Chapter 61: The Silent Massacre

“Since when did you ever care about us? What’s with this harassment?”

“What new scheme are these government lackeys cooking up now…?”

The shouts were truly heartless. Here they were, struggling to save these very people.

Sa-yoon, sighing silently, instructed Chae-jun, “Chae-jun. Evacuate them by force.”

“Why not just leave them? They said they’d rather die on their own,” Chae-jun grumbled, clearly displeased.

“They’re a nuisance. It’ll be even more troublesome if their families cause a fuss later.”

Chae-jun, still muttering, gathered the people and began leading them away. Several individuals, emboldened by Chae-jun’s gentle appearance, attempted to resist, only to have their arms twisted before reluctantly moving.

Amidst the defiant crowd, some people, their faces etched with distress, pleaded with the agents.

“Excuse me, my child has a severe fever…”

“We will have emergency medicine prepared at the shelter. For now, please move, Mother.”

“Can’t we just go straight to the hospital? We just need to get out of Daejeon, right?”

“I’ll just go to my parents’ house. My cat is afraid of crowded places…”

The person who owned the cat wore a round pet carrier. Each individual had a different story.

“We apologize. To account for everyone, we must first move to the shelter. Restrictions will be lifted based on the situation afterward.”

An agent recited the rules with unwavering resolve. The expressions of the other agents nearby were similarly rigid.

Though they were all enforcing the evacuation, their reluctance was palpable. After all, what crime had these people committed?

Both those who welcomed the government Espers and those who regarded them with suspicion were equally victims. The blame lay solely with the Rains, who had instigated this terror.

Beep. Beep.

Sa-yoon’s terminal vibrated. Pressing the communication button, he heard the Director’s voice.

Sa-yoon. How are things? We’re almost there…

“The residents have been evacuated. And the Rains, just a moment.”

Sa-yoon moved to a less crowded area. He settled down again in front of the tunnel he had discovered earlier. Closing his eyes, he gripped the terminal.

“It’s not much different from before. They’re moving incredibly slowly. Oh, wait a minute.”

The Rains, scattered in various directions, remained in their positions, but the space between them had changed. Sa-yoon cursed under his breath, drawing a sharp inhale.

Space, passages, straight and curved lines—following the paths, scattered like an ant farm, he reached the middle of the Rains, which had spread out.

In that short time, a new space had opened up in the center of the spread-out Rains. It was a considerably massive plaza.

Sa-yoon focused even harder, scrutinizing the area. He assessed the width and depth of the space, and the living beings within it.

In Sa-yoon’s vision, new green dots multiplied by dozens.

‘Shit…’

 Did you just curse? No matter how comfortable you are, I’m still the Director.

“Esper Jin Sa-yoon reporting. A space approximately 24 meters wide and 3 meters high has been discovered at a depth of 62 meters underground. The Rains within it are… estimated to be over 200 units.”

…

Silence descended on the other end of the terminal. The sound of a swallowed gulp carried through.

Kim Sang-hoo, Director of the Korean Esper Force, instructs Esper Jin Sa-yoon. Immediately leave your current standby point and move to the opposite side of the residential area. Report the Rains’ movements every hour and await further orders.

“Understood.”

Sa-yoon rose from his spot. Without even bothering to brush off the dirt from his clothes, he gazed in the direction of the terminal where the people had been evacuated.

A moment later, the coordinates the Director had specified arrived on his terminal. Sa-yoon stared at the location indicated by the coordinates.

It was halfway up a mountain, quite a distance from the residential area. Beyond it lay Gyejoksan and Daecheongho Lake. Sa-yoon clenched his fist and began moving toward his destination.

As the sky turned black, a tremor spread beneath his feet. Massive tanks and armed forces streamed onto the highway, entering Daejeon.

The city, emptied of its people, greeted its guests in silent slumber, only the streetlights twinkling.

The support unit will enter the field soon. It seems they’ll begin the operation immediately upon arrival, but what’s the situation like?

“There’s been no special activity yet. But I think they’ll move soon.”

Sa-yoon constantly checked the Rains’ movements. The cluster of Rains, gathered in the very center, pulsed with increasing intensity.

The Director’s strained voice came through the terminal.

 We will infiltrate from the outskirts and encircle the scattered ones. As we tighten the encirclement, we’ll leave only one direction open.

“That would be my side, then.”

It was an operation to herd the Rains like rabbits. The Director confirmed Sa-yoon’s words.

 There are more directions to encircle than anticipated, and we also need to manage civilians. Our forces are less plentiful than expected. So, I’m thinking of sending only three individuals who are compatible with you…

Three people. It was an absurdly small number. This deployment immediately revealed the severe shortage of forces.

“It’s fine. I’d rather be alone than have ambiguous help. Just use them for the operation.”

The plan was to explore the labyrinthine underground tunnels, herd the Rains spread in all directions to one side, and subdue them without causing impact above ground.

It was an operation that would be insufficient even with hundreds of people. Sending three was the best they could do under the current circumstances.

 It’s too dangerous alone. Even for you, you need backup.

Hundreds of Rains would rush at Sa-yoon. The operation was planned with faith in Sa-yoon’s abilities, believing it possible, but it was undeniably risky.

Without a backup team, a single mistake could cost him his life. Looking at the vast mountain range, Sa-yoon marked coordinates. It was not a tall but a wide mountain range. He needed to understand it thoroughly before battle erupted.

“Don’t worry. If we die, we all die together, not just me, right?”

Ugh. Hearing you talk like that, I suppose I can rest easy. We’ll move as soon as we arrive. Preparations will be finished en route. Sa-yoon. Think about it, and if you feel it’s not right, tell me now. I’ll pull a separate support team for you.

The Director’s voice was quite serious. Within his grave tone lay an undeniable anxiety and solemnity. It was a side of the Director Sa-yoon had never seen before.

Gripping the terminal, Sa-yoon responded playfully, “I want to work intensely and then rest. But make sure to exclude me from the cleanup crew for any remaining stragglers later.”

 Don’t worry about such things.

“Then it’s settled.”

Within the tanks that had entered Daejeon city, agents moved in perfect unison. They immediately moved in team units toward their assigned positions.

Sa-yoon, looking down from the mountain as small lights scattered, drawing lines, gazed up at the sky. It was a dark night, devoid of light.

Under the moonlight, dense trees swayed with the wind, and stars twinkled through their branches. ‘It would be nice if this landscape remained preserved when the sun rose again.’

Current time: 10:28 PM. Operation initiated.

The Director announced the start of the battle.

The battle was fierce. In the quiet dawn, explosions reverberated from all directions, and the ground shook in a time of great upheaval.

Casualties poured in, and Espers, emerging from underground, were ceaselessly loaded into ambulances and transported to Seoul.

Narrow tunnels, countless Rains, and limited personnel. Under all these unfavorable conditions, the experienced Director successfully herded the Rains.

It was Sa-yoon’s time, waiting on the mountainside with clenched fists.

 Sa-yoon. Are you ready?

“Roger. Deploying.”

Beneath the earth, dozens of tunnels Sa-yoon had already mapped out were filled with green-glowing creatures. Without hesitation, Sa-yoon pierced the ground and leaped down.

He read countless coordinates. He collapsed the mounds of earth dug by the Rains and moved massive boulders to block paths. Even amidst this, he sliced down the Rains that lunged at him.

Numerous green lights extinguished, only to be replaced by more rushing in. How determined they were. The number of Rains showed no sign of decreasing.

‘This is infuriating.’

He spat on the ground, a mixture of saliva and dirt. Sa-yoon moved forward, crushing the Rains’ corpses underfoot. All the Rains deployed were young specimens.

Beyond a certain age, individual Rains developed unique abilities, much like Espers. When humanity first fought them, they had faced the brink of extinction due to their diverse powers.

This was not such a case. It was merely troublesome due to their sheer numbers. He let out a hollow laugh at having to consider this fortunate, then cut down another Rain that rushed at him.

‘This feels awful.’

Red blood, identical to human blood, stained his hands. Each time he cut down a Rain, the body heat, which all living things possessed, clung unpleasantly to his fingertips.

The Director had assigned Sa-yoon a special mission: to herd the Rains under the thick mountain, then block all escape routes around it, trapping them in narrow passages.

He was to kill any Rains attempting to dig new tunnels and imprison those without tunneling abilities.

‘Is that about enough?’

He embedded boulders around the Rains, compacting them tightly so that the remaining sections couldn’t be easily dug through. Sa-yoon switched on his terminal.

“Director. I’m ready.”

Well done. Retreat quickly. Exactly 30 seconds from now, Han Do-hoon will detonate the tunnel.

As soon as he heard ’30 seconds,’ Sa-yoon moved upward. He shifted a house-sized boulder to block the entrance of the tunnel he had emerged from.

A moment later, geothermal heat rose from the ground. It was a massive heat, powerful enough to be felt through the soles of his boots.

The underground space Sa-yoon had been scanning rapidly expanded, then just as quickly contracted. The green glow that had filled the narrow underground passages vanished completely. It was a silent massacre, not a single scream heard.