Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 022
Chapter Title: A Radically Altered World
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When 82 million people—1% of humanity—suddenly vanished, the world was plunged into utter shock.
[Shock! People vanishing right before our eyes...]
[CCTV footage shows the missing disappearing in an instant...]
[Passengers vanishing from a bus in motion...]
[Defendant disappears mid-trial...]
[Famous actor A vanishes on the way home...]
[Search underway for anchor B who vanished mid-broadcast...]
[Police baffled by unprecedented wave of disappearances...]
[Not just Korea—same phenomenon reported across the US and other nations...]
[Mass disappearances strike Shanghai, China...]
[Alien abduction theories resurface...]
[Nostradamus prophecies in the spotlight...]
[Conspiracy theories point to US government involvement...]
TV, radio, newspapers, SNS—virtually every media outlet was consumed by reports of these mysterious vanishings. Parents who had lost their children overnight poured into the streets, brandishing placards and staging protests.
"The current government needs to find the missing right now!"
"Is this the time for desk-jockey bureaucracy?!"
"Find the missing people immediately!"
"What has the government been doing while they were disappearing?!"
"Is it that you can't find them, or you won't?!"
"The government must explain the CCTV tampering!"
"Give us back our children!!"
The protests erupting worldwide showed no signs of dying down. Despite official government explanations and firm promises, the unrest only spread like wildfire.
[Radical protesters turn violent...]
[Police chief steps down to take responsibility...]
[Despite government statements, some parents attempt to storm government buildings...]
[One parent makes an extreme choice...]
[Blue House stonewalls amid parents' desperate pleas...]
The flames refused to subside. They raged for a full week. And then, exactly one week after the mass disappearances... DRRRRRRUMBLE!! Earthquakes of unknown origin struck cities across the globe. Magnitudes ranging from 4.0 to 7.0, they lasted a full ten minutes. No one escaped the shaking—not a single soul. Even in areas with milder quakes, the tremors were felt by all.
"Wh-what the hell?!"
"It's an earthquake!"
"Evacuate now!!"
"Everyone out!!"
"Kyaaaaah!!"
"Damn it...!"
"This godforsaken country!!"
Buildings collapsed under the ten-minute onslaught, especially old structures without seismic reinforcements, crumbling into heaps. RUMMMMBLECRASH!! "It's-it's collapsing...!"
"Call 119 right now!!"
"People are trapped! Under the building!!"
"Mooooommmmy!!"
"Where's rescue?!"
"My friend...! My friend's trapped in there! Help!!"
Those who barely made it outside stared blankly at the ruins, faces hollow. Some burst into tears; others, safe outdoors, couldn't shake their anxiety. As the dust settled, sirens wailed nonstop—fire trucks, ambulances, police cars. Wee-oo wee-oo! It was the same everywhere on Earth. Shock and terror swept the world.
"Is the Earth really ending...?"
"Crazy..."
"What the hell is going on...?"
"What kind of earthquake is this...?"
"Hey! Don't go back in! What if another one hits?!"
"Stay outside until the quakes fully stop. It's safer."
"News says it hit other countries too, not just us...?"
"You believe that?"
Fear laced the murmurs of the crowd. At last, the quakes fully subsided. Even the aftershocks hyped by the news vanished.
"D-did it end?"
But this was no ending. It was another beginning. DRRRRRGRIND!! "You lunatic! I told you not to jinx it?!"
"U-uaaaah...!!"
Beneath collapsed buildings. Beneath ancient cathedrals. Beneath glittering glass skyscrapers. Beneath centuries-old trees. Something erupted upward. KABOOOOM!! It was a 'Tower.' A circular spire piercing the heavens. The very Tower Alice had mentioned... Now manifesting on Earth.
News of the Towers spread like wildfire via smartphones.
"Hey! You see this? No? Look now! Something like a tower just shot up from the ground!"
"Gotta post this ASAP!"
"Never thought I'd say this, but... is this humanity's doomsday?"
"...Alien architecture?"
"It couldn't be a marker or something, right...?"
"Shut up with that crap, you idiot!"
Click click!
[Massive tower appears out of nowhere in downtown...]
[What is this white tower?]
[Sudden red tower manifests!]
[Alien experts weigh in on the Towers appearing worldwide...]
[Lost alien civilization revives!]
[Towers herald turning point for humanity!]
The internet descended into chaos in moments, confusion devouring everything uncontrollably. Among those who witnessed the Towers firsthand, Koreans were especially stunned. Because one of Seoul's landmarks, the 63 Building, had collapsed—and in its place stood a black Tower.
"M-my God..."
"The 63 Building collapsed...?"
"No way..."
"What is that thing...?"
"Impossible..."
"......"
Fortunately, the prolonged quake had prompted evacuations; no one was trapped inside—not visitors or staff. But the collapse of the 63 Building and the rise of a colossal Tower left everyone in denial. The National Assembly in nearby Yeouido went on high alert, while the Blue House could scarcely believe the reports.
"...Is this actually true?"
"...Yes, sir."
"...The 63 Building collapsed. You think that makes any sense?"
"...It's true, nonetheless. I double- and triple-checked myself... The 63 Building is gone, replaced by a black Tower."
"...This is madness. The disappearances were headache enough, then unexplained quakes, and now freakish Towers? Are those lunatics outside right, and the apocalypse really here?"
The President clutched his head amid the bizarre events. But as Korea's commander-in-chief, he couldn't sit idle.
"Declare a state of emergency immediately."
Thus, emergency protocols were swiftly activated.
As always, public curiosity outpaced government response.
Especially for views-hungry streamers, this was an unmissable opportunity.
"Brothers! I'm heading inside!"
"Dangerous? No way! It's totally safe! If it were dangerous, the government wouldn't just sit there, right? So it's fine! Trust me and follow along!"
"Scared? You chickening out over this little anomaly?"
"What's inside this Tower? Like the conspiracy nuts say, alien architecture? Or a secret government project?"
"Worst case, some monster. That's why I brought my bat, yeah? What's to worry?"
"Worth the drive to Haeundae! Gonna sneak in before cops or military show up!"
Streamers charged into the Towers to lure viewers.
Some viewers tried to dissuade the streamers, but far more egged them on.
Viewers watched streams amid the quakes without a care, shoving streamers into the Towers.
"Whoa. Pitch black in here."
"Huh? Something's there?"
"Shining a light."
"Wonder what's inside."
"Might be first human contact with alien life! Stick around till the end! Oh, and smash that subscribe and like first!"
Terror meant nothing to streamers. Rising viewer counts were all that mattered.
"......"
But it was a fatal mistake.
For the Towers held no aliens or secret projects—only monsters.
Grrrrowl...
And those monsters knew no mercy. Only seething hatred.
"W-wait a sec...!"
CRUNCH! CRRRACK!!
The hatred bloomed in crimson, broadcast unfiltered.
Viewers who had tuned in for laughs realized too late: something was horribly wrong.
ZZZT! ZZZZZT!
Monsters began pouring from the unidentified Towers.
Kieee! KIIIIIEEK!!
The monsters' advance knew no bounds of time or place. Wherever a Tower stood—even Antarctica—they burst forth.
Humans lingering near Towers were devoured by the frenzied beasts without escape.
"M-monsters?!"
"Kyaaaaah!"
"Uwaaaak!"
"H-help! Somebody save meee!"
"Please help! Pleeease...!"
"Daaaaddy...!"
Civilian casualties skyrocketed uncontrollably.
Government cordons fared little better. Understaffed with minimal personnel...
"Fuck! What the hell are those?!"
"Fire! Shoot 'em!!"
"Blast 'em!!"
"Kill it now!!"
BANG! RATTA-TAT-TAT!!
Places with military fared better. Modern firepower shredded the swarming monsters into rags in seconds.
Ki... e... ek...!!
Countless monsters fell to bullet hell. A few reached soldiers but were cut down before swinging a paw.
"What the fuck are these things?!"
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!!"
"Just kill 'em!!"
"Crazy alien bastards!!"
"Die, all of you!!"
Soldiers cursed as they mopped up.
Situations stabilized quickly nearby. Non-military zones stayed chaotic, but troops brought order where deployed.
"?!"
"Th-that thing...?!"
"Wha... what?"
"Reviving...?"
"Coming back... to life...?"
But it was mere illusion. An illusion it had to be.
For no ordinary 'human' could handle this.
WRITHE WRITHE!!
It took humanity just 7 hours to despair.
In a mere 7 hours, humans lost the war against the monsters.
Krooo... wooooaaargh...!!
Against unkillable beasts, 'pre-Tower humanity' was powerless.
Even America's cutting-edge fighters proved useless. Missiles poured in barrages, yet monsters revived to slaughter humans.
"Gwaaaah!!"
"Save me!!"
"Support! Requesting support!!"
"Anyone?! Here...!"
"Civilians...!"
"Alpha Team...!"
Direct strikes on the monster-spewing Towers changed nothing.
KABOOOOM...
Dozens of ballistic missiles detonated harmlessly; the Towers stood firm, spewing even more monsters.
Kieek! Kieek!!
Frontlines collapsed instantly. Even the world's mightiest military, the US, could only delay the inevitable.
"Hold! Hold the line!!"
"Don't let them through!"
"If this falls, we're done!!"
"Hold at any cost!!"
"Fucking monster shits!!"
BOOM! BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!!
The unknowable, unkillable horror shattered command sanity. Some nations debated nukes; Russia deployed tactical nukes to minimize fallout.
WHOOSH!
KABOOOOOM!!
Where the roar faded, only ash and scorch marks remained. Yet monsters revived. Even 'destroyed' Towers endured.
"Th-this can't be..."
"Impossible..."
"Ahh..."
Those certain the Towers would vanish despaired. World leaders watching Russia fell silent at news of intact Towers.
"......"
The heavy silence was hellish. Not even the US President spoke. Twelve hours after Towers appeared on Earth, humanity had lost 10% of its population. 10%. Assuming 8.2 billion souls on Earth, that meant 820 million dead in 12 hours. Never in history—not even combining World Wars I and II—had so many perished. Yet over 820 million were torn apart and devoured by monsters in under a day.
"Lord God..."
Before this nightmare plague, humans had one recourse.
"...Please save us."
At that moment, light descended from the heavens.