No Special Treatment
Honestly, it felt a little unfair. I’d put in quite a bit of effort in my own way, yet an incident had to erupt on the very first day of training. Of course, from my perspective I hadn’t known the exact date, so it wasn’t as if I had nothing to say for myself.
Can’t be helped.
What had already happened was done. Wondering “what if it had gone this way or that” was pointless. For now, I had to focus on the present situation; those thoughts could wait until later.
“Bravo Team! Over here!” Instructor Kim Sang-eung shouted.
I quickened my steps.
“Attention.” Instructor Kim Sang-eung swept his gaze over us. “This is not a drill. It’s a real situation. Keep your heads on straight. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
“I’ll keep the briefing short. A large-scale transfer phenomenon has occurred three kilometers to the west. The tide has cut us off, so transport vehicles can’t get through.”
Jeongdo Island was the kind of place where the road submerged or opened depending on the tide. With the tide blocking the way, escape by vehicle was impossible.
“Still, don’t panic. Transport planes and helicopters from the Defense Strategy Department will arrive within thirty minutes at the earliest, an hour at the latest. No need to lose your heads.”
That was welcome news. If aerial assets were coming, getting out wouldn’t be too difficult.
Guess the minister’s decision wasn’t completely useless after all. The timing was terrible, but thanks to Minister Ahn’s quick call, we could at least expect a faster response.
“Instructor, do we have a mission too?” Ra Si-hyun asked.
“Of course.”
“But we’re still trainees, not official hunters.”
“Once you’ve awakened, you’re a hunter regardless of your trainee status.”
“What?!”
“Did you expect special treatment?”
“Isn’t that obvious? We’re the most important people among the trainees.”
I couldn’t stay silent any longer.
“Drop out.”
“Huh?”
“I said drop out.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You only seem interested in special treatment because you’re a mage. We don’t need that. Just hide among the civilians over there and get out safely.”
I pointed toward the doctors, janitors, administrators, and cooks.
“That’s not what I meant. People like us nobles—”
Smack!
With a sharp sound, Ra Si-hyun’s head snapped to the side.
“I’ve had enough of this,” Kim Seung-hye growled.
We all flinched. No one had expected the usually timid Kim Seung-hye to bare her teeth like she wanted to tear Ra Si-hyun apart.
“Where do you get off talking about nobles? What, are you special? You think you’re some kind of princess?”
Ra Si-hyun didn’t back down.
“You just hit me?”
Her eyes flashed as she glared at Kim Seung-hye. Ether darkened her gaze.
“You think I’ll let it slide because you’re my senior? How dare a mere guardian—”
Smack!
Kim Seung-hye slapped her again without a word.
“If you’re a mage,” smack! “does that mean,” smack! “we have to treat you,” smack! “like royalty?” smack!
Ra Si-hyun crumpled under the barrage. Kim Seung-hye’s palm carried far more force than expected.
“That’s enough.” Instructor Kim Sang-eung stepped in.
“Yes, sir.” Kim Seung-hye obediently retreated. She hadn’t even broken a sweat; violence clearly came naturally to her.
That’s why she’s in Bravo Team.
“I’ll kill you… I swear I’ll kill you…” Ra Si-hyun snarled, still struggling to stay on her feet.
“Trainee Ra Si-hyun, do you have no sense of duty toward national defense or civilian protection?” Instructor Kim Sang-eung asked quietly.
“Why should I?” Ra Si-hyun’s face twisted in confusion. “My awakening is my own talent. I was born superior. Why should I help others when no one has ever helped me?”
She sounded choked with resentment, but I had no interest in hearing it.
“If that’s how you see things,” I said, drawing her gaze, “then the monsters over there slaughtering people and destroying the world is also justified, right? Because they’re stronger than humanity?”
Ra Si-hyun bit her lip.
“Forget all that. If you want to be treated like nobility, then act like it.”
“Act like nobility…?”
“No one owes you special treatment just because you’re a mage. At the very least, prove you deserve it before demanding it.”
“That’s…”
“Drop out. I don’t want to trust my back to you.”
An incompetent ally was more terrifying than an enemy. That had always been my unshakable belief.
“If you get in my way one more time…”
I left the rest unsaid. There was a limit to making allowances for a minor. If necessary, I could kill her. If she threatened my life or my comrades’ lives.
Before I regressed, I had been a monster willing to slaughter my own allies for revenge, even if it meant the extinction of humanity.
We left Ra Si-hyun behind and moved under Instructor Kim Sang-eung’s command.
“Bravo Team and Alpha Team will protect the civilians and assist with boarding once the transport plane arrives.”
“From this moment, protect the civilians to the best of your ability and get them on the plane. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
It was a fitting mission. Bravo Team was made up of the most promising talents in each class, so assigning us to the critical task of civilian protection made sense.
“This way, please! Keep it orderly!”
Civilians rushed toward Instructor Kim Sang-eung’s voice.
“We’re moving to the runway now. Please proceed calmly and follow the procedures!”
The civilians working at the training facility had already been drilled on evacuation protocols, so keeping them under control was relatively easy.
I should’ve paid more attention to the news back then. Losing my father had made me ignore everything else, and now I regretted it.
Still, the evacuation order came at least five minutes earlier than it did in the past. That’s something.
Boom! Boooom!
Explosions echoed from the far west. The army’s artillery had opened fire. Soon the multiple rocket launchers and missiles would join in.
“Don’t panic! That’s allied fire meant to protect you! Transport planes, troops, and Defense Strategy Department hunters will arrive shortly. Stay calm!”
Instructor Kim Sang-eung’s reassuring shout rang out, but his expression was grim.
“Is it bad?”
“Very.”
When I approached, he answered quietly.
“You’ll see for yourself… the situation isn’t good.”
He showed me the tablet. From the distant sea, countless black shapes were swimming toward us at high speed—tens of thousands at the very least.
Boom! Boom boom boom!
Even under continuous artillery and missile strikes, the enemy numbers showed no sign of decreasing.
“Air support is on the way, so don’t worry too much. Stay calm.”
“Yes, sir.”
Green dots representing allied transport planes were racing across the tablet screen. As the instructor said, there was no need to panic yet.
Whoosh! Thud thud thud thud!
Sonic booms from fighter jets ripped across the eastern sky, followed by the roar of transport planes and helicopter rotors.
Wheeeeeeng! Attack drones streaked overhead.
“Kyaahhh!”
“Kyaahhh!”
Thousands of gargoyles poured in from the west like a black cloud. An aerial melee was unavoidable.
Thud thud thud thud!
Boom! Booom!
The sky erupted into chaos. Gargoyle corpses, spent shell casings, and drone wreckage rained down.
Whiiiish!
Boom!
One allied helicopter spiraled down in flames.
A rotor blade spun toward us like a giant boomerang.
I swung [Mad Butcher] on instinct.
Thud! Thud!
The bisected blade slammed into the asphalt on either side of me.
“Kyaahhh!”
Several gargoyles dove straight at me.
“Eun-seong!”
“I’ve got this!”
I shouted back and swung [Mad Butcher] with everything I had.
Boom! Boom!
“Kyaahhh!”
Crash!
“Aaaahhh!”
The battlefield was pure chaos—noise, death, destruction. Yet inside, I felt strangely at peace.
Comfortable.
The pandemonium of combat brought me calm rather than fear. I had grown far too used to scenes like this.
Thud thud thud thud!
A Chinook helicopter—nicknamed “rubber shoes” by the troops—touched down.
Bang! Bang bang!
The hatch opened and soldiers poured out, pouring fire into the monsters.
“This way!”
“Move calmly!”
Defense Strategy Department hunters cleared a path for civilians to board. Bravo Team helped guide them aboard.
Once the civilians were loaded, there was no room left for us.
“Kyaahhh!”
“Keheeeek!”
The gargoyle assault continued. Someone had to stay behind and cover the Chinook’s escape.
Another Chinook approached.
“We’ll take the next one! Get the civilians out first!”
“Yes, sir!”
We followed Instructor Kim Sang-eung’s orders and helped the loaded Chinook lift off safely.
The moment it cleared the area, our ride descended.
Unlike the civilians, we had no supporting troops to cover us.
“Q-Quick, get on!”
“We can’t take off like this!”
The Defense Strategy Department hunters and soldiers fought desperately, but the sheer number of gargoyles made takeoff impossible.
This is going to be rough.
Just as the thought crossed my mind—
Wooong!
A powerful ether wave shook the entire area.
“Kyaahhh?!”
“Keheeeek?!”
The gargoyles floated upward as if gravity had vanished.
Someone stood blocking the Chinook’s hatch, radiating overwhelming ether.
Long blonde hair.
It was Ra Si-hyun.