Convict Unit: Black Parade-Chapter 147 : Mission 10: The Hunters of Old (20)

A great tremor shook the ground.
The Iron Knight, still facing Ghost, turned to one of his fallen subordinates.
“The Vice-Commander?”
“The defense unit by the sewers went dark, so he headed that way…”
Of all the times for the Vice-Commander, Chevalier, to be away.
Ghost’s Deck 0 team from the Black Parade had launched a surprise attack, neutralizing four of the Knights’ most elite units.
“…Ghost.” The Iron Knight struggled to keep his voice steady. “This isn’t the time for us to be doing this.”
“Then when, exactly,
is
the time for ‘this’?” Ghost replied coldly.
“Our fight is already meaningless. My rebellion has failed, and the Demon Lord will soon be free. This is not the moment for us to cross blades.”
“That’s not my problem.”
Ghost drew her black sword, Void Trinity, from the sheath at her waist. The pitch-black blade slid out without a sound.
“The moment you declared your rebellion, you must have known I would come for your head.”
“…”
“You are my mission, Iron Knight. Present your neck quietly, and I’ll make it quick.”
“I’m prepared to die by your hand anytime,” the Iron Knight said, shaking his head slightly. “But not now. The Demon Lord… Deyana Ludens is about to be resurrected. The same monster we barely defeated thirty years ago.”
“…”
“I hear the New Five Heroes are on standby. They could certainly subdue the Demon Lord, but there’s no guarantee civilians won’t be harmed in the process.”
The Iron Knight extended a hand toward the collapsed ruins. A palpable aura of death was seeping out from beneath them.
“We have to stop it here, before its invasion begins in earnest. That’s the safest way.”
“And what do you want me to do about it? Let you go because you’re going to stop Deyana Ludens?” Ghost scoffed.
“Don’t make me repeat myself. You are my mission. My orders are to execute a traitor. Subjugating a Demon Lord is not my responsibility.”
“Ghost! You of all people should know what’s more urgent…!”
“After that war ended, I was given a license to kill, and I have killed countless people since.”
Standing on a mire of blood thirty years in the making, Ghost continued, her voice dry. “I can’t even count the lives I’ve taken on the nation’s orders. Do you think none of them had a tragic story?”
“…”
“Do you think none of them were wronged, none of them were pitiable? Do you truly believe there was never a chance my orders were mistaken, deliberately misinterpreted, ill-timed, or based on a misunderstanding?”
“…”
“I can’t question such things, nor should I. Once an order is given, I am not to judge. I am not to agonize. I am nothing but a blade this nation wields.”
To stabilize a chaotic country, Ghost had carried out countless black ops missions. And once the nation was stable, she alone shouldered the blame for every single one, sentenced to life in prison.
She, too, was another sacrificial lamb offered up to protect the world.
Knowing this all too well, Shin-woo let out a heavy sigh.
“You were a champion of humanity.”
“I’ve been a ghost for a long time.”
“When you were forced to walk the path of an assassin for this country… I’m sorry I couldn’t stop you.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. I’m simply paying for my sins in my own way.”
“…Ghost. Even if this must be a battle to the death, I want you to know this one thing.” Shin-woo stepped forward slowly as he spoke. “You’re not the one who did that to the Savior… to Seong-ah.”
“…”
“You don’t have to carry the weight of all those sins. You don’t have to live like that anymore.”
“…”
“The world’s ending anyway. It’s far too late, but even so, you’re allowed to be happy now. You even have a cute disciple, don’t you?”
The Iron Knight offered a sad smile. “It’s time… you forgave yourself, just a little.”
“You are not the one who gets to judge my sins. And you are certainly not the one who gets to judge my happiness.”
Ghost let out a shallow sigh and readjusted her grip on her sword.
“Enough idle chatter. It’s time to pay the price for your treason, Iron Knight.”
“I may have committed treason, but I am still the gatekeeper of this place. I must stop the intruder… the Demon Lord.”
With a gesture, the Iron Knight waved back the Hunter Association members and his other approaching subordinates. He adjusted the leather gloves on his hands.
“Get out of my way, old friend…!”
The two S-Rank Awakened charged straight at each other, and their sword and fist came crashing down.
***
Cheongnyangni Gate. Main sewer line.
“Ugh, ugh, this is killing meeee.” Razor groaned, leading the way up the long ladder from the sewer. “Why is this ladder so damn long? Ugh. Ughhh.”
“To hear you complain, anyone would think you’re an old man…” Jae-hee remarked, climbing right behind him.
Razor grumbled again. “At least you’ve got my cute ass to look at on the way up, so you’re not as bored. I’m at the very front. It’s dull as holy hell. Dammit, if I’d known, I would’ve sent Jail Mojik up first… at least I’d have some eye candy…”
From two rungs below Jae-hee, Jail Mojik let out a sly laugh.
“Hee hee, sweetie, I didn’t know you had such cute thoughts. I’ll let you look at my ass all you want when we get up there.”
“Really, babe? You promise?”
“What even is this conversation…?”
Jae-hee felt his mind reel at this intimate exchange he never wanted to hear.
Just below him, Status Window muttered dejectedly, “Couples are like cockroaches… Totes gross desu…”
“Hey, watch what you say! There’s another couple here…!”
“Ack!”
At the very bottom of the line were Romeo and Juliet. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to have heard the conversation.
“We’re a couple, too, in a way, Cult Leader!”
the Flying Tentacle God said, its eye smiling as it scaled the adjacent wall with its tentacle suckers instead of using the ladder.
Jae-hee blinked. “Huh? Really? Are you and I a couple, too?”
“Of course, of course! We’re bound by an eternal promise and contract!”
“Like hell you are, freaks,” Razor cut in, kicking away a tentacle that was trying to latch onto Jae-hee.
Then he looked up and exclaimed quietly, “Oh, I can see the end. We’re finally there.”
“Yay! Let’s get out already. My arms and legs are numb, it’s hot, and all this lovey-dovey stuff is killing me.”
“Stop whining. I’m opening it now.”
Having reached the top of the ladder, Razor grabbed the circular iron lid, which resembled a manhole cover, and grunted with effort.
The cover opened with a shriek of metal.
But the moment Razor stuck his head out…
Sensing something was wrong, Jae-hee quickly grabbed the back of Razor’s neck and yanked him back.
A flash of lightning-swift steel sliced through the very spot where Razor’s head had been.
“Whoa—?!” Flailing, Razor fell backward.
“Flying Tentacle God! Please catch him!” Jae-hee yelled urgently.
“Okay~! I love catching people~!”
The Flying Tentacle God’s tentacles squirmed and caught Razor as he fell. His terrified scream echoed from below.
Jae-hee scrambled through the opening and onto the surface, where a figure stood waiting.
Between the dark, damp underground and the bright, dry surface stood a knight in full armor.
A full-face helmet, plate armor, and a greatsword.
It was the Knights’ Vice-Commander, the Hunter known as Chevalier.
Without a word, the knight spun his greatsword—a claymore—and rested it on his shoulder, his voice a menacing growl.
“When Father announced his rebellion, I was, in truth, a little glad.”
Jae-hee was a bit taken aback by Chevalier muttering to himself, but the knight didn’t seem to be paying him much mind.
“How long were we supposed to make these one-sided sacrifices? For thirty years, we’ve suffered all sorts of injuries, lost precious comrades, endured nightmares every night, and suffered from the aftereffects… yet we’ve never received proper compensation, not even a decent word of thanks.”
An unstable fervor began to creep into the knight’s trembling voice.
“No matter how many times we save the world, they act like it’s our duty. They’re not even grateful anymore. I thought this was a chance to show them—the government and the citizens—just how much we’ve been doing, what incredible sacrifices we’ve been making.”
“…”
“But again, again,
again
…! Once again, Father bows his head.”
The knight’s hand, gripping the hilt of his greatsword, trembled with rage.
“For Seoul? For the citizens? You’re going to surrender? It was all a bluff? You’re going to defeat the Demon Lord and save the world
again
?”
“…”
“I’m sick to death of it. I’m so goddamn tired of it! We were driven into this corner because of that stupid sense of justice, and yet you can’t take that final step? You’d rather die a Hunter?”
Unable to contain himself, Chevalier let out a thunderous roar.
“We’re already terrorists! We should have seen it through to the
end
…! If we were going to become villains, we should have fallen to the very depths of our souls!”
While he raged, the entire Deck 1 team managed to climb out of the sewer passage. Using only silent hand signals, they took their positions, slowly surrounding Chevalier.
“The government that wants to use us to the very end, the citizens who never once gave a damn about our sacrifices, and you intruders who crawl in here even in a situation like this, hoping to gnaw on whatever scraps you can find. You’re all like maggots.”
From within Chevalier’s full-face helmet, a heated glint flared in his eyes.
“There’s a fire raging inside me, and I can’t stand it. I’m about to go mad with no way to release this anger. This is perfect.”
Crackle, crackle…!
The long blade of the claymore resting on the knight’s shoulder began to glow and shimmer with a golden light.
“I’ll stomp you all to death. You miserable worms.”
Jae-hee, who had been hesitating and watching the situation unfold, cautiously began, “Um, there’s an old saying, you know…”
“…?”
“Even a worm will, y’know…” Jae-hee winked. “‘Wriggle back’ when stepped on!”
“…”
The brow beneath the helmet twitched.
Chevalier gripped his claymore tightly, and then—
BOOM!
He unleashed a strike with a thunderous roar that tore through the air.
Jae-hee refused to back down. He lunged forward, yanking the pure-white longsword—Mountain Lord—from his waist.
The blade flashed out like a gale, Ghost’s training behind every motion.
CLANG!
Steel met steel in midair, a spray of sparks bursting between them.
***
Rumble, rumble…
The massive metal sarcophagus buried beneath the ruins began to vibrate.
Then, finally…
CRACK…!
One side of the sarcophagus corroded and collapsed, falling away unceremoniously.
An ominous silence followed.
Slosh, slosh, slosh.
A long, taloned limb oozed through the gap, flowing like a viscous liquid. Then, scales began to form along its skin, shaping it into something resembling the foreleg of a reptile.
“Hmm…”
Twisting its joints in a bizarre, invertebrate-like fashion, the Demon Lord of Corruption slowly pulled itself from the sarcophagus.
“First things first… shall I build a ‘nest’…?”