Kiieeeek!
Shhhst, shhhst!
Beyond the outer perimeter wall, a pitch-black wave surged toward the Second Pioneer District. Rising and falling like a relentless tide, the dark wave was none other than an advancing legion of monsters. Creatures of all shapes and forms swarmed like an army of ants, moving south in clusters.
Though the masses trailing behind still seemed far in the distance, the vanguard had already crossed the threshold of the Second Pioneer District. The awakened stationed as sentries were fighting to hold the front line, but they were woefully outnumbered.
The stench of rotting creatures filled the air, vegetation was trampled underfoot, and the carefully restored roads were being torn apart. The hard-won land was being mercilessly overrun.
The Pioneer Districts were significant territories.
They were symbols of victory and beacons of hope.
Because they were lands once lost to monsters, reclaimed by the strength of humankind.
Awakened fighters on long-term deployment endured months in harsh conditions, hunting and exterminating the creatures that occupied the area. They cleared out the remains of pre-apocalypse humanity—concrete, plastic, scrap metal, and other non-decomposable waste—before reinforcing the outer perimeter walls. Only after enduring this grueling process would a Pioneer District be born.
Following that, a grace period was observed before construction began, and settlers were gradually introduced. Only then could the area function as a proper residential district.
For the sake of humanity’s prosperity and expansion, Pioneer Districts had to be defended at all costs.
Not just because of their symbolic significance, but also because of the staggering resources required to establish one. The budget alone was immense, not to mention the manpower, time, and materials. Every element was too valuable to be wasted.
Urrrurung!
Dark storm clouds unleashed a torrential downpour. The fierce battle unfolding below seemed to stir even the weather into turmoil.
The sky was shrouded in thick black clouds that blocked out the sun, while the ground was swallowed by the writhing masses of monsters, forming an unending tide of darkness.
Through the all-encompassing gloom, transport aircraft sliced through the storm, flying in formation. They looked like warships sailing through the abyss.
The aircraft reached the outer perimeter wall without delay, their hulls splitting open as they came to a stop. Ropes were swiftly lowered, and elite, highly trained awakened forces descended in unison.
As heavy raindrops pelted down, they landed and formed a massive battle formation. It was unprecedented for a force of this scale to mobilize for a single mission.
—Multiple β-class creatures approaching from the front!
—Unable to determine specific forms. Estimated numbers… at least several hundred.
—The outer perimeter wall is breached! It’s collapsing! We need orders now!
Urgent transmissions and reports flooded the airwaves.
Perhaps the high-ranking officers who had been briefed on the creature wave had expected this, but for the frontline soldiers who had no prior information, the situation was utterly overwhelming.
Even for the battle-hardened special forces, it was unheard of to face a horde of this magnitude all at once. To make matters worse, the creatures were of mixed species, making it nearly impossible to distinguish them.
Monsters, having stolen the forms of various animals, swarmed beneath the perimeter wall. Climbing over each other’s bodies, they began tearing through the protective barrier.
They clawed, bit, and pecked with beaks, ripping through defenses with savage ferocity.
—Fire! Kill the creatures!
There was no time to assess the catastrophe unfolding before them—they had no choice but to plunge straight into battle.
The chaos erupted.
The special forces opened fire, their bullets raining down as relentlessly as the storm itself.
—Reform the lines and advance!
—Drive the creatures out of the Pioneer District!
—Push the front forward! Move!
Corpses piled into mountains, and black blood flowed like rivers.
They had to drive the creatures beyond the boundaries of the Pioneer District. If they could push them back into the uncharted zones, they could call in airstrikes to annihilate them completely.
Kieeeeee!
At that moment, a pitch-black flock of creatures plummeted from the sky in a vertical dive.
Massive eagle-like creatures extended their talons and charged straight for the transport aircraft. The thick armor plating of the vessels withstood their attacks, but the propellers were a different story.
One β-class eagle creature was sucked into a propeller, throwing the entire aircraft off balance.
As the transport crashed into the ground, the previously perfect formation shattered.
The frontline was split in two, and the momentum of the advancing special forces was abruptly halted.
Seizing this opportunity, the creatures launched a counterattack.
“Uwaaaagh!”
“Move! Fall back!”
“Close the gap! Reform the lines immediately!”
Screams rang out from all directions, and blood splattered across the battlefield.
Creatures leaped onto the wrecked transport, using it as a platform to vault onto the perimeter wall. The support troops stationed in the rear were torn apart—heads were ripped off, arms were severed.
As the tide of battle suddenly turned against them, the use of supernatural abilities became increasingly apparent.
Invisible forces surged and lashed out. Flames erupted, gales howled. Explosions boomed, and the sound of shattering echoed through the chaos.
It was a terrible omen.
The more Espers use their abilities, the more severe their imbalance becomes, and the stronger their craving for Guiding. Once they exceed their limit, there’s only one outcome—rampage.
There were substitute drugs for Guiding, but they were just another type of supply, much like Healing Factors. Resources were always limited.
That was why it was a strict rule not to overuse abilities in combat. Esper powers had to be managed with long-term endurance in mind. Especially in a battle like this, where the enemy came in such overwhelming numbers.
The rain intensified, and the battle plunged deeper into chaos.
Despite the commanding officers’ efforts to restore formation, the fractured lines did not recover. It was as if the army’s spine had been snapped in two. The creatures exploited the gap, pushing through and entangling themselves in a brutal melee with the special forces.
Ultimately, the order to retreat was given.
—Fall back! Retreat!
And with that, the creatures began hunting the retreating Awakened.
Some were attacked while administering Healing Factors. Some were ambushed as their imbalance worsened from excessive ability use. Others were struck down in the midst of their retreat.
Human blood mixed with the black pools of monster gore.
Flesh was torn, bones were crushed. It was pure carnage.
Then, thunder and lightning split the sky.
A stark white bolt of lightning tore through the dense darkness, connecting the heavens and the earth.
A blinding light flickered violently, and then, like the furious roar of a wild beast, a deafening thunderclap exploded.
When the trumpet sounds, it marks the time of war and judgment.
The relentless downpour suddenly halted, as if time itself had stopped. Raindrops hung in midair like suspended jewels, then, with an eruption of radiant light, they burst outward in every direction.
At the center of it all, two figures appeared, having teleported into place.
Standing amidst the devastated battlefield were Seo Eui-woo and Kwon Jae-jin.
Residual traces of their teleportation—shimmering droplets of light—scattered like an aurora in a mesmerizing display of color.
For a brief moment, the Awakened who had been retreating under enemy assault froze in place.
Then, a few members of the special forces widened their eyes in recognition.
They were the same soldiers who had barely escaped with their lives during the mission to capture Kwon Jae-jin.
And when they recognized the man standing beside Seo Eui-woo, their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in sheer disbelief.
It was as if the past had come back to haunt them.
Seo Eui-woo. And Kwon Jae-jin.
Just as they had been left in the dark about the incoming creature wave, these soldiers had no idea that Kwon Jae-jin had undergone an official ranking assessment and had been classified as an S-Class Guide.
All they had been told was that the search unit had been disbanded. They were completely unaware of the negotiations that had taken place within the military’s high command.
And so, they could only stare in stunned shock.
‘Why the hell is the mutant here…?’
Kwon Jae-jin was dressed in full combat gear, a rifle in his hands. Goggles rested on his smooth forehead. He was outfitted exactly like the officially enlisted Awakened soldiers present on the battlefield. He looked every bit the part of a special forces operative.
‘How the hell is a mutant…?’
There was no time to dwell on the question. A storm erupted.
From Seo Eui-woo, an overwhelming surge of power burst forth like molten lava.
With a mere flick of his hand, the falling rain split apart like a miracle, and the creatures atop the perimeter wall were swept away in an instant. His overwhelming telekinesis hurled the resisting monsters to the ground with crushing force.
However, he couldn’t clear them all at once. Some of the creatures had tangled themselves around the special forces soldiers, pinning them down in a writhing mass. If he forcefully flung them away, he risked killing the entangled soldiers as well.
Seo Eui-woo had no desire to show Kwon Jae-jin the sight of humans dying. So, he had no choice but to leave a few creatures atop the perimeter wall.
They became perfect targets for Kwon Jae-jin.
With a furrowed brow, Kwon Jae-jin raised his rifle to his shoulder and took aim.
The weather made visibility poor. The stench of blood was overwhelming. His hands trembled, his body burned with heat. It felt as though cold sweat was trickling down his skin.
He still didn’t have the nerve to look down at the mound of corpses below.
But he moved.
He took aim at the remaining creatures on the perimeter wall, his fingers settling over the trigger just as he had practiced countless times.
He fired exactly as intended.
Bang!
The muzzle flashed, the faint scent of gunpowder rising in the air.
A bullet pierced clean through the skull of a creature gnawing on an unconscious special forces soldier’s thigh.
It was a perfect shot—an incomparable difference from the time he had encountered a creature before, when he had desperately fired bullets in a blind panic.
Effort never betrayed.
