TMCBOW Chapter 85

Chapter 85

 

Chris opened his eyes to the intense heat. He coughed as acrid smoke filled the air.

“Damn it. Just trying to get some sleep…”

Chris quickly surveyed his surroundings, waving away the smoke with his hand. Beyond the hazy smoke, fierce flames flickered.

The Sabbat Game took place in a city offered to demons, where all humans had vanished. There were many empty buildings that people used to inhabit.

It had only been an hour since he’d settled down to rest in a shabby but quiet two-story building.

The flames were spreading unnaturally fast. This was intentional arson.

“Whoever it is, they’re thorough bastards.”

Chris chuckled bitterly. Someone had tracked him, waited for him to fall into a deep sleep, then thrown a Molotov cocktail. This type was always the trickiest to deal with.

“Ugh.”

Breathing became increasingly difficult. Escape was urgent, but the first floor was already engulfed in flames.

“The window…”

There was only one reason Chris had chosen this building. The windows with broken glass had boards nailed over them.

It provided shelter from the cold while leaving small gaps to quickly detect if anyone approached.

But now it was a hindrance. No matter how hard he pushed, the boards wouldn’t budge.

“Come on!”

Chris kicked the board with all his might, and finally, it broke and fell.

A wave of hot air rushed in. The fire was right in front of him, ready to swallow him whole.

Chris was about to jump down but hesitated. The ground where he would land was studded with broken blades.

“They even calculated this.”

Chris clicked his tongue and jumped, avoiding the trap. As he landed and rolled, his barely healed wound reopened. He swallowed a scream.

As Chris tried to move while hastily stopping the bleeding, warning sounds blared and the surroundings lit up.

“Flares?”

Lights fell from the sky, trailing smoke like tails.

Chris sprang up and ran. It was an instinctive choice, without thought or judgment.

The brightness eliminated the advantage of night for hiding. Being exposed at night, especially while injured, was fatal.

“Damn it.”

In an instant, three people were on his tail. Their coordinated movements made it clear they were a team.

Beyond them, he could see others lurking around. Probably waiting like hyenas for the fight to end.

Bang!

The sound of gunfire marked the start of the real hunt.

One person covered the rear while two approached from the front, slowly closing in on Chris.

“If we don’t take him out now, he’ll be dangerous.”

“Today’s the day we’ll finish him off for good.”

He heard gleeful laughter. The confidence of those certain of victory.

How they found his whereabouts, why they were targeting him—such logical questions were meaningless now.

‘The important thing is to survive somehow.’

Chris ran into a conspicuous building and jammed a stick he found on the floor into the door handle.

“The door won’t open!”

“Since when did we ask for permission? Break it down!”

The pursuers, quickly catching up, pounded on the building as if to demolish it. Chris watched the shaking door intently while piling up furniture.

‘They don’t have enough firepower to bring down the whole building anyway.’

So he needed to slowly drain their stamina. By buying time with the door and barricades.

“Damn it, leave the door to the strong one and the rest of you break the windows.”

“Yes sir!”

Almost simultaneously, one broke down the door while the other two smashed the windows.

But Chris had already fled upstairs, scattering sharp vase fragments on the staircase.

“Tch. He’s quite the runner.”

The simple trap only held them back for a moment. The group pursued Chris with frightening intensity.

Chris ran to the second floor, then the third, dodging incoming bullets.

“Catch that bastard! Surround him!”

“The stairway is too narrow!”

Frustration seeped into their voices as he refused to be caught easily.

“How many floors does this building have?”

“It’s a 5-story building, sir!”

“He’s done playing around. Hurry!”

The fifth floor was coming up. Chris pressed on, applying pressure to his unceasing wound.

‘Almost there.’

Chris endured the creeping pain and finally reached the rooftop.

Far from over, it was just beginning. Soon, everyone gathered on the roof.

“There’s nowhere left to run.”

The leader of the team aimed his gun at Chris. The other two also raised their weapons.

“Running to such an open space was your downfall. You disappeared for a while, but it seems even the feared mad dog of hell is past his prime.”

Chris turned to face them, his expression devoid of emotion.

“Well…”

Chris looked over the group, glaring at him as if ready to tear him apart, and then shrugged.

“I didn’t know, but it turns out I have a talent for running away.”

Chris, who had been moving leisurely, suddenly accelerated and ran. Toward the opposite building.

“Is he insane? He’s going to jump that distance?”

“What are you doing! Attack him now!”

The subdued atmosphere suddenly stirred again. Even as bullets flew and arrows grazed his shoulder, Chris calmly increased his speed.

The distance between buildings was far. Moreover, from a five-story building, one misstep would mean falling to his death.

Despite this, Chris leaped without a moment’s hesitation.

Tap-tap.

He barely cleared the building and kept running without stopping. To the next building, and then the next.

“Jump!”

“C-Captain, it’s too far….”

“It’s raining and slippery…”

“Tch. Useless bunch. Can’t you do what a half-dead man can?”

The captain spat irritably. He wanted to forcibly push his subordinates, but didn’t think that would help catch Chris.

Charging ahead at the cost of losing manpower was a gamble. And a gamble with low odds of winning.

One man, watching the situation, cautiously spoke up.

“Um, Captain. We’ve left our base unattended for too long.”

“It’s raining, and we’re wasting time… Damn it, let’s go back!”

They finally gave up on Chris and retreated. Since all three of them were unharmed, the hyenas lurking around would also back off.

It had been like this lately. At first, they fought fiercely, but as it turned into a long-term battle, everyone avoided reckless fights.

‘They’ve realized how precious life is.’

Chris didn’t waste energy unnecessarily either. Preserving strength was key to surviving another day.

What mattered wasn’t how many you killed, but surviving until the very end.

“Ugh…”

Chris rose, swallowing his pain.

The immediate danger had passed, but an attack could come anytime, anywhere. The wounded were easy targets.

‘I might die from infection before that.’

That, too, was a common cause of death.

There was no chance to find medicine, let alone sleep comfortably or have a nutritious meal.

After surviving a grueling day, another tense tomorrow would come.

And after that tomorrow, the same day would repeat the day after, and the day after that. Until death.

It felt like being trapped in a vast tunnel. Surely light would shine at the end, but he didn’t know when that day would come.

Or more precisely…

If that day would ever come…

Chris, having reached the forest beyond the city, hugged his knees and buried his head.

Screams rained down from all directions. Pleas for help and exultant cries of survival pierced his ears.

“Stop.”

Covering his ears was useless. The sounds were hallucinations in his head.

When it became unbearable, Chris would think of his family. He wanted to hear warm encouragement that everything was okay, that he was doing well, that everything would work out.

But the faces of his family in his mind were blacked out.

‘I can’t remember…’

His strict father, his mother who was only lenient with him, his older brother always fretting about not being able to feed him enough, his playful older sister—all of them.

“…….”

The precious memories he had only allowed himself to recall during the toughest times, fearing they’d wear out if remembered too often, seemed to have reached their end.

He felt like he was sinking into deep despair, fragmenting into tiny pieces.

‘I want to end it all.’

But he couldn’t. After fighting so desperately all this time. Chris forced himself to pull it together.

‘I have to survive until the end and become the ultimate victor.’

Only the absolute wish-granting power could save Chris.

Only that…

 

“You must have grown up receiving a lot of love from your family.”

 

At that moment, a vivid voice echoed in his mind.

🥂

Thank you for reading! ♡