Lady Golden Eagle—or Galea—was standing calmly at the peak of the snowy mountain, gazing at the falling snow.
"Beautiful and refreshing as always…" she murmured, watching the snowflakes land on her palm.
Then the wind picked up, noticeably stronger than usual.
"Oh, wind… why so aggressive again? Is it because an intruder showed up?" She spread both arms wide, closed her eyes, and let herself feel the gust.
Meanwhile, down below, every member of the Predator faction was climbing toward the snowy summit. Snowy Owl was watching from afar through binoculars, her weapon already prepped and ready.
The lightning-fast Snow Leopard shot up first with insane speed, followed closely by White Bear, whose grip was just as brutal.
On the other side, White Wolf and his pack of wolves were also making their way up, almost catching up alongside Cold Orca and Snow Falcon.
Up top, Galea's cheeks flushed bright red. She quickly covered her face with her fan and let out a small giggle.
"Hey, Golden… looks like I've got a ton of fans coming my way… I'm getting shy~" she said in that weird, playful tone.
Right then, Galea's golden eagle let out its signature Apex Predator screech—the kind that sends prey scattering in pure terror.
The Predator faction members who heard it instantly got goosebumps, but White Wolf shouted, "Ignore it! Keep climbing!"
The fierce wind returned, stronger this time. Galea, who had been chuckling softly, suddenly went quiet and looked annoyed.
"Wind… you're seriously doing this right when I'm enjoying what's about to come?" she said, as if she already knew something was coming.
And sure enough, from the distance, a blizzard began to form and charge straight toward them.
White Wolf bit his lip hard. "Fuck, why right now?!"
Orca yelled back, "SO WHAT DO WE DO? JUST BUST THROUGH IT!"
"Don't be stupid. If we fall before we even reach the top, we'll die for nothing," Snow Falcon said calmly as he started descending slowly—even though White Wolf hadn't ordered it yet.
"Huh… guess we have no choice but to postpone. This damn blizzard always pisses me off," White Wolf grumbled.
After that, they all retreated at once. This wasn't some ordinary snowstorm—it could kill them at any moment.
The Predator faction pulled back. The blizzard slammed into the tallest snowy peak while Galea stood perfectly still at the top, gently waving her fan.
The storm passed right through her without leaving a single scratch. Only tiny snowflakes clung to her body.
She crouched down. "My fans left… hah… and they were so close to becoming part of my collection…"
---
Cut to Nic, who was carrying the unconscious Snow Sniper somewhere.
He found a deep ravine with a frozen river far below. Without hesitation, he jumped down.
Nic gently set Snow Sniper down, healed her wounds until they were completely gone, then channeled some energy into her so she'd wake up from her blackout.
A few moments later, Snow Sniper stirred and opened her eyes. The second she saw Nic, her body reacted on instinct—she sprang up and started punching him in the face over and over. But Nic just stood there, completely unfazed, sighing.
"Are you seriously gonna keep hitting me like this?" he asked flatly.
Snow Sniper ignored him and tried to kick him in the face.
Nic caught her leg mid-air and tossed her hard. She flew back quite a distance.
He walked over slowly. "Why does your body keep forcing you to carry out your mission nonstop?"
"Die already!" Snow Sniper got back up and lunged to choke him.
But her grip was way too tight—Nic wasn't even struggling. She looked confused and let go.
"What the hell… so all this time on that ship, you were just pretending to be an idiot?"
Nic scratched his cheek. "Nah, I really am an idiot for doing dumb shit."
Snow Sniper went quiet. Then she noticed the gunshot wound on her leg was completely gone. "??"
She stared at him, realizing it must've been him. "What are you actually planning? Trying to make me repent and turn me into your ally?"
"Wrong on every count. Why the hell would I recruit a killer who doesn't give a damn about anyone's life?" Nic said coldly.
"Then what? You feel sorry for me and you're gonna let me go? That'll just get your head blown off faster."
"Oh, so you've got a backup sniper?"
Snow Sniper nodded. "I always finish my targets—whether I take them alive or dead."
Nic burst out laughing so hard tears came out. "Yeah, your brain really doesn't sync with reality. You act like you'll keep following orders even when you're in critical condition."
He locked eyes with her, unleashing God of Intimidation. Snow Sniper suddenly felt overwhelming terror just from his gaze.
"And you act like that because you've never actually been in true critical condition… That's why you always think you can do whatever you want. But when the tables turn—what can you really do? Will your brain save you when you're dying? No. Only fate decides."
"Bullshit," Snow Sniper spat, pissed.
Nic smiled, noticing how massive her ego was. "I'm curious… have you ever felt guilty? Ever felt the pain your targets went through?"
"Why would I? They're just targets that benefit me. I don't care about them as long as they're profitable. I'll do anything to survive… stop talking nonsense to me." Her body was shaking from the intimidation effect, but she tried to stay tough.
"One…" Nic started counting out of nowhere.
Snow Sniper was confused. Since he wasn't restraining her, she tried to run.
"Two…"
But the place was way too deep and climbing back up was nearly impossible. She grew more panicked, not knowing what to do.
"Three… Welcome to hell," Nic said.
Snow Sniper whipped around—Nic was gone. But suddenly, faces appeared all around her at once. She recognized them instantly.
Faces full of panic, fear, trauma, sorrow—all her one-shot victims.
"What is this… aren't you all dead?!" she shouted, on high alert.
Then each of them suddenly held the exact sniper rifle she used—and aimed it at her.
"Fuck!" Snow Sniper tried to dodge, but her legs got shot five times.
She collapsed in agony. She had once killed five targets by shooting their legs, then dragged them. Now she was the one being dragged by her own victims to the center. Gunshots rained down on her body, torturing her until finally every sniper barrel pointed at her head.
Headshots were Snow Sniper's daily bread. Now her victims were aiming there too.
Nic's voice echoed in her ears.
"Feel the sweet sound of the suffering you created."
Triggers pulled—BANG! BANG! BANG!
"PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!!" Snow Sniper screamed, sobbing hysterically, truly believing she was about to die horribly.
She dropped to her knees, silent except for the tears. Her face was pure panic. She was terrified beyond words.
Then… nothing happened.
She slowly lifted her head. There was nothing—just Nic standing far away, watching quietly.
She stared blankly, tears still streaming. She was on the verge of a mental breakdown; it had felt way too real, way too painful.
Nic walked over, crouched in front of the mentally shattered Snow Sniper—who could only stare vacantly while crying—and smiled.
She kept whispering softly, "Forgive me… forgive me… forgive me…"
"Relax. It was just an illusion. I'm not telling you to repent. If you're still brave enough to keep going, go ahead. But that's exactly what every one of your targets felt. I just wanted you to be ready to feel the same thing if it ever happens to you," Nic said gently, wiping her tears.
But Snow Sniper just kept mumbling "forgive me" over and over.
Her mind was completely broken—trauma and pain crashing back into her all at once.
Nic felt a pang of pity and used God of Psychology to calm her down.
After that, she slowly came back to her senses… and started crying her heart out. She apologized over and over, saying she'd been programmed like this for so long.
"Just tell me if there's anything you've been keeping inside all this time," Nic said, sitting beside her.
And so Snow Sniper began telling him her past.
She came from the lowest caste—completely looked down on. Her original family was slaughtered by an earlier version of the Predator faction. Then one day she was adopted by a low-caste animal-hunter family in Zhatick and raised to become a skilled hunter.
At that time, the high castes were running insane gambling games, betting the lives of low-caste people however they pleased. They ordered the Predator faction to massacre them. Whoever wiped out the most in a small town would win the biggest prize.
Zhatick ended up as the biggest victim—including Snow Sniper's new family. Right before they died, they handed her a sniper rifle and told her to shoot anyone who broke in.
But when someone did break in… it turned out to be the town chief trying to save her and get everyone to escape. She didn't know. She shot him dead, He lost everything.
The Predator faction arrived, saw what happened, and the high castes laughed and loved it. They took her away to train her as the next generation of the Predator faction.
All talented kids from small towns were taken to become successors. The rest stayed as their playthings.
And every current member of the Predator faction? They were all former low-caste people who were forced into it.
"I made so many mistakes… I saw how powerful and luxurious the high castes were. If I could stand beside them, that would be better than anything. I always did whatever they ordered without thinking about the past—because remembering only brought trauma and sadness. It was useless… so I drilled it into my brain: target, mission, profit. Those three words became everything."
Nic instantly understood the big picture.
In his mind "Damn… this country is way too messed up…"
After that, Nic activated Cupid Arsenal → Sticky Bomb and planted it on Snow Sniper's shoulder while patting her.
"Okay, listen to me now. Don't do anything. Just stay quiet in your base," Nic said.
"You're… not gonna kill me?" Snow Sniper bowed her head.
"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have saved you when Hermyra almost shot you."
Nic explained that killing wouldn't solve anything. "I know death and forgiveness are two completely different things. Death is permanent—there's no coming back. Forgiveness is just a word that gets twisted a million ways. It can be forgotten, used as a formality, said without meaning… But sometimes, for some people, a sincere 'sorry' means everything. So I'm taking the 'forgive me' you said earlier as genuine, and I respect that."
Snow Sniper was moved to tears. "Can I ask for one thing?"
"Hm? What is it?"
"Give me a name… and I want to be your ally. I'm leaving the Predator faction!" she said with complete seriousness.
Nic froze. "WHAT? YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A NAME??"
She nodded. She'd forgotten her real name and had only ever used the codename Snow Sniper.
Nic thought hard—naming people was the most annoying thing in his life.
[ Master Nic, what ridiculous name is gonna come out of your mouth this time? ]
"Shut up, Zeta. Why don't you check her profile and see what her real name was…"
[Hm, it's Sisi.]
"Sisi? Nah, I think I'll give her a new one, just like I did with you."
Nic suddenly got an idea. He pointed at her dramatically and declared in a loud voice:
"From now on, your name is Seraphine! Maybe your motto can be 'Sniper of Redemption'? Haha, kidding. So… do you accept the name Seraphine?"
"Ohh… that's a beautiful name. I love it. Now my name is Seraphine…" She looked noticeably brighter—way less cold and stiff than before.
Right after that, Nic activated the transparent sticky bomb he'd planted on her shoulder earlier—BOOM!
[ Ding! Congratulations! Seraphine is now 100% like and loyal to Master Nic ]
[ Ding! Heart Claim activated! Seraphine has been added to the girlfriend list ]
[ Ding! Skill Transfer activated! Congratulations Master Nic, you have obtained a new skill: God of Sniper (Master Nic can shoot anything with pinpoint accuracy and speed) ]
"Um… I'm not gonna get that nightmare again, right…?" Seraphine asked nervously.
"As long as you behave, I won't give you that nightmare again," Nic teased.
After that, they left the ravine. Nic told Seraphine to head back to her base and act like nothing happened, while he continued to the last location—according to her, there were two powerful ex-Defense faction members waiting there.
To be continued…