First Commision: The Basement Trap
Tap, tap-tap. Fast but light. The agents ahead were sprinting at breakneck speeds, yet astonishingly, their footsteps were completely silent.
Our footsteps are the only ones you can hear. The power of their gear, or rigorous training? No idea which, but damn, it's impressive.
Swoosh. A quick glance sideways revealed Team 2 keeping pace alongside. Jeong Seol-yoon flashed a hand signal, and one of them nodded back.
That's them, alright. Silent but swift. We'd run for about a minute when the five-story building from the briefing came into view.
Fucking massive. Sure, this was a low-traffic area, but pulling off kidnappings and body mods right out in the open in a building that size? Balls of steel.
Guess that's why they tripped the Association's radar.
Whoosh, pssh. CCTV at the entrance shattered.
Fucking wild. The real shocker? No gunshot noise at all. Suppressors still make guns loud as hell.
They wrapped up the perimeter sweep in seconds and assembled at the entrance.
"Entry. Stick to the plan."
With that, they threw open the door on Jeong Seol-yoon's order and piled in.
Stairs hit us right away.
"Hold up."
I halted them mid-stride toward it.
"Something wrong?"
"Gonna scout the interior layout."
As everyone knew, I could spread demonic energy to map the structure and detect lifeforms.
Smart to check before diving in. Our objective today was total wipeout, not recon.
Shaaa. I unleashed demonic energy, letting it flood the surroundings.
Beep beep. The earpieces buzzed.
Good thing their reflexes were sharp—it cut off quick.
"Is that your energy, Seol-ah-ssi?"
"Yeah, spot on."
I tossed her a vague reply and zeroed in on the demonic energy. Like smoke, it seeped through the building unseen, feeding me the layout.
"First floor: 3 humans, 5 monsters. Second: 5 humans, 4 monsters... First floor's static, second's active. Third floor..."
I rattled off the intel as it streamed in.
The agents muttered it back, committing to memory.
"Basement level 3: just 3 monsters. Everyone got it?"
"Yes, memorized."
Jeong Seol-yoon nodded, scanning their faces. They all had it down.
"Most personnel and monsters above ground. Team 2, four of you—join us here."
Four zipped over to us in a flash. Yoo Hwa's face crumpled—she'd wanted to stick with me.
"Alright, moving in. Live to regroup."
Tap-tap. The teams split—above ground and below.
Fuck.
Jin Tae-seong, his face a patchwork of bandages, cursed under his breath. The whole setup pissed him off.
Monsters. First spotted around 400 years ago, but they'd lurked far longer. Beings wielding inexplicable supernatural forces. The ones who'd reduced his family to dust.
Common tale. Revenge seekers cropped up everywhere, real life or games.
He was just one more.
Luckily, he had power. Among humans, those who wielded monster-like supernatural abilities. He'd become an ability user.
But that was it. It got him into the Association, but agents died like flies hunting monsters.
Still a win for him. He'd die happy killing one more.
Key was maximizing kills. Dead meant no more kills.
Self-aware of his limits, he'd outlasted comrades, racking up bodies.
Fuck.
The trigger? The woman leading the way.
"Flag any problems. Seol-ah-nim told me to back you up."
She looked like a pure, elegant beauty. A different allure from Heuk Seol-ah.
But a monster. Beauty be damned—to him, just another kill.
He itched to charge Yoo Hwa right now, unload every ability and weapon.
Shit.
The real issue was the situation. His drive differed from the others. Sure, a few burned with monster hate like him, but rare.
Most ran on "protect humanity" duty. Association line: pro-"human side."
Hence, fans of helpful monsters everywhere.
Jin didn't mesh. Agents scorned personal vendettas over the greater good.
Attack Yoo Hwa in rage? Instant takedown by the team, report to Association, punishment. Worst case, "disposal."
And he lacked the juice to seriously hurt her.
So he swallowed the inferno in his gut and trudged on. Like ignoring a blaze.
Something shuffled from the shadows.
Like overinflated dough. Skin split and dangling precariously over flesh. Exposed muscles grotesquely bloated, twitching live.
Its face contorted in a mash of emotions.
Whoosh, pssh. Gunman unleashes rounds.
Ability to muffle sound in a zone, honed to cover the barrel mid-motion. Association could've built silencers, but prized his skill—issued a powerhouse gun that roared.
Outcome? Wall-buster draws blood, nothing more. Casings littered the floor.
Auto-fire handled it—even those wounds sufficed.
Whoosh, rapid whoosh. He mag-dumps into its head like a maniac.
Full clip later, it crumpled dead.
Monsters in a nutshell. Low-grade or not, elephant-killers needed a full mag.
Why special ability teams ranked higher. Agents were human weapons, but monsters? Unfair matchup. Like stock vs. tricked-out.
"Hiiik!"
Terrified squeak from behind the corpse. Lab-coated scientist gawking, trembling.
"On me."
Whoosh. Flames erupt from Jin Tae-seong's hand, surging wildly.
Roar! "Huaaaak!!!"
Instant inferno reduces the scientist to ash.
No hesitation killing humans. Universal agent trait. Motives varied, goal synced: purge monster allies.
Basement 2 already. Numbers foreknown? Cakewalk.
Ego bruised by forced aid.
Fuck.
Jin Tae-seong choked down the rage again, joining the team at the stairs to basement 3.
"I'll handle one."
Others nodded at Yoo Hwa. Her descent feats were horrifying—ripping packed-muscle monsters barehanded? Chef's kiss.
Thud, thud. Down the stairs to basement 3.
They scowled. Arena-like openness—no gear, just vast emptiness.
Monsters? Spot-on three, as predicted.
Battle flowed seamlessly.
One ate a full mag-dump.
Roar! One incinerated in combo.
"Gwok!"
Last one torn apart by Yoo Hwa.
Flawless synergy. Three corpses hit the deck simultaneously.
All threats neutralized—time to hunt data.
"Roger."
Jin Tae-seong sparked a flame in his palm.
Sealed basement? Risky fire. But purifiers handled it. Yoo Hwa? Lungs like a beast—no issue.
Whoosh. Flames reveal a door.
Plastered on the wall.
Tap-tap. They swarmed it.
One raised hand; others hugged the wall beside.
Click. Door swings open.
Silence descends.
He freezes, blankly staring ahead.
Gun trained on him from the wall. Hope flickered out halfway.
Crack, crackle.
The man's body warps grotesquely.
Rapid whoosh! Bullets bounce off harmlessly.
Futility drags on.
He morphs into the very monster he'd shredded—bigger, tankier.