Breathing Life into Real Dolls

1.

The man seated at the machine gun quickly sized up Kim Doha.

‘The man with that white sword from before. So, the White Knight is… that blonde woman…!’

The situation became clear in the man’s mind.

They had coerced Jin Serim into summoning the two. Jin Serim had called them, and now they were here.

One thing that he hadn’t anticipated was that the blonde woman could withstand a direct hit from a tank shell and still appear unscathed.

‘No, there’s no way she’s entirely fine. If that armor is some kind of ability, it must have its limits. But first…’

Deciding on his next move, the man turned the machine gun towards Kim Doha.

Targeting the seemingly more vulnerable one before the heavily armored opponent seemed to be the logical choice.

Ratatatatatatatatatatatang—!

The K6 machine gun, which could fire 600 rounds per minute, blazed away.

The White Knight, who had started running as soon as the machine gun turned, deflected the bullets aimed at Kim Doha with her body.

Tatatatatatatatating—!

The bullets that struck the White Knight’s armor were deflected and didn’t leave a scratch.

“Damn it, she’s too tough…!”

The man gave up. There was no point in clinging to the ineffective K6.

He jumped into the interior of the tank, sealed it, and yelled at the gunner.

“Fire—!”

The man in charge of the machine gun also oversaw the tank operations. Following his order, the gunner, who had already aimed at the White Knight, fired the cannon.

Boommm——!!

A 120mm shell shot through the air, colliding with the White Knight, causing a massive explosion. The ground shook as if there was an earthquake, and gusty wind blew in every direction.

“Phew…”

The men inside the tank heaved a sigh of relief for a moment. They had been in an extremely urgent situation, but after firing the main cannon, they felt at ease.

The White Knight had already taken a direct hit from the anti-tank rocket. Although she seemed fine on the outside, the shock must have built up inside.

Under such circumstances, it would be impossible to withstand the tank’s main cannon. It would be a feat far beyond the abilities they knew.

But…

As the asphalt burst open, a dense cloud of dust arose. Through it, bits of white armor began to emerge.

The White Knight was unharmed.

The tank commander screamed in horror.

“Damn it, don’t stop! Keep firing!”

“Damn…!”

The K-2 Black Panther, equipped with an automatic loading device, was capable of firing more than 10 shells per minute. Immediately reloaded, the next shell was quickly fired.

Boommm——!!

Once again, an overwhelming explosion created a thick cloud of dust. But this time, the result could be seen much faster.

The White Knight was rushing toward the tank, even though she had been hit by the shelling. The thought crossed their minds:

‘Could it be she’s really not affected at all…?’

The tank commander yelled in desperation, almost as if he were in pain.

“Crazy…! Retreat! Quickly—!”

“Retreat!”

The driver quickly maneuvered the tank.

Vroom—!

The K-2 Black Panther’s tracks began to retreat at a speed of 70 km/h. Simultaneously, as soon as the next shell was loaded, the main cannon spewed fire again.

Boommm——!!

It was already the third explosion. However, the White Knight, struck by the shelling, only staggered for a moment during the explosion before approaching the tank again at tremendous speed.

“Why, why is she so fast…?”

“What do we do now!?”

The White Knight was getting closer. She was running faster than the speed at which the tank was retreating.

‘Is this even possible…?’

Unharmed by the anti-tank rockets, unharmed by the tank’s main cannon, and able to run faster than a tank.

Even just imagining such an enemy was a nightmare, and now it was rushing toward them in reality.

“She’s, she’s catching up…!”

“No, this can’t be…!”

Everyone inside the tank was in a panic. A muscular man who had been sitting still yelled,

“Idiots, calm down!”

“…”

He spoke with a calm voice,

“Why are you all so scared? What can that mere chunk of solid armor do once it gets close to the tank? Huh?”

“…”

“Is she going to cut the tank with that long piece of metal in her hand? Through the tank’s damn thick composite armor?”

The White Knight was holding a sword as large as her body. It was a type of two-handed sword commonly called a Zweihänder.

It looked useful for cutting humans or zombies, but it was hard to see it as an effective weapon against a tank.

“Take a deep breath, and we just have to run away. Then she can’t do anything but cling to the tank. We just have to wait inside here until she wears herself out.”

The muscular man’s logical explanation restored the other men’s calm.

“Come to think of it…”

“Her only weapon is a sword, right?”

“We just need to avoid anti-tank weapons.”

“Phew… I was needlessly tense.”

It was then.

Thump—

A shock was felt from outside the tank. It was the impact of the White Knight climbing onto the tank.

Thump- Thump- Thump-

They could feel the White Knight’s footsteps through the vibrations above their heads. The White Knight, standing directly above the tank’s hatch, struck the tank with her massive sword.

Crash—!

But the noise was all there was; the tank was fine. There was only a small scratch.

The men inside the tank, tense from the vibrations, burst into laughter.

“Heh heh heh, what are you doing, you idiot—!”

“This is tank armor, you damn bitch! Ha ha ha ha ha—!”

Despite the men’s mockery, the White Knight continued to strike down silently.

Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!

“What a stupid woman, really…”

“Keep trying for a hundred days. See if that’ll get through.”

Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!

The White Knight was repeatedly striking the same spot with a consistent motion. Her movements were precise, almost mechanical.

Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!

“Is she a woman who can’t understand words?”

“She looks like a knight; doesn’t she know what a tank is? Heh heh heh.”

The men were still at ease for now.

But then…

Bang—!

Bang—!

Bang—!

Bang—!

Bang—!

…

“……”

Minutes passed, and at some point, they fell silent. The ease that once filled their faces vanished. All of them were breaking out in cold sweats.

Then, one of them opened his mouth.

“……Could it really be getting through?”

His words expressed the anxiety of them all. But the muscular man tried hard to reply nonchalantly.

Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!

“You idiot, do you think it’ll get through? Think a little……”

Crash—!

“Whaack……!”

The long white blade came down right in front of the muscular man’s nose. The White Knight’s sword had pierced through the tank’s hatch, stabbing into the interior.

“……”

A chilling silence ruled the inside of the tank. The unthinkable had really happened.

Then, a delicate female voice flowed from inside the White Knight’s helmet.

“Master. I have made a hole.”

“Oh, is that so? Well done, Serena.”

It was Kim Doha, who had followed Serena on Ciel after tending to Kim Byungho’s wounds.

Immediately after, a yellowish liquid began to trickle in through the hole in the tank’s hatch.

“What is……?”

“Ugh, the smell of oil……! It’s, it’s gasoline, this……!”

The men inside the tank were all soaked in the gasoline that had leaked through the hole. To them, Kim Doha proposed in a calm voice.

“Do you want to open the hatch and crawl out on your own, or should I toss a match in through this hole?”

“……”

“F**k……”

They obediently opened the tank’s hatch and surrendered.

2.

Evaluation of this incident.

An irreversible catastrophe might have occurred if it had been just a bit later. However, everything ultimately worked out well.

“In that regard, you played a big role, Ciel. Thank you.”

“Heheheh. Please use me anytime.”

Ciel’s magical flight boasted a speed that seemed to reach hundreds of kilometers per hour. Thanks to that, they could arrive on time.

Saving the dying Kim Byungho was also due to Ciel’s power, the force of [Light of Grace].

Nevertheless, if one were to pick the greatest contributor to this battle, it would still be Serena.

She blocked a rocket aimed at the department store people with her body, saving many lives, and even captured a tank by charging at it alone.

I couldn’t have even imagined that she would take a direct hit from the tank’s gunfire without receiving a single scratch.

Even though she had received the buff [Divine Blessing] bestowed by Ciel, it was an unbelievable defense.

“Master. Did I help this time?”

“Of course, Serena. You did everything in this battle.”

“Hehehe……♡”

What happened to the military forces that attacked the department store?

At first, I thought of killing them right away. Because, no matter how thoroughly suppressed, they could suddenly use their abilities.

However, recalling a post I read in the community, I decided to pull them out alive.

The post I read went like this.

[Found a way to neutralize ability users.]

I had read a lot of martial arts novels, and in those stories, they destroyed the ‘dantian’ to disable someone’s martial arts.

So, I tried to channel magic into a spot where the ‘dantian’ might be on an unconscious and defenseless ability user, and I struck hard. The result was they couldn’t use their abilities anymore.

I never expected it to really work. It was just something I tried.

Maybe ability users had something like a ‘dantian’…?

-Did they just become stupid from being hit too hard?

└Nope ㅋㅋ, aside from not being able to use their abilities, they’re fine.

I tested what I read in the community on those guys. And what was the result?

Surprisingly, that post was true. The military forces’ ability users all became ordinary people who couldn’t use their abilities.

I then handed over their disposal to Jin Serim. She said…

“I’d love to kill them with my own hands… but there are people with deeper grudges than me. In the military forces where these scoundrels were…”

We attacked the military bases they occupied and killed every last one of them. There were dozens of women who had been living as sex slaves.

We handed all the captured military ability users over to those women. I didn’t care to exactly know what fate befell them.

The eyes of the women who took custody of the ability users were filled with the deep resentment that had built up until now.

I was just guessing, but for those guys, it might have been better to choose to burn to death inside the tank.

The department store’s survivor forces grew even larger as they accepted the women liberated from the military forces.

I gave all the food, combat supplies, and even the captured tank from the military forces to the department store’s forces.

Then Jin Serim said in a choked voice,

“You’ve saved our lives and given us food, weapons, and even a tank… Will you really leave without regret?”

“How can I take all that with me? Serena is stronger than a tank, so we don’t need it. Besides, you need the means to resist if mutant zombies appear again. I can’t come to save you every time.”

“Thank you, really… How can I repay this favor…”

Jin Serim grabbed my hand and sobbed.

She must have felt a lot of responsibility and pressure, being the leader of the department store, especially in that extreme situation.

I quietly patted her back.

“…Doha.”

“Yes?”

“Come visit again next time. I’ll make you something even tastier than Budae Jjigae*…”

“Heh, heh. With another store-bought sauce?”

“…This time, I’ll cook it myself.”

Byungho, whose injuries from a machine gun were critical, completely recovered after receiving Ciel’s [Grace of Light].

However, it was impossible to regenerate his left arm, which had been severed and missing for two days, even with the effects of [Grace of Light].

The wound had been cauterized to prevent excessive bleeding at the time, which apparently worked against regenerating the arm.

Upon waking up, he practically worshiped me, looking at my face with awe.

“Doha-nim, you saved us again! Not only that, but you even revived my dead life…!”

“How can I revive the dead? I just healed your wounds.”

“My life was revived by you, Doha-nim, so I will use it for you! Call me whenever you need anything, even if it’s just a meat shield…!”

“…”

Since Ciel was the one who healed the wound, those words were quite embarrassing to hear.

We left the department store that very day and headed to Seoul. There was no reason to stay any longer, with the threat from the military faction gone.

Since we had left the bicycles on the road, Ciel squeezed out her last remaining magic to carry us as we continued to fly.

Finally, after many twists and turns, we were able to return to the D-Mart shelter.

“Home is really the best…!”

“I want to hug my master and sleep right away…!”

“I feel drained, Master. My magic…!”

It was the night of the fourth day since we left for Paju to find a new Real Doll.