Our sortie began exactly one hour later.
It was sudden, but no one had any complaints.
Everyone was desperately hoping to rescue their families as soon as possible.
—Rattle, rattle.
The hour passed more quickly than I expected.
Getting armed itself didn’t take long, but still. Just knowing we were going back into a Blackout Zone made my heart feel like it was being squeezed.
‘…It really wasn’t a pleasant experience.’
The darkness where, without my light, it would have been hard to see even an inch ahead.
The grotesquely warped space, and the mimic beasts inside it that repeated the forms they had worn in life, pretending to be peaceful.
We were going back into that darkness where all of it writhed.
I looked over the team members and checked them one by one.
Since Captain Kim wasn’t participating in this operation, I had effectively taken on the role of leader.
‘…Though half of it was practically forced on me.’
There were more than enough team members older and more experienced than I was.
The problem was that none of them wanted to take such a burdensome position.
Old Man Owlbear and Mister Orc didn’t seem particularly interested, and the rest strongly recommended me as leader.
Especially Kim Jihu. He was the biggest problem.
‘Honestly, it’s not like there’s anything bad about me doing it.’
If a battle breaks out, I’m the one who can best grasp the situation.
On top of that, revelation-type sacred arts and secret arts should also help with command to some extent.
Foresight and spirit sight, which fall under revelation-type sacred arts, were fairly useful abilities.
‘…The problem is that most of these sacred arts are closer to passives.’
Revelation-type abilities were less like sacred arts and closer to utilizing the innate power of divine energy itself.
Just like how I used healing abilities even before I learned sacred arts.
Anyway, that’s enough explanation for how I ended up in the leader role.
I first asked the two large men.
“All right, you two. You packed plenty of magazines, right?”
“Yeah. We packed dozens each, so we won’t run short.”
Mister Orc answered that way. Old Man Owlbear also nodded and briefly showed me his magazines.
At a glance, his field pack was stuffed with a mountain of magazines.
Considering what they were carrying on their bodies as well, the two of them alone must have had an enormous number of magazines on hand.
Of course, their packs also contained a mountain of food in addition to the magazines.
After all, the number of packs the two of them had brought alone exceeded three.
‘…It’s an amount an ordinary person could never carry, but…….’
The two of them had gained superhuman strength after becoming mutants.
Apparently even that wasn’t much of a burden. In fact, Kim Jihu, who had packed far less gear than them, was the one groaning as if he were about to die.
“…My weapon changed this time, didn’t it?”
Well, that was true. Kim Jihu had been issued a grenade launcher instead of the rifle he had been using.
Anyway, then, why were we going so far as to pack this much luggage?
“This operation will definitely be a long battle. According to the route provided by the military, there are two Blackout Zones we have to pass through to reach the survivor area.”
“That’s a long way…….”
If you only listened up to this point, a grueling journey was certainly expected… but there was no problem.
This time, the circumstances were slightly different.
“Passing through the Blackout Zones isn’t expected to take that long.”
There were two zones we had to pass through, but one was Gangnam Sarang Obstetrics and Gynecology, the place we had entered before. The gatekeeper there had already been eliminated, so there was no reason for it to take much time.
“So the only zone we actually have to break through is Hannam Bridge.”
Hannam Bridge was less than one kilometer long.
We would avoid dealing with the miscellaneous monsters and only take care of the gatekeeper as quickly as possible before moving on.
The area after we crossed it was……
“It has been confirmed that the survivors are staying in Dogok 1-dong.”
The place connected to Hannam Bridge was none other than the entirety of Dogok 1-dong.
Compared to the previous Blackout Zones, which had been a single hospital building and a single bridge, it was large in scale.
No matter how this operation unfolded, it was bound to become a long battle.
At least the military had provided the exit coordinates in advance.
“Everyone’s finished preparing, right?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
Desperation and resolve appeared in the eyes of the other team members.
The objective of this operation was none other than rescuing survivors.
Their own families might be inside, so their desperation must have reached the heavens.
—Vrooom.
Just then, the deuce-and-a-half arrived.
Everyone’s eyes shifted to the vehicle slowly approaching.
We each gathered our luggage and climbed aboard.
*
Rattle, rattle.
There probably weren’t many things used by the military that you could expect comfort from, but the deuce-and-a-half boasted truly the worst ride quality.
Rattle, rattle.
Whenever this damn vehicle ran over anything, it rattled with exaggerated motion like it was sailing over waves.
With the roads in such terrible shape, it felt like a hundred speed bumps had been laid out.
‘Honestly, that much isn’t the problem. Speed bumps are, well, whatever.’
The problem was that this vehicle had no such thing as seat belts.
Thanks to that……
“Ugh!”
“Careful. Hold on tight.”
“…I was holding on.”
Every time it rattled, my already light body bounced around like a rubber ball.
If the people around me hadn’t caught me, I would have been flung straight outside.
Still, the one fortunate thing was that we didn’t have to stay on the deuce-and-a-half for long.
No, should I call this fortunate…….
Screech.
With the sound of brakes, the driver informed us.
“We’ll stop here.”
“Ah, we’re already this far?”
“Yes. From here on, the area comes into contact with the Land Leviathan’s sphere of influence, so further operation is impossible.”
Which meant we had to walk the remaining distance.
At least on the deuce-and-a-half, I could sit. Now I had to move my very short legs as quickly as I could.
“Then, take care.”
After letting us off, the driver turned the vehicle around and left.
And so we were dropped into the middle of an empty Seoul.
I looked around at the empty high-rise buildings standing in rows, with not a trace of human presence to be felt……
“All right, let’s move.”
I said that to the team members.
“I haven’t been to Seoul often, but there’s nothing to see. I think our neighborhood’s better.”
“Come to think of it, where did you say you lived?”
I answered Yu Inha’s question casually.
“Gyeonggi-do.”
“If it’s Gyeonggi-do, there must be plenty to see. I heard there are lots of fields there too?”
I suddenly looked at Yu Inha.
…Is this girl doing this on purpose?
Her expression was innocent, but no matter how I looked at it, the words she’d spoken were overflowing with the will to take a jab at me.
‘…There’s a sacred art useful for times like this.’
Among the many passive revelation-type sacred arts, there were a few active skills.
‘Its name: the Eye of Truth.’
As befitting its straightforward name, the effect was simple.
It was an ability that let me determine truth and falsehood in another person’s words.
I asked bluntly.
“…You’re not deliberately mocking me, are you?”
“Huh? No!”
Yu Inha jumped in surprise and shook her head.
But I was no longer fooled by lies that only looked true on the surface.
‘Eye of Truth.’
The sacred art activated and analyzed Yu Inha’s ugly lie.
The result……
—Truth.
‘…Huh?’
Then what she’d just said wasn’t a jab, but something she’d said sincerely?
“I like fields, you see. Honestly, compared to a city center like this, I prefer the scent of nature.”
“…Hey, Gyeonggi-do is part of the metropolitan area too.”
“That’s true. But aren’t there lots of fields too?”
“Well… there are.”
…There was a field right in front of our house, after all.
Though I had no idea why it was there when we were so close to the city.
I shook my head at Yu Inha’s persistent questioning.
How cowardly of her to bring out facts.
If this kept going, I was sure I would lose, so I vaguely mumbled my way out and changed the subject.
Anyway, after walking and chatting for a few minutes.
“…We’re here.”
We arrived at a point connected to Gangnam Sarang Obstetrics and Gynecology, a place we had visited once before.
‘…Still, since we’ve been here once, we didn’t get lost even without a guide.’
We hadn’t even encountered a single mimic beast on the way.
Last time, we’d ended up running into one no matter what.
‘This has to be a good sign.’
Maybe it meant the journey ahead of us would be this smooth?
Or not.
Even I felt like I was raising a flag, but well.
Wasn’t it fine to hope for this much?
“…All right, let’s go in. Be ready for your stomachs to turn.”
At my words, the team members adjusted their weapons in their grips.
“Then.”
We stepped into the Blackout Zone.
Into the hellscape we would never have set foot in again if we hadn’t had a clear purpose.
‘For the sake of the families left behind in hell.’
We would willingly thrust our heads deep into the brimstone.
The surging darkness swallowed us whole.
*
Just as thirty minutes had passed since we entered the Blackout Zone.
“Clear.”
We broke through Gangnam Sarang Obstetrics and Gynecology and reached the third floor.
The door connected to the next zone.