Precautions of a Snakepit - Chapter 83

Won’s nerves tensed as she took up a firing stance.

She was barely within an effective range. If she was sure her opponent was going to harm Target, she would fire.

But the tip of the High Priest’s dagger, previously pointed at Target, suddenly changed direction. The High Priest stabbed the dagger into his own throat.

With a gurgle, some l*quid, whether blood or phlegm, boiled in his throat.

With the blade in his throat, the High Priest was softly muttering something as he bled out. Won couldn’t understand it, but it sounded like a prayer or praise. As she watched, the other worshippers prayed in their peculiar pose, their hands clasped together in a bizarre fashion.

Won remained silent. She had come too far to be afraid of seeing someone bleed out for the first time. She had seen decapitated people, and she knew every inch of the human body. What horrified her was the cult’s behavior, unable to be explained by reason or logic.

Are they really kin even if they are biologically classified as the same species? Even if they cannot understand the principles of their behavior? Even if they cannot agree on anything through language alone?

The blood from the High Priest’s neck is placed in a crystal glass by an unnamed m*mber of the congregation. Even as he was dying, the High Priest was raising his hands to the sky and saying something with a look of joy on his face. It was a bizarre sight that made Won question what faith is all about.

Won slid the gun back into her pocket, believing it wasn’t the time to use it. Picking up her golf club, which she had put down for a moment, Won counted the number of believers in the room. There seemed to be about fifty of them.

“Fifty to three.”

It wasn’t a good number for a hand-to-hand fight. While the three have weapons, they don’t have enough to overcome the opponents’ numbers. Furthermore, Target is unconscious. If she can’t wake him up, she’ll have to carry him in the worst-case scenario, resulting in a negative for their manpower.

She needs to carefully time it and jump in when she has the best chance of winning. But somehow… an urgency to get out of here as quickly as possible took over her entire body. It was overwhelming, bordering on obsessive.

She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she suspected it had something to do with the strange scents that filled the air. It was neither floral nor the smell of overripe fruit, but an unknown odor that was both fragrant and sweet, and it was growing stronger and stronger.

Humans’ sense of smell tires quickly, so the smells initially recognized will be lost in time. But this scent wasn’t dulling, it was becoming more and more pronounced.

This is not normal.

It’s dangerous.

It should be avoided if possible.

Won wasn’t alone in her wariness; Top Dog and Black Cat seemed to be aware of the scent as well. Black Cat had a hand under his nose, while Top Dog lifted the hem of his shirt to cover his nose, revealing his abs.

‘Your respiratory protection is just like your personality…’

Won frowned and Top Dog spoke up.

“That gun, it’s not very accurate, is it?”

Reflexively, she looked to where Top Dog’s eyes were focused. It was the giant chandelier on the ceiling. She also read his mind.

He was right. A plastic gun was no more suitable for precision shooting than an iron pistol. It’s a matter of material alone: if the barrel is plastic, the accuracy and range are bound to be poor, but…

Won tore her gaze away from the chandelier and stared at the man who was provocatively staring at her.

No, maybe it’s not a provocation, but pure curiosity. It feels provocative nonetheless. Looking into those eyes makes her stomach twist and insides flutter as if some unknown chemical reaction was happening somewhere inside her body.

Won has never been calm in front of his eyes, not even for a moment.

“Get ready to attack.”

Won stared back, then turned her head and raised her gun.

The one bullet she’d been saving for a crucial moment.

‘I’m not sure if this is the right place to use it, but if this one shot can take them down, it’s worth the risk.’

She pointed the gun at the string holding up the chandelier. Then, with a look of horror on Black Cat’s face, she squeezed the trigger without hesitation.

BANG!

The bullet nearly severed the string connecting the ceiling to the chandelier. The fallen crystal chandelier shattered under the law of gravity.

The worshipers within range were crushed by the chandelier, and the shattered crystal shards scattered in all directions.

“Ah!”

“Ouch, my eye! I got a piece of glass in my eye!”

“There’s a person down there!! We need to clear it. There’s blood, there’s blood!”

“Unnie! Unnie! Unnie!”

The once reverent place quickly became a scene of chaos. Won rushed past the confused worshipers to the altar, aiming for Target.

A few worshipers spotted her and tried to stop her.

“An unbeliever! An unbeliever!”

“Stop her!”

‘I’ve got a weapon, and you’ve only got a few laymen, so I’ll just…’

Won relentlessly slammed the iron down.

‘I’ll just beat them up!’

She neutralized the men who were rushing in for the kill, and reached the clergy in a frenzy.

“Ms. Lee Won.”

Her eyes locked with Dr. Madison, who stood atop the podium. The trademark white-rimming glasses were gone today, and the face under the hood was grinning from ear to ear.

He smiled despite his coworkers being crushed and injured by the chandelier that fell from the ceiling, and their consciousness was rendered abysmal. He smiled as if all of that was irrelevant and he only cared for Won.

‘Psycho.’

She immediately looked away and approached the altar.

“Cha Mu-jin! Cha Mu-jin!”

She gave him a wary slap on the cheek, but he didn’t react. Target was breathing properly and his pulse was beating, suggesting that drugs put him to sleep. He’s a done deal.

As Won stooped to pick him up, someone quickly grabbed her arm.

“I’ll get Jin. You two, clear the way!”

It was Black Cat. Won nodded and handed Target over. If one of them had to be a combatant, she was better than Black Cat, who was just a normal person.

She glanced around and saw Top Dog looking like a fish in water. He kicked a shard of the chandelier, deftly landing it in the face of a believer charging at him, then swung the golf club to hit a believer coming from another direction. Those weren’t the actions of an ordinary civilian.

“Protector Choi, I’m giving you a heads up because of our friendship, but a bald head hurts worse when hit with a golf club, because there’s no hair to protect it!”

… Won didn’t think she needed to worry. She just needs to make sure that Black Cat and Target follow her.

Won led the way, clearing any cultists from their path. Black Cat was holding Target with both hands, so he couldn’t attack or defend himself. She needs to cover him.

“Is this an insane asylum or an assh*le garden? Why are there so many assholes?” Top Dog, who has now joined the pack, asked.

“That mouth…”

Won was about to point out his language, but first, Top Dog used the golf club to whack another believer.

“Nice shot. Now is it my turn to show off my skills?”

Won felt a little insane for making a joke like that without wiping the blood from her cheeks.

‘Well, he’s just as crazy as I am.’

No one in their right mind would swing a golf club at someone else in the first place.

Then, she heard Black Cat’s voice.

“Jin, are you awake?”

“Ugh… What is this… Won?”

Black Cat examined Target’s eyes to see if he regained consciousness. His eyes narrowed as he recognized Won, but his brain was still spinning with drugs, and he smiled.

“I see, you came to my rescue…”

“Let’s talk another time!”

Won shouted back, whacking her golf club on the top of the head of another believer when they tried to approach Target. It wouldn’t be too late to celebrate his rescue when they left the hospital.

“Secure the sacrifice! We can’t lose him!”

“Don’t hurt No. 1 and 2 as much as possible! They’re spares!”

The chase continues as they retrace their steps back up the evacuation stairs. Fortunately, the limited width of the stairwell made it much easier to block than in an open space. Plus, despite carrying a full-grown man, Black Cat was more agile than expected.

To deal with the zombie horde of worshipers, Won threw down her golf club and grabbed onto the railing, then leaped up and kicked them in the chest with both feet.

THUD!

The body of the worshiper in front tumbled backward, and those behind him fell like dominoes, tumbling down the steps.

Won followed the group to the first-floor exit and locked the door from outside. The late arrivals banged on the door, frantically turning the doorknob.

“Thank you, Gyeom. I’ll walk on my own from now on.”

Just as Black Cat was about to ask for a shift change due to his ragged breathing, Target dismounted from his back. Won walked over to him to check his condition.

“Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah. I’m a bit groggy, but it’ll be faster for me to stay on my feet than for Gyeom to carry me.”

“Okay. You, take my hand. Gyeom, you take this under your arm and lead the way,”

Deciding that she couldn’t lead the group while guiding Target, Won unclasped the watch on her wrist. Pressing a button to activate the light feature, the watch emitted a beam of light with the output of a flashlight, illuminating the dark hallway. The battery would soon run out, but as of today, it was goodbye to the ward. There was no reason to preserve the battery.

Taking the watch and slipping it on his wrist, Black Cat took the lead. Won took Target’s hand and ran, keeping a little ahead of him, while Top Dog continued to bark about some bullshit.

“I’m getting annoyed. Can’t you just not hold his hand and run, pretty girl?”

“Why should I trust you?”

Top Dog never fully revealed his purpose. She has a vague idea of his story, but it’s only a guess, not even a confirmed statement from his mouth. Therefore, she doesn’t trust him completely. If he completely trusted her, he wouldn’t hide his reason.

‘If he doesn’t trust me, why should I trust him?’

… Won realizes it is like elementary school-level thinking, but it’s still true. How can she be this old and think like this?

That’s what Won was thinking as she ran toward the nurses’ station toward the steel door leading outside. The arm that held Target’s hand-stretched taut, as if he was being held back and preventing him from following her.

As she ran forward, Won looked back. The dagger used in the ritual earlier was pointed at Target’s throat, and the person holding it was…

“What’s so urgent that you don’t even bother to say hello, Ms. Lee Won?”

Dr. Madison, who had appeared as if he had sprung from the ground, ruefully greeted her.

 Kofi