When people are driven into an extreme situation, they invariably want to blame someone.
Their behavior was illogical and irrational, but at the very least, there was room to understand it.
In the end, everyone here was someone who had lost something.
At my words, the room sank into a heavy silence.
They, too, had realized it now. That no matter how angry they got, nothing would come back.
That no matter how much they vented their rage on the mutants… they, too, were merely people in similar circumstances.
“…Huh.”
The man who had told me not to go let out a hollow breath.
It seemed he had never expected things to turn out like this.
I gave him a nod and approached the area where the mutants had gathered.
Werewolves, orcs, goblins… and even vampires, who looked relatively close to human but gave off a strange uncanny-valley discomfort. Mutants who had been hard to find at the community service center were huddled together here in little clusters……
“H-Hiiik…!”
…Ah, right.
The moment I approached, the werewolf recoiled in terror, and I let out a low groan.
In fact, the werewolf wasn’t the only one who reacted that way. The other mutants also flinched in horror the instant I drew near.
…Come to think of it, Shin Ayun had said something like that before.
That she didn’t know why, but she felt a strange fear.
‘…But is it really enough to react this badly?’
A strange sort of emotional damage began to pile up.
It felt a bit like being rejected.
But just as Shin Ayun had done before, it was clearly a fear that could be overcome.
After a little time passed, they quickly shook themselves free of it.
The first among them to do so was a beastman whose appearance seemed like a mix between a bear and an owl.
He was truly massive. I had to crane my neck quite a bit to look up at him.
Was that what they called an owlbear? I wonder if this doesn’t violate some copyright.
“…First, I would like to thank you. And I want to make it clear that our reaction just now was not intentional.”
“I understand.”
“…Thank you.”
I looked around.
The area where they were gathered was clearly different from where the ordinary people were.
Darker, more despondent, more hopeless.
‘It must feel like they’re being alienated twice over.’
They had lost their homes and families. And yet they weren’t even being treated like people.
“…Excuse me, there’s something I’d like to ask.”
“Please ask anything.”
“Do you know anything about what’s inside there?”
I said, pointing at the black cylinder.
The blackout phenomenon. The place that had effectively taken everything from the people gathered here.
The owlbear’s expression darkened.
“…Not much.”
“That’s all right. Anything is fine.”
The owlbear hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
“In truth… a few of us once tried to go in.”
“Is that really true?”
They had tried to enter before.
At the fairly valuable piece of information, my heart began to pound despite myself.
“And? What happened?”
“We were… stopped.”
“…Stopped?”
“The soldiers’ security was tight. They had blocked off every route that could lead into contact with the blackout zone.”
At those words, I let out a sigh.
The military, huh. They were the same people I’d seen at the Sinsa Station intersection.
What had they been like again?
Judging from what I’d heard from the taxi driver, it was hard to have a particularly good impression of them.
But why had the soldiers reacted so threateningly?
At the very least, it was certain they were also under considerable stress.
I wasn’t sympathizing with them—objectively speaking, that was all.
At the very least, it was clear something far from ordinary was happening inside.
And because of that, I couldn’t just sit still even more.
“Then, as long as I avoid the soldiers’ eyes……”
“I suspect it would be impossible.”
“……”
“Barricades, guard posts, patrols… They were working in shifts twenty-four hours a day. They’re searching every alley, one by one.”
…Fuck.
From the sound of it, there really didn’t seem to be any gaps.
“Was there really no one who managed to get in?”
“…I don’t know. At least among us……”
That meant everyone had failed.
Even if someone had gotten in, if I couldn’t know about it, then it was the same as failure.
I fell into thought for a moment.
‘…Is there no way?’
The soldiers’ security was thorough.
They were combing even the alleys.
Twenty-four-hour shifts.
‘…A frontal approach is out.’
Just as I was reaching that tentative conclusion inwardly, the owlbear asked me in a voice tinged with uncertainty.
“…Are you thinking of going inside, by any chance?”
“……”
“…I would like to stop you. No matter how I think about it… going in there really doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
“…Is that so?”
The owlbear’s voice was trembling slightly.
Meaning every word he said was sincere.
“…Yes. Since last night, and until just moments ago, sounds have continued to come from there.”
“…What kind of sounds?”
“…Screams.”
After saying that, the owlbear shuddered.
Screams.
That one short word made the air sink even heavier.
“…I don’t know. I don’t even know if I should really call them screams. Those sounds were… truly desperate, like something being torn apart.”
The owlbear’s voice quivered faintly.
As if merely recalling those screams was painful enough. I felt as though the fear he had felt was being transmitted to me as well.
“It felt as though something human was being scraped away. As though the soul itself was being worn down……”
“……”
Just from hearing it described, I couldn’t quite grasp what he meant.
Screams that felt as though the soul was being worn down?
No matter what, there was no way anyone could hear something like that and remain sane.
“…If it can be called fortunate, only some of the mutants heard those sounds. Perhaps because ordinary people’s hearing isn’t as good, they don’t seem to have heard them at all.”
So that was what had been going on.
I let out a deep sigh.
The more I heard, the less easy this seemed.
Why the hell did that bitch have to go hang out in Gangnam today of all days and make me suffer like this?
“Thank you for telling me. It helped.”
“Are you truly… planning to go? There must be a reason the soldiers are stopping people. Inside there is really… not normal.”
“Well. I’ll take a look at the situation first.”
I gave a vague answer and left the mutants’ area.
The many fear-tinged gazes of the mutants on my back felt prickly, but right now I had no time to worry about that.
Ruuumble—.
That was when it happened. With the heavy engine noise that shook the ground, several two-and-a-half-ton trucks came barreling into the camp square.
“Wh-What is this?”
“Why are the soldiers doing this!”
The people began to murmur in panic. The soldiers who jumped down from the trucks formed ranks in an instant, then pressed in on the people with their gun barrels lowered at an angle.
Their faces were hidden behind gas masks and helmets, and even their name tags were covered.
Bzzzt— bzzzt—!
At that moment, vibrations rang out simultaneously from the pockets of countless people gathered in the square.
I, too, took my phone out of my pocket.
[Emergency Disaster Alert]
Government Order: Temporary martial law declared across all of Seoul Metropolitan City.
Effective immediately, all outdoor gatherings and movement are prohibited. Violations will be severely punished in accordance with the Martial Law Act……
“Martial law? Does that even make sense!”
“Where are we supposed to go if you tell us to disperse!”
People’s screams erupted, but the soldiers did not answer.
Instead, a static-laced mechanical voice flowed from the large speakers installed on the trucks. Soon after, on the large display of a vehicle equipped with a screen, a man with a grave expression appeared.
Probably… the prime minister.
[My respected citizens, this is the prime minister. The Republic of Korea is currently facing an unprecedented national emergency: the unidentified blackout phenomenon, widespread mutation incidents, and the incapacitation of the president.]
His voice was calm, but the content was nothing short of violent.
[The government hereby declares emergency martial law over Seoul Metropolitan City and the entire capital region as of 7:00 on January 18, 2027, pursuant to Article 77 of the Constitution and Article 2 of the Martial Law Act. Accordingly, Martial Law Command Proclamation No. 1 is hereby issued.]
Without so much as blinking, the prime minister read the next clauses.
[One, effective immediately, all outdoor gatherings, demonstrations, and political activities are prohibited.
Two, all media and reported content must undergo prior censorship by Martial Law Command.
Three, all civilians in the Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu areas will be forcibly transported to shelters under military control at once. We sternly warn that anyone who refuses or obstructs this order may be subjected to the use of force without warning, pursuant to Article 13 of the Martial Law Act.]
“……Force?”
Someone repeated blankly. No sooner had the word been spoken than an officer in a gas mask gave a hand signal.
“First rank, advance! Shields tight!”
Clang—!
The sound of shields scraping across the ground tore through the square. The soldiers no longer even looked as if they were seeking anyone to talk to.
A tide of military boots swept over the refugees. There was no time at all to come to one’s senses.