“WRAAAAAAHH!”

The giant monster Crying-X roared.

Boom! Kaboom! Craaaash…!

As the five members of the Black Parade attacked from above, the monster thrashed its colossal body, crumbling nearby buildings. Utility poles, ripped from their foundations, shot into the air like javelins.

“Aaaah!”

“Run for your lives!”

Its former docility vanished. The monster erupted into a full rampage, and the civilians still in the area scattered in a panic.

Against the tide of fleeing citizens, a single car sped in the opposite direction.

Vroooom!

Inside was the Product Transport Team: the four members of Team Shakespeare and the Boy, Jae-hee Han.

Like a salmon swimming upstream, the sedan cut through the flood of civilians, racing toward the monster.

The atmosphere in the car was tense.

Romeo, in the driver’s seat, stared straight ahead, his face a hard mask as he focused on the road. In the passenger seat, Juliet checked her firearms.

In the back, flanking Jae-hee, the thief couple—Oberon and Titania—sat perfectly still, pleasant smiles fixed on their faces.

Jostled by the rattling car, Jae-hee could only swallow dryly.

The entire city was pandemonium, yet the car was eerily calm.

The uncomfortable silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity before Romeo finally spoke.

“Hey.”

Realizing a beat too late that he was being addressed, Jae-hee fumbled for a reply.

“Y-yes?”

“You’re Ghost’s disciple?”

“Huh? Yes…”

“Hmm. I see.”

Romeo’s eyes met Jae-hee’s in the rearview mirror, and a smirk played on his lips, framed by a handsome beard.

“Don’t be so tense. It’s not like we’re going to eat you.”

“Heh, hehe…”

“We’re on the same side for this mission. We’ve got to work together.”

Romeo’s voice softened slightly. “How’d you end up in prison?”

“For theft.”

“What were you stealing?”

“I got mixed up in a bank job. Tried to steal a Lord Core.”

“What do you know? A fellow professional.”

Juliet chuckled at that. Oberon and Titania covered their mouths and let out quiet, breathy laughs.

“A bank job was the last gig that got us caught, too,” Romeo said.

“The plan was a work of art. We just never expected there to be another layer to the trap,” Juliet added.

“This is how it always ends for grunts like us, isn’t it, kid?”

After a brief exchange with Juliet, Romeo glanced at Jae-hee in the rearview mirror again.

Jae-hee offered an awkward smile. “Hehe. What can you do? A guy’s gotta eat, even if it means sticking your head in the lion’s mouth…”

“Hahahaha! The kid’s got a point.”

The tension eased. Jae-hee breathed an inward sigh of relief.

See? People can talk things out! No need to be so scared!

Laughing heartily, Romeo gestured with his chin. “So, your ability is super-speed?”

“Yes.”

“Good, kid.”

Romeo looked up at the building-sized monster, now much closer, roaring and spewing fire.

“To be honest, the four of us aren’t equipped to fight a monster like that. We’re experts at shooting people and sticking knives in their sides, but we don’t have what it takes to handle something that big.”

The sedan stopped approaching the monster and began to circle it from a distance.

“Once the Suppression Team takes that thing down, we’ll move in. All you have to do is retrieve its Core—or whatever its true form is. After that, you can relax. We’ll transport the asset and complete the transaction. Sound good?”

“Yes, let’s do that!”

“I like a man who gets straight to the point,” Romeo said.

Juliet leaned back from the passenger seat to look at Jae-hee, a grin spreading across her face.

“I still want to kill your master someday, but I’m starting to like you, kid.”

“Ha, haha…”

“Alright. Let’s wait for the prize to fall from the sky.”

Craaash!

The monster’s arm swung out and crushed a transmission tower on a nearby rooftop, sending shattered fragments raining down.

Screeeech!

Romeo wrenched the steering wheel. The sedan drifted, leaving long tire marks on the pavement as it narrowly avoided the falling debris.

With incredible skill, he continued to dodge the wreckage, clicking his tongue softly.

“Though it seems plenty of other things are falling.”

***

Meanwhile, above Daegu.

“This is an all-or-nothing play!” Jail Mojik yelled. “Now!”

“Uwaaaah!”

Her head spinning from a severe nosebleed, Bookworm thrust her hands forward.

Squirm…

Shhhlick!

Dozens of tentacles shot out and wrapped around the lion-doll monster’s arms.

“WAAHH!”

Crying-X immediately tried to shake them off, but Jail Mojik’s ability activated faster.

“Gonna borrow your octopus for a bit, Bookworm!”

Snap!

The moment Jail Mojik snapped her fingers, the tentacles twisted together, weaving themselves into thick ropes that bound the monster’s arms.

“?!”

Crying-X froze.

But everyone knew the restraints would only hold for a moment.

Also bleeding from her nose due to overexertion, Jail Mojik glanced to her side.

“Firestarter!” she barked.

“Hoo…”

“Light it up!”

Firestarter dutifully obeyed.

FWOOOOSH!

Having shed the fireproof suit from his arms, Firestarter thrust his hands forward and unleashed a torrent of flames.

Perhaps because it was a fire-breathing monster, Crying-X’s hide didn’t catch fire easily. The tentacles binding it, however, were another story.

Fwoosh!

The tentacles ignited.

With both its arms now engulfed in flames, Crying-X let out a scream of agony.

“WRAAAAAH!”

Watching the scene, Jail Mojik cheered. “Smells like grilled octopus!”

“Aaaaaaah!”

Bookworm, on the other hand, shrieked, clutching her head.

“What are you doing to my tentacles… Gack…”

Having pushed herself to the limit only to watch her precious tentacles get barbecued by an ally, Bookworm finally lost consciousness.

The tentacles wrapped around her body went limp, and she began to plummet.

“Agh…”

Freed from the tentacles himself, Powerbomb kicked off the air and shot toward the falling Bookworm.

“Why is every damn mission like this?!”

Meanwhile, atop a building next to the writhing, fiery Crying-X…

A white-haired swordswoman raced across the roof.

Ghost had already descended from the transport craft when it flew close to a nearby rooftop. She was now running along the edge, timing her jump.

Leaping over obstacles with fluid parkour, she flew across a series of rooftops before taking a running start and launching herself toward the monster’s head.

“Hup!”

Her body hung at the apex of its arc for a moment before beginning its free fall.

Combining the momentum of her sprint with the force of her descent, Ghost brought the black blade Void Trinity down with all her might.

Distracted by its burning arms, Crying-X noticed Ghost too late.

Shunk!

The monster’s hide, which had only been scorched and dented until now, yielded as the tip of Ghost’s sword sank smoothly into it.

“…?!”

“I’m not much for cutting cakes…”

Ghost let her own falling weight drag the blade down the monster’s body.

“But halve you, and I bet I’d get a decent bite!”

The tip of her sword, embedded in its crown, carved a line straight down Crying-X’s body.

Shhhhiiiing!

The monster’s hide parted cleanly along the blade’s path. Crying-X let out a pained shriek.

“WRAAAAAH!”

Of course, a monster’s scream wasn’t about to stop Ghost.

Riiiiip!

From head to toe, she sliced down its body as smoothly as cutting tofu.

The resistance from its hide slowed her descent enough for a safe landing.

“Hah.”

Touching down, Ghost twirled the black blade, sheathed it at her waist, and turned to look up at the massive body she had just scored.

“If this doesn’t pop it, it’s not a balloon.”

She was right.

Psssssshhhhh!

A hissing sound erupted from the long gash, and the lion-doll monster began to deflate like a punctured balloon.

“Waaaeh…”

Unable to maintain its form, Crying-X collapsed in on itself.

But even its empty hide was immense.

Ghost clicked her tongue and dashed clear.

CRUUUUNCH…!

The massive hide slammed into the ground, carving a crater in the road. Paving stones flew into the air before clattering back down like rain.

«CUT! Excellent work, Suppression Team! Well done!»

Hae-eun’s excited voice crackled over the comms.

«Transport Team! Where are you? Get to it!»

***

«The Commander’s getting impatient. Romeo, what’s your position?»

Romeo replied to Shylock’s transmission. “We’re here, boss.”

The sedan carrying the five members of the transport team had arrived at the monster’s feet just in time.

Screeeech!

The sedan slid to a sideways stop, and all its doors flew open. Romeo, Juliet, Oberon, and Titania fanned out around the car, scanning their surroundings.

“Alright, kid. Run,” Romeo said with a jerk of his chin. “Show us that super-speed of yours.”

Jae-hee didn’t refuse.

Fwip!

He shot out of his seat and plunged into the smoldering ruins where the monster had fallen.

Covering his nose and mouth with one hand to block the dust, Jae-hee vaulted onto the monster’s remains in a single breath.

But I don’t even know what this Core, or true form, or whatever is supposed to look like…

Just as he was wondering how to start his search, he saw something squirming its way out from inside the monster’s remains.

It was a tiny lion doll that looked exactly like the giant monster that had stood there moments before.

“Wagh… wagh.”

“…?”

Bewildered, Jae-hee grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and lifted it up.

“Wagh! Waaagh! Wagh-wagh!”

The doll struggled in his grasp.

Jae-hee held on to it and zipped back to the sedan.

“Maybe this is the Core? Its true form?” he said.

“Waaagh…”

The tattered, grimy lion doll let out a weak cry.

Romeo simply grinned, as if he’d been briefed in advance.

“That’s it, no doubt. Okay, we’ve recovered the true form of the entity Crying-X. Let’s move out.”

The five convicts climbed back into the sedan.

The seating arrangement was the same, except now Jae-hee was holding the mysterious lion doll.

The doll tried its best to bite him, but its cloth teeth did no damage.

“Waaargh…”

The lion doll let out a mournful cry. The white dots under its eyes made it look like it was actually crying.

Jae-hee was sweating bullets.

So what the hell is this thing…?

Whatever. It didn’t matter. His part in this mission was done.

Feeling much more relaxed, Jae-hee leaned back in his seat.

Vroooom!

The sedan accelerated, speeding down the road—deliberately steering toward the billowing clouds of dust.

After driving for a while, Romeo suddenly said, “Good job, kid. You really are fast.”

“Hehe. Thank you, Romeo bro.”

“But that thing you do… moving faster than a bullet.”

Romeo looked at Jae-hee in the rearview mirror. “Can you do that with your hands tied?”

“…Huh?”

As Jae-hee struggled to understand the sudden question…

Click! Clack!

He heard the sound of handcuffs snapping shut on both of his wrists.

The pickpocket couple on either side of him—Oberon and Titania—had worked their magic. With uncanny skill, they had cuffed Jae-hee’s hands together before he even noticed.

Jae-hee’s mind reeled, still trying to process the situation.

Juliet turned around from the passenger seat.

“Sorry~” she whispered cheerfully.

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

Bullets from Juliet’s rifle shredded the back of the seat, streaking straight for Jae-hee.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.