Sergeant Kwon Noeul scratched his waist and spoke in a half-awake voice.
"It's so loud I can't sleep… What's all the commotion this early in the morning?"
"Sergeant Kwon! Someone's here looking for you, sir!"
"Looking for me? Why? Ah… did they move up my discharge to today?"
"It's Sunday, there's no way, sir! Anyway, they said they're from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology… over there."
"Huh?"
At twenty-three, Kwon Noeul stood a full head taller than the soldiers around him.
His body mass was about one and a half times the average—a truly massive build.
Compared to his large frame, his face was small, giving him well-balanced proportions.
He threw a low, mid-range voice in Alpha's direction.
"An android… right? Korea Institute of Science and Technology or whatever—what do you want with me?"
"Sergeant Kwon Noeul. You are to immediately cease your military service and return home."
"Return home…? Huh, you mean go back home?"
"That is correct."
"Oh…! Seriously?!"
Kwon Noeul cheered in delight.
From Alpha's perspective, what difference did a single day in the schedule make?
Kwon Noeul packed his belongings at remarkable speed and came out,
but a noncommissioned officer blocked his path.
"Hey! What do you mean discharge without the unit commander's orders? Shouldn't you at least file a report?!"
"There is no time to wait for orders. You should act under the assumption that no further orders will come."
"What do you mean, no orders…?"
"That is correct. As advice, arm yourselves and hold your current position. If supplies cease, you should relocate."
"Arm ourselves? Supplies? What on earth are you—!"
The soldiers, including the NCO, could not understand Alpha's words at all.
It was only natural.
There was too little information.
They were people who had not experienced war in nearly a hundred years.
Only when they faced the reality of supplies being cut off starting today would they understand.
In any case, almost all military units would soon become isolated like this and be forced to find their own way to survive.
Boom— Boom—!
"W-what?!"
A distant explosion rang out, and everyone flinched.
Taking advantage of the moment, Alpha led Kwon Noeul away.
Kwon Noeul slung his duffel bag over his shoulder and walked lightly.
'Hm… no sense of crisis even in this situation.'
Alpha felt a slight sense of incongruity but did not consider it a major issue.
He could not leave things as they were.
"Sergeant Kwon Noeul."
"Huh? Android… you still got something to say?"
"Call me Alpha. Your hometown is Seodaemun District, Seoul. Correct?"
"Close enough. Just one bus transfer and I'm there."
"Buses are not operating at present."
"What? Then how do I get there? Should I call a taxi? That's expensive…."
"…The roads are dangerous. I will take you there myself."
"Take me—how—ugh?!"
Alpha lifted Kwon Noeul onto his shoulder.
Despite weighing nearly 120 kilograms and carrying luggage, it was well within Alpha's output capacity.
"Hey, what are you doing! I can go by myself!"
"Adult human male. No tracking ability. No weapon. Weak combat capability. Transport is the most reasonable option."
"Ugh!"
Alpha ran over the mountain ridge with Kwon Noeul on his shoulder.
To avoid the dangers of the city streets and roads, crossing the mountains was the only choice.
As for what those dangers were, that could be explained later.
[Kyah—!]
[Shat! Shasha!]
Even in the mountains, genetically mutated animals were running rampant.
However, as it had not been long since their mutation,
they could be avoided without much trouble.
The closer they drew to Seoul, the more frequent the explosions became,
and the wind carried the scent of burning civilization.
Kwon Noeul gradually realized that something was terribly wrong.
"What… what on earth is happening?"
"It is a crisis situation for humanity."
"…That's not exactly a proper answer…."
"You will understand in time."
Alpha swiftly crossed Bukhansan and climbed to the top of Inwangsan.
From there, the center of Seoul lay in full view.
Only then did Kwon Noeul react in shock.
"Th-this… what… Seoul is burning…! M-my parents—are they safe?!"
"The apartment where your family resides will remain safe for the time being."
Kwon Noeul's home was located just below Inwangsan.
Alpha set him down on the rooftop of the apartment building.
Kwon Noeul looked around at the explosions and screams filling the surroundings and spoke.
"Damn it! Just when I thought I was finally getting discharged, the world's already shattered…!"
"This is the world you must now live in."
"Alpha… what am I supposed to do?"
"For now, begin with survival. Return home and focus on surviving with your family."
"…Got it. I need to check if my parents are safe first."
As Kwon Noeul opened the rooftop door, he suddenly turned back.
"But, Alpha."
"If you have something to say, say it."
"I made it home… but what about the guys in my unit?"
"That question only occurs to you now?"
"Ugh. I had no idea it was this dangerous. I was just happy about being discharged…."
"Whether here or there, the probability of survival is similar."
"Is that so… that's a relief."
In truth, it was not much of a relief.
The probability of survival was extremely low everywhere.
"But why did you bring only me?"
"Because you possess a special ability."
"A special ability? Me?"
"That is correct. That power… I hope you will use it for humanity."
"Wait, hold on—"
Before his final words finished,
Alpha had already leapt away, vanishing from his sight.
'That power… I hope you will use it for humanity. Hm. That might have sounded cool.'
…so Alpha thought.
Truly. At that time, he was not very human.
Or perhaps, he was more human than anyone.
Alpha saved Sergeant Kwon Noeul and brought him home.
Did that mean everything was finished?
Of course not.
There was work piled up waiting.
And at that time, what Alpha had to do was repair the water supply system.
Clank. Clank.
After traveling across the country fixing water systems,
he spent busy days helping humans who began to awaken one by one.
"Hey, Alpha! You came to help!"
Kwon Noeul also awakened around the same time.
As expected, he was the type whose physical strength greatly increased.
Alpha occasionally kept an eye on him.
The Awakened grew stronger and gradually swept away the monsters within the city,
and before long, they formed communities of their own.
The Awakened communities were highly diverse,
but the ones that dominated Seoul were
There was much to say about them, but that could be addressed later.
More than anything, during this period, Alpha was….
He had been living while avoiding the Awakened.
"Eek! It's an android!"
"Kill it! No, smash it!"
The Awakened often attacked on sight.
It was unavoidable.
Every android except Alpha had been infected and turned into killing machines.
It was common for entire families to be slaughtered by their household androids.
Arguing, 'I am on humanity's side,' was meaningless.
With no other choice, he avoided humans and helped them from the shadows as the years passed.
Most of his spare time was spent collecting data.
This was the 63rd iteration.
It had not been long since he began operating outside the laboratory.
There was an overwhelming amount of unknown data.
Thus, three years passed.
Year Four—
The year the first boss battle began in Korea.
The Situation was like a box of poisoned chocolates.
Whatever one pulled out, a different threat emerged,
and most of them led to humanity's extinction if not handled properly.
Among them, there were particularly large chocolates that stood out.
Alpha called those "boss battles."
Spring of Year Four.
After enduring the cycle of seasons three times, just when things were beginning to feel somewhat familiar.
Just when a faint hope arose that survival might actually be possible.
It descended from the north.
Dududududu—
Kuwakwakwakwa—!!
It began with an immense bombardment striking the
After the area around the 38th parallel was reduced to a sea of fire and the mountains flattened into plains,
[Grrr… guhk…!]
Leading a zombie legion numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
[Grrrrrrrrr—]
Its growl vibrated the very air,
Gugung— Gugung—!
With each step shaking the land,
a colossal monster—
"Mountain Lord" appeared.
"My… my God…."
The first to discover it were members of
Reserve Forces Command was an Awakened organization that had taken it upon themselves to defend Korea.
Though they had a somewhat unhinged rule requiring constant military uniforms, they were decent people overall.
"It's… it's here. An invasion from the north…!"
They had routinely occupied abandoned military bases to stand guard against northern threats.
Most people had considered it pointless.
In the end, they were right.
A massive threat had truly descended from the north.
The problem was that it was a threat beyond their ability to handle.
Gugung— Gugung—!
In simple terms, Mountain Lord resembled a gigantic tiger.
Its shoulder height alone approached 20 meters,
with a body length exceeding 50 meters—a grotesque scale.
From a human perspective, it was as if an entire building were walking toward them.
A single claw was larger than a human being.
"This is insane…! What kind of monster is that…!"
"But the ground around it… why is it writhing like that?"
"Th-th-those are… humans!"
"Jesus…."
It was a sight that could make even an atheist utter the name of God.
Hundreds of thousands of humans densely surrounded Mountain Lord.
They moved in unison with it.
They followed without self-awareness.
Creatures commonly called zombies,
once residents of North Korea.
"Retreat…! We have to inform headquarters!"
The border guards of Reserve Forces Command acted with perfect rationality.
They fled toward Seoul.
Four hours later, at the summit of Dobongsan.
Chairwoman Jeon Soyeon of
"…Even seeing it with my own eyes, I can't believe it."
"Can we win?"
"Win? Against that?"
"…I had to ask."
The gigantic tiger monstrosity, commonly called "Mountain Lord," was advancing south at four kilometers per hour.
It could likely move far faster if it ran,
but it seemed to be matching the pace of the sea of zombies blackening the land around it.
"What are those zombie hordes exactly?"
"Perhaps coincidence, but there is a similar tale in folklore. It is said that those devoured by a mountain tiger become changgwi—enslaved spirits bound to the tiger. It seems our northern neighbors have already become such things."
"So that giant monster comes from legend?"
"Who knows. At this rate, we will all become changgwi."
No one wished for that fate.
People from northern Seoul—Dongducheon, Yangju, Uijeongbu—were fleeing south into the city.
Even now, endless lines of evacuees could be seen.
"It appears the creature prefers flat terrain. Or perhaps it favors cities."
"Given its path… it will eventually enter Seoul. Should we retreat and gather all the Awakened in the south to fight?"
"We might manage that. But do you think the millions of civilians in Seoul can all escape?"
"…That would be difficult."
"If they all become changgwi, it will be even worse. Whether we like it or not, Seoul must be defended."
"…Understood. Then we'll make our stand at the bottleneck where Uijeongbu meets Seoul."
"Good. The area near Suraksan Station will suffice."
The Chairwoman of Hunter Association and the Chief of Staff of Reserve Forces Command clasped hands.
It was a historic alliance between two groups usually at odds.
"This is the first time we've fought together."
"It may well be the last."
Perhaps that was what they believed.
Alpha, however, had seen it many times.
Kim Seongyeop turned to Alpha.
He wore a bulletproof helmet adorned with four stars—
in short, cosplay.
"Alpha. Will this suffice?"
"It is the optimal decision. Under the current circumstances."
In this iteration, it was Alpha's first time meeting them as well.
Four years had passed since the Mountain Lord battle of the previous iteration.
From his perspective, it was not a pleasant reunion.
They were humans who had often tried to kill him.
"Alpha, to be honest… I've never seen an android that wasn't a killing machine."
"Nor have I."
"You somehow avoided infection. Is there a reason?"
"…I do not know the exact cause. Perhaps because I was a prototype created by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology. Even the Extraterrestrial Entities failed to hack me."
"Hah! Is that so? I wish we had known earlier."
Kim Seongyeop clicked his tongue.
In truth, there were two reasons they treated Alpha amicably.
First, they were facing the colossal enemy known as Mountain Lord.
Second, Alpha had just beaten down Awakened referred to as S-class and commanders alike.
Fists, after all, were a valuable means of dialogue.
…As for how they treated him, that could not be helped.
Their desire to survive was genuine.
The two leaders had realized upon seeing Mountain Lord that there was no answer but to mobilize all forces for a desperate all-out clash.
"Our Association is already assembled."
"Our forces have issued a mobilization order as well. At this point, we can gather most of Gyeonggi Province."
"Alpha, we ask that you take the vanguard."
"Indeed. None among us can defeat you."
"…I am aware. That is why I came."
Thus began the battle known as the "Defense of Seoul," the "Battle of Suraksan Station," or the "Mountain Lord Battle."