Huuup.
I drew in a deep breath.
Unlike the stifling air inside the container, the air outside was so clear it almost felt refreshing.
It hadn’t been this good even when I came to Seoul before.
Perhaps it was largely due to the countless factories in China having shut down.
Of course, the important ones would still be running, but I’d heard they had decisively given up on the relatively outdated ones.
‘…….’
As I stood there, feeling strangely moved while gazing up at the dark, cloud-filled sky, the agent, freed from the possession, approached and spoke to me.
“Did the conversation go well?”
“Why not ask that inside?”
Then again, immediately after the possession was released, he had looked utterly out of it.
He had retched several times, as if he were suffering from motion sickness.
“Well, still……”
I thought back on my conversation with the devil.
If I were to ask whether it had been beneficial, it had been.
I had realized the true state of the blackout zones, and I had even advanced one stage to become an archangel.
The contract I’d made with the devil bothered me slightly, but……
“I think it worked out fairly well.”
I didn’t think the contract would become a problem.
Honestly, even if I fulfilled the contract, I couldn’t imagine what the devil would be able to do.
The contract wouldn’t proceed until after I became a high-rank angel, and by then……
‘Honestly, no matter what kind of trouble it causes, I feel like I’ll be able to handle it all.’
It was confidence with its own basis.
No matter how incredible the devil might be, demonic energy was, in the end, something like a pupil of divine power.
There were similarities, but ultimately, it could never surpass it.
Besides, once I reached the level of a high-rank angel, I’d likely be able to wield divine power without limit, so what could it possibly do with demonic energy?
“Yes, even thinking it over again, I think it worked out well.”
“That is a relief.”
The agent spoke as if hiding his emotions, but even so, an undeniable sense of relief bloomed from him.
Well, I supposed he had his own hardships to deal with.
“Then will you be returning as you are?”
“Yes, well……”
In truth, calling it a return made it sound more grandiose than it was.
The place where I’d met the devil had only been a temporarily installed container.
It wasn’t as if I had gone far; in the end, it was near the base.
It wasn’t even an hour away, only five minutes, so there was no reason to delay.
“There’s nothing more to do now, so let’s head straight back……”
—shall we.
That was the moment I was about to say it.
—Bang!
A gunshot rang out from the base.
‘Here? All of a sudden?’
Just as I was startled by the sudden gunshot.
—Krrk. Situation. Multiple suspicious individuals approaching from the direction of Post 5. All personnel arm yourselves and deploy immediately. Upon confirmation of suspicious individuals, you are authorized to shoot to kill without warning.
That report came from the radio the agent was carrying.
*
Lately, he had not had good luck even once.
Sergeant Jeon Ilhyeok bit down on his lip as he stared at something writhing in the darkness.
‘Fuck, my life…….’
In many ways, he was unlucky.
There was no need to look far. Just yesterday had been his scheduled discharge date.
If nothing had happened, he would probably be out in society by now, savoring his freedom.
If nothing had happened.
‘…Those damn monster bastards.’
Monsters had suddenly run rampant across the world.
Monsters that propagated through humans and imitated humans—creatures that could truly be called humanity’s natural enemy.
As someone standing on the front line against those monsters, Jeon Ilhyeok knew very well just how shitty they were.
Even his own juniors had died in droves while standing guard at the posts.
By now, there were hardly any familiar faces left in the squad.
“Squad leader.”
“…What.”
Jeon Ilhyeok answered without even turning toward the voice calling him.
He knew who it was without looking. In the squad that had practically been replaced wholesale, he was the only corporal left.
The man spoke in a voice full of mischief.
“I think it’s finally my turn, sir.”
“…Bullshit.”
“No, look. On the first day, Hyeoksu, who’d only just been assigned to the unit, died, and after that, didn’t they go in order of lowest seniority?”
It was a joke, but it wasn’t something anyone could laugh at.
And yet the corporal who had made that joke chuckled for a good while, as if he found it terribly amusing, before realizing there was no reaction and stopping.
“…Squad leader.”
“What now.”
“…They’ve come this far a few times before, haven’t they?”
“This isn’t the first time.”
It was not common for mimic beasts to approach the base, but it did happen from time to time.
After all, the posts could not filter out every mimic beast.
Mimic beasts moving in small groups were extremely difficult to spot.
“…But, sir.”
Just before the corporal could continue.
Flash—!
With the sound of power coming on, the searchlight lit up the darkness.
Dozens, perhaps close to hundreds of people, visible even from afar.
There was no way people would be coming from that direction, so they were effectively certain to be mimic beasts.
“…Has this many ever made it this far before?”
“…Damn it. Why ask when you already know?”
It wasn’t as if this was the only base around.
If anything, this place was far enough back to be considered relatively rear-line.
Until now, most mimic beasts had been cut down at other units or posts……
“Even if they came by bypassing the other units……”
“…The guys standing guard at the posts are probably all dead.”
On top of that, no alarm had sounded while those things approached this far.
That meant the ones standing guard at the posts had died without even having the time to make contact.
‘…Something’s strange.’
No matter how much they used the cover of night, if they moved on such a large scale, they would naturally stand out from afar.
But no one had been able to contact them?
“…Hey. There’s something about those things.”
“Sir?”
“Whether it’s a new monster or whatever, they’ve got something. Everyone, stand by.”
It was right not to fire rashly and provoke them.
As long as we don’t show hostility first, they’ll pretend to be ordinary people.
They had to buy time like that, and in the meantime, find whatever those things were hiding.
And then it happened.
“Uh, uh! Something above us!”
It was a shout from a squad member.
Jeon Ilhyeok immediately looked up.
The sky was thick with clouds, and even the city lights had vanished, so he could not see properly, but……
—Drifting.
Something was floating.
And it was directly overhead.
“Fuck, the sky! It’s the sky! Right now—!”
Jeon Ilhyeok shouted before it was too late.
No one had noticed it while it approached this far.
He did not know how that was possible, but that thing was probably the reason the posts had been wiped out.
It felt a little late, but they had discovered it, even if belatedly.
If they responded now……
‘…!’
Jeon Ilhyeok realized he had met eyes with something in the sky.
And that sensation did not end with just one time.
Twice, three times……
Every time their eyes met, it felt as if he were locking eyes with a different person.
Flash—!
Belatedly, the searchlight swung upward and illuminated the flying object.
‘…What the hell is that…….’
Ten human heads were dangling in clusters from something transparent and shaped like a pinecone.
Its form was closer to a bunch of grapes.
Perhaps their heads often knocked into one another while it flew, because all of them were covered in bruises, making even their color similar.
Far more than dozens of gazes swept over the squad members.
The thing seemed to sense that all the other squad members were staring directly at it, and soon it opened its mouth wide—
“Ah! Aaaaaaaaah! Aaaaaaaah!”
It let out a monstrous shriek.
Rather than the scream of a mimic beast, it sounded closer to a scream coming from a human throat.
‘Damn, damn it…….’
His hands trembled uncontrollably.
Even so, Jeon Ilhyeok was not consumed by fear.
If he collapsed here, the other squad members would be in danger.
It felt as if his throat were blocked and the words would not come out, but……
“Fire! Shoot it now!”
The one sentence he barely managed to squeeze out.
Fortunately, that single command snapped the other squad members back to their senses.
Bang! Rat-tat-tat!
Gunfire instantly filled the surroundings.
Their fairly quick response seemed to have had an effect.
Lurch, lurch.
The ten heads floating in the sky swayed dangerously.
Perhaps it did not have the same toughness as a mimic beast, because it looked as if it were barely holding on.
‘…That thing’s danger must lie in its stealth. But since we discovered it this quickly…….’
There would be no problem.
That was what he thought in that instant.
Thudthudthud!
Suddenly, such a sound reached his ears, and dozens of heads fell from the sky.
Had it taken more damage than it could bear and was collapsing?
For a moment, that thought crossed his mind, but he realized he was mistaken.
Each head was clearly falling while aiming for the squad members.
A clear attack. Bullets could not stop it. It was too fast to dodge.
The sentries had probably been caught off guard and killed, just like this.
As Jeon Ilhyeok tore his gaze away from the sky, he saw the corporal.
He, too, was looking not at the heads falling from the sky, but at him.
There was no time to exchange words, but they could roughly guess what the other was thinking.
Damn it, so there really is no order when it comes to dying.
It was the moment he sensed death.
Wuuung—!
A barrier covered in holy light spread across the air above them.
*
‘…Damn it, I almost didn’t make it.’
I broke out in a cold sweat as I watched the shield unfold at just the right timing.
To think the time would come so soon to make use of the knowledge I’d received from the devil.