Chapter 13
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 13
That's Unfortunate
At this point, martial law didn't feel like such a distant word.
Because there have been a lot of incidents here and there. Of course, I don't know much about the inside story behind them.
Anyway, still, the purpose of past martial laws usually narrowed down to one thing.
Consolidation of power.
Because of that, past martial laws used their power to occupy places like the National Assembly or media outlets.
Because they had to prevent the National Assembly from fighting back, and the civilians shouldn't know the detailed situation well.
...Meaning, pushing away refugees like this is an extremely unusual occurrence.
No, even excluding that, there are too many strange things in the first place.
Usually, when there's martial law, doesn't the President directly read the decree?
But the one wearing a grim expression on the screen wasn't the President, but the Prime Minister. What kind of incapacitation occurred for the Prime Minister to chew up the constitutional process and declare martial law?
In the first place, the current situation itself is hard to view logically, and there are too many things that don't make sense.
What reason could there possibly be... for the military to come out this strongly.
"Don't push! I said don't push!"
"Kyaaaak!"
Pandemonium.
Massive buses crawled in from somewhere along with the rough sound of engines.
The iron bars densely embedded in every window made it clear that the purpose of those buses was containment.
It looks ominous just at a glance.
Naturally, people resisted and held their ground, but it was impossible.
"Move, aren't you going in?!"
The soldiers didn't even decline the use of physical force to achieve their goal.
Leading with their shields, they shoved their muzzles forward and threw the civilians into the buses.
The resistance didn't last long.
It wasn't a situation where they could resist in the first place. The civilians were quickly thrown into the buses.
"......."
...However, it wasn't the same for us.
The mutants.
The soldiers were glaring at us while surrounding our group.
"Please give me your attention for a moment."
Amidst the commotion of civilians boarding the buses, a restrained voice pierced through.
Unlike the regular soldiers wearing gas masks, an officer wearing a beret with his face exposed approached our group of mutants.
His expression was stiff, but at least he wasn't as rough as the soldiers who were driving the civilians earlier.
Rather, he examined us with a careful gaze.
"You must be flustered by the sudden control, but this is a measure for security within the blackout zone and for your safety."
"What kind of measure for safety is this!"
Naturally, backlash erupted.
Honestly, even I find it hard to accept.
Suddenly declaring martial law, taking people away, and now spouting that it's a measure for safety.
"Please calm down. We desire a conversation."
"If you wanted a conversation, you shouldn't have come out like this...!"
The words of the mutant who was protesting like that were momentarily cut off.
Because the officer very slowly, but without an inch of hesitation, placed his hand on the holster hanging at his waist.
He didn't exert physical violence, but just that single simple movement filled the air of the scene with a chilling tension.
"I will say it once more, we desire a conversation."
The officer's gaze swept over us and stopped at the buses with iron bars far away.
"Those who board those buses will be moved to a security facility on the outskirts of Seoul. Under the national emergency, all information within the blackout zone has been classified as top secret, and for the safety and security of all citizens related to the blackout zone, contact with the outside world will be strictly controlled until the situation is resolved."
It's nicely put as control, but in the end, it means they're going to isolate them from the world to silence them.
An administrative decision to completely clear away all witnesses who know even a little bit about what's happening in the blackout zone and what the military saw.
It meant the moment you boarded that bus, your life as an ordinary citizen would be temporarily suspended.
"However, you all are different."
The officer turned his gaze back to our side.
"Currently, the inside of the blackout zone is filled with supernatural phenomena that are impossible to respond to with ordinary equipment and troops alone. Therefore, the state wishes to grant you the status of civilian collaborators."
The choices he presented were clear.
"First, just like the other civilians, board the bus and be extracted to the quarantine facility. There, you can just wait for the situation to end as ignorant witnesses."
"Who would ever...!"
This time too, the mutant's words were cut off midway.
The officer spoke with an unwavering voice.
"Second, become a collaborator of the military and participate in the operation. In this case, you will be guaranteed top-priority supply and safety as partners of the state."
Collaborate and become a useful card, or be pushed into a corner so as not to be a hindrance.
The state held out choices pretending to be kind, but it was practically no different from a checkmate.
But fuck, why on earth is the country coming out like this?
Just what on earth is happening inside there that they're trying to quarantine even us, who know almost nothing...
"We don't have much time. I will give you 3 minutes. Those who will board the bus, move now."
At those words, people started making decisions one by one.
"U-um... I'll just take the bus. I can't fight."
In the end, one mutant with the shape of a rat moved toward the bus while crying.
Once one person moved, five or six mutants followed behind him.
The soldiers treated them like baggage and roughly shoved them inside the bus.
Their terror-stricken eyes visible through the iron bars were telling the true nature of this quarantine.
'...Should I just go back too.'
I can't deny that I felt such a temptation for a moment.
No matter how much I think about it, I can't deny that an unusual situation is occurring inside.
My intuition is strongly asserting it to an indescribable degree.
Saying it would be safer to just follow the guidance of the soldiers and go to that place called a quarantine facility.
I looked around.
Those who remained despite the soldiers' warnings.
About ten mutants, including the owlbear beastman, the vampire, and myself, remained in front of the officer.
"Then, may I assume you all will cooperate as civilian collaborators."
At those words, the owlbear beastman took a step forward.
A few soldiers tensed up at that bizarre yet massive size, but the officer surprisingly didn't show an inch of disturbance.
"I... have family inside there."
"......."
"If I become a civilian collaborator, I will be able to go inside there... right?"
I recalled my conversation with him from the past.
When he found out I wanted to go inside there, he showed signs of wanting to dissuade me.
But to think the person who did that is the very first to step forward and volunteer to be a civilian collaborator.
Feeling strange, I stared intently at him.
He also rationally knows that it's better not to go in.
But when the actual opportunity to go inside arose, it seems he became desperate.
"If I can only go inside and save my family, anything is f..."
"If that is your reason, go back."
The officer spoke firmly.
Those words seemed to hold a sharp blade, making even the owlbear beastman, who was twice his size, take a step back.
"Why..."
"Because the chances of your family being alive are extremely slim. Even if they are alive right this moment, they will eventually die."
There was certainty in the officer's words.
But to me, there was the question of why he was revealing that certainty now.
If they are exerting force like this, isn't it a situation where the government also quite needs the help of mutants?
But to say something that goes beyond dampening their motivation and practically plunges them into the abyss.
The owlbear's body trembled violently.
He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened his mouth.
"I don't know about that. But... if I can at least see the faces of my grandson, daughter-in-law, and son... that alone is enough."
Those words were closer to turning away from reality.
Turning away with the resolve not to be persuaded no matter what else the officer said.
And all the mutants remaining here joined in that turning away from reality.
The officer scanned the mutants with an unchangingly indifferent attitude.
He asked for our understanding for a moment, then reported the current situation through his radio.
And he asked me.
"Did you perhaps... mutate into an angel?"
"...Yes."
"That's unfortunate."
He lifted his radio again, then immediately reported.
[Angel-type mutant confirmed.]
...Just what on earth is unfortunate.
Separate from my impressions, a new bus arrived nearby.
This bus had its top completely removed and all its seats cleared out, strongly showing the purpose of transporting mutants.
We boarded that bus silently.
Everyone was silent.
Because we had all turned away from reality, that's why we got on this bus.
Rattle, rattle.
In time with the shaking bus, I feel like my brain is also shaking along with it.
Is she alive? She's probably alive. Because that bitch is that kind of bitch.
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