Kindred (5)
Kindred (5)
March 17th.
From the very beginning, I wasn't human.
But I had never struck a lifeform with a human form so sincerely before.
A punching force that could blow a human's head off with a single hit.
It'd be better to hit a sturdier fellow anomaly instead.
Kudangtang!
The Wine Glass Woman, who had fallen noisily, lay on the ground without any reaction.
She stared at the sky, groping at her glass head.
The wine glass, which had never shattered despite being hit by so many bullets, was now cracked.
Then, rustling, she stood up.
Red wine dripped from the cracked areas.
The color was red, so it looked like blood was flowing.
If not for the color, it might have looked like she was crying.
'...What is this lukewarm reaction?'
If it were the Blade Head, he would have charged in desperately after being hit.
Why was this woman moving so slowly?
As if she was in shock.
'Broken pieces...'
The broken wine glass fragments floated in the air.
No, they were returning to her head and reattaching, being restored.
Self-regeneration.
This would be troublesome.
'If her regeneration is noticeably fast, I'll have to consider a prolonged battle.'
I can't afford to trade small blows.
I need to deal decisive damage.
Bugeureureu-
The wine in the Wine Glass Woman suddenly began to boil.
There is such a thing as hot wine called 'vin chaud', but this boiling was different from that.
'The scent is nice.'
Maybe because it was wine, a very high-quality fragrance wafted.
For me, it was fine, but if humans smelled it, they would definitely become dazed.
Ppak!
Suddenly, a kick shot out.
As the high heel pressed down on my solar plexus, a dizzying pain spread through my entire body.
'Kkeok!'
I braced myself so I wouldn't be sent flying backward, but she approached with a speed comparable to mine and roughly pushed my chest.
Kwaang!
It was just a shove, but I was embedded into the ground.
The Wine Glass Woman elegantly placed both hands on her hips and lifted one leg.
She was a woman who had elegance habitually imbued in every single movement.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwajik!
She stomped on me.
I tried to guard with both arms and one foot, but the stomping attack itself aimed to smash even my guard.
Although I haven't lived long, this was a first for me.
Being beaten like this.
Especially being embedded in the ground and being trampled so disgracefully.
Tang!
Simultaneously with the gunshot, the Wine Glass Woman's head snapped backward.
Even though she staggered backward, unfortunately, not a single crack appeared on the glass.
"Hey, you son of a bitch! Are you just sitting there getting trampled by a woman?"
It was Kang Tae-jun.
Having sniped from atop a container in the prone position, he shouted commands at the watching operatives.
"What are you idiots just standing around for! Your comrade is getting beaten by a woman, and you men aren't helping?"
It sounded quite ridiculous when said out loud, but the operatives immediately began suppressive fire.
Deureureureureuk-
The bullets poured down again.
Her body was so hard. Although no wounds appeared, she seemed disoriented and backed away.
Kang Tae-jun shouted again.
"If you come back crying after getting hit by a woman, I'll rip off what's between your legs! Get up and fight right now!"
I felt like I had seen a glimpse of how Kang Tae-jun's method worked when teaching or advising his operatives.
I stood up shakily and stretched my limbs.
'How embarrassing.'
Let's go again.
Not a man vs woman fight.
But an anomaly vs anomaly fight.
Hwaaaaak-
I expanded the size of the flame on my head.
The flame, much larger than usual, began to heat up the surroundings.
"All units fall back! Do you want to get caught up and become roasted meat!"
"It seems bigger than the initial information."
I charged straight ahead.
Seeing me rushing in recklessly, the Wine Glass Woman seemed to take some kind of defensive stance.
The thick scent of wine wafted, painfully filling the air and dyeing it red.
It was as if I was trapped inside a wine glass.
'Too bad. I'm an anomaly.'
Her ability might have been a fatal poison to humans.
But if the opponent is an anomaly, the compatibility isn't right.
I enlarged the flames even further, evaporating the wine in the air.
Hwaaaaak-
The sound of increasing firepower.
In between that sound.
Pit-
Something quietly pierced through my thigh.
'Keuut.'
For a moment, I almost fell over, but I also had the regeneration ability she possessed.
My leg quickly recovered, and I closed the distance again.
Inside the red mist, I found the Wine Glass Woman tilting her head, pouring out wine.
Pyeot-
Another droplet of wine shot out.
I threw myself to the side to dodge.
The droplets continued to chase me.
Pit. Pyeot- Pit-
Kwaaaang!
A wine droplet ejected at ultra-high pressure pierced through a vehicle behind me.
Sparks flew from the torn fuel tank.
Hwaaaaak-
With a fierce explosion, flames erupted.
But a guy who handles fire wouldn't be caught by it.
Instead, the vehicle's flames wrapped around my blue flame, amplifying its power.
A spectacle of red and blue unfolded above, and the Wine Glass Woman showed signs of panic.
In that moment, I grabbed her arm.
'Where do you think you're going!'
I embraced her to prevent escape.
For her, who had let her guard down, I showed her some heat.
Hwaaaaaak!
I wrapped her in surging flames.
For me, it was fine, but for the Wine Glass Woman, it must have been terrible pain.
Without a head, she couldn't scream, but the sound of cracking replaced the screams.
Jjajeok- Jjeok- Jjajeojeok-
Not just cracking, but the crystal glass on her head was glowing yellow from heat.
Ppeok! Ppeoeok! Ppeok!
I kneed her, punched her shoulders, and struck her back with my elbow.
But she stubbornly held on.
Not only that, but she also concentrated flames between her belly and mine.
Peoeng-
A small explosion struck her abdomen, and the Wine Glass Woman's resistance gradually weakened.
'Can I consume fellow anomalies too?'
I don't know because I've never tried.
Maybe I can't eat fellow anomalies.
Anyway, it seems she's subdued. Aren't they going to change the operation to capture?
"Blue Head!"
It's over now.
For some reason, Kang Tae-jun was running towards me.
He carried a shield in one hand and ran into the scorching heat that would kill a human.
'What the hell are you doing! That idiot!'
I had no choice but to withdraw the flames.
He's not a man who would do something so reckless. He must have noticed something.
"Sniper!"
Shouting that, he raised the shield in one direction to defend me.
Tukwaang!
Kang Tae-jun was sent flying backward like an object.
Thanks to the shield's high durability, he survived, but it was an attack that couldn't be blocked twice.
I immediately distanced myself from the Wine Glass Woman and checked on Kang Tae-jun.
Are both arms broken?
He couldn't even stand up, trembling.
Yet, like a team leader, he relayed the situation.
"High-rise... building! Rifle sniper!"
I expanded my senses to the maximum.
Had they already figured me out?
I finally felt another anomaly that had been outside my detection range.
On the rooftop of a distant high-rise building.
A large-caliber sniper rifle was aiming at me.
But the sniper was peculiar.
He was in a position with his head buried in the rifle, but upon closer inspection, the rifle itself was his head.
'Another Object Head.'
With this, I am convinced.
There exists an organization formed by an alliance of Object Heads.
And they are probably targeting me.
Chijik- Chijik-
At that moment, all the speakers in the shopping center sounded simultaneously.
A woman's voice, much clearer and with less noise than mine, elegant yet weary, was heard.
"I was... going to—break your limbs—and then—take you."
It seemed laced with laughter, and sounded tired and weak.
But her tone carried a sense of self-importance, as if she was trying to gain the upper hand in the current situation.
"You—and the humans—are both ruthless."
"Chijik- Who——are you?"
She stopped speaking, as if she had no intention of answering.
Instead, after a while, she only said what she wanted to say.
"I met—the rumored—flame. But heartbreakingly—you only beat me."
"Chijik- The attack——was started by you."
"I attacked—the Management Bureau. That's all. You—are not part of that."
Her logic was twisted.
The Management Bureau is now my cooperating colleagues.
To attack my colleagues and then judge that I wouldn't feel hostility towards her—that itself shows a lack of basic common sense.
Like the Blade Head claiming he killed humans because he himself was human.
"I'll go today—. It hurts too much—."
The Wine Glass Woman stood up shakily and turned around.
Suddenly, she reached inside her dress and threw a business card.
"Don't you want to know—our—secrets?"
"......Chijik."
"Come find me—. I'll teach you—as much as you know. Don't hit me—then."
As she left, I tried to chase her.
But Kang Tae-jun shouted a stern warning at my rash move.
"There's a sniper! Who acts without thinking!"
As long as the sniper was there, we were in the palm of their hands.
In the end, I could only watch helplessly as they left.
The Wine Glass Woman's grumbling echoed one last time from the speakers.
"Damn—pocket watch. Said it'd be fine—but it's not at all."
I won, but it didn't feel like a victory.
We barely survived a fight with no gains.
"Don't feel too bad."
Kang Tae-jun didn't cling to a tenacious spirit of fighting to the end.
He placed greater value on survival.
"We're in this state, but... surprisingly, not a single casualty. It's a miracle."
"Chijik- Why did you——just let them go—? If there's a sniper——rather——."
"You mean they'll take us hostage and you'll comply, right? Rather than moving slowly with us, if you have any sense, you'd give up. They look like they have the upper hand, but actually, we were in the most advantageous position."
Dududududu-
The sound of a helicopter came from above.
Considering the distance from here to headquarters, it arrived quickly.
Even though the Object Heads had escaped.
"Headquarters is nearby. It was a time attack for them. In the end, they failed."
The special task force, fast-roping down from the helicopter, checked the surroundings and let out a sigh of relief.
The battle was postponed, and the casualties were evacuated first, wrapping up the situation.
"And we didn't come away empty-handed. That."
Kang Tae-jun grimaced and gestured with his eyes.
I picked up the business card on the floor and examined it.
<Velvet & Lead>.
It was a bar business card.
Did they really so brazenly reveal their hideout?
I thought that, but the important address wasn't written on it.
I felt like I was being played with.
"They made a terrible first impression, yet they want to talk to you. ...Fuck. I've seen this pattern somewhere."
I examined the card more closely.
On the surface, it was just an ordinary business card.
But a faint, dark aura lingered on it.
March 19th.
Responsibility for that day's incident was transferred to Seoul Headquarters, and we were immediately moved to the medical unit.
As Kang Tae-jun had said.
This incident was close to a miracle.
Many injured, but no casualties—an unusual anomaly attack.
Those around praised the operatives' proactive response for preventing casualties.
But Kang Tae-jun said differently.
"They never intended to kill from the start."
Kang Tae-jun lay on the bed, both arms wrapped in bandages.
Yet he maintained a fierce look in his eyes.
"Think about it. If they really wanted to kill us, wouldn't they have blown up the vehicles instead of blocking the road? Why have a sniper just guard us?"
That was a valid point.
But an attack is still an attack.
We were injured.
Even if they didn't intend to kill, that's not a reasonable excuse to understand them.
"They probably came to see you."
Kang Tae-jun looked at me, who was sitting on the edge of the next bed.
I didn't need a single bandage.
Because I was an anomaly, my body with regenerative abilities healed even my internal injuries within a day.
Kang Tae-jun said it was the first time he envied an anomaly.
"Chijik- What does——that have to do——with the attack——."
"Don't judge anomalies by common sense. Even you don't act logically from my perspective."
Anomalies are not human, so you shouldn't try to understand them with human common sense.
Anomalies are monsters, only imitating humans imperfectly.
"But are you really okay?"
Kang Tae-jun worried about me instead.
"Even after all that fighting, you're still the same kind, aren't you? Logically, you should be on their side, not ours..."
"Chijik- I'm——not human, but—."
I stared at Kang Tae-jun.
We are different species.
Humans and anomalies.
A relationship that can never blend.
But Kang Tae-jun had once said something like this to me.
"Chijik- You said——my heart——is more human——than a human's."
It was because those words moved me that I help Kang Tae-jun.
I have no intention of treating those who commit inhuman acts because they aren't human as my fellow anomalies.
"...Yeah, well. If that's what you think."
I searched my pocket.
I showed Kang Tae-jun the business card I received from the Wine Glass Woman.
Unable to use both hands, Kang Tae-jun squinted as he read it, like a man his age would.
"Velvet & Read. I'll have Da-eun look it up. But it's a name that could be anywhere, so there might be many places with the same name."
"Chijik- Let's——first get better——then do it."
"Yeah. Of course. Did they say to come alone? No, right? Then let's go together after we're all better. Since they didn't say, we don't need to ask for their permission."
I tilted my head as if asking if he was serious.
After being treated like this, he wanted to go to their invitation himself?
An ordinary person would be trembling with fear and adamantly refuse.
"I'm the leader of a unit. I can't abandon my duty because of some trauma like this. Besides, I can't send you alone."
If that's how it is, then fine.
Out of respect for Kang Tae-jun, I won't stop his choice.
If we bring the whole unit, they'll definitely be hostile.
Even if we go, we'd have to take a small number, which is like walking into the lion's den.
There, I have to actively protect the unit.
Knock knock.
A knock broke the flow of conversation.
Kang Tae-jun answered indifferently.
"Come in."
The door opened, and two people entered.
Park Do-hyun and Kim A-ri.
Kim A-ri was relatively fine, but Park Do-hyun was on crutches.
Why did the guy from the room next door come here?
"Sa, Salute."
"Salute!"
Park Do-hyun and Kim A-ri saluted while glancing at me.
Probably because it seemed surreal to see an anomaly sitting like a human, talking.
"Oh, yeah. 2nd Unit members. How's your leg?"
"It was pierced to the bone, but I know the Management Bureau has a body restoration technology. I applied for that program and am waiting for approval."
The Management Bureau was also implementing a system to support employees by providing useful technologies extracted from anomalies.
Of course, it wasn't free, so even this required procedures.
"Yeah. Good. Do you know how angry the 2nd Unit leader was that you got hurt?"
"I'm so, so sorry."
"Yeah. So why did you come?"
"Ah, that..."
Park Do-hyun looked at me.
I looked back blankly, a little surprised because I hadn't expected it.
"I'm sorry."
He bowed at the waist to apologize.
Kim A-ri, standing next to him, also bowed.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Their repeated apologies were genuinely surprising.
At first, I didn't know why they were apologizing, but Kang Tae-jun smirked and spoke for them.
"Now do you understand why this blue anomaly gets the same treatment as us?"
"Yes. I was arrogant."
Park Do-hyun raised his head, but lacking the courage to look directly at my head, he turned pale again.
Probably because of the dark aura I naturally emit.
A phenomenon where just looking at me makes one feel fear and experience physiological anxiety.
Nevertheless, gathering his courage, Park Do-hyun finally expressed his gratitude.
"Thank you for saving me. I will definitely repay this kindness."
The two operatives left.
Kang Tae-jun, who was watching TV, let out a snicker.
"I told you."
Told me what?
"As you achieve results, things will gradually change. You're being accepted more and more as our comrade."
Ah, that's right.
It seems Kang Tae-jun was right.
The flame above my head flickered as if in joy.