Chapter 182 – Outlook [Outlook on]

For a while, the old officer just stared at Siguk in silence.

Gradually, the grip of Siguk’s hand holding his collar began to tighten, and soon the old officer’s face flushed bright red.

“……That’s right.”

When the old officer answered his question, Siguk released him.

The old officer coughed briefly and straightened his uniform.

Siguk asked him.

“Rank and name?”

“I have no obligation to give that to an intruder.”

“Ha… seriously, come on.”

Siguk stopped smiling. He frowned and swept his hand over his face once.

Instantly, a powerful Mana Wave churned the inside of the barracks.

Documents that had been somewhat neatly arranged were sent flying chaotically into the air by the wave, which had even gained physical substance, and fell to the floor.

The old officer and the communications soldier, directly exposed to it, froze on the spot.

The communications soldier, whose nerves were weaker, collapsed and wet himself. The old officer wasn’t that bad, but he could no longer outwardly display the spirit and pride he had shown just moments before.

“Rank and name.”

At Siguk’s voice, cold and sunken, the old officer opened his mouth, trembling.

“O-Outer Perimeter Guard Battalion Commander, L-Lee Sang-ho, M-Major.”

“Good, Major. Why did you attack me?”

“I-I mistook you for a Monster.”

“Why?”

“R-recently, there w-was a humanoid Monster.”

“Humanoid Monster?”

Wondering if it meant a Man-faced Monster, Siguk quietly waited for the Major to answer.

“Y-yes. A Monster with a human form.”

“Not a human face on a Monster’s body?”

“I’ve heard stories of those existing on land, and reconnaissance squads have confirmed them a few times… but the one that appeared a week ago had a completely human appearance.”

Thinking that perhaps it wasn’t a Monster but a 22nd-century Villain living in this era, Siguk continued the conversation.

“So you shot at me? Without any hostile acts?”

“Any i-intelligent lifeform flying in our airspace without permission… it’s our principle to preemptively strike.”

“That principle pissed me off. So if I sweep away all the bastards who pissed me off according to my principle, you have nothing to say, right? Isn’t that so?”

Sensing that Siguk’s words were no joke, the Major gulped.

“Seeing as it’s the Outer Perimeter Guard Battalion, you seem to have a superior. Who is it?”

“The D-Division Commander is here. He rules this island.”

“Is that so?”

Wondering if it was something like a military government, Siguk spoke to the Major.

“Then guide me to where that Division Commander is.”

“I-I can’t do th… Hup!”

Under the increasingly powerful Mana Wave, the Major finally had no choice but to close his mouth and nod.

“He entered the island.”

“How are the island’s inhabitants reacting?”

“They launched a preemptive attack.”

“What happened?”

“They seem to have been subdued by him.”

“Unavoidable. Return for now.”

“Understood.”

The ruler of Ganghwa Island.

More often called by his title of Division Commander than his name, Brigadier General Seo Won-woo was leisurely drinking coffee while reading proposals from various level commanders regarding agricultural production target inventories.

“Anyway, these farmers sure have a lot to say. They should just do as they’re told. What’s all this about the soil being this and that… If we used high-quality Monster carcasses as fertilizer, production should increase accordingly, what’s all this about the target being excessive… Right?”

In response to the Division Commander’s question, the young woman massaging his shoulders from behind answered with a bashful smile.

“Aww, I don’t really know about that stuff.”

“Hey, you brat. After serving by my side for two years now, you should pick up a bit of this, huh? Various political, administrative, military basic judgment skills. Shouldn’t you develop them a bit? It’s not a job where just being good at massage is enough.”

“Aww. Where am I only good at massage?”

At that, the Division Commander finally burst out laughing.

“Then shall we check right now what else you’re good at besides massage?”

The Division Commander looked at the woman with a sly smile.

The woman lightly hit his shoulder and covered her mouth with one hand.

“Oh my. It’s still duty hours. And there are guards outside.”

“Heh heh heh heh heh. If they hear, they hear! Those guys need events like this sometimes too to make military life enjoyable.”

The Division Commander put down the documents and stood up from his seat.

The woman acted coyly, assuming a posture that made it easy for him to embrace her.

Just as the Division Commander was about to wrap his arm around the woman’s waist and kiss her cheek.

“D-Division Commander!”

The division communications officer rushed in urgently.

The Division Commander’s expression soured.

“Hey, you bastard! Starting with your rank and name before entering! A little!”

But the communications officer didn’t even apologize.

“Now is not the time for this. A communication came from the Central Guard Battalion a little while ago. They say they are currently engaged with an unknown creature.”

“What?”

At the mention of combat contact from the Central Guard Battalion, the Division Commander gently pushed the woman away. Then he looked straight at the communications officer.

“Explain in detail.”

“A-according to the Central Guard Battalion communications soldier, an unknown creature broke through the Outer Perimeter Guard Battalion and appeared, engaging them in combat.”

“Broke through the Outer Perimeter Guard Battalion?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“What’s the current situation?”

“The Central Guard Battalion has mobilized the armored company and infantry company in full for defense…”

KWA-AANG-!

The communications officer’s report was cut off by a tremendous roar that shook the headquarters.

The Division Commander’s eyes widened.

“What was that sound just now?!”

“I-I’ll find out.”

The communications officer immediately rushed outside.

The Division Commander opened a drawer with a serious expression, took out a pistol, and loaded live ammunition.

Soon, the communications officer rushed back in.

CRASH-!

The problem was, he was so panicked that he slipped while entering and collided with several stacked furnishings.

He immediately sprang up from the spot.

“B-big trouble! The headquarters external guard unit is engaged with an unknown enemy!”

“What?!”

TATATATATATA-!

BOOM-! BOOM-!

Feeling the situation was unusual due to the gradually approaching gunfire and explosion sounds, the Division Commander sprang up from his seat and went outside the barracks.

“Block them! Block them!”

“3rd Squad annihilated!”

“4th Squad requests urgent support!”

Outside was literally a chaotic scene of pandemonium.

The division flag, symbolizing the Division Commander’s authority and the division’s power ruling all of Ganghwa Island, was lying on the ground along with the Korean flag.

BOOM-! BOOM-! BOOM-!

It was the result of the aftermath of explosions—whether from friendly artillery or enemy attacks—bringing a shockwave all the way to the division headquarters Division Commander’s barracks.

“KYYYAAAAAAAK-!”

A scream let out by numerous soldiers almost simultaneously from the front flew in with the wind and struck the Division Commander’s eardrums.

The Division Commander picked up his pistol with a hardened expression.

THUMP-!

Then, a being rose into the air along with a large cloud of dust.

The Division Commander immediately aimed his pistol at it.

BANG-! BANG-! BANG-! BANG-!

Four gunshots rang out, and the Mana-infused bullets flew straight toward the being in the air.

And the bullets exploded near the being, turning into hundreds of Mana fragments and creating a self-contained net of fire surrounding the being.

But the being floating in the air leisurely brushed aside that net of fire with its hand and landed on the ground again.

And upon landing, its gaze and the Division Commander’s collided precisely in the air.

The Division Commander, with an utterly unshaken expression, aimed his gun again at the being that had landed on the ground.

BANG-! BANG-! BANG-!

With three gunshots, bullets filled with Mana quickly flew toward the opponent.

The opponent leaped into the air several times again, skipping through space to evade the attacks.

But the bullets simply made a U-turn and followed the target.

“Oh my?”

The target, sensing the bullets returning to it, showed a very cynical smile.

POP-! POP-! POP-!

And three weak explosive sounds followed.

“I had a hunch when I saw you using Mana bullets, and indeed.”

The one with the cynical smile, Siguk, slowly approached the Division Commander.

The Division Commander lost the composure he had shown until then and looked at Siguk with wavering eyes—more precisely, at the three Mana bullets held between the fingers of his right hand.

“B-Rank shooter. Scatter Shot Skill and Homing Bullet Skill, huh. Not bad for a shooter. And wearing a military uniform makes it even more so.”

Siguk threw the Mana bullets onto the ground.

The Division Commander no longer aimed his gun at Siguk.

There were still five bullets left, but the Division Commander had already sensed the gap in power between himself and Siguk, realizing the futility of resistance.

“What’s this? Surrendering already, how pathetic?”

Siguk looked at the Division Commander, who was slightly shorter than him.

The Division Commander put the pistol inside his coat, then looked straight at Siguk.

“What do you want?”

“First, I need an apology. I almost got hit by an Anti-Aircraft Gun out of nowhere, and coming here, I had a bit of a hard time dodging bullets, anti-tank shells, and all sorts of things. They even fired a mini railgun at me. So, I need an apology.”

At Siguk’s words, the Division Commander took two steps back without a moment’s hesitation and bowed.

“My subordinates were rude upon our first meeting. I will deeply reflect on that sin.”

The one surprised by that apology was actually Siguk.

“Ah… well… okay. Apology, accepted.”

The Division Commander straightened his back again.

“And I will convey my sincere gratitude.”

“Gratitude?”

Siguk looked at him with an interested expression.

“Gratitude for not killing a single one of my subordinates.”

The corner of Siguk’s mouth twitched upward.

“How can you be sure I didn’t kill a single person?”

“If you had killed even one person, their souls would have bid me farewell.”

At his inexplicable story, Siguk just laughed.

“Alright. I’ve received the apology, so let me ask the next matter.”

“Speak.”

“Why did your subordinates start shelling me the moment they saw me? And that Major guy even tried to fake surrender and suicide-bomb me. Pulled the pin on a grenade.”

“……”

“What on earth happened? At first I thought it was that Major acting on his own, but coming here and beating up your subordinates, I felt that wasn’t it. This is like… yeah… as if they were extremely, intensely afraid of me—or rather, of some existence projected onto me.”

“……”

“What happened?”

While Siguk was asking the Division Commander that, soldiers who had now regained their senses were gathering around.

The Division Commander gestured for them to lower their gun barrels, then looked at Siguk and spoke.

“How about we go inside the barracks to talk? The story isn’t short or simple enough to tell here.”

At that, Siguk glanced around once and then nodded.

The Division Commander led the way inside the barracks first, and Siguk followed right behind.

As the two entered the barracks interior, the soldiers looked at each other for a while, trying to grasp the situation.

But eventually, they began the work of cleaning up the messed-up division headquarters under the officers’ command.

After all, since the Division Commander personally brought him in, they had no authority to say anything.

“Would you like coffee? Or just water?”

“You have coffee?”

“We have some grown in the fields.”

“Really? Then give me a cup of that.”

Soon, the woman assisting the Division Commander appeared with two cups of coffee.

The woman placed a coffee cup in front of Siguk and winked at him.

Siguk only gave a cold smile.

The woman quietly entered a room prepared on one side of the barracks.

Siguk silently took a sip of the coffee.

The strong bitterness was closer to herbal medicine than coffee.

Siguk put down the coffee cup and looked at the Division Commander.

“So, what happened?”

“……Before that, I have something I want to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“You… how did you come to this world?”

At his meaningful question, the cynical smile that had been lingering on Siguk’s face completely vanished.

“What do you mean by that?”

Siguk looked at the Division Commander with a cold, hardened expression.

The Division Commander slowly uttered his words.

“I can sense it. That you do not belong to this world.”