The air inside the car was cold.
There was a heater, but it was sealed off, and both Defender and Hong Da-jeong had dealt with the cold by dressing in thick layers.
At least the windows were intact, and the doors fit tight enough that no drafts ca in, and with three people inside, the air had ward to a tolerable temperature.
The back seat was cramd full of drones and shells.
Most of the drones were crude, self-made models, but there were also brand-new Chinese drones, gleaming enough to tell at a glance they were top-grade.
It slled of blood.
Not in a literal, sensory way, but in the kind of way that made you think the air itself was steeped in it.
The driver didn’t speak for a while, and the passenger in the back seat just fiddled with a drone, saying nothing even though the car had been moving for so ti.
It was a heavy atmosphere, but it felt... inevitable. A rite of passage.
Everyone needed a mont to sort out their thoughts.
The first to speak, naturally, was the main culprit—the one who had caused all this.
“I’ll be outside for a bit, but I have to go back there in the end.”
Defender stated his situation plainly.
“I hate that group too. You know what kind of people they are—nasty. And Dies_Irae, the one who fosters that atmosphere, is even worse. But that’s why I feel free.”
“In what way?”
“In that I can cause trouble for them without guilt.”
He gave a short laugh.
It was a ridiculous thing to say, but I couldn’t help thinking he was right.
A krrik sound ca from the back seat.
Hong Da-jeong was playing with a drone.
I glanced back at her.
“It’s not that bad, honestly.”
She smiled faintly at .
“There are way fewer creeps hitting on than before.”
“Really? That’s hard to believe.”
“They do treat captives cruelly. I’ve seen enough to curse at them myself. Call my brother a eunuch, all kinds of crap. But they’re... weirdly obsessed with their own rules. On the surface they look like total scumbags, but they follow the rules they set for themselves to the letter.”
“I think I get what you an.”
It was true—Dies_Irae’s group had its own set of rules.
Like a gangster’s code.
Harsh to outsiders, but with strict, almost religious discipline among their own.
Without sothing like that, a pack of degenerates like them could never hold together.
“For one, Dies_Irae’s people stick to a strict, outward monogamy.”
Defender, beside , added,
“And we’re under special protection for now.”
Listening to them, I realized sothing.
Maybe this was why Dies_Irae had let Defender co to .
He knew Defender had nowhere else to go.
Just then—
The car jolted as we rolled onto a half-cleared old highway.
Defender smoothly turned the wheel, guiding us down the sloped road, and continued.
“Think about what would’ve happened if I’d taken your advice.”
Advice, huh.
Now that he ntioned it, I had given Defender advice back then.
More like a warning than advice—telling him what he was about to do wasn’t wise, and would only lead to self-destruction.
He’d understood , but he hadn’t listened.
“Everyone has tis like that, right?” Defender said, eyes forward.
“When you want to see where the road ends, even if you know it’s the wrong one?”
He nodded slightly.
“Especially if you know you’ll never get the chance to see it again.”
As he finished, Defender wore the faintest smile.
For just a mont, I caught sothing in his eyes—an unsettling but natural conclusion.
That he might not regret dying right now.
That if not for his little sister always being with him, he might have died long ago.
It wasn’t resignation—it was closer to detachnt.
Under that not-exactly-cheerful mood, we arrived at the target area.
A stretch of low-rise buildings along the road, with factories behind them and abandoned farmland beyond—an all-too-common suburban scene.
“Wait here.”
Defender clearly knew the area well.
He hid the car in a secluded ruin and sent out a drone.
Da-jeong quickly shared the feed with us.
“Here, here, and there—you see the people?”
From above, the ruined town looked empty, but on the drone’s feed, we could spot people at various points.
There were hidden guards at every choke point.
The resolution wasn’t good enough to see their exact weapons, but it was clear they had at least rifles.
It looked empty, but the whole place was fortified.
The entire town was a trap.
“Where are your friends?”
I gave her the exact address.
She moved the drone again.
“If they’re in here, that’s going to be tricky. You know what I an?”
I nodded, but I couldn’t shake a bad feeling.
It occurred to that An Seung-hwan and Lee Haru might be here because of their abilities.
Fanatics treated Awakened differently.
If so, I might have to abandon them.
Even if they weren’t allied with the cult, extracting them from a fortified town like this would an risking our lives.
“Lucky.”
Da-jeong spoke up with the results.
“There—see that isolated apartnt, about five kiloters away?”
“Yeah.”
“They’re living there. Probably outside the cult’s control.”
It wasn’t certain, but it was enough to give hope.
We slowly circled around toward Haru’s hideout.
What surprised was Da-jeong’s skill.
I’d known she was good with drones, and I’d seen her fly before, but her control now was on another level—slipping small drones in and out of individual apartnt windows, peeking inside without hesitation.
Even risky paths didn’t make her flinch.
Defender, watching beside , said,
“Back in Skull Brigade, no one underestimated my sister. Even combat-experienced drone operators were stunned watching her work.”
In the war, drones had been seen as a major threat, but in practice they hadn’t perford as well as expected.
China had the edge in quality and deploynt, but drones were still a poor substitute for aircraft and artillery.
While overwhelming air power and shelling reigned as the queens of the battlefield, drones had to accept being re handmaidens.
But in a small-scale battlefield with no air or artillery support, drones were queens.
And Da-jeong was a master.
She’d started at amateur level, but with experience and proper gear, she was now among the best operators out there.
“There—soone’s there.”
The cara caught an unpleasant glare from a face peeking out the window.
No mistake.
It was Lee Haru.
She was holed up there.
*
Step, step.
I climbed the stairs alone.
I’d split from Defender and Da-jeong.
For a simple reason: if Haru or Seung-hwan saw Hong Jeong-ho, they might attack him on sight.
He was a public enemy, after all.
Defender really was soone who could only survive in Dies_Irae’s territory.
They would wait nearby, supporting with drone recon.
There were no real threats inside the building.
A few primitive noise traps—tin cans strung on wire—but nothing that could stop .
Still, Haru and Seung-hwan had been elite in New Seoul.
“Who is it?”
I was one floor below when a sharp voice rang out.
Haru’s voice.
“It’s .”
Silence.
“It’s Park Gyu.”
A surprised voice shot back.
“Captain?!”
“Yeah, it’s .”
I slowly lowered my weapon and waited for them to show themselves.
Haru peeked out.
Her face was gaunt, cheeks hollowed, but her eyes were still bright.
“Captain!”
She led inside.
What I found wasn’t what I’d pictured.
From what Kim Hanna had said, I’d imagined Haru and Seung-hwan living like a newlywed couple.
That wasn’t the case.
There were more people—Haru, Seung-hwan, and four others.
Aside from a girl who seed to be Awakened, I knew them all: the woman who’d supported the Awakened program, and two soldiers who’d guarded the Awakened district.
When Hong Jeong-ho staged his coup, they’d fled together and had been here ever since.
Supplies weren’t abundant.
There was so firewood, but not much, and ammo was even scarcer.
At first, I saw the extra mouths as a problem—but then I changed my mind.
We’d take everyone.
This ti, I’d accept Dies_Irae’s coaching.
No more being too picky.
Picking only so from such a small group would look bad—and Seung-hwan and Haru wouldn’t agree anyway.
“I thought you were dead. Soone said you went into the Rift.”
Seung-hwan hadn’t lost much weight, but his complexion was dark—looked like liver trouble.
The health of everyone in this cramped hideout worried .
At least they could all walk.
That ant at least four more fighters.
“Talk later—we’re heading sowhere else.”
Haru and Seung-hwan didn’t hesitate.
They knew they had bad neighbors.
I gave them ti to pack, then called Defender.
“We’ll have to go back on foot.”
“Yeah? Got a lot of people?”
“More than I expected.”
“Right. If soone like gets exposed, it’ll just make things worse for you.”
“No need to say it like that.”
“...I’ll wait nearby.”
“Thanks.”
No vehicle, but with Da-jeong’s recon, the walk would be safer.
“All set, Captain,” Haru said briskly.
From the mont she saw , her eyes had been full of hope.
It felt undeserved—but hope was still far off.
Even so, I answered simply,
“Let’s go.”
With Haru, Seung-hwan, and four new companions, we set out for my territory.
The journey was cold, dull, and full of unease, but we reached safety without any major trouble.
*
“It’s lively,” Kim Daram said, arms crossed, watching the newcors in the bunker.
“Of course—it’s six more people.”
She gave a sideways look.
“Don’t you think that’s too many at once?”
I gave an awkward laugh.
“What can I do? I couldn’t just leave them behind.”
“Ugh. I liked you better back when you were team leader. You didn’t have any gaps then.”
“...”
“Anyway, the best room’s ours. Non-negotiable.”
“Got it. That’s ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) guaranteed.”
Her irritation was understandable.
Even if unavoidable, such a rapid increase in numbers always caused trouble sooner or later.
Dies_Irae contacted the day after I brought them in.
“Yo, Skeleton. Heard you brought in new blood—six of ’em?”
He sounded cheerful as ever.
He always seed happiest when he had the chance to teach.
Since he was in charge here, I played along.
“Kind of just happened.”
“You know what happens when you get that many new people, right?”
“Yeah. I know.”
From his tone, I could tell another round of coaching was coming.
In group survival, Dies_Irae was the senior, and his group—however unpleasant—was still functional.
Might as well listen.
“Put a gap between the old mbers and the new. The old mbers must be on top. Critical. Show them who’s above and who’s below, and make sure they know it.”
As always, his thods were as brutal as he preached.
“Here’s how: set up a situation. Watch the newbies—there’ll be one who’s clumsy, dumb, complains too much. Keep notes. When the chance cos, crush them in front of everyone. Beat them, lynch them, whatever. Build your case, then make the punishnt brutal. That’s what a warning looks like.”
Whether his way was right or wrong wasn’t sothing I cared to judge.
I had no interest, and not a shred of intent to follow it.
That’s what coaching is—it’s only as useful as what the listener chooses to take.
“Skeleton.”
It was Defender.
“I found a place to stay.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll be here about a month.”
Defender was proof.
No matter the advice, no matter the coaching, in the end, you’re the one who takes responsibility.
The one giving it never does.
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