Chapter 48
Chapter 48
KWAANG—!
A blue frost mist exploded outward, and the red slime instantly froze into a gray stone-like mass.
A moment later, the high-explosive shell detonated and shattered the frozen section into fragments.
The roar sounded like a massive iceberg collapsing.
But Lieutenant Colonel Kang Cheol-min, who was watching the overwhelming spectacle, was not looking at the monster.
His eyes were fixed on a man flying through the air.
Screech—clack!
The man in the black suit fired a wire from his wrist and hooked it around a streetlamp.
He leapt as if ignoring gravity.
His body twisted midair, and the motion of throwing grenades was completely fluid.
“Colonel. It’s definitely the bomber from Hyochang Park that I reported earlier.”
The adjutant beside him whispered urgently without lowering his binoculars.
“…You mean the maniac who supposedly wiped out Mapo Police Station by himself?”
“Yes. That unidentified explosive is his signature.”
Kang Cheol-min narrowed his eyes.
Explosives manufacturing? A production-type Awakened? Or a magic-type?
From the reports alone, he had assumed the man was merely a terrorist obsessed with firepower.
But seeing him in person was different.
Those movements… they’re not ordinary.
Click—whirr.
Every time he landed, a faint mechanical sound followed.
Through gaps beneath the man’s clothing, flashes of a metal frame were visible.
A reinforced exoskeleton.
And one that was finely tuned.
“Union Tech equipment?”
“No, sir. It looks far more precise than that. And those tactical movements aren’t something a production-type Awakened could perform.”
The adjutant spoke carefully.
Kang Cheol-min agreed.
The man was not moving simply because of equipment.
Shifting his center of gravity.
Controlling recoil.
Diving into blind spots.
Those instincts belonged to a combat-type Awakened who had survived countless real battles.
“A combat type for sure. Most likely a magic-type Awakened.”
“I think so too. Those freezing bombs can only be explained as magic.”
Kang Cheol-min’s gaze lingered on the [High-Tension Bio Sling] the man was using and the grenade pouch on his belt.
“More importantly, the craftsmanship of that equipment is excellent.”
“Then…”
“That means someone highly skilled is backing him.”
“Possibly an organization.”
“That’s possible.”
Kang Cheol-min concluded that Kang Shin-hyeok was not a lone production-type but a killer supported by a large force.
“What should we do?”
“Leave him.”
Kang raised his hand to stop the soldiers.
“Mapo District is effectively unclaimed territory now. From the military’s perspective, it’s easier if one reasonable killer takes control rather than uncontrolled thug raiders running wild.”
Raiders were beasts.
They preyed on the weak and destroyed order.
But predators who defended their own territory were different.
As long as they didn’t cross certain lines, they could actually help maintain stability.
Just like Pig had done.
Then—
KUUOOO—
From the slime’s frozen and shattered body, red tentacles burst outward explosively.
“S-save me!”
A group of mutants drawn by the noise—and one soldier who had failed to retreat—were instantly wrapped in the tentacles.
Ssssss—
With a horrific sound, they melted into red energy.
That energy flowed straight into the slime’s wounds.
The monster’s body swelled larger as it healed.
Like pouring water into a bottomless jar.
“Damn it! Why is its recovery so fast?!”
The adjutant shouted in shock.
At that moment Kang Shin-hyeok yelled loudly.
“Hey, soldiers! Are you here to serve it dinner?!”
His distorted metallic voice echoed across the battlefield.
“This bastard heals when it eats! Stop standing there like idiots and fall back! Block other mutants from getting close!”
The words were rude.
But completely correct.
Kang Cheol-min’s eyes flashed.
Fast judgment.
And bold.
He was even trying to command the military.
But—
“…He’s right.”
Kang grabbed the radio.
“All units, retreat immediately. Increase distance and form a semicircle second defensive line. Eliminate lesser mutants around the slime to cut off its recovery. Execute!”
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
As the army’s covering fire began, the situation stabilized.
A rain of rifle bullets shredded the approaching packs of [Giant Rats] and [Corrupted Wild Dogs].
With its food supply cut off, the slime’s regeneration slowed noticeably.
Taking advantage of that moment, the flying bomber continued embedding freezing bombs into its body.
Freeze.
Shatter.
Melt.
The enormous red mountain was gradually collapsing.
“Good. At this rate we can kill it.”
Lieutenant Colonel Kang clenched his fist.
Then—
“Colonel! Three o’clock! A herd of [Needle Hogs]!”
From the darkness beyond the junkyard, more than a dozen boar-type mutants with bristling spikes charged forward, kicking up clouds of dirt.
Rifle fire alone could not stop them.
If they broke through, the defensive line would collapse in moments.
“Sergeant Kim! Bring the rocket!”
“Yes, sir!”
Sergeant Kim removed the [Quad Rocket Launcher] from his back and shouldered it.
Without hesitation, Kang grabbed the launcher tube.
Woooo—
A heavy wave of mana flowed from his fingertips.
B-Rank Trait: [Gunpowder Resonance].¹
An ability that amplified explosive power and corrected unstable trajectories to push accuracy to the extreme.
I’ll wipe them out for sure.
Kang’s senses synchronized with the rocket propellant inside the launcher.
Each grain of gunpowder vibrated in response to his will.
That sensation—
The thrilling omen of destruction.
“Fire!”
Sergeant Kim pulled the trigger.
Normally four rockets should have launched with a sharp whistle and reduced the boar mutants to ashes.
But—
KWAANG—!
Instead of a rocket launching, a terrible explosion erupted right beside them.
A shockwave and black smoke engulfed Kang and Sergeant Kim.
“Ugh!”
“Aaaaah!”
Sergeant Kim’s body flew five meters away like a rag doll.
Kang was thrown to the ground by the blast.
His ears rang and his vision spun.
“Sergeant Kim! Are you alright?!”
Kang staggered to his feet and ran over.
The scene was horrifying.
Sergeant Kim’s right arm—the one holding the launcher—was torn open through his body armor, bone visible.
His face was badly burned.
“Ggh… my arm…”
Fortunately, Sergeant Kim was a body-enhancement Awakened.
If he had been an ordinary soldier, the explosion would have blown his entire torso apart.
He survived, losing only an arm.
“Medic! Evacuate him immediately!”
Kang gritted his teeth and picked up the twisted piece of metal on the ground.
The launcher tube had warped like soft candy.
His trait [Gunpowder Resonance] made him extremely sensitive to the condition of explosives.
This was not an external shock or malfunction.
It was defective propellant.
Impurities had contaminated the gunpowder mixture, causing the burn rate to spike uncontrollably.
The chamber pressure exceeded its limit and detonated before launch.
“Those bastards…”
The launcher crumpled in Kang’s hand.
A logo stamped on its side made his anger boil.
[GURO FOUNDRY]
[Prototype]
He had heard reports that defect rates were skyrocketing because of the heavy consumption on the northern front.
But he never imagined even prototype rockets would be this poorly made.
“They messed up the propellant mix again! Is this a weapon? It’s a time bomb!”
Kang threw the crushed launcher aside.
There were no reliable weapons.
Monsters were charging from the front.
And all he held were scrap weapons that could explode at any moment.
His gaze turned toward the bomber flying through the air and tormenting the slime.
The grenades he threw never misfired.
They exploded at precisely the right timing and power.
Damn it… that killer’s equipment might actually be safer than ours.
Suppressing his anger, Kang grabbed his blood-stained radio again.
“Damn…”
I clicked my tongue while stabilizing myself midair.
The situation was not good.
More precisely, freezing it wasn’t the problem.
The problem was breaking it.
The explosive force of [Fragmentation Grenades] wasn’t enough.
They only shattered the surface.
They couldn’t completely destroy the enormous frozen mass.
Through the cracks, the slime was absorbing nearby mutants and regenerating again.
I thought I brought enough freezing grenades.
At this rate, it would be tight.
When I froze it, I needed to smash it completely in one blow.
What I needed was a hammer strike.
A huge, heavy hammer.
KWAANG!
Then I heard an explosion.
Lieutenant Colonel Kang Cheol-min, was it?
The bent rocket launcher he had thrown in anger.
And beside it, several unfired rockets rolling on the ground.
That’s it.
I immediately fired a wire and swung toward the army’s defensive line.
Clack.
My heavy exoskeleton landed on the ground.
The soldiers tensed and aimed their rifles.
“Lower your weapons.”
Kang stopped them and glared at me.
His face was covered in blood, but his eyes were sharp.
“Something to say? Or did you come to mock us?”
“No time for mocking. We need to finish that monster before it grows any larger.”
I pointed at the rocket warheads on the ground.
“May I modify those warheads?”
“…Modify them? What do you mean?”
I casually picked up a rocket.
“My ability is [Gunpowder Fabrication]. Handling explosives is my specialty. You can think of it as a magic-type ability.”
At my shameless lie, Picker’s cheerful voice rang in my ear.
—Wow, Boss. Since when did you become a gunpowder wizard? Your setting change is so smooth it’s scary. Your acting skills rival professional actors!
Ignoring Picker, I continued.
“If I can create gunpowder… that means I can also do the opposite. I’ll remove the explosive filler from the warhead and leave only the propellant. Then I’ll fill the warhead with solid metal. Without explosives inside, it won’t detonate in the chamber.”
“…You’re turning it into a kinetic-energy round?”
Kang Cheol-min was sharp.
No wonder he had reached high command.
“Exactly. I freeze it, Colonel—you smash it.”
After a moment, he nodded.
“Do it.”
As soon as he gave permission, I placed my hand on the rocket.
[Disassembly]
Woooo—
Without touching the propellant, the gunpowder inside the warhead decomposed and vanished.
Then I filled the empty cavity with materials from my bag.
[Manufacture]
In an instant, the rocket became a heavy mass projectile.
To the soldiers watching, nothing appeared different.
“It’s done.”
“It’s done?”
Kang took the rocket.
It was noticeably heavier than before.
Seeing the suspicion in his eyes, I added calmly.
“Metal is heavier than gunpowder, so I adjusted the burn ratio of the propellant to balance the center of gravity. It won’t explode like earlier.”
The slime was moving toward us, so I immediately launched myself back into the air.
“Fire when I give the signal.”
Left hand.
Right hand.
Left again.
I threw three [Supercooled Grenades] at once.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
The grenades embedded themselves into the slime’s head, chest, and abdomen.
KWAANG!
A massive frost storm—far stronger than before—engulfed the slime.
The boiling red slime turned pale and hardened rapidly.
The instant its movement completely stopped—
“Now!”
Kang activated [Gunpowder Resonance] again.
This time the unstable feeling of defective propellant was gone.
…It’s real. Not a single impurity.
Now he had no choice but to believe.
In the bomber’s ability.
“Fire.”
KWAANG!
With an ear-splitting propulsion blast, the rocket—now a steel mass—shot forward at supersonic speed.
A straight beam of destruction.
BOOOOM!
The rocket pierced directly through the center of the frozen slime.
And then—
CRASH—!
A deafening sound like a massive glass skyscraper collapsing shook Mapo Bridge.
Ice shards scattered everywhere from the shockwave.
Forty percent of the enormous red mass vanished in a single strike.
“…Impressive.”
Kang Cheol-min recalled what the bomber had done moments earlier.
He had altered the rocket’s properties in an instant.
Converted the warhead into a solid mass.
And even reinforced the propulsion to match.
He had witnessed the demonstration of an astonishing ability with his own eyes.
Which meant—
The bomber could instantly solve the army’s current problems with ammunition supply and defect rates.
As the logistics commander, he could not help but want him.
Once the slime elimination operation is finished… I should speak with him.
The only concern was that he knew nothing about the bomber.
Killers came in many kinds.
Some hated the military simply because it allowed raiders like Pig to live in order to maintain order.
“Colonel! That thing is acting strange!”
Kang lifted his head at the subordinate’s shout.