Infected - Chapter 504



Only Noblemtl

Episode 503

When the two returned to the management office.

Yui was still praying in the rain, and Juwon was sitting under the roof shivering from the cold.

As he climbed the stairs, Young-man grabbed Yui’s shoulder.

“… That’s enough. Now get up.”

Yuigo’s voice, which had been muttering madly, suddenly stopped.

His eyes, looking up at Yeongman, were distorted with sadness.

“Sir, all this happened because of me.”

“No, you don’t have to blame yourself so much.”

“If I had been more careful, if my comrades had not died, if I had been able to infiltrate the Holy Land, these people would not have died. What a meaningless and pitiful death this is… … What on earth did those children commit… … .”

Yui closed her eyes and banged her forehead on the floor.

Young-man, who was watching her trembling shoulders, sighed and said.

“Hey, if you say that, what does that make us? If you keep arguing like that, there’s no end to it. It’s not because of anyone. It’s just a tragic incident where fanatics massacred innocent people.”

He looked for someone to talk to about his frustration, but Juwon was in no condition to do so.

As Young-man stood there in embarrassment, he recalled the first time he had encountered the massacre of civilians.

A horrific scene witnessed decades ago.

The shock was so great that even Young-man, who had been through rigorous training and many battles, was unable to sleep for several days.

So, it might be natural for them to react this way.

But it’s no one’s fault.

It was something unexpected and something that could never be prevented.

Rather than wallowing in self-reproach, I should have thought about the next situation.

Only Yeong-man, who had caused Yuigo, hugged him tightly in his arms and stroked his back.

“… It’s not your fault. Trust me.”

Yuigo buried his face and sobbed like a child.

Meanwhile.

Finance, who had entered the management office, was looking at the priest.

The Bible revealed through the torn plastic was soaked in rainwater, and my gaze was unfocused.

“…Priest.”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

The priest was staring intently at the piled up corpses.

Raindrops clinging to the hem of his priest’s vestments drip down to the floor.

“I plan to clean up here and return to the center. If you are finished mourning… … .”

“I’m not mourning.”

The priest’s bloodshot eyes slowly became blurred.

He squeezed his eyes shut and let out the words as a sigh.

“… It is not something to be sad about. Haven’t they all returned to the Lord?”

Then he opened his closed eyes and continued speaking.

“Brother, why am I so angry? I don’t know why it’s so hard for me, even though I know they are at peace in a world where there is no more pain or fear.”

“That’s only natural. So many people died.”

“No, big brother. That’s not what I meant. I became a priest because I heard the voice of the Lord. But to be honest, even after becoming a priest, I constantly had doubts. God created this world and made us, so why is the world full of suffering? It wasn’t made by humans or machines, but by God. And if one day we have to leave our bodies and return to the Lord, what on earth is this place we live in? It’s a question I’ve been asking myself for a long time, but today I can’t shake it off.”

Jae-jae stood there blankly for a while, then answered in a deep voice.

“It may be because this is the first time that the priest’s God has created a world like this. Just like the situations we have been experiencing.”

“… … .”

“If someone had held me accountable every time I made a mistake or lost a colleague due to a wrong judgment, I wouldn’t have been able to come this far. Every time, the priest said, “Trust me. So, move forward with confidence.” Isn’t God the same? I don’t know much about religion, but I’ve heard that God created us in his own image. Please don’t lose your faith. If you want to continue living as a priest.”

That was all Finance could say.

Although it was a difficult situation, in order for the priest to not lose himself until the end, he had to first correct his faith as a clergyman.

In fact, one could simply advise not to be shaken.

But finances have been struggling enough, he said.

From the perspective of a priest, with the heart of a priest, and for a moment from the position of God.

Of course, I knew that it wasn’t very appropriate to have a conversation about God and faith in front of a mountain of corpses.

I couldn’t even figure out what this conversation meant.

But for priests, religion was the reason for their lives and the motivation for everything they did.

Finances didn’t necessarily try to give it any meaning.

I wonder if his sincere advice got through.

The priest nodded with a bitter smile.

“It’s really embarrassing for a priest to learn from someone who doesn’t have faith. I always feel this way, but I think that Big Brother is as great as his name. Yes. It might be the first time for Father too. If you think about it that way, everything will make sense. Ha, how do you plan on handling this now?”

“There’s probably oil in the warehouse. Jeongsik did that before. With that… I’m thinking of burning down the entire management office. I can’t just leave it like this.”

“That’s right. That won’t do. I’ll go find the oil can, and you, brother, say your final goodbyes. No matter what anyone says, you will feel the loss the most.”

The priest left those words and disappeared in search of oil.

Jae-jae, left alone, looked at Jeong-sik with his eyes closed and his swollen face, and at Director Park lying face down next to him.

They were good people.

Although each of them had their own way of doing things, they were people who truly knew how to care for the survivors and cherish their comrades.

Thanks to these people who were full of humanity, the group was able to briefly think about standing up to the Nameless Cult.

All he could do was put them on, but Jaejae vowed that he would never forget them until the day he died.

The pain and fear they must have felt, and the love they gave to their families even as they were dying.

Even if it is a love learned through death.

It was an inevitable choice for finances that had to keep moving forward.

Life is not about how much you have, but about what you choose to have, which divides it into heaven and hell.

Some time after that.

The group stood in the wide open doorway, staring into the management office.

Jae-jae, who was standing alone in the room, opened the lid of the oil can.

The pungent smell of gasoline tickles my nose.

Now it’s time to send everyone away.

Finance, which had been slowly circling around the piled up corpses, began to spread oil.

The corpses are hanging limply, and images of their lives flash before my eyes.

Then I remembered the first time I met Jeongsik and Director Park.

The time when I met Jeongsik’s eyes as he carefully opened the door holding the walkie-talkie feels vague as if it was a long time ago.

“It’s easier said than done to take something from someone else. It’s not a normal way of thinking.”

Oil pours down and seeps between the corpses.

“The kids outside, and the moms. If we weren’t there, we don’t know where they would be and what would happen to them.”

Even on the backs of the necks of children stuck between adults.

“Yes, Jeongsik. You’re right. I guess I’ve been thinking too softly all this time.”

To the mothers who sacrificed their bodies to protect their children.

The oil that had been flowing down soaked Director Park’s hair.

“If the enemy tries to take what is mine, there is only one way to fight back. Instead of bowing my head in the name of peace, I will take up a gun.”

“Are you confident that you can endure to the end even if those bastards like Jeongsik die?”

The oil covering the formal face mixes with the rainwater and flows out.

“I’m fine, sir. It’s inevitable that you lose what you have in order to gain something. I’d rather fight to the death than bow down to those guys.”

The oil drum that had been pouring out was starting to show its bottom.

The last few drops drip down onto the formal head.

“Place the rest in the south. Two people per group, each in a different position. Okay?”

“okay!”

“This kid said okay, just like that… … .”

“All right!”

Jae-jae, who slowly put down the oil drum, closed his eyes and sighed.

I tried to pretend that everything was fine, but I couldn’t help but feel heartbroken whenever I remembered our brief meeting.

Finance, which had been stepping back, stops and squats down.

It was because the pendant flowed out to the formal face along with the oil.

I stood up, holding the necklace I had carefully untied in my hand.

The only way to appease this unjust death is revenge.

Although some might point fingers at it as hypocritical to repay death with another death.

Finances couldn’t take it anymore.

He took the caps off all the remaining oil cans, knocked them over, and walked out of the management office, lighting his Zippo lighter.

And then he threw the unlit lighter away.

Hurrruk!

Even in the pouring rain, the oil fire burned brightly as if it were a lie.

Memories of them, and the lives they lived here.

A large fire began to form and black smoke began to rise high into the sky.

The area that had been so cold that it made my shoulders shiver due to the fierce flames was quickly becoming warm.

So the five of them remained silently until the fire collapsed the roof of the management office.

* * *

The ride back to the center felt longer than ever.

The sewer, which had been submerged up to my ankles, was now up to my shins.

How many minutes did we have to swim against the current?

The water gradually became shallower, and a dry section followed, passing a trickling stream.

At that point, Juwon, who had been walking silently, muttered as if talking to himself.

“… This is not the work of ordinary believers. It must have been done by people from the Holy Land.”

“What does that mean?”

Jae-jae, who was walking together, asked with a puzzled face.

“I’ve seen them before. They were a unique group that only stayed in the Holy Land, and there were many high-level believers among them. I heard that they only existed for the sake of the temple. Their loyalty to the sect was so great that I wondered if a person could really be like that. No, if a person could trust another person like that. The believers had such strong faith in their leader. It must have been their doing.”

Juwon continued talking like a crazy person.

“The Anonymous Church doesn’t usually kill innocent people like this. It could cause internal backlash. But the fact that they did this shows that they knew about our relationship. It’s a good cause. The demons who invaded the sanctuary and interacted with us. So they have a reason to punish us. Maybe they knew all along. They must have been watching from somewhere and seen us interacting with the people in the apartment complex… … .”

He bit his nails with an anxious look on his face.

“They are the only ones who would do something like this. This is a message to everyone.”

“What message?”

“It’s a message that the Nameless Church is actively taking action. You may not know, but up until now, they haven’t been able to act recklessly because of the mediating forces. Even when they found a group of survivors, they only tried to absorb them, and they’ve never massacred them like this. The relationship with Raon and Nambu Terminal is the same. There’s no reason to stand off like this for so long. The numbers are overwhelming. So it might mean that they’re starting a full-scale holy war now.”

Finance looked back on his memories.

Unless I’m mistaken, this is the first time I’ve heard a story like this.

Of course, I knew that the president that Kay supported and his forces were suppressing the nameless sect.

It was strange to hear that the anonymous religion was starting a full-fledged holy war.

“Tell me more.”

“The ultimate goal of the cult is to turn all survivors into believers. The key figures who originally founded the anonymous cult all survived thanks to the cult leader. The logic is to spread the cult leader’s grace and foresight to everyone.”

At that moment, Yui Go’s steps, who had been walking ahead, suddenly stopped.

He turned around with a stiff face and approached Juwon with a fierce expression.

“What are you doing, kid?”

“yes?”

“What are you talking about? Are you making the situation complicated by leaking half-information? If you don’t know, then just keep your mouth shut. Don’t you know what the situation is right now? Don’t spread fear by talking nonsense.”

Everyone in the group was surprised by those words.

This was especially true for Jae-jae and Yeong-man, who had been watching Yui-go’s actions closely.

I’ve seen him shed tears or react emotionally to the platoon leader’s words, but this was the first time I’d seen him treat someone like this.

What should I say?

Should we say that they are completely different personalities?

A flustered Youngman stood between the two.

Because if we left it like this, it felt like something would happen at any moment.

Infected people