

“She killed most of the fools Forward sent before.”

“Bah, that’s just because the company skimped and sent trash. If they’d put us on it sooner, this would’ve been over.”

The woman scoffed—

Then a beep crackled in all three of their earpieces.

[ Captain Jaimer! A Peacekeeping Division vehicle just pulled into Bucheon Station Plaza! ]

All three froze, their faces hardening as they stared at the berserk Jodie.

“Peacekeeping Division? Are you sure?”

The man barked into his comm.

[ Positive. Their vehicles bear the insignia, and I spotted their commander, Lee Sun. ]

Jaimer’s face twisted.

What the hell? Did those brats actually tip them off, ready to risk getting captured themselves?

His mind spun.

Jodie was Forward’s Achilles’ heel. If the Peacekeepers learned about her and her allies, word of Forward’s experiments would inevitably reach the Mayor.

“…Baeki. Keep watch on the Peacekeepers. If it looks like they’re heading this way, kill them. All of them.”

The two subordinates beside him stared wide-eyed.

“Not one walks away. Understood?”

[ Yes, sir. ]

Jaimer exhaled sharply and looked ahead.

The girl with monster limbs was clawing at her own head, standing beside the man sprawled on the ground.

“This is our chance. In that state, she’ll be easy to put down. Today, we burn this seed of trouble to ash.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Got it.”

The two hunters lifted their weapons, their faces now serious.

“Kaahhh!”

Sensing their killing intent, Jodie tore away from Kim Sang-sik’s side and charged.

The Black Hounds readied their skills and abilities—

But then Jodie froze.

“Ka… kaaaah…”

Her shoulders and legs trembled violently, her eyes fixed on them, but her body refused to move.

A perfect opening.

Yet none of the Black Hounds struck. They couldn’t.

Their own bodies wouldn’t move either.

This pressure… No way!

Jaimer strained, but only his eyes managed to shift.

And in that limited view, he saw a man approaching.

Cheon Ji-won!!

The current Mayor of Seoul. One of the Seven Pioneers. The man hailed as the world’s strongest.

The moment Jaimer recognized him, he knew—things had gone fatally wrong.

And that was his last thought.

CRUNCH!

All three Black Hounds collapsed. Pinned as though crushed by an invisible weight, they were flattened to the ground and promptly lost consciousness.

“Hm…”

Cheon Ji-won turned his gaze to the other side.

The girl with monstrous limbs bared her teeth at him, eyes blazing with hostility.

“So you’ve turned your head, have you?”

He muttered as he approached.

“You’re dangerous.”

CRACK!

Jodie’s eyes rolled back, whites showing, before she collapsed.

Confirming she was unconscious, Cheon Ji-won lifted a hand to his earpiece.

“Captain Lee Sun. It’s finished here. What’s your status?”

[ All clear, thanks to Yein’s squad. Every hostile subdued. ]

A green-haired girl’s face crossed the Mayor’s mind. With her ability, ambushes were only natural.

“Good. Send whoever’s free over here. Don’t forget the sedatives.”

[ Understood. Dispatching them now. ]

Ending the call, Cheon Ji-won strode over to Kim Sang-sik.

He sprinkled medicine from his inventory over the man.

“…!”

Sang-sik’s eyes shot open. His gaze snapped to the Mayor, then darted around until he found Jodie lying motionless.

“Relax. She’s alive.”

The Mayor looked down at him.

“…Why are you here, sir?”

Sang-sik rasped.

“A student I know called for help. I didn’t expect it to be such a tangled mess.”

Cheon Ji-won let out a wry smile.

“This is going to be quite the headache. For all of us, wouldn’t you say?”

Sang-sik stayed silent. But he knew the Mayor was right.

Beneath Seoul City Hall, in a dim concrete-walled conference room.

“Now.”

Mayor Cheon Ji-won sat across from me, fingers steepled, eyes sharp.

“I’d like a clear explanation, Yein.”

I glanced to my side. Kim Sang-sik sat there, his face grim.

Behind us, several chairs had been pushed together, Jodie lying across them unconscious.

“Before that… could you tell me why Jodie ended up like this?”

Though I had my suspicions, I wanted to hear it from him.

“That child… she was stronger than those Black Hounds.”

The Mayor’s eyes flicked past me to Jodie.

“And she even seemed to register me as a target. I had to apply more force than intended.”

“I see.”

“She’s young, yet wields that kind of power. It must be because of those limbs.”

His gaze slid from me to Sang-sik.

“I’ll be blunt. Why is she like this?”

“……”

Sang-sik hesitated, then spoke slowly.

“Because of Forward’s experiments. They sought a way to give ordinary people the power of the Awakened… by grafting monster flesh onto them.”

Cheon Ji-won’s face darkened.

“Are there many like her?”

“No. To my knowledge… Jodie is the only one who survived.”

“I see…”

The Mayor’s eyes returned to me.

“And you knew about this?”

I nodded.

“Then it makes sense now.”

He gave a small nod.

“Why you wanted me as your shield. The enemy you wanted to fight against.”

He sighed.

“After the Porter Department Store incident, I told you: if danger found you, if you needed my strength, I’d lend it. But this… this goes beyond what I can cover. I’m sorry, but I can’t help that girl.”

At those words, Sang-sik’s expression contorted, his hidden fist clenching tight beneath the table.

I tore my gaze away from him and fixed it on the Mayor.

“You mean you can’t afford to make Forward your enemy.”

“In other words, yes.”

Exactly the answer I’d expected.

“You don’t ask why.”

The Mayor studied me.

“Because Forward is a necessary evil to you, isn’t it?”

I met his eyes as I said it.

And he met mine, unflinching.

(End of Chapter)