41. Hellgate

+++

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Geureureureu.

 

 

 

 

An army of enormous scale.

Even if it were just a bunch of normal living things, this would be enough to topple a few decent countries, but these guys are mana-based lifeforms spawned from a dungeon.

Thankfully, they weren’t inside the dungeon, so non-mana-infused weapons were effective, but it wasn’t enough to wipe them all out. If it were, so many zombies wouldn’t have survived a nuclear attack.

 

 

When roughly 1,000 zombies gathered, they mutated into powerful variants, and when 100,000 zombies gathered, they transformed into ultra-powerful mutants like giant zombies. Thousands of zombies were consumed in the process, but even so, there were easily hundreds of giant zombies.

 

 

No, if you count them all, there’d probably be well over a thousand.

 

 

This alone was enough to overwhelm humanity, but now, on top of that, a new mutation was about to run rampant…

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Kieeeeeek!!

 

 

 

 

 

An enormous number of zombies filling the vast plains, and over a thousand giant zombies standing tall here and there.

Among them, countless more zombies began to clump together again.

 

 

The clumping created a completely new mutation, and the result gave the zombies the sky.

 

 

The zombie horde, which had been helplessly hit by missiles flying in from all directions, was now able to intercept missiles through the newly emerged aerial mutants, and furthermore, they could shoot their infectious agents over long distances.

 

 

The zombies’ weakness had been compensated for!

 

 

 

This fact was reported to each country after dozens of unmanned reconnaissance aircraft and missiles were neutralized, and the world was gradually being painted with gloom.

The United States also expedited the deployment of the stat-utilizing A-force, and within the military, opinions were voiced that this fact should be actively publicized to restore stability to humanity.

 

 

Thus, although they hadn’t deployed the A-force yet, just as they were about to announce that the zombie situation would soon be resolved,

 

 

 

 

 

 

Something suddenly fell from the sky towards where the zombie horde was.

It mercilessly pierced through the Earth’s atmosphere and slammed straight into the ground.

 

 

Instantly, everything around flashed white with an enormous burst of light.

A moment later, what was visible was a mushroom cloud soaring hundreds of kilometers into the sky and the earth being overturned by the shockwave. A wave of destruction, like something out of a movie, ravaged the entire land.

 

 

The zombie situation, which had been causing terror to all of humanity for several months since its outbreak. Even numerous experts, who had been sighing that perhaps this time the extinction of humanity was imminent, saw those threatening zombies evaporate without being able to do anything.

 

 

A radius of 1000km, no less.

 

Not only the entire area teeming with zombies, but also cities beyond that where uninfected people lived, disappeared without a trace.

The scale of the damage alone was roughly 1 million.

 

 

But this was not the end.

 

A radius of 1000km was only the direct impact zone of the Gargantua bombardment, and the indirect effects of this bombardment spread far beyond that.

Nearby areas completely collapsed due to earthquakes exceeding magnitude 9.0, and even in Europe, which was some distance away, earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 were reported. Shattered windows on the opposite side of the Earth were just a minor nuisance.

 

 

Using only 1.2% of its output, it not only annihilated 1 billion zombies but also devastated all surrounding areas. The shockwave circled the Earth 11 times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

+++

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While the entire Earth was in an uproar due to sudden earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, some countries and organizations detected anomalies.

First of all, when looking at the Earth with satellites, the Middle East had been completely erased, and the African and Eurasian continents were completely severed, and the existence of zombies was no longer detected. Could it just be a fuss due to the incubation period, which occurs with only a 5% probability?

 

 

But that level was something that modern countries could sufficiently handle.

 

 

 

 

While the world was in chaos, Bojinia, who acts as Sonia’s speaker in the Bojinia Federal Empire, came out and held a press conference.

The content was deeply shocking.

 

 

She said that they had eradicated the zombies in the process of testing a new weapon built along with the lunar base and lunar city.

 

 

She said it as if it were nothing, but it made all the reporters’ mouths drop open.

 

 

 

 

 

“So…you’re saying…wherever it is on Earth…you can just shoot it directly from the moon…?”

 

 

 

In the past, the United States had planned a project called ‘Rod of God’.

It was a weapon that would put a satellite weapon in Earth’s orbit and then drop a tungsten rod from there to create the effect of a meteorite collision, and it was expected to have more destructive power than a nuke.

 

 

However, research results showed that the destructive power did not meet expectations, and rather, when considering the budget, the results showed that a nuke was much more efficient, so it was eventually scrapped.

 

 

 

After that happened, people didn’t really think that a satellite weapon would actually be built, but it was finally realized by the Galactic Empire. And in a form that couldn’t even be compared to something like the Rod of God.

 

 

The US Department of Defense, upon hearing this, was truly demoralized.

First of all, they had pointlessly dispersed their stats and hadn’t even gotten a proper reward, and there was no way, even for the United States, to block an attack that was shot down from the moon.

More than anything, they had annihilated 1 billion zombies that were spread out in an instant. When viewed from a satellite, that area was cleanly erased.

 

 

What if something like that were to be slammed into the US mainland? There’s no way to counter it, nuke or anything else.

 

 

 

 

They urgently needed to hold a meeting about this emergency situation, but no one was convening one. They needed time to recover from the massive shock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

+++

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“To think something like this existed. You should have told us beforehand.”

“…To have dragged this out like this when we could have taken care of it a long time ago.”

 

 

Yu-Eun and Yu-Na showed their respective reactions.

Sonia was just smiling gently, and Yu-Na bit her lip tightly.

 

 

As expected, it’s hard to accept easily because there were too many sacrifices.

 

 

“Well, I guess you know now. That even if the whole world joins forces, they can’t stand against us.”

“That’s true, but it’s a shame that it can only be aimed at Earth. We can’t use it as a weapon for the vast universe.”

 

 

The moon always shows only one side to the Earth.

This means that Gargantua is only looking at the Earth, and it also means that it can only strike the Earth.

 

 

Of course, because the distance between the moon and the Earth is farther than you think, it can strike anything that’s in the Earth’s direction, but there are limitations due to the angle.

 

 

“Hehe. You don’t have to worry about that. Because there’s one on the opposite side of the moon too.”

“Huh?”

 

Sonia stroked Yu-Eun’s spaced-out face, finding it cute.

 

 

“The anti-Earth weapon is Gargantua, and the anti-universe weapon is Detruire. It goes without saying, but Detruire has a much higher maximum output and a longer range.”

“When did you do that!”

 

 

Yu-Eun hugged her and rubbed his face in her boob.

To think she’d manage the household so well while I was in the Murim world. Total shock!

 

 

 

 

 

“By the way, is it really time to unify the Earth now? Honestly, there’s no place that can stand against us, right? Even if it’s America, what can they do when we’re gonna slam them from the moon?”

 

Sora’s words were terrifying. But that was the truth. Even if there weren’t any ultra-high-level masters like Yu-Eun, the Galactic Empire had already far surpassed the total capabilities of the Earth excluding them.

No, even before that, from the moment the space-time battleship Yukrim, which was a modified Barkana, came out, you could say that the Earth’s fate (?) was already sealed. It’s just that they’ve survived until now due to Yu-Eun’s not particularly proactive nature.

 

 

“Hmm.”

 

 

Yu-Eun buried his face in Sonia’s boob and thought for a moment.

 

 

I’ve been playing around with the entire Earth like it’s a toy, but isn’t it time to clean things up?

The fact that I’ve already declared the Galactic Empire implies that meaning, but I’ve been acting too gentlemanly (?) until now.

 

 

“Okay.”

“What is it?”

“When I think about it, the universe is vast, right? There could be aliens like the Barkana anywhere. To protect the Earth from them, the Earth must be unified first.”

“You can just say you’re going to occupy it, why are you saying so much?”

“Heh. Anyway, shouldn’t I at least give some justification?”

“Sigh. Okay, then. It seems like it would be better to unify it for sure this time in the long run.”

 

 

Perhaps it’s because so many lives were lost in an instant, but Yu-Na seems exhausted. A unification war would clearly cause great damage, but she doesn’t even seem to be thinking of stopping it.

 

 

“Let’s try to do it peacefully first.”

“Peacefully? How?”

“We’ve shown a show of force, so who knows? If we throw it out there subtly, maybe they’ll bite.”

“Hmm…I don’t know. Do you really think so?”

 

Everyone was skeptical, but either way, it was a no-lose situation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

+++

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A night filled with terrible darkness.

The man who was looking up at the night sky alone in the yard was a middle-aged man with a lot of white hair.

 

He was clearly a figure who boasted dark hair and a considerable youthful appearance compared to his age when he was first elected, but how did he get so old?

 

 

“Is this how it’s going to end up, after all.”

 

 

He had dedicated his small body to the revival and survival of the Republic of Korea, no, the Korean people.

For that one thing alone, he endured being covered in all sorts of disgrace and did so many things, and even conspired with Han Sarang to plan to overthrow the country.

 

But Han Sarang, who could be said to be the core of his plan, betrayed him in a big way and cut off contact, and according to what he heard, she had built an independent, massive force in the other world.

Only with her could he achieve the ideal he wanted and finally settle in the Galactic Empire without great loss of life.

 

 

He could only feel resentful.

 

 

But there’s nothing he can do to her, because she’s Yu-Eun’s lover. Touching her would be putting the cart before the horse.

 

 

 

 

How could he not get white hair like this? It’s a relief that he still has a full head of hair.

 

 

 

“A lot of blood will flow. On this land….”

 

Why is the harmful cigarette so sweet today?

He let out a sigh filled with cigarette smoke.

 

 

 

A few hours ago, Yu-Eun’s intentions were conveyed through the Galactic Empire’s diplomatic channels, and it turns out he’s thinking about unifying the Earth. Before a great war breaks out, they’re asking each major country for their opinion, but asking is just another word for threatening.

 

And he, who dreams of the permanent prosperity of the Korean people, has no choice but to accept that proposal. To voluntarily enter under the Galactic Empire, essentially becoming a colony.

 

 

There will probably be a lot of backlash.

There will be protests.

A coup d’état might occur.

 

 

But he has to do it.

 

 

Because if they don’t belong to them now, they will shed dozens of times more blood in the great war that will happen later.

What if they get hit by that planetary weapon that annihilated the zombies?

This tiny Korean peninsula will simply be deleted from the Earth.

 

 

Opposing them is the height of foolishness.

 

 

 

“Hoo. How will I be recorded in history? I’m scared, I’m scared.”

 

As much as he kept sighing, the cigarette burned quickly.

It had already shrunk into a small stub.

He thought about smoking another one, but shook his head and threw the small cigarette in front of his feet.

 

Kkuuk.

 

The miserably trampled cigarette soon spilled its powder, turning itself inside out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Mr. President.”

“Huh?”