“Hnnngh...!”
A soldier gripping a massive greatsword as big as his own body.
He had his face screwed up tight, pouring strength into his whole body.
Muscles glimpsed through his uniform swelled as if they might burst at any moment.
“[Mount Taesan Cleave]!”
He packed every ounce of gathered power into a single swing.
KRA-KA-KA-KANG!!!
A gigantic crack split open across a large building.
A tall, enormous building that looked like something no ordinary human strength could ever bring down.
And yet, after taking that one soldier’s strike—
KUGUGUGUGUNG....
“It’s collapsing!”
“Th-this is why Corporal Lee Hanil... breaking a building with one hit...!”
“Stop gawking and get to the side, all of you!”
It came apart in a miserable wreck.
And that wasn’t all.
“Flames of crimson karma....”
The longer mages invest time into their spells, the stronger they become.
A soldier drove a massive fireball to its absolute limit and sent it toward a high-rise.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!!!
With that single spell,
a building that had looked perfectly fine was charred and melted down like it had been hit by an air raid.
“Keep breaking them!”
“Bring it all down!”
And.
That kept happening, again and again, across the northern stretch of Seoul.
“Sergeant Shin.”
All across Seoul right now,
the Legion’s members were carrying out indiscriminate destruction.
And well.
It was only natural, if you thought about it.
“Do we... really have to do this?”
“...Mm.”
The people committing that destruction
had some pretty complicated feelings about it.
“It’s like...”
A few soldiers stared at the Seoul skyline being destroyed by their own hands and said,
“It’s like we’re... invading Seoul.”
Sure enough.
‘At least I’m better off, since I’m the one still carrying all those reset memories.’
For me,
I could be certain this Seoul wasn’t a normal place.
That was why the guilt of smashing it up felt a little lighter.
But from these soldiers’ perspective,
they had only just crossed over into Seoul from Gangwon.
They’d heard the invitation Seoul sent.
They’d seen a Seoul that looked intact.
And maybe—just maybe—someone they used to know might have survived here...
They’d been carrying that kind of hope.
“Yeah. It’s rough, isn’t it?”
“...If it’s your order, Sergeant, the whole unit will follow it. But...”
In that situation,
they’d suddenly been given an order to destroy Seoul.
“Honestly... it doesn’t feel good.”
Up to now, the Legion had only fought monsters.
It wasn’t just me who felt like fighting humans belonged to a distant past.
Originally, Legion members were the ones who restored ruined civilization, the ones who raised buildings on wasted ground.
Now we were standing on the opposite side, destroying a past civilization that looked perfectly fine.
It was more than enough to leave a bad taste in your mouth.
No.
It wasn’t even someone else’s problem....
“I feel the same.”
“...Sir?”
“What, you think I’m enjoying this?”
This situation was, in fact,
so unpleasant it made me sick too.
‘I didn’t want to do this either.’
I stared at the buildings collapsing and thought.
The memories had been covered over, again and again.
But even so—every time I arrived in Seoul for the first time,
the feeling I got after seeing intact buildings was always the same.
‘At first, I was ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ stunned.’
And then, after that—
‘I got excited.’
After the day the world ended,
society had been completely smashed to pieces by the appearance of monsters and zombies.
I’d been sure the very concept of a nation had collapsed long ago, and I’d judged the odds high that there weren’t even survivors in Seoul.
But.
‘That wasn’t true... and that made me so damn happy.’
A civilization and a nation I’d thought were gone.
The capital of this country—something that had been a symbol of that civilization—
the fact that it still remained, even if only in outward form.
It always filled me with a huge sense of joy.
‘If we worked with them, maybe we could overcome this apocalypse... I was full of hope.’
Sure, it bruised my pride a little that there were people who had weathered this apocalypse more easily than we had.
But the fact that so many people were alive felt deeply encouraging.
If we cooperated well, we might survive this apocalypse—that was the hope I used to carry.
‘It’s sad, and it’s bitter, but.’
Now.
“Even so, we have to do it.”
That landscape—the one that gave me that joy—
I had to destroy it with my own hands.
“...Understood.”
KWAANG!
Thankfully,
even if they voiced some complaints, the soldiers still followed my order well.
‘They’ve never lost out by following my orders so far... so even if it feels awful, they’re following because they have no choice.’
The trust between me and my unit members ran that deep.
But.
‘Still... this order probably shaved some of that trust away.’
That much.
There had to be a lot of soldiers who didn’t like this order at all.
It was unfortunate, but I didn’t have the time to calmly persuade them.
“...Something’s off.”
“Huh?”
Just then,
one soldier stared at the building they’d smashed and muttered.
“That last attack... even I could tell I hesitated.”
“What? I get it, but—hesitating when it’s Sergeant Shin’s order?”
“No, that’s not the important part.”
“...Huh?”
Right in front of them,
a building lay in a disastrous collapse.
“I hesitated at the end so much, it wasn’t even a proper hit. But....”
They stared at the wreckage they’d made, murmuring as if it didn’t make sense.
“A building that looked that solid... it goes down like this from an attack that weak?”
“...?”
“It’s like...”
Up until a moment ago it had looked perfectly fine.
Now it was nothing but ruins.
“Like it was already half-destroyed to begin with.”
“What are you even talking about?”
“...No. Even I can tell that sounds crazy. Must be in my head. Sorry for talking nonsense.”
But.
Listening to that exchange, I thought,
‘Nonsense.’
That probably wasn’t nonsense at all.
{Stop!!!}
And then, right then—
{I warn you! The soldiers ahead will cease all destructive activity immediately!}
A booming voice carried from far away.
A harsh, overdriven sound, like someone shouting through a loudspeaker.
{I know who you are—the Legion, the soldiers from Gangwon! Then why are you trying to destroy Seoul!}
I turned my head toward the direction the voice came from.
A human silhouette in the distance.
It was too far to see clearly, but the voice was familiar enough.
‘Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan.’
How hard had he run to get here?
A middle-aged, older man soaked in sweat stared at us with desperate eyes.
*****
{You are soldiers—those with the duty to protect and defend this nation!}
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan.
At least, according to the ‘taste buds’ I’d newly gained,
he had always been honest with us,
and he had shown us great goodwill.
{Yet you are destroying the nation’s capital instead. What kind of absurd act is this! I don’t know what your reasons are, but you must stop this destruction at once! If there is some reason you absolutely must do this, then through dialogue—....}
Even though most active-duty soldiers should have died,
the fact that they’d built the military so perfectly here, of all things—
{...First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok! Are you there! I’m sorry, but I took a quick look through some of your personal information.}
It was enough to prove
he was a commander of unimaginable capability—someone worthy of respect.
Even now, the ‘hunt’ that happened in that underground shelter sent chills down my spine when I thought about it.
{I understand both of your parents served this nation! For their sake, can you not speak with us—...!}
And that man,
was now shouting at us with a voice on the edge of tears.
At his words, I gave a bitter smile as I thought,
‘Even after seeing this, you still want to solve it through dialogue....’
Normally, this would be a situation where you’d attack first and ask questions later.
That was probably how positively he’d been viewing us—the ones who had fought on in silence in Gangwon.
“...Sergeant Shin?
“What should we do?”
If he could have broken through that wall, maybe he really would’ve tried to help us somehow.
In many ways, I was grateful.
But... unfortunately.
“Ignore him.”
“...Sir?”
I betrayed that goodwill
and chose to ignore Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan completely.
“Whatever they say, ignore it. Keep destroying everything.”
“...Yes, sir.”
The soldiers wore uneasy expressions, but they didn’t refuse.
They continued the destruction.
Then—
{...So that’s how it is. I suppose a year really is... a long time.}
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan let out a sigh heavy with lament.
Then he spoke with a hollow chuckle.
{Seems like I was the only one who felt closeness, thinking we were fellow soldiers.}
“Ignore him!”
{Those who fought for the people even after support from the state was cut off. I wondered if there was any way to help you, and in my heart I believed you were comrades-in-arms fighting to overcome this apocalypse...!}
“Instead of listening to that, smash more—now!”
{When I think about it, perhaps it was my fault for blindly trusting people I’d never even met, and treating them like friends. I, too... made a ridiculous mistake as a commander. So—....}
In that voice,
the wavering and tears vanished.
{From now on, I will no longer think of you as comrades.}
And then.
The next voice that rang out wasn’t for us.
{To all forces!}
As the head of the Capital Defense Command,
it was a voice directed at his soldiers.
{We have confirmed the enemy’s invasion from the northern boundary! The enemies are the [Steel Legion], the ruler of Gangwon and the successor to the former 12th Corps that once held responsibility for defending all of Gangwon! They have forgotten their mission to protect the nation, and are indiscriminately destroying Seoul—an unmistakable band of traitorous rebels!}
Just as he said,
to them, we were nothing but insurgents.
{As of this moment, the Capital Defense Command enters a combat posture to respond to the invasion! All artillery battalions, aim for the coordinates I am about to announce, and all combat forces from every battalion will immediately move to the northern boundary region!}
At Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan’s words,
a few soldiers looked at me with anxious eyes.
“Sergeant Shin! We could understand tearing down buildings, somehow, but...!”
“Do we have to fight them too?”
A voice that desperately hoped we wouldn’t.
And I understood exactly what answer they wanted.
But.
“Yeah.”
“...”
There was only one answer I could give them.
“Shelling is coming. Get ready to respond.”
Gritting my teeth, I watched the soldiers brace for battle and thought,
‘An army....’
Seoul’s strength was different from other factions.
An army made up of non-awakened people.
Before the apocalypse came to this world,
it had been the Republic of Korea’s military—ordinary humans, the real thing.
‘We did fight soldiers in that underground bunker.’
But in truth,
the modern military’s main strength wasn’t infantry.
And the Republic of Korea Army’s main battlefield wasn’t some cramped underground bunker like that.
We still hadn’t experienced their true power.
Even as regret and sorrow churned inside me,
on the other hand—
I could feel a faint competitive fire rising.
Honestly....
‘I was curious too.’
We, the [Steel Legion], had grown while claiming to be the heirs of the Republic of Korea Army.
My Legion—raised with everything we had in this apocalypse.
So.
How would our strength measure up—
{Open fire!}
—when compared to the real Republic of Korea Army?
It was time to find out.
