As deployment time neared, a military officer arrived with the operational details.

“Currently, the monster designated ‘Albatross’ has passed Uljin and is approaching Samcheok. Its speed is gradually decreasing, and we anticipate intercepting it over Donghae City shortly.”

The officer projected a map of the east coast onto the wall and explained quickly.

“Our 666th Special Operations Unit will be deploying four helicopters and one transport plane. The helicopters will lay down suppressive fire to force the creature to a lower altitude while simultaneously driving it toward the coast.”

“…”

“Once its speed and altitude have dropped sufficiently, we will move our transport alongside the passenger jet and insert the rescue team.”

“…"

“After a rapid transfer of any survivors to our transport, we will shoot the monster down over the sea. The final phase will be the recovery of the jet.”

Hae-eun gestured with her chin. “And where do we fit into this operation?”

“The 666th is more than capable of handling this operation alone. We also have the S-Rank Hunter Chosen One on-site.”

In other words, the Black Parade was to stay out of it.

The top brass, with their asses in a sling, had called in the Black Parade out of sheer desperation.

But the 666th in the field saw it differently: better to handle the rescue themselves than drag in a bunch of mercenaries they’d never trained with.

Jae-hee raised his hand with a sullen look on his face. “Hey! You know we’ve got two former hijackers and two former hostages on our team, right?! We could be a huge help!”

“Something to be proud of,” Ghost muttered, covering her face with her hand.

The officer broke into a cold sweat and quickly changed the subject. “You are all Plan B, in case of an emergency.”

“An emergency? Plan B?”

“If the situation deteriorates and our unit can no longer execute the mission, you will be deployed as circumstances dictate. As you mentioned, you have your… specialists. Fliers, a speedster. We expect you to improvise.”

The officer scoffed, staring at the Black Parade with undisguised contempt. “Of course, it’s not as if the 666th will actually fail.”

“…”

“Well then. We’re counting on you.”

After the officer left, Jae-hee turned to Hae-eun, indignation written all over his face. “Commander! These guys are treating us like dirt.”

“Well, we’ve already been paid. Best-case scenario, we just fly out with them, and that’s the end of it.”

The commander smiled coolly. “Getting paid just to pretend to work? Sounds like a dream job to me. Don’t you think?”

But everyone there knew the truth.

A dream job like that didn’t exist in this world.

Sooner or later, you always had to pay for a free lunch.

***

Thwup-thwup-thwup-thwup-thwup!

The helicopters and transport plane of the 666th took off from Donghae City in formation.

The Black Parade’s repurposed postal transport followed at a slight distance.

The 666th’s formation blatantly increased its speed. The Black Parade’s postal plane, no match for military-grade engines, quickly fell behind.

Watching the tail of the special forces’ formation shrink into the distance, Jae-hee asked Ghost, “Are they in a hurry to save the jet, or are they trying to ditch us? Which is it?”

“Both.”

“So they’re being mean for a good cause!”

They hadn’t been flying south for long before the shape of a monstrous bird appeared in the distance.

The creature designated ‘Albatross’ was a massive bird with four wings.

Even a small passenger jet is the size of two buses put together, yet the Albatross held it gently in its grasp as it flew.

Jae-hee let out an impressed, “Whoa. How did a bird that big break through the containment cordon?”

Hae-eun answered, “Apparently, hundreds of birds that size poured out of the Gate when it opened.”

“Oh.”

“It’s not surprising that one of them got away. The problem is that the one that got away decided to do this…”

Just then, the lead helicopters’ comms chatter came through their channel.

«Codename ‘Albatross’ spotted. Hijacked passenger jet also confirmed.»

«Any communication from the jet?»

«Contact lost after the last transmission thirty minutes ago. The situation on board was stable at that time.»

«Understood. Commencing the operation.»

The 666th’s formation slowed and reversed course, turning north to match the speed of the Albatross approaching from the south. The timing was impeccable; by the time the Albatross arrived, they had it perfectly surrounded.

The helicopters adjusted their positions, circling the Albatross.

«Black Eagle One, in position.»

«Black Eagle Two, in position.»

«Black Eagle Three and Four, also in position.»

«Good. Commencing suppressive fire.»

The four helicopters surrounding the Albatross aimed their machine guns in unison and opened fire.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

It wasn’t an attempt to hit the creature, merely to suppress it. The screen of fire was meant to block its path, controlling its flight vector and speed.

The plan was to force the Albatross toward the coast while simultaneously slowing it down.

Kreee…

The problem was that the suppressive fire made the Albatross extremely agitated.

SKREEEEEEAAAK!

And it immediately counterattacked.

The feathers on its two upper wings bristled before launching in all directions like a volley of missiles.

The shower of black feathers blotted out the sky, moving too fast for the nearby helicopters to evade.

Thwang—

BOOM! KABOOM!

Riddled with feathers that hit like large-caliber rounds, all four helicopters erupted in black smoke and flames.

«Mayday, Mayday!»

«Shit, the intel said this thing had almost no combat capability!»

«Black Eagle One is going down! I repeat, going down—!»

«Black Eagle Two, can’t control my—!»

CRASH! KABOOOOM…!

The four helicopters, battered by the feather barrage, spun out of control, exploded, and plummeted toward the sea.

Fortunately, the special forces operatives managed to activate their abilities and bail out, splashing into the water below. Rescue boats that had been following at a distance quickly moved in to retrieve them.

“There was a blind spot in the intelligence from the battle at that large-scale Gate,” Hae-eun said calmly, while Jae-hee stared, jaw agape, at the downed helicopters.

“With all of the New Five Heroes deployed, there was never any time to analyze the monsters’ traits. They were all pulped before they could do anything.”

“…”

“So the only data we have on this Albatross species was recorded from the perspective of the Five Heroes who fought them.”

Hae-eun swiped a finger across the report on her tablet.

“And their report reads: negligible combat ability, just a big, stupid bird.”

A broad grin spread across the commander’s scarred face.

“Which makes sense. Back then, all they did was run while being slaughtered by five S-Rankers.”

“…”

“Now we’re seeing its real combat potential. And it’s got a jet full of generals clutched in its claws.”

Hae-eun continued, watching with amusement as the helicopters trailed long plumes of smoke before splashing into the sea.

“Korean Hunters are second to none when it comes to power. Killing a single monster is no problem. The issue is the hostages.”

“…”

“The 666th may be the military’s strongest special forces unit, but that’s for decapitation strikes and incineration missions. Using anti-monster specialists for a hostage rescue is… a bit of a mismatch.”

The 666th was a powerful unit of the Awakened, but they were by no means hostage rescue experts.

Hae-eun had predicted with a high degree of certainty that this operation would go to shit.

Just then, a new transmission came in.

«Chosen One here.»

It was his voice, coming from the 666th’s transport plane.

«We require a little assistance, Angel Unit.»

“Looks like it’s our turn after all.”

Hae-eun looked back at the Black Parade convicts. “We’ll have to improvise our way through this. But then, what battlefield is any different?”

Hiss—

The transport’s hatch opened, and a fierce wind whipped through the cabin.

Hae-eun pointed toward the open hatch and swung her arm in a circle.

“Alright, Eagle 5 Brothers, time to earn your keep! Move out!”

“Heheh. Here I go…!”

“Love—the—sky!”

“Love—to—fly!”

As if on cue, Iljimae kicked off from the hatch and soared into the open air, followed by the father-son duo of Daedalus and Icarus, who spread their wings and leapt.

“Wh-what about us?!” Jae-hee yelped, utterly flightless.

Ghost rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a worn notebook. Flipping through the pages, she found a passage and read it aloud.

“‘A bird that flies with its own wings is never high, no matter how high it climbs.’”

Jae-hee tilted his head. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means the guys with wings can show off all they want. The ones without wings should shut up and walk.”

“Oh.”

“We can’t fly. Let’s just watch the show.”

***

Iljimae, the first one out, generated a white, circular halo in the center of her back. The ring expelled a burst of propulsive energy, launching her forward.

Swoooosh!

A-Rank convict Iljimae. Ability: Boost Drive.

While she couldn’t match Jae-hee’s pure speed, she was exceptionally fast and could use the propulsion from the ring on her back to maintain mobility over any terrain.

A sinister grin spread under Iljimae’s mask.

“This is my chance,” she muttered, her hollow eyes widening in determination. “A chance to make a deep impression on Ghost. I can do this…!”

Whizz-whizz-whizz-whizz-whizz!

As she approached the Albatross, a savage whistling sound filled the air as a machine-gun-like volley of feathers shot toward her.

“Uhhh…?!”

Iljimae drew two daggers in a reverse grip and frantically swung her arms.

Clang-clang-clang-clang!

Feathers deflected off her daggers, scattering sparks in all directions.

She controlled the booster on her back with expert precision, evading the feather barrage as best she could, but as the Albatross focused its attack, she reached her limit.

This was the same volley that had downed four helicopters at once. It was too much for Iljimae to block on her own.

Clang!

A feather knocked one of the daggers from her hand.

Thwack-thwack-thwack!

The ensuing barrage hammered into her, and she finally plummeted from the sky.

“Uaaagh—”

SPLASH!

Iljimae slammed into the sea with a magnificent spray of water.

Watching from the transport, Ghost snorted. “She talked a big game, but she was the first one to go down.”

“Aack! Iljimae sis!”

And while Iljimae was taking the full force of the attack…

“Haha! Thanks for drawing their fire!”

“That makes our approach a whole lot easier!”

Swoooosh!

Daedalus and Icarus, the flying father-son duo, glided high above the fray and made a swift approach toward the Albatross.

Together, they shouted, “The special mission bonus is ours!”

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