I PICKED UP A CHILD IN A DUMPSTER

Chapter 158: Destruction (II)

[A/N:I’m sorry for using a strongword on that specific scene below.]

"Focus!"

The dizziness eased slightly.

Not much.

But enough.

He forced himself upright afterward, leaning heavily against the broken wooden stick while stepping over shattered desks and chunks of fallen concrete scattered across what remained of the classroom.

The room barely looked like a room anymore.

Half the wall was gone.

Smoke drifted slowly through the open destruction left behind by the dragon while cracked tiles groaned beneath scattered debris. Torn notebooks fluttered weakly across the floor from the wind still pouring through the massive hole in the building.

At that moment, Si Hon got the chance to finally look around.

Some students were still crawling toward the exit, dragging their bodies along the floor. It was a mess. A few of them didn’t have legs anymore— just bone and torn meat where their lower halves used to be.

They were pulling themselves forward with their arms, their intestines sliding out behind them on the concrete, slick and red. They were just trying to reach the door, leaving smears of blood everywhere they crawled.

Others... weren’t moving at all. They were just lying there in the rubble. One girl had her head twisted completely to the side, her neck clearly snapped.

Another had a huge crack in his skull, the bone split wide open and some of his brain’s are leaking out. A few were still alive, but barely. They were just shaking on the ground, foaming at the mouth with every breath, their eyes unfocused and empty.

Si Hon avoided looking too closely at those ones.

Another violent tremor shook the room.

Dust rained from the ceiling again.

"Yeah... shit, sorry," he muttered tiredly.

Using the wooden stick like an exhausted grandfather refusing to die with dignity, he limped toward the classroom doorway and shoved himself into the hallway outside.

The moment he stepped out—

The scale of the chaos became worse.

Students flooded through the corridors in pure panic, rushing past each other without direction while distant screams echoed endlessly from lower floors. Emergency alarms blared somewhere throughout the school, though parts of it kept cutting in and out from the damage.

One section of the hallway wall had completely collapsed inward.

Smoke rolled through the corridors—

Everywhere looked destroyed.

Lockers torn open.

Glass crunching beneath his shoes.

Papers drifting slowly through smoke filled air like a dying snow.

Students rushed past him endlessly in pure panic, some crying openly while others shoved through the hallway just trying to survive another second.

Nobody paid attention to anyone else anymore.

And honestly?

Fair enough.

Step.

Step.

Step.

His pace remained uneven while he moved through the hallway, eyes scanning instinctively through the crowd passing him.

Then—

He spotted someone familiar.

Green hair.

Short.

Small frame.

And currently looking seconds away from emotionally combusting.

(Mihu...)

Si Hon blinked once.

(Wait.)

His eyes narrowed slightly.

(I just realized she isn’t wearing glasses.)

Almost immediately, Mihu noticed him too.

Her eyes widened so hard it looked like she had just discovered civilization again.

"S-Si Hon!!"

She practically sprinted toward him through the crowd, tears already running down her face while waving one arm frantically.

"Wahhhh!! I’m so scared!!" she cried the moment she reached him. "Something exploded and then the whole building started shaking and there was this huge stomp sound and everybody kept calling me Yuna for some reason?! THAT’S NOT EVEN MY NAME!!"

Si Hon stared at her for a second.

Then sighed tiredly.

"Yeah," he muttered. "That happened to us too."

(I should keep the dragon part out... she might faint ಠ⁠,⁠_⁠｣⁠ಠ)

Another explosion rumbled somewhere outside.

"Have you seen anyone else?"

Mihu shook her head immediately.

"No! I don’t even know where to g—"

She stopped suddenly.

Her eyes slowly drifted over him.

Then narrowed.

"Wait."

A pause.

"Why do you look like an exhausted grandfather? •́⁠ _ ⁠,⁠•̀"

Si Hon’s eye twitched.

"ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ..."

He pointed weakly down the hallway.

"Let’s just go to the rooftop."

Mihu nodded immediately before slipping under one of his arms without hesitation.

Her shoulder pressed against his side as she helped support his weight while wrapping one arm carefully around his waist.

"Careful..." she said.

Si Hon groaned quietly but allowed it.

And while helping him walk—

Mihu’s thoughts betrayed her instantly.

(Woah.)

Her eyes flickered downward briefly.

(I didn’t notice earlier but his waist is actually kinda sma—)

A loud explosion interrupted the thought before it could finish.

"MOVE YOUR LEGS FASTER," Si Hon muttered.

"Y-Y es!"

Together they moved upward through the stairwell while the school continued collapsing around them.

Second floor — nothing.

No familiar faces, beside Mihu.

Third floor — Still nothing.

No one.

Not even the supposed protagonist anywhere in sight.

Only terrified students and distant destruction echoing endlessly through the building.

Which honestly made Si Hon even more nervous.

Because if Jisoo Park wasn’t visible—

That probably meant she was already doing something insane somewhere else.

Eventually—

They reached the rooftop door.

The heavy steel entrance stood slightly bent from earlier tremors, vibrating faintly every few seconds alongside the rest of the building.

Si Hon stepped forward slowly.

Grabbed the handle.

And pushed it open.

The first thing that greeted them—

Was wind.

Strong.

Warm.

Carrying smoke, ash, burning concrete, and something metallic drifting through the air from the school.

But above all that—

The sky remained bright blue.

Almost painfully beautiful compared to everything happening underneath it.

The rooftop stretched wide beneath the sunlight, debris scattered near the edges while distant smoke pillars rose across the city skyline.

And standing there—

Were the others.

Si Hon exhaled quietly in relief the moment he saw them.

"They’re here."

Han.

Suha.

Seong.

A random handsome guy standing awkwardly nearby like he accidentally joined the wrong genre.

Aeloria and several teammates scattered across different corners of the rooftop.

Alive.

But—

Edur wasn’t there.

The realization hit immediately.

Before Si Hon could think further though— Han and Suha noticed him near the doorway.

Their expressions lit up instantly.

"DAD!!!"

Both of them sprinted toward him at terrifying speed.

"WAIT—"

Too late.

They crashed directly into Si Hon full force, nearly folding him in half as all three collapsed onto the rooftop floor together.

"WAH!! (⁠ᗒ⁠ᗩ⁠ᗕ⁠)" Mihu yelled as she got dragged down too. "WHY DID I FALL AS WELL?!"

Han hugged Si Hon tightly while Suha practically latched onto his other side like they had just reunited after a TEN YEAR war.

For one brief second—

The chaos softened.

The rooftop felt almost safe.

Then—

Flap.

Flap.

Flap.

The sound rolled slowly across the rooftop air.

Heavy.

Massive.

And very, very close.