Thump!
A few minutes after the transport took off, agents in suits entered the cargo hold where the prisoners were seated, carrying a large equipment locker.
“Grab your gear, men,” an agent said, tone mechanical. Then he looked toward Jae-hee Han. “Boy. A delivery from the Workshop. Your custom gear.”
“Eh? Yes, sir!”
It hadn’t even been a full day since he’d placed the order, and it was already finished. Jae-hee carefully accepted the cardboard box from the agent and opened it.
The shoes inside were so beautiful they seemed to give off a brilliant flash of light.
They were high-top sneakers that cupped his ankles, and the sturdy leather felt incredibly durable. It was the first time in his life he’d ever owned such fine shoes.
His jaw dropped.
“Whoa! New shoes!” Jae-hee beamed as he put them on. “Wow, they’re a perfect fit…!”
He’d only ever worn shoes that were a little too big or a little too small. This was the first time a pair had ever molded so perfectly to his feet.
An opaque, crudely cut gem-like object was embedded near the instep—this had to be the Core. A warm energy flowed out from it, gently enveloping his feet.
“Woooh!”
Jae-hee felt the effect the moment he put them on. It felt as if his stamina gauge for running had just gotten a little longer.
So this is the regeneration effect. I might be able to run for longer than before…!
After a few test jumps to get used to them, Jae-hee whispered to his new footwear. “Your name is now Feathers.”
Then he giggled, pleased to have given his shoes a nickname.
“…”
Glaring at Jae-hee with annoyance, Razor, Tat Rat, and the Barber quickly donned their own equipment. As befitting members of the same organization, all three wore combat uniforms with a matching camouflage pattern.
“I’m killing that punk on this mission,” Razor muttered.
His little vow was met with a soft click of the tongue from the Barber. “Will that be possible, Boss? The kid’s a Speedster. And I get the feeling he’s hiding something else. Without Null Cuffs on, we might end up getting taken out instead.”
“No matter how good his ability is, he’s still just a kid. Besides, he said this is only his second Black Parade mission. He’s bound to get flustered at some point.”
Razor attached vials of white bone powder to various points on his body, emphasizing his point. “Kill him the second you see an opening. Follow my lead.”
“Uh, Boss…” Tat Rat carefully offered his opinion. “How about we try to get along with him instead?”
“What?”
“That kid, Boy, he’s the real deal. Got serious potential. If we can sweet-talk him onto our side, he’ll definitely be a help down the road. At the very least, he’ll be useful on this mission.”
Tat Rat hesitated under Razor’s cold stare before continuing. “And, well… I know it’s sad that Miss Hellth died… but you can just get a new girlfriend, no?”
A dead silence fell.
The Barber froze, breaking out in a cold sweat. Razor stared intently at Tat Rat, who just smiled amiably.
“Isn’t that right, Boss? It’s not like she was the only woman in the world.”
“…Yeah. You’re right,” Razor said, his eyes narrowing as he smiled just as pleasantly and clapped Tat Rat on the shoulder. “I suppose that would be for the good of our group’s future.”
“Knew you’d understand, Boss!”
“Of course I know where you’re coming from. We’ll think about it some more.”
The Barber watched their exchange, sweat beading on his brow.
This fucking idiot, Tat Rat. Does he still not get what the boss is like?
His face was smiling, but the look in Razor’s eyes was black and hollow as they settled on Tat Rat.
The Barber swallowed hard. He had a feeling something was going to go horribly wrong on this mission.
***
Meanwhile, Jae-hee heard someone clearing their throat behind him as he changed into his standard-issue combat fatigues.
“Ahem. Hmm-hmm.”
He turned in surprise to see the fifth member of their mission team—callsign Status Window—standing there.
Jae-hee’s face lit up, and he waved. “Ah, hello! Uh… Mr. Status Window, right?”
Status Window huffed out a breath and pushed his glasses up his nose. They glinted white in the light.
“Correct desu. And you’re Boy-kun, right? Nice to meet you desu.”
“Boy” was supposed to be a temporary callsign, but at this rate, it was going to stick.
Still, since it wasn’t wrong, Jae-hee nodded.
Status Window broke into a wide grin. “We look about the same age, so let’s just speak casually desu.”
“Oh, is that alright?”
Status Window was nineteen, a year older than Jae-hee. But since they were both teenagers with little age difference, they agreed to drop the formalities.
“So what’s with the ‘desu’ thing? That a new trend?” Jae-hee asked out of pure curiosity.
Status Window chuckled, stroking his double chin. “The truth is, I’m an otaku of the world before the Gates appeared desu.”
“An otaku?”
“Liking, collecting, and researching things… that’s what being an otaku is desu. And people who do that are called otaku… Apparently, otaku from thirty years ago used to talk like this desu.”
An otaku who yearned for and studied the world before the Gates, the world of thirty years ago. That was Status Window.
A lotta folks seem to be nostalgic for thirty years ago…
First the Patissier, and now this guy. It seemed retro was in high demand.
Status Window let out a wry chuckle and adjusted his glasses. “Anyway, I never thought I’d end up in a special unit like this… like the Suicide Squad desu.”
“Suicide Squad? What’s that?”
“Ahh, so you are unaware… Yare yare.” Shaking his head pretentiously, Status Window kindly explained. “It’s a graphic novel from the world of thirty years ago… an American comic book. It was also made into movies and games desu.”
“Aha.”
“It’s a story about a special forces team made up of villains who carry out all sorts of missions desu. Sometimes they even team up with Superman or Batman…”
Jae-hee felt a flicker of recognition at the names.
He exclaimed, “Ahh! Yeah, I think I saw a movie with them when I was a kid!”
“Ooh, really desu?!”
“It’s the one where all the different superpowered people show up and fight together, right?”
“That’s it desu! That’s it desu!”
“So the title was…” Jae-hee wracked his childhood memories, then snapped his fingers with a bright smile. “The Avengers, right?”
“KHAA—!” Status Window suddenly let rip a lion’s roar.
He grabbed a terrified Jae-hee by the collar and shook him back and forth.
“You total noob! That’s a Marvel work! Apologize! Apologize right now to the hundred billion DC fans across the universe! DC and Marvel are completely different universes—!”
“S-sorry! I’m so sorry! My mistake!”
After shaking Jae-hee for a good while, Status Window finally calmed down.
“My, my. I apologize desu. That was probably a bit of a difficult topic for a normie.”
“Uh, y-yeah…”
“So that you do not make such a mistake again, I shall teach you, step-by-step, about the world of thirty years ago. Fufufu.”
Nah, you really don’t have to… I’m not that curious…
As Jae-hee broke out in a cold sweat, Status Window cleared his throat.
“Ahem, let’s leave this topic for now. There is something more important to discuss desu.”
“More important?”
Jae-hee braced himself for another otaku-fueled rant, but this was different.
Status Window glanced around furtively, then leaned in and whispered in Jae-hee’s ear. “With my superior hearing, I happened to overhear those guys planning to attack you desu.”
Status Window gestured toward Razor, Tat Rat, and the Barber. He glanced at the three thugs, who were radiating a menacing aura, and nodded gravely.
“I’d be careful if I were you desu.”
Jae-hee, who was already on guard against the three of them, gave a bitter smile. “Thanks for the warning. I’ll handle it.”
“Let me know if you need my help desu. With my ultimate support, taking down punks like them is a one-shot kill. Fufu.”
His pretentious attitude made Jae-hee curious. “Come to think of it, Status Window, what is your ability?”
“My ability is just what my name implies desu.” Status Window adjusted his glasses again, the lenses flashing. “I can see an opponent’s ‘Status Window’!”
“…?”
Status Window? The heck is that?
Just as Jae-hee was about to ask, Hae-eun Seo’s voice crackled from the speakers in the cargo hold ceiling.
«We’ve arrived at the operation zone, gentlemen.»
Tension filled the cargo hold. A series of dry gulps echoed as the convicts swallowed hard.
Hae-eun’s voice dripped with amusement.
«I trust you’re all ready for duty?»
***
Thwump-thwump-thwump-thwump—
The transport landed with the deafening roar of its rotors.
The five prisoners stepped out cautiously as the hatch opened, scanning their surroundings, only to freeze in unison at the sight before them.
“What… the hell?”
A wall of fog loomed ahead. A dense, gray mist shimmering like a mirage, layered thick and high like a barrier.
“How can fog be this thick…?”
“Is it even fog in the first place?”
“They seriously expect us to go in there?”
As the convicts hesitated, unwilling to get any closer, the commander’s voice echoed in their in-ear comms.
«Your operation time begins now and will last for twelve hours.»
“…!”
«Godspeed, Black Parade.»
The faint amusement in her voice seemed to say it all: Get in there. Before I have to threaten you with the bombs around your necks or the parasites in your bellies.
“Dammit…”
Spitting a curse, the team leader, Razor, pulled a gas mask from his standard-issue gear and put it on. “We don’t know what the environment is like inside. Masks on.”
The other members scrambled to follow his lead. Status Window helped Jae-hee, who was fumbling, unsure how to put his on.
“Thanks, Window.”
“Don’t be so tense desu, Boy-kun.” Status Window patted Jae-hee on the shoulder with a grin. “It’s all just a game, anyway desu.”
“…?”
Jae-hee tilted his head, not understanding what he meant.
After confirming that everyone had their masks on, Razor gave a short command. “We’re going in.”
“Going in!”
The five convicts formed a single-file line as previously discussed.
At the front was the vanguard, Tat Rat. Behind him was the Barber, who had worked with Tat Rat for a long time. In the center was the team leader, Razor.
Status Window followed, with Jae-hee bringing up the rear.
“Hah!” Taking a deep breath, Tat Rat was the first to push through the wall of fog.
The rest of the prisoners followed in succession.
After watching his comrades disappear one by one into the mist, Jae-hee gritted his teeth and stepped forward.
Whoosh…!
A damp, cool sensation touched his skin. He shivered involuntarily.
The fog was so thick he could barely see the back of the person in front of him. If his pace slackened even a little, he’d lose sight of them completely.
Who knew how long they’d been walking? Still, the wall of fog broke sooner than he expected.
They stepped onto a narrow coastal road, a single lane hugging the shoreline. The fog remained thick, but at least shapes were beginning to take form.
“Hold.”
After confirming all five had passed through the wall of fog and checking that the air was clean, Razor was the first to remove his mask.
He gestured to the Barber with his chin. “Comms?”
The Barber, who had been trying to get an external connection, soon shook his head. “Everything’s dead, Boss.”
“Can we go back out the way we came?”
All eyes turned to Jae-hee. It was a silent order for the Speedster to check.
Since it was indeed the most logical course of action, Jae-hee immediately turned and sprinted back toward the wall of fog.
He kicked off the ground lightly, as if jogging, but an explosive burst of speed erupted.
FWOOSH—!
The world blurred behind him as he shot forward like a beam of light.
Whoa!
It felt exhilarating to use his ability freely after it had been suppressed for so long. Plus, his new shoes fit so well he felt like he could fly.
“…?”
But even after running the distance he’d come, and then some, the fog never broke.
Frustrated, Jae-hee gritted his teeth and pushed his speed higher—but the result was the same. No matter how far he ran, the wall of fog never ended.
His stamina was half-drained in an instant.
Finally giving up, Jae-hee turned and ran back, quickly rejoining his teammates.
“I can’t get out, no matter how far I run,” he explained.
“Some trick of the almighty Gate, I bet. Must be related to this fog,” Razor grumbled, clutching a vial of bone powder in his hand. “It’s do or die. We move forward. Same formation.”
“Yes, Boss.”
The five convicts advanced along the single-lane coastal road.
The asphalt, unmaintained and peeling in places, eventually came to an end. Beyond the broken road, a small village shrouded in gray fog was faintly visible.
The Barber unfolded a map, checked it, and nodded. “That’s the mission objective, Boss. The fishing village.”
Tat Rat craned his neck to get a better look, then tilted his head. “Looks like a normal fishing village. Just… a little foggy.”
“…”
“Boss?”
“You guys don’t feel it?”
Something felt wrong. A… filthy, unsettling feeling was seeping out from the village.
Annoyed, Razor rubbed at the goosebumps on his arm and looked back. “Oi, Jae-hee Han.”
“…”
“You feel it, don’t you? This… piss-rotten sensation.”
Jae-hee nodded silently. He felt it, too. A viscous, sinister energy bleeding from the fog-choked land.
But he had no idea what it was. Was it because of the thick fog? His Stormroad ability couldn’t extend properly, just swirling uselessly around him.
Razor ground his teeth. “We’re not going in right away. Let’s circle the perimeter slowly and observe—”
It was then.
“Help me!”
A young man’s voice cried out from the entrance to the village.
“Help me, please! Please…!”
The man staggered painfully as he screamed, his cries desperate.
The group was startled.
The Barber observed the figure. “Judging by the uniform, he’s a soldier from the 17th Division that came in before us, Boss.”
“Boss. I’ll go check on him and bring him back.” Tat Rat stepped forward.
Razor gave him a sidelong glance. “Could be dangerous.”
“I’m tough. You know that.”
Tat Rat hardened his entire body. His already muscular frame became as solid as rock. With his ability at one hundred percent, his defense was strong enough to withstand most bullets or even small explosions.
Razor nodded, and Tat Rat slowly approached the young man.
“Hey, you okay? Are you hurt?” he called out.
“Help me, please! Please…!”
“Stay still. I’ll be right over.”
And then.
“…?”
As he got closer to the young man, Tat Rat noticed something was off, a beat too late.
The man’s uniform was soaked in blood and torn to shreds. The fog had been too thick to see from a distance, but up close, it was clear.
What’s more, all of the man’s joints were twisted and bent in grotesque directions, as if he’d been hit by a heavy truck.
“What the…”
Tat Rat finally got a look at the man’s face.
His pupils were dilated. He was dead.
“Help me!”
And behind the corpse, holding the dead soldier’s body and shaking it like a toy, mimicking his voice…
“Help me! Help me, please…!”
…was a massive “something.”