Chapter 34: The First Deicide Weapon

****

“Attention, all Foundation personnel.”

“Today’s objectives are as follows.”

“First. Determine the cause of this anomaly.”

“Second. Eliminate the threat.”

“Third. Rescue as many civilians as possible remaining within this anomalous space.”

“We are the Foundation.”

“What providence is, how providence must be upheld, what has the right to exist under the sky — all of it is ours to judge.”

****

I set down the microphone.

A full-radio broadcast is nerve-wracking no matter when you do it. The dramatic pre-battle speech wasn’t easy either.

“Put on your headset. You’ll lose your ears.”

I nodded at the cat and put on the headset. Through the vehicle’s wired intercom built into the headset, I could hear the tank crew’s voices.

“Well then. Best of luck, Director Geum. We’ll give you our all today.”

****

The IFV’s engine hummed diligently, vibrating through the vehicle’s interior. After a moment, the Foundation’s armored vehicle began to advance slowly.

Even if the cat was in command of this operation, there wasn’t much for him to do.

He’d already communicated everything that needed to be done, and radio communication inside the anomalous space wasn’t exactly reliable anyway.

The armored vehicles formed up and entered the operational area. Ten IFVs entered Yulje-myeon. Christopher stared at the screen.

“You said there was a possibility the gods had been summoned?”

“That’s my assessment.”

“It’s definitely gone to shit, alright.”

I couldn’t see anything.

“I can’t see anything.”

“That’d be the cognitohazard. Take an anti-amnestic and look at the camera feed again.”

Anti-amnestic.

I’d seen it in the manual before.

I tossed a pill into my mouth. This is an anti-amnestic — a drug meant to block effects that try to erase or suppress memories.

In the current context, it was to prevent the cognitive contamination from making me forget Yulje-myeon’s existence or lose track of its details.

I stared at the screen again.

As the anti-amnestic I’d just ingested — a psychotropic substance — began to take effect, garish, alien colors started gnawing at the edges of my vision. Now I could see something, maybe?

“…So that’s what you meant.”

The streets of Yulje-myeon visible beyond the camera feed were an absolute wreck.

White fog was rising from all over the town, and all manner of anomalies were faintly visible. The sky was filled with abnormal colors.

The most striking of them all was a colossal monster floating above the town. Dozens of octopus eyes gazed down over the area, and hundreds of tentacles stretched down toward the ground.

“Dr. Geum. You’re recording the situation, right?”

I nodded vigorously.

“Recording. Multiple hostile humanoid instances, one octopus-eyed monster that appears to be a divine entity, and numerous others besides. I can see many monsters throughout the town.”

“Keep describing. Anything else you see?”

“I can see flying beasts occasionally crossing the sky above Yulje-myeon. I think we might be able to attempt anti-air fire with the autocannons on the IFVs.”

“Possible. Whether it’ll mean anything is another question.”

“I don’t know how high that fog of oblivion will rise within the anomalous space, but it seems to form a dome-like shape at a certain altitude.”

“Dr. Geum. You’re oddly calm.”

“I suppose so. What’s in the anti-amnestic?”

The cat shrugged.

“Classified. There’s LSD and methamphetamine in it.”

“Ah.”

So that’s why my head was spinning.

“The drug is giving me a headache.”

“Power through it with willpower.”

I pressed my fingers hard against my temples.

****

Meanwhile.

Bishop Oh closed his eyes and recited a prayer.

“And He said unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.”

The Foundation soldiers in full combat gear all bowed their heads in solemn silence. A red cross was emblazoned on their equipment.

“This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals.”

Bishop Oh cleared his throat.

“Then, let us begin the operation.”

“May God’s protection be with us.”

*Click.*

The soldiers of Recovery Section 1 checked their weapons.

The Foundation’s armored vehicle began to move slowly toward its target, and Bishop Oh loaded shells into the semi-automatic shotgun he was holding.

These are 12-gauge silver bullets. Even if a demon or evil god were to appear from inside that fog, this should hold it back for at least a few seconds.

****

I stared at the screen again.

The scale is a bit different, and there are a lot of anomalous phenomena, but it’s no different from any other anomalous space. All I have to do is avoid the unknowns and hazards one by one and respond according to the manual.

This is the interior of Yulje-myeon.

The objective is to enter the Yulje-myeon town center, where the anomalies are believed to be concentrated.

The cognitohazardous white fog covered an area of roughly nine square kilometers.

The distance to the town center is within one kilometer. We should be able to enter Yulje-myeon proper in about two minutes.

*BOOM!*

The armored vehicle’s main gun fired at something in the distance. I couldn’t tell if it hit.

“Once we enter the town center, we’ll disperse deicide gas throughout the area.”

“What’s deicide gas?”

“Demons hate silver iodide, fairies hate cinnamon, mistletoe has the power to kill gods—it’s made by mixing all that together.”

They really have all sorts of bizarre things.

“Speaking of which… do you think there are survivors?”

Christopher shook his head.

“I don’t think there are any survivors. This was the third target, after all. Still, it’s too early to give up. We might be able to rescue even just one person.”

“It’s still too early to give up. Don’t worry. The task forces will be able to handle most situations anyway. All we have to do is sit in the command vehicle and wait patiently—”

Christopher stopped mid-sentence.

“What is that?”

I don’t know either.

I couldn’t see clearly through the camera mounted on the front of the armored vehicle, but a considerable number of people were wandering around. No—are they even people?

Humanoid things shambling along.

“Zombies.”

“What?”

“I said zombies. Open fire.”

The armored vehicle’s autocannon opened fire.

The interior of the vehicle began to vibrate wildly, as if someone were swinging a hammer at it.

I don’t know whether the crew made the call themselves or heard Christopher’s order. The compartments are separated, so it was probably the latter.

“They’re actual zombies?”

“Probably. I’ve seen them on other operations.”

So zombies really do exist.

Those zombies—no, those hostile humanoid instances—turned into red powder in an instant under the armored vehicle’s machine gun fire. That was easier than I expected.

“Why are there zombies here?”

“I’m wondering the same thing.”

Every time I work for the Foundation, I think there’s nothing left that can surprise me. But every time I actually get to the field, something surprising happens.

Zombies, of all things.

Anyway. The zombies coming out of the town center were slowly walking toward the armored vehicle, as if drawn by the sound.

The armored vehicle’s machine gun spat fire again.

“They’re everywhere!”

This isn’t a situation to worry about. This armored vehicle can easily do 70 kilometers per hour.

The armored vehicle ignored the zombies and simply pushed forward. On the side camera, I could see the tracks grinding zombie remains into pulp.

“Dr. Geum. Analyze the situation.”

I forced myself to look at the horrific scene beyond the screen. Amid the blood and viscera, I thought I could see blood-soaked clothing.

Occam’s razor is the right approach here.

Those zombies look like people, and they’re wearing people’s clothes. So it’s reasonable to assume they’re either people or something derived from people.

“The damage is too severe to tell for certain, but these look like clothes the people here would have worn. It seems the town’s residents have become zombies.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Christopher pondered for a moment.

“Objective 3 is abandoned as of now.”

“What? Why would you suddenly abandon it?”

“In a town where the elderly population exceeds 40 percent, with zombies, gods, and nameless monsters running rampant—do you really think there are survivors? We’ll abandon it cleanly and change the operational objective.”

Not that he was wrong.

Christopher leaped up onto the communications equipment and brought his tiny mouth to the microphone.

“Task Force Mistilteinn. Authorization granted for use of Deicide Weapon No. 1. All personnel, move as far away from Yulje-myeon town center as possible, immediately.”

I crossed my arms and stared at Christopher.

What the hell is Deicide Weapon No. 1?

[Confirmed. Firing in 60 seconds.]

The armored vehicle we were riding in suddenly veered and began moving away from the Yulje-myeon town center.

“Overseer. What is Deicide Weapon No. 1?”

“Davy Crockett.”

Christopher offered no further explanation. Davy Crockett, Davy Crockett. I’ve heard that name somewhere before—where was it?

[30]

[29]

[28]

It hit me.

[3]

[2]

[1]

What the hell is this. My mouth fell open, I grabbed my head and sank to the floor—

[0]

A colossal explosion shook the very earth.

The ground spat dust toward the sky as if dancing, and a massive mushroom cloud was blooming from the town center.

Deicide Weapon No. 1. A tactical nuclear warhead.