Our Dogs Don't Bite
While Haram was cheerfully looting the treasure vaults of the Empire and the Holy Kingdom, the military base facing Ansan—where the Legion's visit had been announced—erupted into chaos that rivaled a battlefield.
"All corporals and sergeants, get your asses out here! Fall out for ammo issue! Privates, stay put in the barracks!"
Master Sergeant Im Jintaek, the unit's administrative supply NCO, was a man who normally strolled the grounds with his hands clasped behind his back, so unhurried that the troops called him a turtle. No one had ever seen him run. Now he tore through the base as if his boots were on fire.
"Sergeant Major! Corporals and sergeants alone aren't enough!"
"Sergeant Lee Wonsang! How many short are we?!"
"We need at least thirty more!"
Im Jintaek grabbed a soldier heading into the barracks.
"Minjun! Aren't you a corporal?"
"Private First Class Kim Minjun! PFC, twelfth pay grade! I make corporal next month!"
"You're coming out too! Back in my day you were a corporal at seventh pay grade!"
"There was a time like that, sir?"
"Anyone past sixth pay grade as a private, get out here!"
One year and five months into his service, with a year and seven months left until discharge, Private First Class Kim Minjun sprinted into the barracks and rounded up his cohort.
"Line up and take your magazines! Five each!"
"Hey, you bastard! Why do you only have two magazine pouches?!"
"W-we usually only draw three..."
"Just shove them in your cracker pouch! Lose one and you're dead!"
"Grenades too—one apiece!"
The Ansan border unit had been peaceful aside from the occasional monster that wandered up to the fence. Now the unprecedented visit of high-ranking VIPs had turned it into pure pandemonium.
"Loyalty! Welcome, Colonel!"
"Master Sergeant Im Jintaek. Are the troops ready?"
"Deployed to positions ten minutes ago, sir."
"The division commander and corps commander will be here in an hour."
"The corps commander too?!"
"The vice guild leader of Cheongung Guild is coming in person. Every important eye is fixed on this place. Let's wrap this up cleanly."
While the regimental commander and the supply NCO inspected the troops in position, time raced by. The generals arrived at the base. Then, thirty minutes before the time Haram had announced, Cheongung Guild's Elite Team 2 pulled up at the Ansan-side gate.
People with flashy hairstyles completely out of place in a military base stepped out of the vehicles. Bows, swords, spears—at a glance they looked like they were cosplaying the Middle Ages. Yet the generals bowed their heads with rigid formality.
"Lieutenant General Park Hansu, commander of the Third Corps. A pleasure."
"Cheon Seoah, vice guild leader of Cheongung Guild. Anything unusual along the fence?"
"No monsters have approached yet. Our forces are doing everything—"
"One moment."
Cheon Seoah raised a hand, cutting the lieutenant general off.
"The Void Hounds bringing the people are an Awakener's summons. They are emphatically not monsters."
"M-my apologies. I'll correct that."
A three-star general who walked with his neck stiff wherever he went was bowing his head to a civilian with no official rank.
"This is critical. Under no circumstances are you to treat the summons as hostiles first."
"Of course. Our forces maintain strict discipline under military law—"
Cheon Seoah let his words wash over her and walked toward the gate. Beyond the triple-layered high fence lay Ansan, the land humanity had abandoned.
"Team Leader Yoo Jihye, time?"
At her words, a brown-haired woman checked her wristwatch.
"Ten forty-seven."
"Should be any moment now..."
—Static...
"Some#thing's com@ing%!"
Noise spilled from the radio in the platoon leader's hand.
"Say again."
"Obser%vation post $has &them."
"Just use a damn phone!"
Lieutenant General Park Hansu scowled and barked. When the abysmal audio made communication impossible, Master Sergeant Im Jintaek pulled out his cellphone. The soldier in the control room answered before the first ring finished.
"Report."
"Monsters approaching from one kilometer out front! There are people with them!"
"Not monsters—summons. Remember that."
Im Jintaek corrected the terminology after a glance at Cheon Seoah, but her gaze was already fixed straight ahead beyond the fence.
"Let's go meet them."
"Ahem. Open the gate!"
"Open the gate!"
Hearing Cheon Seoah, Lieutenant General Park Hansu ordered the gate opened. Moments later the doors swung wide and the soldiers who had been standing ready moved through to form ranks on the far side.
"This way."
"Yes. Team 2, forward!"
Guided by the lieutenant general, Cheon Seoah crossed the gate.
"Woof! Woof!"
"Ukkiik!"
From the distant highway on-ramp, Void Hounds and Void Monkeys walked toward her.
"Oh, God..."
"Stay calm! Do not fire first!"
"Ukki!"
The Void Monkey at the front raised its arm. It was half again larger than the others. When the elite Void Monkey lifted its arm, the Legion parted left and right.
"P-please save us!"
"These monsters attacked us!"
Bound people became visible between the ranks of the Legion.
"Vice Guild Leader, those are..."
"Yes. Head Collectors."
A Void Flower clung to each person's body, binding their arms and torsos. The flowers had not used their camouflage; bright pink petals bloomed openly above the captives' heads.
—Thud. Thud. Thud.
The elite Void Monkey approached Cheon Seoah.
"..."
"Kii."
It held out a clenched fist.
"...?"
Not grasping the intent, Cheon Seoah tilted her head and bumped her own fist against the monkey's.
"Ukki!"
Apparently that was not the desired response. The elite Void Monkey seized her wrist and forced her hand open. A scrap of paper settled into her palm. Only a short line was written on it.
Our dogs don't bite first.
"..."
"Ukki!"
Having delivered the note, the elite Void Monkey returned to its pack. Moments later the Void Flowers released their bindings.
"Huh? Huh! S-save us!"
The people who had been bound by the flowers all rushed toward the soldiers at once.
"Team Leader Yoo Jihye."
"Uh... the man in front is a wanted criminal with thirteen priors. The red-haired woman next to him murdered a civilian three years ago and fled..."
The reason they hid in Ansan—swallowed by monsters even though human territory still existed—was simple. Most of them were Awakeners who were also criminals: villains.
"Save me! I'm a citizen of the Republic of Korea—"
—KWAANG!
Cheon Seoah slammed the ground, cracking a massive fissure that brought the crowd to a halt.
"Attention, all of you. From this moment, anyone who disobeys my orders will be executed on the spot."
"Wh-who the hell do you think you are?!"
"Cheongung Guild members hold presidential authority for summary execution of villains. If you feel wronged, file a complaint later."
"Damn it!"
A man who knew capture meant certain death spun and bolted for the woods.
—Seogeok.
Cheon Seoah's sword flashed. The fleeing man's head tumbled to the ground.
"If you don't want to die, follow instructions quietly."
"Hiiik!"
"P-please spare us!"
The criminals who had been hiding in Ansan dropped to their knees as one.
"Operations team! Restrain them!"
Meeting Cheon Seoah's eyes, Park Hansu called the soldiers forward. Troops who had been standing by approached with cable ties and binding ropes and began securing the criminals.
Ordinary rope could never hold powerful Awakeners, but the Awakener-grade restraints produced by America's Guardian Guild did not cut easily even against mana or aura.
"Huh? H-hiiik!"
A Void Hound approached a soldier who was binding the criminals.
"G-get away..."
"Sergeant Kim Mincheol! Lower your weapon!"
A soldier with a freshly shaved head—still looking like a new recruit—teared up.
"S-Sergeant Major..."
"I'll handle it."
Cheon Seoah, who had been watching from a short distance, walked over. The Void Hound that had approached the soldier rubbed its head against his right leg.
"Do you have something in your pocket?"
"Th-that's..."
"Take it out."
A long sausage emerged from the soldier's pocket.
"X-Farm?"
"I-it's just..."
"May I borrow it? I'll replace it later."
Cheon Seoah took the sausage and held it out to the Void Hound. The hound accepted it and skillfully peeled off the plastic with its front paws.
"Ahem. Quite dexterous with those paws."
Having overcome his fear, Lieutenant General Park Hansu stepped up beside her.
"Indeed. The Void Hounds inside the Tower never did this..."
"Vice Guild Leader... actually, I brought more snacks..."
The brown-haired woman, Yoo Jihye, approached Cheon Seoah.
"Where?"
"In the car trunk..."
"We'll fetch them."
Park Hansu took the car keys from Yoo Jihye and returned to the soldiers. Having read the hunter community posts, Yoo Jihye had secretly packed a mountain of seasoned jerky without Cheon Seoah's knowledge. Moments later an untimely jerky party broke out in front of the gate.
"Sergeant Jeong Minsu, don't these guys look kind of cute once you get used to them?"
"Whoa... you've got guts, feeding them by hand."
There were so many Void Hounds and Void Monkeys that even the enlisted men joined in handing out food to the Legion, while the officers kept their distance and waited in the rear.
"Do soldiers these days walk around with sausages in their pockets?"
"My apologies, sir. I'll re-educate them immediately."
"No need. It's a good look."
Cold sweat beaded on the regimental commander's forehead at the corps commander's words. Paying it no mind, Cheon Seoah stroked an approaching Void Hound while studying the distant skyline of Ansan.
"Team Leader Yoo Jihye, are there any monsters in Ansan that could threaten these summons?"
"During the Ansan reclamation, the collapsed A-rank large gate was sealed. The highest remaining is B-rank."
"Then why wasn't the city restored?"
"None of the leftover gates have commercial value... and maintaining the status quo is cheaper than reconstruction."
Since the Gate era began, humanity's numbers had plummeted. Restoring and managing cities ruined by monsters cost far more than simply leaving them alone as long as they posed no threat.
"Ukki."
"...You know a lot of people will be visiting Ansan soon, right?"
"Kii."
Cheon Seoah offered jerky to the elite Void Monkey that seemed to be the leader while speaking, but the monkey stuffed the jerky into its mouth and looked pointedly elsewhere.
"We're holding them back for now, but we can't last forever. There will be villains who sneak in. So tell your summoner to come to Cheongung Guild quickly—"
"Ukki."
The Void Monkey that had been pretending not to listen turned its back and returned to the Legion. The Legion, which had been happily receiving jerky from the soldiers for quite some time, reacted at once.
"Ukkiik!"
The elite Void Monkey raised its arm and cried out.
"Woof!"
"Ukki!"
At the elite's command the entire Legion withdrew from the humans in unison.
"Are they leaving?"
"Wait—what's that behind them?"
From the rear of the Legion, Void Monkeys carrying large bundles approached. They set the bundles down in front of Cheon Seoah, then began walking back toward Ansan. Moments later, silence settled over the gate as if the entire episode had been a lie.
"Vice Guild Leader..."
"I'll open them."
Cheon Seoah untied the bundles the Void Monkeys had left behind.
"...What is this?"
Inside were mana stones and byproducts used for item crafting, packed to the brim.