Terrestrial Savior Archetype - T.S.A Chapter 9 (part 1): Early Departure (3)

Seoul, Gwanak-gu, Bongcheon-dong.

Among the three administrative districts that constitute Gwanak-gu, the population here stands at 228,210.

Bongcheon-dong is divided into nine administrative neighborhoods. Jeong-woo’s residence is in a place formerly known as “Haengun-dong,” which was once called Bongcheon 6-dong.

The neighboring subway stations are Seoul National University Entrance Station and Nakseongdae Station on Line 2.

Less than a kilometer to the east lies Sadae-dong, situated in Kaesong.

About 80% of this neighborhood consists of steep slopes, so most of the residential buildings are villas, which drove up the housing prices.

Of course, Jeong-woo hadn’t actively sought knowledge about the population and characteristics of his neighborhood until now.

‘The population of Haengun-dong is 29,881… How big is that in military terms? Around the size of a platoon, isn’t it? Roughly 100 soldiers.’

He came across this information by looking at the statistics on the official Gwanak-gu website using his mobile phone. It was precious information, as the internet was still available.

He used to have no interest in how many people lived in the neighborhood, but that had changed.

The population of each area was like counting the number of grains of sand scattered around.

‘Awakened individuals could gather thousands of units if they decided to kill all the residents in their neighborhood… that is if they don’t collapse from exhaustion before they finish.’

“Awakened individuals” was a term Jeong-woo had seen in a novel.

It referred to those who gained some kind of ability when the so-called “Gates” opened. And in Jeong-woo’s case, it referred to someone who knew how to handle “units” or “points.”

”It’s chaos here.”

Sun-woong shook his head while turning the steering wheel to the side.

The navy blue SUV they were in was passing between Bongcheon Station and Seoul National University Entrance Station.

The next station would be Nakseongdae Station, a landmark of Haengun-dong.

However, the road ahead was filled with vehicles scattered all over the place, making it difficult to move forward.

Some were even overturned.

Moreover…

“Huh… people…?”

Screech.

Unintentionally, Sun-woong stepped on the brake and covered his mouth with his right hand.

A man covered in blood was sitting in a contorted posture inside a car they had just unintentionally avoided.

It was a corpse.

“……!”

Jeong-woo, who noticed it belatedly, widened his eyes.

Their shock wasn’t because there was a dead person there.

“Why… why are there corpses…?”

Cleaners wouldn’t leave behind corpses.

Yet, right in front of them, there was clearly a dead body.

There were more strange figures elsewhere…

Sun-woong trembled as he pointed with his trembling hand to a building corner by the roadside.

There, too, lay a corpse with its body torn apart in a bizarre posture.

Suddenly, things they hadn’t seen before started to reveal themselves one by one.

Dark red skid marks scattered on the floor.

Bloodstains on nearby building walls, and surfaces gruesomely smashed as if something heavy hit them.

Inside the overturned vehicles, there was a high probability of finding either corpses or parts of bodies.

The pungent smell of blood started to assault their noses.

‘Good Lord. Did a gate opened here as well?’

Jeong-woo swallowed heavily.

Current time: 10:37 AM.

Bongcheon-dong is divided into nine administrative neighborhoods.

Considering the time that had passed since the incident, it was difficult to guess which area had experienced the gate opening based solely on the monster’s traces by the roadside.

At the very least, he hoped it wasn’t Haengun-dong.

He needed time to meet his father and gather the necessary items before leaving.

“…Jeong-woo, that thing we’ve seen in the parking lot this morning, is it available anytime?”

Jeong-woo nodded without saying a word in response to Sun-woong’s question.

But judging from the state of the corpses, it wasn’t a Cleaner that had come here.

Some other presence…

‘Can I handle it?’

In the morning, he managed to kill a Cleaner with just 25 units of Essences.

Now, with 63 units, firepower wouldn’t be an issue.

‘The real problem is defense.’

Having a lot of Essence doesn’t automatically make one’s body stronger.

If a monster attacks before a defense barrier is set up, the body will be torn apart.

Even if a barrier is set up, it’s useless if it doesn’t switch to attack mode in time.

He had only managed to attack the cleaner in the parking lot with Sun-woong’s help; he hadn’t tried to switch between offense and defense directly.

Moreover, the monsters here were a type he had never encountered before.

A stuntman thrown into a scene without rehearsal.

That’s how Jeong-woo felt right now.

The difference might be that if he made a mistake, he’d have to pay with his life.

‘I should have practiced in advance…’

Screech.

While clenching his teeth, Jeong-woo attempted to activate his Essences, but no matter how hard he tried, there was no response.

“Why? Last time, it activated even when I faced a person.”

Was it because he wasn’t facing an actual situation, and the sense of crisis or motivation was lacking?

He asked in his consciousness, but the evaluator remained silent.

Meanwhile, Sun-woong continued to drive toward the blocked road until he eventually stopped.

“It’s completely blocked. It seems we can’t go any further by car.”

“…?”

Jeong-woo leaned forward in the hope that what Sun-woong said was not true.

Through the window, hundreds of vehicles filled the eight-lane road like a huge mosaic.

Moreover, the drivers’ bodies protruded like internal organs from the windows. Every time the wind blew, their hair swayed all at once, creating a surreal scene.

A black field leading to hell.

Jeong-woo managed to swallow his heavy saliva.

‘Could this be related to the message we received in the morning? No, there are too many of them for that.’

Despite living in Bongcheon-dong for only about three years, it was still “our neighborhood” for him.

To see it in ruins in less than three hours filled him with a sense of fatigue and anger.

Would his father have survived in this chaos?

He frowned, hoping that wasn’t the case.

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