Serial Runaway Event (8)

At dawn, the factory located on the outskirts of Seoul was filled with a chilly aura.

Bent iron beams twisted oddly like bones, and the scent of rusted iron subtly swirled around my nostrils.

Was this place really their hideout?

Looking at the seemingly uninhabited abandoned factory, I unconsciously stroked my goosebumped arms.

Still, my sharp senses were signaling that someone was hiding here.

"Junior, so how are we going to infiltrate?"

"You're leaving that to me, too?"

"Well, you are the leader, and we have to trust you. Master has never been wrong, after all."

At Roshi's words, I stood upright and scanned the outskirts of the factory.

A weird and gloomy air was gathering in one place. This place was indeed abnormal.

"Hmm."

I stroked my chin, thinking.

How should we capture this place?

Wasting too much time wasn't good.

Taking a deep breath and relaxing, I turned my head towards where P and Roshi were standing.

"I have a method that's just my style. Want to try?"

The factory, covered in black curtains, was sucking the blood of the city, tossing its enormous body without making any sound.

The 40th District Pharmaceutical Factory.

The factory established under the strict rule of Cistus, the third leaf of the Flower's seven leaves, was slowly nearing the end of its long life.

"Lady Cistus."

Dozens of disciples knelt devoutly.

Dark air, black fog.

A girl in her infancy with snowy white hair was sitting on a chair, wearing a pale smile.

"It seems it's time to withdraw from here too."

"Yes."

"Yes. It has held out for a long time. Right?"

Cistus.

Her young face had red square tattoos around her nose, forming a circle.

She, with her fluorescent eyes shining, stood up from her seat.

"We've finished talking, so I'll cut the connection. Use the avatar as you please."

"Yes."

The disciples bowed their heads.

Cistus, who lost the light in her eyes, spoke in an emotionless voice.

"The enemy is coming."

Her avatar began to move slowly.

Gracefully and proudly, she passed between the disciples.

Cistus was staring intently at the void with a bizarre face.

"Tighten the ranks."

"Yes."

Repeating only the response, the disciples hid in their places wearing ash-colored cloaks.

"The use of the artifact is permitted."

"Yes."

This time, higher-ranked priests hid themselves.

Looking at the last remaining two elite members, Cistus muttered.

"Prepare to activate the disaster."

A giant tree revealed itself above the void.

It once formed the roots of this vast world.

However, even the noble tree was now nothing but a disaster.

Cistus placed her hands on the necks of the two elites.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

-Zwip!

Blood splattered.

The two heads rolled and bumped on the tree roots, stopping at the base of the tree.

The roots protruding from the second floor wrapped around the heads, absorbing them.

Cistus wiped the blood smeared on her face and stared out of the window with cold eyes.

"Cheonma."

She laughed.

"I'm looking forward to your death."

[Third-in-command of Flower: Cistus]

[Cristaceae·Cistus]

[Alias: The Flower that Commits Suicide]

She, the avatar, felt the approaching three energies from outside the window and declared to the Ents kneeling behind her.

"Awaken."

Yellow pupils opened on the 2-meter-tall black giants.

They were staring at Cistus blankly with their mouths open.

Then-

-Boom!

The wall of the abandoned factory collapsed.

The exploding magical power waved throughout the building, creating a storm.

An Ent standing at the door was shattered instantly.

Considering the time elapsed and the decreased defense of the Ents, it was indeed an overwhelming power.

'Cheonma, or is it Baekdo? Anyway, it's her.'

Cistus, drawing power into her entire body, fixed her eyes on the silhouette in the smoke.

Although she couldn't match the power of her original body, she could still inflict fatal damage using it.

It didn't matter if the avatar died. She could simply take a body from the orphans and modify it into an avatar. The original Cistus was made that way.

However, the one who appeared was not the person she was expecting.

A handsome man with black hair and a mask.

A warrior wrapped in black power, holding the necks of the priests in both hands, was casually infiltrating the abandoned factory.

His crude and fearless attitude overlapped with Baekdo's way for a moment, making her think he was Baekdo in disguise.

"I didn't know the buff was this strong."

The man, suppressing the power that was rising like lightning over his shoulders, swung his fist at the approaching Ents.

-Bang!

In that state, the vital point of the Ent was destroyed.

Watching him kicking away the powerless falling wood pieces, the woman behind him murmured.

"He said he resembles the master. It was true. Right, P?"

"Acknowledged."

Members of the Spring Peach Blossom. Cistus frowned upon seeing the two shadows.

But something was strange.

The throbbing heart. The joy that came from discovering something.

She took a closer look at the man.

The black aura. The peculiar quality of power.

After thinking over and over, Cistus's avatar sent a message to her original body.

-I have found the eighth leaf.

Soon, an answer came from her original body.

-The persuasion has failed. Kill him.

"Bob. Have you gathered everything we need?"

"Yes, sir."

Cheondo sharpened her newly acquired leaf-shaped sword and surveyed her surroundings.

The fairly large pharmaceutical company was already in chaos, with papers and files strewn all over the floor, starting from the entrance.

She saw medicine bottles rolling in places. Cheondo picked one up, opened it, and checked its contents.

'It's mixed with mercury.'

She figured various experiments using Mendel must have been conducted here.

'But we're a bit late. No, it seems they made an escape route in advance.'

The stored files on the computer had been formatted long ago.

The internal server was also disconnected.

Signs of hurried evacuation were prominently visible.

Cheondo, assessing the situation, sheathed her sword.

"Alright, let's move to the next floor, Bob."

"Understood."

Standing at the door, Cheondo looked around from left to right to make sure nothing was forgotten.

-Ker, kerker.

The sound of air escaping from severed necks.

Thirty-nine bodies were lying twisted in strange directions, spewing blood in the office.

Broken bone fragments were embedded in the window.

The insides and eyeballs of the fallen humans were crushed underfoot or cut by the sword spread out on the floor.

A horrifying sight that would shock anyone.

Cheondo and Bob left for the corridor without any change in their expressions.

Tens of disciples were standing there.

"…Cheonma!!!!"

The minions of evil attacked ferociously.

Cheondo frowned slightly.

"I told you not to call me by that name."

She bent her knees, centering her weight, and tightly gripped the hilt of her sword.

"Cheonma doesn't exist in this world."

Many revered her, calling her Cheonma, as a lone woman standing under the sky shook the ruined world.

Everyone called her Cheonma,

But she alone denied it.

One could list a myriad of reasons for that, but what was the point of explaining subtleties to mere minions?

Cheondo drew her sword.

-Swoo!

"Disappear."

Long linear marks appeared on the disciples' heads, and they fell to the ground in bits.

-Clang.

Soft heads fell simultaneously with a tearing sound.

'Anyway, there are many enemies.'

She didn't care that bodies were tangled under her feet.

She walked a few steps and sneaked a glance at the factory.

She momentarily thought of that man's face but soon erased it from her mind.

Over her chilled senses, she felt the form of a child sticking to the ceiling.

The child attacked her.

"Hehehe!"

-Swoo!

The infant screamed to its end.

Cistus. A self-destructive avatar weapon created by the third executive.

She thought of the infants who lost their lives to create a monster in the form of a little girl.

-Chijijiji.

The burnt corpse exploded as it was.

-Kwaah!

A red flash filled her vision. Cheondo grabbed Bob's clothes and levitated above the ground outside the company.

The company, which had maintained its shape until then, had a large hole from the 3rd to the 6th floor and was half destroyed, swaying to the opposite side due to the impact of the explosion.

'Hwangdo.'

-Yes.

'Stop that.'

Hwangdo appeared with a puff of smoke and activated magic with her slender hand.

The bending steel structure stopped in its tracks.

The scattered concrete pieces froze in the air.

"This is quite strenuous."

-Endure it.

"Ahhh!"

With a red face, Hwangdo grumbled while restoring the building to its place.

"I'm not a Wood Dragon or anything…!"

Hwangdo, with tears in her eyes, managed to prevent the destruction of the factory and maintain its center. She reverted back to Cheondo, drained of her magic.

"Well done."

-… You're tough.

Cheondo checked her condition and went back into the factory.

The almost crumbling company was a mess; there didn't seem to be anything worth taking.

Then, she stopped and looked back at the factory.

"Cistus…"

Cheondo thought about the little girl she had just seen and recalled Lee Shiheon.

"...."

If Cistus was in the abandoned factory, Lee Shiheon's situation could be extremely dangerous.

Even she could be fatally struck if she was unprepared. What about Lee Shiheon, who hadn't fully matured?

Even if P and Roshi jointly protected him, it would be difficult to save his life.

'Cistus's avatar is a chimera made by sacrificing ten children.'

And if Lee Shiheon knew this fact…

She envisioned his face soaked in guilt and bitterness.

"Bob. We are heading to the factory."

-Boom!

Then, an explosion was heard from afar.