Breathing Life into Real Dolls

1.

Ziiiing-

Startled by the sudden vibration, Byungho quickly checked his mobile phone. There was only one person who could be contacting him right now.

「Please buy some time somehow. I’ll head to the department store right away.」

Color returned to Kim Byungho’s face as he read the message. He quickly relayed the news.

“Serim noona! Good news! Mr. Doha says he’s coming right now and asks us to buy some time!”

Kim Doha, etched in Byungho’s mind, was an outstanding general.

Byungho knew well because he had fought them directly. How vicious and terrifying the mutant zombies were…

Including him, the six patrol members who had fought the mutant zombies were all veteran fighters skilled in battle.

Nevertheless, they were virtually annihilated, only able to kill two out of ten mutant zombies.

And the one who wiped out those mutant zombies…

‘Mr. Doha. If it’s him, even if a tank is the opponent, he’ll somehow manage…!’

But contrary to Byungho’s hopeful expectation, Jin Serim was skeptical.

“You… I told you not to speak of it…”

“N-no, that’s not what’s important right now! We have to buy time somehow. Until Mr. Doha arrives!”

“……Okay.”

Nodding her head, Jin Serim headed towards the rooftop entrance. Byungho quickly followed her.

Jin Serim quickly went down the stairs and passed the 7th floor.

Kim Byungho, who had thought she would go to the 7th floor to have another tactical meeting to buy time, cried out in surprise.

“Si-Sister! Where are you going? You can’t possibly be going alone?”

“……”

“No! It’s obvious what those bastards are thinking! They’re planning to have fun raping you!”

Serim, without stopping, replied,

“Why not? If it means buying time without harming anyone, isn’t it best for them to get distracted with a woman?”

“What… what do you mean by that…!”

“Byungho, listen carefully.”

She stopped and grabbed Byungho’s shoulders, pushing him against the wall.

“Wha…!”

Byungho, taken aback, was quickly pinned against the wall. Serim’s face was more serious than he’d ever seen. That determined look, characteristic of someone ready to make a sacrifice…

“Don’t rely solely on Doha. No one else is responsible for your life. I’ll divert their attention. You go to the 7th floor right now and plan an escape with the abilities of others.”

“……”

“Use the diversion to escape. By any means, safely.”

Byungho had always thought of holding out until Doha could come to their rescue. However, Serim couldn’t afford to think that way.

The critical difference in their perspectives stemmed from the weight of responsibility they bore.

As the leader of the department store group, she had to ensure the safety of everyone, no matter what. This meant that she always had to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.

What if something unexpected happened to Doha, preventing him from arriving? They couldn’t just rely on reinforcements that might never come.

Patting Byungho’s shoulder, Serim spoke,

“There’s no ending where everyone is happy without any sacrifices. And if someone among us has to sacrifice, it should be me first.”

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and headed directly down to the 1st floor. Her movements were firm and without hesitation.

“……”

Byungho stood, lost in his thoughts.

Serim had made up her mind. She would create an opportunity no matter what.

His petty feelings couldn’t stand in the way of that. But…

2.

Kim Byungho faithfully followed Jin Serim’s orders.

He went to the 7th floor and conveyed her intentions to the capable ones, and after a brief argument, everyone accepted them.

“……Alright. Let’s all move quickly. We cannot waste the time that Serim is buying for us.”

In the end, they accepted Jin Serim’s sacrifice.

It was only natural. Although they each had different roles, not a single one of them was here without risking their life.

Even those at the forefront, who must lead with their abilities, had a very high possibility of dying.

Wasn’t it heartbreaking that Jin Serim was voluntarily going to be raped? But wasn’t it better than everyone being killed and raped?

However, Kim Byungho could not easily accept this fact. That moment when Jin Serim had gripped his shoulders, her eyes would not fade from his mind.

‘Sacrifices are necessary for everyone to live. But… it doesn’t have to be Serim Noona…’

He steeled himself and ran towards the stairs leading to the lower floor.

“Wh-What? Byungho! Where are you going alone!?”

“Please continue with the plan as discussed! I’ll go to them too and buy us more time!”

“Fool! What are you planning to do on your own…!”

There was no hesitation in Kim Byungho’s steps.

3.

“Oh, you came quickly, Miss Serim? I was considering firing a round.”

The man sitting at the machine gun post on the tank was actually aiming an armored rocket at the 7th floor.

The Panzerfaust 3. A weapon with a design similar to the well-known RPG-7.

Created for the purpose of destroying tanks, it was a device that could easily destroy the department store’s concrete walls and kill those inside.

“……I came as you wished. Now put that down.”

“Haha. You’re quite the righteous one, aren’t you? If I keep aiming, it seems like you, Miss Serim, will become quite distressed?”

“……”

Jin Serim stopped responding. The man was deliberately taunting her now.

“You’ve come down here, so you must know what that means, right?”

“……Yes.”

“Then what are you doing? Undress.”

“……”

Jin Serim shuddered and hesitated as if about to undress. Then the man, seemingly losing his enthusiasm, shook his head and aimed the rocket at the 7th floor again.

“Wait, wait! I’ll undress! Stop!”

“… Don’t waste time so transparently. I might really want to shoot.”

“……”

She began to unbutton her white shirt one by one.

After taking off her shirt and placing it on the ground, she grabbed the hem of the short-sleeved shirt she was wearing underneath.

“Waaaaiiit———!”

Kim Byungho came running out from the department store’s 1st floor.

“Haah… What’s this now?”

“……Kim Byungho?”

Jin Serim’s reaction was even more intense than the man’s. She screamed in an outraged voice.

“You idiot, what are the others doing that you managed to come here!”

Kim Byungho ignored her words and spoke directly to the man.

“You cowardly bastard! Is it fun to mock a woman by holding people’s lives hostage? Is it enjoyable!? You garbage piece of—!

Kim Byungho knew well that he was no match for them. Therefore, he planned to stall for time with childish taunts rather than attacking.

“Transparent tricks……”

The man at the machine gun post did not fall for it, but there was another man who did. Suddenly the hatch of the tank opened, and a muscular man jumped out.

The man yelled with a swaggering attitude.

“Hey, you bastard. I was planning to enjoy a strip show inside the tank in this sweltering heat, and you ruined it!?”

“Hey. Why did you come out? Get back in.”

“Shut up. The two of us can drive the tank. Just wait while enjoying Jin Serim, that bitch. Why are you hesitating?”

The military forces were divided in their opinions.

‘This is an opportunity.’

Until now, the man sitting at the machine gun post had seen through their intentions every time and acted calmly.

However, that muscular man seemed quite hot-blooded.

Kim Byungho changed his target and began to taunt.

“Hey, you big lump of nothing! Are you scared to fight one-on-one!? Let’s fight!”

“What are you saying, you tiny punk? Where did you leave one of your arms? Did you give it to the new era? Puhahaha….”

“Killing a bastard like you is nothing, even with just my right arm! Come at me, you balloon-muscled freak!”

The muscular man, who seemed about to be provoked, was unexpectedly calm. He snickered and spoke to the man sitting at the machine gun post.

“Hey. Let’s play with this guy. Fire just one shot.”

“……”

The man at the machine gun post didn’t like the situation but obediently followed the muscular man’s command. A slight press of the finger and a single shot were fired from the machine gun.

Bang—!

“Aaaahhhhhhhhh—!”

“Byungho!”

A 12.7mm bullet fired from the K6 heavy machine gun completely pierced Byungho’s left thigh.

No matter how strong an ability user was against non-magical attacks, there was a limit. And the machine gun bullet clearly exceeded that limit.

Jin Serim, crying, blocked Byungho’s front.

“St-stop it! Just rape me instead! Don’t shoot him!”

The man at the machine gun post spoke as he saw this scene.

“If you don’t move away right now, the people on the 7th floor will die, though?”

At those words, the muscular man took aim at the 7th floor with a Panzerfaust 3. Jin Serim had no choice but to step aside.

“Ugh… ugh… ugh…”

Byungho was crying, clutching his left thigh with his right arm. Left alone like this, he was destined to die from excessive bleeding.

But the man at the machine gun post showed no mercy.

“An insect that thinks it’s something. Did you think that stalling for a few minutes would change anything?”

Ratatatatatang—!

Bullets from the machine gun, fired in succession, pierced Byungho’s abdomen.

“No—!”

Byungho’s abdomen was torn to shreds by the heavy machine gun, a weapon capable of shooting down flying helicopters. Even if the world’s best surgeon came right now, it was a fatal wound that couldn’t be healed.

Just as Jin Serim embraced Byungho with a face full of despair,

“I warned you to move away, didn’t I? Serim, you broke the warning. Hey, shoot.”

Said the man at the machine gun post.

“Puhahaha, you devilish bastard. You really going to shoot?”

The muscular man pulled the trigger of the Panzerfaust 3 aimed at the department store’s 7th floor.

“Ah…”

Jin Serim could only helplessly watch with unfocused eyes.

‘I couldn’t protect… Byungho, nor everyone in the department store…’

Paaang—!

At that moment, the sound of the weapon firing filled the air…

Something white fell from the sky and intercepted the rocket head aimed at the department store.

Kwaang———!!

“Ugh…!”

A fierce explosion in mid-air. Everyone scowled at the overwhelming sound and shockwave.

Then, the thing that had taken the hit from the rocket fell to the ground, causing a massive tremor with a heavy sound.

Thump—!

“What, what is it…!?”

At that moment, when everyone was astonished, Jin Serim realized that the whole world had turned white.

“What…?”

Countless pure white feathers. No, they were gigantic wings.

The beautiful radiance mixed with white and light hues, sacred beams of light from the wings enveloping Jin Serim and Kim Byungho.

Soon after, a voice came from above her head.

“You did well, Byungho. Serim noona.”

“…Doha…?”

Jin Serim murmured in a daze. Suddenly, a familiar voice appeared. It was Kim Doha’s.

“You two bought enough time, so I wasn’t late. Now rest assured and relax.”

Jin Serim inexplicably shed tears at Kim Doha’s soothing touch on her head.

“But, Byungho is…!”

She looked down at Kim Byungho, who had passed out. And then… she witnessed a miracle.

The warm light emitted by the white wings was seeping into Kim Byungho’s wound, stopping the blood in the completely penetrated abdomen, and flesh was growing back.

“How, how is this…!”

“This person can be saved, master. Leave it to me.”

Hearing the woman’s voice from behind, Jin Serim turned her head. There was a woman who appeared to be a descended angel.

‘These wings…’

Jin Serim finally realized the identity of the wings that were embracing them.

‘Angel’s wings…!’

Then, the man on the machine gun seat yelled.

“Shit, what’s going on!?”

He focused on the white mass that had taken the hit from the rocket. Emerging from the dust cloud, it had the shape of a person.

Covered head to toe in shiny white armor, an unidentified enemy. It appeared like a knight from the medieval era, an anachronistic figure.

The helmet covered everything, so it was hard to tell, but from the body and long blonde hair beneath the helmet, it seemed to be a woman.

The problem was that the white knight had taken a direct hit from an anti-tank rocket and was unscathed without a single wound.

“Does that make sense…?”

The man groaned.

Kim Doha, looking at them with cold, sinking eyes, spoke.

“Kill them all, Serena.”

The command was made.

“Yes, master.”

The white knight replied.