Seoul Player Hunter Agency Isolation Facility.
Jin Yunho, who had brought the disposal team and medical staff, stood before the door.
"Haa."
He let out a low sigh.
He didn't want to do it. Swipe the keycard.
But he had to.
Even for Jin Yunho, who operated under the organization's protection, there were procedures that absolutely had to be followed.
He turned around and opened his mouth.
"As I mentioned earlier, it might be a bit grotesque."
The waiting medical staff waved their hands dismissively.
"Oh, come on, Team Leader. This is our specialty. It's not like we're new to this."
The disposal team nodded in agreement, as if to say the same.
He had tried to lay some groundwork, hoping they'd be less startled.
It didn't seem to have much effect.
"I'll open it now."
Resigned, he swiped the keycard.
The medical staff and disposal team entered without much thought, as usual.
Up until that moment, they thought:
There would be a corpse, no different from any other day.
But.
"Huhk!"
The moment they stepped inside, a gasp close to a scream burst out.
People covered their mouths, unable to hide their shock.
An understandable reaction.
Jin Yunho had felt the same.
"T-Team Leader? What in the world... how do we...?"
The medical staff's voice trailed off.
The face of Ryu Jinsu, chairman of Jaeung Construction, was horribly contorted.
It wasn't just a matter of being terrified or not.
It looked as though he had fully endured every ounce of pain and fear a human could experience.
On top of that, it was completely decomposed.
A corpse that had been dead for less than a day.
"Is this... not an undead, right?"
The medical staff kept their distance, examining the body.
Jin Yunho shrugged.
"He's definitely dead, so you don't need to worry."
"Team Leader Jin Yunho. I assume it's not, but..."
"It's not. So don't worry and just proceed with the examination."
No matter how powerful the Player Hunter Agency was, inhumane physical torture was absolutely forbidden.
To verify whether that rule had been followed, the medical staff conducted an examination like this before disposal after death.
"Th-Then, I'll begin the examination."
After a thorough inspection for a while, the medical staff slowly nodded.
There wasn't even a trace of a single tap anywhere, let alone torture.
It had turned out like this without any external influence.
"You wouldn't tell me even if I asked, right? How this happened."
"Correct. It's classified."
He made it sound impressive, but in truth, Jin Yunho didn't know either.
He hadn't bothered to ask Jinhyuk in the first place.
*Ding.*
He checked his phone.
An urgent call from the situation room.
"Then, I'll leave it to you."
He gave a slight bow and left the isolation facility, heading to the situation room.
For some reason, Yoon Miri was frantically typing at her keyboard, looking extremely serious.
"What's wrong?"
"Something's wrong."
She pulled up a message on the screen that Lee Gangsan had sent to the Player Hunter Agency.
Messages he had been sending periodically, right on schedule.
Seeing this, Jin Yunho also furrowed his brow.
"That Hunter Lee Gangsan actually sent all of these?"
He was famous for being the last person to follow any set rules.
For him to send them all without being even a minute late was impossible.
"I didn't think much of it at first, but I got suspicious and contacted the Polish Player Hunter Agency," Yoon Miri said, shaking her head.
"They confirmed that they agreed to help find the missing NIS agent together, but they said they'd never heard the name Lee Gangsan."
Even after hearing that, the situation didn't make sense.
Lee Gangsan had definitely gotten into the car with the Polish Hunter Agency's reception team.
"What about Hunters near Poland?"
"Hunter Cheon Seyeon happened to be on vacation in Prague, so I left a message for her. I also asked any available Hunters on business in Europe to head to Krakow, Poland."
Jin Yunho pulled out his phone and called Cheon Seyeon's personal number.
*...It's off?*
She always grumbled about not calling her during vacation, but Cheon Seyeon was a professional.
She always kept her phone on to check for emergencies, so having it turned off...
This was the first time since he'd known Cheon Seyeon.
A chilling sensation crept up the back of his neck.
Organizing his thoughts, Jin Yunho began moving quickly.
"Check the arrival times of the personnel heading to Krakow in Europe. Contact the Player Hunter Agencies in neighboring countries and request search support. Track the phones of Hunter Lee Gangsan and Hunter Cheon Seyeon. Don't worry about approval; I'll get it now."
After issuing the orders, Jin Yunho swiftly left the situation room.
There was no information yet.
And the ones who had lost contact were none other than Lee Gangsan and Cheon Seyeon.
Under normal circumstances, they were the kind of strong individuals you wouldn't worry about even if you tried.
So why did this feel so ominous today?
*Grit.*
He hoped it was just unnecessary worry born from caution.
He quickened his pace toward headquarters.
---
*Boom, crash, bang!!*
An explosion that tore through half the castle wall sent Roche rolling.
"Whoa. No mercy, huh. We were on the same side for a long time."
*Crunch!!*
Cheon Seyeon, who had pulverized the approaching soldiers, turned her head.
Endless waves of firepower and troops.
Truly, a nauseating amount.
"But hey, isn't this the middle of a city?! With all this chaos, is no one noticing?"
"They won't. Unofficial military operations always have stealth-capable individuals accompanying them."
Cheon Seyeon's eyes widened as she looked at Roche.
Her waist was soaked with blood.
"You're injured?!"
Roche shrugged as if it were nothing.
"I wasn't hurt today. An old wound just opened up a bit."
Cheon Seyeon was momentarily speechless.
With that much blood loss, it must be incredibly painful, but Roche showed no change in expression, as if she were used to it.
"Roche. Wouldn't it be better to just break through to where you were trying to go earlier?"
It wasn't that she didn't trust her.
But if they kept wandering through this maze-like castle interior, they would be the ones to collapse first.
Roche got up and pointed her chin toward the outer wall of Babel Castle.
"You see the lights filling the outside? We can't go in there."
"Is that because of that secret weapon you mentioned?"
"Yes. Army Major General Anastasia Krasova. An unofficial Russian ranker. If the conditions are met, she'd be in the top five."
"Top five...?"
Roche nodded.
"Anastasia the Flash. She manipulates light. It's absurdly overpowered and formidable. Her only weakness is that she can't use her ability where there's no light. So she always stays within the light. Those lights are probably connected to Anastasia. The moment we touch them, she'll move. And if we meet her in this state..."
Roche smiled.
"Then the game of cops and robbers is over. Game over."
Seyeon ran a hand through her hair.
She finally understood why Roche kept pushing into the darker areas.
And why the enemy kept adding more lights, almost excessively.
*Damn.*
Normally, she would have suggested just smashing the ranker and everything else.
But she hadn't made it this far without cost either.
Facing a top-tier Russian ranker in this state? She might actually die.
"Ugh, this old man is really..."
She shook Lee Gangsan, who was slumped over, again.
She was tempted to just abandon him.
"Mmm... Hunter Cheon Seyeon?"
"Huh? Old man! Wake up! This isn't the time to be lying down! We're all about to die!"
Lee Gangsan barely opened his eyes and checked his condition.
His body was a mess, but his head felt like it was splitting.
"Excuse me for a moment."
Roche approached and lifted Lee Gangsan's eyelid.
"The suggestion has worn off."
Roche smiled.
The client's allotted time had been short, and more than anything, this man's mental fortitude was extraordinary.
It had only worked once before breaking.
"Suggestion?"
"A client has been funneling massive funds to the Russian military for the past three years..."
Just as she was about to continue, a spotlight from somewhere shone on Roche.
And before she could react.
"You traitorous bitch."
*Boom!!!*
Roche was kicked and sent flying to the end of the corridor.
Lee Gangsan mustered his remaining strength and used his ability, but it was useless.
In the blink of an eye, Anastasia had ridden the light and retreated out of range.
"Ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
Anastasia's form vanished.
Then, lights turned on all around, illuminating Seyeon and Lee Gangsan.
"Run."
"What?"
"Run. You can't beat that..."
Lee Gangsan disappeared from her sight.
Like Roche, he was sent flying far away.
Seyeon's eyes widened.
She hadn't looked away or blinked.
Yet all she saw was a fleeting flash that brushed past in an instant.
*Boom, crash, bang!!*
A torrent of light engulfed Seyeon's body.
Even with her divine power active, the vibration was this intense.
If she took a direct hit, there wouldn't be enough left to collect.
"You son of a...!"
She turned her shield toward it.
"So damn slow."
A foot came flying at the right side of her head.
She was kicked and slammed into the wall.
Thanks to her divine power, she wasn't injured.
But the attacks, coming at an absurd speed, were rapidly draining her.
*Boom!!!*
She timed it and burst out her power, but it was useless.
Too fast. Far too fast.
So fast she couldn't even hope to keep up.
With a cracking sound, the ceiling above them was torn away.
*Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat.*
Lights from a helicopter shone down on Seyeon's head.
From below, smaller lights were being shot up, creating paths connecting each light.
They were setting the stage for Anastasia.
"No spotlights, plea...?!"
She tried to take out the helicopter first.
But Anastasia had already closed in, reaching out her hand.
Hundreds of light beams shot from it.
She reacted immediately and turned her shield, but again, she was too slow.
No matter how fast she reacted, she couldn't outpace light.
*Boom, crash, bang!!!!!*
Babel Castle reached its limit before Seyeon's power did.
Cracks spread across the floor and walls, and a part of the castle crumbled helplessly.
"Whoa... wow."
Anastasia let out a small exclamation as she blew away the debris clinging to her body.
"How the hell does something like that exist?"
Seyeon gasped for breath and looked up.
Anastasia floated in the air, bathed in light.
This was the first time since her awakening.
The first time she had been so helplessly beaten.
"Tch, you're really a cockroach."
Seyeon curled her lips.
The divine power that had allowed her to be that cockroach was almost gone now.
"*Yawn.*"
Anastasia yawned and spread her arms.
She began drawing in the surrounding light.
"Your country really is something. To think this is all their ranker amounts to."
Maybe it was because she was facing death for the first time in her life.
Even words that would normally have made her bristle didn't register.
"Time to die."
Anastasia, looking bored, thrust both arms forward.
And at that moment.
[Light Devour]
The light of Babel Castle vanished.
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T/N:
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