Ariena Babadi — one of the Last Eighteen and the world’s greatest mind-controller. The aftermath of her death was as violent as her stature in life.

Illumission no longer held the monsters in check. No longer obedient hunting dogs, they were now feral curs that might go for the throat at any moment.

Freed from Illumission’s grip, the monsters scattered in every direction—into the mountains, into the ravaged city centers. A monster could survive anywhere.

They banded together in small packs, devouring anything weaker than themselves to stave off death. Until a Grugle appeared—then it was every monster for itself, a full retreat.

But the real concern was Illumission’s remnants. Go Byeonggap and his group had been watching them for days now. Because the bastards were moving differently than before.

“Going by their current route, the place where Illumission’s trying to rally is around this area.”

Seo Sihui pointed to a spot on the large map spread across the table. North Gyeongsang Province—specifically the upper reaches bordering North Chungcheong and Gangwon.

“That’s damn peculiar, ain’t it? Weren’t those Illumission sons of bitches all headed down south? What’s with the sudden swing northward?”

Han Changhun tilted his head, brow furrowed, and asked.

He was right. Illumission, which had been pushing south full force, wrenched the wheel the moment they lost their monster. Not only that—every minor faction scattered across the country began converging on a single point.

I couldn’t be sure, but they were definitely concentrating their dispersed forces.

“What else could it be? Now that they can’t use monsters anymore, they’re just huddling together to hold out. Isn’t that a good thing, though? Means we can sweep them all up in one go.”

Jeong Seongyeong said it with a bored look on her face.

“I think so too. No matter how eccentric he is, without monsters to control, he can’t act like before. Like they said, waiting for them to cluster and then wiping them out in a single net would save us a lot of trouble in many ways.”

Sim Seungseop, who had been silent, added his weight to the opinion. The majority consensus leaned in agreement.

Go Byeonggap was thinking the same thing. If the scattered enemies gathered themselves, it’d be a blessing. Besides, hadn’t Ariena said it herself? Once her mind control broke, the organization would collapse on its own.

Maybe he could handle this without lifting a finger. Even if not, charging in with the Grugle in the vanguard ought to let him wipe out the enemies with minimal losses.

One thing nagged at him, though: the SS-rank presence.

Go Byeonggap stroked his chin, lost in thought.

‘The small-fry, even in a group, I can manage somehow. But the SS-ranks — wouldn’t it be smarter to pick them off one by one? If they cluster together, dealing with them is going to be a nightmare.’

Taking on two SS-ranks would be far tougher than facing a thousand A-ranks. Strong bastards packed together amplify each other’s strength exponentially.

‘But I can’t exactly track their movements, and now that they know Ariena’s dead, they’ll be way more cautious. …No helping it, I guess.’

Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done right now.

“Then perhaps we should prepare for all-out war. Do we all agree?”

He spoke to the people. Instead of answering with their voices, they sent back steady, resolute gazes. Go Byeonggap took that as a sign of agreement.

“Then for the time being, we’ll take time to regroup while observing their movements.”

“That sounds good. We’ve been fighting nonstop lately. A lot of people have died, and even if no one says it, everyone’s worn out.”

“Understood. Let’s wrap up today’s meeting here.”

The meeting ended, and the people returned to their own posts.

Go Byeonggap stayed behind in the meeting hall and called out to Seo Sihui. He lit one of his few remaining cigarettes and asked.

“What do you think about going all-out war?”

“It would certainly cut down on the hassle.”

“That’s all?”

Seo Sihui stared expressionlessly at Go Byeonggap before opening her mouth.

“A lot of people would die. On both sides.”

“Probably. It’s war.” “The odds aren’t impossible. They lost monsters, and we gained the Grugle. But…”

“But?”

She paused for a long moment.

“Ariena told me something,” he said. “She said the Hexagram Order has its eyes on the Korean Peninsula. That was news to me. Caught me off guard, I’ll admit.”

“And?” she prompted.

“If they’re still after this land because of that thing they call the Ark, the rest of the Last Eighteen will come flooding in here. To borrow their phrasing, they’ll need to board it.”

“Makes sense.”

“With Ariena dead, that leaves sixteen SS-rank hunters to deal with. Go Geonryong among them. I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out how to handle them.”

He looked at her. “You—do you know any SS-rank hunters? Anyone we could ask for help?”

Seo Sihui slowly shook her head.

“I’m skeptical. I’ve spent over a decade trying to recruit SS-rank hunters. Every single one either turned me down, called me crazy, or was already in cahoots with the Hexagram Order.”

“Given the way the world’s going to shit, don’t you think they might have wised up by now?” he pressed.

“I’m not so sure. If you ask me, they’ll just find a way to save their own skins. From their perspective, it’s just something happening in some far-off country.”

“Isn’t that a bit of a leap?”

“Is it really? Put yourself in their shoes. Would you willingly rush to help some obscure little nation you barely know just because trouble broke out there? With your own life on the line? An awakening rank isn’t a measure of righteousness.”

He swallowed his words. She was right—Seo Sihui had a point.

Hadn’t he himself thought of massive monster waves in Africa or Argentina as just ‘someone else’s problem’?

Even if someone argued humanity’s survival was at stake, how many would actually step forward and say, ‘Really? Then I have to help!’ and take the lead?

Now wasn’t the time for uncertainty—it was the time for certainty.

“……Then for now, let’s head down to the lower regions. We need to win over the refugees there. They’ll cooperate with us.”

“That sounds like the best course.”

The next day, Go Byeonggap and Seo Sihui took to the air and flew down to the southern end of the Korean peninsula—carrying the hope that the refugees would be gathered there.

Luckily, that hope didn’t betray him. At the southern tip, a colossal throng of refugees had packed together in a chaotic sprawl.

There, a band of awakeners had formed something like a vigilante group to protect the displaced. But the picture wasn’t exactly pretty. In exchange for shielding people from monsters, they had hoarded massive stores of food and supplies for themselves.

Some of the sidelined, destitute class had ended up slumped on the roadside—freezing to death or starving. Others had even turned blades on each other just to grab one more scrap of bread.

“The moment the law and infrastructure collapse, it turns into a lawless wasteland just like that.”

Go Byeonggap clicked his tongue at the sight of the streets. If a real human Lord didn’t show up, how could this chaos ever be resolved?

Whatever the case, the two went looking for the vigilante group guarding the shelter. Finding them wasn’t a difficult task.

Because in any shelter, you just had to find the place with the best upkeep. Their first stop was Yangsan, South Gyeongsang.

The vigilantes were naturally wary of outsiders like Go Byeonggap and Seo Sihui. But once they clearly revealed their identities, their guarded stance softened considerably.

The two told them everything that was happening, without holding back, and asked for their cooperation.

“A hard-to-believe… story. Though, I suppose we were suspicious all along. Wondering what those bastards were, dragging monsters around and killing their own kind. So there was a behind-the-scenes force pulling the strings.”

“We need your strength. Please, we ask for your cooperation.”

“This isn’t something I can decide on the spot. Could you give us some time to think it over?”

Go Byeonggap and Seo Sihui exchanged a brief look, then nodded in unison.

“We’ll return in a week. Will that be enough time?”

“It should suffice.” “Good. Ah—one more thing. Do you know of any other large refugee concentrations besides this place?”

“Right nearby—Gimhae, Changwon, Ulsan—I believe quite a few refugees have gathered there as well. The largest settlement is, of course, Busan, but word is you’re more likely to be killed by people than monsters there. Tens of thousands are starving to death every day. Hmm… the Jeolla region probably has a sizable refugee population too. From what I’ve heard, defeated soldiers settled around Gwangju a while back. That story’s old, though; I couldn’t say how things stand now.”

“That’s more than enough help. Thank you. We’ll see you in a week, then.”

Starting from Yangsan, Go Byeonggap and Seo Sihui visited every settlement where people had gathered, one after another.

Some of those places had already been reduced to ruins by monsters; others were in far better shape than expected. After wandering through several, he felt like he was glimpsing a feudal medieval kingdom.

At any rate, Go Byeonggap sought their cooperation to join the war. The hopeful sign was that most responded positively.

They, too, were aware they were at a cliff’s edge. With all infrastructure collapsed, how much longer could they hold out?

Calculating that it was better to stab than wait to wither was no difficult math.

Meanwhile, in Asvillam, preparations for the coming war were in full swing.

They halved the daily food rations and stockpiled the surplus in the warehouse. Production of weapons and protective gear was also accelerated.

The war would be fought mainly by humans, but since nothing was certain, they poured effort into training soldiers as well.

And so a day passed, then two, then over a fortnight slipped by. Before anyone knew it, the new year had dawned.

But no one placed any significance on the new year. Their minds were too frayed, their heads nearly spinning with other matters.

* * *

“We’ve pinpointed Illumission’s location. They’re currently gathered in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.”

The meeting room had grown crowded. Nearly a hundred people packed Asvillam’s conference chamber.

The leaders of vigilante groups, each shepherding refugees from various regions, had attended. On one side stood active-duty soldiers in uniform.

The day before, those who had been on reconnaissance gave their briefing. They had finally confirmed Illumission’s location.

“Yeongju, North Gyeongsang. Why would they gather there?”

Someone asked, but no one could answer.

Illumission kept such tight security that they couldn’t determine what was happening on the ground.

“Is there any reason to dawdle? The location’s confirmed—let’s strike first.”

The soldiers advocated for a surprise assault, saying they would commit all their current forces.

Their plan sounded plausible. First, rain down artillery shells; then deploy Grugles to suppress the enemy; finally, commit the remaining forces to mop up what’s left.

It wasn’t a decision to be rushed, but many agreed with the proposal. They were weary from long months of refuge and wanted to see results, no matter the cost.

“Very well. We’ll proceed with a vote.”

Go Byeonggap led a for-and-against vote. The result was 80% in favor, and the surprise offensive was decided.

They debated the timing of the strike for another seven hours. Finally, as the sun set, everyone disbanded to their posts.

The attack was set for five days later, at three in the morning.

Go Byeonggap briefly left Baltadren and headed for Somnium. Just being there eased his heart, as if he’d returned home.

«Ah, My Lord. You’ve come? It feels like it’s been ages since we last saw you.»

«Right. I’ve been out of it.»

Even though it was late evening, Gobungi wasn’t asleep.

Go Byeonggap spent that night chatting with Gobungi until dawn. Maybe because he felt this trivial small talk might be their last.

And so time passed. Five days later.