Chapter 115 – Sati

Chapter 115 – Sati

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Boom!

Shells exploded, leaving black plumes of smoke in the sky. A red-haired young man, smoking a cigar, was firing an anti-aircraft gun at the sky.

The man, a former militia captain, was named Richard. Although he was now integrated into the military and taking orders from officers—

Bang! Bang! Boom! Crash!

“Cowabunga!”

The man was in high spirits. When else would he get to fire a World War II weapon to his heart’s content in active duty?

‘Unless we go back to World War II, that is.’

“Phew.”

The man exhaled cigar smoke and surveyed the clear sky.

‘No, perhaps not clear?’

The man grinned, looking at the black plumes of smoke from the anti-aircraft gun. Nevertheless, since the monsters were gone, it seemed clear to him.

‘By the way… this is truly a godsend.’

The man smiled, looking at his trusty anti-aircraft gun.

In modern warfare, the importance of anti-aircraft guns had relatively diminished.

Firing an anti-aircraft gun, there was no way to hit fighter jets or helicopters striking from distances barely visible to the eye.

Ultimately, rather than shooting down enemy aircraft, they mostly served to create a barrage of fire to disrupt enemy pilots.

However, with the monster invasion, much had changed.

To take down the monsters that covered the sky in black, even World War II anti-aircraft gun relics that used to be in museums were brought out, and eventually, production began!

These devices, exploding with delayed fuses and leaving black plumes in the air, scattered a considerable amount of shrapnel, and these fragments were enough to bring down monsters from the sky, if not outright kill them.

Especially with the massive quantities of weapons, practically relics, captured from North Korea and delivered through William, after disassembling and reassembling them, there was no shortage of quantity.

Thanks to this, until recently, the front lines were even being pushed back. However… that was as far as it went.

As Richard was lingering, gazing at the sky—

Bang!

“Damn it, Richard! Where did you sell the walkie-talkie?”

As the sturdy bunker door opened, a man inside yelled. It was Thomas, a devout Mormon who rarely got angry unless it was an extreme situation.

“Oh, the walkie-talkie…”

“Stop talking nonsense and get ready, quick! It’s a retreat operation.”

Richard tried to make an excuse, but Thomas cut him off. It seemed the situation was as urgent as it was for the other man.

‘What in the world is going on…?’

The desire to ask what was happening welled up to the tip of his tongue, but Richard suppressed it. He figured there must be a good reason for Thomas, who wasn’t usually like this, to be acting this way.

Cigars were an item that could barely be bought for a premium in a world like this, but Richard threw the cigar he was holding to the ground, stepped on it to put it out, and then-

Sizzle-

“My apologies. I’ll get ready immediately.”

He immediately began packing his gear.

***

The men who had finished packing their gear quickly boarded the trucks. It seemed they were evacuating completely, as there was a significant number of trucks compared to usual.

It was a number that would have been impossible if Texas didn’t produce 1.8 billion barrels of oil annually.

Richard, who threw two duffel bags into one of the trucks and climbed in, asked Thomas, who was sitting next to him, once the truck started moving and pulling away from the base, now that he finally had a moment.

“What in the world is going on?”

Thomas shook his head in frustration and pointed to the sky he had been staring at. On one side of the sky, where his fingertip rested, a giant monster was approaching.

Richard whispered upon seeing it.

“Oh my God…”

Normally, Thomas would have told him not to use His name so casually, but this time, even he could only nod.

***

Anti-aircraft missiles continuously struck the waist of the giant Dragon Worm.

Whoosh-

Boom!

Before the smoke cleared, an A-10 Thunderbolt fired its GAU-8 Gatling Gun.

Brrrrrrrrt-

It fired 30mm rounds, larger than a cola bottle, at 3,900 rounds per minute. It was undoubtedly one of the most vicious weapons humanity had ever created.

The soldiers watching from the truck cheered.

“Yeahhhhhhh!”

It was a rare sight these days, with air superiority lost. But as the missile’s smoke dissipated, a nearly unscathed Dragon Worm revealed itself.

Furthermore, it let out a low growl that vibrated the ground—

“Guooooooaaaaah-”

It was a voice that sounded as if it found the mosquitoes that had scratched it annoying. Thomas, seeing it, was terrified and shook his head.

“Can that monster even be stopped?”

As he spoke in a trembling voice, the Dragon Worm twisted its body and began to descend towards the ground base, as if seeking revenge.

Whoooosh-

A powerful sound, vibrating the air.

And then-

Thud!

Impact.

The Dragon Worm had merely rubbed its body against the ground.

But that alone was enough.

Crash! Snap! Boom!

The base was being turned into a wasteland. Thomas and Richard, with vacant eyes, watched as the base they had just been in was instantly destroyed.

But that wasn’t all.

“Th-that—over there!”

An unnamed soldier pointed towards the sky. From that direction, three more Dragon Worms were approaching.

“Oh my God…”

Thomas closed his eyes as if he didn’t want to see it anymore.

“How on earth are we supposed to kill something like that…?”

It was the same for The Man and Richard.

***

Meanwhile, back on the other side of the Earth.

“Wow… look at how tanned my skin is.”

Minju was grumbling about being tanned by the strong light of the Photon Destroyer’s firing. An Ability User with strong magical power like Minju or Lie could be protected from the collateral damage of the Photon Destroyer.

However, this also meant that if one didn’t have as much magical power as Minju or Lie, they would inevitably suffer skin burns from the strong light.

‘I’ll have to be careful when using it where there are civilians…’

With great power comes great responsibility.

It was unavoidable.

At the same time as The Man, I was also repeatedly conversing with Choi Yongjin.

The Man was officially at war with the Mutants. Thanks to having raised Ability Users and Military Industries well so far, there didn’t seem to be any major problems.

‘Indeed, clever tactics would be useless in the face of overwhelming offensive power.’

Engaging in strategic and tactical contests was only necessary when fighting an opponent of similar or greater strength.

However, in the same vein, the Dragon Worms seemed to be more of a problem. They often breached the front lines based on The Man’s formidable Defense.

Even for The Man, if the Magitech Artillery Squad unleashed a barrage of Firepower in a concentrated attack, they could roast the Dragon Worms whole in no time.

‘It reminds me of my Previous Life.’

In my Previous Life, when there weren’t even Magitech Artillery Squads, let alone Photon Destroyers, it was common for an entire City to be obliterated by a single Dragon Worm.

But now, with the number of Magitech Artillery Squads exceeding three digits, there was no shortage of Firepower.

And the Behemoth-Class Production Facility left in Geumhwa New City was already diligently working day and night with Fire Manipulation to produce the second Photon Destroyer. Thanks to this, the Korean Peninsula could rest assured.

Of course, that didn’t mean there were no worries at all for The Man.

‘Are other countries doing well?’

The Dragon Worm’s rampage, which humanity’s power could not easily stop, was enough to deliver the final blow to many nations already on the path of the Apocalypse.

Even the United States was no exception.

‘It seems like The Man is more energetic than before, though.’

According to the original history, the Western United States should have already faced the Apocalypse by now. However, according to rumors circulating in Apoin (which already comprises most of the loyalty in the United States), it seems that communication between the East and West United States has only just been cut off today.

‘After this operation is over and I return from India, I’ll have to visit the United States too.’

I made my next plan. Although the timing was slightly delayed, the major flow of history was proceeding similarly to the past.

Similar to the past, most nations around the world were currently escaping towards the relatively intact United States using a few means of transport, including William’s Contact Ship.

Regardless of the continent, be it Australia, Europe, or Africa.

The only difference was that, thanks to me, East Asia’s proportion of The Man had significantly decreased.

But The Man was ultimately just a last desperate struggle.

Humanity continued to be pushed back, eventually declaring the Last City and choosing to abandon most of Earth’s territory.

‘It was a crazy thing to do.’

It was practically an act of suicide.

‘This time, I won’t let The Man happen.’

I strengthened my resolve.

* * *

Meanwhile, amidst The Man…

The Assault Landing Ship continued to fly over India.

The Man, and India, was such a vast country that it was called a subcontinent by Fire Manipulation alone. As such, it had a large population, and even its ethnicities and languages were just as diverse.

It was said that there were over 3,000 languages spoken, even though it was clearly one country.

As a result, it seemed to have quickly split into several factions. As such, fierce battles were occasionally seen in various places.

I had already told Seoyeon to identify potential factions for cooperation in India. But even more surprising than The Man was that there were unexpectedly few people.

‘I thought there would be at least as many as China…’

India’s pre-Apocalypse population was 1.4 billion. This was not a big difference from China, and it was even expected to surpass China soon.

But there was no force as powerful as The Man’s.

In fact, many cities were virtually empty. It was as if the entire continent had already been attacked. This was beyond what the recently appeared Mutants or Monsters could have done.

‘If there’s a Villain with this level of ability… ‘

I racked my brain.

The abilities of the strongest Villains in my Previous Life.

‘First, there was that guy with Archmage abilities… ‘

The only Villain I ever killed in my Previous Life, who possessed Forgotten Knowledge. The Man was active mainly on the American Continent, and it seemed he hadn’t made any significant moves, neither in my memories nor currently.

But there were many opponents more formidable than The Man.

‘An Indian Villain capable of annihilating a continent… ‘

“Ah.”

An unforgettable name struck my mind.

“Sati.”

India, the Land of Gods. Among The Man, Hinduism, which has the most gods, is estimated to have over 300 to 400 million followers.

However, among the many gods of The Man, the Chief Deities who reached the pinnacle are divided into three…

One, Brahma, who presides over creation.

Two, Vishnu, who is responsible for preservation.

Three, Shiva, who is in charge of destruction.

These were the three.

And The Man, the wife of the Destroyer God Shiva, was ‘Sati.’ This Villain, who claimed to be the reincarnation of Sati, was the name she widely publicized to the world as her own.

And The Man’s abilities were…

[Divine Power].

However, remembering her, I smirked.

“A god, huh… “

I turned my head and looked at the reliable bulk next to me. Seongjae tilted his head, seeing my expression.

“What?”

“No, not you.”

What I saw was the Photon Destroyer.

If that woman claims to be a god…

“Let’s see who wins, shall we?”

I just needed to stop that woman, the God-Slayer.