The Age of Chaos
Choi Hyun-seok clambered up the giant’s leg, across its belly, and drove his awls into its chest with impressive skill.
Using the awls like ice-climbing pickaxes, he carved himself a route up a body so massive there was nowhere natural to get a grip.
Thuk! Thuk! He buried one awl deep, then used the other to stab higher and haul himself upward.
Supporting his own weight with one arm alone, let alone dragging himself up, was hard work in every sense of the phrase.
But Choi Hyun-seok never stopped. He just kept going in silence.
Almost there...
The limits were beginning to show.
Watching the hand that gripped his awl tremble in tiny spasms, Choi Hyun-seok once again felt the full measure of Yoo Sung-jun’s might.
By his own account, Sung-jun had fought a priest strong enough to compare to a Level 7 creature, and it sounded like the truth.
After all, that priest had pushed Yoo Sung-jun to the brink. That much was certain.
How had Sung-jun even thought of taking down both the entity and the priest at the same time?
He had even come close to succeeding.
That gave Choi Hyun-seok a fresh jolt of inspiration.
If I want to keep standing beside Sung-jun, my own growth matters too.
He had lured the man into that relationship with the promise of a refuge—a bunker no different from the spark of a nation reborn.
Then, as they overcame crisis after crisis together, they had become comrades. And now, that relationship had to be maintained.
Choi Hyun-seok knew better than anyone how outstanding the talents of Sung-jun’s companions were.
Yoo Sung-hwan could shoot.
No, more than that—he was a master at the act of firing and hitting his target.
His accuracy was so absurd that it was hard to believe the person aiming the gun was human at all.
When it came to sniping, Yoo Sung-hwan was absolute.
Jeyca could see.
She probably still didn’t fully realize it herself, but her danger-sensing ability was not just some gift of nature.
Wide vision, fast situational grasp, and the ability to deliver precise briefings, too.
She believed it all came from her Appraisal Eye, but to Choi Hyun-seok, that wasn’t the whole story.
Given time, she would eventually realize the true value of her own talent.
Compared to that, I’m...
Weak.
Even more so if he stood beside Yoo Sung-jun.
He couldn’t let that stand. In this insane world, with all 5 Calamities still alive and well, he had to grow stronger.
He had to seize power that went beyond the strength he had forged in the game.
The answer is in Sung-jun’s hands.
He had felt it in his bones after surviving the battle against the priest and winning in the end.
Staying near him meant growing as well. It meant learning a great deal, and gaining a great deal, too.
Of course, if Choi Hyun-seok was going to take from Yoo Sung-jun, then he would make sure to give him the treatment worthy of that exchange.
So then...
Would that count as Sung-jun owing me a small debt?
At last, Choi Hyun-seok reached the outer edge of the giant’s heart and could see it.
Tudung! Tudung!
The infector core, glowing red, pulsed violently.
It was the kind of frantic movement you’d expect from something that already knew what was coming.
It seemed to be saying, I’m still alive, so don’t shoot me.
But Choi Hyun-seok had no intention of listening to that silent plea.
Let’s end this. One million points.
He pressed the muzzle against it and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Thwoom! The nano-tech firearm’s force caved in the giant’s skin.
It was very tough skin. No wonder this had been the main event of an A-rank mission.
Choi Hyun-seok clicked his tongue softly and opened fire in a burst.
At point-blank range, bullets fired into an utterly helpless target were enough to tear straight through the skin.
The barrage ripped through the dense muscle tissue, crossed between the giant’s ribs, and struck the core beyond.
It was over.
Fssshk!
Compared to the ear-splitting gunshot, the explosion was almost pathetic.
Watching the red light fade, Choi Hyun-seok was filled with a surge of triumph.
At last. It was over.
Now I can finally rest a little.
For a fleeting instant, everything he had prepared to get this far flashed through his mind like a life passing before his eyes.
He had pulled men away for the suppression of Joonji, trained without sleeping more than two hours a day, and pushed himself until there was nothing left.
This was the result.
How could it not taste sweet?
Ah, his body felt light.
Choi Hyun-seok forced strength back into the hand that had almost gone limp.
Clutching the loosened awl tight, he retraced his path downward.
He had no idea the broad, solid ground would feel this welcome.
Even after the core was shattered, the creature’s ankles were still moving, so Choi Hyun-seok gave one a kick and turned back around.
"Did you break it properly?"
He saw Yoo Sung-jun waiting below, lifting only his head to look up at him.
Choi Hyun-seok blinked his half-closed eyes twice in answer.
"You don’t look exactly normal either. All right, then..."
Yoo Sung-jun was about to continue when Choi Hyun-seok, stumbling as he approached, waited for Loki’s reply.
Mission cleared. Moving to the Enter Room... impossible. A D-Virus threat remains nearby.
At the reply, Yoo Sung-jun’s eyes widened.
He snapped his head to the side.
At the entrance to the laboratory wing, deep in blackness, a sound drifted out.
Footsteps. Small ones—sounds unfamiliar to Yoo Sung-jun.
But to Choi Hyun-seok, they were all too familiar.
"How the hell...!"
Shock burst from Choi Hyun-seok’s open mouth.
His eyes, which had been clouded by a dull fatigue, flew wide open.
A pale blur shot out from the entrance like a gust of wind.
"I SHALL DO ITTTT!"
With a scream blazing with madness, Amia charged forward, her body fully transformed into that of an infector, her skin now a sinister violet.
Damn it.
She was clearly the one Choi Hyun-seok had said he’d taken care of, so how had she come back alive?
The guesswork could wait. Yoo Sung-jun moved.
If he burned the suit’s remaining power, one dodge would be possible.
After that, all he needed was a gap for a counterattack.
He could rely on Choi Hyun-seok, who was still standing for the moment, when that time came.
For now, move. Those scythe-like arms, slick with purple fluid that matched their skin, looked like the kind of thing he absolutely did not want to be cut by.
Just as he twisted his body to evade, a gunshot rang out.
Not from behind, but from the front—past the entrance, the bullet tore straight through the mad priest’s head.
Its spin was so powerful that the skull exploded on the spot.
The priest crumpled under the force of his own charge. No—the corpse did.
Yoo Sung-jun frowned as a lump of flesh rolled out from the creature’s arms and onto the ground.
What is this?
When he picked it up and inspected it, a puncture mark was plainly visible.
Blue fluid was seeping freely from the wound.
And the pulsing he felt through his fingers was...
That was almost like...
"Sung-jun oppa! Are you okay?"
At the sudden shout, Yoo Sung-jun looked straight ahead.
Jeyca was hurrying toward him, gasping for breath.
He had told her to run, so she’d come back after all.
He had been about to scold her, but Jeyca beat him to it.
"Well... you looked way too strong for me to just leave alone, and I’d left Yoon Choi with Sung-hwan, so it felt weird for me to just make a run for it by myself... so, yeah, I came back to help. I’m sorry. You told me to run, and I didn’t listen..."
Yoo Sung-jun closed his mouth, which had been left slightly open.
He didn’t need obedient comrades.
He needed comrades with firm convictions—comrades who could take initiative and turn a situation around.
So there was no reason to scold Jeyca.
She had acted on her own clear belief and, in doing so, perfectly fulfilled the role of a helper by reversing the situation and protecting her allies.
"It’s fine."
At Yoo Sung-jun’s low reply, Jeyca lifted her head, which had been hanging low.
Seeing the gentle smile on his face, her eyes misted over.
"Oppa... that look... don’t tell me you used that thing again?"
It was the same age-withered appearance he had shown in the battle against Muaz.
Worry surged through her as she asked, and Yoo Sung-jun waved it away.
"I’ll be fine after treatment in the Enter Room. More importantly, are you hurt anywhere?"
If Sung-jun said it, then it had to be right.
Remembering the absolute truth she had learned while traveling with him, Jeyca finally let herself relax.
And so she could smile brightly.
"Pfft. Now that I’m relieved, it’s kind of funny."
"Don’t laugh at someone who’s been fighting with his life on the line."
"But..."
Looking at Yoo Sung-jun—now white-haired, his face lined with wrinkles as though he had aged decades—Jeyca couldn’t hide her laughter.
He looked cranky on the outside, but inside he was like a grandfather who was kinder than anyone else.
"I’m just happy I get to see you alive again."
"You sure can say anything with your mouth..."
With a slight pout, Yoo Sung-jun lifted a hand to his in-ear communicator.
After that single movement, carried out with the suit’s remaining power, a flood of information poured into his ear.
⊳ This is Sector 3. The infector extermination is complete.
⊳ This is the corridor linking Sectors 5 and 6. We have finished eliminating the retreating Evolve priests. I repeat, the priests have been eliminated...
The team’s reports were a mess.
The one who cut through and sorted everything in an instant was Jack Kalt, his voice calm and familiar.
-Situation resolved. We’ll wrap up the Joonji suppression operation here. Everyone, return at once.
There was a great deal packed into his words.
The Joonji suppression, the blocking of the infectors’ escape, the extermination of every Evolve priest, and the elimination of the entity itself.
Mission cleared. Moving to the Enter Room.
With the support message driving the final nail into the moment, Yoo Sung-jun looked at Jeyca.
"Want to wrap up the aftermath and head back for some rest?"
Jeyca nodded at once.
"Yes!"
Watching the two of them in silence from behind, Choi Hyun-seok felt a pang of loneliness in some corner of his heart.
Will I ever meet someone like that, too...
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The canyon, now stripped of every living thing, was crossed only by a desolate wind.
The biting gale swept harshly across the bodies scattered over the floor.
The blood that had been flowing slowly dried up, and the warmth that had barely remained in the corpses turned cold.
Amid that sea of dead bodies,
"Hehe, they stirred up a proper mess and then vanished~"
there was a lone woman walking across it.
Rupal, the creature praised as the pinnacle among humanoid infectors.
She twitched her brows in pleasure, and even her quick, skipping steps never ceased.
"The world’s changing. Humans who used to be nowhere to be seen are suddenly popping up, and on top of that, they ruined the plan I put so much effort into."
She bent down and picked up a cartridge lying on the ground.
It was etched with a symbol she had never seen or heard of before.
Not some relic from the past. It was clearly something made in the present age...
And in a highly advanced state at that.
That fact delighted Rupal.
She had always looked forward to the arrival of a prince who would break the boredom she constantly suffered through.
How much longer would it take for these tiny specks of life to grow strong enough to point a gun at her head?
Which of them was the prince?
"I suppose I’m allowed to find the prince first, right? Right?"
Of course, my queen.
Rupal smiled at the reply from the red tendril that had sprouted from her ear.
"I was thinking of breaking the covenant a little to have some fun, but look at this. Melua. Doesn’t it seem like something even more interesting is about to happen?"
That’s right. Your queen’s plan is perfect.
"Right? It’ll be fun if Joonji comes back and breaks the covenant, and it’ll be fun if the humans who notice it step in too. But it looks like the latter ones took the bait. Now then, shall we see who stopped Joonji?"
Rupal intended to reclaim the fragment of herself she had planted in Joonji’s head, and in the heads of the infectors he had brought along.
Through that piece, she would revel in everything the infector had seen, heard, and felt.
This is exciting. What kind of human could it be? I hope it’s someone strong enough to put a scratch on my immortality.
Feeling a faint thrill begin to ripple through her whole body, Rupal stepped closer to Joonji’s corpse.
Now all she had to do was retrieve the piece buried in his brain.
"All right, let’s crack it open~ Thump-thump-clap. Thump-thump-clap."
Even if they had vanished from this place, the chase was still possible unless the distance was so absurd it crossed dimensions.
So Rupal looked into Joonji’s mind without the slightest concern, then made a blank face.
Nothing.
There was literally nothing in Joonji’s head.
So she tried to track the fragment directly, only to find nothing at all.
Rupal stood there blankly and mumbled like an idiot.
"Huh?"
It wasn’t just Joonji she couldn’t track.
The infectors he had released as well were exactly the same.
No brain. No tracking possible.
Before long, a foolish sound slipped from Rupal’s open mouth.
"You mean they really crossed dimensions? Seriously?"
The relentless wind continued to rake through her red hair as if mocking her.
But only for a moment.
She turned her gaze to the entrance of the laboratory, which she had not yet examined, and smiled slyly.
"Even better."
With a grin that curled at the corners of her mouth, Rupal walked into the laboratory.