Chapter 77: The KDF
Night descended upon Kingsville like a velvet curtain, draping the city in an illusion of peace.
Warm lanterns illuminated the streets with soft golden light, casting long shadows across cobblestone roads where couples strolled hand in hand and merchants packed away the last of their goods. Music drifted lazily from nearby taverns, blending with cheerful laughter and quiet conversations as families returned to their homes after another ordinary day.
It was calm.
Almost comforting.
No one noticed the invisible storm gathering beyond the city's lights.
No one realized that the first move had already been made.
* * *
At the heart of Kingsville stood the Central Hospital.
Inside, life carried on as it always had.
Nurses moved briskly through brightly lit hallways, exchanging charts and medications while doctors finished their evening rounds. The steady rhythm of medical equipment echoed through every corridor.
Beep... Beep... Beep...
Patients rested peacefully behind closed doors, many clinging to life only because of the machines beside them.
Everything appeared perfectly normal.
Then—
The lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
The hallway dimmed before returning to normal.
Several nurses glanced upward in confusion.
"...Power fluctuation?" one muttered.
No one answered.
The automatic doors at the hospital entrance slowly slid open with a mechanical hiss.
Shhhh...
Three figures stepped inside.
Purple hair.
Cold eyes.
Dark clothing that seemed to swallow the light around them.
The atmosphere changed the moment they crossed the threshold. The warmth inside the hospital disappeared. An unbearable pressure settled over the entrance hall, causing conversations to stop almost instinctively.
Even the air itself felt heavier.
Two security guards stationed near the entrance immediately stepped forward.
"Good evening," one called firmly, resting a hand on the holster at his waist. "Hospital visiting hours have ended."
The three strangers didn't answer.
The guard frowned.
"...State your business."
No reply.
He took another cautious step forward.
"I'm going to ask one more—"
He never finished.
FLASH!
A blur crossed the distance between them.
The first guard's eyes widened.
"...Wh—"
CRACK!!
His body folded unnaturally before being launched across the lobby, crashing through a reception desk with enough force to reduce it to splinters.
Before anyone could react, the second guard reached for his weapon.
Too late.
BOOM!
A heavy fist slammed into his chest.
The impact sent him hurtling backward like a ragdoll before he smashed violently into the far wall.
Concrete cracked.
His body slid silently to the floor.
The third guard froze.
His training screamed at him to fight.
His instincts screamed louder.
Run.
He turned.
Barely managing two steps a hand suddenly wrapped around his face.
GRAB!
His feet left the floor.
"...Please—!"
SMASH!!
His skull struck the polished tiles with a sickening impact. Blood spread quietly beneath him.
Silence returned.
The entire exchange had lasted only seconds.
Several hospital staff stood frozen where they were, unable to process what they had just witnessed. The three intruders didn't even look at the bodies.
It was as though stepping over corpses had become second nature.
The man standing at the front calmly adjusted his gloves.
Mirage.
Leader of the Silver Moon.
His expression never changed.
His eyes carried no anger.
No excitement.
No cruelty.
Only a terrifying calmness that somehow made him even more frightening.
Standing just behind him was Shogun.
Broad-shouldered.
Towering.
His massive frame filled nearly the entire hallway, his expression completely emotionless.
He looked less like a man...
And more like a fortress that had learned to walk.
Beside him strolled Baekho.
Unlike the others, he wore an almost playful smile.
His hands rested casually behind his head as though they had entered an amusement park instead of a hospital.
"...Quiet place," he chuckled.
"I wonder how long that'll last."
Without another word, the trio continued deeper into the building.
No one dared stop them.
No one even breathed.
* * *
Further inside the hospital, a young nurse rounded the corner carrying a tray of medication.
The moment she saw them...She stopped.
The tray slipped from her trembling hands.
CRASH!
Glass shattered across the floor.
The sound echoed through the hallway.
Her breathing quickened.
"...P-Please..."
She instinctively stepped backward.
"...Don't hurt anyone..."
Mirage stopped directly in front of her.
For several long seconds...He simply looked into her eyes.
Then he tilted his head ever so slightly.
"...ICU."
His voice was soft, polite, and almost gentle.
That frightened her more than if he had shouted.
There was no threat, no raised weapon, and no intimidation.
Yet something buried deep within her instincts screamed that refusing this man meant death.
Not only for her, but for everyone.
Her trembling hand slowly lifted.
"...T-That way..."
She pointed toward the eastern wing.
"...Third... floor..."
Mirage smiled faintly.
"...Thank you."
He inclined his head politely before walking past her.
Shogun followed.
Then Baekho.
As he passed, Baekho flashed her a carefree grin.
"See?"
He laughed softly.
"That wasn't so hard."
The trio disappeared around the corner.
Only after they were gone did the nurse collapse onto the floor, tears streaming down her face as uncontrollable sobs escaped her trembling lips.
* * *
The Intensive Care Unit was unusually quiet.
The steady rhythm of heart monitors filled the dimly lit ward.
Beep...
Beep...
Beep...
Rows of patients lay peacefully beneath white blankets, each connected to machines that breathed and beat for bodies too weak to do so themselves.
Some were elderly, some had been injured, and others hovered somewhere between life and death.
Mirage slowly walked between the beds, his sharp eyes studying every patient in complete silence.
Not a single movement escaped his notice.
Shogun looked around with visible disinterest.
"...Pathetic."
His deep voice rumbled through the room.
"...They can barely breathe."
Baekho shrugged.
"Easy work."
Mirage stopped near the center of the ward.
His gaze swept across every bed one final time.
Then he spoke.
"...Begin."
No shouting.
No countdown.
Just one word.
The three of them moved instantly.
Like shadows disappearing into darkness.
* * *
Nearly fifteen minutes later...
The first Kingsville Defence Force response unit arrived.
Heavy boots thundered through the hospital corridors.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Weapons were drawn.
Safety catches released.
"...Move!"
The squad commander kicked open the ICU doors.
BANG!!
"...Secure the room!"
The soldiers stormed inside....
Then froze, because every bed...Was empty.
Heart monitors had been disconnected.
Life-support machines stood silent.
Blankets remained neatly folded as though no one had occupied the beds at all.
One soldier slowly lowered his rifle.
"...Where..."
His voice barely escaped him.
"...Where are they?"
Another cautiously approached the nearest bed.
The sheets were still warm.
No blood. No signs of struggle. No broken windows. No damaged doors.
Nothing.
"...Commander..."
One soldier swallowed hard.
"...All fifty patients..."
His voice trembled.
"...They're gone."
The commander's expression darkened.
"...Impossible."
He reached for his communicator.
"This is Alpha Squad! ICU has been cleared! Repeat—"
Static interrupted him.
KSSSHHHH...
Then panicked voices erupted through the channel.
«"Unit Four reporting! West Hospital ICU is empty!"»
«"South Medical Center—same situation!"»
«"North Wing Hospital... we've lost every critical patient!"»
«"East General reporting identical results!"»
The commander felt his blood run cold.
One report after another flooded the communication channel.
Six hospitals.
Six separate locations.
Every Intensive Care Unit...Completely emptied. Without witnesses. Without resistance. Without a single trace explaining how it had happened.
The soldiers exchanged uneasy glances.
"...This wasn't random."
Someone whispered.
"...It was coordinated."
Another frowned.
"...But why?"
Silence answered him.
Why steal the dying?
Why target patients too weak to even stand?
None of it made sense.
Not yet.
Far away, hidden beneath the cover of night...Three figures disappeared into the darkness.
Behind them...Kingsville remained blissfully unaware.
But before dawn arrived...The city would learn that the kidnapping of fifty helpless patients...
Had only been the beginning.
to be continued.....