Chapter 2: I’m not the enemy

KWAAAAABOOOOM!

A resounding explosion.

Jo Sung-Il’s fist crashed into the road, crushing the pavement.

“!”

But the tank was unharmed.

The crew inside, including the commander, wore bewildered expressions before finally speaking.

“What, just happened?”

Their eyes turned to the panel inside the tank.

The external camera, crafted with artifacts, displayed exactly what had transpired.

WHOOOOOOSH.

As the lingering smoke dissipated in the strong wind, Jo Sung-Il’s fist was revealed, crushing a lizard monster.

Crack, Crack.

The lizard, almost as large as the tank itself, gasped for breath before dying.

“N-No way.”

The soldiers in the tank gasped.

“Did it, save us?”
“Does it think we didn’t see it?”

Remnants often remained in areas hit by monster waves.

The creature the tank was originally targeting was of the same kind as this lizard.

『%&%&&$^』

The soldiers still couldn’t understand what Jo Sung-Il was saying. But now, that didn’t matter.

KIIEEEEK!
KIRURURUK!

More lizards appeared. Seeing them rush forward, seemingly seeking revenge for their fallen comrade, Jo Sung-Il swung his arm horizontally.

KWAGAGAGAK!

Like scraping away dust, Jo Sung-Il’s arm peeled the surface of the road, sweeping away the lizards in one fell swoop.

KEEEEE!

The lizards, flung into the air, shrieked as they flew in a parabolic arc.

KOONG.

Jo Sung-Il turned, his large eyes gleaming, and the tank crew tensed up again.

“S-So, we’re….”

The commander gulped, but thankfully, his fears weren’t realized.

『#%^#$%^&^』

Only unintelligible words were directed at them.

‘Is it, trying to tell us something?’

The commander finally realized that what he was hearing wasn’t just roars.

“Commander?”
“The monster isn’t moving.”
“We should probably escape now.”

The soldiers urged him. He looked at them and said,

“Can’t you hear it?”
“Hear what, sir?”
“This sound.”

『^@#%$&』

.

.

.

 

The sound transmitted into the tank.

It sounded like garbled sentences, not just roars.

“Maybe we can’t hear it. Remember the sonic analyzer the ‘Gunner’ Guild donated? Let’s try that.”

Gunner was undeniably Korea’s top Guild, generously supporting the nation.

With the recent increase in monster waves and dungeon breaches, Gunner had been providing extensive support to the people, especially the military.

Rumors of an impending apocalypse were circulating.

With powerful monsters appearing through the Return of Disaster even right after monster waves, everyone felt a strong sense of crisis.

“Here it is.”

In such circumstances, the items Gunner provided were always helpful in disasters.

A device that could analyze and interpret any sound, even roughly, was exactly what they needed now.

The commander received the analyzer from a soldier and immediately prepared to decipher the sound waves.

“Alright, let’s hear what it’s saying.”

The commander strained his ears, trying to understand what the giant monster was saying while the tank remained stationary.

[%&^……not.]

The sound waves were interpreted and displayed as text on the LCD screen embedded in the center of the analyzer.

“Not?”

[I am not an enemy.]

A chilling sensation ran down the commander’s spine.

He stared blankly at the tank’s screen, a stunned expression on his face.

KWAAAAABOOOOM!

But just as he grasped the meaning of the sound waves, an explosion rocked the area.

“W-What!”

KABOOM! KWAAAABOOOOM!

A series of explosions followed.

The commander, thrown back by the earth-shaking impact, cried out, and one of the soldiers shouted,

“O-Other tanks! They’re firing at the monster!”

The commander’s gaze returned to the screen.

“What the…?”

It was true.

Numerous shells were being fired from all directions.

The surroundings were filled with smoke.

“Oh, no!”

He had just understood the meaning of the sound waves.

“Tell them to stop! We need to confirm something!”
“Communication’s down! It hasn’t been fixed since the engagement before we got here!”

Indeed.

The commander, realizing too late that he could do nothing, sighed.

“D*mn it, of all times…!”

He was helpless.

He just bit his lip.

But he wasn’t the only one who could do nothing.

---

“D*mn them all.”

Jo Sung-Il muttered, unable to open his eyes properly against the barrage of incoming shells.

“I can’t just pummel them all.”

From humanity’s perspective, Jo Sung-Il was undoubtedly a rare giant monster.

Even S-ranks had to risk their lives to deal with such monsters.

The soldiers’ duty was to somehow weaken him while he was off guard.

However, being bombarded with a massive amount of shells wasn’t a pleasant experience.

“There’s no other way.”

First, escape this place.

He hadn’t cleared up the misunderstanding, but he had spared the tank that was almost overwhelmed by the lizard monsters.

Even in the form of a monster, the fact that he was Awakened remained unchanged.

Therefore, there was no reason for his own goals to change.

KOONG!

Jo Sung-Il took a step.

The Han River surged in the wake of his massive footsteps.

DUGDUGDUGDUGDUGDUG!

However, it seemed no one intended to let Jo Sung-Il leave easily.

Seeing helicopters appear before him, Jo Sung-Il let out a hollow laugh.

“This is what they call absurd.”

Seeing them relentlessly trying to attack and bring him down, even though he had no intention of fighting.

“I’m sorry, but….”

Jo Sung-Il bent down and scooped up water in his hands.

“Right now, I need to figure out what’s going on.”

SPLAASH!

The water he splashed hit the windshields of the helicopters circling him.

WHIIIIIR!

The startled pilots jerked the controls, causing the helicopters to trace erratic paths like mayflies caught in a turbulent wind.

Jo Sung-Il waved his hand dismissively at the helicopters and continued walking.

TATATATATA!

Even as he was leaving, Jo Sung-Il flinched as bullets struck his back.

KWAAAAABOOOOM!

A tremendous amount of shells hit him.

He was practically a sandbag.

His large body made it impossible to dodge the military’s attacks.

Just getting hit and being shot at, over and over.

Jo Sung-Il couldn’t help but sigh.

‘It’s strong because it’s big, but it’s too big.’

He wondered if he could even join a Guild with this body. Of course, he needed to clear up the misunderstanding first.

SPLASH, SPLASH.

All he could do now was run from the military.

He never intended to become a real monster.

Unaware of his intentions, the soldiers continued their relentless assault, as if trying to buy time until the top Hunters arrived.

“This won’t do.”

Jo Sung-Il opened his mouth wide.

“I have my own reasons.”

WHOOSH!

Taking in as much air as possible, Jo Sung-Il finally unleashed a monstrous roar, like a lion’s roar.

GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

It was something beyond just sound waves.

KWAGIZZZIK!

The wind, like a storm, pushed the tanks back.

Street fixtures toppled, shattered, and flew away as debris.

The shells flying towards Jo Sung-Il lost their trajectory and plunged into the Han River.

PLOOSH!

Debris and shells rained down around Jo Sung-Il.

Whether they had lost their will to fight after witnessing that scene, the attacks stopped.

“I’m going. If you can ever understand my words, let’s meet again.”

Jo Sung-Il continued on his way.

But he didn’t know.

That an S-rank had already arrived at the scene.

“Interesting.”

Her light blonde hair fluttered in the wind.

Her eyes seemed aloof, her features delicate.

But such things seemed trivial as she gripped her rugged rifle tightly. Her lips parted slightly.

“I am not an enemy, huh?”

She unloaded the rifle she was about to use against the giant monster and followed him.