NOVEL WEB As I gazed at the fireworks display of captivating missiles and shells, the sun had already risen.
The acrid smell from the explosions was getting stronger, and the sparks from the bursting shells were not very noticeable under the sun.
I was gradually getting tired of the shell explosions.
After enjoying the spectacle, it was time to enter the Dobong-gu barrier.
The path leading to Dobong-gu was an untrodden snowy trail.
It feels nice to step on fresh snow.
Plop plop
I entered the barrier, leaving footprints on the untrodden snowy field.
My small footprints, completely unsuited for war, trailed behind me in a line.
***
Dobong-gu, which had been out of human hands for 10 years, had a rather fresh feel to it.
Concrete debris crumbled low due to the relentless destruction by the ice soldiers, plants vanished by the fierce cold and blizzards.
These elements combined to give Dobong-gu the atmosphere of a post-apocalyptic city ruined by the harsh winter.
There were also quite a few strange animals I had never seen before, though they were probably not animals but Objects.
Since the temperature in the center was said to be minus 100 degrees Celsius, it seemed unlikely that ordinary lifeforms would exist.
If there was a place that was minus 100 degrees, the surrounding environment and climate should have been completely devastated, but it looked fine, perhaps another mystery of the Objects?
Even from the perspective of Object, I'm not sure about these aspects either.
In fact, isn't ghostification itself rather suspicious?
Ghostification is an ability that is as physically strange as time stopping.
Even if ghostification ignores physical forces, what about gravity? Inertia?
It's an ability that raises all sorts of questions, even for a layperson like me.
Well, the scientists at the Research Institute must be hard at work studying the details.
***
??? POV :
---
Inside the transport vehicle heading towards the Dobong-gu barrier, a solemn silence prevailed.
Looking around at the staff aboard the vehicle, their expressions were tense.
The more you know about Objects, the greater the fear becomes - it can't be helped.
After all, we are the anti-Object personnel, the experts who know Objects the best.
I addressed the staff, "Everyone, stay focused!"
At my loud exclamation, the personnel raised their bowed heads.
"The war with Dobong-gu has begun."
"This is a much better situation than the Dobong-gu infiltration scenarios we've simulated so many times."
"Since it started with the Ice Throne's attack, most of the Ice Throne soldiers have come out."
"Moreover, the most threatening temperature has spread outwards and is almost diluted."
"The ongoing shelling and missile attacks are merely decoy offensives for our sake."
"We are the main force."
"If we proceed as we've trained, we can achieve our objective."
"Engrave in your minds that our failure is the nation's failure."
"Stand tall and be dignified."
"If you feel burdened, have faith - in the Object data humanity has accumulated and the training you've undergone."
"We will definitely destroy the Ice Throne and return!"
Hearing the staff's resounding response, I closed my eyes.
Not long until the operation begins.
***
Reaper (MC) POV :
---
Taking the distant Ice Throne as a landmark, I walked briskly towards it.
The Ice Throne was a massive 20m high chair, visible even from afar.
It wasn't actually a structure tall enough to be seen from so far away, but the ice soldiers had flattened all the surrounding buildings, making it stand out.
On my journey towards the throne, I discovered a peculiar space.
Walking in a straight line towards the throne, I came across a space that felt like a baseball stadium.
A flat, circular frozen plain, with animal statues turned to ice scattered all over it. Surrounding this plain were arranged mirrors that looked like shattered glass.
The mirrors reflected the central plain, showing an ordinary scene of ice and snow.
Except for one thing.
A totem pole.
A totem pole that seemed to be about 5m tall existed within the mirrors.
Yet on the actual frozen plain, there was no such totem pole anywhere.
The totem pole had the eerie feature of turning its head to track any moving object, like something out of a horror movie.
Whenever something moved, it would turn its head to look at it, and if it was a living creature, it would shoot a freezing beam to freeze it.
However, it reacted to rocks or small animals, but showed no reaction to me.
Whether I ran across the frozen plain or slowly plodded along, there was no reaction.
Rather, it seemed to avoid looking at me.
Even when I pushed my face close to where its face should be, it absolutely refused to look at me.
It's playing with everyone except me.
No matter how much I tried to get its attention, this totem pole that stubbornly ignored me, I tried to destroy it.
But as soon as I checked the destruction conditions, my motivation instantly vanished.
The conditions looked tedious and time-consuming at a glance.
With bad luck, it could take several days - such a bothersome condition, so I decided to just ignore it and move on.
***
??? POV:
---
Our swift advance was stranded by an unexpected ambush.
A beam came flying from somewhere, hitting one of our personnel.
"!"
One staff member instantly died with his face frozen solid.
The beam came flying from the distant frozen plain with no warning, striking our personnel.
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I grit my teeth.
Each of their lives was the future of Korea.
These were not lives that could be lost in vain here.
I threw a beacon towards where the attack came from to mark the location, and warned the personnel.
"Everyone, pay attention! The enemy's attack seems to occur after visually confirming the target. Take full cover! The precise attack origin is about 5m above where the beacon is installed!"
As long as we don't expose ourselves, we won't get hit by the beam.
Everyone nimbly moved from cover to cover, dashing towards the hostile Object's location.
We arrived at a circular frozen plain.
Mirrors were arranged all over.
"Everyone! Look at the mirrors, the Object is a totem pole. It appears to shoot beams with its gaze!"
To fight an Object, we must observe it.
Failure to observe means death.
On the frozen plain filled with arranged mirrors,
An unidentified totem pole stood within the mirrors' reflections.
Its head-turning speed wasn't very fast, but not slow enough to get through this open plain without cover.
Boom-!
As part of the predetermined Object encounter procedure, the personnel threw grenades to check if the totem pole and mirrors could be destroyed.
The totem pole was completely unaffected.
It seemed to have no physical form.
The mirrors were destroyed but instantly regenerated.
An Object type that cannot be handled by physical attacks.
Troublesome.
Should we bypass the totem pole?
But then the time loss would be too great.
Moreover, there's no guarantee other routes don't have Objects either.
Maybe I should have requested the Yellow Detective to come along?
I thought his overly intuitive type wasn't suitable for this mission, but now I need him after all.
His intuition alone was Object-class, and for uncertain choices like picking routes, his intuition was top-tier.
No matter how much I pondered, there seemed no choice but to deal with this Object first.
If we can't handle even an Object like this, it will be even harder to deal with the Ice Throne beyond.
Observation is paramount when facing Objects.
There must be some hint.
When Objects are arranged with some rules, they often require puzzle-like solutions.
In the empty plain at the center, there is an immaterial totem pole.
Surrounding it are many arranged mirrors.
The mirrors are shattered into fragments, preventing a full view of the totem pole's entire figure.
Taking cover, I circled around to examine the totem pole's reflection in the mirrors.
There must be a reason for the mirrors' arrangement.
***
The sound of labored, agonized breathing reaches me.
"Huck...huek...huck..."
Another personnel was hit by the beam.
Convulsing and screaming, my comrade has...no chance of survival.
The beam only hit his leg, but his leg froze and the chill spread through his body, killing him within minutes.
How many times now, in this open plain with no cover, our personnel's sacrifices only mounted.
Fortunately, their sacrifices allowed us to glean meaningful information.
There was one spot where the full body of the totem pole could be seen.
It was the place where all the broken mirrors came together.
But even by directly gazing at the totem pole like that, nothing changed.
To find this place, three more personnel had already fallen victim to this Object.
It had to be resolved before any more casualties occurred.
To transport the bomb to destroy the Ice Throne, at least 5 people were needed, so there wasn't much leeway.
The mirrors, the totem pole, and the mirror image.
Yes, the mirrors.
Upon examining the mirrors, there was one strange point.
There were some mirrors where the totem pole did not appear.
I had overlooked the existence of those unused mirrors!
It seemed clear that those unused mirrors needed to be utilized.
***
Reaper (MC) POV :
---
Oh! An exclamation escaped my mouth as the massive scale of a chair entered my view.
The gigantic 20m tall Ice Throne was being shouldered like a palanquin by 4 equally gigantic ice soldiers.
If the path was cleared, it felt like the soldiers would rise and immediately dash down that path carrying the palanquin with tremendous force.
However, for now it was only flaunting its massive weight, unmoving.
I had come to utterly destroy the Ice Throne to liberate Dobong-gu, but a problem arose.
It wasn't that the condition for destroying it was difficult.
Rather, the problem was that it was too easy.
At this rate, even a single rock could shatter it.
The Ice Throne wasn't an 'Object'?
Then what Object was I supposed to deal with?
Could it be that totem pole I saw earlier?
Indeed, the destruction condition for the totem pole I confirmed then seemed difficult.
[Reflect the full body of the mirrored totem pole onto a single mirror]
?wasn't it?
Should I go back to where the totem pole was?