Chapter 39 - Those Who Could Not Be Saved
For now, Jhin decided to head toward Eastport Station.
«Honestly, I’d like to stay and finish off the remaining Grids... but realistically, it’s impossible.
We’ll wear ourselves out first.»
If Caleb and Luke could fully hold their own, maybe it would be doable.
But fighting while protecting both of them — while Grids poured in like endless waves — would be far more difficult.
The number of Grids alone was already a headache.
Clearing them all would be an endless slog.
«Sorry, detective. But the living have to survive first.»
«...No. You’re right.»
Above all, once a person beca a Grid, there was no way to turn them back.
The only rcy they could offer was to send them to eternal rest as quickly as possible.
It was tragic, but it was the truth.
’But the survivors who escaped — we can still save them.’
For their sake, they had to move faster.
anwhile, Caleb glanced between the Trigger’s corpse and the pitch-black tunnel.
He frowned and asked,
«How are you so sure there are survivors?»
There was always a chance everyone had perished.
That no one was left.
Caleb stared at Jhin, unease written all over his face.
It was clear he was imagining the worst-case scenario.
«Maybe there’s no one left to save.»
Jhin nodded, acknowledging the point.
If there were truly no survivors, there would be no need to rush.
But then he shrugged casually and said,
«There are survivors. I guarantee it.»
«...How?»
«It might look like they’re just mindlessly driven by desire — but they’re surprisingly organized.
They always deliberately leave survivors.
At least, in every case I’ve seen so far, they’ve never failed to.»
Jhin glanced around at the others.
His eyes briefly t Luke’s, who flinched noticeably and looked like he was about to wet himself as he asked,
«W-why?»
Jhin replied, unfazed by his sudden use of formal speech.
«It’s like fishing.»
They cast bait.
They deliberately let so survivors go —
so that they could follow them, wait for them to regroup with others,
and then devour them all at once.
«The ones who escaped are probably already infected.»
Like a Trojan horse —
a hidden weapon among the remaining humans, who could eventually turn into Grids or Triggers themselves.
Of course, since they had killed the main Trigger, the chances of those survivors imdiately transforming had dropped drastically.
But it was only a matter of ti.
The disease would worsen by the day.
Eventually, even without a Trigger, they would mutate into Grids or Triggers —
and beco super spreaders, creating a second Stoneveil city Station disaster.
Besides —
there was no guarantee that Jaden had been the only Trigger.
’Because Triggers are made intentionally, after all.’
If soone was creating them, they could always create more.
Maybe not now — but once they had the right materials, they’d try again.
«Whoever’s behind it... we have to root them out completely.»
The group moved through the dark tunnel, covering a good distance.
The lingering magic from the Trigger Jaden still hung heavy in the air,
so there hadn’t been any new Grid attacks yet.
But once the ambient mana faded, it would only be a matter of ti.
The Grids would be drawn here instinctively.
They needed to get to Eastport Station as fast as possible.
«How long until we get there?» Caleb asked.
«Not long.»
But before that —
they would have to face sothing else.
«Kiaaaah!»
A screech from ahead.
Caleb imdiately pointed his phone’s flashlight toward the noise.
Sothing was sprinting toward them at incredible speed.
And they didn’t need to guess what it was.
«It’s a Grid. Stay back.»
«...Got it.»
It seed like this was a group of Grids that had gotten ahead of them.
Caleb frowned as he recognized sothing.
«They’re mbers of the hunting recovery team.»
«Yeah. I rember too.»
Before the Skeleton Hunt, they had shared information during a briefing session.
He recognized several faces — now twisted in horrific ways.
’That’s why they say sharing too much info is a death flag.’
This was why you shouldn’t get too personal.
It only made it harder, more painful.
And nothing was worse than having to kill soone you once knew.
’You have to keep a certain distance.’
The world had beco that cruel.
«Jhin, could I ask you...? If I could, I’d do it myself, but...»
«No. Don’t worry.»
Jhin clenched his fist and sprinted forward.
The Grids shrieked and attacked,
but he dodged all their strikes with razor-thin margins.
And what followed —
was one-sided slaughter.
One by one, he smashed their heads in with single blows,
granting them swift death.
He had even infused his strikes with magic power —
making sure they wouldn’t suffer.
It was an act of rcy.
These were people who had suffered enough in life.
They didn’t deserve to keep suffering after death.
’Even if it’s just for the ones I recognized.’
Crack, crack, crack.
Finally, a bigger, mutated Grid appeared.
It had a grotesquely stretched neck, whipping its head like a flail —
a mutation born from so desperate desire.
Jhin slipped past the lashing attacks, diving into its blind spot.
BOOM!
It wasn’t even a challenge.
The thing was predictable — and Jhin punched a hole straight through its torso.
The mutated Grid collapsed without a sound.
«Huff... huff...»
Jhin exhaled the breath he had been holding and looked around.
It hadn’t even taken a full minute to kill all seven Grids.
Surprised, he glanced down at the ring on his finger.
’This ring... is more useful than I thought.’
The — a reward he had earned after killing the Trigger.
[When there are no allies nearby, increases maximum HP by 20.]
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