The Horned Goral (1)
As I left the city and returned to Dohoang-ri, the sun had already dipped behind the mountain ridge. The evening glow painted the sky in shades of purple, but it didn't feel beautiful. The rippling in the sky, far closer than it had been in the city, now stretched all the way to the distant mountain peaks.
I parked the truck in front of the village hall, and Nureongi and Ppobbi hopped out as if they'd been waiting. The two waved briefly at me before scurrying inside. At the same moment, the quiet that had hung over the hall shattered, and laughter spilled out through the door. The elders must have been delighted, treating them like their own granddaughters.
Leaving that warm sound behind, I walked straight into the police outpost next door without hesitation.
The atmosphere inside was completely different from when I'd stopped by that morning. Every officer, including Lee Sun-gyeong, stood at their posts with stern expressions, and even Park Gyeong-wi—without his trademark coffee—silently maintained the communication equipment at his desk. Aside from the increased number of officers and the somewhat solemn mood, nothing else seemed changed. But the securely fastened holsters at everyone's waists made it clear this situation was anything but ordinary.
Spotting me as I entered, Park Gyeong-wi pointed to the gun locker first.
"It's unlocked. Take what you need."
"Can't I go home and grab a vest or something?"
"No time for that. There's an old vest here you can use instead. Just remove the police patch and give it to me."
Following his instructions, I pulled out an old police vest hanging in the cabinet and put it on. Then I peeled off the police patch from the chest and placed it on his desk. It lacked pockets for ammo or other gear, but it was better than nothing. Feeling somewhat prepared eased my mind a little.
The TV in the outpost repeatedly broadcast related breaking news and evacuation instructions. Other officers spread out a large map, pointing to areas for barricades or evacuation routes with their fingers, reviewing them once more. It felt like this was what it would look like if war broke out. But the enemy we faced was different. At least with humans, even if communication was possible, there was some mercy or room for negotiation—but monsters knew no such thing.
A briefing officer glanced at me, then pointed to the village entrance on the map.
"Jang Yeopsa, please position yourself at the village entrance. In case of emergency, it's directly connected to the road where civilians will evacuate."
It felt odd to assign the most critical position to me, a civilian who hadn't properly awakened, but there was no choice. Still, I was definitely stronger than the regular officers, so this must be the best option for them.
I stood quietly for a while, trying to understand the officers' briefing. But with over ten years since my military discharge, the mix of technical terms didn't register properly. I barely grasped what I needed to do.
By the time the difficult discussions and planning wrapped up, the wall clock in the outpost showed seven in the evening. Simultaneously, a loud emergency broadcast began on the TV. The officers rose in unison, gathered their gear, and headed out of the outpost.
Wait a second—my gun? If everyone left like that, what was I supposed to do? If the police didn't hand it over directly, I could be accused of gun theft and end up in jail for taking it myself. There was only one way to handle this.
"Lee Sun-gyeong, could you get my gun out for me?"
"Given the situation, can't you just take action first?"
"And end up taking all the blame? Stop arguing and just bring it."
Lee Sun-gyeong shook his head but obediently headed back to the gun locker. While he fetched the gun, I opened the gun ledger on Park Gyeong-wi's table and filled it out.
Soon, Lee Sun-gyeong returned with my gun and ammo. I took them, performed a safety check, tucked the ammo box under my arm, and stepped outside the outpost.
The scene outside was tense. Officers checked their pistols or loaded live rounds, preparing for any eventuality. The rippling in the sky, even closer than from the city, now completely covered Dohoang-ri's sky, shimmering unpleasantly. The only consolation was that, unlike in movies or games, it didn't suddenly turn people into monsters or bring deadly radiation storms. The rippling just filled the sky unpleasantly before vanishing as if it were a lie. The real problem was that no one knew what would happen in the areas it covered. A mudskipper might suddenly grow as big as a house, a wild boar might go berserk, or an unknown creature might burst from the ground. That's why we couldn't let our guard down.
I slung the gun over my back and headed to my assigned position at the village entrance. The road there was chaotic with cars returning late to the village, civilians trying to evacuate to safer places, and police cars blocking the way. It would have been reassuring if a squad of heavily armed soldiers came to support us, but that didn't happen. In rural areas like ours, not cities, it was lucky if the police could hold the line with their bodies or if there was even a Quasi-Awakened like me.
I sighed and made my way to the village entrance as darkness fell. Once the bustling entrance quieted down, a siren echoed unpleasantly from afar. Then, the streetlights that had been on automatically all turned off at once, plunging the once-peaceful village into pitch-black darkness. Now, only a few flashing police car lights in the distance indicated that people were still here.
Relying on those flashing lights, I opened the ammo box and loaded cold bullets one by one into the chamber. The metallic click echoed loudly in the dark.
... Fortunately, time passed without any incidents. The radios of the officers on guard with me occasionally reported no anomalies from other areas or sightings of wild animals—news that brought some relief. But then I recalled what Park Gyeong-wi once said. The main radio in the outpost connected to the military or neighboring cities, and good news never came from there. That meant terrible things were happening somewhere outside Dohoang-ri right now.
To shake off the bad thoughts, I spent some time staring blankly at the stars beyond the mountains. Only after hearing "Entrance area, we'll take over the shift" from the nearby officer's radio did the tension ease a bit. I saw the relieving officers approaching from afar. I nodded silently in greeting and headed toward where my old truck was parked instead of the outpost.
As soon as I climbed into the truck, I used my smartphone screen as a light to open a small trunk hidden under the back seat. It was usually just a spot where Ppobbi rested her paws, but not now. Inside the lid were a special barrel stored separately, some tools, and an ammo box. Things I'd set aside for a day like this.
I unloaded all the bullets I just loaded, skillfully used the tools to detach the old barrel and replace it with the new one. Then I opened the new ammo box and pushed the bullets back into the chamber one by one. The country still pushed outdated laws telling us not to use this kind of ammo, but that was ridiculous. They didn't send a single soldier when we needed them, so there was no point arguing legality. I had to protect my own life.
After finishing all preparations and getting out of the truck, a young officer on his way back from the shift approached me and asked, seeing the gun in my hand, "You changed it?"
"Yeah, it felt off."
The young officer said cautiously, "Even so... don't shoot anywhere you shouldn't. It's an emergency, but..."
"We'll have to hope for the best."
At my reply, he just nodded silently and returned to his colleagues without another word.
I slung the gun back over my shoulder and entered the outpost to rest for a bit.
Inside, veteran officers like Park Gyeong-wi were busy organizing the situation or continuing radio communications, while the officers who just relieved me sat in chairs catching their breath. Park Gyeong-wi, with a serious expression, was on the radio when he spotted me entering. He lowered the receiver briefly and asked with a sigh, "Slugs, or something else?"
"That one."
I answered briefly, and he nodded once without further questions before focusing back on the radio.
While resting in an empty chair, I occasionally heard faint sounds like gunshots from the radio. But thankfully, no screams or urgent rescue requests. It seemed like it would pass quietly again this time.
But the urgent voice came from our own radio.
[South checkpoint, blue light detected. Repeat, blue light detected at the south checkpoint.]
At the urgent message, everyone in the outpost froze mid-action. Generally, blue light was an ominous sign emitted when a mutant's Maseok glowed. Without hesitation, I stood up again.
"South checkpoint, that's the fishing supply store, right?"
Park Gyeong-wi nodded urgently. "Yeah, that's the place. Go check it out. I've already spoken to the store owner in advance and got permission for the rooftop, so you'll have a good view from up there. Be careful."
Without another moment to rest, I dashed out of the outpost. Crossing the darkened village roads, I hurried toward the fishing supply store at the south checkpoint.