5

Beyond the Veil: Kiran's Supernatural Hunt

Chapter 5: That Same Night

Nights with light rain in South Korea are filled with an undecided atmosphere. This country, which had undergone a significant cultural change, now hosted people of all kinds. Foreigners were common; individuals with names from any part of the world could be found here, so it was now common to have names that were easier to pronounce for communication with foreigners.

The narrow streets away from the center of Seoul, Itaewon, were filled with small beer and barbecue stalls. Young couples strolled slowly, appreciating the ambiance under umbrellas. The rain, on the other hand, fell gently with delicacy over the surroundings.

"Pork belly! For fresh sushi, orders are on sale."

"Come on, step right up!"

In the distance, within a dark alley, a man in his twenties walked at a slow and deliberate pace, wearing a black waterproof trench coat that concealed his figure in the darkness of the alley. In his right hand, he held a weapon, while blood slowly spilled from his left hand, leaving no trace under the water's flow.

"How did this happen? What happened in that place? Why didn't I get reinforcements immediately? Those bastards, if that dark entity had reached the civilians, the world would go crazy."

"Everything was wrong from the beginning; those logistics bastards knew there was more than one dark entity in that building."

As questions formed in the man's mind, he gripped his weapon tightly. Unlike South Korean police and detectives, his weapon was a Glock, far from the simple revolvers everyone else carried.

"I have to find help as soon as possible, or I'll die." The man murmured as he took slow steps out of the dark alley. The blood flowing through his body was becoming more severe, and he knew he could lose consciousness at any moment.

Meanwhile, in the busy street, filled with steaming stalls, people enjoyed their dinner while others drank Soju to relieve the accumulated fatigue from their workday.

At that moment, a group of violent crime detectives were enjoying a rich meal. The group of five detectives began to enjoy their alcohol while narrating the highlights of the day with joy.

"Chief Colin, how are you with your wife?" asked a detective in the group, looking at the head of their detective department, trying to initiate a meaningful conversation.

"Everything is fine; she is recovering from her illness. We plan to open a bakery," replied Colin Zabel, smiling calmly. His relationship with his wife was something special that only his subordinates knew about.

"Hmm, won't the work be too tough for your wife?" murmured another detective while eating meat.

"Not at all; she's excited about having a bakery, and I plan to support her in everything she wants," replied Colin, taking a sip of alcohol and enjoying this special moment.

"Have you heard anything about Detective Kiran? It's been a while since he appeared at the station; even detectives from other departments are worried," asked a young detective named Billy, looking at Colin with intrigue.

"As I said..." Colin began, "He's on reinforcement on a private mission. I received his transfer report months ago and haven't received any response about his transfer. Higher-ups say he will work alone now, but he may be at the station from time to time." Colin showed a heavy look; he really didn't know what Kiran was involved in.

"Cough! Cough! Why are you asking the chief about Kiran?" A colleague at the table scolded young detective Billy with false anger in his words, trying to divert the conversation.

Everyone knew that Colin considered Kiran a son. From a young age, he had always been the one to attend to and support him after finding out he was alone at such a young age.

"I shouldn't worry; thinking about it, he's competent enough to take care of himself. It's not for nothing that his military rank makes him a very special and competent man within the station." Colin boasted and pointed, "But it's true that we need his skills. Lately, the work has been much heavier with all these waves of killers."

"I heard that Detective Kiran retained his active military rank even after leaving the army; I guess that's because his rank was not at all normal."

"What are you saying? I'm also a retired corporal."

"Hahaha, didn't you tell me you were thinking of leaving the country before going to mandatory military service?"

"Did I say that? I don't remember."

Just as they were about to continue chatting, a scream of fear and confusion was heard in the distance.

"Aaah!"

"What the hell is happening out there?" Colin asked, bewildered, his gaze scanning the rest of the detectives for answers.

"I'll check," said young detective Billy as he stood up from the table and walked towards the entrance—the subway door—of all the detectives in Kiran's department. He was the most active in the group.

At that moment, murmurs from people around me filled the street with confusion.

"Is that a gun?"

"He's bleeding a lot."

"For the love of God, we need to check..."

Colin stood up from the table and walked towards the restaurant's door. The other detectives followed him slowly, looking at him with concern.

"He has a gun!" Billy exclaimed in surprise. Detective Colin dropped the wine bottle and quickly ordered, "Hurry and evacuate the civilians!"

Colin walked slowly towards the man who was slowly walking away down the street and quickly observed the weapon in the unknown man's hand.

"Sir, wait a moment..." Colin stepped forward and tried to dialogue with a reassuring voice, but he, better than anyone, knew that this situation was really desperate.

No one had received an alert about a soldier who had suddenly deserted from the army, or they simply hadn't realized it yet. No one could judge the current situation because everything was too confusing to make guesses about what was happening.

The other detectives drew their weapons and quickly surrounded the mysterious man.

Upon hearing a familiar voice, the figure suddenly stopped. He looked back to where the voice came from and looked Colin in the eyes.

"Old Colin..." murmured the figure, looking at the detective and stopping. The hood on his head couldn't hide his face, which was so familiar to Colin.

"Kiran?" Colin jumped and unconsciously murmured a name. Under his black waterproof trench coat, it could be seen that he was equipped with a black military tactical uniform.

Looking at the gun in Kiran's hand and the blood coming from his body, it was more than evident that he was injured. And the other detectives who were behind Colin discovered that this mysterious person was none other than Kiran, who a few hours ago was leading a secret operation of the Light Association, which commands the organization he joined to eliminate a monster that was recently detected. Still, the outcome of that operation was uncertain, and Kiran's current condition was evidently worrying.

But all of this was only known to Kiran, who was now fighting to open his eyes and have a clearer view of the appearance of old Colin, his boss in his work as a violent crimes detective.

However, a wave of fatigue overtook him. Kiran's vision was becoming increasingly blurred as his breathing became heavier.

As he collapsed to the ground, he could vaguely see Kiran's worried figure approaching quickly.

"Chief! It's dangerous; step back." The detectives became nervous seeing Colin quickly approaching that mysterious figure; inevitably, they aimed their weapons, ready to shoot at any moment.

"What the hell are you doing?" Colin took Kiran's gun and secured it. Looking at Kiran's body condition, he shouted to his colleagues. "Quick, call an ambulance."

"Stay calm, Kiran; help is coming." Colin tried to apply pressure to Kiran's body. However, he couldn't identify where he was bleeding the most.

"You have to resist..." With a heavy heart from the strong impressions, Colin did everything he could to keep Kiran alive.

He didn't know what Kiran had gotten into, but it was clear that from the team on his body and those wounds, it was not at all common.

...

Without knowing how much time had passed, Kiran gradually regained consciousness and struggled to sit up to get a clearer view of where he was. When he tried to move, Kiran felt his muscles numb while a sharp pain penetrated every corner of his body.

Kiran looked down and saw that he had been hooked up to an intravenous drip. His arm occasionally felt cool and numb, generating an uncomfortable sensation. On his left knee, there were rods and bandages, with some strange liquid slowly traveling into his body from other needles.

Kiran furrowed his brow and looked around in confusion. This was a very expensive-looking room in some unknown hospital; Kiran could tell by its spaciousness and meticulous decoration. However, he couldn't recall what had happened in quite some time.

At that moment, hurried footsteps were heard approaching Kiran's room. Several figures in black suits entered, followed by some doctors. A doctor quickly spoke with a respectful voice, "Mr. Jones, it's a great surprise that you're awake."

Kiran focused his sight and was stunned on the spot. The man in the black suit who entered brought vague memories just before everything went black. "A rather dangerous mission?" Kiran thought to himself, a strong headache accompanying his contemplation.

"Cough! Cough!" The doctor coughed while looking at the documents in his hands. When he was finally ready, he looked at Kiran and said, "I will now read the results after examining your wounds... You have multiple wounds on your body, seemingly from sharp weapons. The ligaments in your left shoulder are severely damaged."

Upon hearing the medical examination of his own body, Kiran couldn't help but furrow his brow. He looked at the doctor, who fell silent for a moment, and said with a light voice, "Is that all?"

The doctor nervously glanced at Kiran and said, "I'm afraid not. Your knee is the most affected right now. The ligaments throughout your knee are torn, your patella is severely damaged, and it's challenging to see any improvement even with the best treatment."

"I am unaware of my current state, but as you say, I may not even be able to walk again. Is that correct?" Kiran asked, looking at the doctor attentively. Even now, he wasn't fully grasping the gravity of the problem.

It's confusing. Kiran remembers that in the last moments before losing consciousness, he was walking. If his knee is so bad, how is it possible that he was walking moments before ending up in a hospital? Something didn't make sense, so Kiran couldn't fully trust the words of this doctor, who, from experience, seemed more nervous and scared than he, who was receiving terrible news about the state of his body.

"Yes, we still need to observe how your body develops and how it responds to the operation you underwent."

Kiran furrowed his brow upon hearing the doctor's words.

How could he have received all these wounds?

How is he still alive? With all these injuries, it's certain that no one could survive.

"I understand," Kiran said after maintaining silence for a few minutes, but his voice was calm and composed.

The two spoke courteously a bit more. Finally, the doctors looked at the men in black suits and nodded as they left the room, leaving him alone with these two individuals.

"How are you feeling, Captain Kiran?" One of the men asked; their outfits were quite similar, both wearing expensive black suits, but indescribably, one of the two figures exuded something that distinguished him from the other.

Seeing the sudden silence, the man continued while looking at Kiran. "It seems you don't recognize me. I'm Gabriel Ford, Director of the National Intelligence Service. Delighted to see you again, Captain."

Kiran suddenly asked, his words interrupting Gabriel, "What is the Director of the NIS doing in my room?"

"I can easily answer your doubts, Mr. Kiran. I'm here because I supervised the mission in which you and your special forces team participated." Trying to explain in the best possible way, Gabriel said it with a clear voice.

Kiran nodded and asked, "Can I know what happened?"

He had to gather whatever information was convenient for him to know for sure what problem he was involved in. With not much to think about, Kiran's memories were disordered, and some were even blurry.

Therefore, acting as he would in this type of situation, he thought about everything that was happening and internally analyzed it to get a better idea of what was going on.

"I understand your concerns, Mr. Kiran, but before you have doubts, we need to follow protocol." Gabriel looked at his colleague and said, "Let's begin..."

"Well, the following questions will be recorded, and it is proof of your statement. No matter what you remember, you always have to answer with what you know." Gabriel's companion said.

Kiran nodded in approval; no matter how hard he tried, his memories were blurry.

Looking at Kiran's face, the other man in the suit asked, "About a week ago, you led an ultra-secret mission of the S.G.C. (Shadow Guard Coalition). In the raid with your elite team of twenty-four members, you went to an abandoned factory. What is the last thing you remember about that raid?"

"I don't remember anything. The last thing I remember is being at my house one night. I vividly remember that it was raining quite heavily." Kiran said as he tried to delve into his memories.

Gabriel froze for a moment upon hearing this, but his face quickly changed back to normal. He looked at Kiran and knew he wasn't lying; with his level of interrogation, he could detect even the slightest flaw people show when lying.

"That's all," Gabriel said, interrupting the interrogation.

"But sir, I haven't finished yet." The person recording the questions looked confused at the different direction the interrogation took.

Gabriel, with a stern and authoritative voice, responded, his cold eyes staring at his colleague, "Mr. Kiran is tired; retire and wait for me outside."

If that was indeed the only thing Kiran remembered, there was no need to ask more questions for now.

"Then I'll withdraw, Mr. Kiran. It was a pleasure meeting you," said Gabriel's companion, looking at Kiran.

Kiran nodded indifferently.

He turned his gaze back to Gabriel and evaluated him slightly. Now that they were alone, he spoke about important matters.