Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Invader I
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Shin Noah
1
Since we're already talking about movies, let me just come out and say it: my favorite genre is alien invasion flicks.
To be more precise, I love films tagged with #disaster #invasion #sci-fi #apocalypse.
You know, stuff like *War of the Worlds* (2005) or *Mars Attacks!* (1996).
Some people might hear that and think it's a bit unexpected.
"Aren't we already dealing with anomalies invading Earth? Why would you want to relive the same thing in a movie? What's fun about that?"
But that's a question from someone who doesn't get it. The reason it's fun is precisely because movies and reality aren't "the same" at all.
It's like watching a fantasy story unfold.
For starters, those kinds of movies don't have Awakened in them. That's already a minor "historical inaccuracy."
"Wow... Aliens that suck human blood for fuel and manipulate the environment. That's creative. But their robot bodies look kinda flimsy below the waist. One good slash with aura, and they'd crumble..."
"And their strategy is weird too. They spent thousands, even tens of thousands of years lurking, but it never occurred to them to scout Earth's ecosystem beforehand? Why not? If they'd sent a recon team for just a year, they could've figured out all the problems."
"B-Because they're idiots...?"
"Ah. Well, can't be helped then."
Just listen to Sim A-ryeon and Seo-gyu chatting while we watch a movie together, and you'll get how people in this era take sci-fi alien invasion disaster films.
The inaccuracies are so bad that it actually makes them more enjoyable as pure fantasy. Even if that's not what the director intended.
If I had to pick the one disaster flick that gets reality closest, it'd be *Annihilation* (2018). It really captures how ordinary people perceive the Void.
Anyway.
There's one cliché that shows up constantly in these movies.
The aliens seem totally invincible, driving humanity to despair—but surprise! They actually have one fatal weakness.
I personally call this the "Achilles Cliché."
Someone might argue that Achilles was human, but from the Trojans' perspective, he might as well have been an alien.
In movies, the aliens join anti-vax movements en masse and get wiped out by Earth's viruses, or their brains explode from some weird vibrations caused by country music rhythms. But real anomalies aren't that nice to humanity.
That said, every once in a while—very rarely—real anomalies show up with Achilles' heels straight out of a movie.
The nicest "alien" I ever encountered was in the 98th cycle.
2
To be honest, I didn't even realize it was an anomaly at first.
It wasn't because I'm stupid—it was genuinely confusing, like it was trying to pass as human.
"Meteor Shower!"
"Over there, over there!"
"It won't come this way, right...?"
From a distance, it looked just like a meteor.
And it appeared at the worst possible time: exactly Cycle 9, when the continental-level anomaly "Meteor Shower" had already turned South Gyeongsang Province to ash and was joyfully spraying its piss all over the world.
So naturally, when something meteor-like fell from the sky, I thought:
"Ugh. Meteor Shower's at it again."
Plus, this "meteor" didn't crash inland—it hit smack in the middle of the East Sea. Not near Ulleungdo, but the Yamato Basin, right off the Japanese archipelago.
I'd never heard of Atlantis relocating from the Atlantic to the East Sea, so that area was total uninhabited waters.
No wonder I ignored it. A Regressor's job is too busy to babysit ocean ecosystems.
But after the cycle where Meteor Shower was defeated, things got a little weird.
"Undertaker Awakener. Did you see that meteor over the East Sea last night...?"
"Huh?"
"You didn't? A shooting star fell last night. Heh. I was worried it was Meteor Shower again. It blew up SG Net for a bit—posts everywhere. But in the end, nothing happened..."
"Oh, yeah. Meteors fall in the East Sea around this time anyway. Guess it was just a regular one."
I heard multiple eyewitness reports after that, but I ignored it for a long time.
Earth gets about 100 tons of space rocks daily. It just happened to hit the East Sea at the same time as "Meteor Shower." Nothing special.
Then one day, in Cycle 98, I happened to be in Kanazawa, Japan.
I had a meeting with the dominant group on the Japanese islands—the Magical Girl Council, equivalent to our Awakener Federation.
For reference, this group is full of lunatics on our level, but who've evolved their craziness in a totally different direction. I'll mention them again later.
Better if I don't.
The meeting ran late, so I ended up walking the beach late at night with the Magical Girl Council rep dispatched for the occasion.
"So anyway, we really hope Undertaker's abilities can help us in the Inunaki Tunnel extermination, nya."
"I can help. But like I said last time, hand over the camera."
"Come on, even so, the camera's a bit much. We only have three precious ones ourselves, nya. But we can offer plenty of other compensation... Oh?"
"Hm?"
Despite the chilly night, the girl insisted on her frilly kuroguroi fashion, complete with a black parasol even in the dark. She pointed toward the East Sea.
Her fashion sense was rare enough to be a tourist attraction anywhere, but something even more astonishing was unfolding over the East Sea.
Thanks to my Regressor training, my aura cultivation was leagues ahead, and my enhanced vision caught it clear as day.
"......"
"Whoa! Nagareboshi, nya!"
The magical girl bounced excitedly on the sand. Sorry, but I couldn't match her energy.
Because.
"...A saucer?"
"Huh?"
"No, that thing... the one that fell in the East Sea. It's not a meteor. It's a saucer... a disc-shaped craft?"
"Ehh. UFO?"
The magical girl tilted her head in that infuriating tone that made me want to bite her. Fortunately—or unfortunately—I'd grown used to their quirks, so I nodded reluctantly.
Yeah. Unidentified Flying Object. UFO.
The moment extraterrestrial beings made their grand debut center stage.
3
Since a magical girl was with me when we spotted the anomaly, the investigation team formed fast.
The sheer impact of the word "UFO" made the Magical Girl Council treat it seriously.
"We'll deploy the carrier *White Blossom* for the investigation, nya. Undertaker, please join us, nya!"
"Uh, sure. Whatever..."
For reference, the Magical Girl Council boasts 13 regular aircraft carriers. By pre-collapse standards, that puts them on par with the U.S. Navy as Earth's top naval force.
They're just illegally modded fishing boats and cruise ships with "aircraft carrier" painted on them.
What does magical girls have to do with aircraft carriers, leading to this cosplay? How should I know.
Their HQ is officially "Neo-Tokyo 5th: Neo-Guryong Fortress Shrine of the Unknown." Total lunatics, right? And they always call me "Undertaker." If it weren't for business, I'd never visit.
Anyway. Right. This episode isn't about these lunatics. It can't be. Because they... No. Nothing.
We arrived in the presumed crash zone and began the search.
And.
"We found the craft, nya!"
Seven hours after starting the surface ops, we spotted the UFO. Mental quirks aside, these girls were competent—they pinpointed the drifting flying saucer perfectly.
Magical girls crowded the deck, chattering excitedly.
"Wow. Just like Undertaker said—it's not a meteor, it's a real UFO, nya..."
"Observation. Fell through atmosphere, impacted surface. Assessment. Exterior relatively intact. Conclusion. Product of a civilization far beyond human science."
"...... ...!"
"Impressive. Look at those waves rippling across the surface. What if we get too close and aliens burst out?"
Murmurs spread.
The UFO dipped below the waves with each swell, then bobbed back up. Like an engine bay under a car hood, its surface was crammed with intricate pipes.
First contact with aliens.
Even I, who'd seen it all—land, sea, air—felt a twinge of tension.
"No reaction so far. We'll have to enter first if we want to talk or fight."
"Nyaang..."
"I'll go in first. Anyone coming?"
"Nya. After slaving seven hours, backing out now would be pointless, nya. Lead the way, nya."
I nodded. Leaving rear guard to the magical girls, I plunged into the UFO without hesitation. Like I said, they're pros at anomaly hunting despite their headspace.
Splash, splash.
The UFO interior was dark. Already flooding—water up to my ankles. Stepping into the passage hit me with a sharp whiff of gasoline.
"Stars—guide—humanity's dawn, nya."
Flicker.
The magical girl chanted, and lantern-like light orbs floated lazily around her.
Vision secured, the others triggered spells in sequence.
"Presence—detect—visualize."
"....... ...... ...."
"No footsteps—yet your footprints—are etched in my heart."
In seconds, our scout team was armed with lights, radar, telepathy, and stealth magic.
This was how Awakened resisted in islands overrun by eight million anomalies. Different from Dang Seo-rin's Song Enchantment—a poetry-based magic.
Song Enchantment's core was song and rhythm; the Latin lyrics were just Dang Seo-rin's personal flair. This was pure poetic incantation.
Poetic magic was standard for spellcaster Awakened. Song Enchantment was a unique school invented by the heretic Dang Seo-rin.
[This is weird.]
We communicated via telepathy.
[No matter how wide I extend detection, no presences. Machines, machines, machines. Just full of machines.]
[Hypothesis. Non-biological aliens. Possibility. Cybernetic intelligences with fully mechanical bodies.]
[Total maze in here, nya. High chance of ambush—stay sharp, nya.]
[Really nothing. Undertaker, anything off?]
[No. Wait—]
Halt.
The magical girls froze on my word. Expert training—no questions, just waiting for my follow-up.
If only their speech patterns were normal, they'd be top-notch talent—I swallowed the thought and took five steps forward.
Tap, tap.
I prodded the "object" in the forward passage with my blade tip. Even infused with aura, no reaction. Just the ankle-deep water rippling.
"...Dead."
No need for telepathy anymore—I muttered aloud.
"Nya?"
"They're all dead. Every one."
In the dim UFO corridor.
Over 120 alien corpses, limbs melted beyond recognition, densely packed the passage.
4
The "East Sea UFO Crash Incident" of Cycle 98 remained unsolved.
Why had aliens with tech leagues beyond current humanity all perished inside their own ship? Were they dead before crashing?
I couldn't hide my curiosity about this new anomaly.
An alien mystery—how could I resist?
So in the very next cycle, Cycle 99, I prepared thoroughly.
This time, not searching after the crash—I'd wait at the site in advance.
"Nyaang? You want the carrier? Well. Even for Undertaker, we can't just lend one of our precious seven military assets..."
"Next time you tackle Inunaki Tunnel, I'll help—no strings attached."
"Carrier One *White Blossom*, launching, nya!"