Even as time passed, shells continued to fly. The soldiers attacked the monster as if they intended to grind it into dust.
However, the number of shells they had was limited. After a while, once they had used up all their ammunition, the attack finally ceased.
After the bombardment ended, the monster’s appearance was truly horrific. Its torso, protected by a sturdy shell, remained intact, but the exposed areas had lost all recognizable form.
The monster’s face had already been more than half blown away, making it impossible to find any trace of its former appearance.
Both eyes and ears were gone, and the monster’s brain was half exposed. None of its legs remained intact either.
The monster stood still for a moment before collapsing forward.
Boom!
A sound that shook the ground echoed through the city. The fallen monster let out a final growl and soon stopped breathing.
Kangwoo hurriedly pulled out his phone. Others could overhear if he used the radio.
He immediately called Sunhee.
After a few rings, Sunhee thankfully answered the call.
“Where are you right now?”
Sunhee replied to Kangwoo’s question.
“Under the monster’s shell. I’m not sure of the exact spot.”
The team members, hearing Sunhee’s words, rushed toward the monster.
They had to rescue them quickly.
They needed to check Yonghoon’s injuries and get them out before others arrived. If people found out they were inside the turtle’s shell, explaining it would be complicated.
Except for the unconscious Dohyeon, the team members climbed up the collapsed turtle monster’s head.
Fortunately, they soon found where Sunhee and Yonghoon were.
Thanks to Sunhee continuously banging on the shell above her, the team members were able to locate them right away.
Sunhee and Yonghoon’s position was not far from the monster’s neck.
The team immediately began the rescue operation.
Team leader Han pried open the monster’s neck area by using his shield, and the dead monster’s skin, having lost its elasticity, soon separated from the shell. A gap large enough for a person to slip through appeared under the monster’s shell.
Without hesitation, Jimin crawled into the gap and pulled Yonghoon out together with Sunhee.
Yonghoon’s condition after being pulled out was quite poor. His chest area was soaked with blood, and his face was extremely pale.
The startled team members tried to carry Yonghoon to the hospital, but Yonghoon shook his head.
He knew his own condition best. He had suffered internal injuries from the clash of Dimensional Power. On top of that, his Dimensional Power and stamina had been completely depleted.
If he could rest properly for over a week, he would surely recover. Even if he went to the hospital, there was no special treatment available. Moreover, he couldn’t leave yet. He had to guard the monster.
Yonghoon asked the team members to focus on rescuing people. He alone was enough to guard the turtle.
Due to the turtle’s ability to lure people, there was little chance, but there still might be survivors.
The team members moved to save people according to Yonghoon’s request, while Sunhee, who had exhausted all her Dimensional Power, stayed by Yonghoon’s side.
Unfortunately, the unconscious Dohyeon was momentarily forgotten by the team members.
Soon after, the end of the operation was announced across the city.
[As of now, the Safe Zone installation for Asan and Cheonan areas has been completed. All monsters within the Safe Zone have been repelled, and the Dimensional Movement Blocking Devices are operating perfectly.]
Yonghoon was sitting side by side with Sunhee, leaning against the turtle monster’s body.
Around him, members of Team Crazy and soldiers gathered from the city were running around to rescue survivors.
Although they found corpses more often, one or two injured people started to be rescued.
The injured were moved to Yonghoon’s vicinity, where there was less debris, and medics began treating them.
Yonghoon turned his gaze forward after watching an officer yelling into a radio to send ambulances.
In the distance, he saw Grace and the Awakened who had remained in the defense zone running toward them.
Grace stared blankly at the massive turtle monster. She had never imagined it would be captured.
When she heard the monster had been caught, she thought it might just be a large but otherwise ordinary D-rank monster with no special abilities. But after seeing the collapsed apartments here, she had to revise her opinion.
A monster capable of this level of destruction could almost be considered close to C-rank.
As she stared at the monster, she spotted two figures leaning against its body.
They were Yonghoon and Sunhee.
She approached them. The only Awakened here were from Team Crazy. They were clearly the ones who had taken down the monster.
However, Grace couldn’t bring herself to speak to Yonghoon and Sunhee. She saw the injured lying around them and the soldiers and Team Crazy members running around rescuing people.
She could satisfy her curiosity later. Rescuing people was the priority.
“Everyone, assist the soldiers in rescuing people. Hurry!”
At Grace’s words, the Awakened who had come with her ran toward the soldiers nearby. Grace also glanced once more at Yonghoon before moving to find a place where help was needed.
The Awakened’s strength was a definite help in the rescue efforts.
Using strength several times that of ordinary people, they lifted debris and cut through blocked walls with swords, doing what normally required heavy machinery.
However, as Yonghoon had expected, there were very few survivors.
Many had evacuated beforehand after hearing the soldiers’ announcements and broadcasts, but many others had stayed trapped in their homes, too afraid of the monsters roaming the streets.
Most of those rescued were injured and unable to move. Those who could move had been lured by the turtle monster and killed.
Suddenly, a cheer erupted from one side of a collapsed apartment. When Yonghoon looked over, he saw Jimin carrying two small children out from the rubble.
Jimin brought the children over to where Yonghoon and Sunhee were. That area had now completely turned into a temporary field hospital.
Jimin set the children down and wiped their faces. After the dust was wiped away, their faces looked bright, and Jimin asked them a question.
“Why are you two alone? Where are your parents?”
The place where Jimin had found the children was a relatively intact corner of a collapsed apartment. Since only the children were there, Jimin hoped their parents might be elsewhere.
Fortunately, the children didn’t seem to be in shock. The slightly older girl among the two answered her question.
“Mom and Dad told us to hide in the room because a bad monster was coming. But after a while, someone called me and Eunyu to come out, but the door was locked. So we couldn’t get out, and then everything started collapsing, and then you showed up, Unnie.”
The child answered Jimin’s question clearly.
The expressions of the people who heard the child’s story darkened. They understood what had happened.
The children’s parents had locked the door from the outside to keep them hidden. Most likely, the parents had been lured by the monster and lost their lives.
Hearing the story, Jimin hugged the two children tightly.
At that moment, the smaller child pointed ahead and spoke.
“It’s the angel Unnie.”
People turned to look in the direction the child was pointing. There, Grace and others were approaching. The child was calling Grace an angel.
“Is that Unnie an angel?”
Jimin asked, and the child replied.
“Eunyu saw the angel Unnie on TV and asked Mom about her. They said the angel Unnie would get rid of all the bad monsters.”
Yonghoon looked at Grace. She was frowning and talking to the man beside her.
Yonghoon caught Grace’s voice in his ear.
“We’re in the middle of rescuing people. This isn’t the time for interviews. We’ll do the interview after things settle down.”
“But this site has the best sense of realism. Just a few sentences would be enough. For the government and Link Corp, we need to capture scenes that feel as real as possible to gain public support.”
Grace sighed at his words. He wasn’t wrong. She figured she had no choice but to finish it quickly.
As she nodded, the cameraman rushed over and pointed the camera at her. The signal came immediately, and Grace looked into the camera.
Before speaking, she glanced around.
The collapsed buildings, the many civilian and soldier corpses, the Awakened and soldiers running around rescuing people, and finally, Yonghoon and Sunhee sitting by the monster, along with other Team Crazy members and two children.
She was transported back to the world six years ago.
Around her were the corpses of her team members, monsters, and the soldiers who had supported them.
Her team members had done everything they could to save her until the very end. They had died praying that her dream would come true, even though it had seemed impossible at the time.
“Miss Grace?”
At the man’s words from the front, Grace returned to reality. She forgot what she had originally planned to say. Instead, she spoke the words she had wanted to say five years ago.
“Countless lives have been lost so far. Our brothers, our sisters, our precious neighbors have died.”
The man tilted his head at her words.
“They did not die for the nation. Nor did they die for some noble ideal.”
The man hesitated, wondering whether to stop her. This was not the narrative he wanted.
“The countless Awakened and soldiers who gave their lives did so for their loved ones. Heroes gave up their lives for their families, their friends, and the ones they loved.”
She once again thought of her team members who had died for her.
“Even now, many are dying for you. I ask you, please, hug the precious people around you and tell them you love them. Someday, they may be the ones who give their lives for you. Please smile at them. They will hold onto that smile and fight until their last breath. They, we, will fight for you until the very end.”
She finished speaking and bowed her head. The camera turned off immediately, and after a moment, she scratched her head.
“Ah, I screwed up. I got too emotional. But whatever, I don’t want to do another take.”
She let out a deep sigh.
Watching her blankly, Sunhee spoke to Yonghoon.
“I was wrong about her. She’s actually a really amazing woman.”
Jimin nodded. They realized they had misunderstood her.
“Of course. Angel Noona is the hero of our house!”
A little child spoke brightly. The children still seemed too excited about seeing Grace to think about their parents.
Jimin gently patted the two children’s heads and muttered softly.
“Your parents are the true heroes.”
The enhanced hearing of an Awakened caught Jimin’s mutter. Hearing her words, Sunhee looked at Yonghoon. Yonghoon seemed much more at ease now.
“Isn’t it a bit of a shame? You’re the hero who defeated the monster.”
Yonghoon turned to look at Sunhee.
He let out a small chuckle and closed his eyes. Seeing that, Sunhee pouted slightly.
Yonghoon thought about himself.
He was not a hero. He was merely a weary soldier who had fallen into an unfamiliar place. All he wanted was to return to the person waiting for him.
As time passed, the rescue operations were mostly completed. Thanks to the Awakened’s powers, the work progressed quickly.
The injured were transported to the hospital by ambulances, and the children moved to the hospital with Jimin.
As people gradually cleared out, Grace turned her gaze back to Yonghoon. It seemed like it was finally time to ask.
But once again, her question was pushed back.
Two cars raced in at incredible speed and stopped in front of the fallen turtle monster.
From the two cars emerged people from different places-Manager Oh from Link System and Director Kim from Shilla Heavy Industries. As soon as they got out, they looked at each other, then ran toward Grace and Yonghoon.
Yonghoon saw them and let out a grin. It was time to talk about the monster corpses.