Convict Unit: Black Parade

“It has been a while…”

Dying in Jae-hee’s arms, Ghost snorted mirthlessly. “Fifteen years ago, was it? We met just once, didn’t we?”

Rain Man silently assessed Ghost’s condition, his gaze fixed on the piercing wound in her chest.

“You appear to be in critical condition,” he observed.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be dead soon.”

“I brought a medic just in case. Please accept treatment.”

“A medic?” Ghost’s brow furrowed. “If you mean that medic… surely not.”

Before she could finish, a young woman slid down a rappelling line from the same surface entrance Rain Man had used.

She had a bizarre fashion sense, draped in a digital-camo field jacket over a white suit, white stockings, and white shoes—an ensemble few could pull off.

A beret sat atop her neat bob, and instead of a military insignia, it was adorned with a heart emblem.

“Ooh, and who do we have here?”

The woman landed lightly, released the line, and sauntered over to Ghost, covering her mouth as she giggled.

“Senior Ghost, you’re dying every time I see you! Seriously, what a mess, what a loser!”

“…”

“Let’s see, five years ago, wasn’t it? Caught in some explosion, all your limbs blown off? Honestly, you’re just a charity case who’d die in a gutter without a medic,” she cackled. “Kehehehat!”

The only healer among the New Five Heroes. The Hunter better known by her moniker, the Saint of Pandemonium.

Death-Medic spoke in a voice brimming with madness as she examined Ghost.

“My, you’re hurt pretty badly. From now on, no more worrying your medic, okay?”

Spreading her arms wide, Death-Medic uttered the activation word with a cloying, nasal tone.

“Domain Break, Advent.”

When the Rose Princess’s castle was eroding reality, this place had been under the otherworld’s influence, so Ghost had to concentrate for ten seconds to manifest her Domain Break.

But now, with the Realm Erosion neutralized, Death-Medic’s Season activated instantly.

Shraaaak!

Golden fissures spiderwebbed through the space behind her, spreading in all directions.

The space shattered like glass, leaving only a dense, golden web in its place.

Cupping her cheeks in a strangely bashful gesture, Death-Medic announced the name of her Season.

“Golden Hour.”

Ghost’s Domain Break transformed the area into a harsh winter, but Death-Medic’s looked as if she were building a colossal, golden spider’s web.

And within that web-like space, the “patient,” Ghost, was already caught in the threads, suspended in midair, unable to move an inch.

“Alright, we’re in a hurry, so let’s start the surgery right away, shall we?”

Death-Medic playfully wiggled the ten fingers of her outstretched hands. Golden threads connected to her long, garishly decorated fingernails twitched in response.

The threads enveloping Ghost began to meticulously deconstruct her body, starting from the extremities.

Death-Medic winked. “This might sting… just a little.”

Jae-hee’s face went white as he watched.

This wasn’t healing. It was closer to being completely disassembled and then put back together.

It was a profound irreverence for life, as if she treated people not as patients to be healed but as toys to be broken and reassembled. That sacrilege was embedded in her every move.

But Ghost didn’t let out a single groan. She gritted her teeth and endured the terrifying “treatment” with full consciousness.

When the brief surgery was over, the hole in Ghost’s chest was cleanly sealed. Fine cracks, like reassembled blocks, remained on her skin, but compared to the original wound, it was hardly a scar.

Death-Medic clicked her tongue.

“Wow, Senior. I was going to go a little easier on you if you cried out in pain. But you just clenched your jaw and took it, huh?”

“…You’re saving me from certain death. I’m not really in a position to scream about the pain.”

As Ghost was released from the web, she staggered, and Jae-hee rushed to support her.

After confirming the magically healed wound, Ghost bowed her head to Death-Medic.

“Thank you, Medic. You saved my life.”

“My, my…!”

Death-Medic’s eyes sparkled as she covered her mouth, feigning deep emotion.

“What’s this, what’s this? You used to be so ungrateful, just cursing me out no matter how many times I healed you. And now you’ve learned your manners…!”

Seemingly in a genuinely good mood, Death-Medic glanced at the other prisoners and flicked her fingers.

“Ah, what the hell. I’m feeling generous. I’ll fix up the rest of you, too.”

And so, by Death-Medic’s power, all the prisoners’ injuries were surgically repaired.

The stab wound on Jae-hee’s chest was healed completely.

The process did involve the terrifyingly painful experience of his entire upper body being disassembled and reassembled, but…

The pain was temporary; the healing was a matter of life and death. Recalling how Ghost had endured it, Jae-hee managed to bear it as well.

After the surviving prisoners were treated, Silken Bodhisattva pleaded desperately with Death-Medic.

“M-Miss Saint!” she cried. “Please save this boy, too!”

She pointed to the charred corpse of Little Lamb.

“Please, I’m begging you! I’ll do anything, absolutely anything! Just please, save him!”

“Mmm.” Death-Medic pressed a long, nail-art-covered finger to her glossy lips, feigning hesitation. “There’s just one thing this world-class medic can’t fix.”

A cruel smile spread across the S-Rank healer’s face.

“And that’s death!”

“…!”

“I can’t bring back a corpse. That’s the realm of necromancy, isn’t it?” Then, she covered her mouth and tittered. “Why’d he have to go and die? If he hadn’t died, your medic could’ve saved him. This is why the weak ones die first. Tee-hee!”

“…”

Silken Bodhisattva bit her lower lip, trembling with rage and grief.

As Death-Medic retracted her Domain Break, the golden web dissolved, and the area returned to the B2 platform of Gangnam Station.

“Hey!”

Soldiers came clattering down the stairs from the floor above, Hae-eun among them. Leaning on a cane, the commander hurried down as fast as her bad leg would allow.

“Is everyone alive?!”

Rain Man glanced in her direction and spoke quietly to Ghost. “Your superior contacted us. She said there was a major incident at Gangnam Station.”

“…!”

“Thanks to her, we made it just in time, though it was a close call.”

When the Black Parade’s communications went dark and their annihilation seemed certain, Hae-eun had determined she could no longer handle the situation alone and had requested aid from the Five Heroes.

Faced with an unprecedented Dungeon Break at Gangnam Station, the mighty Rain Man was deployed immediately, with the emergency medic Death-Medic dispatched alongside him as a precaution.

Seeing Ghost standing on her own two feet, Rain Man gave a slight nod of acknowledgment.

His emotionless voice drifted from beneath his hood. “I’m relieved to see you’ve recovered safely.”

“…”

“You are a precious asset to this country. Do not treat your life so lightly.”

Rain Man slowly surveyed the gruesome interior of the station, still littered with veins and chunks of flesh.

“And regarding this incident, while you did resolve it before our arrival…”

“…”

“Still, should a crisis of this magnitude occur in the future, I hope you will contact us without delay.”

Ghost let out a long sigh and jutted her chin. “I heard this was a politically complicated matter.”

Rain Man replied in a monotone. “The safety of Seoul supersedes all political matters.”

“The safety of Seoul…”

The answer was textbook, yet somehow twisted.

Ghost pressed him. “And what about the land outside of Seoul?”

“…Due to my own lack of ability, I am stretched thin protecting this city alone.” 

Turning slowly, Rain Man murmured, “Building a system that extends beyond that… would be a political matter, I suppose.”

“…”

“Well then, until next time.”

After bidding farewell, Rain Man started to turn away… when his eyes met Jae-hee’s, who was still supporting Ghost.

“…”

“?”

The hero’s gaze, hidden in the shadow of his hood, met the boy’s wide, innocent eyes.

“You are…”

“Huh?” Flustered, Jae-hee stammered out his callsign. “I’m, uh… Boy?”

“…I see. Boy.”

Whatever he saw in Jae-hee, Rain Man paused for a moment before speaking. “Should the opportunity to open the door ever arise, choose carefully.”

“Excuse me?”

“Living with the way to your heart closed… can sometimes be the happier path.”

With that cryptic remark, Rain Man turned and strode away, his raincoat billowing behind him.

This time, Death-Medic bounced over to the bewildered Jae-hee.

“Heeey,” she cooed.

The Saint of Pandemonium pressed the tip of a long, elaborately decorated index finger to her lips as she looked him up and down.

“My, my. Aren’t you a doll?”

Death-Medic then licked her fingertip and poked Jae-hee’s cheek with it.

Jae-hee, horrified, jumped back in alarm.

She found his reaction amusing and giggled behind her hand. “See you later, senior and kids!”

Waving to Ghost, Death-Medic opened an umbrella and trotted to keep pace with the departing Rain Man.

The two strongest S-Rank Hunters supporting the Republic of Korea vanished as quickly as they had appeared, having resolved the situation in the blink of an eye.

“Hoo…”

After confirming that Firestarter and the Rose Princess were still trapped and struggling in their spheres of rainwater, Ghost let out a long breath.

As she turned, approaching soldiers began draping blankets over the survivors’ shoulders and removing the bodies of the dead.

They were remarkably proficient, as if this was just routine post-Gate cleanup.

Give blankets to the living, remove the bodies of the dead…

“Master.” Jae-hee quickly fetched a blanket and wrapped it around Ghost’s shoulders. “Are you okay?”

Ghost stared quietly at her disciple’s exhausted but living face, then raised her head to survey the remaining prisoners.

Pathfinder, having finally succumbed to blood loss from his torn-out throat.

Shield Bearer, killed instantly by the Rose Princess’s attack.

Hangman, his neck twisted a full 180 degrees.

Little Lamb, burned to a blackened crisp.

And beside him, Silken Bodhisattva, letting out a long, wretched sob.

“I…” Jae-hee stared blankly as the bodies of his fellow prisoners were swiftly collected.

He stammered, “I realized… just how weak I really am.”

“…”

“I guess I got a little cocky after clearing a few missions. But the truth is, I’m still just a weak little punk who doesn’t know how to do anything right.”

A Gate Lord skilled in combat was a monster capable of wiping out their elite team in an instant.

And the S-Rank Hunters known as the Five Heroes were even greater monsters than that.

The power of the S-Ranks, their Domain Break, was a force that defied all common sense.

It made his own abilities feel utterly insignificant.

“You’re a fledgling who’s only just begun to understand his abilities,” Ghost said softly. “And you will grow stronger.”

Her voice was calm, stating a simple fact, not offering comfort.

“You said you had a talent for running away. So from now on, survive. No matter what it takes.”

“…”

“It doesn’t matter if you look ridiculous or pathetic. So long as you manage to survive the present, you’ll be stronger than you were yesterday.”

Ghost looked back at her disciple and smiled, her face gaunt.

Her unwavering voice echoed in Jae-hee’s ears as he clenched his fists.

“Because that’s what life is.”