/
It was at that moment.
Boom–!
“Kyaaah!”
“W-What! What’s going on!”
Suddenly, as if an earthquake erupted, the ground started to rumble.
Everyone within the shop began to scream loudly, collapsing where they stood. I was also shocked and stood awkwardly; Seo Dawon dragged me to him as soon as I stumbled. “Are you alright?”
“Y-yeah…”
However, the foreboding crashing sounds from afar did not stop.
In addition, the black smoke which had only been a thin tendril, became a thick stem in an instant. I now realized that the sky was turning black, as if ashes were floating into the air.
Something strange was happening.
I couldn’t shake the thought that this strange phenomenon was another omen originating from the [Vengeful Ghost Memory]. Simultaneously, I thought we may be in danger soon. So, I turned back towards Seo Dawn and tried to shout at him, “Seo Dawon, let’s get out of here…!”
Swishhh–
Crash–!
“Aaarghhh!”
“Kyaaaah!”
“Save me!”
However, just before I could finish speaking, the building suffered a shocking impact. The lights in the store went out all at once; the ceiling began to crumble.
Some people in the store panicked and dove under tables, wrapping the backs of their heads and necks with their hands; others ran outside. Those who ran out reached the door at the same time and were stuck screaming and struggling against each other.
Instead of rushing to leave, I stood in place, observing the situation outside. It sounded like something plunged downwards at high speed earlier. I wanted to find out what that was.
Before long, the thick smoke cleared and the flames subsided; what I had been searching for appeared in that gap. After seeing what it was, my thoughts became even more complicated.
Making an unholy racket, a helicopter had embedded itself into the road. A military helicopter at that! Why would a combat helicopter fly into a civilian neighborhood and crash? Immediately, my question was solved through an announcement broadcasted over the loud siren sound.
[Citizens of Korea! This is a warning from the Fire and Disaster Department and the Civil Defense Center. We are currently issuing nationwide air raid alerts…]
An air raid alarm–something that could usually only be heard at military exhibitions–resounded throughout the streets.
There was truly something weird happening. Although I was bewildered, I was able to maintain my calm since I knew nothing was real. The others in the store could not say the same.
“…D-did a war break out?”
“My phone isn’t working either.”
“Is anyone able to connect to the internet?”
“Are we going to die like this? What if we die…”
“Sehui-yah! Wake up!”
Since unfortunately the lights had all blown out and the building was dark, everyone stewed in their rising tensions before, eventually, the people ran out of the shop without a clear plan. This meant that the large groups that congregated to eat ran out in divided groupings of twos and threes.
Seo Dawon didn’t immediately follow the others; instead his gaze seemed to ask me what to do. I had no particular plan, so I met his gaze and nodded. Seo Dawon cautiously took the lead.
While walking out of the store, I could hear the people in front whispering. “Are we at war with North Korea?”
“Are you insane? Honestly…”
“Are we going to die?”
As I half-listened to the chatter around me, I looked back often at the burning military helicopter and the blackening sky.
I was lost in thought, ‘I’ve never experienced something like this before. That is to say…this couldn’t be something that ‘Woo Ragi,’ had experienced either…’
After all, if a large catastrophe had happened like this in Korea, there would be no way I wouldn’t have known about it. So, there was a high chance that our current situation was fabricated by ‘Woo Ragi,’ the owner of this [Vengeful Ghost Memory], for my viewing pleasure.
If that’s the case, what on earth is he trying to do?
However, I couldn’t think about this for long. As if they had pre-planned a routine, the people walking in front had stopped simultaneously. I raised my head and looked ahead to check on what they saw.
“There’s a soldier…”
“A Soldier!”
“…It’s true.”
“Did war really break out?”
There really was an army up ahead. At the end of the commercial district, soldiers manning tanks, military trucks, and riflemen were blocking the eight-lane road. I saw a barricade as well.
An immense amount of tension flowed between the members of the crowd. Especially since the group we faced were so numerous and were all armed–a daunting sight.
Fortunately, the standoff was soon resolved. The soldier at the lead confirmed our identities through his telescope and gestured at us, as if motioning someone behind him to hurry to his side. Then, a soldier rushed to the front and handed the original soldier a megaphone.
[Citizens should move to the shelter.]
Upon closer inspection, there weren’t only soldiers but also other civilians like us. Originally, because of the tension, I couldn’t see the long procession that followed them, but now it finally caught my eye. The relieved people with us hurried to run towards the soldiers; after freezing from confusion, I also ran with Seo Dawon to join the crowd.
“We’ll proceed to the shelter.” The soldier said.
“Excuse me, what has happened?”
“We can’t give you an answer just yet.”
“How should we find our families? I can’t get into contact with them…”
“No areas have reported any casualties yet. Most of the residents living nearby are likely to be in the shelters–please first follow the guidelines.” Someone had asked what the current situation was like, but the soldier refused to answer, still maintaining that rigid expression. I paid close attention to the answering soldier–his attitude wasn’t indicative of someone who knew nothing…It was evident that he was hiding something.
‘There’s no casualties yet, but the army has already been mobilized?’
There’s no way. The military would not drive tanks to residential areas unless in a war or war-like situation. Otherwise, ordinary happenings could be handled by the police or firefighters.
However, the soldier seemed to have no intention of telling us anything. As expected, he tightly shut his mouth; eventually, the people surrounding him gave up in unison.
Looking at the expressions in the crowd, though, I could see that the people weren’t fooled by the soldier’s stern attitude. They were only reluctant to be punished for not following instructions and tried to suppress their rising anxiety.
Furthermore, when I compared Seo Dawon with the trembling, anxious people around him, something felt dissonant.
The migrating people were crying or looking at their cell phones while futilely attempting to call someone, but Seo Dawon didn’t even attempt to ask about his family or contact anyone. I thought this sort of behavior suited him, but I also had my doubts, wondering if his actions were some kind of sign.
But, at that moment.
A strange noise suddenly rang out from back where we came.
[Gyaaaaah!]
Stomp stomp stomp stomp–!
At first, I thought I heard the roar of a monster. However, that would be strange since [Dungeons] don’t exist in this world.
However, as soon as we heard that roar, we heard several rounds of gunshots from what presumably were the military; after the gunfire, everything was silent for quite a while. Of course the citizens who had heard these gunshots began to become more and more anxious. “….W-What was that just now? What was that noise?”
[Kekkkk!]
“Did you hear that?”
“Hnnnngh….”
“Run…Quickly Run…”
A new roar echoed through the area.
The sound was much closer than the one before. A new round of gunfire was opened and the roaring soon vanished. However, whatever ‘it’ was, it was headed towards us…No one voiced that thought out loud, but everyone knew.
Once again, a breathtaking tension dominated the whole area. Though the soldiers did not seem like they were rushing, they quickly prodded us to accelerate the procession. In that chaos, I slipped out of the crowd, avoiding the soldier’s eyes.
I held onto Seo Dawon’s hands tightly, worried that he might block me; fortunately, though, he moved according to my lead after briefly glancing down at me. Pretending to hobble, I looked backwards.