* * *
Seohwa hid his presence and climbed onto a pillar.
A submarine rose above the dark blue water, creating white foam.
It was larger than he expected—maybe 20,000 tons.
The research vessel, which was like a small sailboat compared to the submarine, rocked violently.
The people getting off the submarine were even more shocking.
They spread wings of all shapes and sizes and flew toward the research vessel.
They didn’t even lower a boat.
Every single one of them was already a Monster Human with an active MSB virus.
Once MSB is activated, you cannot return to being human.
You have to live as a monster until you die.
Yet they had already completed the transformation, as if they were going to war the moment they stepped into the dungeon.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
More and more of them landed on the deck.
Almost nothing human remained in their appearance.
Their skin was blue, green, or red, and even the smallest ones looked over 250cm tall.
He saw several with long tails like whips or horns like drills.
One person yawned and spat fire from their mouth.
When the person next to them blew on it, the flames died down and ice formed.
Seohwa took out an item.
[Using Item ‘Agent Glasses’. Please specify five subjects.]
[Subject 1]
[Physical abilities have surpassed human levels!]
[Health: 8,000, Defense: 8,000.]
[Level: A-rank Awakened!]
[Subject 2]
[Physical abilities have surpassed human levels!]
[Health: 8,000, Defense: 8,000.]
[Level: A-rank Awakened!]
[Subject 3]
[Physical abilities have surpassed human levels!]
[Health: 8,000, Defense: 8,000.]
[Level: A-rank Awakened!]
Everyone he checked was at the level of an A-rank Awakened.
And soldiers like that kept gathering.
Seohwa was flustered.
‘If everyone on that 20,000-ton submarine is at this level, this is going to be tight…’
At a minimum, there were over a hundred of them.
This was basically an army of A-rank Awakened.
He couldn’t understand it.
Gaius Jung might be S-rank… and it was a Rank 5 dungeon… but why did they come this prepared?
His watch blinked. Seohwa hid behind the pillar and turned on the screen.
[Potion]: Is it possible everyone in there is an Evil Human?
[Angel]: Isn’t this crazy? With that many, they could even clear a Rank 6.
[Potion]: That’s a stretch. Rank 6 is impossible.
[Ddu-ddu]: It’ll be hard to suppress them without killing them. ㅇㅅㅇ
[Buguk]: I am reporting to the higher-ups now. I’ll call the counter-terrorism team waiting at the harbor.
[Team Leader]: Tell them not to come. We proceed as planned. As quietly as possible.
[Ddu-ddu]: Well, it’s not like we can’t cover it. ㅇㅅㅇ
[Angel]: The battle is going to be pretty intense.
[Team Leader]: Everyone has their skill usage messages set to ON, right? If you don’t do this, your teammates will be in danger.
[Angel]: I turned mine on a while ago~
[Wolf]: Luckily, they stopped at 60 subjects.
[Ddu-ddu]: Aww, I thought I’d finally get to go wild. ㅇㅅㅇ
Seohwa turned off the screen and focused.
Finally, the two leaders of the New Humanity Sect and Enterra stepped off the submarine.
They were in human form, and Evil Human soldiers escorted them to the deck.
As the leaders stepped down, the noisy deck became silent in an instant.
Everyone knelt on one knee before the leaders.
One person whose lower body was a giant python also bowed their head to show the crown of their scalp.
The leader of the New Humanity Sect was an old man with a long white beard like a sage.
He had Western features but wore ancient Eastern clothing.
The Enterra leader was a middle-aged man with glasses, possessing a small and thin frame.
“Leader. There are no signs of the Bureau.”
“They knew we were coming, so they must be waiting inside the dungeon. Our brave soldiers will finish them off.”
“Yes.”
The Enterra leader took a few steps back and knelt before the New Humanity leader, as if waiting for his command.
‘So Enterra was merged into the New Humanity Sect.’
Just like the New Universe Church that was absorbed by New Humanity, Enterra had now become a defunct cult.
The old leader stood in the center, looked around at the crowd, and spoke.
“Soldiers of New Humanity…”
Since the followers were of various nationalities, the language used was naturally Korean.
“The long holy war is now nearing its end…”
“Ei-wa.”
A few Composite Humans whose vocal cords hadn’t changed chanted.
It was a cult term used like ‘Amen’ or ‘Hallelujah’ in Christianity.
“Today is the final step for that day… We will give a final warning to the foolish and a final chance to those whose eyes are dark… They will tremble in fear and apologize with tears… until finally everyone raises their voices to pray together for that day to come…”
“Ei-wa.”
“When that day comes, the old world will perish and a New Humanity will rule this Earth. In the history of future generations, I promise that you soldiers will be recorded as the angels of the holy war who struck down the rotten past and brought about a future full of joy and prosperity. No one in the future will forget the noble sacrifice of the angels…”
“Ei-wa.”
“Now every time and every place is ready, and all we need is the Holy Water… Gaius Jung stole our Holy Water and ran away.”
Holy Water.
Of course, it wouldn’t be the leader’s sacred blood or anything like that.
It was likely a Monster Blood synthetic chemical like MSB.
He wondered why Gaius Jung had angered them, and it was because he ran into the dungeon with their important research results.
“The longer it takes to secure the Holy Water, the further away that day becomes. You are brave warriors prepared for death, the guardians of the new world, and the angels of New Humanity. Now, kill the traitor Gaius Jung and secure the Holy Water. The future of New Humanity depends on you…!”
“Ei-wa!”
The leader’s encouragement ended, and the followers began to fly up one by one.
‘The leader is staying outside.’
Contrary to the information that both leaders would enter, only the Enterra leader went into the dungeon.
The New Humanity leader watched the followers disappear past the gate and then got off the ship with his guards.
The deck emptied quickly.
There was damage, such as dents from the heavy subjects or rot from extreme toxicity.
Since they were still moving through the air, he couldn’t reveal himself yet.
[Team Leader]: The leader isn’t entering. Team 2, secure the leader no matter what.
[Wolf]: Everyone except for two guards is entering the dungeon. We should support Team 1 with more people.
[Team Leader]: Then Wolf and the Agent.
[Wolf]: A wise decision.
[Team Leader]: We will also join quickly after handing the leader over to the counter-terrorism team.
Then, a message from Kang Yigeon, who had been quiet the whole time, popped up.
[Tyrant]: Since the leader stayed outside, let’s go with Plan B. Team Leader, you find out information about D-Day from the leader while we clear the dungeon.
[Team Leader]: You mean I shouldn’t enter the dungeon? Dozens of A-rank level Evil Humans are going in; will it be okay if we’re missing?
[Tyrant]: No problem.
[Angel]: Speed is life, let’s go go go go.
[Tyrant]: 5 seconds.
Seohwa counted down five seconds in his head.
As soon as it hit zero, everyone moved at once.
Go Junyoung, a [Teleport] user, instantly moved behind the New Humanity leader and bound him with a restraint item.
Choi Jihyung, a combat specialist, dealt with the guards, and Anis created a soundproof barrier.
There were still monster soldiers near the gate who hadn’t entered yet, but they didn’t notice at all what was happening below.
After confirming that Go Junyoung, Anis, and Choi Jihyung were leaving the ship with [Teleport], the dungeon entry team also moved.
Kang Yigeon flew up first, followed by Kim Duyeon.
Seohwa followed at the very end of the line after everyone had gone up.
“What should we do about the gatekeepers?”
“I’m gonna slice ’em all up!”
Kim Duyeon excitedly pulled out a mace and a machete.
“Oh, for God’s sake. Why are you saying you’ll slice them up so cheerfully? You absolutely must not kill them!”
“Since the Deputy Director is gone, is the young mister doing the ‘civil servant’ thing now?”
“Hey. I don’t know what ‘civil servant thing’ is, but if you kill them here, only the hardworking and innocent Bureau staff will have a headache. Drag them inside the gate and freeze them or slice them as much as you want! It’s a lawless zone in there!”
“Ah, that’s what you meant? Okay. Mr. Civil Servant isn’t a total bore then.”
The Evil Humans guarding the front of the gate spotted the group flying in quickly.
-Grrrr!
-Kuaaaah!
Their vocal cords could no longer produce human speech, but the meaning of “Who are you guys!” and “Kill them all!” was clear.
Cho Wookwon threw three potion bottles toward the swarming Evil Humans.
They shattered in mid-air on their own without hitting anything, creating a thick fog.
‘Silence Mist Potion’.
It has the effect of obstructing vision and blocking noise.
If someone saw this from afar, they would just think a halo had formed around the moon.
* * *
