Chapter 144: Hellfire Peninsula (1)
Near the site of the old Bomunsa Temple on Ganghwa Island.
“Kyyaaaaah!!”
The madman’s scream echoed through the temple. It sounded like a mournful wail and a lonely roar.
But once that scream took on physical destructive force, it became a threat to ordinary people.
“Aaah!”
“Sa, save us!”
“The devil! Damn it, a student has turned into a devil!!”
Teachers who were in the half-collapsed temple panicked and rushed outside. The temple, originally just abandoned, was habitable for people, but once the roof was blown away and pillars shattered by the sonic attack, it was no longer a safe place to be.
If anyone failed to escape in time, the collapsing ceiling would turn the building into their tomb.
“Kyahaha! Everyone, die! All those who planned this practice just die!”
Crash!
The temple collapsed as soon as the devil released a purple magic bullet from its hand.
“Aaaah!”
“Teacher Kang?! Aaaah!”
Some of the teachers who couldn’t escape were buried as the temple crumbled. Their screams were lost in the sound of the collapsing building.
Drip.
Under a beam, a hand stretched forward limply fell to the ground.
“No, too late…!”
“We came as fast as we could! Damn, if we hadn’t just been patrolling because of the practice!”
“Damn, why did he have to hide in his room and turn into a devil!”
Students from the academy who had run down from the mountain were horrified to see the devil on top of a beheaded Buddha statue.
“Jeong-hoon!!”
“Uh? Kim Jeong-in?! Hey, long time no see!”
One student, who knew the devil, contorted his face in an instant upon seeing his friend’s form.
“You, what the hell have you done!!”
“I killed those annoying people! Why? Oh, wait, weren’t you four the ones who went to eat without me?!”
The devil, formerly called Jeong-hoon, had transformed into a typical Western-style devil resembling a gargoyle and perched on the Buddha statue.
“Kkkk, did you have fun eating out without me, huh?”
“No, you got it wrong! That was because you—”
“Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding! They were all having double dates without me! Haha!”
The devil, now a ‘Gargoyle’, shrieked and shot magic bullets into the sky.
“If you’re here for practice, then practice! Not for romance! Did you come here to date?!”
“Jeong-hoon, calm down, please!”
“Leave it. Why calm down? He went berserk and turned into a devil. He locked himself in his room because he didn’t want to eat seasoned crab, for heaven’s sake.”
A female student pulled out a broadsword from her violin case and aimed it at the Gargoyle.
“Such mental weakness should be eliminated. Just because he didn’t like the food for one meal and locked himself in his room, he thought he was being ostracized and then turned into a devil? Are we supposed to care for that?”
“Jeong-hoon isn’t someone who would turn into a devil for such a reason!”
“So what? He’s a devil now. Does he look like a person in a gargoyle cosplay to you?”
“Ugh…!”
Regardless of the reason.
The figure with petrified wings fluttering on the head of the decapitated Buddha statue was a ‘devil’.
“The moment it’s officially declared a devil, we just kill it.”
“But… killing it instead of…!”
“What? If we don’t kill it, will Solar Platina or something appear and purify the devil?”
The female student mocked the reactions of the other team members.
“Or is there a Solar Platina here who will suddenly appear to purify that devil? Interesting. I’m not. Who could it be?”
“…….”
“Your hesitation suggests there’s none here. So, do we just wait for her to appear while that magic bullet arcs over and kills people in nearby houses?”
“That’s…!”
“Shut up and grab your weapon. That’s an enemy of humanity that must be eradicated. A fallen monster.”
“I, I haven’t fallen! You, you are the bad ones!”
The Gargoyle opened its mouth wide at the academy students.
“I’ll ruin this damned practice!!”
Kwaahhhh???!
The Gargoyle’s breath surged towards the ground.
Paahhhh???!
A white barrier unfolded as the gray breath was about to engulf the academy students.
“That’s…!”
“Could it be, Snow White?!”
Flap.
A white-haired woman in a suit with ice wings on her back, Snow White, landed emotionlessly. The gray breath froze instantly in the shape of the explosion, and Snow White trembled slightly as she looked at the devil.
“…Tch.”
A flicker of hesitation crossed Snow White’s eyes.
“…First, subdue.”
Her moment of hesitation was brief. Her decision was ‘subdue,’ not ‘kill.’
At that moment, in the faculty conference room on Sejong Island.
“Ganghwa Island, Jindo, Jeju Island…! And now Marado…! Students are turning into devils everywhere!!”
“Krrrr…!”
The principal pulled at his hair. The conference room, akin to a situation room, fell silent momentarily, but reports continuously came in.
“Principal, now there’s an incident on Baengnyeong Island!”
“Why are devils appearing there too! Damn…!”
The principal slammed his hand on the table in frustration.
“We hoped for growth through the practice exercise, not for them to become devils!”
“Principal, this is not the time to get angry. First, let’s assess the situation…”
“Evacuate the faculty and inform the students on site! Tell them to subdue the devils! Like we always do!”
“But, sir….”
The professors and staff in the situation room hesitated to speak.
“Now we need someone who can revert the devils….”
“Do you think Solar Platina will just pop up from somewhere and purify all these sporadically appearing devils? Huh?!”
“But, we can’t just tell the students to kill the devils! They all know that now we’re dealing with people, not just devils…”
“We’re killing devils!!”
At the principal’s outcry, everyone clammed up.
“We’re killing devils, and nothing has changed! We’re just exterminating all the devils!”
“Principal.”
“What!”
“It’s the President.”
“…….”
The principal cooled down instantly. After straightening his slightly twisted neck, he took the smartphone handed to him by his secretary.
“Yes, Mr. President.”
The man who was just fiercely enraged a moment ago was nowhere to be seen; the principal’s voice was too quiet.
“No, it’s okay. Yes. Oh, of course. The academy will do its best. Yes. Thank you.”
Click.
The call ended abruptly. The President had said his piece and hung up.
“Um, what did the President say…?”
“From now on, the NSC, not the academy, will handle the current situation.”
This meant that the situation was that urgent.
“Send all the students’ data. Send the emergency memo as an attachment first! Hurry!”
“Understood!!”
“Professors, call your students immediately, starting with the team leaders! Check on the team leaders first, then call each student!”
The principal bit his nails.
“Damn… Why are devils appearing simultaneously… I hoped for a trial, but not this kind of trial…!”
“Principal.”
“Oh, Professor Lisa La.”
A woman with gray-dyed hair approached cautiously. While others were busy making calls, Professor Lisa La spoke in a low voice.
“Perhaps this could be an opportunity?”
“Opportunity?”
“Yes. To weed out the seeds that could become devils. A large-scale purge.”
“What could we gain from that-”
“Solar Platina.”
At Professor Lisa La’s words, the principal’s eyes widened as if he had an epiphany.
“We find out where Solar Platina appears first. That alone will give us… a clue to her. Yes. Suddenly….”
Professor Lisa La twisted her lips.
“Unless someone suddenly starts killing devils.”
Dududu.
“They’re here.”
In the distance, an airplane crossing the sky passed over Ulleungdo.
And from the sky, directly towards this direction, something large began to fall.
It was like a meteor, a gigantic container-
Ku…ung.
The container came to a halt in midair.
I didn’t reach out my hand or anything, but the container stopped in midair on its own.
“What in the world is that?”
Startled, Brewer looked at the floating container in the sky and was surprised when she saw the emblem on the container.
“Is this sent by Master Gunggi…?”
“In a way, the Rebellion is an organization with enough budget to put in as much manpower as it wants, even if time is short.”
I lightly tapped the container with my hand.
Soon, the metallic container turned into red magical energy.
“That… Master Gunggi’s magic?”
“Yes.”
I wrapped Gunggi’s magic around my arms.
Although it was someone else’s magic, considering the relationship between Gunggi and me, I could treat it as my own.
“… It’s really amazing. Is it similar to what you showed in Gangwon Province before?”
“If you look at it closely, it’s different. Gunggi and I became one back then, but this time, I’m only borrowing Gunggi’s magic.”
“Gunggi and becoming one….”
Brewer smirked strangely, with an eerie smile on her face.
“Team Leader, can you do me a favor after this is over?”
“What is it?”
“I’d like to meet Master Gunggi once.”
“Why?”
“Just because.”
Brewer fidgeted her fingers like a fan meeting a celebrity before meeting them.
“Is that why you joined the Rebellion?”
“I joined to seek revenge on Haegnul, but the one who saved me was Gunggi. And now… we have a relationship where I can make a request of that level, right?”
“… You’re treading carefully.”
I extended my pinky finger toward Brewer.
“Promise me. Next time, invite Gunggi, and let’s have a meal together.”
“R-really?!”
“Of course. But, it can’t be on Sejong Island, you’ll have to come to Seoul-”
“I’ll go! I can even take a plane!”
“……”
Was this what they called being a fan?
“Go safely.”
After making a promise with Brewer, I reached out to the contents inside the container.
“Oh, but what if it’s just Gunggi inside?”
“…?”
“This time, the support that came might not be just Gunggi.”
The object protected by Gunggi’s magic had gently landed on the ground, and I climbed on top of it.
“… Isn’t that what I’m thinking of?”
“Exactly.”
I pointed to the bottom of the bike, the round wheel.
“With magic and ‘wind,’ you can go anywhere.”
From now on.
[Flying over the skies of the Korean Peninsula, I’m going to kill the devils.]
So that Yumir didn’t have to step forward.
Even if.
“Will Yumir get angry? She said we have to save the devils.”
[If she can’t appear right now, it’s right for me to kill the devils first.]
Even if Yumir got angry later.
[While waiting for Solar Platina to appear, at least a thousand people will be killed by devils.]
For now.
[Can’t we leave the fate of the devils to such a small number of people.]
For the future, it was urgent to save the residents of the world ruled by the Organization.
Visit freewe𝑏no(v)el.𝘤𝑜𝓂 for the best novel reading experience