Side by side, Razor and Jae-hee Han were escorted to the elevator, both firmly in the custody of the guards. Not just the two of them, either—Tat Rat and Barber had been dragged along as well.
Barber, who’d just taken a thorough beating from Jae-hee, wore a grim expression. Tat Rat was still dazed, struggling to regain his senses.
A heavy silence settled over them. And under the stinging glares of the hostile inmates, Jae-hee broke out in a cold sweat.
This is… awkward…
The oppressive atmosphere finally broke when the elevator reached Deck 10: the Rooftop.
Ding!
The four prisoners were led directly onto a landing strip where a transport plane was preparing for flight.
“Ah, here they are.”
Commander Hae-eun Seo stood before the transport, mustering her signature benevolent and—thanks to the web of scars on her face—terrifying smile.
“Our proud patriots, the Black Parade.”
“…”
The four prisoners remained silent, but Hae-eun paid them no mind, casually gesturing to Jae-hee with her chin. “How about you, Boy? Have you settled into the ship yet?”
“Huh? Uh, well…”
Hae-eun must have watched the whole thing on camera. Him getting bounced around without even a room assignment.
Yet she asked with such nonchalance.
“I don’t think… I’m quite there yet…” Jae-hee mumbled, his words trailing off uncomfortably.
Hae-eun’s eyes crinkled. “Heh heh. My apologies for calling on you again before you’ve had a chance to settle in. This is a rather urgent situation, and I need to deploy those best suited for the mission immediately.”
It wasn’t a request. It was a sentence, plain and simple: she would use them whether they liked it or not.
Pushing past a crestfallen Jae-hee, Razor stepped forward. “Warden. What is all this, so suddenly?”
“Do you even need to ask? It’s your country calling, obviously.”
With that, Hae-eun turned, leaned on her cane, and led the way into the transport. The prisoners had no choice but to follow.
Click!
Just before they boarded, a Guillotine was fastened around each of their necks. Only then were the Null Cuffs on their wrists released.
“…”
The moment their suppressed abilities returned, the weight of a live bomb settled around their necks. Jae-hee felt a simultaneous rush of liberation and pressure.
Inside the transport, the cargo bay had been modified with passenger seats. A large map was pinned to one wall, surrounded by a chaotic collage of handwritten sticky notes and reference photos.
“I’ll explain the current situation,” Hae-eun announced.
Thwack!
Standing before the map, Hae-eun swung her cane and tapped its center: Incheon.
“An unidentified fog is flooding out from a fishing village near Incheon Port. The first reports came in two to three days ago, and its area of effect is expanding.”
Razor asked suspiciously, “You’re doing all this for a little fog?”
“If that were all, do you think we’d be making such a fuss?” Hae-eun tapped the photos on the map with her cane. “The fog is thick. Let me rephrase: the fog is horrifically, insanely, unbelievably thick.”
Just as she said, the fog in the photos was so dense that it was impossible to see anything beyond it. What’s more, an aerial shot taken from high altitude showed the fog had formed a giant, perfect cube.
A clear anomaly had enveloped the fishing village.
“Not only is mechanical equipment useless, but the abilities of Hunters specializing in observation and exploration can’t penetrate the fog either.”
“…”
“The army’s 17th Division was the first to discover the anomaly. They sent in troops to assess the situation… but we lost contact with every soldier who entered the fog. They eventually pulled back after taking heavy losses.”
Hae-eun scratched between her eyebrows with her left hand, the one missing its ring finger.
“Now, if that were all, there’d be no need for us to get involved. The problem is the village’s location—it’s right next to Incheon Port. A single village disappearing is one thing, but we absolutely cannot afford to lose the port.”
With Busan gone and both Mokpo and Pohang still under reconstruction, a fully functional Incheon, with its port and airport, was quite literally the nation’s lifeline.
The government could not tolerate any damage to it.
“The Gate Defense Bureau’s main forces, along with our oh-so-great ‘Five Heroes,’ are currently busy dealing with a massive Gate that opened near Seoul. They’ll come here as soon as that operation is over, but we’re pressed for time. Therefore, we, being the closest, will go in first.”
Hae-eun smiled sweetly.
“It’s not a difficult mission. Just go into the fog, see what’s happened to the village, determine if there are any survivors, and then come back. Simple, right?”
“…What’s actually inside the fog?” Razor asked.
Hae-eun simply shrugged. “Isn’t that what I’m sending you in to find out?”
“You want us to walk into that thing with no information on what kind of hell is waiting for us and not even a clue how to get out?”
“Come on~ that’s just our job. Are you really going to act like this is the first time?”
Hae-eun beamed, waggling a switch in her hand. It was the detonator for the bombs on their necks.
“I trust you remember which unit you belong to, yes?”
The 1004th Probationary Unit. Otherwise known as the Angel Unit, the Convict Unit, or the Black Parade.
They had already made their deal with the devil, trading their lives for the promise of freedom.
The right to refuse had been revoked long ago.
Razor’s fists trembled. “…So you’re just sending us in to die.”
“C’mon, don’t say it like that. What does that make me? Did I tell you to close a Gate? Did I tell you to save everyone inside? No, I didn’t. I told you, it’s a simple recon mission.”
Hae-eun crossed her arms and clicked her tongue. “Go into the fog, find out anything—even the smallest piece of information will do—and then get out and report back.”
“…”
“Right now, we have zero intel on the state of the port. Every bit of information you bring back will be a huge help in saving Incheon Port and, by extension, this country.”
Jae-hee cautiously raised his hand. “What if we can’t escape from the fog?”
“Then just survive for twelve hours,” Hae-eun answered without hesitation. “If you fail to escape within twelve hours, a follow-up team will be deployed. A very powerful, elite squad.”
“…”
“You’ll cooperate with them to resolve the situation. So if things get ugly, just focus on staying alive in there. The backup team will come and get you.”
Either reconnoiter the area and escape on their own, or, if that wasn’t possible, survive for twelve hours.
Eh? Maybe this mission isn’t so impossible after all…
As Jae-hee mulled it over, Hae-eun snapped her fingers. “The mission reward is 300,000 Paradise Credits per person, one Gate Gear crafting voucher, and… a one-week Leave Pass.”
Startled, Razor’s narrow eyes shot wide open. Even the bored-looking Tat Rat and Barber were suddenly alert. The reward was that extraordinary.
“A Leave Pass?” Only Jae-hee, who didn’t know any better, tilted his head in confusion. “Does it let you leave the prison for a while?”
“That’s right. You can leave freely for the specified period.”
“But… I don’t have anywhere to go even if I get out.”
“Then you can sell it to another inmate on the ship. They go for an outrageous price.” Hae-eun winked. “For the record, Ghost is absolutely crazy about Leave Passes. She’d be thrilled if you gave her one.”
Jae-hee’s eyes widened. “Really?”
If I give Granny Ghost a Leave Pass and beg her, maybe she’ll finally take me as her disciple…?!
The four prisoners visibly relaxed upon hearing the reward, seemingly motivated.
Pleased with their changed attitudes, Hae-eun nodded.
“It goes without saying, but that’s the reward for escaping on time and providing intel. Fail to get out in time, it’ll be reduced to the basic reward. So do your best. Besides, you’ve got a pretty good team composition here.”
Hae-eun pointed to each prisoner with her fingertip. “Team Leader Razor, who can provide equipment on-site. Vanguard Tat Rat. Striker Barber. The fastest rookie we’ve ever seen, Boy. And…”
Hae-eun gestured toward the transport’s entrance.
“The more the merrier. I’ve decided to add one more newbie to the mix. Come on in!”
A figure walked into the transport with a confident stride. He looked to be about Jae-hee’s age, with thick glasses and a pudgy build.
He glanced around at everyone in the transport, raised a hand, and grinned. “Yo, how’s it going desu?”
Question marks written over his face, Jae-hee cautiously leaned over to Tat Rat. “What did he just say? I can’t do foreign talk.”
“Huh…? That wasn't foreign. He just has a weird way of talking.”
Hae-eun introduced the strange newcomer. “This is Callsign: Status Window. He’ll be joining you on this mission. I selected him myself after careful consideration.”
Status Window said, “Fufu. A pleasure to work with you guys desu.” His plump chin jiggled with his laughter.
“Status Window has just completed six weeks of basic military training and was admitted today. Cooperate and complete the mission together.”
Razor’s face soured at Hae-eun’s introduction. “Admitted today…? You, fatso. What’s your Awakened Rank?”
Status Window puffed out his chest proudly. “I’m D-Rank desu!”
“D?!” Aghast, Razor turned on Hae-eun. “Warden, are you kidding me? You’re making us take this piece of scrap with us?!”
“Calling me scrap to my face? Isn’t that a bit harsh desu?!”
As Razor and Status Window started bickering, filling the transport with noise, Jae-hee quietly asked Tat Rat another question.
“Come to think of it, I don’t really know. What are the criteria for Awakened Ranks?”
“…You’re getting awfully chummy with me all of a sudden, aren’t you?” Tat Rat grumbled.
He explained regardless. “The Awakened are classified into five ranks, from D to S.”
D-Rank: Has serious disqualifications as a combatant and cannot be deployed in the field.
C-Rank: Has disqualifications but is cleared for field duty.
B-Rank: No disqualifications as a combatant.
“You could say B-Rank is the professional standard. It’s more than enough to work as an active Hunter.”
“They really emphasize field capability, huh.”
“Well, tangling with monsters in the field is a Hunter’s whole reason for being. As for A and above…”
A-Rank: Exceptionally skilled as a combatant. Alternatively, veterans who have completed ten or more Gate missions can earn a chance to rank up.
“Most A-Ranks are promoted from B. The ones who awaken as A-Ranks from the start are called Apex Alphas, AA-Ranks for short, but they’re rare… Anyway, once you hit A-Rank, you’re basically a monster-slaughtering weapon.”
After listening to the explanation, Jae-hee tilted his head and asked, “Then what about S-Rank? Is there a special standard for them?”
“That, I don’t know much about. Heard they’re in a whole other category. One thing’s for sure, they’re strong as hell. Besides, there are only ten of them in the entire Republic of Korea.”
“Who are the ten?”
“What the hell, kid, did you sleep through school?”
“I… couldn’t go to school.”
“Ah, shit. My bad. That one’s on me.”
Grumbling, Tat Rat gave him a simple breakdown. “The Old Five Heroes who ended the Gate War thirty years ago, and the New Five Heroes who are protecting the country now. That’s the ten.”
Jae-hee fell into deep thought.
Granny Ghost said herself that she’s an S-Rank. Does that mean she’s one of the Old Five Heroes who ended the Gate War?
While Jae-hee was getting his lecture on Awakened Ranks, Razor’s protest came to an end.
Whatever she had said to them, Razor and Status Window looked displeased, while Hae-eun was beaming.
“There will be no changes to the mission roster! We’re deploying as is.”
Forcibly slinging her arms around Razor and Status Window’s shoulders, Hae-eun shoved them forward.
“Status Window may not be a combatant, but he possesses other useful support abilities. That’s why he was put through training despite being a D-Rank. He will be a great asset to your survival.”
Status Window pushed his glasses up his nose. They flashed white as they reflected the lights on the transport’s ceiling. “Fufu. You’ll all be thanking me soon enough desu.”
“…”
“…”
The others shot him a look of profound doubt, but Status Window just kept chuckling to himself, full of confidence.
“Remember, the objective of this operation is strictly ‘reconnaissance.’ Don’t overdo it. Your main priority is to survive and return.”
Hae-eun clapped her hands together sharply. “We’re departing immediately. The mission area is close, so begin preparations for deployment as soon as the transport takes off.”
As she turned to head for the cockpit, cane in hand, Hae-eun paused with a soft “Ah,” and looked back.
“Oh, right. The name for this mission is…” The commander offered a wicked grin.
“‘Incheon in Fog.’”
Barber, who had been quiet the entire time, muttered under his breath. “Well, the mission name’s already fucked to hell…”
“…”
Though no one said it aloud, everyone agreed.
And so it was.
Mission Name: Incheon in Fog. The recon team was finalized.
<Recon Team>
[C-Rank] Razor
[B-Rank] Tat Rat
[B-Rank] Barber
[D-Rank] Status Window
[Unranked] Boy
The five of them looked at each other and thought the exact same thing: Am I the only one getting out of this alive…?
Thwump-thwump-thwump-thwump—
With a deafening roar, the transport lifted off from the cruise ship’s rooftop, closing rapidly on the operation area.