Marauder of the Apocalypse-Chapter 114: Arson

Fire. A danger that could turn into a terrible disaster if left unchecked.

In this urgent situation where every second counted, the police captain and a firefighter were arguing. The police captain grabbed the firefighter's wrist while the firefighter shook a silver fire extinguisher.

"The fire's already started! If we wait, those vermin will crawl out on their own, and we can just shoot them when they do!"

The police captain aimed his shotgun at the entrance, the barrel pointing directly at the stairway.

"If you people rush in there too, it'll just complicate things. The attackers, you guys, the rider hostages—if everyone gets mixed up, we won't be able to subdue them properly."

"That's not acceptable. This is an oil fire. If we don't contain the flames quickly, it'll spread. With the fire raging, those attackers will be busy trying to escape too."

The firefighter shook off the police captain's arm and gestured to the other firefighters.

"Three of you come with me to tackle the flames on the second floor. The rest of you remove the oil containers from the stairs and first floor."

"Stop them!"

Several police officers who had been controlling access to the gas station rushed to block the firefighters. The firefighter holding the silver extinguisher tried to push through them.

It was complete chaos.

Around that time, RiderZero, who had been looking down at the dead chicks with her helmet slightly bowed, stood up. Her black helmet obscured her eyes, but I sensed her gaze briefly passing over me.

A heavy voice came from behind the helmet, now fixed on the police captain.

"No. Let those attackers live when they come out."

"What? Hey, did you hit your head when you fell?" fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

The police captain, who had been arguing with the firefighter, turned his head sharply. RiderZero paid no attention to his glaring eyes.

"My head's fine. Those guys have someone behind them. Someone pulling their strings. We need to find that person."

"Who the hell could make someone commit suicide by arson? Talk sense."

He meant that while someone might threaten with fire, no one could actually make others set a fire. I nodded in agreement. Perhaps Pastor Kim could have done it if he'd developed properly, but he had already left this world.

This fire, too, was probably closer to a mistake or accident...

Then, unexpectedly, RiderZero dug into her pocket and pulled out two unharmed chicks and a lighter.

"I set the fire. Our people on watch duty were injured, and I thought they'd die if we waited any longer."

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

The arguing police and firefighters alike pointed accusatory fingers at RiderZero. I also stared at her in disbelief.

Rider hostages were injured. So she set a fire to get them out quickly? To make the threatening survivors give up and flee?

"An oil fire is incredibly dangerous. No. No."

"I trust the firefighters to contain it. There are plenty of extinguishers in the building."

Around that time, the survivors inside the building began to run out one by one, pushing injured riders in front of them as hostages.

"Move! Get out of the way or they die!"

The injured riders had been shot in the shoulders or thighs. Pale faces. Guns held by the survivors pressed against their heads.

They were hostages that only mattered to RiderZero. The firefighters paid no attention to the hostages' safety and rushed straight into the building, while the police captain aimed his shotgun and laughed harshly.

"Do what you want. You're dead either way. Die peacefully or painfully. Your choice."

"If we're going to die anyway, we might as well take you with us. If you don't give us a way out... you'll die too."

The survivors' guns swung around to their backs. Toward the firefighters who were busy throwing oil containers outside. And toward the oil containers themselves.

The market-like noise started up again. The sounds of firefighters moving quickly, the threats exchanged between the survivors and the police captain, and RiderZero's shouts trying to intervene.

"You can't kill them here!"

"Stay out of this! We agreed to respect each other's domains, didn't we? This is police business. Don't interfere."

"Uh, the flames are coming down!"

I briefly looked at the doorway where the stairs were visible.

Flames flowed like water. They streamed downward along the oil. While the oil containers hadn't burst into flames immediately, the flickering fire and heat spread like paint.

'That's a shame.'

It didn't look like the fire would grow too large. The firefighters were responding, and the riders had prepared for this. Even the flames flowing down were quickly extinguished when the firefighters grabbed nearby extinguishers and sprayed them.

Just then, one of the survivors noticed me. His pupils dilated, and he pointed his gun at me.

"You! You! That's right! They told us! They said to go to the gas station with lighters and threaten them! He sold us the guns too! He's the culprit!"

"..."

I stopped adjusting my mask. He was going to speak out like this? Making me the scapegoat?

***

The alliance members looked at me. Some with doubt, others with certainty in their eyes. Doubt that a mercenary would order such a thing, certainty that they knew I was capable of it.

Even the police, who knew about our deal, looked at me along with everyone else. I subtly felt the shotgun slowly turning toward me.

Were they planning to kill me to silence me since speaking up would harm the police too?

I grinned. I stood my ground. I hadn't done anything wrong. Sa Gi-hyeok or Jeon Do-hyung might have mentioned tactics out of curiosity, and I had merely provided guns to poor survivors.

"Me? Are you sure? I traded the guns for food. I don't know who suggested the idea, but I wouldn't order something like that."

"That con artist told us to do it!"

I smirked.

"Sa Gi-hyeok? Yes, he's a con artist. But con artists don't work this way."

The police slowly lowered their guns. The barrels turned back toward the survivors. But others remained suspicious. Especially the riders.

They understood that I was capable of such things. Even the firefighters who had glimpsed my true nature glanced at me while focusing on extinguishing the fire.

How could I dispel this suspicion? By showing my true intentions. Sincerity always works.

I shook my head as I looked up at the second-floor windows where red flames flickered.

"If I were the culprit, I wouldn't have done it this way."

On the day I truly wanted to destroy the alliance, when I was backed into a corner and filled with the determination to die together, I had methods I was saving. I didn't want to reveal them, but they couldn't stop it even if they knew.

"If it were me, I would have burned the entire city. I would have burned the mountains to eliminate firewood, set fires surrounding the survival zone, and burned the parks, streets, everything."

A truly final measure of mutual destruction.

Leaving no firewood for winter, turning food into ash, reducing the city to cinders.

Against a planned large-scale fire, improvised explosives or guns would be meaningless. They would all just feed the flames. And it couldn't be stopped. How could anyone stop it when the fire department was no longer functioning?

The alliance members froze momentarily. They seemed to be imagining the scene I described. A world tinted orange by flames that never died even at night, the sky filled with thick smoke—an apocalyptic end.

A merciless method that would turn the approaching winter into a season of death.

One of the survivors who had attacked out of hunger reflexively spoke up.

"Then there would be nothing left."

"Exactly. There shouldn't be anything left..."

Did that sound too sincere? The alliance might become wary of me. I belatedly laughed and looked around at the people nearby.

"It's just a contingency plan. We need measures like this so even the military won't touch us carelessly."

"Now I think you're the one with the head injury."

The police captain remarked glumly. He observed me carefully, not even blinking.

"Is something wrong with your brain? Why prepare to kill so many people who aren't even your enemies? Even when we were preparing to fight the military, we didn't think that far."

Was this coming from the police captain?

He led a police force that had essentially become a gang, worked alongside the electricity nomads who made explosives and doctors who produced poisons, yet he was criticizing me? Was it because I wasn't one of them?

"No... I was just being honest because I felt wrongly accused, but why are you reacting like this?"

"Being suspected might be better for you. Anyway, I don't think it was you. You have no reason to target the alliance, and if you were determined to attack the alliance, you wouldn't have done it this way."

Just then, a firefighter who had been removing oil containers from inside, holding a bright red fire axe, spoke to me.

His voice was somewhat gloomy.

"You might want to reconsider."

"About burning the city? No, that's—"

"No. Because fires will happen naturally even without your intervention."

Was he talking about forest fires? I'd heard that in the dry autumn season, forest fires occurred naturally.

From lightning strikes, static electricity, leaves brushing against each other in the wind.

The firefighter, busy moving oil containers, briefly looked up at the second floor. The sound of fire extinguishers spraying could be heard, and the flickering red light gradually diminished.

"People use fire because the gas is cut off. Some even tie plastic bags to trees to collect water. Fire accidents are inevitable. And in today's world, we can't put them out in time."

The firefighter seemed to prophesy, or rather, predict the future based on experience and knowledge.

"We might not all make it through this autumn..."

"Stop the useless talk and get moving!"

"Yes, sir!"

The gloomy firefighter quickly resumed his work.

I adjusted my mask. Coming from an expert, it was convincing. I briefly imagined the autumn landscape. A season colored by flames instead of fall foliage.

'Still, blood comes before flames or autumn leaves.'

I spread my hands toward the awkwardly standing survivors.

"Anyway, since you're our members, I'll give you a chance. Put down your weapons and come here. Cooperate with the police. If you waste time and the hostages die, there's truly no going back."

The survivors looked around and then at the riders they were holding as shields. They had lost a lot of blood and looked in danger.

But there was still a chance to survive. The survival zone had restored electricity, so blood transfusions shouldn't be a problem.

"That police officer doesn't seem like he'll let us live, though."

The police captain quickly added:

"Our friend says you're his business prospects. So we should show leniency. Surrender quickly. If those riders die, I can't be lenient."

"...Can we get food while we're being questioned?"

"What do you think this is, a TV drama? Who gives food to criminals in today's world? ...But if you're helpful, I could reward you. You know how we treat informants."

After hesitating, the survivors handed the hostages over to the riders. The riders rushed them to the hospital.

Then gunshots rang out. One after another, aimed at the survivors. They collapsed one by one. The police were surprisingly accurate, showing how much they practiced. Each survivor had a hole in their head.

The police captain let out a laugh that reeked of blood.

"To hell with negotiations. ...You didn't really think I'd let them live, did you?"

"Of course not. But let's confirm the kills first."

I quickly grabbed my hammer and ran to tap their heads. After confirming they were dead, I stood up to find people staring at me strangely.

I asked in confusion:

"Did blood get on my mask?"

I didn't want my mask stained with autumn colors.

Then I felt a gaze from beside me. Rolling my eyes, I saw RiderZero watching me, her face hidden behind her helmet, with a surviving chick in her palm.

Her helmet turned to look at the police captain as well.

'What is it? Has she noticed something suspicious?'

She truly wasn't an easy opponent. The burning of one gas station probably wouldn't be a major loss. They had likely stockpiled enough oil, were trying to switch to electric bicycles, and had many connections elsewhere.

The leaders of each group were all quite capable. They were like protagonists or supporting characters in a scenario, and such minor tricks weren't fatal.

'I guess I'll have to kill her myself...'