The Crimson Raid
The sound of boots echoed through the school corridors like thunder: heavy, synchronized, unstoppable. Song felt his heart racing as he peered through the small window of the classroom door.
Five Crimson Army soldiers moved deliberately through the hallway, their red and black armor gleaming under the fluorescent lights. They were not here for a routine patrol; this was a search operation.
"Everyone stay quiet," Mr. Ji-hoon whispered, but his voice had an edge of fear that made the students even more anxious.
Song watched as the soldiers kicked open classroom doors one by one, scanning each room with their advanced optical equipment. They were looking for someone specific.
They're looking for me.
In the third classroom they entered, Song heard a student scream. Amid the chaos, he saw the soldiers grab Min-jun—the quiet boy who had just joined their resistance group hours before.
"Where is the anomaly?" one soldier demanded, his voice amplified. "The genetic readings came from this building."
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Min-jun cried out.
The soldier raised his electromagnetic baton, ready to strike the terrified boy.
Song didn't think. He didn't plan. He just moved.
The classroom door exploded outward as Song burst through it. His fist connected with the soldier's armored chest plate, making a sound like thunder. The impact sent the soldier flying backward through the opposite wall, his weapon shattering into pieces, his armor cracking like an eggshell.
Song stared at his fist in shock. The soldier—a trained warrior in advanced combat armor—lay unconscious in the rubble.
How did I...?
But there was no time to think. The other soldiers were already turning their weapons toward him.
Song moved again, faster than he ever had before. His body felt different: lighter, stronger, more alive than ever. He grabbed another soldier by the helmet and slammed him into the floor. The concrete cracked beneath the impact.
My body is moving on its own, what is this power or what exactly is happening?
The remaining soldiers opened fire, but Song was already in motion. He weaved between their energy blasts with incredible grace, his hands and body becoming weapons themselves. No guns, no tools—just raw power flowing through him.
That's when it happened.
A brilliant white aura erupted around Song, casting everything in ethereal light. The energy pulsed with each heartbeat, each breath, growing brighter and more intense. He felt something ancient awakening within him, something that had been sleeping in his blood for generations.
The soldiers' weapons began malfunctioning in the presence of the aura. Their communications crackled with static. Their armor systems flickered and died.
Song advanced on them with newfound confidence, the white energy flowing around him like living flame. He fought with a style he had never learned, movements that came from somewhere deeper than memory.
Song began to fight skillfully, dodging blows, speeding up, hitting and punching, and directing every blow like a lightning bolt, shattering their shields and weapons, even though it was the first time he had fought in his entire life.
Within minutes, the entire patrol lay defeated. The soldiers who could still move were retreating, dragging their unconscious comrades, their voices filled with panic as they called for immediate extraction.
Withdraw! Withdraw! One of the soldiers, with his big, booming voice... seemed to be the leader of the patrol. The remaining soldiers moved behind him... and went outside the school... away immediately.
As the last soldier disappeared around the corner, the white aura suddenly vanished. Song collapsed to his knees, drained of energy. Sweat poured down his face, and his hands shook uncontrollably.
Mr. Ji-hoon approached cautiously, his eyes wide with amazement and concern.
"Song," the teacher said quietly, "that power you just displayed... it's not normal. Not human." He paused, studying Song's exhausted face. "Do you belong to any particular people? Any specific heritage?"
Song looked up, still gasping for breath. "Yes... I'm from the Konota people... the ones the army wiped out. But what does that have to do with anything?"
Mr. Ji-hoon's eyes widened in shock. The color drained from his face as he grasped the full implications.
"You... you... you're him," the teacher whispered. "The Legend of Konota that everyone spoke about."
"Isn't that just an old legend used to frighten the army?" Song asked, and so confused that his mind couldn't comprehend what he had done.
"It seems it's not just a legend," Mr. Ji-hoon said, his voice trembling with awe. "The power you possess... it's the power of royal blood. The bloodline of King Wong. The power that the Crimson Army has feared for years."
"But they thought they had eliminated the royal bloodline entirely. Seems they were wrong"
Crimson Army Headquarters - Krem City
In the commanding office of the main headquarters, Grand Commander King Zord sat behind his massive steel desk, reviewing tactical reports. The office was a monument to military power, with walls lined with weapons, battle plans, and surveillance screens showing every corner of their controlled territories.
A soldier from the school patrol burst through the doors, still breathing heavily from his escape.
"Grand Zord! It's a disaster! A high school student managed to match our entire patrol, defeat us, and force us to retreat!"
Zord's chair creaked as he leaned forward, his scarred face darkening. "Wait! What?! Who is this person?!"
Another soldier stepped forward, his armor still cracked from Song's assault. "Unknown... but it's strange. No one possesses that kind of power... except in the legends."
King Zord screamed as loud as he could and slammed his hands on the desk until it cracked.
"WHO!! WHO!! HOW!! WHY!"
The first secretary, a thin man with nervous eyes, cleared his throat. "Yes, the legend of Konota royal blood... But we supposedly eliminated that threat years ago."
King Zord calmed down a little and started to catch his breath.
"Indeed," Zord growled. "The Crimson Predator, our most loyal and powerful soldier, was supposed to have eliminated the Han-woo family, the last family that carried the royal blood. This student... he must be..."
The office doors slid open with a mechanical hiss. The Crimson Predator entered—Kim Sang-jin, a figure more machine than man, his red optical sensors glowing in the dim light.
"Yes," Kim's voice was cold and electronic. "I eliminated Mr. and Mrs. Hae-won. I killed their young daughter. Their son was supposed to have died in the destruction. Is it possible he survived?"
Zord slammed his fist on the desk again, making it ring like a bell and breaking it more. "Impossible! We leveled the entire city! Only a few weak and helpless civilians survived. How could he have been among them? There must be another explanation."
A junior officer spoke up hesitantly. "Perhaps it's a different power entirely... not from the Konota people at all."
Zord's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Search all records, archives, and historical documents. Find the source of this power. If we attack this student now without understanding what we're dealing with, we will surely fail to eliminate him!"
The Crimson Predator's optical sensors flickered—the closest thing to emotion his cybernetic body could display. "Shall I begin surveillance of the target?"
"No," Zord said after a moment of thought. "First, we learn. Then, we strike. And this time, we make sure nothing of the royal bloodline survives."
Return Home
Song Hae-won walked through his front door, his legs still shaky from the events at school. The familiar silence of his small apartment felt different now—not comforting, but heavy with uncertainty.
He moved to the kitchen mechanically, going through the motions of his daily routine. Chicken, rice, butter. The same meal he'd prepared for himself every day for three years. His hands worked automatically, seasoning the chicken, washing the rice, but his mind was elsewhere.
Royal blood. King Wong. The power of Konota.
Talking to himself: What are those things? I don't understand anything. I thought Konota was just a name or a nickname.
As he watched the rice cooker steam, memories flooded back. His mother standing in this same spot, humming softly as she prepared this exact meal. "Your favorite," she would always say with a warm smile, ruffling his hair as she set the plate before him.
Back then, it had just been food. Now, he wondered—had she known? Had his parents understood what flowed in their veins when they chose to live quietly, in that distant city?
Song placed the steaming plate on his small dining table and pulled out his phone. The group chat Mr. Ji-hoon had shown him was still there, the member count now reading 52. He scrolled through messages, seeing names he didn't recognize discussing plans he barely understood.
"People like me," he murmured to his empty apartment. "Will we really bring down that bloodthirsty monster?"
The messages revealed fragments of a larger operation: surveillance schedules, safe house locations, weapon caches, new recruit training sessions. This wasn't just student rebellion—this was organized resistance.
His phone buzzed with a direct message from Mr. Ji-hoon:
"Hello, Hae-won. Be ready to come tomorrow... to Mount Konkur. That's where the secret base of the opposition party is located. Tell no one."
Song blinked, and the message vanished from his screen entirely.
Mount Konkur. He knew the place—a remote peak far away from the city, known for its harsh terrain and complete isolation. Strategic, defensible, far from prying eyes.
"Who will I meet there?" he wondered aloud. "How many others are there?"
But his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of vehicles outside. Song's blood turned cold as he recognized the low rumble of military engines.
Moving carefully to his window, he peered through the blinds. Three Crimson Army patrol vehicles had parked across the street, their occupants observing his building with practiced patience.
Please tell me they haven't found me.
Two soldiers stepped out, consulting tablets and pointing at various apartment windows. Song pressed himself against the wall, trying to hear their conversation.
"This neighborhood. Some students from Jindo High School live here," one soldier reported. "But the readings seem ordinary enough."
"Yes, probably not the student we fought earlier," replied another. "The power signature was too unique to belong to someone living this... normally."
The first soldier made notes on his tablet. "Still, we should keep the details for precautionary measures. We haven't received orders to breach... let's moveon."
Song held his breath as the engines started again and the patrol disappeared around the corner. Only when the street fell silent did he allow himself to breathe properly, his heart hammering against his ribs.
Sinking into his chair, he stared at his half-eaten meal. The chicken had gone cold, but his appetite had vanished anyway.
This adventure is going to be bigger than I ever imagined... and much more difficult.
But was this the right choice? The question that had haunted him for years surfaced again, more urgent now than ever. His quiet life of study and survival had just shattered completely. There would be no going back to anonymity, no more pretending to be just another grieving student.
"If I don't take revenge for them, no one else will", he thought, touching the family photo that still sat on his table. "Maybe this is the right decision for now. Maybe it's the only decision".
Yet even as he tried to convince himself, doubt gnawed at him. Was he really ready for this? Could he handle the responsibility that seemed to be falling on his shoulders? The power he'd felt today had been exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure.
What if I'm not strong enough? What if I fail like I failed Park?
He pushed the thoughts aside. Tomorrow, he would have answers. Tomorrow, he would understand what it truly meant to be the last heir of Konota.
Lost History - Ji-hoon's Research
The basement of Mr. Ji-hoon's small house was lined with shelves containing books that had been banned for decades. Documents that the Crimson Army had tried to erase from history, smuggled copies of records they thought they had destroyed completely.
Under the dim light of a single desk lamp, Mr. Ji-hoon carefully turned the pages of an ancient leather-bound volume. The title, written in the old Konota script, read: "The True History of the Konota Empire - Final Records."
His eyes moved across the forbidden text, absorbing truths that could get him executed if discovered:
The Kingdom of Konota... For centuries, it was one of the most powerful kingdoms in the world. It possessed advanced technologies and the strongest artificial intelligence system ever created - AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). Konota was the only kingdom to possess this technology... in complete secrecy.
Mr. Ji-hoon paused, his finger tracing the next paragraph.
The blood of the Konota people created a permanent connection between them. All citizens were linked through their bloodline, able to sense and communicate with each other across vast distances. This neural network made them nearly impossible to defeat in battle, as information traveled instantly between all fighters.
He turned the page to find detailed diagrams of the bloodline connection - intricate patterns showing how the mental network functioned, how knowledge and even abilities could be shared between individuals.
But then appeared the Defense Minister of the kingdom, known as "Zord. General Leonardo Zordlio"
Zord was skilled and intelligent in his position... but he was also greedy and constantly sought power and status.
The next section made Mr. Ji-hoon's blood run cold as he read about the betrayal that destroyed an entire civilization:
Zord began infiltrating the media networks. Within two years, he had gained control of all major information outlets. He started sowing discord and conflict in all state organizations and institutions, deceiving the people and civilians with propaganda and lies.
Then came the Great Civil War.
*The Royal Forces, led by King Wong, fought against Zord's Army in a conflict that lasted three years. The war ended with the fall of Konota and the survival of only three families:*
The Chun family
The Youl family
And the Song family
*These families fled to different cities... their current fate remains largely unknown.*
"The Crimson Army tried to track down those families, and had some success... but the fate of some members of those families was unknown... and no one knew anything about them."
Mr. Ji-hoon sat back in his chair, the full horror of the truth settling over him. Song wasn't just a survivor - he was potentially one of the last three bloodline carriers in existence.
He continued reading:
After Zord's victory, he decided to incorporate the defeated Royal Forces into his army. He made crimson red the official color of his military uniform - this was the origin of the name "Crimson Army."
From here began the chaos. Zord started using the power he had gained to rule whatever parts of the world he desired. This is how the Crimson Army became a name that carries the weight of its reputation.
Mr. Ji-hoon closed the book and stared at the electronic device that Song had touched earlier. It still sat on his desk, completely dark and unresponsive. But now he understood its potential significance.
If this device had indeed come from a Crimson Army unit, and if Song's bloodline had activated something within it, then it might contain fragments of the original Konota AGI system. The very technology that Zord had stolen to build his empire.
He picked up his secure phone, the one the resistance used for encrypted communications. Song needed to know this history, needed to understand what he truly represented. But more importantly, they needed to examine that device more carefully.
The technology might hold the key to accessing the Konota Network - or even fragments of the ancient AGI that could help them fight back against the very forces that had stolen it decades ago.
Mr. Ji-hoon began typing a message to Song, then stopped. This information was too sensitive for digital transmission, even encrypted. Tomorrow, at Mount Konkur, he would tell Song everything.
The boy thought he was just seeking revenge for his family. He had no idea he might be the key to restoring an entire civilization.
Back to Krem City
At the Crimson Army Headquarters...
The heavy steel doors of the war room groaned open as the patrol unit filed in, their boots echoing against the polished concrete floor. The fluorescent lights cast harsh shadows across their weathered faces, each bearing the grim expression of soldiers who had found nothing when they desperately needed to find something.
King Zord stood behind his tactical desk, hands braced against its surface as he studied the city map spread before him. Red pins marked territories, blue ones showed safe houses, and a single black pin marked Song's residence. His piercing gaze lifted as the patrol approached.
King Zord:"Report. Did you find anything?"
The lead soldier stepped forward, removing his tactical helmet. Sweat glistened on his forehead despite the cool underground air.
Lead Soldier: "Negative, Grand Zord. The location appears completely normal. No signs of forced entry, no struggle, no blood. The neighbors heard nothing unusual."
A younger soldier shifted nervously beside him, consulting his tablet.
Second Soldier: "We swept the perimeter twice, sir. Checked for surveillance equipment, hidden passages, even scanned for recent tire tracks. Whatever happened there... it was clean. Professional."
King Zord's jaw tightened, his knuckles whitening as his grip on the desk intensified. The Second Secretary, a sharp-eyed woman in a crisp black suit, moved closer to the table, her heels clicking rhythmically.
Secretary: "This is far more complicated than our initial assessment suggested, Grand Zord. Someone with significant resources and training was involved."
The room fell silent except for the low hum of ventilation systems. King Zord straightened, his imposing figure casting a long shadow across the map. When he spoke, his voice carried the weight of absolute authority and barely contained fury.
King Zord: "Then we escalate. Immediately."
He turned to face a communications officer stationed at a bank of monitors along the far wall.
King Zord: "Send an encrypted priority signal to all allied factions. Full mobilization protocol. And patch me through to Viktor Scorpion first – the Fierce Scorpion Gang has the best street network in the eastern districts."
The communications officer's fingers flew across his keyboard, screens flickering to life with encrypted channels and secure frequencies.
King Zord:(his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper) "Someone made the mistake of taking what belongs to me. They're about to learn why the Crimson Army doesn't forgive... and we never forget."
Lightning flashed outside the headquarters' reinforced windows, illuminating the room in stark, electric blue for a brief moment before plunging them back into the amber glow of the war room's lighting. The hunt was about to begin.
Secrets of the AGI
Ji-hoon's basement was quiet except for the soft hum of old machinery. Dust floated in the dim light of a single desk lamp, creating long shadows over the stacks of hidden books. Mr. Ji-hoon adjusted his glasses, his face tight with anticipation.
On the desk rested the strange electronic chip, the same one Song had touched at school. Its surface pulsed softly, almost like it had a heartbeat.
Ji-hoon whispered to himself as he connected a cable. "Careful. One mistake and this could fry the system, or worse."
He slid the chip into the makeshift adapter. The computer groaned as its old fan started spinning, getting louder and louder as it battled years of dust. For a long moment, the screen showed only static. Then lines of unfamiliar code flashed onto the monitor, scrolling faster than he could read.
His hands shook slightly over the keyboard. "This isn't military-grade code. This is older. Much older."
While he trying to access the chip's core, He was prevented by the Protection Protocol Programmed on the chip by the Crimson Army
As a bold text with two inputs "Name" and "Password" appears on the screen
CRIMSON SOFTWARE PROTECTION PROTOCOL
USERNAME:
PASSWORD:
Ji-hoon was confused, trying to think what to do.
Ji-hoon: How can I crack these?
then he remembered, an Old note that has list of some leaked passwords from the Crimson Army softwares. Got it from an old Friend in the Opposition Party.
He started trying the first data, but it didn't seem to be correct.
WRONG DATA: (1/3)
Ji-hoon: Now I have 2 trials, two more mistakes and I'll lose everything.
Ji-hoon tried again: Searching in the list for the most correct data.
He tried again, But unfortunately... Same Results
WRONG DATA: (2/3)
Another wrong attempt and security protocols will be taken by the Crimson Army personnel.
Ji-hoon started to sweat a little, tension was increasing and he was breathing heavily... even breathing was becoming difficult
Ji-hoon Started to search Again: Please! Please be the correct one. In a sound full of nervous.
He started entering the last data for one last attempt, and his heartbeat started to increase... His chest started to shake and his hands started to shake, as if the world would soon explode around him.
USERNAME: KMJ-011
PASSWORD: Az%3#CRIMARMY2
THEN....
The characters changed, symbols shifting into a familiar language. The screen flickered—blue, black, then white—before displaying a single message:
WELCOME TO KONSOFT AGI SYSTEM 2.04
Ji-hoon caught his breath, his heartbeat started to return to normal and he started to calm down and focus again.
Ji-hoon's breath caught. "Phew. It's real."
He leaned closer, his heart pounding in his ears. "The Konota Empire. Their forbidden technology. It survived."
The words continued appearing, one by one, as if something buried for years was stirring.
Initializing core functions…
Calibrating interface…
Then the message changed. The letters turned bright red, flashing with urgency:
WARNING: ONLY 1 CHIP DETECTED.
NEED 5 ADDITIONAL CHIPS FOR FULL ACTIVATION.
Ji-hoon froze, staring at the warning. His mouth felt dry. "Six chips in total. This is just one piece."
He rubbed his forehead, trying to think. "If this is true, then the system isn't complete. And if Zord finds the others before we do…" He shook his head. "No. We can't let that happen."
The computer's light pulsed again, faintly rhythmic, almost alive. Ji-hoon narrowed his eyes.
Then came the last line, written in sharp white letters:
> Awaiting Konota Heir Authorization…
His pen slipped from his hand and fell against the desk. "It's locked? Waiting for the heir?"
He stood up, pacing in the small basement. His mind raced. "Song. It has to be Song. The bloodline recognizes him. That's why it stayed dormant for so long."
The monitor kept glowing, the words frozen on-screen, as if the machine itself was watching him. Ji-hoon reached forward and quickly shut it off. The light went out, plunging the basement into half-darkness.
He sank back into his chair, breathing slowly. "Tomorrow, I'll tell him everything. But if the Crimson Army finds out first…"
His gaze shifted to the heavy book still open beside the computer—the final records of Konota. The diagrams of the blood network reminded him of what was at stake.
He whispered into the silence, "The boy thinks he's fighting for revenge. He has no idea he may hold the last key to a civilization the world forgot."
"Song should know that."
Outside, thunder rolled faintly over the city, as if the world itself was preparing for what was about to awaken.
To be continued…
What kind of general artificial intelligence did the Kingdom of Konota possess? Will Song be able to harness it and benefit from it? Will it be a source of strength for him? Stay tuned!
CRIMSON PREDATOR