Chapter 39: The Echo of a Forgotten Debt.

World Allied Joint Government.

The first pan-national military administrative body launched with the true unity of human society, which was on the verge of extinction.

It was only in the face of unprecedented fear of extinction that people could unite as one, regardless of nation, region, or race.

They achieved a miraculous integration in order to survive.

However, even then, some people refused to join that alliance until the very end.

Several minor powers that had been in historical conflict with the existing major powers.

These were the ones who had suffered countless exploitations and interventions in the past from the dominant powers that led the establishment of the Joint Government.

Due to such historical background, they refused to fight under the same banner as their enemies, even if it meant enduring difficult war situations.

Later, they called themselves the ‘Regional Alliance’ and fought independently, cooperating among themselves to protect their own territories.

And surprisingly, they managed to endure until the end of the Great War.

Thanks to this, they were able to remain a separate force that resisted the influence of the Allied Government after the war.

Of course, compared to the Allied Government, which occupied most of the world at the current time, their size was embarrassingly small.

But even so, those who remembered the grudges of history still antagonized and were wary of the Allied Government.

They were not taking any action right now because they were busy recovering from the post-war damage, but that stance had never changed.

Therefore, for Seo Jin, who was determined to take revenge, they were potentially helpful beings.

In the past, when the war against the Encroachment was in full swing.

Seo Jin, who was serving as a soldier in the Allied Forces at the time, would occasionally encounter troops belonging to the Regional Alliance during operations.

In such situations, most of them were careful and retreated without any problems.

Areas where the boundaries between the two sides were so vague that they accidentally ran into each other were usually the front lines.

If they caused a disturbance, there was a high possibility that Encroachment species nearby would intrude.

Even though they belonged to opposing forces, it was not comparable to facing real monster that devoured people.

It was troublesome for both sides if a pointless war of nerves turned into a real situation, so they each took care and moved on.

Such encounters happened several times.

As they naturally remembered each other’s faces and became accustomed to each other to the point where they were no longer surprised by the other’s appearance, they eventually started exchanging eye contact as they passed by.

Regardless of the forces they belonged to or the stance of the higher-ups, they felt a sense of camaraderie, as they were all suffering terribly in the same place.

That sense of solidarity that had built up naturally became the catalyst for an incident.

One day, a strange voice was caught on Seo Jin’s unit’s communication network.

[“Requesting support! Requesting support!! Gregory-class cluster encountered in Sector 3-3! Many casualties! HQ, do you hear me?! Emergency evacuation is needed!!”]

“What is this…?”

“It’s a signal from the Regional Alliance. This is a public channel….”

Their location, desperately asking for rescue in a very urgent voice, happened to be in an area close to Seo Jin’s unit.

But even then, the reaction of the squad members was lukewarm.

“Ignore it, their side will take care of it.”

“It could be a trap. We need to be careful.”

After all, the Regional Alliance was a force that rejected the Allied Forces.

There was no reason for them to take risks and step forward.

Rather, there was a high possibility that moving recklessly would cause problems.

That’s why they tried to ignore it, but….

[“The retreat route is completely blocked. There are too many enemies…! Damn it, is there no one nearby?! Anyone, please…!”]

They continued to desperately ask for help.

The position of only listening to the screams occasionally mixed in through the communication was not very comfortable either.

Because all the soldiers at the front lines had imagined it at least once.

A miserable end, dying in isolation without any help when facing an unfavorable battle situation that could come about for any reason, whether due to an accidental mistake during the operation, or because of bad luck….

It was a situation that could happen to anyone, so it didn’t feel like someone else’s problem.

However, there was no reason to take risks to help those who were not even allies….

Everyone was just making difficult expressions.

It was in the midst of that hesitation.

“…Arciel? What are you doing?”

“Where are you going? Don’t tell me…?”

Unlike everyone else, there was one person who acted without hesitation.

“Those people are dying. We have to help them quickly.”

“They are not allies. There is a possibility of a trap. We don’t have to step in-“

“Still, they’re the same people.”

Arciel answered that as if it were obvious.

Because she was a righteous person who believed that the talent and power given to her were given to help others.

She never turned away from the weak who needed help.

Even if it was the enemy.

The squad members, including Seo Jin, did not blame Arciel’s actions as reckless.

“It’s okay for me to go alone. There’s no need for you to suffer because of my stubbornness-“

“How can we send you alone.”

However, before they knew it, everyone was naturally packing their equipment.

Not all of them possessed the altruism to step forward for others as unhesitatingly as she did….

They had learned that fighting alongside a true hero who always brilliantly put the ideals in their hearts into practice, was more worthwhile than just surviving day by day.

They were gradually moved by her good will, and came to believe that following her courage could really change the world-

“Well, let’s go for a bit.”

“If we leave them alone, we’ll definitely feel uncomfortable.”

Everyone worked together to rescue the soldiers from the Regional Alliance who were trapped in the midst of the mutated species’ offensive without being late.

“You guys are…?”

Those who survived the crisis realized that those who came to help them were not allies and were quite embarrassed.

But soon they readily expressed their gratitude.

“Thank you. You saved us. I sincerely express my gratitude. Since we owe you our lives… we will definitely repay this debt someday.”

After everything was settled, the commander of the Regional Alliance left after leaving such a story.

“If you need anything later, contact us here.”

The extra thing he told them was a bonus.

One private channel.

He told them that they could contact him through that channel later….

In fact, Arciel was a person who didn’t want any compensation even if she saved someone.

For her, reaching out to others in need was a natural thing, so the events of that time were just one act of kindness that she naturally passed over as nothing special.

Therefore, she didn’t contact them again to receive a reward, and soon seemed to have naturally forgotten about it.

Seo Jin was the same.

He recalled the events of that day again thanks to a memo he accidentally found while organizing Arciel’s belongings later.

The note with the address of the channel he received at that time written in a familiar handwriting was, in a way, one of the remnants of Arciel’s good will left in this world….

At the same time, it was a clue that could help Seo Jin, who wanted revenge now.

He didn’t even know if the promise from years ago would still be valid, if they still remembered the events of that day, or even if he could really get in touch….

He felt a strange destiny in the situation where the things she had done were coming back and becoming another possibility.

That was why he had found the old terminal that he hadn’t used for a long time now.

Seo Jin took a deep breath for a moment, connected to the written private channel, and left a short message.

No reply came.

Maybe it was too late.

Because he had forgotten about it for a long time even after the war ended.

The attempt to expect something now was, in fact, a low-probability event.

But Seo Jin was not disappointed and just waited.

He was convinced that the good deeds she had accumulated in the past that he had looked back on were definitely not meaningless….

He believed that they would definitely come back in some way.

[“…… Geez, you’re contacting me so late. So, what’s the matter?”]