SSS-Ranked Demon Hunter: The Prodigy
Chapter 84: No Church In The Wild

Chapter 84: No Church In The Wild

03:08. Orange Zone, Northern Sector. Sinsok District.

Temperature: 12 °C. Humidity: 88%. Lighting level: minimal.

The rain fell blind and steady, like the rustle of fabric. A thick cloud hung over Sinsok, and the grayness blanketed every square meter of the streets. The dry shadows of streetlights scattered across the alleys gave the eerie feeling that someone was watching from behind glass—yet no sound came. As if the world had entered mute mode.

Sector D-7. Preemptive enemy interception mission. Arrival time: 03:09. Squad Commander: Park Tae-seok. Tactical unit: D.I.O.S. — Demon Infiltration and Operational Suppression.

"Move. Take the target. Full silent protocol. Orders are clear: the head of the family stays alive. Everything else—at your discretion."

Six operatives moved as one, each step measured with surgical precision. Their boots whispered against the wet asphalt, leaving shallow prints in puddles. Through green night vision lenses, the house looked like a black wound in the landscape.

Rifles in hand—custom-made for demon combat. Larger caliber. Sharper tips.

Commander Park Tae-seok gave a hand signal. Circular gesture—hold position. Sharp sweep—breach the door. Four fingers up—masks on. One nod—advance.

"Breach ready. Masks on. Night vision—engage."

A button press—the world burst into toxic green. Moist vapor rose from the ground, masking the bottom steps.

Around the back, a soldier shattered the main power box. The house plunged into murky darkness.

"On three... TWO... ONE!"

BOOM.

The door exploded off its hinges. Wood screamed. Glass cracked. Dust breathed out of the room. The soldiers moved in, covering their sectors with practiced flair.

Each footstep creaked against the floorboards. One soldier—Unit 5, Rei Seong-woo—scanned the hallway. He gave a silent signal: index finger forward, palm down. "No enemy. Advance quietly."

First Floor: Entryway and Kitchen

To the left—an elderly man frozen by the kitchen table. He turned around, fear drowning his eyes.

"Down! Hands on your head! Now!" a barked command.

He complied. Two more appeared: a groggy woman and a six-year-old girl. A laser sight passed over her chest. She froze, unblinking.

"Cuff them. All of them."

Soldier 4 hesitated.

"She’s a child, sir."

"Cuff her. That’s an order."

The girl began to cry. No one reacted. The footsteps moved on.

03:12. Corridor. Lounge Room.

Soft twist of the handle. Creak. The door opened slowly. Three men inside—one standing, two sitting. Cards on the table. Ashtray full.

One stood. His hand slid beneath his blazer. Two soldiers stepped in; one signaled: "Threat."

A flashbang sailed into the room. Explosion. Disorientation.

The soldiers burst into the room, muzzles aimed at the three men.

"Contact! Don’t move! Hands!"

One man lunged toward the wall, drawing a thin blade.

Shot. Then another. Then a third.

Three down. One dead. Two wounded. One sobbing in agony.

"Damn bastards... Wh-what the hell do you want?!"

They were cuffed. The mission continued.

"Second room—secure. Rest—clear the kitchen."

03:13. Stairwell.

Soldiers moved up slowly. The stairs creaked under their weight. A door slammed above.

Sniper, positioned outside:

"Saw a shadow on the third. Proceed with caution."

One soldier’s hands began to bloom with blood capillaries, twitching with potential mutation—deadly Kenketsu in waiting.

Second Floor: Children’s Room.

Two girls—12 and 16—hid beneath a bed.

Unit 3 signaled—fist, then palm down. The rest flanked the doorway.

"Come out. Slowly. On the floor."

The older girl whispered:

"You’re not humans. We’re just a normal family!"

"Sister... why are these men here? Did we do something wrong?"

"Be quiet. Do what they say."

The younger girl shut her eyes in despair and obeyed.

Handcuffs clicked. The girls didn’t resist. One soldier exhaled hard. Said nothing.

"Against the wall," ordered another. "Now."

The girls rose. The younger reached toward the wall slowly.

A soldier kicked her hard. She hit the floor, breath knocked out.

"I said now."

The older girl bared her teeth. Veins bulged. She ripped free from her handcuffs with monstrous force. Her arms deformed into grotesque flesh, and she lunged.

A volley of rifles was immediately fired at her.

She collapsed. Her lifeless eyes locked on her younger sister, who clutched her ears and sobbed.

"N-no... Sister Jin..."

A shaky soldier grabbed the younger girl by the hair and shined a flashlight in her eyes.

"No signs of aggression."

The girl just wept, unable to grasp what had happened.

"...why? What did we do to deserve this...?"

Bathroom.

Steam. Trembling curtain. Soldier 6 raised a hand. Signal: entry.

The curtain trembled. He motioned: "Ready." His partner tensed on the trigger. A water droplet fell from the faucet.

Partner in place. Curtain yanked back.

A figure lunged—hands blackening, skin splitting, claws exposed.

"Mutant! Engage!"

Combat. One soldier down—chest torn. Second soldier—Unit 2—reeled back, palm crawling with living blood.

"Kenketsu... no, not yet..."

Shot. Another. Third.

The demon fell. No signs of life. The fighters move on, taking a final shot at the corpse’s head.

The skull exploded into pieces.

Third Floor. Head of the Family’s Bedroom.

Door open. Room dark, moonlight only from the windows.

The patriarch stood by the window. Slowly turned. Eyes sleepless, nonchalant.

Soldiers formed a half-circle. Lasers dotted his chest.

"On your knees. Hands on your head."

He raised his hands, but didn’t kneel.

"You killed my family. Looking at you, I know you expect no forgiveness. But If I go with you, Umbra will reach me first."

"You have no choice. Get down."

"And you have no truth, soldiers. Your orders are fear’s shadow. I saw it in your commander’s eyes."

A soldier gestured—preparing an assault. The man stepped back. A dagger slid from his sleeve. He lunged, despair in his eyes.

Shot. Second.

He fell. Blood poured over the rug. His shoulder and knee—shattered.

03:16. External Perimeter.

Someone jumped to the yard from the second floor. A teen boy. Likely the eldest son. He ran without looking back.

"Target noncompliant."

Sniper fired. The bullet crashed his leg. The boy screamed in agony. A soldier approached, stared, then turned away.

"He’s alive. Restrain him."

03:25.

Twelve people in the house. Three dead. Two severely wounded. Seven taken alive. Traces of demonic blood confirmed. Remaining demon count: unknown.

"Thank you for the report, soldiers," said a male voice through the comms. "APCs are waiting outside."

The soldiers exited into the rain. Park Tae-seok stood on the porch, eyes to the gray sky.

"Sometimes silence is louder than all the explosions."

In the transport van, the girl stared through the grate and whispered:

"You’re worse than the demons..."

The rain didn’t stop. It fell like glass under water.

"What did our family ever do to you?!"

"Sweetheart, don’t worry. We’ll be fine."

"...But Grandpa! They killed..."

"If we had followed orders, we’d all still be alive. That’s how their system works."

"How can you say that... so easily?"

The remaining family sat in silence. The wounded had been taken in separate vehicles.

Up front, two soldiers sat. One removed his mask and lit a cigarette, cracking the window.

"You look shaken, rookie. I can see it through your mask. Mourning your fallen?"

The younger soldier clenched his fists.

"If only I’d used the demon blood... they wouldn’t have died."

"Whatever happens, happens for a reason. God knows what might’ve happened if you’d used that power. And who are we to judge, when we might’ve just killed normal people? They sent us in without telling us the truth."

The younger soldier said nothing, eyes fixed.

"You know, rookie... after the rain, there’s always a full moon. Don’t sulk—be grateful you learned something today. God be with us."

"...God be with us."

Next Morning.

At the Association’s nerve center, a morning briefing was held between Sashi and the analysts. The main screen displayed all known traces and photographs of the suspect.

"As expected," one worker said, tracing a line on the screen, "the family head was directly tied to the Mafia’s internal structure. The Sinsok District remains under military surveillance for incidents like this. Interrogations revealed some family members had no idea they were turning each other into mutants."

"Not a single demon was found..." Sashi muttered. "Idiocy. The Mafia is trying to show us what they’re capable of. They want to turn all their sympathizers into mutants and start a civil war. How many families like this have been discovered?"

"Unknown. It’s important to note the Mafia’s operations don’t extend beyond the Orange Zone. This may also relate to rising civilian unrest and discrimination complaints from within that area."

"Perhaps the Mafia is using only the infected people... Find out exactly how they’re turning people into mutants. Immediately."

"Already underway, Director."

Sashi turned toward the door.

"Order all hunters to sweep the outskirts and rural zones. I have a bad feeling about the animals... They might become the next source of infection. I expect updates soon."

"You can count on us, ma’am."

Her calm gaze barely masked the anger and despair beneath. Inside, she wondered: how far would the Mafia go to tear the system down?

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