episode_0044

Four hours after the outbreak, Jeju Shinsan Neighborhood Park, Ildo-dong, Jeju-si, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province.

The 1st suicide squad that successfully completed [Multiple Space Jump] to the designated coordinates each gasped in frustration as soon as they saw the sight before their eyes.

“Oh my god.”

It’s red.

Everything was red. Not a metaphor, everything was bright red. The buildings, the roads, the telephone poles, even the grasslands that should have been green were all dyed crimson.

The beads of sweat dripping from their chins and even their breathing seemed to have turned red.

“… It’s hell.”

There was no one in the group who could deny the words that someone had casually blurted out.

Jeju Island was so gloomily dyed in the color of despair that it was impossible to distinguish between objects and spaces. It was even difficult to tell whether the slimy substance underfoot was water or blood.

If they had not been dyed in that monochrome and had not had the sea shining green and blue behind them, no one could blame them for thinking they were in hell rather than in the human world.

“Quietly.”

A deep voice calmed the restless squad.

Song Chan-seop, who had been wearing a beret that had been pressed down, gave orders in unison with a fiercely burning gaze.

“[Hanibaram] and the 54 people, excluding the commander, quickly form 9 squads with a limit of 6 people. The squad leader is chosen from the highest rank and oldest person in each group. [Hanibaram] and I form a HQ squad with 3 people and move.”

Huh, while he was talking, Song Chan-seop spat out the saliva that had collected at the corner of his mouth. It was because the thick extradimensional particles that had spread throughout Jeju City had filled his mouth.

The rusty iron smelled disgustingly sour, and the tip of the tongue tasted bitter, as if it had been soaked in cyanide. Song Chan-seop continued, his expression furrowed.

“I want to build a base, but I don’t have time. First, move widely and rescue any survivors I find or gather information. If there are any unexpected situations or unusual circumstances, I can immediately report them using whispers. Avoid intense combat as much as possible, or if you can’t avoid it, act on your own judgment and report back. Up to here, if you have any questions, raise your hand.”

“… … .”

“No. Then move in 10 minutes. If there is anyone who can use [Origin] or [Hymn], use it now.”

A woman in a beige coat and holding a cane raised her hand. She opened and closed her mouth several times as if she was nervous, then gripped the cane tightly and continued speaking.

“It’s not quite [Consecration], but I learned from overseas that there is a buff that has a long duration and can be applied in a wide area. It consumes a little bit of mana, but can I use it?”

“Allowed.”

“Then…, Esther said, If I die, I will die. [Hadassa’s determination].”

A faint wave of sky-blue mana enveloped the entire squad. Starting with that, each of them announced a [self-buff skill] or a target-designated [skill] that they could use.

“[Peace Song]!”

“[Origin of the lower abdomen].”

Colorful mana lights burst out one after another from inside the park. At first, they were bewildered by the sight of Jeju City eroded by the gate, but they were seasoned warriors.

After regaining their composure and applying buffs, the members of the suicide squad looked more reassured and encouraged each other, igniting their motivation.

“Let’s go!”

“Shh, no matter what, let’s not make too much noise. This red-tinted land, as strange as it looks, is having a mental disorder effect, [Sexual] is unstable, and I don’t know where something might pop out.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“Hey, it’s been a while since I’ve received a [rare grade buff]. … But I’m Buddhist, is this okay? ”

“Uh… , apart from faith, the basis of [Skill] is my mana, so the effect should be fine… ?”

“I guess so?”

“… … Preparations are complete. Then let’s go.”

Song Chan-seop, who had been carrying a backpack on his back and continuously glaring at the huge and unclean ‘red thing’ that filled the entire Baekrokdam in the distance, took the lead.

Kuung, the boots dug into the red-tinted floor, spreading yellow waves of mana.

“[Advance].”

[Increase Morale] The range-type [Unique Skill] covered the entire squad, and the party was torn apart and took action.

[This is the 1st platoon. Six monsters are fighting each other and identifying each other. There is no great danger. However, there are no non-attack monsters due to the effect of the gate that has gone wild. These guys come in many varieties, but they are all somewhat intelligent and can camouflage themselves with camouflage and launch surprise attacks, so everyone, take note.]

[2nd tier confirmed. It’s gotten tricky.]

[HQ confirmed.]

[It’s the 5th minute. We rescued five survivors from the Dongmun Market. Luckily, there was one person who had experienced the Great Crack, so he covered his breathing apparatus and wrapped his entire body in cloth to hold out. We used [Purification], and one person was badly injured, so we treated them with first aid kits and [Treatment Skill]. We checked as we went, but it seems that creatures that are ‘active’ don’t turn red.]

[Check with HQ. If a situation arises where you need to bring survivors into battle, notify us immediately.]

[Check 5 minutes.]

[7th squad report. Damn, I don’t know exactly where I am, but I came all the way to where I can see the Citizens’ Sports Park, but I can’t even see a single thing! If I go any further, ‘whispering’ won’t be cost effective, so I’ll stop moving for a moment and meet up with 5th squad to transport the survivors!]

[Check with HQ. If possible, join them and come to Jeju City Hall.]

[No, HQ is broadcasting. All squads, come to Jeju City Hall after the situation is over.]

[Hey! There’s one left! Oh, sorry. Check the 1st squad.]

[2nd platoon checked. Nothing found.]

[I’m sorry, but as soon as I reported that I had confirmed the 3rd platoon, I identified a monster at the 1st bridge in the mountainous area near Suun. Combat begins.]

[4th platoon confirmed. They’re close, so they’ll join up with HQ soon.]

[Confirmation of 6 minutes.]

[8 minutes confirmed.]

[9 minutes… here… .]

[This is HQ. The 6th platoon is close to the 9th platoon, so join up and check out the situation.]

[Good.]

[This is the 4th platoon. But why did you call City Hall? Did you discover something?]

[We have captured several survivors fighting off waves of monsters at the Safety Management Bureau building across from City Hall. HQ, commence combat.]

[5 minutes here, no, what?]

[4 minutes coming soon!!]

-.-.-

7 hours after the incident broke out, across from Jeju City Hall, Gwangyang 9-gil, Jeju-si, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province.

Except for squads 6 and 9 of the suicide squad, who hurriedly arrived, some ahead and some behind, the members of each squad were shocked by the sight of monster corpses strewn all over the street as soon as they entered.

“What is all this?”

“They’re all dead, right?”

From guys smaller than a person to giants the size of an intercity bus.

There were piles of mutilated, broken, and crushed corpses. Some were lying in shreds, sprawled across the broken building.

When they entered the city hall building, stepping on the sticky body fluids of the monsters, Song Chan-seop and the U-ju Galaxy sisters were already taking a short break after finishing organizing the situation.

“You’re here.”

Song Chan-seop’s military uniform, which had been red to begin with, was soaked in the monsters’ blood, and everything except his face and the cigarette in his mouth had turned bright red.

The universe was catching its breath, leaning against one of the stone walls of a collapsed building, covered in blood here and there, and the cleanest one was Eunha.

The girl, resting with her eyes closed, was like a flower blooming in hell, without losing her original color, except for a few splashes on her face, clothes, and protective gear.

“All these guys… .”

“We weren’t the only ones fighting. We diverted their attention here, and they also supported us there.”

Song Chan-seop nodded, neutralizing the pungent taste of extra-dimensional particles lingering in his nose and mouth with cigarette smoke.

Inside the dilapidated administration building he was pointing to, the light of mana briefly flashed a few times, and then the shouts of people announcing the end of the battle erupted in succession.

Soon, a few hundred survivors and a few Awakened ones, wearing masks and shivering, came down cautiously. Among them, a man who seemed to be the representative walked out.

“It’s late, but nice to meet you. I’m Lee Dong-jin, the Jeju branch manager of the Safety Management Office. I’d like to express my gratitude.”

A man who identified himself as Lee Dong-jin nodded in greeting. His gait was unsteady, and the left side of his face was as if he had been hit by something, covered in molten metal. His ear was already gone.

“… … .”

Song Chan-seop was silent for a moment as he watched the scene. He briefly touched his temples and then sighed deeply as he greeted them.

“The commander of the 1st suicide squad [Neulhaerang] Song Chan-seop, who came out to rescue the citizens and control the situation. [Bone Destroyer].”

“[Nulhaerang]… . S-class came to give me support. That’s fortunate.”

“… ‘Fortunately’… . Is that really so?”

Song Chan-seop’s eyebrows furrowed. His expression was distorted to the point where the scars on his face looked hideous, as if he was enduring something, suppressing something.

Feeling the discomfort from those words and actions, Lee Dong-jin opened his remaining eye wide as if in doubt, then frowned and continued speaking.

“What are you talking about? Don’t joke around. This is a situation where we have to do our best. If you’ve been briefed, you should know that this is an urgent matter.”

“I did receive a report. I didn’t receive any details about the exact situation, the level of the gate, or the location of Baekrokdam.”

“No way. We have relayed the entire situation to the capital headquarters. Above all, the level of the gate that has been altered this time is-”

“It must be S-class. No, it would be more correct to call it SS-class.”

Lee Dong-jin’s mouth was shut. In addition, all the members of the suicide squad who had gathered without knowing their ranks were also shocked.

“… If you knew, why did you say you didn’t receive it?”

“I didn’t know. The higher-ups didn’t tell me. I found out when I saw that thing in Baekrokdam.”

The blood-soaked soldier trembled. His sadness about the current situation, his anger at the monsters, his resentment toward someone, and his faint, hidden fear seeped out.

“That horrible monster on top of the mountain that you can feel from far away. Damn, that’s out of the question. It’s not something that can be dealt with even if you bring all the awakened people in Korea. Was it the headquarters that blocked the situation? No, [Heenari] didn’t know either, so it must be even worse.”

Song Chan-seop continued speaking, spitting and throwing the cigarette butt behind his back.

“Even though it was spread that it was above S-class, it was strangely ordinary and there was no talk of requesting support from overseas.

… By any chance, is there anyone among the suicide squad with a cell phone?”

The members of each squad that Song Chan-seop’s gaze passed through carefully shook their heads while looking at each other.

“Didn’t you decide to keep them all for now because of the particles in the altered gate?”

“I said I would collect it and return it later.”

“He said that you have to take off all electronic devices when [Warping]… ?”

“… The answer is out. Is this the scheming of the politicians of the country?”

Even though he spoke in a formal tone, his tone conveyed strong anger. Without hiding his irritation, Song Chan-seop took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket again and took a puff.

“We should have recognized the first generation of awakened people who protected the country while losing their limbs and spilling their entrails when they were treated so poorly compared to their achievements. Don’t you remember the [Daejeon Recapture Operation] when you’re just calculating your profits and losses on paper in a comfortable place without going out to the field?”

It was a fierce and barbed venomous remark. Everyone swallowed their saliva and held their breath at the genuine anger of the S-class strategy series.

“No, it would have been even worse if they knew. If word spread that the corrupted gate was above S-class, the stock price would immediately plummet, and overseas investors would all rush to leave. Did they plan to delay the information disclosure even a little bit every day? Maybe they were planning to slowly withdraw capital overseas in preparation for a possible escape.”

Politicians are monsters of self-interest and profit and loss calculations.

The Korean government really got screwed once during [Du-eok-sini].

Even though it was a natural disaster, many people died due to inadequate initial response. This was pointed out by many media outlets at home and abroad, and many powerful people involved were cut off from politics regardless of faction.

It took more than a dozen years for the international stock prices, which had been slashed in chunks, to recover.

But another S-class gate. This time, I received a report that it was a dangerous situation even worse than [Cheon Ye-rok]. Those whose political lives were in danger would have joined forces with their eyes rolled back and covered the people’s eyes and ears.

There-

“Ah, as the awareness of the Awakened has increased over the past 20 years, their position has become serious, so it may be to hold the leashes of the dogs guarding the house. Those guys who brag about flying high and high in the ranks of the aristocracy and run away in shock at the sight of the gate, so let’s add some crap on their history saying that the operation failed.”

“… … .”

There may be many other conflicts of interest involved. The Zippo lighter that Song Chan-seop was holding in his hand to light a cigarette broke with a loud crack.

He clenched his fists and shook them, seemingly unaffected by the shards of plastic and metal lodged between his leather gloves.

“If you send moderately strong guys, they will survive on their own, and even if a few die, it will be an excuse. We tried our best to send the Awakened, but it didn’t go as planned! The Awakened fought hard, but there was nothing we could do! The justification is good. It would be nice to gain sympathy from the international community by sacrificing hundreds of thousands of citizens and a few promising strategies.”

After listening to the story silently and finally understanding the context, Lee Dong-jin continued speaking instead of Song Chan-seop, who was grumbling.

“… And thanks to the achievements of retired [Chungmugong] who traveled overseas, Korea has easily signed a conditional protection treaty with the International Union of Awakened Ones [Union], so with the relatively ‘clean sacrifice’ of his breath and sympathy, he plans to blow his nose without doing anything with the help of the blind men of each country. ”

At this point, even the suicide squad could understand what the situation was.

Some people, who had been reduced from being heroes who protected their country and people to sacrificial lambs in an instant, were unable to contain their anger and were whining.

Some kicked the floor and swore, while others just looked down at the ground with sad eyes.

In Lee Dong-jin’s case, it was both the former and the latter.

“… My younger brother was sacrificed. My good younger brother, who lost his life while trying to minimize the damage without being ready to take off his clothes, was sacrificed cleanly. ”

As befitting his nickname, [Bone Destroyer], the stone wall that Lee Dong-jin had been holding was dug into the shape of a palm like a bitten apple. Tears flowed out of his remaining eye.

A sense of terrible helplessness grew like sweet potato vines among those who wanted to save people.

Silence, and silence.

silence.

Song Chan-seop took off the beret pressed down on his head and crumpled it.

Although his eyes were about to roll back in anger, [Neulhaerang] was the commander representing these many people. He had a duty to safely return those who had personally acted for the country to the arms of their families.

“Retreat with the survivors. This is a death knell. Even if the [Union] elites come, we don’t know when they’ll come, and even if they do come, we might not be able to win. That’s about it. … Haven’t we heard from the 6th and 9th squads yet?”

“Yes, not yet-”

“Brother.”

A woman walked out, her shoes making a clicking sound. She had long, neatly tied hair with red strands here and there, and she was wearing a gorgeous modernized hanbok.

“If you’re talking about these, I protected them.”

Behind her were additional support personnel, and members of Squads 6 and 9 followed behind, supported by them.

“… [Heenari]. Didn’t [Fighting Father] take charge of the 2nd suicide squad?”

“… … .”

The woman called [Heenari] lowered her head without saying a word. The ends of her black and red hair hung limply in the wind.

Those in power have many vested interests at stake. He understood it only then.

“Han Byeong-pil, that rat-like bastard.”

Song Chan-seop gritted his teeth.

“That guy was in on it too.”