Terraforming - Exactly Three Days
It took exactly three days. To get Chris's permission. At the very end, I had to break out in a cold sweat just to talk her out of insisting on coming along.
"Then... I'll leave it to you?"
"...Fine."
"Thanks for giving me the okay."
"..."
"Still, I was upfront about it and got your permission, right? Way better than hiding it."
"You bastard..."
"Heh heh. Been a while since I heard you curse like that."
Her voice, grudgingly granting me permission, was thick with anxiety and regret. Even now, Chris regretted letting me go. After pulling her into a brief embrace, I saw her off. It was time for her to head out on reconnaissance as a District 11 Combatant.
I was off duty, so I didn't leave with her. Plus, we had things to discuss.
Thud, thud.
Chris gradually moved farther away. Feeling her glances back at me, I stood still until she vanished from sight. Once she was completely gone, I started timing myself.
"About... thirty minutes should do it."
I had to wait thirty minutes before setting out. Of course, I wasn't heading straight to the rebels' base. I'd only provoke Gerard after the combatants had gathered in District 11 and finished preparing for battle. Today's goal was to issue a declaration of war.
I waited quietly for time to pass.
...
Thud, thud!
My body jostled, the raw hide draped over me swaying. According to Chris, the guy wore the pelt of some bear-like beast, but there was no way to get one of those on short notice, so we'd hastily stitched together hides of a similar color. Chris had done the sewing, of course.
Thud, thud!
I deliberately made plenty of noise as I walked. Not only did I avoid muffling my footsteps, but I also scattered mana in every direction, broadcasting my presence. Naturally, the patrolling combatants detected me and came running.
"Halt! Who are you?!"
A wary voice called out toward me. I turned my face in that direction, fully exposing it to the group of combatants facing me.
Swoosh...
"Gerard...! It's him! The rebel leader!"
"Gasp!"
"What...? That guy's...?!"
"Why is he here?!"
As pre-arranged, Chris loudly recited my profile upon seeing my face. Her acting was impeccable. In an instant, every combatant there was convinced I was Gerard. Now, no one would be unaware of who I was.
"Not rebels—revolutionaries. We..."
"Damn it! Alone? Is he by himself?"
"If he's alone, we can take him right here..."
"...Are you joking? You really think I'd come alone? Seriously...?"
"Don't act rashly! There could be others hiding!"
"Gulp! Yes, sir!"
"Gulp..."
The combatants, poised to rush a lone me, fell back, duped by my and Chris's joint performance. Having cleared the biggest hurdle, now we just needed to exchange lines. Chris had been an excellent accomplice. As the strongest in District 11, she wielded great influence, making her perfect to speak on my behalf in this situation.
Chris addressed me.
"...Why did you come here?"
"Straight to the point? Fine. The reason we found this place is simple. The revolutionary army is finished preparing to wipe out you rotten parasites who've infested everything."
"...So I can take that as a declaration of war?"
"Kuhuhu... If you can call a one-sided massacre a war."
"You crazy bastard... Get lost."
"Mission accomplished, so I'll be on my way... Not like there's any point chatting with heads that are about to roll anyway."
Swoosh...
Without hesitation, I turned and walked back into the forest. There was no sign of them pursuing. Probably because Chris had warned them it might be a decoy. Objective complete.
I killed my presence as I walked, and once I was well away from the combatants, I released the Deceiving on my face.
'Now just wait for the Shelter to finish prepping.'
The plan was going smoothly.
*
"Hic... Ah! Uh... Wh-what, what do we do?! What..."
Shudder, shudder!!
Her beautiful face was pale with panic, trembling uncontrollably. She looked on the verge of a massive screw-up. Anyone could see she was in a precarious state of severe anxiety. In the military, she'd be tagged as a soldier needing special attention and stripped of weapons without a second thought... but unfortunately, this was a world of superhumans where weapons were part of the body itself. All I could do was try to calm her down.
"Calm down! Kaya!"
The unfamiliar combatants soothed Kaya. They were from District 12, where she was stationed. But even so, her shaking wouldn't stop.
"I...! I've never fought in a big battle...! Just goblins and orcs every time...!"
"You're already a full-fledged combatant pulling your weight!"
"No! I can't! Can you please leave me out? I-I'm not confident. Please...!"
Tears welled up in her eyes from fear of the massive battle ahead. It was combatant versus combatant. Casualties were inevitable, and Kaya was terrified she'd be one of them.
'Come to think of it, when I first met Kaya—back when she applied to the Northern Training Camp—she was pretty rattled too, right?'
Now I understood the conversation between Chris and Kaya back then. Even after the combat situation had fully ended, Kaya had been thrown off. Despite me, a trainee, being right there, she'd nearly blurted out that Chris was playacting as "Gwangnyeon-i." If Chris hadn't elbowed her side, it would've been a huge blunder.
'She managed to save me from Baekwonhu's grasp somehow...'
Her heart wasn't all that bad. Or maybe it was just instinct to save someone. It happens sometimes, right? People instinctively shoving strangers out of the path of oncoming cars and getting hit instead. Considering Kaya still feared needles, it was plenty plausible.
Of course, I had no right to badmouth her. Whether intentional or not, she'd helped me big time once.
"Fever! I still haven't shaken off this flu fever...! I-I can't fight when I'm hurting, right?"
"...Doesn't matter. But go to the back and rest for now. Calm your nerves first."
"Hic..."
Surrounded by combatants, Kaya moved to the rear. Once away from what was expected to be the front line, she finally seemed to steady herself a bit. I worried about Kaya, but I didn't have time to keep fussing over her. I had my own tasks.
Glancing around, even the combatants from District 5—the farthest out—had arrived. It was time. I took Chris's hand, standing beside me. The signal to move out.
We approached the shelter manager, who was busily issuing orders.
"District 11 Shelter Manager. We'd like to volunteer for patrol duty. Just me and Chris."
"Hm... You know it's dangerous, right?"
"But don't you need people right now?"
"...Yes."
"Don't worry about desertion. Chris is..."
"I wouldn't dream of suspecting someone trusted enough for an instructor position. Patrols are critically short-staffed—can you head out immediately?"
"Understood."
"Truly grateful for the volunteers. Uh... one moment."
Rustle! Rustle!
The manager flipped through his papers, quickly checking something. Chris and I waited patiently beside him.
"Patrol A-02 sector, please. Once things settle, we'll send relief."
"Got it."
We'd been assigned a specific sub-sector in vast District 11. It wasn't perfectly aligned with the rebels' base, but no matter. Combatants could desert easily if they wanted. The only reason they didn't was the lack of human settlements beyond the Shelter...
Thud, thud!
We headed straight to A-02. Upon arrival, I turned to Chris.
"I'm heading out now."
"...Can't you just not go? We can still turn back on everything..."
"It's fine. I'll really be okay. Promise."
"...I'll trust you."
Nod.
What? She nodded way too easily.
'I figured she'd flip at the last second and try to stop me.'
No matter what, she shouldn't cave to a couple words. She was the type to exclude any threat to me like it was trauma. I eyed Chris suspiciously.
"Chris, you won't secretly follow me, right?"
"..."
"Answer me."
"...Hic... Please..."
Chris couldn't lie to me in the end. With her last resort blocked, her eyes welled with worry and tears. I kept soothing her. At least until the tears stopped. I had that much time.
Only after reassuring her several times could I extract her promise not to follow.
"Hic! Chanyoung, if you so much as get hurt, you're dead meat. I mean it. Dead meat. Seriously."
"Even if I get hurt, we can heal it. Like how we fixed your leg back then."
"...Real smartass."
Thwack!
One punch, and we were square. I leaned down to the bowing Chris, lightly kissed her, and set off toward the rebels' base.
*
I masked my presence as best I could, but passing through sub-sectors meant getting spotted a few times by patrol combatants. My response was always simple.
"You're Iwata Kento, right? And Yon Grossmann??"
"Ah, checking the whole sector??"
"Yep! Thanks for your hard work. Any peculiarities?"
"Nothing yet. Keep it up!"
"Thanks for the patrol!"
I'd open their Status Window from afar, spit out their names, and they'd assume I was one of them. Of course, my handsome looks were too conspicuous, so I'd blurred my features.
Tap, tap, tap!!
After exiting District 11, I headed to the spot Lee Kangin had told me about. He knew the route to the rebels' base in detail; it just took a bit to memorize. Thanks to that, I found my way without wandering.
Tap, tap, tap!!
I moved at my top speed. After time passed—having covered a distance that would've taken an hour at a jog...
"...Is that it?"
Far off, through the branches, I spotted a long stretch of wooden palisade.
*
Gerard bolted outside at his subordinate's report. His old self would've dismissed it as nonsense. But the voice that had boomed through the area near the base, reaching even his ears, had yanked him from his seat.
It was a voice he knew. All too familiar.
Tap, tap, tap!
Gerard rushed up to the palisade. According to the report, the voice's owner was outside the revolutionary base. When he reached the top and looked down, he couldn't help but be stunned—the report wasn't wrong.
'Someone claiming to be Gerard is outside.' That idiotic report.
"What...? You're... alive?"
The man in Gerard's sight hadn't changed. Still that stern face, those steadfast eyes. Neither older nor younger. Like he'd risen from the past. Even though Gerard himself had attended the funeral and seen the cremation.
"Wang Ja-gun. I'm back."
"!!..."
Gerard's mind raced. Joy at reuniting with his idol was there, sure. But... if this continued, he'd be ousted as leader. The lie about being named true successor would unravel.
But fortune smiled. 'Now, only a tiny few know the 'real' Gerard's face. And they're all my puppets... Meaning, deal with him now, and no issues...'
"Puhahaha!!"
Gerard's thoughts shattered at the unrestrained laughter. A vulgar guffaw the Gerard he knew would never make. As he stared down in bewilderment, the man's face suddenly began to change.
Gerard couldn't forget that face. Too handsome to forget.
Whirr...
"Park... Chanyoung? Wh-what...? You're not dead... How?"
"Can't you tell? I'm alive, you piece of shit. Gerard? That's your name now? Puhahaha! Hilarious. Yeah, Gerard sounds cool. At least better than that moronic Wang Ja-gun."
"This is... what the hell..."
"Your face got smashed, but the name's cool—what good does that do? 'Gerard' doesn't suit you; 'Humba Humba' fits better."
"..."
"Dumber than I imagined. Still don't get it? I was deceiving you, you brainless fuck."
Crunch.
Only then did Gerard realize. He'd been royally played. Mocked in front of all the subordinates he was supposed to lead. He didn't know how Park Chanyoung was alive or how he'd found their hidden base. But one thing was clear: he had to die.
Mana stirred within Gerard. Vitality surged through his body.
"Kill him!!"
He commanded his subordinates, who'd gathered to gawk at the commotion.