Chapter 3
—The fresh scent of leaves and earth.
That was the very first sensation he received the moment his consciousness started coming round.
A few seconds after he disappeared from the store, Hanzo appeared on a piece of grassland in the middle of a forest.
"What? Where's this place?"
Raising his body, Hanzo looked around and noticed other people acting clueless just like him. Some were laying down on the ground, some were sitting while massaging their temples, while the rest were trying to look for signals with their phones.
"Why are there so many people?..."
As far as he could see, there are people of all sexes, ages, and even professions—evident from the uniforms they were wearing present.
Hanzo then couldn't help but gaze weirdly at everyone's actions. Other than a crying 9-year-old being appeased by her guardian, the other was more or less composed and minding their own business. 'Why are they so calm?'
Suddenly, a pale man wearing a lab gown who Hanzo assumes to be either a doctor or a researcher yelled.
"I don't have a fucking time for this!"
Then, the man started stamping on the ground and hurling curses just about everywhere.
"I'm a well-known doctor! Whoever involves me in this hoax, don't think you'll be able to get off the hook!"
'An elegant apparel would never be able to cover up a beast.'
That phrase flashed in Hanzo's mind.
'No, it's normal to act that way in this situation.' Now that he thinks about it, the crying kid and this fuming man were the only ones acting like how Hanzo believed a person should in such a weird situation.
Still, he couldn't help but feel the man was acting unbefitting of his distinguished profession.
Suddenly from another side, a very strong yet calm voice reached his ears.
"Haaaa...And here I was looking forward to my vacation after a long time on the battlefield!"
As Hanzo turned to look, "Buffed" was the term that crossed his mind.
The origin of the new voice was a man wearing a tank top shirt. He had a very muscular body that isn't shy of a bodybuilder while his eyes were like that of a vulture—Sharp and Glaring. For initial impression alone, Hanzo could already conclude that the man was a soldier or someone along those lines; the man's previous words just made him more assured of his guess.
The man appeared to be lamenting over his lost leisure, yet Hanzo noticed how he was inconspicuously scrutinizing the surrounding at every moment.
"Excuse me...”
While Hanzo became lost in his thoughts, an aged voice piped up with a voice smaller than a mosquito buzzing around.
The buff man was still ruffling his hair in annoyance when he heard the voice. His fierce eyes immediately shifted towards the voice's origin. An old man carrying a 9 years old little girl had sneaked up beside him and was looking at him with hopeful eyes.
When they heard his words, not just the old man but almost all the people in the field, even those who were inspecting the surroundings or checking to see if they know anyone else moved to form a circle around the man.
"Yes?" Seemingly trying to not intimidate the senior, the buffed man slightly lower the volume of his voice.
"Sir... are you perhaps military personnel? Is it possible that you know what's happening?" One could see the hope in the old man's eyes burning brighter than ever.
'Looks like everyone is just as uneasy about this, it's just that they decide to cope with it silently instead of lashing out like that doctor...'
The buff man looked away while laughing awkwardly. "Well, I wouldn't be complaining if I know anything about it..."
As quick as his hope rose was as fast it was extinguished. Yet even when feeling down, the old man still spoke gently. "Ohh... Son, I'm sorry for asking tactlessly..."
"No! No! No! It's fine! Although I'm just as clueless, I'm still in the military so I should have known better."
After easing the other, the buff man looked in all directions implying that his next words would be addressed to everyone.
"I'm Hugo, a corporal of the Korean Army. I admit that I'm just as clueless as to where is this place and how did we get to here, but I would like to consider our current situation as an emergency. For that reason, I wish to gain everyone's cooperation to follow my orders. Don't worry! You could put your trust in me—"
"And how could we trust you? You just said you knew nothing. Tsk! As I thought, you militias are just useless, tax-feeding rats!"
A condescending voice traveled to everyone's ears before Hugo could even finish his statement.
The one who just spoke was the fuming man who identified himself as a doctor—slur and disdain evident in his voice. Not yet stopping, he sneered.
"Law enforcers like yourself kept on saying you'll take care of everyone but when it matters the most, you didn't even know anything. And yet you want us to put our faith in you?"
The doctor's tone when he said the last parts of his sentence was very arrogant, it was as if he was taunting the militia and was saying, 'Come on, I dare you to swing your fists at me!'.
Hanzo could see that Hugo was quite disgruntled for being interrupted and eating so many hurtful words. His already fierce eyes went inward and his fists started clenching themselves tightly.
Just as others feared that he would fall for the other's provocation, Hugo suddenly inhaled deeply and quickly calmed himself down.
"And who are you?" Hugo took a cigarette in his back pocket and lit them up before taking a puff.
"Christian! A Cardiologist from As*n Medical Center, remember my name!"
The doctor proudly announced.
After taking a few puffs of smoke, Hugo threw the barely consumed stick and then stared deeply into Christian's eyes, "Then Christian, since you sound as if I'm useless, how about you be the one to take command instead? But first, let me ask, DO YOU EVEN HAVE CLUE ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE?"
Even though Hugo had forcefully calmed himself, One could see from his flaring eyebrows and twitching lips that he had not completely quelled his anger.
Of course, he doesn't know a single damn thing. Hugo's fierce rebuttal caused a myriad of changes in the other side's expression. Christian's face was a sight to behold as his lips tremble, his eyes widened, his nose flaring, and the frown on his forehead deepen. It was a horrible face no one would have imagined appearing from his normally handsome profile.
But just when Christian about to explode, he heard a sound akin to the jingling of bells coming from the skies.
The sound was not so loud, yet, like magic, it was able to instantly gather the attention of everyone below regardless of what they were doing. Even the thought process of Hanzo came to a halt at that moment, as his eyes were drawn to where he heard the sound originated from.
'What's that now?!'
Hanzo could feel goosebumps appearing on his entire being. Simultaneously, a blinding light suddenly appeared a few meters away from him and from there, an individual possessing unbelievable beauty and 2 white wings with dazzling elegance gently fell from above the light.
"Holy shit! An Angel! A real fucking Angel!"
With a hysterical laugh, a bespectacled teenager with messy hair exclaimed after he laid his eyes upon the being with pure white wings.
And it was not only him who was bewildered. Though more subdued, everyone including Hanzo, Christian, and Hugo also showed a dumbstruck expression on their faces, evident from their gaping mouth and eyes that were widened to the limits.
When it was a few meters away from the ground, the angel radiating a dignified aura stopped descending and simply hovered in the air with its wings slowly folding inwards. It was as if it would never allow even its toes to touch the dirty ground because it would be a blasphemy to its purity.
All of a sudden, Hanzo's vision darkens.
No matter how much he resists, he couldn't stop the quick darkening of his vision. In a few moments, he could feel his vision completely darkened—though his body looks fine and was merely sleeping while standing to others. It was as if his body became a mindless statue.
The last things he could make out were few bits of conversation happening around him.
