Convict Unit: Black Parade-Chapter 128 : Mission 10: The Hunters of Old (1)

December 10, 2050. 5:30 PM.
Seoul. Yeouido. Gate Defense Bureau Headquarters.
“The Hunter Guild. ‘The Knights.’”
The analyst continued his explanation.
“A hundred hunters, all of them B-Rank or higher Awakened. Notably, their average age is over sixty.”
“And these are the ones behind the Cheongnyangni Gate occupation.”
“That’s correct.”
“They’re all heroes from the war thirty years ago.”
“That’s correct.”
Ghost listened to the exchange between the analyst and the bureaucrat, her expression complex.
She stared at the group photo of fallen heroes, hair gone white and faces etched with wrinkles.
They were old comrades-in-arms she had once fought shoulder to shoulder with against monsters, now rebels from a bygone era, old hunters.
Ghost bit her lower lip.
Jae-hee stole a cautious sidelong glance at his master’s profile.
“I don’t get it. No matter how veteran they are, they’re still old men, aren’t they? You’re saying the 11th Special Operations Unit was wiped out by people like this?” one of the bureaucrats asked.
The Gate Special Ops Teams were the main force operated by the government’s Gate Management Bureau.
Aware of the danger posed by the Iron Knight, Shin-woo Jo, the government had stationed their most elite unit, the 11th Special Ops, at Cheongnyangni.
“Hunters are Awakened. Of course, aging takes a toll on their abilities, but still… at sixty, they’re still spry enough to be flying around.”
Above all, Shin-woo himself was a monster. The power of an S-Rank Awakened was in a realm that could shake heaven and earth.
The bureaucrats listening to the briefing clutched their heads.
“Damn it! The Iron Knight? That name is decades old! I thought he croaked ages ago.”
“Apparently he just holed up in the Cheongnyangni Gate, quietly hunting monsters. No wonder we never heard anything.”
“He really is quite old… but he doesn’t look like he’s over seventy.”
The screen displayed Shin-woo’s age: 71.
But in the photograph, he looked to be in his early to mid-forties at most.
“I hear S-Rank Awakened stop aging from the moment they awaken.”
“Hah! Like that little shit Ryu Yeon?”
“Can you believe that guy Ryu Yeon is already on his third term as an assemblyman?”
“It’s because there are too many idiot citizens who think an election is an idol popularity contest. And what’s with that hunter name? Archmage?”
The bureaucrats badmouthed him, oblivious to the fact that the Archmage—Ryu Yeon himself—was standing right behind them.
Ghost shot Ryu Yeon a look, and he offered a soft smile, his expression showing he was used to it.
“Finally, the status of the Cheongnyangni Gate. This gate is, for all intents and purposes, a fortress.”
The analyst pointed to the facilities displayed on the screen as he explained.
“It’s packed with all manner of defensive facilities to block monsters coming out of the gate. Thick walls that won’t crumble even under a dragon’s breath. A special barrier that can nullify a demon’s mind control. Auto-turrets, defensive artifacts…”
As the list of defensive measures unfolded, the bureaucrats all clutched their foreheads.
“It has been equipped with brutally overwhelming defenses to respond to threats from both inside and out. Pushing through with simple force will be difficult.”
A bureaucrat reading a document pointed out, “Don’t we have a self-destruct measure in place in case the gate is taken by monsters? What happens if we activate that?”
“The first thing Shin-woo Jo did when he seized Cheongnyangni was disable the external self-destruct protocol.”
There had been methods for remote deactivation from the outside. Shin-woo had simply eliminated them all.
“Remote detonation is impossible in the first place. If the gate-sealing equipment were to be damaged in any way, there’s no telling what might happen. That is a measure of last, last resort.”
The analyst’s briefing concluded. Silence fell over the conference room.
The gaunt, one-eyed old man at the head of the table finally spoke.
“…That was a long introduction, but what’s the bottom line? Can we suppress them, or can’t we?”
Ghost recognized that prickly, crotchety voice. She looked at the one-eyed old man.
The director of the Gate Defense Bureau, So-yu Yang.
As the adjutant to Commander-in-Chief San Kim during the Gate War, he was a living legend who had helped shape the history of post-Gate Korea.
Now, his face was a deep scowl.
So the old coot’s still kicking,
Ghost thought with an inward smirk.
So-yu barked at the analyst. “I’m asking you. Can we suppress them, or can’t we?”
“W-well, that is…”
The analyst stammered under So-yu’s pressure.
Clucking his tongue, the old man looked to his left. “And the President?”
An official from the Blue House gravely shook his head.
“He says there will be no negotiations with terrorists.”
“Of course he would…”
This wasn’t just a matter of terrorism.
The Awakened Protection Act was the culmination of a policy that the president and the ruling party had staked their political lives on for the past ten years. They couldn’t afford to back down now because of a single threat.
“Then we suppress them,” So-yu spat curtly.
He looked to his right, where young officers stood at attention. “ on the status of each unit.”
“Yes, Director! Currently…”
Just as the officers were about to answer, a voice cut in.
“Please wait a moment!”
Waiting at the back of the room, the Archmage finally stepped forward. Ghost followed awkwardly behind him.
Hae-eun had disappeared, but was now in a dim corner of the room, whispering with some unidentified people.
Left alone, Jae-hee felt out of place and slipped into an empty seat, watching to see what the Archmage and his master would do.
“Ah, Assemblyman Ryu! When did you arrive?”
Having cheerfully badmouthed the Archmage just moments before, the officials now greeted him with warm smiles.
The Archmage smiled back pleasantly.
“I just got here. More importantly, there is someone I’d like to introduce.”
He gestured toward Ghost. “This is Agent Ghost. She was one of the Five Heroes during the Gate War and…”
The eyes of the officials fixed on Ghost.
Uncomfortable, she averted her gaze, only for her eyes to meet those of the Gate Defense Bureau’s director, So-yu.
“…”
“…”
The youths who’d once fought back-to-back on the battlefield had grown old in thirty years. The two exchanged a simple nod.
After the brief introduction, the Archmage raised his voice.
“Most importantly, Agent Ghost has a personal relationship with Hunter Shin-woo.”
At the officials’ questioning looks, Ghost gave a reluctant nod. The Archmage smiled brightly.
“She may be able to persuade him. Before you execute the suppression operation, if you would just give me and Agent Ghost a little time…”
“Sorry, Ryu Yeon,” So-yu cut in. “There’s no need for that.”
“Pardon?”
“To be precise, we can’t do that.”
“What on earth do you mean?” Ryu Yeon’s uneasy expression hardened. “Don’t tell me…”
“That’s right.” Yang jerked his chin toward the officers on his right. “The suppression force has already been deployed.”
“…!”
“The strongest unit of Awakened that our Gate Defense Bureau has poured its heart and soul into raising… The Baekdo Unit is infiltrating the Cheongnyangni Gate as we speak.”
If the numbered Special Ops teams were the Bureau’s main force, then the Baekdo Unit was a special forces team created by handpicking the absolute best from among them. They had already secretly infiltrated the Cheongnyangni Gate.
Stunned into silence for a moment, Ryu Yeon asked urgently, “When?”
“Hm?”
“When were they dispatched!”
So-yu raised a bony arm and checked his watch. “I sent them before this meeting started, so about thirty minutes ago.”
“Damn it, pull them back immediately!” Ryu Yeon shouted, his voice trembling uncharacteristically.
“Director Yang, it seems you’ve forgotten, having not heard the man’s name for so long, but the people occupying the Cheongnyangni Gate are not your average run-of-the-mill hunters!”
Ryu Yeon strode up to Yang’s desk and slammed both palms down on it.
“That is the strongest field commander from the Gate War and his battle-hardened veterans!”
So-yu smirked. “Now, now, Ryu Yeon…”
It was not Yang who replied, however, but the young officer standing to his right.
“Even so, aren’t they just outdated old soldiers on the verge of retirement?”
“What did you say?”
The officer walked forward slowly and gently peeled Ryu Yeon away from Yang’s desk.
“Any truly talented Awakened would have already secured a position in the Defense Bureau, the military, or at the very least, the Hunter Association. What does it say about them that they’re still doing grunt work at some backwater gate at their age?”
“…”
“It means they lack the ability to commit to anything else and the will to adapt to the times. They’re just toothless tigers, clinging to their old hunting ways to make a living as they fade into the back pages of history.”
The officer’s face was brimming with confidence as he disparaged Shin-woo and the Knights.
“This is just the last desperate struggle of some fossils throwing a tantrum because life’s gotten hard and they want more handouts. You don’t need to take it so seriously.”
“…”
“Assemblyman, please just leave this to us. We of the Baekdo Unit pride ourselves on being the best in the world.”
The officer puffed out his chest and looked around at the officials as he introduced his unit.
“Every member is an A-Rank or higher Awakened, and they have all undergone years of grueling training to handle any situation. Each and every one of them is a living, breathing human weapon.”
If the military had the 666th Special Mission Unit, the Gate Defense Bureau had the Baekdo Unit. Their reputation had already spread through the grapevine.
“We have completed training for this kind of terrorist situation. We have also identified over twenty viable infiltration routes into the Cheongnyangni Gate.”
The officials murmured in low admiration at the officer’s confident demeanor.
“Furthermore, and I hesitate to say this in front of you, Assemblyman, but we have long since completed tactical training for subduing S-Rankers.”
The nation was naturally wary of S-Rank Awakened, whose individual power exceeded all reason. Simulated strategies and suppression methods for each of the ten S-Rankers had already been secured.
The officer grinned and met Ryu Yeon’s gaze. “Our win rate in virtual simulations is well over ninety percent.”
“…”
“So, please leave the disposal of these has-beens to us.”
Ryu Yeon pressed his lips together in a thin line.
Ghost looked at the Archmage with concern.
“They should be making their entry right about now. Connecting to the field commander.”
The officer gestured, and the briefing screen on the wall switched to a video channel. He placed a hand on the communication device on his chest and attempted to make contact.
“Commander, do you read? This is Gate Defense HQ.”
«…»
“Commander, respond. Commander?”
A burst of static crackled, and then the video feed connected.
«…That’s a rather cute stunt you’re pulling.»
But the person on the other end was not the Baekdo Unit’s commander.
The man who appeared on the screen was middle-aged, with grayish-brown hair combed neatly back.
The shocked officials began to murmur. The officer’s face turned deathly pale.
«I believe I made myself clear.»
The former hero, now a terrorist, whom they had just been analyzing on the briefing screen.
The Iron Knight, Shin-woo, peered into the camera in his hand, the corner of his mouth curling upward.
«Didn’t I say I would be the one to contact you at midnight?»