Chapter 59
Team Leader Jaaldi. Didn't you notice anything concerning in the wiretap? They said we were trying to get our hands on some crazy thing?
They even said they couldn't let it be used to command something else.
I don't know what you're talking about. The purpose of our Bureau is to eradicate vampire forces and rescue civilians. And to destroy the fake Bureau. Nothing else.
That's right.
According to that statement, we aren't separately aiming for anything in this situation.
Then what was that conversation?
Why were they shouting as if we were plotting something?
Groong. What exactly are you worried about?
Ah... Senior Spangdal.
Mr. Spangdal came up beside me and said,
Those are just meaningless words the anomalies spit out. Just because they look human doesn't mean they are human, you know? If you fall for that, you'll die before long. Correct that misconception.
That's right, Groong. Just think of it as meaningless noise that comes through during wiretapping. Voices being output at random, literally.
Mr. Jamtree added his two cents as well.
Randomly output meaningless voices?
Was it really something like that?
Understood. But what if there's something here we don't know about, and those fake bastards saw that something and assumed it was us?
You're quite thoughtful. Good point, Groong.
Jaaldi rested a hand on my head.
Keep in mind that something may exist. But we didn't know about it in the first place, and we learned of it while wiretapping the enemy's conversation. In a case like that, there's no need to obsess over finding that something.
Why not?
Because a battlefield is uncertain by nature. It's full of unknowns. Whether there's an enemy ambush or a trap we don't know about. Watching out for those is no different. Staying alert to the unknown is basic battlefield practice.
I found myself nodding at that.
I understand.
Even if something does exist, we don't know about enemy ambushes or traps either. A battlefield is a place made up entirely of uncertain factors. There are endless things to worry about and doubt.
Then we just do things as usual.
Exactly.
Looks like I was overthinking it.
Anyway, it doesn't look like there's any retreat. Then it'd be best to attack while they're busy with the vampires. Move.
Yes.
I moved as Jaaldi ordered.
ㅡthump-thump.
I could feel my heart beating a little faster.
In the previous round, the enemy fake Bureau bastards definitely retreated partway through. They even used the fake Deputy Director Lee Do-hyung bluff and backed off just like that.
It was a completely different sight from the heroic attitude of Section Chief Gwak Seongju, who was shouting at the top of his lungs about never retreating before battle.
No retreat...
If they really don't retreat this time.
Jinseop...
Jinseop...
In a battlefield with no retreat, can I save him?
* * *
The offensive began.
The plan was to move in the direction without the ghouls and strike the enemy fake Bureau. Then they'd be pincered by the ghouls and us at the same time, and eventually collapse.
ㅡratatatatat!
Bullets rained down.
Even if we're a group of psychics, guns are dangerous.
We advanced while repeatedly taking cover and covering one another.
How am I supposed to save Jinseop in a place like this?
Where the hell is he right now?
“Hey, rookie! Follow me!”
“Yes!”
Mr. Quras called me over.
I immediately followed him. This was exactly when I met Jinseop, when I was moving with Mr. Quras.
“You said you were really good at shooting! They said you're at Kurosna level!”
“I haven't met that senior yet. Is he really that good?”
“He's the Bureau's best sniper. Well, he's kind of a lunatic and a psycho, so he's hard to deal with, but his shooting skills are the real deal.”
What?
A lunatic and a psycho?
“What kind of person is he for you to say that? Is he really that eccentric?”
“There is some of that, but you'll know once you actually see him.”
Mr. Quras shook his head and said,
“You'll think he's not normal at a glance, right? In my opinion, that's why he's so good at sniping. You know how they say snipers are usually a little crazy? It's because there's some weird corner in their mind that lets them produce that kind of extreme concentration.”
I'd never heard such nonsense, and I didn't want to badmouth this senior or the other one. Besides, it wasn't right to call someone who wasn't here a lunatic or a psycho.
That was especially bad when I was in the military.
Some superior once dragged me along and asked if another superior wasn't a total bastard, and when I explained what parts were bad, he ran off and tattled right away.
That son of a bitch...!
I suddenly remembered hatred I'd long forgotten. If I had this agent's power, couldn't I track that bastard down and get some personal revenge? I'd even want to have him admitted to Cheongak Mary Hospital. And tell the ward patients to collectively ostracize that bastard.
“I do have pretty good concentration, but I don't think it's pathological. But I'm really good at shooting. I'll show you. I'll prove that I'm the Bureau's best marksman.”
“Haha! I told you, you have to come to the Suppression Team! A guy like you belongs in the Suppression Team, not just sending us weirdos all the time!”
Another weirdo?
Come to think of it, Gorgodio, who always gets split in half, is pretty weird too. At that level of weirdness, he'd be no less than anyone else anywhere. If he entered a weirdness contest, he'd at least place in the top ranks.
“Hey, first use that sensing ability of yours. It was really useful in that invaded building last time. Can you feel any strong guys nearby?”
“Ah, well...”
I explained that I wasn't getting that feeling this time either. He understood immediately when I told him that it might be different in a quiet place, but in a battlefield like this it just doesn't work well.
“That can't be helped, I guess. Well, that's pretty much what sensory psychics are like. Let's go.”
“Yes.”
So I moved with Mr. Quras.
“...”
Calm down. Calm down.
Just thinking that Jinseop might appear soon made my thoughts tangled. Whatever else, I absolutely had to save him.
During the Giant Apocalypse, Jinseop was my most reliable assistant gunner and partner. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call us almost soul brothers, since we protected each other's backs.
How many times had he saved me?
And how many times had I saved him?
I couldn't let him die.
In the first place... hadn't I made that resolve while dying at the hands of those monsters?
That I'd never let those bastards put me through that kind of bullshit again!
Focus!
I'm the only one who can save Jinseop!
“Huff!”
My scattered concentration quickly came back together. My senses, sharper than ever, stood taut and kept watch over the surroundings.
ㅡfwoosh!
Then flames burst forth. Next, I heard the sound of bullets flying, and the rounds were blocked by the wall of fire.
“Take cover!”
“Yes!”
As expected of Mr. Quras!
He'd made a wall of flames and blocked the incoming bullets!
This wasn't just possible because of his psychic power, but because of his mastery itself. He was on a completely different level from a scrub like Gorgodio. As expected, the most reliable person in the Suppression Team was Mr. Quras.
“They suddenly started shooting...! Looks like those bastards are hiding nearby!”
“It looks like it. Wow, but you're blocking bullets with a wall of fire. I was seriously surprised.”
“Hey, pretty sick, right? That's reaction speed for you, kid.”
Really?
“Well, it's actually more like automatic defense.”
No way it was automatic?
“Anyway, because of this ability my offense is one thing, but my defense is rated pretty high too. So cover me. I'll break through.”
Mr. Quras said that confidently and kicked off the ground.
This is as far as it goes.
The progression is similar to last time.
The detailed parts are different, but in the end, the part where I came here with Mr. Quras and covered him while he tried to break through played out the same.
Then what happens after that?
After Mr. Quras left, Jinseop, who was lying in ambush nearby, would come out and self-destruct.
So I had to stop Mr. Quras now!
“Wait!”
After finishing all of that in an instant, I grabbed Mr. Quras by the shoulder.
“Huh? Why?”
Mr. Quras, who'd been about to dash out, looked at me with a blank face. I had to keep him here. What now?
How do I convince him... Wait!
“I'm suddenly getting a feeling about this!”
“What? A feeling?”
That was clearly a bluff and a total lie!
It wasn't like this was the first time I'd lied with this ability!
“Duck down! I think something's coming!”
“It activated out of nowhere...! Got it!”
Mr. Quras ducked down. My lie had worked brilliantly again this time. This ambiguous skill called extrasensory perception was more useful than anything in the world.
I carefully raised my head.
And then.
ㅡpabababak!
Up front, I could see the fake Bureau agents who were taking cover moving busily. Jinseop? Is Jinseop there? Unknown face, unknown face, skip them all, that bastard all the way on the left!
Jinseop!
It was Jinseop's side profile!
“Ah...!”
He's alive!
I couldn't forget that face, having seen it for years. I watched Jinseop run toward the rear.
Right... run!
For now, fall back to the rear!
Whatever it is, getting behind them raises the odds of survival!
“Hey, those guys are running away!”
Mr. Quras, who'd slightly lifted his head after following me, shouted in protest. This was a bad situation. He might misunderstand it as me committing treason by making the fake Bureau agents run away.
So I decided to tell even more lies.
“Quiet...! I feel something!”
“What?”
Once you've lied, you have to keep lying. No need even to cite the cruel story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf.
“Stay calm. I don't know what this is, but I think it'd be best not to expose our position. We shouldn't shoot.”
By making it sound a little dramatic and weighty, I was able to calm Mr. Quras down too.
“Could it be... a powerful vampire entity?”
“Maybe. What I can say for sure is that if we fire here and reveal our position, we're the ones who lose.”
“That's true enough. Understood.”
With that, I'd stopped Mr. Quras from charging out to attack.
There, I could see Jinseop and his suit-wearing friends running.
For now, was this a relief? The wiretap had said earlier that they wouldn't retreat, but pulling back from here was a hundred times better than staying put.
Then it happened.
Too suddenly.
ㅡKWAAAANG!
Something fell from the sky.
“Oh.”
Right above Jinseop's head.
“Huh?”
It felt as though time had slowed. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. Severed body parts scattered through the dirt and dust. Bright red sprays of blood scattered everywhere, and burst entrails flew out.
If you compare a human to a water balloon,
It looked like someone had stepped on it and made it burst.
And then.
Standing on top of Jinseop's remains,
a human shape.
A vampire...?
A body that looked oddly strange.
The man standing on the blood-soaked wreckage was naked, not a scrap of clothing on him.
ㅡwhoosh.
I sensed a red glow.
A red halo was appearing behind the man's head.
Like some kind of religious halo...
“W-what is that...! W-where did that anomaly come from...!”
The moment I thought his gaze had landed on us.
ㅡPAAANG!
Mr. Quras's head exploded.
I ducked down, splattered with that blood.
.
.
.
[You have witnessed ■■■.■■■.]
[You can become a follower of ■■■.■■■.]
[Will you accept?]
[YES / NO]