Chapter 6

〈 Chapter 6, Part 1, Episode 5 〉

Director Ryu Yo-ho crushed his burning cigarette into the ashtray.

“Hmph.”

Though fully aware of the health risks, no amount of nicotine could prepare him for the upcoming phone call without some assistance.

Ring-ring-ring—

The telephone rang several times before a click sounded and the voice on the other end came through.

“You’ve worked hard, Comrade Ryu.”

“Not at all, Director.”

His mouth went dry. Tension gripped his body rigidly.

“The Chairman himself is quite pleased with these results.”

“Is that so?”

The director let out an internal sigh of relief.

“That’s right. When I mentioned your strategy to send the unidentified monster toward Korea, even the Chairman was impressed. Of course, we took care of the specifics ourselves.”

The method worried him. He understood why the other side harbored ill will against Korea to the point of using a different name, but this time it felt extreme.

“Yes… you fired a missile, didn’t you?”

“Of course, a mere missile couldn’t harm an S-Rank monster. But surely it’s enough to push the creature away, isn’t it?”

“…An S-Rank monster?”

“Heheh. Whether it’s a villain or a monster, who knows anymore?”

A low chuckle echoed through the receiver.

“The official story will be that Hero Unjang fought valiantly in Seobo. The monster took a devastating blow from Unjang’s ultimate technique and fled toward Korea. What can we do? Once the monster crossed into their airspace, international law prevents us from interfering.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

As monsters began appearing worldwide, and their remains became valuable resources, the world made a pact:

“Monsters must be dealt with by the sovereign nation within whose territory they appear.”

With jurisdiction over monster eradication within their borders also came immunity from foreign intervention—a global agreement the Hero Association opposed but ultimately had to accept due to the constant need to manage monster byproducts.

The director exploited this agreement, pushing the blue-haired villain—no, the S-Rank monster—into Korean waters. Now the primary responsibility for dealing with her rested squarely on South Korea.

“It’s been a while since an S-Rank monster appeared. Korea sure has good luck.”

“Hohoho.”

The director chuckled along with the bureau chief’s laughter. Since the infamous “Pyongyang Incident” of 2012, Korea’s standing among heroes had plummeted significantly.

“In any case, our party cannot currently deploy heroes recklessly—you know as well as I do—”

“Yes. Aren’t there issues with desert scorpions appearing in the desert?”

“That’s right. Most of our forces are focused inland. Thankfully, thanks to our esteemed Sea Guardian covering the coastline, everything went smoothly without incident.”

There was a brief pause in conversation before the director spoke up about something weighing on his mind.

“By the way, what if Korea manages to hunt down that <Phoenix>? ”

“Tsk tsk. Didn’t you devise this strategy to make them rely on us by sending them an unmanageable monster?”

“Yes, but…”

The director recalled the two S-Rank heroes registered in the Hero Association’s database in Korea.

But what if they combined their strength and succeeded in capturing the girl—

“Nonsense. You just focus on quietly managing your branch. Shouldn’t you head back to headquarters soon?”

“Yes! Yes! That’s right!”

“Good. Continue working hard for the party.”

Click. As the line disconnected, the director slumped back into his chair, the tension leaving his body.

“My head hurts.”

When monsters first emerged as threats to the world, so too did the Hero Association rise in prominence as the response agency.

What set China apart from others was that the Party, specifically the “Great Monster Management Bureau,” held more authority than the Association itself.

“The Association may have many heroes, but Headquarters has the Sea Guardian.”

Unjang might be the only one, but he’s currently China’s strongest and a hero to all its people.

While the Association tries to register Unjang under its banner, the Party uses his influence to try to dominate the Association instead.

“It seems the Association still holds stronger sway for now…”

Currently aligned with the Association but prepared to switch sides at any moment, the director continued erasing today’s combat data involving Unjang using his branch authority.

[Data deletion…90%.]

The black box mounted on the crimson armor contained footage of the battle with the girl, which was now being erased entirely under the director’s hand.

“But…”

The director lit a new cigarette, recalling the final moments of the battle he’d briefly replayed.

Unjang’s retreat wasn’t tactical—it bordered on outright fleeing.

“Could he really…”

The thought of Unjang turning tail sent shivers down the director’s spine as he finished deleting the video.

* * *

Yeongjong Island, Eulwang Beach.

Now deserted and desolate, Park Geun, an old man, walked along the sandy shore daily.

Designated as a dangerous zone due to frequent monster appearances, the entire neighborhood had evacuated, including the military. However, the old man refused to leave.

“Damn monsters.”

Shivering in the cold sea breeze, he turned on his radio.

Just like ghosts collecting fees, the telecom companies cut off service when Incheon fell to the monsters, rendering his smartphone useless.

Digging out the dusty old radio from storage proved fortuitous; it still received signals clearly.

“[…] We’ll now return to the Defense Ministry spokesperson’s statement.”

An exhausted anchor handed over to a solemn-sounding man.

“The Defense Ministry confirms China launched a missile into the Yellow Sea.”

“[…] Professor Do, what do you think about this?”

“Come on, the Chinese government denies it. Who fires missiles at monsters? It doesn’t make sense.”

“We confirmed the missile launch. Even the U.S. acknowledges it!”

“So where did it explode? Is there evidence? Did any nearby monsters react violently?”

Professor Do scoffed.

“If the missile was real, there should’ve been an explosion somewhere. Or maybe surrounding monsters would’ve gone berserk. I believe our Defense Ministry made a grave mistake here—”

“There was an explosion! Hero Unjang battled a monster near the Yellow Sea coast, remember?”

Interrupting sharply, the Defense Ministry representative shouted. A former career soldier now dispatched by the Hero Association.

“While Unjang works for China, as one of the Twelve Heroes, he undoubtedly handled the situation appropriately after the missile was fired domestically—”

“You realize how absurd that sounds, right? Maybe the monster ate the missile.”

“Damn nonsense.”

As the panelists’ argument grew heated, Park Geun switched off the radio.

“What a mess. With all this chaos, what can anyone do?”

Peace might reign in the south, but areas once bordering North Korea were absolute madness.

“When I was young, everyone panicked about communists invading, but now it’s hordes of monsters descending upon us. What’s next?”

Since the tragedy in Pyongyang in 2012, everything about this country had changed drastically. Recalling the events of that day at sea—

Kuuuuuuhhh!

“What the hell?!?”

The ground shook violently beneath him, nearly knocking the old man flat.

“A monster?!”

Before he could think to flee, a colossal shadow rose from the sea—an enormous serpent-like figure leaping skyward. Recognizing the silhouette, Park Geun gasped.

“The Western Sea Weapon?!”

Koooom!

Why had the A-Rank monster dwelling deep in the Yellow Sea surfaced here? Before Park Geun could escape, the beast slammed onto the beach, jaws wide open.

“Mmm?”

Having spent decades fishing, he could instantly tell whether fish were alive or dead—even monsters originally classified as fish. At a glance, he sensed something amiss.

“Dead?”

Impossible. Known for its cunning, it had long been deemed unapproachable and untouchable underwater. Yet now, it lay sprawled on the sand, tongue lolling out, its body visibly torn apart from the middle onward.

“Am I next?”

Radio talk of missing missiles gave way to a dead sea monster washing ashore. Clutching his throbbing head, Park Geun approached cautiously, holding a broken bottle of soju.

“Glug.”

Swallowing nervously, he stepped closer, inch by inch, toward the beast’s gaping maw.

Ten steps remained.

Squeeeek!

“Damn it!”

Startled by the sudden movement of the Western Sea Weapon’s head, Park Geun instinctively hurled the shattered soju bottle.

The glowing green projectile spun wildly, striking the blue-haired girl emerging from the monster’s mouth.

Thud.

“Wha-what?”

About the size of his high school-aged granddaughter, yet the aura emanating from her hair betrayed her true nature.

“A hero?”

In response to Park Geun’s question, the girl crawled weakly out of the monster’s mouth. Beneath the shimmering emerald veil clinging to her soaked form, her physique would’ve likely tempted darker thoughts had the old man been ten years younger.

Dazed, she alternated her gaze between the old man and the dead monster.

“Ugh…”

Assessing her condition based on years of experience, Park Geun edged closer.

“Are you okay? Were you caught in some raid or something?”

“Umpf.”

Suddenly clamping her mouth shut, the girl lurched forward.

“Uwwweeeeaaaahhhh!!!”

She vomited seawater violently. The acrid smell forced Park Geun to step back further.

“Mo…”

Focusing her vision, the girl reached out toward him.

“Mo Taegyeong, you bastard…”

Cursing the current director of China’s Great Monster Management Bureau, she face-planted into her own regurgitated contents and passed out.

“Who’s Mo Taegyeong?”

Park Geun scratched his head in confusion but carefully pulled the unconscious girl away from the monster’s jaws.

Crunch, crunch.

“Aaaagh?!”

Slipping on the wet sand, Park Geun lost his grip on the girl, who flopped face-first into her own vomit, still unconscious.

“Ugh…”

Should he carry her? If word got out he touched her, he might face serious consequences later. Despite his hesitation, the girl continued to lie motionless, drooling seawater.

“…How did she end up like this?”

Sympathy welled up in him as he lifted her frail frame. Smaller and more delicate than even his granddaughter, the girl seemed pitiful.

“Poor thing.”

Details aside, regardless of whether she was truly a hero, abandoning her here to be eaten by monsters violated his conscience.

Even if the world falls to monsters, shouldn’t humans still help each other?

“To live is better than dying. I don’t want to deal with another corpse.”

Struggling under her weight, Park Geun carried her home. As they moved, the girl groaned faintly, regaining partial consciousness.

“Hnnnggghh… uuuugh…”