Episode 55: The Mart (2)"Gyaaaaah!"
A human screamed and fled.
A comrade chased after the human.
Soon after, a blood-curdling scream filled the space.
Blood splattered.
Crimson liquid stained the marble floor.
"You're not even human!"
The middle-aged man shouted that they weren't human.
Though he spoke without knowing the truth, his words were correct.
The humans committing this massacre were monsters wearing human disguises.
Creatures incapable of understanding human hearts.
"Ghk! Kgh!"
A sword pierced the convulsing man's heart.
With him, the screams finally subsided.
The slaughter stopped. No more humans remained to kill.
Only sacrificial lambs remained for their hostage play.
The Captain grabbed a child by the scruff.
He stood before the window.
Ambulances and police cars.
The streets were chaotic with onlookers.
Sirens blared deafeningly.
"Sword Queen! Listen!"
He lifted the child and shouted.
Click.
Camera flashes began erupting from somewhere.
"Come here immediately! If you don't arrive within five minutes, we'll execute three hostages every five minutes!"
He threw the child.
The weeping child flew through the air.
Someone rushed forward and caught the child before impact.
"Five minutes starting now! Understood?"
As he turned, suppressed roars burst forth.
Howls and screams mingled like the cacophony of hell.
"Well, this is quite the mess."
I watched from a distance.
Having no family to worry about was convenient at times like this.
Had my family been among the hostages, I couldn't have remained so composed.
"Ghk... Intruder..."
Crunch.
I snapped the Doppelganger's neck as it tried to alert others.
Smashed its head and extracted the parasite worm inside.
"But how to kill that bastard?"
I chewed thoughtfully.
No clear plan emerged for dealing with the Captain.
My chest trembled, unable to guess why he'd suddenly act like this.
If that madman exposed my existence, I'd be finished.
Seo-ah would be immediately discovered, endangering Seol-hwa through association.
"No chance of gaining anything here."
Disappointing.
Getting exposed only brought unnecessary trouble.
Though unlikely, suddenly launching a terrorist attack was equally improbable.
Madmen shouldn't be judged by reason.
'I only planned to gather intel and leave...'
I never expected the Captain to notice me immediately.
I hadn't even considered combat.
'Feels wasteful to retreat now.'
While Seo-ah aimed for fame,
my goal was gaining connections with the NIS.
Training just one agent would make future movements significantly easier.
I took this risky infiltration only for the Captain's unexpected actions to ruin everything.
Crash!
Mid-contemplation,
glass shattered.
Panes smashed against the floor.
Special Forces rappelled through the broken windows.
"Prioritize hostage rescue!"
"Target's an S-class ability user missing for 20 years! Stay sharp and execute the plan!"
Gunfire erupted.
Monsters wearing human skins fell to bullets.
Even with superhuman strength, guns remained threatening weapons.
Doppelgangers fell like autumn leaves.
But they didn't know.
The true horror of Doppelgangers.
* * * *
Bang.
A gunshot tore through air.
The terrorist occupying the mart developed a circular bullet wound.
Chemical weapons worked.
Once humanity's strongest weapons proved effective,
the Doppelgangers' fate was sealed from the start.
A Doppelganger charged.
Bullets concentrated.
Multiple circular wounds appeared instantly.
Already dead. Though it should've collapsed in agony, the Doppelganger kept moving.
Advancing stubbornly through gunfire, it lunged into a soldier's embrace.
"You okay?!"
"I'm fine!"
The team member stood up.
Completely unharmed without a single injury.
"Good. Proceed immediately to the first-floor hall for hostages."
The team leader chuckled gruffly, impressed by his subordinate's toughness.
The battle ended.
Terrorists eliminated easily.
Briefly, the soldiers relaxed.
Gunfire sounded.
Soldiers fell like harvested wheat.
Bang.
The team leader reflexively turned and fired toward the gunshot's origin.
"Why?"
The shooter was the recently fallen comrade.
A soldier with a circular head wound collapsed backward.
'A worm?'
A black worm crawled from the shattered skull.
It approached the injured, fallen soldier.
"Ghk! Urk!"
The worm burrowed through the soldier's ear.
Foaming at the mouth, the soldier convulsed.
Eventually, the tremors subsided.
The soldier stood as if nothing happened.
Despite blood flowing from his body.
"Who are you?"
Though weaponless, Doppelgangers had their strengths.
Parasitizing humans to mimic them.
The moment it clung to the human, the Doppelganger had entered the soldier's mind.
"Who indeed."
The soldier chuckled darkly.
Not the comrade they knew.
Another being wearing his form.
The team leader shuddered.
Finally understanding - this terrorism wasn't human work.
Monsters wearing human skins had orchestrated it.
"What are you? What kind of monster?"
He'd never heard of monsters that ate humans and impersonated them.
The monster wearing his comrade's form dragged him.
Doppelgangers took him to the balcony.
The Captain forced him down and raised his voice.
"You broke our agreement!"
"Payment is due!"
The Captain jerked his chin.
Subordinates dragged out a young man and woman.
Sobbing youths.
Their pleas for mercy fell on inhuman ears.
A Doppelganger raised its sword high.
As the blade descended toward the hostages' necks-
A flash split the sword.
Cleaving through the skull as it passed.
"Stop. I've arrived. Release the hostages as promised."
Sword Queen had arrived.
Simultaneously appearing and vanishing.
Reappearing among the Doppelgangers.
"Long time no see. Ten years."
"How's my friend's body treating you?"
Sword Queen greeted lightly.
Her sword moved like lightning.
The Captain barely blocked the strike.
"You haven't changed since then."
The Captain had no breath to reply.
Barely parrying the onslaught.
"Whatever your purpose for this..."
"This place will become your grave."
At her declaration, the Captain curled his lips.
"Just what I wanted."
He hefted a massive axe matching his frame.
Thud.
Two former comrades clashed.
* * * * * *
The ceiling shook.
Dust fell on my head.
Ability users' duels were spectacular.
Explosions erupted, ground crumbled.
The dazzling effects threatened to hypnotize spectators.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
While attention focused elsewhere,
I rescued the hostages.
Easy as eating melted ice cream.
Simply opening locked doors and cutting binding ropes.
Silently, I pointed toward the exit.
"Time to eat."
I eyed Doppelganger corpses.
Their flesh looked deliciously tender.
"Better than nothing."
Extracted and consumed the worm-like Doppelgangers.
Only this could compensate for my losses.
"Why won't the level rise?"
Predation remained stuck at 99.9%.
Some condition seemed required for leveling up, but I couldn't grasp what.
"Still lingering?"
A Doppelganger charged.
I deflected the attack and decapitated it.
Never attack the body carelessly.
Even with shattered bodies, they'd force movement since it wasn't their true form.
"That fight's ending soon."
I watched Sword Queen and the Captain's battle.
Overwhelming.
Sword Queen dominated the Captain who'd seemed invincible.
The Captain desperately bought time.
Strange behavior.
As if his sole purpose was keeping Sword Queen here.
But even that reached its limit.
The Captain's massive axe split in two.
A sword tip pressed against his nape.
"What's your goal?"
I quietly drew my dagger.
All Doppelgangers except the Captain were dead.
Eliminating him would erase all knowledge of my existence.
"Feel it? This tremor?"
The air vibrated.
Something colossal approached Earth.
If this crossed over, human civilization would perish.
"Your daughter will be sacrificed for our god's descent."
"What? What did you do to Sia?"
Sword Queen's voice trembled.
Thud.
Simultaneously, my instincts screamed warning.
Something happened to Seol-hwa.
Something threatening even my life.
No-certain death.
Never had my intuition screamed so urgently.
'Must enter the Gate.'
Unknown what occurred inside, but something happened.
"The being meant to prevent destruction will become destruction itself. How I wish I could see your face now. Hahahaha! Ghk!"
I threw my dagger into the Captain's skull.
Perfectly embedded.
Sword Queen instantly turned.
Reached Seo-ah's location in one breath.
Her terrifying face might haunt my dreams.
I swiftly hid.
Even Sword Queen couldn't detect me embedded in a womb.
"Huh? Mom?"
Seo-ah awoke.
Being her daughter, she probably wouldn't punish her severely.
I left cleanup to Seo-ah.
Perhaps I could cross the Gate's barrier.
Gambling, I shifted consciousness toward Seol-hwa.
Awareness narrowed.
Briefly transcending spatial limitations.
"Master?"
Her familiar voice reassured me.
Success.
I now inhabited Seol-hwa's body.
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