The Age of Chaos
As he cut down the killers’ barrier, one question rose in Yoo Sung-jun’s mind.
Why are they so weak?
The Higher Being had said these men were the greatest threat.
And yet they were collapsing far too easily.
It was true that Yoo Sung-jun had prepared well, and that he had caught the enemy off guard. In that sense, maybe it was easy.
But that wasn’t what it felt like to him.
Would an opponent strong enough to be called the greatest threat go down this helplessly just because of a surprise attack?
If I were in their shoes, I’d have gotten out.
He put himself in their place. A sudden enemy crashing in. Before long, they’d been surrounded, close-range strikes and sniper fire raining down on them, and in the middle of it all they would have been searching for some narrow opening to escape through.
Maybe they would have taken injuries by the end, but they’d have used every ounce of their instinct, their talent, and their gear to survive and withdraw.
Then they would have prepared a counterattack.
But these men were different.
They came at him like they already knew this would happen.
Not to flee, but to cling on stubbornly for a little longer.
The meaning was simple.
The moment he realized it and cut down the last remaining man, a burst of light erupted in two colors.
He moved quickly to adjust his visor and protect his eyes, while speaking into his in-ear.
“These bastards were bait.”
Just as he and his side had prepared thoroughly, so too had the enemy. But they had only considered that the raid had been moved up and that spies had been planted.
They’d overlooked the possibility that the force had been split.
And this was the result.
A tiny opening born from a battle of wits.
After layer upon layer of anticipation, they had made this hard call.
They had thrown their comrades in as bait and prepared an ambush somewhere else.
He had thought, at least, there might be some shred of camaraderie among them.
“...Using your own people just to buy time. Crazy bastards.”
- We only just figured it out too. Let’s head back to the bunker first. There are a few things I can guess they might have done.
“Tell me everything. I’m moving while I think of ways to respond.”
- First, if the spy who got in earlier used the time the bait bought to seal off every entrance to the bunker. That’s possible if they activated the cloaking equipment.
The distance from Sector 6 to the bunker was three kilometers.
If he ran flat out, it would take about three minutes.
Yoo Sung-jun furrowed his brow at Choi Hyun-seok’s words.
“My little brother’s guarding the bunker, isn’t he?”
- ...He should be guarding the power facilities room where the cloaking devices are. I asked him to.
Then, if Choi Hyun-seok was right, that meant Sung-hwan must have run into the spy.
He tried to radio him just in case, but no answer came back.
Worry surged through him, but he forced himself to trust his brother.
Sung-hwan’s stronger than the average user now. I have to believe in him at least a little.
As he steadied his breathing and approached the bunker, Choi Hyun-seok kept speaking.
- The last possibility is that they lured the nearby infector into the bunker, but that would be absolutely insane.
“Why?”
- In the end, they’re doing this for points. If the equipment gets damaged, the sale price drops—so why would they drag in infector that don’t care what they destroy? Why do you think?
“One of two things. Either they weren’t after just the equipment but the bunker itself, or they have some way to control the infectors. So what’s the most troublesome species in this area?”
- Varlug. There are so many of them that we were planning to sweep them out once we had enough nanotech gear... but—
They were a pain in the ass.
Their reproductive rate was absurd; if he’d been dragged into this, there would easily be thousands of them.
By the time the bunker finally came into view, Yoo Sung-jun could tell at a glance what had happened.
The bunker entrance wasn’t closed.
Clan members were moving about in a frenzy.
And, finally, a faint but urgent alarm was just barely reaching his ears.
“...Damn it. Looks like they really did lure in the infectors.”
- Emergency! The Varlug are swarming in! Hurry back! Fa—!
A familiar voice cut in, not Choi Hyun-seok’s.
Yoo Sung-jun recognized at once that it was his younger brother.
But then, as if something had severed the line, the call went dead.
He could tell the culprit immediately.
It’s a gear jammer.
The jammer had cut off all communications.
With long-range contact no longer possible, his own judgment mattered more than ever.
One choice decides a lot.
He kept thinking calmly.
Save the many, or put his brother’s safety first?
From the state of the bunker, it looked like Sung-hwan had dealt with the spy successfully.
If that was true, then he had certainly fought the killers already, which meant he’d be exhausted now.
And even in that state, he would still try to help the Blood Rain Clan members he’d grown close to.
That was Yoo Sung-hwan as Yoo Sung-jun knew him.
His younger brother was the type to become unfailingly kind once he had grown attached to someone.
So then.
He’ll be looking for a sniper’s perch.
He’d be taking position, trying to reduce the number of advancing Varlug even a little.
And waiting to kill that brother of his would be the killer.
His thoughts were settled.
Yoo Sung-jun reached the bunker ladder and climbed.
He kicked off the rungs and launched himself upward.
At the top, he saw them.
His brother, and the black-masked killer facing him down.
***
As he descended, the greatsword swung once and left behind only a pale afterimage.
Anyone watching might have thought it was a wild miss.
But the true strength of Dimension Tech gear lay in its ability to interfere with space itself.
Recognizing it, perhaps, the black mask dodged backward.
CRACK-CRASH!
The wind tearing through space dragged the mask along with it.
Shattered fragments of the mask and the Boss landed at the same time.
Standing in front of Yoo Sung-hwan, Yoo Sung-jun looked at the man’s face and his eyes widened.
“You’re—”
He knew that face.
Pale skin, eyes sunk low as if burdened by the annoyance of everything in the world.
The man was a vicious PK player from Another Earth.
And not just that—he was skilled enough to hold eighth place among the High Rankers.
“Stalker. You were infamous for slicing people up cleanly, but were you really a killer all along?”
“I didn’t expect Meteor to show up. Still, it doesn’t matter. Your side doesn’t have nearly enough power to overcome this chaos.”
Behind them, the howls of the Varlug were growing louder.
In answer, the sounds of users hurriedly forming a defensive line echoed all around them.
The man was right.
They lacked both the manpower and the weapons of mass destruction needed to stop thousands of Varlug.
Still, lack of sufficient force was not the same as having no answer at all.
“You think because I took it back once, I can’t take it back a second time? The bunker? Fine, I’ll give it up. Cleaning up those trash-level level 3s later is no trouble at all.”
“You think we’ll just let you?”
“That’s my line.”
Yoo Sung-jun tilted his head and aimed the NU-101.
The particle shells, switched to scatter mode, burst out in a rough spray.
Stalker raced across the domed roof, the entire structure slanted at every angle.
He avoided every single round with the tips of his fingers and toes, moving his body with uncanny precision.
An incredible evasive ability, but that was all it was.
If he didn’t counterattack, all he could do was keep dodging.
Go on. Show me your hand.
He still knew nothing.
Nothing about the man’s main equipment, his talent, or the abilities of his Omega Suit.
Yoo Sung-jun intended to drag at least one of those out with his gun.
So first, he would get his brother out of there.
From the glimpse he’d caught, Sung-hwan’s condition didn’t look good.
“Hey, Sung-hwan. Can you move?”
“Huh? Yeah. I’m fine, just a little sluggish.”
“Were you poisoned?”
“Not by him. By the spy. But I’m okay. I took an antidote.”
“Get down for now. Go join up with Choi Hyun-seok.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll deal with this bastard. Get down now. And send support if you can.”
Sung-hwan was, honestly, desperate to help.
But this was his brother speaking.
He must have a reason for saying it.
Maybe I’d just get caught by that guy.
He made his decision.
With one last word, Sung-hwan slid down the ladder.
“If I see any team leader-level support I can call in, I’ll send them.”
Watching his brother disappear, Yoo Sung-jun gave a short laugh.
“Honestly, I don’t need it.”
It was an answer his brother couldn’t hear, but the thought still warmed him.
Sung-hwan had grown enough to protect the bunker and deal with spies on his own.
Maybe I don’t need to overprotect him anymore.
He shrugged and tightened his grip on the greatsword.
He couldn’t hit this man with gunfire.
That was his talent: perception. And that weapon he’d been deflecting bullets with since a moment ago.
Harpe.
Or, more simply, a hook blade.
A cold weapon that hooked onto a target’s body part and, when pulled, sliced it apart with an inner blade.
Compared to other daggers or short blades, it was a thoroughly troublesome weapon.
And if he’d chosen that, there had to be a reason.
For example, the Omega Suit’s ability.
With a creaking sound, tendons bulged from the suit and spewed brute force to the tips of his feet.
His silhouette, flashing with shifting colors like an endlessly stretching ribbon, reached Stalker in an instant.
“Are you the boss of the killer group?”
“If I am?”
In answer to Yoo Sung-jun’s approach, the Omega Suit swallowed Stalker’s body in a flash.
The man’s visor, his glowing eyes, flashed.
The color running through his muscle fibers was blue.
Speed-specialized.
He had just swung his greatsword, but it only sliced through empty air.
Speed specialization, ability unknown.
But he had learned three things.
“Your talent is perception. Your main weapon is Harpe. Your suit specializes in speed.”
As Yoo Sung-jun muttered softly, Stalker appeared behind him.
It was a speed Yoo Sung-jun himself had failed to perceive.
Now I’ll cut you.
His talent, perception, allowed him to sense and control the movement of every muscle, from the very tips of his limbs to the deepest parts of his body.
That must have made it possible to concentrate power into tiny areas. At least, that was what Meteor was probably thinking.
I fooled him properly.
Swish!
With the corners of his mouth curling upward, Stalker’s Harpe flew toward Yoo Sung-jun’s neck at horrifying speed.
For this strike, he had measured the timing, the breathing, and every opening.
Stalker was certain of victory here.
First place in Another Earth’s rankings? Ridiculous.
In hard-earned training and life-or-death combat between human beings, he was the one who had survived for over a decade.
Next is Jack Kalt.
Stalker was a veteran killer who had reached the pinnacle of catching people off guard.
He’d heard about it from Rose.
How the muscles suddenly bulged, making it impossible to aim for the nerves or joints.
Then all he had to do was cut through it with greater force.
He shifted the drive into raw power, and the suit swelled.
Riding that force, the Harpe touched Yoo Sung-jun’s neck—
BOOOOM!
Flames poured in from outside his perception range.
Both Yoo Sung-jun and Stalker were startled by the crimson waterfall they hadn’t seen coming and staggered apart.
The center of the bunker blazed as if it would melt on the spot.
Good thing it had been reinforced with alloy steel.
It had nearly caused the roof to cave in.
“Wha—what?”
Yoo Sung-jun looked through the wavering heat at Stalker on the far side, then lifted his gaze.
Stalker did the same, staring up at the sky.
A massive creature was descending.
After a glide as light as feathers, it landed with a heavy crash.
THUD!
Red scales glistened.
Black irises turned back and forth between Yoo Sung-jun and Stalker.
Then, as if showing off its majesty, it spread its wings wide and roared.
KRARARARAK!
“Hey...”
The appearance of a giant flying beast.
Unlike the flustered Stalker, Yoo Sung-jun understood the situation quickly.
He removed his visor for a moment, using the beast’s body to block Stalker’s view.
“You recognized me and came to save me?”
The red dragon turned its head.
They stared at each other for a moment, and then the red dragon—Ryong-i—haughtily tipped its head away.
Kkyu!
What do you mean, kkyu? Come to think of it, this brat had apparently been trying to hit him too on purpose.
Even after recognizing him from the Omega Suit, he’d still done it.
His brow twitched, but he held it in.
Ryong-i would be a huge help in stopping the Varlug horde.
“It’s nice to see you, but can’t you see the situation?”
Grrr...
With a low growl, it swept its gaze around.
Then, after seeing the users fighting against the countless infectors, Ryong-i nodded.
Kkyung-kkyung.
It swallowed hard and snapped its widened irises shut.
If it had opened them fully, it might have looked almost adorable, bright and sparkling like a puppy.
Apparently, it cared a great deal about maintaining its dignity right now.
Yoo Sung-jun snorted and waved a hand.
“If you understand, go. We’re fine here.”
Kkyung?
“Go save your dad.”
Dad! At that single word, Ryong-i’s massive body trembled.
The bunker wasn’t occupied by terrifying infectors, but by humans—people like its dad.
That had confused it, so it had lowered its altitude, and when it saw familiar clothes, it had rushed in to help.
Kkyuaaaah!
At last, they’d found each other!
It had finally reached a state where its dad and mom wouldn’t need to worry!
KRARARARAK!
Ryong-i roared.
With one beat of its wings, it lifted itself into the air and shot back toward the battlefield in an instant.
Its irises were already wide open, gleaming with anticipation.