However, she wasn’t stunned.
For starters, as a Psyker, she had fought on all kinds of battlefields alongside various superhumans. Inevitably, she had developed a high tolerance for situations that seemed almost miraculous.
Major Lee Hyena had been greatly surprised when Sergeant Kim Seojun provided her with long-range support and produced results that bordered on the absurd.
Sergeant Kim Seojun was a Psyker.
‘He must be a Psyker.’
Naturally, that was the conclusion she reached.
Furthermore, there wasn’t only one operation being carried out on planet Amotia.
‘Considering how serious the situation is.’
Aside from the operation to exterminate the Queen, another important operation was already underway.
Although it was strange for a Psyker to have been assigned the rank of sergeant, if he was carrying out a special mission, there was nothing particularly unusual about concealing his identity that way.
It wouldn’t be strange for another Psyker to have entered the battlefield while hiding his true identity.
Above all, Major Lee Hyena didn’t have time to worry about Kim Seojun.
It was true that, thanks to his support, she was hunting Mogdogs with tremendous ease, but in this battle, ordinary Mogdogs barely even counted as a side dish.
What mattered was the Fly-class Mogdog.
No matter how extraordinary Sergeant Kim Seojun’s accuracy was, with the weaponry he currently possessed, it was impossible for him to inflict any meaningful damage on a Fly-class Mogdog.
That meant that once the real battle began, Major Lee Hyena would have to deal with it herself.
For that purpose, Major Lee Hyena sharpened all her senses.
‘In any case, this is as far as his effective support goes.’
The Fly-class Mogdog, which had remained motionless until then, began to move.
Krrrrrrrrrr!
Finally, the moment arrived.
Dadadadada!
If an ordinary Mogdog was a conventional car, then the Fly-class Mogdog moved like a sports car.
The charge it launched was on a completely different level from anything the ordinary Mogdogs had shown them until now.
It was incredibly fast.
“I’m going to use a Stimpak.”
Naturally, with the Fly-class Mogdog coming at her, Major Lee Hyena focused every one of her senses on it.
She ignored everything else.
‘Here it comes.’
In truth, she barely even heard anything around her.
Major Lee Hyena paid almost no attention to anything else.
The same was true of the words Sergeant Kim Seojun spoke at that moment.
Finally, the two collided.
Krrrrrrrrrr!
The roar of the Fly-class Mogdog, now practically right in front of her, rang far more clearly in her ears.
No matter how much monstrous strength she had gained through the power of the Prophet’s artifact she possessed, she had no intention of physically confronting a Fly-class Mogdog head-on while wearing an ordinary battle suit.
The Fly-class Mogdog tried to pounce on Major Lee Hyena in one swift motion, but she was no fool.
To be precise, they passed each other.
She slipped aside as though she were bullfighting.
Baaang!
The instant she saw the monster’s back, she gripped her axe with both hands and swung it.
A sound like an aluminum bat slamming into an exceptionally sturdy car rang out.
That was just how incredibly durable the Fly-class Mogdog’s body was.
Major Lee Hyena wasn’t surprised.
Thanks to her previous experience, she knew perfectly well that splitting a Fly-class Mogdog in half and killing it the way she did ordinary Mogdogs was practically impossible.
‘I never intended to smash it apart anyway.’
And she didn’t need to.
‘I’ll destroy its ability to move.’
With most things capable of moving, there was no need to cut off their limbs.
Simply breaking them was already effective enough.
Crushing the parts responsible for movement would accomplish the same thing.
Of course, that was easier said than done.
Mogdogs had bodies more akin to insects, their entire frames covered in exoskeletons, but that didn’t matter.
What she needed for the task was concentration and endurance, and the best way to preserve both was to remain calm and shut everything else out.
That was why Major Lee Hyena steadied herself.
She would have to repeat what she had just done hundreds of times.
Thus, Major Lee Hyena composed herself.
The Fly-class Mogdog once again assumed a combat stance and prepared to attack her.
It was at that moment.
Tang!
Bang!
Immediately after the gunshots rang out, the Fly-class Mogdog’s head jerked slightly.
It immediately turned toward the direction the bullets had come from.
On the cargo bed of the military truck stood a human with the barrel of his weapon aimed directly at it.
In other words, the humans had gotten fairly close.
Krrrrr!
It didn’t take the creature long to locate the source.
The Fly-class Mogdog let out a fierce roar toward the truck.
Then it looked back at Major Lee Hyena.
That was all.
It wasn’t that the bullets had caused absolutely no damage.
Compared to a human, it was like being hit by a stone.
It hurt, but not enough to make it ignore the human in front of it swinging an axe and charge at the others instead.
So the Fly-class Mogdog moved again, intending to quickly finish off Major Lee Hyena before dealing with the other two humans.
The two passed each other once more.
Afterward, both abruptly turned and faced each other again.
The same situation from moments earlier repeated itself.
Once again, gunshots rang out, and the Fly-class Mogdog’s head jerked.
Bang!
Tang!
The two passed each other.
And another gunshot rang out.
Thunk!
However, this time, the sound was different.
Deeper.
Above all, the Fly-class Mogdog let out a roar at Sergeant Kim Seojun that was incomparably fiercer than before.
Krrrrrrrrrr!
More ominous.
At that moment, the Fly-class Mogdog made the decision to change targets and attack Sergeant Kim Seojun.
It turned its body.
However, Major Lee Hyena moved first.
“Fuck!”
She had seen it too.
All three shots had struck exactly the same spot near the Fly-class Mogdog’s temple.
Her combat instincts, forged across countless battlefields, knew perfectly well what she had to do at that moment.
In fact, her body was already moving before she could even think about it.
That was why the curse slipped spontaneously from Major Lee Hyena’s mouth.
Naturally, what she was about to do was completely absurd.
She had to grapple with it.
She had to stop the Fly-class Mogdog before it could charge at Sergeant Kim Seojun.
So she was the first to launch herself forward with her entire body.
Caught off guard by the sudden tackle, the Fly-class Mogdog lost its balance and crashed to the ground.
Thud!
Krrr!
Immediately afterward, the monster hurriedly tried to get back up.
And at that instant, a sound rang out.
Bang!
A fraction of a second later came another sound.
Splat!
The sound of something fragile and vital bursting apart.
***
“When I use the Stimpak, get as close as possible to the Fly-class Mogdog.”
“Yes?”
The moment Kim Seojun came up with the plan, he gave Private First Class Park Boseop an instruction.
Upon hearing the order, Park Boseop was once again taken aback.
However, it didn’t take him long to accept it.
‘Fuck it. I don’t even know anymore.’
“U-Understood, sir.”
He simply gave up trying to understand.
At the same time, Sergeant Kim Seojun prepared himself.
‘Even with the Stimpak’s effect, it won’t do me any good if I’m too far away.’
He wasn’t particularly worried.
Hitting the Fly-class Mogdog itself was easy enough, but striking precisely the exact same point over and over again meant he needed to get closer.
Furthermore, even if he did get closer, the chances of success still wouldn’t be particularly high.
After all, perceiving time as moving so slowly that it seemed to have stopped and possessing exceptional eyesight were two entirely different things.
Deep down, Kim Seojun knew it too.
There was a high possibility that he would fail.
‘It probably won’t work.’
In truth, even Kim Seojun had never experienced anything like this before, and what he was planning to do was completely absurd.
Thinking, ‘I think this is going to work. It’s definitely going to work,’ would have been more indicative of some kind of mental problem.
Still, if it worked, perfect.
And if it didn’t, the situation ultimately wouldn’t change all that much.
After all, the protagonist of this battle was Major Lee Hyena.
Kim Seojun was nothing more than a kind of wild card.
“I’m going to use the Stimpak.”
The moment he said those words and activated it, the syringe built into the left arm of his battle suit fired almost explosively, driving the needle straight into his arm.
He felt a slight prick.
Then the substance created by that great scientist began to demonstrate its tremendous effect.
‘Ah.’
The instant the effect manifested, Kim Seojun knew with certainty.
‘I’ll kill it without fail.’
The hunt would succeed.
There was no way he could think otherwise.
His world was no longer simply moving slowly.
There was practically no difference between this and time stopping altogether.
Because everything had stopped.
And that wasn’t all.
Kim Seojun also possessed the red light—an ability that allowed him to make perfect shots.
There was no way he couldn’t be certain of success.
And that certainty soon became reality.
He fired.
Four shots.
He didn’t even need that many bullets.
Splat!
The Fly-class Mogdog’s head was destroyed, fragments of flesh and matter reduced to pulp by the bullets spraying out from within.
Even those fragments moved slowly before Kim Seojun’s eyes.
At that moment, Kim Seojun achieved exactly the result he had wanted.
Then—
‘What’s happening?’
Kim Seojun suddenly felt something change.
His world began to regain its normal speed.
His endurance was draining away at a terrifying rate.
When someone exerted themselves greatly, it was normal to feel their strength being depleted, but this was on an entirely different level.
It was extreme enough to surprise even him.
Suddenly, even his legs began to tremble.
However, Kim Seojun wasn’t truly shocked.
Rather, he understood.
‘……So it wasn’t free.’
Thud!
Kim Seojun collapsed onto the cargo bed of the truck, landing in a sitting position.
Considering what he had just experienced—that extraordinary moment he had been allowed to enjoy—this was actually a fairly cheap price to pay.
Hearing the sound, Park Boseop flinched and turned toward him.
“Sergeant Kim, sir? Sergeant Kim?”
“I’ve just run out of strength. It’s nothing serious.”
Upon hearing that response, Park Boseop’s eyes trembled.
For him, hearing that Kim Seojun—the lifeline he had been clinging to—had run out of strength couldn’t possibly sound like good news.
Kim Seojun, however, reacted differently.
At that moment, he finally allowed the tension to leave his body.
The troublesome Fly-class Mogdog had already been eliminated, and only around thirty Mogdogs remained.
Furthermore, they now had a Psyker like Major Lee Hyena with them.
There was no reason for him to worry unnecessarily.
So Kim Seojun simply had to wait.
And what he was waiting for didn’t take long to arrive.
He heard the notifications.
[Combat has ended. Beginning calculation of results.]
[You have eliminated 383 Mogdogs with a single shot. You have obtained 1,532 points as a One Shot, One Kill bonus.]
[You have eliminated 473 Mogdogs. You have obtained 976 points.]
[Due to the mission, all points obtained will be doubled.]
[You have achieved more than 400 kills in this battle. You will be awarded 800 points as a kill streak bonus.]
[You have hunted a special individual for the first time. You have received a Gold Ticket.]
[You have eliminated a Fly-class Mogdog. You have obtained 1,000 points.]
[You have fulfilled the mission conditions. You have received a Gold Ticket.]
The notifications rang out one after another without giving him a moment to breathe.
However, Kim Seojun couldn’t enjoy them.
More precisely, because of the sudden loss of endurance, even his mind was beginning to grow hazy.
Furthermore, another side effect of the Stimpak was rapidly manifesting.
That was why he had a feeling.
‘I might lose consciousness soon.’
It was then.
Something heavy climbed onto the cargo bed of the military truck.
Thud!
Immediately afterward, he heard a voice.
“Sergeant Kim Seojun, thank you.”
It was Major Lee Hyena, expressing her gratitude.
Upon hearing those words, several thoughts passed through Kim Seojun’s mind, but they didn’t last long.
He simply said,
“I’m not in good condition right now. It wouldn’t be strange if I lost consciousness at any moment.”
Major Lee Hyena didn’t question him.
Rather, she understood.
‘So he really was a Psyker.’
After all, Psykers also had to pay a price when using the Prophet’s artifacts to produce extraordinary results.
At that moment, Major Lee Hyena became convinced that Sergeant Kim Seojun was a Psyker concealing his true identity.
“Don’t worry and rest.”
That was precisely why she said those words.
Kim Seojun nodded.
And as he did, he thought,
‘At least we avoided the worst.’
The situation had been resolved.
Of course, things were still bad.
Headquarters had been destroyed, there was currently a Queen on planet Amotia, and various countries were carrying out their own operations to eliminate her.
For an ordinary person, that alone would have been enough to drive them out of their mind.
Even so, Kim Seojun could still say that they had been lucky enough to avoid the worst.
One way or another, they had managed to join up with a Psyker.
And that Psyker had fully acknowledged his combat ability.
The value of a Psyker was on a completely different level from that of an ordinary soldier.
Therefore, the Korean Space Forces would undoubtedly do whatever was necessary to rescue her.
That meant that, from now on, Kim Seojun only had to stay close to Major Lee Hyena.
That way, he could escape planet Amotia, pass through the Gate, and return to Earth.
With the rewards included.
Kim Seojun let out a relieved sigh accompanied by an incredulous smile and looked toward the upper part of his battle suit’s helmet.
‘Of all the things that could happen to me on my first day as an NCO.’
At that instant, his vision suddenly went dark.
***
When Kim Seojun opened his eyes again, he was inside a bunker at a supply base.
“S-Sergeant Kim, sir! W-We have a serious problem!”
While taking off his battle suit, Private First Class Park Boseop spoke to him with a completely pale face.
At that instant, Kim Seojun sensed it.
He had thought they had avoided the worst.
But apparently, that wasn’t the case.
Park Boseop’s expression alone was proof enough.
The fact that, upon seeing him wake up, instead of saying, ‘Are you awake, sir?’, the first thing he did was tell him they had a serious problem meant that something truly serious had happened.
So Kim Seojun mentally prepared himself.
He tried to calm himself as much as possible.
To do so, Kim Seojun looked down at his left wrist.
There, he could see the time displayed on the film watch attached to his wrist like a thin sheet.
Kim Seojun confirmed that he had been unconscious for approximately two hours.
‘Two hours have passed.’
He prepared himself not to be surprised, no matter what kind of absurdity he was about to hear.
And once he had sufficiently braced himself for anything, Park Boseop finally said,
“T-The, the, the, the Gate has b-b-been destroyed!”
The apocalypse had begun on his first day as an NCO.