Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Apocalypse #9
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Agent, Holy Warrior, and Nun.
The mismatched trio forming the strike team was already geared up and ready to deploy.
"You're here."
Jaaldi said, puffing on her cigarette.
"Yes."
"The plan's simple. We've got a Holy Warrior on board, so just follow his lead."
"Trust in me alone, brother."
"We trust in you, Sal-hyung."
Honestly, Sal-hyung looked like he could handle himself in a fight no matter how you sliced it. He was an Islamic Jihad Holy Warrior, after all. The title alone screamed badass.
Topped with a turban, a thick beard, arms like tree trunks. A scimitar at his waist, AK-47 slung across his back. With a super-elite special terrorist big bro like this, what was there to fear?
"Trusting in heathens isn't the wisest choice. Well then, shall we begin?"
Begin what?
Come to think of it, how did this nun even fight?
"Conveniently, there's a cross right here."
"Hm?"
The nun walked over to the building rubble. Amid the concrete debris was a broken cross—probably from a church building. Those things were standard on every church steeple; you saw them everywhere.
She grabbed the tip of the cross.
And then—
—whoosh!
A glowing sword suddenly burst forth from the cross!
"Whoa! What the hell?!"
"Hehe, surprised? This is a holy sword. Korea's great for this. Churches everywhere you go. Makes it easy to draw power."
No way—pulling a holy sword from church cross rubble?!
She fights by yanking out holy swords like that? It felt so fitting for a holy woman, right as that thought hit, the nun raised both arms high.
Holding the inverted holy sword.
"Eternal Crusade!"
With a shout, she slammed it into the ground.
—crackle!
Holy energy shot up like lightning, spreading outward.
"W-What just...?!"
—rumble!
An earthquake?!
"Earthquake! Don't tell me—a Giant!"
An earthquake meant a Giant had shown up. Were these Giant bastards moving because they knew we were coming for them?
"Hold still."
When we should be evacuating, the nun stopped me. Come to think of it, Jaaldi and Sal-hyung were just standing there, arms crossed.
Then—
—boom!
Buildings rose up all around.
"One, two, three, four... Ah, such a shame. Only four churches nearby?"
From the crumbled concrete rose medieval cathedrals, complete with Gothic spires jutting skyward.
—bang!
The cathedral doors and windows flew open, and figures began emerging from within.
Knights clad in sacred armor...!
What the hell?!
The nun summons cathedrals, and knights come marching out?!
"Sigh, too bad. The world's gone to ruin, faith scattered to the winds. Not many Crusaders left to call on."
"Crusaders?!"
"Yes, Crusaders. To battle Satan's fiends eternally."
—clank.
Crusaders in full plate armor, faces hidden by helmets, marched out of the cathedrals. But they didn't look quite human. More like puppets.
And that wasn't all.
"Grrr."
Skinwalkers.
Skinwalkers in armor mixed among the Crusaders.
I realized it and opened my mouth to shout, but the nun beat me to it.
"Purge them!"
The Crusaders moved in unison.
—shing!
Swords drawn, they sliced through the Skinwalkers. Every monster lurking among them was butchered.
"Contaminated units appearing... Huh, first time for this. Alright, Agent? Shall we head out? The Crusaders will clear the path to the flower."
"Impressive."
"Wait, hold on! Sister! This makes no sense! Since when do nuns summon Crusaders?!"
I yelled in shock, and the nun grinned.
"Surprised? This is the power of Blaret, elite nun of the Holy See."
"Elite nun...!"
"What do you say? Ditch Islam and convert?"
I'm already getting treated like a Muslim?
"Brother! Do not heed the heathen's words!"
"Sal-hyung! Don't you have something like that?! That was insane!"
No, seriously—mind-blowing!
My jaw dropped; I couldn't speak!
I knew superhumans and psychics existed, but a nun pulling off summons like this...!
"Haha! No need to be swayed by the heathen's tricks, brother! Behold my power!"
"Oh!"
Sal-hyung's got something too!
—shing!
Sal-hyung drew his scimitar high.
And then—
"Allahu Akbar!"
"Gyaaah!"
I thought a bomb went off—but no—
—boom!
It exploded?!
"Urk!"
I rolled across the dirt amid sand and dust, then scrambled up. Through the fading smoke, I saw something emerging.
—thud.
It was...
Islamic terrorists, straight out of central casting.
"Allahu Akbar!"
"Allahu Akbar!"
"Allahu Akbar!"
Turbans, beards, suicide vests, scimitars, and AK-47s—Islamic Holy Warriors!
"Brother! Behold! The spirits of our Islamic Holy Warriors!"
"Spirits?!"
"Nothing like that heathen's foul horde—these are souls on another level!"
"Souls!"
Now that he mentioned it, the Holy Warriors looked otherworldly! Semitransparent and blue-tinged, like ghosts!
"Spirit Holy Warriors?"
"Indeed! The pride of Islam, locked in eternal Jihad!"
"Whoa...!"
I was so stunned I nearly collapsed.
The nun summons Crusaders.
The Islamic Holy Warrior summons terrorists.
"Jaaldi! You got something too? Like a squad of black-suited guys?!"
"Sigh. No such power for me."
"No way, that's a shame!"
Insanely disappointing...!
If this were the fake Management Bureau, I'd be spawning black-suited goons left and right!
As that regret sank in, the Crusaders and Holy Warriors suddenly squared off.
—clank.
They looked ready to clash any second. Wait—
Shouldn't we stop this?
"Just the devil stirring trouble. In our prime, our Holy Warriors would've swept you heathens aside in seconds!"
"Oh? Speak for yourself. Sending you terrorist heathens to hell has been my lifelong dream. Such a pity I haven't yet."
"Heathen! You dare speak of the unholy Trinity?!"
"Pfft, terrorists preaching God's mercy? Spare me."
They glared daggers, flexing like they might throw down. Their bad blood was crystal clear.
But now wasn't the time.
"Enough! We're allies—don't fight each other! Sal-hyung!"
I bellowed, and Sal-hyung scratched his head.
"S-Sorry, brother. Got carried away."
"Hmph."
The nun turned away.
Good enough.
"Let's move. They've shown their hands; the Giants will know we're coming."
"Yes. Let's go."
"Understood."
Keeping those two on the same side was definitely Jaaldi's doing.
As Jaaldi brushed past, she gripped my shoulder.
"Decoy op. Make it count. If this ends well, I'll put in a good word for recruitment."
Offering me a job at the Management Bureau?
"You'll need deep pockets to recruit me. I'm top talent."
"I'll suggest it upstairs. Ah, not now, though."
Jaaldi smirked and walked on.
Operation underway.
"Brother! Follow me!"
The survivors and I trailed Sal-hyung.
They were freaking out the whole way.
"Bro! This can't be real! What the hell?!"
"That's actually happening?!"
"Like something out of a movie...!"
Who could blame them after seeing that?
It looked so real—and kinda cute, in a way.
What kind of world did they think this was, getting shocked by that?
The world was too big to freak out over something so minor.
"Hey, hey. Why the panic? We've seen plenty of unreal crap already. Giants and monsters popping up in reality— that's not weird?"
"Yeah, but! A nun summoning knights?! And that Islamic dude calling up ghost terrorists with AKs and bombs...! This real life?!"
"Real life, huh."
I saw Jinseop's confused eyes.
"It shouldn't be."
"Huh?"
"I'll make it not."
All this had to be erased, like it never happened.
"Once it's over, we crash at home and chill."
In a world where none of this shit happens.
"Bro... Yeah, whatever. I ain't dying either. With movie-crazy folks like that, we'll pull through. Survive to the end, bro! Rebuild civilization together!"
"You little punk. Talking big."
As we ran, I eyed the front.
Sal-hyung led, flanked by his Jihad spirits in formation.
How strong were they, really?
What if Sal-hyung fought Lee Do-hyung?
"Sal-hyung!"
"Brother, stay sharp. Fiends approach."
"Sal-hyung, mind if I ask something?"
"Ask away."
"You know about Lee Do-hyung?"
"The fake Management Bureau leader you mentioned? As one who operates in Korea, of course. A high-ranking warrior of the fakes."
High-ranking warrior.
"He's a mighty monster. Even I, armed in faith, couldn't guarantee victory in a straight fight."
"No way... That much? Lee Do-hyung?"
The more I heard, the weirder it got.
"But I saw him get one-shot at Cheongak Mary Hospital."
"That place is a den of evil. Fighting its master inside is folly. Even the strongest warrior would fall."
"Even you?"
"Hm, I'd storm it with my Holy Warriors. Might win that way."
If this invincible terrorist big bro said so, it must be true. Yeah, barging into enemy turf uninvited wasn't smart.
Medieval sieges needed three times the defenders just to break even, right?
Thinking back, Lee Do-hyung's confidence was off the charts.
"Brother!"
Sal-hyung shouted.
—thud!
The Jihad spirits aimed their ethereal AK-47s everywhere. We knew the signal. We raised our pride-of-Korea K2s.
And right then—
—whoosh!
Skinwalkers swarmed from all sides.
"Bro!"
"Boss!"
"Aimed shots! Conserve ammo! The Islamic bros got close quarters!"
"Got it!"
—bang!
Muzzles flashed. I confirmed while watching Sal-hyung and the spirits.
—rat-tat-tat!
Incredibly, their ghostly AK-47s fired too. Holy rounds shredded the Skinwalkers.
Holy shit. Is Allah's blessing packing heat? Ghosts shooting guns—unreal.
But wait—
"Allahu Akbar!"
Left hand AK-47s, right hands gripping Islamic scimitars. Swords demand slicing, and these Holy Warriors wielded them with demonic skill.
—shing!
—slash!
Every swing diced Skinwalkers.
"Ooh!"
We humans could only gawk.
"Allahu Akbar!"
"Allahu Akbar!"
"Allahu Akbar!"
A massacre.
Ghost guns blazing, scimitars whirling—Skins dropped like flies.
Sal-hyung shone brightest, single-handedly butchering dozens while praising Allah.
"Ya Allahu! Rahmatuka! Kalbahar!
Wa iradatu ka tasiru ila qulub makani kalh!"
Soon, an epic ancient war chant echoed across the battlefield. Arabic lyrics, so I couldn't follow, but instinct told me it glorified Islam's god and realm.
"Brothers from afar! Chant it! Allahu Akbar!"
"A-Allahu Akbar!"
"Allahu Akbar!"
Jinseop and my crew got hyped, yelling along.
That's when it hit me.
"Sal-hyung...!"
This wasn't a decoy op.
It was aggressive strikes to smash the Giants piecemeal!
Who could—
These wretched fiends ever defeat the great Jihad Holy Warriors!