The Awakening Management Bureau's Strongest Special Forces
The woman stood with her chin raised and shoulders squared, proudly gazing up at the hot spring hotel that had burst into flames in an instant.
“How’s that? My masterpiece!”
The design of the uniform she wore was slightly different from those of the other Bureau agents. Most notably, the symbol embroidered on her chest—a pair of swords crossed in an X over a shield, accompanied by a tiger emblem—was so rare that even here, it would be difficult to find more than a handful of people wearing it.
And for good reason.
That mark represented the strongest special forces unit in the entire Awakening Management Bureau. A unit that only the absolute elite among elites could join.
It was the symbol of A-Team.
“It’s definitely burning nicely. It’d be even better if the whole thing just turned into a pile of charcoal.”
The man standing beside her, watching the blaze with a bored expression, also wore the A-Team emblem on his chest.
“Queen Bee. What about the puppets?”
“I set fire to everything from the second basement level all the way up to the thirteenth floor. Thanks to that, I’m completely empty-handed right now and can’t be of any help.”
The woman who answered was the puppet master known by the codename Queen Bee—Cheon Soyeon. At her reply, the massive man guarding the entrance grinned.
“No. That’s more than enough.”
“They’re coming out!”
At the shout from one of the agents focused on the entrance, the villains who had fled the flames came scrambling out in a panic.
The lanky man who had been watching the fire with a consistently bored face grimaced in disgust.
“Ugh… Gross. Look at them crawling out like cockroaches, desperate to stay alive. They should’ve just burned to death cleanly.”
“Weasel! Enough with the chatter—get moving! There are guys jumping out of the windows on the second, third, and fourth floors too, so don’t miss a single one!”
“Yeah, yeah…”
“Our weasel, fighting!”
“Sure. Whatever.”
As the man codenamed Weasel—Gu Wonjun—began walking forward with an expression that screamed how much he didn’t want to work, the bear-like A-Team member who had given him the order, Baek Janggun, let out a small chuckle.
Gu Wonjun was always negative and lazy, but the fact that he had still made it into A-Team was proof that his skills were undeniably top-tier.
“Alright then, time for me to focus on my own mission!”
The number of villains pouring out through the entrance was enormous. At a glance, there were easily over fifty.
Yet even as the wave of villains surged forward, radiating murderous intent and hostility, the man simply smiled and clenched his fists tightly.
Muscles bulged like mountain peaks, pulsing with power. Veins protruded prominently over those muscles, writhing like molten lava.
That was exactly why his codename was Grizzly.
Rumble…!!
The moment he clenched a fist larger than an adult’s head, an overwhelming wave of energy erupted around him, shaking the entire area as if an earthquake had struck.
Grizzly roared arrogantly at the oncoming villains.
“Anyone who wants to live—drop your weapons and surrender!”
BOOM!
At the same time, Grizzly kicked off the ground and launched forward. The instant his log-like arm shot out and pierced through the air—
CRACK!!
The head of the villain caught at the end of that fist was crushed like a smashed watermelon.
“That was the official warning. Now I’ll tell you what I really think. Please, don’t surrender. If you’re villains, then act like villains and fight to the bitter end. That way I get to beat up even one more of you.”
As if to prove his words weren’t just empty bravado, Grizzly relentlessly hammered the villains who kept pouring out without giving them a moment to breathe.
Despite his enormous size, his movements were as swift as a fierce tiger. Every punch he threw became a savage storm, and the villains caught in it were brutally broken before collapsing to the ground.
“N-no way… This is…”
One of the Bureau field agents waiting in the rear widened his eyes and trembled. Far from needing their help, Grizzly hadn’t even given them a chance to step in. When the villains first started rushing out, the agent had thought they should rush over to support him, but…
Once the battle actually began, the man was nothing short of a giant grizzly bear ripping through a flock of sheep.
When his junior couldn’t seem to close his mouth at the shocking sight, the senior agent beside him patted his shoulder and smiled.
“Burn it into your memory, rookie. Those people are the strongest elite unit in our Bureau. That’s A-Team.”
“So this… is A-Team!”
Only then did the rookie finally understand.
Why even the most arrogant large guilds had no choice but to obey the Bureau’s orders, no matter how unwilling they were.
Why rapidly growing clans and villains could never openly operate in the outside world.
Cheon Soyeon, who had single-handedly infiltrated the hot spring hotel, trapped hundreds of villains inside, and turned it into a blazing inferno.
Grizzly, who alone blocked the hotel entrance and crushed every villain that came at him like a tidal wave.
Gu Wonjun, who darted around the entire perimeter of the hotel, swiftly subduing every villain who smashed windows in an attempt to escape.
Not a single one of them could be denied the title of monster.
‘What the hell is this? It’s basically a monster warehouse!’
A short while later.
The operation ended in complete success.
Zero villains escaped. Zero allied casualties. All villains captured.
Judging by the results here alone, it was a resounding victory.
“We cleaned up nicely here, but what about the real main base? Everyone else is on other missions, and even the Captain is overseas. Did they issue an emergency recall for the Captain?”
The moment the mission ended, Cheon Soyeon—who had somehow ended up being carried piggyback-style on Grizzly’s broad back—asked. Grizzly answered.
“No. That won’t be the case. The mission the Captain is on would become too dangerous without him, so he can’t just abandon his post.”
“But it doesn’t make sense for A-Team to not provide support when we’re striking the Black Snake Clan’s main base. The only available personnel right now are the three of us, right? If they sent all three of us here, then what about the most important main base? D-don’t tell me…!”
At that moment, Cheon Soyeon’s eyes sparkled as she peeked her head over Grizzly’s shoulder.
“Is the Dragon going to move personally? The active-duty return we’ve only ever joked about?!”
Dragon was Director Lee Won-hyung’s codename.
“As if. If the Dragon moves, every clan in South Korea will swarm like hornets trying to take his head. There’s no way that would be allowed.”
“Well… that’s true.”
Cheon Soyeon easily accepted Gu Wonjun’s retort.
Even though he had aged, an SSS-class hunter didn’t lose their power overnight. Director Lee Won-hyung’s combat strength was still considered the Bureau’s greatest asset.
In fact, it was fair to say that half the credit for forming the current A-Team—the so-called strongest in history—belonged to Lee Won-hyung.
Not only were the benefits of joining A-Team far superior to those of even the largest guilds, but many of the current A-Team members had chosen to join specifically because they had been captivated by Lee Won-hyung’s strength and charisma.
“Then who exactly is going to support the main base?”
Three hours before the operation began at the hot spring hotel.
A single military jet transport plane landed on the quiet runway of the Sangnam Air Force Base.
The person who had flown in from Thailand was none other than Ahn Humin.
“Thank you for coming such a long way. Goblin Lord.”
The person who warmly greeted Ahn Humin on the runway was Kwon Si-young. Since information about Ahn Humin was still classified, the number of people allowed to make contact with him had been strictly limited.
“Yeah. It’s my first time traveling abroad, and it turns out it’s also my first time doing an overseas day trip. How are the preparations coming?”
“Everything is proceeding smoothly as you ordered. Agent So Hong-min leaked dummy information to the Black Snake Clan, and we’ve confirmed that a large number of vehicles are heading toward the target location.”
“We might just catch a big one. Let’s get going.”
As they rode in the car that Kwon Si-young was driving, she asked,
“But are you really okay going in alone? If you need support, I can request it right now.”
“Before that—tell me, is the Black Snake Clan’s fighting force stronger than the Director’s?”
“Of course not. The Director is a nationally recognized power-level awakener acknowledged by everyone. If the Black Snake Clan’s forces were anywhere near his level, we would have completely revised the operation from the beginning.”
“Then there’s no problem. Let’s proceed as planned.”
“…Pardon?”
Kwon Si-young couldn’t help but be stunned by Ahn Humin’s answer.
‘What is this confidence? Does he actually think he’s on the same level as the Director? He’s just an awakener who barely passed the 20th floor.’
However, she didn’t need to voice her anxious thoughts out loud.
After all, she had never once seen Ahn Humin’s true abilities.
‘I suppose I’ll find out today exactly where that confidence comes from.’
And so they headed toward the Black Snake Clan’s hideout.
The address of the Black Snake Clan’s hideout that Kim Soo-kyung had given him and the one his brother-in-law had provided were exactly the same.
Of course they were. That was precisely why the Black Snake Clan could no longer tolerate Jang Gi-jun and had tried to assassinate him. His overly competent abilities had become a poison instead.
‘As long as I’m here, I won’t let that happen.’
The new hideout the Black Snake Clan had moved to after abandoning the hot spring hotel was a used car market located between Seoul, Guri, and Hanam City.
On the surface, it looked like an ordinary used car dealership that was even conducting legitimate business. To the average person, there was absolutely nothing that would suggest this place was the Black Snake Clan’s hideout.
“It’s fascinating. How on earth did Chief Jang Gi-jun figure out that this was the Black Snake Clan’s hideout? Do you happen to know?”
As they drew closer to the site, Kwon Si-young asked with genuine curiosity.
“The Black Snake Clan’s main source of income comes from illegal businesses that exploit children. That means they’re holding a large number of kids. So what would they need the most?”
“Well… water and food?”
“Exactly. And among those, bread is something that doesn’t require cooking, is easy to supply, and kids eat well. So he searched everywhere. Not just domestically, but also for bulk order receipts from confectionery and bakery companies in China and Southeast Asia. That’s when this place stood out. A used car market ordering that much bread on a regular basis is extremely unusual.”
“From every bakery company, both domestic and international?!”
“Yes. Even I was shocked when I heard it. He’s my brother-in-law, but the man is truly relentless.”
When he was at home, he always looked comfortable, kind, and gentle, so it was impossible to imagine.
That at work, he was called the “Goblin Chief,” feared and respected by his subordinates, and trusted and relied upon by his superiors.
While they talked, they soon arrived at their destination.
“I’ll get off here.”
“I’ll accompany you. I may not be much help, but I am a Level 61 A-class Wind Sorcerer. I’d like to offer even a small amount of assistance to you, Hunter.”
“Sure. Do as you wish.”
“Thank you!”
Ahn Humin didn’t particularly object to Kwon Si-young coming along. It wasn’t because he expected her to be of great help.
He simply allowed it because she wanted to follow. Protecting one person while hunting was already something he was more than used to.
When they reached the main gate of the used car market, it was firmly locked and the interior was quiet. On the surface, it looked exactly like a used car dealership that had closed for the day.
“Shall we head inside?”
“Yes.”
Kwon Si-young was about to use her wind support magic to gently lift both of them over the gate, but she quickly realized it wasn’t necessary.
Because Ahn Humin had simply hopped in place and easily cleared the five-meter-tall gate.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, she used the wind to lift only herself and landed lightly beside him. In that time, Ahn Humin had already summoned his minions.
“Cradle of the Dead.”
The moment pitch-black fog instantly enveloped the surroundings, Kwon Si-young was startled. However, she had no idea that the real shock hadn’t even begun yet.
Shhhhh…
‘T-this is…?!’
As the black fog cleared, Ahn Humin’s minions were revealed.
A staggering force of nearly one hundred and fifty summons—combining the goblin troops with the monsters from the sewers—appeared silently around him. Kwon Si-young could only doubt her own eyes.
Total Forces Deployed:148
Commanding Entity:Chaos Knight of Nyx
Status:READY FOR BATTLE
EX-class and didn’t even know it—kicked out of the guild.