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To communicate with the outside, radio waves need to reach us. This is a fact anyone with a secondary education should know.

However, right now, there’s no signal inside the department store. I need to somehow get outside and call for help.

Now that there’s something to be done, there’s no reason to hesitate.

I immediately headed for the back entrance with Camila. Whether I manage to escort Camila to safety or call Colonel Clevenz to send in the police SWAT team or a mechanized unit, I had to come up with a plan.

The problem was…

“What on earth is this?”

“…Why is it blocked here?”

Something black is blocking all the paths to the outside.

—

Episode 8 – Say Hello To My Little Friend

—

The path is blocked. Something black is obstructing it.

At a glance, the suspicious and eerie thing looks like an extensive blackout curtain from a movie set, covering the entire building and severing its connection to the outside world.

“Is there any way to get out…?”

“I don’t think so…”

Camila couldn’t even look directly at the curtain, glancing nervously and shivering in fear. As she muttered that her stomach was feeling uneasy again, it seemed her condition worsened rapidly.

Her unusually high magical aptitude and her sudden bouts of weakness might be linked. Just half an hour ago, Camila was fine, but now her state had deteriorated drastically.

In any case…

Just to check, I pulled out my mobile phone to see if I could get a signal.

“There’s no signal here either.”

It seems like the black curtain surrounding the department store is blocking the signal.

I couldn’t tell if this was merely cutting off contact with the outside or if it was preventing communication inside the building as well. One thing was for sure: there was no mobile phone signal.

I needed to change my plans. I put away my phone and pulled out the pistol secured at my waist.

“Camila. Take this.”

“A pistol…? Why are you giving this to me…?”

“I intended to send you out to call for backup, but the plan needs to change.”

The first thing to do is gather people.

Realistically, two of us can’t save all the hostages taken by the terrorists, but at least we could evacuate civilians who aren’t caught by them somewhere within the building.

Or, we should at least find Lucia and Francesca to protect them.

So now, what we must do is clear.

“We need to go inside the building now.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve fired a gun before, right? Since you said you have a firearms license, I figured you know how to use it.”

I firmly placed the pistol and a few magazines in Camila’s hands.

Camila gasped, looking shocked as if she were holding a hot potato.

“N-no…! How could I shoot someone with a gun? I haven’t received any military training…!”

“Do you think in the Third World they fight after proper training? It’s a place where militias and regular armies train like a mess.”

“I’m not a rebel…!?”

“Militias can do it, so you can too, Camila.”

Eventually, I had to teach her how to use a pistol anyway. An information officer should at least know how to handle one.

“Starting a little early won’t change anything.”

“Are you crazy…!”

“Stop whining and stick close to me. Let’s talk while we move.”

Fortunately, it seemed her claim of having a license wasn’t a lie; from the moment Camila got the gun, she didn’t put her index finger on the trigger.

I led the way, holding the shotgun. Camila, like a good student, held the pistol in her right hand and clung to me with her left as if she were scared.

I surveyed the surroundings while giving her a few warnings.

“Once we enter the building, do not use magic unless absolutely necessary. If you faint and lose consciousness during a firefight, your life will be in danger, and if a fire spreads throughout the building, not just the hostages, but all of us will be at risk.”

First, don’t use fire.

“When you run into the terrorists, check for hostages first. If a civilian dies because you jumped in, there’ll be legal trouble. It won’t matter if it’s considered self-defense, but once you enter the courtroom and go through legal processes, you might find yourself at a disadvantage. There’s no British embassy here, so if you shoot, follow my lead.”

Second, be careful with civilians.

“Look carefully for civilians. Terrorists might disguise themselves as civilians mixed among the hostages. Collaborators within the department store could be hiding among the hostages as well. If you meet a civilian, I will approach first, so you should keep an eye on the surroundings from behind, Camila.”

Third, be cautious of civilians.

Camila, nodding vigorously, leaned her head out to ask.

“Be careful of civilians? What do you mean by internal collaborators?”

I was scanning the emergency staircase exit nearby when I replied.

“The terrorist I shot earlier was in a path used by employees, not customers. How could they have known about those hiding employees to capture them as hostages?”

If it’s an information agency, they might have obtained blueprints by bribing construction workers or facility managers. But the terrorists lack that capability. Moreover, people from No Man’s Land are struggling with basic needs.

So, there’s a high possibility that there’s a collaborator among the department store employees who helped them.

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, Camila’s face turned pale.

“What if that’s true…?”

“I don’t have concrete information. They had passports and train tickets, so they might have been conducting reconnaissance over the past few days. Or perhaps they simply stumbled upon the employee exit by sheer luck.”

But we must keep possibilities in mind. Information agencies always assume the worst-case scenario.

To ease Camila’s tension, I put forth a change of topic.

“You said you interned in information analysis, right? So you know about wild card scenarios.”

“Uh, the analysis technique?”

Wild card scenarios—an analytical technique that assumes the least likely situations but with the most significant impact.

It’s unlikely that a group with no money and no connections would plant an insider in a large department store in the middle of the capital of Abas, but if that’s true, it would create the most lethal situation for us.

For Camila, Lucia, and Francesca as well. For the Abas Information Agency. It could be fatal for my life as I crawl into the nest of terrorists.

But that doesn’t matter right now.

What truly matters is that Camila, who could potentially stab me in the back, remains calm.

I smiled, hoping Camila would relax.

“Camila, want to analyze our current situation?”

“Is it time to joke around?”

“It’s to tell you not to be tense. We’re joking around, so let’s not rush to our doom.”

I confirmed the area was safe and stood in front of the emergency staircase doorway.

“Are you ready?”

“Phew….”

Camila sighed deeply, nodding with visible tension.

“Let’s go.”

I counted down with my fingers and flung the door open.

—

Camila and I made our way up to the third floor via the emergency staircase.

It’s unclear whether the military police hadn’t cut off power to the capital or if the terrorists hadn’t tampered with the underground facilities, but within the department store, magic continued to flow normally as it would.

Only the sound of our footsteps echoed in the emergency staircase. I gestured to Camila before opening the entrance to the third floor.

“No rodents in sight.”

“It’s too quiet….”

It seemed unusually deserted for a weekday morning that wasn’t a holiday. Normally, it would be the slowest time at a department store, but even considering that, it was far too silent.

It must be due to the terrorists.

Stooping down while holding the shotgun, I moved into a store near the emergency staircase entrance with Camila. It was a store with a clear view of the whole third floor and an escape route nearby.

As I surveyed the third-floor shops, I frowned.

“Where did Lucia and Francesca go?”

“I only heard them say they were going to look at clothes on the third floor….”

Lucia and Francesca had clearly told Camila they were going to a women’s clothing store.

But every shop in sight was a women’s clothing store. As it turns out, the entire third floor was dedicated to women’s clothing.

“…Damn it.”

Looking through each store for Lucia and Francesca, who might be hiding was an impossible task. Setting aside whether Lucia and Francesca had been captured as hostages, there were simply too many shops.

If we were to run into terrorists patrolling while securing safety and searching for hostages, we would have to engage in combat. Then that would be the end of it. We’d be outnumbered.

“Camila, did you receive any training during your internship? On shooting, stealth, or survival skills?”

“Uh, well….”

“Please say you did.”

Camila blinked in astonishment.

“Uh, no, I didn’t…?”

Of course not. They wouldn’t teach that to interns, especially not ones on contract.

In any case, fighting terrorists right now is a bad idea. This isn’t Call of Duty or Battlefield. No matter how well someone is trained, getting shot means being done for. We need to move carefully.

“Camila, listen closely to what I’m about to say.”

I surveyed the area and made one important instruction to Camila.

“If a firefight breaks out, and time is running low, or if I’m overwhelmed, get out immediately and find Lucia and Francesca.”

“What do you mean by that…? Are you telling me to leave you behind…?”

“It’s better for one to escape than for both of us to become hostages.”

“Don’t joke around…!”

Camila let out a small scream.

“If I get captured, I might die! How could I just leave and save myself?!”

“It’s true my life is precious, but that doesn’t mean Camila’s life isn’t important too, right? I’m trained, but you’re not.”

“Is that even a proper thing to say right now…?”

“Even armed spies consider leaving each other behind if it means saving one person. Those guys need hostages, so they probably won’t kill me. And besides, Camila, you’re not even trained. You’re also not able to use magic right now….”

Just as I was praying Camila would listen, she suddenly slumped down.

Camila collapsed onto the shop floor, sweating cold. Biting her lip, she let out a low groan, and her breathing became quite ragged.

The girl who was just fine suddenly fell down as if she had fainted. I rushed over to her in shock.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“I-I’m feeling nauseous….”

“Out of nowhere?”

It was such a sudden situation. I tried to lay Camila down to stabilize her and check her condition when I heard bustling sounds from below the hall.

I wrapped my suit jacket around Camila and crawled on all fours, peering down towards the hall.

Below in the atrium, the terrorists were awkwardly dragging some large cargo.

The terrorists holding a heavy entrance door were clearing a path, while two of them were pulling a covered cart inside the department store.

“Th-that’s it….”

Camila, who had suddenly appeared by my side, pointed at the terrorists in a panic while sweating cold.

“What?”

“Those supplies. I don’t know what it is, but that seems to be the problem….”

Ugh! Camila began to retch as if she had caught a whiff of something disgusting. I quickly put my hand over her mouth and draped my arm over her shoulder.

I have no idea what’s going on. Is that really the problem?

I was observing the terrorists, trying to figure out how Camila’s suddenly worsened condition related to the cargo they were moving.

“……”

There were six terrorists moving the cargo. Two were pushing it while the other four provided cover.

Since they had taken hostages from the department store staff and civilians, there must be some terrorists managing the hostages.

Even excluding the terrorist I killed earlier, combining the ones moving the cargo with the beastman terrorist who took the hostages means there are at least seven terrorists left inside the department store.

If that cargo is indeed a very important item crucial to the terrorists’ plans, it’s reasonable to assume that a larger number of terrorists would be guarding it.

Moreover, when I went through the employee passage to the back door, I noticed that Camila’s condition visibly deteriorated as I got nearer to the main entrance. For reference, the first place Camila’s complexion turned bad was in the men’s clothing store near the main entrance.

“……”

I didn’t know what it was, but somehow it seemed that the cargo and Camila’s health were related. Maybe it was connected to the black something that surrounded the department store.

So, to thwart the plans of the terrorists occupying the department store, I needed to eliminate the six terrorists moving the cargo and confirm its identity.

A question arose. Could I really take care of those six?

If I made even the slightest mistake, Camila would be in danger, and if I delayed even a bit, other terrorists would come to support them. The problem was that even if I managed to stop the cargo from being transported, I didn’t know what the terrorists’ plans were. I had no idea why that cargo was essential to their plan. It could potentially be a bomb they brought to blow up the hostages in case something went wrong.

There were no certainties.

However, I had to do what needed to be done.

Just as I was about to count the bullets in my pocket and talk to Camila—

-Bang!

A harsh sound akin to a metal door being kicked echoed throughout the silent department store.

In the distance, someone appeared from the emergency stairs located on the opposite side of the third floor. It was the beastman terrorist who had disappeared with the hostage earlier.

The beastman terrorist, looking around like an enraged beast, spotted us hiding and shouted.

“You bastards—!!”

The beast’s roar resounded loudly in the quiet atrium. The beastman aimed a large sword and bristled with fur, howling as if the department store were about to collapse.

We were discovered. Hiding was no longer viable.

As that thought crossed my mind, I stood up and aimed my shotgun.

But I was a moment too late.

The beastman terrorist leaped onto the railing, coiling his body tightly. His leg muscles contracted and expanded repeatedly as he used the railing as support to launch himself. His leg strength was incredible.

-Kwang-!!

The steel railing crumpled with a vicious sound. Twisted metal caused shards of glass to fall and rain down on the terrorists moving the cargo below.

Screams and chaos erupted from down there. However, neither the cargo nor the terrorists mattered anymore.

With a crazed look in his eyes, the beastman terrorist ignored whether his comrades were injured and smashed the railing with ruthless force, darting toward us like a bullet.

“……!”

There was no time to shoot.

I shielded Camila and rolled on the ground. We evaded the oncoming terrorist, who shattered the glass of a store that had just been our cover.

“Damn it!”

I aimed my gun in the direction of the store and unleashed a spray of shot. The gunfire echoed while I heard Camila scream beside me, and below, the terrorists were in disarray.

Hoping the beastman would die or at least not be able to crawl out, I kept firing bullets.

“Is he dead?!”

“Whenever you say that, he’s always alive!”

Camila, still on the ground, yelled back. I wanted to tell her to stop being superstitious, but as always, my ominous feelings never turned out wrong.

The beastman terrorist staggered and lunged through the broken window toward the store.

His clothes were torn, whether from the bullets or the glass, and his body was covered in wounds.

But the ferocity in his sharp, glaring eyes was unmistakable.

With a predatory gaze and the growls of a wild beast, he raised a large knife reminiscent of a machete and aimed it at me.

I quickly aimed my shotgun again and shouted to Camila.

“Run!”

The sound of a gunshot pierced across the vast atrium.

*

The glass of the store exploded into countless pieces, and the displayed products were shredded into the air. Broken glass fell, and the dangling wires hung limp like a noose. As the gun fired, the spent casing popped out and rolled on the floor.

I fired at the beastman terrorist, but he dodged my bullets at an astonishing speed.

“Die!”

For a moment, the world filled with light. The muzzle flashed, and the beastman lowered his posture, dodging to the right while swinging his leg wildly.

I raised my gun to block. The unimaginable force rushed in mercilessly.

With an enormous impact, my arm holding the shotgun was twisted to the left. Even though I tried to brace with both arms, the shock transmitted through the gun made my body sway.

“Ugh…!”

Seizing the moment, the terrorist lunged at me and grabbed my collar.

Caught in his superhuman strength, I felt myself being lifted. Breath was cut off. The shotgun I had dropped rolled pitifully at my feet.

I struggled to break free from the beastman’s grip, but instead, he tightened his hold as he bared his teeth.

“You bastard! How dare you!”

His sharp teeth seemed ready to sink into my face. I punched down on the terrorist’s arm, but he didn’t budge.

I needed to change my approach.

“Even if you eat me alive—!”

“You’ve picked the wrong person to mess with!”

“Where the hell do you get off?!”

I took out the knife I had tucked in my pocket and stabbed it into the beastman’s side.

“Clang!”

The beastman screamed and raised his head. I twisted the handle before pulling out the knife and stabbing it deeper into his side.

With each sickening sound of flesh tearing, the beastman’s screams grew louder. Unable to endure the pain, he tilted his head back, slackening his grip on my collar to stem the blood flowing from his side.

I paused the stabbing and swung my knife wide. My target was his neck. I aimed to slice through the carotid artery to kill him.

But.

“That hurts, you fucking bastard!”

The beastman roared in rage, letting go of my collar to grab the blade.

I tried to pull my knife away, determined to slice off his fingers, but the beastman instead gripped my blade and drove it into my shoulder.

A searing pain spread through my left shoulder. It felt like my veins were severed, and my nerves were disturbed, making it feel as if my shoulder was set ablaze.

In that instant, I thought I might die there. I could feel death creeping closer.

Just before the brink of death, I saw Camila’s silhouette behind the beastman, aiming her pistol at him.

“……”

She was trying to shoot the terrorist, but unfortunately, I was in the way, making her hesitate.

My mind was fading. I could hear the muted sounds of the terrorist’s raging voice and Camila’s whimpering voice accompanied by a faint crackle from a small radio.

-‘Hey, I just heard gunfire. What’s going on? Report your position immediately! What’s happening?!’

It was the terrorist’s radio. Hearing the gunfire meant other terrorists would soon arrive for support.

I strained against the blade lodged in my shoulder and turned to look at Camila.

If reinforcements arrived, Camila could become a hostage. If she got caught up in this, she could genuinely die. For some reason, the terrorist in front of me seemed to have lost his mind.

While the beastman was focused on me, I had to get Camila to safety.

“……”

I took a deep breath and twisted the beastman’s thumb in the opposite direction.

Crack! The beastman’s thumb bent at an impossible angle. I gritted my teeth and twisted harder, shouting at Camila.

“Go…!”

“……”

“Just go already!”

Camila looked back and forth between us, biting her lip as she opened the emergency exit door. Thankfully, she took her pistol with her.

I needed to keep the beastman occupied to give her as much time as possible to get away.

I pulled the knife from my shoulder and plunged it into the beastman’s abdomen, then punched his chin with my fist. The beastman couldn’t hold back any longer and retreated, clutching his gaping belly.

The wounded beastman glared at me, blood dripping from his wounds, and growled as if he would tear me apart. I tightened my grip on the knife and beckoned him.

“Come on.”

“……”

“Come on, you bastard!”

The beastman yelled and charged toward me. I swung the knife to behead him. However, using his superior reflexes, he ducked and grabbed my waist, lifting me to throw me out.

Over the railing.

“Die—!!”

“You crazy—”

I plummeted toward the ground like a wrestler I had once seen on WWE. I had no chance to brace myself or mentally prepare; in the blink of an eye, I was crashing down.

*

Unimaginable pain engulfed my body. The agony was so intense I could barely breathe.

As I lay on the ground, memories of being hit by a truck flashed before me. Where was it? Eritrea? Some red bastard pushed me into the truck. I remember that guy driving a modern truck.

I slowly exhaled and inhaled, clinging to my fading consciousness. Luckily, my head didn’t hit the ground hard enough to kill me, but it seemed I had broken a few bones.

With a dazed mind, I crawled through the glass shards and collected the knife and shotgun that had fallen with me.

By now, Camila must have gotten to a safe place, so I needed to escape too.

“……”

Raising my head, I looked around and locked eyes with the terrorists who were standing there, looking bewildered.

The terrorists, armed with guns and knives, were frozen in place, staring at me, brushing off the glass shards that had stuck to their clothes and hair.

I leaned on my shotgun like a staff and sighed deeply.

“…Shit, this is bad.”

11:27 AM, Day 3 of vacation, lunchtime.

Instead of having lunch, I decided to fight six terrorists.

 

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