Chapter 46
As we entered the mist, a deeply ominous cityscape came into view.
This feels apocalyptic in a different way from the giant incident.
Back then, the world itself was dark red, buildings had collapsed into heaps of rubble, and strange flesh had spread everywhere in place of ivy vines. It was almost as if hell had descended upon the mortal world.
But this place... is eerie in the literal sense.
The background is dark, and the city feels completely empty.
"Team Leader Jaaldi. Have the vampires completely taken over this city?"
It didn't seem like that much time had passed.
So this whole place has already been consumed?
"We don't know yet. Jamtree. Are you ready?"
"One moment. I'm setting it up."
Jamtree-ssi operated the pad.
"Done. There doesn't seem to be anything in this area. Let's go a little deeper."
"Right."
Some kind of detector?
We entered the city.
Basically, I'm a stickler for principles. If you're carrying a gun and searching a danger zone, keeping a 360-degree watch is standard. Once I got my hands on the K2, every sense from back then came flooding back.
Even if a skinwalker sprang out from somewhere in that building right now, I'd be able to react quickly and shoot it dead.
ㅡshaaah.
That's true even in the rain. It's dim and the fog is thick as anything, but my senses are sharper than ever.
"Oh my, Grong. You look like a whole different person."
"What's this? Grong. Did you go on an overseas deployment or something? You look incredibly seasoned."
Jamtree-ssi and Jaaldi said with interest.
"I'm just in the zone right now. Let me show you my godly marksmanship."
Honestly, if you go by experience alone, I might actually have more field experience than most operatives. Still... I wonder how everyone else fights.
Jaaldi and Spangdal-ssi only brought pistols.
Jamtree-ssi only brought her gear and a submachine gun.
I was curious to see how everyone fought.
ㅡbeep.
Jamtree-ssi's pad beeped.
"Detected. They'll show up soon."
"Get ready."
"Yes."
I kept my eyes on the direction Jamtree-ssi pointed.
Just as I was tensing up and lining up the K2.
ㅡpatter-patter-patter!
In the distance, I could see a number of people running on all fours.
"Ghouls."
They looked completely devoid of reason. Their hair was in disarray, their skin seemed to cling tightly to bone, and the sight was downright grotesque. Their eyes gleamed, and their developed fangs jutted out.
As far as I remember... Mom and Dad weren't that far gone. So I guess they change like that over time.
I put my finger on the trigger.
And then.
ㅡBang!
I fired rapidly, then quickly reacquired my target.
ㅡBang!
ㅡBang!
ㅡBang!
Shoot, move the muzzle, and shoot again. I leaned my head out a little to widen my field of view, took in the ghouls' positions at a glance, then brought my eye back to the sights, found the places I'd memorized, and fired in quick succession.
One shot, one kill.
I popped the magazine out and reloaded quickly. I could see ghouls climbing up building walls or crawling straight up them.
ㅡtatatatang!
By then, everyone had started firing. While quickly figuring out what my teammates were shooting at, I searched for my own targets. Whatever happened, the ghouls would all be dead before they ever got close to us.
In the middle of it all.
ㅡwhoosh!
Movement was spotted above the commercial building. A man in work clothes. Strangely enough, unlike the other ghouls, he was using both legs instead of running on all fours. He was trying to flee with an astonishing leap, and I could instinctively tell.
"Vampire!"
I quickly aimed at his head.
ㅡBang!
And put one right into the back of his head!
"Vampire down!"
The vampire, who had been leaping over the building, spewed blood from his head and fell into the alley below. Since the silver bullet had blown his head apart, there was no way he'd survive. Even as I thought he was already dead, I felt an urge to make absolutely sure. I wanted to shove a cross in his face, drive a stake through his heart, and turn him into a garlic mash. Failing that, I wanted to lock him up in a cave like some deranged Hwanung and force-feed him nothing but garlic until he lost his mind.
Anyway.
The battle ended with me shooting the vampire dead, just like Ye, the divine archer who shot down the sun.
Roughly a hundred ghouls had already gone down with holes blown through their heads before they could even get close, and that vampire bastard had died by my hand.
"Team Leader Jaaldi! That bastard looks like a vampire! We need to confirm whether he's still alive!"
"I was just about to. Hurry up."
"Yes, sir!"
We rushed forward and looked for the vampire that had fallen into the alley.
Was it dead...?
"Oh!"
Dead!
It only has its lower half left, too!
The cross-section of that lower body was already turning to ash and scattering in the wind. It must have started becoming ash from the exploded head. I heard vampires turn to ash and vanish when they die.
"Woooooo!"
Vampire!
The thought that I'd personally killed that fucking vampire bastard with my own hands filled me with overwhelming joy. I wanted to roar even louder, but I held back because we were on a mission.
Yes!
I can get my revenge...!
I can get my revenge with my own hands!
Come to think of it, even that bitch we met in the subway back then had been forced back helplessly by my cross-and-garlic barrage. No way those bastards could withstand silver bullets!
"That's amazing... Grong, what are you? How are you so good at shooting? Ghouls were dying one by one with a single shot. And in an instant, too."
Jamtree-ssi said in admiration.
"Heh heh heh, I happen to have pretty good concentration."
"Even so... Spangdal. At this level, aren't you better than Kurosna from the suppression team?"
Kurosna?
"Hmm, maybe?"
Who is that?
"Who is Kurosna-ssi?"
"An operative known as a sharpshooter—one of the Bureau's best shots, but seeing you, Grong, I think the ranking might change."
"My goodness! To that extent?"
This is something else!
"Your skill is more outstanding than I expected. Honestly, as a rookie, I didn't expect much from you, but you're overwhelming from the very first battle. To think you could eliminate 30 ghouls in an instant with 30 rounds."
Even Jaaldi was surprised by my marksmanship.
"Hahaha! Leave it to me, Team Leader Jaaldi!"
"Good. At this rate, this should be easy enough. Keep advancing."
"Yes, sir!"
Nice.
After killing off that many ghouls and vampires, I was starting to feel a little more confident. At this pace, we could wipe them out without any trouble.
"Grong. You're really good with a gun, huh? You're not going to end up joining the suppression team, are you? If you do, I'll be sad as your senior."
"I have no intention of abandoning the Comprehensive Response Team."
"That's a relief. But, hmm, don't get too confident. Being good at shooting is nice, but that also means if your shots don't work on something, you die right there, you know?"
"Ah."
Spangdal-ssi's words jolted me back to reality.
That's true.
In this world... brute force is nice to have, but its limits are painfully clear. Even Vice Director Lee Do-hyeong was instantly killed without being able to do anything against a genuine monster.
It's true that I can shoot well, but in the end, guns only work on targets they can hit. They won't do a thing against a creature shrouded in unknown terror.
"I'll keep that in mind. A gun only works on targets it can hit, after all."
"You're a quick learner, junior."
Anyway, we kept advancing.
ㅡtatatatang!
Basically, we had detection gear that let us know in advance when something was about to appear, so the firefights were pretty easy. As long as Jamtree-ssi gave the warning, all I had to do was wait and shoot.
We took down another horde of ghouls.
"Team Leader Jaaldi. Isn't that too many? Even so, if that many South Koreans had turned into ghouls and died, I feel like that would be a pretty serious problem."
Roughly a hundred ghouls had been killed.
Realistically speaking, that's like a hundred Koreans being shot to death.
"You might think so. But things like this are by no means rare."
"Huh?"
"Even something like this can be made to disappear as if it never happened. With the Bureau's technology, this is the kind of thing that can be thoroughly covered up. You don't know because you were a civilian, Grong, but this world is far more dangerous than you can imagine."
"..."
If this had been the old me, I wouldn't have had any particular doubts about that statement.
That descendant of the Singing Star... the building that bastard had taken over. When I dealt with it, the building collapsed. A building in the middle of Seoul had been brought down by a monster, but when I watched the news, they were talking about shoddy construction and old age and things like that.
The Bureau has the technology and know-how to cover up incidents like this.
They've probably covered up countless things like that by now.
But.
Could that really...
all be normal?
I had my doubts, but I wasn't stupid enough to let my mind wander during an operation and lose focus over random thoughts. I set the questions aside and focused on reality. Right now, all I need to do is shoot the vampires and ghouls.
"Over there!"
"Yes, sir!"
Following Jamtree-ssi's orders, I swiftly shifted my aim and eliminated the ghouls as they appeared.
"Kheek!"
Even if one of them jumped out of a high-rise window, it was no different. As long as I had the K2 in my hands, they could never get close. I didn't even get the chance to use the garlic and crosses I'd gone to the trouble of bringing. I killed every last one of them myself.
"Team Leader. Something seems a little off."
After we took down another group of ghouls, Spangdal-ssi said.
"There are more of them than expected. And they're not being properly coordinated. Burning through troops like this isn't good, is it?"
"That's true."
That's what I thought too.
"I think so too. If I were a True Ancestor, well, I wouldn't be burning through my subordinates like this. We just killed a vampire and over a hundred ghouls, didn't we? I can't understand what these bastards are trying to do. If they set this in motion, there has to be some purpose. This looks like pointless attrition, or like they've been left to rot."
"Sharp observation."
Jaaldi nodded.
"There must be a reason. A reason why they have to do this here."
What could that reason be?
"Trying to infer the purpose of these monsters is difficult. Whatever the case, while the vampires were in the middle of doing something, something probably went wrong and exposed their forces."
"Is that so?"
"Think of the True Ancestors as one faction. They're quick and they know how to think. They don't do meaningless things. If it looks that way, then it's either a cover or something has happened to them."
That's useful information.
If this isn't an intentional deception operation, then something must have happened to the vampires, and that's what brought this situation to light.
"Hmm... there's a gym here."
As we kept going, a large gymnasium building came into view.
The gymnasium building, which must have been built with tax money, was now burned, its outer walls scorched black.
"Was there a fire? Jamtree-senpai. What's inside?"
"Doesn't seem like anything's in there... Team Leader. Should we search it?"
"A gym on fire. Suspicious as hell. Go in."
Although we were told there was nothing, we carefully entered.
But then.
"Huh?!"
The moment we stepped inside, my jaw dropped.
"What the hell!"
Corpses everywhere!
Burned corpses, too!
"My God..."
Jamtree-ssi covered their mouth with a hand, and Jaaldi and Spangdal-ssi looked around. I also inspected the corpses.
"Team Leader Jaaldi. These people seem to have burned to death inside."
Since they were all burned beyond recognition, it was hard to identify the exact number. But I could tell there were a lot of them. Did the residents evacuate to the gym and then something happen that caused a fire?
"Was it the vampires' doing?"
"These are different guys."
"Different?"
That was when it happened.
"Ah! Team Leader! They've appeared!"
"So it really is those guys. Grong. Get ready."
"For what?!"
Jaaldi's expression twisted.
She gritted her teeth and said,
"Fake Bureau."
"What?!"
Fake Bureau?!
"It looks like those bastards gathered people here and burned them alive."
"Burned them alive?!"
Those crazy bastards!
They gathered people up and burned them all to death?!
Everyone here?!
"From here on out, it's going to be a gunfight. Take cover!"
"Yes! Jamtree-senpai! Which way are they?"
"That way!"
I immediately identified the enemy's direction and took cover.
And then.
Men in black suits and sunglasses began to emerge from the mist.
Those fake Bureau bastards...!
So they really did show up!