You Shall Not Pass (1)
Kali’s order to support each punitive force unit had just come down. The members, myself included, followed Gray’s lead and moved to a certain room inside the base. The room was cloaked in the same invisibility mode as mine and Winri’s, so nothing could be seen from the outside. The nameplate on the door simply read “Lockheed.”
“Oh… so this is finally happening.”
The room marked “Lockheed” looked like any other living quarters with a nameplate, but it wasn’t actually anyone’s residence. Inside, a hidden passage led straight to the hangar.
“Captain, I’ve already opened the hangar. The secret door to the 9th Punitive Force’s dedicated transport is ready.”
“Good work, Winri.”
Winri’s invisible report ended, and Gray led us into the room. He walked up to a bookshelf packed with books, just like the one in my room, pulled out a single volume, and yanked the hidden lever behind it.
With a metallic click, the lock disengaged. The floor trembled for a moment, then the entire room began descending like an elevator.
A short while later, we reached the underground hangar with a solid thud. Gray took the lead, and everyone filed into the hangar Winri had opened. One of the three transports inside was already idling, waiting for passengers. Winri must have unlocked the hangar and started the engines ahead of time.
“So it actually works.”
I had seen this transport countless times in the game, but it had only ever been a static model. I never thought I would actually ride in one.
[Yet you don’t sound particularly excited, Master.]
“…Can’t be helped.”
If this were just another peaceful day, maybe. But we were boarding because of the Corruptor invasion. There was no room for excitement, even if I wanted it.
Every member present radiated nothing but rage, hatred, and killing intent.
“I’m gonna tear those Corruptor bastards to shreds.”
“I’ll kill a thousand before I die.”
“A thousand? I’m taking ten thousand with me.”
Gray was no different.
“Everyone, board the transport.”
His voice was calm, his face expressionless, but the killing intent in his eyes matched the others. He was simply holding it back because of his position as captain.
Following his order, we climbed aboard and strapped into the seats.
“Is everyone on?”
Kali appeared out of nowhere and stepped inside with Gray.
“Yes. All members except Winri, who’s staying to manage the base, are aboard.”
Kali nodded at Gray’s report and walked toward the cockpit, where several human-shaped golems Winri had built were seated. As Gray took the seat beside me, Kali gave the golems the order to depart.
The cargo door sealed shut with a hum, and the transport began to move. Through the window, I watched us pass through the hangar’s massive gate. Once we cleared it, orange lights streaked past like we were racing through a tunnel.
— Stealth mode activated.
A mechanical voice spoke, the view outside brightened, and I felt the sudden lift of altitude. Moments later, clouds appeared outside the window. We had entered the stratosphere.
“I’ll assign teams now.”
Kali, who had stood perfectly steady in the cockpit even during takeoff, turned around. She looked at me, Gray, and the rest of the crew before beginning the assignments.
There were ninety-two people aboard, including Gray and myself. Kali called out names and formed groups of ten, assigning them to every punitive force except the most critical ones—1st, 5th, and 13th.
The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th, and 12th each received one team. The 9th would keep Gray to maintain command. As for the remaining three…
“I will support the 5th and 13th.”
Kali claimed two of them.
“And Lee Yoo-jin will reinforce the 1st Punitive Force.”
I had been given one as well.
“Yoo-jin can handle it alone.”
“Yeah, no doubt.”
“Hah, looks like a new legend’s about to be written.”
The crew nodded in agreement. I let out a dry laugh.
“Must be because I wiped out that Corruptor village by myself last time.”
[It means they trust you that much, Master.]
“…Yeah. Better than worrying.”
I nodded at Terra’s message and looked at Kali. Our eyes met.
“Lee Yoo-jin, can you manage on your own?”
She asked more out of courtesy than doubt. I smirked.
“More than enough.”
A small smile appeared on Kali’s usually expressionless face—satisfaction.
Seizing the moment, I asked, “Captain, do you still have any missiles left?”
“Missiles? …Ah, the silver ones refined with holy water.”
So that’s what they were. No wonder I felt holy power from them.
“Yes, those.”
“Unfortunately, the ones we used last time were the last batch. Each one takes a hundred and fifty days to make, and refining silver with holy water costs a fortune.”
I could only nod. Still, I couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
“What a waste. With those missiles, I could’ve swept the Corruptors away in one go.”
Even so, the gear I already had was more than enough to stop them. No—to wipe them out completely. So I pushed the regret aside.
— One minute until arrival at the 1st Punitive Force.
The mechanical voice returned. I unbuckled my seatbelt and stood. Kali approached and handed me something.
“Captain, this is…”
“Sorry, Lee Yoo-jin. I should have given it to you on your first day as an intern, but I was too busy. Here it is now.”
It was a dagger bearing the insignia of the 9th Punitive Force. It also served as the key to the base.
“Welcome to the 9th Punitive Force, Lee Yoo-jin.”
As I accepted the dagger, a new talent manifested.
「Evil Shall Be Met with Evil」
A talent born from the 9th Punitive Force’s collective resolve to eradicate all malice, hatred, vengeance, and death.
— Deals 10% additional damage to enemies of the Demonic attribute.
I felt a surge of satisfaction. Ten percent extra damage might seem small early on, but at my current level—and especially as the gap between ranks widened—it would become devastatingly effective.
I stored the dagger in my inventory and thanked Kali.
“No, I should be the one thanking you. For growing so well.”
Her warm words made me smile awkwardly, but before I could respond—
— Ten seconds until arrival at the 1st Punitive Force.
The cargo door began to open. Perfect timing. I exhaled in relief and told Kali, “I’ll be back.”
“Good. We’ll talk once everything’s over.”
I nodded, walked to the half-open door, activated the Atlas Armor, and prepared to jump.
“Yoo-jin! Take a parachute!”
Gray, who had stood up from his seat, ran over with a parachute pack. I pulled an Aegis from my inventory, transformed it into a shield, and replied, “Not needed.”
Following the voice’s instruction—“1st Punitive Force arrival confirmed. Begin descent now.”—I leapt from the transport without hesitation.
& & &
“The 9th Punitive Force’s intern.”
The words slipped out before I could stop them. I had meant to say something proper like “Lee Yoo-jin, intern of the 9th Punitive Force. I’m here to support you.” But the moment I saw the Corruptors from above, a boiling power and violent urge to tear them apart flooded my body, and the words died in my throat.
I realized the “Rage” passive of Demon Slayer (S) had activated.
“…So that’s what the Rage passive does.”
“You will rage until every evil before you is gone.”
I hadn’t thought much of it when I first obtained the talent, but now that it was active, I understood how dangerous it truly was.
“It’s hard to control my emotions.”
I wanted to fight immediately. I wanted to dive into that black tide, rip off heads, and tear bodies in half. But I forced myself to stay calm. My strong mental fortitude (A) resisted the Rage passive of Demon Slayer (S) according to my will.
“Hey, Demon Slayer. I’ll let you have your way soon enough, so just listen to me for now, alright?”
Once the barriers were up and the 1st Punitive Force members were safe, I would throw myself into that black tide anyway. I would use every means available to wipe the Corruptors out.
As I muttered inwardly, the boiling rage in my head gradually subsided.
“…Oh. It’s working.”
It was as if the talent had understood me. I quickly deployed the barrier kits from my inventory at regular intervals and pressed all the activation buttons with telekinesis.
With a hum and a series of metallic clicks, eight-meter-tall barriers rose around the 1st Punitive Force’s forward base. The dazed members behind me snapped out of it and rushed over.
“W-We’ll help too!”
“You can’t do it alone! We’ll support you!”
“Let’s fight together!”
I pulled out the minigun and told them, “You’re in the way.”
““……””
…That wasn’t what I meant to say. I was going to say “It’s dangerous,” so why did it come out like that?
“Is this some kind of forced language conversion?”
Cursing inwardly, I kicked off the ground. With one leap I landed on top of the barrier, aimed the minigun at the black tide rushing toward the base, and simultaneously deployed ten more miniguns connected to Starlight—five on each side—via telekinesis.
Lifting them with my mind, I shouted at the Corruptors I was about to slaughter.
“You lot—”
The barrels of eleven miniguns began to spin with a rising whine.
“—shall not pass through here!!”
The moment my cry ended, eleven streams of white light poured into the black tide.