Chapter 5
“Hey! Useless bastards! Not one of you can hit them! Come out here right now!”
The man, who had been posing as a priest, screamed hysterically and pulled out a gun from his waist, backing away as he aimed at Yongcheol. People around him quickly joined in, each holding a gun.
But fortunately, our Yongcheol might be foolish, but he’s not weak. Brandishing the club he had strapped behind his back, Yongcheol immediately threw the children safely behind him and charged toward the man.
“Yaaaah! Die!”
Ever seen a lunatic charging into a hail of bullets with only a broken pole? I have. And now, those bandits are about to experience it too.
Thunk!
Turns out, a club can be quite an aggressive weapon.
“What the… craz… why is this fat guy so f… fast…”
“I am D.I. I’ve never missed being the last runner for the final relay.”
With blood streaming down his forehead from a cracked skull, Yongcheol swung again, lifting his chin defiantly. Just then, bang! A gunshot rang out, causing Yongcheol to stagger. He got hit.
“Argh! It hurts!”
Bang! Blood sprayed from Yongcheol’s arm as he rolled on the ground in agony, seeking cover. But that was it. As long as everyone knew where he was, he’d continue to be exposed to attack.
“Ugh, that bastard.”
Relying on Maria for protection, I steadied my breath and looked through the scope.
‘There are eight of them.’
They might be called bandits, but their numbers were small. I suspected there were others not present. As long as the magazine was in the car, I had to conserve as many bullets as possible.
“Hey! Where’s the woman? Bring her here!”
“Oh, uh, she was heading towards the back of the Maria statue.”
“Towards the back? So? What, you want me to bring her? Move faster, you idiot!”
That priest…. No, the fake priest seemed to be the leader of this group, constantly shouting and commanding the others. Perhaps realizing I already had a gun, their actions were less extreme compared to their words, exercising more caution. I was thankful for that.
Hiding in the shadow of the Mary statue, I held my breath and waited for them. Perking my ears, I focused on the sound of their footsteps. One step, two steps… and now.
Bang!
“Aaargh!”
“Shoot! Just kill them!”
The sudden gunfire shattered the silence between them. Rattatattat! Narrowly dodging the shots flying towards the Mary statue, I took cover behind the wall, sticking just the barrel out. Bang! Bang! Baang! The bullets hit their bodies without missing a beat, causing them to stagger back as if recoiling. Except for the fake priest, 3 remained.
“Sh-shit… Hey, what’s this? I thought we could ignore her since women can’t handle guns properly!”
“Aargh! Why are you yelling at me! How was I supposed to know she’s a good shot? Huh?”
“Because of you, we’re all gonna die… Ugh!”
The man couldn’t finish. Suddenly emerging from the thickening darkness, I swung my military machete.
“Ahhhh!”
Rattatattat!
Seeing me up close, the other man panicked and blindly opened fire, but I was too seasoned to be a target for such clumsy shots. Swish! Sliding low to the ground, I swept past between the man’s legs, kicking his waist with my foot before pointing the gun barrel at the back of his head.
“Wait, please!”
The man hastily exclaimed.
“Pl-Please spare me. Just this once. I had no choice, I was ordered by that person. Please?”
Trembling and stammering, he begged for his life, promising he wouldn’t do it again, pleading for mercy… Listening to his words, I suddenly became curious. How many people has this guy seen begging for their lives in front of him?
These people, who refuse to live quietly in a safe shelter, instead choosing to kill and play with the weak refugees outside teeming with infected, are the real looters.
“That’s a short plea for sparing your life.”
“Th—uh, sp-spare me, please.”
If I let scum like them live, they’ll create ten, twenty more victims. In reality, the looter I spared caused chaos in a small shelter, where all the refugees ended up dead. From the moment I faced a five-year-old kid who used to follow me, lying dead, I stopped seeing looters as human.
“No.”
Bang!
With one swift motion, I ended the man’s life, keeping the gun pointed downward as I turned away.
Then I saw the fake priest entering the cathedral, using Jun as a hostage. Thinking about finally attending mass again, I followed him inside.
“W-What are you…! Who are you!”
Where’s his confidence gone? The fake priest trembled and shouted as soon as he saw me. The gun barrel was touching Jun’s cheek.
“What the hell are you, you bast—aargh!”
Bang! Bang!
Bullets hitting the ground far from where I stood. He’s panicking. What a waste of bullets.
“Hey! Hey! I’ll let you go. Huh? This ain’t everything we got. We got way more supplies comin’. If they get here, you two are dead! So leave now while I’m letting ya. Huh?”
As I expected, this wasn’t their entire crew. I slowly blinked. Pondering how to handle this didn’t take long. I looked at the boy, Jun, sniffling as the fake priest held him.
“Your name is Jun?”
The boy glanced at the priest nun before slowly nodding.
“Did the fake priest hit you?”
His shoulders trembled violently. Then, either unconsciously or not, he covered the bruise on his arm with his palm.
“Did they hit your little sister too?”
Hic! A stifled sob comes from the side. A glance shows that Yongcheol has already stopped his bleeding and is now holding the crying Yeon. She seems to be almost choking from wailing so hard—not a pleasant sight. I looked at the fake priest.
“Even if you were just playing priest, you shouldn’t have hit the kids, you counterfeit bastard.”
The fake priest’s face contorted in anger.
“F-Fuck, what the hell does that have to do with you? Do you even know these brats? No, right? You don’t know! Then just leave!”
He swung his gun recklessly, but since there was some distance between us, he couldn’t hit me directly.
Arrogant certainty that he couldn’t be hit from this distance, and despicable speculation that since there was a child hostage, he wouldn’t dare to shoot recklessly.
“No, not happening.”
I didn’t move an inch, keeping my gun trained on him. I peered through the scope.
“As someone desperately searching for her little brother, how can I ignore kids getting beaten up? Right?”
Hearing my words, the fake priest, who had been momentarily stunned, widened his eyes and stammered.
“What?”
He rolled his eyes for a moment, then sighed heavily and exclaimed.
“Little brother…you, you can’t be…Min Ah—!”
Bang!
But he couldn’t finish his sentence. With a hole in his forehead, the fake priest fell backward, tumbling to the ground, and, ironically, ended up lying beneath the crucifix.
How ironic—A fake priest who arrogantly impersonated one while committing sins contrary to God’s will, lying punished under the very cross Jesus was crucified on to save the righteous.
Watching this contradictory scene, I made the sign of the cross.
“Hallelujah.”
Amen.
🕂
Thank you for reading! ♡
