Chapter 56

EP 10 - The End of Winter (6)

"You're in a bad state."

At David Kim's words, I ran my hand over my cheek. A thick, sticky mixture of blood, dirt, and leaves came off. It smelled awful.

I wanted to wash my face, so I looked around the ground.

...There's no snow.

I suddenly looked up at the sky. The sky over Bukhansan was strangely clear, even though a snowstorm was raging in Uijeongbu.

Had the storm sucked up all the nearby clouds? I stared silently at the sky, crumbling a dry leaf in my hand.

"Are you okay? Snap out of it!"

By just staring into the air and crumbling leaves, I must have looked like I was out of my mind.

The woman who had been standing next to David Kim took out a handkerchief and approached me. Her voice was gentle, but she was the one who had scolded David Kim for being rude.

"Did you lose too much blood... 3rd Squad! Is there a healer left?"

"A, I'm fi-"

"Just stay still!"

"Yes."

She carefully wiped my face with the handkerchief, looking at me with a worried expression.

"Director Park! Please treat this person. No, it's him. This doctor—"

She stopped in her tracks,

Staring at me expressionlessly.

"Doctor Han?"

"Yes...?"

"Doctor Han Seung-moon?"

"Yes?"

"......Really?"

"Yes?"

"!??!?"

"Ah!"

She threw me aside and stood up, her face flushed as she shouted at David Kim.

"H-Han Seung-moon, why are you here!"

"Didn't you recognize him from the highlight videos?"

"How could I recognize him when he's covered in blood!"

She raised her voice by two octaves and reached out to me again.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I... ...Ah, damn. What should I say?"

David Kim added indifferently.

"Say you're a fan."

"That sounds too casual."

"Doesn't it now?"

"......Damn!"

She reached out to David Kim irritably.

"Ouch! It stings!"

A small spark flew. She wiped my face with the handkerchief again, subtly touching my face.

"Ah, I didn't expect to meet you here. Nice to see you. I'm a fan, a big one. You saved my life twice on the Shinbundang Line, remember?"

"......Ah. I'm sorry-"

"Yes. I didn't expect you to remember. It was so chaotic. So, remember from now on. I'm Kim Han-bit. Remember that! Who am I?"

"Kim, Han-bit...?"

"Good!"

She smiled and tucked her handkerchief into my front pocket, then turned back to David Kim.

David Kim asked Kim Han-bit.

"Are you satisfied?"

"I'll propose to him after this fight."

"Don't say that."

* * *

"Hey! Hey! Don't kill them! They're not zombies! No, they're not! Just subdue them! Break their legs or something! Uh!? I'm not saying to prohibit killing, but don't kill them if you can subdue them!"

Jang Won-jang smiled at the commander's order.

"That's just right."

"......"

"Let's head back to the hospital."

Realizing that a monster had attacked and the commander had spread soldiers to protect his life, they safely returned to the hospital.

On the way to the hospital rooftop, Yang Il-ho looked at Jang Won-jang with a strange expression.

Jang Won-jang noticed his gaze.

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes. Yes!? No! No, I mean...! What, what is it?"

Despite correcting his answer twice, Jang Won-jang caught him off guard.

"Is it strange to see someone trying to reduce civilian casualties? That's it."

There was no need to mention what Jang Won-jang had 'done.' Yang Il-ho just lowered his head uneasily.

They climbed the stairs in silence.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Click.

Jang Won-jang stopped. Yang Il-ho awkwardly stopped near the stairs, looking up at Jang Won-jang.

Jang Won-jang asked.

"Do I look like a villain to you?"

Yang Il-ho answered without thinking.

"Yes."

He covered his mouth in surprise. Yang Il-ho glanced at Jang Won-jang's expression. There was nothing unusual in his usual smile.

"If there was a button that would kill ten people to save one, would you press it?"

"......"

"For example, would you shoot a North Korean child picking mushrooms to stop a madman from starting a nuclear war?"

Yang Il-ho was afraid to answer.

As much as he was afraid of the man in front of him.

"Hmm."

"......"

Yang Il-ho thought this man might pull out a gun from his pocket at any moment.

"......"

"......"

There was a moment of silence.

Jang Won-jang smiled faintly.

"Let's go up. The others are waiting."

"......Yes?"

Jang Won-jang walked up the hospital stairs without a word.

Indeed, there was no reason for him to explain himself now.

He had no intention to, and it was too late anyway. People just live by inertia.

Yang Il-ho remained awkwardly on the stairs, silently watching him go.

There were bloody footprints on the ground.

*

"The siege around Seoul is breaking down. We were trying to reduce the front line burden by clearing out as many as we could in Seoul, but what's that strange light in the sky over Uijeongbu?"

"......Thank you for coming."

"Anyway, the 2nd Operations Command is setting up a defense line in Chungcheong Province. What's the current situation?"

"Black Mountain Goat is bombarding the city with tumor masses and downing fighter jets with tentacles. There's also a rumor that people hit by the tumors turn into zombies, but that's... well..."

"Overall, it's a mess, in other words!"

David Kim smiled.

"Any plans?"

He asked me for a plan as if it was natural. A crease formed between his eyebrows.

"Plans don't just pop up when you press a button."

"So, do you have one?"

"......I do have one. It just came to me."

Rustle. The leaf at my feet crumbled. This should be enough.

"Do you have a fear of heights?"

"I'm from the Iraqi Airborne Division."

"Let's go play with fireworks."

*

The snowstorm that had been drizzling had turned into a fierce blizzard, sweeping through the city. Refugees puffed out their breath as they moved.

Due to the storm's influence, all the nearby clouds had gathered over Uijeongbu.

A blizzard of a scale unseen in February, or in South Korea, had descended.

In a narrow truck, an elderly person, parents searching for their children against the flow of the procession, and soldiers pushing them northward.

Their eyes were filled with unmistakable anxiety. High-rise apartments burned under the cloudy sky.

Then, a soldier pointed at something.

Monsters were charging down the road.

"That, that! Over there! Over there!"

The pointing soon turned into gunfire, and a few stray dogs fell, but it was not enough to stop the monster's charge, which was as big as a large bus.

With screams, the procession scattered in an instant.

Gunfire and screams mixed chaotically.

As people who failed to escape fell to the ground, sensing their impending death,

- Thud!

A utility pole flew and pierced the monster's body. Hunters leaped from building rooftops and dealt with the nearby monsters.

Fire, ice, and lightning were scattered everywhere. In the midst of it, superhumans plunged their arms into the monster's body to absorb the mana stone.

The situation was quickly under control. Kim Han-bit shouted into the radio.

"Starting to defend the western procession!"

[Ah, 3rd Squad. On standby on the roof. If you need support-]

"Just send a healer in advance! Director!"

[...Hey! Anyone with free hands! Ah, Seuchan is going.]

"Seems relaxed?"

[Sort of.]

Indeed, they were handling the monsters quite calmly. It didn't matter much whether it was Seoul, where they usually played, or here. They even had the advantage of military support.

The problem was.

"......Three people to catch Black Mountain Goat?"

*

It's a battle that can only be described as a desperate struggle.

- Roar!

- Scream!

Monsters are everywhere. In the middle of Bukhansan Provincial Park, we were swept away by the waves of monsters surging from all sides.

I've vomited so much blood that it no longer tastes foul, and my lower lip, which I've been gnawing on, has turned into a ragged piece of flesh.

Blood from my nose has entered my mouth, but now is not the time to worry about it. I plunged the monster back into the Bukhansan valley.

- Leo Coms eoShm......!

Again, it summoned all the nearby monsters.

Another, another, and yet another wave of monsters followed.

Blocking flying monsters attacking from all directions and occasionally aiming at missiles to pin Black Mountain Goat back into the Bukhansan valley.

- Whizz!

And occasionally dodging tentacles that flew. I lost my balance from the following wind pressure.

"Below!"

"Damn...!"

I tore apart the monster charging from below in mid-air.

The corpse of the monster, split in half, passed by on both sides, and a literal blood storm blew. It was cold. Blood entered my eyes.

For about four hours, we increased the altitude of Bukhansan with the bodies of monsters. The number of monsters surging from all sides seemed endless.

There were several reasons why such a crazy defense was possible.

"Grgh...!"

David Kim was fighting hard, even biting the tentacles with his teeth.

"Damn! I'm falling!"

"Auntie!"

Psychokinesis is affected by mass, so even if we were exhausted, we could still lift and throw an adult male.

"Let me fall! Let me rest a bit!"

"No!"

"Fuck! Fuck! Fucking goat!"

"? What does that mean?"

"Still full of energy!"

Therefore, all three of us were fighting thoroughly in the air. That is, we didn't need to deal with the monsters covering the ground.

"Ji-yoon! Eat this!"

"Grgh...!"

I was fighting while feeding the mana stone of a flying monster to Ji-yoon.

[20 seconds until the next airstrike!]

"Okay!"

Finally, there was appropriate air support.

Of course,

[This is the last one!]

"Did the command make a decision!?"

[This is more than enough! Bukhansan National Park is filled with monsters from the Seoul metropolitan area!]

The purpose of all this was one.

To drive as many monsters as possible into Bukhansan Provincial Park.

We succeeded.

And, whoosh - !

The largest fleet of planes arrived at Bukhansan. We stepped back to watch the grand spectacle.

Seeming to realize that things would get very bad when this engine sound was heard, Black Mountain Goat used a strange incantation to gather flying monsters around itself. It was a kind of meat shield.

However, this time,

Not a single one of the many planes headed for Black Mountain Goat. They spread out and flew toward their assigned areas.

Not fighter jets,

But bombers.

Soon.

- Boom......!

Far away, the sound of bombs dropping could be heard.

- Boom...!

- Boom....!

The sound of bombs was not very clear, but the flames could be seen with the naked eye.

This is napalm from the U.S. military. A type of incendiary bomb.

What can I say.

"......It's burning well."

A huge flame soared at the edge of Bukhansan Provincial Park.

In other words, a giant ring of fire was created around Bukhansan.

And,

"Forest fires spread uphill...! You bastards...!"

"Wow! You bastards!"

"Huff...! Burn, damn it!"

The three of us watched the fire spread at the speed of light, dripping blood. Thanks to the storm pulling all the nearby clouds, there was relatively little snow on Bukhansan.

Good kindling.

Occasionally, breaking a burning tree and throwing it halfway up the mountain had a tremendous effect. The dry trees and fallen leaves clung to the monsters and wouldn't fall off.

Roar - !

The last screams of the monsters were so satisfying.

And, there was still one left.

"......Aim."

"Damn...! Here it comes...!"

"Only one chance."

"Always has been!"

David Kim, covered in blood, gritted his teeth and took his stance. Magic power moved intricately, creating a straight path.

I synchronized my psychokinesis with Ji-yoon. That way, we became a gun, and David Kim, the strongest bullet, was inside. Feeling that this was the last, my eyes naturally filled with determination. My cheeks were wet, and it felt like blood was coming from my eyes.

The escort planes protecting the bombers fired their last missiles at Black Mountain Goat. The tumors and tentacles burst and fell messily on the mountain slopes.

Soon,

The mana stone. That damn black mana stone glowed.

And.

"......Fire!"

That cold winter sky,

- Boom!

Split in half.

The blue magic power surrounding us scattered. The world looked so beautiful through Ji-yoon's eyes.

We, with our superhuman instincts, rode the magic power and charged at the monster. The scattered blue powder gathered back to us.

It was a moment that lasted less than two seconds, but I cleared five flying monsters from David Kim's flight path. Ji-yoon must have cleared twice as many.

And,

The moment David Kim reached for the mana stone.

The goat's eyes glowed red.

- eo Col......!

David Kim stopped in mid-air.

And,

Fell straight to the ground.

"......!"

The judgment was quick.

I did to myself what I had done earlier.

I shot myself.

- Crack! Bang!

Of course, not with David Kim's superpowers. My body couldn't handle that level of power.

But, to win, I had to do more than just handle it.

Bones broke, and black blood spurted, but I flew through the sky,

And finally reached.

"...!"

David Kim. I could feel strength returning to my body. I grabbed David Kim's ankle.

"Die, you bastard!"

All my muscles burst.

I threw David Kim with his own strength in mid-air.

David Kim flew back toward the mana stone.

I fell in the opposite direction at the same speed.

In other words, I plummeted to the ground.

Completely unenhanced, with just my bare body.

Thanks to adrenaline, or perhaps a flash of life, the world began to slow down.

David Kim flying toward the mana stone.

Ji-yoon, looking back and forth between me and the mana stone with a startled expression.

And.

Just before David Kim reached the mana stone,

A flying monster flew over and pushed him away.

The altered trajectory.

The broken arm.

The bloodied cornea.

The red vision.

The falling body.

And.

"Stop - !"

A clear voice.

Everything stopped at that voice.

It's not an illusion.

David Kim flying toward the mana stone and the monster that had pushed him away.

The slowly falling snowflakes and the fiercely blowing leaves.

The struggling, burning monsters and the flames.

Everything stopped.

The world literally froze.

"......"

In the frozen world, the body of the black goat slowly scattered. And Ji-yoon, who had absorbed the mana stone,

Gently landed on the ground with her blue eyes glowing.

I was about to shatter on the ground.

In other words, I was stopped just above the dirt.

I rolled my eyes in the slowly closing eyelids.

Among the torn bodies of monsters and the burning ashes.

While the blood droplets from the tip of my nose fell.

A small, blue sprout was growing.

EP 10

The End of Winter

END