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I ended up in an orphanage when I was barely two years old.
In other words, I became an orphan in the dimly remembered days of my early childhood.
A robber supposedly murdered my parents.
But I’m not sure if that’s true.
It was just something the Catholic priest who raised me mentioned in passing.
Anyway, whatever the reason, an orphan is an orphan.
And in a harsh society dominated by blood ties, regional ties, and educational ties, there was little an orphan could do.
That’s why I enlisted as a non-commissioned officer in the Special Forces.
For an orphan with nothing but grit, there wasn’t a better job.
Fortunately, I had exceptional physical abilities, a keen sense, and guts.
As a result, on the day I finished my four-year mandatory service, I even received a love call from a foreign mercenary unit.
Well, they offered a lot of money, so I had to go.
They offered five times the salary of a non-commissioned officer, so how could I refuse?
I spent quite a long time shooting guns in places like Africa and Iraq...
And eventually, I settled in a private military company (PMC) in the United States.
It was one of the most secretive organizations among the hundreds of PMCs worldwide.
They offered twenty times the salary of a non-commissioned officer.
But after working there for a year, I realized I didn’t fit in.
No matter how much money they gave me,
No matter how much of a mercenary driven by money I was, there are things a person can do and things they can’t.
So, I decided to resign.
However, these crazy bastards didn’t let me go easily.
Sending a sniper just because I wanted to resign.
Aren’t they out of their minds?
So, in the end, I did something like this.
Boom!!!
Somewhere in a desert in the southern United States.
The headquarters of a private military company, built in the middle of that desert, exploded and burned fiercely.
Watching the scene, I smiled in satisfaction.
I ended up with bullet holes all over my body from setting that place on fire, but there was nothing I could do about it.
Fighting a giant corporation alone, I expected at least this much.
“...You crazy monster.”
A white man, who, like me, was riddled with bullet holes, gritted his teeth and spoke.
He was Mike Jose, the resignation mercenary handler.
Behind him were the bodies of hundreds of mercenaries who had died first.
Thus, the white sand of the desert was stained with bright red blood.
“If you had just let someone retire peacefully, this wouldn’t have happened. Why did you have to shoot me in the back?”
“Cough...! You crazy bastard... Do you think this company is a place where you can come and go as you please...? Especially someone who has only been here for a year...!”
“You should’ve given me doable tasks.”
“...!”
“Why did you order me to kill children? Fifty of them, no less.”
“...!”
“There was only one thing I asked before joining this company. Don’t make me do things that would get me struck by lightning.”
“...!”
Jose, hearing my words, seemed to have some excuse ready.
But that was the end of the conversation.
Bang-!
As I pulled the trigger, a crimson hole appeared in the middle of Jose’s forehead.
Watching this, I finally let out a relieved breath.
“Sigh...”
Thus, the revenge and retribution came to an end.
But unfortunately, so did my fate.
Having completed everything, my legs gave out, and I collapsed to the ground.
Blood continued to gush from my abdomen, where I had been hit by several bullets.
“...What a waste of a day to die.”
I muttered to myself as I took out a cigarette.
The sky was so blue and beautiful.
Seeing such a sky made me think of home.
When my comrades who experienced near death talked about thinking of home just before they died, I thought it was nonsense, but experiencing it myself, I realized it was true.
“...Yeah. Coming here was a mistake. I should have quit mercenary work in France.”
What was money worth, anyway?
To think I was destined to die in the middle of this desert, where I had no ties.
It was then.
Ding-! Ding-! Ding-!
Suddenly, the sound of a bell rang in my ears.
I smiled faintly at the sound.
It was a familiar auditory hallucination to me.
A pure and divine auditory hallucination, like the sound of church bells.
This had been a milestone that had guided me until now.
Thanks to this bell sound, I could be called a ‘god-blessed mercenary’ by others,
And I had been able to survive numerous times in the face of death.
But why on earth?
‘Do you want to go back?’
At the moment of facing death, a different kind of phenomenon occurred, unlike anything I had experienced before.
Amid the bell sounds, I heard the voices of souls.
‘Do you want to go back?’
Startled by the suddenly chilling voice, I jerked my head up.
Then my eyes widened a bit involuntarily.
Above my head, souls with a bluish-purple skin tone were gathered together.
“...It must be really time for me to die. I’m even seeing things now.”
‘.........’
“Hey. How’s the food in the afterlife? Is it decent?”
‘We’ve been watching over you all along.’
“...Yeah. Thanks for everything so far. I’ve owed you a lot.”
‘We’ll send you back. To your homeland.’
“What...?”
The souls’ eyes were very serious.
No matter how unrealistic the proposal was, their faces were not ones that would lie.
‘You are useful to us.’
“Useful person....?”
‘Since it’s a difficult path, the reward will be generous.’
“.........!”
‘This time, please become our mercenary.’
With those words, a bright white light poured in front of my eyes.
And a moment later.
When I opened my eyes again, I had become a ‘police officer’ in Korea.
