If it were my brat of a little sister, maybe, but I had no particular connection to a place called Seoul.
I wasn’t exactly the type to wander outside much, and in my entire life, I’d almost never gone beyond the outskirts of Gyeonggi-do.
Still, I had imagined it plenty.
Streets packed with an endless sea of people, high-rise buildings jutting up unevenly all around.
If I looked only at the place itself, it wasn’t all that different from what I had pictured.
Except……
‘It’s deserted.’
There were far too few people on the streets.
It wasn’t as if there were none at all, but it was practically the same as total annihilation.
There were more than enough possible reasons.
The fact that it was a weekday must have played a part, and the soldiers roaming everywhere, along with the two-and-a-half-ton military trucks, would have helped create an atmosphere of fear.
But above all, there was one decisive reason.
‘The black cylinder.’
The culprit behind the large-scale blackout.
That pillar, still towering into the sky and flaunting an overwhelming presence, must have quite literally dried up Seoul’s floating population.
Just what was that thing, and what in the world was happening inside it for the military to come down so hard?
At the very least, it was obvious that the cylinder was a supernatural phenomenon.
To begin with, I didn’t think something like that was possible with human technology.
Well, even if America had developed some special weapon, wouldn’t that still be a stretch?
In any case, the black cylinder that had quite literally swallowed an entire district of Seoul had become an object of terror.
To the point that even in Seoul, that crowded city people were so proud of, refugees had appeared.
Of course, the country wasn’t in chaos yet.
For one thing, even Gyeonggi-do didn’t know about the existence of that black cylinder, and Seoul itself was still being controlled fairly well.
Aside from the black cylinder, there were no abnormalities visible on the surface yet.
Yet.
But even in the midst of that, there were people who had lost their homes.
I glanced around the refugee camp.
They had gathered in one place, tents set up across the square.
Naturally, every single one of their faces was dark.
‘…They’re all grouped together as refugees, but even then, it feels like they’re slightly divided.’
It felt as though the mutants and the non-mutants had drawn an invisible line between them.
The mutants’ appearances were certainly ominous, but they were so vastly outnumbered that it felt strange.
I walked between the tents.
I needed information.
What the blackout zone was, what exactly was happening inside……
And if possible, whether anyone inside had seen a bitch shaped like a person but resembling a wild boar.
‘…Who should I ask?’
As I looked around, I spotted a middle-aged man standing a little apart from the group.
A middle-aged man with the impression of someone who had lived his whole life on a smooth, paved road.
With a neat face and an utterly exhausted expression, he was smoking a cigarette.
“Excuse me.”
“…Hm?”
The man’s eyes widened the moment he saw me.
It was a reaction I was used to by now.
After all, these enormous wings and the halo with its outstanding presence were things I simply couldn’t hide.
“…You’re a mutant, aren’t you?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The man said it with an uncertain expression.
Well, unlike other mutants, I had maintained a cute appearance.
“A mutant, huh.”
The man’s voice grew a little cold.
It wasn’t so much that it would bother me greatly if I didn’t consciously notice it, but I could definitely feel that subtle difference.
“Yes. I wanted to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“Is there anyone who went in there and came back out?”
The man’s gaze turned toward the black cylinder.
He snorted as if mocking me.
“Hah. Guess you’re not from around here, seeing as you’re asking about that damned cylinder.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then go back. Don’t stir things up with pointless nonsense.”
The man’s reaction was rather sharp.
It wasn’t as if I couldn’t understand his position at all.
His property and whatever else must be inside there right now, so an outsider running her mouth might not sit well with him.
But I had my own desperation too.
“…I think my little sister is in there. She went to Gangnam, and after that, we lost contact……”
“…I see.”
At those words, the man’s tone softened a little.
He glared at my wings and halo for a moment, then spoke as if he had no choice.
“You asked if there’s anyone who went in there and came back out.”
“Yes, I did.”
“There isn’t. At least not here. The people gathered here are only those who happened to leave Gangnam-gu for a while and then found themselves with nowhere to return to.”
At those words, I let out a sigh.
It wasn’t exactly welcome information.
Depending on the situation, I had been considering going in there myself.
“…And besides, even if you go somewhere else, it’ll probably be the same. Not a single person has come out. Even though so many people were in there……”
“…I see.”
“So if you’re planning to do something pointless, go back. Don’t muddy the waters.”
His words were a little rude, but he had given me information, so I could understand.
Besides, he wasn’t wrong.
How many of the people gathered here had left their families behind in there?
If even one person charged inside, the others wouldn’t be able to endure that desperate impulse either.
In the end, under the current circumstances, it would only increase the number of victims.
“Then, by any chance… what are the soldiers doing?”
At my question, the man’s lips twisted.
“The soldiers?”
“Yes. Are they carrying out rescue operations inside……”
“Hah.”
The man let out a laugh of derision.
“Rescue operations? I understand what you mean, but as if.”
“…Then?”
“As for the soldiers, well, they seem to be going in and out. I don’t know what tricks they’re up to.”
Going in and out?
“…Are you saying they can go inside and come back out?”
“I don’t know. But it looked that way. I saw a few of them go in last night.”
“Then why aren’t they rescuing……”
I stopped mid-sentence.
‘…Ah.’
The reason was obvious. Either they had no intention of rescuing anyone, or they couldn’t. It had to be one of the two.
“More importantly.”
The man stubbed out his cigarette.
“Since you’re a mutant, you’d be better off going over there.”
The place he pointed to was one corner of the camp.
Where the mutants were gathered.
“…Why?”
“The atmosphere isn’t good. Especially lately.”
The man’s voice lowered.
“People have started blaming the mutants.”
“…Blaming the mutants?”
“Yes. They say this happened after mutants started appearing, so it must be because of the mutants.”
“……”
“Of course, it’s nonsense. But people want to believe that. They need someone to blame.”
The man sighed.
“So be careful. Especially when you stand out as much as you do……”
It was then.
“Hey, you son of a bitch!”
A shout erupted. I reflexively turned in that direction. People were swarming toward the center of the camp.
“…What is that?”
“…It’s started.”
The man said with a weary expression.
“Don’t go. You’ll only get dragged into it for nothing.”
The man’s words were perfectly reasonable.
There was no need for me to approach and get caught up in that.
Of course, I thought the same thing back when it came to Shin Ayun, only to step forward more eagerly than anyone… but that time, the influence of impulse had been strong.
Back then, that pastor had looked down on Shin Ayun for no reason at all.
His intentions and purpose had been clear as day, so I’d found him nothing but detestable.
But now……
“It’s because of you people that my son can’t get out of there! Give him back! Give him back to me!”
Everyone here was a victim.
Their anger had lost its destination and flowed in the wrong direction, but there was a reason for it.
Unlike the pastor, whom I could corner somehow, these people were blinded by rage and wouldn’t be able to hear reason.
What could I do by stopping them there?
Rather, if I, a mutant, stepped in, I would only make things worse.
I knew that well.
But was I ever the kind of person who moved only according to rational judgment?
I was always the kind of bastard who moved however I damn well pleased.
“…I told you not to go.”
I heard that from behind me, but I ignored it.
“Stop!”
At my shout, people looked at me.
Honestly, I was somewhat surprised that my delicate voice could draw this much attention, but I quickly pulled myself together.
The man who had been shouting looked at me.
“Young lady, you too… Hah. Looks like you’re a mutant. What, are you trying to cover for him because you’re in the same boat?”
“Please stop. You know that blaming this person right now is unjust.”
At those words, the man let out a hollow laugh.
“Unjust? This happened because of monsters like you.”
“Do you have proof?”
“Proof? Everything started after you people appeared!”
As expected, there was no getting through to him. I knew that trying to converse with someone who had lost his reason was meaningless.
But the ones I had to persuade were the crowd.
And I had an appearance exceptionally suited to persuading a crowd.
…That was also why I was deliberately censoring myself, even though curses felt like they were about to spill out of my mouth at any moment.
“That’s only chronological order. It isn’t causation.”
“What?”
“Just because the mutation phenomenon and the blackout phenomenon occurred around the same time, there is no evidence anywhere that mutants are the cause.”
“S-still……”
“And even if they are related.”
I looked at the trembling werewolf.
“What did this person do wrong?”
“……”
“This person is also just a victim who woke up one day and found themselves like this. Just like you.”
The man’s face turned red.
“Don’t give me that bullshit! When did we ever become monsters?”
“You may not have become monsters.”
I looked around at the people nearby.
Eyes filled with hostility, as though they might shout something at me at any moment.
But I had no intention of blaming them.
Because we were……
“But you are all the same in that you are victims who lost your homes and your families.”
No sooner had my words ended than the halo above my head quivered and emitted a gold light deeper than usual. I hadn’t intended it. But as that light spread in every direction, the man’s eyes, which had been bristling with murderous intent, grew hazy for an instant.
The shouts of the crowd, which had been like raging waves, died down as if it were a lie. The air went still, and only the soft rustle of the wings on my back as their feathers brushed together filled the silence.
The man stared blankly at me. His lips, which had been preparing a logical rebuttal, twisted painfully. He couldn’t avoid my eyes.
“……Who doesn’t know that?”
The man’s voice cracked. The force he had shown earlier was nowhere to be found. His clenched fists trembled, and he muttered like a sinner making confession.
“I know. What wrong did they do? They were just unlucky, and fur grew on them, and bones started sticking out. But…… but someone has to take responsibility! That pitch-black pillar swallowed my son, so what am I supposed to do!”
The man staggered and sank to his knees.
“Then what should I do? I, my son……”
But the man, too, had been driven to his limit.
He was also an ordinarily righteous and ordinarily objective person.
Knowing that he himself was not acting honorably, that he was being cowardly, it seemed a wave of self-loathing had come over him.
The man spoke through wrenching sobs.
“Then, then what about my son… my son……. Just who am I supposed to blame…….”
As he said that, the man bowed his head deeply.
He was searching for someone to blame, but he seemed to know as well.
That this was something no one could be blamed for.
I gently patted his back.