The Final Stand
Kim Jeong-yoon’s face turned deathly pale. His hands gripped the armrests of his chair so tightly that the wood groaned and splintered. The scene unfolding on the CCTV monitor before him was turning his worst nightmare into reality.
“That bastard… he’s going to crush my skull!”
Cheon Yooshin. Just hearing that name now sent a chill down his spine. On the screen, Yooshin was walking forward, crushing his subordinates like a god of death. And he knew that the final destination of that path was right here.
“This can’t be happening.”
Kim Jeong-yoon muttered to himself. He bolted from his seat and screamed at his subordinates.
“Mobilize every soldier in the bunker! Get out there right now and stop that demon! I will bestow a massive reward upon whoever brings me Cheon Yooshin’s head. I’ll give them enough wealth to let three generations live in luxury! Kill that bastard by any means necessary!”
His voice was a desperate shriek. Cold sweat already beaded on his forehead as he strained and railed against the inevitable. Just then, Yooshin on the CCTV monitor turned his gaze toward the camera. It was as if he knew exactly where Kim Jeong-yoon was, as if he were locking eyes with him through the screen. Kim Jeong-yoon shuddered at the sight of those eyes.
‘That damn son of a bitch!’
“Is this it?”
In front of Yooshin, who had neatly wiped out countless hunters and soldiers, stood a massive, sturdy-looking iron door blocking the way.
“Ugh, Boss. I don’t think this is going to break.”
Joo Jowoon tapped the iron door lightly.
“Wow! You crazy pig bastard, there’s no handle—how did you even get in?”
Yoon Heewon, who had been inspecting the door, muttered under her breath.
“There’s probably a special way to enter,” Baek Woohyun said, his eyes gleaming. But even he couldn’t offer a solution. Was there really no choice but to force it open?
Just then, Park Haesu stepped forward confidently.
“This is exactly what our agents specialize in.”
Until now, the agents from the Hunter Management Department had been little more than dead weight. In a battle of superhumans, there was nothing non-awakened civilians could do. Park Haesu was no different. But decrypting and opening high-security doors was a standard part of the training for Hunter Management agents. In particular, many of the agents were veterans from special forces units like the 707th, the Special Forces, and the UDT. In other words, when it came to picking a locked door, these guys were the real experts, not the hunters!
“Are you sure?” Yooshin looked at Park Haesu with skeptical eyes.
“Oh, come on, Yooshin-ssi. Leave this to the professionals. If you try to force a door like that open, you’ll just waste your energy. Only your energy.”
His ego seems a bit too inflated, doesn’t it? Anyone would think he’s a master locksmith. Anyway.
Park Haesu cast his gaze toward the back of the group.
“Alright, it’s showtime! If you’ve opened a door like this before, or if you’re confident, step forward!”
No sooner had Park Haesu finished speaking than three burly men jumped out. Park Haesu wore a satisfied smile. Behind him, Cheon Yooshin watched Park Haesu and the men with suspicious eyes.
The first man. Man No. 1 stood before the iron door with a heavy, serious expression, as if to show them something.
“How are you planning to open it?” Cheon Yooshin asked from beside the door. Skepticism aside, he was curious.
Man No. 1 cleared his throat. Suddenly, gleaming metal tools appeared in his hands. They looked as precise as a surgeon’s instruments. Man No. 1 said confidently:
“I’m going to use lock-picking tools. First, this is a tension wrench; it’s a method of opening the door by applying rotational force to the lock cylinder.”
Cheon Yooshin’s eyes narrowed. His gaze swept over the iron door.
“…There is no lock.”
Man No. 1’s confident expression froze.
“I, in my experience, there’s a very high probability it’s hidden somewhere. If you give me a moment, I’ll find it.”
Five minutes passed. Man No. 1 was sweating as he inspected the iron door from every angle. His hands moved along the surface of the door, searching for something invisible, but there were no results. Cheon Yooshin’s expression turned sour.
“It’s not that the lock is hidden; it looks like there isn’t one at all.”
Man No. 1 lifted his head with an awkward expression.
“I, I apologize. I misjudged.”
“Forget it. Move aside.”
Park Haesu, who had been behind him, intervened.
“Yooshin-ssi, they say failure is the mother of success. The first attempt failed, but the second will never fail.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure it won’t.”
Yooshin didn’t even have expectations. Meanwhile, Man No. 2 stood before the iron door. A deep sense of professionalism and confidence could be felt in his eyes.
“What are you going to do this time?” Yooshin asked after looking at his bag.
“You’ll see.”
Man No. 2, who had spoken boldly, took off the bag he was carrying on his back. What he pulled out were complex-looking electronic devices. What was that?
“It’s C4. It’s a professional explosive device with precise destructive power.”
As if he hadn’t done this once or twice, he explained while installing explosives at various points on the iron door.
“This door has no handle to open it. So, I’m going to target the structural weaknesses of the door. I’ve seen doors like this several times before.”
Oh? Maybe this is actually going somewhere?
Unlike the first time, Yooshin’s eyes were filled with anticipation. Man No. 2’s hand movements radiated the aura of an expert.
“Alright! Ready. Everyone, step back! We need to ensure a safe distance.”
After confirming that even Yooshin had stepped back, Man No. 2 opened his mouth.
“I will detonate after counting to three. Three, two, one…!”
Explosion triggered
With a powerful explosion, thick smoke rose up and obscured the iron door. Everyone’s eyes turned toward the door. But because it was a place where the air didn’t circulate, the smoke didn’t clear easily. Yooshin waved his hand once, as if annoyed, and the smoke was sucked away and vanished. And there stood the iron door.
“I knew it. I’m the fool for believing.”
Man No. 2’s complexion turned pale.
“T, this can’t be. This amount of explosives should be able to pierce a blast wall.”
Shaking his head, just as Yooshin was about to step forward,
“Wait! Yooshin-ssi, they say the third time’s the charm! So please, just watch!”
Park Haesu’s eyes were burning with intensity. No, why is this guy overdoing it so much when he doesn’t usually? But Kim Jeong-yoon was a rat in a trap anyway. Thinking of their past rapport, Yooshin gave him one more chance.
At Park Haesu’s signal, the final man, Man No. 3, stood before the iron door. His eyes were filled with resolute determination. In his hand was an unfamiliar piece of equipment.
“It’s a plasma cutter. Sometimes primitive methods are the most effective. I’ll try cutting the door with this.”
Wearing safety goggles, he activated the cutter. Blinding sparks and a loud, piercing noise echoed through the chamber. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Five minutes… then ten minutes passed.
“Stop….”
Even at Yooshin’s command, Man No. 3 didn’t stop. Because of the noise, he couldn’t hear Yooshin.
“STOP!!!!”
Only after Yooshin shouted loudly did Man No. 3 hurriedly stop the cutter.
“It doesn’t seem to be having any effect, how long are you going to keep going?”
Man No. 3 clearly displayed his embarrassment. He carefully examined the part where the cutter had touched.
“T, this can’t be….”
“It’s getting old, so move aside.”
He wasn’t even surprised anymore. He hadn’t had any expectations to begin with. Once again, Park Haesu intervened.
“Yooshin-ssi, they say it’s not over until it’s over. So please, give us one more chance….”
Yooshin waved his hand, looking annoyed.
“Forget it, okay? This showtime is too long. If you don’t plan on camping here, get back. Ugh, if I knew it would be like this, I would have done it from the start and saved us all this wasted time.”
Grumbling, Yooshin stood in front of the iron door. His eyes had become serious. It was a truly sturdy iron door. It was clear it wasn’t made of ordinary materials.
‘What kind of magic should I use….’
Using high-explosive magic was tricky. This was a bunker built halfway up a mountain. If he made a mistake, the entire bunker could collapse. But if he used weak magic, it wouldn’t even make a dent in the iron door.
Just then, a man’s voice came through the installed speaker.
[I am Kim Jeong-yoon, the Great Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.]
It was him.
“Y, Yooshin-ssi. It’s Kim Jeong-yoon!” Park Haesu approached him urgently. The North Korean dictator, whom one could only see on the news, was on the other side of the iron door. It was an unbelievable moment. But,
“The pig bastard is making an appearance!”
Yooshin laughed playfully. Kim Jeong-yoon’s words continued from the speaker.
[Take the Green Magic Stone obtained from the Republic and leave our great motherland. I specially permit you to take that precious treasure with you. But remember this. This shows the generosity of our Republic. So, spread my greatness to the whole world!]
As silence swept over them,
“You crazy son of a bitch, stop talking nonsense. I’m taking what’s mine, so what are you permitting?”
[…….]
“This guy is a real case of middle-schooler syndrome. Does he think the world revolves around him? Wait there. I’ll cure that disease for you.”
Yooshin stepped back a few paces from the iron door. After securing enough distance, Yooshin raised his hand. In an instant, the air around Yooshin rippled, and darkness began to gather. And what took shape was a Dark Spear.
It wasn’t exceptionally explosive, but it was the optimal magic for piercing something.
“Let’s see your face soon. You pig bastard.”
Yooshin’s hand shot forward. Then, the Dark Spear floating in the air raced toward the iron door at explosive speed. With a sharp tearing sound, the spear collided with the iron door.
The spear strikes the door
A roar and an explosion followed. But the iron door remained unscathed. Then, the man’s voice came from the speaker again.
[Kwahahaha! Hey, you dog son of a bitch! This is bulletproof, you dog son of a bitch!]
“…….”
[Blast it! Blast it again! You dog son of a bitch!]
Kim Jeong-yoon’s voice mocking Cheon Yooshin continued to come through the speaker. For some reason, Cheon Yooshin listened quietly.
[Go back now! You idiot. Get lost to South Korea while I’m letting you go nicely!]
Just then, a smile spread across Cheon Yooshin’s lips.
“Are you done talking?”
[…What?]
“That pig bastard is oinking so much I can’t take it anymore.”
He created another Dark Spear.
[You’re nothing but a guy with a rotten brain. Try shooting it! It won’t even tickle my liver, you know.]
His tone was arrogant. But,
Yooshin’s lips curled up in a sneer.
“Sure. Just wait.”
No sooner had Yooshin finished speaking than Dark Spears began to form one by one around him. In no time, the Dark Spears were densely packed around the passage.
[…….]
The voice from the speaker stopped for a moment. Yooshin’s eyes flickered dangerously.
“They say it’s not over until it’s over. Do you happen to know the word ‘focus fire’? No, you wouldn’t. What kind of games would you play in a place like this? Just experience it for yourself.”
At his gesture, the Dark Spears began to move in unison. Like a precise machine, all the spears flew toward a single point on the iron door. The target was the center of the iron door. If one were to compare it to an archery target, it was the dead center.
The Dark Spears began to collide with the iron door. The spears vanished without leaving a scratch. But around Yooshin, Dark Spears were being created in such numbers that one could call it infinite. At the same time, they flew to attack the iron door.
Before long, the iron door began to tremble as if groaning under the constant attack. It didn’t take long for the iron door to finally reveal its flesh. At first, a tiny crack appeared, then the gap gradually widened, and finally, a hole began to be drilled into the center.
“Bingo!”
With his shout, the iron door collapsed completely. Amidst the thick dust, Yooshin entered the iron door without a moment’s hesitation.
“Checkma…,”
Bang!
At that moment, a single gunshot rang out through the air from the darkness.