The Faceless One (1)
'No.'
It wasn't certain enough to call it a dead man coming back to life. Jo Jeongmin had died in his underwear. So someone else could have put on his clothes and died. But on the flip side, it was hard to rule out the dead coming back to life. If resurrection was possible, that meant Bae Sungkwan—the stealth user I'd killed before—could come after me and my base members.
'I need to find the head.'
Fortunately, my Ice Spear hadn't exploded this guy's head. Since I'd shot from above, only his torso had taken the hit, shattering his limbs.
'...'
But when I found Jo Jeongmin's head, I couldn't help grimacing. A man's head. No, this thing's head lacked anything a human should have intact.
*Tap tap.*
I spun the dripping head a few times. The exploded cross-section looked just like a human's. Hair, skin, blood—everything matched.
Except... it had no eyes, nose, or mouth. No face at all.
A faceless man. Jo Jeongmin. Or could I even call it that?
'Not resurrection... a doll? Or a cloning skill?'
Liberation Army. One freakish thing after another.
'The seventh remnant's power? No, I thought that one was mental-related.'
It was frustrating. What the hell kind of monster was this?
But I had no time to think. People were waiting for me, and my mana was scraping bottom.
*Clink.*
I grabbed the head and blinked away again.
===
"Junyoung?"
Anxious faces from the base members. Lee Yoon approaching me. I waved it off.
"Ah, yeah. Let's head in. It's handled."
"Th-that head..."
Lee Yoon eyed the head in my grip with unease, then shuddered. The others did too.
But I had nothing to say.
"We'll talk inside."
"Y-yes, sir."
Priority-wise, our base mattered more than this anyway. Even if a remnant was close, retreat was too late.
"Let's go."
"Dojin, watch the iron door on the floor there."
"Unnie... Mina."
*Thud.*
We entered Gaeseong High School's main building. After that, things went smoothly. We'd perfectly achieved our relocation goal.
"What about there?"
"Nothing."
Lee Yoon and I circled Gaeseong High twice first.
"Dorms?"
"None."
"Confirmed. Let's move."
Main building, gym, cafeteria, and the dorms we hadn't checked before. Then another sweep from the field back to the main building.
*Thud thud.*
Afterward, I addressed everyone gathered on the fourth floor.
"Pack and sort rooms tomorrow. Rest early tonight."
Specifically, everyone except me, Lee Yoon, Jeong Suhyun, and Kim Jungshik went to sleep. Classrooms 401 through 405, packed tight.
Murmurs rose.
"Unnie, what about the blankets?"
"I'll sleep next to Mina. Gotta handle bathroom runs for her."
"N-no, you don't have to..."
"Then Seoyul and I will lay blankets beside you. Just in case."
"Right. Yunjin unnie, wake me if anything comes up."
The women handled their own.
"W-we're fine too... where should we go?"
"Crash anywhere. Just separate men and women."
"Night watch, right? We'll take shifts after the women sleep."
"No. Everyone rest."
"B-but boss, I'm good."
"You especially can't. Dojin worked hard today—rest up. We'll handle watch. Everyone else, quit slacking and sleep."
"Mm... if you insist..."
The men too.
With everyone secured in fourth-floor classrooms, I headed to 409.
Inside: three waiting.
"You're here."
"Yeah. No issues?"
"Not even ten minutes passed. What issues?"
"Right."
Jeong Suhyun, Lee Yoon, Kim Jungshik. The four of us still had work.
I spoke once they sat.
"Lee Yoon, anyone detected since?"
"No."
"Good. Monitor during the meeting, then swap with Jeong Suhyun and me."
"Got it. Stay here?"
"Yes."
Classroom 409 overlooked the night sky and field—perfect command post. 410 would have been ideal, but those two guys had trashed it with fatigue.
*Rattle.*
As Lee Yoon stacked desks to window height, I addressed them.
"First off, good work everyone."
I bowed.
"No, you did the most, Junyoung."
Jeong Suhyun and Kim Jungshik bowed too. I waved it off.
"Nah. You all following made it possible."
No one panicked or bolted. I was grateful for that alone. No screaming, no desertions. Credit to those who'd wrangled the group.
'Though Kim Inho did slip out at the station.'
Station interior and bathroom—some leeway there. Or not, but he'd arrived safe, so forgiven.
"Anyway, spacious here. Great spot. Walls are there, but everything's in view."
Kim Jungshik chuckled. True. Unlike Hanmaum High or others, Gaeseong High had three sides fully walled off. Breaching meant scaling 4m walls—guaranteed noise.
"Skills like mine could be risky."
But no complacency. My Frost Blink meant three sides vulnerable to teleports.
"Doubt many have those. We've seen none."
True. Still...
"Assume they might. Safer that way."
Exclusion was dangerous. Focus watch on field gate, but cover rest naturally.
'Two Lee Yoons would be ideal.'
Maybe assign him nights. Jeong Suhyun's vision limited it.
'...Recruit another scout.'
Tomorrow's problem. I changed tack.
"Whew. Biggest issue first."
I lifted the head—not Jo Jeongmin's, but the faceless thing in his clothes.
Gazes locked on.
"...Not even surprising anymore."
"Hah."
Kim Jungshik and Jeong Suhyun's faces hardened. Made sense—they knew zombies, maybe blood clump zombies. Enemies? Just uniformed Liberation Army. Little on direct, unnatural horrors.
"The ones watching us earlier. From Dongseong Market's third-floor roof, amid zombies."
Jeong Suhyun and Kim Jungshik stared, blinked, then spoke.
"Mm... too many guesses. That's the problem."
"That human?"
I felt the same. Jeong Suhyun eyed the head.
"One of those ten remnant types?"
"Y-yeah, the ones you mentioned? Hospital, Rocket Mart. Turned the world to shit. Blood clumps from them too. Makes sense."
Kim Jungshik chimed in. I'd briefed them on remnants.
"High chance."
Unnatural monsters. More dangerous than zombies—maybe worse.
"Remember Bae Sungkwan?"
"Yeah."
"Sure."
"We linked his death to remnants or Liberation Army skills."
Seventh remnant. Rocket Mart beast.
"And their brutality ties to them too."
Not likely—certain. Modern guys turning sadistic in under a month? No way.
"So mental-related. Death-linked constraint fits."
Amplify violence. Sadism. Domination. Human mind involved.
"But these came from Liberation Army—ones we tied to it."
I held up the head.
"...Linked? Remnant constraint and minds?"
Silence. Tough call even for me. No guesses.
"Hah. Yeah, no clue. What about the fetus and clumps?"
"Right."
"Territorial, human-eating. Zombie upgrades."
Second remnant not too bad—my scale. Deadly to normals.
"Fetus and clumps suggest mental issues possible, but mainly intelligence and physicals."
Ceiling crawls, smart predation—manageable numbers.
*Prod.*
I jabbed the faceless head.
"But clumps aren't the core. Kill fetus, they vanish—like soldiers to a general."
Blood dripped. They grimaced—repulsive on sight.
I continued.
"If linked, core remnant fits best. No new skill after killing it. But..."
*Click.*
I pulled something from my pocket, showed them.
"That's..."
"Name tag? Liberation Army?"
"Yes. Jo Jeongmin. Sergeant."
Jeong Suhyun and Kim Jungshik puzzled. Natural—link unclear.
"Faceless—no, faceless one from now on. Wore uniform tagged Jo Jeongmin."
I placed the tag atop it.
"Issue: I killed that Jo Jeongmin here. Gaeseong High, third floor, clearing."
Their faces stiffened. I sighed heavily.
"That's it. Cloning or resurrection possible. Not just remnant."
Zero info on faceless ones. Abilities, traits, origins. No proper response possible.