by Donald Ha
‘What the hell was that?’
While Jackal’s hearing was recovering, he thought about what happened just a few minutes ago. It seemed that firearms were certainly fired.
Because of its speed and penetration force it wasn’t able to be seen by the naked eye.
However, the two gunshots were drowned out.
If Jackal opened the door without thinking, the first attack would’ve taken his body in one blow.
‘Should I test it?’
Jackal picked an appropriate grenade-sized rock and threw it towards the room.
*Thack!*
As soon as the stone entered the room, something inside the room hit it.
Jackal threw another rock.
*Thack!*
Something was hitting the rock.
‘What the hell is it shooting?’
The speed and power were certainly comparable as to bullets, but it was totally different from guns. It was difficult to clearly explain how different it was, but Jackal felt the difference.
He threw the stone again.
*Thunk.*
The stone helplessly fell to the ground.
This time, there was no response.
Whatever was inside seemed to have a level of intelligence, like a human being.
‘Been waiting for this. Buddy.’
Jackal took out two grenades from his chest and checked the sounds, shaking them.
‘Both are good.’
Creeping into the doorway, he bit the safety pin with his teeth.
‘Eins.. Zwei.. Drei!”
Just before the explosion, Jackal threw the two grenades inside the door and covered his ears, throwing himself on the other side at the same time.
“Heh!”
Someone’s voice from inside reached his ears.
‘This voice…?’
There was no doubt that the voice was similar to Marie-Louise Lane’s, who he met in the morning.
*Bang!*
*Bang!*
With 0.5 seconds of a time difference, two different explosions were heard.
One explosion was towards the exit, and the other was inside the room.
*Whoosh----*
He was deafened by the explosion, but his hearing still worked.
“Are you in there? You, the woman with the broken legs.”
“.....”
There wasn’t a reply from the room.
A dust cloud, caused by the rear blast of the explosion, was silently wandering around the dark hallways.
‘If this is how you are going to play, I’ll bring sulfuric acid. Let’s see if you can stay quiet even after the fumes of the sulfuric acid fills up the room.”
“That’s no ordinary play.”
The voice of the girl finally replied from inside.
As he expected, it was the girl with broken legs. It was the voice of Marie-Louise.
“Put your weapons down and come out, holding up your hands.
“I have no weapons and only broken legs. If I lift my hands up, I cannot move.”
“Use the crutches. I’ll give you 3 seconds.”
Jackal stepped back with his pistol in one hand and a knife in the other.
"3 seconds is too short. I'm a patient."
"Stop speaking and come out."
“Okay.”
The sound of her getting on her crutches was heard.
The irregular sound of crutches came near.
Soon the wavering blond hair entered Jackal's sight.
“Hello?”
She smiled and her beauty was dazzling enough to sink hearts. However, her tangled hair and frayed skirt hem clearly showed her distress.
Her green eyes spoke of nothing.
Even though Jackal saw that the girl had nothing but her crutches, he kept his eyes on her body.
“Gosh, please don’t look at me like that. I’m very embarrassed. You’re even creepier than I thought.”
“….Why did you attack me?”
“I won’t lie that I did not know who you were. Isn’t Berlin in an apocalypse now? It’s a difficult period to defend ourselves, especially for a beautiful woman like me.”
“So?”
Jackal asked sharply, his pistol ready. It oppressed her to give short, concise answers.
“Thought you came to rape me.”
“Ha Ha.”
Jackal burst out laughing.
"Did I look like that type of guy?"
"You can't judge a book by its cover."
"Even though I am a human butcher now, when I was young, my strict father taught me about humanity through the book of Confucius law. Of course, Germans like you don’t even know who wrote the book.”
But Marie rolled her eyes as she was remembering something and nodded her head.
“The Confucian texts. That’s a name I haven't heard in a long time. Aren’t the authors Confucius, Mencius, and another anonymous Chinese writer?”
Jackal and Marie's eyes gleamed simultaneously.
‘How does a German know that?
There were only a few who knew about Eastern philosophy among the westerners that he had met so far. There were some who knew about the story of Buddhism and Hinduism at the most, but no one talked about Confucianism.
It was the fate of a defeated country.
It was considered worthless to learn or know.
The teaching that was the root of everything in which Jackal used to live by was being treated contemptuously in foreign lands.
But a westerner who acknowledged a part of his memory had appeared.
…Although, it was suspicious.
“….That’s interesting.”
Jackal's cold eyes softened.
With his pistol ready, he put his knife down at his feet and took off his backpack with his other hand and started to pull out the contents inside.
Bandages, penicillin, and painkillers.
Medicine that weren’t easily obtained in Berlin.
“This is why I’m here.”
“Oh, this is… For me?”
“You’re the person who has to remove the dead man in the bunker, so I hope you get better soon.”
Hearing that, she smiled mysteriously and opened her right hand that held onto the crutches.
*Thud*
A small marble fell to the floor.
Jackal’s eyes didn’t miss this.
“What’s that?”
“It was my last weapon. I don’t need it anymore because I know your true intentions.”
“That’s a weapon?”
At Jackal’s question, the girl used his crutches to come forward.
The light of the lantern shone her face more brightly.
In the light, Marie-Louise nodded her head with a smile.
“My weapon. Honestly, I am my own weapon.”
The girl picked up a stone that fell apart from the explosion.
Feeling Jackal’s uncertain gaze, the girl showed him the stone that was in her hand.
It was chunky, but it seemed like a hard cement rock.
With a single grip, the stone that seemed indestructible was easily turned into powder.
Pffh… the powdered stone flew away.
“What…What the hell was that? What strength?!”
“Wugong.”
The girl leaned closer to Jackal, who was shaken.
“It’s Wugong.”
“It's… Wugong?”
“I have no idea why I have the knowledge of it. Nobody taught it to me, but it is always in my head, saying to inform myself of it. And that’s how I obtained… the power of Wugong.”
“…”
Wugong.
“.....”
Wugong.
It was a concept that he had never seen or heard before.
But how is it possible to obtain such superhuman strength, by just informing oneself about it?
It’s impossible. To the eyes of Jackal, who have been trained and adapted in war, human beings were just worthless.
However, the things that the girl had shown to him so far went throw his mind like a flash, and the scenes that he couldn’t easily comprehend with his common senses were soon becoming plausible.
“I think you’re a great warrior of this era. First class among the warriors. Anyway, you’re not a normal person, seeing as how you attempted to kill me twice.”
“What do you want to say?”
“You must be a Hyena. I heard that they’ll do anything for money.”
“Are you requesting something?”
The corner of Jackal's lips slightly lifted.
"Protect me until I am recovered. It’ll take about three months."
“I’m expensive.”
“I’ll teach you Wugong in exchange for your protection.”
The crutches moved.
The girl stepped back and walked into the darkness.
Confused, Jackal threw a question at her.
“Wugong?”
“The power that makes anything possible.”
The eyes of the Blood Demon gleamed in the darkness.
The morning of Berlin wasn’t different from any other.
Jackal was awakened by the sound of sirens.
Opening the window and looking down, he saw a loudspeaker on an armored car passing by making loud sounds.
“Soviet Union bastards...”
They’re no good.
Always drunk on vodka and bothering people while muttering inaudible words.
They were notorious for raping women and rumor was that almost all women in the Soviet territory had been raped..
This was the price the Germans were getting in return for the sins that they have committed to Russia.
“Hey. Jackal. Let’s get some breakfast together.”
Hans Graham knocked on the door.
Roughly adjusting his clothes and coming out into the hallway, a nasty smell welcomed him.
“That drunkard bastard threw up again!’
There was a drunkard who lived next door.
He constantly drank and used violence on his family.
He also had a story.. He used to be a sincere hard-working Calvinist, but he turned into a drunkard after witnessing his daughter and wife being raped by Russian soldiers in front of him.
“That’s that and this is this. He shouldn’t be a nuisance to others.”
Grunting, Jackal went to Han’s house which was above his.
When he entered the house, Erika welcomed him.
“Good morning, Jackal.”
“Good morning, Erika. Where’s your big brother?”
“In the kitchen.
From the kitchen, there was an aroma of fine cooking flowing out.
“This is chicken stock that I was able to get my hands on. It’ll add flavor to the dish.”
Han’s was the army chef during his army years.
Maybe that was why his porridge tasted better than what they looked.
“Brother, its delicious!”
“Of course. I made it!”
Hans, who’s head was in the clouds after hearing Erika’s compliment, looked at Jackal with his eyes half-opened and asked.
“Hey Mr. Jackal, what you think?”
“Its…edible.”
“Edible…huh? That’s Mr. Jackal’s best compliment!.”
Hans was grinning from ear to ear while he was eating and soon his share of the porridge was finished.
On the other hand, Jackal slowly ate his food. His thought, which were a bit blurry, still lingered at the scene from the basement yesterday.
“…Wugong?”
Unbelievable things happened right in front of his eyes.
Unbelievable yet so real.
It became apparent that it was his additional request.
“How much more do I need to break in order for you to believe me??”
Marie-Louise shattering the stones in order to gain Jackal's trust was not a bad choice.
However, Jackal was a cautious man.
He looked for the hardest rock, clutched it as hard as he can and tossed it to Marie.
“Let’s see if you can break this too.”
“You have trust issues, don’t you?.”
*Crack…!*
*Crumble*
Her eyes became fierce and then she crushed the stones with ease.
“Hey,..so many more do I need to break for you to believe in me?”
“How are you crushing them??”
“Hey. I already told you that it was possible with the strength of Wugong. I will teach you Wugong.”
“…..May I look at your hands?”
“Sigh You are a doubtful man. Have you been deceived throughout your life?”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m stuck in a hell hole like this.”
Marie-Louise smirked, placed the crutches under her armpit and then held out her hand that crushed the stones.
The pistol ready to aim, Jackal carefully approached her palm and examined it.
‘There’s nothing.’
“May I touch it?”
“You’re very devious. How dare you attempt to touch the hand of a lady? However…I’ll allow it once. If I don’t, I feel that you will continue to doubt me.”
Stretching his hands, Jackal carefully stroked her hand.
‘…Huh?’
Her hand was warm and soft. It felt good.
There were no devices and plots planted in her delicate hand.
“Aren’t you… touching my hand for a long time? It’s uncomfortable.”
Marie said accusingly.
At her words, Jackal pulled back his hands and asked,
“How’d you do it?”
“You’re really annoying. It's Wugong. Wugong!”
Marie-Louise laughed in disbelief. But her green eyes shined.
“Ah, let me explain this to you, based on the standards of your culture. You know what a Taoist sorcerer? A sorcerer?”
“Ah. A Taoist sorcerer? Of course I know.”
“What’s the power that a Taoist sorcerer uses? There are special powers like Taoist magic and so on. ”
“Sin-tong-ryeok.”
“Sin-tong-ryeok?”
He had no idea how to explain it in German, so Jackal spat it out in Korean.
Of course Marie didn’t understand. So, he took out a handbook from his bosom and wrote ‘Sin tongryeok’ in Chinese characters and showed it to her.
“I think it’s a type of supernatural power.”
“Ah, Okay. Anyway, just think that I have those similar powers. I am a type of Taoist sorcerer. Strictly speaking, my roots are from Taoist.”
“Ah... The Wugong that you mentioned is Taoist magic?.”
All the doubts that shown through his eyes were no longer present.
Recalling his memories of his childhood, where he enjoyed reading the folk tales of Jeon Woo-chi and Hong Gil-dong, he asked
“There’s something like a Taoist sorcerer in Germany as well, huh?”
“Yeah~ Yeah~. You can say that.”
Marie replied with an annoyed look on her face.
‘Argh, he is so dull and rigid.’
But once Jackal understood, his actions are quicker than others.
“Well, how does the Taoist magic work? I have some guys that I would like to bust open their heads.”
“I used too much of my powers today, so I’m a bit tired. And the bunker is a mess. Lend me your handbook and pen. I’ll first write down all the knowledge that I know.”
And that’s how the second meeting ended.
The last spoonful of soup entering his mouth brought Jackal back from his flashback.
“Would you like seconds?”
He realized that Erika was next to him, staring at him and pulling his clothes.
“I’ll get it for you.”
“Thanks, Erika.”
Jackal smiled and stroked Erika’s hair.
"Hey, Erika! Why are you only giving Jackals seconds and not me, your own
brother? Blood is thicker than water, you know!"
Hans got angry at her after witnessing the two interact.
“You take care of yourself well. Look! You already had three bowls.”
“Still! I’m bigger than Jackal!”
“You’re just big. Not smart.”
“Oh, Erika! How dare you treat your brother like this?”
“Here Jackal, enjoy.”
Jackal smiled with his eyes while he watched the sibling bicker at each other.
After the meal, Jackal leaned on the balcony wall and approached Hans.
An unlit cigarette was between Hans' lips. Jackal lit Hans’s cigarette and looked down, together.
The ruins of Berlin spread out under the balcony.
The confederate flags of the Soviet were fluttering here and there.
Hans sighed deeply and let out some smoke before he started to speak.
“I’ve been thinking… and I think I’m going to give up on getting on the boat.”
Hans opened his once after blowing out some smoke.
The thick smoke flowed out with his deep sigh.
“Yeah?”
“I have to have pay for the boat, but I have no idea how I would live in another country. You know the only thing that we can do is fight in wars, right?”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
Jackal and Hans- Both have lived in the battle field.
They’ve learned how to live in war, and didn’t have the luxury to think about another lifestyle.
Once the war ended, the only thing they were able to do was physical labor.
They worked in intense labor environments, sweating until they were as heavy as wet cotton. Their pay was so minimal.
It was places where proud German soldiers couldn’t bear.
So that was why both Jackal and Hans voluntarily took the Hyena work.
“So, I’m thinking about becoming a mercenary.”
“A mercenary?”
“According to my inside sources, they say that France is looking for German soldiers for mercenary.”
“France?”
“There’s a problem in Indo-China colony or something? I heard that the people who live there are preparing for an independence movement. I don’t have any detailed information, but France is in need of experienced soldiers.”
Jackal never heard of it.
Blankly looking down at the town, Jackal was lost in thought.
‘Indo-China….isn’t far from Joseon, right?’
It was an enticing suggestion.
There was no need to save 10,000 dollars in order to go to Argentina.