킬 더 드래곤

백수귀족
The disappearance of four psychoframes in the war at Tirania was fatal. The mass
production process for the second generation psychoframes still has a ways to go.
Even if they were to find a way to fund the immense budget, it would be difficult to
increase their overall military strength by leaps and bounds within such a short period
of time.

“The best and worst news is that a dragon appeared once again.” The Chief of Staff,
Alexander Lekor said.

“The majority of the Arab leaders announced their participation in the Ark Project.”

Another executive projected a hologram map. The majority of the nations and
countries that didn’t originally take part in the Ark Project, publicly announced the
decision to participate. The Chief of Staff, Alexander didn’t look happy.

“They’re so quick to join us only after the appearance of a dragon.”

The budget for the Ark Project was massive. The countries and nations who didn’t join
the Ark Project had their own psychic facilities and institutions. Nations were not
considered on the side of the True Group just because they didn’t want to take part in
the Ark Project.

‘Even if they were on the True Group’s side in reality, now that they know that dragons
will truly invade once again, their conspiracy theories would be proven false and
people would stop converting to the True Group’s side. The immediate problem now
was survival, afterall.’

The True Groups position within society would have fallen a great deal with this new
turn of events. Ark already broadcasted the video clips of the dragon all over the
world. The nations who split, held hands once again with the appearance of their
worst enemy, the dragon. The countries who felt the danger, quickly moved their
government leaders to a safer place.
“The eighth dragon, Bahamut, was different from the dragons that invaded Earth all
this time.” The researchers said. Alexander nodded at their words.

“Bahamut… is the last creature of the century? His decided name is quite grand.”

“According to a soldier on site, Bahamut had spoken to them. It used telepathy to

communicate its words.”

“It’s not an auditory hallucination?”

“We’ve taken that possibility into consideration. The soldier in question, is a third year
and his name is Han. He was one of the closest to the dragon during the battle. Han
was able to overcome the dragon fear the fastest amongst everyone on site. He should
have been the most mentally intact amongst everyone there.”

“As predicted, the second generation youth have a stronger resistance.”

It had only been an assumption, but now they were confident.

“Theoretically, the soldiers should overcome dragon fear according to their overall
psychic strength, however in Han’s case he’s the most mentally mature amongst the
youth his age.

“Is that so.” Alexander held his chin while reading the report. The third year, Han, was
frequently mentioned during their meetings. He was a unique case and special youth.

When the researcher finished reporting, the Management Information Officer stood
up to speak.

“We’re unable to track any significant minion movements around the world. A
majority of the minions already died during the battle in Tirania.”

“That’s good news. It seems like our soldiers can rest for a short period.”

The Battle of Tirania had also been a huge risk on the minion’s side as well. They
gathered the remnant minions and attempted to open the dimensional gate. Ark and
the Alliance blocked their attempt. It would be very difficult for the minions to resume
their plans so quickly.

Chief of Staff, Alexander, went through today’s agenda in order. The commander
cannot make these public meetings often, so Alexander is the one to take care of most
of the business that deals with the public. He was second in command, so Alexander
was pretty much no different than the commander of Ark.

“Shall we end our meeting here for today?” Alexander scanned all around the room. A
researcher in the development team at the corner moved. It was Chief Engineer
Siegfried Schumacher of the the third engineering team, but nobody referred to him
in this manner. He was a bald man who resembled an octopus, thus most referred to
him as Octo.

“Octo?” Alexander leaned himself forward.

Octo wasn’t a man to speak much in these conferences. He was an engineer through
and through, and had absolutely zero interest in anything related to politics, thus he
rarely ever had much interest. Alexander found this new turn of events greatly
interesting.

“I wish for you to consider another issue for me.”

“What is it?”

“Please officially transfer the second generation prototype of Team One to Team
Three.”

Upon his words, the chief of Team One, Charlie Smith shouted in anger. Charlie was a
rough manly old man. It seems this had not been discussed or agreed upon by the two
parties ahead of time.

“Quiet! Let him finish speaking.” Alexander shouted. Octo didn’t even spare a glance to
Charlie Smith of Team One.

“The prototype psychoframe is capable of fully booting up.” Upon Octo’s words, the
old man, Smith shouted at the top of his lungs. The vein of his forehead pulsed.

“Hey you! What do you mean boot up? That chain smoker, Red just barely managed to
start exercising again. The dragon material required for this is very high! If you’re
greedy for it, you should just say so! What nonsense are you trying to spout?”

Octo plugged his ears. Smith who was almost exploding with anger seized Octo’s collar.
The engineering teams were not the best of friends with one another. They constantly
competed and aimed for each other.

“You should stop this old man. Weren’t you going to disassemble it and return
everything anyway?”

“You’ll be the last person I transfer it to! I won’t! What joke are you trying to pull
again?”

Alexander massaged his throbbing head. Chief of Team One, Charlie Smith, is a legend.
After the first dragon died, he took the corpse of the dragon and conducted all sorts of
experiments until he designed a skeleton reinforcement suit, the psychoframe.

All of the psychoframes are based off of Smith’s designs. However, his personality was
the main problem. He had an uptight personality which many young adults detested.
Octo was not one to give way just because the other party was older in age. The hardest
group of people to control were not the researchers, but the engineers.

“Octo, speak quickly before my eardrums explode.”

Octo took out some marshmallows and stuffed it into his mouth.

“We have a psyker who can work with the prototype. He is a unique case, so it will be
more beneficial for us to develop it than to try and mass produce this.”

It was necessary for them to take in all the spare psychoframes, even just one more.
Alexander had originally planned to recycle even the practice psychoframe, Oldman.
It was urgent for them to stock as much dragon weapons as possible. If another dragon
of Bahamut’s rank would appear… humanity would be extinct. This wasn’t an
exaggeration, but the reality of their situation.

“Please submit your planned proposition.”

Alexander said shortly. Octo sent a smug smile to Smith’s way.

***

Han had a rib guard, and his left arm was in a cast. His face was slathered in ointment.
The Battle of Tirania ended with Ark’s victory.

After the battle, the rookie, Han was the center of everyone’s attention. He had fulfilled
his role as the Squad Leader, and inflicted a blow on the dragon. The youth had done
something even seasoned soldiers could not.

“Johnny Schwartz.”

Han had been the last to see Schwartz. He had witnessed Schwartz dragged into the
dimensional crack while covered in blood. Officially, he was deemed missing, rather
than dead. It was possible that he could have survived and wandering somewhere in
this world. Though, the chances were almost close to none.

Grip.

Han fiercely gripped his hands into fists. He felt how much strength he lacked. He felt
the need to grow stronger. Han’s techniques, talents, resourcefulness, and battle
tactics could not reduce the difference in the least. No matter how much an ant
struggled, it was impossible to beat an elephant. The difference in strength was as
such for Han against the dragon.

He felt impatient, but decided to thoroughly rest his body. He would rest until he made
a full recovery. The leading members of Ark were busy, but the battle forces were
mostly free of any agenda. Han didn’t force his training. He heeded the advice of those
around him, and rested.

“Is Silence inside?”

Han knocked Silence’s room. Silence did not come out from his room for the last two
days. He wasn’t particularly injured in any major way.

Click.

The door cracked open a bit. Silence stuck his electric note out the crack of the door.

-Leave me alone.

Han scratched his head. A dark glum aura seemed to emanate from Silence.

“How long will you stay inside? Let’s go eat.”

-I’m trash. I don’t have the right to eat.

“…What’s the problem?”

-I couldn’t do a single thing. I could only watch you fight. I’m a disgrace and an
embarrassment. I’m reflecting for my wrong by facing the wall. When I’m done
reflecting against the wall, I will walk out on my own.

“Then come out when you’re done meditating.”

The door closed. Han decided to leave Silence alone. Han asked the other soldiers, but
it seems Silence did this whenever he made a big mistake in any of his missions. He
locked himself in his room for a duration. Silence had been deployed in countless
missions. He didn’t always come back with good news. Everyone had their own ways
to cope with failure.

“Hey, hero of Tirania.”

A soldier teased when Han entered the cafeteria.

“How can you dare to go against a dragon with a single spear? Damn! You’re so cool.”

Bahamut’s dragon fear had been the strongest out of all dragons thus far. Even the first
generation psykers could not move at all. The only person who could properly move
was Han, while Simon could make only sporadic movements.

‘This must be the reason the institution is focusing the core of the battle strength to
the second generation even with all our weak points.’

The second generation psychics were stronger than the first generation. These youths
exceeded the first generation’s in only a short while. There was only a limited amount
of psychoframes, and so only the best of the best would pilot them. The psyker
producing institution focused on the quality of its soldiers rather than quantity.

Many soldiers greeted Han. There wasn’t a single soldier in Ark that did not know of
Han. Not everyone was smiling though. There were many depressed soldiers who had
lost their long time friends and peers.

Han couldn’t properly use his hands yet so he grabbed only a few simple foods he
could easily consume.

“How’s it feel to be a hero?”

Laocha brought his tray of food and sat across from Han.

“That’s not a funny joke.”

“It will be easier for everyone to cope with the situation if they have something fun to
discuss.”

Laocha had participated in the Battle of Tirania. He was deployed in the Squads that
had been deployed later on. He had wounds on his body here and there. Han spoke
with Laocha while eating his meal. Han walked all around the third year zone after he
finished eating. Simon Dell was at the psychic training center.

“Simon, why don’t you rest a bit?”

Han said while making the training steel marbles float. Simon was fervently training
his telekinesis. Ark’s researchers temporarily labeled telekinesis as Simon’s unique
ability. Simon liked to use his telekinesis in various ways during battle. He greatly
excelled in telekinesis sense, control, and power. He controlled his telekinesis like it
was an extension of his limbs.

“Shut up. You’re pissing me off.”

Simon said with an unpleasant expression. His pride had been greatly stomped upon.
He was covered in injuries. He was dubbed a psychic genius, but after Kuro’s
advancement he had been thrown to the back burner. It wasn’t possible to train to
upgrade himself into an S rank psyker. Only the chosen few who had been inborn with
the talent could manage to tread the territory. Amongst all of the first and second
generation psychics, there were less than 10 psychics who managed to become S
rankers. Most S rankers had passed on, and the identity of these S rankers were kept
top secret.

‘My psychic powers doesn’t stand a chance against that black boy, and in other aspects
I lose against Han.’

Simon was frustrated. He had been the main protagonist wherever he went. He had
been considered England’s last genius, and he had always been the focus since he had
been admitted to Ark. Even Sergeant Red has been keeping an eye on him.

‘And now, I’m just one among many third years.’

Simon had been officially transferred up into third year. He was a genius amongst
many, but amongst geniuses he was a nobody. He had realized this to the bone in the
last battle.

Weeng!

Simon made many steel marbles float in the air. The stress of his chaotic heart caused
the marbles to fly chaotically in an irregular pattern.

‘I’m not the best psyker, I don’t have superior unique psychic skills like blink! I’m not
an outstanding candidate for a squad leader, neither! Damn it all!’

Simon roughly flung the marbles. He didn’t use inertia, but pure psychic power to
throw, but the speed of which the marble flew were astonishing.

“Huu, huu.”

After Simon blew off enough steam from his anger, he sat down on a chair and chugged
down his sports drink.

“You look good.” Han mumbled

Simon glared.

“Stop messing around. Are you looking down on me after becoming my Squad Leader
a few times? Why don’t we fight to see who is truly superior?”

Han narrowed his eyes. Simon’s words were a bit excessive. Han didn’t have any
thoughts of letting this silently pass.

“Simon, are you going to continue acting so disgracefully? Who is the one throwing a
tantrum here?”

During Han’s second year, when he was the squad leader of the 13th squad, he didn’t
try and recruit Simon into his squad. Simon was over the top and arrogant, and he
would never be happy unless he was treated like he was the best. The other party was
an elite with excessive pride. His personality had become a great deal better after his
training lessons in Ark, however one’s inborn nature could not be easily changed.

“Shall I help you break your remaining arm? I’m different than your friends that play
house with you. I’ll crush you good.”

Simon’s eyes shined with light. Psychic energy overflowed from his irises. Simon’s
temper flared every time he saw Han. Envy and jealousy… Simon suffered a great
inferiority complex due to Han. He understood this to his bones, and it made him even
more frustrated.

“Haven’t you already learned, that the one with stronger psychic powers isn’t always
the winner, Simon? When I was the 13th Squad Leader, how many times did Squad 3
win against me? Once? Twice? I don’t even remember a single time. Oh, didn’t you lose
against Kijo not too long ago? It was unsightly.”

Simon’s face flushed red. His loss against Kijo had truly been a disgrace. The guy who
he considered less than a bug, beat him with the use of mere trickery.

“Come, let’s fight. You slant-eyed monkey bastard.”

Simon jeered. The two were just moments away from their own tipping points. Han
and Simon didn’t have such kind and forgiving personalities. The two were accustomed
to using others as stepping stones to get what they wanted. They instinctively knew
how to gain the top positions amongst their peers.

“Since you wish for it so much, it would be rude to say no, Simon.”

KWANG!

Han threw his cast onto the wall, making it shatter. His arm wasn’t broken, and his
bone had only cracked. He could ignore such a small thing like pain. Han opened and
clasped his fingers one by one, and then jumped down to Simon’s vicinity. His eyes
reflected a chilling calmness.

‘I can’t make a fool of myself fighting against Simon here.’

Han stretched his neck left and right to pop the joints.

‘I’m superior at hand-to-hand close combat. Simon would most likely use his
telekinesis. There are many useful objects which would work well with his telekinesis
in this room.’

Han quickly calculated in his mind. He took note of everything around them, and
thought over all of Simon’s general skills.

Geeeee-

The door to the Psychic training center opened. Han and Simon ruthlessly glared
toward the door which opened.

“Hey, what are you guys doing?” Dimitri asked.

Canute stood next to him. The two were not wearing second year uniforms. Han and
Simon shook their heads. Their mood to battle was gone. The serious atmosphere
sank. They didn’t have the heart to continue this fight.

“We were training.” Han said to Dimitri. Simon sat on his seat and crushed his
blameless water bottle.

“You guys didn’t hear the news yet? Canute and I will be transferred up into third year
this time around.” Dimitri smiled threateningly. Canute who was just behind him,
shook his hand.

“I was transferred up into third year after you. This was to be expected.” Canute said
smugly and shrugged his shoulders. Amongst the second years, Dimitri and Canute
were the most suitable and capable to participate in real battle. Dimitri had grown
progressively without stop all this time, while Canute had one of the best unique skills-
healing factor. Other than Simon, these two were the best candidates to become third
years.

Dimitri’s third year guide was the previous squad leader of Squad 5. Usually people
who are familiar with one another would become guides of new third year rookies.
The guides were responsible for showing rookies around the different third year
facilities while explaining various rules which all took only a couple of days.

“Well then, I’m heading off.” Dimitri waved his hand and left.

He was on his way to meet his third year mentor. Canute’s guide would of course be
Han. Canute would be guided around the third year areas by Han for the next couple
of days.

Han approached Simon before he left the psychic training center. Simon looked up to
meet the other’s eyes.
“Let’s both cool our heads. Agree?” Han said.

Simon laughed through his nose. Actually, they knew that there was no need to fight
like this. However, they felt the need to protect their pride so that they didn’t appear
weak to the other.

“Then don’t appear before me for the time being. Even if I cool off, just seeing your
face makes me angry.”

Han and Canute left the psychic training center. Han thought of Simon. Han had
thought the same since long ago, but handling someone like Simon was truly difficult.
He thought they had gotten along pretty well the past few days, but they were back at
square one.

‘Thinking carefully, there isn’t a person who has been to more military operations
together with me than Simon.’

Ironically, Han and Simon went to all of the past military operations together. It had
been that way in the Sinuiju Dimensional Crack Zone, during the True Group’s surprise
attack, and the recent Battle of Tirania. The other party had been a dependable
support all those times. Simon had been the only person who assisted Han during the
battle against Bahamut.

If Han were to choose his squad members now, he would greatly consider Simon to be
in his squad. He didn’t require any exchange of words to efficiently battle together
with Simon.

‘Simon appeared greatly disturbed from the start… I’ve only helped to flame his
temper with more oil.’

Han scratched his head.

Han guided Canute around the various third year facilities. He repeated Silence’s route
from last time. The last stop would be at the psychoframe training center. The training
center was silent because there was no psychoframe to train with. The engineers were
silently inspecting the psychoframe.

“I’m glad you’re here. Han, how’s your condition?” The third engineering team’s Chief,
Octo, said as he chewed on some bubble gum.
“I’m not here for my sake this time. This is Canute Myer.”

“Huh, is that so? If it’s for the rookie, then you should go find team four. They should
be in the maintenance facility on the other side. They looked like they were
readjusting the oldman since yesterday for the rookie.” Octo said immediately losing
any interest.

Han was about to leave together with Canute, when Octo held them back with his
shining greasy hands.

“…I’m not here to put on the psychoframe today.”

Han meekly looked to Octo and said. Octo laughed darkly.

“Huhu, follow me. I have business with you.” Octo didn’t care for Han’s circumstances.
Canute said he was fine and left ahead of Han.

Han felt a bit irritated from Octo’s stubborn attitude, but simply nodded. Octo blew
giant balloons with his gum as he hummed a song through his nose. He past the
psychoframe training center and entered the third team’s development room. The
third team inside were busily moving about.

“Huh? Han’s here?” A technician holding a welding machine said while looking to and
fro from Han to Octo.

“Chief, didn’t you say Han would be summoned tomorrow?”

“I met him while I was picking up some spare parts. The sooner the better for us.”

“All he needs to do is see it anyway.” The technician complained.

Octo happily smiled.

“Did you already attach the new leg suspensions? The one that old geezer installed
onto the legs are too heavy. How do you expect anyone to run like that? That geezer
thinks a psychoframe is a train or something.”

“You should go see for yourself. It should be fully put together by now.”

Octo walked deeper into the development center. All he could hear was the clanking
sounds of heavy equipment being moved and fiddled with. There were mysterious
tools Han had never seen in his life hanging on the walls.

“Welcome, Han. This is our true work room. Even Hephaestus’s 1) work room couldn’t
compare to this place!” Octo said after spitting out his now flavorless bubblegum. He
took out two new pieces of bubblegum and threw it into his mouth.

‘He eats so well even though his hands are so greasy and dirty… ’

Han watched Octo and thought to himself. Octo’s words didn’t stir any of his interests.
Han couldn’t relate to any of the engineers’ feelings.

Weeng.

The cover opened. Han’s eyes grew wide. A psychoframe hung on the center of the
room like a puppet. The engineers busily moved about the room.

‘This isn’t Oldman.’

This wasn’t the training psychoframe. The outer shell finishing was vastly different
and polished. There were countless high-tech equipment attached and in working
condition at just a glance.

“A psychoframe?” Han mumbled.

Octo scratched his nose and said proudly, “This is the second generation psychoframe.
This is the only existing model frame. All the psychoframes that will be produced in
the future will be based off of this one here.”

Octo was able to take the prototype which the first engineering team had kept locked
up. They had went through all the lawful legimet procedures to acquire this model.

‘The geezer’s abilities to develop the artificial frame hasn’t rusted at all. The overall
balance of this prototype is amazing. ’

Octo observed the prototype in simple awe. The first generation psychoframe couldn’t
even compare to the beauty of the prototype. It wasn’t an exaggeration to consider
this a piece of art. It took countless failures to reach the absolute perfect golden
balance point which was inside this prototype. The perfect balance of dragon and
artificial parts could not be theorized. They had to implement the infinite number of
ratios and methods one by one. This was a repetitive and mind numbing process
which tested a person’s patience and perseverance. This could not be done by any
genius engineers but only the simple minded engineers.

“The second generation…”

Han’s palms felt clammy. The key to humanity’s future was here. Han felt it sharply in
his heart this past battle, that no amount of talent could allow a psyker to dare hold a
candle against a dragon without a psychoframe. Only psychoframes allowed one to
fight against a dragon on equal footing. This was the strength which Han wished for.

“Luck is on our side. Our team has been assigned with this prototype. Ask us why, Han.”
Octo snapped his suspenders and said while Han quirked his head.

“Why?”

Octo took out the permit signed by Chief of Staff, Alexander. Han’s photo was attached
to it. Han’s eyes shook.

“You’re this psychoframe’s pilot.”

Han’s eyes went from Octo to the psychoframe and then back to Octo. Han had the
least amount of psychic powers amongst all third years. Yet, he had been selected to
be this prototypes official pilot, nobody would believe this. Even Han himself was
having a hard time believing.

“How… is it me?”

“Of course it’s thanks to my great eloquence.”

Han lightly laughed at Octo’s joke. Ark always made the best possible choice. There
must be a logical and sound reason for which Han had been selected to pilot this
prototype. Han didn’t even consider if he had been chosen through a back door
method.

“Whether it was your eloquence or not, it doesn’t matter. When can I start to pilot
this?”

“It will take some time. We still have a lot of work to do to complete this. The prototype
wasn’t built for battle. We’re working hard to take it apart and fix it. You will have to
frequently visit this place from now on. We must build the perfect model which suits
mine and your tastes!”

Han stared in awe toward the second generation psychoframe. Oldman had to be worn
in parts, but this one was built as a whole. The pilot just needed to step inside, then a
second armor would wrap around themselves. The structure of this model greatly
contrasted the crude design of the first generation psychoframes. The joints of the
armor moved smoothly like small keys linked together. It appeared as if the armor had
life to it. Nicely put, it looked ergonomic, but at the same time it was grotesque.

Han listened to Octo’s drawn out explanation on the new, advancing direction for the
next generation of psychoframes.

‘Overall, this prototype is built with higher dragon material, so it becomes highly
sensitive to psychic energies. The first generation psykers don’t have enough psychic
energy to fully utilize this psychoframe to its full potential, but at the same time the
fine control aspect of this psychoframe makes it difficult for second generation
psykers.’

Han thought through all of Octo’s explanations carefully. This was the basic meaning
of Octo’s complicated drawn out explanation.

“From time to time, having less strength is more beneficial. The geezer Smith became
greedy with his design. His craftsman’s senses made him overconfident, rather than
catering for the user, he created this for his own self satisfaction.”

Octo continued to talk like he was talking to himself. Han stepped back a step from
Octo and gave a side long scowl. He judged that Octo’s mind definitely had a loose
screw or two. He appeared like he would go insane if he didn’t have anything to eat.

‘Though his skills are unmistakable.’

Silence finished his wall self-reflection. He finally came out of his room to have a
proper meal other than his daily protein drink. He headed to the cafeteria and began
to pile food onto his plate as he passed them. He normally consumed exponentially
more than most people assumed based on his body frame, but today he seems to be
testing the limits to his whole body suit.

KWANG!
Silence dropped his plates of food on the table and opened the lower portion of his
mask. He almost ate as fast as he breathed. He didn’t hold back, as if rewarding himself
for restraining himself all this time.

“So his binging started again.”

The soldiers who began trickling into the cafeteria commented. The soldiers were now
familiar with most of Silence’s peculiarities. If one were to consider Silence’s actual
age, having a peculiarity or two was not strange at all. Whenever Silence blamed
himself, he would hole himself in his own room for a few days, and then binge. This
was his mental health care coping method.

“Huh, you’re okay with coming out now?” Han said as he set down his moderately filled
plate of food onto the table. His neat and proper plate of food greatly contrasted
Silence’s messy mountain of food. Canute stood just behind of Han.

-I’m done reflecting. Who’s behind you?

Silence pointed to Canute.

“Canute Meyer. I’m sure you’ve seen him before.”

Canute had battled against one another during the mock squad battles. Other than
that one time, they didn’t have any chances to meet.

“Nice to meet you. Though I’m not sure you remember me.”

-I’ll remember you from now on.

Silence shook Canute’s hand. Canute had also brought a mountain of food and began
devouring his food next to them. While Canute ate, he kept sneaking glances to Silence.
They only exchanged a few monotonous usual chatter as they ate.

‘Does he harbor any ill will toward Silence? Canute was flattened last time… but it was
a competition. He isn’t one to harbour ill will for such petty reasons.’

The way Canute observed Silence was very particular. Silence felt Canute’s stare and
looked up.

-Did you have anything you wanted to say?

Canute scratched his chin upon Silence’s question.

“No, nothing. I just felt that your mask looked cool.”

-I asked the engineering team to make it for me. They can produce almost anything
you request. Of course the design was my own idea.

Han who had been watching the two, flinched.

‘He probably thinks… that the skull design is cool.’

The skull mask felt very intimidating the first time Han fought against Silence. He
looked like the god of death. Though now, he was very familiar with Silence and it
appeared to be just an amusing prop.

After, Silence stood up once he finished his meal. He was planning to finish all the
overdue training he had been delaying all at once. His every step contained a great
strength to them, which also conveyed his desire to grow stronger. Han lightly
chuckled while watching Silence walk out.

“He’s not as uptight as I assumed him to be.” Canute said.

“He’s not such a bad guy like he appears. He’s also much stronger than you think.”

Han had won against Silence once during the mock squad battle. This was not possible
through sheer skill. Han had a bit of luck and Silence had been careless, Han’s tenacity
had helped make his victory possible.

“While we’re on this topic, have you ever seen Silence’s face?”

“No, he must have his own reasons for not wanting to reveal his own face.”

“Is that so?”

Canute let off a sinister laugh as his eyes shined. Han had a bad premonition.

“It’s better not to, Canute.”

“What am I going to do?” Canute slyly smiled and Han simply sighed.
“The thing you’re thinking of now.” Han knew that dissuading Canute at this point was
impossible. Canute left first and winked as he left.

“I’m different from you, I’m too impatient to ignore the things I’m curious about.”

Canute planned his attack against Silence.

Canute’s perseverance was very strong. He was very clear with his opinions, and held
absolutely no fear of new challenges in his life. Ark had profiled him as a boy who grew
up in the fishing village of Norway while watching the north seas. He was one who
didn’t fear the unknown and instead delved into it deeper.

‘Silence.’

Canute was well aware of the rumors which surrounded Silence. Silence was one of
the top elites amongst the third year. He was completely helpless against Silence the
first time they met.

“Hmm.”

Canute followed Silence to the stamina training center. He sat down on a machine a
distance away and began to exercise.

‘Is he training his agility? He doesn’t train as much with weights.’

Silence exercised with lighter equipment. His training uniform flapped in the wind.
Silence geared himself so that not a bit of his skin was open so that he could maintain
his mysteriousness.

‘From rumors, he wears his helmet because he wanted to hide the injury to his face…
but well, if it’s really because of a scar I can just apologize afterwards.’

Canute’s eyes shined as he let go of his dumbbells. He whistled and leisurely snuck
behind Silence.

‘Reach out while casually passing him… like I’m just walking past… ’

Canute swung his arm and Silence ducked. Canute’s eyes widened in surprise.
Tah!

Silence turned around and kicked into Canute’s stomach. Canute faltered. The battle
ended at once and Silence stood shaking his index finger side to side.

“Damn.”

Canute held his stomach as he got up. Silence mocked the other without words. He
pointed his thumb down as he shook his hand. There were countless attempts to
snatch Silence’s mask. All the third years were extremely curious about Silence’s true
face. Not a single person had succeeded, and Silence’s true face remained a mystery to
all.

-It is a ninj-, I mean, a soldier’s duty to always remain vigilant.

Silence wrote happily.

“Very funny. Just you wait!”

Canute laughed, promising to return. Silence was wearing his mask, so his expression
remained a mystery. He wasn’t an easy opponent. You could never guess where
Silence’s attention was focused, so it was difficult trying to predict his next move.
Canute carefully observed Silence whenever he passed the other throughout his day.

“You’re still at it?”

Han asked Canute who was hiding behind a crate that was set by the corner of a
building.

“Silence will train at the Psychic Training Center everyday for an hour. Silence will pass
this place in the next ten minutes. He will never guess that I’m hiding here waiting to
ambush him.”

“I see, work hard.”

Han couldn’t see the end of Canute’s tenacity. He lightly patted Canute’s back and
continued on his way.

‘He’ll be here soon.’

Canute silenced his breath and stood on standby to ambush the other. But even after
10 minutes passed, he couldn’t even see a speck of Silence. The only people passing
by were the other soldiers who resided in the third year zone. Canute suddenly felt a
chill down his spine. He slowly turned around. A man in a skull mask silently loomed
behind him.

BAM!

Silence stood with crossed arms and playfully kicked Canute. Canute crashed into the
wall as he winced in pain.

“How did you know?”

-Are you stupid? You were there for over 30 minutes, of course the others would tell
me ahead of time. They told me a moron was hiding behind a crate, who else could it
be but you?

Silence wrote in his electric note. His explanation was quite friendly.

“Damn it!”

Canute was too focused on Silence that he failed to notice many important details.
Everyone who passed Canute was a stranger to him, but everyone that lived in the
third year zone was well acquainted with Silence. If people were gossiping, of course
Silence would come to know about it.

“Now that it’s come to this, I’ll just fight you fair and square. Come! Sly bastard!”

Canute yelled confidently. Silence nonchalantly shrugged and followed through with
his next move. He evaded Canute’s attack using showy moves, all the while calmly
countering all the attacks. Canute looked dizzy after a couple punches to the head.
Blood flowed from his nose. Canute had strong close combat skills, however his skills
were nothing but child’s play against Silence.

Canute spit out blood from his mouth. His eyes faintly glowed into a green hue. His
healing factor recovered most of his minor injuries in an instant.

‘Healing factor? He will be very troublesome and annoying.’

Silence scratched his chin. It was very difficult to do away with someone with
regenerative unique abilities.

“Good, good. Come on! Without fighting spirit, I’m no different than the undead.”
Canute shouted.

Silence let out a quiet sigh. His body shined.

Weeng!

Silence used his blink skill to teleport to the building rooftop. He took out his electric
note and scribbled a message.

-A true warrior never backs away from a battle but… it’s cheating to fight with a
healing factor like that.

Silence disappeared in a flash. Canute frowned. At this point, seeing Silence’s true face
wasn’t important. The other’s true face could be whatever, for all he cared.

‘I have my pride as a man.’

The news that Canute was aiming for Silence’s mask spread like wildfire. Canute tailed
after Silence for three days with pure tenacity. Everyone watched the battles unfold
with an amused expression. Nobody believed that Silence would ever get caught by
the other. Silence was one of the recognized strongest soldiers amongst all those who
resided in Ark.

“Aaah! Damn!”

Canute realigned his broken leg while shouting. He pushed himself too far while
chasing Silence and slipped out of the window. He fell from the sixth floor and broke
his leg.

Wooong!

Canute used his healing factor. His broken bones snapped back together. There was no
unique skill that was more fearsome than this one. As long as one never ran out of
psychic energy, one would be totally immune from death.

– Idiot.
Silence taunted by waving his electric note toward Canute’s direction. Canute’s temper
exploded, and he attempted to start chasing Silence once again, however Silence
unhurriedly disappeared.

‘Silence looks like he’s having fun with this.’ Han thought while sipping his protein
shake. Han was one of the few people who witnessed their battles the most.

‘If he really feels annoyed, he would just ignore Canute. But Silence always taunts
Canute until the very end, then disappears.’

The soldiers jeering began once again when Canute lost against Silence. A few of the
soldiers seemed to have bet on the battle, and exchanged crinkled up bank notes with
one another.

“Damn, this is impossible by myself. He just continues to escape using his blink skills.”

Canute was fast on his feet, but it was impossible to chase Silence who had the blink
skill. Canute tried his best to strategize, but he couldn’t think of a method to catch
Silence. He started to wonder whether he should just give up trying to capture Silence.

Step, step.

A few third years trailed behind Canute. There was a total of three students. They met
eyes with Canute and nodded.

“Follow us, freshman.”

Canute watched them with wary eyes. The third years walked to a desolate area in the
third year zone. Only when they arrived to this place did the three third years’ faces
relax.

“I didn’t think we had any brave peers remaining! We were moved by your tenacity.”
The third years said putting their hand on top of Canute’s shoulder. Canute who had
been wary all this time watched them with a dumbfounded and confused face.’

“Huh?”

“We’ve been watching you these past few days. We were curious whether you were
truly trying to capture Silence or whether it was a short phase! We’ve become
confident watching you all these days. You have what it takes to be our associate.”
“What are you talking about?”

The third year students introduced themselves one by one. They had all attempted to
steal Silence’s mask. They worked hard to take the other’s mask, but they had failed
again and again.

“Technically speaking, we are a secret group within Ark. S.M.O (Silence Mask Opener),
we refer to each other as S.M.O. We’ve gathered for the sake of stealing a glance behind
Silence’s mask.”

Canute’s eyes grew wide in surprise.

“This group is really suspicious…!”

“Of course we are suspicious! We’re a secret group. You should have long realized it
already. Canute Meyer! Chasing Silence alone is impossible. If you join us, we make a
total of 4 people! What is the minimum required number of members to make a squad
in Ark?”

“Four.”

“Yes! We are the strongest when we move in teams of four or more. We’ve finally
fulfilled the four member quota for our team!”

This felt a bit long winded, but their rough speech and methods moved Canute’s heart.
He could perfectly feel their resolve to see Silence’s true face. Canute slowly closed his
eyes and opened it again, then nodded.

“Okay. Let me join S.M.O or whatever it’s called. We can catch him, right?”

“It is most likely possible now that we have four members. This is your membership
badge.”

The chief of S.M.O took out a shabby looking badge made of a bottle cap. S.M.O was
written in small letters on the exterior surface of the bottle cap.

“You should put a bit more effort making these. This looks like trash.”

“Doesn’t it seem like rubbish? We were aiming for that. This is one of the reasons S.M.O
has been able to remain a secret group until now. Canute, you must not leak our
information out to anyone.”

“Got it.”

The chief of S.M.O earnestly begged. Canute nodded.

“We’ll contact you again when the time comes. Continue to survey Silence’s
movements until them.”

At this time, a whirlwind of conspiracies began to form at full swing in Ark.

Canute saw the members of S.M.O at the military cafeteria. They greeted each other
through eye contact. Canute sat at his usual place and ate his meal. Han just returned
from the bathroom while wiping his hands and sat across from him.

“Did you give up trying to steal Silence’s mask?” Han asked while pouring milk onto
his cereal.

Canute ripped his bread and laughed.

“It turned out that way. I can’t be tailing behind him forever.” Canute said while
avoiding looking at the other. Han narrowed his eyes.

‘Really? Canute was never one to give up this easily. But it’s true that he’s been awfully
quiet these past few days. As Canute said, he can’t be following Silence around forever.’

Han didn’t fully believe Canute, but nodded anyway. Han didn’t have time to give all
his attention to Canute at this time anyway. Han was too busy helping Octo to fine tune
the psychoframe. Octo made detail recordings of all of Han’s physical motor ability.

“While we’re on this topic. You’ve won against Silence. How did you win?” Canute
mentioned their past squad battle. Han had once battled against Silence.

“I was lucky. Silence’s condition was at a deadlock. Also, he was looking thinking of
everyone as easy prey and let his guard down.” Han said truthfully.

If Han battled Silence once again, he would never manage to win against Silence.
Silence no longer looked down on Han. Silence would fight against Han using his full
battle strength.
“Is that so? So your victory was due to his carelessness.”

“It’s not always a good thing to appear strong.”

Canute listened to Han’s words while eating his bread. He ate his meal much slower
than Han. Han was busy and left first.

Rustle.

A member of S.M.O passed Canute as he delivered a crumpled note. Canute looked

around and entered the bathroom to read his note.

– 13:20, 7th battle training ground.

Canute dropped the note into the toilet and flushed. When he left his stall, he jerked
in shock.

“S-Silence.”

Silence was washing his hands at the sink. Silence peered to Canute.

– What’s wrong?

“Nothing. Your skull mask just surprised me for a moment.”

– Try to get used to it.

Silence casually exited the bathroom. Canute felt a dreadful premonition in his gut.

‘There’s no way he saw me. I’ve maintained the secret well. This is just a coincidence.’

Cold sweat dropped from Canute’s forehead. There was no way for Silence to see
through walls.

Canute finished his daily training at his scheduled hours. He worked hard through his
morning schedules and ate lunch. He didn’t have any other significant meetups with
Silence another time that day. When he exited the cafeteria, a S.M.O member passed
him another message. It was a run down of their plan.

– Today Silence will use his blink ability to his limit. We will surround him and launch
a surprise attack.

Silence was at the military training grounds practicing his blink skill. It was difficult
to train his blink skills inside a small space. From time to time, he paused for a moment
to check the layout of his surroundings.

‘I must go faster, and further.’ Silence focused.

His physical body became faint. He used his blink skill without stopping to move
forward. He traveled all around the military training ground like a computer graphic.

Weeng!

Silence skyrocketed about 30 meters into the air, then started to freefall. Moments
before he would reach the ground, he used his blink skill to teleport onto the mattress
that would break his fall.

The blink skill does nothing to stop one’s own acceleration. The kinetic energy carries
onto the new point in which one appears.

“Huu.”

Silence let out a breath. He picked up a camera that was set up at the corner of the
military training ground. He recorded his own training session to try and objectively
understand his own skills.

‘The distance of my blink ability increased by about a meter.’

Silence drank his sports drink while watching the recording of himself. The time he
took to use his blink skill drastically decreased, and the maximum distance of blinking
increased.

After catching his breath, Silence used his blink skill until he fully drained his psychic
energy. The members of S.M.O and Canute were watching in the distance.

“He should be reaching his limit soon. This time, he won’t escape because he won’t be
able to use his blink skill.”

Canute nodded while listening. One could easily see that Silence looked exhausted
with just a short glance. Canute began to wonder whether doing this sort of thing
would be okay.

“Isn’t this kind of underhanded…?” Canuted asked, and the members of S.M.O shook
their heads.

“You really don’t know anything about Silence, do you?”

Canute quickly came to understand what they meant. When Silence’s practice drills
ended, the members of S.M.O and Canute surrounded him. Silence agily retreated
back. Even without blink skills, Silence’s mobile abilities were uncomparable.

“How’s he so fast?”

One of Canute’s strengths were fast mobile speed. However, Silence was much faster
than him. Silence was backed into a corner, and at that moment he fished something
out of his pockets.

Hwek!

This was the bat that soldiers used to play baseball. Seeing this, the expressions of the
members of the S.M.O grew rigid.

Weeng!

Silence used his blink skill as he bulldozed in between the group of youths. He used
his last remaining blink skill to start his chain of counter attacks. He got behind the
youths and took a swing with his bat. The three youths all fell forward in sequence.

‘Those weakling scamps!’ Canute thought as he watched the S.M.O members’ sad fates.

Within the S.M.O group, there wasn’t a single member who could rival Canute’s skill
in the least. It seems these third year youths made it up this high for a reason that
didn’t take into account for martial arts and close combat skills.

“Urk! You’re all that we have now, our comrade! My ribs are… Cough.”

The captain of S.M.O said to Canute while grabbing his side.

Silence stood leisurely spinning his bat. Canute let out a heavy sigh.
“Damn it all, bring it!”

10 seconds later, Canute experienced what it felt like to have his two legs broken at
once. He joined his S.M.O associates on the floor.

He could only watch Silence as the other happily walk away in a daze.

“You guys are too weak!” Canute said in frustration.

“There’s no helping it. My specialty is fire ignition skill, and I can’t use my skill against
Silence.”

“It’s not that we’re weak. Silence is the one who is too strong. Who would guess that
Silence would suddenly appear in the midst of our formation with a baseball bat?”

Silence was an expert martial artist. The amount of experience and skill couldn’t be
compared. Canute heavily sighed.

‘We won’t get anywhere with this disorderly mob. We need a brain in our team to
command the crew.’

A leader who can help to bring out the most strength from the skills that they had now.
Canute could only think of one person.

“Han.”

If Han could help them, it might be feasible for S.M.O to capture Silence. Canute used
his healing factor skill to mend his broken legs and stood up once again.

“Follow me.”

Canute said to his associates. The members of the secret squad watched Canute in
confusion.

“Friend, we need your help.”

Canute said looking to Han. Han watched Canute with a confused face. A couple of
third years that Han barely knew stood behind Canute. Everyone’s faces looked beat
up. They looked like a couple of kids who returned home after a beating by the town’s
bully. Han closed the book he was reading.
“What are you planning this time?” Han kneaded his forehead and said. Canute
hesitated for a moment before he spoke.

“I’ve joined the group S.M.O (Silence Mask Opener).” Han blankly stared and slightly
narrowed his eyes.

“Haa, I see. I was wondering what you were up to, it seems you haven’t really given up
at all.”

“I thought I can do it in a four squad team,” Canute said while his associates who stood
behind him flinched and shouted.

“Now that you know of our association’s name, you must join!”

Han raised an eyebrow.

“You guys be quiet. I’m annoyed enough with this strange request of yours.”

The remaining three members flinched in fear. The three members had more
experience, but the one who was made the commanding squad leader was Han. Han
had experience as a squad leader in actual battle, and he had matured much faster
than his peers.

“Everyone quiet. If Han helps us, our goal will become much easier.” Canute said to his
S.M.O associates. The remaining members were also well aware of Han.

The other had transferred up into third year at record speed, had been dubbed the
squad leader, and had actively taken part in the Battle of Tirania. The new super
rookie.

Han scratched his head. He summarized their situation.

“So put plainly, you’ve joined a group for the sake of stealing Silence’s mask? The four
of you battled against Silence, and failed miserably… so you’re here to request for my
help?”

“Join S.M.O! We don’t need help from outsiders.” One of the members stood up and
said. Han firmly shook his head.

“If that’s how you’re running your group, you should get lost right now. Why should I
go out of my way to help guys like you?”

Canute glared at the captain of S.M.O. Canute tried to smooth things over with Han.

“Aren’t you a little curious at all? The face behind his mask.”

It was true that Han was a little curious.

‘The other always hid his face like he was hiding a great secret… but in reality there
could be no grand reason behind it at all. It could be all for show like Sergeant Red had
stated… ’

Han’s resolve started to shake. However, he had to stay loyal to Silence. Han didn’t like
to force others to do something they themselves disliked.

“Still, I don’t really want to.”

Han said firmly. Canute stood up resolutely.

“When you~ needed me for your~ 13th Squad~, I~ joined you. Well, I’m not asking
you to repay me. I’m just saying, you know. But, if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have
been able to form your squad at all~. Well~ you’re suuuper~ talented~ so you would
have formed the squad without my help~”

Canute said in a sing song voice. Cold sweat fell from Han’s forehead. Canute at the
time was in a drastically different position from Kuro and Jose. Jose and Kuro were
close friends with Han, but Canute didn’t know Han at all. Canute joined Han out of
sheer interest and curiosity.

‘Han has a strong sense of responsibility. He won’t be able to say no after that, right?’

Canute continued to mumble and reenact the memories of their past. The other
continued to stab at Han’s weak points.

“Stop, stop! Okay.”

Han let out a deep sigh.

‘I’m sorry, Silence.’

Han apologized in his heart, and looked to Canute and the members of S.M.O.

“Good, then you’re helping us?” Canute had a bright smile.

Han raised his index finger up and said, “Just once. I will help you with all my strength.
If you guys fail, then you guys must give up as well.”

“Okay.”

Han gathered together with Canute and the youths. There were not a single person
who had qualified as squad leader material among these group of youths. There were
several important aspects which makes a good squad leader. Amongst the many
qualities, one was a mental maturity higher than of his peers. There were third years
who transferred up much faster than himself, but Han naturally took on the role as a
senior amongst everyone here.

“Everyone tell me your unique skills. Tell me what you gathered about Silence as well.”
Han said. The S.M.O members hesitated.

“Urk, our group worked hard to gather all this information.”

“If you don’t want to, that’s fine.” Han said coldly. The leader of S.M.O was taken aback
and quickly shook his hand in the air.

“No, no! Th-that’s not it.”

Han took out his pen and took notes. The intel that the members of S.M.O gathered
were very detailed. They had stalked after Silence and took note of the finest of details
about the youth.

‘Aren’t they just stalkers?’

The youths of Ark didn’t have much games or leisure activity. To the associates of
S.M.O, unmasking Silence was their game.

“Let’s disband for now. I’ll come up with a plan by tomorrow and let you guys know.
Let me repeat myself, I’m helping you guys only once. If we end up failing, I won’t be
helping another time.”

All the youths nodded and exited the room. Han remained in the room by himself
while spinning his pen. He wasn’t very interested at all at the start, but now that he
was getting serious, his pride didn’t want to accept a thing like failure.

‘Would I be able to catch Silence a second time?’

Han wanted to test his own strength. He had four chess pieces. He needed to catch
Silence. They outnumbered Silence 4 to 1, but S.M.O still lost. Han’s ability was what
would truly test their victory.

SWAA!

Han swiped his hand to call up a hologram panel. The third year zone map projected.
Han observed the building layouts and all the various paths including the small
alleyway and the various paths around the third year zone.

‘In what direction would Silence travel… ’

Han thought about how he would move around the third year zone if he had the blink
skill. When he accounted for the blink skill, he could imagine countless routes
throughout all of the third year grounds.

‘Is this the way Silence views roads?’

Silence’s route vastly differed from the norm. Silence could easily travel through roads
that would be impossible for another. Suddenly Han became very infatuated. He could
see many new things in the map when he viewed the map in Silence’s shoes. Han
checked things one by one and smiled.

‘I wonder if I can actually capture him.’

The next day, Han, Canute, and the rest of the crew gathered. The leader of S.M.O
carefully spoke to Han.

“Shouldn’t we gather in a more quiet room?”

Han displayed displeasure.

“Nobody is interested in us, so don’t worry. We will start our operation tomorrow.
Leave your schedule tomorrow empty.
“Tomorrow?”

“Then how long do you plan to drag out this dull game of yours?”

“Dull? This is very important to us.”

“Okay, okay. We need to prepare some things ahead of time for tomorrow’s plan. I will
allot all your duties. You should install and set everything up by tomorrow.” Han said.

Canute who was listening quietly asked.

“Install? Traps?”

“Yes, booby-traps and blockades. Even if we have five members, it’s hard to chase after
Silence. You guys always blindly chase after Silence even though you guys lack the
mobile strength, so Silence always has the upper hand. Our job isn’t to chase Silence,
we must read his next move. I will share the map I made with you guys. You guys
should set up traps in the designated places I alloted to you guys. There is a lot to be
done, so you should start working hard right away.”

Han typed on his data bracelet. The map was delivered to the four members. It was
the map that Han had made through the night yesterday.

“Wow.”

The youths admired the map. It was hard to believe this map was made yesterday due
to the degree of detail on this map. He had even written what sort of traps should be
set up where. He had drawn out the possible paths in red.

“See, we just need to leave everything to Han.”

Canute said proudly like he was the one to have done all the work. Han calmly
continued to talk to the rest of the youths.

“You guys should all become familiar with the routes. The traps and obstacles will slow
Silence down, and hopefully tie him down. Excluding me, you guys will travel in teams
of 2. Do not get within 20 meters of Silence. Silence will be able to knock you guys out
in one swoop by blinking behind you guys. Other than Canute, you guys lack close
combat ability, if Silence gets a hand on you guys, there is no hope. If Silence suddenly
disappears from sight, you should immediately roll. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to
dodge his attack.”

“Oh, that’s right. You’re so smart.”

Han quickly understood the youth’s skills couldn’t contribute much to the tactic. They
couldn’t use a critically strong skill like flames against their peers. They wouldn’t be
just setting something on fire, but possibly burning their peer to death. All the third
years psykers were capable of being immediately deployed out into actual battle. At
first sight, they might look foolish, but in actuality, everyone were talented fighters.

“Now then, move out everyone.”

Han clapped his hand and urged the youths along. Most of the traps were set up at
rooftops and alley corners. They were all locations which would not normally be
traversed. There were many locations they should set up booby-traps, but many
people walked across those areas. Han temporarily set up construction in progress
signs to redirect those in the third year zone.

‘The soldiers look busy.’

Han noticed while setting up the obstacles on the rooftops. He didn’t notice at ground
level, but up on the roof he could tell that most of the soldiers of Ark was busily going
about their day.

‘It feels like everyone is working, and we are the only ones slacking off.’

Han felt a bit ashamed, but continued with his task at hand. He set up traps which
would inflict light bruises. Accounting Silence’s reflex abilities, he wouldn’t get hurt
by these traps at all.

‘He would only momentarily hesitate here.’

Han finished his own delegated work, and returned to his dorms. Usually, he would
join the rest of the soldiers to a game of poker, but nobody returned until late into the
night. Han was full of questions, but he didn’t have any leads which would answer his
curiosities. Han read his books as per usual before turning into bed.

“We will start our operation.” Han said as he set up his communication device onto his
ear. He opened a communication line which wasn’t in use. Everyone confirmed their
communication devices.
-S.M.O-2 clear.

-S.M.O-3 ditto.

-S.M.O-4 perfect.

-S.M.O-5 let’s go.

Han confirmed the clarity of their communication line. It seemed even the gods were
on their side because not too many people were wandering around today. Since
yesterday, the soldiers of Ark had drastically reduced in number for an unknown
reason.

‘Let’s resolve this first.’

Han checked his data bracelet, he projected a 2D map and confirmed the location of
the S.M.O squad members.

“S.M.O-2, retreat back a bit. You should still be able to see clearly there.

-Understood. Arrived to destination.

“Good. Our target will appear in the next 60 seconds. S.M.O-4 and 5 push ahead.”

S.M.O-5 was Canute. He was the focus squad member that Silence wanted to avoid. If
the other wished to stop Canute, at least a leg must be broken. Han appointed Canute
as the main hunting dog as he pushed forward with this secret operation.

-Target confirmed.

“Good, move out. He is moving in the A7 route. 2 and 3 standby at B2 for ambush. We
will isolate him and lead him into C2.”

-Understood.

Han calmly waited for everything to unfold. A loud commotion broke out in the
distance. Canute and Silence broke into a fight as they ran across the third year zone.
-Target is entering C4 zone.

A member reported. Han checked his map and responded.

“His movements are within prediction. Follow after him.”

-Damn, he went up the roof.

“It’s fine. You can still chase him by going around at the lower level.”

Even Silence would probably be thrown back running across the first booby-trap set
up. As Han predicted, Silence was hit square on the head by the flying can. As Silence
scanned his surroundings to make sense of the situation, the S.M.O squad members
already caught up to him once again. Gradually, Silence realized this time wouldn’t be
like the previous battles.

‘These brats…, are organized.’

The pursuers didn’t give Silence a chance to counter attack by maintaining their
distance, they simply continued to slyly push him into a corner. A sense of frustration
boiled in Silence’s heart.

‘Another trap.’

Silence spotted the steel tripwire set up to his knee height. He decided to high jump
over it, but as he flew up he noticed another trap rope.

‘A double trap!’

Silence’s head rebounded against the rope and fell flat on his butt. He properly aligned
his mask and then stood up once again.

‘It can’t be… ’

Silence thought of one person. Such a detailed trap, and organized tactics by his
pursuers. It was hard to believe this amount of skill was purely from these third years.
Veteran soldiers wouldn’t bother themselves with such childish games. The only youth
he could think of…

‘Han?’
Silence bit his lip. He used his blink skill to teleport to the opposite building. As if
reading his thoughts, a trap net was set off the moment he landed.

Weeng!

Silence urgently blinked once more. He rolled on the ground with an unstable balance.

Tadatadak!

His pursuers were almost at his tail. The four looked like they would simultaneously
try and capture him from all sides. However, they maintained a safe distance away so
that Silence would not be able to launch his signature counter attack.

‘Han, very sly of you.’

Just the commander had changed, but the youths he could trample upon with his eyes
closed became opponents to be feared.

‘This is making me mad. It feels like I’ve volunteered to walk into a tiger’s den.’

Silence felt incredibly displeased. Everything was flowing according to his opponent’s
calculations.

‘Are they trying to tell me that however much I struggle, I’ll remain in the palm of
Buddha?’

Silence murmured to himself and paused for a moment. When he stopped, his
pursuer’s stopped as well. It seems his pursuers would only attack once all four squad
members gathered.

‘I’ll wipe them all out.’

Silence’s eyes glowed. Silence needed to blink two consecutive times. It was difficult
to perfectly blink himself behind his opponent.

‘This is tricky. Have they already prepared something for my attack patterns as well?
Or maybe this is just their luck.’

Silence shook his head. He just needed to reach his dorm. The youths would not chase
him into his room.
Weeeng.

Silence used blink as he avoided all the obstructions. He avoided all the traps and
obstacles with godly reflexive skills. As long as he could see it, he would be able to
dodge it.

‘These crude traps are nothing!’

Silence looked across all the traps in plain view. There was a net on the ground. If he
set off the trap wire, the net would rise and capture him. Silence bent his hips
backwards. He easily slipped under the trap line in a limbo.

‘That was easy.’ Silence thought. Then suddenly the net wrapped up and rose into the
sky from under him.

‘How? I didn’t even brush past it?’

Silence looked confounded. He attempted to blink to the next nearest location. The
moment he landed, he stepped onto another trap. It seemed the other knew that
Silence would blink to this very location.

Pah!

A blinding light flashed directly at Silence’s direction. He momentarily lost his vision,
and couldn’t open his eyes properly. He wouldn’t be able to use his blink skills like this.

“I’m sorry, Silence.”

He heard Han’s voice. Han was hiding not too far away and used his telekinesis to trip
the tripwire. Another net rose up under him at once, and Silence urgently blinked to
the closest spot he could find.

‘I’ve installed high power light bulbs in all the places that Silence would possibly blink
into.’

No matter how much Han calculated, it was impossible to take every element into
consideration. The other had just set up a stupid amount of traps all around the area.
He had set up another three checkmate points around the third year zone. All of the
destinations were of the locations which Han predicted of Silence.
“Victory!”

The youths saw Silence struggle and totter trying to find his own balance. The youths
ran to capture their prey before the other could find his own proper foothold.

‘I’m seriously mad.’

Silence held his mask and thought. His eyes couldn’t adjust due to the blinding light
all around him. It was like stars spun all around himself.

‘No more games.’

Silence grabbed the arms of the first youth who attacked him. The arm was pulled into
a rough unnatural direction. He kneed the youths on their flank to knock them out. He
raised his leg up high and stomped down with all his strength.

Hwi-ririk!

Silence attacked excessively. He could just barely make out the youth’s forms. Silence
remained calm and took on the youths one by one. The youths were not weak in the
least. Silence’s technical skills were just too great. Silence could easily counter attack
any move and send his opponent’s flying.

‘Unbelievable.’

Han’s eyes grew wide. It was his first time seeing such advanced techniques. It felt like
a martial arts movie was playing out before his eyes. This was only possible because
of Silence’s artificially enhanced body, abnormally strong physique, and reflexes. He
flexibly moved his arms and easily dissolved his opponent’s attacks by turning them
over for his own advantages. He easily threw a fully grown adult with one arm swing.
The youths were thrown into the air as if they were balloons.

Weeng!

Silence recovered in this time, and used his blink skill once more. After he finished off
the youths, he appeared before Han.

-You’re the worst.

Silence wrote on his electric note and quietly returned to his dorms alone. Han could
feel the other’s condition by just observing the way the other walked.

‘He’s really mad now.’

Han let out a heavy sigh as he observed the youths sprawled all over the area. He
already thought that the operation would end in this fashion.

“Everyone, get up. Game’s over.” Han declared to the youths.

Han thought their game had crossed a line. He knocked on Silence’s dorm several
times to apologize. The other was inside, but was refusing to open the door. Han stood
before Silence’s door and shouted.

“Silence, let me apologize. I was wrong.”

He could hear noise from within the room.

-Why did you do that to me?

An arm stuck out an electric note.

“I couldn’t refuse Canute’s request. In the past, he helped me at the most critical time.
No, everything is my fault. I could’ve rejected their request… I must’ve thought it
would have been fun.”

-What’s so fun?

His words were very concise.

“I wanted to test whether I could stop you with my own strength. I was also a bit
curious of your mask.”

Creak.

The door opened a bit. Silence was wearing his mask. He brought his electric note up
to his face.

-Don’t do that again.

Han nodded. Silence always kept his mask on. The degree of his secrecy was too
extreme to say that this was all for the sake of appearance.

‘He must have his own reasons.’

Han gave up all his lingering questions of Silence’s face. Silence hated to reveal his face
to this degree, He didn’t have any thought to force the other.

“I’ll be sure to tell Canute well. Shall I send him here to apologize?”

-No, it’s fine. I just wanted an apology from you.

Silence felt betrayed by Han. He had thought they were close, but Han took Canute’s
side. This was what made Silence mad the most.

“See you then.” Han said about to leave.

Silence peered on to Han and held the other’s arm.

Han looked to Silence with a puzzled expression.

-I promised you last time that I would lend you the movie. I’m going to keep my
promise.

Han thought back and nodded. It was Silence’s promise to him just before their last
battle in Tirania.

“Ah, The Samurai that Cut the Moon? Right?”

Silence nodded.

-Come in for a moment. I need to look for the file.

Han entered Silence’s room for the first time. While Silence looked for the file, Han
looked around the room.

‘Movie posters…… ’

There were several worn out posters plastered on the wall, most were of East Asian
martial art movie posters. It was a mystery where these posters were sourced from.
At the corner of the room, a sword was hung up onto the wall. Han touched it and
lightly lifted it off the wall. It was very light weight.

-It’s a replica. I don’t go around day to day, always carrying my real weapons.

Silence found the files and began to copy them onto a USB drive.

“You really like movies, don’t you?” Han asked while looking around the room.

-This is one of the only ways I can see the outside world.

Han flinched. He already knew that Silence was brought to Ark since a young age. The
youngest age Silence would have been recruited was probably 7 or 8 years old.

‘Maybe he was brought here at an even younger age… then could it be that he doesn’t
know of what the outside world is like at all?’

Han’s generation of youths had all experienced the outside world for themselves. They
all had a slight idea what it was like outside. They wouldn’t wander aimlessly and
would be able to quickly adjust.

-I know that movies are not a true reflection of the world, but I can’t help but long for
a world like it. Everyone is so amazing.

Han received the USB from Silence. He stood up and stuck it into his pocket, and left
Silence’s room. Silence wrote on his electric note to enjoy his time with the movie.

‘Could all Silence knows was of the world inside these movies…?’

Han entered his room and turned on the movie. The screen quality was poor. It seems
the movie was fairly old. Han could only manage to watch midway before he fell asleep.
The movie was truly boring.

Ark was very busy for the past few days. Han realized this as the days past. Other than
the third years, every soldier was busy preparing for full out war. The only ones to
have time for quiet rest, was the third years.

“Just rest, Han.”

Laocha said while tying his shoe. Han peered to the other soldiers.
“…Is it the True Group?”

No detailed reports have been passed to the third years. However, Han had already
deduced since long ago. He picked up bits and pieces of the conversations and deduced
as such.

“Yes, a portion of the leaders in the True Group surrendered in exchange for safety.
The hidden truth has reached even their ears. We can round up a wholesale arrest in
one swoop.”

The appearance of the dragon, ironically, worked to Ark’s favor. They were slapped by
reality in the face upon the appearance of the natural enemy of humans. A major
portion of the Truth Group who believed that dragons would not appear again,
defected.

‘Anything would be better than humanity’s extinction, no matter how much they hated
psykers. Also The Ark Project is perfectly justified now.’

Han let off a bitter smile.

“This war doesn’t originally belong to you. You are the future of this war, this war
belongs to us. Adults will be the ones to settle this.”

Ark originally strictly forbid for the second generation youths to fight against humans.
The last defensive battle had been beyond their own control, so the second generation
youths had to take part. This was not enforced merely for morality and ethic’s sake.

Humans must not become accustomed to killing humans. In order to reduce

psychological shock, the mind becomes defensive and gradually, killing will become a
form of justification. To most psykers, such forms of justification were neanthropic.

[I’m superior to the archaic humans. We are the new generation, killing the archaic
humans are for our own future.]

When one begins to construct false knowledge, and name oneself the new generation
of humans, a concrete wall of prejudice would be formed. Such a psyker would be
more than capable of starting a new wave of genocide amongst humans. When the id
and ego do not mature and cannot work as one, they become more prone to fall into
these traps of false knowledge. Even if humanity were to win the war against dragons,
trying to control these powerful super humans would prove to be impossible.
The True Group used these types of logic to persuade many of its followers. In truth,
many psykers who have grown to believe themselves as elites, have been the ones to
cause problems. Humans with power have a tendency to try and reign over others.
The greed of ‘domination,’ to some degree is within everyone. Thus, humans feared
psykers.

‘Even so, defending against dragons comes first.’

Laocha carried his military gear as he thought. He patted Han’s shoulder. The plane
with Ark’s soldiers took off.

“Damn…”

Han mumbled while watching the plane become smaller in the sky. Some of the third
years watched Ark’s happenings and thought nothing of it, and there were those like
Han who had become quite sensitive to everything.

The Transnational Allied Forces simultaneously raided into the True Groups
headquarters all over the world. The True Group was near eliminated within only a
month. Only the remnant straggling True Group soldiers who lost their headquarters
due to guerilla war were able to mix in with the normal civilians and escape. The war
was easily won by the Allied Forces. However, this was not without sacrifice. This was
especially the case for the soldiers of Ark who were in charge of leading the special
military operations.

At the end of this war, the soldiers of Ark returned one by one. Several familiar faces
could not be found.

“Laocha is dead.”

Han said reading the list of those who died in battle. Silence’s fist shook. Han blankly
looked up into the sky.

‘Humans die and disappear so easily.’

Just a month ago, he said goodbye to Laocha before the plane took off. The other had
died at a place he couldn’t even begin to imagine. Han couldn’t feel the reality of this
sink in yet. It felt like Laocha would still be alive out there somewhere in this world.
Maybe it was because he didn’t personally witness the other’s death, the pain of his
sadness felt numb.
‘Maybe it’s my own emotions that have become dull.’

Han could keenly feel these shifts while in Ark. He was subtly different from the others
in Ark. It was difficult to put into words. A normal person will not be able to lead a
group of orphans and survive. It might not have been the harsh atmosphere that he
grew up in that shaped his personality, maybe it was because it was Han that he could
survive.

-I’m tired so I’ll be going.

Silence returned to his dorms earlier than usual. Han watched Silence’s back figure.

‘Silence is a long time vetran, but he has a weak heart.’

Silence simply endures everything. Probably the other’s original personality would
have resembled Kuro’s.

“Many people have died.” Canute said while standing next to Han.

Not much time had passed since Canute was transferred into the third year. The
countless deaths of Ark’s soldier’s didn’t affect him as much. The other had become
accustomed to death, and had not made much close ties as of yet. It couldn’t be helped
that the other didn’t have much of a reaction. If one were to fall into depression over
every single happening, one would not be able to live on in life.

“Did you apologize to Silence yet?” Han asked.

Silence had said he was okay, but Han advised Canute to apologize.

“I did, and he said he was okay. He’s a cool guy. I like him.” Canute said while laughing.

He had become quite close with the youths in his secret squad, S.M.O, and could be
seen training together frequently. It seemed that S.M.O still aimed to demask Silence,
but in Han’s view they lacked the military strength to do so.

“I’ve already made it clear already, but I won’t participate in any of S.M.O’s operations.”
Han stressed his words. Canute expressed his regret.

“The kids in S.M.O will be upset. Everyone had unanimously agreed to make you their
leader.”
“You’ve apologized, but still plan to continue with this?” Han said sharply. Canute
shrugged and shook his index finger.

“His mask isn’t important. I just want to win against Silence. He’s one of the strongest
people in the third year of Ark. It’s always good to have a goal to aim for.”

Canute stretched his body out. He looked refreshed.

Han’s data bracelet vibrated and blinked a message of summon. He had not been
summoned for some time now. Han stopped training his psychic powers and
confirmed the full message on his data bracelet.

“Urgent summoning?”

Han wiped his sweat with a towel and hurried out of the training hall. His expression
became rigid.

‘Has there been a surprise attack? No, everyone at Ark seems too relaxed for such. It
probably has nothing to do with actual battles… Why would I be urgently summoned?’

Han thought of the past few days. He already dismantled all the traps that they set up
during the S.M.O secret operation. He hasn’t done anything to be disciplined. He was
frequently summoned to many places, but it had never been an urgent summoning.

Screeeech!

His ears numbed from the screeching noise as soon as he stepped out of the training
facility. A motorbike with a sidecar stopped just ahead of Han. A soldier wearing
goggles spoke to Han.

“You’re Han of third year, right? Get on.”

The soldier pulled Han to the side car, and practically shoved the other in. He threw a
helmet onto Han’s head. The other party looked very pressed for time.

‘He should be a Major.’

Han confirmed the other’s rank as he secured his helmet. The task which needed
immediate attention was so urgent that a Major had come on a motorbike to
personally fetch a private soldier. Han felt that this situation was very out of the
ordinary.

“Hold on tight.”

VROOOM!

The Major’s motorbike made a rough noise. He weaved through the third year zone
and cut into the executive’s main residence. The guards confirmed the major’s identity,
and opened the roadblock.

“This is a restricted zone.” Han said.

This is the first time he had been to this zone of Ark. The Major didn’t answer as we
stood on standby while they fully opened the roadblock.

Weeeng!

The vacant lot’s floor opened to reveal a tunnel that could fit a single car. The
underground road directly connected to the lower floors of Ark. The major confirmed
if Han was buckled in securely before zipping down. The steep underground tunnel
soon slowed to a gentle curve.

‘I wonder if this is how it feels like riding a rollercoaster?’ Han felt a bit nauseous. The
major only stopped the motorbike after around a minute of racing down the tunnel.

“This is Under Ark.” The Major said in a low mumble. Han’s eyes widened.

“What in the world…!”

Even Han couldn’t stop himself from the shock. There was a facility just as enormous
underground of Ark as the upper floors. There were various machines being
constructed all around the facility, and another corner of the space was a storage for
various weapons.

‘Stock material for war?’

Han had no idea of the existence of Under Ark.

‘There is probably a lot going on which would not be good to reveal to the public.’
There was no way for a place like Ark to not have even a sliver of fault and dirt to them.
Han deduced that everything stocked in Under Ark were those that related to things
that related to shady conduct.

“Everything will be explained when we get there, Han.” A familiar voice, Chief of Staff,
Alexander said.

“Chief of Staff?”

The Major saluted the Chief of Staff walking their way. Han also belatedly gave a salute.
He was taken aback by everything here that he reacted slowly.

“Follow me. We don’t have much time.”

Alexander lead them through a very long tunnel. Han didn’t have time to even ask
questions while he followed them as Alexander’s steps were very quick.

“Did something happen? I’m aware that I shouldn’t be in a place like this at all.”

“Yes, that’s right. This is a zone that is not revealed to the third years. However, we
have to do something while going against the rules.”

Han dryly swallowed. The Chief of Staff said urgently.

“I must know what is going on.”

Han quickened his steps to walk next to Alexander.

“You are about to meet with Ark’s Supreme Commander. He is the second Supreme
Commander, Juergen Teller.”

“The Supreme Commander?”

“The Supreme Commander does not have much time. He’s dividing what little time he
has to talk to you.”

Han had never heard the Supreme Commander’s personal name, though he knew such
a person existed. However, not a single person discussed the topic specifically.
Everyone assumed that the actual Supreme commander was Alexander Lekhor.
‘The Supreme Commander… the person of the highest rank in Ark.’

The Supreme Commander who leads without appearing in front of any of his own
soldiers. Han couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

‘What kind of person is he that he remains in a place like this?’

Han followed Alexander deeper into Under Ark. They had to go through two more
security check points before they arrived. The desolate corridor gradually became
extravagant and well decorated.

Ru-LaLaLa-RuRu-.

Classical music flowed gently. High quality luxury carpet was installed through the
entire room with classic furniture. One man waited sitting in the middle of the room.
The man looked very skinny for a man his height. He had an IV drip attached to his
arm, and he looked like nothing but skin and bones making him look much older than
his actual age. At a glance, he looked elderly, but actually the man was of similar age
to Alexander.

‘That man is the Supreme Commander?’

Han narrowed his eyes. He was a frailer man than he originally imagined. He was
practically a hospital patient.

“Do not fear.”

The Supreme Commander’s voice sounded aged. His voice seemed to hold a wisdom
of someone who lived a very long time.

“Are you implying I am afraid?”

Han realized his fault and bit his tongue shut. Alexander had said not to say useless
things.

“You calm down very fast. You’re as I heard. The new psychoframe will be piloted by
this child?” Juergen asked Alexander.

“That’s correct. We are in immediate need of additional troops.”

“You manage yourself well that your short training period can be completely
disregarded.”

“If you were born to a more peaceful era, you would have made a better detective than
Columbo.” Alexander joked. Juergen blearily opened his eyes. He reached his hand, and
grabbed onto the tip of Hand’s hand. Han discovered bruises on Juergen’s arms like he
had been tied down by something.

‘He has wounds on his wrists, like he had been tied down… ’

Han felt a shock through his whole body. As soon as the commander’s hand made
contact with Han’s, it felt like jolts of electricity flowed through all his blood vessels.

Thump!

Han’s heart shook. He jerked, and staggered backwards. It was an unpleasant feeling.

‘What was that just now?’

Han seemed to have forgotten the other party was the Supreme Commander and
glared threateningly to the other. He observed the Supreme Commander then
Alexander.

“You’re very sensitive, and keep a tough wall around your heart. Even I can’t force
myself to glance inside it.”

Juergen said like he was talking to himself. His voice sounded hoarse and his words
kept cracking. Suddenly, Han thought of what Sergeant Red had said to him in the past.
Han didn’t dare to let go of even the smallest details.

“Mental telepathy… Unique skill?” When Han had captured the elu mage alive in his
past secret mission, he had handed off the elu to a user with mental telepathy. He
didn’t know that person would have been the Supreme Commander of Ark. Juergen
nodded his head to confirm Han’s suspicions.

“Did his harsh environment turn him into this soldier today?”

Juergen left Han to his own thoughts and continued to talk to Alexander. A few
important discussions were exchanged. Juergen pressed his forehead like he was tired
already. He looked to Han and said his last few words.
“Your hand was warm. That is proof that your heart is also warm.”

The short meeting with Juergen ended like this. Alexander lead Han out of this place.
Han slowly organized this confusing day in his mind. Han said few words as they
continued to make their way out of the long corridor.

“Does Supreme Commander Juergen have any problems with his mind?”

“You do not need to know.”

“I’ve already seen too much. I can already deduce so much myself.”

Alexander let out a short sigh. Han insight abilities alone were brilliant enough to
consider the youth a genius. His mind was calculative and his ability to absorb
information was like no other. One didn’t need to be creative in order to be considered
a genius. There are those who can be provided the same information, but find insight
into many more aspects than the norm.

‘So Han has made it to even this place.’

Alexander shook his head. Han could probably infer many truths from everything he
witnessed today. Han wasn’t a child who would lightly spill secrets left and right, but
there were some secrets that must remain secrets.

‘I should have blind folded him.’

It was already too late for everything. The summoning today was out of the blue.
Alexander was reading through various documents when the Supreme Commander
suddenly delegated him this task.

“Do not talk about anything that happened here today. Especially not to any students.”

“Understood. I just wanted to confirm if my deductions were correct. It seems the

Supreme Commander has a limited time that he could maintain his sanity. That is
probably a side effect of his mental telepathic unique ability. He probably usually lives
in UnderArk handcuffed…”

Alexander’s brows furrowed.

“Stop. Do not speak anymore. Do you want to brag about how smart you are? Yes, he
looks through documents during those short moments and delegates the policy of
Ark’s future. He especially spared what little time he had to meet you. The time that
the Supreme Commander can maintain his sanity is very short. This is the side effect
after he overused his ability. His own memories, and the memories he absorbed from
others, cause great mental fatigue. Are you satisfied now?”

Alexander spoke angrily. Rather than anger toward Han, it was more of a regretful
anger for the Commander.

“Apologies.”

Han felt that his own deduction was uncalled for.

“You are the first ever to pilot the psychoframe from amongst the second generationers.
Do you understand what this means?”

“A bit.”

“You can fight against dragons on equal ground, and at the same time, it means that
humanity is in that much more danger against the dragons.”

“…”

“Just keep in mind that this decision was not made easily. Han.”

Alexander said seriously. They must use the time the Supreme Commander could offer
to their best. Han objectively replied.

“Of course it would have been a difficult decision. I’m barely 10 years old, and have
been shouldered with all these responsibilities.”

Alexander’s eyes shook. Han’s words directly stung his heart. Although the Chief of
Staff, he often forgot this fact. This was one of humanity’s cruelest decisions. They had
left humanity’s future to young children who had barely lived out their own lives.

‘It could be that we have been looking for a child like Han all this time… although a
youth, he behaves and thinks no different from adults twice his age. It might be his
mental strength that far exceeds any of us. A superhuman that could be burdened with
all of humanity without any guilt.’
Supreme Commander Juergen had said it would be good for Han to pilot the new
psychoframe. It had been a short moment, but Juergen roughly looked to Han’s nature.
It meant that Han wouldn’t be the type to wage a war against humanity in the future.

“Return to your task, Han.”

Alexander said, he couldn’t bring himself to look Han in the eye. Han saluted and exited
Under Ark. The soldiers drove Han back to his dorms.

“Huu.”

Han couldn’t help but behave a bit sharply toward Alexander. He didn’t like to be stuck
in situations he couldn’t understand. It was dangerous to be stuck in a situation that
he couldn’t understand. Han reflexively hated to be trapped in a situation like today. If
this place had not been Ark itself, he would not have willingly entered a suspicious
place like the Under Ark. He wasn’t a brave and adventurous person like Canute.

‘There is one thing that I could be sure of. Now, I’m a needed existence to Ark.”

The person with power had now reversed. Up until now, Ark had held everything
against Han, but now Han was the one with the upper hand- though just a little bit. If
Han had the heart to go against Ark, he could potentially wreak worse havoc than the
True Group. The psychoframes wielded such power.

‘However, I must move forward with intent. They are all adults. I cannot blindly obey
their every order.’

Ark would not sacrifice the driver’s seat without a single plan to fall back onto.

Suddenly, Han realized that his own thoughts didn’t differ much from the higher-ups.
The problem of humanity’s extinction was imminent, yet he was playing tug of war
against Ark to maintain more power over the other. Both parties feared betrayal of the
other.

“How funny.”

Han threw out all the meaningless thoughts in his mind. It was too early to sleep, but
he turned to bed without bothering to shower. He flipped on his data bracelet while in
bed, and confirmed the message which arrived from Korea.
‘I just want to protect them.’

Han mumbled and closed his eyes.

References

1. ↑ god of fire, metalworking, stone masonry, forges and the art of sculpture
Earth still remained vastly impoverished even after science had advanced by leaps and
bounds through the years. Roughly about half of the older generation of humanity had
given up on the idea of restoring Earth to how it once used to be. Africa was one of the
continents on Earth which was hit the harshest after the war. The soil endlessly dried
up, though the technology to prevent the continent from turning into a desert existed,
no nation volunteered to fund such an expensive project. Enough time has passed that
words such as “charity” and “relief support” have almost become non-existent.

“Ugh.”

A youth from Northern Africa Hidu Tribe furrowed her brows. The sun’s rays felt
stronger than usual. She would need to walk a quarter of the day just to fetch water.
Just thinking of the journey made her feel frustrated.

“Child, you must hurry. You must return before it becomes dark.”

Her grandmother pressured the youth to hurry. The youth of the Hidu tribe let out a
heavy sigh.

“Yes, grandmother.”

She slug a water jug on her back and left home. She felt her breath stop the moment
she took a step out of her home. It felt like the sand was suffocating her with every
breath.

‘This is so annoying.’

The youth of the Hidu tribe mumbled while wandering around her village. The other
youths of the village slowly appeared from their homes and gathered. The youths all
traveled together to fetch water for their families. It was much better to travel in a
group than alone. It wasn’t as boring, and less dangerous. They all carried their own
water jugs and marched off. After a long while, they finally arrived at a bridge.
“Everyone be careful.” the youth to arrive first said.

The other youths nodded. This place was called the Dragon’s Canyon. The remnants
of war which took place before all the youths were born remained untouched. The
ground was split into two by the dragon’s single breath. The bottom of the Canyon
couldn’t be seen with the naked eye because it was so dark.

Creak.

The roughly put together bridge shook with every step.

“Ugh.”

The youths mumbled to themselves while making their way across, gripping onto the
rope handles firmly. If they were to go around the canyon, it would take them much
longer to reach their destination. They had to cross through this bridge or else it would
take them more than just a single day. The youths all risked their lives every time they
left the village to fetch water.

Before the war, the families of the youths lived in places with running water, however
after the war everyone was forced to scavenge for resources.

‘So tiring.’

Today, the youth really didn’t feel like working to fetch water. She wanted the luxury
to rest just a single day. It must be these thoughts that made her careless, as she made
her way across without such a tight grip.

WHeeeee!

When she almost reach the other side of the Canyon, a strong gust of wind burst from
the bottom of the Canyon. The bridge shook, and everyone held on for their lives.
However, the youth full of complaints lost her grip on the rope and fell to the bottom
of the Canyon floor.

“KYAAAAA!”

Her scream bounced all through the canyon. Her face paled in pure terror.

‘Am I going to die like this?’

The girl flailed her arms. She could see dry twigs and pointy rocks sticking out in
patches from the canyon wall as she descended.

Hwiririk!

Today, it seems luck was by her side. As she bulleted down to her death, her clothes
got caught by a pointy rock and came to a stop as she swung back and forth in midair.
Her clothes stretched and looked like it would tear apart any moment. The girl got a
hold of her senses and grasped onto her clothes tightly. She tightly shut her eyes as
tears trickled down her cheeks. She wet her pants in fright while hanging for her life.

“Haaa, Haaa.”

The girl’s face was covered in tears and snot as her whole body trembled. Even after
falling such a long time, she couldn’t see the bottom. She reached out and gripped onto
the pointed rock with all the life she had.

“Mom…”

The girl cried. The other young girls screamed her name from above.

“I’m here—!!” The girl shouted out. The voice echoed and reverberated up. The adults
would somehow save her. The girl held onto this small hope as she hugged tightly on
the pointed boulder. She gradually calmed down as time passed. She didn’t know how
much time passed, but at noon, the sun was higher up and the sunrays reached to her
location. She could gradually make out her surroundings.

“Ah…!”

The pointed boulder she was holding onto, wasn’t a rock. It was a giant rib bone. She
looked all around the place she clung onto.

“A dragon?”

The dragon’s remains was embedded deeply in the cliff wall. These bones didn’t
belong to a dinosaur, but a dragon. The bones looked much more weathered in age
than the 10 years of history it had with humans.

The remains of a dragon in Africa was reported. The Ark’s soldiers and research teams
were deployed. A psyker team was also deployed, and Han was to be included.
“Canute, Silence, Simon.”

Han recruited three members to his squad, and Han was dubbed as the squad leader
once again. Most of the first generation psykers were recovering after the war against
the True Group. It was impossible to immediately deploy them on another military
operation. An exception was made for the third years this time around. This wouldn’t
be a single unit military operation, but the research and military teams would follow
along, so the third years only needed to superficially keep guard.

“Don’t worry. There will most likely not be a chance to fight at all. We’re only going for
the worst case scenario.” Han said to his squad members.

This was Canute’s first official military operation deployment, but he looked carefree.
It rather appeared that he was looking forward to it.

“What a shame. I hope minions would appear.” Canute said. Simon who was next to
them, laughed coldly.

“Heh, better to count your blessings than start complaining.”

-Everyone quiet. I didn’t get enough sleep because I was watching movies all night.

Silence’s handwriting itself expressed irritation.

“Do we have to be mindful just because you couldn’t sleep?”

The squad members bickered. The plane engine systematically sounded. Han knew
that the best case scenario for this operation would be if they didn’t need to battle at
all. The psyker team was incorporated in case minions ever appeared. As long as
minions didn’t appear, they would be able to sightsee like they were tourists. This
would be an easy mission. So, a team of third years was formed.

“Is this Africa? All I see is sand.”

Canute looked out his window. Han also looked down. Everything on the ground was
in ruins, every now and then, they passed giant crack like canyons like the ground was
split open. All these cracks eventually formed into a canyon.

“They say the fourth dragon which appeared in Africa was especially strong. The
dragon was the one to have made all these canyons.”
Han said all the things he reviewed before hand. Africa has dubbed this place as the
Dragon’s Canyon. There were many artificially made canyons here, and there was no
way for them to fund the restoration of these lands, so this area of Africa has largely
been neglected. Africa’s situation had fallen so much that the government didn’t have
enough power to even support its own citizens. Korea wasn’t much different from this
place.

“They found a dragon fossil, right?”

Canute appeared very excited. Han also felt a bit higher in spirit. They were being
deployed, but it felt more like a field trip. He didn’t feel much burden in his heart either.

“We’re always short in dragon ingredients. Ark wants to hurry to recover all the
possible material.” Simon said while looking below. The soldier’s plane descended
down first. Then, the researchers plane landed. Han’s team was the last to land. Han’s
squad code was to be E, and was dubbed Easy Squad. It seems for the time being, Han’s
squad’s code name will be fixed as E.

“Let’s get off.”

Han pushed his squad member’s back one by one out of the plane. They had their guns
slung on their backs as they looked around. The African Alliance soldiers surrounded
the units of Ark.

“You’re to standby with the research teams.”

Commander Azim, the main commander of this military operation said. He was a
soldier from Libya of Africa. Ark does their best to deploy their troops to their own
countries to the best of their abilities. Commander Azim exchanged words with the
domestic soldiers.

“Ah, it’s very hot. Would you like to drink some juice?”

Ark’s researcher’s said to Han. They took out a chilled drink from the ice box. This was
the life of luxury in a place like Africa. The members of Easy Squad each took a glass
of juice. The juice in this incredibly hot and dry weather made them feel at ease.

– This feels like we’re on a field trip.

Silence stuck his straw into his juice and sipped his drink. His full helmet which
covered his face completely would probably be very hot. Silence was the focus of the
domestic military soldier’s attention. Everyone whispered that only a crazy person
would wear a helmet in such hot weather.

“Aren’t you hot?”

Canute said. Silence pointed to a newly installed component to his helmet. A quiet
motor hummed from the location.

– This is a portable cooler. I have it connected to the battery at my hip. I requested for
the development team to attach it for me.

“Do you have an air conditioner on your helmet?” Canute’s eyes grew wide in shock.

– That’s right.

“Let me try it!”

Canute approached Silence, but was punched. Han watched the two’s comedy skit
boredly and then turned away. Simon appeared to be affected by the heat and didn’t
leave his tent often.

‘Everyone is having a hard time with this heat.’

Canute was from Scandinavia. Simon was from England. Silence was also from the
western side of the world. The person who was most used to this sort of intense heat
was Han. Korea’s summer heat greatly rivaled the nations which resided on Earth’s
equator. The temperature in Korea felt much hotter than it actually was because of the
intense humidity. It also helped that Han’s perseverance was never ending, so heat of
this degree didn’t bother Han as much.

‘As I thought, we don’t have much to do here.’

Political negotiations would be the executive officer’s jobs. The people to investigate
the site, would be the researchers. Squad Easy was included in this military operation
as their last resort, in case of emergency. Han comfortably enjoyed his experience in
Africa. The atmosphere itself was very different.

“They are watching us. Creeps me out.”

Simon said while looking at the domestic soldiers here. Simon placed a cool wet towel
on his face.

Whisper whisper.

The domestic soldiers all stole glances toward Easy Squad. It seems they were aware
that Easy Squad was a specialty squad- the only weapon humanity had against the
dragons. They were humanity’s most elite soldiers. They were the third years of Ark.
It couldn’t be helped that the domestic soldiers would look at them with great interest.

‘I feel like a monkey in a zoo.’

Han had experienced this situation once before. It had been the same during the time
he was deployed out to the Chinese Psychic Research Center. The researchers there all
stared at Han with curious eyes. He felt creeped out just remembering the look in their
eyes.

-We’re unique. This is a matter of course.

Text flashed from Silence’s helmet shield. Words rolled across the display.

“Humph, I don’t like them. A majority of the children born with psychic powers were
killed the moment they were discovered in most of the African nations. They didn’t
acknowledge the psykers were humans just a few years back.”

Simon said irritated. There were correlations of nations with less economic power and
maltreatment of psykers. Psykers were considered monsters by most people of Africa
for the longest time. This opinion was still wide spread all throughout the continent
of Africa. Humans naturally fear anyone different than oneself. Nations with more
development and higher level of education tended to treat psykers more fairly. A
rational thought process of education was necessary until the two could peacefully
coexist.

“It feels like Simon is always angry.” Canute said.

“The world is messed up, how can one not get mad? You guys are irritating as well,
bastards.” Simon complained.

Everyone was already aware that Simon had a nasty temper. Han had witnessed it first
hand since his first year in Ark. Canute and Silence were also aware of Simon’s hot-
tempered character.

‘He’s not saying those things with any evil intent. He’s like that with everyone in
general.’

Simon had a very high sense of pride and responsibility. He couldn’t let go of the fact
that he couldn’t properly carry out his military duties. He was the type to go overboard
to the point of ruining his body if it meant succeeding his duties. Han strongly believed
in Simon’s will power. He was the second person to overcome the dragon fear in
Tirania.

“We’re going to go down right now, would one of you guys tag along?” A female
researcher said with a warm friendly smile.

Everyone looked like they didn’t want to move because of the heat. Han observed his
squad members and volunteered himself.

“I will go.”

Silence who was observing silently also stood up.

-I will go too. My helmet has a cooler. Buddy system necessary for safety precaution.

Silence wrote his words in short fragmented sentences. Han nodded. Silence was right.
It didn’t matter how safe this place was, they should always move in groups of two.

Han and Silence followed the researcher. A lift was installed to descent down into the
canyon. The lift could easily carry 20 full grown adults with room to spare.

Weeeng!

The pulley mechanism started. The lift shook and gradually descended. Han observed
the researchers. They all looked very interested in the dragon remains discovered
here. They could possibly find a clue to solve the secrets of dragons.

-We would die if we fall.

Silence tapped Han’s shoulder. Han dryly swallowed. He couldn’t see the bottom of
this canyon.
“Don’t say unlucky things.”

Han cut off Silence’s words.

“It should be here.”

The researchers murmured. They peered toward the dark Canyon walls. They turned
on their lamp and surveyed the surrounding area.

“Dragon…”

Everyone exclaimed. The dragon’s bones were embedded to the canyon wall. It didn’t
appear untouched, but what remained of these bones clearly conveyed the form of a
dragon.

“It looks like to be the size of Bahamut. It’s not your average dragon.”

“How long has this been buried down here?”

The researchers asked. The female researcher that brought Han and Silence looked to
the two of them.

“Please conduct a test for us, young soldiers.”

Han slipped off his glove and nodded.

‘If this is really a dragon’s bone, it should react to our psychic energy.’

Han pushed past the group of researchers and approached the dragon bones. The
researchers split apart and made a path for Han.

“I will start now.”

Han said as he placed his hand on the rib bone of the dragon. Han felt a shock of
electricity run through his entire body. His irises glowed of blue light.

Wwwuuung!

Psychic energy burst from Han’s fingertips. The psychic energy flashed brightly as it
ran through the dragon bone. The dragon remains shined with blinding psychic
energy. It was a unique light. The researchers simply gazed in admiration.

Tak!

Silence who felt something was off, pulled Han away. Han let go of the bone.

“Thanks.”

Han used up most of his psychic energy. Dragon bones naturally absorbed psychic
energy. It hungrily absorbed the psychic energy like it had been starved to the bone.
Han was having a difficult time letting go of the bone, and Silence helped Han at that
instance.

“This is definitely a dragon bone. We will take care of the rest. You’ve worked hard.”

The researchers said to Han. Another lift descended just next to them. Han and Silence
hopped on the other lift and returned back up. The researchers moved about busily.
Han and Silence returned back to the surface of the canyon.

-It was really a dragon.

“Didn’t it look really old?”

-Dragons are from another world.

“Does this mean they existed before the initial invasion?”

Han couldn’t come up with a conclusion no matter how much he tried to wrap his head
around everything. That would be the researcher’s jobs. The researchers looked
excited with this new batch of clues. It was just as important for the researchers to
reveal the origin of dragons.

“Hey! How was it?”

Canute said energetically. Han looked at Canute with a confused expression. Just a
moment ago, the other was near death from the intense heat. However now, he looked
very refreshed.

Bam! Bam!
Canute was currently playing soccer with some of the domestic soldiers. It was a brisk
mini game in teams of 5. They couldn’t communicate with one another, but it was rare
to find a person who didn’t know of soccer.

“It was really a dragon bone.”

Han said. Canute wiped his sweat and smiled. The domestic soldiers who has become
quite friendly after a game said something to Canute. They said something in broken
English. Canute used his whole body to speak through body language, then nodded
when he could understand them.

“Watch. This is. Super. Powers.”

WOOONG!

Canute used his telekinesis to make the soccer ball float in the air.

“OOH!”

The domestic soldiers all cheered in awe. A few of them even clapped. Han scanned
the situation. The soldiers around Canute looked at him with a positive light. In
contrast, the other soldiers in the corner looked on with distrustful eyes.

“They are treating us like animals in a zoo. We’re not spectacles.”

Simon didn’t like Canute’s behavior.

‘It seems Simon’s temper runs shorter by the day.’

Han thought. Simon from long ago wasn’t very mature, but he didn’t act hysterically.
The other had grown quite a bit, but he seemed uncontent with everything in
everyway.

Simon appeared anxious. He was no longer the outstanding amongst the crowd, and
it seemed to greatly depressed him.

‘Damn it all, how am I a genius?’

Simon muttered returning to his tent. Simon was aware that Han and the Engineering
Team 3 had a closer relationship than ever these days. According to rumors, Han
would most likely become the first to join the second generation reinforcement
troops.

‘I was only a fake genius amongst a group of idiots.’

Simon felt greatly ashamed of himself and couldn’t seem to get himself out from the
pits. He put in effort to try and be nicer to others. However, due to his own inferiority
complex, nothing came easy.

“Huuu.”

Simon let out a sigh and returned to rest in his tent. There was one tent per person
and everything that anyone ever needed could be found instead. He wished to get
along with Han in a corner of his heart as well.

‘The fact that he picked me to be a member of his squad is proof that he has trust in
my abilities.’

Han was a great squad leader. Simon acknowledged this as well.

“Simon, we’re playing cards in Canute’s tent, want to join us?” Han asked from outside
the tent. Simon blankly looked at Han’s shadow which reflected on the tent walls.

“No, I’m tired so I’m going to rest.”

Han already knew that Simon would reject his offer. This was just an excuse to start a
conversation with the other.

“…You don’t look too good these days, did something happen?”

The other had hit the nail on the head. Simon’s furrowed his brows.

“Nothing, so mind your own business.”

“Simon, I’m not the one who is worried about you. I’ve picked you based on your
abilities when you’re at your best. If you can’t perform as usual, I will be the one
troubled when I make battle tactics.”
“You will be? What a joke. I won’t be the one to drag you down. Do you know how
many times I saved your life?”

Han momentarily closed his eyes upon Simon’s words. He thought of all the military
operations the two had been deployed together.

“Maybe 3 times?”

“I’m glad that you know. Go ahead and enjoy that life that I saved by yourself.”

Han scratched his head and left.

‘Is he worried over personal things?’

Han didn’t try to dig any further into Simon’s own worries. Han had an epiphany
during the last clash with Silence. Honoring the privacy of one another was very
important. There will always be a few things one will want to keep a secret from
others.

“How about Simon?” Canute asked while taking out some cards.

“He said he wants to sleep.”

Han sat down and popped a piece of chocolate into his mouth.

“He’s become grouchier since the last I saw him in second year.”

“It seems he’s a bit shaken mentally after the battle in Tirania. Though I don’t know
the exact details.”

Han had sensitive senses. He could always guess to a certain level of accuracy.
However, Han didn’t have much life experience to understand the nitty gritty details.
The youths spent the remainder of their time playing cards. When the chilling
darkness of the night fell, the youths gradually returned to their own tents to sleep.

On their second day, additional gear was delivered. Once dragon bones were
confirmed, all necessary equipment and gear were delivered to the base. Dragon
bones were a valuable resource. It was impossible to exchange dragon bone with any
amount of money. If they didn’t have dragon bone resources, they couldn’t make
additional weapons against dragons.
“Hey, Squad leader. What should we do?”

Canute got up with a haggard face. He stretched his body and let out a long yawn.

“We’re on standby. Also, it will be best not to affiliate too much with the domestic
soldiers like yesterday.” Han said to Canute.

Canute didn’t look pleased, but nodded.

‘There’s no problem with befriending them, but it would be troublesome if they were
to start some sort of conflict.’

Han was now more accustomed to dealing with complicated power struggles than the
remainder of the youths here. The domestic soldiers, Ark’s soldiers, researchers, and
Psyker team. We’ve all gathered here to overthrow the dragon, but the interest of each
party varied by margins. It was the best to remain quiet in situations like this.

“I hope we’re done here soon. It’s too hot here.”

The amount of dust and sand that stuck onto their bodies from the desert was
unbearable. They didn’t have any places to shower so they had to make do with a wet
towel.

Han looked to the passing soldiers as he wiped his body with a wet towel. The soldiers
had all sorts of different armor geared on their bodies.

Step step.

The exploration teams descended further down into the canyon. They were planning
to explore further below at the very base of the canyon. There had never been a single
team for the past ten years that ever tried to go down into the lowest point of the
canyon.

“Turn on your lights.”

They descended down to the level which the sunlight couldn’t reach. The exploration
team members turned on their head lights. There were moisture and moss on the
walls of the canyon. The air of this place felt like that of a cave. The dry sand gradually
darkened to a dark brown color.
Tak tak.

The member of the exploration team hooked some ropes to his body and dropped
down to the floor with light steps. The ground was firm enough for walking.

“Well, there’s nothing much here.”

The leading crew member mumbled. Everyone assumed there won’t be anything to be
found in such a place like this. This was just a formal investigation. The most important
task at hand was to excavate the dragon bone and safely bring it back to their home
base.

“How are the kids that tagged along doing?”

The kids that they were referring to was Easy Squad. The soldiers of Ark were well
aware that the third year soldiers were extremely young. The third years physically
appeared to have bodies of adults, but their faces still reflected much of their original
childishness. To all the soldiers, the third years were almost considered their younger
brothers or sons.

“They looked calm. They don’t disrupt our work uselessly, either.”

Africa was a particular place. Most of the population didn’t view psykers with a good
light, and most of the True Group guerrilla members remained hidden in this country.
It would be for the best to avoid as much conflict as they could with the locals here.

“We will be splitting into two groups. Split left and right.”

The exploration team were divided into two. Everyone made mindless small talk as
they investigated further into this darkness. Other than the humid and stuffy air, this
military operation was almost like a simple hiking field trip.

“Dragons are truly to be feared. A single breath was enough to make such a deep
canyon such as this.”

A member of the exploration team looked up and said. The light from the sky looked
like a single sliver of light from this depth.

“If it weren’t for this power, we wouldn’t have to fear them as much as we do. Did you
see the dragon remains on our way here?”
“I had a glance. Is that really a fossil from the past?”

“According to the researchers, they claim that the dragon remains are much older than
just 10 years.”

“Does that mean dragons were actual living beings that were born from this world?”

“That question would be answered by the researchers.”

The exploration team marched quite a distance before they decided to take a short
break. They looked around and decided to sit upon a huge boulder which pointed out
from the ground.

“Long time ago, I was hit in the knee by an arrow. Since then, my knee starts hurting
much quicker.”

A member of the exploration team said while massaging his own knee. He looked like
he was just joking around, but a majority of the dragon defense troops were made up
from regular soldiers. Jokes such as death by arrow were no longer a joke.

“Stop whining. The opposite exploration team is already done with their task.”

The soldier stood upon the other party’s comments. He felt a sting when he leaned
against the boulder for support. He cut his finger on a sharp edge of the boulder.

“You keep pressuring me so I cut myself.”

The soldier sucked on his finger to stop the blood.

Grrr—

The soldier stood in place. There was an odd sound.

“Did you hear something?”

“What are you… Hup.”

The other party couldn’t utter another word. A black shadow had swallowed the
soldier whole. The soldier wasn’t given even a single chance to fight back.
Crunch, crunch. KaJik, Kajik.

The sound of bones and flesh mashing echoed and the smell of blood thickly wafted
through the air.

“Ah, ah.”

The remaining exploration team members turned their headlights on to the highest
beam. An enormous bug appeared from beneath the dirt floor. The bug’s mouth made
up more than half its face, it had hundreds of giant sharp teeth jutting out its jaws. The
bug looked starved for more food.

“A death worm?”

It was the exploration team soldier’s last words. The death worm swallowed him
whole. Its sharp fangs made consuming a human as easy as pie. In mere moments, it
consumed all the soldier’s flesh and blood, then spit out the remaining bones.

Tak, tak, tak.

The death worm clapped its jaws as it looked around. As its appetite returned, it
started to adjust to the environment it awakened to.

“Keee.”

The death worm looked for traces of the humans that arrived to the depths of the
canyon. It could catch the faint smell of humans in the distance. It was still hungry. It
had been starved for nearly 10 years now, and a few humans didn’t satisfy it at all.

Tu duk. Tu duk.

The dead skin flopped off the death worm. The injury that had not healed for the past
10 years healed in an instant. When the death worm fell to the bottom of this canyon,
it suffered critical injuries and slowed its metabolism to its limit. It wouldn’t be an
overstatement to say that it had died. It waited patiently waiting for some prey all this
time.

Ggu duk. Ggu duk.

The death worm’s body elongated at a frightening speed. The nutrient that it
consumed immediately formed it into its own flesh. It was an inhumane speed of
regeneration. Its body stopped growing longer, and it wiggled about.

A nightmarish bug crawled on the ground. Soon, more soldiers horrid screams echoed
in the canyon.

The field commander in the barracks fell to chaos. The communication with the
exploration team at the bottom of the canyon disconnected. The last message from the
exploration team had been horrible screams of terror. The commanding squad
ordered for an immediate evacuation of everyone below in the canyon to watch for
further development of the situation. All the commanders of different teams gathered.
Han was one of the commanders in this emergency meeting.

“We’ve sent out airbeat drones. We should be able to get visuals of the situation below
soon.”

Azim, the main commander said. A video clip of the status below flickered on the
screen. The military airbeat drone slowly descended into the darkness below. The
exploration drone could be remotely controlled into very distant locations. The
airbeat’s lantern flickered on.

“Stop there.”

The airbeat lightly vibrated and paused. The hazy clip cleared.

“Blood.”

Everyone stirred. This was a clear sign of battle. They made countless speculations.

“Where are the corpses?”

The airbeat continued to survey the bottom of the canyon. They found broken
shattered bone strewn about. Time to time, they came across ripped clothes and gear.

“Only the bone and gears were left. It can’t be…”

It seemed like something had consumed all the flesh and blood, and left just the bones.
They felt a chill. This would most likely be related to a non-human species of monsters.
Everyone’s gaze fell to Han.
Most of the greater minion monster military operation were to be tasked to the Psyker
team. However, they did their best to avoid such situations to the best of their abilities.

“We will ask for backup reinforcements from Ark. We should be fine after the
psychoframe reinforcements arrive.”

There was a mysterious enemy at the bottom of the canyon. The best method would
be to bomb the entire canyon, or deploy forces which could easily overpower any
minions.

“Please hold.”

Someone said while looking at the video. Something at the darkness was crawling in
the distance. The airbeat gradually neared.

“A worm?”

A sticky substance dripped from the worm. The worm was as big as a house, and
regularly shook on the ground. It almost seemed to be breathing. A few of the soldiers’
faces froze.

“It’s a deathworm. Immediately request for backup.”

The video clip shook. The worm’s body began to divide. Inside, a horrid screech which
resembled nails on a chalkboard burst out.

“It’s coming out.”

Something appeared from within the worm’s body. A centipede like worm with dozens
of legs appeared from within the deathworm. The ends of its legs hooked which made
crawling up the canyon walls possible.

PaJik!

The deathworm swallowed the airbeat whole. The screen scrambled and flickered off.
The soldiers inside the barrack dryly swallowed back…

“Gear all the soldiers capable of battle. Hurry.”

Everyone moved about urgently. This was an unexpected enemy. Han made his way
out from between all the soldiers. He received a comprehensive data file of the
deathworm. He scanned through the file while he returned back to his squad’s tents.

‘A deathworm is considered a human blender, and considered a great minion. It’s

unique aspects are the evolving abilities of a pupa worm. It can evolve up to three
times over, in its final stage it gains the ability to fly. If it’s not dealt with in the first
and second stages, it becomes exponentially difficult to kill.’

Han kept only the critical data into his mind. The deathworm was at the second
evolution stage. It was able to grow centipede like legs and a hard exoskeleton. If they
were to mindlessly just shoot their gun without plans, all that would result would be
their own suffering.

“Gear up. Take the gears necessary for level B combat.”

Han said as soon as he entered the squad tent. Everyone was already in the middle of
gearing up. They geared hook cables and airbeats to their suit.

“Isn’t it just a deathworm?”

“The second stage of it is only the centipede form.”

“You were properly listening to the lectures after all.”

Jokes were thrown while they geared up. Han slipped on his palm guard and lugged a
hook cable gun to his back. The hook cable gun had an auto cable retractor so it made
his overall weight very heavy. For mobility’s sake, they didn’t carry this unless
absolutely necessary.

– We’re to remain on standby at the back.

Silence approached Han. Squad Easy was not given any specific orders for action as of
yet. It seemed that they were going to attempt to get rid of the deathworm with their
current soldiers. The other department teams didn’t trust Easy Squad’s skills. They
hoped to reduce the chances of any sacrifices of the third years that might come if they
were to deploy the team.

“We’re on stand by?” Han peered to his own data bracelet. Complex thoughts passed
his own mind.
‘Commander Azim must have his own plans. Still… ’

Worry filled Han’s eyes. It was difficult trying to completely understand Commander
Azim’s thought process. Han didn’t know what kind of person Commander Azim was,
in the least. He didn’t know of the other’s skills or personality at all.

‘Does he actually have the confidence to kill the deathworm with his own powers?
Maybe it’s just that he doesn’t trust our skills at all? If he doesn’t have the confidence
to kill the deathworm and is still going ahead like this… ’

Han shook his head.

“We should follow commands, Han.” Simon said.

Han nodded. The domestic soldiers passed Easy Squad. The soldiers shot unsatisfied
stares as they passed Easy Squad. They looked at them with scornful eyes.

“What’s that look for? We’re not on standby because we want to.” Canute shouted.

Han held Canute back.

“That’s enough, Canute. We probably won’t be able to… ever see some of these people
ever again.”

The death worm was of the great minion class of monsters. It was impossible to kill
the minion without any sacrifices.

‘Commander Azim must have made proper battle plans with calculated sacrifices in
mind.’

Other than Easy Squad, everyone was deployed for battle. The soldiers surrounded
the canyon vicinity. They weren’t sure where the deathworm would appear from, so
the encirclement of soldiers was a very wide area.

‘Will they use heavy weapons to block the deathworm, then make it fall to the bottom
of the canyon? The additional soldiers from Ark are on standby as well.’

Han confirmed the current status of battle on his data bracelet. He roughly tried to
guess Commander Azim’s thought process.
‘The battle plans that could be achieved through minimal sacrifices. They’re not trying
to immediately kill the deathworm. As long as the deathworm doesn’t gain additional
feed, it won’t be able to evolve into the third stage. So he’s trying to go about it in this
way.’

Han thought this plan wasn’t too bad. If he were to be in Commander Azim’s shoes,
then he might make the same decision. It would be bad to deploy the third year psyker
team, and end up with meaningless sacrifices. It would be bad if the greater minion
were to consume the soldiers and then proceeded to evolve to the third stage.

‘Ark had recently lost much of their second generation soldiers. There were probably
commands not to include the second generation soldiers of Ark unless safety of the
second generation youths would be ensured.’

Other than Han, it seemed the rest of the squad members felt very restless. They were
not the type to be scared of battle. They were restless over the orders to standby and
do nothing.

“They will need us soon. I’m only waiting here quietly because I already know what
will happen.” Simon said quietly.

Han silently peered to him.

“It will be better if they won’t need us at all.”

“Of course. However, as soon as they figure out they can’t win with just their own
strength, they will not hesitate to call for our support. All we need to do is wait until
then. Whether it’s deathworms or worms, I’ll properly smash them to death.”

Han examined Simon’s condition.

‘Simon looks like he’s lost his cool. He looks more hungry for battle than usual. He
might overestimate his own powers and try to do the impossible.’

Han thought he should exclude Simon from the high risk roles in this battle. Contrary
to Simon’s fiery temper, he usually kept his cool during actual battle. However it
appeared that Simon wouldn’t be able to maintain his usual calmness for this battle.

‘Canute can be our vanguard, and Silence can be the one to make the killing blow.’
Han mentally strategized various tactics in his head.

The soldiers besieged the canyon and waited for the death worm. Trying to fight the
deathworm at the bottom on the canyon would be equivalent to suicide. They waited
for the deathworm to appear from beneath the canyon.

‘Please don’t come up.’

Everyone was thinking the same thing. The soldiers that would be near the location
which the deathworm appears from, would probably suffer an immediate death.
Everyone had resolved the possibility of their own death with this formation.

“Huu, Huu.”

Ddak. Ddak. Ddak.

They could hear the deathworm clamping its jaws. The jaws vibrated making a
clashing sound whenever it clamped down. The clamping sound gradually neared.
When the deathworm made its way to the surface, it immediately jumped out.

“FIRE!”

The death worm flopped down on the ground and rolled its body into a ball. It only
exposed its outer exoskeleton like a pill bug.

Tududududu!

The death worm rolled on the ground and struck the soldiers in one giant sweep. It
squeezed between the soldiers and swallowed the soldiers whole. It smashed the flesh
of the soldiers in its jaws as it ate the soldiers one after another. Seeing their fellow
peers getting smashed was horror itself. It killed any fighting spirit the soldiers had
for this battle. The domestic soldiers were frozen in fear and couldn’t even manage to
properly hold and shoot their guns.

“It’s a mo-monster! Escape!”

The domestic soldiers retreated and left an opening in the besiegement formation.
The deathworm chased after the soldiers who turned their backs to it first. Heavy
weapons endlessly shot the deathworm, however the broken exoskeleton would
regenerate again very quickly.
‘It will be difficult with the weapons we have at hand.’

The weapons the soldiers were equipped with were not the specialized weapons for
great minions. Their firepower was greatly inferior to the great minions. If they
wanted to stand on equal ground, they required armored fighting vehicles in the least.

KwaJik!

“KEEEEE!”

The deathworm gobbled up the domestic soldiers. Its’ body grew noticeably bigger in
moments. Its’ size grew bigger within seconds. Its’ exoskeleton stretched out with its
body.

‘It’s gradually getting stronger.’

This was the most frightening aspect of a deathworm. When deathworm swarms were
found, they were put to death with brutal firepower. If deathworms were to escape
into the city with many civilians, putting a stop to them would be near impossible. The
only solution then, would be to bomb the entire city along with the city’s civilians. This
great minion was a high risk monster that must be immediately killed without mercy.

Commander Azim began to shout his follow up orders. At this rate, they won’t be able
to endure the attacks and wait for Ark’s reinforcements. The soldiers would just suffer
a meaningless death.

‘The death worm already crossed the besiegement barrier.’

The point at which the soldiers had a chance, was the moment the deathworm
attempted to climb out of the canyon walls to the surface. They already missed their
only chance.

“Easy Squad proceed your operation. Any independent actions are allowed.”

Commander Azim instructed through their communication line.

‘Would the psyker team be able to achieve anything for us? They’re not geared to fight
against great minions either. They are only geared with dragon bone weapons.

-Easy Squad, proceeding operation.

A calm voice rang through the command post. Many of the team leaders let out a sigh
of relief.

‘Do they feel so secure to leave the battle in the hands of 10 year olds? Those dumb
shits.’ Commander Azim thought to himself but didn’t express it out loud.

The reality of the situation, was that humanity’s future rested in the hands of those 10
year olds. Such a situation such as exterminating deathworms were just a minor
conflict.

“It’s finally our turn.” Simon stood up having waited enough.

Han stood at the front and signaled with his hand. He started to lay out the plan he
had thought of beforehand to his squad members.

“Canute and I will be the main assaulters to distract the deathworm. Simon, you will
support. Silence will be the main striker.”

The squad members nodded in understanding. The roles were divided logically and
soundly. The squad roles were distributed according to their situation and team
combination. The current formation suited best for their situation. Other than Simon,
there wasn’t a suitable person to be the main supporter. Silence was the best and
strongest candidate as a Striker, other than Han.

“Let’s go, Easy Team.” Han lead the way in a sprint.

The site of battle was just ahead. The deathworm who had his body halfway embedded
into the ground spread its arms out. The blood stains on its teeth didn’t fade.

“Phew, it looks bigger in person. The overwhelming pressure from it is no joke.”

Canute whistled and said. Cold sweat fell from his forehead. It was his first time in
actual battle against a great minion.

“Canute, left. I will go right.”

Han didn’t have the leisure time to look after Canute’s condition. He didn’t have
additional members to take his place. Canute must take it upon himself to carry out
his role as the main assaulter.
‘If need be, I will intercede and carry out the striker’s role.’

Han was the middle man between Canute and Silence. If Canute were to fall in danger,
he would become an assaulter. If he were to gain a chance to deal a critical blow, he
must carry on as a striker like Silence. Han constantly and objectively judged their
battle situation.

“Aim for its belly. We can’t deal any critical blows on its exoskeleton.”

Han said. Canute furrowed his brows.

“I know! But this bastard’s laying too low!”

Canute just narrowly dodged the death worm’s frontal charge with a jump. He aimed
to land on the airbeat which floated up in the air. Canute did a double jump with his
airbeat in the air and escaped the death worm’s attack range. All the airbeats were
currently controlled by Simon. Canute and Han were able to make up their lack of
mobility through the airbeats which were reinforced by Simon. It appeared as if they
were floating on air from a distance.

‘As expected of Simon. He has perfect timing.’

Simon was able to brilliantly time the airbeats like a mind reader. It was as if it had
been Canute and Han controlling the airbeats all this time.

Click.

Han wasted all the bullets in his magazine. Regular pistols did absolutely nothing
against the greater minion.

‘Now what.’

“Shoot the bullets into its mouth! Kill it!”

A soldier fainted on the ground shouted. Han pulled out a grenade from his coat and
threw it. This wasn’t the distance a normal soldier would be able to use a grenade with
success. However, Han was a psyker. He used his telekinesis to perfectly aim his
grenade into the death worm’s mouth to deal a critical blow.

BOOOOM!
Blood and flesh splattered in all directions. Smoke burnt away its flesh. The death
worm twisted on the ground as half its head was blown off. It resembled a worm that
got cut in half. The twisting death worm then proceeded to regrow its head. Different
than before, the regrown head had a mixture of hard and soft shell. It augmented its
mouth stronger than before.

‘A high speed regenerative* selection pressure for efficiency’

1)

The researchers watching the battle from the command center murmured. The death
worm adapts and changes very quickly. However on the flip side, the more it changes
and evolves, the shorter its lifespan becomes. When a deathworm evolves to its third
stage, it will die within the next 48 hours. Before it dies, it will lay many eggs and very
much resembles a cockroach.

-A sloppy attack will not work a second time. We need to give a critical final blow when
we can in one shot.

Han got orders from the command center. There were many factors which were hard
to understand from the compiled deathworm file. Now, Han could understand
everything. If one were to fail an attack, it will become stronger.

‘Damn it all, why can’t they just compile a simple report?’

Han watched the deathworm strengthening itself.

The death worm learned that Easy Squad was not easy opponents. They had already
landed one critical blow. It judged it needed to replenish its lost energy from other
sources.

KWAAA!

The death worm turned its back on the squad to the other military teams.

‘We must block it.’

The more the death worm consumes, the more powerful it becomes. Silence who was
looking for a chance made his move. He must get the death worm’s attention once
again somehow.
Weeng.

Silence approached the death worm. He aimed to slice off the other’s head. The sword
stopped midway through its shell and innards. It was difficult to cut off the
exoskeleton and the bones all at once.

‘Though a bug, it has bones.’

Silence grimaced and used his blink skill. He put distance between himself and the
death worm until he was out or attack range.

-Silence, aim for it from below. The color of its upper and lower skin is different. It
could be that the under belly was just recently regenerated.

Han sent a message. Silence examined the death worm’s body. Han’s words hit the nail
on the head.

‘It’s only a faint difference, but it’s definitely a different color. The lower body should
be weaker. The exoskeleton didn’t harden completely.’

Silence attempted to attack its’ tail, but it aggressively fought Silence off. Someone
must distract the deathworm.

-I must cut through him at once. It will become stronger with subpar attacks. Canute
and I will attack it from the front.

The death worm who tried to consume the straggling soldiers couldn’t shake off the
psyker squad. Easy Squad’s persistent attacks worked to aggro the death worm back
to themselves. The death worm started to chase after Canute and Han who kept
appearing in its field of vision.

“Don’t distance yourself too much!” Han said.

They weren’t trying to escape from the death worm, but trying to distract it as much
as possible. It was also why they uselessly emptied magazine after magazine while
jumping about.

“I know”

Canute was gradually finding it harder to breathe from fatigue. The death worm’s front
claws were incredibly sharp. It’s claws left deep pits on the ground as Canute dodged
its attacks.

‘We need to somehow stop the death worm’s mobility.’

Canute who kept backing away stopped. He wielded his dragon spear.

“DIE!”

Canute charged head on. He jabbed into the deathworm’s jaws. At the same time, the
death worm dug through Canute’s arm. Canute screamed out in pain.

Pajik!

Canute’s arm twisted in the strangest angle. The death worm’s claws ripped apart his
flesh and raw muscle loosely hung down. He hesitated for a moment and lost the grip
on his spear. Han quickly kicked Canute away to safety. They succeeded in getting its
full attention.

‘I’m going.’

Silence sprinted. The death worm’s head was pinned onto the ground and was flailing
about. It had superior regenerative ability, but it couldn’t do anything to push out the
spear from his head. It just roughly continued to move its jaws up and down the spear.

Weng, weeng.

Silence used his blink skill in succession and stuck next to the deathworm. The death
worm flailed around its tail violently. Silence continued to blink around to dodge the
tail’s attacks. The tail’s range of attack was so huge that it was impossible to physically
dodge it.

‘I must do it in an instant.’

Light from Silence’s eyes flooded out. He focused his attention to the death worm’s
flailing tail. He must accurately slice through the soft portion of the bug’s exoskeleton.
Silence’s senses were sharper than the most perceptive animals. For a moment, the
world felt like it was moving in extreme slow motion.

‘It’s now.’
SWAAAK!

Silence used his twin swords to cut off the death worm in two at the hips. He aimed at
the weakest point of the exoskeleton to completely slice through into the spine. The
blood gushed out like a fountain. The chopped lower body violently flailed about on
the ground.

“KEEEEEEEEE—!”

It was a horrible screech. Blood gushed out from the death worm. Its lower body
quickly regenerated, but it was immediately sliced cleanly off once again. The death
worm crawled on the ground trying to chase after its lower body.

“It’s attempting to stick its lower body together! Stop it!”

Canute shouted. He retreated back to focus on healing himself. His eyes glowed with
green light, and his arms that had been a flopping mass of flesh, regenerated.

VROOOOOM!

The soldiers of Ark got the gist of the situation and started the military truck. They
increased the speed to maximum capacity and smashed into the worm. The truck
smashed onto the death worm’s lower body to send it to the bottom of the canyon.

KWAANG!

The military truck’s force sent the lower body flying down below. The death worm
grew furious and stabbed into the military truck. The truck exploded at once. The
soldier inside was burnt to a crisp and flew off from the impact of the explosion.

“Ggu, ggu, ggu, ggu!”

The deathworm couldn’t properly clamp down its jaws because of the spear. The spear
was made of dragon bone through and through, so it was impossible to break it. The
death worm’s temper rose and growled out painfully.

“Did we do it?”

Simon said tiredly. He only used his psychic energy from the back, but due to the
amount of focus that was necessary for his task, he was starting to become exhausted.
If he were to make even a single mistake, Han and Canute would instantly die.

Squirm, Squirm.

The deathworm reduced its body frame to regrow its lower body. It shockingly used
its front legs to claw off its jaw. It sacrificed much of its energy and body to regenerate
itself once again. Its abilities were hard to believe. It’s newly regenerated body had not
completely hardened yet. Its strength had reduced just as much as it shrunk. It
attempted to escape from battle.

KiRik KiRik

The deathworm marched while making deep pits into the ground. It moved faster than
most vehicles could move.

“Silence!”

They needed to inflict one final blow, Silence had been made the striker for situations
such as this. Han shouted out to Silence.

Flinch.

Silence, who was sprinting, swayed. He attempted to use his blink, but blood burst
from his nose. He had used his psychic powers one too many times while trying to
slice apart the death worm. He required a moment of rest to recharge his energy.

Weeng!

Silence used his last bit of energy to force blink once again. He was within reach of the
death worm, but his body was failing him, and trembling to the highest degree. If he
blinked two more times, he was within good range of attacking the death worm.

‘I must do this.’

Silence and the youths of Ark had been trained to power through with their task until
the very end. They had been brainwashed by the highest sense of duty and
responsibility to carry out their task in battle. Without such a high sense of duty, it was
impossible to carry through in battle to this degree at such a young mental age.

Han narrowed his eyes. He already noticed of Silence’s condition. Silence was already
past a stage of fatigue.

‘I must do this. Silence is already done.’

Click.

Silence sprinted forward before the death worm could escape any further. He flipped
out his hook cable gun and aimed.

TU-KAANG!

A sound that resembled a bomb resonated. The hook cable bulleted out with fierce
speed. It just barely managed to hook onto the death worm’s back. The hook cable
opened and securely clamped down.

SWAAA!

The death worm felt a foreign object stab into it and flailed its body. Han firmly gripped
onto the hook cable and recoiled the cable. The motor retracted the cable back to its
storage space. Han and the death worm’s distance quickly shortened.

Weeeng!

Han was roughly dragged around on the ground. Han’s field of vision blurred, but he
managed to see a few airbeats flying around him. Simon had quickly caught onto Han’s
intent and moved to make a path for Han in the air.

Tak!

Han kicked off the ground and held onto a floating airbeat. He used his arm strength
to pull himself up onto the airbeat and moved forward using the airbeats like stepping
stones. Just that moment, the airbeat couldn’t follow through with the speed at which
the hook cable recoiled. However, the death worm was just an arm’s length away.

CHWAAK!

Han armed himself with his spear. He let go of the hook cable recoiling at frightening
speed and leaped forward. He rode onto the death worm’s back.

“Die.”
Han landed, and murmured as his eyes glowed. Blood was dripping from his forehead
and chin. He had suffered injuries all around his body while he was getting dragged to
this place.

KWA-JIK!

Han stabbed his spear into the death worm’s back and continued to sprint up the
worm’s back. The newly regenerated exoskeleton was still soft and easily split from
the spear’s blade. The worm’s blood gushed out. Han’s hands ached in pain and he
wished to let go of his spear. However, if he were to lose this chance, the death worm
would instantly regenerate once again.

‘I must end this at once.’

Han pulled out many grenade pins at once with his teeth. He jabbed the grenades deep
into the death worm’s open wound. Han threw his own body at the death worm’s head
and stabbed directly down into its skull.

KWA KWA KWANG!

Explosions blew up in succession and the death worm’s lower body was once again
smashed apart. Han stuck as close as possible to the death worm’s back and withstood
the explosion’s impact.

The death worm’s body frame was so small to the point that it found it hard to
regenerate at all. If it didn’t consume anything it would die.

“Ha! Die! You damnation!”

Bullets endlessly rained down on the weakened death worm. The domestic soldiers
who were in hiding excitedly rained their bullets at the worm. They assumed that Han
died already from the grenade’s explosion. A bullet shot through Han’s arm.

Puk! Puk!

Bullets shot into the death worm’s body. It couldn’t regenerate its exoskeleton.

‘No, run away!’

Han wanted to shout to the domestic soldiers, but blood burst out from his throat and
no sound resonated. The death worm crawled forward as it took on all the bullets. It
used its last remaining strength to attack the nearest soldier.

“KUUAAAAH!”

The death worm finally got to consume more food. Three soldiers were gobbled down
at once, and it was able to begin regenerating itself once again. The exoskeleton
crackled as it strengthened its’ outer shell. All the bullets which were embedded into
its’ body bounced off.

It was a grave error in part of the domestic soldiers who had no experience battling
against minions. They attacked when the death worm was at its weakest point, but it
gave the chance for the death worm to regenerate once again.

“Fucking amateurs!”

Ark’s soldiers shouted. They knew that the death worm was near its death. If they
waited just a bit longer, Easy Squad would have perfectly ended this all.

-Easy-1, answer. Are you alive?

Han coughed out blood. He didn’t let go of his spear which was stabbed on the death
worm’s back and just barely replied.

“Still hanging on.”

Han thought he might really die at this rate. The death worm was too busy trying to
eat the surrounding soldiers that it forgot about Han on its back. When its full, it would
proceed to kill Han.

Tu duk, Tu duk.

The death worm’s exoskeleton split like earth drying up on itself. The exoskeleton
flopped off from head to tail. A huge change would occur to the death worm’s body.

-Immediately retreat. Easy-1! It’s evolving to its third stage.

The death worm had its fill and rolled up on itself. Han’s eyes grew wide. An eye from
within the back skin of the worm peered to Han.
‘There is another bug inside this bug.’

The deathworm had formed a new body from within this one. The insect’s eye peered
directly at Han’s direction. Something sprung out as the death worm broke out.

Parururu!

It revealed its third evolved form. It flapped its newly formed wings at high speed. Its
wet shriveled wings hardened with a few movements. It was able to completely evolve
within 20 seconds. Just like a snake, it left its clear outer shell behind.

Han kept his grip on the stage 3 death worm. He had lost his chance to evade. He was
caught up in the explosion and his arms and legs were frozen, only now did the feeling
on his arms and legs return.

‘I’ll lose my hold at this rate.’

Normal infantrymen are not able to chase after a stage 3 death worm’s speed. Many
men would probably die before the support troops arrive from Ark. If it were to lay
eggs, it would be a gruesome sight.

‘Think.’

Han’s blood pressure had fallen a great deal due to the massive amount of blood loss.
His mind felt dull. He stared at the hook cable gun that was attached to the greater
minion’s back. He focused his telekinesis to press the recoil button. The claw of the
hook opened and broke free.

Han retracted the hook. The cable automatically recoiled into its rolled up form. The
hook cable was made so it could be reused many times over. It was a support weapon
for the sake of battling against dragons, so the base material was incredibly strong. He
had absolute confidence in its durability.

– Retreat from there. Easy-1

The main commander said through the communication line. Between the short
moment, Han was able to slightly recover.

“There is still a chance-”

Before Han could finish his answer, the deathworm flapped its wings with great vigor.
It resembled a gigantic dragonfly. It was planning to drop Han from high up in the sky.

Psychic energy flowed through Han’s eyes. He remained cool-headed and observed his
situation objectively. He thought of what he could do at his situation instead of
becoming overcome with anxiety and fear.

The death worm took flight with strength. Han’s hair wildly blew with the wind.

“Bugs belong on the ground…”

Han finished his calculations. If he cut off the bug’s wings, it would simply regenerate
it in moments. Han stuck close to the death worm’s side and shot his hook cable into
the bug’s flank. The deathworm roared and clawed at its own back, at Han’s location.
He rolled out more of the cable from his gun, and tied the death worm’s two right
wings together.

CHWAAA!

The fluttering wings came to an abrupt halt. The right pair of wings couldn’t move
properly.

“KEE?”

The death worm went spiraling down and splattered on the ground floor. It was able
to grow wings, but it had to sacrifice its hefty main body, as a result the impact took a
harsh toll on its body. The strong centipede legs were also done away with during the
evolution process, so it couldn’t effectively land on the ground. The overall attack
power of the death worm had become highly weakened through the evolution process.

“KEEEE.”

The death worm blamed the human on its back for all the bad luck. The wings were
tied together, and it couldn’t move properly. It forced its own arms to bend into a
strange angle for the sake of killing the single human on its back.

“Tough luck!”

Canute bulleted forward faster than ever. He grabbed Han’s neck and dragged him
backwards. The impact from the fall caused Han to faint.
“Finish it!”

As soon as Han was retrieved to safety, everyone attacked in unison. The injured
soldiers from the distance shot their guns. The ragged death worm crawled on the
ground clamping its mouth. It just needed more feed to make a recovery. However,
humans were intelligent creatures. They knew the guaranteed method of killing death
worms. Slowly starve it to death.

“Bring the gasoline tank!”

The soldiers promptly pushed over the gasoline tanks. They opened the cover and
rolled it to the death worm. The death worm was set aflame. The soldiers didn’t give
the death worm a chance to recover. They continued to roll gasoline tanks so that there
was no chance for the flame to die.

“DIE! MONSTER BASTARD!”

They burned the bug to its last hair. A rotten smell fumed the air. The soldiers watched
on with murderous expressions.

“Medical team! Hurry!”

Canute shouted through the communication line. Han’s condition was serious. His
condition was already critical before they took flight, but Han had also taken the full
shock of the fall along with the death worm. If he was not an artificially strengthened
human, Han would have died long before. Han was able to endure with just a single
breath to him.

‘Damn it, if only I could share my abilities with others… ’

Healing factor could not be transfered over to others. It had already been tested many
times over in Ark’s research center. Canute simply waited for the medical team to
arrive.

“Who is the commander there?”

Simon glared to the domestic soldiers. There were many sacrifices, but they were able
to kill the death worm. Everyone was celebrating the happiness of their victory.
However, Simon’s eyes were exploding with anger.
Easy Squad had nearly dealt with the death worm, but due to the domestic military
side’s error, the death worm made a total recovery. Additionally, they didn’t even
confirm whether Han was dead or alive before shooting their guns at the monster.
Simon’s anger had reached a point of no return.

“Shut up and come out. Who is the fool that gave out such stupid orders?”

BOOM!

Simon raised a scorched gasoline tank with his telekinesis in the air. The domestic
soldiers aimed their guns at Simon. The two confronted each other with pure
madness. It seemed like a battle would break out at any moment between Simon and
the domestic soldiers.

“That’s enough. We will deal with that later. All the shouting is making my head hurt.”

Han who opened his eyes said. His body was hurting like every bone in his body was
broken, but he could still somehow manage to move. As long as the artificially
strengthened soldiers had a breath remaining, full recovery was feasible. One could
consider these soldiers a component of the psychoframe.

‘Even I’m shocked that I can move with the beat up body that I have right now.’ Han
mumbled as he sat up.

It was the first time his body was injured to this degree. He was surprised he could
manage to move with all the injuries.

‘We are much stronger… than I originally assumed.’

Han moved his fingers one by one.

Simon laughed through his nose even after Han’s words.

“Those crazy bastards shot their guns at you! They didn’t even confirm whether their
allies were alive! Forget that they failed our battle plans, they shot at their own allies!
How do you still consider yourselves soldiers?”

The domestic soldiers rebuked.

“We assumed he would surely be dead…”

“Does he look dead to you? Sick f*ckers, I thought African people were ugly, but you’re
stupid as well!”

Simon’s eyes looked bloodshot. Though the death worm was dead, the air felt stifling.

“We will not endure more than this. This is a fair warning, Psyker.”

The domestic military soldiers aimed their guns.

Weee-eng.

Silence who was watching from the back all this time aimed for the domestic soldier’s
necks. His cold blade rested just before the soldier’s necks.

-Warning, disarm or die.

A message blinked from Silence’s helmet. It was a threat through and through. Simon
wasn’t the only angry person here. Silence’s anger was also near a boiling point.

‘I couldn’t follow through to the end as the striker… so Han almost died as a result.’

When the domestic soldiers all shot their guns without checking Han’s state, Silence’s
blood pressure rose to an all time high. If the other had not been human, he would
have killed them without hesitation.

“What are you doing?”

The soldiers of Ark mediated. They broke apart the domestic soldiers and Easy Squad
from each other. They clearly understood how this situation arose. The domestic
soldiers were in the wrong. However, this was not something for the lower ranked
soldiers to be bickering about amongst themselves. The main commanders would be
the one to discuss this point.

“Those idiots almost killed us all!”

Simon protested. The domestic soldiers began to vent their complaints. Simon’s
aggressive manner gave rise to anger from the other party than an apologetic heart.
The domestic soldiers admit that they had made a grave mistake. However, Simon
truly hurt their pride in the worst way possible.
‘This is why kids are… ’

The soldiers of Ark had to drag Simon away.

“Han who has suffered the most is remaining quiet… Control yourself more, Simon.”

The soldier’s of Ark who was trying to calm Simon down peered to Han’s many
injuries. Han remained expressionless, and quietly watched on. The youth was too
calm to be a person that just had a near death experience. The other party had been
deployed to less than 10 military operations thus far, but his actions reflected that of
a veteran soldier.

‘I learned one very important thing. Unknown factors of an allies military strength can
also affect the battle negatively as well.’

Han mumbled to himself while receiving treatment from the medical team. Allies will
not always be a benefit, sometimes one must not believe in allies when there are too
many unknown factors.

The relation of Easy Squad and the domestic soldiers fell to an all time low. If it weren’t
for Easy Squad needing immediate treatment, they would have been immediately
evacuated.

Wooong!

Ark’s support troops arrived. The psychoframe reinforcement troop arrived. This was
in case the deathworm were to have multiplied. They investigated through the canyon
ground floors thoroughly.

“The death worm in this case seemed to have lagged behind. We were just unlucky. It
waited in suspension for over 10 years for a prey. It’s truly a stubborn one.”

Canute said while peeling an apple while standing by Han’s side. The airplane to
transport Easy Squad would arrive tomorrow. Easy Squad was restricted from going
outside for the sake of preventing more friction with domestic soldiers.

“You’re peeled all the flesh of the apple out.”

Han complained as he received the apple from Canute. Nearly half of the apple had
been dug out.
-Give it to me.

Silence took Canute’s knife and apples. He skillfully peeled the apple with ease. The
peel of the apple was so thin that it looked transparent against the light. Silence stood
tall, as if berating Canute’s poor skills.

“How about Simon?”

Han talked after taking a bite of his apple.

“He’s trying to cool his head in his own tent. He’s throwing everything that is on his
tent. He was like that during the second year when he lost against Kijo.” Canute said
like it was nothing to be concerned of.

– It’s the defect of his own personality

Silence judged with a cold shoulder.

“But he always carries out his tasks flawlessly.”

Han gave his praise for Simon. Silence also seemed to agree. Simon did not make a
single mistake during the most recent battle against the death worm. If Simon had not
been with them to support the squad, they would have long been killed.

– Sorry. I became exhausted quickly.

Silence deeply reflected. Silence was considered one of the strongest fighters amongst
the soldiers in Ark. His main weakness was that his battle stamina drains very quickly.
The blink skill depletes not only his psychic energy but a major portion of his stamina
as well.

“I’ve taken that into consideration from the start.”

Han had made extra battle tactics to fall back on in case their main plan failed. Han
was able to make up for Canute and Silence’s shortcomings to some degree.

‘However there was no way I could take Simon’s place in the team.’

Han could not even begin to try and imitate Simon’s battle style. Only strong psykers
like Simon could endure supporting one’s squad members for such a prolonged period
of time. Though this wasn’t the spotlight role of battle, it was an imperative position
of any battle.

‘I would have died at least twice if it wasn’t for Simon this time as well. As expected… ’

Han thought that his decision for this military operation was correct.

‘My battle style worked well together with Simon’s. I’ve thought so for a long time
now.’

There wasn’t a need to give out specific orders to Simon. If Han wanted assistance,
then Simon would already be a step ahead of him. It had always been that way for
every battle they fought together. The two moved forward like one being.

‘How ironic. Before, I didn’t even consider to recruit him into my squad, but our team
combination is one of the best.’

Han scratched his head. When he bent down a bit, his ribs hurt like needles were
stabbing him all over. Tears slightly formed from the pain. Now that the adrenaline of
battle was over, he began to feel the once numbed pain to the bone. Just a bit of
movement brought on an intolerable pain throughout his whole body.

“Ugh.”

Han momentarily bent forward and didn’t move. His whole body ached.

– Dying? Every bone in your body should be in pain right now.

He wasn’t sure if the other party was teasing him or pitying him. Han took two more
pain killers. The medicine was very potent, and it made him dizzy.

“As ordered, everyone should behave themselves. Watch that Simon doesn’t do
anything reckless. I… need to go rest a bit.”

Han couldn’t endure any longer and flopped down onto his bed. Canute and Silence
quietly left the tent. If Han was showing his weak side, that meant that he was really
in serious condition.

“The way they look at us doesn’t look good.”

Canute said feeling everyone’s intense gaze. From time to time, the passing domestic
soldiers gave menencing glares toward Easy Squad. The local residents didn’t give a
hint of their gratitude for the victory of battle. The domestic soldiers had suffered the
most. The soldiers that had passed didn’t even have a proper corpse remaining.

– Ignore them. That will happen regularly from now on.

Silence looked accustomed to it. He had been out into much more military operations
than any of the youths here. A friction of this degree felt like a joke.

‘However, I can’t help getting angry. This is frustrating.’ Getting used to something,
doesn’t make the sort of behavior any less forgivable.

“Silence, I think about this from time to time, are we monsters?”

Canute asked while observing the people around himself. Canute has healing factor
which is highly unique and useful. However, it was one of the most monsters unique
abilities.

The death worm’s regenerative abilities and health stamina was monstrous, and
psychologically repulsive. It was the same for Canute’s healing factor. In a normal
person’s point of view, Canute was equivalent to a monster.

Canute had long been viewed as a monster from the True Group. Their words had
stuck to his heart all this time.

– The only difference between a monster and a hero is their race. The essential nature
of this is not inborn but learned through time.

“What does that mean?”

– ‘Masked Rider.’ He was born from an evil organization, and a monster, but fights for
justice and became a hero. It is the words of the protagonist.

“I don’t really get it.”

– Heros are not born, heroes become heroes through their actions. There are no
humans born a monster. They become monsters because they act like monsters.

Canute nodded his head.

“If you can explain it easily, you should say so from the start. I think I’m not a monster,
at least.”

Silence nodded. Silence knew real monsters. There had been a time when it was
difficult to tell whether the super humans were monsters or humans. At the initial
stages of Ark, they had to pay miserably for all their failures and mistakes that had
snowballed. Simply creating strong humans were no different than making another
form of dragons.

Easy Squad was pulled out from the site the next day. Han was taken to Ark’s medical
ward and given an intensive focused treatment.

Additional death worms were not discovered in Africa. After safety was secured for
the area, the excavation of the dragon ingredients continued as normal. Ark was able
to feel some slack after gaining additional dragon remains to work with. Additional
dragon weapons and psychoframes could be made in the future.

“We should be able to put out a minimum of 100 additional weapons.”

The researchers reported. The discovery of the dragon remains were able to turn their
situation around in many factors. ‘Dragons existed in this world before humanity had
come to existence.’ However, the only proof of this theory was backed by the fossil
‘Chronos.’

The higher ups of Ark didn’t care much about the fossils. They could leisurely research
such mysteries after they have successfully won the war against dragons. The
immediate problem at hand was not to uncover the mysteries of the dragon’s
existence, but they had to prioritize researching methods to kill dragons. The
researcher’s carefully written report was thrown into the trash within five minutes of
submission.

References

*factors that contribute to selection which variations will provide the individual
1. ↑
with an increased chance of surviving over others.
“B rank for psychic skills, A rank aptitude for squad leader, and B+ rank aptitude for
striker. There’s no need to discuss which military branch you will be assigned to. There
are no specialized gears dedicated specifically for squad leaders, but it’s good that
you’re a highly specialized psyker. We can start you off with gear made for strikers and
adjust things from there.”

Chief Octo of the third engineering team briefed.

Han listened quietly and nodded. It was still difficult for him to move normally so he
had not started to train again. The medics of Ark had commanded absolute rest for
Han.

“What kind of weapon will I be using?” Han asked.

Octo scratched his head. They needed to customize new weapons for the 2nd
generation psychoframes. The data they had compiled all this time were of only the
first generation psychoframes.

“Most strikers prefer lightweight weapons. Mobility and attack power are the most
important factors in battle. This is especially the case for psykers like Silence with
unique skills like the blink skill. We tried our best to reduce the weight as much as we
could since additional weight would only add onto the difficulty of using the blink
skill.”

Han listened to Octo while looking across to the new psychoframe. The 2nd generation
psychoframe’s basic skeleton was done and Octo had completed most of the fine
tuning.

“Can we go for a test drive?”

“We’re in the testing phase now so it would be fine as long as your body can endure it.
Currently, we need more data for further fine tuning since the only data we have is the
data we got when you were piloting Old Man.”
“It’s smaller than the first generation models.”

Han said admiringly to the new model. The second generation psychoframe had done
away with a majority of the unnecessary joints and gears.

“The first generation psychoframe was built more like a mobile aircraft. The second
generation psychoframe was built like actual armor. It’s been more than a decade
since the psychoframe was first invented. The overall mechanics of Old Man are
crude.”

“Is it really that bad?”

For the first time, Han realized how outdated the first generation psychoframe really
was. Everything had been invented before Han had been born. Over the past ten years,
the world’s technology had advanced by leaps and bounds many times over. The main
factor which prevented advancement all this time was due to the lack of monetary
funds for the new psychoframes.

Octo rolled candy around inside of his mouth. Han observed the new psychoframe for
a long while.

‘This will be my power soon.’

Han suddenly felt a new found sense of dread towards Ark. Ark would most likely
dread Han as much as Han dreaded the Ark. If it weren’t for the dragon’s invasion, no
sane adult would let a child pilot such a deadly weapon.

****

Kuro spent most of his time in the medical research center. After all this time, his mind
had calmed down a great deal. Much of his guilt had dulled, and his mental state had
become stable. He was still very much the same soft hearted youth, but when it came
to protecting his friends, he didn’t hesitate to hold back his real strength. Now, he
actively took the initiative to test out the limits of his abilities.

‘I want to see my friends again.’

Kuro was easily affected by loneliness, especially now that he didn’t have his friends
next to him. He wasn’t the most social person, but even when he had been an orphan
he chose to take care of kittens because he had hated the feeling of loneliness.

“Kuro, do you have anything you want to eat?” A female researcher asked him.

All the researchers treated Kuro warmly. This was especially the case because Kuro
was in the middle of psychotherapy, and every little action and word was catered to
help Kuro recover.

‘She’s lying.’

Kuro could feel the other’s thoughts. Depending on circumstances, their amiable front
could crumble in an instant. She didn’t feel any actual affection or care for him. He’s
been with her for awhile through the treatment process, and his feelings for any of the
people here had not changed.

“He usually showcases A rank psychic skills. This is an amazing in itself, but purposely
manifesting S rank skills looks like it might be impossible.”

“It won’t be a problem as long has he has enough motivation to do so. He’s emotionally
sensitive, and this means that he will be easier to persuade.”

The researchers discussed amongst themselves. After the surprise invasion by the
True Group, his psychic rank increased into a godly realm. His skill in using psychic
powers came as easy as breathing. His telekinesis skills were stronger than some of
the the longest veteran expert psykers.

“Does that make him a dormant S ranker?”

S rankers had high psychic powers to the point that people would be able to see the
manifested psychic energy with their naked eyes. This phenomena was called psychic
aura.

‘He could kill us all with a single thought. Though I know he’s not a child to actively go
on a killing spree on his own accord… ’

Starting from third year on, all soldiers were considered a risk since Ark could no
longer completely suppress the other with pure strength. Ark hoped for the youths to
become stronger, but also feared it at the same time.
“I’m tired. Can I turn in for the day? Do we have more tests remaining?”

“No, good work. We’re almost done, and I don’t mean just for today. We’re mostly done
with your overall treatment. You will be able to transfer up into third year soon.”

Kuro’s eyes grew wide. He was happy but felt scared at the same time.

“Third years participate in actual battle, right?”

The researcher smiled warmly.

“There are many factors that must align before Ark’s third years are deployed. The
higher ups take all situations into consideration before including you guys in any of
the battle plans. Third years are mostly deployed when victory for the battle is for
certain for the sake of helping youths experience actual battle. There are many
uncontrollable circumstances that we cannot prepare for, but this becomes very good
experience for the future. Don’t worry so much because S rankers are held with the
highest importance, people will protect you no matter what the circumstance.”

Kuro looked down and shook his head.

‘Now, I have to be the one to protect others since I have the power to.’

He had chosen to stay behind in Ark for this very reason. Kuro also had great pride in
being a man. He always worked to overcome his weaker self and looked up to those
stronger than him. He forced himself to change his soft heart. Instead, he chose the
path to fight on his own volition.

****

Han left on a walk. By now, he had recovered for the most part and planned to return
to his usual training schedule again. He originally planned on only a light walk, but his
body was itching to train and decided to go for a light jog instead. It felt good to move
his body like this.

“Hey, Han!”

“How’s your body doing?”

He greeted the passing third years and soldiers as he was familiar with a majority of
the people by now. He had felt awkward when he had first transferred into the third
year, but now he felt very comfortable.

‘Under Ark.’

Han thought while watching the Cadre Officers going about their day. The maze-like
route led to Under Ark, and was off limits for most of the soldiers here. It was the place
where they hid all the dark secrets. Han thought about all the things he saw there. He
could understand the Chief Commander and Cadre Officers’ thoughts. There had to be
many secrets that the Cadre Officers wished to keep hidden from the public.

‘Still, our end goal is the same. It’s just our methods that differ.’

Han had trust in the Ark’s systems. The soldiers here earnestly trained to protect and
fight for humanity. Everyone simply wished to protect the future of their own
countries, families, and children. Han thought he still had a lot to learn from this place.

‘Laocha, Herald, Schwartz… ’

The people that Han had worked together with. All the people Han had met were good
people.

“Huu.”

Han paused his jog and momentarily sat down on the bench. He observed the Cadre
Officers entering and leaving the restriction zone. He could recognize a handful of
people.

“Sergeant Red?”

Sergeant Red just came out of the restricted zone. The other looked frustrated about
something. The cadre officers tried to ease Sergeant Red’s anger.

“Shut up, you idiots. Everything is happening faster than predicted! You haven’t even
figured out how to treat her…!”

“What if dragons attack sooner than she previously predicted? What if Bahamut
appears and we’re not prepared? We must confirm the truth!”

“Who was the one to propose this? The Chief Commander? Chief of Staff? Tell them to
come out!”

Sergeant Red became furious. He was always easily angered, but usually it stopped at
just irritation. It was rare that he ever earnestly got very mad.

Hwaruru!

Fire burst all around Sergeant Red. The Cadre Officers backed away in shock.

“This was a unanimous agreement amongst everyone, Red.”

Sergeant Red gripped his fist tight and gritted his teeth. He looked like he would
charge into the restriction zone any moment now, but in the end he endured and
turned back.

Han remained silent and watched from afar. The situation looked very complicated.

‘Sergeant Red was very angry. The higher ups made some sort of decision, and
Sergeant Red was greatly dissatisfied with it.’

The Cadre Officers said a few more words to Sergeant Red who was walking away.

“Get a hold of yourself, Sergeant Red.”

BAM!

Sergeant Red punched a Cadre Officer’s face. His eyes were fierce. The soldiers around
the area looked at Sergeant Red. Sergeant Red raised both his arms in the air.

“Here, arrest me. I’ll rest awhile in solitary confinement.”

Sergeant Red said with a heavy sigh. The Cadre Officer stopped the soldiers as his nose
dripped with blood.

“That’s enough. Red, I understand your point of view. You’re dismissed. I’ll close my
eyes for you this time.”

A Cadre Officer was of higher rank than a normal person. He didn’t let his emotions
affect his work and worked for the greater good of the organization. They were an elite
militarized organization.
“Tsk.”

Sergeant Red took a step, but slipped on his prosthetic leg. He was going to return to
his tasks, but he discovered Han. Sergeant Red was momentarily shocked, then his
expression crumpled.

“Why are you here?”

“I was on a light walk.”

“What kind of light walk takes you all the way here? Haaa, shit… did you see
everything?”

Sergeant Red knew he was behaving in a disgraceful manner. The Cadre Officer’s
words were absolutely correct. Ark had always chosen the path of sacrificing a few for
the masses. Ark had never made exceptions for any one particular person for personal
reasons.

‘Only the youths going through puberty would act in such a way.’

Sergeant Red bitterly smiled. He felt increasingly irritated when he saw that Han had
witnessed the whole thing.

“Your fist carried quite the punch. I could feel the pain even though I was just
watching.”

Han said, and Sergeant Red just shook his head.

“Mind your own business. Anyway, it’s a restricted zone from here out…”

Sergeant Red felt suspicious why Han would be on a light walk all the way out here.
Usual third years never had a reason to reach this far out in Ark. This was especially
the case for someone like Han who moved in a very calculative manner.

‘Only kids like Kuro or Canute would accidentally reach this place…, this brat doesn’t
even make any mistakes when he selects his food… ’

Sergeant Red peered over to Han. They didn’t exchange any words, but they already
understood each other.
“I’ve been there before.”

He didn’t mention any specific names. Under Ark. Sergeant Red would understand
regardless.

“I also have a general idea why it’s restricted.”

Sergeant Red had already been briefed on Han’s situation. He was the first chosen
reinforcement troop for the second generation psychoframe. He would be the first to
pilot the second generation models. The higher ups were paying great attention to all
of Han’s actions and reports. Most likely, someone would have been keeping an eye on
him 24 hours a day.

Sergeant Red passed Han at a slow pace. Han couldn’t help but stare at Sergeant Red’s
prosthetic leg.

*****

The Oracle has awakened.

There has not been any official announcements, but the rumors spread like wildfire.
This was an unfamiliar person for the third years. The Oracle was a psyker who
prophesied the date of the second wave of aggression. She was the only psyker who
had the power to see into the far future amongst the entire group of first and second
generation psykers. Everyone referred to her as the Oracle.

“Wasn’t the Oracle someone who has the unique skill of prophecy? Have you ever seen
her, Silence?”

Canute asked while they ate. Silence shook his head side to side. Silence had been a
third year the longest out of everyone, and he had never seen nor met the oracle
before.

“The soldiers said that she woke up. This must have meant that she was in an
unconscious state of some form.”

Han said. He was greatly interested in the oracle as well. She didn’t see into just the
immediate future like Kuro. She could see years and years ahead of their time. This
unique skill was very huge.
– I’ve only heard of her name. I’ve never seen her in person.

Silence had also been curious of this person. Han thought of when Sergeant Red fought
against the Cadre Officers.

‘He must have some kind of relation with all this.’

The Oracle was a first generation psyker. Sergeant Red should know of her.

Murmur, murmur.

Everyone in the mess hall was making a fuss about the recent events. A few of the
soldiers suddenly stood up and their eyes all pointed to the entrance door.

“Oracle…”

“It’s the Oracle.”

“She really woke up.”

Han followed their gaze toward the mess hall entrance. Han’s eyes slightly shook.

“A girl?”

Canute exclaimed in shock. Han was just as surprised.

‘The first generation of psykers most definitely trained female psykers. Ark was run
very differently during the first generation than the second generation.’

Han blinked his eyes a couple of times. The Oracle looked to be a young female. She
appeared to be quite young. She outwardly resembled a high school or college student.
She appeared to be much too young to be a first generation psyker.

‘How old was she when the war broke out? She should be 20 years old at the most… ’

Most of the first generation psykers he had met thus far were in their mid 50s. A
majority of them were easily more than 30 years old. They had been active soldiers in
the military at the time, so it couldn’t have been any other way.

“What are you looking at? Is this the first time you’ve met a human?”
The Oracle curled her blond hair around her finger. She glared at all the soldiers all
around the mess hall that was gawking at her. She suddenly searched the pocket of a
nearby soldier and fished out a cigarette. She freely entered the kitchen to light her
cigarette using the stove.

“This is a no smoking zone…”

Somebody said courageously. The Oracle didn’t pay them any mind and proudly
smoked her cigarette.

“Ha? No smoking zone? Since when has soldiers ever lived in a no smoking zone? Tell
them to f**k off.”

The oracle flipped her middle finger. The soldiers roared laughing.

“Even Sergeant Red doesn’t smoke in the mess hall…”

Canute mumbled. Han also dumbly stared at the Oracle. She was very different from
the ominous name she had… She was a very fierce woman.

“Hey, aren’t you the famous second generationers? Are you really in your teens with
bodies like yours? Forget about faster growth rate, isn’t that cheating? Oh my, are your
abs made of steel?”

The Oracle chatted up the third years. The third years hesitated in shock. Silence, who
watched everything unfold wrote a few words.

-I don’t like that old lady.

The Oracle walked through the crowded mess hall. She stopped just before Han’s
group.

“Are you also third years? It seems so. Why is he wearing a skull mask? Are you trying
to cosplay?”

Han and the Oracle made eye contact. Both their eyes narrowed. They were both
trying to observe one another.

“You might know us, but we don’t know you.”

Han said coldly, the Oracle reacted with dismay as she used her hands to hug her
cheeks.

“You don’t know me? I’m the Oracle. I’m the most famous psyker of this world.”

“That’s something that happened before we were born.”

Han said not letting down his guard against her.

“Hmm, you’re probably not popular with the ladies with that cold attitude of yours.”

The Oracle said. Canute who was listening quietly quickly nodded his head in
agreement. Silence pinched Canute’s side.

“If you don’t have any business with me, you may be on your way.”

The Oracle clasped her hand on top of her mouth in shock. She pretended to faint.

“This is the first time a man has acted this way towards me. So shocking.”

Silence had his arms crossed as he watched with suspicion.

-Are you really the Oracle?

The Oracle stared at Silence. She seemed interested why he would communicate with
an electric note.

“You cosplay AND talk with written letters? You’re a really funny kid!”

The Oracle chattered as if she was a frivolous teenage girl.

KWANG!

The mess hall door slammed open. Sergeant Red marched big strides and made his
way to the Oracle and grabbed her arm. He furrowed his brows.

“What are you doing here? Ke…, no, Oracle.”

“I got permission to leave, what’s it to you? Red.”

The Oracle said confidently. Sergeant Red’s face grew flamed in anger.

“That was permission to take a light walk! Don’t try to bend our words for your
convenience! You dumb girl!”

He shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Who are you to call me dumb? 10 years have passed, and now you’re an old man
already. Your beard is so gross. Sniff sniff. You smell like an old grandpa. You’ve grown
so old and you still don’t have a girlfriend? Pitiful.”

The Oracle swayed her hand back and forth in front of her nose. Everyone in the mess
hall laughed. Sergeant Red’s face flushed in embarrassment. He roughly pulled the
Oracles arm.

“You’re already smoking even though you only woke up yesterday? You’ve really gone
crazy. You really just want to die, don’t you?”

Sergeant Red snatched the Oracle’s cigarette and burned it to ashes with his flame
skill.

“What, who cares? I won’t live a long life anyway.”

The Oracle murmured quietly. Sergeant Red’s eyes became two times bigger, and then
he slapped her cheek.

SLAP!

“Shut up, follow me. Damn girl.”

Sergeant Red kept cursing. His curses were on a different level than when he used to
instruct the freshman youths. His honest heart was in every word that came out of his
mouth.

“Sergeant Red, the strongest of men, hit a girl? You’ve become such a failure of a man.”

The Oracle rubbed her cheek and said. Sergeant Red literally almost had to drag her
out of the mess hall. The play was over and the mess hall was loud with chatter. The
Oracle and Sergeant Red left.
“I feel like something amazing happened just now…”

Canute said trying to organize what just happened.

“…There is one thing for sure. Sergeant Red seems to have feelings for the Oracle.”

Han said. Canute and Silence stared at Han in shock.

“EEEEH? He likes her even though he cursed and hit her like that? Aren’t their age gap
too much though?”

– Do you have eyes? How did you come to that conclusion? We saw the same thing
right?

Han shrugged. Sergeant Red appeared honestly worried for the Oracle and had ended
up lashing out in such a way. The reason Red had fought against the Cadre Officers
should have been because of the Oracle’s awakening.

*****

“The Oracle had been kept in an unconscious frozen state. Her unique skill is very
valuable that they had invested as much funds in her as a psychoframe.” Octo said.

Han geared the sensor suit and moved about this and that way. They were in the
process of collecting various input data for the psychoframe. Han paused momentarily
and asked a question.

“Why was she kept frozen?”

“It should be because she has insomnia. When she was exposed to the radiation from
the dimensional gate, her psychic powers awoke. Many people who awaken their
psychic powers too quickly cannot adapt well and suffer many complications in their
nerves and mind… is what I heard. Their five senses will gradually dull and their body
muscles will stiffen, and in the end this illness will lead to death. The next stance will
be the handstand.”

Han lightly hit the ground and stood on a handstand. He used his arms to support his
body and moved this way and that.

“Huuu, they must have decided they needed her power of prophecy for the future
wars.”

Han began to do push ups in a handstand position. Sweat dripped from his forehead.

“If she was easily replaceable, then there wouldn’t be a need to keep her frozen. She
was originally very sick, after being held in a frozen state for so long, her condition
shouldn’t be any better. The longer they keep her alive, the more she will suffer.”

Octo said in a matter-of-fact tone. He wasn’t interested in the Oracle at all. His only
interest in life was the psychoframe.

‘His physical abilities are superior. He won’t have a problem as a striker, minus the fact
that he doesn’t have much psychic power… ’

Octo admired the data graphs. Han kept his body trained perfectly like a professional
athlete. This was a very important quality that a striker must have.

‘He must have done a lot of personal training. Though his body has been artificially
strengthened, his flexibility and skill aren’t something easily obtainable without
effort.’

After a round of handstands, Han wielded his dragon spear. Various sensors were
attached to his spear so that the speed, strength, and angles could be accurately
quantified.’

“Do your usual spear routine. We need all the data to make your personal dragon bone
weapon for your psychoframe. You’re the most familiar with the spear that you’re
using now, right?”

Han paused and walked over to Octo.

“I have a specific request for my weapon.”

“Speak. We need to make one that fits you perfectly anyway.”

Octo agreed without pause as he stuffed his mouth with crackers. He smelled of cheap
sweets.

“Can you add some more weight to the spear blade? The spear I use is too light that I
can’t feel the centrifugal force at all. I feel like I’m swinging around a piece of paper.”
He had grown exponentially stronger through all those years.

“That’s not hard. We’ll add some weights to the edge of your spear. Tell me when the
weight feels just right.”

Octo added three weights to the edge of Han’s spear. Han swung his spear for awhile,
then requested for one more weight to be added.

VOOOM!

His spear swung with more vigor than before. Now it felt like he was able to properly
add some power to his swings. He twirled his spear with one hand and threw it. He
used his opposite hand to catch his spear and twirled it once again.

SWAAA!

Han nodded satisfied. The weight balance of the spear felt better. Han has reached
near perfection in training his artificially strengthened body. He had grown 5
centimeters since he last woke up with his artificially strengthened body. His muscles
and bones had strengthened well and firmly stabilized themselves in place.

“We will conduct a psycho frame test soon. Manage your body well until then. Don’t
suddenly get hurt.”

Octo said watching his monitor graph. Han was changing to his usual uniform at the
corner of the room.

‘I’ve gotten injured a lot.’

Han stared at his reflection in the mirror. Originally, his body was free of any scars, all
the injuries he suffered had healed but many scars remained. This was the side effect
of torn muscles and broken bones. Some of the injuries he suffered after battling the
death worm remained scabbed over. Some of his wounds had opened after the
vigorous training session and fresh blood dripped down.

Han robotically wiped the blood. He thought he should apply some ointment before
going to sleep.

“You’re the O-Oracle? Why are you here?”

Octo’s surprised voice sounded from just outside. Octo seemed uncomfortable around
the Oracle.

“Do you have some business here, Oracle?”

If the Oracle had not been kept in a frozen state, the two would have been the same
age. The Oracle looked very young, but in truth she was very old. She was one of the
first psykers who participated in the battle against dragons. The Oracle didn’t
personally go out to fight, but she had saved a countless number of human lives.

“Not with you, I have business with that youth there.”

The Oracle pointed to the youth, Han. Han quirked his head to the side.

“With me?”

“Yes, you looked at me very coldly at the mess hall. Women are easily attracted to cold
men.”

Han didn’t even smile. He just looked across to the Oracle.

‘What’s her objective?’

Han didn’t easily trust strangers. People who easily trusted others lived short lives. As
long as they weren’t friends, he automatically considered the other as enemy. Even if
she were a member of the Ark, she might affect him negatively.

‘There is no human who would be nice or friendly for no reason. Everyone had their
hidden objective.’

All the people that approached Han had been that way. This included Sergeant Red
and even Laocha. Herald’s care would have had such a reason as well.

‘It’s hard to read this woman’s objective.’

Han had felt the Oracles gaze on him though it was just a brief moment. They were
both observing the other.

“How old are you? I feel like I’m talking to a wall.”

“Do you have any business with me?”

Han didn’t want to talk to the Oracle any longer. She was an uncomfortable woman to
be around.

“I’m the Oracle. The ORACLE! The only psyker who can see the future!”

“I’m Han.”

Han answered matter of factly.

“Do you think I’m trying to introduce myself? Are you by chance… imp- never mind.
You’re still a child.”

“…by chance what?”

Han asked, but the Oracle just stomped her feet in frustration. She let out a long sigh.

“Let’s talk for a bit. You can’t?”

Octo, hearing this, whispered to Han.

“Take her away from here, Han. I really dislike such audacious women.”

Octo said as cold sweat dripped from his forehead. Han nodded and looked to the
Oracle.

“Please wait a moment, I also have important tasks.”

“You are really… a difficult man.”

The Oracle said disbelievingly. She was a woman quite proud of her looks. The other
was quite young in age, but she was confident to make any man swoon over her. That
confidence was however, stomped to pieces.

‘Did he become a robot human the past 10 years?’

The Oracle thought to herself while she watched Han’s back figure.

Han frequently met men who would fall heads over heels over a girl and lose all their
life savings in an instant. They would easily hand over precious water and food
resources they gathered so carefully. From time to time, women were more fearsome
than any man. The general survival rate of females in this world was much better, it
meant that women were just that much more cunning and had their own weapons of
surviving this harsh world. Women may be weaker than most men, but they knew how
to manipulate men to their wishes.

Han didn’t easily trust strangers. He especially had a hard time trusting females.
Women frequently tried to control men. This was what he had concluded as he worked
hard to survive in this harsh world.

“Speak.”

Han said when they managed to leave Team 3’s development room.

“Here? I want to sit down… I don’t want to sit on dirt. I just got these new clothes.”

The Oracle complained.

“Sit here.”

Han took off his jacket and placed it on the dirt floor.

“Oh my, you’re unexpectedly charming!”

The Oracle clapped her hand and happily sat on top of Han’s jacket.

“Now speak.”

Han’s speech was much more guarded than usual. He felt more comfortable talking
with the soldiers who only knew how to talk about lewd things.

“What type of women do you like?”

Han answered stoically.

“I just know that Oracles aren’t my type.”

The Oracle gasped with her palm over her mouth in shock. It looked like she was being
dramatic on purpose.
“…Did you just reject me? You didn’t even give me a chance to confess. Wow!”

Han’s eyes gleamed with chilling coldness. He appeared truly irritated for the first
time.

“If you just want to joke around with me, then I’ll be on my way. I really hate people
who pry into others randomly without purpose.”

The Oracle blinked a couple of times. Her long eyelashes trembled. She looked back to
him with blurry teary eyes.

“You’re not an easy kid. I thought the new generation of soldiers would be like you, so
I went around, but nobody reacted like you. You’re a special case.”

“Shouldn’t you already know the outcome since you’re the Oracle?”

Han tried to sound her out.

“If I knew every aspect of the future, then my brain would explode. The power of
foresight isn’t that convenient. I’m having a hard time believing that I’ve been asleep
for the past 10 years.”

The only psyker who had the power of prophecy was the Oracle. Nobody could
possibly know how the girl viewed and felt this world. It was a mystery how the girl
could possibly see and come to understand the future. Everyone simply took her
words as fact without doubt.

“Why did you come find me?”

The Oracle looked serious for the first time. Psychic powers lightly flowed from her
eyes. The Oracle placed one finger on Han’s forehead.

“I just want to tell you one thing. If you want to live a long life, then don’t go out the
next deployment. This is my personal advice to you. I wanted to ignore this, but
Sergeant Red seems to care about you, so I’m letting you in on this special service.”

Han gazed back to the Oracle. She didn’t appear to be joking around.

“What did you see?”

The Oracle shook her head.

“I’m telling you because I didn’t see anything. In such a case, most end up dying. It
means your future is uncertain and dangerous.”

Han didn’t appear shocked in the least. When Han led the group of orphans out in the
streets, everyone had treated him like he was crazy. Everyone thought that they would
all die.

“You will face a life threatening situation soon.”

There was a short silence.

“That had always been the case for me. There had never been a case when I didn’t risk
my life to survive. The chances to die have always been higher than survival.”

Han bowed to leave. The Oracle calmly watched Han. Han was about to take the jacket
she sat on, but she quickly snatched it away first.

“I’ll return it after dry cleaning.”

“No need…”

Before Han could finish, the Oracle already left.

****

A few days from now, there would be a test run for the second generation
psychoframe. There was a testing ground surrounded by concrete walls that were
more than 5 meters wide. Han calmly walked together with Octo to the testing
grounds. Just behind them, the fourth engineering team followed them with a
containment trailer.

KEEEEEE.

The containment trailer opened. The engineering team began to take out the
psychoframe and set it up for pilot mode.

Han continued to listen to Octo’s words as he waited for everyone to finish preparing.
“Use minimal energy at the start. The response is much quicker. Old man can’t
compare at all to this. Be cautious like a child who is learning to walk. Remember this
well, Han.”

Octo looked much more serious than usual. He didn’t take light of the situation at all.
Han calmly nodded.

‘Old man Smith is watching. I don’t want to lose my face here.’

Octo thought to himself while looking outside. Various cadre officers and personnel
were monitoring from outside the testing grounds. This was the first test of the second
generation psychoframe. All the top ranking officials had gathered to watch today.
There were several first generation psychoframe pilots in between everyone just in
case something were to happen.

“Hmm, we will fail. Not anyone can easily pilot that.”

The first engineering team chief, Charlie Smith said. He had held a grudge against the
younger engineer, Octo, ever since his prototype had been snatched by the other. His
greatest masterpiece had been transferred over to the person he hated most. Since
that day, his wrinkles had increased by several folds.

“He looks sharp. I can feel the power of a future soldier from him.”

“Yeah. He looks like a cyborg.”

The soldiers talked amongst themselves. The engineering team brought out the new
psychoframe to the testing grounds. The second generation psychoframe looked much
more sharp and sleek than the first generation counterpart. It had not been painted
yet, and so it shined with silver light.

They left the cockpit open for Han. The open door looked like the maws of a demon.
The insides of the psychoframe were made of artificially engineered muscle fibers.

‘It’s just a machine.’

Han mumbled looking at the psychoframe. They had put him in a body suit designed
to work together with the psychoframe. The artificial fibers softly hugged his body.

“The psychoframe will follow your psychic energy and respond to them regardless of
your own decisions. It may respond to you in an unexpected way.

“I will follow through as I have done with Old Man.”

“This has similar movement abilities to that of a human. You can say that it has all the
exact muscles that a human does. If you compare it to Old Man, Old Man is but a child’s
toy.”

Octo emphasized over and over.

‘This is an important test for Octo as well. He probably bluffed many times to forcefully
streamline the psychoframe project for his own. If he can’t produce results, then Octo
will thoroughly lose face today. I need to do well.’

Han thought. He wasn’t very fond of Octo at all, but he was an important person who
would assist him in the future. Octo had helped the other in many ways up until now.

“You can believe in me. I will do well.”

Han said looking to Octo. Octo stopped talking and gripped his fists tightly.

Tak.

They lightly hit their fists with one another’s.

[ Initiating Psychoframe. ]

Keeee!

The exterior of the psychoframe shut. The artificial muscles of the psychoframe
expanded which put great stress onto Han.

GUUOOOO.

Han felt his psychic energy slowly leave him. He felt a jolt through his entire body.

Chl-Schlk.

His helmet shield clamped shut. He was covered with a full helmet like Silence. The
helmet shield screen projected similar data to that of his data bracelet. Various data
and information flowed at the top corner of his view.

VOOOM!

The joint and chest regions of the psychoframe glowed. A light resembling steam
flowed out from the glowing lights. Psychic aura manifested from the psychoframe.
The portions with lighter armor leaked out light to the outside. Han calmly moved his
fingers one by one.

Gi-rik, gi-rik.

The artificially designed muscles felt very flexible. The way it moved felt the exact
same as his own body.

‘The response is very smooth and quick. It feels like my own body.’

Han’s response to the new psychoframe was surprising.

-Start with a walk.

He heard Octo’s voice message. The basic movement was walking. He had to move his
entire body while maintaining a perfect balance. He had to be able to walk before he
could attempt anything else.

“Understood.”

Han tried to restrict as much psychic energy as he possibly could as he walked. The
light flowing from his eyes constricted. He tightly clamped shut his jaws.

‘I will keep this power for my own.’

The High Officers of Ark were watching. He had to prove to them today.

“Huu.”

Han breathed heavily as he took wide strides.

Kirik, keerik.

The sound of the joints moving gradually softened. Han made awkward steps forward.
Slowly, his posture stabilized.

– Good! Next try to run.

Octo sounded excited. Han felt a sense of confidence. He bent his legs, and he prepared
to speed forward.

TAH!

Han stamped on the ground. The concrete floor sunk in.

– Damn, you’ve jumped too high! Control your energy output!

Octo shouted. Han belatedly realized he was floating in midair. He rushed due to
excitement and slipped up. He made a mistake landing and rolled on the ground. The
ground broke and cracked wherever he rolled.

“Ah!”

“Oh no!”

Everyone conveyed their disappointment. Everyone seemed to have felt second hand
pain from the impact.

‘It doesn’t hurt that much at all. The outward defense is strong.’

Han stood up and thought. The outer buffer defense was flawless. Han didn’t feel much
of an impact even at such a high level.

“I’m okay. This is built very strong.”

Han supported himself on one knee to stand.

‘I can’t get emotionally ahead of myself. It obstructs my ability to control my psychic

powers. I need to reduce my psychic energy output. If I’m careless I’ll overload it with
too much psychic powers.’

Dragon bones forcefully absorbed psychic energy. If the psyker were to lose control of
their psychic powers, then the psychoframe could possibly explode. This psychoframe
prototype used the most dragon material out of all second generation prototypes. It
was considered much too difficult to pilot and was almost sent to be dismantled.

-Start slowly. It will be enough if you can show them that you can pilot it well.

Octo let out a heavy sigh and spoke. He sounded anxious as if he was the one piloting
the psychoframe. His bald head glistened with moisture.

“Look over there! I knew that would happen! Octo was just spouting lies!”

Old man Smith pointed and shouted. The High Officials watching furrowed their
brows. Everyone understood old man Smith’s thoughts, but Ark would only be able to
feel a sense of relief with the success of this test. Currently, Ark did not have much
attack power against the dragon invasions.

TSU TSU TSU TSU.

Han restricted the flow of his psychic energy. The more psychic power he restricted,
the heavier his psychoframe felt. Instead, moving felt much easier.

‘Move forward just like this.’

Han mumbled and lightly ran in place. The psychoframe’s weight caused the ground
to shake.

“I feel very hot in here.”

Han said as sweat dripped from his body. The inside of the psychoframe was incredibly
hot.

-There is no cool down function. We didn’t design it for long term use anyway. Just
endure it.

Han moved his hands and feet. He gradually became accustomed to moving around.
He attempted to run one more time.

Ta-dak.

He made deep pits on the ground with every step. He strode forward 10 meters with
one step. Han just barely maintained his balance as he moved forward. Every step
added a frightening amount of speed to his acceleration.
ZZzt.

‘My knees hurt. Something feels loose. My legs stretch forward too much.’

Han could hear the muscles of his knee ripping apart.

CHWAAAK!

Han rolled on the ground in almost a slide and then stood upright. Large pebbles of
concrete flew out.

“It moved pretty well just now, right?”

“It seemed so.”

People murmured amongst themselves. People were able to confirm in person that
the second generation psychoframe was leaps more advanced and mobile than its
predecessor.

-The response is good. Good job. Just a little more!

Octo tightly gripped his fists. Han slowly gathered his breath inside the psychoframe.

‘It hurts. I feel like my knee will break.’

His knee felt incredibly hot. It felt like all the muscles of his body will tear. Han looked
across and around the grounds. The ground looked rocky and uneven.

Weeng!

Han was about to take a moment to catch his breath, when the controlled ground
forces surrounded Han. The ground forces restricted Han’s movements.

KWANG!

The practice drill missile rockets sounded. It was a blank rocket that would instantly
diffuse upon impact. Though the impact was strong enough to kill an ungeared soldier.

“Cough.”
Han was directly hit on his chest with the blank missile rockets. He tumbled to the
ground and quickly got up. He watched the missile rockets and quirked is body. He
was able to easily dodge the next round of missiles.

“This wasn’t in the original plan.”

Han complained with irritation.

-I only found out just now as well. It’s the old man Smith’s doing. Destroy them.

Han moved so fast that the missiles were having a difficult time catching up to him. It
missed Han by large margins.

-The route ahead is blocked by a wall.

“I know. I want to end this quickly.”

The psychoframe glowed with bright lights. Han kicked his leg off the wall and took
several steps then jumped to the side. Han who ran at bullet speed jumped high in the
sky. He armed his missile launchers on his shoulders and spread his arms.

KEEEE!

Han secured the barrels of his missile launchers and twisted upwards. The force
would easily blow steel to nothing. A bright blue light reflected out of his helmet
shield. The blue light spilled from between all the joints of the psychoframe.

“…This is my limit. Octo.”

This was his first time piloting the psychoframe. There were many problems. Han
furrowed his brows as cold sweat dropped from his forehead.

-Good work. Rest up.

Octo stood up from his seat. He ran to the testing grounds and approached the Ark’s
high officials. The majority of them gave high praises for the second generation
psychoframes. Considering that this was the first test run, the results were shockingly
good.

Han left the testing grounds and parked next to the containment trailer. Han remained
without moving in his psychoframe. He threw off his helmet visor.

“Haa, haa.”

Han’s hair was soaked in his own sweat. The heat from within the helmet cooled at
once and burst out as steam.

KEEENG.

The psychoframe cockpit opened. Han got up with the assistance of the engineers. As
soon as he was seated on a chair, all the people in the area placed packs of ice on his
body. Han placed a pack of ice on his knee. The heat was making the pain feel many
times worse.

“The knee joints seemed to have spread too wide.”

An engineer making observations commented. The knee joints of the psychoframe

was much wider than what a human knee could maneuver. Due to this error, Han had
suffered traumatic injuries to his knee. If he were not an artificially strengthened
soldier, his knee would have completely torn off.

“The joints are the problem as I suspected. We were too focused on lightening the
weight, and the tension of the joints were too weak to support the overflowing psychic
energies. I never thought it would not be able to hold up this degree of mobility.”

Octo who returned some time ago commented.

“I thought I was going to die.”

Han furrowed his brows. He was slightly blaming Octo for this.

“It’s better than finding this error during actual battle.”

Octo commented like it wasn’t a big deal. He was practically humming through his
nose. The test proved to be very successful. The High Officials unanimously agreed
that Han had what it took to pilot the psychoframe.

“What did the High Officials say?”

“They are very hopeful. We’ve even got our budget increased. Our prototype has been
agreed to pass into our military strength. They saw the data we gathered through the
prototype would be useful for our future.

‘Would Octo be sad at all if I were to die? Well, he was that sort of human to begin with.’

Han placed an ice pack on his face. He almost lost consciousness to the coolness. He
taped his knee and then attempted to walk. The test run was stopped very quickly so
his injury wasn’t as serious as it could have been.

“Please quickly schedule our next test run.”

Han said as he slowly walked out.

“Why are you trying to rush?”

Octo asked quirking his head.

“I somehow feel like we won’t have enough time.”

Han thought of the Oracle’s words. Her prediction somehow felt like an event of his
near future.

****

At the next executive meeting of the High Officials had a different air this day due to a
new female. She was the Oracle, who casually sat down dressed like a regular civilian.
She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and she had even brought along a handheld
gaming device.

Beew, Beew.

The game music and gun noises sounded in the meeting room. The Oracle clicked her
tongue as she busily pressed the buttons to her game.

“Sergeant Red, please stop her before my headache worsens.”

Chief of Staff, Alexander said to Sergeant Red. Red was one of the few people in this
world that would dare to raise a hand against the Oracle.

KWAJIK!
Sergeant Red grabbed the Oracles gaming device and threw it across the room. The
device hit the wall and broke apart. The Oracle complained while glaring at Sergeant
Red.

“Ha? What do you want me to do in this useless meeting?”

The Oracle complained. Sergeant Red let out a long sigh. He pressed down his temper
and calmed himself down.

“Just stay quiet.”

Sergeant Red growled. The Oracle didn’t seem affected in the least and just pouted.
She crossed her arms and leaned back arrogantly.

“We scheduled the next psychoframe test run for next week. The pilot himself also
wants to speed up the process as well. He looks very willing and motivated.”

Octo said. Oldman Smith who was in front could only remain seated as his face burned
red with fury. The prototype was now officially handed over to Octo. There was no
room to object in the least.

“Make a separate report for the expected budget for me afterwards.”

Alexander nodded and said. All the urgent worries of Ark had been settled a great deal.
The battle against the True Group was almost over, and all the lost lives of the first
generation troops would be replaced by the second generation troops. All the
problems seemed to solve itself one by one. Alexander who had been living busily had
incredibly dark circles around his eyes.

“Oracle, is the future that you see the same as it had been before?”

The Oracle blankly stared at the ceiling and nodded.

“It’s the same. The dragons will cover the sky. An infinite number of minions. The
ground will be dyed red. The end of humanity is near.”

The Oracle said without emotion.

“What are the chances of a dragon invading before that time?”

Alexander asked. This was the reason they had woken up the Oracle from slumber.
They had originally thought that humanity would be safe from the dragons for at least
15 years time. However, Bahamut had appeared and everything changed. There was a
possibility for a dragon invasion before the full wave of aggression. If they were not
prepared before the dragon’s invasion, then humanity would suffer a great deal.

All the people of this meeting waited for the Oracle’s reply.

The oracle closed her eyes for a moment and lightly tapped on the table.

“Oh, right. I saw something last time. Give me a paper and pen.”

The Oracle received a paper and pen and lowered her upper body. Her hands moved
very quickly. After a few moments, her sketch was complete. She had studied as an art
student before the start of this war.

Sa-sa-sak.

The Oracle lifted the paper up. The drawing was rough, but everyone immediately
recognized it.

“Dragon…”

Silence stifled the meeting room. It was a drawing of a dragon and minions swinging
their limbs at a downtown zone. The civilians had evacuated and the dragon was
destroying the city with an iron fist. The people who knew of the dragon’s true
strength felt a chill to their bones.

“This will happen within 10 days. I just said the true wave of aggression would occur
in 15 years time. I never said dragons won’t appear between that time. I didn’t know
that dragons would appear before that time either. But I can’t assure that something
like the first wave of aggression won’t happen before the foreseen time.”

The Oracle said. Her predictions had never been wrong. The Oracle was a free spirit
and nobody could control her. However, she had never lied.

“Do you know exactly where this is?”

Alexander’s palms became clammy.

“Europe? America? I just know it’s a city with many white people…”

The Oracle quirked her head and murmured. The corner of her lips turned up slightly.

“More concisely!”

Alexander shouted almost degrading her. The Oracle didn’t even blink in fear. All the
people in this room appeared anxious and fearful of the Dragon’s invasion, and only
the girl calmly laughed.

“Stop joking. You already know, Oracle.”

Sergeant Red who was listening all this time said in a low tone. His stare looked like it
would bore a hole through her head. There was not another person who knew and
understood the Oracle better than Sergeant Red. It was also quite famous that the two
had more than just a normal relationship with one another.

“You’re no fun, Red.”

The Oracle covered her mouth and laughed. Sergeant Red looked like he wanted to
punch her.

“We’re not joking around. Damn… your single words could save thousands… no,
millions of people!”

The Oracle let off a cynical smile and looked to Alexander.

“France, Paris. Truthfully, I saw the Eiffel tower.”

The Oracle told the truth to her predictions and shrugged.

The meeting concluded. Everyone busily moved. Alexander was thinking to catch up
on his sleep after this meeting, but instead he supplemented his body with nicotine
and caffeine. He would have a difficult time finding time to sleep for a long while.

Sergeant Red and the Oracle walked down the corridor. Sergeant Red held the Oracle’s
arm and entered an empty room. The Oracle looked up to him.

“Damn girl. What are you unsatisfied with?”

BAM!

Sergeant Red slammed the wall and said. The Oracle took out a cigarette and placed it
on her lips.

“You should know. Light my cigarette, won’t you? Human lighter.”

Sergeant Red snatched the cigarette and burnt it into ashes. The Oracle furrowed her
brows.

“Stop being so childish. Katherine, your sacrifice doesn’t mean we will survive this.”

The Oracle said. The person who didn’t want to awaken the Oracle the most was
Sergeant Red. He was furious over Ark’s decision. Still, since the Oracle was now
awake, they had to make use of her powers the most the could. She had the power to
save many people.

‘Katherine must have predicted the dragon’s invasion since a few days ago. She knew
but didn’t say anything.’ She was just throwing a temper tantrum by letting them in on
the truth belatedly. Still, those few days were very precious for Ark. The few days were
enough to save a countless number of people.

“I know. Sacrifice? That is a very good word. It makes my heart feel so warm and fuzzy.”

Sergeant Red’s eyes glowed with red light. The spot where Sergeant Red punched
turned black.

“Stop twisting my words. Do you know how old the children in the lower levels are?
The oldest of the bunch are just 13 or 12. The children are also risking their lives.”

Sergeant Red was the most vicious instructor in all of Ark. He lashed at the children
like a monster without an ounce of blood. Nevertheless, he was still human. He felt
pain having to send out children out to the battlefield. He was doing this because he
had no other choice.

“But everyone else has something called hope. They believe they can beat the dragons
and return to their normal peaceful lives. They have the hope to live on in a world
without dragons. But how about me? What use is it that I could see the future with
this superhuman power? I don’t have a future at all. Why do I have to fight for the sake
of others?”
Sergeant Red’s face crumpled. The Oracle had only a short time left. Her life would be
at most 2 or 3 years. It wouldn’t be strange for her condition to worsen and die the
next day. There was no way for her to control her psychic powers. There was no way
to treat a disease which was due to psychic powers.

Sergeant Red hesitated.

“…because you are a good woman.”

Sergeant Red said. The Oracle laughed through her nose.

“You’re so funny, idiot.”

The Oracle opened the door and left. Sergeant Red quietly watched her leave.

****

“It’s a ghost city.”

Canute said as soon as he hopped off the plane. Han agreed with his words. The city
full of history still remained untouched. The only factor that changed was that there
was not a single civilian of Paris remaining here. Not one person remained behind in
the perfectly intact houses, so the atmosphere felt even stranger.

France had suffered the least due to all the wars thus far. This wasn’t just France, but
most of Western Europe had been able to avoid most of the war.

“Western Europe had always had blessings and luck. Iberia Peninsula and Eastern
Europe had always acted as a shield for them.”

The soldiers said. They unloaded all the supplies one by one. Ark deployed the soldiers
to France. Upon the justification of a dragon’s invasion, they were able to summon all
seasoned troops to this place. Each country didn’t hold back to deploy their special
Demian Troops.

“According to the Oracle’s words, we have about 7 days left. After the past wars, this
would be the first dimensional gate to open once again.”

Bahamut had attempted to restore a dimensional gate in the past battle. This time, a
new dimensional gate would form out of thin air. The gravity of the situation was very
heavy.

The soldiers that had been drafted by Ark used all the hotel rooms and buildings
without shame. They moved various heavy equipments and fortified the buildings.
Minions would appear alongside with the dragon’s appearance. It was enough to stop
the minions with modern weapons.

[You might die. I don’t see anything in your future.]

The Oracle’s words lingered in Han’s mind. He originally thought he would pay her
words no mind, but her words kept echoing over and over.

‘I didn’t come here to die.’

Han was excluded from the special unit. He was just a reserve member for the
psychoframes. The test hasn’t finished at all, but if Ark needed Han, they would not
hesitate to deploy him.

-What’s up? Are you feeling sick?

Silence approached him. He was fully geared in his battle helmet and uniform. He
really stood out like a sore thumb out of everyone here. The only person who kept his
helmet at all times was Silence.

“I’m just a little tired.”

Silence quietly watched Han and sat down just in front of him. Han and Silence chatted
a bit as they sat.

Silence began to explain his new attack skills.

-I named it lightning bolt.

“That’s a very grandiose name.”

-Watch carefully.

Silence stood up and took a few steps back. He blink skilled twice up in the air. He
appeared 30 meters up in the air and flashed his sword and bulleted down.
Weeng-.

He used his blink as he bulleted forward. The downward force carried over with the
blink skill. He used this advantage to carry more strength with his sword.

KWAJIK!

Silence slashed a block of wood just ahead. This strength was many times stronger
than his original attack power. Silence’s leg seemed to have gone numb and he couldn’t
stand up for a moment. That was obvious because he took the falling impact with just
his legs alone.

-The con of this attack is that I will be defenseless for a moment.

“I give the usability rating of 0 to that. There is no reason you should blink 3 times just
to attack once like that.”

-You don’t know anything.

Silence twirled his sword and returned it into his sheath.

“What don’t I know?”

-The romance of a killing move. Canute said it was cool and gave me a round of
applause.

“If you want to name it, rather than lightning bolt, I think boulder smash is more
fitting…”

-Rejected. Lightning bolt is cooler.

Silence wagged his index finger side to side.

“The cool factor is what’s important in the end?”

Han scolded. His gaze went over Silence’s shoulder to the landing grounds. Many
unfamiliar looking planes landed at the runway one after another. They were mostly
red in color. The wings were labeled U.S.A.

-It’s the Hell Boys.

Male soldiers the size of mountains dropped out. They looked horrendous. Their
flaming red coat uniforms fluttered with the wind. They were dozens of kilograms and
they could easily wield heavy weapons with one hand.

“They should be the special unit where all the soldiers were surgically strengthened…
right?”

Han tried to fish out some of the vague data he had studied. He had heard this several
times over.

The youths of Ark weren’t the only ones to receive the procedure to artificially
strengthen their bodies. On the other hand, fully grown adults didn’t receive
significant benefits from this procedure at all.

-They are much older than us, but it will be hard trying to find anyone older than 20
years old amongst them.

Han narrowed his eyes toward the Hell Boys. He could still find small signs of their
youths from their faces.

“Their average build looks many degrees stronger than us.”

-The heavy firearms they carry will only be effective against minions and greater
minions. Their main task will be handling weapons that cannot be effectively wielded
by just one person. I’ve been deployed in a couple of military operations with them,
they are very strong.

Hell Boys were not psykers, but they’ve gone through a surgical procedure to
strengthen their bodies. They were the strongest troops amongst the Demian Troops
of America.

After the war, Canada and Mexico fell into a state of anarchy and America was able to
claim the territories as their own. The chaos of war had changed America to a
militarized country. The strong military organizations suppressed the governmental
powers. America wasn’t alone, most countries around the world today worked in this
form. They only outwardly claimed freedom and human rights, however the countries
were ruled over with a lawful iron fist. It wasn’t strange for a country to become
powerless and crumble.

“Hey Silence. You’re the same as usual. Your black gear and helmet.”
A Hell Boy discovered Silence and approached them.

-Hello, Reup.

Silence took a moment to remember his name. He bumped his fist with Reup’s.

“Hey, it’s been awhile. I think 1 year? I’m a Platoon leader now.”

Reup carried a load that exceeded 100 kilograms without even breaking a sweat. He
was well over 2 meters tall, and he sported wide shoulders like a pro wrestler. His red
uniform was easy to spot and flashy. Hell Boys were to be easily spotted even from far
away.

-Good for you. You don’t need to follow your friends?

It took Silence a long time to converse with others. They exchanged only a few words
and the other Hell Boys were already very far away. Reup just tsked in pity.

“Well, we should have a few days to relax. Let’s catch up later.”

Reup waved his hand and disappeared. Han only spoke after the other was long gone.

“You seem close.”

– Only with him. I’ve saved his life once before. Usually Hell Boys hate us.

Han closed his eyes for a moment lost in thought. The Hell Boys were much older than
the average youths of Ark. They underwent a surgical procedure to become stronger.
The explanation was simple.

“They consider us as their rivals.”

-That’s right. They consider us weaker than them as long as we don’t have psychic
powers.

“What do you mean we’re weaker than them without psychic powers? That’s a funny
joke.”

Han lightly chuckled. Silence nodded.

-Hell Boys are uselessly big and make for a good target. They will end up injured even
if I shoot with my eyes closed.

The third years of Ark were chosen very particularly. Excluding Kuro’s case, no youth
of Ark had been selected for mere Psychic strength alone.

****

Han rested at his hotel room. Everyone had been drafted to fight in Paris. All the
facilities were being used by the military forces. If they failed to protect Paris against
the dragon, Paris would fall to a pile of ruins. The refrigerator was filled with drinks,
and the drawers had baskets of snacks.

“This is amazing!”

Canute bounced on the beds and said. The rooms were made for two people so he
roomed together with Canute.

Woong!

Canute brought over a basket of crackers with his telekinesis.

“Oh my god, it melts in my mouth. What does this say? I don’t know French.”

Canute bit off a huge chunk of his cracker and admired.

“Do you think I will know?”

Han said boredly, but he was also just as shocked trying this snack for the first time.

“Let’s go around all the rooms and gather them for ourselves. The other soldiers won’t
even touch it anyway.”

“Don’t go around uselessly. There are many soldiers other than the soldiers of Ark.”

Ark was able to receive a lot of support from other countries. Han thought he should
minimize their interactions as much as possible after thinking through all his past
experiences with foreign powers.

“Humph, you’re not our squad leader. Who are you to order me? I won’t listen to you.”
Canute bravely ran out. Han sighed. Third years were usually restricted in their day to
day lives. When Canute was free of his restrictions, he jumped full of energy like a bull
free of its pen. He was a common troublemaker amongst the third years.

“Hmm.”

Han laid on his bed and studied the map of Paris. He confirmed all the important
buildings.

‘We can’t win without preparing ahead of time.’

Han knew that not everything he would prepare might be useful. Still, he wanted to be
ready in case it would become necessary. He had always come out victorious due to
making preparations.

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on his door. Han opened the door with his telekinesis.

“Hello.”

The Oracle peered in and entered. Han’s expression crumpled. More concisely, his
expression read, ‘why this woman again?’

“What do you need this time?”

Han asked and the Oracle grabbed her shoulders and trembled.

“I wanted to hear your cold words so I came to visit you. It’s exhilarating. Now, here is
the jacket I sat on, it’s clean.”

The Oracle hung his clothes on the hanger of the closet. She walked to the fridge and
got out a can of beer. She tilted her head back and began chugging it down.

“Kya, that’s good stuff. France! I really wanted to visit this place once. A trip to Paris is
every girl’s dream. I’ve fulfilled one dream of my life like this.”

Han stared at her with a dissatisfied expression.

“If you don’t have anything important to say then you should leave.”
The Oracle shook her head. She rejected firmly.

“No. Why should I?”

“This is the room that I’ve been assigned.”

The Oracle blocked off her ears with her hands.

“That’s that. I heard the psychoframe test run went well? You’ve been promoted.
You’re the savior of humanity that will wear a super suit. Do you remember what I told
you before?”

Han nodded.

“I thought we were already done with this conversation.”

“Do you want me to tell the High Officials? That Han will die if he takes part in this
military operation. With one word, you will be carried off and taken back to Ark’s
safest room.”

The Oracle said honestly. Han’s eyebrows’ quirked.

“I will kindly decline.”

The Oracle’s eyes grew wide.

“I’m not joking. A real dragon will appear. I heard you saw it in person before? At this
rate, you will die. You’re still young.”

The Oracle was doing him a great favor. The military operation this time around will
be very dangerous. There will be many sacrifices made for the sake of winning this
battle. He was in the Oracle’s favor that she was willing to help him escape his fate.

“Is being young some kind of privilege? I’ve never went out of my way to protect
anyone just because they were young. Rather they are the best fodder. So, I will protect
my own life.”

The Oracle was greatly shocked.

‘What the hell is this brat… ’

He seemed like just a cold boy, but his view of life was so firm and strong. He seemed
like someone who had come from the worst place of this world. The Oracle was
clueless on Han’s profile. She just knew that Sergeant Red was fond of this brilliant
fellow.

Oracle momentarily fell to a speechless state. She felt the same way before, but Han
spoke words that couldn’t possibly come from a child his age.

“You…”

The Oracle was about to say something when she suddenly grabbed her chest. She
faltered and fell to the bed that Han was seated on.

“Oracle?”

Han stared at the Oracle. The Oracle breathed hard and her face paled. She firmly
grasped Han’s clothes.

“…lend me your shoulder, for a moment.”

The Oracle looked like she was in pain. She tightly gripped Han’s shoulder. Her nails
dug into his skin.

‘Psychic energy?’

Han stared at the Oracle. Blue light flowed from her eyes. The psychic energy
circulated around her entire body like an electric circuit. The psychic light seemed like
it was strangling her.

‘Is this the illness she suffers due to her psychic power?’

Han was about to call a medic. The Oracle stopped him.

“I’m okay. I can endure this much as long as I rest just a little.”

Han waited for the Oracle to calm down. Her erratic breathes calmed. The psychic
lights that circulated around her entire body gradually dimmed.

Knock, knock.
Han looked up. The door opened and someone came in.

‘There’s no way Canute would knock.’

Creak.

Silence opened the door and stepped in. Silence took a step in, then stopped. His gaze
paused at Han and the Oracle.

There was a long silence.

‘Han is sitting on the bed, and the Oracle is holding his clothes almost faint… ’

Silence stiffly took a step back. He quietly shut the door without another moment of
hesitation. He stood in front of Han’s door for a moment, then returned to his own
room.

‘Something about this situation feels off.’

Han felt that Silence misunderstood. No matter how ignorant Han was in the
relationship between a male and female, he could deduce what Silence was thinking.
Before Han could explain himself, Silence already disappeared.

“Hm.”

The Oracle hummed in an interested tone. She looked a lot better now. The color of
her face returned as well.

“Now that you’re better you should leave. Also, stop looking for me… You’re very
annoying.”

Han practically kicked her out of his room.

When the Oracle returned to her room, she projected a hologram from her data
bracelet. A blue hologram screen projected on the air. She downloaded all the files
related to Han.

****

“Fight! Fight!”
Han had been resting when Canute dragged Han up onto the hotel roof. There was an
empty swimming pool. The youths of Ark and the Hell Boys had gathered all around
the swimming pool.

“Dimitri and a Hell Boy got tangled in a small conflict.”

Canute explained. They were debating who was stronger, and in the end it turned out
into a match. It would have been strange for this not to happen. The youths of Ark
were very prideful. They prided themselves to be the best and when they met the rival
troops, a fight broke out.

“You can’t do anything without your psychic powers. Who are we?”

The Hell Boy inside shouted. The Hell Boys all around shouted in unison.

“Warriors from Hell!”

Dimitri who stood in front of the crowd laughed through his nose.

“We don’t need such childish chants for everyone to know we’re the best. Don’t you
agree?”

Dimitri said and the youths of Ark all cheered and then began to jeer at the Hell Boys.

‘So it’s a battle of pride.’

Han just observed from afar. Dimitri rivaled the Hell Boy’s massive stature. Not all
youths who underwent the artificially strengthening procedure resulted with any
significant results. Each race and ethnicity had their own unique body physique, and
every individual naturally differed quite a bit from one another.

When Hell Boy’s were buffed with extra strength through surgery, they became at least
the size of Dimitri.

‘Their rehabilitation process is probably much more painful than ours.’

Han observed the Hell Boys crowded around the pool. They enjoyed wearing red and
wearing accessories. They thought highly of unity and prided themselves.

“Bring it.”
Dimitri smirked. He had grown up under a Sambo master. He had been learning Sambo
ever since he could walk. He was one of the strongest in hand to hand combat amongst
all the youths of Ark.

“I can’t be losing to nerds who depend on psychic skills.”

The Hell Boy took off his shirt and showed off his burly muscles. They were soldiers
who could one handedly handle weapons that were dozens of kilograms in weight.
Even if they didn’t do any focused weight training, they naturally grew muscles
through time.

‘Their physique goes against logic.’

Han mumbled. The Hell Boy’s muscles were enormous. It felt like their muscles would
be bulletproof.

“I feel like I got this.”

Dimitri said as cold sweat dripped from his head. It felt like he was going against a
savage beast rather than another human. He stretched out his hand and reduced the
distance between the two of them.

POW!

Dimitri clenched his fist and punched the other. The Hell Boys didn’t have the best
reflexes and was hit because of their slow reaction time.

‘The hit wasn’t effective. He doesn’t have any intention to dodge and is taking on the
brutal attacks.’

The Hell Boy read Dimitri’s attack path. He used his arms and legs to block, and other
times he let the stronger portions of his body absorb the attack.

‘Dimitri should have realized this. It should feel like he’s punching at a wall. Next spot
to try attacking is probably their joints.’

Dimitri was accustomed to using his Sambo attack techniques. Hand to hand combat
styles were not mainstream amongst the youths of Ark. Their joints were very
common like the average person. There were only a few youths of Ark who really had
absolute flexibility.
‘Still, Hell Boys weren’t the type of troops to hold actual practice battle drills with one
another. There shouldn’t be many who excel at hand to hand combat.’

Han was also absorbed as he watched the battle. A small corner of his heart hoped
that Dimitri would win.

KWANG!

The Hell Boy’s fist made a loud noise. Dimitri raised his arm and blocked.

HwiRik!

Dimitri grabbed the Hell Boy’s arm, and held it down using his body weight.

“Hup!”

The Hell Boy’s arm bent stiffly in a strange angle.

“Give up! Bastard!”

Dimitri shouted in anger. The muscles of the Hell Boy suddenly bulked. The Hell Boy
used both his arms to hold Dimitri and lifted the other off the ground.

“A, ah!”

Dimitri was shocked. He was over 100 kilogram in weight. The Hell Boy didn’t work a
sweat as he lifted Dimitri and threw him to the ground.

KWANG!

“Huhuhu!”

The Hell Boy continued to throw Dimitri around onto the ground, then suddenly he
threw the other outside the swimming pool. Dimitri tumbled.

“Damn it!”

Dimitri hit the ground and stood up. Dimitri lost for going outside the battle
boundaries. They were about to battle against a dragon. No matter how angered the
two parties were, they wouldn’t take the battle to the death. They decided if a party
gave up or was thrown outside the ring, it would be counted as a loss.

“You’re light! You were so light that this can’t even be counted as training for me!”

The Hell Boy proudly showed off his own muscles. The Hell Boys roared laughing. The
youths of Ark all peered to one another. They were trying to choose who should be
next.

Step, step.

The crowd of youths split apart. Silence, who was wearing a black skull mask,
appeared. He jumped into the empty swimming pool.

‘This is unpleasant. Anyone is fine.’

Silence used his index finger to beckon the opposing party to make the first move in
this battle. He had a lean physique, and standing next to the Hell Boys just made the
other look tinier.

“Are you joking? Your bones will break with one punch. Isn’t there anyone else? Is this
brat your representative?”

None of the surrounding youths reacted. Silence was one of the top strongest fighters
of Ark. He had the battle experience and skill to get through any situation of battle.

“You’ll just disgrace yourself if you take it easy on him.”

A few of the Hell Boys knew of Silence. The few of them regarded Silence very highly.

“Hm, so he’s that famous. Fine. Round 2.”

Silence and a Hell Boy stood facing one another. Silence lightly shook his arms and
legs.

‘I shall destroy him.’

It almost appeared they even had the intent to kill one another. He was currently very
frustrated.

‘I don’t like her, that girl.’

Silence didn’t like females like the Oracle. They had no sense of moderation nor any
sort of goal and lived a wild risky life. She was the type that didn’t fit with those in Ark.
All the soldiers of Ark had a sense of duty. They fought in the front lines, with a noble
intent to protect humanity. At times, they willingly threw their own lives away for the
sake of their own family and country’s future.

Silence respected the soldiers with this sort of strong mindset.

‘We don’t have room for such low grade females. It’s also irritating how she always
sticks… to Han. What were they doing back then?’

Anger fumed inside his chest. He couldn’t say anything so he was currently bottling up
everything.

Giiii!

Silence moved forward in a slide. The fist felt like it was howling as it aimed at the Hell
boy.

“Wow! This level is… urk!”

Silence made a perfect series of attacks. Some of the people watching might have
misunderstood that Silence’s arms and legs stretched longer.

‘His skin is thick and muscles very strong.’

Silence kicked the other and immediately recognized it caused no damage.

‘Still, it’s impossible for a human to make their physical bodies into something like
armor.’

Silence folded back the end of his feet. He twisted his pelvis and knee to change the
angle of his attack.

SWAA!

“Uk!”

The Hell Boy grabbed his throat. Silence aimed at the Hell Boy’s adam’s apple. The Hell
Boy bent over wanted to throw up.
Hwiii!

Silence spun up in the air. He stamped down the heel of his feet to the back of the Hell
Boy’s head.

“Uuek”

The Hell Boy let out an ugly sound and then fell flat on his own face. The youths of Ark
all roared into cheers. Silence battled against the Hell Boy with super human foot
work.

Puk!

Silence kicked the side of the Hell Boy who fainted. This was a provocation.

Silence beckoned another with his finger.

The meaning was clear even without words. Another Hell Boy stepped forward to
substitute the fainted Hell Boy.

“I’m different from him. You won’t be able to defeat me with those petty tricks.”

The new Hell Boy said with confidence. Silence slowly looked up and stared at the Hell
Boy.

‘Oracle.’

Silence vented his pent up anger to the Hell Boys. He bulleted to the Hell Boy and
snapped the other’s arms backwards. This was the same move that Dimitri had
attempted just before.

“Dimitri already tried that one and it wasn’t effective against them though?”

Canute retorted. Han thought of something strange. Dimitri had failed thoroughly with
that very move. There was no way for Silence, who was physically much weaker, to
succeed.

U-duk!

“KUUUAAAA!”
The Hell Boy screamed in pain. Silence aimed to snap off the Hell Boy’s finger instead
of arm. He was very familiar and had a lot of experience with hand to hand combat.

“This bastard!”

The Hell Boy twisted back his dislocated fingers to its rightful place. Silence didn’t give
the other any time to breathe. He grabbed the Hell Boy’s head and knee’d at the other’s
face. He tightened his two hands into fists and punched the two sides of the Hell Boy’s
face at once.

The Hell Boy’s eyes rolled backwards. Two additional Hell Boy’s confronted Silence.
Silence calmly took care of the Hell Boy’s one by one.

‘I knew that he was skilled with battle skills outside of swordsmanship but… ’

Even Han was shocked at the other’s hand to hand battle skills. In the past, when
Silence was attacked by the members of SMO, the other had single handedly took care
of the four in a short moment.

‘It’s not SMO that’s weak. Silence is just inhumanely strong.’

Silence’s skills truly shined against the Hell Boys. The title of best battle expert was
not wasted on him.

“Stop. The celebration is over. We’re allies, allies.”

Reup, the Hell Boy with close ties with Silence said. He was able to help calm the Hell
Boy’s anger. He appeared to have the highest rank amongst all the Hell Boys here. The
Hell Boys all muttered quiet complaints with one another. This was a disgraceful loss
on the Hell Boy’s part.

“You’re just giants! Come back after s*cking on your mom’s milk some more!”

The youths of Ark taunted.

“YAA! Silence, good job!”

Silence jumped out of the swimming pool. The youths all pat Silence’s back once or
twice. Silence passed the crowd, and Han.
“Sil…”

Silence didn’t wait to hear Han’s words and walked passed without pause. Han
swallowed back his words. He just awkwardly scratched his chin.

****

“You want to use a psychoframe?”

The Oracle said. Sergeant Red nodded like it was no big deal.

Sergeant Red helped with tuning the psychoframe with the engineering team. A bright
red psychoframe was being worked at one side.

“Well, of course. How many psychoframe reinforcement troops do you think is

remaining? We were just barely able to make a team after I was added.

It had not been a long time since Sergeant Red was assigned to instruct the first years
once again, but he was called to return to active duty for this war. Sergeant Red agreed
with the decisions from the top. They had lost many reinforcement troops due to the
incident against Bahamut. They didn’t have the luxury to give Sergeant Red time to
recuperate.

“They’re crazy. How can you pilot with that leg of yours.”

The Oracle knew that Sergeant Red had one artificial leg. One had to gear psychoframes,
not pilot them. His unnatural steps would hugely affect his battles.

“That’s why we’re fine tuning it now. You’re so noisy, stop nagging.”

“It’s because you’re volunteering to walk into your own grave.”

Knock knock.

The engineering team signaled Sergeant Red. They were asking him to take the Oracle
out of here. Sergeant Red took the Oracle’s arm in understanding.

“Follow. Let’s go grab a drink.”

Several soldiers were hanging around at the hotel bar. The soldiers of Ark and special
forces from around the world were there trying to relax and lose some of their nerves.

Click.

Sergeant Red brought an orange juice and opened a bottle. He blankly watched the
Oracle.

‘This brat isn’t a soldier.’

The soldiers of Ark were not made of drafted soldiers, but everyone had volunteered
to work in Ark. Everyone around the world volunteered to be a part of one of the most
dangerous jobs in the world. Whether it be for revenge, national pride, out of a sense
of duty… everyone had a few reasons for being here, and all their hopes were based by
a strong moral will power. There would probably not ever be a stronger military base
than this in all of humanity’s existence.

“If you’re so scared, you can check my future. You can check whether I’ll be alive or
dead. ” The Oracle glared at Sergeant Red.

“I don’t care about your future. I just feel pity that you’re doing something so crazy.”

The Oracle said coldly. Sergeant Red understood the Oracle well.

‘She will never peek into the future of those who are close to her. It would be a
gruesome thing to see.’ The Oracle cannot see any future. She only predicts huge
events of the future. As for how these events end, she cannot say for certain as well.
The future she sees is fragmented and one dimensional. Events that are very prone to
change, or minor personal future prospects are very vague and blurry. It’s rare for her
to see any definite outcome of the future.

“Just gear your reinforcement suit and go die. I’ll be happy that I don’t have to continue
nagging at you like this. Bring me some alcohol, I’m not a child, what is this juice?”

“It’s not good for your health.”

Sergeant Red rejected shortly.

“Isn’t it too late to be worrying about my health?”

“We’re researching into your treatment.”

“Do you think I’m stupid? How many people do you think have survived this illness
thus far? Everyone who got this illness at the end of war has died. 10 years has passed,
and what? I’m the only survivor. We don’t have any samples to research, how are they
trying to come up with any kind of treatments?”

Sergeant Red frowned. He didn’t wish to awaken the Oracle from her slumber. At the
moment, it was impossible to treat those who had been exposed to psychic energy
radiation.

“That’s why I’m telling you to stay in the research center so that they could help you.
Idiot.”

Sergeant Red’s calm voice rose in anger.

“I want to at least live the remainder of my life the way I want to. 10 years of being tied
down is enough.”

Sergeant Red gave up speaking any further. He didn’t have any energy or will to
convince her any longer. She was no longer the bright innocent young girl that she
once had been. She was hanging on just barely by the end of her own rope. Any hope
she once had, was gone.

“Let’s stop talking about this. Fine. If you want to drink, then drink.”

Sergeant Red brought over a bottle of Vodka with his telekinesis. He poured the Vodka
in a glass and lit the surface on fire. She watched the flames for a short while then
downed the glass in one shot.

“You should’ve done so from the start.”

It was like she was drinking a glass of cold flames. Her throat burned and her stomach
felt warm as the alcohol digested into her body. She smiled feeling satisfied the more
the alcohol took control of her senses. Sergeant Red calmly refilled her glass.

‘In this crazy world, doing crazy things is normal.’

“Umm.”

The Oracle woke up from her slumber. Her blond hair was a mess and frazzled. She
lightly pulled on her blanket with her thin fingers. She slowly got a hold of herself
again.

The sun peeked in through the cracks of the curtains and brightened the room a
degree. She grimaced as her head throbbed like something hit her. She gradually
remembered what had happened yesterday. Her memory was fuzzy and fragmented.

‘I drank together with Sergeant Red… and then?’

The Oracle tried to collect her thoughts, when she realized this wasn’t her room. She
could see a few pieces of clothes here and there and figured out this was Sergeant
Red’s room.

‘Did I finally?!’

The Oracle was now completely alert. She peeked under the blanket. She was only
wearing undergarments, but it didn’t seem like she had ever completely stripped. She
quickly checked herself through the reflection of the mirror. Her skin was clean and
markless. She felt a bit strange. Two separate feelings passed through her at once.

“Is he trying to pretend to be a gentleman?”

The Oracle mumbled and went to the bathroom to wash. She hung a towel around her
neck and searched around the drawers. She could only find cigars.

“He has bad taste as usual.”

The Oracle thought to smoke this cigar, but realized she didn’t have a light. There was
no reason for Sergeant Red to keep a lighter with him.

“Damn.”

The Oracle groaned and threw the cigar on the ground. Her mouth felt bitter and her
head hurt a lot. She thought she should return to her room and rest a bit more. She
threw on some clothes and left the room.

“Huh? You are?”

When she stepped out, she saw a familiar face. More specifically, a mask. Silence was
passing Sergeant Red’s room.
Silence calmly looked toward the Oracle’s direction. Silence knew the room that the
Oracle came out from belonged to Sergeant Red.

‘She still looks sleepy and her eyes are still not completely alert. Her hair is a mess,
and her clothes are a mess. She really smells of alcohol.’

Silence thought she was disgusting. He didn’t think fondly of Sergeant Red who
seemed to have been taken in by this woman.

-b*tch 1)

Silence wrote in his electric note and held it up. The Oracle’s eyes grew wide. She
shook her hands embarrassed.

“You, you’ve misunderstood something…”

Silence didn’t wait to hear the Oracle’s excuses. He held his palm up and shook his
head.

-If you don’t want me to misunderstand, you shouldn’t behave in such confusing ways.

Silence said firmly. He left the Oracle behind and walked away slowly. The Oracle just
scratched her head.

‘He seems to hate me. I must not have what it takes for kids to like me.’

The Oracle felt pity for the third year youths. They were different from the soldiers
who volunteered to be here in this war. In her point of view, the third year youths were
hanging on only because they had a sense of duty and mission hanging above their
heads. When these young children are taught that this is their duty, they almost don’t
have a choice but to become brainwashed and affected by these words.

‘When the war ends, who would take responsibility for those children?’

****

Weeng!

Han geared his psychoframe. He tried to move his arms and legs. There was a high
chance that they would deploy Han out in his psychoframe for this battle. For this
reason, the whole Engineering Team 3 was deployed to this place. Octo had made
various modifications based on the newly found data from past tests.

“The joint regions will be stronger. Mobility will be not as smooth, but you won’t suffer
the same sort of injuries from last time. Humans are much weaker than I thought. I
didn’t think humans wouldn’t be able to endure the machine’s abilities.”

“You speak such words so easily.”

Han responded. Octo had been half joking.

“I’ve also installed an AC system inside. The inside compartment heated up faster than
I originally thought it would. After starting, you won’t have problems with heat for the
first 20 minutes.”

“If you were going to force me in a steam pot again, I was going to choke you.”

Han said half seriously. He really thought he would die during the first test run. He
moved for only a moment, but the inside of the suit boiled so hot.

Octo kindly explained all the upgrades and modifications with detail. Not even a
month had passed since the first test run. Though most had been quick temporary
fixes, he had made the psychoframe accessible for immediate deployment.

“This is your new weapon. We’ve constructed it with the dragon bones we found in
Africa.”

Han looked across at the long spear. The spear had been adjusted to work perfectly
with the psychoframe. Han gripped the spear and began jabbing and twirling it in all
directions. The balance of the spear felt nice.

“My body feels heavier than before. Did you add a lot of new parts to it?”

Octo clapped and smiled like he was waiting for this question. His expression
brightened like he felt a breath of new life and strength rising inside him.

“I will begin explaining now. The left and right arms are geared with aerial battle gears
and hook cables. The cables are neatly compartmented at the shoulders.”

Han looked down below his arms. He could see hook cable guns attached to them. This
was the reason why his arms felt heavier than before. The hook cable gun tubes ran
all the way and over the shoulder blades. The cable was attached in a storage space
near the shoulder blades.

“This will actually work, right?”

“Of course. It’s possible to unload it, so you can also take it off when you battle on the
ground. You’ll be like Spiderman!”

Octo clapped as he spoke.

“Huh? Spiderman?”

“Ah, there is something like that. The system works the exact same way as the original
hook cable guns. Try them.”

Han followed Octo’s instructions and aimed at a target 30 meters away. His helmet
shield provided extra hologram data for more accurate aim and calibration. He could
aim more accurately with this.

Paah! Shuririrrik!

The hook cable bulleted out. The hook cable shot out like a comet.

“Curl your pinky inwards or manually press the button to initiate it.”

Han curled his pinky in. He could hear the cable case motor running.

CHWAAA!

Han was dragged along for a bit, and then was able to brake by slightly bending his
knee. The total energy output was enough to mobilize the full weight of a psychoframe.
However, the motor would most likely break if used too frequently.

“How do I stop this?”

Octo thought for a short moment and spoke.

“If you curl in your pinky again, it will stop. If you curl in your index finger, you’ll be
able to snap off the hook cable.”
Han practiced a few more times. Han was quick to learn everything and it didn’t take
him too long for him to become familiar with the controls.

“This is quite annoying. Can’t I just be geared with a normal hook cable gun?”

Octo shook his head. He had added all sorts of new things to his new prototype. If this
prototype proves to be a success, all his new inventions would be included for all
future psychoframe models.

“This will be many times more useful as long as you get used to the controls. Anyway,
the first generation will be responsible for the majority of the aerial battle. You’re not
ready for aerial battle on a psychoframe yet.”

Han used the new gears one by one. The jump pack’s power was boosted as well.

“There is a possibility for the jump pack to explode on impact. Don’t block anything
with your back. It will hurt a lot if it explodes.”

“Do you think it will only hurt? If the Chief says it will hurt, it means you will die.”

The engineer standing near by said laughing. The jump pack was very dangerous but
a needed gear. Psychoframes must be flexible enough to battle mid flight. No matter
how powerful a psychoframe was built, it was impossible to win against a dragon who
could fly while stuck on the ground.

‘I must keep my back safe no matter what.’

Han ingrained this in his mind. The power was enough to send the psychoframe flying
in the air. Han was just a layperson, but he could figure out what would happen if his
jump pack were to explode.

‘Octo must consider me as just another category of the psychoframe’s gears.’

Han snuck a glance toward Octo. The other often phrased things in a very dark way.
The other had climbed up the ladder with such dark methodology. Still, his skills were
undeniable.

The sky darkened as the time of the beginning of war neared. The psykers’ five senses
felt hypersensitive. Nobody spoke, they knew something was about to happen in Paris.
The time for preparation was over.
This was the day that had been prophesied. The soldiers wrote their last wills and
stood at the front lines of battle. All of Paris was stifled in silence.

The advising staff of Ark continued to lay out tactics. Failure of this battle was not an
option for them. They wouldn’t have a second chance. Just one mistake would mean
the end.

‘Our reinforcement troops for this battle is 4, first generation psykers. And 1, second
generation psyker.’

The most idealistic outcome was for the first generation psykers to end the battle
against the dragon.

‘The most important aspect of this battle is that they wouldn’t just be fighting minions,
but a dragon.’

If the dragon survives, Ark would lose this battle. The conditions to win this war was
much harder for Ark.

“If you’re lucky then you won’t be deployed at all.”

Octo said. Han was on standby along with the third engineering team. The
psychoframe was loaded in the back on the trailer.

“Only if i’m lucky.”

Han mumbled. Ark has offered their full strength for this battle. They were not scared
of minions no matter how many hoarded to them. They just needed to be fully
prepared and defeat the mob of minions.

‘However, if the psykers were to fail to kill the dragon, everything will end.’

This was the reason that Ark had rushed to finesse the second generation
reinforcement troops. They had lost too many first generation reinforcement troops
during the battle in Tirania.

“It’s possible that this battle will end this world.”

Octo said looking up in the sky. The 10 years of peace had been a long one. A few had
even forgotten the wrath of the dragons. Humanity had lost the sense that an end
could actually happen. Ark had almost been destroyed. Ark was only able to gain the
support of the world after the dragons appeared once again.

“This will not be the end.”

Han refuted to Octo’s pessimistic words.

“If we fail here, then the higher ups would all start to blame one another and just live
with regret. If the world were able to come together without any ulterior motives, then
we could have been prepared much faster. Ark had not been fighting against the
minions the past 10 years. Ark’s worst enemies had been humans, and Ark’s budget
had always been insufficient.”

Octo looked across the land with chilling eyes as he stuffed a fist full of potato chips in
his mouth.

“I’m not fighting for the sake of those people.”

Han furrowed his brows. The reason he had agreed to come to Ark, the reason he
trained so hard… it was for the sake of protecting the people around him. He didn’t
feel an ounce of responsibility to protect humanity at all. He didn’t become
brainwashed like many of the youths in Ark. Han’s motives and drive were very clear
and strong.

My younger siblings, my friends…, everything will be fine as long as they could survive.

“It will begin.”

The sky was dyed yellow, then red, then blue again. The sky hue kept changing. The
wind swept across like a powerful storm. The ground shook and something powerfully
roared in a far distant place.

“The ground should split soon.”

The dimensional gates had always opened from the ground. Powerful earthquakes
would swallow the land and split the ground apart, and minions would all come
crawling out from below, and finally a dragon would come soaring out.

Radio signals clicked from every direction. The Commander began giving orders to
move their troops out. There were many third years included in those troops.
“I have a strangely bad feeling. I feel like throwing up.”

Canute spoke from one of the squads amongst the Psyker Troops. The psykers would
be responsible for killing the elu mages and minions that were impossible to kill
through normal firepower weapons.

“If you want to throw up, you should throw up now.”

Simon, who was in a different squad, said as he passed the other by.

“It’s not that bad.”

Most of the psykers felt a numb sense of nausea overcoming them. This was a sign that
the dimensional gate would soon open.

Rrr, Rrumble!

“Oh my god.”

The soldiers waiting for the ground to split looked up. They watched the sky turn into
all sorts of colors.

GUUUOOOO!

The sky split apart. The air itself split into two. As if claws were tearing the world itself,
a dark red light split apart the sky in two. They could hear the war cries of countless
minions from within the light.

“From the sky?!”

Up until now, the dimensional gate had always opened from the ground. All the
military units and defense had been set up with this in mind. This turn of events sent
all the commanders into a frenzy.

-Standby.

The soldiers looked on as the situation unfolded. It seemed like a waterfall of carnage.
The minions fell from the sky and made a mountain of corpses as it fell to the ground.

‘Is this a mistake… or had it been on purpose?’

The commanders couldn’t pass any sort of judgement to this situation.

Thop, plap.

The ground was dyed red in the blood of minions as they suffered the full impact of
the fall. The minions who were of better build were able to stand up. Their eyes glowed
red like the sky. The grunts began to run in hoards as they roared.

– Start operation.

The soldiers didn’t fall into confusion. The situation was rather in their favor at the
moment. They formed a barricade around the minions and began killing the minions.
They had more than enough fire power and their battle formation was strong. The
grunt’s battle level was very primitive. The grunts couldn’t even properly swing their
weapons and fell to their death.

Weng!

The stationary artillery troops set up in various buildings began to make their move.
They sniped down the minions one by one.

“It’s a bomb bat! Take it down!”

KEEEEE!

An ear deafening screech resounded across Paris. A swarm of winged minions came
pouring out. The winged minions were capable of flight. Their bellies bloated out like
puffer fish and glowed into a bright red. As soon as they bumped against something,
they exploded and thus were dubbed the bomb bats.

“Damn it! Fall back!”

The bomb bats dropped down to the swarms of soldiers. The units with vehicles also
suffered critical injuries from the blasts. The deployed soldiers were busy trying to
run away from the bomb bats. The artificial artillery rockets were programmed to take
down the bomb bats first, but their numbers were too many.

– Abandon first line of defense.

The commanders ordered. They planned to fall back to the second line of defense
while killing off as many bomb bats as they could. Each squad traveled the decided
routes. The bomb bats which chased after the soldiers gradually got caught up in traps
and were killed off one by one.

BBOOOM!

“It’s crazy. Crazy.”

Canute didn’t look back as he shot his bullets at the enemies behind him. The bomb
bats were one of the most fearsome minions. The bomb bats were capable of getting
into formation to take down fighter jets. One didn’t even need to mention how
fearsome these bomb bats were against slower mobile vehicles. If one were to fall in a
platoon, it meant total annihilation for everyone within the vicinity of the blast.

“Their movements are not completely organized yet. This means that the elu mages
are not in command yet.”

The Squad leaders said. If the elu mages were to gain control of the bomb bats, their
deadliness would exponentially increase.

GEEEEE!

The squad leader’s eyes grew wide. The three meter tall bomb bat flew to them like a
bullet.

“Get down!”

A squad leader shouted to his squad members.

BOOOM!

The bomb bat fell just ahead of them. The bomb bat glowed into an ominous red and
blew up at once.

Canute’s vision turned dark. His eardrums rang painfully.

BEEEEEEEEEE-!

The moments before seemed to have occurred in slow motion. Canute covered his ears
and opened his eyes. He couldn’t see with his other eyes. His left eye was gone after
the blast. Half his body was burnt into a black crisp and completely trashed. His
healing factor reflexively kicked in to maintain his vital organs.

“KAAA!”

Canute spewed out blood from his mouth. Not even the corpse of his squad members
that had been ahead of him remained. He could only see faint residues on the ground.
Canute could not take in what had happened for a moment. He blankly looked around.
Soon, his right eyes recovered and his whole field of vision returned.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Canute’s heart beat faster. He tried to get up but fell down. His legs were still in a rough
state. He could see through to his bones. Green light continued to glow from his eyes.
He was using healing factor, but it would take a long time for his body to return to its
original state.

‘Everyone is dead.’

The squad leader who gave out commands just a moment ago, died and not even his
corpse remained. Canute had been the only one to survive due to his healing factor. He
was the only member of all the squads here that survived the blast.

He didn’t even have time to organize his thoughts. He could hear the howls of wolves
from the distance.

Grr!

A werewolf turned a corner and came running. Canute’s body didn’t fully recover, but
he moved on instinct. He grabbed his gun as he had trained and began to shoot. His
body moved by muscle memory and he didn’t even need to think about what to do.

Tudududududu!

The bullet wasn’t strong enough, and the werewolf bit down onto Canute’s shoulder.
A chunk of his flesh was gone in an instant. The werewolf jabbed its claws down into
Canute’s organs.

‘These bastards… ’
Canute’s right eye glowed very brightly. The speed of regeneration exceeded the laws
of physics. His flesh regenerated and his muscles returned. His speed of regeneration
was much faster than that of the werewolves. He could truly compete against the death
worm.

CHWAAK!

Canute held his spear and jammed it into the werewolf’s head.

GADUDUDUDK!

Canute stepped on the werewolf’s head and chopped of its neck. He could feel the flesh
and bones of the wolf break in his palms.

“Shit.”

Canute lost most of his gear from the blast. His communication device had also blew
up. He forgot about any sort of plan that he had originally planned to follow. Only great
anger and murderous intent boiled from within his heart. The squad leader that
should command and hold him back was now dead.

Canute stared at the hoard of grunts crowding the street.

“B*ST*RDS!”

Canute roared and tried to lure them to him. Grunts were easily angered. Canute let
off a sour smile and his green eyes glowed brighter. He shuffled around his pocket and
took out a battle stimulant ampule. The ampule was cracked but didn’t break. This was
specifically formulated to null a person’s dragon fear, but it also worked as a painkiller
and battle stimulant.

CHHHK!

Canute’s body trembled after he injected a dose of battle stimulant to his body. Put
into plain terms, battle stimulants were just a type of drug. There was a reason this
was not normally supplied for the soldiers.

“…I’ll kill them all.”

Canute who had become riled through the battle stimulant, threw his gun aside.
Instead, he began to twirl the spear which had been jammed into the werewolf’s head.
He then threw himself into the hoard of grunts. Every time he swung his spear, blood
followed. The minion monsters screamed in the chaos.

“They are flooding out nonstop.”

The command post looked horrified at the growing number of minions. They had
more than enough funds to supply weapons, but minions continued to rain down
without stopping.

‘If one day a dimensional gate were to open in Paris… just the thought of it horrifies
me.’

The number of minions here were enough to completely kill off an entire city. The
higher ups had made the right decision to wake up the oracle early on. Thanks to the
oracle’s prophecies, they were able to prepare ahead of time and even form a line of
defense to block them. The entirety of France should have fallen into a state of war.

-Empty out sector two. Blow it up.

The squads moved out. All the bombs which were set up around sector two blew up
in unison.

BOOOOM!

The scale of the explosion was so great that they could see the explosion from their
command post.

“Paris is now gone.”

The operator said while looking at his monitor.

Even if they came out victorious at the end of this war, Paris will become a barren land.
This was the end of its fame. Ark’s battle tactics this time around was to use the city
to block off the minions completely. They didn’t have the tiniest intention to protect
its buildings or history.

“Will the dragon even come out?”

The doubt rose as minions continued to come raining out.

GUUOOOO!

The flood of minions stopped pouring out. There was a moment of silence at the
dimensional gate. The last minion to drop out of the dimensional gate moved in a very
panicked and frenzied manner.

Crunch, crunch.

Blood dripped down from the dimensional gate. It was like blood was raining from the
sky. Psychic energy manifested and contorted the air as it spilled out from the
dimensional gate.

SWAAA.

A golden dragon appeared from the gate. The dragon was chomping down on the
minions. Blood dripped from between its teeth. The reptilian eyes observed the land.
It was small in size. It was many times smaller than the dragon that appeared in the
last battle. Compared to Bahamut, this dragon didn’t seem to overwhelm as many
people.

Everyone felt a sense of relief seeing the dragon to appear wasn’t at the level of
Bahamut.

“KYAAAAOOO!”

The dragon which appeared from the dimensional gate roared.

-Blue Team, start operation.

The command dropped. The first generation reinforcement troop, made of 4 soldiers,
Squad Blue moved out. Sergeant Red was one of the members in this squad. They used
their jump packs to jump from building to building.

“A dragon breath is coming!”

Psychic energy gathered as the dragon breathed in. The dragon breath, was also
known as the psychic breath of destruction. If the psychoframe were to suffer a direct
hit, the outer shell of the psychoframe would not be able to endure even a second of
it.
KWAAAA!

Squad Blue all separated into different directions. They were experienced taking
down dragons before and were familiar with their basic attack patterns.

‘We will end this here.’

The team exchanged hand signals and commands were given out. Each squad member
moved to carry out their own part of this battle. Airbeats floated all around the dragon.
The airbeats seemed to float in a stationary manner through telekinesis.

SWAAA!

Sergeant Red shot out his hook cable gun. The hook dug into the dragon’s body. The
dragon’s appearance hazed and shook. The dragon seemed to be in between two
worlds. The psychic shield which the dragon used were vastly different than normal
psychic shields.

‘It’s like you’re trying to cut into the reflection cast onto the water’s surface. It seems
like we got in a direct hit, but there’s no damage to them at all.’

The hook was successfully stabilized on the dragon’s body, but gradually began to slip
off. They used the hook cable to get as close as possible before it fell off completely.
They jumped from airbeat to airbeat while using their jump pack to accelerate.

‘Start with its wings.’

Dragons become unable to fly when their wings are cut off. Dragons don’t actually use
their wings to fly. They manipulate their psychic energy to fly.

‘Still, without their wings, they cannot fly for whatever reason.’

The researchers had stated this was due to the dragon’s state of mind. They guessed
the dragons were able to imagine the ability to fly by physically carrying out the act of
flapping their wings. An important aspect of psychic skills was one’s state of mind and
feeling.

“It’s fast!”

The dragon was quite a bit smaller than its predecessors, but instead it was much
faster. It flew very high into the air as if it were trying to escape from the reinforcement
troops circle.

GUOOOO!

Sergeant Red’s eyes glowed a fierce red. He was focusing so hard that blood dripped
from his nose.

HWARURURUR!

Sergeant Red ignited the dragon’s face on fire. The dragon howled as it shook its head.
The psychic flames took away the dragon’s sight and restricted its movements.

‘Damn, I’ve grown old.’

Sergeant Red was already feeling dizzy. The other squad members flew together and
climbed to the top of the dragon’s back. They each took out their own weapons. The
battle against dragons was usually split into two stages. The first was taking down its
wings, then the second battle was to kill the dragon’s heart.

‘The other guys were able to get onto its back safely. I should get ready for ground
battle… ’

PAAH-ZZZT

The dragon’s body shined. The dragon was originally gold in color, but its outer skin
seemed to shine brighter than before.

-GAAAAA…

The dragon exploded a thunder shock. Two of the reinforcement troops screamed. The
electricity rode through the cracks of the psychoframe and attacked the psykers
inside. Soon after the screams, silence followed.

“I’ve never heard… of such a skill.”

There had never been a dragon which used electric attacks. It usually stuck to basic
hand to hand attack patterns or used its dragon breath. Then, with the use of
psychoframes and sacrifice, they were usually able to pull through and kill the
dragons. Up until now no dragon had manifested any sort of electric type attacks.
The reinforcement troops that were shocked, trembled. One of the fighters was able
to hang on just barely.

“Cut off its wings!”

Sergeant Red shouted. His words couldn’t reach the other, but the reinforcement troop
knew what he had to do even without being told.

‘I will cut its wings.’

The reinforcement troop wielded his weapon in an unconscious, brain-dead state.

They poured in their every last bit of life energy and ripped off the dragon’s wings.

“KUUOOOO!”

The dragon nose dived from the sky and tumbled to the ground. The reinforcement
troops that had been on the dragon’s back was flattened. Before the dragon could
steady itself, Sergeant Red was already running toward it. He had already used up
much of his powers with the last flame attack.

Guduk, Guduk.

The dragon’s muscle popped and twisted. The dragon’s legs and arms bulked and its
core slimmed after the wings were lost as if readying itself for ground combat.

‘The dragons have improved themselves.’

Sergeant Red was able to fully see how much dragons have changed since ten years
ago. He held his sword at hand and charged. He used up all the fuel of his jump pack
to accelerate himself.

SWAAA!

The dragon held up its claws at Sergeant Red and attacked. Sergeant Red flung an
airbeat in front of himself and did a quick jump.

KWAJIK!

Sergeant Red was hit by something and tumbled. A building wall had been thrown at
him.
“KYAAAOOOO!”

The dragon roared and psychic energy in the atmosphere thickened and the debris
from their surrounding floated up at once, and then bulleted to Sergeant Red at once.

“Telekinesis… ’

Sergeant Red’s psychoframe outer shell was smashed. It crumpled inwards and blood
dripped out from the cracks of the gear.

‘The usual battle tactic will not work with it. It has vastly different skills to its
predecessors. It’s almost a new species altogether.’

Sergeant Red thought. He injected a battle stimulant to numb his pain. Including
Sergeant Red, now there were 2 reinforcement troops remaining. Now that it was
limited to ground battle, it was still possible to end the battle with the first generation
reinforcement troops. The veteran soldiers were not such pushovers.

-Han Lee, start operation.

He got a command. Sergeant Red suspected his hearing. The second generation
psychoframe didn’t even finish all its test runs.

‘The commanders should have realized by now that the dragon that appeared today
was considered as a new threat that they have never encountered before. It was still
too early to deploy the rookie.’

References

1. ↑ t/n: This is a literal translation. He even originally had written it in english