Episode 33.
One of the hubs where countless items shipped from across the country converged.
In the logistics center that should have been bustling until dawn, not a single employee was in sight for some reason.
Even more surprising was the fact that the goods which should have been piled high in the warehouse were nowhere to be found.
Inside the empty warehouse.
*Clack.*
Signs of life began to reach them.
“What? Did I arrive first again?”
A woman wearing a thin red windbreaker and tights despite the cold November weather.
Her hair was braided with garish, colorful extensions.
*Chomp, pop!*
Chewing the gum in her mouth loudly, she looked around.
“No, you’re the last one here, Siyeon.”
There had clearly been no one there.
But a voice echoed throughout the warehouse.
“I’m sure I told you.”
She narrowed her eyes and turned around.
Lights on the ceiling and surroundings cast a long shadow.
Her gaze was directed precisely at her own shadow.
*Rustle, rustle—*
Surprisingly, the shadow moved.
It squirmed briefly, as if alive.
*Swoosh.*
Then it rose, stepping onto the ground.
“So gloomy, as always.”
It was definitely a bizarre phenomenon.
But the woman only furrowed her brow, as if used to it.
And that wasn’t all.
*Ssshhhh—*
Fog suddenly enveloped the warehouse.
“You’re here.”
As if speaking to an old acquaintance, she opened her mouth again.
Then, as if by magic, the fog disappeared.
And like a magician revealing himself inside the warehouse.
*Swoosh—*
Fog wrapped around him as if to protect him.
*Clack.*
The line of people gradually revealing themselves, as if by appointment, was far from ordinary.
“Yo!”
“How’s everyone been?”
The cheerful twins exchanging greetings.
“….”
A man in black kendo gear, a diagonal scar etched across his face.
A total of five people had gathered inside the warehouse.
“But I don’t see those guys?”
“Those bastards are slacking off again. And where did the Captain go?”
The twin men opened their mouths simultaneously, as if synchronized.
“…No. He’s here.”
A low voice flowed from the mouth of the kendo man who had been meditating with his eyes closed.
At that moment.
*Flash.*
With a burst of light.
“Everyone….”
One who appeared in the venue as if sprouting from the ground.
It was a middle-aged man with large sunglasses covering half his face, wearing a rarely-seen white suit, sporting a stylish beard.
“…have arrived.”
“Huh?”
Questions burst out at those words.
“Captain. The rest of the team hasn’t arrived yet?”
Her pronunciation leaked intermittently because she didn’t bother to spit out her gum.
He was unquestionably the superior, yet the middle-aged man did not call her out on her behavior.
“They are not coming.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Because they’re dead.”
“….”
The atmosphere chilled instantly.
A joke?
Don’t make me laugh!
The middle-aged man they knew, the Captain, was not someone who would crack jokes in a place like this.
“They failed their mission.”
“….”
An unexpected silence fell over the venue.
“If you’re talking about the mission, surely you don’t mean the one where eight people were mobilized?”
They couldn’t believe it and had no choice but to ask again.
If it was the mission recently assigned to them, the only one where eight people had moved simultaneously was ‘that’ one.
But failure?
Did it make any sense to fail when a whopping eight Apostles had been mobilized?
“That is why this meeting was arranged. To discuss responsibility for the mission failure and future matters.”
Only then did their expressions harden as they realized the situation was serious.
‘Ah, this is fucked.’
‘A shitstorm is coming down from above.’
‘How the hell did those idiots fail when eight of them were deployed!’
Their hearts were filled with resentment toward those who had failed the mission.
Normally, if a comrade went down, one would worry about them, but not these people.
That was because all eight mobilized for the mission were nothing but lower-ranked members.
Though they were all Apostles, ranks existed among them.
And those ranks could be checked through the badges attached above their left chests.
Badges that seemed to symbolize the moon.
The more black area covered the moon, the higher the position.
While the others were close to a full moon, the middle-aged man in the white suit had a form where one-fifth of the moon was black.
That was a measure of martial strength and rank.
In other words, everyone here had proven their strength within the Black Moon.
Lower members who had not received a badge were treated as expendables.
“A failure that’s never happened before.”
“I bet a harsh order has come down from above?”
The twins asked innocently, as if it wasn’t their problem.
“A harsh rebuke isn’t the only problem.”
“Then what?”
“It seems this mission was far more important than we thought.”
“…How much so?”
“To the extent that it affects the Grand Design.”
“….”
Silence dominated the venue.
The Grand Design.
That was the reason they had gathered under the organization known as the Black Moon.
If it affected that to such a great degree, it wouldn’t be a harsh rebuke—they could have their lives taken right here and now.
Truthfully, they hadn’t been entirely unaware.
They had received some hints, which was why they had dispatched as many as eight members and taken every precaution.
But with the unexpected failure, blatant pressure beyond a simple warning had begun.
“How must we make up for this?”
At the kendo man’s words.
“What those above want is to seize the Twin Dragon Swords by any means necessary.”
The retrieval of the Twin Dragon Swords, the original objective.
Orders had come down that if they succeeded, the mission failure would be overlooked.
“Easy enough.”
The woman spat out the gum she was chewing and spoke in a voice brimming with confidence.
“It’s nothing difficult.”
“Well, cleaning up a mission those bastards failed isn’t exactly a big deal.”
“Hehe. I was just bored, so this works out perfectly.”
Not just the woman—everyone was full of confidence and certainty.
They were chosen Apostles, and moreover, officially recognized members whose strength had been acknowledged.
“No reason to delay. We move out immediately.”
The middle-aged man also didn’t bother tempering their confidence.
Any single one of those here was stronger than the eight deployed on the mission.
The six of them moving together was unprecedented; it meant mobilizing the branch’s full military strength.
So how could they lack confidence?
Just as they, filled with conviction, were about to head to their destination to obtain clues.
*Shnk!*
A sharp sound cut through the atmosphere.
*Thud!*
One of the twins was sent flying by some impact.
“What?!”
All eyes in the venue, including the remaining twin’s, turned to the fallen man.
*Drip, drip, drip.*
Blood flowing from his left chest, near his pierced heart, pooled on the ground.
*
‘One down.’
Through the 9x scope, the target falling was vividly visible.
‘They don’t seem to have noticed the information leak.’
He had obtained information on those Black Moon bastards’ hideout, but there was no guarantee it wasn’t a trap.
But it was luscious bait he couldn’t pass up.
That was why he had entered the logistics center fully prepared.
Entry?
More accurately, it was correct to say he was sniping from a distant position.
He had prepared a precision sniper air gun and launched a preemptive strike.
Not a 1-star, but a 2-star, and one that had undergone full enhancement at that. The air gun displayed astonishing speed and power, piercing the enemy’s heart in an instant.
『+99 (★★) AWM Ettap Air Gun
Classification: Firearm (Air Gun)
Durability: 20/20
Unique Effect: Slightly increases projectile speed.
Enhancement Effect (9/99): Slightly increases projectile power.
Enhancement Effect (15/99): Minorly increases projectile speed.
Enhancement Effect (20/99): Minorly increases projectile power.
Enhancement Effect (30/99): Increases scope magnification.
……
Enhancement Effect (99/99): Moderately increases projectile power, speed, and accuracy.
Max Enhancement Effect: Moderately corrects trajectory and accuracy.
Transcendence Effect (★): Low chance of critical hit.
Transcendence Effect (★★): Low chance of guaranteed hit.
Description: An air sniper rifle for hunting and survival.
Through transcendence enhancement, magnification, trajectory, power, speed, and accuracy have risen to overall above-average levels.』
A powerful sniper air gun with increased power, speed, and accuracy.
To prepare for any potential trap, he hadn’t entered the tiger’s den.
He confirmed the targets through the scope from afar and fired the first shot.
Chance of detection?
None.
Because he had secured concealment with a ghillie suit that blended into the surroundings.
Through the wide ghillie suit that could even cover the air gun, he sniped in a state of complete assimilation with the surroundings.
Unless they possessed a ‘Detection’-type trait, finding this place would be difficult.
*Clack!*
A single pump to inject air.
He aimed to take out the remaining twin.
They frantically scanned the surroundings, trying to locate his position.
‘Amateur hour.’
Just as expected, amateurish.
Scanning the surroundings when a sniper was lying in wait in the darkness?
It was no different from asking to be killed.
‘Another one.’
He aimed at the man in black kendo gear.
*Tang!*
He fired a lead pellet.
*Shnk!*
The same projectile cut through the atmosphere as before.
But.
*Thwack!*
Unlike before, it failed to achieve its goal.
The swordsman bastard had precisely split the incoming lead pellet in half.
‘Quick Draw!’
The moment he saw that extraordinary sword trajectory, he instantly grasped the bastard’s trait.
『Quick Draw』
A type of swordsmanship where one quickly draws a sheathed sword to cut down the enemy in a single blow.
The level was considerable.
Judging from that, it was clear that even before his Awakening, he had been a formidable swordsman.
Having obtained the trait called Quick Draw, it was no wonder he could split a rapidly flying projectile.
‘They’re on a completely different level from last time.’
It was only a single strike, but it wasn’t difficult to gauge their level from it.
They were far stronger than the Awakened he had encountered at Song Yunsik’s residence.
But it didn’t feel threatening.
They still hadn’t found him, and he held a firearm capable of long-range interception.
He intended to obtain all the information he needed before his position was exposed.
*Tang!*
He fired again.
This time, the target was the woman chewing gum.
The projectile aimed at her with her garish, colorful braids.
*Boing!*
It failed to reach her flesh.
Her body had swelled up like a balloon, protecting her from the pellet.
『Bubblegum』
Quite a rare trait.
She could freely stretch and shrink her body like bubblegum, and as demonstrated moments ago, become a giant balloon to absorb impact.
After confirming the traits of the twins, Quick Draw, and Bubblegum.
“There!”
The middle-aged man in the white suit moved.
*Flash!*
The moment he confirmed a flash illuminating the dark interior, he had no choice but to rise from his spot.
*Shhring—*
He drew the katana he had prepared on the floor from its scabbard and swung it toward the front.
*Clang!*
Metal clashed against metal, sending sparks flying.
Straight ahead, there stood the middle-aged man holding a spear.
He had arrived before him in that brief moment as if leaping through space.