Damn it. Faster. Faster.
Whoooooosh!
I squeezed out every last ounce of strength and pushed my movement technique to its limit. The scenery blurred past as the ruined city rapidly drew closer.
But I knew how it had ended before I even arrived. No—I should say someone told me.
Beep.
System
??? has completed its objective and disappeared.
Sudden Quest, Unexpected Assault, has been canceled.
You failed to complete the Quest. As a failure penalty, a random stat decreases by 10.
Strength decreases by 10.
The moment I heard the System notification, the tension wound tight inside me abruptly snapped.
It wasn’t because I had failed the Quest or because my stat had decreased. It was because I knew what the notification meant.
The deepening silence as I approached the city—and the sight that greeted me moments later—turned my suspicion into certainty.
“……”
Blood was everywhere, and horribly mangled corpses lay strewn across the ground. Even I, after countless battles had made me accustomed to death, froze for a moment.
Slaughter.
Yes. This was slaughter. They had blown people apart, torn them to pieces, and crushed them.
The evidence that living human beings had been hunted down and killed like ants made it hard to breathe.
If even I, a complete stranger from another country, felt this way, the grief and rage of the Public Security Armed Forces Department Hunters arriving behind me were beyond words.
“Zhang Wei! Langlang!”
“W-Who the hell did this? Who the hell…? Sob…”
“No! Aaaaaah!”
These were comrades who had entrusted their backs to one another. Among the cold bodies lying before them were their siblings and lovers.
Amid the endless wailing and shouting, one person who had been standing in silence suddenly stepped forward.
Thud. Thud.
Perhaps his hollow footsteps sounded especially loud because his face, so unlike its usual self, was utterly numb and devoid of emotion.
Team Leader Choi, standing beside me, called my name quietly.
“Mr. Jin.”
“I know. Me too.”
Some things had to be done even when you wanted no part of them. This was one of those times. I forced the words past my lips.
“Shen.”
“…….”
“Xiao Shen!”
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Even my forceful shout failed to stop him. Xiao Shen merely kept walking toward some unknown place, searching for the killers who had murdered his subordinates.
In the end, I had to walk up and grab him by the shoulder.
Smack.
“Stop.”
A dry, lifeless voice emerged.
“……Let go. I have to go.”
“Where?”
“Where?”
Xiao Shen looked around with empty eyes before continuing.
“I don’t know. But they must be somewhere.”
“You…”
“I have to go after them. No matter what it takes, I’ll find them and have my revenge.”
“……!”
For a moment, I couldn’t speak.
The person before me wasn’t Xiao Shen. He was me, a few years ago.
That was why I couldn’t bring myself to say what needed to be said.
Because I know how he feels.
He wanted to kill, and he probably wanted to die too.
The deaths of those close to you left behind more than rage and grief. The survivor was burdened with guilt heavier than both combined.
The guilt left behind by a hundred lives was far too much for a twenty-one-year-old to bear.
Damn it.
I swallowed the curse lingering on the tip of my tongue and tightened my grip on his shoulder.
“You’re too late.”
“…….”
“It’s already too late. We can’t find them right now. That isn’t a guess. I’m certain.”
The System notification had told me as much. There was no possibility of a mistake.
Xiao Shen stared into my unwavering eyes and murmured blankly.
“I’m too late. I really am too late.”
“I don’t want to admit it either, but… yes. That’s the reality.”
I thought he would finally unleash all the rage and grief he had been holding back.
I thought he would wail and smash everything in sight, just as I had a few years ago.
But I was wrong. The monsters weren’t the only targets of Xiao Shen’s revenge.
Rattle-rattle. Thud.
The tanks were only now entering the city.
Xiao Shen watched the advancing column grow from distant specks into looming vehicles, his eyes blazing like fire.
“Then I suppose I’ll have to kill that bastard, at least.”
There was no question who that bastard meant.
General Liao. The man responsible for issuing this goddamn order.
One worthless command from him had killed a hundred Hunters and hundreds of soldiers. Even I thought he deserved to pay for it.
But…
“Fuck. I’m sorry.”
Feeling wretched, I reached out.
Xiao Shen sensed something was wrong and tried to dodge, but my hand moved like flowing water and brushed his acupoints before he could escape.
Tap. Tap-tap!
The Paralysis Acupoint, the Mute Acupoint, and the Sleep Acupoint.
Xiao Shen’s entire body went rigid, his voice was sealed, and a deep sleep began to overtake him.
His eyelids trembled as he fought desperately against the drowsiness pouring over him.
“For now… get some proper sleep. Their deaths weren’t your fault.”
Sshk.
At last, his eyelids closed tight. The final look in Xiao Shen’s eyes held an unmistakable question.
Why? How come?
And Xiao Shen wasn’t the only one asking it.
“Regimental Commander!”
“Jin Taekyung, you!”
Whoooooosh! Shing!
Along with furious shouts, five sounds of air being split apart rang out.
They were A-rank Hunters under Xiao Shen’s command, men called company commanders.
I swept a hand toward them as they charged without hesitation.
Boom!
Compressed air exploded outward, forcing the weapons hurtling toward me to veer away.
The company commanders barely managed to block the palm force tearing through the air, their bodies skidding backward across the ground.
It was fortunate that I had restrained my strength. If I had truly steeled myself, things would not have ended this easily.
“Everyone, calm down. I didn’t want to go this far either.”
“Kgh!”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
“How dare you lay a hand on the regimental commander…!”
“This is how you repay his kindness?!”
As the atmosphere turned hostile, Team Leader Choi stepped forward and spoke quietly.
“Mr. Jin is only repaying that kindness.”
“W-What did you say?”
“If we had left him alone, the enraged Regimental Commander Xiao would have killed General Liao.”
“……General Liao deserves to die. Even if our regimental commander hadn’t done it, we would have taken matters into our own hands.”
“I agree. But I can’t say how your country’s Central Committee would view it—especially the Crown Prince Party, to which General Liao belongs.”
“……!”
“He is the supreme commander responsible for an entire front. Killing him would not remain a personal matter.”
Team Leader Choi looked over the Public Security Armed Forces Department Hunters one by one.
They were a force nearly a thousand strong. I hadn’t thought that far ahead, but if they became entangled in an incident like this, they wouldn’t escape the consequences either.
“I won’t tell you to forget what happened today. I’m only saying that now is not the time.”
I felt the hostility begin to subside.
Team Leader Choi’s words were both practical and grounded in emotion. One of the company commanders who had not joined the attack finally spoke.
“I agree. Killing that bastard right now would be easy, but… dealing with the aftermath would not.”
“…….”
“Remember this. General Liao isn’t the only reason our brothers died.”
He surveyed the horrific sea of corpses and blood, then ground his teeth.
“Let’s wait. Just a little while. Our time will come soon.”
“Haaah.”
“……Damn it all!”
Some looked to the sky and lamented. Others struggled to contain the grief and fury boiling inside them.
But it was clear that they had all reached the same unspoken agreement.
Once the situation had finally settled, Team Leader Choi let out a relieved sigh.
“That’s one less thing to worry about. I’m glad you stopped Regimental Commander Xiao, Mr. Jin.”
“……It was nothing.”
Fortunate. Was this really something we should call fortunate?
Even though I knew there had been no other choice, a bitter taste lingered in my mouth. I knew the rage and grief Xiao Shen must have felt.
“More importantly, it seemed there were survivors.”
“There was a middle-aged couple and one child. They apparently fainted from extreme tension, so they’re being moved somewhere else to rest for now.”
“Are there any other survivors?”
“We’ll find them soon enough.”
Team Leader Choi frowned and looked over my shoulder as he continued.
“Once that utterly incompetent commander gives the order, at least.”
Rattle-rattle.
The armored vehicle advancing with a deafening racket stopped about twenty meters1 ahead of us.
A moment later, the plump General Liao emerged under heavy guard.
“W-What in the world…?”
At the horrific sight before him, his already fair complexion turned deathly pale.
He doubled over and retched for a long while. The sight filled me with disgust, but it also made me think that perhaps he was human after all.
You bastard. I guess you do feel guilty.
Everyone there had probably thought the same thing.
But General Liao’s next words reminded me of something I had forgotten.
People like him always managed to exceed the limits of imagination.
“N-No. The operation wasn’t supposed to fail!”
“……!”
The world seemed to slow down.
As though in slow motion, I saw shock and fury spread across the faces around me.
I saw Team Leader Choi reach for me and heard his urgent shout.
“Mr. Jin!”
But it was already too late.
By the time he called my name, I had crossed the twenty-odd meters1 between us and appeared before General Liao.
An operation. An operation…
I couldn’t suppress the incredulous laugh that escaped me.
I reached toward the man staring up at me as though he had seen a ghost.
Crack! Crunch!
It was over in an instant.
With pure physical strength, without putting so much as a thread of internal energy behind it, I broke both his arms and crushed his kneecaps.
Be grateful I still have one shred of reason left.
His jaw dropped. His eyes bulged.
Then he screamed like a pig being slaughtered.
“Aaaaaaaaargh!!!”
I spat at him as he rolled his eyes back, collapsed to the ground, and convulsed in pain, then turned away.
I didn’t forget to address the staff officer staring at me as though his soul had left his body.
“Report me to your superiors if you’ve got a fucking problem, you bastards.”
Shaking his head, Team Leader Choi approached with a high-grade potion.
The chair was enormous and grotesque.
That was only natural. It had been fashioned from human and monster bones.
Yet it was neither as grotesque nor as terrifying as its owner.
Tap. Tap-tap.
A fleshless finger tapped the skull decorating the armrest.
The figure was well over three meters2 tall, with a massive frame. The black robe draped over it rippled like mist.
It resembled a king seated upon a throne, and that description was not far from the truth.
The Arch Lich.
It was a being worthy of being called the lord of the undead—a king who ruled over death.
But the Arch Lich itself did not think so. There was another who was the true king, while it was merely that king’s loyal servant.
But…
Was it still too soon?
The Arch Lich felt a sudden pang of regret.
It possessed truly formidable magical power, but it was still far weaker than the strength it had once possessed. On top of that, the situation on the battlefield was proving more difficult than expected.
After silently sinking into thought, the Arch Lich opened its mouth.
“Are you listening, my servant?”
The being prostrated in the darkness answered.
“Yes, my lord.”
“Pull back the front line. We’ll draw the human army in.”
“I obey.”
“Go. Carry my command to every legion within the reach of my power.”
The black knight rose and slowly withdrew.
At the final moment, the Arch Lich’s chair was reflected in his eyes, which burned red.
Tap. Tap-tap.
The skull decorating its armrest was far too small to have belonged to an adult.
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