Chapter 91

〈 Episode 91 〉OMAKE #013, A Snowy Night (1)

The waves crashed over the promenade. The aftermath of battle left it in ruins, rendering this once-popular walkway completely impassable.

Crack! The promenade froze solid. Ice spread outwards, freezing even the waves and forming a new path.

Clack. Clack.

A white-haired maiden walked across the frozen trail. Her hair was as pristine as a snowy plain, her eyes as clear and transparent as the ocean.

“…….”

The woman stopped her steps at a small clearing on the promenade. There stood two headstones, standing alone without any caretakers.

2000.10.13. 2025.10.13.

By some cruel twist of fate, the dates of death for both tombstone owners were also the woman’s birthday.

“I’ve come.”

With a brusque voice, the woman placed a chrysanthemum from her hand onto the gravestones. Standing between the two stones, she briefly bowed her head before scratching it awkwardly.

“…Huff.”

The woman’s emotions appeared incredibly complex. She had conflicted endlessly, trying to turn away countless times, but deep down, her lifelong companion—a spirit that yearned for her presence here—had desperately wanted her to come.

October 13, 2026. It was Seok Harang’s birthday, but also the day both her adoptive parents passed away. Standing between the two tombstones, Seok Harang began to speak.

“…After Dad passed, so much happened.”

Seok Harang started her story.

“I almost killed everyone. Yuna too, Sister Raon…everyone.”

“Fortunately, I came to my senses. Seriously, how is this not an anime? Knocking someone out cold just to bring them back to reality? Watching the footage later made me so embarrassed! Every time someone tried to snap me out of it, they ended up airing all my darkest secrets to the world!”

“…Thanks to that, I awakened some kind of spirit power, broke Seongju’s precious core, and even got to space. Haha.”

“And speaking of which…”

Seok Harang raised her left hand. On her ring finger was a silver ring.

“I got married. It’s been over ten months now… I thought there was no way I’d ever marry either Yuna or Sister Raon, so I’d given up on the idea. But then THAT idiot proposed during one of my mental breakdowns. And guess what? I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. …Isn’t that funny?”

“That idiot wants me to come see something. He says there’s something important I have to witness. Just once.”

Seok Harang pulled something out from her bosom with teary eyes.

“This is the last remaining Cube in existence. It grants any wish, but it wants me to use it to uncover how I was born, why Dad had to kill Mom…”

“So here I am. This will be the only time in my life I’ll do this—I won’t come back after this. At the very least, I need to know the reason so I don’t resent you forever.”

“If I use this, the Cube will break, but apparently, this is supposed to be my birthday present. I almost threw it into the sea because it seemed ridiculous…”

“But I figured if I can learn something, maybe I’ll feel better about hating you. Why didn’t you leave even a diary? Why did you go so silently?”

“So tell me already. What happened? Why did you abandon me? Why did you leave without saying anything?”

The Cube shimmered. Fueled by Seok Harang’s magical power and determination, the Cube emitted a bright white light before dispersing like grains of sand.

Seok Harang’s consciousness faded.

* * *

<Thursday, December 31, 1999, Goseong County, Gangwon-do>

“Hey! Shoot!!”

The man screamed as he fired his gun. The pellets from the hunting rifle struck the monster’s skin like lightning. The people around him followed suit, firing their guns together to halt the monster’s charge.

KIAAAAH!!

The wolf-like monster absorbed the barrage of bullets with its glowing blue barrier. Its body shimmered with a protective layer that deflected every single bullet.

“What the hell IS that thing?!” shouted a man in a jumper, his voice filled with disbelief.

“We’re stuck here, damn it!”

The man checked the status of the beast while muttering curses. Fortunately, the blue barrier was beginning to weaken, and the monster was struggling under the relentless assault.

We can subdue it like this…

Just as he thought that, the monster leapt forward.

KIAAAAH!!

In a single bound, it covered a distance of over three meters, claws extended and ready to strike. The young man at the front screamed, dropping his gun in terror. Seeing this, another man shouted frantically.

“Yoon-hwan!!!”

Swoosh! The sound of a sword being drawn rang out as the sole soldier in uniform charged forward. The young man dashed through the hail of bullets straight toward the monster.

The iron sword in the young man’s hands glowed faintly with golden energy.

KIAAAAH!!

The monster turned its attention to the uniformed youth. Its sharp claws flashed, attempting to slice him apart.

Bang! The man nearby concentrated fire on the monster’s eyes. Though the bullets bounced off the magical barrier protecting the monster’s eyeballs, it momentarily lost sight.

And the uniformed youth plunged the iron sword upward with both hands, piercing beneath the monster.

Thud!

The iron sword pierced the monster’s heart. The core embedded within shattered in half, and the monster collapsed sideways with a heavy thud.

Boom!

The ground shook as the bear-sized monster fell, and the group let out a collective sigh of relief. The leader of the group rushed to the uniformed youth and patted him on the head. The youth’s hair was cut extremely short.

“Wow, Captain, as expected! You’re the best!”

“…Senior, I already discharged, you know.”

“Huh? Take off your uniform first, then we’ll talk.”

The uniformed youth, Heo Yoon-hwan, sighed as he pulled the iron sword out from the monster’s heart. The genuine blade, scavenged from a nearby residential area, proved effective in the hands of a special ability user, easily defeating the otherwise bulletproof monster.

The man whistled as he inspected the monster’s corpse.

“Whoa. Real special abilities are insane. Hey, why didn’t you join the superhuman division instead of staying active duty?”

“I awakened my special ability on the 25th.”

“…Ah, got it?”

The surrounding men exchanged sympathetic glances. Yoon-hwan looked somewhat embarrassed as he returned the iron sword to its scabbard.

“Still, thanks to you, we survived. Think positively! Because of your special ability awakening, you managed to defeat these monsters right after discharge when the dimensional gates opened.”

The man spread his arms wide. Everyone else tightened their grips on their weapons and nodded. Yoon-hwan hung his head.

“How long do we have to keep doing this?”

Yoon-hwan was exhausted. Among those who endured repeated battles, none suffered more than Heo Yoon-hwan, the sole person capable of severing the monsters’ lifelines. The man averted his gaze before answering.

“Don’t know. We haven’t received orders from higher-ups yet.”

“…They’ve all fled, haven’t they? Or maybe they’ve all been wiped out.”

“Don’t say such negative things.”

“……I’m done. Done with risking my life fighting monsters. I’m discharged; why am I still here?”

The man slapped the back of Yoon-hwan’s head. It didn’t hurt, but it annoyed him deeply. Yoon-hwan glared sharply at the man.

“What, what? Picking a fight? Do you think you can return to Busan alone?”

“……No.”

The man draped his arm around Yoon-hwan’s shoulders and shook him.

“Come on. Let’s do our best. Dude, we survive because you do well. The government wouldn’t gather random guys if it wasn’t necessary. Sure, I get youthful frustration, but there are plenty of others here suffering too besides you.”

“……Understood.”

Yoon-hwan clenched his fists tightly behind his back, trembling slightly.

Friday, December 24, 1999.

Heo Yoon-hwan had discharged from military service. Unable to secure transportation back to Busan due to the chaos, he spent one night in Sokcho, Gangwon-do.

And the next day, Saturday, December 25.

Seven dimensional gates opened worldwide, plunging nations into emergency states. Confused and unaware, Heo Yoon-hwan was dragged back into military service to combat the monsters. Mistaken for an off-duty soldier due to his uniform, he was immediately reassigned to a defensive unit.

Global calamity caused widespread confusion. Defensive units lacked proper equipment, and borders were in utter disarray.

Late that night, a monster attack claimed the lives of several soldiers, including the company commander. In the ensuing chaos, Heo Yoon-hwan, newly awakened to his special ability, found himself stranded in Gangwon-do.

* * *

That night.

“PFFT!”

Heo Yoon-hwan coughed against the cold sea breeze, scanning his surroundings. While the coastline was guarded by military forces, it was impossible to cover every stretch of the shore.

On the 25th, the day the dimensional gates first opened, countless people perished under the flood of monsters. Among them, the largest number of casualties were active-duty soldiers evacuating civilians and engaging the monsters.

Had his discharge been delayed by even a day, Heo Yoon-hwan might have remained in the base, never having reported his discharge. Unsure whether to rejoice or mourn, Heo Yoon-hwan patrolled the beach alone, shivering.

“Ugh.”

Even though he was walking alone at night, Heo Yoon-hwan remained calm.

The mental fatigue from slaying monsters over the past few days, homesickness, and exhaustion from the disaster following his discharge had reached their peak.

“…Huh?”

Was he seeing things because he was so tired? Heo Yoon-hwan rubbed his eyes.

“Jellyfish…?”

A white object floated atop the dark sea, undulating strangely. It didn’t look quite like a buoy—it moved more like a living creature. Enhancing his vision with magic, Heo Yoon-hwan sprinted toward the shoreline.

“Person!”

Without a second thought to strip or warm up, Heo Yoon-hwan ran into the water. Reaching the deeper parts where his feet no longer touched the bottom, he swam toward the figure floating face-down.

“Hey!!”

Heo Yoon-hwan lifted the unconscious person’s head.

It was a pale-skinned girl. With features that seemed to belong to someone from distant Northern Europe, she appeared unconscious, and if his eyes weren’t deceiving him, she wasn’t breathing.

“Damn!”

Exerting all his strength, Heo Yoon-hwan swam back to the shore with the girl. Despite depleting his remaining magical power, he pushed forward with the singular thought of saving her, eventually dragging her onto land.

“Haa, haa.”

Spitting out seawater, Heo Yoon-hwan laid the girl gently on the ground. Checking her pulse revealed no breathing, but a faint heartbeat could still be detected.

Heo Yoon-hwan glanced around. Unfortunately, no one was around to help him in the dead of night.

Quickly tilting the girl’s forehead back and placing his hands together, he prepared to perform CPR, determined to save the unconscious patient.

“Inhale, inhale, inhale.”

Following the procedure he remembered, he pressed down on her chest, occasionally checking for signs of consciousness. However, the girl showed no signs of waking.

‘Should I breathe into her…?’

After hesitating for a moment, Heo Yoon-hwan decided to proceed. Pinching her nose and parting her lips slightly, he took a deep breath and leaned in to cover her mouth—

Only to meet her eyes as she suddenly opened them.

“…….”

“……Человек, ты умрешь?”

“Huh?”

Heo Yoon-hwan blinked stupidly in response. The girl slapped his hand away and sat up.

Woosh. Looking unsteady, the girl nearly collapsed, but Heo Yoon-hwan quickly supported her from behind.

“You okay? You just swallowed water… Ah, damn. We don’t speak the same language.”

The girl stared intently at Heo Yoon-hwan’s mouth. Letting go of her, Heo Yoon-hwan fidgeted uncomfortably.

Even stacked twice, her height barely reached his.

“Erm, so… Hello? How are you?”

“……Fwah.”

The girl smirked, biting her lip, then quickly regained her serious expression.

KYAAAH!!!

The black sea churned violently as ferocious monsters emerged. Heo Yoon-hwan stepped in front of the girl, drawing his sword.

“Hey! Run! Uh, what was it? Getaway! Whatever, just RUN!!”

His legs trembled uncontrollably.

The monsters that crawled ashore resembled grotesque creatures from the deep ocean.

But the girl didn’t move.

“……Tsk.”

She clicked her tongue and stepped forward, pushing Heo Yoon-hwan aside so forcefully that he landed flat on his butt.

Whoom—

Her hair fluttered as white mist emanated from her fingertips. Heo Yoon-hwan gawked at the magical power radiating from her hands.

“A special ability user?!”

KYAAAH!!

The monsters charged. The girl extended her hand toward the sea, clenching her fist before releasing it.

And what Heo Yoon-hwan saw next…

“Whoa…”

An icy tundra spread out before him. The sandy beach, the monsters, and the entire ocean froze solid.

The girl turned triumphantly—

“……Uff.”

And promptly collapsed from magical exhaustion. Heo Yoon-hwan hurriedly caught her. Nearby soldiers noticed the commotion and began gathering. Lifting the girl into his arms, Heo Yoon-hwan rushed her to the infirmary.

“……Who am I?”

When the girl woke up and asked this question, Heo Yoon-hwan felt his world go dark.