RTN 48

Chapter 48

When Baek Ihyeon first handed Seol Ahyeon the mask, Kim Dowoon thought it was impossible. He considered it a waste of time.

He thought his wise commander was overzealous, letting his desire to utilize the status window cloud his judgment.

So, as Seol Ahyeon repeatedly tried to put on the mask and failed, eventually collapsing on the hangar floor, gasping for breath and gagging, Kim Dowoon could only feel that both the time slipping away and her desperate effort were tragically wasted.

Breathing through the mask was not something one could adapt to in a short period. Even if someone had all other qualifications, failing to get used to the mask often meant being classified as a non-combatant.

Kim Dowoon himself had taken two months to adjust somewhat to the mask, which was considered average, and he still often gagged at the metallic, fishy smell.

Yet, for some reason, Baek Ihyeon stood silently, merely watching Seol Ahyeon’s seemingly meaningless attempts.

Kim Dowoon couldn’t understand it. Seol Ahyeon would fail. It was common sense.

Even putting aside the precious minutes and seconds slipping by, he was on the verge of going mad from the anxiety caused by Baek Ihyeon’s incomprehensible judgment.

The officers standing around and the soldiers who had rushed in to assess the situation all wore skeptical expressions.

So when Seol Ahyeon once again stubbornly brought the mask to her face, Kim Dowoon snatched it away.

He thought it was too much. When he passed her struggling, exhausted body to Jang Seokju’s arms, Baek Ihyeon intervened.

He pressed her down with force after obtaining her consent.

For the first few seconds, it seemed she could endure it, but unsurprisingly, Seol Ahyeon soon began thrashing wildly.

Baek Ihyeon did not relent. Under his merciless grip and weight, Seol Ahyeon collapsed to the floor, and the cloak Baek Ihyeon had laid down in advance became tangled and pushed aside by her struggles.

Baek Ihyeon knelt on top of Seol Ahyeon. She twisted her body and struck his cheek with her elbow, but Baek Ihyeon did not budge at all.

Kim Dowoon thought she might faint at any moment.

But Seol Ahyeon did not lose consciousness. Even through her tear-streaked face, her wide-open pupils and the desperate, controlled breathing revealed an unyielding stubbornness.

Then, at some point, her breathing stabilized. Kim Dowoon initially thought it was temporary, but it continued several more times. She had done it.

Neither Baek Ihyeon, who had pushed forward believing she could endure it, nor Seol Ahyeon, who had withstood his domination without losing consciousness, could believe it.

Kim Dowoon began to think it might actually be possible. Perhaps this was the historic moment where everyone would survive and even capture Phantom.

But the moment Phantom latched onto the reconnaissance aircraft, Kim Dowoon knew that the end had finally come. Even the life that had miraculously persisted by luck was about to end.

It was the worst of the worst.

He managed to avoid crashing the reconnaissance aircraft into the battleship, barely resisting Phantom’s tremendous strength that tried to ram it in, gripping the lever with all his might.

With his muscles pushed to their limits and a ringing in his ears, black wings slid past the window.

A chill ran down his spine.

If their eyes met in this state…

He quickly dropped his gaze and checked the instrument panel. Only about ten minutes remained until visual contact was possible. If Phantom headed straight for the track, it would have been enough time to capture it.

But now that Phantom had suddenly changed its path and latched onto the reconnaissance aircraft, he couldn’t be sure he could respond even if given ten hours.

“The worst-case scenario is exactly this: Phantom not going to the track,” Baek Ihyeon’s calm voice came through.

“If your eyes meet Phantom’s, bury your head in my chest and do not move recklessly. Keep your eyes open and check frequently if the status window appears.”

Kim Dowoon held the lever tightly, watching as Baek Ihyeon quickly adjusted the internal pressure of the reconnaissance aircraft via the console.

“If you go outside, a protective barrier will form from the mask to shield you. The brief blue glow over your body is natural—don’t panic.”

Baek Ihyeon adjusted Seol Ahyeon in his arms.

“Lieutenant Kim Dowoon, I will separate Phantom from the reconnaissance aircraft.”

There was no time to respond. Just holding the lever to its limit was already a struggle.

The hatch on the co-pilot side opened, and Baek Ihyeon went out with Seol Ahyeon.

“Lieutenant, return to the battleship immediately. Think only of your own safety.”

The co-pilot hatch clanged shut, and Baek Ihyeon disappeared above the reconnaissance aircraft.

Kim Dowoon collapsed backward, still holding the lever. The tense standoff vanished, and the aircraft surged upward as he pulled.

He barely lowered the lever and gripped the control stick to stabilize the aircraft.

As soon as Baek Ihyeon left, Phantom was separated from the reconnaissance aircraft. He instinctively straightened his back and tried to look back but snapped out of it in time—he must not make eye contact with Phantom.

He fixed his gaze on the console monitor and spoke into the intercom.

“Battalion commander, are you—”

• I’m fine. Lieutenant Kim Dowoon, return. Your squad will respond visually.

Visually?

Just as he doubted his ears, Baek Ihyeon repeated:

• It’s safe to look at Phantom. Respond with confidence.

He raised his eyes. With the battleship perfectly blocking the view, he saw nothing. He twisted the control stick to rotate the aircraft but still could not make sense of the situation.

“Respond by sight?” Had Baek Ihyeon already handled Phantom? Did he give up on capturing it to ensure everyone’s safety?

But given the short time, the proximity of a massive battleship, and the impossibility of deploying Phantom’s wings, destroying it was nearly impossible.

Moreover, the intercom was eerily quiet. The squad that should have been following Baek Ihyeon’s orders gave no response.

Kim Dowoon twisted the control stick harder, a blinding light cutting across his vision. He reflexively blinked.

The brilliant, refreshing light reflected in multiple colors like it came from a mystical orb.

But it couldn’t be an orb. No orb existed large enough to emit such light.

Orbs were at most the size of a finger joint, and even the largest discovered did not exceed two joints.

Yet, as the aircraft rotated and faced Phantom directly, Kim Dowoon couldn’t believe his eyes.

Baek Ihyeon had not destroyed Phantom. It was alive. Surrounded by an unidentifiable radiance, its eyes wide open.

Yet, strangely, the fear that had previously gripped him was absent.

The Phantom, shaped like a gigantic crow, flapped its wings once. It couldn’t move much—the sword pierced right through its torso.

And it wasn’t only Phantom that had been pierced.

Softly flowing hair, limbs dangling lifelessly.

The cold blade of Baek Ihyeon’s sword was embedded deep in Seol Ahyeon’s chest, passing through her and entering Phantom’s body.