NOVPUBPandora was moving at full speed, leaving the Academy City behind.
The artifact had already exhausted its lifespan, and there would certainly be someone who felt the ominous aura leaking from her.
‘Verification complete!’
Yet, for Pandora, the feeling of confirmation of a promising hypothesis was far greater than the sense of crisis.
If she missed this opportunity, she didn’t know when another one might come, so she felt relieved.
Had she missed today and only had the hypothesis left? If the flow of things in the Academy City had shifted again, she wouldn’t have acted so quietly as she did today.
Having already used a precious artifact, she would have been forced into a war of attrition. If that happened, she’d have to rely on her subordinates to cause chaos in society, then break in forcefully to confirm the results.
With satisfaction, Pandora had just left the city when the large, flame-wreathed greatsword came flying at an insane speed.
“Scary,” she said, curling the corners of her lips.
A thick mass, rising from her shadow, entangled with the projectile, slowing it down. Pandora dodged the greatsword and landed on a quiet road.
At the same time, the greatsword returned to its owner.
‘Today is a day full of losses except for the verification. I hate trouble.’
Pandora’s gaze was caught by several obstacles ahead.
The one who arrived the fastest, with overwhelming speed, was Juyeon, the owner of the greatsword.
Pandora was also aware of the identities of the people closing in on her.
‘As expected, the dean is not here. It seems like they were right about his age and condition? Or maybe he’s stationed with others to guard the place?’
Following Juyeon, the current Academy instructors, Carrot and Ed, arrived.
And the middle-aged man with fists like a pot lid was one of the candidates being considered for the next Public Safety Commissioner.
“Looks like I’m popular today? Reinforcements are already coming from afar.”
Pandora’s words received no response.
The four kept their eyes fixed on her, sharing information with each other.
“This is a woman we’ve never seen before. She’s not on the wanted list either.”
“Same here.”
“Who is she? She smells dangerous.”
“We should detain her first. We need to dig up how she managed to get this far.”
Pandora, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, burst into a chuckle.
Even though she didn’t know if she would win, she was confident she could slip away from here.
***
Rohan felt a sharp headache as he looked at the place where Pandora had vanished.
His head was throbbing as if it might crack open.
Was this situation a success or a failure?
‘Ha...’
During his conversation with Pandora, he had tried to mix in some gestures, speaking slowly and appearing clumsy.
But despite that, the conversation with her had been filled with intense tension.
It felt like several hours had passed during that short exchange.
His mind felt heavy, as if it were dehydrated.
He was exhausted.
The fatigue from his mental state was overwhelming.
[If the experiment is carried out, a greater disaster will be prevented.]
He didn’t even have the time to deeply understand the quest’s content.
Determining that he had no time, he approached Pandora and did his best with what came to mind.
If he had gotten any closer, the emotions he had hidden would have been revealed.
His hidden disgust prevented him from being any warmer.
“...”
Rohan looked up at the ceiling of the shopping mall.
The space was narrow, stretched open like a strike had hit it.
A crack that hadn’t fully opened. Through it, Rohan saw a monster.
‘Morbid Frame.’
A monster trapped in an ornate frame, its grimy hands sticking out, flying at low altitude, while its horrifying face moved within the frame.
Naturally, what was inside the frame wasn’t a person.
When it grabs a person with both hands, it devours and absorbs them, swallowing them into the frame.
‘Its level isn’t high, so even if there are many, it’s manageable.’
People who had been looking up at the mall screamed.
─ Aahh!!!
─ A monster!!!
Was the dimensional crack part of Pandora’s experiment, as mentioned in the quest?
Can a dimensional crack be created by a human’s hands? Or could it be generated naturally but still be controlled?
Rohan’s curiosity surged, but ultimately, there was one thing he had to do right away.
‘Block it.’
Rohan retrieved the credit card he had used as bait and drew the radiant sword tied to his back.
Just as his left hand grabbed the seal, a notification window appeared.
[Quest Completed]
[Reward has been received]
‘It’s been a minute already. But this is considered a success...?'
It was definitely safer than Pandora rampaging, but the fact that the dimensional crack was opening now seemed completely absurd.
[Viewing restricted video #1, partial censorship removed – Available for viewing]
[Transcendence craves light]
Rohan waited, not rushing, as the reward appeared.
The dimensional crack hadn't fully opened yet.
It was slowly, very slowly, splitting apart like the mouth of a monster.
The form of it seemed strange. It felt incomplete.
‘...This is different from other cracks.’
Normally, when a dimensional crack opens, it bursts out uncontrollably, with no chance of blocking it. The shape is far from clean, as if the space itself has been torn.
But this was different.
The speed at which it opened was slow, like a turtle, and the monsters were struggling to come out.
It seemed fortunate that it would take a bit longer for them to fully emerge.
Rohan quickly checked the types of bullets he had, preparing himself while also racking his brain.
‘This dimensional crack opened, and it’s supposed to prevent a future disaster?’
Was his understanding really correct?
He couldn’t be sure.
‘Why is this situation considered advantageous?’
At the same time as he was thinking, he pulled back the slide on his pistol, preparing it.
He then broke the red alert device nearby, setting off the alarm.
BEEEP!
It was a basic precaution, since those inside the shop might not have seen the monster or heard the screams.
Just as Rohan aimed his gun at the crack, trying to shoot at one of the monsters emerging...
His ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) phone suddenly started vibrating uncontrollably.
[Gilbert]
"Ugh..."
This guy was probably still in the shopping mall, almost certainly.
He couldn’t ignore the call.
As soon as he answered, a voice that sounded like someone had eaten a train’s exhaust pipe came through.
─ Rohan!!! It's a big crisis!!!
"Hey, are you still inside the shopping mall?"
─ Of course! Are you inside too?!
“Calm down. You should use your loud voice to your advantage now. Evacuate the people like the instructor taught you. Have your friend contact the Public Safety Department.”
─ Got it! Leave it to me! Emily’s already contacted the Public Safety Department!
After receiving a satisfactory reply, Rohan hung up the phone.
Right after hanging up, Gilbert’s voice rang loudly through the shopping mall.
“Everyone, please stay calm!!! I’ll protect you, so maintain order!!!”
Rohan smiled slightly and lifted his seal.
He swung his arms to aim at one of the flying monsters in the crack.
Bang!
The bullet pierced the frame.
The glass of the Morbid Frame cracked.
─ Craaaack!!!
The hideous face screamed through the cracked glass, spilling black liquid everywhere.
Yet, no points appeared.
That meant it hadn’t died yet. That was enough.
‘It’s confirmed that there’s no need for weakness infliction.’
Flying monsters were quite bothersome, but if he sliced them in half with a blade, they would surely die.
The crack slowly widened, and the Morbid Frames were swarming inside, twisting around with grotesque faces.
It was a disgusting sight.
Rohan swapped out the standard magazine and loaded a magical explosive round.
There was no time to waste. Now was the time. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
‘...Over a hundred? It would be nice if Shion and Clara were here.’
He never knew he could miss his comrades so much. It felt lonely.
“Oh, big brother...!”
As if his wish had been heard, amid the citizens’ frantic screams and Gilbert’s loud shouts, a voice echoed at a timing that almost seemed like an auditory hallucination.
“Rohan. I’ll provide support.”
Four girls descended from the upper floor.
Shion immediately opened the case she was holding and quickly assembled a firearm, creating her preferred sniper rifle.
She loaded a large magazine with big bullets.
Click!
Shion pulled back the bolt without hesitation, making a sound that snapped Rohan out of his daze.
The girls standing there were no hallucination.
“...Why are you all here?”
“Well...”
As Rohan approached, Clara, hiding her sadness and looking shy, avoided his gaze. She spun a butterfly knife in her hand and drew the pistol tied to her thigh, falling silent.
Ichinose answered instead.
“We were shopping here.”
“Yeah, that’s about right.”
Noah, with a smile, shrugged her shoulders, answering in place.
“Rohan, I’ll use the explosive rounds first. We’ll minimize the impact outside.”
At Shion’s report, Rohan nodded and patted Clara’s head, who had been standing next to him.
He had been hesitating, wondering if the powerful firepower would accelerate the crack’s expansion, but with this team, he felt they could handle as many Morbid Frames as would pour out.
“Please focus on the interior as much as possible. I want to reduce the numbers before they come out.”
“Mm.”
Shion lowered her goggles and calmly pulled the trigger.
Boom!
The sound was more intense than a gunshot. A large bullet tore through the air, and it penetrated the shallow crack, causing an explosion inside.
[+7P]
[+7P]
[+7P]
[+7P]
[+7P]
..
..
For Rohan, it was a point festival.
Shion aimed again, shooting the bullet to an appropriate position.
Ichinose watched with a serious face as the Morbid Frames met their end.
“This kind of crack is new to me. A monster stuck inside, unable to properly emerge...”
Just as she was about to continue her thoughts...
“Rohan!!! The evacuation of civilians should be done before the Public Safety Commissioner arrives!!!”
“Thank goodness most of the people are cadets today!”
Gilbert and his partner burst in, and the girls’ gazes turned towards Nicolas, who had arrived with them.
