Hypersonic Low-Altitude Missile
The display-board broadcast cut out without warning.
Inside the Ministry of National Defense command center, where every second of the unfolding crisis had been watched in real time, the room burst into frantic motion. A communications officer reported in a rush.
"Duty Commander! Report from the Second Fleet! They've visually confirmed an unidentified missile breaking the sea surface and climbing, in the waters southwest of Heukdo off the west coast!"
The duty commander furrowed his brow.
"Visual confirmation means..."
He let out a sigh and asked,
"What about radar?"
"That's..."
The communications officer swallowed hard.
"There's no detection record on any ground or naval radar network so far. We estimate anti-detection coating, or low-altitude stealth."
"Satellites?"
"We're already running orbital analysis through the Ministry of Science and ICT. The trajectory's confirmed, but the speed is Mach 20. It's flying low with irregular, erratic maneuvers. We can track it by heat signature, but..."
His voice grew shakier with every word.
"Interception with our current capabilities is effectively impossible."
BANG!
The duty commander slammed his fist down on the table.
"That insane scientist bastard!"
He shot to his feet and roared.
"Seoul's population alone is 9.41 million people! And he's firing a missile?! That guy's a complete psychopath!!"
He ground his teeth and glared at the communications officer.
"What about the Hero Association?! Request they scramble their defensive forces immediately!!"
Hero Association command center.
The Association President had received the same report as the military, and he clutched his wrinkled forehead.
"Oh... dear God."
Jang Taegwon narrowed his eyes at the countdown.
Time remaining until the missile reaches Seoul
"What S-Class heroes can we mobilize in Seoul right now?"
An operator hurriedly pulled up profiles on the monitor.
"The only S-Class heroes currently in Seoul are Drunken Moonlight and Divine Archer. Just those two."
A glimmer of hope entered Jang Taegwon's eyes.
"If it's Divine Archer, an intercept might be possible."
But the operator's voice trembled as he stared at the screen.
"...Additional information just came in. The missiles captured by satellite aren't one. There are seven in total."
He swallowed and added, barely above a whisper,
"And they're all hypersonic low-altitude missiles..."
Jang Taegwon hid his trembling hands beneath the desk as he looked at the countdown, which now had barely a minute left.
"Sinnyeo... Where is the SS-Class hero Sinnyeo right now?"
The SS-Class hero the Association President was so desperately seeking was, at that very moment, attacking the Seocheon Power Plant.
She plastered talismans all over the thermal plant on the ground and detonated them in spectacular fashion.
BOOOOM!!
KABOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
"Stop hiding and come out already!!"
Mechabots surged up from the seashore and fired plasma beams at Sinnyeo.
ZIIIIIING!
She spun talismans around herself in a whirling ring and formed a mudra with her fingers.
"Fire is governed by Water. That is the law of the Five Elements."
"And Metal is governed by Fire!"
⟨ Five Elements Art ⟩
The instant the beams touched the rotating talismans, they scattered into a seven-colored rainbow. Then the talismans slapped onto the cyborgs' foreheads, and roaring flames erupted, melting every last one of them into lumps of scrap metal.
"Hmph. Still won't come out, huh?"
Sinnyeo fluttered the sleeves of her hanbok. Fresh talismans stuck fast to the power plant's asphalt road.
"...I told you. There won't be a next time."
That mad scientist's fortune. He stood at the very heart of ruin. So the bud had to be cut before it could grow.
"Fine. Don't come out. I'll just blow this entire island to smithereens."
But as she began to form the mudra, she froze.
Ari-arirang! Suri-surirang! Araririga―!
A pansori ringtone blared from her pocket.
"Well... a few extra seconds of life won't change anyone's fate..."
Sinnyeo pulled out her smartphone.
"If it isn't important, can this wait? Operator."
But the operator's frantic voice wiped the composure from her face.
"Sinnyeo-nim! We're in huge trouble! That mad scientist — Mesarthim fired hypersonic missiles at Seoul, and we have no way to stop them!!"
"What...?"
For a moment she couldn't find the next word.
"Wait... I'm coming. How much time is left?"
"Thirteen seconds. Sniff. Even though I only got to be your operator twice... sob... it was truly an honor."
"Hey! You scrawny operator! Don't you dare say something that unlucky!"
Her voice shook.
"My fortunes are never wrong! You're destined to live a long, skinny life!"
"Hehe. Then this is the first time you've been wrong. That's an honor too......"
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The line went dead.
"That's..."
Sinnyeo looked down at her smartphone, her hands trembling.
"...I was the one who took the bait."
She screamed and hurled the phone.
"KYAAAAAAAAAH!!"
CRASH!
The screen shattered to pieces.
"Mesarthim... that bastard was waiting for me to leave Seoul."
Otherwise he never could have struck the capital with such perfect timing. She ground her teeth.
"How dare you deceive me?"
Sinnyeo swept her gaze across the ruined power plant and turned on her heel.
It might already be too late. But if she hurried, she might still avenge 9.41 million people.
"I will kill you. I swear I will execute you with my own hands, Mesarthim!"
Yeouido, Seoul.
The cockroach Main fluttered its antennae and sneered.
"Missiles? Ha!! That's the Mausoleum Temple for you — weakest of the Seven Dungeons! Kuhuhu."
It skittered and vanished into a manhole in an instant.
"Cockroaches are the strongest species alive. We survive even nuclear bombs. You think a mere missile will wipe us out? How foolish!!"
Sinking deeper into the sewer, it poked just its face out and licked its lips at Baek Seoha.
"If the Mausoleum Temple takes care of those pesky heroes for us, we should be grateful."
Malice gleamed in its eyes as it flicked its tongue.
"Then perish, you feeble humans! Kwahahaha!!"
It vanished from sight. As the Main descended underground, the cockroaches that had blanketed the city poured down into the sewers after it in a rustling black tide.
"Damn it......"
Baek Seoha staggered and leaned against a traffic light.
"Back then... I should have slain that thing even if it cost me my life."
She covered her eyes with her hand and sniffled.
"It's my fault. Because I was too weak... the citizens... sob......"
She looked down at her smartphone, drained of strength. The countdown the Hero Association had provided read ten seconds. Not even enough time to call Mom.
Hero Association Emergency Countdown
Missiles tore through the air as they entered the skies over Seoul.
5
4
3
2
1
Baek Seoha squeezed her eyes shut.
KABOOOOOM! KRA-KRA-KRAKOOM!
A deafening shockwave and an earthquake rumbled through the ground.
"Hngh!"
She lost her balance and collapsed onto the pavement. About ten seconds later, a sonic boom that ripped the wind apart shook the whole of Seoul.
WHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOSH!
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The glass windows of every building shattered with a crash. But something was strange. Even after the sound arrived belatedly, only screams and uproar filled the city. No roaring flames erupted anywhere.
Baek Seoha cautiously opened her eyes and looked around.
"Don't tell me... they were duds?"
She prayed for it with everything she had. Unfortunately, hope turned to despair in a single heartbeat. A hazy fog began to settle over all of Seoul. Baek Seoha backed away from the ash-gray gas surging toward her like a tide.
"A biochemical weapon...?"
She clenched her fists.
"Mesarthim! Just how evil are you planning to become!!"
He had dropped a chemical weapon banned by international law on a major city without the slightest hesitation. Whatever kind of gas it was, it was bound to be horrific. Baek Seoha thought she should fall back and regroup with the Hero Association.
But just as she was about to flee, she spotted a boy trapped inside a car. He was so terrified he couldn't even scream — just silently shedding tears. Baek Seoha ran toward him without a moment's hesitation.
"Hold on! I'll get you out!"
The SUV and the fog were far too close. She had to hurry. Baek Seoha ripped the rear door clean off its hinges.
"Hiyah!!"
BANG!
The boy trembled as he stared up at her. She smiled brightly and reached out her hand.
"Don't worry. I'm the B-Class hero Baekho. I'm here to save you."
"Sniff... A hero...?"
The word hero finally reached him. He took her hand. Baek Seoha scooped the boy into her arms and ran for all she was worth. But the fog was too fast.
"Please... please!!"
She prayed they would make it. In the end, Baek Seoha and the boy were swallowed whole.
"Hold your breath! Don't inhale the gas, no matter what!"
Baek Seoha looked around in a panic. Surrounded by the dense gas, she couldn't see a thing.
I need to get to higher ground. But I can't see any buildings.
Even a few steps sent her colliding with cars ringed by cockroach corpses. This was Seoul — so many vehicles it was nearly impossible to find a path.
Kh... my breathing...
She looked down at the boy in her arms. He was covering his mouth and nose with both hands, but from the way he was struggling, he was at his limit. Eventually the boy let go.
"Pwah! Haaah!"
"...No! If you breathe—!"
Baek Seoha hurriedly covered his mouth again — then felt something strange.
"Hmm...?"
She slowly let out a deep breath of her own.
What's going on? Is the reaction delayed? Or is it a biological weapon with an incubation period?
She turned over every possibility she could think of, but at present she had no idea what kind of gas this was.
Then the boy pointed at the sky.
"Hero-unnie. The stars are falling."
"...Stars?"
A radiant reactor gleamed at a solar plexus. A researcher's white coat fluttered in the wind. The very architect of this catastrophe was descending through the air, parting the fog around him.
That insane psychopath of a scientist.
Mesarthim drifted down from midair at a leisurely pace, hands clasped behind his back.
"How are you? Is the body treating you well? Kihihihihit!"