Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Kim clenched his jaw and looked out the car window. Ruins covered in moss and vines. The green landscape lazily passes by.

Peaceful.

I harbored such a sentiment, albeit in a shallow way. Despite the scars of a catastrophe that left countless citizens dead or homeless.

“Hyun, what are you thinking about?”

“I just wanted to see how far I could go.”

“We’re almost there.”

“He says yes. Wake up, Asterike.”

In the next seat, Asterique was asleep, leaning against Kim’s shoulder. She was drooling all over his clothes.

“Even if it’s spit.

Every time the car swayed, the horns brushed against his face. It was uncomfortable enough, so Kim grabbed the horns and shook them in frustration.

“…Yay!”

My eyes fluttered open with a strange sound that I didn’t recognize as a scream or anything.

Asterique was startled, but she didn’t pull away from Chapter’s hand. Instead, she merely glanced at him resentfully.

“Wake up, wipe your drool.”

“Are we there?”

“Almost.”

“What, not yet.”

“You said you wanted to go outside.”

He buries his face into Kim’s shoulder.

“I just ate and I’m sleepy.”

“What a puppy you are.”

I’m out today at Asterique’s insistence. I’m getting a little sore from being cooped up in the underground facility all day.

So I decided to pick up something useful on the way out. Ground Prospecting. Like mining, it was one of the dispatched duties of the agents.

“I’m done exploring with this lineup.

Asterique out of boredom. Westcreek as a guide. I never sent a dispatch in the game. I think it’s because of fatigue.

“I wish Chelsea had come out with us.”

“Leave me alone. He says I’m a nuisance.”

“He needs some life experience. Bitter, sweet, spicy, you name it, he needs to experience it.”

“I think all three of you know.”

These are all experiences you can get from gambling. By the way, Chelsea is still suffering from withdrawal symptoms. She’s been suffering from lethargy lately.

There was a small chuckle from the driver’s seat at the small talk. Westcreek, watching them in the rearview mirror, spoke up.

“You guys get along really well.”

“Is that so?”

“Just the fact that they don’t mind if you touch their horns. Pecatums’ horns are said to be surprisingly sensitive.”

If you think about it, there was such a setup. They’re not just bones, they’re densely packed with nerve cells. They also serve to support the senses.

As a result, cutting off their horns is incredibly painful. The after-effects are severe, dulling their natural combat instincts and disrupting their daily lives.

It’s not in the category of common knowledge. Basically, people don’t care about peccatums. They simply perceive it as “strong” or “dangerous”.

“I’ve only recently found out about it, too, because I hung a coat hanger on a coworker’s horns and he went into a fiery Chapter.”

“I’d be Chapter if that were me.”

“I see you had pecatums in your lab.”

Westcreek nodded at Asterike’s words.

“I’m sure he’s busy out of town right now, but I’m sure he’ll be back soon. If you’re interested, I can introduce you to him then.”

“I’m not interested in that.”

A long way from home. It’s always nice to see someone of your own kind. But Asterike didn’t dare to approach.

She has been driven from her home like an outcast… and has been stabbed in the back by her own people many times in her travels. Just because they’re related doesn’t mean they can be trusted.

I’m not going to trust a faceless, nameless member of my own race. I’ve already met someone I can trust, months ago.

Asterique glanced at Kim, then looked away when her eyes locked with his.

A moment later, Westcreek pulled up. Old Town. In the middle of a wide intersection grew an old tree as tall as a storefront building.

“You’ve already explored the area around the lab, so you’re pretty far out, but I’ve been looking around the neighborhood lately, so if you see anything good, please take it.”

“What should I bring?”

“Anything goes, really: light bulbs, kitchen utensils, stationery. Even cardboard or Styrofoam, because there’s a use for everything.”

“Okay, Hyun, let’s go.”

Asterique tugged on Kim’s arm, urging her on, her sleepy form now tense with a newfound urgency. Her steps were steady, as if to a strange beat.

“Why is he so excited?”

“It’s your first time, walking around together.”

“Wasn’t that often the case in Kilikia?”

“There were too many people there. Maybe I’m just more comfortable here.”

It was as relaxing as it sounds. Cool temperatures. Moderately bright sunshine. No prying eyes, no pickpockets.

“I’m going to rest when I can.

It was time to enjoy the moment. Even if you’ve smoked your professor, you’re going to need a day off. Rest is important.

“You know, strings.”

“Huh?”

“Sometimes I think, what the heck is this?”

Kim followed Asterike’s gaze.

She looked up at the old tree. A tree trunk with blue fluorescent material clinging to it, towering oddly in the middle of a ruined city.

The blue water I saw on my first day in Polaris. The liquid that flowed not only in Tulavia, but also underground in Kilikia.

“I’ve seen it in my hometown. My father told me never to touch it…….”

Asterike’s words slurred, and she took a half-step back. Her eyes remained fixed on the dead tree, and she clutched at Kim’s sleeve.

“I don’t think I would have touched him even if I hadn’t heard him say that. That’s how I feel. Just looking at it makes me sick to my stomach…it makes me feel bad.”

“Everybody says yes.”

A substance found on every continent, both above and below ground. Like the scourge, little is known about it. We don’t know how it was created or what it’s made of.

On the surface, yes. It’s just that it’s spread in such a way that it’s absurdly harmful to the human body.

“It’s actually harmful.

It’s poisonous. At the same time, all life on Polaris harbors an aversion to it. As does Asterike.

But… why?

“I don’t really see the appeal.

Because we know who they are? Well, that’s a poor basis to base it on.

It’s a substance that even less intelligent animals shun. Knowledge is not expected to erase biological aversion.

“I’m not sure.

I didn’t have the heart to investigate. I don’t have enough screws in my body to do human trials. The fact that it’s harmful hasn’t changed.

It was a good story, apparently. At least for now.

“Never mind. Let’s get to work.”

“Can’t we do this later?”

“Do it all, play it all, do it all.”

“That’s exhausting.”

“What a hard job….”

It was at times like this that I realized the difference in personality between her and Asterike. If there was something that needed to be done, Kim would get it done quickly and then rest.

I wondered about Asterike’s MBTI. I wonder if Polaris doesn’t have a similar psychological test, which would be interesting.

“In the modern era, I didn’t even care about the MBTI.

It’s hard to miss anything when it’s gone.

* * *

Atlanta, a maritime nation.

The barbed wire fence along the border was mangled. The ground was filled with soot and pits from the explosions.

And the body.

The bayonets of the border guards rolled around like garbage, and Greg hid amongst his turned-to-meat comrades, desperately holding his breath.

Bang, bang!

The battle was long over, but the firing continued. The enemy soldiers were going through the bodies, making sure they had a thorough confirmation kill.

The gunfire grew closer. Greg’s heart pounded in his chest. The need to run now dominated his mind.

After a while, the gunfire stopped.

“The battlefield is cleared.”

A soldier lowered his gun and reported to a man. The man was wiping blood from his face with a wet rag.

“Oh, good job. How much damage?”

“Fourteen dead, eight injured.”

“Are they all common?”

“Yes.”

“That’s about right.”

……Is it right?

Greg clenched his fists tightly. The Border Patrol had been wiped out in less than a few hours. And yet the enemy had suffered only two dozen casualties.

To say that as if it’s a given is ridiculous.

But there was also a part of me that… understood.

They were monsters. Monsters that could take a bullet and move as if they had forgotten the pain. They could scatter unrecognizable smoke, driving their allies into a frenzy.

The culmination of that was this guy.

“The break is over.”

He had fought on the front lines with his bare hands, but there was not a single wound on his body. Only the marks of slaughter clung to his body.

He threw the crimson-stained rag to the ground, and as he began to walk briskly, he said to the soldier who had reported to him, “I’m sorry, sir.

“Oh, and.”

“Yes?”

Bam!

The man kicked at the bodies piled at his feet, among them the dead Greg. His ribs were broken, his body forced over.

“Boom, off…!”

A shadow fell over Greg’s head as he groaned in pain; the last thing he saw was the dusty soles of his combat boots.

The head was crushed and popped. As easily as cracking an egg. The soldier swallowed dryly as he witnessed the gruesome scene of splattered brain matter.

“Don’t expect there to be a next time.”

“……I’ll keep it in mind.”

He glanced at his men, then back at the road ahead. Above the corpses of the guards, warriors in gas masks eyed him.

“Get ready to pounce.”

The footprints showed human debris and blood. The time is noon. The sun is shining with no rain in the forecast.

“We will take Atlanta within the day.”

It was an unusually nice day.

* * *

Three months later.

The information came from Kushan, who called in four of the team leaders from Operation Ashbelt.

“Raid in the Republic of Salares. Unidentified combat unit confirmed near the Republic. All were wearing gas masks.”

Walker armies. The Legion has made its move.

It was a prelude to the main Episode 3.

“There’s a margin of error.

There was a significant delay. It should have started less than a week after Operation Ashbelt.

There will be other changes, too. Just as Snowfields appeared in Kilikia instead of Mithril, there’s no telling what butterfly effect might have occurred.

The second anomaly was quickly revealed.

“And… the Maritime Nation of Atlanta has been taken. The information is late, so we’ll have to assume the Legion is responsible.”

It was a sudden revelation that no one saw coming. Even the normally unemotional Pathfinder was stunned.

“I’d like a more detailed explanation.”

“We don’t have a lot of information.”

Kushan shook his head, then added an afterword.

“They say it was just a matter of time. They say they overran the border and reached the capital overnight.”

A heavy silence settled over the room.

Ten seconds. After a long pause, Kim spoke up.

“Why Atlanta?”

This didn’t happen in the game.