...
The boy was silent for a moment.
"No..." The boy replied dazedly.
"Then, what did you do?"
"Ah... I'm sorry..." The boy tried to get up from his position.
However, because his body ached, he had difficulty getting up on his own.
"Why are you apologizing?" The man asked in a flat tone, as if he didn't care about his situation.
"That... Because I was blocking your way...?" The boy replied in a slightly confused tone.
"Is this street mine?"
The boy was a little surprised.
"No... yes... that..." He was at a loss for words.
The man remained silent, as if waiting for an answer.
The boy became nervous.
"That... because me lying on the street would disturb other people passing by?"
"Will anyone pass by on a dark, rainy road like this?" The man replied.
"That..." The boy was at a loss for an answer.
"Why aren't you answering?"
"That..."
The dim streetlights didn't provide enough light, and the man's black umbrella prevented the boy from seeing his face clearly.
The boy's lips trembled slightly, unable to form any words.
He was also afraid the man would be angry with him for not answering his question immediately.
As he struggled to find an answer, the man spoke first.
"I was just joking."
Although the man had said it himself, there was no hint of humor in it.
Still lying where he was, the boy fell silent.
"Doesn't it sound like a joke?" The man said.
Although his face was obscured by the umbrella's shadow, the boy could still feel the man's gaze.
A complicated expression crossed the boy's face, and he subconsciously averted his eyes.
The man also fell silent. Only the sound of the rain almost subsiding could be heard.
The silence enveloped them until the rain had completely subsided.
As the boy tried to get up again, a sound was heard.
It wasn't the sound of rain or thunder, but the sound of a hungry stomach.
"S-sorry, sir..." The boy held his stomach, trying to hold back the rumbling.
"Are you hungry?"
After a moment of silence, the boy nodded, lowering his head in shame.
Since the rain had stopped, the man pulled back his umbrella. He helped the boy sit up.
"Your wound is quite horrific. It must hurt, right?"
The man's voice was cold, it was unclear whether he cared or not.
Due to the poor lighting, the boy still couldn't see the man's face clearly.
What expression he had, he didn't know.
However, for some reason, he felt certain about something.
This man before him wasn't a bad person.
The boy nodded.
The man held a lantern that had appeared from out of nowhere.
The lantern looked rather ancient, but it emitted a peaceful and gentle light.
Thanks to the light from the lantern, the boy began to see the face he hadn't been able to see clearly before.
He could see it.
An expressionless face, with a pair of beautiful green eyes.
Still crouching in place, the man blew out the light from the lantern.
As if there was no glass barrier there, hundreds, maybe even thousands of fireflies began to fly.
The source of the lantern's light was not a candle or any other fuel.
Instead, it was the light from many small fireflies.
No one would have guessed that there were hundreds of fireflies inside the ancient lantern.
The boy was shocked, his eyes wide open.
Hundreds of fireflies landed on his injured body.
The cluster of tiny lights was both warm and beautiful.
The pain and wounds on his body slowly began to fade.
His violet eyes stared at him in disbelief.
'Is this what they call a miracle?' The boy thought.
When all his wounds had healed, the hundreds of fireflies returned to the lantern.
The boy subconsciously looked up at the man. Unconsciously, a sentence escaped his lips.
"Are you a god?"
Realizing his words might sound rude, the boy immediately covered his mouth.
"I'm sorry, sir..." The boy immediately lowered his head and apologized.
The man only smiled slightly.
"No. I'm not a god." He said in a voice that was cold, yet strangely not cold.
The sound of the boy's stomach broke the silence between them again.
Even though he was only eight years old, he knew it was embarrassing. He held his stomach tightly.
"I've been thinking about this for a while... why do you look scared?" The man pointed to the boy's facial expression.
Although he thought the sound of his stomach growling was embarrassing, his expression betrayed his fear.
His eyes trembled, his hands clenched tightly, and he couldn't answer.
"I-I'm sorry..."
"You're apologizing again. Is it wrong to be hungry?"
Hearing those words, the boy subconsciously looked at the man.
His face seemed to say, it is not wrong?
"Humans are living creatures, of course they feel hunger and thirst, and need food."
"That's nothing to be afraid of, and it's nothing to be blamed for."
"Those who scold you for being hungry are probably not human." The man said in a slightly mocking tone.
"That's not wrong."
Hearing this, tears unknowingly fell from his eyes. But they weren't tears of sadness.
The man, dressed all in black, stood up.
Holding a lantern in his left hand, he extended his right hand to the boy.
"Come."
The boy paused for a moment, unsure whether he should follow this man he had just met.
Seeing the hand outstretched to him, he decided to take it.
It was cold hand.
Yet strangely warm.
...
"Several soldiers in nearby positions are ready to assist the returning personnel from the patrol boat!" Major Jihan Rei, who was monitoring from a lighthouse, ordered.
["Captain Morran, I'll leave the monitoring and command of the long-range fire force to you."] Jihan said to Luke, who was at the central headquarters.
["Yes! I'll do it!"]
After Luke answered the order, Jihan and several other personnel with him immediately descended from the lighthouse and approached the approaching patrol boat.
High waves, heavy rain, dark clouds, and strong winds added to the eerie atmosphere of this horrific scene.
The gate hadn't shown any signs of cracks, but the change in color posed a new threat to them all.
What if the gate suddenly opened without warning?
Everyone had wondered that, but in the past thirty years, it had never happened.
And they absolutely couldn't afford to be caught off guard by this sudden change.
Using a pair of binoculars, Luke watched the blue gate.
After the color change, other than the worsening weather, there hadn't been any other signs of abnormality.
But even so, he didn't let his guard down. He ordered the gunners to their respective positions.
Major Jihan led some of his personnel to the dock to assist the soldiers who would soon arrive from the patrol boat.
Everyone stood ready with their rifles, while monitoring the sea area, ready for any sudden attack.
Just a little closer to land, after their ship was almost rolled by the waves, a loud sound, almost like an explosion, was heard.
But it wasn't the sound of a bomb or anything else.
Everyone spontaneously looked out to sea.
More specifically, towards the mysterious gate that stood there.
Those on land couldn't see clearly without the aid of binoculars. Luke and the other long-range shooters with binoculars could see it.
It was what they feared.
["Major! Get away from there immediately!"]
The crack mark appeared, coinciding with the gate's opening.
Gates usually gave a few hours, sometimes minutes, after the crack mark appeared on the door.
Even if it was only a few minutes, at least it gave the soldiers time to prepare for the monsters that would emerge from there.
But this time, that wasn't the case.
The change in color of the gate alone was enough to terrify them. It wasn't impossible, and many even thought, that the gate might open without giving them time to prepare.
But no one expected it to actually happen.
If this were a dream, then it was a truly terrible nightmare. Deep in their hearts, they all hoped to wake up from this nightmare.
But unfortunately, this wasn't a dream.
Luke immediately issued a warning to Jihan, who had arrived at the dock.
Less than a few meters away, the patrol boat led by Anser Edward was almost at the dock.
But just at that moment, the giant blue gate opened.
From within the gate, not a horde of monsters emerged.
Instead, only one.
One monster.
"Damn!"
Sensing danger, Anser immediately took control of the ship.
He pushed the throttle to its maximum. And he continued pushing it.
Just then, a mysterious giant creature began to reveal itself.
A massive jolt shook the ocean.
A head.
A pair of fins.
A tail.
The creature began to leap, crashing through the vast ocean with its massive body.
With each jolt, the waves began to rise, as if a tsunami were brewing.
"Shit!" The ship, already at its limit, was slammed into the waves caused by the creature.
The high waves were about to reach land, sweeping everyone away.
["Everyone retreat immediately!"] Luke ordered all the soldiers on the shore.
The soldiers immediately retreated away from the raging sea.
["Major!"]
However, one man still hadn't retreated.
Major Jihan Rei, still standing on the dock. He was still waiting for the patrol boat to reach land.
But under these circumstances, that was impossible. It was possible the ship would never reach land and would sink beneath the waves.
"Shit!" Anser Edward was still holding on tightly to the ship's rudder.
"Everyone! Hold on tight!" He shouted as he steered the ship over the terrifying ocean waves.
"Just a little more...! Just a little more...!" He shouted determinedly.
"Please..."
With just a little more time left, the creature's tail slammed into the water, creating a towering wave.
The patrol boat was now about to be swallowed by the ocean.