“As your actual combat capabilities have yet to be properly assessed, we will be carrying out a simple operation first. Our first operational zone is the Temporary 4th Outpost at the Sinsa–Gangnam boundary.”
So explained Captain Kim.
“Currently, this outpost is one of the locations closest to the boundary of the Amjeon Zone. Due to fog and darkness, ordinary soldiers’ visibility is extremely limited, and it is a point where intrusion attempts by Uitaesu have been frequently reported of late.”
“What are we to do there?”
Elder Owlbear asked, planting his heavy war hammer against the floor.
“Completely annihilate the Uitaesu approaching the outpost. That is all.”
The operation was simple. But the weight that simplicity carried was anything but light.
It meant they would have to spend the night in pitch-black darkness where they couldn’t see an inch ahead, facing monsters that wore inside-out skins and mimicked human memories.
Moreover, that wasn’t the only problem.
“Any questions?”
“…How do we distinguish between humans and Uitaesu?”
To that, Captain Kim answered in a low voice.
“You cannot.”
“Then……”
“Assume all approaching figures are Uitaesu. Lethal force is the standard protocol.”
A shocking order: shoot and kill anyone approaching.
Kim Jihu, hearing those words, raised a question.
“Isn’t there a possibility they could be real people? How could you……”
“I will tell you that possibility is extremely low. We moved the citizens to safety immediately upon the declaration of martial law, and only a very small number of civilians currently remain in the vicinity.”
There had been a reason the citizens were moved first the moment martial law was declared.
Of course, that didn’t eliminate the possibility they could be human… but the damage that would result from allowing for that possibility was beyond imagination.
In the end, even Kim Jihu nodded.
“…Understood.”
“Any more questions?”
No one answered.
Instead, they tightened their grips on their respective weapons, replying with silence.
“Then, I will see you again in a week.”
With that, the briefing concluded.
*
A week passed more quickly than expected.
I spent that time learning how to handle firearms… Ha. And I managed to make a few comrades.
Yu Inha, a naga beastwoman, and Minaji, a dog beastwoman.
Since the barracks were grouped by gender, I had been living with these two.
They were both twenty, so you’d think we’d be comfortable… No, with our mental genders different, it wasn’t.
‘I had a lot I wanted to argue when they grouped us by the same gender, but……’
If I had stepped up then, I would have only caused unnecessary trouble.
It wasn’t entirely wrong, and it wasn’t like I could squeeze into the men’s barracks either.
…Damn it, if only my body hadn’t ended up like this.
“Yujin Unnie, you worked hard at training again today.”
“No, I told you not to call me Unnie……”
Yu Inha approached me, her massive snake tail sliding across the floor as she moved.
Because her lower body was that of a snake, she lived on a mat instead of a bed.
At first, looking at that bizarre cluster of scales had been torture, but by now I had grown fairly used to it.
“I told you, it’s Unnie. You smell good, Yujin Unnie.”
Minaji, this dog beastwoman, sniffed around my arm whenever she got the chance.
I knew her sense of smell was keen, but apparently something like an angel’s energy or other stimulated their instincts.
‘Isn’t this too close even for friends……’
These girls kept calling me Unnie no matter how much I told them not to.
But it wasn’t without reason, so I couldn’t really say much……
‘Is it because they’re both from the same orphanage. Until recently, they lived together, just the two of them and an older sister from the same orphanage.’
They said the reason they joined us was to find that older sister.
The reason they clung to me calling me Unnie was probably to ease that anxiety even a little……
‘…Sigh, I guess I have to put up with this. They’ll keep doing it even if I tell them not to, and it’s not like they’re the type to listen.’
Of course, even if I let that slide, living together itself was torture.
Since we shared the barracks, there were many things we had to handle together.
The worst of it was shower time.
No matter how much my body had changed, my mind was still that of a strapping young man of South Korea.
I won’t go into detail.
It would be rude to the others. But I can swear to you that I didn’t see a thing.
Why was I the one who had to worry about the others, rather than the others worrying about me……?
‘…The kids who couldn’t even talk to me at first because they were scared…’
Why were they clinging to me like this now?
Of course, the reason they no longer feared me was entirely thanks to my growth.
Why the mutants had always panicked at the sight of me—I supposed I had finally realized the fundamental reason.
‘…It was because of my holy power.’
Once I became aware of it, I could vividly see the insane amount of energy surging from within me.
Waves of holy power overflowing from the vessel of my soul and leaking outward.
It had been stimulating the instincts of nearby mutants, creating an unintentionally powerful sense of pressure.
Once I realized that, the solution was surprisingly simple.
If it was overflowing and leaking out, I simply had to forcefully draw it back inside.
During training breaks, I dedicated myself to practicing gathering in that invisible thread of light wrapped around my body.
At first, the resistance was severe, like squeezing a water-filled balloon with my hands.
But as I repeated it, I got the hang of it.
It wasn’t about pressing down with force, but was closer to the sensation of softly pushing it inward, like neatly combing disheveled hair toward the inside of my mind.
And now, I had finally succeeded in completely gathering my holy power.
“Let’s go. Everyone is waiting.”
We left the barracks and headed to the briefing room in the underground parking garage.
Already waiting there were the orc uncle, Elder Owlbear, and Kim Jihu, fully armed.
“Everyone is here. Then, I will brief you once more.”
The contents of this briefing were the same as last time.
We wouldn’t be entering the Amjeon Zone immediately, but would take on guard duty at the temporary outpost.
“However, that does not mean this operation is simple.”
Even outside the Amjeon Zone, Uitaesu occasionally slipped out.
That was why civilians around Seoul had been forcibly evacuated.
Well, it was only right to clear out an area where undead monsters pretending to be people roamed.
“Uitaesu fundamentally do not die, but they are not immune to bullets. If you shoot them enough, incapacitation is possible.”
“What happens after they’re incapacitated?”
“A cleanup team will come to collect the Uitaesu. It takes less than twenty-four hours for an incapacitated Uitaesu to become active again. If they are placed in an isolation facility within that window, there will be no problem.”
It was a fairly systematic method.
Well, I heard they had predicted this years ago……
Anyway, I was surprised by how well-prepared they were.
Had our country always been this competent?
“Any more questions?”
No one answered.
“Then, we depart.”
*
The back seat of the massive 2.5-ton truck was far more cramped than expected.
Normally, there would be ample room for five or six people, but with the hulking orc uncle, me with my cumbersome wings, and Yu Inha with her serpentine lower body all packed in together, it was nothing short of absolute chaos.
“Yujin Unnie, your wing feathers keep tickling my nose…”
“Endure it. I don’t even know where my wings are wedged. And I told you not to call me Unnie. I am……”
By now, I was too tired to even say it.
Feeling the cold touch of the Glock pistol resting on my knees, I let out a sigh.
Every time the truck rattled, the scenery of Seoul flashed by through the gaps in the tarp.
Streets that had been filled with brilliant neon signs just a week ago had now become a bleak city sliced only by the headlights of military vehicles.
And that black cylinder visible in the distance.
What the hell is that damned thing, to have caused all this havoc.
There was no time to be afraid.
Because inside it, there was a bitch I needed to grab by the hair and drag out.
“The atmosphere feels ominous.”
Elder Owlbear muttered, gripping the shaft of his war hammer tightly. The elder’s feathered ears trembled faintly.
“Elder, do you hear something?”
“No. That is the problem. It is too… quiet. Near the Amjeon Zone, there should be screams, or strange cries—yet right now, I hear nothing at all.”
At those words, the air inside the truck froze.
In the front passenger seat, the communications soldier grabbed the radio and repeatedly switched channels.
[Static—4th Outpost, respond. This is the Special Response Team en route. Report your situation. Static—]
Only an unpleasant noise crackled from the radio.
Deep furrows formed between the communications soldier’s brows.
He turned his head to look at us in the back seat. His face, bare of a gas mask, was etched with severe tension.
“We’ve lost contact with the 4th Outpost. A report saying everything was fine came through clearly just five minutes ago, but……”