Ch.145Episode 8 – Say Hello To My Little Friend

To communicate with the outside world, radio waves need to reach their destination. This is a fact anyone with a middle school education knows.

However, currently, there’s no signal inside the department store. Somehow, we need to get outside and call for help.

Now that I have a task, there’s no reason to hesitate.

I immediately headed toward the back entrance with Camilla. I planned to either get Camilla out to safety through the back door or call Clavins to send in a police tactical team or mechanized unit from the Capital Guard.

The problem was…

“What the hell is this?”

“…Why is it blocked?”

Something black was blocking all passages leading outside.

Episode 8 – Say Hello To My Little Friend

The passages are blocked. Something black is obstructing them.

This suspicious and unsettling barrier, like a blackout curtain used on movie sets, was covering the entire building, cutting off the department store from the outside world.

“Can we get out through this…?”

“It doesn’t look possible…”

Camilla couldn’t look directly at the curtain and kept glancing at it nervously, shuddering as she said it gave her goosebumps. She muttered that her stomach, which had been feeling better, was starting to feel sick again.

Perhaps this was connected to Camilla’s suspiciously high magical compatibility or her tendency to collapse. After all, her condition, which had been fine just 30 minutes ago, had deteriorated rapidly.

Anyway.

Just in case, I took out my mobile phone to check if there was any signal.

“No signal here either.”

It seemed the black curtain surrounding the department store was blocking the signal.

I wasn’t sure if it was simply blocking communication with the outside or preventing communication within the building as well. What was certain was that there was no mobile phone signal.

I changed plans. I put away my phone and pulled out the pistol tucked at my waist.

“Camilla. Take this.”

“A gun…? Why are you giving this to me…?”

“I originally planned to send you outside to call for backup, but we need to change plans.”

The first thing we needed to do was gather people.

Realistically, the two of us couldn’t rescue all the hostages captured by the terrorists, but we could at least help civilians who hadn’t been caught to escape to somewhere in the building.

Or at the very least, find Lucia and Francesca and protect them.

So what we needed to do now was clear.

“From now on, we need to go inside the building.”

“What?”

“Have you ever fired a gun? Since you said you got a firearms license, I assume you know how to use one.”

I firmly handed Camilla the pistol and several magazines.

Camilla reacted dramatically, as if she’d been handed a hot potato.

“No, no…! How could I shoot someone with a pistol? I haven’t even had military training…!”

“Do you think people in the Third World fight with proper training? Over there, both paramilitary groups and regular armies have terrible training.”

“I’m not a rebel…!?”

“If paramilitaries can do it, so can you.”

I would have had to teach her pistol shooting eventually anyway. Intelligence officers need to know how to handle pistols.

“Starting a bit early won’t make much difference.”

“This is insane…!”

“Stop exaggerating and stay close to me. Let’s talk as we move.”

Fortunately, she hadn’t lied about having a license; from the moment Camilla took the gun, she kept her right index finger outside the trigger guard.

I took the lead with the shotgun. Camilla, true to her high aptitude, held the pistol in her right hand and followed closely behind me, her left hand clutching my clothes.

While scanning our surroundings, I gave her a few precautions.

“Once we’re inside the building, avoid using magic unless absolutely necessary. If you lose consciousness during combat, your life will be in danger, and if a fire spreads throughout the building, it could endanger not only the hostages but all of us.”

First, don’t use fire.

“If you encounter terrorists, first check if there are hostages. Friendly fire that kills civilians will create legal problems. It might be considered self-defense, but once you enter legal proceedings, you could be at a disadvantage. There’s no British embassy here. Only shoot when I shoot first.”

Second, be careful of friendly fire.

“Watch civilians carefully. Terrorists might disguise themselves as civilians and hide among the hostages. There could also be collaborators inside the department store pretending to be hostages. When we approach civilians, I’ll go first, and you watch our surroundings from behind.”

Third, be wary of civilians.

Camilla, who had been nodding vigorously, peeked out and asked:

“Be careful of civilians? What do you mean by internal collaborators?”

I answered while checking the emergency stairwell entrance between the ground floor and basement:

“The terrorist I killed earlier was in a staff corridor, not a customer area. How would they know to find staff hiding in those areas unless someone told them?”

An intelligence agency might have obtained blueprints by raiding a construction company or bribing a facility manager, but terrorists wouldn’t have that capability. Especially people from a lawless zone who struggle with basic necessities.

So there was a high probability that someone among the department store staff was collaborating with them.

As that thought sank in, Camilla’s face turned pale.

“What if it’s true…?”

“It’s not certain information. They had passports and train tickets, so they might have been scouting the department store for days. Or they might have found the staff corridors purely by luck.”

But we had to consider the possibility. Intelligence agencies always assume the worst.

To ease Camilla’s tension, I changed the subject briefly.

“You said you worked in intelligence analysis during your internship, right? Then you must know about wild card scenarios.”

“Ah, that analysis technique?”

Wild card scenarios. An analytical technique that assumes situations with the lowest probability but the highest impact.

The idea that a group from a lawless zone with no money or backing had planted a collaborator in a major department store in the capital of Abas was unlikely, but if true, it would be the most devastating situation for us.

Whether it was Camilla, Lucia, and Francesca, or the Abas intelligence agency. Perhaps even fatal to my life as I crawled into the terrorists’ den.

But that wasn’t important.

What really mattered was that Camilla, who could potentially shoot me in the back, didn’t get nervous.

I smiled, hoping Camilla would relax.

“Camilla. Want to analyze the current situation?”

“Is this really the time for jokes?”

“I’m telling you not to be nervous. Let’s not take this too seriously when I’m just trying to lighten the mood.”

After confirming the area was safe, I stood in front of the emergency stairwell door.

“Ready?”

“Phew…”

Camilla sighed nervously and nodded.

“Let’s go.”

After counting down with my fingers, I flung the door open.

*

Camilla and I climbed to the third floor via the emergency stairs.

Whether the military and police hadn’t cut off water and power because they weren’t aware of the situation, or the terrorists hadn’t tampered with the basement facilities, the department store continued to receive magical power as usual.

In the emergency stairwell where only footsteps echoed, I signaled to Camilla and opened the third-floor door.

“Not a mouse in sight.”

“It’s too quiet…”

Perhaps because it was a weekday morning without any holidays, the department store was quiet. Department stores are usually quietest on weekday mornings, but this was unusually silent.

Probably because of the terrorists.

Crouching with the shotgun, I entered a store near the emergency stairwell entrance with Camilla. It was a store with a good escape route and a view of the entire third floor.

I looked around the entire third floor with a troubled expression.

“Where did Lucia and Francesca go?”

“All I heard was that they were going to look at clothes on the third floor…”

Lucia and Francesca had definitely told Camilla they were going to the women’s clothing section.

But every store in sight was a women’s clothing store. As it turned out, the entire third floor sold only women’s clothing.

“…Damn it.”

It was impossible to search each store for Lucia and Francesca who might be hiding. Even if they weren’t taken hostage and were hiding somewhere, there were too many stores.

If we encountered terrorists patrolling to secure the area and find hostages, we would have to engage in combat. That would be the end of us. We were outnumbered.

“Camilla. Did you receive any training during your internship? Shooting, infiltration, survival skills, anything?”

“Um, well…”

“Please say yes.”

Camilla blinked with a bewildered expression.

“Um, no…?”

Of course. Why would they teach such things to an intern, not even a contract employee?

Anyway, fighting the terrorists now would be the worst option. This isn’t Call of Duty or Battlefield. No matter how well-trained you are, you die when you get shot. We need to be extremely careful.

“Camilla, listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

While scanning the surroundings, I emphasized one point to Camilla.

“If combat breaks out and it drags on, or if I start losing, you should immediately leave the scene and find Lucia and Francesca.”

“What are you saying…? Are you telling me to abandon you…?”

“It’s better for one person to escape than for both of us to become hostages.”

“Don’t be ridiculous…!”

Camilla let out a small scream.

“How could I run away alone when we might be killed if we’re captured…?!”

“Yes, my life is important, but that doesn’t mean yours isn’t. I’m trained for this, but you’re not.”

“How can you say that now…”

“Even communist armed spies stay behind to save their comrades when retreating. These guys aren’t counterintelligence; they’re terrorists who need hostages, so they probably won’t kill me. And you’re not much help anyway since you haven’t completed military service. Plus, you can’t even use magic right now…”

As I was scolding her to please listen, Camilla suddenly collapsed.

She fell to the store floor with a thud, sweating profusely. She bit her lip, letting out a low moan, and her breathing became very rough.

Someone who had been fine suddenly collapsed as if about to faint. I rushed to her in alarm.

“What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”

“I feel nauseous…”

“Suddenly?”

It was an extremely sudden situation. As I was laying Camilla down to stabilize her and assess her condition, I heard bustling sounds from below the hall.

I wrapped my jacket around Camilla’s body, crawled along the corridor in a low posture, and looked down at the hall below.

Below the atrium hall, terrorists were struggling to move some large cargo.

Terrorists were holding open a heavy door, clearing the way, while two others were pulling a cart covered with cloth into the department store.

“That’s it…”

Camilla, who had somehow made her way to my side, pointed at the terrorists while sweating profusely.

“What?”

“That cargo. I don’t know what it is, but it seems to be the problem…”

Ugh! Camilla started retching as if she’d smelled something disgusting. I quickly covered her mouth and put my arm around her shoulder.

I had no idea what was going on. Was that really the problem?

I observed the terrorists, trying to understand the connection between Camilla’s suddenly deteriorating condition and the cargo the terrorists were moving.

“……”

There were six terrorists moving the cargo. Two pushing it and four guarding.

Since they had taken the remaining staff and civilians as hostages, there would be terrorists managing the hostages.

Excluding the terrorist I had killed earlier, adding the terrorists moving the cargo and those who had taken hostages, there were at least seven terrorists remaining inside the department store.

If this was something essential to the terrorists’ plan, it was reasonable to assume that many terrorists would be guarding it.

Moreover, Camilla had been fine when we went to the back door using the staff corridor, but her condition visibly worsened as we approached the main entrance. The first place Camilla suddenly looked unwell was near the men’s clothing section by the main entrance.

“……”

Whatever it was, it seemed that the cargo and Camilla’s condition were related. Perhaps it was also connected to the black barrier surrounding the department store.

So to stop the terrorists’ plan, we needed to eliminate the six terrorists moving the cargo and identify what it was.

The question was: Could I take out all six of them?

If I made even a small mistake, Camilla would be in danger, and if there was any delay, other terrorists would come to their aid. If we didn’t stop the cargo from being transported, we wouldn’t know the terrorists’ plan. We didn’t know why the cargo was necessary for their plan. It could even be a bomb they brought to blow themselves up with the hostages if things went wrong.

Nothing was certain.

However, I had to do what needed to be done.

As I was counting the bullets in my pocket and about to speak to Camilla…

-BANG!

A rough sound like someone kicking a metal door echoed through the quiet department store.

Far away, at the emergency stairwell on the opposite side of the third floor, someone appeared. It was the beast-man terrorist who had taken the hostage earlier.

The beast-man terrorist looked around like an angry animal, then spotted us hiding and shouted:

“You bastards-!!”

The beast’s roar echoed loudly through the quiet atrium hall. The beast-man pointed a large knife at us, raised his fur, and howled loud enough to shake the department store.

We’d been spotted. There was no point in hiding anymore.

Realizing this, I stood up and aimed my shotgun.

But I was a step too slow.

The beast-man terrorist climbed onto the railing, crouched his body, and repeatedly contracted and expanded his leg muscles. Then, using the railing as support, he leaped up like a sprinter. It was incredible leg strength.

-CRASH-!!

The metal railing twisted with a terrible sound. Glass fragments shattered by the twisted railing fell to the atrium hall below, covering the terrorists who were moving the cargo.

Screams and shouts could be heard from below. But the cargo and the terrorists were the least of my concerns.

The beast-man terrorist, seemingly crazed, didn’t care if his comrades were injured. After destroying the railing with his powerful legs, he cut through the atrium hall like a bullet and approached us in an instant.

“…!”

There was no time to shoot.

I embraced Camilla protectively and rolled on the floor. We rolled to avoid the terrorist, and the terrorist, who had crossed through the air, smashed through the glass window of the store where we had just been.

“Damn!”

I aimed the shotgun at the store and fired. The gunshot echoed, accompanied by Camilla’s screams from beside me and the sounds of terrorists below in confusion.

I kept firing, hoping the beast-man terrorist was dead or at least unable to crawl out.

“Is he dead?!”

“Don’t say that! They always survive when you say that!”

Camilla, who was lying down, shouted. I wanted to tell her not to jinx it, but as always, bad premonitions never fail.

The beast-man terrorist staggered out through the broken glass window.

Whether he was shot or stabbed by glass, his clothes were torn and his body was covered in wounds.

But his fierce eyes, full of killing intent, were still alive.

The eyes of a beast and the rough growl of an animal scratching its throat. Sharp teeth. Swollen muscles and a hand gripping the handle forcefully. The beast-man terrorist pointed a large knife resembling a machete at me.

I aimed the shotgun again and shouted to Camilla.

“Run!”

A single gunshot crossed the vast atrium hall.

*

The store’s glass windows shattered into pieces, and the displayed products were torn to shreds, scattering in the air. Broken glass fell downward, and loose wires hung like executed prisoners. As the gun barrel spewed fire, spent casings ejected from the chamber and rolled on the floor.

I fired wildly at the beast-man terrorist to kill him, but he approached at incredible speed, dodging the bullets.

“Die!”

The world was momentarily filled with light. The muzzle spewed fire, and the beast-man terrorist lowered his posture, dodged to the right, and swung his leg widely.

I blocked with the gun. An unimaginable force pushed in mercilessly.

With a tremendous impact, my arm holding the shotgun bent to the left. Despite using both arms to block, the impact transmitted through the gun was enough to make my body stagger.

“Ugh…!”

The terrorist didn’t miss that moment and dove into my chest, grabbing my collar.

My body was lifted momentarily by a strength as powerful as his superhuman leg power. My breath was cut off. The shotgun I dropped trying to grab the terrorist’s hand rolled pitifully at my feet.

I struggled to escape from the terrorist’s grasp, but the beast-man terrorist tightened his grip on my collar and brought his teeth close.

“You bastard! How dare you!”

Sharp teeth approach as if about to dig into my face. I struck the terrorist’s arm with my fist, but it didn’t budge.

I changed tactics.

“I’ll tear you apart…!”

“I think you’ve got the wrong person!”

“Don’t mess with me!”

I distracted the terrorist and pulled out the knife I had kept in my pocket, stabbing it into the beast-man’s side.

“Yelp!”

The beast-man terrorist screamed and raised his head. Before pulling out the knife, I twisted the handle once, then stabbed the knife deeper into his side.

With each stabbing sound and sensation of tearing flesh, the beast-man terrorist’s screams grew louder. Unable to bear the pain, he threw his head back and released one hand from my collar to stop the bleeding from his side.

I stopped stabbing his side and swung the knife widely. I was aiming for the neck, to cut the carotid artery and kill him.

However.

“It hurts, you bastard!”

The beast-man terrorist screamed in rage, removed the hand that was gripping my collar, and grabbed the blade.

I tried to pull the knife out, thinking I would cut off all his fingers, but the beast-man terrorist instead grabbed the blade and my wrist with both hands and stabbed the knife into my shoulder.

A burning sensation spread through my left shoulder. With the sensation of blood vessels being cut, the nerves of warmth and pain became confused, creating the illusion that my shoulder was burning.

For a moment, I wondered if I was going to die here. I could feel death approaching.

In the moment before death, over the beast-man terrorist’s shoulder, I saw Camilla aiming a pistol.

“……”

She tried to shoot the terrorist with the pistol. Unfortunately, because I was in the line of fire, she hesitated, unable to act.

My consciousness was fading. Between the enraged voice and sobbing voice, I heard a small radio sound.

-‘Hey, there was a gunshot just now. What’s happening? Report your position immediately! What’s going on?!’

It was the terrorist’s radio. Having heard the gunshots, other terrorists would soon come to support.

While blocking the knife digging into my shoulder, I looked at Camilla.

If reinforcements arrived, Camilla could also become a hostage. If Camilla got involved, she could really die. For some reason I didn’t understand, the terrorist in front of me seemed fixated on me.

I needed to send her to safety while the beast-man terrorist was focused on me.

“……”

I took a deep breath and sharply twisted the terrorist’s thumb.

Crack! The beast-man terrorist’s thumb bent in a direction it should never bend. Gritting my teeth, I twisted the thumb even harder and shouted to Camilla.

“Go…!”

“……”

“I said go!”

Camilla looked back and forth between me and the terrorist, then gritted her teeth and opened the emergency stairwell door. Thankfully, she took the pistol with her.

I needed to hold the beast-man to allow her to get as far away as possible.

I pulled the knife out of my shoulder and stabbed it into the terrorist’s abdomen, then punched his jaw. The terrorist, unable to endure anymore, retreated, clutching his punctured stomach.

The wounded beast-man dripped blood, growling and glaring at me with murderous intent. I held the knife and beckoned to the beast-man.

“Come on.”

“……”

“Come on, you dog!”

The beast-man charged at me with a battle cry. I swung the knife to cut his throat. However, the beast-man used his excellent reflexes to lower his upper body, then grabbed my waist, lifted me up, and threw me.

Over the railing.

“Die-!!”

“You crazy-“

I fell toward the floor like a wrestler in a WWE match I had once seen. There was no time for breakfall techniques or mental preparation; I fell to the ground in the blink of an eye.

*

Pain beyond imagination engulfed my body. The tremendous pain made it difficult to breathe properly.

Looking at the floor, I naturally recalled when I was hit by a truck. Where was it? Eritrea? Some communist bastard pushed me with a truck. I remember he was driving a Hyundai truck.

Slowly exhaling and inhaling, I clung to my fading consciousness. Fortunately, I didn’t land on my head, so I didn’t die, but I probably broke several bones.

With a dazed mind, I crawled through glass fragments, collecting the knife and shotgun that had fallen with me.

By now, Camilla should have reached a safe place, so I needed to escape too.

“……”

Looking up to survey my surroundings, I made eye contact with the terrorists who were standing in awkward postures.

The terrorists, armed with guns and knives, were frozen in the act of dusting off glass fragments from their clothes and hair, staring at me.

Using the shotgun as a cane, I limped and sighed deeply.

“…Shit, I’m fucked.”

11:27 AM, Day 3 of vacation, lunchtime.

Instead of having lunch, I decided to fight six terrorists.