[What's life anyway, you just live as you live]
[What's life anyway, you just live as you live]
I took the Raccoon Man mask headphones out of my pocket and put them on my head.
"I'll go check it out. Tell Sion that."
"Wait, Hyung! Can't I go with you? It's not like I'm completely unrelated!"
"Hey, those guys are trash who do human experiments without even showing their faces to the world. If you butt in, you'll just be a hindrance."
"Still, isn't it better than nothing?"
"And what, you're going to go with your face exposed? You'll be fucked in an instant."
"........"
I understand Baek-ri's feelings. He wants to catch the tails of the bastards who made the kidnapper—who almost killed his dad and kidnapped kids—into a monster and provided the start of it all, no matter what.
He has power, but it's still a weak power. With just that kind of power, he can't help me.
Pity and helplessness flashed across Baek-ri's expression. I know that feeling all too well.
"If you really want to help me, the time will come soon."
".....And then?"
"I'll leave it to your choice then."
I pressed the button on the headphones to put on the Raccoon Man mask. Then, I kicked off the ground and started running toward a place where human footprints were scarce.
In the first place, there are no places with many people in this vicinity other than military units. Furthermore, even though it's Friday, it's a weekday. People on vacation have already left by terminal bus, and soldiers are rarely seen.
I climbed and crossed the mountain quickly without caring about other people's eyes. There are more obstacles like trees and bushes than on flat ground, but they don't really hinder me. Since I don't need to worry about human eyes as I jump over, break through, and push forward, it's actually faster than running in the city.
Having returned to the camping site where we were hanging out, I spread out my 'Sense'. The Force Field, created by using my abilities 'Interference' and 'Sense' simultaneously, allowed everything in the vicinity to enter my perception even when spread lightly.
There were a dozen human signatures, dozens of creature signatures, and among them, excluding small animals, I found the signature of the one leaking Gaia Force.
The bastard wasn't moving. And there was another small signature in the immediate vicinity of its signature.
"Is the Original Species Countermeasure Team still searching?"
It hasn't even been an hour since I met them at the camping site earlier. No matter how much they are Force Users, it's natural that it takes time to search this vast mountain.
Now, while the location of the Original Species hasn't been discovered yet, was the perfect time. I found a route that wouldn't cross paths with them and climbed the mountain quickly.
I arrived at a place with a large rock on a slope, though it wasn't open. I could feel the signature I had sensed from a narrow gap created by three or four large rocks piled up.
"Keureung!"
Perhaps because its body size had grown, its cry was different from other foxes; it revealed itself in front of me, letting out a growl like a tiger or a lion.
It had its fur standing on end and was on guard. The way it was emitting Gaia Force in streams from its body was completely different from its attitude toward me earlier.
It was a clear declaration that if I came any closer, it would bite me to death.
I stood there and took out the beef jerky I had prepared before coming.
I tore open the bag, took out the contents, placed them slightly in front of the rock cave, and waited.
Had I waited about 5 minutes? Drawn by the smell of the beef jerky, something crawled out of the cave.
"Kki-ing, kki-ing!"
It was a small fox cub. The fox, not many months old, wasn't completely a baby, but it was small enough to fit on my palm.
The fox cub, not knowing its mother's heart, bit into the beef jerky I had scattered. Nom nom nom, it was eating it deliciously.
After eating one small piece of beef jerky, the fox cub approached me, smelling of beef jerky.
Foxes are creatures that are naturally curious. Especially at that age, everything is fascinating.
I carefully petted the fox cub.
"So this is why you didn't run away even when I sent out killing intent earlier."
Women are weak. But mothers are strong. Maternal instinct is another word for something that can create miracles.
The killing intent I had sprayed at that Original Species earlier was at a level where an ordinary person could die of fear. It would be natural for a wild animal to be scared and run away.
But even though it was an Original Species, it didn't run away even though it was scared.
Because it had a cub.
This area is the territory of that Original Species. Even if threatened, it had remained until the end for the sake of its cub.
As I only petted the cub, the Original Species stopped growling. It was still on guard, but its reaction was better than before.
I gave it another piece of beef jerky while petting the fox cub.
"But the fact that there's only one..."
The fox cub had dark red stains on it.
The dried bloodstains were not human. The only one with human blood on it was the mother, the Original Species.
Foxes don't give birth to just one cub. Just as dogs give birth to multiple puppies, foxes, which are of the same canine family, also give birth to multiple cubs.
But the fact that there is only one, and that the cub's body is covered in blood that isn't human... means all the other cubs are dead.
.....There is something more.
I thought quietly. Let's think more, let's think more.
The Original Species had multiple cubs originally, but all but one died.
Then who killed them?
Humans? No, there wouldn't be any fools who would try to get hurt by messing with them for no reason.
Other wild animals? No, there wouldn't be a predator capable of killing the cubs of one who became an Original Species and the Mountain Lord.
There is something else, a third party.
I focused my consciousness again. I didn't know because I had searched roughly earlier, but this time I focused my senses properly to find the bastard caught in my perception.
There, one.
I felt the signature of something that was neither a Force User nor an Enemy Species from a place a bit away from here.
".......The evidence is still a bit lacking."
To add certainty, I contacted Sion. When I used the contact function attached to the Raccoon Man mask, it connected to Sion immediately.
[What is it?]
"Sorry to bother you while you're having fun, but I need you to investigate something."
[What is it?]
"The first person to report the Original Species sighting. And about the deceased."
Someone who witnessed this Original Species and died as a victim. I needed information about them.
A moment later, Sion answered.
[I don't know the first reporter. It was anonymous, so there is no information...... However, there is information about the deceased.]
"Who is it?"
[For now, they are listed as an employee of a nearby research institute, but......]
"They're a Force User from Leverage Inc., right?"
[That's correct.]
The puzzle pieces all fit together.
The fact that the Original Species attacked people, and that there was only one cub left, all made sense.
The one who had already awakened as an Original Species at least a few months ago was living quietly as the master of this mountain, and it must have met test subjects like Chae Jeong-hyeok from the department store fire incident I encountered, and Kim Jeong-su from the child kidnapping and murder case.
Right now, the bastard in this mountain is the evidence.
And the Original Species, who lost its cubs while fighting them, fled with the remaining one.
.....From there, one misunderstanding arises. The Leverage Inc. official who came to recapture the test subjects encountered the Original Species.
"You killed those guys, didn't you?"
Even if they were different people, if the place they belonged to and the place that made the test subjects were the same, there is a possibility that they would have the same smell. And the Original Species bit to death the guys who had the same smell as the ones who killed its cubs.
Or perhaps, shocked by the death of its cubs, it went crazy with rage and happened to run into those guys.
Some of them must have fled. And for them, they probably lacked the manpower or know-how to deal with the Original Species, so they reported it to have the Original Species handled separately.
"Those bastards seem to be subcontractors too. What were they going to do if they got caught with the test subjects while looking for you?"
No, maybe it wouldn't have been a problem even if they were caught. Looking at what those bastards do, silencing them would have been easy enough.
The Original Species was a victim...... No, it's not a human, so it was a victim animal.
The one who was living quietly lost its cubs because of the test subjects made by Leverage Inc., and when it bit to death the guys from there, it ended up being known to the world and is now about to die.
It's a pitiful story. It was living quietly until now, and everything got messed up because of that gang. It lost its cubs and is now about to lose its own life.
Although killing people is an unforgivable act, I understand that rage.
The pain and anger of losing a child do not fade even if you burn the world down.
"Kki-ing, kki-ing...."
As the cub cried, the Original Species began to carefully lick it. It's a picture of a happy fox family, so a smile naturally forms.
In the end, the mother, the Original Species, must die.
An animal that has killed a person should rightly be shot and killed. Even a person who kills a person receives a punishment commensurate with it, so how much more so for an animal.
"You killed a human, so you have to die."
"Kaeng!"
The Original Species cried, making a unique fox nasal sound. It seems to understand simple words, perhaps because its intelligence increased after awakening its Force.
I want to take it with me if I could. But it's a wild animal, and since it's an Original Species, could this child be satisfied living in a cramped house? With memories of running around in the mountains?
"It's a logical conclusion. If you killed, you should also be prepared to die."
A guy like me is doing that too. I always keep the thought of dying in mind. It's just that I stick to it because there is a death I want.
How many lives have I killed while reincarnating until now? Do you think I can be judged by laws while alive? Absolutely not.
"Instead, don't worry about the cub."
"Kki-iiing....."
I can take the cub. It's still young.
The only thing parents who leave the world at a young age worry about is the child left behind. They can't even close their eyes properly because they are worried about the future of the child who will live in a world without them.
At least I intend to take responsibility and raise the cub.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"........."
The Original Species said nothing. But it seemed like we had communicated with each other.
The cub rubbed its body against the Original Species, acting cute to its mother, but after looking at the cub for a moment, she quietly pushed the cub toward me.
The cub struggled as if flustered by its mother's action and tried to approach its mother, but she heartlessly pushed it away.
I pulled such a cub into my arms.
I'm sorry, this is all because of human greed, so if you want to resent, resent as much as you want.
"Don't let it hurt when you go."
I petted the mother's head. And I injected a little bit of Force to paralyze the pain nerves.
Even if it feels the touch, it won't feel severe pain. The pain of being shot will be nothing.
"Go well."
When I gave my final farewell, the mother ran out without any answer.
Only the sound of the cub crying for its mother echoed in the forest.
Having returned to the group again, I handed the Original Species cub to Sion.
"Oh? What animal is this?"
"A fox."
"Why! It's a baby animal!"
"Is it a dog? I like dogs!"
"It's a fox!"
"What? It wasn't a 'praise me, praise me' instead of a doggy? So cute!"
I had worried about whether to raise a cat or a dog when the topic of pets came up before, but I ended up adopting one unexpectedly. A fox is a cute animal that has a lot of affection and is cunning enough to be called a cat in software, even though its hardware is a dog.
"Boss Choi? Where did this fox......?"
"I thought I'd check that place again just in case. She was nearby. The mother is going to die anyway, so I brought it because it would die if left alone."
Seo-ae-ssi looked a bit suspicious, but she let it slide as she saw the kids liking it. Foxes are cute, but baby foxes are even cuter. Even though it hadn't fully become an adult, it already had the brown fur unique to red foxes.
"But what are you going to do? Are you going to end your vacation and go back like this?"
"I have some things to do, so it's better to go back tomorrow as planned."
"Then I'll look for a pension nearby."
"I know a place. It's by the river and has a separate swimming pool, so let's look there first."
What was the name of the pension there.... My memory is hazy even though I went there last summer. But since I roughly know the location, I think it will come up if I search on the internet.
Just when the kids were busy doting on the baby fox.
Bang, the sound of a gunshot was heard from afar.
Since there are many mountains around here, the sound echoes well, so the gunshot can be heard clearly even from far away. Simultaneously with the first gunshot, two or three more shots followed.
And the gunshots stopped.
"Uh......"
Baek-ri seems to have noticed. Even if I try to think, 'There's no way it was caught already,' the evidence that everyone heard was still ringing in my ears.
The kids were also quiet, as if they had noticed something. Only the baby fox was whining and appealing for something.
And not long after, we all received a text message at the same time again. It's the first day I've hated text messages as much as today.
It was the news that the Original Species that appeared in Duryusan had been shot and killed.
"Baek-ri."
"Yes, Hyung."
"There are a lot of bastards in this world who are worth less than a single fox's life, right?"
Whether it was startled by the gunshot, or whether it realized that it had lost its mother, the baby fox struggled and cried more than before.
If you blame and reproach me, asking why I didn't save the mother fox, the Original Species, I have nothing to say. But I have my own rules too.
I think the worst crime a person can commit is murder. That is why I think that whether they commit fraud or cause an accident, if they haven't killed a person, they can be judged by the law or live while atoning for it themselves.
But committing murder is crossing the line. The weight of murder, of having ended a person's life, whether directly or indirectly, cannot be borne by one person's lifetime.
At least I know the weight of that murder even if I do kill. Even now, the guilt weighs heavily on me after killing a person.
It's the same for animals. If it hadn't killed a person, I would have helped it by hiding it secretly or letting it run away. But the mother fox killed a person, and in the end, it had to be shot and killed because of that.
And I only brought the cub so that I wouldn't have regrets there.
"Baek-ri, you're a good kid. Try not to kill anyone if you can."
"......Hyung?"
It seems I have to move busily tonight.
Because I intend to grind up all the bastards who are worth less than a fox.