Chapter 38

Episode 38. Divine Slayer (3)

***

The Foundation is a terrifying place.

When I first came to the Foundation for a health check-up… among the numerous vaccinations they gave me, there was something I had never heard of before: a neurotoxin vaccine.

My head still hurts.

I blinked hard.

Back then, while getting the shot, I asked the doctor about it. The answer was brief: it was a vaccination against neurotoxins commonly used by the Foundation during operations.

Even if the opponent is a supernatural human, they don’t have the capacity to carry multiple guns like I do, nor do they always carry gas masks.

*Pat.*

Wait a moment.

A colorless, odorless neurotoxin gas must be spreading throughout the building. It’ll take effect in a few seconds.

One, two, three.

*Thud.*

The sound of someone collapsing echoed. Success. I grabbed my gun and rushed forward.

Three people lay on the floor.

I can’t let my guard down yet.

I need to confirm the kills first. I pulled the trigger three times, and the floor was stained with blood. But since they might be supernatural humans, that’s not enough.

I stabbed the bodies with my bayonet to confirm the kills. They all seem dead now.

I glanced around once more.

This is the library in Yulje-myeon. Most of the windows and doors were barricaded, and there were signs that people had been here recently. Are there survivors?

I shook off the thought.

The people I just killed were humanoid supernatural phenomena. If they were civilians, they would’ve said no when I asked if they were Foundation employees.

Or they would’ve asked, “What’s that?”

“Director Kim. What are you looking for?”

“I’ll find out.”

I headed toward the stairs. The surroundings were eerily quiet. Except for me.

The sound of my boots, the rustling of my gear, the breathing through my gas mask, the clanking of my gun. In the silent space, I was the only one making noise.

“Is anyone there?”

A human voice.

I placed my finger on the trigger and walked forward, gun aimed. Another human figure appeared—

*Bang!*

I fired first. I think I hit them, so I emptied the magazine in their direction.

“Hey, are you just going to kill everything you see?”

A cat muttered.

That was the plan. At least in this building.

I moved forward again, and one person lay on the floor. Blood was gushing from their shoulder.

I aimed my gun at their head.

“Explain.”

“We could’ve… helped… worked together—”

Another trick.

I gritted my teeth in disgust.

Whoever they are, they wiped an entire city of tens of thousands off the map. No one can forgive that, and no room for mercy can be left.

“What are you?”

He coughed up blood and struggled to speak.

“We are… devotees of the God of Knowledge, children of the Infinite Library, the Librarians. We saw a great tragedy unfolding and came to help the people—”

The Librarians. Something that serves the God of Knowledge.

They’re just another group of supernatural humans and hostile entities. Who knows what they mean by “help.”

I gripped my gun again.

Ah, I emptied the magazine earlier.

I stabbed the bayonet into the temple of the person lying down. Crimson blood splattered everywhere.

“…”

*Click.*

The assault rifle was reloaded.

***

This is the library rooftop.

Someone must’ve prepared it, but this place seemed relatively safe. I sat in the corner of the rooftop and reorganized my gear.

“Director Kim. Your eyes are bloodshot, and your breathing is uneven. Are you okay?”

I shook my head. I’m perfectly fine.

“I’m fine.”

“If we stop moving, the Special Forces will come to rescue us soon. Let’s wait here.”

“Why would I need rescuing? I’m a Foundation doctor and director, and I’ve killed two divine-class entities on the way here.”

“Do you want to keep moving?”

“…”

The cat fell silent for a moment.

“Director Kim. I get it, but promise me you’ll stay calm. You’re not in a normal state right now. Cognitive disasters and anti-hallucinogens are messing with your brain, and your adrenaline—your pupils are as big as coins right now.”

“Understood.”

“Director Kim. You’re under the influence of drugs and cognitive disasters, carrying guns, weapons of mass destruction, and supernatural phenomena while roaming the city. You’ve killed three divine-class entities. Right now, I’m not worried about you, but about everyone in the city. Whether they’re survivors, Foundation employees, or something else.”

I let out a sigh.

“If you want to keep me here… analyze the situation, Administrator. Don’t you know more than I do?”

I looked at the cat. The cat opened its mouth to respond but hesitated.

“My analysis would mostly be what you already know. Multiple divine-class entities are roaming Yulje-myeon.”

The cat stretched.

“Right.”

“I don’t know if the fog was created by them or if it’s trapping them. But I think it’s the latter. The fog is causing them to gather here and kill each other.”

“The gods?”

“Divine-class entities.”

“So, someone summoned divine-class entities and trapped them in this limited space for some purpose?”

“Yeah.”

Now we’re getting to the point.

“What could that purpose be?”

“I don’t know. What’s certain is that this is the worst supernatural incident since World War II. It doesn’t seem like there’s a single normal survivor left in the city.”

The full picture of the incident is starting to come together. Someone summoned divine-class entities into this city.

Multiple ones. The divine-class entities can’t leave because of the fog.

Whether out of boredom or for some other reason, they’re leading their followers and toys to attack and kill each other.

I stood up.

“Let’s move to the next location. We’ll head to the police station first, and if there’s nothing there, we’ll go to the largest government office.”

“Director Kim…”

I took a step forward.

First, I need to go back to the first floor to get out of the building. I walked to the back of the building—

“Wait.”

Something’s off. The Geiger counter is beeping. It’s been beeping intermittently because of the nuclear explosion, but there’s something else here—

I let out a sigh and entered the second floor.

I didn’t even need to take out my equipment. A strong sense of unease was guiding my steps.

“Is that it?”

I lowered my gun.

There were no hostile entities on the second floor of the library. Most of the discomfort melted away like snow. Only a strong curiosity remained.

“It looks like the door the Librarians use.”

I lowered my gun.

In the center of the library was a brown mahogany door. On one side of the door was a strange eye pattern carved into the wood, and purple light seeped through the cracks.

It’s clearly some kind of dimensional portal.

“Is that the source of the problem?”

“Probably not. It’s just how the Librarians entered this space.”

I pondered for a moment.

“Administrator, do you think the Librarians caused this incident? Aren’t they the prime suspects?”

“Look at the bigger picture. There are countless hostile group assets in this space. It’s impossible to know who did what for what purpose right now.”

Hmm. It’s an unsatisfactory answer, but it’s true that we can’t draw a clear conclusion yet.

That’s why we’re playing it safe, and that’s why I’ve been killing every humanoid supernatural phenomenon I see.

It’s still absurd.

Multiple hostile groups gathered in one place and caused such a massive incident, yet the Precognition and Information Departments didn’t catch any signs beforehand.

“Let’s move. If that’s not the source of the problem, we don’t need to deal with it now.”

First, let’s get out of the library.

***

Yulje-myeon is a small city, so the police station, government offices, and library are all close together. It shouldn’t be too far to the police station.

I looked out the window from the back of the library. A monster was blocking the path. It didn’t seem like I could just run past it.

A massive spider, or maybe a scorpion or crab? Anyway, it was a bug-like monster with pincers.

The monster itself was the size of a truck.

The bug monster had several human-like corpses in its mouth. Around it were human-sized bugs standing guard.

“How are we going to take that down?”

Hmm.

Earlier, I figured out how to deal with the monster because I knew its identity. But I don’t know anything about that spider. As for killing gods…

I’d rather save that method, but I did prepare a way to use it.

I clapped three times, and Popos appeared around me. One, two, three. The training paid off.

Twelve Popos gathered around me.

Just as the Macrobiology Department said. Popos have special abilities, they like helping humans, and they can follow orders.

Dogs, cats, it’s like a zoo. Anyway, I pointed at the monster outside the window. The Popos followed my finger with their eyes.

“Go tear it apart.”

The Popos charged at the monster, and I raised my gun. A spider god is nothing.

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