episode_0094

It was underground.

A deep basement of a building with no trace of natural light.

At first glance, it is a space that may feel gloomy in itself, but the current situation there is urgent, as if you are walking on thin ice.

In such a breathtaking space, countless people were sitting on uncomfortable chairs that were not at all ergonomic, looking at a large green screen that provided the only source of light.

That place is an underground bunker.

This is where Taesung Group’s operational force headquarters is located, or rather, where the Republic of Korea Special Forces Unified Command, albeit temporarily, exists.

Inside the majestic air-raid shelter located 30 meters underground, which would remain intact even if subjected to a tactical nuclear attack from the outside.

A table with a forest of countless buttons, whose purpose it is difficult to even imagine, is visible, and six or seven people are seen sitting in front of it.

And if you’re a bit sharp-eyed, you’ll notice that they’re completely focused on whatever goal is on the screen.

“The high-level monster presumed to be the target and Psyker S entered into battle.”

“What about the lady? Is your lady safe?”

“It is understood that you are currently outside the combat zone. Even though you are not participating in the battle, there is still a small chance that you will be caught up in it.”

“Then quickly take him back! What are you doing! The patient is already injured!”

Someone’s grand journey loudly fills the small space filled with darkness.

A young man who was the target of a barrage of criticism directed at him swallowed his saliva for a moment as if he was embarrassed, then opened his mouth and began to explain the reason.

“I have already conveyed this information, but the young lady said she would not back down.”

“Huh, this is it… .”

“… There is also a way to mobilize our troops who are waiting nearby.”

“No, there is no need for that. Keep checking your surroundings carefully. If you think you might be in danger, we will provide rear support.”

“What about Cyker S? Do you also support S’s battles?”

As the man manipulates the screen, the dark screen becomes a little brighter and a little light fills the space of the bomb shelter.

At the same time, their faces come into view a little more clearly. This was because the deep shadows caused by the darkness were stripped away by the brightness of the screen.

Park Cheol-gyu shook his head excitedly at the words of the man in front of the screen. It was a euphemistic sign of rejection.

First of all, the target they had to escort was not Psyker S, but a girl who was a VVIP.

Park Cheol-gyu. He was a large man with a height of nearly 190 and was the head of security at Taesung Group.

Despite his business card, in reality, businesses were openly permitted to have military force, so it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was the commander of the units operated by Taesung Group.

It has been almost 20 years since I joined Taesung.

An elite among the elite who joined the company simply as a security guard and was gradually promoted, earning the trust of the owner’s family and becoming the chief secretary, one of the most influential figures.

After the world was turned upside down by the Gate incident, he reached a position where he even managed Chairman Jang Tae-san’s personal military force.

‘But this is too much of a burden.’

And a few days ago, the world turned upside down once again.

It had already been overturned once by a monster called the Corruptor, and shortly thereafter, it was once again overturned 180 degrees by Chairman Jang Tae-san’s coup order.

Some people might say that if it is flipped once and then flipped 180 degrees, it becomes the origin, but let’s not argue about that now.

Everyone knows that the meaning of Park Cheol-gyu’s sigh is not such a pun.

After Chairman Jang Tae-san took over as provisional president of the Republic of Korea after his coup, his descendant Park Cheol-gyu effectively became the commander-in-chief of the Korean military.

Of course, strictly speaking, this is not necessarily the case.

This was only in name, and it was the generals of the Ministry of Defense who actually moved the troops.

Even now, the troops that Park Cheol-gyu moves are limited to the existing Taesung Group’s private soldiers.

‘You’ve changed a lot since you entered the academy. It’s not like the person who was always cool-headed.’

She was always cool-headed, but today she was stubborn. Of course, I don’t know what the circumstances are, but you are already injured.

It would be a reasonable choice to quickly retreat to the rear, receive treatment, and then rejoin the fight.

‘No, because people change. In some ways, this might be a good direction.’

This is Park Cheol-gyu, who has seen her since she was young. She, who was like ice and absolutely obedient to Chairman Jang Tae-san’s words, was gradually changing like a flower blooming.

I learned honor by caring for my colleagues.

I don’t know if she was influenced by the dragon, the world’s hero, but the direction in which she was changing didn’t seem that bad from Park Cheol-gyu’s perspective.

“Psyker S is being pushed out… Ugh!”

The operator who was briefing while looking at the information appearing on the screen suddenly grabbed his head and groaned.

Park Cheol-gyu also saw the scene, so he cursed softly and held his head.

It’s already happened several times today, but this feeling of a foreign body welling up in my head was something I could never get used to and was sorely lacking in words.

As soon as Park Cheol-gyu tilts his head, Taesung Group’s logo song begins to play at a deafening volume from both ears of the helmet with cognitive-impairing filters.

At the same time, the voices of his family are heard loudly.

─Honey! Work is great, but always stay healthy! What’s good for dinner tonight? Should I at least make stir-fried pork?

─Dad! Come quickly, I miss you dad! We promised to go to the amusement park together this weekend. huh? come back quickly!

“Ah, ahhh! honey! Cheoljun!”

By saying the names in the voices of his family, Park Cheol-gyu successfully pushed out the foreign matter that had been eating away at his mind.

“Huh, haha, Huhuh.”

Park Cheol-gyu, who managed to keep his sanity, slowly raised his head and took a deep breath.

The family’s voice just now wasn’t real.

Of course, this is a highly secure area.

Even if you are a family member of the Chief Secretary, it is not a place you can enter without permission.

The only thing that happened was that a specially designed helmet with a cognitive impairment filter installed detected a sudden change in the wearer’s condition and played a file recording the voices of family members to help them strengthen their will.

“Heo Eok, Heo Eok.”

This happens regularly whenever a Corruptor’s host passes by a satellite camera watching them.

We were observing VVIPs with the satellite lens magnification reduced to the maximum in order to reduce their sightings as much as possible, but it still happened intermittently.

“So, I apologize. Manager.”

“You bastard! You can’t do it right! This son of a bitch. How many times the hell is this? I really want to die!”

“… Sorry.”

Park Cheol-gyu held his forehead, which was dripping with cold sweat, and swore.

Of course, this is not only caused by the operator’s inexperience.

This was because the situation could almost be said to be force majeure as we observed the city center teeming with infected people who had become the hosts of the Corruptor.

If I were to raise a problem, the biggest reason would be that they were dispatched to that city, so wouldn’t Northmund, who sent the VVIP members there, be the problem?

It goes without saying, but Park Cheol-gyu cannot and should not argue with Northmund, so he is just looking for someone to vent his anger on.

Park Cheol-gyu was usually a serious person, but after going through this horrible experience that felt like having the inside of his brain ripped open with a wire, he couldn’t bear it anymore.

This explosive feeling that made one’s hands and feet tremble and make one collapse was enough to make even Gandhi, a non-violent activist, take to the streets holding a large butcher’s knife.

‘shit. I wish that bastard, Sejun or something, would end this as soon as possible, whether he lives or dies, and stop this damn thing.’

Park Cheol-gyu cursed under his breath and glanced back at the screen with bloodshot eyes to continue the mission assigned to him with a pained expression.

He bit his lip hard as he sent an arrow of resentment towards Psyker S, who was probably making a bewildered expression with his eyes wide open right now.

*

And now.

Han Se-jun is immersed in a certain incident without knowing that someone is cursing him to the extreme.

Someone far away was sending a curse bordering on murderous intent towards him, but right now, it wasn’t even a hair’s breadth of worry in Sejun’s mind.

Most likely, even if he cursed right in front of his eyes, Sejun would have been able to just ignore it.

Because the person in front of him was a disaster that transcended everything and descended upon him.

Shhh!

Black flashes of light were created in just a few seconds, and their number continues to increase with each blink of an eye.

Sejun avoided that and raised the corner of his mouth.

Seeing this, Adramalek waved his hand widely, and a black flash of light rushed towards him once again.

At once, nearly a hundred bundles of gloomy light pour towards him, and a huge explosion occurs.

Kwahu and Wu and Woo and Wow!

It sounds strange, but there was a loud roar that could only be expressed in words this way.

Although Sejun may seem undervalued due to his rapid growth in a short period of time,

Each and every black flash that Adramalek is shooting out now has a power comparable to that of an Enganhan missile that can turn one wall of a building into powder.

And the harmony created by hundreds of powerful missiles flying and exploding can only be described as spectacular.

After a few seconds of attacks that seemed rather majestic, Adramalek quietly lowered the body part that was believed to be his hand, accompanied by a dust storm that was large enough to cover the sky.

[…] .]

The devil said nothing.

At first glance, he seemed to regret his actions, wondering if they had gone too far.

Adramalek looked at the spot where Sejun was standing quietly, a little cautiously.

No words were heard from where he stood. Of course, you won’t be able to hear anything.

This city, which suffered this attack containing Addramalek’s full power, will have difficulty functioning as a city even if peace returns in the future.

Perhaps the city itself would be dismantled and the site rebuilt.

It was so horribly destroyed that the very sight of rebuilding the ruins, which were close to an empty plain full of crushed concrete pieces, seemed impossible.

[…] .]

When there was no answer, Adramalek took a step forward, perhaps feeling nervous all of a sudden.

As if he was worried about what to do if he was really dead and how he should look upon Alexstras, he slowly began to walk through the dust storm.

And at some point, the devil’s steps slowed down again.

“Ha, ha.”

Because something that shouldn’t have happened happened.

Some might call it a miracle.

And it is also called a miracle because miracles always happen.