Welcome to the DMZ, North Korea Collapses

The news of North Korea's collapse was staggering—and given their already pitiful economy, the scale of the fallout was enormous.

"Having nuclear weapons and a massive conventional arsenal doesn't help when this happens!"

"Even if we assume China and Russia cut off all food and resources, this is still a serious problem!"

Once upon a time, a failed state could fail spectacularly and still maintain the shell of a nation. As long as military power, food, and economic structure held at least two of the three, the country persisted.

"Military, food, economy—once two of those three collapse, we're right behind them."

"Damn it, for all those years, all you had to do was follow the great power order and the military kept you fed and moving up the ranks..."

With trade drying up and monsters pouring through the gates, national-level failure was now a foregone conclusion.

—The leadership fled. The people left behind.

—North Korea currently entering apocalypse state...

—The boat people are born again. And among those living in the greatest violence, finding a sense of security.

To survive the monsters, if you didn't give your absolute best, your name would be added to the casualty list with a small number next to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it.

Of course, this was the 21st century—an era where salvation took priority over someone else's misfortune. Watching North Korea disintegrate in real time, not a single country extended a hand of compassion without conditions.

"Hmm, are you asking about the traditional troublemaker positions? Russia and China, you mean?"

"Well... China's too busy defending its own territory, and Russia's stretched so thin it's a haystack. Why worry about them?"

China's northeastern region—right above North Korea—was currently in a state where it could barely defend its cities. If you think about it, even the tale of the empty jar, or the idiom about scattering seeds and reaping tares, both originated from China. No matter how much development a land underwent, once it was stripped of utility, it was discarded without hesitation.

"The young people...! There were so many of them!! Ah, land of former glory..."

"Damn it, the Northeast Three Provinces...!! I don't know about the old days, but if it keeps going like this, they'll wither and die! Pull yourselves together!!"

After the heart of heavy industry started sinking southward, the young people left in search of work. Those who remained showed clear signs of aging and population decline.

Compared to America, it was the early stages of becoming a Rust Belt.

"Well, there's no way the top will subsidize corn prices going forward."

"Turn all the farmland into corn? You've never even grown soybeans in your life, have you?"

In the middle of all this, the country was telling them to rip up the very crops they'd worked so hard to grow. And since the young people—the ones needed for such a massive industry shift—were gone, it was chaos all around.

"At the very least... could they supply some machinery, maybe?"

"Haha, those kinds of support funds only exist in virtual ledgers."

Even if the state reversed its corruption policies, there were no countermeasures below, so it was an absolute festival of chaos. But what could you do? Choosing to sit there blankly and starve to death wasn't exactly the posture of a human being, was it?

Sighing, the small-scale farmers began digging into the earth, believing a good day would come eventually. But as the saying goes, when heaven itself is in a frenzy, one bad harvest can ruin an entire year's crops.

Instead of a good harvest, what came for them was a hellish stew of monsters, writhing and crawling.

Even so, they could probably still have held on.

"My homeland, my duty to protect! I'll join the military!"

In the initial situation where young people flowed out like an ebbing tide, there were still youth who looked positively toward the future.

"Come on, if you're going to come look, come take a look—every one of you that leaves, we have plenty too!"

But with a population over 100 million—a force pool equivalent to an entire mid-sized nation—there was no way a region could maintain even basic public order.

"What the hell! Why do they keep shooting and shooting but they keep pouring in?!"

"Major Choi! We've spotted additional enemies from the north! We need to retreat!"

...They didn't exist. But they couldn't imagine that.

"Ah, sorry. We can't stop them. We'll just defend the core cities and the heavily urbanized areas."

"...Russki, you son of a bitch—!!"

Population decline was accelerating. They'd fought a war not long ago, the gates opened again, and the land was somewhat abundant. With a population under 15 million holding the world's largest territory, Russia's trollish move came and smacked them in the back of the head.

And so, as Russia's Far East and China's Manchuria regions toppled like dominoes in sequence...

"...Huh? Graaagh—!! Russia! Big Brother China! What the hell is going on?!"

""...That's how it ended. Sorry!"

The monsters, naturally gathered, scattered in all directions—and of course, North Korea was among them.

North Korea, already struggling to hold itself together, had neighbors that kept feeding monsters to it as if they were an all-you-can-eat buffet. After two years, North Korea's ship had effectively burst at the seams.

"If we leave the North Korean region unchecked, the monsters' next destination will be our side."

"What? That can't happen! We were barely managing a semblance of peace!"

To call it a hand of compassion was a stretch—because the country standing at the last stop of that domino chain was someone else entirely.

There was no more time to hesitate, watching the citizens' reactions.

"We, the Republic of Korea, will dedicate ourselves to the peace of the North Korean region, and beyond that, to the peace of East Asia..."

—We declare this here and now. The nation that refused to wait for the monster-filled feast to end has issued a National Mobilization Order.

"...Fuck, not here again?"

"Yo, you at least got a year off... I'm being dragged back into this shit before a few months have even passed."

Kim Chomok, who had been conducting research while being battered by violence, and Jeong Ilhwan, who had been enjoying the spectacle, were dragged back to their units. It was summer.

Luckily or unluckily, the Korean Peninsula had originally been one nation.

"We need to move in now. It's the only chance while everyone's in chaos."

Even if they hadn't planned for this scenario, people who had polished reunification plans since the civil war were overflowing.

"Just leave it to me! I've devoted most of my life to this!"

"Yes! March north! Push through with tanks and advance!"

The military leadership, hearts pounding at the opportunity, spewed out every piece of data they had. The time it took to churn out various schemes and impossible paper plans? A single day!

After mustering all their strength to push as far as possible, they gathered refugees and stabilized the area near the gate.

"At the very least, in a state of war we can't conscript refugees, but our enemy right now isn't North Korea—it's the monsters."

"There's no need to fight North Korean survivors. Just hand them guns, and they'll do their best to protect their families."

The goal was to set up a fortress and fortify a defensive line the moment they either hit the limit of their advance or reached the border with China.

But not everyone could think the same way. In this hellish world where even protecting your own neighborhood was hard, suddenly preaching about "absorption-style reunification" was meaningless. What good was chanting reunification if your house collapsed the next day and you ended up homeless, screaming on the street?

"W-we think keeping our own neighborhood safe is already hard enough... do we really have to go?"

And so, the utterly obvious and honest selfishness flared up.

"Now then, for those who feel that way, let me show you some satellite photos. These could be your future, you see."

"...Ugh, what is this. I was looking forward to meat today."

Even monsters had to consume something or they'd die—that was common sense. The problem was that the North Korean region was already a region with food shortages, and with monsters destroying farmland, there was nothing left. From the monsters' perspective as conquerors, the only remaining food source was...

The national leader had indeed watched the final moments, muttering "Oh my, this is quite a lot" in the monsters' language.

Once even this moderate opposition camp turned neutral, the next target was the fierce opposition camp.

"No, what will neighboring countries think of us?!"

"What do they care? They're dealing with their own monsters on their own land."

"......"

The North Korean region, which could barely defend itself outside of Pyongyang and Hwanghae-Cheongjin's double front, where countless monsters roamed. Was there really a neighboring country that would kill those monsters, clear the national debt, and extend a hand of goodwill? Everyone could plainly see it wasn't even worth a pittance—it was just sowing fertilizer-level benefits.

"China's been hemorrhaging population since the gate incident, Russia barely has any people left. Are they really going to take them in?"

And on top of that, looking left and right, neither of those two countries had any leeway. The country to the right had at least expressed concern over the situation, hadn't it? Just as they were starting to act somewhat human in diplomacy, they were about to ruin it again.

"Sign it. The northern advance is inevitable!"

"Ugh..."

Even though they struck from an advantageous position, the citizens' opinions had been unified, so that was a good thing.

Of course, while the citizens' opinions converged, that was only the will of people watching from the rear.

"Ah... I want to go home... I've been wearing this damn uniform for 30 minutes and I want to go home even more fiercely..."

The voices from the front, feeling the threat to their lives in real time, hated war more than anything. Kim Chomok, lying face-down on the scorching ground, cooling off in the shade of a bone-dry tree, was no exception.

"Tsk... I was supposed to be a research position, so why the hell was I dragged to the front..."

The one who had finally picked up a pen with righteous determination to do research that would help humanity was momentarily silenced too.

Jeong Ilhwan, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠whose jaw dropped at the unexpected recall to active duty, was feeling the same way.

"And on top of that, morale about the war is already at rock bottom..."

"Uh... Senior Kim Chomok? Senior Jeong Ilhwan? The operation staff officer said you must attend the operational briefing..."

""Aigh, crap!!"

"H-hic!! I said I told you, sir!!"

Of course, they were being casually ordered to go into the scorching heat as if it were nothing.

"Oh, welcome! We've been waiting for people like you!"

"Haha, having young people like you around makes me feel so reassured!"

The officers—whether they were higher-ranking or not—welcomed them with smiling faces. But a platoon leader with only two privates could tell what situation they were in.

'Fuck, the smiling bastards always make me the angriest.'

'You over there, the young one... even though you're being demoted, those eyes tell me you're determined to go all in.'

Two key aces from the ability user squad—both ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in peak physical condition—had returned to the same place. They were planning to squeeze out every last drop until the situation ended.

Sad premonitions always became reality.

Jeong Ilhwan was given a solo reconnaissance mission in a monster-dense area—real-time reporting via radio—disguised as a "one-man recon," or even a "one-in-three recon."

"So what you're saying is, I have to personally walk in and lure the monsters into the minefield?"

For Kim Chomok, whose body was tank-level tough, the mission was a one-against-hundred game of tag with the monsters.

"The DMZ still has countless mines left, so let's both push the advance and thin out the monster population, shall we?"

He spoke in the calm, pleasant tone of a neighborhood fried chicken joint saying "If you only eat fried, you'll get bored—let's mix in spicy!"

But in essence, it was just: I'll play tag with those monsters, and drag them into the minefield.

Of course, if you reinforced your body enough that stepping on mines wouldn't affect you at all, then fine... but...

"What happens if I step on a mine? Have you mapped all the mines planted by the North Koreans?"

"I hear your body is tough enough to withstand ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a sniper rifle and even some heavy artillery..."

That would be fine if it were of your own volition, but being forced? No way in hell.

"No, who approved such a dangerous operation? I'm not doing it."

In the worst case, you'd be stepping on a mine with your abilities disabled? Nobody in their twenties wants to experience the massive disaster nicknamed "Red Bridge" suddenly appearing in front of them.

But the kind of person who thought "as long as it's not my legs, they're fine, so whatever" was the type to swear and curse their way through.

"Tsk! It's for the nation! No matter how much I hate it, this is a battlefield!"

—Why are you so selfish? Pursuing personal glory when the act is supposedly "for all of us"!

The justification for the order was "for the nation," yet the gaslighting came without hesitation.

"Hah... I have to endure. I have to endure..."

It hadn't even been long since he'd returned to society, but declaring war on the nation again was something his conscience couldn't bear. Kim Chomok tried his best to calm his mind with deep breaths.

"If you talk back, don't expect an answer! Do you think this is your playground?!"

But his efforts were meaningless against the old frog's remarks, delivered relentlessly with the conviction that he was right.

Dark resentment boiled up from the depths of Kim Chomok's heart.

"I didn't hear that... I want a peaceful life... I'm a normal person... I'm someone who blends well into society..."

Kim Chomok, whose mask was barely cracked, tried to ignore the voice and focus his mind on inner peace.

[Ah, has that time already come? Well, at 20 years old, it's about time you stopped standing still.]

"...This bitch?!"

In a single devastating blow, the mask shattered into two pieces.

"...Hahaha, hahaha!!"

"Oh? Are you laughing? Then I suppose you accept... or something?"

Kim Chomok couldn't hold back his convulsive laughter, rolling on the ground and bursting into hysterics. But only for a moment.

"...Hah. Of course I accept, in the grandest possible sense. Staff Officer."

After stopping his laughter, the youth in front of him had the expression of someone who had set down a great many things.

He grabbed the operation staff officer by the collar—

"...Huh? Huh?! Wait, what are you—AGHHHH!!!"

The shrieking staff officer was dragged at impossible speed, and the destination was—

"I'm truly moved! You're going in alone, which is too dangerous, so you're volunteering to come with me! That spirit of self-sacrifice!"

The minefield of the Demilitarized Zone—the final disposal site for the monsters!

"AHHHHH, AAAH!! You crazy bastard, where are you taking me right now?!"

"Ah, I'm not such a bad person. I'll drop you off somewhere you can reach in exactly seventeen steps."

Whump!

Kim Chomok, who had sucked up the energy from the surrounding grass and bushes, naturally launched himself into the air. Whether luck was good or bad, the spot where he landed had no mines—but hidden among the tall grass up to his shoulders, finding and properly extracting the mines was another matter entirely.

An explosives expert with bad luck could be in danger, and an old soldier with no such knowledge? Absolutely impossible.

"Oh, this one didn't go off... Now then, from here on out, please scream 'come rescue me' until your voice gives out..."

—Or, you could trust your own luck and walk out on your own. Choose one of the two.

If you scream for rescue, plenty of monsters will be drawn in, which is plenty to fulfill the operation's objective. If you walk out on your own, you've escaped either way, haven't you?

"...Mission abort! Mission abort! So please, get me out of here...!!"

The operation staff officer, face pale and frozen with panic at the sudden crisis, was screaming for help. But Kim Chomok, looking at him...

"Abandoning personal glory and sacrificing your life for the mission! Truly a fine soldier...!!"

You couldn't criticize such a great soldier—it wasn't the place of a subordinate.

"I won't! I won't do it, so please come back!! Hey!! You bastard!!"

Without words, men understand men. Kim Chomok, slightly dewy-eyed, silently saluted his honorable superior, turned his body, and...

The next day.

"So the reason a Corporal like me got command of an entire company is..."

"You crazy bastard, do something about this!! Having to stay separated for 24 hours in that hellhole!!"

The command authority of the ability user company—including Kim Chomok and Jeong Ilhwan—had been transferred to Corporal Jeong Chorong.

A declaration of surrender of control over the madwoman. A declaration that if you didn't like the higher-ups, you should just die and ask questions later.