I stretched out on the living room sofa.
I carelessly peeled a tangerine with my fingers.
My toes dangled in the air, not reaching the floor.
I popped a tangerine segment into my mouth and absentmindedly flipped through the TV channels.
The screen changed, and a news anchor in a suit appeared.
A dry, stiff voice echoed through the living room.
—The government has proposed legislation to declare 400,000 long-term missing persons from the Gate Shock officially deceased and provide special compensation.
—While some bereaved family groups are protesting that they haven't even recovered the bodies, both ruling and opposition parties have reached an agreement, calling it a rational decision for national reconstruction.
At the bottom of the screen, footage of people sobbing while holding flyers briefly flashed by.
I swallowed the tangerine and switched to an entertainment program.
On TV, celebrities were playing games and forcing laughter.
It meant they'd redirect the budget that would've been spent clinging to the dead toward the survivors instead.
A rational, cold calculation by adults.
I knew it was an unavoidable choice to keep the massive system running.
But I couldn't help the bitter feeling in my stomach.
If they'd been eaten by monsters, at least bone fragments or bloodstains should remain.
The people who disappeared near the Gates had vanished without a trace, as if they'd evaporated.
Four hundred thousand lives that slipped through my fingers despite fighting through a month of coughing up blood.
The sweet taste of the tangerine in my mouth turned bitter.
"Haah."
I let out a deep sigh.
I'd lost my appetite.
I sat up.
I landed on the living room floor and walked to my room.
I pulled out gray outdoor training clothes, top and bottom.
Just as I was about to strip off my frilly indoor clothes and change, the door burst open.
"Oppa! What, what? Where are you going? Meeting someone?"
Kang Ha-eun's eyes sparkled as she fired off questions.
I clicked my tongue and tied the drawstring of the training pants.
"Knock, will you? On your grown brother's door."
"You're grown? You don't even reach my solar plexus. Where are you going, our Nation's Little Sister?"
"Shut up before I sew your mouth shut. I'm going to check out the North Korean side today."
Ha-eun's expression hardened at my answer.
"Ah, is it that time already? You'll be back before dinner, right?"
"I'll try my best. Tell Mom to save me some food."
"Got it. Come back without getting hurt."
Ha-eun put away her playfulness and closed the door.
I pulled the training hoodie over my head.
I opened the bedroom balcony window.
I gathered mana at my toes and threw myself into the air.
The repulsive force of mana pushed my body upward.
I broke the sound barrier and flew north.
Officially, I'm a retired freeloader.
But I couldn't stop these periodic northern flights.
If those beast bastards bred and pushed south, this peaceful daily life would be shattered.
* * * * *
Near the ceasefire line. Northern frontline defense base.
I landed in the middle of the parade ground as if falling from the sky.
The concrete floor cracked and dust rose.
The emergency siren almost went off, but the sentries who spotted the silver hair hastily saluted.
"Loyalty!"
Shortly after, a major general with two stars rushed out from the situation room.
He bent deeply at the waist to match eye level with my small frame.
"Hero! You've arrived!"
"Give me the status report. Anything different from usual? Any anomalies?"
I extended my hand dryly.
The major general handed over a tablet with both hands.
I quickly scanned the tablet screen.
[North of the 38th parallel, monster population increasing by 15%.]
[Three alpha-class mutant life signs detected.]
[Signs of swarm formation observed.]
Three years ago, during the Gate Shock, massive Gates opened in the north.
The monsters that poured out from there occupied North Korean territory and established an ecosystem.
The beast bastards mated, spawned offspring, and created a food chain.
To prevent them from building their forces and pushing south, I periodically crossed into North Korean territory to thin them out like mowing a lawn.
"Right, you're working hard. Don't push the reconnaissance teams too hard—keep them on standby."
"Understood! May fortune be with you!"
I returned the tablet and shot up into the air.
I immediately crossed the northern limit line and entered the red earth.
The wind reeked of blood.
The city that used to be Pyongyang had turned into ruins, and magical beasts swarmed between the building debris.
I stopped in midair at the city center.
I took a deep breath.
I released all the mana compressed inside my body in one burst.
—Kugugugugung!
A blue mana storm swallowed dozens of kilometers in radius.
The atmosphere screamed and convulsed.
"Kieeeek!"
"Krrrrung... Kwaeng!"
Screams erupted from all over the ruins.
Monsters that were instinct-driven and weak couldn't withstand the mana and tucked their tails.
They began fleeing deeper north to survive.
Those weak bastards weren't what I was after.
—Kueoeoeoeo!!!
A roar that shook the earth.
Apex predators with extreme aggression or those who perceived my mana as prey revealed themselves.
To them, I wasn't an object of fear but a spiritual medicine that would let them evolve if consumed.
The sky turned pitch black.
Hundreds of flying magical beasts in wyvern form with wingspans exceeding ten meters poured down like a bombardment.
On the ground, building-sized giant orcs and mutated reptiles leaped up, trampling building debris.
I raised my right hand with an expressionless face.
No complicated process was needed.
I compressed mana to its limit.
An invisible net of blades deployed in the air.
A form designed purely for slaughter.
"Annoying."
I snapped my fingers.
—Seogak! Seogeogeogeok!
But the monsters that leaped from the ground didn't stop.
One massive monster leading the charge caught my eye.
A gigantic frame like an inflated bipedal monster.
Its grotesquely protruding single eye and black horns resembled an Eastern yokai monster from old side-scrolling games.
I had no idea how the ecosystem worked to produce such a hybrid.
When it opened its gaping maw, a blood-red flash burst forth.
It was different from the mana typical monsters emitted.
It was a disgusting mana wavelength reeking of blood.
"The beast bastard's spewing mana that kills my appetite."
I twisted my body in midair to dodge the blood-red flash.
The mountain peak the flash grazed rotted black and crumbled.
It was mana laced with toxicity.
Its lethality was decent.
But in the end, it was just a beast.
I kicked off the air and dove toward its crown.
I skipped the complicated process.
I compressed pure mana and pressed down in the form of a massive gravitational field.
—Kwaaaaang!!!
The moment my toes touched its crown, a shockwave like an invisible press weighing hundreds of tons erupted.
The hybrid monster's bones and flesh were crushed as it burrowed into the ground, creating a massive crater.
After that, it was a series of simple labor.
I sliced apart the charging ones with cutting attacks, and for those hiding, I rained down mana spheres like a bombardment to vaporize them along with the terrain.
There was no mercy in my combat style.
The stench of blood filled my lungs.
Monster corpses piled up like mountain ranges all around.
The work ended around the time the sun crossed to the west.
There were no more aggressive entities reacting to my mana and charging at me.
The remaining dregs had long since tucked their tails and fled beyond the northern border.
A perfect cleanup within a 100km radius.
I landed on the mountain of corpses and exhaled roughly.
I wiped the blood splattered on my cheek with my sleeve.
The training hoodie grew heavy, soaked with blood.
"Ah, this feels gross. I need to go wash up quickly."
I turned south again.
Throughout the flight breaking the sound barrier, I let the cold wind blow away the smell of blood.
Northern frontline defense base.
I landed on the parade ground again.
This time, the siren didn't even sound.
The major general and staff were waiting and snapped to attention with sharp salutes.
"Have you completed the operation!"
"It was similar to usual. I ground up all the aggressive entities, and chased the rest north. No anomalies."
"Thank you for your hard work! On behalf of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, we thank you!"
The major general shouted at the top of his lungs and bowed.
The eyes of the soldiers lined up behind him were filled with respect and relief.
Leaving the burdensome gazes behind, I casually waved and shot back up into the sky.
Penthouse balcony.
As soon as I opened the window and entered, a spicy-sweet smell hit my nose.
It was the smell of stir-fried spicy pork.
Before I could even take off my shoes, my mother and father rushed to the entrance.
"Our son's home! Oh my, look at the blood on your face!"
Mother approached and examined my face, arms, and legs.
"Mom, this isn't my blood. It's monster blood. I'm not hurt anywhere."
I grumbled and stepped back, but Mother insisted on unzipping the training jacket and checking for injuries before finally sighing in relief.
"Well done, my boy. Eat two bowls of rice today."
Father ruffled my silver hair with his rough hand.
My hair got messy, but I didn't bother to brush it away.
After the inspection, I headed straight to the bathroom and washed up.
I covered the stench of blood from head to toe with the scent of soap.
I changed into indoor clothes and came out to the living room to find the dining table laden with a feast.
Stir-fried spicy pork was piled up like a mountain.
Ha-eun tapped the table with her chopsticks.
"Sit down quickly. I almost died of hunger waiting for you."
"Who told you to wait? You should've eaten first."
"How could I pick up my spoon first? Stop talking and chew some meat."
Ha-eun grumbled and placed a large piece of meat on my rice bowl.
I climbed onto the chair.
As expected, my feet didn't reach the floor and dangled in the air.
"I'll eat well."
I scooped up a big spoonful and pushed it into my mouth.
The spicy seasoning and meat juices spread.
The cold news I'd seen during the day and the stench of blood I'd brought from North Korea seemed to melt away in the warm steam of rice.
My parents smiled contentedly.
Ha-eun tried to steal my meat but caught herself and hastily withdrew her chopsticks.
It was an ordinary, noisy dinner.
Laughter filled the table.
I quietly scooped up stew broth.
This damp, perfect peace.
This boisterous warmth I'd thrown my whole body to protect—I thought it was fortunate.
