Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: The Operation Begins
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It was a shabby church that looked ready to collapse at any moment.
It was in poor repair; the cross was tilted, and the chipped bricks had been left untouched. Despite this, a three-meter-tall door completely concealed the interior.
Sa Seon-gi, having scouted the perimeter, approached.
“It's under a surveillance spell. Azelan style.”
There was no longer any room for doubt.
“Can you get through it?”
“Of course.”
“Structurally, it looks like it leads to a basement. We have to find the entrance.”
Sa Seon-gi nodded.
Their conversation was transmitted to headquarters through their earpieces.
—We got the data from the U.S. There's a basement, but no passages connecting to anywhere else.
“No secret passages?”
They were running a lab without an escape route? That couldn't be right.
As he began to doubt the data, Oh Min-jae offered an explanation.
—There must be a transport gate.
“Really?”
Wang-sik and Sa Seon-gi looked at each other and nodded.
“If Seon-gi takes the gate and I block the entrance, we can catch them all.”
—Correct!
A detailed plan wasn't necessary.
They just had to do what they did best.
Sa Seon-gi had both scan and detection skills, so infiltration wouldn't be a problem.
About a minute passed after Sa Seon-gi slipped inside like the wind.
—Found it.
Simultaneously, Wang-sik emerged from the woods.
He was wearing a U.S. police uniform he'd been given, with a cap pulled down low.
Wang-sik pretended to casually survey the area before arriving at the church entrance. A man immediately rushed out.
“Which department are you from?”
“We received a report and I'm here to check it out.”
“A report?”
“A report about suspicious people coming and going. May I take a look inside?”
The man blocked his way.
“Could I see some identification, please?”
Wang-sik fumbled with his breast pocket.
“I must have left it in the car. I'll go get it.”
“I'll check. What's your badge number?”
“You seem to know a lot about the police.”
“I do, so please tell me.”
Fortunately, Kang Il-seop's voice came through his earpiece. After he stated the number, the man took out his smartphone and made a call.
Wang-sik calmly waited.
After hearing the description, he briefly pulled the smartphone away from his ear and asked Wang-sik.
“What's your name?”
“John. John Smith.”
He ended the call.
“Please, come in.”
It seemed the U.S. Hunter Management Bureau, which had promised to cooperate, was being more thorough than expected.
“It's different from how it looks on the outside. Are services held here?”
“Yes. About twice a week.”
“Not very often.”
“It's not a place many people visit. So, what was the report about?”
“There was a report of a drug party.”
“What? A drug party? That's impossible.”
Unlike the exterior, the inside of the church was clean. Wang-sik began to inspect the furnishings one by one.
“But don't police officers usually work in pairs?”
“My partner's in the car. I told him to call for backup if he hears any gunshots. To be honest, he drank too much yesterday. I'm just being considerate.”
Wang-sik stalled for time, examining every corner of the church.
With only one officer, the enemy wouldn't act hastily. Still, they would be watching, so he judged he could buy enough time for Sa Seon-gi to create an opportunity.
After about ten minutes had passed, the man spoke.
“Haven't you seen enough by now?”
“More or less. Doesn't seem to be anything here. By the way, where is the pastor?”
“He's out at the moment.”
“That's a problem. I have something to ask the pastor… When will he be back?”
Wang-sik asked, taking a seat.
—Thomas Allen. A-rank Awakened, no criminal record. He's a local who left the Phantom Guild three years ago.
Kang Il-seop relayed information about the man in front of him.
Wang-sik threw out various questions as if they were important, but after another ten minutes, he ran out of things to say.
The man also seemed to be growing suspicious.
“What is your purpose?”
“My purpose?”
Wang-sik smiled.
—Gate secured.
It was Sa Seon-gi's voice.
“Waiting. Thanks to you, I've finally achieved my first objective.”
*Fwoosh!*
A chain shot out from Wang-sik's hand.
The man reacted instantly and dodged the chain, but a transparent wall materialized where he retreated. His movement blocked, the panicked man's neck was instantly wrapped in Wang-sik's chain.
“Freedom of religion, right? But actions have consequences.”
As he tried to twist his neck, the man's body turned into a shadow and slipped out of the chain.
“Oh, not bad?”
—He's an A-rank Hunter. Don't underestimate him.
Kang Il-seop's urgent voice came through.
“He's still just a weakling.”
Wang-sik unleashed Holy Strike. The escaping shadow wavered, and at the same moment, Wang-sik pulled out a golden shield and swung it.
*Crash!*
The shadow slammed into the floor, revealing the bleeding man. In that instant, dozens of men rushed out from the opposite door.
“Looks like the rabble is trying to gather.”
Wang-sik stomped on the fallen man's neck, breaking it, and summoned a defensive barrier around himself.
The fight raged on.
The number of people surrounding Wang-sik grew, and the church quickly collapsed from the force of their deflected attacks.
“I think that's all of them… Is she not ready yet?”
Just then, he heard the voice he'd been waiting for.
—Wang-sik, I'm here.
It was Min Ha-na.
“These guys are in need of some divine punishment.”
—You've done a lot of good deeds, right?
“On Earth, I have.”
—The good kids will be alright.
In an instant, the surroundings brightened as if the sun had fallen.
A massive spear, burning like lava.
*BOOM!*
The lava explosion swept everything away.
When the scorching energy engulfed even the forest and the aftershock rolled in, Wang-sik was the only one left standing.
As he released the protective barrier surrounding him, Min Ha-na descended, scattering flames.
“Tch. Kinda hurts my pride. Not even a scratch.”
“That's how amazing your friend is.”
“I'll admit it. So, can I take out my frustration on those guys?”
“You just handle anyone who comes out of here.”
“Got it. Be careful.”
Wang-sik entered the secret passage, its entrance now blasted open.
* * *
Watching the situation on the monitor, Smith swallowed hard.
On the screen, Min Ha-na stood proudly alone amidst the ruins.
Her single attack had wiped out thirty A-rank Awakened. Wang-sik had likely lured out all the skilled fighters, counting on Min Ha-na's power to end it with one surprise strike.
A simple but effective strategy.
The result sent a wave of alarm through him.
‘It’s a brutish plan, but far too efficient.’
It was a strategy that couldn't exist without Wang-sik. But South Korea had Wang-sik.
‘South Korea is getting stronger…’
Even if he had mobilized all his forces, it was unlikely the operation would have proceeded so cleanly.
Smith quickly sent a radio message.
“What's the deployment status in other regions?”
“Ready, sir. But Director, there will be immense backlash.”
“The evidence is solid.”
This had already been agreed upon with Kang Il-seop. Min Ha-na's appearance was the signal; now was the time.
“Arrest everyone connected to Devist Nolan. Begin.”
Smith's order was transmitted across the entire United States.
* * *
The operation to arrest Devist Nolan wasn't just happening in the United States.
Russia deployed special forces to suppress them, and Europe and Oceania did the same.
As the operation began, Mad Castle released a shocking announcement.
—A spy network has infiltrated Earth.
—Confirmed to have stolen Earth's technology and personnel.
—Devist Nolan is the main culprit behind the gate creations!
It was only natural that the world fell into chaos.
The fact that a group from beyond the gates had infiltrated Earth and was operating freely was the most shocking part. With governments worldwide saying the same thing as they launched their suppression operations, there was no room for doubt.
“We focus on the mission. Hold all reports on public opinion until the operation is over.”
“I'll handle that side of things.”
Han Young-im mobilized her group to monitor public sentiment, easing Kang Il-seop's burden.
‘We’re short on agents.’
The control room staff consisted of only six people, including Kang Il-seop himself. Their manpower was clearly limited.
“Agent Bae Wang-sik has entered the laboratory. Transmitting video feed.”
Wang-sik had already entered the lab on the second basement level.
The factory-like space contained various experimental tools, and doors set at regular intervals along the walls suggested the presence of special laboratories.
“Agent Sa Seon-gi has engaged the enemy. Three hostiles.”
Grasping the situation, Kang Il-seop issued an order.
“Agent Bae Wang-sik, the gate is on the third basement level, northeast, behind the red door. Provide support immediately.”
The enemy had given up fighting and turned toward the escape route.
Since Min Ha-na was guarding the entrance anyway, all they had to do was secure the gate, and the enemy would have nowhere to run.
Wang-sik immediately followed the path the agent indicated and soon stood before a red door.
*Crash!*
When Wang-sik smashed through the door, he found Sa Seon-gi striking a man on the neck, knocking him unconscious. They were in front of a gate that filled the room, and the fact that Sa Seon-gi was standing there alone told him no one had passed through.
“The captured ones are over here.”
Sa Seon-gi pointed to a pile of collapsed figures on his left.
Since they didn't know the face of the person in charge, he had killed those with combat abilities and knocked out the rest, throwing them aside.
“I'll take it from here. You find the ones in hiding.”
Most of those with combat skills had already been dealt with, so there wouldn't be much resistance.
‘Fear Detection.’
Wang-sik relayed the locations of those hiding in fear through his earpiece, and Sa Seon-gi immediately found them.
All that remained were the researchers.
Confirming this, Wang-sik reported to headquarters.
“Situation clear.”
—The U.S. intelligence agency is moving in.
“I'll leave the cleanup to you.”
Not long after he said that, U.S. agents appeared and dragged away all the survivors lying by the gate.
Now, only three people were gathered before the gate.
The members of Mad Castle.
—The U.S. intelligence agency will handle identification. We've agreed to share all acquired information.
Everything was proceeding as promised.
The noise that had filled the research facility quickly faded, indicating that no one else was around.
As the operation concluded, a man approached them.
He was the one in charge of the U.S. agents.
He seemed slightly startled by the gate behind Wang-sik but quickly composed himself and spoke.
“The operation is concluded.”
He had come to say just that. But Wang-sik did not agree with him.
“For us, it's just beginning.”
The operations team leader, who didn't understand his meaning for a moment, finally spoke.
“Surely you don't intend to enter the gate? We don't even know where it leads…”
“Wherever that is, there will be people who need to die.”
As Wang-sik turned, the other two also stood before the gate.
“Commander, we're starting.”
With those words, Wang-sik stepped into the gate, and Min Ha-na and Sa Seon-gi followed without hesitation.