novelraw Chapter 139 : Mission 10: The Hunters of Old (12)
Chapter 139 : Mission 10: The Hunters of Old (12)
The old soldier was caught immediately.
There was no outrunning Jae-hee Han.
Now their captive, the old soldier scanned the prisoners in the wastewater treatment room, his eyes wide with bewilderment.
“Who… who are you people? Why are you sleeping in this… this shithole?”
Jae-hee offered a sheepish grin and an excuse. “Just some poor, homeless folks…?”
They had slept out in the open, after all. It was just the where that was a little unconventional.
“Like I’d believe that! You’re intruders!” the old soldier shrieked.
Jae-hee shot a helpless look at Razor. “They’re onto us. Now what?”
“What do you think?” Razor nodded, his expression merciless. “We dump him.”
“H-huh? By ‘dump him,’ you mean…?”
Jae-hee had assumed it was underworld slang for ‘kill,’ but he was wrong.
Razor dragged the bound soldier over to the wastewater purification tank, planted a foot on the man’s back, and said, “I mean dump him in here.”
“Ah.”
As the foul, churning water loomed before him, the old soldier screamed, “Just kill me, you bastards! Just kill me!”
“Well, if that’s what you’d prefer…” Razor drew his bone dagger and gave it a slow lick.
“No, don’t actually kill me! Wait, wait, let’s talk! We can talk this out!”
“Listen up, gramps. You don’t exactly have a lot of options here,” Razor snarled, pressing the knife to the old man’s throat and keeping his foot planted firmly on his back.
“Option one: you get dumped in this shit water, spill what you know, and get to keep breathing. Option two: you get a different kind of dunking. The slice-and-dice kind.”
“Eeeek!”
“So, choose. I’ll give you ten seconds.”
The old soldier yelped, “What information?! I don’t know anything! I just got swept up in all this by chance!”
“Huh?”
“A-and to be honest, I’m kind of an outcast in the Knights anyway…!”
The unexpected word made Razor frown. “An outcast?”
“Can’t you tell? I’m the one stuck on guard duty in this shithole all by myself!”
Of the three people assigned to this facility, he was the only one who’d been patrolling the wastewater treatment area since last night.
Status Window tilted his head. “Why are you an outcast desu?”
The old soldier mumbled for a moment before reluctantly answering, “Because… I’m the youngest.”
“The youngest?” Jae-hee asked, confused. “Aren’t you all around the same age?”
“We’re the same age, but that just makes them stricter about seniority! You know how old our guild is—it’s a stagnant pond of old fossils!”
The Knights, the guild that had defended Cheongnyangni for thirty years. A gathering of elderly Hunters with an average age of over sixty.
The old soldier before them was far older than the five convicts, but within his own guild, he was the baby of the group.
Genuine resentment and anger began to creep into his voice.
“They won’t hire anyone new, so I’ll never have a junior! I’m the forever rookie! Stuck with grunt work forever, cleaning up everyone’s messes forever, and getting chewed out for everything, day in and day out! Dammit!”
“Ahhh,” Jae-hee said, nodding in understanding. “When I first joined, the seniors gave me a really hard time, too. I was so miserable. I guess bullying the new guy really is a time-honored Korean tradition.”
“What’s this runt even talking about? After taking out the entire upper echelon the second he arrived?” Razor scoffed.
Meanwhile, the old soldier’s torrent of grievances continued.
“They leave me out whenever they get together, they won’t let me play futsal with them because I’m ‘too young’… I’ve been treated like this for thirty years! The way these old geezers subtly freeze you out is just plain evil.”
For some reason, the old man’s tale of passive-aggressive ostracism brought tears to Status Window’s eyes.
Sniffling, he mumbled, “I understand that pain desu… All through my school years, I…”
“You, too?”
Seeing their shared pain reflected in each other’s eyes, Status Window and the old soldier threw their arms around one another.
A moment of empathy that transcended generations was unfolding.
As Razor debated shoving Status Window in with him, the old soldier pressed on.
“And I was just starting to have a little romance blossom with Ms. Chun-ja Park from next door… I don’t want to die like this!”
“Hmm? A romance, you say?”
“Yes, we even held hands a few days ago…! If I make it back alive, I’m going to confess my feelings to her properly!”
The old soldier’s words were planting death flags left and right, making Jae-hee break out in a cold sweat.
Razor, however, seemed to have latched onto a different detail.
“Romance, huh… Does your heart pound when you think of Ms. Park, old-timer?”
“It pounds like a war drum,” the old soldier said. “You have someone like that, too?”
“Just started a new relationship. Even holding hands is enough to get me going.”
Razor’s tone softened.
Sensing the shift, the old soldier continued desperately, “And I have Choco at home. If I die, who’s going to feed Choco?”
“Who’s Choco?”
“My dog! A little black poodle!”
Rabid Dog perked up mid-yawn from her corner.
The old soldier grinned and gave a thumbs-up. “A very young and handsome male!”
“…!”
“If I get out of here alive, I’ll introduce you two!”
Rabid Dog shot to her feet, her eyes sparkling with genuine interest. Her tail began to whip back and forth.
Jae-hee’s sweat turned colder. Seriously? She’s actually interested in a blind date with a dog?
Finally, Soju Bottle staggered over and held out her green bottle to the old soldier.
“Do you happen to like sojuuu?”
“A world without soju isn’t worth living in.”
Soju Bottle giggled, poured a shot from the green bottle, and handed it to him. The old man tossed it back in one go.
After draining the cup, the old soldier looked around and said, “We have so much in common. Why don’t we try to get along… Gack?!”
He couldn’t finish his sentence. He clutched his burning throat, coughing violently.
“You… you rotters… what did you make me drink…”
“It was nice of you to try so hard to get on our good side.” Razor’s face turned cold again as he clicked his tongue. “But you really shouldn’t be gulping down whatever an enemy hands you.”
“Gah…?!”
“While our little speedster was fetching you, I had our alcoholic friend brew a little truth serum.”
Soju Bottle’s ability: Brewing.
She could imbue any alcohol in a bottle with a desired effect.
The old soldier had tried to lower their guard, but in the process, he’d willingly swallowed a truth serum.
Jae-hee was impressed. “Wow… that was all part of the plan, bro?”
“Y’think I’d get all sentimental with the enemy in their own territory?”
Well, I kind of did…
Jae-hee looked around sheepishly at the rest of the team, asking, “So everyone was just playing along?”
Status Window and Rabid Dog both looked crestfallen. Apparently, those two had been for real.
“Anyway… Like you said, we’ve gotten a little closer now, haven’t we, old-timer?” Razor said with a grin as the soldier’s eyes began to glaze over.
“How about you tell us everything you know?”
***
December 11, 2050, 6:30 AM.
Gate Defense Bureau Headquarters, Director’s Office.
The tremors from the Demon Lord’s advent weren’t just felt by the Awakened inside Cheongnyangni Gate.
Those waiting outside felt the ominous shift in the air as well.
“…Hmph.”
Director Yang of the Gate Defense Bureau stubbed out his cigarette in an ashtray. He pressed a hand to his eyepatch as he stared ahead.
“I never took him for this, but that Jo man… he’s something else.”
“…”
“It seems he really intends to go through with it.”
Gate particles were fluctuating wildly, and every monitor was screaming with erratic readings. More than that, a chilling sensation on their skin told them what was happening.
Something was going down at Cheongnyangni Gate.
In reality, it was due to the sudden appearance of a Demon Lord–class monster, but those outside didn’t know the truth.
They could only come to one conclusion: Iron Knight Shin-woo was about to trigger a Gate rampage.
“There was still time left, so I assumed it was just bluster… but if he’s going to push it this far, we have no choice.”
Yang So-yu nodded at the person sitting before him.
“Out of respect for your wishes, I had hoped not to involve you in this situation, but my hands are tied.”
“…”
“I believe it’s time for the Five Heroes to prepare for deployment.”
Sitting across from Yang So-yu was a man in a raincoat, his face obscured by its deep hood.
Rain Man. Leader of the New Five Heroes and the world’s strongest S-Ranker.
After a long silence, he finally spoke from within the shadows of his hood.
“They say good rain knows the right time to fall.” With a slight bow, Rain Man rose from his seat. “When I judge it necessary, I will intervene.”
Yang So-yu watched silently as Rain Man walked out of his office.
Only after the door clicked shut did the director press his hand over his eyepatch again and mutter, “Shin-woo, you old fool… what in the world are you trying to do?”
***
December 11, 2050, 7:00 AM.
Cheongnyangni Gate, Gate Room.
«You can’t, Commander!»
The desperate voice of his subordinate crackled through the comms in Shin-woo’s ear.
«This is insane!»
“…”
«Come back! It’s impossible for us to stop a Demon Lord on our own! We have to tell the outside world what’s happening and call for reinforcements…!»
Shin-woo stood alone inside the Gate Room.
His coat fluttering behind him, he walked slowly to the Gate and stopped. Its seal neutralized, the portal was slowly opening its violet maw.
“Defeating a Demon Lord is impossible.”
The old knight squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, his voice was a low growl.
“But holding it back, stopping it here… that, I can do alone.”
«Commander…!»
“No matter how powerful a Demon Lord is, its strength is halved when it’s not in its own territory.”
Permanent Gates weren’t entirely a disadvantage for humanity.
While other Gates appeared and immediately began terraforming the area into monster territory, a Permanent Gate eroded its surroundings slowly, even as it periodically spat out monsters.
“This is not its territory,” Shin-woo said, his hand gripping the hilt of the greatsword on his back. “For the last thirty years, this has been my land.”
Clank, clank—
The massive scabbard encasing the greatsword began to transform.
At the same time, the Gate itself tore open, and the entity beyond began to reveal its wicked form.
Gritting his teeth, Shin-woo slowly drew his sword and uttered a single, quiet word.
“Domain Break.”
The greatsword that emerged from the massive scabbard was engraved with complex, geometric patterns.
Shin-woo held the greatsword upright before him and thrust it into the air.
“Ignition,” he uttered, then twisted the blade half a turn.
As if turning a key in a car’s ignition.
A beastly, mechanical roar echoed as the surrounding space dismantled itself, the resulting void filling with a brilliant sunset glow.
Using his ultimate technique for the first time in decades, the Iron Knight whispered its name.
“—Twilight Fortress.”