Current year, 2026.
Won Group Conglomerate building.
Current situation, terrorist attack.
Shan Wolf stood face to face with 001, who called Shan Wolf by his mercenary number 000 and codename Grim.
"Hehe, I cant believe the most feared child mercenary works in this shabby place. I pity you, Grim."
His voice carried mockery and arrogance, but Shan remained unfazed, his expression calm and unreadable. His breathing was steady. His eyes cold.
Ingrid stood among the hostages, her eyes widened in disbelief. She never imagined Shan had such a terrifying past.
"Shan Wolf was a mercenary?" she asked herself, her voice trembling.
"What made you think I call him boo and big brother?" Eva Kim said with a faint smirk, struggling against her restraints as she tried to free herself to aid Shan.
"So you two go that deep, huh?" Rae Yoorin muttered, faltering, still not fully grasping how deadly the situation truly was.
"I... Im scared." Mei Yoo Jun whispered, her entire body shaking from the invasion. Kang Min, her best friend and coworker, pulled her into a tight hug.
"Everything is going to be alright, Yoo Jun," Kang Min said softly, though fear was visible in his eyes as well.
Silence fell between Shan and 001. The tension was suffocating.
"Youre looking like shit, Shadow," Shan said flatly, calling 001 by his codename.
"It doesnt matter," Shadow replied, glaring at him with burning resentment. "Since the one who gave us the bounty order did it."
Shan raised a brow slightly.
"And who is the target?" Shan asked calmly.
"You."
In an instant, 001 lunged forward, his fist flying toward Shan's face with full force. The impact echoed through the hall. Shan's head tilted slightly from the punch, blood forming at the corner of his lips.
For a split second, they locked eyes.
"Weak. Just like Master Tosaki said."
Shan released his grip on the sawed off shotgun and let the broken machete fall from his hand. The metal clattered against the floor.
He spat blood to the side, then slowly raised his right fist. The blood smeared across his knuckles. 001's eyes sharpened. He prepared to counter, reading the movement.
But Shan never intended to use his right.
His left fist shot forward like lightning.
The punch connected cleanly with 001's jaw. Before 001 could even fall back, Shan stepped in, driving his knee into 001's ribs. A crack echoed faintly.
As 001's body lifted from the force, Shan twisted and slammed his elbow down into the side of 001's neck mid air, sending him crashing violently onto the ground.
Everything happened in less than a blink.
The remaining terrorists stared in shock. Shan's speed was inhuman.
Shan stepped forward and planted his boot on 001's stomach, pressing him into the floor. His gaze was filled with cold disappointment.
"I risked my life saving you all eleven years back so we could live and have a peaceful life. And this is the thanks I get?"
He wiped the blood from his lower lip, the memory of the killings he committed on the ground floor a few hours earlier flashing briefly in his mind.
"Not only that, Im the target? Your savior?"
The remaining terrorists immediately raised their guns and weapons at him. The metallic clicks echoed sharply.
But 078 raised his right hand.
"Nobody shoots. You all saw it. Even guns wont work on him."
Slowly, they lowered their guns. Instead, they pulled out machetes, daggers, clubs, and knives. Their expressions hardened, though fear lingered behind their eyes.
"Hoo...? Too scared to shoot? Or is it that Im too easy to dodge them. Or maybe it is because I used one of your men as my human shield."
Shan casually tossed the sawed off shotgun aside. He discarded the broken machete as well.
He leaned down calmly and picked up two fresh weapons from the pile of bodies near the elevator, the same men he had used earlier as shields. Blood still coated the floor beneath them.
"These will do."
He gripped the two axes firmly, testing their weight. His shoulders rolled slightly. His stance lowered.
Shan looked at the remaining terrorists, his former child mercenary colleagues. His eyes no longer held restraint.
"Death to you all..." he whispered, and there was no hesitation in his tone.
One of them charged recklessly without waiting for an order.
"Wait!" 007 shouted.
Too late.
In a flash, Shan stepped forward. The first axe swung upward in a brutal arc and split straight into the attacker's face. The blade buried deep with a sickening crack. Shan twisted the handle violently, tearing it free.
Blood sprayed across the floor and walls. The body collapsed lifelessly.
The remaining accomplices instinctively stepped back, horror spreading across their faces.
Ingrid covered her mouth, her stomach churning. Rae Yoorin's legs weakened. Mei Yoo Jun turned away and vomited from the sheer gore. Even Kang Min struggled to steady himself.
The metallic scent of blood filled the air.
Eva, however, chuckled softly.
"Theyre in deep trouble," she murmured, her eyes gleaming with excitement rather than fear.
Without hesitation, one by one, they all lunged at Shan Wolf.
He did not rush. He did not panic. He simply walked forward, his body soaked in blood, his footsteps steady and deliberate. His breathing remained calm, almost bored.
The first attacker swung wildly. Shan tilted his head slightly, the blade missing him by inches. His right axe came down diagonally across the man's shoulder, cleaving through flesh and bone. The body dropped before it even understood what happened.
Another came from the left. Shan pivoted on his heel, bringing the second axe across the man's throat. Blood sprayed in a violent arc as the man collapsed, clutching at nothing.
Steel clashed. Boots scraped against the blood soaked floor. Screams filled the air.
One by one, Shan butchered them without hesitation. Each swing was precise. Each strike calculated. No wasted movement. No mercy.
Then one tried a sneak attack from behind, raising his blade high, aiming for Shan's spine.
Without even looking back, Shan swung his axe downward in a brutal backhand motion. The blade struck between the man's legs with a sickening impact.
The attacker froze, eyes wide in disbelief, breath stolen from his lungs.
"Whoops. My bad. Not."
Shan's voice was cold, almost mocking.
He drove the axe deeper with both hands and ripped it upward with savage force. The body split apart grotesquely, torn into two as blood and fragments scattered across the floor.
The remaining terrorists staggered back in horror.
Shan stood there in the middle of the carnage, chest rising slowly, axes dripping red, his expression empty of emotion.
"Just who is Shan Wolf..." Ingrid muttered under her breath, voice trembling. Even Rae Yoorin, Kang Min, and the other hostages exchanged fearful glances, their question unspoken but heavy in the air.
"Infant, to be a sacrifice offering in an occult ritual held by his own mother… saved by a priest… kidnapped at five and forcefully trained until death by five of the worst commanders the world has ever seen. You tell me, what made you think Boo wanted a peaceful life, Ingrid?" Eva said, her voice low and cutting, revealing Shan Wolf's past. Her eyes never left him as he moved through the terrorists like a storm.
"Boo was tormented and trained to be absolute—THE human soldier. His codename Grim has a meaning," Eva continued.
"G is for Ghost, R for Reaper, I for Immortal, and lastly M… Mercenary—or in my version, M is Monster," she explained.
The former mercenaries watched silently, calling him Grim or 000 among themselves. The hostages clutched each other, whispering his name nervously: Shan… Shan Wolf…
Shan Wolf moved through the room with terrifying precision, axes in both hands, blood coating his arms and chest.
He swung one axe from the chin upward, cleaving through flesh. The handle flew backward and struck another terrorist squarely in the forehead. Another lunged from the side, screaming, and Shan's other axe cleanly severed his head in a single, merciless swing.
A steel rod lay near the floor. Without hesitation, Shan kicked it into the air, catching it mid-spin. It became an extension of his deadly arms, stabbing and slashing through a line of attackers.
"F-fuck! How… how is he moving like that?!" one terrorist stammered, staggering back.
"Grim… stop… what… what are you doing?!" a former mercenary shouted, horror in his eyes as he saw his comrade being torn down.
"Please… someone… stop him!" another terrorist screamed, crawling backward, knife trembling in his hand.
Shan swung the rod without looking back, stabbing through bodies with perfect precision. Blood splattered the walls and floor, the metallic scent thick and choking.
The hostages pressed themselves against walls, some frozen, some vomiting, some gripping each other in terror.
"He… he's like… ten arms…" Rae whispered, eyes wide, voice barely audible. "Unstoppable…"
Eva watched, her face grim but composed. "This is what happens when you forge someone into a weapon. Every strike… a reminder. Every kill… a memory of what was done to him."
Shan spun the rod again, tearing through two more attackers in a single motion. He jabbed downward, swung upward, and struck another terrorist in front of him. The scene looked like a god of war—multiple arms, unstoppable and merciless, each movement precise and lethal.
The former mercenaries stared, calling him Grim or 000 in shocked disbelief.
The hostages whispered his name—Shan Wolf, Shan—but even their fear-filled words could not distract him.
Shan moved forward relentlessly, axes dripping, rod spinning. Each step was deliberate, each strike final. The floor was a battlefield, littered with the dead and broken.
Just then, three sniper bullets tore through the air. Shan Wolf didn't flinch. The projectiles were mere inches from his blood-soaked body, but with reflexes honed over years of death and war, he swung another rod, parrying each bullet with sharp, metallic clinks. Sparks flew where metal met metal.
He glanced up at the sky, then pointed the broken rod outward, waving it as if gesturing, "No cheating…"
Around five kilometers away, the sniper team watched from a distant rooftop. One of them pulled off his goggles, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Fuck… guys, let's bail," he muttered, voice shaking.
Another protested, "Dude, we got paid good money—"
He never finished. His teammate's panic intensified as he continued, voice cracking.
"WHAT?! GRIM IS THERE?! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!"
The team leader's yell echoed, some of the other snipers collapsing to their knees, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed when the three bullets were deflected mere moments ago.
The leader grabbed his radio and called in the person who had hired them.
"You asshole! That target was him?! Do you have any idea who he is and what he has done?!"
From another rooftop, a black-clad figure observed through binoculars, a low, eerie snicker escaping him.
"Do I care? Take it or leave it. I want to see if he's really the real deal," the figure said, voice almost playful, like a madman watching a storm unfold.
The sniper team agreed—retreat was the only option.
"Fuck… I didn't expect it to be Grim," one muttered, shaking.
"After what he did eleven years back, when he saved all of us child mercenaries from that camp… I'd lay my life down for him if he asked," the leader said solemnly.
They hesitated for a beat, then nodded. "Let's get the fuck out of here before Grim realizes it was us."
As they fled, the leader glanced back once. Whoever hired us… not even death itself would want to go against Grim. He is death incarnate, he thought, stomach twisting.
Back inside, Shan Wolf turned his attention to the last remaining terrorist. With fluid precision, he advanced to Eva and cut the ropes binding her.
"There are three slots in this handgun. Take the hostages to safety, Viper," he instructed, his tone calm but commanding.
"Yes, Big Brother," Eva responded, gathering the remaining hostages.
Ingrid stole one last glance at Shan Wolf, worry etched across her face.
"Shan… I…"
"Didn't I promise you last night that I'll always be there to protect you?" Shan said without looking at her, voice steady.
"Oh, great. Now you're worrying about little old me? That's new," he added, sneaking a small glance at Ingrid's concerned expression.
"Shan, I didn't know your history was this… deep. If I had known—"
"If you had known, would you still try to free me and send me back to Malaysia over a fucking coin incident, Ingrid?" Shan's words cut through the tension, sharp and unforgiving.
Ingrid's mind flashed back to the incident Rae Yoorin had claimed last year. She swallowed hard.
"Look. Just follow Eva. I have a personal matter to handle with my former colleagues," Shan said.
Ingrid reached out, but Shan Wolf moved forward without noticing.
"Oi! Come on! Don't disturb Boo. He can handle this kind of shit, Ingrid!" Eva yelled, yanking her toward the elevator as the hostages were secured.
Now only Shan Wolf and his former mercenary colleagues remained.
001, 005, 007, and 078, against Shan Wolf—number 000, codename Grim.
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Chapter 72 — End.