novelraw Chapter 156 : Mission 10: The Hunters of Old (29)
Chapter 156 : Mission 10: The Hunters of Old (29)
The stage shrank to its absolute limit. Just as the wall of the storm reached Jae-hee…
Whoosh…
A cool wind swept through the area, and just like that, Jae-hee’s Domain Break was over.
Still reeling from the full force of the breath attack, Ghost leaned on her sword like a cane, catching her breath. She glanced at her watch.
From activation to termination, Jae-hee’s Domain Break had lasted less than three minutes.
Considering that she and Iron Knight could maintain theirs for hours—not to mention their sheer scale—Jae-hee’s Domain was not only small but laughably short-lived.
She glanced over at him. He was just as exhausted, leaning on his own sword and panting heavily.
“Premature with your powers, too?” Ghost quipped.
Jae-hee’s lips jutted out in a pout. “I-it’s my first time…”
Ghost let out a short, sharp laugh. “Yeah, well. Not bad for your first time.”
“Hehe.”
But there was no time for master and disciple to exchange awkward smiles.
“Such a…”
The Demon Lord’s voice echoed from nothingness.
“…simple, brutish method.”
Startled, they both looked up to see an inky miasma gathering in the air once more.
It was Deyana Ludens’s Gate Core.
“I… cannot die…”
It wasn’t regenerating as rapidly as before, but slowly, surely, the Demon Lord was reforming.
“I have a responsibility… to create a sanctuary for my kind in this world… as one of the Deathsworn…”
Horrified, Jae-hee yanked his sword from the ground. “I’ll finish it—!”
And then he collapsed, dropping to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.
Sprawled on the ground, Jae-hee blinked in confusion. “Huh…? I’m feeling… no… strength…”
The aftereffects of his Domain Break had completely drained him.
As Ghost scrambled to catch him, another voice cut through the air.
“Rest, Boy.”
His steps were heavy with exhaustion, but he had lost none of his characteristic dignity.
It was Iron Knight, Shin-woo Jo. He nodded toward Jae-hee. “You’ve done more than enough.”
With those words, Jae-hee’s eyes rolled back, and he went limp. Ghost gently lowered her disciple to the floor.
“As things stand, there is no way to kill Deyana Ludens completely,” Iron Knight murmured, his gaze fixed on the Gate Core slowly coalescing in the air.
“However, now that it is at its weakest, we have our one and only chance to eliminate it for good. And it seems I am the only one who can do it.”
“What do you mean, Iron Knight?” Ghost asked.
A bitter smile touched his lips. “The only way to truly erase this thing that revives no matter how many times you kill it… is to seal it in another world.”
“…Don’t tell me.”
Ghost’s eyes darted around.
Jae-hee’s Domain Break was gone, and her own was fading, the area of its influence shrinking as her strength waned.
The landscape was now dominated by a summer beach at sunset. A foul, oily slick of corruption still stained the sea, but the scenery was, despite it all, beautiful.
It was Iron Knight’s Domain Break, Twilight Fortress.
“You’re going to trap it in your world?”
“Yes.”
Thud! Thud! R-rumble!
Walls of steel flew endlessly through the air, surrounding the Demon Lord’s Gate Core and fusing together.
“I will build a prison here to contain it.”
“Then you’ll be…”
“This prison will require constant repair and reinforcement, so I, too, must remain here,” Iron Knight said with a quiet nod. “Forever.”
An S-Rank Awakened was, in monster terms, no different from a Gate Lord. Just as a Gate Lord connected its world to Earth through a Gate, an S-Rank Awakened connected their world to Earth through a Domain Break.
Iron Knight was declaring his intent to remain here, in his summer sea, with the Demon Lord for all eternity.
To be sealed away forever, with only the Demon Lord for company.
“A new wind is blowing.”
The spring breeze Jae-hee had summoned still lingered.
Iron Knight took a breath of it, then spoke with grim acceptance. “A new era is coming. It’s time for the old soldier to make his exit.”
“…”
“The leader of this rebellion has chosen eternal exile with the Demon Lord of his own free will…” He turned to Ghost, his voice pleading. “Please, tell the higher-ups… to show leniency to the remaining members of The Knights.”
“…I’ll do what I can.” Ghost nodded, her face hard.
She hesitated for a moment.
“Iron Knight.” To her old friend, she managed to say, “Farewell.”
“…Ghost.”
Iron Knight’s smile was weary as he continued to raise the prison. “Eventually, the ‘Gate’ will open completely.”
“…”
“You don’t have to bear what comes next all by yourself. Then again… even if I say that, you’ll probably struggle to carry it all alone until the very end.”
He raised a hand in a wave.
“Stay strong.”
Slowly, the sandy beach began to fade.
Ghost watched the back of her friend disappear into the twilight.
And then…
“Commander!”
A man in full plate armor rushed forward—Chevalier. He tore off his helmet, his face marked with a cross-shaped scar and contorted in anguish.
“Father!”
“…Vice-Commander.”
Iron Knight looked at Chevalier, his expression full of apology. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”
“I…” Chevalier clenched his jaw and bowed his head, spitting out the words. “I wanted to be your true son.”
“…Haha. I really am a fool.” Iron Knight laughed, a hollow sound. “If only I had focused more on the son I had… perhaps I would have seen another path sooner…”
“I do not believe the path we chose was wrong. If you had asked me to fall with you to the very depths of hell, I would have done so gladly.”
“Then let me say this.”
Having failed to take that final step into damnation, a man caught in the middle to the very end, Iron Knight spoke his final words.
“Live, my son.”
“…”
“You must live.”
And with that, Iron Knight released his Domain Break.
The connection to Earth was severed. His comrades of many years, the son he had raised for three decades, Ghost, the Boy—all of them vanished from his sight.
All that remained was a desolate summer beach.
The only sound was the whisper of sand as the waves rolled in and out beneath the twilight.
“Now it’s my turn to be the prisoner and the guard…”
Leaning his back against the massive, coffin-shaped prison that now stood on the shore, Iron Knight spoke to the archnemesis trapped within.
“Let’s stay locked up in here together, Demon Lord. Forever.”
“…There is no such thing as forever in this world.”
From inside the prison, Deyana Ludens sneered.
“This prison, this world, and you. All of it will eventually decay and corrode, and I will be set free.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Iron Knight slowly closed his eyes.
“Let’s see this through to the end.”
It was the beginning of his first vacation in a very long time.
And it would never, ever end.
***
After Iron Knight’s Domain Break vanished, taking him and the Demon Lord with it, Ghost released her own, revealing the brutally destroyed defense facility of the Cheongnyangni Gate.
The battle had torn the area apart, carving deep into the earth.
The corruption and monsters the Demon Lord had scattered had all lost their power and disappeared. The survivors staggered to their feet, tending to the dead and wounded.
Thwup-thwup-thwup-thwup-thwup!
Several helicopters roared overhead as soldiers burst through every entrance, storming the facility. The 666th Special Operations Unit rappelled from the helicopters, leading the charge.
They aimed their weapons and began barking orders.
“All of you, hands on your head and get on the ground!”
“Anyone who resists will be shot!”
The old soldiers of The Knights instinctively raised their weapons to fight back.
“Knights!” Chevalier’s voice cut through the chaos. “It ends here.”
“Vice-Commander! But—!”
“We have no chance of winning. There’s no need for more casualties. We will all surrender.”
“…”
“Drop your weapons! Now!”
Chevalier was the first, throwing his greatsword to the ground with a clatter.
One by one, the grim-faced old soldiers followed suit, lowering their weapons and surrendering.
The 666th advanced cautiously, forcing them to their knees and binding them one by one.
And so, the occupation of the Cheongnyangni Gate by The Knights came to an end.
***
December 11, 2050, 1:00 PM.
Cheongnyangni Gate, Main Entrance.
It took a long time to secure the area.
Every member of The Knights was arrested, from the forces on-site to those in the basement.
The Hunter Association and the Black Parade gathered their respective members, receiving treatment for their injuries as they watched the situation unfold.
“…”
Jae-hee, who had regained consciousness a short while ago, watched with mixed feelings as the bound veterans of The Knights were led away.
These men had killed the soldiers of Cheongnyangni who had been doing their duty. They had killed the military units and Black Parade prisoners sent in after them. They had even held the entire city of Seoul hostage.
But they had also spent their lives trying to protect the world, and just as they had thirty years ago, they had risked their lives to fight the Demon Lord who had suddenly appeared.
“It’s complicated…” Jae-hee muttered.
Ghost, sitting across from him, picked up on his thought. “It was just a difference in methods. Everyone was trying to save the world in their own way.”
Her gaze was distant as she thought of Iron Knight, who had vanished with the Demon Lord. “It’s just… different. We all have different positions, different circumstances…”
Just then, Ghost spotted a shadow moving furtively in the distance.
It was a Deck 1 convict, covered in flashy tattoos and clutching a green soju bottle. Callsign: Soju Bottle.
She was glancing around nervously, trying to melt into the shadows.
Ghost’s eyes narrowed. “Hey, kid.”
“Yes?”
“That one with the soju bottle. She’s the one who gave you that medicinal liquor, isn’t she?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. That’s her. The stuff was amazing.”
“Be right back.”
Ghost rose to her feet and strode after Soju Bottle.
She came up behind the woman, who was about to slip away into the shadows, and called out, “Oi.”
“…!”
Soju Bottle flinched.
Ghost’s voice was accusatory. “You’ve gotten a lot more ink since I last saw you. And what’s with the piercings? You’ve completely changed your style.”
“Uh… um… look…”
“I almost didn’t recognize you. You really went all out trying to change your image.”
Soju Bottle turned around hesitantly, a friendly smile on her face. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
“Too late to be playing innocent, girl.” Ghost crossed her arms and let out a heavy sigh. “What are you doing here, Spirit Lord?”
The last member of the Old Five Heroes. The recluse who hadn’t been seen in decades.
The Spirit Lord grinned sheepishly and turned to face her old comrade.
***
“Anyway…” Razor, who had been sipping on a carton of milk from the supply drop, brightened. “We must’ve earned a shitload of Credits on this mission.”
“You’re telling me,” Jae-hee said, rubbing his chin. “I think this is the most I’ve ever made on a mission.”
“Should we throw a party when we get back? We went through hell.”
“Whoa, a party! Yes!”
Jae-hee shot to his feet and yelled to the other convicts, “Since we’re rolling in Credits, I’ll treat every survivor from this mission to a blowout on Deck 9!”
“For real?!”
“You’ll regret saying that! I’mma spend all your money!”
“Wooooo! I’m gonna eat everything desu!”
“Boy! Boy! Boy! Boy!”
As everyone cheered, a familiar voice cut in.
“Oh, my. I was just thinking you all deserved something delicious after working so hard. And here you are, already talking about a party.”
Everyone froze. They turned to see Commander Seo approaching, leaning on her cane.
“You worked especially hard, Boy.”
She approached with her signature benevolent smile, her scarred face crinkling. “You’ve performed a great service. You played a decisive role in defeating the Demon Lord, didn’t you?”
“Ah, hehe. Yes. I just did my best and it kind of… happened.”
“So, in addition to your Credit reward, I’ve decided to specially recognize your contribution…”
Click.
Hae-eun reached out and personally unfastened the bomb collar—the Guillotine—from Jae-hee’s neck.
Holding it in her hand, she beamed. “You’re being discharged.”
Jae-hee blinked, bewildered. “What?”
“You’re a free man.”
Everyone in the vicinity was struck dumb.
Seeing Jae-hee still couldn’t comprehend the situation, Hae-eun held something out to him.
A pill to kill the parasitic Gu implanted in his body.
And a block of warm tofu.
“Congratulations on your release!” The commander smiled like an angel.
Jae-hee still couldn’t grasp what was happening.
“What?”
He could only manage a strangled squawk.
“…FWAAAAAAHT?!”