Chapter 40

Episode 40. Battle Report

***

“Ah, ah. This is Dr. Kim, Director of Facility 82. To all Foundation staff listening to this communication.”

“All Foundation staff listening to this communication, please move to a safe location where communication is possible.”

“First, report the casualties.”

[This is Special Forces ‘Royal Guard’. One Special Forces member has died, and the sniper is missing.]

[This is Special Forces ‘Flame of Purification’. Two Special Forces members have died. Three are missing.]

Five missing… They’re practically wiped out.

[This is Special Forces ‘Moon of Seoul’. One Special Forces member has died. No one is missing.]

[This is Special Forces ‘Misteltein’. No casualties at the moment.]

[This is Recovery Team 1. Ten staff members have died. Recovery Team 1 is not currently participating in the operation and is waiting outside the city.]

I clenched my teeth.

Recovery Team 1 was supposed to be relatively in the rear. How did so many die? As far as I know, they were divided into two teams of eight each.

[This is Recovery Team 2. One member has died.]

[This is the Precognition Department’s field investigation team. Five staff members have died. We are still investigating the site.]

“……”

My orders have caused countless deaths. Some teams are nearly annihilated.

“T-twenty-five confirmed dead or missing. Currently—”

My voice trembled. I coughed awkwardly, clenched my teeth, and grabbed the radio again. I need to stay strong. This is not the time to falter.

“Twenty-five confirmed dead or missing. Except for Recovery Team 1 and the Precognition Department’s field team, the other units are still operational. Extract the collapsed units from the field and proceed with the operation as planned.”

No response.

“Has anyone found civilian survivors?”

No one.

“Understood. Briefing now.”

“The truck carrying the God-Killing Gas is dispersing the gas in the city. Soon, the entire city will be within the gas’s effective range.”

God-Killing Gas contains substances like cinnamon, mistletoe, and silver iodide. It negatively affects certain supernatural creatures and phenomena but is not particularly harmful to humans.

“According to investigations, multiple supernatural organizations in this city have summoned numerous divine-class entities. Therefore, we are changing the operation’s objectives.”

Christopher nodded in front of me.

“First. Eliminate all humanoid supernatural phenomena in Yulje-myeon who are not Foundation staff.”

“Second. Eliminate as many divine-class entities within Yulje-myeon as possible.”

“Third. Gather information on the supernatural phenomena controlling Yulje-myeon.”

“Numerous humanoid beings are rampant within the city. It is recommended to assume there are no survivors who are not Foundation staff.”

“The sun is expected to set at 17:40 today. Please withdraw from the city before sunset.”

“By now, the Foundation’s main force should be waiting near Yulje-myeon. Once the withdrawal is complete, we will begin shelling the city.”

“That is all. Good luck.”

As soon as I finished speaking, I dropped the radio and buried my face in the concrete floor.

***

Ughhh.

I blinked repeatedly in pain.

[Director Kim! Can you hear me?]

“Who is this?”

[I’m the medical officer from the Special Forces. You need to withdraw immediately.]

“I’m fine— Ouch.”

[This is not a suggestion.]

“I can still fight. Besides, I can’t just give orders to continue the operation and then run away myself.”

The medical officer ignored me and picked me up entirely. My equipment alone must weigh 15kg.

[We’re withdrawing. An armored ambulance is waiting.]

“Hmph.”

[Let’s move.]

***

Déjà vu.

I was sitting in a tent, wrapped in a ridiculous silver foil blanket. They could’ve at least given me a Hello Kitty blanket to make it less embarrassing.

“Director. Here’s some hot cocoa.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Wow! A shiny silver foil blanket!

It rustles with every breath, and I feel like everyone nearby is staring at me. They actually are.

As if I’m some hypothermia patient.

No, I just killed three gods in there! This isn’t the time for weird blankets and hot cocoa!

Sigh.

I quietly sipped the hot cocoa. It’s definitely my appearance. They treat me like a high school girl because I look like one.

“Hold the mug for a second.”

“Me?”

I handed the hot cocoa to a random staff member, threw off the blanket, and stood up.

“I’m fine, everyone, go do your jobs. Connect me to the operation zone! Who’s the field commander? Who’s providing support?”

A Foundation staff member ran over and helped me into a coat.

“A civilian support team has arrived on-site. It would be best if you met them, Director.”

A civilian support team?

***

The world is a stranger place than you think.

It always is.

“Hello! We’re the technical support team from Hanwha Defense.”

Salesmen in navy suits. They were probably curious if their weapons worked well on-site. Spoiler: they didn’t.

“Ah, yes.”

“Our unmanned machines couldn’t enter the operation zone due to communication interference. It must have been very inconvenient.”

“……”

I nodded vaguely.

“We’re currently developing autonomous robots with more reliable communication systems. You’ll see significant improvements in the next product.”

“Is there no solution now?”

“No. There’s no solution for the unmanned machines, but we’ve mobilized all our resources to provide support.”

“Thank you.”

“The armored vehicle that just rescued you is also our company’s product. Was the ride comfortable?”

“No.”

Not all equipment used by the Foundation is Foundation-made.

For main infantry fighting vehicles or tanks, maybe, but smaller armored vehicles, trucks, and drones are often purchased externally. That’s who these people are.

“Ah, we’ll try harder. Was there anything uncomfortable about the ride?”

Actually, the discomfort had little to do with the vehicle. It was because I’d been running around in bulletproof gear and a protective suit for four hours.

“By the way, what do you do?”

“We’re just scientists from Hanwha Defense here to survey customer satisfaction. If needed, we can also provide field repairs.”

I thought for a moment. This is annoying. Who should I pass this off to? I grabbed a passing Foundation staff member.

“Take these people to the Head of the Mechanical Division.”

The Foundation staff led them away.

***

I sat in a quiet corner, deep in thought.

All the civilians in the city are dead, and we’ve killed every single person who could explain the situation.

The only clue we have left is that bizarre mahogany door found in the library.

We still don’t know the full situation.

It’s likely related to the Temple of Knowledge mentioned by the humanoid supernatural phenomena I encountered, and possibly connected to Cosmos/Kairos.

Why would they summon so many ancient gods and kill tens of thousands of civilians? Is there even a motive for that…?

***

[Operation Log]

[Author: Kim Bari]

[This is not a comprehensive record of the operation. It’s my personal log. There may be inaccuracies.]

[The command armored vehicle I was in was destroyed minutes after entering the operation zone.]

[I ordered the operation to proceed and entered the city on foot.]

[At the time, I was under the influence of Anti-Hallucinogen Pills and Cognitive Disaster, so my responses were somewhat hasty. I apologize for that.]

[First. A massive reptilian divine-class entity with regenerative abilities destroyed the armored vehicle and attacked me.]

[This entity was identified as Supernatural Phenomenon P-1682, ‘Tarask.’ I killed it by shooting a vial of Memory Erasure Agent into its open mouth with a shotgun.]

[Second. I engaged a humanoid supernatural phenomenon with deer antlers. I subdued the already injured entity with 7.62mm silver bullets.]

[Administrator Patreus claimed this phenomenon was a type of ‘Wendigo,’ but no evidence was found to support this.]

[Third. I fought a spider god. Unable to find a way to kill it, I deployed Supernatural Phenomenon P-3030, Popo, to eliminate it.]

[Fourth. I fought a Mimic. Several human-mimicking supernatural entities had occupied a police substation in Yulje-myeon.]

[Due to accumulated fatigue and injuries, I was extracted from the field by the Special Forces. For the record, I opposed the extraction at the time.]

***

[Research Notes]

[Author: Recovery Division Science Officer Team]

[Multiple supernatural phenomena were discovered.]

[Most supernatural phenomena found on-site were incinerated. They were deemed too dangerous and not worth managing.]

[We secured the artifact ‘Librarian’s Door.’]

[We found ritual altars, shrines, or religious symbols inside the city. Dozens of them. Someone summoned multiple divine-class entities during the solar eclipse.]

[We don’t know why. We’ll do our best to find clues to determine the cause.]