The Apocalypse Always Comes Without Warning
D-1825 Until Discharge
“Salvia, we’ve got a new recruit!”
“Yeah, sure... got it.”
I mumbled in a lackluster voice, sprawled out in a relaxed posture.
Behind Benny stood a small blonde recruit who looked as lost and clueless as any fresh recruit usually does. Benny seemed positively thrilled, likely because the newcomer was a girl.
But me? I couldn’t care less about the recruit.
Why, you ask?
‘She wasn’t in the original story...’
In the original novel, aside from Benny, Dalin didn’t have any other female seniors. Which meant this new recruit was doomed to die soon.
“Benny, you handle her.”
“Yes, ma’am! Angel, over here!”
So, her name’s Angel, huh?
Anyway, I wasn’t interested in building any kind of bond with her, let alone helping her survive, like I had with Altair. Honestly, I didn’t even know when or how Angel would meet her end.
I’d already failed to save Reina once. That was when I learned the cold, hard truth.
Survival is the recruit’s own responsibility.
“Haaahm...”
Yawning lazily, I decided I might as well nap during this break since I’d be on guard duty in an hour.
With Yuri’s transfer, I’d naturally become the senior-most person in this barracks. Which meant I ruled this place now. No one could bother me here. It was the one place where I could enjoy absolute freedom.
“Angel, you can leave your toiletries here,” Benny chirped.
“Yes, ma’am!” Angel replied eagerly.
...Watching Benny fuss over a recruit who was clearly destined to die left me feeling oddly conflicted.
Why the hell am I stuck in this godforsaken apocalypse?
“Ugh, damn it!”
As I cursed at the air, I overheard Benny whispering to Angel nearby.
“Salvia’s actually a really good person.”
“R-really...?”
“Yeah, just... a little crazy.”
“Oh, I see...”
That little punk, Benny. Looks like she’s grown bolder since gaining a bit of seniority. If I weren’t still just a private first class, I’d have put her in her place. But for now, I’ll let it slide... for now.
***
Let’s be honest.
Even I had to admit that I’d been on edge lately—extremely on edge.
The reason? The death of the original Salvia.
‘She definitely died around this time.’
In the original story, Salvia died exactly one year before Dalin enlisted. Dalin entered the army just as Aquila became a senior private, and we were set to hit that rank exactly one year from now.
Which means this was the point where, like any good side character trapped in a romance fantasy, I should be thinking: “I’ll change the original story, save myself from death, and gracefully step aside so the male and female leads can have their happily ever after!”
But all I could think was, ‘Damn it, there weren’t enough clues in the original!’
The circumstances of Salvia’s death were barely described.
In fact, the only information the original gave about her death was Benny’s offhand comment to Dalin:
“Salvia... she was their first love. But then, because of a monster... never mind, forget I said anything.”
And that was it!
At least with Aquila’s death, Winter had mentioned “a march,” giving us some context. For my death, though? The only clue was “a monster.” Well, no shit, of course it’d be a monster. What else would kill me?
‘...Wait. Didn’t someone in the neighboring unit recently die in a weapons accident?’
I decided to count myself lucky for even getting “a monster” as a clue. This army was dynamic enough that dying in any number of ways seemed plausible.
If the cause of death was indeed a monster, it must’ve happened during guard duty, a subjugation mission, or some other random event like a march.
Random event. God, that sounds like something out of a dating sim, except there are no pretty boys or romance here.
‘It’s probably during guard duty, right? Or maybe it’s subjugation since the monsters we encounter there are usually stronger?’
“Ugh, damn it!”
I yelled into the void, but it didn’t help me feel any better.
No, I needed to calm down. Breathe. Think rationally.
‘Was there really no information in the original?’
I’d used a black magic artifact to access the author’s memories, so I probably remembered the original story better than they did. If I went over everything from the beginning, maybe I could find a clue.
‘If there was no description of Salvia’s death...’
Then I needed to recall everything about the monsters.
Focusing, I replayed the events of the original story from chapter one. After a while, a specific scene flashed in my mind:
“Haah... haah...”
[Aquila gasped for breath. Standing before the massive monster with its belly split wide open by his blade, he was reminded of an old memory.]
‘Got it.’
It was chapter 49, from Aquila’s perspective.
After rescuing Dalin from being devoured by a monster, Aquila experienced a flashback to a traumatic event involving a similar situation.
[He vividly remembered the moment he killed the monster with skin so tough it couldn’t be pierced by steel.
He remembered the senior he disliked, who used ice-elemental aura, gritting his teeth and praying desperately as they tore open the creature’s belly.
And when they finally split open its stomach...
They found traces within the highly acidic gastric juices.
A pale, lifeless arm...]
“Sir Aquila!”
“...Ah, Dalin.”
“Are you alright? It looked like you couldn’t breathe just now...”
[Aquila turned to the person who had pulled him from that nightmare.]
“Yes, you’re here...”
[He now knew he couldn’t let the past consume him. He still had a future ahead of him.]
‘...Why am I so angry?’
Thinking about Aquila and Dalin in the original story always pissed me off. I guess watching coworkers act all sentimental makes anyone mad.
But my focus needed to stay on the important part.
‘The original Salvia was eaten by a monster.’
She was devoured by a massive monster with skin so tough it couldn’t be pierced by steel.
The male leads eventually cut the monster open, but by the time they found her, Salvia had already been... digested.
‘That’s... grotesque.’
Since both Aquila and Winter were present during the incident, it must’ve happened during a subjugation mission, not guard duty.
If that’s the case, avoiding subjugation missions for a while might reduce my chances of hitting a death flag.
‘But if I die here, what happens next? Do I go back to Earth?’
Unlikely. And even if I did, it’d feel pretty damn unfair after all the suffering I’ve endured. I want my 3,000 Marknes back, damn it!
If I die here, the original story would probably kick off in earnest. Suddenly, the male leads, who’ve gotten closer to me, would redirect their affections toward Dalin.
Right now, the male leads were friendly with me, but none of them showed even a hint of romantic interest.
I could picture Karon ditching me to chase Dalin around instead. He’d probably act more subdued than he does now. After all, I’m the one who taught him some manners.
Winter would go into overprotective mode, trying to control Dalin’s every move while interrogating her about every little thing.
‘And Aquila...’
He probably only saw me as a fellow comrade, just like Winter. But still...
“Ugh, damn it!”
The thought of him suffering with me through all this and then turning around to treat someone else differently made my blood boil! Why was I so angry about this?
“I’m going to kill him.”
“Salvia? Is something wrong?”
...Oh, right, it was bedtime.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Benny looked at me from her bed. Next to her, Angel was pretending she hadn’t heard a thing.
I waved them off apologetically.
Benny lay back down, and as I calmed myself, my thoughts returned to the original story.
‘Honestly, Isina makes me angrier than anyone else.’
In the original, Isina was depicted as a sociopath who couldn’t feel much for anyone except the female lead.
When Dalin asked him about Salvia, his cold nature became glaringly apparent.
“Who? Oh, Salvia... yeah, you look a lot like her.”
“...What kind of person was she?”
“Why do you want to know, Dalin?”
“Well... I heard she died because of a monster. Everyone seems to have liked her, so I’ve heard a lot about her.”
Dalin’s warmth shone through her words.
“If I were her... I think I’d want my name to be remembered rather than forgotten.”
This was classic Dalin—kind and empathetic, always trying to remember others.
“So... I want to remember her, too.”
Of course, when I first read this, I didn’t think much of her phrasing. It was only after joining the military that I realized how unusual it was for someone to speak so gently.
But Isina’s response had been chilling:
“Dalin, there’s no need for that. It doesn’t matter if she’s dead.”
Even Dalin had been shocked. Readers were horrified. And me? I’d been livid. Isina, you cold-hearted bastard!
Back when I first enlisted, I’d been too busy surviving to care much about this scene. But now, with more time to think, I was getting angrier by the minute.
Dead? Just dead?
How could he talk about his comrade—someone he lived and fought with for three years—like that? It was infuriating.
“Damn it!”
“Salvia, did we... do something wrong?”
“Ah, no! I’m just so mad I have to survive no matter what!”
“...Goodnight.”
Benny turned back over and ignored me.
After seething for a while, I realized there was no guarantee the story would play out the same way.
Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.
‘The story’s already diverged so much from the original.’
Sure, the tone had shifted from a romantic military drama to surviving hell in a spicy apocalyptic army, but still.
For one, Aquila and Winter didn’t love me like they did in the original. That alone was a major change.
Other differences stood out, too.
In the original, Isina used guns, but now he wielded a sword.
Altair, who should’ve died, was alive because of me.
‘Maybe the story’s already veered off its original course.’
My mood lifted slightly as I realized the changes. It felt like spotting a light in the middle of a dark forest.
‘Maybe I’ve been overreacting.’
Even so, I’d need to stay alert for anything resembling my original death.
And then I remembered something Isina had said to me just days ago.
“What are you scheming?”
“If I tell you the truth, will you help me?”
“...No.”
I’d brushed it off at the time, but now the memory of his expression during that moment crept back.
Was he already treating me like I was disposable, just like in the original?
‘Then again, maybe not.’
It was possible Isina saw me as an equal. Maybe I was overthinking everything. Perhaps the original’s dark, manipulative Isina wouldn’t fully emerge this time.
...Although, my thoughts kept flip-flopping so much I wasn’t sure what to believe.
‘Maybe I should just ask him directly tomorrow. “What would you do if I died?”’
It’d be easier to get a straight answer from him than keep second-guessing myself.