Gaeseong High School (2)
That was how I methodically cleared the classrooms one by one.
Crunch. I blocked the gunfire from the front with a massive ice shield. Gunfire from inside the classroom got stopped by a door-sized ice shield. Then I smashed their heads with Ice Spears wherever they popped up.
Boom!
Splatter!
No screams.
Bang! Gunfire.
Boom! Ice spear exploding.
Spluuurt! Flesh and guts bursting.
301, 302, 303, 304, 305. Humans died that easily. And then.
Crunch.
"Ice Shield."
The central staircase. I erected an ice shield on the stairs leading up from the second floor.
Rat-tat-tat! Gunfire echoed from below, but it didn't matter. They couldn't pierce the ice shield no matter what. Well, unless one of them pulled some black-guy-fire-summoning bullshit like that one time. But by the time they broke through, it'd be too late.
Thud!
That was how I ended up in front of classroom 310, the last one on the third floor.
Squelch. My foot squished through blood and chunks of guts.
I positioned a door-sized ice shield and pushed inside.
Click.
I hardened my expression on the spot.
"D-don't come any closer. I swear I'll kill this bitch if you do."
"P-please... spare me. Please. Please let me live."
"Get lost. Right now."
A naked woman with her limbs hacked off. And a half-naked guy threatening her with a rifle. The man had chambered an M16 from below and jammed the barrel under her chin, but his whole body was shaking—he clearly wasn't right in the head. He jabbed a finger at me with his free hand.
"Don't use that fucking magic. If you do, you're dead."
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
The man clamped his hand over the woman's mouth and pressed his body tight against hers. He'd figured out how my Ice Spears worked by now. The limbless woman whimpered in terror.
"G-get out. Just go. Fuck off. If you don't..."
"......"
I narrowed my eyes silently.
Click. The man's body twitched.
"Eek!"
The woman let out a shrill scream.
"Don't come closer! I said don't come, you fucking shit! I'll shoot! I mean it!"
The man bellowed. That was my cue.
"Frost Blink."
Boom!
I blinked in and swung the sledgehammer right away. It caved in the man's skull, blood exploding out.
But.
Bang!
I couldn't block the trigger pull.
Boom!
The man tumbled backward, dead. And the woman, her head blown off, dead too.
Thud.
Two corpses hit the floor.
Splatter! Blood sprayed.
Squelch.
Crack.
I yanked the sledgehammer free from the man's head. Then I looked at the woman's torso—now just a limbless trunk. The woman who'd screamed to be saved... used as a fuck-toy. Her terrified face was gone without a trace. Just a corpse leaking blood.
'......'
I'd meant to save her. No matter how ruthless I'd sworn to become, there was no need to kill an innocent. Plus, she was a victim of the Liberation Army. She wanted to live, and if I could save her, I should have.
But even though I'd made the best choice I could, she died. No matter how fast I moved, I was slower than a finger twitch on the trigger.
That burned in my gut.
'Did I fuck up?'
Ice Spears or shields might've caught her in the crossfire. That's why I'd gone for blink and sledgehammer to take out the guy. Should I have targeted the gun first? Or hit the man with an Ice Spear even if it meant collateral?
But regrets were pointless. She was dead. No resurrection skill in my arsenal, and second chances didn't exist.
Rip.
Whoosh.
So I tore down a curtain and draped it over her body. Fucked over by those pieces of shit—hope she finds some peace in the afterlife.
Click.
Creeeak.
Hiding my bitterness, I stepped out into the now-silent third-floor hallway.
Step. Corpse chunks and blood squished underfoot. My Ice Spears had mercilessly filleted flesh from bone.
Squish.
Squish.
Stepping through the gore, I headed slowly for the central stairs.
Crack.
The staircase to the second floor.
Crunch-crunch.
I cleared the ice shield blocking the entrance and thought.
'Stick to the fourth floor?'
Bittersweet or not, the living had to survive. The third floor was too trashed for living quarters or storage. And the first and second floors would end up the same.
But the fourth had just two guys in 410 to clear, and rooms 401 through 410 were perfect for settling in. Even if shit hit the fan below, it didn't matter—as long as the building didn't collapse. Fourth floor gave the best sightlines too.
The stench from the corpses downstairs would be an issue, sure. But cleaning that up was for the base crew.
That settled it.
'First, use Lee Yoon and Jeong Suhyun's skills to sniff out any hidden rats.'
I'd wrecked most spots, but a high school had plenty of hiding places. Even on the third floor I'd cleared, some cockroach might be trembling in fear.
'Let the jumpy ones scamper.'
No need to chase them. In this fucked world, crawling outside meant starving or zombies—pick one.
"Ice Spear."
I floated an Ice Spear ahead as I descended. First and second floors next, then the main building was mine. I'd already trashed the third—same deal below.
===
Splatter! Blood sprayed.
I surveyed the half-charred room.
'Whew.'
First floor, principal's office.
58:59
'......'
I sank into the chair, checked my status window, and sighed. Curses slipped out on their own.
101 through 210. Faculty office, nurse's office, principal's office on the first—all secured.
But.
'They ran?'
I rubbed my temple. I'd figured they'd be tied to the remnants, keep hammering my shields, force a fight.
Instead, they abandoned first and second floors and fled.
...After killing all the women.
So first and second were just women slaughtered by guns or blades.
Crack.
I yanked the sledgehammer from the head of the guy slumped nearby.
Maybe because the enemy bailed, I'd let my guard down a bit. My Ashes Veil triggered in the principal's office. The second I bashed the door open with the hammer, an explosion rocked the room.
The problem? The bomber was human. Strapped with what looked like explosives, grinning at me as he lit it up.
I ate the blast raw. No time for an ice shield.
Explosion. Thunderous roar.
'How the fuck does that even happen.'
Honestly, beyond my comprehension. If he'd thrown it or shot it, I'd have blocked for sure. Human suicide bomber? Never crossed my mind.
'Remnants twisting them this far?'
Death is scary. Pain too. Body exploding? Unthinkable.
But this guy pulled it off.
'Whew.'
Not like I could understand mad bastards anyway. What was done was done—I was stuck here for an hour.
Creeeak.
I glanced around. Principal's office was fucked. Building pillars held, though. The blast was just enough to wreck the room.
Still.
I eyed the principal's computer and charred file cabinets with regret.
[---3/2 Alpha Retreat -- Beta Detection Fail ---Ri--fle Con--firm ---]
Obviously their records. All scorched to shit.
Hummm. Computer wouldn't boot. Principal's office might have intel elsewhere, but...
Too late now.
Wish I'd saved a hostage? I recalled the guys in 410.
Dunno. But keeping them alive wouldn't yield info. How do you capture, torture, and drag untrustworthy fucks back to base?
Scraaaape. I dragged the sledgehammer across the office wall. Concrete flakes tumbled.
'Whatever.'
Pointless. I leaned against the wall and sat.
Anyway, objective secured. Chill an hour, sweep the rest, head back.
===
An hour later. Ashes Veil ticked down, mana refilled to 24—I headed to the fourth floor.
"......"
The sleeping woman from 410 crossed my mind.
'Might have intel.'
Rattle.
I opened the door to 410's grim vibe. There she was: limbless, muscled woman with a blank stare.
'Awake, huh.'
With all the chaos below, waking up would've been weirder.
I grimaced and approached. Reek of blood, guts, filth.
"...Ah."
She looked dazed. Mind broken?
I waved a hand in front of her eyes.
"Hey."
If her head was messed up, pity, but I couldn't babysit.
"...Who?"
But against expectations, she was fine.
"You here to kill me?"
No, not fine. I grimaced.
"...Why the hell would I kill you?"
She paused, then continued.
"...Not with the people here?"
"Cleared 'em all. Clothes make it obvious."
I pointed to my casuals. They always wore uniforms—easy tell. Plus, their two corpses were still in the room.
Though I was drenched in blood, so I got the confusion.
"...Ah..."
Silence hung. Then she scowled.
"......You killed them all?"
"Yeah."
"How...?"
Incredulous look. But explaining was a hassle.
I floated an Ice Spear and said,
"This. Anyway, questions for you."
Captive like her? Might know Liberation Army shit.
But she cut in.
"...I see. Then... kill me. Make it painless."
Calm, quiet tone. But the despair underneath was clear.
I got it. Limbs hacked by Liberation Army, used as a fuck-toy. Not easy to shrug off.
But.
"No."
I refused.
"...Why."
"Got info to squeeze from you. If you wanna die, bite your tongue."
I didn't kill innocents. Necessity was one thing—this woman was alive. Her wishes didn't change that.
I had questions, and killing her wasn't an option.
'Unless she offs herself.'
Heavy silence. Her response.
"Biting your tongue doesn't kill you. Bleeding's minimal. Just hurts like hell."
Figures.
"You know your shit."
Sigh.
"...Was military."
Military. She caught my doubt.
"Nurse officer, technically."
"...So the army was stationed here?"
Would explain why they lost to Liberation Army? Nah, military firepower outclassed reserves.
"...No. On leave. They grabbed me."
Made sense.
'No army, then.'
Obviously—if troops were here, Liberation Army wouldn't pull this shit from Southdong Office.
Sigh.
Job done anyway. Stragglers left, but Gaeseong High was cleared. Time to hustle back to Our Love Church.
I glanced outside.
'Getting dark soon.'
She spoke up.
"...Leaving?"
Cracked voice. I countered instead.
"...Why beg for death?"
First time she smiled—bitter, pointing her chin at her stump-body.
"...This not obvious?"
"Limbs."
"Yeah. Those fuckers did this. And... no. You say it like it's nothing. I look fine? No. Just pretending."
Was I? Still, I'd want to live. Plus status windows meant possible recovery.
"Skills might heal it."
"...Be real. Even healing won't fix this. One cut my arm, flayed the meat—think it'll regrow? And... ha. Keep dredging bad memories. Drop it."
Healing. I asked,
"Healing. You had a Healer?"
"...Cruel bastard. Healer? Yeah. Healer."
"Got it."
"Specifically, anesthesia skill and recovery skill. They'd hack limbs, reattach. No pain made it worse. Bite your tongue? Healed instantly."
Anesthesia, recovery. I narrowed my eyes at those words.
She said "recovery," not "healing."
'Recovery sounds better than healing, sure.'
Wondered if Kim Yunjin's Healing could regrow limbs.
"Makes it worse, then. Wanna test a few things on you."
Her mouth clamped shut. Face paled.
"......"
But that wasn't the only reason I wouldn't kill her.
'Pisses me off.'
The nameless third-floor woman died begging to live. This one, barely hanging on, asks for death. Felt twisted, even knowing I shouldn't feel that way.