My objective remains the same.
Rescuing my little sister, who should be somewhere in the Gangnam Blackout Zone.
If not that… No, there’s no need to think any further than this yet.
Because my fatalistic intuition was certain that bitch was still alive somehow.
So, if only for my parents, who must be worrying about her, I have to enter the Blackout Zone.
“……”
…But would the military really just let me walk into certain death?
Me, who possessed the unprecedented power to turn Mimetic Beasts back into humans?
Rationally speaking, it wasn’t advisable for me to enter the Blackout Zone.
I was the only one capable of restoring propagated Mimetic Beasts.
If a talent like that said they were going into a death trap, of course they should be stopped by any means necessary.
They should, but……
‘…Damn it.’
It was difficult. Cruelly difficult.
Even after experiencing the horrors at the 4th Outpost, my resolve hadn’t broken.
Rather, because I had seen the devastation of it all with my own eyes… I was worried.
My parents, this and that—enough with the excuses.
That bitch and I are family, bound by blood, and as long as we’re family, I can’t help but worry.
Even if that bitch’s hobby is getting drunk and puking on my blanket……
…Wait.
‘…Should I just abandon her?’
For a moment, that thought crossed my mind, but I shook it off.
Punishment should be dealt by my own hands. Not left to the hands of some unknown monster filled with malice.
One way or another, there was only one thing I wanted to say in the end.
…Rescue that bitch and bring her back.
Clack—
The hospital room door opened, and a familiar face came in.
Captain Kim Hyeongcheol.
He looked around the small private hospital room. To me, it seemed like he was trying to delay the moment our eyes met as much as possible.
Well, our positions were in clear opposition.
But since he had come this far, there was no avoiding it.
In the end, I was the one who spoke first.
“…So, have you been well? I heard a whole day passed.”
“…You could have said we should meet once your body was a little more stable.”
“Uh, you’re right?”
“…Good grief.”
No, I thought he meant we should meet right away. He said we’d talk when I woke up.
Perhaps seeing my awkward expression, Captain Kim spoke in a hollow tone.
“…There must have been a misunderstanding while the message was being relayed.”
“…Still, well. What does it matter if we talk later or now? It’s not like we’re only going to see each other once and never again.”
“…Heh, true. That’s not the case.”
Captain Kim twitched his fingers as if searching for a cigarette.
But he wasn’t so arrogant as to bring cigarettes into a hospital room, so it ended as nothing more than an attempt.
“Ms. Han Yujin. The… miracle you showed us this time. Yes, miracle is more fitting than ability. Your miracle possesses strategic value that no one can deny.”
“……”
“What that means is, you can receive treatment fully befitting that ability. Even if you devote yourself only to purifying Mimetic Beasts in the rear, the Armed Forces will put their efforts into rescuing your younger sister.”
So he was getting straight to the point.
Captain Kim’s words sounded reasonable at first.
I, an important person, would remain in the rear, while other soldiers rescued my sister. That was what he was saying.
“Please trust the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces are fully……”
The moment I heard those words, my feelings soured.
Because they were words that sounded far too sweet.
“…Is that even possible? It’s not like I don’t have a brain.”
“It is certainly possib—”
“Liar.”
I recalled the briefing Captain Kim had given right before we went to the 4th Outpost.
“What did you say back then? Any approaching individuals are to be identified as suspicious persons. Shoot to kill immediately.”
“…It was a decision made to minimize the number of victims as much as possible.”
“Who said I didn’t know that? I understand too. That it was the best possible judgment. But you can’t say you don’t know what kind of thought I’d naturally have after hearing that.”
I wasn’t trying to disparage the Armed Forces’ judgment.
They had responded as best they could under the circumstances they were given.
The fact that society was still being maintained to some degree even amid this utter shitshow was proof of that.
But……
“…Do the Armed Forces actually have the ability to resolve this situation?”
“That is……”
The Armed Forces’ response had certainly been swift and rational.
But at the same time, it had also been excessively extreme.
There was a kind of aggression to it, like that of a rat driven into a corner.
Separate from how rational the Armed Forces’ judgment was, and how well they had handled things, I had to ask.
Did they truly have the ability to completely resolve this situation?
“Answer me. What’s the situation inside the Blackout Zone, and what results have the Armed Forces achieved there?”
“…That is information I cannot know.”
“Don’t you think that’s enough of an answer?”
If things inside the Blackout Zone were proceeding smoothly, there would be no need to hide the information.
If even he, who would be commanding us as we entered the Blackout Zone soon, didn’t know the details, there was only one reason.
“That is why I can’t leave everything to the Armed Forces. I……”
“That is precisely why!”
Captain Kim suddenly raised his voice.
Startled by his shout, my body flinched.
And Captain Kim himself seemed just as startled by it.
As if he hadn’t meant to, his lips trembled, and his eyes lost their way.
He twitched his fingers once more, then let out a deep sigh and spoke in a crawling voice.
“…I’m telling you to stay in the rear. Because it’s that dangerous a place.”
“……”
“…Must you truly go in? Even if you don’t, simply by remaining in the rear, you can protect the dignity of many people.”
He was right.
But I’m an extremely ordinary, small-minded person, so……
“…Yes.”
At that, Captain Kim spoke as if overcome with futility.
“…What a cruel fate. Truly cruel… For someone so young……”
It was the same thing he had said when he first saw me.
Those words—cruel fate.
“…Understood.”
“Then……”
“Yes. Do as you wish.”
Captain Kim answered readily.
I was startled by that.
No matter how I thought about it, there was no reason for him to sound so resigned.
From the Armed Forces’ position, wasn’t I an important human resource?
Moreover, Captain Kim was the very person who had tried so desperately to persuade me.
And yet he was giving up this easily?
“…Orders came down from above. Respect the will of the angel-type mutant as much as possible, but have her retain her status as a member of the Special Response Team if at all possible.”
“That means……”
“Yes. Everything I’ve said to persuade you until now was not the will of the Armed Forces, but purely my own. The person who gave me my orders said this: If you wish, you may try to persuade her, but it won’t be easy.”
Captain Kim twitched his fingers.
As if spitting it out, he laid it bare.
“I don’t know the true intentions of the higher-ups. But… it is certain that they have placed some strange expectation on you. To be precise, since the moment your existence became known to the world.”
“……”
That was something I was curious about as well.
I chewed over the words of the higher-up that Captain Kim had relayed.
Respect the will of the angel-type mutant as much as possible, but have her retain her status as a member of the Special Response Team if at all possible.
And what Captain Kim had said.
Do as you wish.
And also what Kim Jihu had said to me.
If that is what you will, then do so.
Only today did I become certain.
At the very least, the higher-ups of this country know a great many things.
That was why the words mentioned this time……
And this series of statements didn’t seem meaningless at all.
But just what……
‘…What exactly is this will of mine supposed to be?’
“…Then, I’ll take my leave first.”
Captain Kim slipped out of the hospital room as if fleeing.
And at the same time, Min Aji trotted into the room.
“…How did it go, unni?”
“It was resolved well. So… everything will be fine.”
After saying that, I let out a small laugh by myself.
Those words were practically nothing more than wishful thinking.
But it would surely be fine. Surely……
“Ah, and this.”
Suddenly, Min Aji took out a delivery parcel.
“…What’s that?”
“I don’t know? They said it was your stuff, unni.”
Hearing that, I frowned.
My stuff…… Ah.
‘Come to think of it, I ordered something before coming here.’
By that something, I meant none other than my clothes.
It seemed they had brought over what had been delivered to my house.
Since I’d been wearing utility clothes all this time, I had completely forgotten about it.
“…Heh.”
For a moment, I felt the greatness of South Korea’s logistics system.
Things were going to shit in Seoul, yet just a little farther south, everything was still intact.
“Why are you doing that…?”
“…No, it’s nothing.”
It would be nice if that peace, as if nothing at all had happened, could last for a long time……
But why was it that, looking at the state of things now,
even this fleeting peace seemed unlikely to last?
“…Hm, should we watch TV?”
I changed the subject to lighten the mood.
The private hospital room had a small wall-mounted TV.
Feeling the sensation of a remote control in my hand for the first time in a while, I turned it on.
Beep.
With a signal tone, the TV powered on.
Perhaps it had been set by the previous viewer, because one of the terrestrial channels appeared.
[…reporting. Currently in Gyeonggi Province… there is……]
Perhaps because the reception was bad, the reporter’s voice cut in and out.
But amid it all, one person’s voice rang out clearly.
[Give me back my familyyyyy—!]
Ah, damn it.
I shouldn’t have turned this on.