When I turned on my phone, there was an insane number of texts that had come in while I was asleep.
Most of them were my friends’ stupid, rambling nonsense, but….
‘…Why the hell are there so many disaster alerts?’
That was the problem.
My eyes naturally went wide at the disaster alerts—there were easily five or six of them.
Texts were usually sent out for things like heavy snow or heat waves.
But those minor things only came once or twice; they didn’t flood in all at once like this.
I didn’t know what was going on yet, but this meant it was pretty serious.
The contents were a sight to behold, too.
I skimmed through the disaster alerts.
[Localized Blackout Warning]
[Currently, some areas of Seoul are being trapped in darkness of unknown cause. All citizens are advised to evacuate the area immediately….]
[Special Electromagnetic Wave and Hallucination Warning]
[The unstable electromagnetic waves identified as the cause of the blackout may cause temporary hallucinations and auditory illusions in the brain’s nervous system….]
Bizarre content of every kind filled my vision.
I couldn’t even guess what those were about. I skimmed through the disaster alerts and finally found the information I needed.
[Irregular Mutation Phenomenon Occurring]
It was exactly my situation.
For now, I felt a wave of relief that this text had come in.
At least it was certain I wasn’t the only case of someone whose body had changed. It was something of a strange comfort.
[Cases of body mutation occurring due to unknown causes. Mutated individuals should visit the nearest government institution.]
This alert was extremely short compared to the others.
But it definitely served to direct traffic. It meant the mutated situation was acknowledged and the state would step in to control it.
Very fast and decisive response.
‘So if I just visit the local community center like this, will that be enough?’
I thought that immediately, but then I suddenly grew afraid.
You know, in movies, getting dragged away and dissected in situations like this wasn’t exactly uncommon.
‘First, I need to find more information.’
Of course, my chances of obtaining information were slim.
It wasn’t like I had connections to high-ranking people.
In the end, all I could check were some news and online communities.
‘…….’
I opened the portal site app with trembling hands.
The main screen, which would normally be plastered with celebrity gossip and sports highlights, was completely covered in dark red breaking news banners.
[Breaking] Government Declares Grade 2 Disaster in Parts of Seoul Metropolitan Area
[Exclusive] Ministry of Defense Emergency Mobilization of Nearby Units… “For Public Order Maintenance”
[Comprehensive] “My Son Turned Into a Pig” Unexplained Mutation Phenomena Occurring in Succession….
Just looking at the headlines made my breath hitch.
‘What’s Grade 2? Was there a city like that?’
The headlines looked serious, but… honestly, I didn’t really get it.
I opened the comments.
-Grade 2 = Disaster Level 2
-lol there’s someone who doesn’t know what Grade 2 is
…Ah, so that’s what it meant.
But what the hell was happening for these alerts to go out?
I kept reading the comments carefully.
-Hey, I live in Gangnam right now and I can’t see outside. Really, can’t see anything. I turned on my flashlight but the light won’t go out? Does this make sense?
ㄴFor real? Isn’t it just a power outage?
ㄴIt seems like a blackout but a pretty bad one
‘…Well, blackouts happen from time to time.’
…They do happen from time to time.
But I had a feeling this wasn’t exactly ordinary.
If it was really just a blackout, they wouldn’t have declared a Grade 2 disaster.
-My brother suddenly had bones sticking out of his arms, chaos. Called 119 and they just told us to wait and hung up. Is this country doomed?
ㄴCan you verify the bones?
ㄴStop making shit up lol what movie are you filming?
ㄴThe guy above has no situational awareness. Haven’t you seen the real-time best? Werewolf pics are going around.
Chaos. It was chaos.
Some idiots couldn’t read the room and were just cracking jokes, but most were in a panic.
It seemed there was nothing more to gain here.
I went straight to the community forums.
As expected, it was overflowing with interesting posts.
[Title: Mutants, you there?]
Woke up and turned into an orc. Mom is sobbing right now.
-No saying the mutant was already an orc to begin with
-Holy shit is this real?
-Do tusks shoot out too?
ㄴ(OP) Yeah, feels foreign as hell
From posts about turning into orcs, goblins, and even beastmen close to furries.
The community was overflowing with verification posts from all kinds of mutants.
I felt relieved I hadn’t turned into such a terrible form, but….
‘…Aren’t there people like me?’
Someone who mutated into an angel, or whose gender had flipped.
But no matter how long I looked around, I couldn’t find anyone in a similar situation.
No angels, no gender-swapped cases.
There wasn’t even anyone who had transformed into something with a human-like appearance.
Most mutants had turned into beings considered monsters by societal standards.
It seemed I was the only one who had turned into something positive.
‘How am I supposed to take this….’
Becoming an angel might be a blessing in disguise. But why the hell did my gender change?
I didn’t know if I should feel wronged or not.
I might look fine compared to others, but this was still just as terrible.
Of course, other mutants would probably curse me, saying this was a privileged worry….
‘This is….’
Then one post caught my eye.
[Title: Hey, fire’s coming out of my body, does this get me exempted?]
Fire comes out of my palm like a lighter. If I show this, public service guaranteed?
I gulped and checked the comments.
Public service. It was a post that jumped straight into my eyes, with just one week left until enlistment.
-Retard lol looking at the state of the country, you won’t get exempted, you’ll probably go to a lab
-Isn’t it hot?
ㄴ(OP) Fucking hot
ㄴIf you’re the one who lit the fire but you’re the one getting burned, what then
-Hey, but won’t the army like you more if fire comes out of your body? They’ll use you as a human flare lol
ㄴCongratulations, frontline night watch duty for life
“…….”
A chill ran down my spine.
I instinctively tucked in my wings.
‘…Huh?’
My wings had moved just by thinking.
As naturally as my original arms and legs.
‘…Is this normal?’
A sudden doubt came to mind.
Most mutants I saw in the community felt severe foreignness toward their newly sprouted organs.
But my wings were different. These cumbersome pigeon wings felt like they had been mine from the start.
‘…Why is it only like this for me?’
While I was lost in thought, another sensible post went up in the community.
[Title: Review after visiting the community center]
(Photo of an orc giving a thumbs up)
Hey, it’s me.
Don’t be scared and just report it. It’s no big deal. They just draw blood and take body measurements.
Ah lol and I was supposed to enlist tomorrow, but they switched me to public service. Fucking sweet lolololol
A post about returning safely from the community center.
It even said he was switched to public service.
‘…Then what about me?’
The chances were pretty high.
I had even turned into a woman. It might even lead to a complete exemption.
‘…Well, it’s just a trip to the community center.’
Since my body had changed anyway, it was a procedure I had to go through once.
If the country was going to handle it simply, there was no reason to refuse anymore.
‘Alright, then let’s go out and come back.’
The schedule was set.
But before that….
‘…What about clothes?’
*
I was on the taller side.
Yeah.
I 'was' on the taller side.
Past tense.
My body, mutated into an angel, had changed in many ways.
First, my overall physique had gotten smaller.
If I was around 180 before, now I wasn’t even 150.
Meaning the clothes I had wouldn’t fit properly.
‘For the top… it’s loose, but I think a t-shirt will work somehow. If I just cut wing holes with scissors, I can somehow secure it.’
But perhaps because I had no underwear, a certain part was chafing.
Fuck fuck fuck.
Really had no choice, so I made a temporary fix with bandages.
…Yeah, bandages.
‘…Who knew I’d end up in an outfit like this.’
It was seriously fucked up.
A creeping desire to just kill myself right now was rising up.
Hah, yeah. If an angel commits suicide, do they go to heaven or hell?
My mentality was so shot that I was having such useless thoughts.
But that didn’t mean everything was over.
‘…The bottoms are left.’
Thankfully, I somehow managed with the underwear.
Of course, my legs had gotten shorter and my waist had shrunk, but….
‘Pelvis, damn pelvis.’
Thanks to my sharply protruding pelvis, the boxer briefs fit me just barely.
Even though my body had become petite overall, this part was no less than an adult’s. Fuck.
But the problem was the bottoms….
Unfortunately, there were no pants that fit me. Whatever I put on would just slide off, and no matter how I tried to secure them, it was pointless.
I had no choice but to agonize greatly over my dignity.
I couldn’t wear pants. But since the top was long, it barely covered up to about a third of my thighs.
‘…Fuck.’
It can’t be helped. This was the best I could do right now.
I stood in front of the full-length mirror like that.
The sight of me wearing a t-shirt clearly too big for my body. The outline of the bandages sometimes showed through.
And since I wasn’t wearing bottoms at all, boxer briefs were visible between my slightly exposed thighs.
But for some reason.
‘…It’s not as indecent as I thought.’
Just hearing the description, it’s lewd. Even though it’s an outfit that should obviously give off such an impression….
Was it the aura my face possessed, or thanks to the subtle glow emitted by the halo?
With the snow-white wings added to that, instead of lust, only awe at beauty remained.
‘…The fact that that appearance is me is fucked up, though.’
I held my head.
Now all that was left was to go out… or not.
No matter what, I wasn’t planning to just go out dressed like this.
Of course I had to wear outerwear.
I tried to take out a long padded coat from the wardrobe.
But there was one obstacle.
‘…Ah, fuck. Wings.’
This damned monstrosity was in the way even of putting on a long padded coat.
…It can’t be helped.
It was expensive, but I’d have to cut wing holes in this too, just like the t-shirt.