Chapter 47

Chapter 47. Awakening (4)

"More bullshit from up north again."

The armed forces of the Republic of Korea.

Among them, the most forward-deployed unit.

They were beings with hearts of steel — beings who had Transcended humanity.

Not that they had naturally Awakened, mind you. It meant their spirits rivaled those of Transcendents.

"Shoot every last one of them!"

Kuguguguguung———!!!

They were not shaken by anything they saw.

They simply carried out their firm resolve: to execute everything that came down from the north and safeguard the Republic of Korea's territory.

"Especially rough today, isn't it?"

"These bastards — keep shooting and they'll stop eventually."

Despite the procession of countless polluted beasts, not a single soldier showed fear.

They genuinely did not feel fear.

They had evolved that way.

The place called the frontline had made them so.

"The fire net's been breached!!!"

Polluted beasts charged through a barrage of countless shells.

Dozens of times the usual volume.

Black monsters filled the space beyond the 38th Parallel.

They punched through the Mystery-enhanced bombardment and violated the Republic of Korea's territory.

Even so, the military did not waver.

"Pull the tanks back. Deploy the Awakened unit."

"Maintain the rear fire net as is."

There were only orders and faithful execution.

Kuguguguguung——.

A thunderous roar that shook the earth.

Beyond it, something long and black was approaching.

Hideous monsters that inspired dread at a glance.

The refuse of China's 'Awakened experiments' — derived from humans.

"Ready—!"

Just before they reached the defensive line, a unit stepped forward.

They wore Shop-purchased armor patterned in military camouflage, and were equipped with staffs and swords instead of rifles.

Awakened unit soldiers — composed of Induced Awakened.

Normally, they would have moved on comical platforms, but thanks to the recent Korea-Japan Mystery Technology Accord, their gear was remarkably light.

"Activate portable mobile Gates."

They advanced with new weapons equipped.

Portable mobile Gates — estimated to increase the Republic of Korea's military power tenfold or more.

All of it thanks to the new Transcendent, Lord Shin Si-woo.

"Lord Shin Si-woo's no ordinary man either."

"If any old sod can be a Transcendent, the world wouldn't hold together."

The Awakened soldiers snickered as they crossed the first containment line.

They'd been casually cracking jokes even in front of the polluted beasts, but the moment they made contact, they switched gears.

The polluted beasts — barely maintaining human form — extended long tentacles toward the humans.

Some dissolved into something like digestive fluid; others fissioned and multiplied.

And the military faced them head-on.

"Charge—!!!"

And so the soldiers of South Korea.

Were reborn as true iron men.

Zzziik————.

The fierce battle ended.

After the Awakened unit crushed the skull of the last polluted beast, they departed.

Immediately, another unit arrived and began post-battle processing.

The follow-up unit was a 'Death Squad' composed of non-Awakened.

"Twelve KIA on our side. Retrieve the dog tags and start cleanup."

The Death Squad incinerated the polluted-beast corpses with flamethrowers.

Then they burned the bodies of their own fallen — dog tags already collected — every last one.

The flames that consumed both monster and ally blazed with five-colored brilliance.

Special flamethrowers built with [Mysteries].

"Halt!"

A terrible stench of death that seeped even through the hazmat suits.

Yet not one of them flinched.

Their eyes only grew more resolute.

'If this line breaks, we're fucked. Even Lord Patriot can't do anything about it.'

Moon Ji-hun, the Death Squad's captain, steeled his heart and hoisted the charred remains of a beast onto his back.

Then he gave instructions to the soldiers behind him.

"Commence transport."

Polluted-beast corpses that wouldn't burn were moved to the enormous pit where the Patriot's bombs fell.

This was the life of the Republic of Korea's frontline unit.

Kuung— thud!

Moon Ji-hun hurled a polluted-beast corpse and gazed into the enormous pit.

Even amid ceaseless bombardment, the remains of beasts that would not vanish writhed and gave off a hideous stench.

A sight that might drive an ordinary person insane on sight.

Yet the Death Squad didn't so much as flinch.

They dispassionately burned the remaining corpses and disposed of the debris, then returned to base.

'The Transcendents can't carry every burden.'

Moon Ji-hun thought the same thing every time he looked at this pit.

It was a fact most soldiers of the Republic of Korea knew.

Unlike the civilians chattering on WorldNet, they were well acquainted with the cases of North Korea and other nations.

After all, they witnessed those outcomes every single day.

The military death rate at the frontline was considerable.

Even so, it was all right.

'Even if I die, the nation will take care of my family for life.'

The saying that dying for your country is a dog's death was only valid before the Gate crisis.

In today's world, everyone who served the nation received proper treatment.

Thanks to the Patriot, who had the military's absolute support.

'Without him, I'd have bolted to Jeju-do or somewhere too.'

Moon Ji-hun's life had been somewhat rough.

When the Gate crisis hit, he'd been serving as a soon-to-discharge corporal, and had been held for two extra years under 'national emergency.'

Then his regimental commander suddenly declared he would stage a 'coup d'etat.'

He'd been destined for eternal conscription — until the Patriot saved him.

"Coup? Insane bastards. All involved — executed!"

Moon Ji-hun, who had feared being executed for belonging to the coup faction.

At the time, the prevailing sentiment in the National Assembly was 'even those who participated under orders must be punished!'

But—

"Goddamn it, what would the kids who got dragged in know? Punish them? And what are those draft-dodging bastards to decide that?"

The Patriot had instead executed the Assembly members and given freedom to the soldiers who'd suffered through the ordeal.

Of course, every general officer had lost their head, but…

At any rate.

Perhaps it was the deep impression he'd received back then.

Moon Ji-hun had stayed in the military and headed for the frontline.

He'd survived, racked up meritorious service, and earned himself a fairly high rank.

As his medals and honors piled up, his family's quality of life improved — yet Moon Ji-hun no longer visited his family.

'My son, my daughter — I miss them.'

This was a place where one could not live with human emotions.

Where one could not endure with a human body.

The frontline of the Republic of Korea.

"Whew, all units returned."

A land guarded by indomitable warriors marching toward a predetermined death, fear nowhere to be found.

The frontline military unit guarding the 38th Parallel — the Patriot's Shield Division, and within it, the 'Death Squad.'

"Check beast-corruption progression rates. Commence voluntary decontamination!"

Today's beast attacks had been especially savage — two soldiers showed increased contamination readings.

If there was one consolation…

"To Lord Shin Si-woo, who has laid the sanctuary's barrier over us — present arms!"

The soldiers raised a salute of loyalty toward the golden veil that draped over the Republic of Korea.

Bodies being consumed by beast-corruption.

Moon Ji-hun felt that the contamination rate of his blackening left arm had slowed slightly.

'About two months left until I become a martyr.'

There was still time before his name would be carved into the memorial at Gwanghwamun Square.

* * *

There was something I'd realized through this incident.

'The erosion of this world has already progressed quite far.'

When demon worshippers had first appeared, I'd assumed it was still early stage.

But before long, I'd met the Dark God's Bishop Gye Man-hwi, and he had achieved a Descent, summoning Necribas.

And now?

'They brought in a World Tree seed, corrupted it, induced a large-scale Gate overflow, and swallowed an entire city.'

The Republic of Korea could be considered one of the top 1% of pristine nations — more advanced than before the Gate crisis.

For things to have gotten this bad even here meant that, on a global scale, the situation was far more severe.

The world had already approached a considerable danger level.

'There were already countless signs.'

One month after Awakening, I could now say this with certainty.

As proof — even a Bizarre that had occurred years ago like this one had demon worshippers entangled in it.

⦗This humble servant shares that assessment.⦘

My swords seemed to think the same.

"It's possible that even the large-scale catastrophes of the past are connected."

The undead crisis that started in Canada and spread to America, for example.

Or China, which had been trying to control Awakened with suspicious intensity since the earliest days of the Gate crisis.

Or the polluted beasts flooding down from North Korea and the unidentified Awakened experiments.

⦗Are you concerned that the world is Falling?⦘

Reinhardt asked me.

In [Raise a Sword], the world had often collapsed.

Even in the ending playthroughs where my swords had Transcended and wielded formidable power and witnessed the end — the collapse of the world had still occurred.

The only difference was in scale.

'Collapse.'

It didn't mean the planet shattering.

It referred to cases where the [Abyss] perfectly consumed a portion of the world.

Even I found it absurd that such a thought had only occurred to me now.

Well, until I'd Awakened, my life had been no different from usual.

The reason was actually quite simple.

⦗Sword Master, might it be that this imperfect metal has been protecting the world, however imperfectly?⦘

Come to think of it, Earth had already shown those signs countless times.

It was merely being forcibly delayed by using [Mysteries].

'Sea, sky, and land.'

Air routes had been blocked for ages.

The seas were just barely resuming fishing in areas purified by [Mysteries].

And the land had an enormous number of devastated regions — like Goyang City's Red Sea or Jeolla-do here.

It was all being held together by sheer force — pouring in a tremendous number of Hunters, military forces, and Mysteries, hanging on and hanging on.

Especially Mysteries.

'A metal that grants wishes.'

Things I'd taken utterly for granted now hit me with painful clarity.

Without Mysteries, humanity would have perished long ago.

And according to Muratan, [Mysteries] were an imperfect metal — and being imperfect meant they might vanish someday.

That was why I had no choice but to look at the black seed in my hand far more seriously.

"The World Tree…"

This was the seed of a corrupted World Tree.

It had consumed countless lives and grown to a sapling, but Muratan had reduced it back to a seed.

Normally I'd have converted the World Tree into a power source without a second thought.

But right now, I couldn't help but think differently.

[Life-and-Death Demon]

The Life-and-Death Demon that Muratan had created for me was a demon that ate life and death.

If done properly, it might be possible to revert a corrupted seed.

To do that—

'First, I need to get out of here.'

A structure built from stacked coffins.

This was the world of the Awakened, Kim Jun.

And he had contracted with the Dark God out of necessity to save hundreds of thousands of citizens.

If the terms of that contract came to light, he wouldn't be hailed as a hero — but I intended to bury all of it in my heart.

'The condition was that his memory would be erased.'

A fact confirmed through the memories of the demon worshippers Iris had devoured.

The Dark God had sought to test Kim Jun's true nature, and Kim Jun — having forgotten the deal — had upheld his mission of protecting people for '1,135 days.'

Whatever the contract's terms had been, his choice had been, in the end, right.

I would conquer this Gate and escape alongside Kim Jun — the man who had protected 170,000 people.

In that process, every 'demon worshipper' had been killed, and the Dark God's contract would be rendered null and void.

'Destroy the mark and revert the contract to nothing.'

The corrupted World Tree's seed was the mark proving the contract with the Dark God.

And it was a dead seed.

A seed of an inverted World Tree that grew from death.

"Eat."

I placed the seed into the Life-and-Death Demon's mouth.

The Life-and-Death Demon — imbued with the abilities of Guaranteed Life and Guaranteed Kill — naturally performed the task it was born for.

It ate the death and granted life.

It couldn't resurrect someone who had truly died, but reverting a seed that grew death back to 'life' was possible.

——Tastes, bad.

The Life-and-Death Demon cried out and spat the seed back.

The black seed, once stained with death, had turned stark white — and no trace of the contract could be felt.

The contract had been forcibly broken.

As a result, the man who had been guarding these [coffins] awakened.

Sreureuk——.

This space had been Kim Jun's world, yet his form hadn't been visible.

But the moment the contract broke, a man appeared from amid the massive graveyard of coffins.

Not the shriveled man who had been clinging to the World Tree — but the hearty man I'd seen so often on video.