Convict Unit: Black Parade

BANG!

A bullet blasted from the muzzle of Cowboy’s revolver, screaming toward Ghost and Punch Queen.

But neither Ghost nor Punch Queen were pushovers.

They couldn’t outrun a bullet, but they could beat Cowboy’s trigger finger.

Ghost drew her sword before the shot even rang out, her black blade shattering three incoming bullets in a spray of sparks.

The instant Cowboy’s hand closed on his revolver, Punch Queen unleashed the Gravity Field from her gauntlets, plucking the other three bullets from the air.

The exchange was over in a heartbeat.

Before Ghost or Punch Queen could say a word, Cowboy growled, genuinely furious.

“You sons of bitches… What did you do to Auntie Punch and Elder Ghost?!”

“...?”

“What are you talking about? Snap out of it, Cowboy! It’s us!”

But Cowboy couldn’t seem to hear them. A strange red light flickered in his eyes.

“All right, not talking, eh? Fine. I’ll waste you two first, then I’ll go find them.”

Ghost clicked her tongue. “His eyes are shot. Looks like some mental meddling. Brain’s handiwork, no doubt.”

“Dammit, what do we do? Comms are dead down here, so the Commander can’t take him down remotely.”

“We’ll have to do it ourselves. He only uses single-action revolvers. His reload is slow.”

The single-action revolver’s design, with its fixed cylinder, meant each casing had to be ejected individually before a new bullet could be loaded. No matter how skilled he was, the process was inevitably slower than with other firearms.

For seasoned close-quarters specialists like Ghost and Punch Queen, that was more than enough time to subdue him.

Exchanging a look, Ghost and Punch Queen moved to charge Cowboy in unison.

But like them, Cowboy was no common convict either. “Who ever said… I only carry one of these?”

“...!”

As Cowboy dropped the spent revolver, he simultaneously drew a fresh, fully loaded one from his hip.

A lightning-fast quick draw, and then—another fanning!

BANG!

The bullets erupted in a near-simultaneous burst.

Punch Queen held her Gravity Field steady and charged straight ahead with brute force, but Ghost read the angle of Cowboy’s muzzle and realized something was wrong.

The revolver wasn’t aimed at them.

It was pointed at the ceiling lights and a nearby wall.

“...!”

There was no time to shout a warning.

PING! THWOK! PING!

Four of the bullets shattered the ceiling lights, plunging the second basement level into darkness. The other two were fired at the wall.

Ghost gritted her teeth. Ricochets!

The maneuver was insane. He had deliberately fired at the wall’s slanted angle, sending bullets ricocheting in wild, unpredictable directions.

But Cowboy was an Awakened with the ability ‘Bull’s Eye,’ a demon with a gun who could calculate the trajectory of a ricochet.

The bullets bounced off the narrow hallway walls, their paths wild and unpredictable.

Ghost managed to bat away a slug that careened toward her face with her scabbard, but Punch Queen wasn’t so lucky.

When the lights shattered and plunged them into darkness, her eyes couldn’t adjust in time, and the bullet’s path was impossible to track.

THWOK…!

The bullet bypassed her frontal Gravity Field and slammed into her side.

“Kkgh?!”

Punch Queen gritted her teeth. Though the ricochet had lessened its force, the bullet shattered on impact, spraying fragments deep into her side.

“Howdy, you sorry bastard!”

In place of the shattered fixtures, red emergency lamps on the walls kicked on, bathing the basement in a crimson glow.

As Punch Queen staggered, Cowboy tossed aside his second revolver and was already drawing a third.

“This is wild-east style!”

“You…” Eyes bloodshot, Punch Queen coughed up blood and roared, “Knock it off, you Wild West-cosplaying son of a bitch!”

CRACK!

She stomped forward and smashed Cowboy’s third revolver with a punch.

Coughing up more blood, Punch Queen grabbed his collar with her other hand and tried to slam him to the ground.

Just then, a hand reached out from the darkness and landed on her shoulder—a man with a lightbulb head, hiding behind the fence.

“Brain…?!”

Punch Queen gasped in horrified recognition.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

The bulb atop Brain’s head pulsed with red light.

Punch Queen froze, like a toy whose batteries had just died.

“Punch Queen! Goddammit—”

Ghost charged in, sword extended to take Brain down.

“Hnngh!”

“—?!”

Without warning, Punch Queen stomped her foot and lashed out with a vicious punch.

Ghost caught the blow on the flat of her blade, gritting her teeth as she was driven backward.

Both Punch Queen and Cowboy now glared at Ghost, their eyes glowing red.

Having seized control of them both, the lightbulb-headed Villain—Brain—smiled in satisfaction.

“Brain, you…!”

Brain gave a faint, eerie smile and melted back into the shadows.

Ghost moved to give chase, but Punch Queen and Cowboy blocked her path, readying for battle.

If I just cut them down and go… Dammit, no.

They were too valuable, too useful to just kill. She’d worked with them for a long time.

But subduing them without killing them wouldn’t be easy. Both were highly skilled fighters, a duo who covered each other’s weaknesses.

Should she kill them quickly and chase Brain, or take the time to subdue them safely?

There was little time to think.

Scuff…!

Punch Queen slowly stepped forward to take the front, while Cowboy fell back and quickly began reloading a revolver.

Ghost ground her teeth and raised her sword.

Cowboy finished reloading and snapped his revolver up to aim at her.

“Whoa! What is everyone doing?!”

WHAP!

Jae-hee shot out from behind Cowboy, his kick sending the revolver flying from the man’s hand.

He followed up with another kick aimed at Cowboy’s jaw, intending to knock him out, but Punch Queen reacted instantly, spinning around and unleashing a flurry of Inch Punches—lethal strikes capable of killing a man from a handspan away.

POW! POW!

“Gahk!”

Gritting his teeth, Jae-hee dodged the strikes by a paper-thin margin, then scrambled across the floor, popping up beside Ghost like a spring.

“Master!” He flailed, his face a mask of panic. “What’s going on?! Why are you fighting these two?!”

“Kid… what about the main gate!”

“Is that what matters right now?! Something felt off, so I came to check!”

Ghost’s eyes narrowed as she looked back at Punch Queen and Cowboy, who were preparing to attack again. “They both fell for Brain’s trick.”

“What?! When…?”

“Just now. Brain can’t have gotten far.” Ghost barked an order at Jae-hee. “Go after him!”

“What?!”

“You’re the fastest! Go catch him before he gets away! He has to be nearby!”

“Y-yes, ma’am…!”

“I’ll handle these morons somehow and catch up. Now go!” Then, she hastily added, “And be careful of that scumbag’s hand. Brain can mind-control—”

Before her last word was out, Jae-hee was gone.

He bolted with a whoosh, not for the gate, but vaulting over the fence and disappearing up the stairwell.

“...Hah.”

She felt slightly assured, having entrusted the pursuit to the Boy. His speed was second to none.

Ghost readjusted her grip on her sword and muttered reluctantly, “Having a disciple is pretty convenient.”

Cowboy raised his reloaded revolver, and Punch Queen stamped her foot, driving toward her.

It was always harder to save a life than to take one.

Ghost met their charge, her sword a frustrated blur.

***

Thump-thump-thump!

Jae-hee shot up the stairs in an instant, reaching the rooftop from the second basement level in a single breath.

If Brain had fled, he had to be close. The plan was to spot him, then close the distance in a flash.

Where is he? Where…

But his view was obstructed even from the rooftop. The Chuncheon Prime Poultry building was only three stories high, and the area was crammed with abandoned buildings.

Can’t I see from higher up? I’ll try jumping!

Jae-hee crouched low, gathering power in his legs.

Suddenly, a brilliant blue light gathered in the Core attached to the instep of his boots.

“Huh?” A beat later, realization dawned. So this is the boots’ secret function!

WHOOSH!

An incredible propulsive force erupted from the soles of his shoes, and Jae-hee shot upward like a rocket.

This was the secret function Grease Gal had told him about.

Momentary Leg Strength Enhancement.

“Awesoooome!”

As he soared into the air, he couldn’t help but let out a whoop of delight. Reaching the apex of his jump, Jae-hee frantically scanned his surroundings and finally spotted someone suspicious.

The area was practically deserted, but in the distance, a lone man was strolling leisurely down the street.

And crucially… something protruded from the top of the man’s head.

Jae-hee was certain.

The only person with a hairstyle like that has to be Brain…!

Thud!

The boots even assisted his landing, cushioning the fall. Touching down softly, Jae-hee shot toward the man in a single burst.

“Hey, asshole! Stop right there!”

The distance was considerable, but his speed ate it up in seconds, though it cost him a fair bit of stamina.

“Huff... puff... Hey! I got caught and sentenced to three hundred years in prison because of… huh?”

He skidded to a stop in front of the man, panting heavily. Then he looked up, and his eyes went wide.

“You’re… not Brain?”

He was a man dressed handsomely in a black traditional robe, his hair gathered in a topknot.

From a distance, Jae-hee had mistaken the topknot for Brain’s lightbulb.

The man smiled awkwardly. “Um… can I help you with something?”

“No, no, not at all! I’m so sorry. I mistook you for someone I know…”

He couldn’t believe he’d chased a guy all this way over a topknot.

To be fair, it was an easy mistake to make. Who wore a topknot these days? It was a hairstyle straight out of the Joseon Dynasty…

Jae-hee quickly scanned the area again.

Then where’s Brain? There was no one else around the building…

Then a chilling thought hit him.

What if… what if Brain never fled at all?

Jae-hee hadn’t passed anyone on his way up from the basement. What if Brain was still down there, hiding in the shadows?

Then the one in danger was…

“Master!”

Horrified, Jae-hee sprinted back toward the building.

WHOOSH!

“Wow.”

The topknotted man watched Jae-hee’s disappearing form with astonishment.

Then his eyes crinkled with quiet amusement.

“He’s certainly quick on his feet.”

At his hip, a traditional Korean Nobleman’s Mask swayed on its string in the gust of wind Jae-hee had left behind.

Slowly, the man untied the mask and placed it over his face.

“You’re just as Brain described, Boy,” he whispered.

***

THWACK! THUD!

The pommel of Ghost’s sword slammed into the temples of Punch Queen and Cowboy.

Driven by Brain’s mind control, the two had attacked her without regard for their own safety.

Even so, Ghost brought them down without killing them.

“Haah... haah…”

Ghost leaned on her sword like a cane, catching her breath. The effort had drained her, body and mind.

And behind her… the Villain with the lightbulb for a crown was silently approaching.