[Amkena Episode 12]
* * *
Late dawn.
But the great city, containing ten million people, never sleeps.
Even at night, lights are lit in various parts of the building, making the entire city burn like a bonfire, and cars passing between the roads create a stream of light.
It almost always has been.
The city that Amkena remembers has always been.
But now, in front of her eyes, a scene she had never seen before is reflected.
"…"
The whole city is dark.
In the outline of the moonlight, only the shadows of tall buildings appear at a glance.
A large city with a population of 10 million was submerged in a black swamp.
'How could that be?'
It wasn't a place she knew.
A demonic world beyond the present world.
It is just a fake imitating Seoul.
'It does not make sense.'
In two days, everyone in the city left this place.
Didn't you have an accident?
If so, wouldn't the traffic congestion be so great that the roads would be clogged up?
It's the same when returning home on holidays, but if the whole city is escaping.
There is no sense of reality.
Whether or not they ask such questions, people rarely see them.
Where have people gone?
Will mom and friends be all right?
In fact, I tried to make a call earlier, but I was told that the call was not possible because it was not in the reception area.
'Maybe I'm dreaming?'
Otherwise, Seoul could not have changed like this in one night.
'They said the whole planet was hypnotized.'
It seemed that the situation had flowed on a more unrealistic and grand scale than Amkena had imagined.
'Isn't Korea going to ruin?'
Amkena leans against the railing and looks down at the city.
This is the rooftop of the abandoned building complex that was first kidnapped.
I thought it would be unreasonable to spend the night at my parents' house, so I returned to my original place.
'How much will Seoul lose if it takes a day off? group 1? Article 2?'
Useless fantasies swell.
I felt like I would lose my mind if I didn't even delusion.
Shall we go back and tell you now?
the truth is scary
It's unbearably scary to get involved in this.
The current situation was more difficult and terrifying than expected.
she's not a hero
It's just common people.
So… keep daydreaming.
If you stop thinking, you become scared.
"It is windy. Aren't you going in?"
Late at night, Amkena's thoughts were interrupted by an unexpected voice.
Amkenna looked back.
Aaron was walking.
I didn't know because I was in a hurry at the time.
Now that I think about it, it makes no sense.
Now that the hero in the game came to me in reality.
"Oh hello."
Amkenna bowed shyly.
Aaron politely bowed his head.
"hello."
Awkward atmosphere for a while.
It was Amkena who spoke first.
"Hey there."
"yes."
"So… Aaron Delkard of Taonian. Right? really right? Wearing a spear, going around with Mr. Han and studying abroad in Niflheim…"
"That's right."
"Is the pick me up that I did really the hero in the game? It's not like I'm seeing an illusion or something?"
"Of course you are. If you deny it, I have nothing to say."
"No, no. I just asked."
The conversation stops again.
gulp.
After a while, Amkena opened her mouth again.
"How was I?"
Aaron turned to Amkena.
firm expression.
As a master, how was he to the heroes?
Originally, there would be no communication at all.
It was a question and answer that could only be imagined.
Amkena tried that question.
"Did I do my part as a master of Taoni?"
"…"
"It was my first time playing a game like that, but I worked hard in my own way…"
It was the first time.
The game she originally enjoyed was Car X.
However, I quit when I went to work, and I was looking for a game to kill time in my spare time, and what I came across by chance was Pick Me Up.
"You don't like me, do you?"
Amkena threw out a fastball.
Aaron was silent.
"Looking back now, I realized that it was a piece of shit. There could have been a better nickname, but I had no idea."
Amkenara.
It's an abbreviation of whatever, but what is this?
It is a name without any sincerity or zeal.
That's because the first time I did it, I was just going to kill time and then erase it.
'I want to change.'
I want to be remembered with a better and impressive name.
However, there was no nickname change function in Pick Me Up.
"And… and…"
Strategy is reading and rolling.
I randomly started compositing and played as I pleased.
For her at that time, the game of pick me up was simply a way to relieve stress.
"But was it different for you?"
Amkena looked into Aaron's eyes.
okay.
It was a game for me.
But for him, it was reality.
'If only I knew he was actually alive.'
so that no one is victimized.
Wouldn't I have played the game harder and more carefully?
No, wasn't it wrong to play such a game in the first place?
Shouldn't it have been reported to the police?
I don't know.
I couldn't tell.
"yes."
Aaron replied.
in all honesty.
"Each of Master's thoughtless actions was at stake for our lives."
"…"
"It reminded me of myself as a child. Me in my immature days playing with passing ants. At that time, I… had no idea. I killed the ants that were carrying food out of simple curiosity."
Aaron laughed bitterly.
"I even thought that maybe I was being punished for being an ant at the time."
Amkena said.
"You are resentful of me."
"Yes, I was resentful."
"Ugh…"
Hearing those words right in front of his eyes made him feel so sick.
Amkenna bowed her head.
"But that is a thing of the past. I am not resentful now."
"You didn't go to Niflheim because I wasn't trustworthy?"
"That's my fault, not Master's."
Aaron laughed.
"I can only misunderstand you. There are several circumstances. Please understand."
"yes yes. But what happened before…"
"I don't hold grudges now. Master couldn't help it either. Or rather…"
Aaron looked Amkena squarely.
and bowed down
"I am grateful to you."
"yes?"
"Master did not give up the fight until the end."
"A fight? I was just playing a game?"
"Even so, they did not abandon us. He stayed until the end and fought alongside our heroes. That's enough. I am more sorry for not being able to properly help with the topic I left earlier."
no?
Amkenna was startled and backed away.
"No, I did that synthesis at random, too?"
"If you don't know, it could be."
Could it be?
Is it okay if I don't know?
You killed a person, right?
No, if you think about it, it can't be helped…
How do I know that the hero on the screen is a real person.
But anyway, here's the thing.
"I just sortie the heroes without thinking!"
"Wasn't it fixed later? Please refer carefully to the strategy."
"Oh, yes, but…"
Hmm.
"That's what matters. To not repeat a mistake once done twice. to keep moving forward."
"is it so?"
"This is my master's teaching."
"Then I must have been a great master!"
"…?"
"Because you worked so hard! I also did a great job! How many times have you been hit on the back by your mom for getting caught doing something clever…!"
oh.
needless to say this
"Anyway, I did my best!"
Amkenna clenched her fists.
At the beginning of the game, I was conflicted while thinking about whether to quit or not, but after I made up my mind, I never quit.
It was the same in the service review of Pick Me Up.
Despite frequent server crashes and rampant bugs, Amkena did not stop Pick Me Up. Even the so-called "Pick Me Up" big-timers are falling out of the game.
'Because because…'
I couldn't stop.
Because her hero in the game was moving on.
Amkenna cleared her throat.
After seeing it, I was curious.
Was I really helpful to that one Israt hero?
what do you think of me
When we first met, everything was so sudden that we couldn't even talk properly.
'But now… once things are sorted out…'
Maybe.
Maybe we can truly have a sincere conversation with each other as Masters and Heroes.
There Amkena found courage.
Despite the absurdity of the current situation and the situation that he had never encountered before, he was not afraid of the present. It may be that the sense of reality itself has disappeared.
"That is enough."
Aaron also nodded.
As a Master, I did my best.
That was enough.
'Maybe that's it?'
The answer will probably be found after this work is over.
Anyway, we have to save Han who is trapped in the gap of the universe.
Amkenna was determined.
* * *
The next morning.
Two bikes and a convertible are parked in a row in the parking lot of the abandoned building complex.
"Are you ready?"
Yunet said.
Amkena, sitting in the driver's seat, nodded.
"You must have understood that the outside is no longer the Seoul that Amkena knew, right?"
"yes. I was determined."
I have no choice but to know.
Beyond the parking lot, an unknown purple fog covers all of Seoul at some point. In addition, a huge reddish cloud was floating enveloping the building forest.
'I said that reality is being eroded…'
I don't know exactly what the situation is.
However, it was clear that it was not an ordinary space.
In the city in front of me, there were no people, no cars, no peepholes to be seen.
"Lidigion and I will go to the broadcasting station as is."
bike on the left.
Lydigion, sitting in the driver's seat, started the engine.
Yurnet sat behind the Lidigion.
"The other four can go to the World Tower."
The promise is made.
Amkena examined the leather bag on the passenger seat.
'good.'
A battery full of warhorse statues is securely fastened with seat belts.
I will never fall for anything.
"Then let's wish each other luck."
Siris, who was wearing a rider suit, pushed down his helmet.
And got on the bike painted red. Even without one hand, I skillfully grabbed the steering wheel and started the engine.
"We are going too!"
Aaron and Nihaku are riding in the back seat of the Black Thunder.
As Nihaku raised his hand, Amkena started the car.
Whoops!
The engine vibrates violently and screams.
"I will go first. I'll join you as soon as I'm done."
Lydegion kicked off the ground and bowed.
Boaaaang!
A gray bike with two people left the parking lot and entered the outskirts of Seoul. After that, Black Thunder and Red Bike also left the parking lot and entered the road on the other side.
'The target is over there.'
can't see
World Tower, the tallest skyscraper that stands out anywhere in Seoul.
It is over 500 meters high on the 120th floor. But even such a skyscraper is shrouded in a mysterious fog.
'I expected it.'
Amkenna had no choice but to swallow.
Over the city of Seoul.
Dozens of large helicopters are floating.
'Are there that many helicopters in Korea?'
It's clear who you're looking for.
and.
'Ugh!'
Koo-goo-goo-goo!
Vibration enough to shake the ground.
In the distance, tanks are passing the main road in formation.
A group of armored vehicles lined up behind him.
"Hey! They brought an entire army! Are you going to wage a war with the country above?"
Nihaku exclaimed in admiration.
The same announcements resonated from simple speakers installed throughout the street.
[Breaking news. The terrorists are still not leaving Seoul. Accordingly, the government is taking the maximum possible measures to issue a national emergency.]
The announcer's voice I've heard many times.
It is not the president or a high-ranking government official.
A third-rate announcer on a cable channel was representing the government.
[But is this really the right thing to do? Martial law following the entire Seoul evacuation order? Isn't it said that there are only five terrorists? Haven't any of the terrorists been caught yet? They say that they searched all over Seoul in a few days. Can this happen?]
[It's not impossible.]
The expert replied.
[It has been suggested that they may be secretly supported by the enemy.]
[Yes? That's kind of…]
[It's not impossible at all.]
[That's true… but it's kind of strange…]
[It's not absolutely impossible! Enemy support! Terrorist activity! Their whereabouts have not yet been caught! It's quite possible.]
[That's right. Anyway, I hope that peace in Seoul will be restored as soon as possible… Ah! Breaking news! The location of the terrorists has been exposed!]
Amkena blinked.
'already?'
Siris, who rode the bike side by side, said.
A voice leaked through the helmet.
"It's natural that you escaped the hidden barrier of the abandoned building complex."
to argue
I hear the sound of helicopter propellers somewhere.
it started
"let's go."
"yes!"
Amkena stepped on the accelerator.
Black Thunder began to accelerate.