The submarine advanced forward, exuding a cheerful atmosphere.
Avoiding the watchful eyes of the Navy and Coast Guard, they effortlessly crossed from the territorial waters of the Republic of Korea into those of China.
“We’ve arrived.”
After passing through a chilling field of seaweed that resembled severed human heads, carefully dodging a swarm of fish, they finally reached their destination.
What greeted them was a collection of dilapidated fishing boats.
The boats looked so worn down that a single large wave could split them in two.
The paint was all but gone, with heavy rust covering the hulls, and barnacles clinging on furiously. Some boats even had wooden planks nailed across holes in their sides, while an unkempt bunch of people, matching the shabby condition of the boats, stood atop them.
Strangely, despite being on the boats, they were not working at all.
The nets that looked brand new were dry, and instead of the expected smell of seafood, the air was filled with gunpowder and metal. Moreover, the people who should have been busy were sitting idly, staring blankly at screens and the vast ocean, radiating an unsettling aura that was anything but ordinary.
Clank. Clank.
The sound of chains linking the fishing boats swayed in the waves.
Splash.
The crashing waves created a resounding splash as the water sprayed against the ship, accompanied by tiny splashes.
Those two sounds dominated the sea.
And then—
“We’ve arrived!”
“Good.”
With the words of someone gazing at the screen, an unusual event occurred in the once calm water. A small metal pipe jutted out above the surface. It twisted and turned, sporting a lens, revealing its ‘L’ shape before it completely surfaced.
A rounded metal object floated on the water, swaying with the waves, while the lid clanged open.
“Whew!”
As the lid lifted, people began to emerge from the submarine.
Agents who had squeezed into the small metal object and navigated through the water clambered out in a hurry, settling themselves as they stretched their stiff limbs.
“Shall I call them over?”
“No.”
The fishing boats gradually approached the submarine.
Drawing close in a circular formation around the submarine, they slowed down even further, using the sound of clanking chains as a warning to come near, slowly, slowly closing the distance.
Thus, the submarine became trapped in a ring formed by the fishing boats, which served as pillars, with the chains acting as walls.
However, the agents seemed to welcome this approach, as if it were something they were used to.
Unable to wait for them to draw near, they began entering the submarine one by one, stuffing the gear they brought into the dark blue combat backpacks in the corners and coming back out.
“Finally heading back.”
“When we do, let’s all have some drinks.”
“Oh really?”
“I’d like to sleep a bit.”
“But you should eat and drink first. Isn’t that what a Chinese man does?”
“True, I guess.”
In strange attire with their backpacks slung over half-naked bodies, they waited without a care for the fishing boats to come closer, even cheerfully waving at them.
But…
“Stay right there.”
The man’s face, who had been warmly welcoming the fishing boat, froze at the voice coming from it.
The once hopeful man sighed deeply, as though exhausted.
“Hah…”
“Looks like they’re going to follow regulations?”
“Oh dear.”
“What’s with the fuss over just going to the decayed land for a moment?”
“Right? It’s not like we went to a military facility or anything; just that ruined land.”
“This is going to take a long time.”
Those who had climbed onto the submarine grumbled about the annoyance.
Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack.
But unlike the complaints shared among themselves, the faces of the people inside the fishing boat were serious.
They weren’t merely surrounding them for some ‘formal procedure.’
Every person on that fishing boat aimed their firearms at them under the command of the commander.
The machine gun attached to the boat targeted the three standing on the submarine, and from a concealed hole on the wooden hull, a small cannon peeked out, locking onto the submarine. Moreover, not stopping there, preparations for scattering mines were underway below the hull, and drones filled the sky with the sound of buzzing insects.
“What the….”
As the situation escalated, expressions that were casually annoyed turned grave among the agents.
“What’s going on?!”
One agent shouted loudly at the fishing boat.
Panic was very apparent in his voice.
However, the response to the alarming question was not a human voice but the sound of metal.
Clack.
The sound of a pistol being loaded.
At that noise, the agent froze and began looking around.
‘What the heck?’
He couldn’t comprehend how the unit, the superiors, and the comrades who should have welcomed them were acting hostile.
‘If they are hostile, shouldn’t I run away?’ He even thought.
Doubt filled their faces, and confusion choked their minds.
It felt as if the emptiness of the vast ocean had transferred directly into their heads.
The air had grown cold, and the crashing sounds combined with a subtle feeling of hostility made their hair stand on end.
And as this eternal moment passed—
“You. State your mission.”
The commander opened his mouth.
With an aged face, he glared at them, and his eyes were so fierce, they resembled the gaze of a beast piercing through the darkness cast by the sea.
“The mission cannot be disclosed.”
“The only one who can know the agents’ mission is…”
The two agents responded as trained, as instructed.
Bang!
However, their reply was abruptly cut off by the gunshot that erupted from the commander’s pistol.
Startled, they gazed in shock at the commander who fired the bullet that ricocheted off the submarine’s hull with a ringing sound.
“Not that kind of answer. Tell me your true mission. Rules and all that, spill it now.”
“We cannot disclose it. Missions are to be conducted solely verbally, and all documents must be destroyed.”
“Confidential information can only be known by the person in charge. This rule stands even for the commanding officer leading the unit.”
The commander seemed pleased, or perhaps regretful at their answer.
He sighed and entered the control room.
“It seems you should come out.”
“I figured as much.”
The commander reappeared with a woman in tow.
The woman walked with an ethereal grace, as if a fairy flitted across the deck, approaching where the commander had just been standing, radiating a small light like the goddess of the moon.
“Oh?”
“Fairy Lady?”
“Oh, it’s Fairy Lady?”
The woman, referred to as the Fairy Lady, flaunted her beauty amidst the darkness.
Wearing a bizarre cheongsam that shimmered red and blue under the moonlight, her white legs extended outward, adorned with a coat made of delicate fabric like the wings of cicadas. In one hand, she held a fan made of bird feathers, and in the other, a mask shaped like a bird crafted from silver and jewels.
The Fairy Lady gazed down at those standing on the submarine with a countenance that seemed benevolent.
Yet, contrary to her gentle visage, her eyes were heavy with an unfathomable revulsion.
She brushed aside her short hair that swayed in the seabreeze and addressed them.
“I, the one who issued the command, have arrived. You may speak now, right?”
“Yes.”
“Speak.”
The agent began to rattle off his mission details upon the Fairy Lady’s command.
“Lieutenant Zhang Wei. You were ordered to confirm the strange presence in the former land of North Korea and gather information on the evil that would visit there. Thus, as of now, Lieutenant Zhang Wei and the other two report that their mission is complete.”
“…Is that so?”
The Fairy Lady sighed at Zhang Wei’s words.
“It seems there is a misunderstanding, so let me ask you once more.”
“Yes!”
“I ordered you, didn’t I?”
“Yes!”
“I told you to provide coordinates and go there?”
“Yes!”
“And I told you detailed information as well?”
“Yes!”
“What did I say?”
Lieutenant Zhang Wei answered the Fairy Lady’s question.
“You said that a strange presence was felt in the former North Korean land. A strange presence that seemed to distort the cosmos, born from the darkness, and that this presence would cause an evil visitor to appear!”
Listening to Zhang Wei, the Fairy Lady opened her fan wide, partially covering her face.
Then, with a soft sigh behind the fan, she spoke to Zhang Wei.
“You’re mistaken.”
She continued, her words still obscured by the fan.
“I said that a strange presence was felt in the former North Korean land. And that this presence would leave behind something—and carry misfortune everywhere, causing evil to move…”
The Fairy Lady glared at Zhang Wei.
“…I believe that’s what I said?”
“Yes! My apologies! I will gladly accept any punishment for my negligence regarding the mission details!”
“No, there’s no need for that.”
“Not at all! A soldier who fails to execute a mission should be punished!”
“No. The reason I say it’s not necessary is not that I’m forgiving you.”
She glared at Zhang Wei, then looked at ‘them’ nearby.
“You all understood my orders properly before you went, right?”
Wherever the Fairy Lady’s gaze fell, there was one figure separated from the others.
It was a wretched-looking being, seemingly trying to blend with the other agents, displaying its emaciated body as though it had been pulled up from a grave decades old.
Its skin was withered, and amidst patches of rotting flesh, charred exposed organs could be seen. Moreover, the decaying insides had holes gnawed through, exposing the white bones within.
Its attire was similarly scant.
Like the others in their underwear, it wore only a tattered piece of cloth around its middle, and where its reproductive organ should have been was absent, replaced merely by slivers of festering innards that jiggled with the wind.
It grinned while facing the gaze of the Fairy Lady.
Its face, reduced to little more than bones and decaying skin, appeared horrific—its lips completely peeling back to expose teeth amid the holes.
Its black tongue peeked in and out through the gaps like it was moistening its lips.
“Lieutenant.”
“Yes!”
“How many people partake in a mission?”
“Yes! An agent’s mission generally involves one person, or two in pairs!”
“What about more than that?”
“It cannot be composed of three or four! Five or more is acceptable!”
“Then tell me.”
The Fairy Lady turned to the clueless Zhang Wei.
“How many are you now?”
“Three of us!”
“Three, indeed!” Zhang Wei shouted in response as if it were the most obvious thing.
Showing no signs of doubt whatsoever.
As if it were entirely normal, even common sense.
The Fairy Lady felt chills seeing Zhang Wei, who looked at her as if asking what the problem was. Goosebumps rose on her arms, and the warmth from the artifact draped around her disappeared, leaving her with the chilling sensation of an oncoming shiver racing through her entire body.
[You’ve been thoroughly bewitched.]
Seeing her reaction, Zhong Mingzhao clicked her tongue.
“…Everyone, state your identification.”
One by one, those on the submarine began to shout out.
“Lieutenant Zhang Wei!”
“Lieutenant Wang Wei!”
“Lieutenant.”
The last one who was supposed to give their identification grinned widely and finally spoke a name.
“Zhang Min.”
At that name, the face of the commander standing beside the Fairy Lady turned pale.
“W-What?”
It laughed as if mocking the commander and shouted once more.
“Lieutenant! Zhang Min!”
The commander looked extremely startled and stared wide-eyed.
The name it uttered—’Zhang Min,’ which it claimed to be—was, in fact, the commander’s own name.
And it was as if this entity, whether human or ghost, was still not done, continuing to announce names.
“Lieutenant, Liu Wei! Lieutenant, Zhang Wu Yi! Lieutenant, Hao Wei! Lieutenant, Liu Yang! Lieutenant, Zhang Li! Lieutenant, Zhou Yi Mou! Lieutenant, Zhou Shen Xu! Lieutenant, Jin Yu Meng! Lieutenant, Wang Fang! Lieutenant, Wang Xu Ying! Lieutenant, Tong Mao! Lieutenant…!”
With its lips tightly sealed, it flapped its black tongue in the air while producing names.
Each name uttered caused the expressions of those on the fishing boat to shift.
And finally, when a woman’s name was called—
“Lieutenant, Risha.”
Even the Fairy Lady’s expression hardened.
It laughed while glancing at the Fairy Lady who grimaced at being called by name, before turning its startled gaze back to the two agents watching in horror.
Then it parted its tightly sealed lips and said.
“It seems I’ve been discovered?”
