When I regained consciousness... I couldn't even scream.
Under the torn and bloody clothes, the intact flesh as always wriggled. Nevertheless, I couldn't move properly because of the pain. My body, which had moved calmly even when stabbed with a knife or burned by fire, had stiffened.
Ah... maybe staying up for a week was too much.
Thinking such thoughts, I gritted my teeth and crawled over the broken window in front of .
Broken glass was stuck all over my hands, arms, and legs, but because of the pain that twisted my entire body, such minor pain actually felt refreshing.
And, barely crawling out and looking back, I could see the wrecked Porter.
Black oil was dripping from that huge body like blood. Sowhere, ominous friction sounds and dizzying burning slls arose.
Oil, friction sounds, burning slls.
Anticipating what would happen, I got up and stepped back significantly.
Soon, flas arose and consud the car body.
"..."
Only then did it sink in.
How far was it to the destination? Ah, about 190 kiloters left.
Remaining ti? About two days.
And the car is burning in front of my eyes.
"..."
I couldn't give any answer beyond silence to this situation.
Soon, as ti passed, the flas subsided, and each component of the Porter lted as if evaporating into the air, and then completely disappeared.
Everything inside it too.
It was midnight.
Now July 20.
Just two days until the hurricane's landfall.
"..."
190 kiloters in two days...
"..."
I unconsciously looked up at the moon. And looking around, I saw the residents of this area gathering here and there as if surprised.
These were people I had already visited before, those who might not have heard the news of the storm from Raleigh, who was now in charge of this area.
I knew well how I would appear in their eyes.
One who commands a steel beast, one who crawled out of its dead body, and one who survived the entire process.
So were coming to pay their respects to .
But they were not my share.
I trusted Raleigh.
So I began to run, shaking them off. So people tried to follow , but they all fell behind, unable to match my speed.
I ran like mad until they were out of sight. No, I ran even after they were out of sight.
I ran.
They say professional marathon runners run 42.195 kiloters in just over 2 hours, while average people run for 4 to 5 hours.
Then what about ?
How quickly could a person with a continuously regenerating body, disregarding pain, arrive?
I didn't know.
And in that not knowing, I could place hope.
Trying to check the ti, I fumbled in my pocket for my phone, realized it was empty, and let out a hollow laugh.
Ah, I had thrown it on the passenger seat of the car. I wonder if it's safely stored in my house in Croatoan by now.
I couldn't know my position, my speed, the current ti, nothing. Just guessing the rough direction and path, I was simply running like a fool.
Everything was dark. Even the stars were hidden by clouds and couldn't be seen.
When the sun rose, my legs almost gave out.
And when the sun set again, my whole body began to tremble. I fell many tis, but small wounds were easily erased like water stains.
Again, torn clothes nded and bloodstains began to disappear. I realized midnight had co again.
July 21.
One day until the predicted hurricane landfall date.
My legs were shaking. When I spat, blood pooled on the road, and my whole body felt like it was lting.
Blinking my eyes again, all those abnormal conditions were healed.
My heart was beating as if it would jump out of my body. My head started to ache and pain began to co because my body lacked water.
And after moving a few more steps, the pain was thrown off again.
I repeated this countless tis.
Visions of death passed by , and echoes of pain pricked my nose, but I ran.
I just ran.
As if I had been running since birth.
Muscles tear and regenerate again. Broken bones reattach and regain their forr strength. Sweat pours like rain all over my body, symptoms of dehydration approach all over my body, and then disappear again.
I ran.
I fall again, bleed, and clothes tear away. Still, I get up again. And.
I ran.
I couldn't tell how much ti had passed. My destination was just beyond that horizon, at the end of the vanishing point.
I ran.
Until I reached my destination.
Until I could see the sea, the horizon.
I ran.
==
Rain falls.
People gave up hunting or gathering and sat around in their huts, chatting with family or inviting neighbors for good food.
But so people didn't stop going outside even amidst this rain, because the Great Chief would be arriving soon.
They waited for the day the new Great Chief would return.
He had said that their tribe would beco purer than jade, and that nothing greater than them would remain except diamond.
But in the anti, they had persuaded more tribes to send gifts.
Now they could beco an even greater tribe.
Now they could acquire more iron axes and various shiny luxury items.
With such desire, people had been lingering and looking around more frequently for days. They wandered around like people who had lost a cherished dog, scanning the outskirts of the village for a long ti.
When would the Great Chief return? Shouldn't he be back by now? No. Maybe tomorrow...
With such expectations, young n of the village, including Sassunan, loitered around this area.
They did so even though they knew that when the Great Chief ca, he would lead several carts, bring that giant steel cart at the forefront, and co rushing at a swift pace.
He would return with strange attire and with such a splendid procession.
He would return with that reassuring smile of his.
He...
"L-look, look over there!"
"..."
"..."
Sassunan, who was patrolling the outskirts of the village today, saw a man.
A man walking slowly towards them, covered in wounds and blood, wearing tattered clothes, blinking his eyes and looking around as if trying to figure out where he was.
And his gaze turns this way. Only then did Sassunan understand why his companion had called him urgently.
He had returned.
"..."
"..."
In a way no one had expected.
With each step he takes, the wounds on his body disappear as if washed away by the rain.
With each step closer, all sorts of traces on his body scatter into the wind.
"...Sassunan."
"Ah... uh..."
"I rember your na. Call your chief. No, gather all the villagers."
And as he raised his blood-covered face to look at the sky, the dried blood scabs on both his cheeks fell off.
Again, the torn clothes stuck back together and returned to their original state.
Like... a beautiful snake shedding its old skin and revealing its true form.
The young n gathered at the spot were astonished and called people together.
He, he has co.
He has returned.
He was indeed not human. He was a spirit. A very great spirit at that.
At those words, people gathered even on a day when rain poured heavily. Fearful and joyful, they looked at the man.
Then the man points to a place.
"...Over there."
And people walked following the man.
After walking aimlessly, on a hill, he stops. He suddenly picks up a branch and draws a large circle surrounding them all, then says:
"At least until the third day cos... do not go beyond this circle."
Those were his last words.
As his tired, unfocused eyes closed.
THUD.
He collapsed.
On the day he collapsed, heavy rain fell to a degree that made yesterday's calm unimaginable.
On the first day that followed, a storm arose.
People cowered in fear, bowing their heads and curling their bodies to the screams of the atmosphere. As the man had said, they ate the food they had brought, waiting only for this mont of terror to pass quickly.
And on the second day, the wind continued. People saw the wind tearing through the village. They saw everything they had subrged in water.
Throughout all this, the circle the man had drawn didn't fade at all despite the storm.
It was just a circle hastily drawn with a branch.
Out of fear, no one touched the circle. Even the children just watched, as if that thin line was protecting them.
And on both the first and second days, the man just lay there.
Finally.
The storm subsided.
The third day he had spoken of ca.
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