1 Prologue

Tap, tap, tap, tap, click, tap...

In a period when the night was about to meet the light of day, only the quick yet gentle tapping and clicking sounds reverberated in one small room occupied by a young man.

His eyes rolled through the four display monitors that were the only source of light in the dark room, while his hands were busy typing like they had minds of their own.

'Bingo!'

The job that ate up his entire week's day and night was about to end. Despite the sleepless week, it was a breeze when compared to the usual jobs, as no information gathering was necessary and everything was laid out well until the final wall. He was stuck in his room but it didn't matter.

Once he got past the wall, what remained was cleaning up some bugs, which has always been his forte.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, click.

And a couple of minutes more,

'Done.'

Tap.

A triumphant grin colored his pale, gaunt face.

He was so engrossed in his work that the last meal he remembered taking was dinner of instant noodles two nights before, but everything was quite worth it—well, the compensation, that is.

Now that he was able to break down the wall that his most trusted agent had commissioned him to do and making sure that he fulfilled all the requirements, he immediately send the message confirming the accomplished task.

The acknowledgement came in an instant, together with the notification that his account was loaded with crypto.

[Well done until now, Argus!]

"Heh."

[No worries, and thanks a lot for everything!]

He waited for a bit, but unlike usual, no reply came.

'Mmm. He must be busy dealing with the client right now.'

Gradually being overwhelmed by the tiredness, he stood up like a zombie and released himself from the gaming chair that has been his natural habitat since the time his late father taught him how a computer works.

'Ah, I forgot to erase our transaction.'

He slightly look back to his computer, which was already more than ten steps away, trying to summon it to himself but to no avail. Of course, magic does not exist in Lohiya.

'Urgh.'

For the past week, he was so busy that he could only take quick naps while still on the chair. He felt his spinal cord protesting once in a while but he could only beg for it not to give up on him.

'I'll just do it later.'

The thought of finally being able to straighten himself in a comfortable bed prevailed. And as if his body has been desperately waiting, he immediately collapsed the moment he got in touch with the soft mattress.

'Ah, finally!'

He was exhausted and wanted to take a break, a month would be ideal but he still had so much to do.

Less than a year ago, their family, consisting of him, his mother, and twin siblings, were devastated when the news about his mother's health came about. And as the eldest child, he took it upon himself to assume part of the household responsibilities.

But one may ask, what can an 18-year-old, out-of-school youth do? Well, for a typical one, they might say it would be nothing much. Luckily, that does not apply to him.

He has something he has specialized in.

Codenamed "Argus," he is a computer nerd who is a prominent member of the hacking society.

And what is he known for? Well, nothing much. He was just infamous for doing cleanups here and there, sometimes doing treasure hunting a.k.a. gathering confidential information, and more than a few times, revealing skeletons on people's closets.

Obviously, all he could participate in until now were illicit hacking projects. After all, he's 18 years young and could be thought as still green behind the ears, although his experience goes as far back as when he was 10 years old.

Although he is a black hat, he hasn't so far engaged in projects that would put him or other people in jeopardy. Well, maybe there was or were just once or twice. But as far as he knows, they were only those who are offenders themselves.

These jobs are all thanks to his ever-trusted agent, Kerioth, who has been taking care of him for the last five years.

'Well, come to think of it, I was only called for the last phase of the job.'

For black hats, the last phase would be data wiping and clearing the tracks.

It was weird that he didn't get assigned the whole thing. However, he forced himself to delay his thoughts for the reason that he was so damn tired.

'I'll just call Kerioth later.'

Hacking is the only thing he could do best. In some way, one could say he was forced to continue his illegal ways because he needed to make ends meet.

Nevertheless, since his father died two years ago and now his mother is sick, he knew it was time to begin anew and get rid of even the tiniest bit of anxiety both for him and the rest of the family.

Thus, after five years of active involvement in the dark net and with him reaching the age of majority, he put up an application to an auditing firm and will finally turn over a new leaf as a safe, ethical hacker in another three days. Though it might be a little boring and peaceful, he will no longer need to hide in fear of getting himself into trouble, all for his family's sake.

That's why what he just completed was his last job as a cracker.

'I guess this is really my last day as Argus.'

Relieved that this was the last and he was finally going to step out of the light in a few days, he yielded himself to the fatigue and sleepiness.

***

'Ar ---!, ---up!'

"Uhmmm…"

"Brother --!"

"Hmm… Y-yes?"

"Wake up!"

Someone dared to enter his fortress and disturb the sleeping dragon, but he remained unmoving.

There was no need to think about who that someone might be, as there's only one in the house who has a high-pitched voice. And it didn't happen once or twice either. He was already so used to it that when his comforter was flipped, he just stubbornly curled up like a ball.

"So tired…"

"Of course you are! You've been up for hours like a struggling salaryman, but you've got to eat. It's already time for dinner."

'You're not wrong, though; I really feel like a salaryman…'

He understood that they were alarmed because he had slept through the entire day, but his body felt as heavy as lead, and he didn't have the strength to even open his eyes.

"Ah, I miss my lovable, non-nagging, obedient sister…"

He mumbled under his breath as his hand moved clumsily around for the blanket; unfortunately, his sister is sharp-eared.

"Sorry to say, I outgrew her, so up! Yip, yip!"

"No…"

He struggled and grabbed his blanket again to cover his entire body.

"Then I am left with no other choice."

Underneath the cover, he heard the muffled sound of stomping footsteps hurrying out of the room. But before he could even finish saying "thank goodness" internally, he was forced to jolt himself awake at his sister's call.

"Mom! Brother is ---!"

'Urgh…'

"Son?"

His mother called him out in her usual gentle voice. She probably got worried about him for not taking enough meals for the past day, which made him feel a bit uncomfortable. It wasn't good for her health.

"Uh, yes, mom, I'm coming."

He dragged his unkempt self towards the dining area, where his mother, brother, and little sister, who was making a face, were all seated. He first rubbed his sister's teasing face with his hand before sitting down himself.

"Urk!"

"Hello, brother."

"Son, aren't you overdoing it? Because of me ---"

"Mm? No, mom, it's not like that. I do it because I like it. And it's fun because I am pretty good, so you don't need to worry ---"

He wanted to sell himself to ease his mother's concerns, but his siblings interrupted.

"Wow, what was today's weather forecast?"

"Windy."

"So it must be!"

"Hah!"

After rubbing his sister's face again, he pretended to be sulky, and he started to eat. There were only three people who legitimately worried about him, but he still doesn't know how to respond, even after all these years.

His mother stared at him for a while before sighing and turning her attention back to the television. She knew he just shuts his mouth when he feels uncomfortable. But even so, without looking, she spoke one last time.

"Still, I want you to take care of yourself for once."

"Yes, mom."

"And get enough sleep after this."

"Un."

A few minutes of silence passed until his brother nonchalantly commented.

"You need not worry anymore, mom. You'll be starting your real 9-5 job at the Metro, right, brother?"

"Mmm."

His brother, like usual, is the only one on his side. But he only nodded in response to the question that was meant to shake off the awkwardness, relishing the first real food he'd had in days. His sister followed up, poking fun of him.

"Ah, the time has come for us to be proud of you."

"Huh? Why? I'm amazing!"

"Eh, you're a criminal, though."

"Still amazing. I'm an amazing criminal, you see."

The banter continued while they enjoyed the delicious dinner meal. It wasn't good to overlook an offense against the law even though they were family, but they were that kind of household.

At the end of their dinner, he didn't forget to tell his mother about the money he got to pay for her next treatment session. Afterwards, he stayed to spend a peaceful after-dinner tea time with his family in the living room.

[... the floating Achaz Great Prison, which once boasted of being an impenetrable confinement fortress and housed infamous criminals from all over the world, was...]

"Whoa."

"What?! 'The Achaz'?!"

"Shh. Shut up, go help mom."

"Aye, aye. But isn't that where Cray, the president's murderer, was thrown, not to mention that crazy guy who got convicted on over a hundred counts of murder? What was his name ---?"

"Khansach Raz. But Achaz primarily uses unmanned guarding, which means---"

He, who wasn't paying attention at first, couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise at the next words of the news anchor.

[According to reports, the artificial intelligence system Kowloon, which was the core of Achaz' jail system, was taken down at exactly 5:17 this morning.]

"Crazy shi---!"

"Mouth, brother, I can't believe I am the one saying this."

"But it's totally wicked!"

"Uhm, I'm pretty sure our 'wicked' doesn't mean the same thing."

"Yeah? Whoever brought that thing down must be a total genius!"

Sigh.

"Right?"

None could argue that whoever was the culprit, he or she must be a computer whiz.

Since it has nothing to do with them and Achaz is far away from their home, he could express his blatant admiration for the criminal, despite the fact that it was the most dangerous cybercrime so far.

'Facing off such crazy criminals would be fun…'

The thought made his hands a little bit itchy.

"Luna, the tea is ready!"

"Coming!"

[... a few of the escapees were apprehended on the East Coast just this morning, but some big names are still on the run.]

"I'll take that, mom. You have the lighter one."

"Thanks, dear."

[Breaking news! The Cyber Crime Division of INTERPOL has confirmed the surrender of a person involved in one of, if not the, biggest hacks in cybersecurity history, now known as "the Achaz Liberation." A live feed is coming directly from the headquarters ---]

The television screen switched to the live video in the press room of Interpol Headquarters. Briefly, a dignified man entered with a couple of others behind him, including a lean guy with his face entirely covered by his hood.

[... we received a call from this individual surrendering himself at ten hundred. According to his statements, he isn't the main culprit or the Achaz Liberator, but a person who is working as the agent…]

'Agent?'

For some reason, a shiver ran down his spine as he continued watching the report. Somehow, he was struck by a sudden thought that he forgot about something important.

Meanwhile, his mother and sister arrived with the tea set and loads of teatime snacks.

[An operation was launched immediately upon receiving information about the cybercriminal, no, the cyberterrorist. In fact, the operatives are already in the vicinity of the Liberator's residence awaiting the signal to carry out the arrest.]

[Sir, what is the nationality of the said offender?]

[We cannot divulge that information for now.]

"Here's yours."

"Uhm. T-thanks, mom."

He felt the gradual decrease in his body temperature, which was inversely proportional to the speed of his heartbeat. Sipping the warm tea didn't help in any way. Instead, his chest somehow tightened every time the tea went down his throat, impeding his normal breathing, but he continued to listen.

[... the informant, codenamed "Kerioth," identified the "Liberator" as someone who does large-scale hacking for fun. Evidence was submitted…]

'N-no way, K-Kerioth?'

"Brother?"

All his family's questioning eyes look in his direction.

He stood up from the couch when the so-called informant revealed the face that he was extremely familiar with, confirming his fear.

No, it was far from familiar.

The face of the agent he trusted the most, one he considered his only friend, was always innocent-looking and smiling whenever they video called each other, as they lived on opposite sides of the globe.

Who appeared on the screen was an unfamiliar Kerioth that was devoid of emotion.

But the indifferent expression only lasted for a moment. When the camera focused on his face, Kerioth broke into a gleeful smile, with his eyes almost curving into crescent shapes.

It was the happiest he had ever seen Kerioth.

And the now unfamiliar guy mouthed

[See you, Argus.]

"W-what did he say?"

"Brother, did he say, Argus?"

He was codenamed Argus. His family who overlooked the matter with his chosen field knew about it.

Snap. Crash. Splatter.

"T-that..."

The whole tea set hit the floor and was scattered into tiny pieces.

His mother trembled and turned to him fearfully, unfeeling of the hot liquid that spattered on her feet.

His twin siblings did the same and stopped dead in their tracks; the snacks that they were supposed to enjoy were also dropped and rolled to the floor.

However, he didn't take notice of their reactions. His gaze was still directed at Kerioth's remorseless face.

For the first time in his life, his mind went blank.

'Why?'

But more than Kerioth's betrayal, he was drawn towards his mistake.

'The transaction ---'

It was the first time in five years, no, maybe in all his life, that he got careless.

The heavy silence went on for a couple of minutes until all of them were interrupted by the sound of police sirens loudly echoing outside their home.

Weeeeeoooooo, weeeeeoooooo!

"Surrender now, Liberator!"

And as if following a carefully written script, the police called out his new name at the perfect time.

'Liberator?'

He stiffly looked beyond the window, which was now flashing with red and blue lights.

Indeed, as he had thought earlier, that very day was his last as Argus.

However, unlike earlier, the idea was no longer followed by a sense of relief.