Just as a large wave seemed ready to engulf everything before him, Luke immediately warned everyone.
As everyone chose to retreat without a second thought, Luke saw someone still standing on the pier.
All the personnel with him had asked him to retreat, but Jihan didn't turn around. Instead, he asked those behind him to retreat.
Seeing this, Luke unconsciously ran out of his room and toward the pier.
With his walkie-talkie still clutched in his hand, he shouted.
["Major!"] Warning Major Jihan Rei to retreat immediately.
"Why is he still standing there?" Luke wondered.
Was it because the strong wind was making his voice inaudible?
Was he so confident the giant wave wouldn't swallow him?
Or was it because he was a major that he couldn't justify retreating?
Unanswered questions crossed his mind.
"If he's thinking about his honor... when he dies, it'll all be useless..." Luke muttered.
The image of a person flashed through his mind.
Gritting his teeth, Luke continued to fight through the chaotic rainstorm.
Even though the strong winds buffeted him and the rain obscured his vision, he still ran.
He was heading towards the dock to save someone.
"Captain!!"
The soldiers who saw him tried to shout as loud as they could to warn Luke. But unfortunately, the storm prevented their voices from reaching him.
They didn't dare to approach Luke, not with the high waves visible from almost a distance.
They knew this wasn't right.
As fellow soldiers, as fellow men fighting to protect the world from terrible monsters, they shouldn't let him go.
A person's life was precious. Yes, it was precious.
But if someone's life was precious, what about their own? Wasn't it precious too?
No one was brave enough to risk their own life to save another.
They wanted to live, and they were afraid of dying.
There was nothing wrong with that, because that was life.
Only a hero would willingly give their life to save another.
"Even if the ship capsized, he wouldn't be able to save anyone even if he stood there..."
Luke wasn't a bad person. He just didn't like seeing someone sacrifice themselves for the safety of others. Even though he was doing so himself.
He tried to run as fast as he could, but unfortunately, he was too late.
Just as he was about to reach the dock, the high waves had swallowed the entire ship, the dock, and Jihan.
"Major!!" Luke shouted, seeing Jihan swallowed by the raging waves.
Luke could only stand there, frozen, watching the scene.
Luke's wet white hair partially covered his eyes.
His clear blue eyes, like ice crystals in winter, stared blankly.
A painful memory flashed through his eyes.
He knew he had the power to save Jihan and the patrol boat led by Anser.
However, he couldn't use it.
No, he didn't dare.
He didn't dare use his power.
"Why..." His hands clenched tightly.
A complicated expression crossed his face.
Amidst the storm that hadn't stopped, and the sea monsters still swimming across the ocean, he stood there, unable to do anything.
No, it wasn't that he couldn't, he just lacked the will to do so.
Faced with that terrifying sight, his mind went blank.
Luke knew this was a terrible thing he had to overcome.
He was a soldier. He was someone who had been granted special powers. He had even defeated many of the monsters that had come out of the gates with just his marksmanship and physical strength.
He had to be brave. Dare to face his fears from the past.
But, unfortunately, he was still just a human.
He was afraid.
Afraid of repeating his past mistakes.
Mistakes that had taken the life of someone he loved.
Someone precious to him.
He wanted to break free from these chains that bound him. He wanted to be free from this guilt.
But how? He didn't know.
Memories of the person who had saved his life, whom he had considered his mentor, the person who had given him guidance to keep going.
The one he couldn't save.
"I... should have been able to freeze part or even all of this ocean..."
"Just like that time... I should have been able to freeze all the zombies that were going crazy..."
"But... I didn't do it..."
"I couldn't..."
"Why..."
"I was scared..."
"Even after seeing him become a zombie and blow himself up..."
"I couldn't do anything..."
"Why am I so weak..."
"Even this time..."
"Why can't I do it?..."
Magic. A power that isn't fully understood.
It's quite rare for people to awaken with magic. A mysterious power that resonates with nature.
Although those who awaken with magic also gain physical strength, their physical strength increases are far less than those who awaken without magic.
However, they are still stronger than ordinary people.
It's still unclear what caused this magical power and what it is.
Luke awakened with the power of ice magic within his body.
Magic that could even freeze an entire ten-story building and its contents, including everyone inside except himself.
The ice from his magic cannot be melted with ordinary fire. To melt it, one must use fire magic, or perhaps a high-pressure blast of fire.
Even that might not affect his ice magic. Only he himself can control the ice.
But strangely, he couldn't remove the ice he had released.
Unlike most gates, this gate that suddenly turned blue only released a single monster.
Although only one, its size far surpassed that of a swarm of other monsters.
Its entire body closely resembled a humpback whale, but with an abnormal size. Perhaps almost as large as the tallest skyscraper in the city, or even larger.
Also unlike a typical whale, the creature had more than two eyes covering its head, its teeth were larger and sharper, its tail was wider and thicker, with fins tipped like the tips of eroded iron spears.
With just a small movement, the monster created quite high waves.
Snipers had a hard time aiming at the monster because its body movements were quite agile for its size. Also, when the creature dove into the seawater, no one could aim at it.
Maybe... if only the seawater could be frozen.
But, who could do that?
Luke knew he should be able to do it, but he couldn't.
"If you can't do it now, maybe you can do it tomorrow."
"If you still can't do it tomorrow, then you can start again tomorrow."
"At least you're moving forward with tomorrow."
The words of the man who had saved his life in the past flashed through his mind. The words that kept him going today.
"But... what if there's no tomorrow?"
The major who was supposed to lead them was gone. The captain who was supposed to direct them was also gone.
Luke remained there, still giving no orders.
Had they lost this fight? Was there nothing else they could do?
Even though the other soldiers had strength, they were still afraid.
The sea was a mystery, no one would ever know everything that lay within.
They couldn't just enter the sea, even without the monster, it was a dangerous territory.
But still, they had to do something.
Just as they were overcome with confusion and fear, just as they were about to give up, a glimmer of light... appeared.
From within the turbulent waves, a speck of light... began to grow.
It grew clearer. It rose to the surface.
A halo... no, a protective shield of light.
Like the sun rising from a dark ocean, a bubble of light rose to the surface.
Everyone's eyes immediately focused on that one scene.
Inside the bubble of light, a patrol boat that had been swallowed by the waves stood there.
Although the storm had not yet subsided and the sea was still raging, the bubble of light calmly floated to the surface.
The personnel sheltering inside the building began to emerge one by one, looking at the scene with shocked eyes.
Luke, who was closest to the scene, looked completely dazed.
His eyes seemed to be asking if he was dreaming. But it wasn't a dream.
It was as if he couldn't believe it, but reality was right before him.
The light bubble carrying the ship landed gently.
All personnel began to disembark. They, along with their captain, Anser, were safe from the rolling waves.
And behind them, the person who created the light bubble, Major Jihan Rei, looked at Luke with a smile.
After everyone was confirmed to have disembarked, Jihan removed the protective light bubble from the ship.
The personnel who had been with him, including Anser, still stared at him in disbelief.
But as if unperturbed, his purple-violet eyes looked calmly.
He smiled and approached Luke, who still stood there, frozen.
"Thank you for your hard work." Jihan said with a sincere smile.
*
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*
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"If there is no tomorrow, then I will hold your hand and continue moving forward and find a new tomorrow." Said a middle-aged man with a stern yet loving face.
"Then, what if by then you are gone, Major?" Asked a child with beautiful blue eyes like ice crystals in winter.
The child looked so sad, as if he no longer had anything to fight for in his life.
The man in the military uniform smiled at him.
"Then someone else will take your hand."
"What if there isn't?"
"There is. There always will be." The man replied with eyes full of conviction.