NOVEL NEXT Chapter 108
Chapter 108: Gate.
Monsters.
And screams.
Before my brain could process the chaos, my body had already reacted.
Lee Si-hyun kicked open the Ward Office door and raced to the elevator.
I pressed the button, but the display showed it was stuck on the 3rd floor.
Without hesitation, I pulled out my key card and headed for the stairwell.
I unlocked the door and dashed down the stairs.
As I ran, I reflected on what had happened.
Monsters had emerged from the Gate and killed staff members.
That was all I knew from the report that came through the TRS.
I was full of questions about why this was happening, but that wasn’t the priority now.
I didn’t know what kind or how many monsters had appeared, but it was undoubtedly a serious situation.
If we didn’t act quickly, more staff members might lose their lives to the monsters.
Before long, I made it to the 1st floor, unlocked the door with my key card, and sprinted down the hallway.
The Security Department Office was on the 2nd floor of the adjacent building, next to the Ward.
I had to get there first.
The warden and deputy warden were absent due to external duties.
The third command authority from another unit was the General Affairs Chief, but the Special Detention Center was under the Security Department Head.
This was because the position held significant responsibility for managing the Awakened Beings in the Ward.
In other words, the highest authority in this emergency situation was the Security Department Head.
I rushed through the 1st floor hallway and crossed over to the adjacent building.
Then I sprinted up to the 2nd floor.
I picked the lock on the secured door and dashed toward the Security Department Office.
“What in the world is happening?!”
“Have you requested assistance from the Hunter Association?!”
“What’s the situation outside? How is it going out there?!”
The Security Department Office was in turmoil.
It was pure chaos.
Staff members were pacing back and forth, pale-faced and restless.
This was probably their first experience with such a dire incident.
The correctional officers only needed to manage the inmates.
They could only panic at the sudden emergence of monsters amidst the chaos.
Everyone seemed lost, unsure of what to do.
The Security Department Head had a serious, tense expression.
However, he at least seemed to be trying to maintain his composure.
The heavy weight of responsibility on his shoulders pushed him to keep his wits about him.
“Kim, has the Hunter Association responded?”
The Security Department Head asked.
“I contacted the Hunters nearby, and they’re trying to urgently dispatch personnel. But…”
“But what?”
“No matter how fast they go, it seems it will take about an hour…”
The staff member chewed his lip with a grim look.
“An hour? We’re in a critical situation here, and you say an hour? Damn it!”
Even in front of the Security Department Head, someone let out a curse.
The desperate atmosphere was suffocating everyone.
“Try contacting the front gate again.”
The Security Department Head instructed.
We had no way of properly assessing the situation outside from here.
We needed information to make the right decisions.
The Section Chief quickly connected with the TRS.
“Is the front gate watchman hearing this?”
– Yes, I can hear you!
The voice of the front gate watchman sounded urgent.
“What’s the situation there?”
– Monsters are roaming around! They’re killing people! What should we do? Quickly give us instructions!… Uh, uh?!
Thud, thud!
A loud crash echoed from beyond the TRS.
The faces of the staff turned pale in an instant.
Some were shaking with fear.
They had realized that a monster was trying to break down the front gate.
“Hey, are you all right?”
The Section Chief asked urgently.
– Y-yeah, we’re… The monster is banging on the front gate, but the gate is secure. I’ve checked the locking mechanism several times.
Phew.
Sighs of relief escaped from various corners.
The front gate of the Special Detention Center wasn’t built just any old way.
It had been constructed with extremely thick iron doors to prevent any Awakened Beings from escaping.
The walls were also high and sturdy to prevent scaling.
No matter how ferocious the monsters were, they would have a hard time breaching such a facility.
This meant that as long as we kept the front gate securely closed, we would be safe inside.
However.
That safety only applied within the front gate.
Staff from departments that were outside, like the General Affairs and Civil Affairs, were in immense danger.
– What should we do?
The front gate watchman asked again.
The Section Chief glanced at the Security Department Head, waiting for instructions.
The Security Department Head closed his eyes, opened them heavily, then spoke up.
“Keep confirming that the locking mechanism is secure and tell them to never open the door. Even if a staff member requests the door be opened, ignore them and absolutely do not let anyone in. Never. Until I give the command, never let anyone in.”
The Section Chief communicated the Security Department Head’s orders to the front gate watchman verbatim.
Under the Security Department Head’s instructions, the staff maintained a tense but relieved expression.
It was the comfort of knowing they were alive for now.
Then it happened.
“…What about the staff outside?”
A pale-faced female employee raised her hand and asked.
She looked like she was about to burst into tears any moment.
The Security Department Head looked at the female employee with a heavy expression.
“Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do. We’ll just have to wait for assistance from the Hunter Association.”
“Wha…? Sob, sob… What are we going to do, Seo Yoon….”
The female employee finally broke down in tears.
I could hear someone mentioning that she had a long-time friend in the Civil Affairs Office.
“What kind of monsters are we dealing with? Are they at a level our staff can’t handle?”
A cautious employee piped up.
Even amongst the staff in the Special Detention Center, there were Hunters present.
Though 90% of them were low-ranked D-rank Hunters.
“I just did a quick reconnaissance, and they are certainly not low-level monsters. They’re beyond what our department can handle.”
The C-rank duty officer shook his head in disbelief.
“I see….”
The atmosphere fell silent once more.
Si-hyun watched the situation with a pensive gaze.
The Security Department Head’s judgment wasn’t wrong.
At this moment, he was responsible for all the staff located inside the front gate.
If he made a wrong call out of some misguided sense of justice, it might put countless staff lives at risk.
It was wise to prioritize safety above all.
Questions about whether staff members who weren’t Awakened had survived against monsters lingered negatively.
Attempting to open the front gate to save the employees, whose fates were unknown, would be a foolish act.
At this point, Si-hyun agreed with the Security Department Head’s judgment.
If they could endure inside the front gate until help arrived from the Hunters, that would be best.
However, something still weighed on his mind.
More information was needed.
Si-hyun left the Security Department Office and began to sprint towards the front gate.
◈ ◈ ◈
At first, I thought it was a prank call.
Monsters bursting out of the Gate? Really now?
Since the early Gate wave, there had never been a case in Korea where monsters jumped out of the Gate to harm citizens.
That was because Hunters always intervened and cleared the Gates beforehand.
But the voice on the line continued to sound serious and urgent.
They clearly identified themselves with their status and name.
It was someone from the Security Department of the Ganghwa Island Special Detention Center.
Once I checked the originating phone number, it indeed confirmed it was from the Special Detention Center.
Only then did the Hunter Association staff feel a sense of unease.
A public official, tied to a government agency, wouldn’t disclose their identity and real name just to play a prank.
Soon, this matter was urgently reported up the chain.
And shortly after, the Hunter Association, which had seemed relaxed at first, was thrown into disarray.
Employees frantically dialed Hunters on their cells without a moment’s pause.
For the Gate incidents, the military and police were useless.
It was only Hunters who could solve issues like this.
That was why everyone was scrambling to gather Hunters that could be dispatched urgently to Ganghwa Island.
“Hurry, hurry, prepare the list as quickly as possible!”
Team Leader Seo Yong-gil urged his staff.
There was no time to waste.
In the meantime, Ganghwa Island could turn into the Island of Death.
Monsters were bloodthirsty beasts bent on slaughter.
“Can’t we take off with the helicopter?”
“No, I just called, and due to bad weather, it’s impossible…”
“Damn it!”
Team Leader Seo grimaced.
If only they could launch the helicopter, they could swiftly dispatch elite Hunters from the Hunter Association to Ganghwa Island.
But the snowstorm in Seoul made using helicopters impossible.
At this point, the only option was to assemble and send Hunters in whatever way possible.
“Report to me immediately if the detention center contacts us again.”
“Understood.”
◈ ◈ ◈
Upon arriving at the front gate, Si-hyun placed his finger on the fingerprint scanner.
However, the door wouldn’t open.
It looked like some kind of operation had been done to ensure it wouldn’t open unless someone inside triggered it.
Bang, bang.
Si-hyun knocked on the door.
“Wh-Who is it?”
The trembled voice on the other side indicated that they were terrified, even though they knew it was someone inside.
“I’m Lee Si-hyun, the Section Chief of the 6th Floor Ward. Please open the door.”
“Section Chief Lee Si-hyun? Alright, I’ll open it.”
Although I hadn’t been working at the Special Detention Center for long, I had already made a name for myself.
I was well-known for my management of inmate order and had even captured the death row inmate Kang Tae-eun, which had caused a stir in the media.
The door soon opened.
“Thank you.”
I said politely as I stepped into the front gate security post.
The atmosphere in the front gate was obviously in a state of panic.
It was understandable since loud, thunderous bangs were still echoing from the front gate.
Not just the front gate.
Boom! Boom!
It seemed like the walls were also getting constantly knocked on from a distance.
The employees were huddled in a corner with frozen expressions.
I understood their feelings perfectly.
They were not Hunters; they were just ordinary correctional officers.
If they remained sane in the face of such terrifying monsters, that would be the strange thing.
I approached the area with the CCTV monitor.
But the screens were dead.
“Could the cameras be broken?”
“Yeah… During the ruckus when the monster was causing trouble…”
Unfortunately, the monitoring camera above the iron door must have broken when the monster was banging against it.
“Ah, I see.”
I slowly started walking towards the iron door.
To ensure security, the Special Detention Center didn’t have reinforced glass walls in the front gate posts.
So, with no cameras, the only place to get a glimpse outside was through a small crack in the iron door.
“S-Section Chief?!”
“Calm down.”
Even as the employee called out nervously, I calmly replied and placed my eye against the gap in the door to peer outside.
I saw a monster pounding hard against the iron door from the other side.
‘An Orc?’
It was a monster I had encountered during raids.
The appearance was definitely similar.
But that was where the similarity ended.
The Orcs I had seen in the past were nothing compared to this one.
It was much larger in size—almost reaching 2 meters tall, with arms and thighs at least twice as thick.
The bulging muscles seemed like they wouldn’t be cut easily with a knife.
The aura emanating from its body was on a different level.
It exuded a far more dangerous and powerful energy.
‘That’s not an ordinary Orc.’
Regular Orcs were intermediate monsters appearing at C-rank Gates.
But that was no ordinary monster.
It felt at least one rank above the usual ones.
Bang! Boom!
“Hiiik…”
The Orc’s ferocious pounding on the iron door made the employees jump in fright, their faces pale.
Yet, I remained unperturbed.
I narrowed my eyes, seemingly deep in thought.
‘There’s no way that Orcs will breach this place. But…’
There’s always a boss at the Gate.
And the bosses held far more strength compared to regular monsters.
If this Gate had a boss alongside such a monster, its power would surely be formidable.
That thought nagged at me.
With a worried expression, I bit my lip and darted back to the Security Department Office.