“If things continue like this…”

The Cardinal alone should be able to handle it.

After all, everyone had struggled significantly against the monsters she summoned.

Are humans really only capable of this level?

While I was thinking those thoughts, one of them began to walk towards me, ignoring the monster.

The monster noticed him and swung its arm down, but he continued walking as if he didn’t see it.

“Oh my… it's been figured out.”

The Cardinal's reality manipulation ability could be used diversely, like altering locations or summoning monsters.

However, there was one way to overcome it.

That was to deliberately ignore all illusions.

By accurately distinguishing between illusion and reality, one could land back in reality after escaping the illusion.

So, one might think that blocking your eyes and ears would break the spell, but that wasn't the case.

The human walking toward me now wasn't even closing his eyes, on the contrary, he widened them so much that the blood vessels in his eyes were bursting.

The key to breaking the skill was most crucially about ignoring illusions and accurately recognizing reality.

Distinguishing what is reality and what is an illusion when the illusion is destroying reality—how can one tell the difference?

Even just looking at the shattered floor made by the illusion makes my headache trying to determine if the broken floor is real or not.

"Impressive."

The Cardinal watched him, surrounding herself with monsters.

Then, she grasped her cherished sword in her hand—a patchwork made from pilfered Holy Relics of humans and reforged.

After blinding the enemy's view with illusions, she planned to attack during their most defenseless moment when they breached the illusions.

At that moment.

—BOOM!!!

The human didn't overcome the Cardinal's final barrier; instead, they shattered it by sheer force.

‘The situation is turning sour...’

Everyone was helpless against the winged one.

Sure, there was a way to overcome it, but it's not something one could simply replicate after being told.

The Division Commander.

She stepped forward, holding her Unique Armament.

Overcoming a reality manipulation ability is simple.

Just clearly distinguish between reality and illusion.

But amidst illusions tearing apart reality, who could correctly discern the two?

One often gets engulfed by the doubt of whether it becomes reality if it affects the real world.

Despite that, the Division Commander did it with certainty.

This wasn't because she had exceptional abilities or due to tremendous experience, which would be an understatement.

The Division Commander simply had a clear perspective on magical creatures and demons since she was very young.

"You're just like creatures from a nightmare… right?"

As the Division Commander slowly approached, sensing a threat, the creature with chicken wing feathers on its head enveloped the surroundings in illusions. Beyond those illusions, one could feel the menacing aura of the chicken wings.

Rather than ignoring it and walking straight in, the Division Commander thought it would be more effective to handle it like this. So, she swung her arm briefly.

—SWOOSH!!!

She merely intended to cut through, and with the perception of the illusions, the monster was torn apart by the Division Commander's Unique Armament.

Beyond that, the chicken wing head could be seen holding something resembling a strange Najeonchilgi. (Najeonchilgi is a traditional art method of patching colorful shellfish over an object to create distinct patterns.)

Najeonchilgi. Upon closer inspection, it was a patchwork of Holy Relics that had been lost long ago.

How much could that one piece be worth?

"Hmm... Why would you bring out something so expensive?"

The Division Commander seemed to be wary of that weapon for a moment, then charged.

If the Holy Relics were intertwined to that extent, their original powers must have all been altered.

Just weighing this and that wouldn’t yield any results.

I'll go all out from the start.

‘The Special Task Force... nearly all of them have been injured.’

I assessed the situation with half-closed eyes after waking up.

“*&%&^%#!@…”

The healer next to me was chanting something like a ritual prayer, giving me a headache.

Anyway.

It was clear that the Special Task Force was being overwhelmed.

What course of action could I take in this situation?

‘While stepping forward to save everyone is one option…’

Doing so wouldn't change the horrific ending but would instead lead to a repeated catastrophe.

Having gotten a promise from Iscaliote...

My course of action was clear.

—Swish…

I stood up from my seat.

And took out my Unique Armament.

“Oh? You, wait a moment, it's dangerous, so first!”

Before the healer could finish speaking,

I loaded the scattershot, aimed at the battlefield, and fired.---

Bang!!!

Bang!!!

Bang!!!

The noise that seemed to tear through the battlefield.

As it resounded, it shredded everything in sight.

The nightmare monsters, horribly distorted, uttered curses in voices filled with agony.

The demon soldiers fighting with their grotesquely twisted bodies.

And the Special Task Force personnel confronting them.

All of these were being systematically taken down with the scattershot.

And it didn’t take long for this to happen.

I slowly advanced, destroying everything as I moved toward my original target.

Bang!!!

Gunshots rang out behind her.

‘Was this… the sound made by the Special Task Force?’

She wanted to turn around to check immediately.

However, the Division Commander was too focused on the current battle to look back.

What was certain, though, was that the woman with the chicken wing hairstyle before us…

Her complexion was visibly worsening.

Two of its wings curled up.

Despite this, the Division Commander kept pressing on.

At the same time as the gunfire behind them ceased, the woman before them spoke.

"...This is meaningless."

She then placed her beloved weapon down and ceased resistance. The Division Commander was momentarily taken aback and looked at her with a bewildered expression.

Just then, a youthful voice came from behind.

"Commander, we've dealt with everything."

"..."

The Division Commander turned her head slowly, still wary of the woman with the chicken wing hairstyle.

The voice belonged to an Academy Cadet.

Curious, she turned her head, and indeed, a cadet was still standing there.

‘Did I hear wrong?’

Did an actual Academy Cadet make it through all that chaos to reach her? Was the battlefield completely cleared?

Come to think of it, the battlefield had suddenly fallen silent.

As the Division Commander slowly turned to assess the situation, the devastation of the battlefield unfolded before her eyes.

Everything was riddled with holes and collapsed on the ground.

The magical creatures, the demon soldiers, and even the Special Task Force—all of them.

"What is this… What.”

Gardner silently raised his gun.

Only then did the expression on Gardner's face come into view.

His expression was simultaneously empty and satisfied.

“Cadet, what do you think you're doing...”

“I’m proving that I can change the dreadful ending of this story.”

And then Gardner pulled the trigger.

A black hole appeared in the Division Commander's line of sight.

Through the gaping hole, the afterlife was visible.

And thus, the Division Commander died.

“…Hello?”

The Cardinal widened all her eyes, attempting to perform a mental attack on me.

But... my soul was overwhelmingly superior to the Cardinal's.

-Sizzle!!!

As a result, all the Cardinal's eyes were scorched.

“Ouch…”

The Cardinal curled up all her wings and quietly muttered.

I raised my shotgun and addressed her.

“Luck wasn’t on your side this time.”

“…”

“I pity you.”

“…What do you mean…”

“It’s a shame really, that someone who studied those horrible humans for the sake of her fellow beings, dies here.”

“What on earth are you… How do you…”

Gardner spoke slowly, thinking.

“Your son.”

At the same moment, I pulled the trigger.

[ Country Road ]

The song played in the car.

“What’s your name?”

“…”

“Is it Leon? A brave name. How long have you been with the unit?”

“…”

“Not long? Oh, so you’re the youngest?”

'Damn it, crazy psycho killer... Please, I'm creeped out, shut your mouth...'

“You said, ‘Damn it, crazy psycho killer, please, I’m creeped out, shut your mouth,’ right? Okay, shall we go quietly?” I replied.

Leon gripped the steering wheel tightly.

His hands felt sticky with blood, and his hair obstructed his view, making him uncomfortable.

He couldn't see ahead and wondered if it was because of the antidote injection he received earlier, as his heart pounded erratically.

At that moment, I, who was sitting next to him, gently brushed Leon's hair aside with the barrel of my gun and spoke.

“I hate soldiers, they’re the ones who wrecked my back, you have no idea how hard my life has been because of them…”

“For... for such a trivial reason, you did this to the Division Commander and the Special Task Force members…”

“No, it's not just that; there was a larger cause.”

I maintained a neutral tone as if unaffected by Leon’s words.

However, the gun was a different story.

The barrel was aimed at Leon’s head.

The barrel, not yet cooled, slowly seared the side of Leon's head.

“To be honest, I liked everyone here, it didn’t matter if they beat me to death, even if they were the soldiers I hated.”

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