Just Chill, Bros
Brigadier General Frankie scowled fiercely.
Those goddamn bastards...!
Americans had a few choice slurs for awakeners.
Fucking Dog.
The slur reserved for HPD heroes. A title earned because they were, apparently, the dumbest sons of bitches on the planet.
Money Snake.
The slur for hunters working for private corporations and guilds. They earned it by being more venomous than a viper the moment money entered the picture.
And last, there was Lazy Pig.
The slur for military awakeners serving in the US Super Force. Anyone burning with a misguided sense of justice would have gone to the HPD, and anyone greedy would have gone private. Those who chose the Super Force, by and large, wanted nothing more than a soft, comfortable life.
The pay was comparatively worse than the private sector, but in exchange they enjoyed a drastically lighter workload and near-total safety — which was exactly why they were famous for refusing any assignment that smacked of hardship or danger.
The S-ranks in particular were so hard to recruit that the vast majority had mission refusal clauses written straight into their contracts.
Still, there are limits. In a crisis like this?
"The terrorists are heading for Research Zone A3!"
"No, damn it!! Stop them by any means necessary! Where's the Rapid Response Team?!"
"The RRT engaged the terrorists and was wiped out to a man! Alpha Team is currently in combat!"
Ordinary soldiers were useless against enemies like these. Special forces units composed of the Super Force's low-level awakeners had clashed with the intruders, only to be butchered helplessly. To stop an S-rank at Lv. 7, you needed an S-rank of the same level. Simple as that.
"Five million dollars. Deploy, and I'll authorize a special allowance of five million dollars. You don't even have to push yourselves to subdue them. Just pin them down."
The two Super Force S-ranks looked mildly surprised. As mentioned, the Super Force traded generous compensation for comfortable work — though even that "worse" pay far outstripped what S-ranks earned in other countries. In any case, an allowance of that size for a single operation was extraordinarily rare.
And yet the two S-ranks looked utterly unimpressed.
"Isn't that a bit much? There are three S-rank villains in there, and you're offering a measly five million. Make it five million a head — fifteen million total — and we'll talk."
Brigadier General Frankie bit his lip. Those two were never going to risk their necks in earnest. They'd go through the motions at best — and they had the gall to demand sums like that.
What on earth is happening to our country?
Truthfully, the two men's reaction wasn't entirely absurd. Neither of them was even American by birth. One was a naturalized citizen from Paraguay, the other from Malaysia. So how much love for America could they possibly have? Anyone with that kind of patriotic devotion would have stayed home in the first place rather than come to the United States. This was the ugly face of a nation that still called itself the superpower of the new era.
"Fine. Fifteen million dollars it is, then—"
That was when it happened.
Wuuuuuuum──!!!!
A deep tremor rolled through the facility. One listen was enough to know something was terribly wrong.
"Don't tell me — is that the terrorists' objective?"
Brigadier General Frankie went white, and the operations officer answered through chattering teeth.
"Th-the Astral Fusion Reactor is active. A-anomalous readings. If this continues, the reactor will go critical and cause a meltdown!"
It was a power generation system running on astral energy, under joint classified development by the US military and NASA. Research meant to leap beyond nuclear fission and even fusion — research that would advance human civilization itself. Because of the superior access to top-grade mana stones and the ocean-adjacent environment, the reactor had been placed here at the Hawaii base. It was still in the earliest stages of research — but if the reactor melted down, the disaster would be unspeakable.
"We have to stop it before the meltdown!! What are you waiting for? Deploy, now!!"
But the two S-ranks balked.
"That's where we draw the line. If the thing melts down, we get swept away and die with everyone else, don't we? Even fifteen million doesn't buy that."
"...What did you say?"
And then—
"Would it be all right if I stepped in?"
"?!"
Every head turned toward the voice. It was Dohyun.
"I know I haven't yet been recognized as an American citizen, but I would like to help."
Dohyun spoke with a resolute face and a steady voice.
I figure this is about the right moment to step up.
Dohyun had lived through nine full cycles. Thanks to that, he knew perfectly well that if you were going to lend a hand, it was most effective to offer it at the very moment someone was at their most desperate and starving for help.
And thanks to those two idiots, the reception should be all the warmer.
Dohyun didn't actually think the pair's passivity was anything terrible. Honestly, simply refraining from playing villain was admirable enough in this day and age. Their attitude worked in his favor, too.
It'd be a pain if some other fool jumped in trying to help. He'd only get in the way.
The spotlight of this stage belonged to Dohyun and Dohyun alone.
"Help us...? Mr. Kim, you mean you?"
"Yes. As someone who intends to become an American citizen, it isn't exactly someone else's problem, is it? I consider it my duty."
An answer so admirable you'd want to play it on a loudspeaker for every other naturalized citizen in the country.
Brigadier General Frankie was moved to the point of tears — he even felt a pang of remorse for ever having suspected Dohyun of being the Xenosider.
And what if he is the Xenosider? Right now, I'd take help from the devil himself.
"I'm grateful, son. Your devotion to America will not be forgotten — not ever. But alone, you'll be stretched thin, so..."
Brigadier General Frankie glanced at the other two S-ranks, who — mercifully for Dohyun — recoiled in horror and shook their heads.
"I have no interest in committing suicide, thank you."
"Think it over, Pretty Boy. Once you're dead, it's game over. Stay alive and the money and the beauties come pouring in. Get hurt or killed, and you're the only one who loses out."
Undeterred by their heartfelt advice(?), Dohyun radiated an overwhelming sense of justice(?).
"There's no time to waste. I'm moving out now."
"W-wait a moment...!!"
Brigadier General Frankie stopped Dohyun in his tracks. Then he bit his lip hard for a long breath — and did something astonishing.
He snapped to attention and saluted Dohyun.
"On behalf of the United States military — we're counting on you, hero from Korea."
Dohyun wore a briefly surprised expression.
A hot-blooded romantic soldier, huh. You run into his type once in a while.
Deciding it would be only right to meet the gesture, Dohyun returned the salute and said,
"I am now — America's hero."
Zone A3 lay hidden deep within JB PHH, buried under layers of secrecy.
Hawaii is the perfect place to source every variety of mana stone. That's why one of the US military's largest military-grade Arcane Science research labs is stationed here.
He thought of it in the past tense, because the lab would be gone — swallowed up in the catastrophe to come. In every one of Dohyun's cycles, without a single exception, America had never once stopped this attack.
It never plays out exactly the same way twice. Sometimes the US military responds properly. The result never changes.
Right now, the Americans had no idea how thoroughly the terrorists were toying with them. The three S-rank villains weren't the whole story.
There was a 'hidden boss'.
Three excellent main dishes, plus a secret menu. I can't wait.
Gulp—
At the thought of the 'devouring' to come, the Myeolak dwelling in Dohyun's soul smacked its lips in anticipation.
As Dohyun approached Zone A3, counter-terrorism operators were waiting for him. Most of them were awakeners — the rank-and-file at C- or D-rank, the team leads at B-rank.
"What's the situation inside? Is reconnaissance possible?"
"The Institute Surveillance and Security System (ISSS) has been completely hijacked by the enemy psychic engineer's hacking skill."
Dohyun nodded. If anything, that was welcome news.
"How should we support you, Sir?"
"Hold position for now. When I give the signal, move in and back me up."
The secret menu... ah, no, the 'hidden boss' — thinking about what that thing truly was, these men wouldn't help at all. Still, they had their uses.
"One warning. Under no circumstances are you to enter before I give the signal. You'd only be in the way."
"Roger. Understood."
Once inside, a thick, cloying smell of blood stung his nose. The fact that the scent triggered no 'appetite' at all told him it wasn't villain blood — it belonged to the innocent. Walking a little farther, he came upon corpses laid out in dense rows. Researchers. Operators who'd fallen trying to hold the line against the villains.
Dohyun walked among the bodies with an impassive face — and then, suddenly, the 'appetite' flared hot. As though his soul had caught the scent of a delicious meal.
At the same moment—
Sreeek—
Something came slicing through the empty air. Without a sound. Without a whisper of presence.
Silent Blade.
A high-tier skill of the Shadow Knights — one only Shadow Knights of at least A-rank could wield.
Plenty of the villains here are Shadow Knights. A shame. Devouring another Shadow Knight won't yield any skills worth having.
Dohyun clicked his tongue and reacted. He twisted his body just enough to slip past the strike, then reached out.
"!!"
CRUNCH!
The attacker's head was caught in Dohyun's grip. The man wore a clichéd mask, his eyes bulging in disbelief that he could have been caught like this.
Dohyun, paying him no mind, slammed his head into the wall.
With a wet pop, the man's skull burst like a watermelon.
-The Predator of Myeolak has devoured an evildoer!
-Please select the ability to digest!
Skills weren't the only things he could choose. Dohyun selected base stats, and the fundamental physical attributes — strength, agility, and the like — all rose evenly across the board. The sensory stats tied to the Shadow Knights' organs rose in particular.
Still, not a bad return on the meal. An A-rank villain isn't top-marbling grade, but he's at least a solid choice cut of prime beef.
Dohyun's current rank was S-rank, Lv. 7. For a devoured meal to help him at all, he needed to consume B-rank or higher — and even then, the benefit would be a speck of dust. To raise his abilities to a level actually worth savoring, he'd need to devour at least ten of them.
Dohyun spread his 'Detection' skill to survey which villains lurked inside the lab, and rejoiced. Beyond the S-ranks, there were five more A-ranks and a full seven B-ranks.
Better have an appetizer before the main course.
Dohyun looked up at the camera hanging from the ceiling, curled the corner of his mouth upward, and spoke.
"Just chill, Bros. I'm coming for you."
Deep in the basement of Research Lab A3, where the Astral Fusion Reactor stood, the three S-rank villains behind the whole operation stood rooted to the spot, silent.
The psychic engineer had seized control of every camera in the lab, and through them the three could watch Dohyun's every move in vivid detail.
"...What the hell is that lunatic?"
Dohyun was hunting the villains. No — hunting wasn't the word. Even a hunter hunts with tension and full effort. What Dohyun was doing right now was... slaughter.
Worse, there was a faint smile playing on his lips. As though cornering villains and killing them were his favorite game.
"The Xenosider..."
One of the three swallowed hard and spoke, and the other two nodded in agreement. Dohyun was definitely the Xenosider. A slaughterer with a taste for blood.
But the most horrifying part was this:
Dohyun kept speaking to the camera. As though he were genuinely worried the three of them might flee.
A cold, crawling shiver ran down the spines of all three S-rank villains.