Chosen One jutted his chin. “And you are?”

“Sergeant Mu-gung Hwa, sir!” she shouted. “My apologies for overstepping! However—”

Mu-gung gestured toward the passenger plane, which was sinking deeper by the second.

“My ability can open this plane! I can save everyone trapped inside!”

“…”

“Please, authorize my ability!”

Chosen One didn’t hesitate for long. He grabbed Sergeant Hwa’s hand, hauled her onto his boat, and nodded.

“Give it a try.”

Sergeant Hwa clasped his offered hand and nodded back.

***

The boat carrying Chosen One and Mu-gung pulled up flush against the aircraft’s tail.

“Hoo…!”

Mu-gung placed her hands on the tail section and focused. A sharp glint flashed in her eyes.

The surface of the water vibrated violently. A few seconds later, a circular section of the metal fuselage just before the tailfin tore away from the frame.

KRAAANG!

“Success!”

Mu-gung quickly backed away as special forces operators swarmed the newly opened hole.

“The plane is still sinking!”

“Setting up the rappel! We’ll move in fast and get the survivors—”

But there was no need for the special forces to do anything else.

FWOOSH!

A shadow burst from inside the aircraft at blinding speed.

It was Jae-hee.

Soaked to the bone by the water flooding the cabin, he activated his super-speed and began yanking passengers out.

“Caaatch!”

The survivors were tossed upward like wet laundry. The operators scrambled to catch them one by one.

After pulling out the last passenger with a gasp, Jae-hee reached a hand down into the hole.

“Master! Hurry!”

Ghost began to climb from the lowest point of the plane—the cockpit, already deep beneath the waves.

Jae-hee grabbed his master and strained, grunting as he pulled her up.

Dangling from each of her hands were the pilot and copilot. Ghost flung them both at Chosen One, who caught them easily in his arms.

“Delivery complete.”

Perched on the tail of the slowly sinking plane, Ghost slicked her drenched hair back and growled, her piercing blue eyes narrowed. “And make sure to leave a five-star review, you son of a bitch.”

Chosen One didn’t answer. He simply gave a thumbs-up.

***

Despite the various mishaps, the rescue operation was a success.

The passengers, though bruised and unconscious from their capture, had all survived. The 666th Special Operations Unit had lost a helicopter and other equipment, but not a single member was seriously injured or killed.

It had been an operation under extraordinarily difficult circumstances, yet the 666th had completed its mission with minimal losses.

The 1004th Probationary Unit—the so-called Angel Unit—had provided assistance, and there had been a minor incident in which two of their agents died.

But it would all be buried in the shadows, unrecorded. The deaths of the two agents, the aid from the Angel Unit—all of it.

After all, angels leave no trace.

The 666th gained the glory, and the 1004th gained the profit.

The deal was done under the table, and the commanders of both units shook hands, thoroughly satisfied.

How sordid…

Observing the transaction, Chosen One clicked his tongue and turned away. If he were still the commander of the 666th, he never would have dealt with such a filthy unit.

But times had changed, and he had been discharged long ago. He no longer had the right or the justification to interfere.

Letting out a short sigh from behind his haetae faceplate, Chosen One turned around.

That’s when he saw a familiar soldier being reprimanded. The one who had leaped into the sea without a moment’s hesitation, claiming she could tear open the plane’s fuselage.

Short hair, dark skin, a scar across the bridge of her nose, and those intense sanpaku eyes…

The soldier’s head was bowed as she was being chewed out by her superior. 

Chosen One gestured to a nearby officer. “Who is that?”

“Sergeant Mu-gung Hwa. A C-Rank Awakened. Her ability is Force Break.”

“Is she part of the special ops team?”

“No, sir. She was transferred from the 17th Infantry Division a few weeks ago on a disciplinary measure. Now she’s tasked with miscellaneous support duties.”

After hearing the full story of why Mu-gung had been transferred, Chosen One chuckled.

“So, it wasn’t her mission, but she jumped in without hesitation because her ability suited the situation and people needed saving. Is that it?”

Just then, the reprimand ended.

Chosen One approached Mu-gung. “I believe we have something to discuss.”

Slightly dejected from the scolding, Mu-gung was startled to see Chosen One approach and snapped to attention with a salute.

“As one! I am Sergeant Hwa, sir.”

“There is no need to salute, Sergeant Hwa. I am no longer a soldier of Joseon.”

“How could I not salute a hero who saved our nation?”

After completing her crisp salute, Mu-gung lowered her head slightly.

“I apologize for overstepping my bounds. I was aware that my impulsive actions could have endangered the entire unit.”

“…”

“But since it was a matter of saving people… I acted before I could think.”

Chosen One gestured with his chin. “Sergeant. Your ability is ‘Force Break,’ I’m told.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Can you break through anything, so long as it’s an obstacle?”

“At first, I could only break through thin walls. But recently, I managed to break through Realm Erosion itself. I’ve kept training since then, and now I can get through almost anything I perceive as an ‘obstacle.’”

Mu-gung looked down at her own palm, scarred with old burns.

“I know my ability is insignificant compared to the others in this unit. Even so… if my power is needed to save those who are trapped and isolated, then I have no choice but to use it.”

“…”

Chosen One smiled faintly behind his haetae faceplate.

“Among the founding principles of Joseon is one called the ‘People-as-Root Principle.’”

“…?”

“Simply put, it means to prioritize the people above all else. This spirit lives on in modern humanism.”

Chosen One nodded. “To think of the people as the root… Isn’t that beautiful? Joseon is truly magnificent. Joseon is the best. Joseon rules.”

“Y-yes, sir.”

“It’s a simple truth, yet one people have forgotten in this age, when a human life is valued less than a fly.”

Their eyes met.

“There are many powerful Awakened in this world. They can shatter mountains with a wave of their hand and slice through buildings with a single swing of a blade.”

“…”

“But an Awakened like you, who genuinely seeks to protect people, is a rarity.”

Chosen One got to the point. “Sergeant Hwa.”

“Sir.”

“Have you any interest in learning under me?”

“Sir?”

“To protect this nation, we need people like you.”

Mu-gung could only blink, flustered by the sudden recruitment offer.

Chosen One gave a gentle nod. “This is an abrupt proposal, so I understand your surprise. I’ll give you time to think. But my offer is sincere, and I hope you’ll consider it seriously.”

“No, sir. You don’t have to wait.”

Taking a deep breath, Mu-gung looked up and met Chosen One’s gaze directly.

“I want to save as many people as possible. But I also know that I am still lacking in many ways.”

“…”

“Were a hero such as yourself willing to teach, I would count it the greatest honor of my life.”

“Joseon One.” Chosen One extended his hand.

Mu-gung quickly took it. “Mu-gung Hwa.”

They shook hands briefly.

“Excellent, Sergeant Hwa. Then, first things first…”

His next words made Mu-gung’s eyes go wide.

“You must quit the army.”

“…Sir?”

“Did you not just say you would learn under me?” A low chuckle escaped Joseon One as he delivered the final condition. “Be discharged. And become a Hunter.”

“…!”

“Let’s have you work as my adjutant… or, in the current parlance, my ‘sidekick.’”

Chosen One then stroked his chin, lost in thought. “As for your callsign… Hmm. Yes!”

He snapped his fingers and declared: “Since you’ll be Chosen One’s sidekick, how about… Chosen Two?”

For a moment, Mu-gung felt a powerful impulse—to revoke her decision to follow the man standing before her.

***

They managed to recover the bodies of Daedalus and Icarus.

They also retrieved Iljimae, who was floating in the ocean, completely exhausted.

She had no major injuries, but her body and mind seemed to have been utterly shredded.

“Wanted to… make a deep impression… but I was used as a stepping stone…”

She already had a gloomy disposition. Lying on a cot in the transport plane, her face was even more hollow as she muttered to herself.

“He just… boink, stepped on me and swoosh, flew away… I’m a stepping stone… Gently tread on those flowers as you gooo…”

“I’m really sorry, Iljimae siiis…”

Apologizing to her, Jae-hee looked just as exhausted as Ghost, who was perched on a seat by the cargo bay window.

“Flying, swimming… what a mess.”

Ghost started grumbling as Jae-hee returned after covering Iljimae with a blanket. Her long hair was still damp.

“First a bus hijacking, now a plane. All we need is a ship hijacking to complete the land, sea, and air trifecta.”

“Don’t say such ominous things, Master…”

Just then, an announcement came that refueling was complete, and soon the transport plane was airborne once more.

Thrum-thrum-thrum-thrum—

As the plane lifted into the air, Jae-hee glanced out the window.

He could see the massive corpse of the Albatross, crashed and broken on the coast. Its body cradled the empty aircraft like an egg.

The monstrous bird had died just like that.

Jae-hee turned his gaze north silently. He could see Gangneung, still being pelted by potato rain and thunderstorms.

“Master.”

“What.”

“Why do you think the Albatross was trying to go to Gangneung?”

“Who knows.”

“Why did it hijack the plane?”

“Who knows.”

“Do you think… maybe it thought the plane was its egg? And it was trying to escape to a good place to incubate it?”

Ghost glanced at Jae-hee. He had his forehead pressed against the window, staring down at the scene below.

“Kid. Don’t try to understand monsters with human logic.”

“I was… just curious.”

Jae-hee hesitated before continuing. “To us, it looks like a hell of potato rain. But maybe to that bird, it was a different kind of scenery, you know?”

Which side was the cage truly on? The inside, or the outside?

Ghost just clicked her tongue internally.

The little boy still didn’t understand. He didn’t know the true meaning of the Gate War against the otherworld—this Deathwilled March to Judgment.

“Going somewhere no one could find it, to incubate its own egg.”

Jae-hee turned to Ghost, asking cautiously. “Don’t you think… maybe that was the bird’s ‘futile hope’?”

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