Chapter 31: Tabong

We moved cautiously in the darkness.

The sight of [Bad Hands] floating in the air was still eerie, but we already knew one thing.

Those hands had no sight.

It was easier than expected to avoid the [Bad Hands] wandering around, unaware of our presence.

“Okay, I think we can go that way for now.”

I whispered, pointing ahead.

Sia also nodded and followed behind me.

But the tranquility didn’t last long.

Suddenly, the [Big Bad Hand] in the distance slowly turned its huge fingers towards us, as if turning its head.

“Wh-… Why us, all of a sudden?”

Sia asked in a tense voice.

And soon, the [Bad Hands] in the darkness started moving all at once.

They rushed towards us at high speed, like wild beasts.

“Dodge!”

I shouted, grabbing Sia’s arm and throwing myself to the side.

A [Bad Hand] brushed past where we had been.

We caught our breath and watched the movements of the Bad Hands.

“They’re supposed to be blind, how do they know where we are?”

I muttered, looking at the [Big Bad Hand].

And then, I noticed something strange.

Something was moving behind the [Big Bad Hand].

Small [Bad Hands] were holding each other’s hands, forming a long chain, faintly visible in the darkness.

“Wh-What’s that now?”

Sia said, horrified.

From the back of the [Big Bad Hand]’s head, the [Bad Hands] were holding each other, forming a kind of ‘network’.

It seemed like they were receiving our exact location through that network.

“Those guys, they’re connected and tracking our location!”

“No way…”

I stared at the scene in front of me, horrified.

The [Bad Hands] were supposed to be blind. But they were connected to that giant hand, moving like a single organism.

“How is that even possible?”

Sia also muttered, panting.

But it was undeniable.

The [Bad Hands] were not moving individually, but were forming a network by holding each other’s hands under the center of the [Big Bad Hand].

I gritted my teeth.

“They’ve overcome their weakness…”

Until now, the [Bad Hands] were blind and couldn’t accurately pinpoint our location.

But now it was different.

If one hand felt a sensation, it was transmitted to the other hands.

In other words, if even one of us was touched, that information would be transmitted to the giant hand.

“We can’t even move carelessly now.”

I muttered softly, looking around.

The hands were slowly moving in the darkness, closing in on us.

That’s when it happened.

Whoosh.

A sound like wind brushing past was heard from somewhere.

I instantly threw myself to the side to avoid it.

The flow of air passing right next to me made me instinctively realize that it had just tried to grab me.

‘[Invisible Hands] too…!’

Everywhere was full of danger.

[Bad Hands] floating in the air, hands connected and sharing information, and [Invisible Hands] attacking from somewhere.

We were already caught in a dangerous trap.

“Be careful! There are [Invisible Hands] too!”

I shouted to Sia.

But before I could finish my sentence, she suddenly screamed.

“Kyaaak!”

I was startled and turned to her.

She was floating in the air.

[Invisible Hands] were holding her ankles and pulling her up.

“Sia this time!”

I quickly grabbed her hand.

But my body weight alone wasn’t enough.

I couldn’t handle the grip strength with this small body.

Instead, I started to get dragged along.

I gritted my teeth and struggled, but there was a limit to how much I could defy gravity.

Sia was being pulled higher and higher, and I was being dragged along with her.

At this rate, we’re both done for.

“I have to do something…”

I steeled my resolve.

I couldn’t just be dragged along as those hands wanted.

I had to do something.

With that single thought, I shook my body with all my might.

And I let go of one hand and threw myself into the air.

“Uwaaah!”

I kicked towards the connected hands, flailing in the air.

Thump!

I felt something like the connected line of hands tearing.

At that moment, Sia’s body was freed.

But instead, I immediately fell from the sky.

As I fell, I felt something grab my arm and I squeezed my eyes shut.

I knew it instinctively.

This time, I was the one caught.

When I opened my eyes, it was the [Big Bad Hand] that was holding me.

That giant hand was holding me tightly.

I struggled.

But the hand was as solid as an iron fortress, and it didn’t budge even a little despite my desperate struggle.

I bit my lip.

‘Ugh…, what do I do now?’

The giant hand slowly pulled me up.

My heart was pounding like crazy.

I struggled in the air again.

But it was no use.

The [Big Bad Hand] was still holding me tightly, slowly pulling me up.

The force of its grip was beyond imagination, and it felt like I was being crushed by a huge rock.

I gritted my teeth and struggled, but the grip didn’t loosen at all.

“H…”

At that moment, I heard Sia’s voice from below.

“Hey! Are you okay?!”

I turned my gaze to Sia.

She was desperately looking at me from below.

But she had also barely escaped from the threatening hands just moments ago.

She couldn’t jump back into the hands to save me.

‘…What do I do?’

That’s when it happened.

Suddenly, the [Bad Hands] floating in the air started to move differently.

They started flying in unexpected directions, as if they were excited.

They started attacking the [Big Bad Hand].

“What…?”

I watched the scene, bewildered.

The [Bad Hands] that had been following the [Big Bad Hand] until now had suddenly changed direction and were attacking it.

Sia also muttered with a dumbfounded expression.

“Why…?”

The hands were tangled together, creating a mess.

The [Big Bad Hand] was moving as if to defend itself from those hands.

I realized as I watched it.

‘This guy… is protecting me?’

At first, I thought it was just trying to subdue me.

But looking at the situation now, that didn’t seem to be the case.

The [Big Bad Hand] was moving in a way that seemed to protect me.

While that hand was holding me, it was preventing other hands from approaching me.

I was confused.

Why?

‘This hand… is it an ally?’

Then, suddenly, I heard a ‘creak’ sound from somewhere.

I reflexively turned my head.

Over there, in the darkness, a door was opening.

Light was seeping out, and a new exit was opening.

I made eye contact with Sia.

She also seemed to have found the exit, and nodded.

At that moment, the [Big Bad Hand] slowly released me.

I fell to the floor and quickly regained my balance.

Sia immediately came to me and grabbed my hand.

“Let’s go!”

We ran with all our might towards the open door.

At that very moment, the [Bad Hands] behind us rushed towards us all at once.

I reflexively turned to block them, but I soon realized that I didn’t need to.

The [Big Bad Hand] had moved.

That giant hand slowly moved forward and blocked the approaching [Bad Hands].

It looked like a huge barrier, spreading its hand to protect us.

I muttered, dumbfounded, at the sight.

“It was really… protecting us?”

Sia also watched the scene with a surprised expression.

The [Big Bad Hand] hesitated for a moment towards us.

Then, it slowly raised its finger and gave a thumbs up.

I was momentarily speechless at the sight.

Sia also muttered with a bewildered expression.

“Is that, a thumbs up?”

I almost burst out laughing, but I quickly turned towards the exit.

“Let’s go!”

We quickly passed through the open door.

Just before the door closed, I looked back one last time.

The [Big Bad Hand] was still holding its hand up.

Maybe it’s thanking us for saving it.

As the door closed, the hand’s figure disappeared completely.

We passed through the door, panting and catching our breath.

Sia was dazed for a while, then looked at me and said.

“That hand…”

“Was it really an ally?”

I gasped for breath and muttered softly.

“I don’t know…”

“But, at least in the end, it protected us.”

We looked at each other’s faces, realizing that we had survived again this time.

February 2nd, 2025.

A day somewhere.

Today, we survived again in the darkness.

[Bad Hands], [Invisible Hands], and even the biggest and scariest [Big Bad Hand].

We thought everyone would threaten us, but in the end, the [Big Bad Hand] protected us.

That hand was certainly huge and threatening, but it acted like it was on our side in the end.

It blocked the [Bad Hands] that were trying to attack us, and when the door opened, it let us go.

Even the gesture of giving a thumbs up felt strangely human-like and warm.

I’m confused.

Why?

What the hell was that hand moving for?

Among beings where we don’t even know if they are allies or enemies, we survived once again.

View next episode.