The eyes of everyone present gathered on the soldier who fired the shot, then at the man lying on the ground with blood flowing freely, dyeing the ground crimson.
Ordinary people who were just enjoying their warm meal suddenly sucked in a breath of cold air, their expressions filled with terror.
Just at this time, Aron asked in a cold tone, "What is the meaning of this, officers? How can you shoot without any reason or explanation...?"
Maybe this was the question that everyone wanted to ask, so the situation calmed down for a moment, waiting for an official answer.
It was at this time a young female officer dressed in a tight-fitting uniform came walking step by step, her eyes cold and indifferent as she scanned everyone present. Finally, her gaze stopped on Aron. "Official orders need no explanation. Any further questions will be treated as interfering with official duties and your fate would be no different than this demon lying on the ground..."
Her words were cold and clear with a hint of warning in them.
Aron, however, wasn't the type to be bossed around so quickly—not when he had the clear support. Although the rest of the awakeners standing in the line didn't say anything, from how they all got close to Aron, it made it clear they wouldn't let the same thing happen.
"Such tyranny will not go unchecked in this country. This is the Eagle Country, land of the free. How can you stop me from asking questions? Also, don't forget, this army is there to serve and protect the ordinary people, not to terrorize them..."
At those words, the lady officer only snorted and said in a cold tone, "Fine, you need answers? I will give you answers. Anyone with Abyssal Corruption more than 10% is not human but a walking time bomb ready to explode at any moment. I, as one of ten captains of Fort John, can't allow such a ticking bomb inside..."
Listening to this explanation from the sidelines, Jackie's eyes flashed slightly, her gaze moving toward the row of ordinary people who were also getting similar treatment. From this at least, it was clear this lady captain was saying the truth...
Just at this time murmurs broke out in the crowd.
"I just saw that dead man's body..."
"Oh my god, what's coming out of it...?"
This discussion caused others to also focus on the man's body. As the crowd stood back, tarry tentacles emerged from his body, tearing the man's corpse as if some devil was hiding inside all this time...
Seeing this scene, a solemn look appeared on the face of the lady captain. "This should explain enough. You definitely wouldn't want such things inside where not only ordinary people live but also children."
Aron felt a chill running down his spine. Although he wanted to argue, the scene in front of his eyes didn't make him open his mouth.
Maybe Captain Mia was simply explaining, but her words caused everyone to look at each other with distrust, and this was especially true for the couple of awakeners standing in line.
Mia watched the reaction of everyone in silence and signaled one of the soldiers, "Deal with this mess...!"
Brr! Brr!
Immediately following her signal the muzzles of rifles lit up; the man's corpse was blasted to pieces, including the creature that was trying to crawl out of it.
Once the man's corpse fully disappeared, a small smile finally appeared on Mia's face. "Sorry for having you go through all of this; we just have no choice."
With those words, the process started once again. This time the awakener next in line had a look of dread on his face. From time to time he would glance over his shoulder, cold sweat running down his eyebrows.
However, before he could take another step back, a soldier grabbed his hand and placed an orange-looking gun on his head. The man's heart chilled. Just as he was thinking of the burst, the soldier holding the gun said in a low voice:
"Abyssal Corruption - 0%."
With those words, the young awakener's expression instantly relaxed and he was allowed to go. Just like that, the process continued. One after the other, awakeners were tested and soon it was Jackie's group's turn. However, for them, maybe their luck was good or something else, but no one with Abyssal Corruption was found.
Jackie, Millie, and Aron were standing in one corner eating the hot porridge distributed by the soldiers.
Aron's eyes were on the strange gun-type device that they used to detect the Abyssal Corruption.
"All of this doesn't make sense. Where did they get their hands on such a device? Moreover, how do they seem to know about all of these things... it is as if they..."
Aron suddenly stopped, not willing to give expression to the absurd possibility that had appeared in his head. He might have hesitated, but Millie wasn't one to hesitate. "It is as if the army was already prepped for something like this..."
Her voice was incredibly low, afraid of being overheard. Now that the situation was calm and they were able to examine their situation better, except for a few scares here and there, the entire Fort John army camp looked completely unaffected, as if the apocalypse hadn't reached there at all.
…
"Finally... so this is Fort John, huh... Strange..."
Xavier slowly walked step by step, noticing the crowd of people gathered outside the entrance, eating and chatting among themselves, looking quite relaxed. He even spotted Jackie and the others but frowned when he didn't notice K's group and that First Sequence woman, Lucy.
Moreover, it didn't take long for him to find the oddities. Compared to the surroundings, a strange, almost non-apocalyptic atmosphere surrounded Fort John; even the skies above were clear.
He didn't know why, but his heart was filled with a weird feeling.
Just as he was thinking, a feminine voice echoed in his head. Interesting. Abyssal Corruption Detector. Hmm, it seems those merchants from outer space had already made contact with your world...
It was Zerin who had spoken. After being killed by the First Sequence Fire Breathing Tiger, she couldn't come out for a while and needed time to recover, but she could still somehow communicate and see the world outside.
After getting into the Familiar Contract, Zerin was practically immortal; as long as Xavier continued to live, she would never truly die.
And it wasn't like she wasn't already an immortal on her own.
Xavier wasn't surprised by her words, but for some strange reason, her words hit deeper than they should have.
Outer space merchants!! He had a bad feeling about this.