{Since things have turned out this way, I will withdraw now.}
The monster shaped like a winged face looked down at us and spoke.
{I will look forward to our next meeting. Though this was not a good first meeting, I believe I can have a good relationship with you.}
“That’s your one-sided idea.”
{Haha. It seems I have not earned much trust. I understand... but it is also a little funny.}
At that, I frowned, but—
That face, without even having a neck, somehow shook its head side to side.
{The people who distrust me so deeply... have no doubts at all about this place.}
“...What?”
{Hmm. Yes. As the first button toward building a good relationship in the future, I will offer you one piece of advice. I do not know who you intend to meet, but....}
It kept speaking as if it didn’t care that I and the soldiers were frowning.
{They are not exactly normal either.}
...What came out of its mouth
Was pretty unpleasant.
{Well, no matter what I say now, it will be hard for you to believe it. If you ever have time later, come and find me.}
“...I hate to say it, but you don’t really have the face of something I want to be friendly with.”
{Haha. A painful remark. But well... it will not matter.}
A monster with every hole in its face sewn shut with thread.
Then—
{Let me make one prophecy.}
CHZZZT.......
{If nothing else....}
Its one huge eye opened.
Through the gaps between threads stretched to the point of tearing, it stared into my body.
{You will come and find me yourself.}
*****
THUD.
That was its last line.
The head that had been flying in midair dropped limply to the ground.
And the moment it did—
-...KRRRRAAAAGH...!
“The monsters are moving again!”
The monsters that had withdrawn around us started moving.
I took a fighting stance, thinking they were attacking again, but—
-GRRRK...?
-GRRRKH... KRRRRAAAAAAAAGH....
They didn’t attack us.
Rather—
“...They’re in chaos.”
“Yeah.”
Like they didn’t know what to do.
Monsters looking around, panicking.
Watching them, I said—
“That thing left.”
“...What?”
“The owner controlling them is gone.”
With the voice that had ruled them gone,
The monsters left behind began wandering, ownerless.
If so.
Dealing with monsters with no will of their own wasn’t difficult.
“Clean up.”
“...Yes!”
CRUNCH!
After that, what followed was—
Less a battle and more like work.
“This is kind of...”
“It feels like we’re getting an experience bonus.”
Killing monsters flailing in confusion was far too easy.
The soldiers cut them down effortlessly and started collecting experience from them.
I checked on the soldiers with one glance.
Then headed for the edge of the battlefield.
‘That thing from earlier.’
On the ground.
The grotesque head that had been talking until a moment ago was rolling around.
I lifted my boot over it.
CRUNCH!
[You gain experience.]
Pale pink flesh and sticky grayish-white fluid smeared on my combat boot.
I scrubbed my boot against the ground to wipe the chunks off, thinking—
I’d expected it when I looked with [Combat Power Gauge], but.
‘The amount of experience coming in is absurdly small.’
For something that had been commanding monsters at that scale, this amount of magic power was pathetic.
This wasn’t the true body of the thing I talked to.
More like a reconnaissance terminal.
I raised my head and looked up at the sky.
The being that had ruled these monsters.
Its true body was probably—
‘That strange noise that suddenly appeared in the sky.’
The place where the monsters emerged.
It was sitting beyond that.
‘What the hell is even beyond that?’
In many ways, it was a monster that bothered me.
Not only its unidentifiable entrance—noise caught in the sky—
But also... the things it said to us.
*****
“You all...!”
Once the monsters were mostly cleaned up.
People were approaching from far away.
“Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan.”
The soldiers of the Capital Defense Command who had been fighting at a distance,
And their commander, Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan.
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan ran toward us, grabbed First Lieutenant Kim, and hugged them tight as he shouted—
“Thank you—truly, thank you!”
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan’s uniform was smeared all over with the monsters’ bluish blood.
Not an ordinary officer, but a general.
Which meant someone who should be directing troops from a safe place, not a field position—
Had been fighting on a knife-edge battlefield close enough to be splashed with monster blood.
In a normal situation, someone of that rank fighting on the front line would be foolish.
But the sudden monster raid that appeared this time was far from normal.
Even a person in that position had to step out and fight.
‘Put another way... if he decides it’s necessary, he’s the kind of person who’ll throw himself into a dangerous battlefield himself.’
A true soldier.
Someone who doesn’t spare their body in battle.
“This isn’t even your job to defend, but you stepped out without hesitation! Truly—truly, thank you!”
And because of that—
Watching him beam with that bright smile as he patted First Lieutenant Kim’s shoulder...
My feelings could only get complicated.
{Whoever you want to meet... they are not exactly normal either.}
‘Not normal.’
Well.
It could just be nonsense.
Since it was a monster talking, there’s a high chance it was just trying to sow division and weaken human unity.
“First Lieutenant Kim.”
Not something worth taking to heart, but...
Regardless of what that thing said—
“From now on, we really need to be on guard.”
“...I know.”
With Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan and the Capital Defense Command soldiers guiding us,
We walked toward our original destination, Yeouido.
A massive barrier raised to block monsters.
As the gate in that wall opened, I turned back.
From far away.
People were coming this way.
‘Survivors.’
The many regions of the Republic of Korea that had been cut off after the collapse.
The ones who succeeded in surviving there.
When monsters appeared over Yeouido—
They fought alongside us against the monsters, even without any warning.
This collapse...
At the very least, it was certain they were people who had fought the monsters that suddenly appeared in this world.
But—
‘That doesn’t mean they’re our allies.’
We only share the same point of fighting monsters to survive.
We still didn’t know what kind of people they were.
There could be good people.
And naturally, there could be bad people mixed in too.
For humanity’s survival, cooperation among the few humans who remain is essential.
Which was exactly why—
Dealing with other factions had to be done carefully.
Never forget it.
For long years.
The beings that made humans bleed the most were other humans.
*****
After the battle ended.
After entering Yeouido, we were guided to an empty building.
‘From the outside, it looked fine.’
Inside, I looked out at the scenery of Yeouido.
‘It’s been destroyed badly.’
When I first came here with Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan,
Yeouido’s scenery, seen from afar, looked intact.
The other districts of Seoul were the same.
But maybe because of the fight just now—
Yeouido now looked like a bleak, devastated city, with parts half-collapsed here and there.
‘...Huh.’
As I watched, I felt something odd and tilted my head.
‘It doesn’t feel like the fight was intense enough for this.’
There was a raid, sure.
But the fight itself ended more easily than expected because their leader gave up quickly.
And yet, Yeouido’s current state was so ruined it looked like a major battle had gone on for days.
‘Was it just that I couldn’t tell from outside, and the inside was already partly wrecked?’
It didn’t look like buildings that were suddenly destroyed.
Here and there, the damage looked old—like time had already passed since it happened.
Since survivors were using this place as their main base, there must have been fierce battles.
Something like that.
“We meant to arrange a place today where survivors from each region could sit down and talk together... but we did not expect a sudden battle like this.”
After a while.
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan, who had guided us here and then left somewhere, returned and spoke.
“Still, thanks to you, it seems the battle ended without any real losses. I just received the report—considering how many monsters appeared, the casualties were absurdly low.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Truly, thank you. I will repay this debt without fail.”
When Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan bowed his head,
First Lieutenant Kim waved his hands and made him raise ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ it again.
“Then what happens to the meeting?”
“Hmm. Some said that since there was a sudden raid, we should cancel the scheduled meeting... but since it ended without major losses, many think we should proceed as planned.”
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan cautiously checked our expressions.
“Of course, it is only an opinion. If you are tired, say so at any time. You went through the fiercest battle... so even if I suggest we meet today, it would be a burden. We can push this to tomorrow—”
“No, we’re fine.”
“...Really?”
“Yes. If anything, I’d like to meet the others as quickly as possible.”
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan looked at us with surprised eyes.
It’s a little ridiculous to say out loud, but—
We literally “ground” those monsters up.
‘Other factions helped a lot, but we probably killed the most monsters.’
Since we showed that kind of performance,
He probably assumed we were exhausted and tried to be considerate, but—
“We go through fights like this often. It’s not enough to wear us out.”
“...Heh.”
That wasn’t bravado.
At the start, we did fight seriously, but not long after the battle began, that bat head showed up.
After it disappeared,
The monsters that lost their master were nothing but a disorganized rabble.
Rather than being tired, the soldiers were happy they’d picked up a lot of experience easily.
“Incredible... truly incredible.”
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan couldn’t hide his admiration.
“If that is how you feel, then follow me. I will guide you to the meeting room.”
“I understand survivors from other regions are here too. Do we not need to ask what those survivors want?”
“I already asked them. They also seem to want a place to talk as soon as possible. Of course.”
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan grinned.
“If you had refused, I would still have pushed it to the next day.”
Most of the soldiers decided to remain in this building and rest for now.
First Lieutenant Kim and I.
And Corporal Seo Suhyeok, Corporal Gwangil, and Squad Leader Lee Sanga—five people total—followed Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan outside.
“As I said before, in Seoul now, multiple groups cooperate and live together.”
“I remember.”
“Basically, everyone is in a cooperative relationship. People get along fairly well. But... there are many kinds of people within that.”
As we walked toward the meeting place,
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan spoke to us in a voice laced with concern.
“I hope it is not the case... but there may be people who treat you coercively. I respect your achievements, but it would not be strange if others do not.”
“...I see.”
“But remember this.”
Soon we arrived before a building decorated with large pillars.
The National Assembly Building.
“I will support you.”
“General....”
“Whether it was that radio, or this battle just now.”
As we opened the door and went inside, Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan said—
“No matter what anyone says, you are proud soldiers who saved many lives.”
*****
‘To actually walk into a place I only saw on the news.’
We opened the doors and entered the National Assembly Building.
I was curious about what it looked like inside.
But unfortunately, we didn’t come here to tour.
Even after entering, we kept moving for a long time.
I vaguely assumed we’d enter some ordinary conference room, but the place he led us to was underground.
“It is an underground passage that connects the Assembly Building with other buildings.”
There were many buildings near the National Assembly Building, so an underground passage existing wasn’t strange.
But I found it odd that he was taking us through a corridor connected to other buildings.
I assumed he would guide us to a meeting room inside the Assembly Building.
“And.”
I learned the answer
Faster than expected.
“The place we need to go is this way.”
In the middle of the corridor.
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan stopped in an awkward spot where there was nothing but pictures around, placed his hand on the wall, and—
KUUUUUUNG.......
“A secret passage...?”
“Didn’t everyone want this kind of romance?”
A section of the underground corridor opened,
Revealing a path leading inside.
“It leads to underground facilities prepared for emergencies. We used this as our base and operated from it. It is a fortress built sturdy enough to endure even a nuclear blast.”
“...Is it alright to reveal something like this to us?”
A secret government bunker.
With a name like “secret,” it felt like something they should hide.
But they revealed it to us without hesitation.
“Aren’t you among the few citizens of the Republic of Korea who survived? Take it as a sign of trust.”
That’s what he said.
But I thought differently.
This was—
Less “trust,” and more...
‘Confidence.’
The confidence that even if the location was exposed, it wouldn’t cause them serious harm.
“And... the meeting room is here.”
Inside the underground bunker were all kinds of facilities.
Among them was a space suitable for a meeting room.
CREEEAK.......
The door to that meeting room opened.
And the moment it did—
“......”
“......”
The people who had arrived before us inside.
All of their gazes locked onto us.
