Two weeks flew by in the blink of an eye.

Vanquisher was making final preparations for the operation.

In one corner of the waiting room, Park Gwangcheol let out a groan.

“Ugh, damn it—hey! Stop! Stop!”

I shook my head at him.

“Isn’t that a bit tight?”

“It has to be.”

“No way your blood’s still flowing.”

“Even better.”

Though grumbling, Park Gwangcheol let it go. I silently kept tightening his protective gear.

Meanwhile, Seong Ara stretched with a yawn, completely unbothered.

“It’s not that dangerous~”

The Vanquisher members were, overall, pretty relaxed. This operation was important, sure—but in terms of difficulty, it wasn’t too bad.

After all, it was a domestic mission.

I hoped nothing would overturn that assumption.

Just then, the old man entered the waiting room with calm footsteps.

His face was as expressionless as usual, but there was a clear hint of tension.

“Paladin, the Commander, and Cheongpungdae are all participating.”

He had just finished his final call with the Association when he stepped inside.

“Huh? The Commander and Paladin?”

“Cheongpungdae...”

Seong Ara repeated it in confusion, and Lee Dohyun, who had been quietly polishing his sword, muttered under his breath.

The other members flinched and looked at each other.

It was only natural to find it odd.

Even I had heard it last night from Cheon Yeoul.

“If the Apostle really appears... the Paladin won’t be enough. That’s why the Commander and Cheongpungdae will join in.”

Either way, it was good news.

“It’s not Glory, is it?”

When Seong Ara asked, the old man shook his head.

“No. Team 2. They said it’s Maengho.”

At that, Park Gwangcheol tilted his head.

“Wow... what the...”

“Something... does feel off.”

Lee Dohyun murmured again while tending to his twin blades.

No one disagreed.

Everyone here shared that same unease.

Then, Kim Jinsoo from the Association’s equipment team entered the waiting room.

“Preparations are complete. The vehicle should arrive at the terminal shortly.”

Portal use was not an option.

There was a risk of alerting the enemy.

So we’d use a portal only up to Pyongyang, and from there, we’d travel by land.

Naturally, we began one final check of our weapons and gear.

Combat equipment, potions, essentials.

“It’ll be okay.”

Someone next to me spoke softly. It was Sion.

“Nothing’s going to happen.”

“Thanks.”

Maybe my face looked grim, because she gently tried to comfort me.

It was just a short sentence, but those few words really helped.

I nodded.

“We’ll start the operation right after the briefing at the base.”

The old man spoke curtly and firmly.

After wrapping up our final checks, we each began to move.

“Let’s head out.”

***

A harsh wind brushed my face.

The base point, located midway up the mountain.

After getting out of the vehicle, we silently made our way there.

And finally—it started to feel real.

The scenery before my eyes was far too familiar.

I stopped walking. This was where countless deaths had repeated. The memories wiped my mind blank.

I closed my eyes.

Forcing myself to breathe, I calmed down.

“Haein.”

A gentle grip landed on my shoulder.

Instinctively, I almost reached for my spear—but stopped.

It was Sion again.

“You okay?”

I took a short breath and replied.

“I’m okay.”

Then the old man’s voice rang out.

“Operation briefing begins now.”

I quickly pulled myself together and stepped forward.

This was still an operation.

The old man’s explanation was simple.

We were to eliminate a demon colony discovered a few months ago.

The Commander, Paladin, and Cheongpungdae would each join from separate base points.

In other words, this operation was set up to surround the colony from all sides.

And finally, the old man added for us:

“You two stay here and wait for communications from the Association.”

Support standby.

That’s why Sion and I had been brought along.

“Move out.”

The Vanquisher members finished arming themselves and the operation finally began.

We watched them go from behind.

“...”

Of course, we had no intention of simply waiting around.

I watched, gauging when the best time to follow would be.

Then, my eyes met Sion’s.

We smiled at each other.

She was thinking the same thing.

“Let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

Quietly, we followed after them.

Secretly.

A ruined village came into view. From a distance, it looked utterly lifeless.

That uneasy feeling started to feel real.

On the left, Paladin and Cheongpungdae, with Cheon Yeoul and Yu Hana at the lead, were moving toward the colony.

On the right, the Commander’s unit led by Kang Arin was closing in from the opposite side.

And just as the groups converged near the colony—

“Now.”

We quickly merged into the main unit.

“Hey! What are you guys...?”

Seong Ara looked at us, startled.

But the other members didn’t react much.

“Knew it.”

Park Gwangcheol chuckled dryly.

“No way you two would just sit still.”

We smiled without a word.

They figured it out, huh.

No wonder we’d been allowed to sit in on every single briefing.

As we entered the village, the Commander’s team approached from the far side, while Paladin and Cheongpungdae entered from the left.

The three forces, who had approached from different routes, finally met in the central plaza.

But there were no signs of demons—no signs of people at all.

Just ruined buildings and dry dust blowing in the wind.

One of the Commander’s guild members muttered,

“There’s nothing here?”

When Kang Arin looked quietly at him, he flinched and bowed his head at once.

Then—

BOOM!!

A massive explosion erupted from the center.

In the blink of an eye, flames flared up, and the shockwave swept outward.

Park Gwangcheol and Yukal instantly deployed force fields.

They boxed in the explosion, forcibly redirecting its energy up into the air.

KWAANG!

With a blinding flash and a roar like the sky was cracking, the redirected blast painted the land red.

“......”

Park Gwangcheol brushed his hands off with a cold expression.

A moment of stillness. But everyone felt it—that attack was different.

“Hm... Blarg, didn’t you say that one blast would kill them all?”

A seductive voice, teasing and tickling the ear.

Mocking laughter spread across the entire village.

And—

“Doesn’t look like it worked, huh?”

The giggling scraped at our ears.

One of the Paladins’ lips twitched, frozen.

From his mouth came a low, almost moaning whisper.

“A... an Apostle.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The Red Spider of Blood, Mary.

The one who shook Shanghai alone.

But that wasn’t what shocked me the most.

“Five...”

From the shadows of the great ruins.

Five silhouettes emerged, one after another.

We’d expected an Apostle to appear. But not three. Not five.

“And wow, there’s a lot of people, huh?”

A white figure with no eyes, no nose, no mouth.

Sound pulsed from his mouthless face.

“I thought it was supposed to be one team. That’s a crowd. Blark, you sure things’ll be fine without us?”

“Shut your mouth.”

When Mary teased the white-eyed Apostle, Barkus, he growled in return.

“Don’t overdo it~ We’ll be back soon.”

Mary snickered.

Her eyes shimmered with pure delight.

Everyone fell into silence.

Apostles.

Names that only existed in stories. Very few had actually faced them.

But now—

They were right in front of us.

The pressure they exuded overwhelmed the entire field. It wasn’t just strength—it was presence.

Everyone realized it.

Sometimes, rumors fall far short of the truth.

“Prepare for combat.”

The old man gave a firm signal.

Everyone readied their stance at once. But their bodies trembled instinctively.

“You two, stay behind me.”

Park Gwangcheol stepped forward, shielding us.

That’s when—

“Wait a moment?”

The pulsing, unsettling aura belonged to Blarg. His voice dipped low.

“Before we begin the execution, allow me to relay the will of the Great One. We’re not fans of unnecessary fighting.”

Ahem.

He raised his fist to where his face should be and cleared his throat. Then changed his tone.

“Eliminate the humans.”

The moment those words dropped—

The air turned heavy.

“For that, I will bestow you power.”

And in that moment—

Mary, who had been smirking in front of us, lightly waved her hand.

Then—

Fwoosh.

She vanished.

“Saintess!!”

A scream erupted from the Paladin side.

I turned my gaze.

Cheon Yeoul?

Around her, red chains burst from thin air.

They writhed and wrapped around her wrists and ankles like living things.

“Stop her!!!”

One of the Paladins shouted desperately.

But before his voice reached her—space distorted.

Clang!

The red chains went taut for an instant, and her form was yanked into the void, disappearing.

And then—

Fwoosh.

Fwoosh.

Two of the Apostles standing beside Blarg also vanished like dust.

“Young miss!!”

“Vice President!!”

Yu Hana’s body dispersed into the wind, like mist.

Kang Arin was swallowed by a black shadow, unable to even react.

The Apostles.

Their target wasn’t Vanquisher.

“Then, we’ll see you later.”

Even Blarg, who had been smirking and explaining, also—

Fwoosh.

Vanished.

Who’s next?

Me? The old man? Or—

Then.

All sound disappeared.

Everything around me went silent.

No wind. No breathing. Not even a heartbeat.

Instinctively, I turned to my side.

“Sion!”

A translucent ripple spread beneath her feet.

Like rippling water, the air shimmered.

Her body swayed gently.

I reached out without thinking. The old man also reached out beside me.

But she sank into the transparent space, like being separated from reality.

I grabbed at empty air, as if trying to hold her.

“SION!!!!”

The old man lunged forward.

His hands stretched out, but Sion was already gone—without a trace.

His face twisted in anguish.

Then—

RUMBLE.

The ground trembled.

There was no time to mourn.

“No hope remains in what’s °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° left behind.”

The final Apostle.

Barkus, with white eyes.

Now alone.

Began to draw in power, his rage unmistakable.