Chapter 27
Agent, Crusader, and Nun.
The strike team, made up of that mismatched trio, had already finished preparing to set out.
"You're here."
Jaaldi said while smoking a cigarette.
"Yes."
"The plan is simple. Since we've got a holy warrior on our side, we'll just do as he says."
"Just trust me, brother."
"I'll trust Brother Sal."
Honestly, Sal looked like he was born to fight, no matter how you looked at it. He was an Islamic jihad warrior, after all. Even his title alone was insanely intimidating.
On top of that, he wore a turban, had a beard, and had thick forearms. He had a scimitar at his waist and an AK-47 slung across his back; with an ultra-special terrorist big bro like him, there would be nothing to fear.
"Trusting an infidel isn't a very good choice. Now then, shall we begin?"
What are we starting?
Come to think of it, how did this nun fight?
"And there happens to be a cross right here."
"Hmm?"
The nun walked toward the ruins of the building. Looking closer, there was a broken cross amid the concrete rubble, so it must have once been a church building. Crosses like that sit atop church steeples everywhere, so they're something you can see anywhere.
The nun grabbed the tip of the cross.
Then.
ㅡChwaaaak!
Suddenly, a shining sword was drawn from the cross!
"Huh?! What in the world is that!"
"Hehe, surprised? This is the holy sword. Honestly, Korea is great. There are churches everywhere, so it's convenient when I need to use my power."
How can you pull a holy sword out of the ruins of a church cross?!
So that's how she fought—pulling out a holy sword like that? Just as I was starting to think that was really cleric-like, the nun raised both arms.
The holy sword, held upside down like that.
"Eternal Crusade!"
The moment she chanted and slammed it into the ground.
ㅡBZZZT!
A sacred energy surged up like lightning and spread outward.
"W-What in the world is happening...!"
ㅡRumble!
An earthquake?!
"An earthquake! Could it be a giant?"
If an earthquake has started, that means a giant has appeared. Those giant bastards. Did they move because they knew we were going to attack?
"Hold still."
We should have been evacuating immediately, but the nun stopped me. Come to think of it, Jaaldi and Brother Sal were both standing there with their arms crossed too.
Before long.
ㅡKUGUGUGUNG!
Buildings rose up from all around us.
"One, two, three, four... ah, what a shame. There are only four churches nearby?"
What rose from the wreckage of the collapsed concrete were, quite literally, medieval cathedral-like buildings. Gothic-style spires jutting up everywhere.
ㅡBOOM!
The cathedral doors and windows opened, and beings began to walk out from inside.
Knights clad in holy armor...!
What the hell?!
The nun summoned cathedral-like buildings, and knights are coming out of them!
"Sigh, what a shame. The world has been ruined and polluted, and faith has scattered away. There aren't many crusaders I can call upon."
"Crusaders?!"
"Yes. Crusaders who will fight Satan and demons forever."
ㅡClank.
The crusaders, clad in armor and wearing helmets that covered their entire faces, walked out of the cathedral. But they didn't look human. They felt more like dolls.
That wasn't all.
"Grrrrk."
Skinwalkers.
Armored Skinwalkers were mixed in among the crusaders.
Just as I realized it and was about to shout, the nun cried out.
"Purge them!"
At the same time, the crusaders moved.
ㅡShing!
They drew their swords and cut down the Skinwalkers. All the monsters mixed among the crusaders were slaughtered.
"To think a contaminated specimen would appear... Tch. This is a first for me too. Well then, Agent? Then shall we go? The crusaders will handle the way to Flower one way or another."
"That's reassuring."
"Wait, hold on! Sister! Does that even make sense?! What kind of nun summons crusaders!"
I shouted in shock, and the nun grinned.
"Surprised? This is the power of Blaret, a special-grade nun of the Vatican."
"Special-grade nun...!"
"What do you think? How about ditching Islam and converting to our side?"
I'm already being treated like a Muslim?
"Brother! Do not listen to the infidel's words!"
"Brother Sal! Don't you have something like that too?! That thing is seriously badass!"
No, seriously, that's amazing!
My jaw is on the floor and I can't speak!
I knew superhumans and psychics existed, but for a nun to even use summoning magic like this...!
"Haha! No need to be surprised by an infidel's tricks, brother! I shall show you my power!"
"Oh!"
Is Brother Sal going to show something too!
ㅡShing!
Brother Sal drew his scimitar and held it high.
And then.
"Allahu! Akbar!"
"Aaaagh!"
For a moment I thought a bomb had gone off, but it wa-
ㅡKABOOOM!
It exploded?!
"Ugh!"
I rolled across the ground with the sand and dust, then got back up. And I saw it: something was emerging through the fading smoke.
ㅡChk.
It was.
It looked exactly like an Islamic terrorist.
"Allahu Akbar!"
"Allahu Akbar!"
"Allahu Akbar!"
Islamic holy warriors wearing turbans, beards, and bomb vests, with scimitars and AK-47s strapped to them...!
"Brother! Behold! The spirits of our Islamic holy warriors!"
"Spirits?!"
"They are souls on a different level from that infidel's evil army!"
"Spirit!"
Come to think of it, the crusaders looked strange! They were translucent and blue, with a ghostly feel to them!
"Are you saying they're spirit crusaders?"
"Exactly! They are the pride of Islam, carrying out eternal jihad!"
"Wow...!"
I was so stunned I almost collapsed onto the ground.
The nun summoned crusaders.
The Islamic holy warrior summoned terrorist spirits.
"Jaaldi! Can you summon something like men in black suits too?!"
"Hoo. I don't have that kind of ability."
"Man, that's such a shame!"
I'm ridiculously disappointed...!
If this had been the Fake Management Bureau, they would have just summoned black-suited men!
While I was feeling that disappointment, the crusaders and the holy warriors suddenly faced off.
ㅡClatter.
They looked ready to start fighting any second, but wait.
Shouldn't I stop this?
"We're only letting this slide because demons are stirring. If not for that, our holy warriors would have wiped you infidels out in an instant!"
"Ha, look who's talking. Sending you terrorist infidels to hell has been my lifelong wish. It's such a shame I haven't been able to do it."
"Infidels, you say! You sure talk big while worshipping that ridiculous Trinity!"
"Pfft, is it okay for a terrorist to talk about God's mercy?"
The two glared at each other, brimming with fighting spirit as if they would start brawling any second. It was clear their relationship was extremely bad.
But now was not the time to fight.
"Stop! What are you going to do if allies start fighting each other?! Brother Sal!"
When I shouted loudly, Brother Sal scratched the back of his head.
"S-Sorry, brother. I got carried away."
"Hmph."
The nun turned her head away.
That should do.
"Let's get moving. If we've used this much power, the giants will have noticed by now."
"Yes. Let's hurry."
"Understood."
It was clearly thanks to Jaaldi that the two of them were somehow on the same side.
Jaaldi brushed past me and grabbed my shoulder.
"It's a diversionary operation. I'm counting on you. If this ends on a positive note, I'll consider recruiting you."
Is he telling me to get a job at the Bureau?
"If you want to recruit me, you'll need to spend some money. I'm a tremendous talent, after all."
"I'll suggest it to the higher-ups. Ah, but there aren't any right now."
Jaaldi gave a snort of laughter and passed me by.
And so the operation began.
"Brother! Follow me!"
The survivors and I followed Brother Sal.
Everyone was confused the whole way.
"No, bro! Does this even make sense? What is this!"
"Is that real?!"
"This is like something out of a movie...!"
It was only natural they'd be stunned after seeing that.
Watching them like that somehow made it feel real and cute.
What kind of world do they think this is, getting shocked over something as minor as that?
The world is far too big for us to be surprised by something as small as this.
"Hey, hey. What's there to be confused about? You've already seen plenty of unreal stuff, haven't you? Isn't it weird if giant-like monsters show up in reality too?"
"Even so! What kind of nun summons paladins! And this Muslim old man summons translucent terrorists decked out in AKs and bomb vests...! Is this really reality?!"
"Reality, huh."
I could see the confusion in Jinseop's eyes.
"It shouldn't be reality."
"Huh?"
"I'll make it unreal."
All of this has to become as if it never happened.
"Once this is all over, you'll rest comfortably at home."
In a world where this kind of thing doesn't happen.
"Bro... yeah, well. I don't plan on dying either. With crazy, movie-like people like that around, things should work out. Let's survive to the end, big bro! It'd be great if we could rebuild civilization together too!"
"You little punk. You sure know how to say nice things."
As we ran, I looked straight ahead.
Brother Sal was running at the front, and the jihad holy warriors were escorting him in a wing formation.
Just how strong was he, really?
What would happen if Brother Sal fought Department Head Lee Do-hyung?
"Brother Sal!"
"Brother, be careful. The fiends will appear soon."
"Brother Sal. Can I ask just one thing?"
"Ask away."
"Do you know the Lee Do-hyung specimen?"
"Is that the one the agent mentioned earlier? Since we're operating in Korea, of course I know him. He's a high-ranking warrior of the Fake Management Bureau."
A high-ranking warrior.
He's a very powerful monster. Even I, armed with faith, couldn't guarantee victory in a straight-up fight.
"No way... that bad? Department Head Lee Do-hyung?"
The more I heard, the stranger it sounded.
"But I saw him die in one hit at that Cheongak Mary Hospital, you know?"
"That place is a bizarre and wicked space. Fighting its master inside it would be foolish. No matter how strong a warrior is, he'd be bound to lose."
"Even if Brother Sal went?"
"Hmm, if it were me, I'd storm in with my holy warriors. Then we might be able to win."
If even this invincible terrorist big brother says that, then it must be true. Clearly, barging into someone else's turf isn't a good choice.
Even medieval sieges, they say you had to bring about three times as many troops as the defenders just to barely break even.
Looking back, Department Head Lee Do-hyung really had insane confidence.
"Brother!"
That was the moment Brother Sal shouted.
ㅡClack!
The jihad spirits aimed their spiritual AK-47s in every direction. We knew that was the signal for battle. We pointed our own K2s, the pride of the ROK Armed Forces.
At that same moment.
ㅡShurararak!
Skinwalkers began surging in from all directions.
"Brother!"
"Boss!"
"Take aim and fire! Don't waste ammo! Those Muslim brothers over there will handle close combat!"
"Yes, sir!"
ㅡBang!
The muzzle flashed. As I checked it, I looked at Brother Sal and the jihad spirits.
ㅡRatatatat!
Surprisingly, the spiritual AK-47s the spirits were holding were firing too. Sacred bullets blasted out and blew the Skinwalkers to pieces.
Good heavens. Is Allah's blessing really that powerful? Spirits firing guns is just astonishing.
And that wasn't all.
"Allahu Akbar!"
They all held AK-47s in their left hands and Islamic scimitars in their right. Just as a sword exists to cut things down, the Islamic holy warriors wielded those blades with uncanny skill.
ㅡShing!
ㅡSlash!
Every time a scimitar swung, Skinwalkers were hacked to pieces.
"Oh, ooh!"
We humans could only stare at the sight, dumbfounded.
"Allahu Akbar!"
"Allahu Akbar!"
"Allahu Akbar!"
It was outright slaughter.
With the spiritual guns blazing and the scimitars swinging, countless Skinwalkers were sent to the afterlife.
Among them, the most outstanding was, as expected, Brother Sal.
Brother Sal praised Allah as he single-handedly slaughtered dozens of Skinwalkers in an instant.
"""Ya Allahu! Rahmatuka! Kalbahr!
Wa iradatuka tasilu ila kulli makanin kalih!"""
Before I knew it, a grand ancient military anthem was echoing across the battlefield. I couldn't understand the Arabic lyrics, but instinctively I knew it was praising the god of Islam and his world.
"Brothers from distant lands! Shout it! Allahu Akbar!"
"Ah, Allahu! Akbar!"
"Allahu Akbar!"
Jinseop and my subordinates began chanting Allahu Akbar with great excitement.
At this point, I thought to myself.
"Brother Sal...!"
This isn't a diversionary operation.
This is an aggressive offensive tactic for taking down the giants one by one!
Who could possibly!
How could these mere wicked fiends ever defeat the great holy warriors of jihad!