The Rolling Inferno
Anyang. Shin Jin-gwang grew increasingly anxious. The steady stream of battle reports only tightened the knot in his chest.
Guro. The heroes who had fallen into the trap were routed. Several heroes had been kidnapped by monsters, with no contact since. Unsa Park Ra-on, passed out from mana exhaustion. Hwagwon Lee Seung-hyung, suddenly coughing up blood and unconscious.
On top of that, contact with the Pine Tree Unit detachment had been cut off.
And then.
"......! Yu I-sin signal lost! ...He's dead!"
"What did you say?!"
The first hero death report. He'd braced himself the moment heroes started getting kidnapped one by one, but the sudden death of a B-rank hero from the Pine Tree Unit hit Shin Jin-gwang hard. Of all people, one who was practically the president's direct subordinate.
Plunged into unease, Shin Jin-gwang snapped at them.
"Where?! What about the footage before he died?!"
"We don't know! Contact was lost ages ago! No data transmission since after escaping Guro!"
Bam! Shin Jin-gwang slammed the table hard.
"Damn it!"
Ever since the Pine Tree Unit had split off as a detachment, Shin Jin-gwang hadn't been able to issue them any orders. All because of their "secret mission from the president." Not only had Seon Ui-cheol not informed him of the mission, but they'd unilaterally cut off communication with HQ under the pretext of maintaining secrecy.
'Arrogant criminals...!'
The Pine Tree Unit treated Shin Jin-gwang worse than a scarecrow left in a field. No, not just them—even midway through the operation, all the heroes had started ignoring his commands. They'd pretend radio signals were weak and cut comms, or outright defy orders if they didn't agree with his thinking.
A parade of insubordination unimaginable in the military—it left Shin Jin-gwang's head spinning.
'What kind of commander is this?! A goddamn clown!'
This was a nominal position created to prop up Lee Seung-hyung as the star. Shin Jin-gwang had gladly accepted the role of operation commander—just waving the baton from his seat—and become Minister of Monster Countermeasures. He'd envisioned glorious days ahead: escaping a dead-end post, ascending to ministerial rank, debuting in central politics.
And everyone had been convinced of his victory—the operation's success. Even amid the hearings exposing his incompetence, jokes flew like, "With Hwagwon leading, what could go wrong?"
"Arrrgh!!"
But that nightmare of a blue flame had scorched his rosy future, mocking him all the while. It commanded Hellhounds like zombies to ambush heroes, then ghosted up Gwanak Mountain's peak for a surprise attack on the Snow Flower Princess.
In Guro, Gangnam, and Gwanak Mountain—three fronts—the heroes were toyed with atop that blue flame.
If this continued, the outcome was plain as day.
Shin Jin-gwang turned his eyes to Gangnam.
Gangnam. The heroes had broken through the Hellhound zombie encirclement and reached cleanup phase. The veteran heroes' faces were etched with exhaustion, aged years in mere hours.
The most unsatisfying group, yet the one with some results. No sacrifices, and they'd captured villain Seonmudang—A-rank with a 2 billion bounty—and her gang.
The left flank had crumbled, but the right still held.
Now, the issue was at the center: Gwanak Mountain's peak, where an S-rank hero clashed with an unidentified ability user.
Snow Flower Princess.
"What about the combat analysis simulator?!"
"Analyzing! Ten seconds!"
Ice and fire collided like roaring songs. The blue flame's falcon tore into the giant's throat, while the frost giant lunged to chase it off.
Crackle, crackle.
Mana clashes destabilized the air, fuzzing the relay feed. But even Shin Jin-gwang, blind to hero combat, could see it clearly.
They were losing.
The Snow Flower Princess was being played by the enemy villain. An S-rank hero, blocked by a single hand.
Beep.
SIMULATION COMPLETE! Checking projected win rate...!
The screen displayed the result.
"Judgment impossible...!"
The operator, who'd held her breath, glanced at Shin Jin-gwang and quickly pinpointed the error.
"No matching mana pattern! Enemy mana pattern not in the database!"
"What?!"
The operators fell silent. A unregistered mana pattern meant one thing.
Unregistered.
Shin Jin-gwang, fuming, swung his baton at the nearest operator's chair back.
"Search again! That can't be!"
"Minister...!"
"An unregistered S-rank?! Impossible!"
The operator barely forced out the unbelievable truth.
"...The opponent is a brand-new ability user who's never been detected before!"
Shin Jin-gwang was speechless. This villain had popped out of nowhere like a bolt from the blue—not just the mana, but a complete unknown.
Every hero had a unique mana pattern; impersonation was impossible. Yet here was an unheard-of ability user toying with the Snow Flower Princess like it was nothing?
Impossible. But on the screen, she was overwhelmingly losing the 1v1.
The frost giant swung a massive fist, but the flame falcon pierced straight through, melting the giant's body.
The enemy was relaxed; the Snow Flower Princess, frantic.
"Capture the pattern! Save it! We need something!"
At Shin Jin-gwang's shout, operators scrambled.
An S-rank (presumed) villain who hid in Seoul until now. They needed an excuse: the mysterious foe handed them their first loss, but they'd gleaned intel.
The op was already a failure; his head was on the block. At least salvage some honor.
Operators rushed to analyze the mana pattern. Flame mages were scarce in the database to begin with, so unique patterns took extra time.
They needed time. Shin Jin-gwang bellowed again.
"Contact the Snow Flower Princess! Tell her to stall! Fight until we get the mana pattern!"
"Yes sir!"
The standoff between the Snow Flower Princess and the enemy villain eased into a lull.
Under Shin Jin-gwang's prodding, the operator called her endlessly.
'Who the hell is this...!'
Reporters outside were already hammering holo-keyboards with breaking stories. Speculation on the sudden S-rank Korean villain was rampant; some even timidly predicted the Snow Flower Princess's defeat.
He should've chased the reporters out. No point bragging about victory now.
Beep.
Then, a grating noise pierced his ears.
"M-Minister!"
"What now?!"
The operator blinked, then relayed the screen's status.
"Reaction vanished! The enemy disappeared!"
As the operator said, the presumed S-rank villain's signal winked out from Gwanak peak. Simultaneously, the Snow Flower Princess's mana spiked erratically.
Beep.
"What nonsense is..."
What's rolling? As Shin Jin-gwang puzzled, the screen showed ridge-line footage.
Rumble rumble rumble!
A fireball the size of a tank, wreathed in blue flames, barreling down the exact path the Fire Demon Dragon had rampaged before.
Shin Jin-gwang realized: it might veer off if just rolling, but the Fire Demon Dragon had chased Lee Seung-hyung right into Anyang Comprehensive Stadium at the end.
In other words, that fireball would roll straight to command HQ.
Crash crash! The Snow Flower Princess erected ice walls to slow it, but to no avail. The fireball smashed through like they were obstacles, spinning faster.
"Explosion impact estimate! ...! It'll obliterate the stadium and the shockwave will linger!"
Operators screamed. The enemy had already struck at HQ.
The Snow Flower Princess strained to block, but failed. Guro's A Team hadn't returned; Gangnam's B Team was finishing zombies.
No one to stop it.
Shin Jin-gwang snapped his baton.
"Retreat! Abandon HQ and run! Move!"
As operators panicked at the sudden order, Shin Jin-gwang bolted from the command room southward without looking back.
"U-Uwaaaah!!"
With the commander fleeing first, everyone else followed. Operators, D-rank heroes, medics, reporters, association staff—racing after Shin Jin-gwang.
The emptying command room. One operator sat at his desk, hammering the keyboard.
"What are you doing, sunbae?!"
His fleeing junior gaped. The senior operator, eyes fixed on his work, replied without turning.
"If we run now, all this battle data gets lost. Can't register that villain's or the new A-rank's mana patterns in the database like this."
"You'll die!"
The senior jerked his chin at the screen.
A hero desperately piling ice walls against the fireball.
"A hero hasn't given up yet—how can we run first?"
The man turned back to the screen. His junior, tears in eyes, spun away with a "Sorry!" and fled the room.
The man smiled bitterly, typing faster.
* * *
Gangnam. Many heroes were injured, mana depleted. Mostly older ones, the prolonged chain battles had wracked their bodies.
Squelch.
Usa stabbed his staff into the last Hellhound zombie. Mana burst from the tip, shredding its flesh.
"Old man, any more reactions?"
"...None. That's the end."
Poong Baek stroked his bushy white beard. Blood from a torn forehead had stained it red. He summoned a breeze to shake it clean, then scanned around.
"Everyone alright?"
Heroes replied, gripping weapons. Even A-rank Poong Baek was wounded; the others were worse.
Could they fight more? Usa shook his head.
They hadn't even reached Yeouido, let alone cleared Gangnam.
"No good. We need to request temporary withdrawal from HQ."
"Not resting here in Gangnam?"
Usa gave a wry smile at another hero's question.
"The villains escaped, didn't they? They might pop out from somewhere weird and attack while we're resting. We could get kidnapped."
"Gotta be careful, kekeke. Getting nabbed by monsters."
"Old man."
Usa quietly reined in Poong Baek. But his words held more sorrow for lost comrades, worry for their shared disciple bearing the guilt, than sarcasm.
Usa knew it well, so he said no more.
Clearing his throat, Usa tapped his smartwatch.
"...This is Usa. HQ, respond."
Crackle, crackle.
"Hm?"
No response from HQ. Usa tapped the watch like knocking, calling again.
"Usa urgently requesting Commander Shin Jin-gwang. HQ, respond."
"Mana instability messing with it, probably."
Poong Baek clucked at his own dead watch. Like it or not, they had to report and follow orders.
As Usa wrestled the watch, Poong Baek lumbered to the captured woman.
The disheveled woman drooled and laughed.
"You, Seonmudang, right?"
"Yes! Ehehehe! Seoul's gonna be a sea of fire! Everyone dies, ghosts wander, monsters swarm—a living hell! Teehee! Hihihi! Die! Burn the Infernal Peninsula! Kyahaha!"
Seonmudang spat curses, eyes bloodshot. Heroes inwardly sighed that this possessed woman was their top catch.
The other A-rank villain, Black Flame Dragon, lay collapsed with blood on his lips.
"Suicide, huh. Damn fool."
Poong Baek clucked at him. A monstrous flame mage who'd solo-shattered his and Usa's combo.
If the association had taken custody before the Pine Tree Unit, he could've been a huge asset.
"Even a dog's life beats the afterlife..."
But now he was gone. Regaining senses as the tide turned, Black Flame Dragon had begged heaven's forgiveness and bitten his tongue.
Poong Baek gently closed the glaring corpse's eyes, indignant.
B Team's haul: Seonmudang and dozens of underlings. Meager for an op to reclaim all Seoul.
Beep.
HQ finally responded. Usa raised the screen, clearing his throat.
"This is Usa. HQ respon—"
Shin Jin-gwang was running, face distorted on the shaky holo amid fleeing crowds—nearly everyone left at HQ.
"What happe—"
Shin Jin-gwang shrieked like a madman. A new holo popped up beside it.
"What's this now?"
On screen: a blue flame mass hurtling down the ridge toward Anyang HQ.