By Zephyria 
“…….”
Ho-eun rested the back of his hand, still holding the brush, against his forehead. He had never once seen more than one Tentacle Plant Monster. There was always a single leader, and that one gave the orders. But how could every leader be present? Then how were orders given? Wouldn’t there be confusion?
Perhaps the refugees had seen incorrectly. They must have been in a state of panic. But even so, the woman’s eyes had been too clear. The other refugees, though exhausted, did not seem to be in a state of delirium.
Then…… did every single Tentacle Plant Monster truly invade the village? Were there really that many villagers? Or was there some other reason?
As if reading the confusion on Ho-eun’s face, the woman wrote again.
[A vast number of monsters swarmed in. Our wide plains were filled with monsters, and their numbers were beyond count.]
Ho-eun immediately began to write a reply.
[Where was the place you lived—]
He stopped his brush. Even if they told him the region, there was no way he would know the exact location. After a moment of contemplation, Ho-eun looked up at Tae-muk and spoke.
“I need a map.”
At that, Tae-muk looked toward Byeonguk.
“Yes, I will bring it.”
With a short reply, Byeonguk dashed out of the military tent and returned quickly. In his hand was the map used during every meeting. The massive map depicted the Korean Empire at the center, with Japan to the south, Qing to the side, and Mongolia to the north. After spreading the map out carefully, Ho-eun continued the unfinished sentence.
[Where was the place you lived?]
The woman placed both arms on the map, examined it, and then poked a specific spot with her index finger.
“…….”
Ho-eun’s eyes wavered violently as he looked at that spot. The place where the refugees had lived was not far from the fir forest where the Crimson Rain Brigade had encountered the Fan-shaped Devourer. It was located slightly further down, near the former border between the lands of Qing and Mongolia.
Based on inference, it seemed she had encountered so many Tentacle Plant Monsters because her village was near the Devouring Ghouls’ lair.
Having thought that far, Ho-eun tilted his head.
No, it made no sense. If the village and the lair were this close, shouldn’t it have been the first place to fall? There was no way the creatures would have traveled so far when they had prey right nearby. In fact, the north was so plagued by frequent monster sightings that towns and villages marked on the map barely existed anymore.
He had heard that Mongolia fell eight years ago. That meant these people had managed to hold their ground safely right beside the lair of the Devouring Ghouls for a long period of eight years, from then until now.
How was that possible? Even they—that is, the Crimson Rain Brigade—had been shaken by a single Fan-shaped Devourer; how could people who didn’t even know how to properly handle a gun manage that?
[Did you not know there was a monster lair nearby?]
Ho-eun moved his brush faster than before. At that question, this time the woman tilted her head.
[Lair? What is that?]
[The place where the monsters gather and live.]
Seeing this, the woman frowned slightly and shook her head.
[There were not many monsters around our village. That is why we were able to live in our hometown until now.]
“That can’t be right…….”
Ho-eun muttered to himself. There was definitely a lair there. ……Or had we misunderstood something? Had we pointed to the wrong place? But the lone Tentacle Plant Monster had headed toward that area. Even the Fan-shaped Devourer had been lying in ambush there, as if trying to protect something.
Was it all a coincidence?
As Ho-eun pressed his chin with the end of the brush in deep thought, the woman turned the page of the hanji paper, which was filled with writing, and wrote again.
[Originally, there were many monsters in the capital. Because many people lived there. Where we lived, there were not many people, so there were not many monsters.]
“A place with many people…….”
[But suddenly, they became numerous.]
“Suddenly…….”
Nothing made sense. Ho-eun looked back and forth between the woman and her writing, then turned his gaze toward Tae-muk.
However, Tae-muk was staring at the map, not at him, the woman, or her writing. Ho-eun followed his gaze to the map.
But there was nothing to be understood at the moment.
* * *
“…….”
Ho-eun, who had been in a deep sleep, woke up to an unidentified chill. Although the thick blanket was pulled up to his neck and the floor was warm, he felt cold. It was because Tae-muk, who always slept holding him tight, was not there.
He realized Tae-muk’s absence the moment he opened his eyes, but he still brushed the spot beside him. As expected, Tae-muk was gone.
Ho-eun slowly pushed himself up. Just as he was wondering where Tae-muk could have gone at this hour of the dawn, he saw a flickering light through the paper sliding door leading to the adjacent room.
Without hesitation, Ho-eun headed for the other room. Of course, he did not forget to tidy the rumpled blanket and tighten the ties of his clothes. Then, he announced his presence in a small voice.
“General, I’m coming in.”
Tae-muk, with his keen hearing, likely knew he was awake, but Ho-eun was simply being polite. There was no answer. However, Ho-eun interpreted the silence as permission and opened the door slightly. Simultaneously, a gust of bitter tobacco smoke poured out. Then, he heard Tae-muk’s voice, lower than usual.
“Why are you up?”
Tae-muk sat at the desk with a cigarette between his fingers. A single oil lamp was lit beside him.
“Because you weren’t here, General.”
“I’ll be back soon, so sleep more.”
“How can I sleep when you’re not by my side?”
Ho-eun expressed his dissatisfaction by pouting his lips. At that, Tae-muk let out a small chuckle, placed the cigarette in the ashtray, and dragged a nearby chair closer.
“Then do you want to come here?”
“Yes.”
Ho-eun promptly went and sat beside him. As he looked at the desk, the map was spread out.
“Were you looking at the map?”
“Yeah.”
“For what reason?”
“Just thinking about something.”
Tae-muk spoke while staring at the map. Then, he was silent for a while. He merely pondered, narrowing his eyes, drawing in air with a sharp “Sss……” through his teeth, or twisting one side of his lips. Watching this, Ho-eun pulled his chair closer and sat pressed against the desk.
“Please tell me as well. I want to think about it with you.”
“I’m not certain.”
“That is why we should think about it together. If two people ponder it, it might become certain.”
Having said that, Ho-eun gazed quietly at Tae-muk.
“…….”
Tae-muk met Ho-eun’s eyes, then tugged at his earlobe and turned his gaze back to the map. It was a hesitation unlike him. Was it because he lacked confidence in his conclusion, or because he hoped Ho-eun wouldn’t know what he was worrying about? He couldn’t tell.
Ho-eun leaned his upper body toward Tae-muk as if urging him to tell him quickly. Then, Tae-muk let out a long sigh through his nose and parted his dry lips.
“If the Devouring Ghouls came from Japan.”
“Yes.”
“Could the lair still be in Japan?”
“You are asking for my opinion, right?”
“Yeah.”
Ho-eun followed Tae-muk’s gaze to Japan on the map. Japan, consisting entirely of islands, was good for defense but not a particularly good position for offense. Without thinking long, Ho-eun gave a negative answer.
“Hmm……. No.”
“Why?”
“For example, assuming there are 10,000 ghouls in the lair, they would need at least double that amount of prey—meaning people. Wouldn’t it be difficult to drag tens of thousands of people to Japan every day?”
“…….”
“No matter how intelligent they are, and even if they were witnessed boarding ships in Busan, that would be a difficult task. It wouldn’t be efficient.”
The Devouring Ghouls, as Ho-eun perceived them, were beings focused truly on eating, just as their name suggested. They existed solely to devour humans. Therefore, when placing that at the center of the logic, the probability that they were still in Japan was extremely slim.
Tae-muk gave a short nod.
“I think so too. They likely left the islands for the mainland to find prey.”
“Yes. That would be the case.”
“Then where did they go?”
“Pardon?”
“There were many countries nearby. The Korean Empire, Qing, Mongolia, and even the Northern State (Russia) to the north.”
At those words, Ho-eun examined Japan on the map again. Japan’s territory was long horizontally, and thus it was not very far from the three nations—the Korean Empire, Qing, and the Northern State. It would depend on where they started, but since that was unknown, all possibilities had to be kept open.
“Yeosu or Busan in our country are the closest, but it probably isn’t there.”
“Right. As Gil-sang said, the navy is guarding those areas strongly. If it were just one or two of them drifting in with the waves, that would be one thing, but it would have been impossible for thousands or tens of thousands to come. And if they had, it would have been impossible not to notice.”
“We would have found their lair by now, too.”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm…….”
Ho-eun made a humming sound in his throat while looking at the map. Then, turning his gaze toward the Qing dynasty, he spoke.
“Then did they go to Qing?”
“Why?”
“Qing had a large population and a very vast territory. Yet, it fell right after Japan. Could it be because the Devouring Ghouls moved from Japan to Qing?”
“Yeah. I think so too.”
Tae-muk nodded once more. However, Ho-eun was not entirely pleased by his agreement.