I headed straight to the elementary school in question. I met up with the two people who had been hiding nearby and greeted them.
"Good to see you. Even if just for a moment, I missed you."
"I did too. So, what's the plan now?"
At that, I pulled a vinyl tarp from my inventory.
"…You're not planning to block it with that, are you? Those bugs would tear it apart just by coughing."
Han Sehee shook her head.
"No problem. As long as I don't fully take it out of the inventory, time for that item stops."
The flimsy-looking vinyl tarp in my hand would become an impenetrable wall. The only downside was that until I put the tarp away, I couldn't access my inventory.
"Before we block the entrance with the tarp, I'm going to pour out all the gasoline I've got."
Through the holes I'd pre-made in the tarp, the gasoline could be poured in.
I had brought five drums of gasoline, roughly 200 liters each. That meant about a thousand liters of gasoline would flow into the bugs' nest.
And after pouring it all in?
I would cover the hole with the manhole cover I had prepared.
"The gasoline will turn into vapor in this enclosed space."
A full thousand liters of gasoline would completely vaporize. Om Inhyuk, who had been listening to me, raised his hand slightly.
"But… what's gasoline?"
Oh no, that was a really fundamental question.
Inhyuk didn't know what gasoline was. Glancing over, Han Sehee seemed clueless as well.
I could understand. If the factory I briefly worked at hadn't had a boss with a hobby for collecting antiques, I wouldn't have known either. That guy used to have employees carry gasoline just to fill the turbines in his collection of antique turbines.
"It's one of the substances that used to be used as a power source instead of magic…"
I explained the dangers of gasoline to them. Han Sehee frowned and said,
"Sounds really dangerous. What if it explodes while being used as a power source?"
"It's the turbine era."
During the preparation for the vapor explosion, Han Sehee and Om Inhyuk's roles were simple.
"Just protect me."
While the tarp's time was stopped, I couldn't access the inventory. In simple terms, my full power was significantly weakened.
Until the gasoline completely turned into vapor and spread throughout the bugs' nest, Han Sehee and Om Inhyuk had to protect me.
"I can handle some self-defense, though."
This was different from now, when I could pull out magazines freely from the inventory. After sealing the inventory, the guns I could use were strictly for emergency self-defense.
"That's fine. Without the bugs pouring out from the hive, we can handle it."
Om Inhyuk said confidently.
"Let's give those bugs a taste of hell!"
With Han Sehee's words, we began.
"One… two… go!"
We each grabbed a corner of the tarp and ran. It was literally a race against time. If we hesitated even a moment, the bugs would start pouring out… and that would be too late.
We reached the playground like lightning and covered the entrance with the tarp. The bugs that had been guarding the entrance tried to attack, but
"Too late, you little pests."
The tarp covered the hive's entrance, with one corner already inside my inventory.
The time-stopped tarp stiffened without that usual flimsiness.
That was it. The tarp had become an unbreakable wall.
"Now, move the drums!"
We began carrying the drums. We moved them frantically, and in no time, all five were in front of the playground.
Just two more trips to go.
"The lower part is going crazy."
"Told you."
The sound of the trapped bugs' frantic wings echoed beyond the tarp. Hundreds, thousands of wingbeats expressed the frustration of being suddenly trapped in their own home.
"One, two! Pour it in!"
But there was nothing to be done. The doors were already sealed, and the filthy hive was about to become a fire hell.
While I poured the gasoline, Han Sehee and Om Inhyuk protected me.
The gasoline flowed in. The essence of purification, which cleansed sins and bodies, filled the filthy nest.
Splash, splash, splash.
Even amid the countless wingbeats, the sound of sacred oil flowing tickled my ears sharply.
I never imagined pouring gasoline could sound so satisfying.
Drum by drum, each containing 200 liters, was emptied.
Curious, I pushed my hand into one of the bug corpses rolling nearby. It was one of the bugs Han Sehee and Om Inhyuk had killed while protecting me.
"Warm."
Along with the sticky texture, I could feel definite warmth.
That meant these monsters had body heat. If bugs cluster together, the temperature rises… which meant the gasoline would vaporize even faster.
"Done already?!"
After a while, Han Sehee called to me while slicing a bug's neck with her sword.
"Yes."
Every last drop was poured in. I blocked the hole where I had poured gasoline with the manhole cover I had prepared.
Now we just had to wait for the gasoline to vaporize.
"What if the bugs survive the explosion without much damage?"
"I don't think that's going to happen…"
A thousand liters of gasoline exploding would be devastating.
"I wish we could get more nearby…"
"There's no way. I've never even heard of it before."
Gasoline is only produced in small amounts for enthusiasts who want to see turbine-era relics actually work.
Getting this wasn't easy.
"Just hearing about gasoline, it's basically an explosive."
"Exactly. If you tried to get this much, the police would show up."
Right. If I weren't posing as a janitor, I couldn't have gotten five drums.
"Anyway, they say 40 liters can drive a car about 400 km."
That meant the gasoline I had poured in could theoretically power twenty-five cars for 400 km.
"What if it all explodes at once?"
It would be a truly satisfying sight.
Most of the bugs had already gathered at the entrance, aware of the problem there. Even if we couldn't destroy the entire nest, it would be enough to crush most of the bugs.
Time continued to pass.
We dealt with the bugs that discovered us on the way back to the nest, but as time went on, that slowed.
All that could be heard were the wingbeats of glowing bugs under our feet.
Finally, an hour and thirty minutes had passed.
"Let's start."
We moved far enough from the epicenter.
"Okay, let's do this."
Om Inhyuk was in charge of igniting the explosion.
"No need for huge flames. A small spark is enough."
"Understood."
Click—the lighter ignited, and a tiny spark floated into the air.
The spark drifted until it reached the manhole.
And then we witnessed the eruption of a volcano.
Cracks spread across the playground like cookie dough under crumble, and molten ground shot up into the sky, red as fire.
We thought we had a safe distance, but the searing air rushed at us like a violent heat wave.
"This doesn't feel safe!"
We had tried to put distance between us, but this was dangerous. Damn it, how was I supposed to know the full force of gasoline?
If that heat hits us… we'd just get roasted alive!
As I thought that, Om Inhyuk jumped in front of me and reached out.
"Hey, Om Inhyuk! What are you—"
Before I could finish, the hot wind swept over us.
"Huh?"
But strangely, we didn't feel the heat. It was just a fierce, storm-like wind battering our bodies.
"Did you do that?" Han Sehee asked Om Inhyuk, a bit surprised.
"…."
He didn't answer, grimacing. Maybe the wind had taken a toll on him.
But his face looked fine, barely strained. He had nullified the massive heat of the explosion, yet didn't look exhausted.
I looked at him with mild curiosity.
"Why?"
"Nothing, never mind."
I said that and surveyed the aftermath. Amid the sizzling destruction, the vinyl tarp I had anchored in my inventory was completely unscathed.
"The contamination source should be destroyed… Ah, no need to even ask."
Everything in the contaminated zone that had been warped by reality slowly shattered and was sucked into the explosion.
That meant the contamination inside the hive had been removed as well.
"Removed without even encountering it."
"This time, it went smoothly."
We had blown it away cleanly.
"Now, I need to close the inventory…"
I couldn't bring myself to enter the sizzling aftermath. The portal wouldn't shield the heat. Going in unprotected would be instant barbecue.
But someone was there to help me.
I glanced at Om Inhyuk, who hesitated for a moment before saying,
"I'll help you. You can go in safely."
With his help, I removed the corner of the tarp from the inventory.
The vinyl tarp melted in the heat and stuck to the ground.
"…Handling heat like this, huh."
I glanced at Om Inhyuk, watching from afar, then looked around again.
What's that?
Among the ash being sucked into the void drain, I saw something.
"…A poison sting?"
It was about the size of a dagger. Even as the ground shattered and the air sizzled, the sleek black poison sting remained intact, being drawn toward the drain.
I couldn't let that slip. I reached out and gripped it tightly.
"Whoa?"
The sting wriggled as if alive, trying to pierce my hand. If it weren't for the portal generator, it might have succeeded. That would've been a disaster.
What would happen if it stung me? I wondered, then put the wriggling sting into the inventory. How to use it… I'd figure that out later. Not now.
No more business here. The contaminated zone had been thoroughly cleaned.
And…
I had a full haul of bug bodies today. I could clearly feel seventy-eight bug corpses in the inventory.
The support from the Korean government really paid off.
― Cleaning complete. Good work, everyone.
Yoo Sangchul reported the end of the operation through the earpiece.
"How many survived?"
"Thirty-eight."
Not many. But that was expected. Officials responsible for initial measures abandoned their duties and lowered the barriers at the community center on their own.
I didn't know whether to feel relieved that thirty-eight survived or mourn the rest who had died.
"We couldn't rescue more, right?"
― I surveyed the entire contaminated zone while you were cleaning. That's all there is.
Considering Yoo Sangchul's abilities, that was probably true.