Chapter 7

〈 Chapter 7 〉 Part 1-1 (6)

I had a dream.

Blazing Phoenix.

The heroine I finally got to meet after dedicating nearly half a year out of an entire year.

Her humanoid form revealed on the official site was my exact type, and I fell head over heels in love at first sight.

But then, this Phoenix was flying around looking like an idiot,

Getting into a verbal spat with Xiao Lin and getting hit by a missile fired from China,

Then sneaking around as quietly as possible only to be mistaken for a mere monster by the Western Sea Weapon and devoured whole!

What is this? The Blazing Phoenix I know isn’t such a fool…

“That’s because you’re an idiot.”

I turned around to see Blazing Phoenix glaring daggers at me.

Her blue eyes were filled with disdain as she looked down on me.

“Idiot.”

* * *

“AHHH! No!”

The maiden screamed as she shot up from bed. The cold sweat running down her forehead showed just how terrifying her brief nightmare had been.

“Ah…what kind of dream was that…?”

Feeling some deep emotional wounds, the maiden placed her hand on her chest and took a deep breath.

The cyan veil wrapped tightly around her body made her look like she’d just emerged from the sea. With a snap of her fingers, she summoned magic power.

Woooom-

The magic energy enveloped the veil. What had appeared as a long silk cloth transformed into a dress-like outfit hugging her figure.

“Like the ‘Explosion Edition’ of the Blazing Veil?”

If any danger approaches, I’ll release the veil and make a run for it.

‘Anyway…’

It seems someone rescued me while I was unconscious.

‘This place looks like an old countryside house.’

The wallpaper and doors give off a remote rural inn vibe, but the furniture and items inside show traces of a lively young girl’s taste.

‘…Losing consciousness is surprising enough.’

Though I don’t know why I passed out suddenly, I remember everything up until bursting out of the Western Sea Weapon’s insides and rising above the water surface.

After that, when the Western Sea Weapon’s head crashed onto the beach, I started feeling a headache. I threw up all the seawater I swallowed and saw an old man who found me – that’s my last memory.

‘So this must be that old man’s house?’

With an awkward feeling, I carefully opened the door. The creaking hinges echoed through the living room.

The smell of freshly cooked rice wafted from the connected kitchen.

“Ah, you’re awake?”

The old man, wearing an oddly pink apron, was stirring porridge.

What should I say? The maiden scratched her head for a moment before bowing.

“T-thank you for saving me.”

“Saving you? Ha! What could an old geezer like me do? All I can do is treat the hero who defeated the Western Sea Weapon.”

Hearty laughter accompanied as he served the porridge in a bowl on the table.

“Come on, sit down. Even though I look like this, I’ve fed my son and granddaughter for thirty years.”

“Yes.”

Following the old man’s gesture, the maiden sat at the table. At his invitation, she awkwardly nodded and picked up her spoon.

“You seem Korean judging by your hair color?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm. I haven’t heard of there being a lady hero in Korea yet…”

Ah, I see. The maiden smiled while scooping a spoonful of porridge.

“I haven’t officially debuted yet. During a combat ability test, I ended up falling alone…”

She rolled her eyes as she continued speaking.

Anyone with even basic industry knowledge would spot the holes in that story, but unfortunately, the old man’s only connection to the outside world is an ancient radio.

“Ho ho! Another national blessing following Princess Snowflower has appeared in our country. Hehe!”

The old man poured himself some barley tea and laughed heartily. The maiden simply followed suit with an embarrassed smile while continuing to eat.

“Have you ever met Princess Snowflower? We only have two S-rank heroes in our great nation…”

“S-rank hero.”

‘Princess Snowflower’. A hero known for her freezing powers and floral beauty.

“Yes! Oh, about five years ago before my TV broke, I saw her amazing feats. She was so beautiful even back then when she wasn’t yet an adult but wiped out B-rank monsters with a single strike -”

“The scene where ‘a fairy dances among flowers blooming in the frozen field’…”

When the maiden put down her spoon and focused on the old man’s story, he excitedly continued.

“Exactly! The powerful blow freezing the monsters crossing the Han River! Truly, we can proudly call her the strongest in South Korea -”

Seeing the maiden’s expression turn wistful, the old man waved his hands.

“No no! I’m not comparing you to ‘Light Blade’!”

“It’s fine. I’m not particularly interested in who’s stronger between the two of us.”

The maiden shrugged and picked up her spoon again. After taking a sip of tea, the old man nodded.

“To survive the Western Sea Weapon, you’re definitely B-rank material at minimum. Since you’re unregistered, B-rank is guaranteed and with some achievements, you could reach A-rank.”

“You seem quite knowledgeable about hero rankings?”

Surprised, the maiden asked. The old man pointed to a photo at the end of the table and smiled.

“My granddaughter studied hard wanting to become an association officer. She used to visit often before Incheon became what it is now…”

There was a sense of resignation in the old man’s eyes. After pondering for a moment, the maiden cautiously asked.

“Why are you still here, sir?”

“Ah, why am I stubbornly staying in this land of monsters? My granddaughter in New Seoul has begged me dozens of times to move down there.”

The old man laughed heartily as he continued.

“…My son disappeared at sea.”

The maiden’s expression stiffened.

“Even though the others managed to return somehow… Apparently, there was some eel-like creature that attacked their ship.”

The old man spoke calmly as if recounting someone else’s story.

“They say he jumped into the sea with a harpoon to save a friend whose leg was caught. That crazy guy even managed to rescue his friend and send him back onto the ship.”

There was a hint of pride in the old man’s voice.

“He wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps despite having hero potential… Anyway, the ship returned to port, but he didn’t. It’s been seven years since then.”

The old man pointed to the oldest photo among them. There was a young man identical to the old man, holding hands with a high school-aged daughter.

“Fortunately, I had enough savings to send Soyeon to university and get her a job in New Seoul. She kept saying she’d earn money now and told me to pack up and move to New Seoul. Look at her, all grown up! Hahaha!”

The old man fondly stroked a photo of himself with a college-capped Soyeon and burst into laughter.

“What with Incheon turning into this mess, I probably won’t see my granddaughter anymore. But she’ll think I’m dead eventually! Hehe. Now that this stubborn old man won’t interfere in her love life, she should find a rich husband and live happily! Cough, cough!”

The maiden quickly poured tea into a cup and handed it to the old man.

“Thank you. Talking to someone after so long has made me overly chatty.”

“Your son will be alright.”

The maiden said with conviction. The old man smiled faintly and tousled her hair.

“You know how to comfort an old man. Hmm, you’ve been raised well by your parents. You’ll make a fine hero.”

“It’s true.”

Showing a slightly pouting face, the maiden made the old man nod understandingly.

“Still, thank you for the words. But don’t you have something to do now?”

“To do?”

At the maiden’s question, the old man pointed outside the window.

“You need to recover that core.”

His finger pointed to the corpse of the Western Sea Weapon sprawled on the white sand.

* * *

“HAAAH!!”

The crescent blade swept through the air in a graceful arc. The blue magic-infused slash cleanly severed the steel pillar as if it were tofu.

“HAA!”

With another yell, the crescent blade carved a new path, splitting another steel pillar neatly in half. The upper section slid apart along diagonal lines.

SCHLICK!

The masked warrior slashed again,

SCHLICK! SCHLICK!

And again, and again. The continuous barrage of slashes seemed determined to reduce the entire pillar to metal powder, ending only when the moonblade’s magic power began to fade.

“Haa, haa!”

The warrior leaned on the crescent blade, breathing heavily.

“This isn’t enough…”

Since donning the Military God mask, the warrior had never felt fear until now. Even a day later, images of blue flames still flickered before their eyes.

“–!!”

A quick horizontal slash split the remaining piece of blue flame. But it was merely a leftover fragment of the steel pillar.

“Ah…”

Xiao Lin gathered the remaining magic power and steadied their breathing.

“This won’t do.”

The fear experienced during battle. But what twisted Xiao Lin’s mind even more was the laughing voice of the blue-haired girl etched into memory – codename <Phoenix>.

Fufu, fufu.

“She was mocking me. Definitely.”

Dodging the precise attacks and being toyed with by homing fireballs. Then, as if that initial attack was just a taste, Phoenix created dozens of fireballs to play with Xiao Lin.

“Scared?”

To be honest, it wasn’t the attacks themselves that were frightening.

What truly terrified was the seemingly endless magic power that allowed her to create so many fireballs while still having plenty to spare.

That massive, sun-like magic power completely overwhelmed Xiao Lin.

“…HAAAAA!!”

With a shout, all remaining magic power was poured into the crescent blade. The weapon enhancement ability manifested fully, causing the blade to glow bright blue.

“Kha, haa!”

As the light intensified, reaching its maximum capacity, Xiao Lin pushed even harder, forcing more magic power into the blade.

“It’s not enough.”

Even after recovering all magic power over the past day, the total amount gathered barely reached half of what Phoenix used for her fireballs.

PAKAPOOM!

“Ugh?!”

Unable to handle the overloaded magic power, the crescent blade shattered. Splinters cut into the hands gripping the hilt, drawing red blood.

“This won’t do.”

Though fighting alongside Flame Territory, one’s own magic power is still one’s responsibility.

The lack of sufficient magic power had been Xiao Lin’s clear limitation over the past few years.

Until now, this small amount of magic power had been enough to defeat monsters. But meeting the blue phoenix made it painfully obvious that this limitation needed to be overcome.

“This won’t do…”

Change was necessary. But there was no one around Xiao Lin to offer advice on this situation.

[Xiao Lin. Incoming call. The press conference is ready. Please leave your residence in one hour.]

Clenching the blood-stained hand, Xiao Lin grabbed the green cape hanging in the corner of the training room.

* * *

Monster byproducts come in various forms like bones or skin, but above all, the most valuable to humanity is the “Monster Core.”

While similar in function to a heart, it is a distinct organ responsible for circulating magic power throughout the body.

“In short, it’s the organ where the monster’s accumulated magic power resides.”

“Who are you talking to?”

Simply ignoring the old man’s interruption, I climbed atop the Western Sea Weapon’s head.

“Now, I’m going to extract the ‘Core’ from the Western Sea Weapon’s corpse.”

“Ah, is that what they do in those YouTube broadcasts?”

Placing my hand on the Western Sea Weapon’s scales, I emitted a small amount of magic power. Like a fuse, the magic spread throughout the corpse, enveloping it entirely.

“So how do you plan to find the core? A monster this size would require professional disassembly teams, right?”

“I’ll burn it all.”

WHOOSH!

“W-WHAT?!”

The old man stumbled backward in shock. Blue flames erupted across the Western Sea Weapon’s body, consuming flesh and bone alike.

“Ah, aren’t you wasting good materials?!”

“All I need is the core.”

While other parts might be useful to heroes and humans, as a senior member of the evil organization, monster remains are nothing more than troublesome trash to dispose of.

What’s truly needed is just the core. Ashes rise into the sky as scales burn away.

“Ah, there it is.”

Noticing the part where the flames begin to die down, I deliberately lowered the magic output to avoid burning beyond the core.

Jumping across the partially burned spine bones, I stopped where the core should be.

TCH.

Snapping my fingers, all remaining debris around the core instantly combusted and disappeared. As the core hovered briefly in mid-air before gravity could pull it down, I swiftly caught it in my hand.

“Wh-What? Is that thing the core? That tiny orb?”

“They vary in size. Especially for A-rank…”

Oops, slipped up there. I tossed the core toward the old man.

“Ugh?!”

Startled, the old man fumbled to catch the core but ended up dropping it back to the ground.

“Don’t worry, it’s just the core.”

“My heart isn’t so calm! That thing is worth hundreds of billions and you’re throwing it around like it’s nothing!”

“…Hundreds of billions?”

By the endgame, A-rank cores are just tossed around like marbles. This sudden revelation of their market value makes me feel even more awkward for tossing it carelessly.

“Exactly! Catching a B-rank monster already means life-changing wealth. And now you’ve obtained an A-rank core! When you take it to the association, wealthy people will come running in their bare feet willing to pay extra!”

“Ah…is that so?”

Just how these things are worth hundreds of billions is astonishing.

Though I have no intention of selling it.

CRACKLE CRACKLE

Blue flames consumed every last bit of the Western Sea Weapon’s remains within minutes.

Straightening my clothes, I picked up the core intending to pocket it, only to hesitate.

‘Oh right, I don’t have pockets.’

After all, this outfit is just a veil magically shaped into a dress.

“Miss, don’t you have anything better to wear than that flowing dress?”

“…You’re right.”

Going into the city like this risks a public indecency charge. I absolutely need to reach downtown, but I can’t start my debut in this otherworldly fashion with such a scandal.

Most importantly, Phoenix’s David-sculpted body should only be seen by me.

“Then let’s take the core and go back to my place. The sizes should match roughly.”

The old man gave me a quick once-over and headed back toward his home.

I maintained the veil’s shape with magic to prevent it from slipping and followed after him.