ocean-life Chapter 143: Korea (3)
Chapter 143: Korea (3)
crack- crunch-
the chilling chilling sound of tearing flesh echoed across the empty playground.
“hmm... isn’t this too weak? maybe i worried for nothing.”
after ushering the mother and daughter away, karlstein suspended the spatial rift-spawned kaiju in mid-air.
crunch- crack-
manipulating intangible energy, he lightly tested its physical resilience.
-skreee!
the creature’s piercing shriek cut through the air as karlstein completed a simple assessment, twisting, searing, and kneading its internal organs.
thud.
the dismembered kaiju collapsed to the ground. a casual flick of his finger compressed the corpse into a single point before it vanished.
the spatial rift, having disgorged only this single specimen, soon sealed itself. but karlstein’s furrowed brow remained etched with concern.
“hmm...”
his experiment showed that this kaiju was not particularly strong. in fact, it was pathetically frail compared to those his empire regularly faced. despite the similarity in appearance, they seemed like completely different species.
but its energy signature was peculiar. despite clear differences from the kaiju of his universe, there were similarities too. the wavelength pattern raised questions about whether this was an isolated anomaly or evidence of evolutionary adaptation.
beep-
[executing anarchy administrator mode]
[searching for similar unique wavelengths to specimen]
[marking 782 entities on map from search results]
[comparing entity wave analysis]
beep-
karlstein’s eyes darted across the map’s glowing red dots scattered throughout the country. the varying sizes of these markers indicated different power levels, but most aligned with the specimen he had just examined.
“i guess i won’t need to step in then.”
in other words, the hunters could handle this threat level. he did not need to intervene directly... yet something still gnawed at him.
“their wavelength reminds me of those sephiroth bastards...”
tap. tap.
his finger, drumming a steady rhythm against his thigh, suddenly stilled. his unease deepened.
“hmm.”
dimensional travel had always been exclusive to specific kaiju—the dimensional turtle with its spatial passages and the colossal mucus that parasitized warp gates. if common kaiju could traverse dimensions, the galactic empire would never have breached the barrier.
i’m pretty sure the kaiju earlier opened its own rift...
there was a big difference between utilizing an existing passage and creating one. however, even karlstein could not be certain.
“am i overthinking?”
there were limits to what could be confirmed from this end of the passage.
karlstein sighed, shaking his head. though it was little more than intuition...
no, i can’t be mistaken.
a transcendent’s intuition was not to be dismissed. such finely-honed senses, shaped by countless encounters, had to be heeded.
karlstein abandoned any remaining optimism. while further observation was necessary, the evidence suggested that the kaiju may have acquired the sephiroth’s dimensional travel technology.
“hmm.”
of course, there was nothing he could do immediately. he had to wait for perpe’s arrival.
“but that doesn’t mean i should just sit still.”
karlstein began entering general commands into anarchy’s admin console.
***[quest(e37): eliminate the kaiju appearing at point be-72.]
“be-72 is near gangnam... that’s convenient enough.”
the man casually tapped the [accept] button.
ding-
the updated necessary information appeared on his screen.
[detailed information]
ᄂsee the stats? twelve direct monster casualties, hundred twenty indirect
ᄂthe breakdowns out. even indirect casualties were just from falls crushes or buildings breaking
ᄂwow that many? even with anarchy?
ᄂmore like that few thanks to anarchy
ᄂmeanwhile, in other countries....
anarchy’s instant response had transformed the entire nation into a coordinated unit.
ᄂtotally insane shit
ᄂanarchy’s efficiency is unreal
ᄂhow did we survive before this?
ᄂseriously lmao so convenient
the world’s attention inevitably turned to korea’s swift response.
***bang!
“how is the situation progressing?”
“all available hunters have been deployed.”
“civilian casualties?”
“still... uncountable.”
“tsk.”
japanese prime minister tanaka yoshihide was vexed. they were over three hours into the crisis.
monster emergence from towers—dubbed outbreaks—usually posed minimal civilian risk in tower-advanced nations. tower surroundings were designated as military zones, with hunters and artillery support standing ready.
while outbreaks could inflict military and material damage, depending on the scale of the event, they were at least containable.
but it was different this time.
“they’re everywhere...”
“emergence patterns are chaotic. we can’t predict—“
“we must authorize heavy weaponry!”
“no! what will you do about city damage then?!”
without guns or cannons, ordinary citizens could do nothing against monsters. they had struck humanity’s undefended underbelly. nations had fortified tower zones against outbreaks, leaving civilian areas vulnerable.
countries worldwide descended into mayhem as monsters emerged without warning.
“why... why has such disaster...”
“...sir, how should we handle hunters refusing emergency deployment?”
“damn! warn them of severe consequences!”
“well...”
hunters were people too. they had families. despite national emergency protocols, hunters with loved ones often acted independently rather than follow government directives. the cooperative ones at least reported before disappearing. most simply vanished.
these uncontrollable forces created gaps in the information network, exposing civilians to catastrophic consequences.
“aaaaah!”
“gaargh!”
“sob.”
the simultaneous monster emergence spelled disaster for humanity everywhere—except for one nation.
“prime minister! it appears korea has already contained their situation.”
“korea? why mention them now?”
“uh... their reports show only 132 casualties.”
“132? that can’t be right. that weak nation?”
“about that...”
an incredible report circulated amidst global chaos.
only 132 casualties? that was typical for ordinary accidents, let alone during a disaster.
while hundreds of thousands perished worldwide, korea contained their losses to three digits. the astonishment of the international community was only natural.