[It seems I don't have the advantage of time that I had hoped for…]
The voice mused, the low growl of a predator grating at Hajoon's mind and making his efforts at rationalizing the situation useless.
"What is this..?! Let me out..!!" The salaryman's banshee-like screeching rang through the tram as he began banging at the doors that had closed behind the driver just moments before. Every thud of his fists against the metal left him more battered than the blood splattered metal that he failed to dent.
"Open the doors you Riotbanker scum..!! Is this how you serve your betters?!" He screamed after the shadow of a man in the billowing snow, retreating out of sight as he left his passengers to rot.
"He…said help would come…? Liar…Liar..!!" Ms.Veincliff was shaking, covering her ears to the pained screams of a man who was spasming in the seat next to her. Her tag along—Mrs. Baek— had long abandoned her, joining the few who stood with the strength of their own two feet.
For once, Hajoon agreed with a Veincliff; the driver had lied. That was a fact, no matter how anyone hoped for it to be a lie.
Hajoon had witnessed it, the old man smiling as he talked down the angry mob with unnatural ease, promising to lead them to safety, showing his key as a reason for them not to rip him to pieces. With a heartfelt apology for his terrible service, he had unlocked the doors with the promise that help was on the way, that the tram was equipped with an automatic distress signal if it were to break down.
At that moment, the people had believed him, because they—who were like mice bleeding out in a mousetrap—had tasted the cold breath of freedom.
Only for it to be ripped away from them moments later.
Only two men had left that door, having stepped out first as a sign of goodwill. The driver had given that hope, before freedom had become an abstract and unattainable concept to everyone else in line.
The door had slammed shut.
The yelling and screaming that had followed from inside and outside of the tram, it all melded together. Hajoon wasn't sure what happened, but there was a coat of red on the windows by the exit door. He could only assume what happened to the two men.
Blood, the stench…it's everywhere.
Hajoon winced as Lee Hyejin gripped his arm for support, her head ducked as her light lunch—consisting of cigarettes and store-bought gimbap—was heaved onto the bloody floor. She was trembling, the dark green of her flats marred with blood and her own vomit.
"Why is this happening..?" She whispered, flinching away from the puddle near her feet as if burned.
"What…is…" Her voice wavered as she wiped the vomit from her lips, her eyes meeting the eyes of the dead.
There in the seat in front of her, was a stranger. His strikingly blue eyes were lifeless, as if the blood that had poured from them had drained him of the life and glory associated with that colour.
He was Nawian, the nation of true north, and as such, he looked strangely peaceful in the cold.
Cold and dead. It was hard to watch as the colleague of the dead man shook his shoulder, clawing at his suit.
"Hey…get up Nik…you shouldn't sleep on the tram you know…?" Donning a fedora hat and darker blue eyes, the smaller man pushed at his colleagues shoulder. His eyes shook in disbelief as the corpse simply fell over, its head dragging to the side as droplets of blood smeared on the floor.
"I don't think he's sleeping…" Ando murmured as he crouched down in front of the bleeding face, pushing a finger under the dead man's nose. His own nose was bleeding, but he ignored it as he sat there for a number of minutes. Hajoon saw that his legs were shaking.
"Yep, no breathing…" Ando wiped at his nose and glanced up at the angry eyes of the fedora man, then paused. "W-Well, we can't rule out that he could be in shock..! Right…er, in that case we need to call the emergency line, the civil service division should be able to get him…and the others to the hospital..!"
"Yes…yes we need to get you to the hospital, Nikolai…" The fedora man grabbed his colleagues shoulders and pushed him upright on the seat again, letting go only to grab and fix the slumping body over and over again. The movement seemed to line up with the thumping of fists on the doors, losing power over time as the people grew tired and the man's shoulders slumped.
Eventually, both gave up.
"You're shaking…" Hyejin muttered, looking up at Hajoon whose eyes reflected the same resigned fear she felt twist in her gut. She stood there, staring at him as the screams around them died down, and more cold bodies sagged on the seats like permanent passengers of a cold metal grave.
"You're supposed to be the calm one…why is Ando filling your role right now..?" She continued, to no response.
"Hey. Park Hajoon. Breathe. You can't do anything if you don't breathe."
Her words barely registered in his ears as he clutched at his chest, struggling to comply with such a simple request. The air around him felt oppressive, the stench of death overwhelming to the point that did not want to breathe at all, if only to avoid the smell that imprinted into his racing mind.
Why are they dying..? What is this..? A Dungeon won't kill people like this…if it did, dad would have died, all of them would have died. How are the mines any different from this..??
[Would you like an answer to that question? Or do you not want to hear from a fake?]
Hahaha..! Tell me then!!
[This is a Dungeon, the birth of a Dungeon, for it has no name.]
…Ha. You're talking shit again.
Dungeons aren't born. The calamity period made them, they don't just pop up on a random Thursday..!
This isn't a Dungeon…it's…! Some sort of attack…! Chemical warfare is something the Western Fort was developing… but why would they…? We're their vassal, they wouldn't just throw away a port city like that…
[Hush fool. I need you to leave this metal box quickly, there is an unpleasant presence approaching.] The voice growled, making his head splinter with pain.
[ I do not like to request, but I have depleted my energy, it seems? Your body truly is weak…]
[I will have to test the bounds of this…connection more carefully. There is much to accomplish in this Dungeon, and you are no use to me dead.]
"This isn't a dungeon..!" Hajoon hissed through a shuddering breath as he let his hand fall from his heart. The pain intensified for a moment before he grit his teeth and inhaled, the voice fading away until only disgruntled white noise remained.
"...What?" Hyejin squinted up at him, her hand on his arm squeezing painfully. "You…saw that too, Hajoon-ssi?"
"...Huh? You two saw something? What is it?" Ando craned his head back to look at them, then finally stood up from where he had become stationary.
"The foggy message…you didn't see it Mr. Ando?" She asked, letting go of Hajoon who winced away.
"Foggy..? What does that mean? Was it something someone wrote on the window or…?"
"No, it's nothing. This can't be a dungeon so we don't have to worry about that." Hajoon spoke up, staring at his blood stained palm before wiping it on a bloodied handkerchief.
"How are you sure about that..?" The accusatory voice of the fedora man pushed its way into the conversation, his shaking eyes radiating an anger that Hajoon couldn't place. "You saw it, the gods' letter. Or would your kind deny evidence that was right in front of your face?"
Hajoon scoffed, taken aback by the anger directed towards him by the stranger. Those stormy blue eyes glared at him as if he was the killer, and the reason for the unexplainable carnage around them.
It was almost irritating to hear such accusations from a man that looked native to Hwanryeo rather than Nawia, despite his blue eyes. But a northerner was a northerner, they were all the same.
"My kind…? Didn't you hear that my kind crawled out of the dungeons a century ago? Us monsters are more qualified to identify a dungeon than you northerners, don't you think?" Hajoon snapped, forgetting himself to a fresh stab of pain.
"Monsters aren't qualified for anything. If you were a monster, you wouldn't have lived to look like a sunbaked giraffe." The man snarled, stepping in front of his dead colleague as if to protect him from Hajoon.
Hajoon stared at the hostile blue of his eyes, then glanced at the empty and serene blue of the corpse he protected. His mouth opened only to shut at the glimpse of a pistol holstered under the man's blue-lined coat.
"...Sure." Hajoon relented, but a sudden laugh from Ando startled him, and he looked at the man incredulously.
"I've never seen a giraffe for real, but it's a funny thought..! You are pretty tall huh?"
"Uh–yea..? Haha.." He chuckled awkwardly, avoiding those fierce blue eyes as he bent to pick his briefcase off the ground. His umbrella had fallen out of the leather clasp that had held it snug to the body of the briefcase, so he busied himself with fixing it back into place.
"Oh yeah! I was meaning to ask, what's a god's letter? Never heard of it!" Ando directed his curious eyes at the Fedora man, scratching at his head in confusion.
Good question. What is that? The north has the Church of the Last Flame, but the door to door scammers that show up in the slums never mentioned any letter from their god.
"Oh…it's nothing important, if you cannot see it then there's no need for you to know what it is, Mr..?" The storm in the man's eyes waned as he gave a hesitant smile to Ando.
"Oh…haha, Ando, Ando Natsuki" Ando smiled as he reached out a hand.
The man stared at it, then wiped his bloody hands on his pants repeatedly before taking the offered hand and giving a curt shake. " Ivan Han. I work at the Hunter's Tower, just a simple receptionist…"
Receptionists weren't handed military grade pistols, so what this Mr.Han was, was a liar.
"Oh..! Wow, that's so cool! You get to see hunters every day..! Have you ever seen Hojo-sama up close–" Ando bit his tongue as he noticed the disapproving look in Lee Hyejin's eyes.
"It's nice to meet you Mr. Han, really, but this isn't the time for pleasantries. We need to find a way out, and to call for help…for your friend as well" Lee Hyejin stepped forward, her steps uncertain in the darkness as she attempted to avoid the puddles of blood she couldn't see.
She looked between the nonresponsive Ivan Han and the dead man, waiting until he finally acknowledged her presence.
"Oh. Right…Miss…?"
"Lee."
"Aha…yes, Ms. Lee, I agree. I apologize if I was being…"
"Difficult? Don't worry, this is hard for everyone. But we need to get out first…right?"
Suddenly her hand was on Hajoon's shoulder, making the man freeze where he was hunched over, his fingers skidding from the window that he had been trying to pry open.
"...It won't open." He winced, his fingers stinging from the scratches he had just earned. It was cold, dark, and the first signs of frostbite could be seen blooming along the tips of his fingers, much like the frost that had covered the window glass and frozen it shut.
It was hard to see what lay beyond it, outside where the storm raged with bellowing winds that almost sounded like howls of pain if he focused on it for too long.
"Here, let me try!" Ando said as he rolled up his sleeves and stumbled his way through the darkness, nearly tripping over a corpse that he could barely see.
"Ack…what's this?" He nudged the body with his foot, to which Hajoon grabbed his arm and tugged him forward to avoid trampling a dead man further.
"Must be a bag, just…try to open this. But I think it's frozen shut…" Hajoon tapped at the window, hoping Ando could at least hear where it was and stop fumbling around. There were bodies, draped over the seats behind them as if they'd tried to claw their way out of the windows.
Their fingers had left trials of blood, their fingertips bruised and grated against glass that remained without a scratch.
"Hey, no big deal! I opened it before! I'm stronger than I look, hehe!" Ando was smiling, a strange thing to do amongst carnage. How could someone stay tone deaf, even in conditions like this?
Hajoon didn't stay there to find out, retreating in the darkness once Ando began to strongarm the window.
"Well, you certainly don't look it." Ivan Han chuckled as he walked over to observe, his shaking hands hidden from sight in his coat pockets.
"I've got what you call hidden guns!" Ando grinned, flexing an arm.
"...Ahem, I see…" Ivan's response was strained.
Ando just laughed, not realizing the irony of that statement when facing Han's tight lipped grimace.
You're not the one hiding a gun, Ando. Ha…this guy's a cop? Or worse?
Let's just…not provoke him.
"Hey…I'll…uh, I'll look for survivors." Lee Hyejin spoke with an uncertain tone, her eyes darting about as if expecting a monster to pop out from behind every dark corner.
"Yea…I'll help" Hajoon said as he glanced at her.
"Uh…thanks Hajoon-ah…shit–" She hissed out a breath at the slip of the tongue.
"Sorry– just, I– I don't know what I'm saying…I don't know what to do, Hajoon-ssi. This…it's not the adrenaline I like, you know?"
She paused, then her trembling hand raked through her tousled hair, smoothing out the frayed edges of her image.
"It's no fun when there's no rope to catch you, right?" Hajoon said, then patted her shoulder after a pause.
"Ha..! You petty fucker…" Hyejin's expression lightened for a moment as she laughed under her breath.
Hajoon's nose wrinkled, but he said nothing as he stared down the walkway of the tram and the dead who lined the way. There was movement here and there, twitching limbs, some sobbing shoulders; but the only others who stood with their own feet were the group by the door a few feet away, huddling and whispering among themselves.
"Look for survivors? I can't even see my own feet..!" Hyejin cursed something to herself, then sweetened her voice as she spoke up "Does anyone have a flashlight? Or even a candle…?"
"Eh..? flashlight?" Ando turned his head towards her voice, then shook his head. It took a moment of silence for the man to realise that she couldn't see his response, so he cleared his throat and uttered a quick "N-no, I don't."
"If any of us had a light source, don't you think we'd be using it by now, Ms. Lee?" Ivan Han's cold answer ended her question on an awkward note, so she fell silent.
Was it anger, embarrassment, or fear that made her face scrunch that way?
Maybe all of the above, in that order?
It was funny, for a few seconds. Then it wasn't anymore.
"Don't you have a lighter?" Hajoon stared at the chain smoker Lee Hyejin until she nodded, and fumbled in her coat pockets to find the silver metal lighter she always had on hand.
With a click of metal and a singular spark, a small flame came to life from her hand, chasing the oppressive darkness away for a moment. Hajoon had to blink to adjust to the low light, as it was less convenient than the night vision granted by simply looking over his glasses.
"Thanks for reminding me I had this…"
"Yea. Just don't waste the fuel." He responded curtly, glancing back at the backs of Ando and Han, the latter of which was growing irritated as they faced a window that refused to budge.
"Damn thing should open. A window is designed to open and shut…!! Not stay shut damn it!! True Nawian craftsmanship wouldn't fail in warm temperatures like this…!! "
"Should we shatter it..? The glass?" Ando piped in, but was met with a hiss of long winded logic, the tone condescending in a way that only a northerner could pull off.
"We couldn't even if we tried, Mr. Ando..! This damn glass is infused with the scales of the Zmei, a godforsaken dragon..! Impervious to sword, fire, ice, bullet–! The red scales are like that, do you not understand..?? This glass, I'm sure now that it's craftsmanship from Lukomorye– This– it was designed to be unbreakable, so that nobility could travel without fear of assassination…It will not break, even to a damn bazooka!!" He took a breath, as if winded, then continued.
"So we cannot even discuss using mere human strength."
Oh. So we're fucked. Good to know.
"Hey, there's people…" Lee Hyejin's words made Hajoon look back at the huddled group, most of whom were now walking their way. They must have heard Ivan Han's declaration of doom, because their faces were twisted in fear and contempt.
"You! Young lady..! Come here! We need some light here..!" A gruff voice called out in Aenglic, his shadow moving forward without a thought given to the fallen corpses he trampled.
"Yes..! We were trying to open this door again! My husband managed to get through before, you saw right..? I can hear him calling, so help us miss!" A delusional woman's voice rang out after him, speaking less like an entitled foreigner.
Her bleeding eyes came into view as they both stepped into the range of the small flame. It was unlikely that she could see too well at the moment, which could explain why she grasped the man's shirt.
"Your…husband is outside?" Hyejin asked, moving her lighter closer to a window to peer out into the snowy void beyond.
"Yes..! He's trying to help us but the man's too egotistical..! I can't let him try and fail on his own..! He…he told me to come and help him…"
Ah. The arguing couple from before…
The bored looking man from then, I did see him leave. Didn't even look like he tried to take her with him.
Well he's dead now, ma'am.
Hah, but I won't tell her that.
Hajoon looked at the woman in pity, covering his nose against the stench of blood as he followed Lee Hyejin to the front doors.
"Hey..! It's dark again, don't leave us behind Ms. Lee..!!" Ando fumbled forward, before bumping into Hajoon who'd been kept back by the burly man who glared at him, then smiled at Hyejin.
"Please get away from him, miss, this Riotbanker is in cahoots with that bloody driver..!" He hissed in aenglic, his Alban accent seeming to feed his unfounded conviction. Hajoon felt his head pound at the nonsensical situation, but he couldn't blame the foreigner. It was really that driver's fault, making him into an accomplice scapegoat for a crime he didn't commit.
Hajoon glanced over the burly foreigner's shoulder, noticing a few familiar faces.
"I saw him speaking secretly to that hapless kidnapper…don't you think it's strange? They seem to know each other well…" Mrs. Baek said thoughtfully, purposefully fanning the flames.
"That's right..! This bastard was all buddy buddy with that fucker..!!" A fist came to grab Hajoon's collar, the blood from the salaryman's raw skin smudging onto his tie. "Did you plan this..?! How much is he paying you?!!"
Hajoon winced as flakes of spit sprayed in his direction, trying to keep a civil expression as he looked down at the seething man. "Sir…please, I'm bleeding out like the rest of you–"
"It's some kind of ploy, I know it..!! You rats want to see us hard workers die..!!"
Hah…my head hurts.
"Whoa there..! Calm down sir, he's a good guy, not like them, ok..?" Ando spoke up, taking the initiative to pry the man's hand off of Hajoon. The raging man didn't seem to want to let go, but his face twisted into shock as he was forced to do so by an Ashiharan man like Ando.
Ando had authority by blood, which was funny to Hajoon who had only known him to be a crazed fanboy.
Hahaha…ow. It hurts. Fuck.
Was it his blood that dripped down onto his tie, then onto his palms as he coughed into his hand? Hajoon couldn't tell anymore.
"Why are you taking a roach's side..?" The salaryman rasped, a noise that seemed to drift away as Hajoon's heart thudded in his ears. Louder and louder.
It hurts. Ha…
Make it stop…
[ Good. Now let me…help. ]
…
Help…huh?
"…This is my coworker, please don't say things like tha–" Ando's response was cut short as he heard a scream from behind him.
"Gah..?! Mr. Han??" He whirled around, gripping Hajoons arm to orient himself in the darkness. He noticed that the man didn't so much as flinch, or respond, but he didn't have the time to question Hajoon's sudden stillness.
"Something grabbed my leg…!!" The shadow of the frightened man hissed in response, gripping onto a handrail to move forward, dragging something along behind him. "Ghhh…demon, you will not be dragging me to hell today..!" He hissed, trying to kick at the mass that clung to his tailored pants.
A woman's shriek gave him pause as his shoe was planted on a head of long ashen hair. The waves of well-curled hair fell away as a pair of green eyes looked up at him, angry despite the tear-stricken state of her face.
"I'm not a demon you insolent man..!" She spat in aenglic, her delicate fingers letting go of his leg to push her hair out of her face, before she managed to tremble onto her haunches.
She reached out her hand, her eyes expectant.
"Help me up. You are a Nawian gentleman, aren't you?"
Ivan Han felt his face colour from embarrassment as he hesitantly took that hand, hoisting her to her feet.
"Ahem. I- I'm…not exactly– I mean, I was simply surprised. Apologies, lady..?" He stammered in her native tongue.
"Sophia Veincliff" She huffed as she fixed her long pleated skirt, frowning at the blood that clung to the expensive fabric.
The man's blue eyes widened at that and his lips pressed into a thin line before he looked away from the noblewoman.
"Oh, you're…hello, I-I'm from the publicity team..!" Ando gave a hurried bow, quickly giving up on speaking her language past that point.
She glanced down at Ando's bowed head and scoffed. "Yes, I know. So is that one, right?" She pointed a finger at Hajoon, who was standing eerily still. After a moment, his head turned back to look at them, his lips stretched in a grin that bared the fangs he normally hid so well.
"Heh, it's here." He said as his now fully silver eyes flickered in the darkness. He glanced down at the ash haired Veincliff and sneered. "Hair like ash…well now, that witch spreads her curse like wildfire doesn't she? Haha..! Well, no matter. You'll die soon."
"...What? Was that a threat…?? Who do you think you are..?!"
"Hm? I suppose I can ask you the same?" He sneered. "Who are you?"
"I see something outside..!" Lee Hyejin called out, her words hushing the discourse as all eyes tried to follow the movement of the light she held. Humans feared the dark afterall, they would not dare stray from the light, much less when monsters prowled the shadows it cast.
"There's a person–" Her words cut out as the sound of crunching and scraping metal screeched through the air, making her clamp her hands over her ears, the light in her hand being snuffed in an instant.
The group near the door stumbled away as they saw the faint moonlight filter in through a marred gap between the doors. What held that gap open were pale hands, long black nails digging into the metal as it crumpled like paper. Those hands pulled, and the metal peeled away, folding into itself until there was no door left.
Snow billowed in like a flood of white light, and through the empty strom beyond them, a man stepped into the tram. At first glance, he resembled a paper boy, with the familiar clothing and cap that sat atop a head of snow white hair. His arms were tucked into the pockets of his trousers in a casual gait as he walked towards the people who shrunk back at his every step.
He paused, taking off his cap and giving a flourished bow.
"Good evening dear passengers! I heard you're in need of a new guide?" The man grinned, sharp teeth flashing.
"D-Devil..!!" Mrs. Baek shrieked as her eyes darted between the teeth and the small horns protruding from his head, tripping over the others as she tried to get away. But it was in vain, as she was pushed down by others who shared her desperation, left shaking on the ground as sacrifice for the approaching death.
The so-called devilish tour guide stepped toward the terrified woman and grinned, crouching down in front of her. For a moment he simply stared, which only made her more desperate.
"S-step away..! I..I'm a good woman, I work hard..!! You…you can't do this..!!" She hissed at him, her hands clutched near her heart. But her words only received a snicker.
"You disgusting devil..!! Go eat a rotting carcass like the filth you are-"
The devil's grin widened as his hand shot out to grab her face, silencing her.
"Devil…? Really? Hey, auntie, do I look like a devil to you? Come on now..! You're from the great nation of Joseon aren't you? Don't you remember how you used to hunt us, how we hunted you right back?!" He growled, his inhuman smile bared at her. As Mrs. Baek sobbed some sort of muffled prayer, the man began to laugh, his head thrown back in its intensity.
He suddenly stopped, his eyes serious as he pushed his face right up to her. "Dokk-ae-bi." He enunciated every syllable, then smiled. "At least remember what you humans called us, hm?"
Then there was a crunch. Sickening, disgusting, as her skull was crushed like a tin can. The Dokkaebi then let go, her body falling limp to the ground.
He then turned on his heel, facing the survivors who stood frozen in fear.
"Well then, that's the last of the weak ants! Congratulations! Being one step above an ant is a great accomplishment! Haha!"