I thought it over carefully.
There was ultimately only one reason we weren't fighting the Predator.
If it died, the suppressed mimics might resume their activity.
Honestly, it wasn't as if our combined strength couldn't handle it.
Actually, there was no need to overthink the situation.
"Let's prioritize finding the door to the next area over the Predator. Even if we kill it, we should secure the door first."
Only by securing the door first would our safety be guaranteed.
We could handle one Predator, but hundreds of mimics would be too much to deal with.
"So in the end, what we have to do is the same."
"Well, more or less."
I nodded at the orc uncle's words.
Moving forward as quietly as possible, without causing a commotion.
There was nothing else to do, so we continued onward.
About three minutes had passed like that.
Suddenly, Elder Owl Bear stopped us.
"...Halt. It seems the creature has resumed activity."
"...Already?"
It was strange. According to testimonies, the creature's activity cycle was fairly long.
We had been here for twenty minutes, and until now, it had only moved once.
"It landed... approximately 150 meters ahead."
"...It's outside the range of our light. Let's keep moving for now."
Elder Owl Bear relayed additional news.
One hundred and fifty meters ahead. Had the Predator found another mimic gift set?
But something felt off. The question was why its activity cycle was so short.
With a hunch, I asked Kim Jihoo.
"How far have we come?"
"We've walked about 500 meters from the starting point."
We had walked a little over half the distance.
Which meant...
'...It should be about time the exit comes into view.'
Like Gangnam Love Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hannam Bridge had two doors in total.
An exit leading outside and a gate leading to the next area.
The gate of Hannam Bridge was located at the very end, but the exit was different.
The exit existed around the two-thirds point of Hannam Bridge.
And the point where the Predator had landed was probably near where the exit was located.
Fortunately, we hadn't stopped walking, so we spotted the Predator quickly.
The Predator was still active, shrouded in a thick cloud of dust.
All we could see was its black silhouette.
That dust was probably one of the creature's special abilities.
The saving grace was that the dust cloud's range wasn't very wide.
We could still check our surroundings, so I gave orders quickly.
"First, check if there's a gatekeeper guarding the exit."
Gatekeepers were generally large.
Even when not particularly large, most had distinctive appearances.
My teammates and I searched the surroundings as best we could, but...
"...There's nothing. It seems the Predator ambushed..."
"...the gatekeeper."
Unlike last time, its hunt was quite sluggish.
The sounds of cars being smashed and destroyed were loud, but neither side seemed to be landing significant effective hits.
The fight would probably drag on for quite a while.
"Let's break through quickly while we have the chance."
This was an opportunity. A chance to ignore the Predator's threat and pick up speed.
The exit wasn't an important objective for us to begin with.
Our goal was solely to reach the next area where the survivors were gathered.
Tadadadak—!
We strode across at the fastest pace possible.
Even as we passed by, the battle between the Predator and the gatekeeper was raging.
The creature had no time to target us.
Fortunately, we broke through without any problems.
Perhaps thanks to the Predator's activity, there were no mimics trying to attack us like the pink SUV had, so we had nothing to worry about.
We ran for quite a while before stopping again.
It wasn't for any particularly big reason...
"Huff, wait! Let's catch our breath for a moment..."
...It was my stamina issue.
I got out of breath from even a little running.
Of course, we didn't rest for too long.
We quickly got up and walked again.
"...Does anyone know how many meters we've reached now?"
"It's been a while since the Predator vanished from sight, so we should be around 800 meters now."
Kim Jihoo answered.
So we had sprinted roughly 250 meters.
For my frail body, that was quite a long run. I had slowed down drastically midway through, but...
"Anyway, the fact that we've reached 800 meters means..."
"Yes, the gate to the next area should be visible soon."
Would the gatekeeper guarding the gate be intact?
According to the soldiers' testimonies, it hadn't been a very powerful enemy, right? Apparently its form was close to a sphere, but it had collapsed quickly.
Since we moved quickly, we discovered the gatekeeper just as fast.
"Visual contact with the gate and the gatekeeper... however."
Elder Owl Bear, who was leading the way, faltered mid-briefing with a grunt.
I, who spotted the gatekeeper a moment later, also let out a similar reaction involuntarily.
"...Damn, it looks just like a dog."
The gatekeeper's overall form was certainly close to a sphere, just as the soldiers had testified.
The problem was that a single eyeball sat upon it.
"...That was once a person too, wasn't it?"
Min Aji asked.
I answered with a nod instead of words.
The giant eyeball trembled and convulsed as it surveyed its surroundings.
But whenever its gaze moved, something was slightly off, as if frames were skipping.
'...Why? Wait, could it be...'
The reason was easy to notice with just a little observation.
That eyeball was not a single entity.
Just like the Incubator and Land Leviathan from before, countless eyeballs had gathered like a swarm to form a single shape.
'...Was that eyeball also a creation of the being we saw before?'
It seemed highly likely.
No matter how I looked at it, it bore too many similarities to the Incubator and Land Leviathan.
However, this eyeball seemed slightly different from the Incubator.
Whereas the Incubator had merely been stuck together, not yet fully merged, this one felt like it had perfectly become one.
'Could it be that it has completed a kind of evolution?'
The soldiers' testimony that it had collapsed quickly no longer seemed applicable.
Probably, when the soldiers had faced it, the creature hadn't completed its evolution yet.
"What should we do?"
"Let me think for a moment."
That was how I answered Min Aji's question.
Its regenerative ability probably wouldn't lose to the Incubator's.
It might not reach Land Leviathan's level, but with regeneration alone, it would definitely be a very tricky enemy.
'But wouldn't it have a core too?'
Just as there had been a core binding the Incubator together, there was a high chance this creature had a core as well.
The soldiers' testimony that it had collapsed quickly was probably because they had hit the core.
Alright, I had organized my thoughts.
"I'll strike first. If it doesn't stop moving, pour firepower on it immediately."
"Understood."
It would be tricky, but I wasn't worried.
It was a type I had already faced once before, and I had grown stronger since then.
I extended my finger toward the eyeball staring vacantly at us.
A Judgment-series vision, Divine Pointer.
Of course, that wouldn't be fun, so let's just call it Angel Death Beam.
This attack had one characteristic.
Its range was as narrow as my finger, but its penetration was exceptional.
"Fire."
—Whiiing!
A beat later, the air screamed as it was torn apart.
The ray of light pierced straight through the giant eyeball, only stopping when it struck the human wall.
The hit location was the center of the eyeball. If there was a core, that was where I figured it would be.
[-----!]
The giant eyeball let out a silent scream.
It wasn't a particularly large hole, and it seemed to regenerate immediately, but it appeared to feel pain.
"Damn."
I clicked my tongue.
In other words, the only thing this attack had accomplished was making the creature feel pain.
It seemed I hadn't pierced the core in one shot.
'Damn it, if not the center, where is it keeping the thing?'
[----!]
Rumble—!
The enraged creature began rolling toward us.
Vehicles blocked the path here and there, but the creature pulverized them with its sheer mass and charged straight ahead.
Even then, its gaze remained fixed forward, further emphasizing that it was not a single entity.
"Grenade toss!"
Of course, our turn didn't end with my attack.
The other team members, excluding Kim Jihoo who held a grenade launcher, threw grenades in unison.
Kwa-kwang—!
The chain of explosions set nearby vehicles ablaze.
Truly, the power of explosives was immense; the eyeball faltered greatly, exposing its insides.
Of course, it regenerated in mere seconds and charged at us again as if nothing had happened, but...
"I found it."
While its insides had been exposed, I had spotted the core.
—Whiiing!
My Angel Death Beam pierced the eyeball's core.