Chapter 75

Invader Ⅰ

Since we're on the topic of movies, I might as well reveal my taste: I prefer alien movies the most.

To be more precise, I like movies tagged with #Disaster #Invasion #SF #Apocalypse.

You know, movies like ‘War of the Worlds’ (2005) or ‘Mars Attacks!’ (1996).

Some might find my taste a bit surprising and even question it.

-Why would you enjoy watching movies that mimic the invasion of Earth by anomalies? What's fun about experiencing the same thing in reality and in movies?

But that's a question asked out of ignorance. It’s fun precisely because movies and reality aren’t 'the same.'

It feels like watching a fantasy work.

For one, there are no awakeners in those kinds of movies. That’s already a minor 'historical inaccuracy.'

“Wow... Aliens that suck human blood to refuel and manipulate the environment. That's novel. But the lower body of the alien robots looks flimsy. A few clean slashes with an aura blade would bring them down easily.”

“Their strategy is odd too. They can hibernate for thousands of years but didn’t think to scout Earth’s ecosystem beforehand? Why? Even a year of reconnaissance would have revealed all the problems.”

“Because they’re idiots...?”

“Oh. Then I guess that’s that.”

Just listening to Sim Ah-ryeon and Seo Gyu’s comments while watching movies with me would give you an idea of how people in this era perceived SF alien invasion disaster movies.

The inaccuracies are so glaring that they make the movies enjoyable in a fantastical way. Even though that probably wasn't the director’s intention.

Among these movies, if I had to pick one that depicted reality fairly accurately, it would be ‘Annihilation’ (2018). It well-represented how ordinary people perceive the void.

Anyway.

There’s one cliché that’s almost universally and frequently seen in these movies.

‘The aliens, who seemed invincible and drove humanity to despair, actually had a critical weakness-’

This cliché.

Personally, I call this the ‘Achilles Cliché.’

You might argue that Achilles was human, but from the perspective of the Trojans, Achilles was practically an alien.

The aliens in movies die en masse from Earth’s viruses after joining the anti-vaccine movement or their brains explode due to the mysterious waves from country music rhythms. However, the anomalies in reality aren’t that kind to humanity.

But occasionally, very occasionally― just like in the movies, some anomalies appear with an ‘Achilles heel.’

The kindest alien I encountered was during the 98th cycle.

To be honest, I didn’t realize at first that it was an anomaly.

Not because I was stupid, but because it really confused people.

“Meteor shower!”

“There, there!”

“It won’t come this way, right...?”

At first glance, it looked exactly like a ‘meteor.’

The timing of its appearance was also ironic: precisely in the 9th year. At this point, the continent-class anomaly ‘Meteor Shower’ had already ravaged South Gyeongsang Province and was merrily spreading its urine trail across the globe.

Naturally, from my perspective, if something that looked like a meteor fell from the sky,

‘Ick. Meteor Shower is acting up again.’

That was the only logical conclusion.

Moreover, this ‘meteor’ didn’t fall inland but in the middle of the East Sea. Not near Ulleungdo, but in the Yamato Basin, near the Japanese archipelago.

I hadn’t heard any news about Atlantis relocating from the Atlantic Ocean to the East Sea, so that area was truly a no-man’s-land.

So, I ignored it. Being a regressor is a busy job; there’s no time to worry about the marine ecosystem.

But the story took a strange turn after the cycle where the Meteor Shower was eliminated.

“Mr. Undertaker, did you see the meteor fall into the East Sea last night...?”

“What?”

“You didn’t know. A meteor fell last night. Haha. I was worried it might be the Meteor Shower again. It was briefly a hot topic on SG Net. But nothing happened...”

“Ah, there used to be meteors falling into the East Sea around this time. So that was just an ordinary meteor.”

Even though I heard several eyewitness accounts, I lived my life not paying much attention to it.

After all, about 100 tons of rocks fall to Earth from space every day. It just so happened to fall into the East Sea, and it coincided with the Meteor Shower; it wasn’t particularly special.

Then one day.

During the 98th cycle, I happened to visit Kanazawa in Japan.

I had a meeting with the Magical Girl Association, the largest faction in the Japanese archipelago, equivalent to our Awakener Alliance.

For reference, this group is filled with crazies like us, but they’ve evolved their madness in a completely different direction. I might mention them later.

Or better yet, I hope not.

Because the meeting ran late, I ended up walking along the beach at night with the Magical Girl representative.

“So, what I’m saying is, we want you to use your abilities to help us in the Inunaki subjugation.”

“I can help. But as I said before, give me the camera.”

“Look, even though there are only three of those precious items, you know we only have three of those, right? Instead, we’ll offer other rewards... Oh?”

“Hmm?”

Even though it was quite cold, the Magical Girl, who insisted on wearing a frilly goth-loli outfit and carrying a black umbrella even at night, pointed towards the East Sea.

This fashion sense might be a rare sight anywhere on Earth, but a more surprising sight was unfolding over the East Sea.

Thanks to being a regressor, my aura training was several levels above others, giving me incredibly enhanced eyesight.

“......”

“Wow! It’s a shooting star!”

The Magical Girl hopped up and down excitedly on the sand. I couldn’t match her enthusiasm.

Because.

“A disc?”

“Eh?”

“No, that thing falling into the East Sea. It’s not a meteor... it’s a disc... a saucer-shaped flying object.”

“Huh? A UFO?”

With a voice that made me want to strangle her, the Magical Girl tilted her head. Fortunately or unfortunately, I had gotten used to their behavior and could nod in resignation.

That’s right. An Unidentified Flying Object (UFO).

It was the moment when extraterrestrial beings made their grand debut.

Since a Magical Girl was present when I witnessed the anomaly, a quick investigation team was assembled.

Because of the power of the word UFO, the Magical Girl Association took the matter seriously.

“We’ll deploy the aircraft carrier ‘White Blossom’ for the investigation mission. Undateikeo, please join us!”

“Uh, sure...”

For reference, the Magical Girl Association had a total of thirteen aircraft carriers. By the standards of the pre-civilization era, they were on par with the US Navy, making them one of the world’s most powerful naval forces.

Of course, all of these were small fishing boats and cruise ships illegally modified and painted with the word aircraft carrier.

You might wonder what the correlation is between Magical Girls and aircraft carriers. How would I know?

The official name of their headquarters is ‘The Fifth Neo-Tokyo Neo-Kowloon Fortress: Miji Shrine.’ They are complete lunatics. Moreover, they always call me the ‘Undateikeo.’ If it weren't for business, I wouldn’t visit them.

No matter what, this story isn’t about those lunatics. It mustn’t be. Because they... No, never mind.

Anyway, we arrived at the area where the meteor had supposedly fallen and began our search operation.

And.

“We found the spacecraft!”

Seven hours after starting the operation, we found the UFO. Despite their craziness, these friends were competent and accurately located the flying saucer drifting on the surface.

The Magical Girls gathered on the deck and chattered excitedly.

“Wow. Just like the Undateikeo said, it’s not a meteor but a UFO...”

“Observation: It fell from the atmosphere and hit the surface. Assessment: The exterior is relatively intact. Conclusion: It’s a product of a civilization that far surpasses human science and technology.”

“......!”

“Amazing. There are waves on the surface. If we approach recklessly, won’t an alien pop out?”

The UFO submerged briefly with each wave before resurfacing. Like an engine room inside a car’s hood, the surface of the flying saucer was densely connected with complex pipes.

The first encounter with extraterrestrials.

Even I, who had experienced countless battles, felt a slight tension.

“There’s no response for now. Whether we talk or fight, we need to enter it first.”

“Okay...”

“I’ll go in first. Anyone coming with me?”

“Well, after suffering for seven hours, it would be meaningless to back off now. I’ll follow, so lead the way.”

I nodded. Leaving the rear guard to the Magical Girls, I entered the UFO without hesitation. Again, despite their craziness, they were professional anomaly hunters.

Splash, splash.

The interior of the UFO was dark. It had already begun to flood, and water reached our ankles. As soon as we stepped into the corridor, a gasoline-like smell filled our noses.

“Stars—guide the dawn of humanity.”

Flash.

When the Magical Girl chanted, orb-like lights began to float around her, illuminating the surroundings.

As soon as our visibility improved, other Magical Girls also started chanting their spells.

“Presence—detection—visualization.”

“... ... ...”

“Even though there was no sound—your footprints are imprinted on my heart.”

In an instant, our exploration team was equipped with visibility, radar, sonar, and stealth magic.

This was how the awakeners in the archipelago managed to resist despite the descent of Ya-o-yorozu no kami. It was a different kind of magic compared to Dang Seo-rin’s Cursed Song Incantation.

Cursed Song Incantation’s essence lay in its melody and rhythm, with Latin lyrics merely being an additional preference of Dang Seo-rin. In contrast, their magic was entirely composed of poetic language.

For magic-type awakeners, this ‘poetic magic’ was fundamental. Cursed Song Incantation was a unique school developed solely by the maverick Dang Seo-rin.

[Strange.]

We communicated via telepathic magic.

[No matter how wide we extend the detection range, I sense nothing. Machines, machines, machines. It’s just full of machines.]

[Hypothesis: Non-living extraterrestrials. Theory: Intelligent beings that have completely replaced their bodies with machines.]

[This place is a complete maze. There’s a high possibility of an ambush, so we must remain vigilant.]

[Truly, I feel nothing. Undateikeo, do you sense anything unusual?]

[No. Wait—]

Thud.

The Magical Girls stopped in unison at my word. Their movements were well-rehearsed. It was excellent that they all waited for my further response without questioning, ‘What’s going on?’ or ‘Why?’

Suppressing my thoughts about how reliable they would be if only they didn’t speak so oddly, I took five steps forward.

Thud, thud.

I tapped the ‘object’ in the corridor ahead with the tip of my sword. Even when I infused my aura, there was no reaction from the object. Only the water at ankle height rippled gently.

“They’re dead.”

There was no need to communicate telepathically, so I murmured aloud.

“What?”

“They’re already dead. All of them.”

The dark corridor of the UFO.

The passage was filled with over 120 alien corpses, melted beyond recognition.

The ‘East Sea UFO Crash Incident’ of the 98th cycle ultimately remained an unsolved case.

Why did aliens with technology far superior to current human civilization perish inside their ship? Were they already dead before crashing into the East Sea?

I couldn’t hide my curiosity about this new anomaly.

After all, it was a mystery related to extraterrestrials. How could I resist?

Thus, in the very next cycle, the 99th, I prepared thoroughly.

This time, instead of searching after the UFO fell, I planned to go to the crash site and wait.

“You want to use an aircraft carrier? Even if you are the one and only Undateikeo, we can’t just lend you one of our only seven military resources...”

“I’ll help you with the Inunaki subjugation next time, with no conditions.”

“Deploy the first aircraft carrier, White Blossom!”

Footnotes:

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