Chapter 47
So these bastards showed up here!
I really never imagined the fake Agency would show up. Still, it wasn't strange. It isn't strange for strange people to appear where strange things happen.
I'd been told encounters like this could happen. We were at war, after all.
What are their goals?
Are they wiping out the vampires? They're fake, but they've still been showing themselves fighting the supernatural from time to time. Then why did they burn people?
It's the fake Agency's incineration squad!
Listening to Jemtree, I got a better look at them.
Suits and sunglasses were standard. But their gear was unusual. Some of them had fuel tanks strapped to their backs, and they were holding flamethrowers. The others were armed with submachine guns.
They marched forward while keeping watch in all directions.
Incineration squad...!
Seeing those flamethrowers makes it obvious!
These bastards burned people to death!
Why did they kill those people...!
Isn't the reason obvious?
Spangdal said.
It's easier to eliminate survivors than to manage them. And corpses don't turn into ghouls. It's better to wipe them out first. If you leave them alive, you never know when they'll turn into ghouls, do you?
Crazy bastards!
You incinerated civilians for efficiency?!
Open fire. Engagement is authorized.
The moment Jaldi's order came down,
ㅡBang!
I hit one of the fuel tanks.
ㅡBOOOOM!
An explosion erupted, and flames shot up.
Gasp!
It's an ambush!
The suited men dove for cover. But before they could even get there, my bullet pierced another man's head. The one with a hole blown through his head collapsed helplessly, and with the next shot another one went down. Unfortunately, it was a body shot, so it wasn't an instant kill.
Y-you filthy bastard! Is that the fake Agency's Kurosuna?!
Those monsters...! Kill them all!
An anomaly has overlapped! Requesting backup! Vampires and the fake Agency have appeared at the same time!
Their shouts echoed all around. I watched the place where they were hiding and waited for a chance to fire again.
ㅡBang!
The moment a gun rose over the wall, I shot it and wrecked it. Don't think you can beat me in a firefight. I've fought more than just skinwalkers. I've also fought raider gangs.
Spangdal. Get ready. Their reinforcements are coming.
Yes.
We'll wear down their strength here. Gron, keep focusing on shooting from this position. Jemtree, you'll work well with Gron. Focus on spotting targets.
Understood.
Jaldi drew a pistol and moved. At the same time, Spangdal also vanished. So it's up to me and Jemtree to hold them off here.
ㅡThump-thump.
With just the two of us left, I could feel my heart beating even faster.
Ah, so this is the same as back then. When the number of comrades dwindles, my morale drops fast too. In that world, anyone without comrades could never survive.
Gron. I'll let you know their positions. Now that combat has started, their reinforcements will come. We need to pin them down here.
Yes. I'll leave it to you, Senior Jemtree.
Short-range wiretap. Starting now.
Short-range wiretap?
-Throw a grenade!
-Roger!
These bastards have grenades?!
Gron! Grenade incoming!
Yes!
My concentration snapped into place. The instant the grenade was thrown from behind the wall, I shot it.
ㅡKRAAAAAAM!
Nice shot!
Good job, Gron!
This is a piece of cake!
Still, that was my first time shooting down a grenade!
-No way! That insane monster bastard shot down the grenade!
-That damn Kurosuna!
-We need something else!
My heart felt like it might burst. Still, this was only possible because I had known ahead of time that they were going to throw grenades.
-Dammit...! That guy Minsu is still alive! We have to save him!
-Stop! You can't save him, give up! The enemy is the fake Agency's Kurosuna! The moment you move, your head will be pierced!
The voices of the fake Agency agents rang out from the tablet.
It looks like Gron thinks you're Kurosuna. This worked out well.
That Senior Kurosuna must really be amazing!
He's a crack shot.
I'd like to meet him someday.
-E-even so, we can't just leave Minsu there!
-Hey! You! Get down! Get down! Can't you hear me?!
-I'll drag him back somehow, so please save Minsu at least! Long live the Agency! For humanity!
At that moment, Jemtree shouted.
He's getting up! Gron! He crawled to the left!
Yes!
The moment I re-aimed to the left, one of them sprang up as if lunging with his body.
Since I was already ready, I reacted at once.
ㅡBang!
I pierced his head.
-Shit!
-He died in one shot!
-That damn Kurosuna bastard!
The bastards shouted.
Reloading. Senior Jemtree, give me cover.
During the few seconds I spent reloading, I thought.
These fake Agency bastards... They're willing to throw themselves in to save a comrade? They do have a human side after all. It was similar to what I felt when talking with Manager Jo Seongchun.
Of course, my mission didn't change.
I kept aiming and firing intermittent warning shots to pin them down.
As I was doing that,
Reinforcements!
I heard engine sounds in the distance.
Looks like their reinforcements had arrived.
Senior Jemtree. When do we retreat? If their reinforcements unleash heavy firepower, we'll be helpless!
Just a little longer.
A cool, composed voice.
Jemtree never lost composure. They seemed made for desk work, but were also very used to combat.
-Manager Kwak Seongju! Over there! It's the fake Agency's Kurosuna!
-That Kurosuna bastard...! How many people did he kill? Wreck him! When I fire, you all fire too!
-Roger!
Manager Kwak Seongju?
ㅡScrape.
Something appeared out of the fog.
It was a huge man with black bulletproof plates covering his entire front like full plate armor. In both hands, he held machine guns... dual machine guns!
ㅡRATATATATATA!
ㅡRATATATATATA!
The twin machine guns opened fire!
That crazy Rambo bastard!
Eeek!
Senior Jemtree!
Down!
I'm already ducking!
-Bring the bazooka! Empty everything you've got into them! If we just take down that Kurosuna bastard, our Agency wins!
-Long live the Agency!
-For humanity!
-We will kill Kurosuna no matter what!
A bazooka? Now this was really dangerous!
Senior Jemtree!
That's enough.
What...?
The next moment,
-H-Hwaaaah?!
-W-what, whaaat!
-Manager Kwak Seongju...!
The fake Agency agents' shrieks rang out. Jemtree slowly raised their head. Seeing that, I also looked up.
Manager Kwak Seongju stood in front of us, armored with bulletproof plates and twin machine guns.
But he wasn't moving.
Because...
Spangdal was behind him.
ㅡCrack.
With a finger pressed to Manager Kwak Seongju's temple, she had stopped his movements. By then, dozens of black thorn-like spikes had already sprouted all over his body.
He'd become a sea urchin, as if a thorn bomb had exploded inside his body.
That wasn't all.
The other fake Agency agents nearby were also standing there covered in thorns.
-S-S-Spangdal... It's Spangdal...
-B-base... Spangdal has appeared...
-Spangdal got Manager Kwak Seongju...
More precisely, their bodies had frozen stiff, leaving them unable to stand. The fake Agency agents squeezed out their final words.
ㅡThud.
Everyone fell like rotten dead wood.
-Spangdal mission complete. Took down a manager-level target, huh?
Spangdal's voice came through the communicator.
S-senior Jemtree. What is that just now...
That's Spangdal's power. Spangdal is especially strong against the fake Agency. Still, to take down a manager-level one like that, that's quite a good result.
Senior Spangdal.
So she wasn't just a harmless airhead?
While we were fighting, she'd slipped behind them like an assassin and unleashed her thorn ability, killing them all.
Ms. Spangdal, after slaughtering the fake Agency agents, walked toward us slowly. Nothing could stop her. She'd even wiped out the reinforcements.
Honestly...
It was a grotesque and terrifying superpower.
Was that really a superpower?
It was because you held them down so well, Grong. It was great that they mistook you for Kurosuna.
Yes...
Jemtree patted my head.
How was it? You got a good look at this senior's power, didn't you?
Senior Spangdal. You're not angry because I told you to eat garlic earlier, are you?
What do you think? Who knows?
ㅡSchlck.
The black thorns that had sprouted from her hand retracted again.
So this was Spangdal, the thorn user.
Operation complete. We repelled the fake Agency unit. Good work, everyone. You took down Manager Kwak Seongju.
Once things were over, Jaldi returned.
Team Leader Jaldi? Where did you go?
I kept their sword squad in check. They don't show up on detection, so you have to keep a close eye on them.
A sword squad?
A mad group made up of Director Lee Do-hyeong's disciples.
Director Lee Do-hyeong?!
They're extremely dangerous. It's really fortunate that Lee Do-hyeong died.
Team Leader Jaldi. If Director Lee Do-hyeong joins the battle here, what do we do?
We'd naturally have to retreat. We can't handle him as we are now.
No way.
I'm really glad he's dead.
Whatever the case, the fake Agency bastards have recognized the vampire incident and joined the fight. Looks like they got the jump on us.
So that's why the vampires and ghouls lost their chain of command and fell into chaos?
Probably.
The fake Agency came here before us and took out the vampires.
And while they were at it, they wiped out everyone inside too.
That's the scary thing about the fake Agency. They're monsters who kill people.
I felt like I understood what those words meant to some extent.
They kill people.
Literally, cold-bloodedly.
Understood. Then, Team Leader Jaldi. Do you think these fake bastards took out the True Ancestor too?
Hmm... I don't know. But he doesn't seem like someone who'd go down that easily. Either way, with Lee Do-hyeong gone, he's not much of a threat for now. We'll take this chance to wipe out the fake Agency bastards along with the vampires.
So it's a two birds, one stone kind of deal.
We're going to subjugate the vampires and the fake Agency together? The mission's difficulty suddenly doubled.
But after seeing everyone's strength once, my confidence actually surged. Director Lee Do-hyeong? Tell him to get lost. With Senior Spangdal here, these suit-wearing bastards would be slaughtered in no time.
Let's go... Hah, this always leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
Jaldi let out a sigh.
Her eyes looked more sad than angry.
Now that the fake Agency got here first, the number of civilian survivors is probably hopeless.
They regard survivors caught up in anomalies as risk factors. So they usually shoot people on the spot. The burned corpses were probably the same.
...That's truly heartbreaking.
Listening to Jaldi and Jemtree, I nodded.
Horrible, isn't it? They pretend to be government agents. They tell us they came to save us, so obey their orders, and then just shoot us and burn us anyway... It's an awful deception. Truly.
Ms. Spangdal whispered to me.
...
What is fake, and what is real?
ㅡClick.
I cleared my mind and moved again.
The operation wasn't over.
At the very least,
I felt like I'd only be able to breathe easier once I thoroughly killed the vampire bastards here.
* * *
The city was already shrouded in chaos.
ㅡTatatata!
Kheeeek!
The deeper we went into the city, the more gunfire rang out. It looked like fake Agency agents were fighting the ghouls. Ghoul corpses were scattered everywhere. What was frightening was that civilian-looking corpses were scattered there too.
Real Agency vs. fake Agency vs. vampires.
I never imagined it would turn into a three-way battle.
ㅡBwoooom!
Then something appeared in the sky.
What is that?
By reflex, I aimed at it and could make out what the flying object was.
An extremely familiar mechanical armor.
Gorgodio!
Gorgodio, already transformed, was flying around!
Gorgodio, flying like that, suddenly plunged down like a meteor. A thunderous roar echoed from beyond. He'd literally launched a deep-strike attack straight into the middle of the enemy lines.
Is that really okay?
If he goes in like that, won't he just be torn apart in the middle of the enemy lines again?
Oh! Reinforcements from the Comprehensive Response Team!
Senior Curas?
Curas appeared from the back.
A-ah, and Senior Spangdal is here too.
Hi, Curas.
As Spangdal approached, Curas's face darkened.
At that point, Jaldi stepped forward.
Curas. What's the situation?
Ah, yes. While we were fighting the ghouls, the fake Agency bastards appeared. Gorgodio is currently inside their formation.
And the others?
Jeltoma will support him. And Kalehu...
Jeltoma and Kalehu?
Hey, Spangdal.
At the voice, I turned around and saw a glamorous blonde woman waving at us.
What, it's Kalehu?
So she's the newbie? Curas seemed really fond of her.
She seemed to be my senior, so I should greet her first.
Hello, Senior Kalehu. I'm Gron, a rookie agent.
Gron? What, like Pororo's Crong? That's damn cute.
Ms. Kalehu grinned and patted my shoulder.
Ah, I'm hearing the Pororo thing again.
With a codename like that, you'd hear it for life. But you said you're a detection-type ability user, right? I'd like to see what you've got.
Kalehu. Gron is insanely good at shooting. I think he's even better than Kurosuna.
Jemtree said that. I couldn't help wondering if my reputation had spread all the way to the suppression team, and whether my stock was going up.
What? This kid shoots better than Kurosuna? Bullshit. You're lying, right?
It's not a lie. He was really amazing. He took down thirty charging ghouls with one magazine.
Seriously? That's ridiculous... If that's true, this guy is absolutely suppression-team material.
Kalehu's eyes widened.
Let's cut the chatter. Kalehu. I'll be joining you now.
Understood. For now.
Just then,
Huh?!
Curas shouted.
Th-there!
He looked panicked.
I naturally looked toward where he was pointing.
Oh?
Far away,
a man in a black suit and sunglasses,
with white hair slicked back and tied up,
and holding a sword,
appeared, leading a group of agents.
Isn't that Director Lee Do-hyeong?!
What?!
Director Lee Do-hyeong was definitely dead...!
Gron... Didn't you say he was dead?
Jaldi said, looking at me.
This was the first time I'd ever seen Jaldi shaken!