Apocalypse’s Teacher

Chapter 96

Red and black flames swept across the bridge.

The flames that consumed the bridge did not seem satisfied, as they immediately began to devour and dismantle the bridge itself.

There was something crumbling.

The supports and steel bars holding up the bridge, and the people.

Gihyun stared blankly at all of it.

Then, he turned his head to look at Seokho.

Seokho was looking at the bridge with an expression Gihyun had never seen before.

It was cold enough to freeze but also emotionless.

Yet endlessly fluctuating.

Only then did Gihyun realize.

Why this man, who had always grinned foolishly in front of them, was known to be such a dangerous person.

Bomberman.

How terrifying the man named Seokho could become under that ridiculous name.

"Alright, Gihyun."

Seokho's gaze turned to Gihyun.

Gihyun swallowed dryly and nodded.

"...Yeah."

It was his turn to step up.

Gihyun picked up the launcher he had brought.

*

It was heavy.

It was also painful.

Of course, it was natural.

The anti-tank weapon had a massive and menacing appearance befitting its name.

It was a weight designed solely for killing, one that a middle school girl's body could barely support.

Yet, Gihyun overcame it.

'He's been doing this every time.'

To protect us, he has always done things like this.

No, if he hadn't stepped forward this time, he would have continued to do it alone.

Gihyun hated that.

To just grin foolishly and be protected, her pride was too strong for that.

And her heart was too delicate.

Gihyun was not the type of person who could overlook someone sacrificing themselves for her.

Click-.

The unbearable weight made it feel as though her shoulders might break at any moment.

The scope mounted on the launcher reflected the cultists gathering ahead of the collapsed bridge to recover survivors.

The launcher smelled of metal.

The stifling odor made it hard to breathe.

The moment her finger moved on the trigger, the smell of gunpowder would mix with the metallic scent.

Or, her body might be thrown backward by the recoil.

Her body trembled under the weight.

The focus wavered back and forth with the movement.

As Gihyun gritted her teeth and endured, Seokho supported her.

"Take a deep breath. Just do it like you were taught."

Gihyun nodded.

She took a deep breath, adjusted her aim with Seokho's help.

Then she focused on the cultists, gathered like ants.

'If I pull the trigger....'

She would kill those people.

She would become an indisputable murderer.

She was afraid.

Her heart pounded, her breathing quickened, and her head felt blank.

Gihyun stifled her breaths and tried to shake off the thought.

She thought of something else.

She focused on something else.

The calm voice of Seokho, reaching her ears.

The sound of Juyeong crying as she clung to her.

And Hyesung, Dabin, and Dayoon—always so cheerful.

Jinwoo, still not entirely reliable, and Helen.

And even Chun-bae, sitting somewhere in the living room, sipping coffee.

If Seokho wasn't there.

If something were to happen to Seokho, she would have to be the one to protect them.

She didn't know if the idea that those who have something to protect become stronger was always true.

But at this moment, she could say it was.

Click-.

The trigger of the perfectly aimed missile was pulled.

What happened immediately after was a tremendous heat and shock that Gihyun had never experienced before in her life.

Whoosh-!

A scorching heat so intense it felt like her face was being cooked.

And along with it, a hot wind rushed in.

Followed by the shockwave, slightly delayed.

Gihyun's body was thrown backward.

When Gihyun, whose thoughts had momentarily been cut off, came to her senses, this was what she saw.

A massive shell, large enough to be visible to the naked eye, trailing a long tail as it flew through the air.

As it shrank to a dot in the distance, the people far away grew more frantic.

They seemed to try to flee, but both Gihyun and Seokho knew, as did they.

It was too late.

Boom-!

The explosion erupted.

*

Crack-.

Crack-.

The ground, set ablaze by the explosion, added noise to the silence.

A nameless believer of the Eternal Pilgrimage Church opened their eyes to the sound.

'Groaaaan....'

Their entire body ached.

And for some reason, a mysterious burning sensation was tearing at their skin.

The believer, struggling to even breathe, groaned and raised their body.

Only then did they witness the devastation around them.

'W-What...!'

The surroundings were a complete mess.

Pieces of human flesh, once people, were scattered everywhere, and even those who were relatively unharmed had parts of their bodies broken.

All the supplies had been turned into trash in the aftermath of the explosion.

No, it wasn't just the supplies.

The gunpowder and explosives they had brought—what state were they now in?

Perhaps they had detonated together in the previous explosion, as their cases no longer resembled cases, and the surrounding area was in even worse condition than elsewhere.

Being at the tail end of the formation was likely their only saving grace.

Yet, the believer could not feel relieved.

'B-Bomberman....'

The fearsome one had returned.

The one who had been quiet for several years and hadn't caught their attention at all had started targeting them again.

That much was felt so clearly.

The believer's gaze turned far into the distance.

It was the spot where Seokho and Gihyun had fired the launcher.

Right after the explosion on the bridge, something had flown toward them; the believer remembered collapsing with a feeling as if the world turned blindingly white.

With a trembling body, the believer searched their belongings and found a half-broken telescope.

They raised it to their eyes and looked toward the place from where the missile had been launched.

The believer's breath caught in their throat.

'...Not alone?'

They weren't alone.

Beside the man, undoubtedly Bomberman, stood a figure smaller in stature.

Although the telescope was half-broken and the view was unclear, there was something they could still tell.

'Bomberman has formed a team.'

And outwardly, they looked like an undergrown child.

Fear began to grow larger, fed by imagination.

The believer linked the sight in front of them to a single cause in their mind.

'...So that's why.'

The reason Bomberman had been quiet all this time wasn't defeat or giving up, but perhaps to train a successor.

The one who had always moved alone had finally started forming a team.

Tremble-.

The believer's fingertips, jaw, and body were trembling.

In response to those movements, they felt pain, but they were in no state to care about it.

It was a tragic situation.

If only they hadn't been trembling so much, if only they had observed the two just a little longer, they would have avoided the disaster.

Gihyun was loading a second missile into the launcher.

And aiming it at the dozens of people still alive.

If the believer had seen it, their future might have changed.

Of course, that was now a meaningless assumption.

Certainly, if they had seen it, they might have displayed superhuman strength to survive.

They might even have avoided that missile.

But having missed the chance, the only thing left in the believer's future was to face the oncoming missile with their entire body once again.

Kwooooom-!

A deafening explosion rang out.

Twice here at Jamsil Bridge.

Once at Yeongdong Bridge.

And three times along the Olympic Road.

A total of six missiles turned the believers of the Eternal Pilgrimage Church into pieces of meat, and the news spread across Seoul.

Naturally, it carried a single rumor.

Bomberman had returned with a team.

On this day, a new name was added to Seoul's blacklist.

*

"Rocket Girl!"

A week after the war, in the penthouse living room.

At Hyesung's loud exclamation with her hand raised high, Gihyun's face turned bright red.

"Rocket Girl!"

Another loud cry burst forth.

Gihyun was grinding his teeth as if trying to suppress a curse threatening to burst out of his throat.

I watched him with a pleasant gaze and smiled.

Then I said to Hyesung.

"Hyesung, your sister really loves it. Want to do it one more time?"

"Sure! Rocket Giiiirl!!!"

"Oh my, our Hyesung is so adorable."

"Hehe!"

When I hugged Hyesung tightly and rubbed my cheek against hers, Gihyun began glaring at me as if he wanted to kill me.

But I wasn't deterred.

'Seriously, does it make sense for me to be the only Bomberman?'

Ah, how delightful it is to have a comrade to share the burden of sorrow.

Now that I no longer have to fight an isolated battle, how blissful this is.

Of course, that's not the only reason I'm teasing Gihyun like this.

'He seems a bit better now.'

Gihyun's complexion had improved a lot.

Thinking back to that day of the shelling, when he had sobbed and vomited uncontrollably, he looked much better now.

'It'd be better to distract him like this.'

The shock of a first killing is too heavy to bear alone.

Even with someone helping by your side, it's unforgettable.

If just one is like that, then how about Gihyun's first killing, which was a massacre of almost a thousand believers?

Perhaps it served as proof.

Even in this cold winter, Gihyun, with reddened eyes, was holding out as if afraid to fall asleep.

I knew.

It was because he was scared of having nightmares.

And that time alone could ease the shock.

So, what I had to do was distract Gihyun as much as possible until that time came, so he wouldn't suffer from that day's events.

"Hyesung, should we do it together?"

"Sure!"

Of course, it was fun too.

Hyesung and I exchanged glances.

I looked at Hyesung, who was smiling brightly, and after smiling back, I took a deep breath.

"Rocket Giiiiirl-!"

"Rooooocket!"

Whack-!

And then I got hit by Gihyun.