Special Operation

The car crossed the Military Demarcation Line through Gangwon Province and entered North Korea.

Crossing into North Korea didn't make anything particularly special. The air was the same. The roads, however, were terrible.

"Here. Stop."

After racing down those miserable roads for quite a while, the van came to a halt in the middle of the road at Jang Juseok's command. Fully armed, we climbed out of the vehicle.

Jang Juseok's ability was Blood Control. It wasn't merely the power to manipulate blood. Using a target's blood, he could track them as well.

"Which way, exactly?"

Kim Sieom asked. Jang Juseok raised his index finger and pointed at the forest.

"This forest. Oh Ganghu is inside this forest."

"He didn't come here to rest, I take it…. It seems he noticed our pursuit and intends to shake us off here. Jang Juseok-ssi. Can you pinpoint a more precise location?"

"Margin of error is about thirty meters. Beyond that is difficult no matter what I do."

"There's a considerable chance Oh Ganghu has set an ambush. I believe we need a plan."

Kim Sieom said, adjusting his baseball cap. He wanted a solid operation.

Shin Bora, who had kept her mouth shut in silence until now, stepped forward.

"The ambushes a fugitive like Oh Ganghu and his crew can set up are limited. Now that we've confirmed the possibility of an ambush, as long as we stay alert, we won't fall for it. Oh Ganghu is exhausted from running. The best move is to hit him right now before he has time to recover his stamina."

"Shin Bora-ssi. Drawing up a plan will only take five minutes. Let's act with a cool head."

"If you want to plan, do it yourselves. I'm going after Oh Ganghu."

Shin Bora strode forward without hesitation. I followed behind her and spoke up.

"I agree with Shin Bora-ssi. We've come this far — what good is a plan now? Let's wrap this up quick and head back."

Kim Sieom's face crumpled nicely. Jang Juseok, arms crossed, fell in behind us.

"I agree with Kim Sieom that a plan is necessary, but… more than half of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠four of us are refusing, so there's nothing to be done."

"Ha, damn it. I'm reporting this to the Association."

Kim Sieom muttered irritably as he trailed after us. He had no choice. We'd come too far to turn back now.

We found Oh Ganghu and his four subordinates resting beneath the trees. They looked wretched. Their clothes were caked with blood and dirt, and exhaustion filled their faces. Unlike us, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who had arrived by car, they had run all the way here on foot.

Oh Ganghu saw us and let out a snort of laughter.

"I thought the Association had sent a professional tracking team… but you're just a bunch of brats."

Before we could draw our weapons and charge him, Oh Ganghu waved his hand first. His subordinates all pulled on gas masks in unison. Then thick black smoke billowed from Oh Ganghu's wrist and spread in every direction.

"Poison smoke. Be careful."

Jang Juseok said. Completely unnecessary. There wasn't a single person here who didn't know Oh Ganghu's ability.

I swung Hwaryeonbido faster than anyone. Blue sword energy coiled in red lightning streaked toward Oh Ganghu. He didn't move. Instead, his gas-masked subordinates stepped forward. Drawing their swords from their belts in unison, they casually deflected the sword energy.

Shin Bora stretched a hand into the empty air. A long hammer took shape in her grip. Its form resembled a sledgehammer. The silver finish gave it an almost luxurious feel. She gripped the hammer with both hands and slammed it into the ground with everything she had.

KWAANG!

The shockwave erupted a beat late — and in an entirely unexpected place. It burst without warning from beneath Oh Ganghu's feet. He scowled and staggered, limping.

"Tch… what a boring ability. I was planning ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to take the woman alive, but… I've changed my mind. Kill them all."

"Yes, Master."

His subordinates charged us in perfect coordination.

Jang Juseok and Kim Sieom stepped forward. Jang Juseok tore open a blood pack with his bare hands and took control of the blood, while Kim Sieom raised his sword and leveled it at the enemies with a blank expression.

"We'll handle these ones."

"Shin Bora-ssi, Seong Yujin-ssi. You two take Oh Ganghu. We don't even expect a capture — just kill him as fast as possible."

Jang Juseok and Kim Sieom began fighting the subordinates. Shin Bora didn't so much as glance back at them, heading toward Oh Ganghu with an indifferent expression. Unwilling to let the prey right in front of me get stolen, I closed in with footwork of my own.

"You thought just the two of you could do anything to me? Did I look that easy?"

Oh Ganghu's body swelled. His muscles ballooned, and blood vessels burst in his eyes, sending bloody tears streaming down his face. He had concocted a body-enhancing drug and injected it into himself.

"Oh Ganghu. I sentence you."

Shin Bora's hammer changed. It shrank to roughly the size of a toy mallet. But the ornate design of crimson metal made it somehow more threatening. She swung that small hammer at Oh Ganghu. He spread his massive hand and caught it. The instant the hammer touched his body, an explosion went off.

"GAAAAAAAH!"

Oh Ganghu staggered, screaming. His right hand had been blown clean off in the blast. Shin Bora swung the hammer again with the same indifferent face. Oh Ganghu flinched and scrambled backward to avoid it.

Just as Shin Bora moved to close in on him, she suddenly vomited blood. She'd been poisoned. She calmly drank an antidote.

"You think a cheap antidote will keep you safe from my poison? I promise you this for blowing off my right hand. You won't die easily."

Oh Ganghu snarled, glaring at the blood-spitting Shin Bora.

I seized the opening.

Acceleration. Charna.

My target was Oh Ganghu's neck.

Oh Ganghu reacted to my attack. He jerked his body backward in a desperate lean. The blade wreathed in crimson lightning grazed his throat by a hair's breadth.

"You little shit…!"

As Oh Ganghu toppled backward, he swung his one remaining left hand. Black poison smoke erupted and clung to my body. I held my breath, but it was useless. The poison smoke stuck to my skin and began absorbing straight through it.

I felt my stomach turn and my limbs grow heavy.

"Heh heh. How does it feel, having your arms and legs go numb? Terrifying, isn't it — like dying while still alive. Go on, pull out that antidote and take it."

He was waiting for the moment I took the antidote. It was so blatant I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠couldn't even manage a bitter laugh.

Instead of taking an antidote, I circulated Noecheonryu.

Crackle. Snap.

Lightning energy raced through my meridians and burned every last trace of the poison. The nausea vanished, and my limbs lightened again. Oh Ganghu's face crumpled on the spot.

"Damn it! Of all people, a guy whose poison barely works had to be on the tracking team…!"

Seeing the situation turn against him, Oh Ganghu spun around. Like a skunk, he tried to flee while scattering poison smoke. Shin Bora and I moved at the same time. Her hammer shattered Oh Ganghu's legs, and my blade took his head.

Oh Ganghu died.

But it wasn't over. Shin Bora and I charged toward Oh Ganghu's subordinates.

Oh Ganghu and all his subordinates were dead.

The job the Association had given us was a success. Or so I thought — until Kim Sieom suddenly attacked Jang Juseok. He severed the unguarded Jang Juseok's neck. Jang Juseok's head tumbled free and rolled across the dirt.

Shin Bora and I both put distance between ourselves and Kim Sieom at once. Feeling a flicker of confusion, we leveled our blades at him.

"Why'd you kill Jang Juseok? Did you hate him that much?"

"Jang Juseok's ability is troublesome. The power to track a target's location with nothing but their blood…. Troublesome doesn't even begin to cover it."

Kim Sieom said leisurely. Shin Bora narrowed her already sharp eyes further, glaring at him.

"You. What are you."

Kim Sieom just grinned instead of answering.

"You don't need to know."

Kim Sieom's legs moved in a dazzling flurry. It might have looked almost comical at a glance, but I caught the subtle profundity woven into that footwork. That was a movement technique.

And a Phantom Step designed to deceive the eyes, at that.

The countermeasure was simple. Focus more on energy sense than sight.

The moment I raised my energy sense, Kim Sieom's form snapped forward like a drawn bow and lunged at Shin Bora. She didn't panic. She raised her hammer and blocked Kim Sieom's sword first.

"You were with the Chinese side from the start?"

"Haha. To figure it out that fast. So Shin Bora-ssi has something hidden of her own. Not that I'm particularly curious what it is. Just die here, if you would."

"You're the one who's dying."

Shin Bora knocked Kim Sieom's sword aside and raised her short hammer high. Crimson light began gathering in the hammer. She swung it through empty air. KWA-KWANG! An explosion erupted. Using that blast force, Shin Bora hammered attacks down on Kim Sieom.

Kim Sieom slipped past her strikes like flowing water. Then, suddenly, his form split into three.

…Clones? This bastard was hiding his ability.

All three Kim Sieoms attacked Shin Bora at once. Completely unprepared for clones, she bit her lip. Looks like she planned to tank the hits.

But this bastard. Why is he ignoring me? Because I'm B-Class?

I chained three skills in succession. In an instant, I was behind Kim Sieom. All three of him stared at me with startled eyes. And I wasn't done.

I cut the back of the one in the center.

I severed the neck of the one on the right.

I drove my blade through the heart of the one on the left.

All three Kim Sieoms collapsed to the ground, bleeding at once. Moments later the clones vanished, leaving only a single real corpse behind. The one whose neck had been cut was the real one.

It was over.

Time to report. This was a clear failure on the Association's part… so I should be able to squeeze out some extra credit.

I pulled out the radio. No signal came through when I tried to transmit.

"Kim Sieom. That bastard wouldn't have pulled this without preparing something."

"…Well, the situation's over, so let's head back."

Of course we had to bring the bodies. That part was seriously annoying.

"Thanks. You saved my life. I'll repay this debt someday, no matter what."

I looked at her. No matter how you sliced it, she wasn't quite what you'd call a beauty. I gave a halfhearted reply.

"Ah, yeah."