As for the ability that had suddenly manifested, I decided to think about what had happened later.
First, I had to get out of this sickening horde of monsters.
“Fwoosh!”
“Kh...!”
I wasn’t used to the ability, but using what I remembered from Hayun and from comics,
I wielded it, and the monsters were engulfed in intense flames,
turning to ash by the dozens.
I didn’t know where more might come swarming from, and at this rate my stamina could hit rock bottom again,
so I decided to gather the monsters all at once and wipe them all out.
“Ta-at!”
“Ta-at!”
“Grrrgh...!”
“Let’s end this now... you damn tiresome bastards.”
I took a deep breath to unleash the final blow.
“Haaa...... hoo......”
The moment the monsters charged in all at once,
“Fwoosh...!!”
I gathered all my strength and began creating a massive blaze.
The flames coiled around the ground and burned fiercely, the heat making the air ripple,
while dust and smoke were swept up and rose into the sky.
“Whoooosh.”
Then I detonated the flames in one burst, striking the monsters rushing in from every direction with my final attack.
“Flare Burst.”
“Kwaaaaang!!!!!!”
The flames spread like an explosion, raging like a storm as they began burning every monster.
The monsters turned to ash within the fire, letting out cries drenched in agony,
and then even the ash gradually vanished inside the flames, leaving not a trace behind.
“Shuuuuuu........”
The flames died down, and the dust kicked up by the explosion slowly began to settle.
As my view cleared and I looked around, I could see the charred roads and buildings,
as well as pieces of the monsters’ bodies that had been blown away, still burning.
“Haa.... haa.....”
Was it finally over? That sickening fight?
“Thud.”
I sank down onto the ground and looked up at the night sky.
“Haha... it’s over...”
With even my recovered stamina completely drained, I recalled Hayun’s words and smiled.
“You were right..... The guy who doesn’t give up.... really is the strongest....”
“But man, I’m seriously exhausted.... Ugh....”
I had no idea how many monsters I’d killed by myself.
That blue window earlier had said I’d killed a hundred,
but what did that matter? The important thing was that I was alive like this.
“Dadadadadak!”
“Suhan..!!”
“Huh?.... Teacher?”
At the familiar voice echoing from far away, I slowly turned my head,
and saw my teacher running toward me.
“Suhan, are you all right?!”
“Why are you here.....?”
She should have evacuated with my friends, so when I asked why she was here, my teacher answered through tears.
“I came because I was worried about you......”
It was such a simple reason, but the moment I heard those words, I felt something rise in my throat.
“I’m okay now.”
“It’s all over.”
“Step..... step......”
“Grrrgh.”
“?!”
But perhaps drawn by the sound of the explosion, or perhaps they were ones I had failed to kill,
three monsters were approaching us.
“Damn it..! Teacher! Hurry and run...!”
“Fwoosh.”
At this rate, even my teacher would be in danger.
I desperately scraped together every last bit of my spirit and tried to use my ability,
“Shuuuk.”
but perhaps because I had used up all my strength, no flames came out.
“Damn it..!”
Left with no choice, I was about to fight with my bare body when—
“Chararararak!”
“Clank!”
A long iron chain flew in from somewhere and began wrapping itself tightly around the monsters’ bodies.
Then the chain moved violently, and the monsters were hurled far away into the wall of a building.
“Shuuuuuk.”
“Kwa-ang!!!”
Then a man descended from above.
“That’s....?”
On the back of the clothes he wore was a tiger emblem.
His face looked refined, as if he were in his thirties.
After taking down the three monsters in an instant, he landed on the ground and ran toward me and my teacher.
“Are you all right?!”
“I apologize for being late.”
“Ah... thank you.”
“Your injuries are severe...”
“We’ll hurry and transport you to the hospital.”
Just then, a voice came from the radio at the man’s waist.
“Chiiik.”
“This is Choi Minsu, captain of Combat Unit Team Five.”
“We have succeeded in eliminating the monster’s main body.”
At the radio report that the main body had been eliminated, he replied that they had done well.
When I looked around, I saw the monsters embedded in the wall and the pieces of corpses burning here and there
disappearing like black smoke.
The wind blew, and the black smoke scattered with it.
Only then did exhaustion begin to wash over me, along with the thought that it was truly over now.
“Teacher, are you all right...?”
“Yes, I’m fine.
You really worked hard... Thanks to you, all the children are safe.
We’re going to the hospital now, so hold on just a little longer....”
And so, in my teacher’s warm embrace, I slowly fell asleep.
“Chiiik.”
“This is Kang Suhyeok, captain of Combat Unit Team Two.
The situation at the scene has been resolved. Confirmed elimination of the monster’s main body and all remaining forces.
A damage report will be submitted later. After confirming the safety of the citizens in the shelter, withdraw.”
As the situation came to an end, the people in the shelter who heard the news
were able to relax, and when my friends received word from my teacher
that Suhan was safe, they all shed tears,
smiling as they said they absolutely wouldn’t let me off later.
===
Time passed, and peace returned to the city.
There were injured people, but thankfully, no deaths,
and the Tigers immediately began restoring the damaged city.
[News]
“The large-scale monster emergence incident that occurred a few days ago has caused significant damage.”
“Fortunately, there were no casualties, but certain areas suffered massive property damage,”
“and the Tigers have immediately begun property restoration work.”
“---------”
At the sound of the TV, I slowly opened my eyes.
“Where am I....”
When I opened my eyes, what I saw was the pure white ceiling of a hospital,
and I was lying in a hospital bed wearing patient clothes.
“What happened....”
As I sat up and slowly began retracing my memories,
the hospital room door opened and someone came in.
“I’m glad you’ve woken up.”
“You are...?”
“I’m Kang Suhyeok, captain of Team Two, Combat Unit, Tigers.”
“Ah.”
When I saw his face, all my memories began coming back.
“Thank you so much for saving me back then.”
I didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened if this man hadn’t been there.
“There’s no need to thank me. If anything, we’re the ones who should apologize.”
“We should have suppressed the situation quickly before the damage grew...”
“I’m truly sorry.”
“It’s all right.”
“But... where is my teacher?”
When I asked where my teacher was, he told me not to worry
and answered that she would be coming here soon.
“Rustle, rustle.”
“Please take this.”
He took my phone out from inside his clothes and spoke.
“The device was damaged, so we had it repaired.”
“Ah, thank you.”
I thought I must have dropped it somewhere, but I guess it had been inside my clothes.
“How does your body feel?”
“Ah, I think I’m fine.”
“I see. If possible, I’d like to talk with you, Lee Suhan, but....
For now, it would be better to take some time after you’re discharged.”
He handed me a business card and said,
“I would like to have a proper conversation with you later. Would that be all right?”
“Ah, yes. That’s fine.”
“But.... I’m seventeen, so you can just speak casually to me.”
“Understood.”
“When we meet next time, I’ll speak casually. Then, I’ll be going.”
After saying he wished me a speedy recovery, he left the hospital room,
and I lay back down on the hospital bed and stared at the ceiling.
“But... how long was I lying here?”
To check how long I had been asleep,
I turned on my phone, and three days had passed since the incident.
“Wow.... I slept for three days.....”
“Well... I fought that much, so I guess it makes sense?”
Since I had almost beaten down about a hundred monsters by myself,
I wondered if I should accept having slept this much as reasonable,
but when I thought about my friends who must be worrying about me right now,
my heart began to grow heavy.
“Hmm..... Everyone must be really worried...”
Just as I was thinking about how worried my friends must be,
“Slide.”
“Suhan..!”
“Ah, Teacher.”
The hospital room door opened, and my teacher came in, holding fruit and a lunch bag in one hand.
The moment she saw me, she embraced me and said,
“I’m so glad you woke up.....”
They said it had been three days, but since I’d been unconscious the whole time, how worried must she have been?
“I’m sorry. You were really worried, weren’t you?”
“No, it’s okay..... I’m just so grateful you woke up safely...”
About ten minutes passed like that, and then an alert rang out from my stomach.
“Grrrgle.”
“Ah.”
“I brought a lunch box. Do you want some?”
“Yes.”
My teacher hurriedly took out the lunch box and began opening the lid.
“I made it together with Minjeong.”
“She said she hoped you’d wake up soon...”
“Everyone must be really worried.”
“Of course. Hayun has been much quieter than usual, and everyone is just waiting for you to come back.”
I began eating the lunch box my teacher and Minjeong had made for me.
“Teacher.”
“Yes?”
“There’s something I want to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“Back then..... why did you come looking for me?”
When I asked why she had come looking for me, even though it was dangerous to leave the shelter,
my teacher answered with a smile.
“Because going to save a student is a teacher’s job.”
“When I came to the shelter leaving you behind, I regretted it so much....”
“But it was too dangerous.”
“What were you going to do if you went outside and ran into another monster?”
“Even so, I wanted to go find you.”
“Even if I had to face those terrifying monsters again,
I wanted to find you no matter what.”
At my teacher’s unbelievably reckless actions, I let out a small sigh and said,
“Teacher, please make me one promise.”
“A promise?”
“Yes. Even if I’m ever in danger, please promise me you’ll never come looking for me.”
“Suhan...”
“Please.”
“I’m an ability user, so I might be able to survive somehow, but you aren’t...”
“I don’t want to lose you because of me.”
When I pleaded earnestly, my teacher thought for a moment, then said to me,
“All right. In exchange, make one promise with me too.”
My teacher held out her pinky and said,
“No matter what kind of danger you’re in, you must come back to us.”
“If you promise me just that one thing, I’ll keep your promise too, Suhan.”
Her voice was warm, filled with warmth.
To us, our teacher is like a parent.
She always treats us warmly, and when we have worries, she listens by our side.
I never want to lose a teacher like that.
“Yes.”
“I promise.”
I slowly hooked my finger around hers and made the promise,
and my teacher smiled as she said,
“Let’s keep this a secret between just the two of us, okay~?”
We decided to keep this promise as a secret between only me and my teacher,
and after I answered with a smile, I spent the time eating the lunch box.
“Slice, slice.”
After I finished the lunch box, my teacher began peeling an apple for me.
Then the hospital room door opened, and a doctor wearing a white coat and glasses came in and said,
“How are you feeling?”
“Ah, yes, I’m fine.”
“That’s good. May I check your condition?”
The doctor slowly unwrapped the bandages around my body and began examining me.
“Fortunately, all your wounds have healed.”
“There are no scars left, either.”
“At this rate, I think you can be discharged today.”
Maybe it was because I had done nothing but sleep for three days, but my body had completely recovered.
“Then I’ll be discharged today.”
“Are you sure you’ll be all right? Wouldn’t it be better to rest a little more?”
“I’m fine. I’m completely full of energy now.”
“The kids are waiting, so I have to hurry back.”
The sooner I returned, even if only by a day, the less the kids would worry.
So I decided to be discharged today, changed clothes, packed my things,
and left the hospital with my teacher.
“Step, step.”
The city, which had been a chaotic hellscape just a few days ago, had now regained its peace
and returned to its original appearance. People were walking the streets,
talking with one another as if nothing had happened.
“Teacher.”
“Yes?”
“Did you happen to speak with that man separately?”
The teacher nodded and answered that they had talked while I was asleep.
He had apologized and even taken responsibility for the hospital bills,
and said he would do his best to ensure nothing like this happened again.
“Step, step.”
As I walked, thinking about him, I found myself back at the shelter before I knew it.
Together with the teacher, I slowly went inside and opened the door,
and saw my friends each busy with their own tasks.
“Hey, hey, where am I supposed to put this?”
“Leave it over there.”
“Ugh... housework really isn’t easy...”
“How does Suhan do this every day...?”
While the teacher had been away, my friends had divided up the work among themselves,
washing dishes, doing laundry, and cleaning. Minjeong, who had been sorting the laundry,
turned her head, and for a moment our eyes met.
“Huh?”
“Suhan...?”
At those words, the others reacted too and looked at me all at once.
I gave them a slight smile and greeted them happily.
“I’m back.”
At that one short greeting, my friends screamed and ran toward me.
Some of them began crying, asking why I had only come back now, and threw their arms around me.
“Why did you come back so late!!”
“Do you know how worried we were...!!”
“Sorry.”
“I was asleep for three days... haha.”
The teacher quietly watched me and my friends from one side,
smiling, while Jihun began calling for Hayun.
“Hey, Kim Hayun!! Hurry up and come out!!”
“Suhan’s here!”
At the loud shout, the door opened and Hayun came out into the living room.
When he saw me, he showed no expression and slowly walked over.
“Kim Hayun?”
He stood in front of me, let out a sigh, and said,
“Haa... I told you, didn’t I?”
“That if you didn’t come back, I wouldn’t let you off.”
“I’m here now, aren’t I?”
When I answered calmly with a smile, he lightly planted his fist on my head,
then smiled the same way and said,
“Yeah... You came back safely, so that’s enough.”
“But next time, I really won’t let you off. Got it?”
“Yeah. Thanks for worrying about me.”
After that, I tried to help my friends with the housework,
but Hayun told me to rest more and tossed me into my room.
He said they would handle all the chores for the day and told me to get plenty of rest, then closed the door.
“You, doing all the housework... now that’s something.”
I was worried whether a guy who left his socks inside out could really do housework properly,
but I decided to trust them with it for just today and lay down on the bed.