Chapter 185
Permafrost (6)
The earth shakes. Originally, the earth had to be firm enough to stand on two feet and strong enough to support everything in the world.
When “it” stamped its foot, the shaft twisted at once.
Feet come off the ground. A short, span-long gap formed between the earth and Kang Man-soo’s feet, but the victim himself thought that the sky and the earth had been turned upside down.
＜That’s it——!!!＞
is it crying Or is it roar?
A dry voice flowed from what could be called his ‘head’.
The giants that broke through the earth’s surface were made of stone and earth.
“Dongchul-ah! Park Dong-chul, where is this bastard?!”
Kang Man-soo, who came to his senses, shouted in the battlefield full of iron and soot. His left ear had gone out, and the screams he had uttered could only be heard from the right.
Between the plains and piled snowfields, oil burns as if it had leaked from the exploded self-propelled guns.
It was only for a moment that black smoke filled the white world.
Fortunately, the answer came.
“Ah, brother!! I am here!!!”
“You were alive!”
Relying on my two normal eyes, I ran aimlessly in the direction the sound came from.
Park Dong-cheol was unable to go even if his legs were crushed by a dented armored vehicle.
I was grateful for the eyes that kept functioning in the midst of this mess,
“Stop shouting. Because I’m not deaf.”
“You madman! You don’t look like you’re screaming?! under… … , I’m glad I saw you too… … .”
That gratitude didn’t last long.
In the distance, through the dust covering the ground, Kang Man-soo’s field of vision came into view of “the guy” pulling his right leg back.
Made of stone, soil, and fragments of the earth, it swung its thick, gigantic feet,
Kicked the armored car right in front.
“Hyung, sleep!”
“This crazy!! What the hell—”
The voices of Kang Man-soo and Park Dong-chul disappeared without a trace, buried in the aftermath of the blast with an explosion of ‘bang!!!’
overwhelming violence.
If Kang Man-soo had been a little slow in grabbing and holding down Park Dong-cheol’s head as he knelt in front of him, if he hadn’t grabbed his mind in time.
I would have left the world as it was.
The moment when all the sand and dust that came in from the aftermath of the storm cleared away and the scene came into view.
“her… … , heh hahahaha—”
Park Dong-chul, who witnessed the scene in front of his eyes, began to laugh like a crazy person.
The comrades he had been with all his life, the comrades he swore to protect his hometown together,
The giant’s kick evaporated at once.
I can’t even see the fragments where they are. Only the sound of pain can be heard from time to time among the broken scrap metal in the white snow field.
It was nowhere to be seen.
＜Geuuuh-!＞
Only the giant, who wielded overwhelming violence from the point of view of a mediocre human, remained and looked down at the scene he had created, groaning in satisfaction.
At that moment, Park Dong-chul felt that he met the gaze of the giant who was scanning the land.
It was a huge brown face of a sleek giant without any eyes, nose, mouth or ears, but Park Dong-cheol could clearly feel that they were looking at each other.
“older brother… … . It looks like X.”
“… … Do I have no eyes?”
A shadow falls over the heads of Park Dong-cheol and Kang Man-soo. thought the end
The giant’s fist rose high in the sky and blocked the sunlight.
“Fuck, it was fun being together. baby… … .”
Under the shade of the shadow, the moment when Park Dong-soo resigns himself and tries to accept the reality.
‘───.’
A line was drawn in the sky.
A beam of white light pierced the giant’s fist,
＜Huh-?＞
The fist of the giant that was pierced by the flash was within.
‘Quaaang!!!’
It exploded with a roar—.
some to the ground, some to the sky. The shattered pieces of stone were scattered in all directions. Some of them even beat the giants in the face.
“What is this… … ?”
His gaze turned to the horizon behind his back, which was thought to be the starting point of the beam of light.
he saw
It is a lump of iron that is approaching at high speed.
At first, I thought it was the appearance of a new monster.
The only thing that can destroy mana is mana, and with normal physical power, it was clear that there was a limit to dealing with mana belonging to supernatural powers.
Presumably, the giant in front of you is either an artificial lifeform with ‘magical power’ involved, or a monster classified as a high-risk species.
Either way, normal attacks that do not contain magic power do not work.
But his expectations were wrong.
That too in the best way.
The identity of the metal that was approaching at high speed was a military helicopter. If it is for military use, it will naturally have a camouflage color that blends with the surroundings – white in the Maritime Province.
The guy was a rather conspicuous black color.
‘Weiyiing—!!!’ doing,
The harsh sound of the engine hinting at the end of the enemy mercilessly hit Kang Man-soo and Park Dong-cheol’s ears.
＜───!!!＞
The “giant” who discovered the helicopter let out a scream. The roaring noise made the ground vibrate.
-Taaang!!!
The helicopter floating in the sky responded with an explosive sound that smelled like gunpowder, as if mocking the tone.
The remaining right arm of the giant was completely destroyed.
＜Uhh-!!!＞
The giant screams. now it’s even pitiful
The giant grabbed his now-missing shoulder with his left hand, and the helicopter, which quickly approached through the gap, passed over his head and raised its altitude.
Something crashes from the helicopter.
It began to fall from a high altitude and had a whitish glow.
It is set down in a straight line.
Close to the meteor, it pointed precisely at the top of the giant’s head,
Soon they collided with a flash of light.
Kang Man-soo and Park Dong-cheol could not help but stare blankly at the scene in the gap between the collapsed remains of the giant.
Because they were only human.
“… … It looks like your brother bought it.”
“… … .”
Park Dong-cheol muttered cautiously, and Kang Man-soo nodded blankly.
no,
There was nothing I could do but nod my head. The sight in his eyes was so intense.
A boy stood in the collapsing rubble.
The boy’s sharp eyes and copper-colored skin reminded him of a beast, and he held a brilliant white sword in his hand.
sacred
The white light burning in the boy’s hands was like watching a holy fire.
However,
His dark atmosphere seemed to contain human sins.
Kang Man-soo felt that the boy looked like Prometheus who brought fire to mankind.
* * *
“It’s a spirit… … .”
Having cut down the “giant” in one fell swoop, I murmured as I climbed back into the helicopter.
Its remains, which were scattered everywhere, returned to the earth as a heap of stones, the original ‘source’.
“A spirit?”
Desiree, hearing my muttering, asked back.
“Survivors testified that it suddenly rose from the ground. Although there is no intelligence, only the ‘spirit’ wields overwhelming violence that is rooted in nature, has an irregular shape, and does not discriminate against friends.”
“… … Come to think of it, I think I heard it during class.”
“Ah, sun, sit here.”
“thank you. —In short, since it arose from the ground, it must have been an earth spirit.”
Anya patted the seat next to her with her hand and sat down next to her.
I felt the softness of the seat provided inside the helicopter on my buttocks.
“I’m glad this is the last scene… … . There will be no more victims than this.”
“It’s fortunate that it’s the last, but it’s a pity.”
Elizabeth and Desiree looked out the window at the wrecked scene with pity, and I looked at them and recalled the conversation with the leader.
‘Student Taeyang Geum, as the general commander of the defense of the Maritime Province and the head of the border volunteers, I order you… … , No, I will ask you a favor.’
We wanted to be transported in a bus like a chicken coop, but the sudden outbreak of emergency changed our handling 180 degrees.
Sitting at the table, he feigned leisure and handed us coffee. However, the feet that continued to tremble underneath could not be hidden.
‘Currently, a large group of monsters are appearing simultaneously in the northern part and invading the border. Originally, Geumtaeyang, I was going to treat your party the same as any other team, but… … .’
‘The situation is not going well.’
‘It’s embarrassing, but it is… … .’
The leader did not bother to hide the current situation in Primorsky Krai. And I chose the direction of telling the situation honestly and persuading.
Desiree, Anya, and Elizabeth, who were in the director’s office, crossed their eyes.
The leader swiped the surface of the map on the desk, on which the geography was marked in detail, with the tip of his index finger.
‘The Awakeners belonging to the military who will handle this incident are already active across the border… … As a result, there is not a shortage of people, but we are faced with a situation where there is a shortage of talented people.’
His fingers passed the village and outpost located in the northernmost part of the border. The leader’s hand drew the northern part of Maritime Province on the map.
I rested my chin on my hand and covered my mouth with the palm of my hand.
The head spins rapidly. To be honest, I could have pretended not to know. However, a crisis is an opportunity, and if I make good use of this job, it seemed that I could expand my scope of activity and be guaranteed my autonomy at once.
He flicked the index finger of the hand he brought close to his mouth.
The northernmost border of Maritime Province, a village connected to the (old) transcontinental railroad caught my eye.
That’s it.
The situation itself was going in my favor, so it was simpler than I thought, so it was enough to spend a little time.
‘Commander, let’s do this.’
‘… … huh? Something?’
‘Please support only one of the latest combat helicopters and guarantee operational rights. If you do that, I will take care of the invading monsters and the safety of the volunteers who are already active.’
At the word operational control, the leader was taken aback. However, he soon nodded.
‘Are you enough?’
‘Who do you think I am?’
I replied, showing him a twisted smile.
That’s how I ripped off an independent operational control and a combat helicopter.
and present.
It was a tight schedule, but the entire area near the border was cleaned.
I was a little late at the last checkpoint, but I thought there was no need to blame myself. We were the only ones to take care of this, and we are one body.
Anya, Desiree, and Elizabeth checked their weapons inside the aircraft, which swayed slightly and floated gently.
I also stroked Yeriel’s restraints on my waist.
Now that I have finished my work… … Now it’s my turn to move according to my purpose.
When I saw the spirit, I couldn’t help but be in a hurry.
Most of the guys who opened the gate near the academy last time were treated as so-called ‘miscible mobs’.
Now, the guys belonging to the ‘mental body’ gradually came out.
Since the majority of the ‘mental body’ belonged to the higher order, the spirit was also one of the unknown higher order beings.
I put on my headset and brought the microphone close to my mouth.
and.
“Captain.”
[Uh, Taeyang student.]
“Please go to the Trans-Siberian train stop closest to the border.”
[Yes—!]
started moving in earnest.
* * *
At the hour when the golden sun began to move, Nikolai loaded the truck with used paint cans from the outskirts of town.
I was so absorbed in my work that I didn’t realize the time was passing, but when I took out my smartphone from my pocket and checked the time, it was 3:28 PM. It was already past lunchtime and was slowly heading towards dinner.
“You had a good time today.”
Humming a pleasant song, he opened the truck door and put his smartphone into the inside pocket of his jacket.
A fading photo was visible through the transparent smartphone cover.
No matter how much I tried to sweep, the edges of the picture were in tatters. and inside it.
Young Anya and Nikolai were pictured together, holding their parents’ hands in their hands.
There are a total of six in the picture, but four of them are not in this world.