Episode 34. The First God-Killing Device
***
“Attention all Foundation soldiers.”
“Today’s objectives are as follows.”
“First. Identify the cause of this supernatural phenomenon.”
“Second. Eliminate the threat.”
“Third. Rescue as many civilians as possible remaining within this supernatural space.”
“We are the Foundation.”
“We determine what providence is, how it should be upheld, and what has the right to exist under the heavens.”
***
I put down the microphone.
Broadcasting to everyone is always stressful. Dramatic speeches right before battle aren’t easy either.
“Put on the headset. Your ears will go deaf.”
I nodded at the cat and then put on the headset. Through the wired communication system in the vehicle, I could hear the tank crew’s voices.
“Then, good luck, Director Kim. We’ll do our best to assist you today.”
***
The armored vehicle’s engine roared, vibrating the interior. Shortly after, the Foundation’s armored vehicles began to move forward slowly.
Even though the cat was in charge of this operation, there wasn’t much to do.
I had already relayed everything that needed to be done, and communication via radio inside the supernatural space wasn’t smooth anyway.
The armored vehicles formed ranks and entered the operation zone. Ten armored vehicles entered Yulje-myeon. Christopher stared at the screen.
“You said there’s a possibility that gods have been summoned, right?”
“That’s my assumption.”
“It definitely looks like a mess.”
I couldn’t see anything.
“I don’t see anything?”
“It’s probably due to the cognitive disaster. Take the anti-hallucinogen pill now and look at the camera feed again.”
Anti-hallucinogen pill. I’ve seen it in the manual before.
I popped the pill into my mouth. This is the anti-hallucinogen pill, said to block effects that erase or suppress memories.
In this context, it’s taken to prevent forgetting the existence of Yulje-myeon or its details due to cognitive contamination.
I stared at the screen again.
As the anti-hallucinogen pills I just took began to take effect, vivid and alien colors started gnawing at the edges of my vision. Now I think I can see something?
“……Is that what you were talking about?”
The city center of Yulje-myeon visible through the camera feed was completely in chaos.
White mist was rising from various parts of the city, and faint traces of various supernatural phenomena could be seen. The sky was filled with abnormal colors.
The most noticeable among them was the massive monster floating above the city. Dozens of octopus-like eyes were looking down at the area, and hundreds of tentacles were slowly reaching down toward the ground.
“Dr. Kim. Are you recording the situation?”
I nodded vigorously.
“Recording. Multiple hostile humanoid entities, one god-like octopus-eyed monster, and many others are visible. Numerous monsters are seen in the city.”
“Keep explaining. Do you see anything else?”
“Occasionally, I see monsters flying above Yulje-myeon’s city center. We might be able to attempt anti-aircraft fire with the tank’s machine gun.”
“Possible. Not sure if it’ll be meaningful, though.”
“I don’t know how high the amnesia mist rises in this supernatural space, but it seems to form a dome-like shape at a certain height.”
“Dr. Kim. You’re oddly calm.”
“Right. What’s in the anti-hallucinogen pill?”
The cat shrugged.
“Secret. It contains LSD and methamphetamine.”
“Ah.”
So that’s why my head is spinning.
“My head hurts because of the pill.”
“Endure it with willpower.”
I pressed my temples.
***
Meanwhile.
Bishop Oh closed his eyes and recited a prayer.
“He said, ‘Now let the one who has a purse take it, and likewise a bag. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.'”
The fully equipped soldiers of Recovery Team 2 also bowed their heads solemnly. Their gear was marked with red crosses.
“Today the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. I’ll give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals.”
Ahem. Bishop Oh cleared his throat.
“Then, let’s begin the operation.”
“May God’s protection be with us.”
Click.
The soldiers of Recovery Team 1 checked their weapons.
The Foundation’s armored vehicles began to move slowly toward the target. Bishop Oh loaded bullets into the semi-automatic shotgun he was holding.
These are 12-gauge silver bullets. Even if demons or devils appear inside that mist, they should at least be able to hold them off for a few seconds.
***
I stared at the screen again.
The scale is a bit different, and there are a lot of supernatural entities, but it’s not much different from other supernatural spaces. We just need to avoid unknown factors and dangers and respond according to the manual.
This is Yulje-myeon.
The immediate goal is to enter Yulje-myeon’s city center, where the supernatural phenomena are believed to be concentrated.
The cognitive disaster’s white mist covers an area of about 9 square kilometers.
The distance to the city center is within 1 kilometer. We should be able to enter Yulje-myeon’s city center in about 2 minutes.
Boom!
The armored vehicle’s main gun fired at something far away. Not sure if it hit.
“When we enter Yulje-myeon’s city center, we’ll disperse the God-Killing Gas.”
“What’s God-Killing Gas?”
“Demons hate silver iodide, fairies hate cinnamon, mistletoe has the effect of killing gods, and it’s a mix of those things.”
What a bizarre concoction.
“By the way. Are there any… survivors?”
Christopher shook his head.
“There don’t seem to be any survivors. That was the third objective. But it’s too early to give up. We might still be able to rescue someone.”
“Ah.”
“It’s too early to give up on survivors yet. Don’t worry. The Special Forces should be able to handle most situations. We just need to sit in the command vehicle and wait—”
Christopher stopped talking.
“What’s that?”
I don’t know either.
It wasn’t clearly visible through the camera mounted on the front of the armored vehicle, but a large number of people were moving around. Or were they even people?
Humanoid figures walking clumsily.
“Zombies.”
“What?”
“Zombies. Open fire.”
The armored vehicle’s machine gun began firing.
The interior of the armored vehicle started vibrating violently, as if someone was hitting it with a hammer.
I’m not sure if the tank crew made the decision or if they heard Christopher’s command. Since the spaces are separated, it’s probably the latter.
“Are they really zombies?”
“Probably. I’ve seen them in other operations.”
So zombies do exist.
Those zombies… or rather, hostile humanoid entities, turned into red dust in front of the armored vehicle’s machine gun. Easier than I thought.
“Why are there zombies here?”
“I’m curious too.”
Every time I work with the Foundation, I think there’s nothing left to surprise me. But when I’m actually on the field, something always surprises me.
Zombies, of all things.
Anyway. The zombies coming out of the city center were slowly walking toward the armored vehicle, probably following the sound.
The armored vehicle’s machine gun fired again.
“They’re all around!”
No need to worry. This armored vehicle can easily reach speeds of 70 km/h.
The armored vehicle ignored the zombies and just kept moving forward. The side camera showed the tracks grinding through zombie corpses.
“Dr. Kim. Analyze the situation.”
I forced myself to look at the horrific scene on the screen. Among the blood and chunks of flesh, I thought I could see blood-soaked clothes.
Applying Occam’s razor is appropriate.
Those zombies look like humans and are wearing human clothes, so it’s reasonable to assume they’re humans or something derived from humans.
“The damage is severe, so it’s hard to tell, but these look like clothes the residents of Yulje-myeon would wear. It seems the residents of Yulje-myeon have turned into zombies.”
“Ah, really?”
Christopher pondered for a moment.
“Abandon the third objective.”
“Huh? Why are we abandoning it all of a sudden?”
“In a village where over 40% of the population is elderly, with zombies, foreign entities, and nameless monsters running rampant, do you think there are any survivors? Let’s cleanly abandon it and change the operation’s objectives.”
Not wrong, though.
Christopher jumped onto the communication equipment and brought his small mouth close to the microphone.
“Special Forces ‘Misteltein.’ Permission granted to use the First God-Killing Device. All troops, evacuate Yulje-myeon’s city center as quickly as possible.”
I crossed my arms and stared at Christopher.
What’s the First God-Killing Device?
[Confirmed. Launching in 60 seconds.]
The armored vehicle we were in suddenly turned and began moving away from Yulje-myeon’s city center.
“Administrator. What’s the First God-Killing Device?”
“Davy Crockett.”
Christopher didn’t explain further. Davy Crockett, Davy Crockett. I’ve heard that name before, but where?
[30]
[29]
[28]
I remembered.
[3]
[2]
[1]
What kind of nonsense is this? I opened my mouth, grabbed my head, and collapsed to the floor—
[0]
A massive explosion shook the earth.
The ground spewed dust into the sky as if dancing, and a giant mushroom cloud rose from Yulje-myeon’s city center.
The First God-Killing Device. A tactical nuclear warhead.
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