Chapter 74

〈Chapter 74〉 Part 1, Chapter 5 (7)

<9:00 PM, New Seoul Government Building Presidential Office>

Sun Icheol lay reclined on the sofa, resting. The soft strains of classical music from the spinning LP record brought a sense of calm to his mind and body.

Shiver-shiver-shiver.

But his legs wouldn’t stop trembling uncontrollably, and his hands kept nervously tapping the armrests. Most of all, his gaze couldn’t break away from the opposite sofa. If Sun Icheol’s current state had to be summed up in two words, it would be “anxious.”

He was extremely anxious. This was the same man who remained composed enough to calmly greet people when he’d been elected president by a mere 2% margin – and now he was shaking.

Hiss! The shadow looming beside the sofa rippled dramatically. Sun Icheol raised his teacup with feigned nonchalance.

“How’s it going?”

“It’s not possible. Security is too tight.”

Cheongsong revealed his burned arm that had been pushed through. His frail wrist was completely exposed. Sun Icheol slammed down the cup and shouted.

“What?! What?! What?! I didn’t wait until this hour just to hear that from you!”

But Cheongsong’s reply was firm.

“It’s not possible. During the day, birds keep watch, and at night the lighthouse stays vigilant. As soon as we approach Yeouido, attacks come flying.”

“Damn!”

Sun Icheol drank tea to calm his anger. Though he wanted to rush to Yeouido right now, sever villains’ heads, and retrieve the Cube, Sun Icheol was an ordinary person without special abilities.

Though God had given him absolute power, He hadn’t granted him any special powers.

Ultimately, the Pine Tree Unit was the limit of Sun Icheol’s covert hero forces. Even with them, infiltrating Yeouido was impossible. Calming his frustration, Sun Icheol asked.

“Is it that S-Rank again?”

“Yes. Whenever there’s even a slight opening, they appear like ghosts and attack. They’re especially focused on cutting necks, so they must be the ones who sent the box.”

Sun Icheol touched his own neck. The monster that had dropped off a box containing the decapitated heads of Pine Tree Unit members on the government building roof had flown right over his head at an incomprehensible speed.

The Light Blade had attempted interception immediately, but the monster had effortlessly blocked the attack and escaped.

“Tch. Hasn’t the Light Blade returned yet?”

“No. Still no word. Since he’s in closed-door training, no one knows when he’ll emerge.”

Sun Icheol clicked his tongue.

“Is this some kind of martial arts novel? Seriously, closed-door training in the 21st century?”

“Didn’t you yourself say it’s fine because it leads to transcendence, President?”

Cheongsong retorted with an air of disbelief. Sun Icheol muttered something about tea before speaking again.

“Surely you don’t think I actually want you to reach S-Rank, do you? Haven’t you said it yourself how difficult it is? So what can be done? There’s no need to push yourself.”

“…President, do you truly wish for me to become S-Rank?”

After a pause, Sun Icheol burst into laughter.

“Don’t worry about such things. You’ve already said it yourself how hard it is to reach S-Rank, haven’t you? So there’s nothing to be done. No need to overexert yourself.”

When Cheongsong remained silent, Sun Icheol hurriedly added,

“Don’t go doing something foolish like entering closed-door training either. Without you, I can do nothing. It’s practically thanks to you that I’m in this position, isn’t it?”

“…Understood.”

Cheongsong bowed his head. Sitting still in his chair, he vanished into the shadows. Sun Icheol quietly finished his remaining tea.

“Tsk.”

The aftertaste of the tea was bitter. Sun Icheol closed his eyes, listening to the music.

“Hmph. Guess I can’t use this anymore.”

His whispered monologue dispersed into the void, unheard by anyone.

* * *

Somewhere within the Daejeon Research Complex lies the Cube.

My bombshell statement seems to have left the officers speechless.

“Huh…”

“That’s…well…”

Everyone except Deokbae looked equally baffled, sharing a common reaction.

“Hey! Shouldn’t we immediately go find that thing if it exists?!”

“Calm down.”

Ryu Cheonseong raised his hand to stop Ji Hwa, though his brief glance at me carried a piercing inquiry.

“Listen, Leader. Do you know which group is researching the Cube? Are you aware how vast the Daejeon Research Complex is?”

“…No. But there are places I suspect.”

At my words, Ryu Cheonseong fell silent for a moment before nodding.

“I see. That’s why you can’t move, lacking certainty.”

I flicked my finger in confirmation. The others seemed slightly confused, so I provided a simple explanation.

“The research facility is within the Light Blade’s ‘territory.’ He’d immediately attack upon entry.”

“Ah.”

“Light Blade…”

Everyone let out a groan. The weight of the name ‘Light Blade’ was indeed heavy.

“So there’s nothing we can do about Daejeon. Unless the Light Blade leaves New Seoul. Which means we should focus on our tasks here in Seoul.”

“To be sure. Just in Seoul alone, there’s a mountain of accumulated problems.”

Ryu Cheonseong agreed with my statement. It was about time to wrap up the meeting.

“Yes. By the way…”

I pointed at my smartwatch. The time had already passed 9 PM, nearing 10.

“We’ve all worked hard up until now, haven’t we? We’ve eased some worries through negotiations with the special envoy team. And since tomorrow’s Saturday…”

Everyone’s expressions brightened. They seemed to understand my intention.

“Let’s take it easy this weekend. I apologize for keeping you all late. Let’s all get a good night’s sleep. Blue Wind Sect officers, dismissed!”

With those words, the meeting concluded.

* * *

“How much longer must we stay cooped up here?”

Lee Giseong pounded on the door in protest. The loud thudding shook the glass windows on the wall, but the guards outside remained silent.

“Damn it!”

Lee Giseong kicked the door fiercely. The steel door showed dents from the force of his shoe tips, but still, there was no response from outside.

“Huff, huff.”

He sat heavily on the bed, taking deep breaths to calm his anger.

From Anyang to being transported here to this remote hotel in New Seoul, they’d only briefly participated in a photo session with journalists before being brought here.

– You’ve worked hard for several weeks, so rest at this hotel tonight and prepare for tomorrow.

Though the government had kindly provided the heroes with top-tier accommodations, Lee Giseong felt this hotel room was more like a prison than the shabby rooms in Yeouido.

No, it was a prison.

They were trapped again in New Seoul. Not for the crime of surviving, but for the crime of learning truths they weren’t supposed to know.

“Sun Icheol, you bastard…”

Lee Giseong muttered under his breath.

Pine Tree Unit. Civilian massacre. These were enormous sins that couldn’t be tolerated by either a hero or a human being.

But Lee Giseong lacked the power. He had been bitten by the Hellhound during the Seoul recovery operation – a weak C-Rank hero.

On the Hero Wiki, most evaluations described him as “righteous with overflowing sense of mission, but lacking talent to match.”

“If we just sit here…”

Lee Giseong rubbed his collarbone area. Though his skin showed nothing now, by morning, a mark would surely appear.

The Pine Tree Mark.

The kidnapped heroes, including Lee Giseong, would be branded as members of the Pine Tree Unit despite not being criminals, becoming Sun Icheol’s slaves.

Suddenly, a sly woman’s laugh popped into Lee Giseong’s mind.

– You can return to normal life while turning a blind eye to the truth. But next time we meet as the Pine Tree Unit, remember we’ll be enemies. Pfft.

“So it really is as they say, huh.”

It sounded like clever deceit from a villain.

But the shocking scene of heroes slaughtering civilians had planted seeds of doubt in their hearts, and those seeds had sprouted while imprisoned in this hotel.

Communication cut off from the outside world. A single night’s time.

Knock-knock. A knocking sound came from the door. Lee Giseong quickly straightened his posture.

“Excuse me.”

The thick steel door opened, revealing a woman dressed entirely in black.

From head to toe, she was clad in black, with a nameplate reading “Monster Countermeasures Department” pinned on her chest. Nameless.

Lee Giseong’s body naturally tensed up. When the woman gestured with her hand, the thick steel door firmly shut behind her.

In the dead of night, a lone man and woman left in a remote hotel room. Lee Giseong swallowed hard. The woman smirked.

“C-Rank Hero Officer Lee Giseong. Sorry for the late hour. Preparations are complete, so let’s move shortly.”

“Where to?”

Lee Giseong subtly scanned the woman’s entire body. Not for lewd purposes – though her figure was indeed attractive – but to detect any magical residue emanating from her.

None. She wasn’t a special ability user. Lee Giseong internally sighed in relief. The woman replied with a gentle smile.

“Just in case, we’ll conduct examinations at the Daejeon Research Facility to check if there’s any abnormality in your body due to dimensional gate effects. Even though the dimensional gate has closed, its aftereffects might remain, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

That sounds reasonable, Lee Giseong thought. Yet an inexplicable discomfort slowly arose.

A brief silence. The second hand ticked on. The woman glanced at her smartwatch then scanned the room. Her gaze landed on the dishes on the desk.

“You didn’t eat dinner?”

Porridge, soup, and some vitamins. A meal prepared with consideration for heroes who had skipped meals for long periods. Lee Giseong sheepishly excused himself.

“I don’t really like liquid food…”

He avoided the woman’s gaze. Her glare felt like it could pierce him with needles.

“Hmmph.”

The woman’s deep sigh unsettled Lee Giseong’s heart. It carried both disdain for the picky hero and a faint trace of irritation.

She tapped on her smartwatch.

“Causing trouble at the last minute, really.”

Bang! The steel door roughly opened as men in black suits with dark sunglasses stormed in. All of them had their necks covered with scarves.

“Wha-!”

Lee Giseong jumped up from his chair in shock. But faster than him, the suited men had already subdued and forced him to kneel.

Through the gloves gripping his shoulders, Lee Giseong could feel weak traces of magical energy.

The woman loosened her tie, unbuttoning the top button of her shirt to reveal the edge of a pine tree mark at the end of her collarbone.

“What?!”

No magical presence had been detected earlier. In Lee Giseong’s startled eyes, the woman lifted the corner of her mouth in a smirk.

“Curious, aren’t you? Too bad I don’t plan to tell you.”

The woman pulled something out from her bosom. A tiny syringe, small enough to seem like a toy, containing a mysterious purple liquid that swirled inside.

“Just take a nap. When you wake up, everything will be different. Honestly, why did you have to complain about food and make things troublesome?”

Poke. The needle pierced Lee Giseong’s neck. Along with the sensation of all magic disappearing instantly, Lee Giseong lost consciousness.

♪♬

The hotel room emptied of everyone.

A single little canary hidden in the ceiling gracefully flew through the window onto the rooftop.

* * *

Woo-woo.

The night wind was cold. A beautiful crescent moon hung in the sky.

Thud, thud. Footsteps echoed in the darkness. I greeted warmly as he approached the rooftop railing.

“You’ve got good instincts. I thought you might not notice.”

“B-Rank and below aren’t officers, right? So I wasn’t dismissed.”

Right. Since Deokbae is still C-Rank, he’s not an officer. Deokbae understood the meaning behind my last words and came to find me separately.

Officers dismissed. Deokbae was merely a low-ranking member sitting there by seniority alone.

“You’ve got A-Rank instincts. Thanks to the spirit stone, perhaps?”

“Forget it. Let’s get to the main point. …Planning to leave, aren’t you?”

I nodded. Deokbae massaged his temples as if having a headache. I smiled and patted his shoulder.

“Just going for a quick reconnaissance. Got it?”

“Going somewhere near Daejeon where the Light Blade is, right? Let’s keep that secret for now. Hey. Can you beat the Light Blade?”

“Can I beat him?”

I pointed at the floor with my finger.

“There’s no one on this earth who can defeat me 1-on-1.”

“I wonder about the source of that baseless confidence, but let’s say there’s a 1% chance you can beat the Light Blade. Then what’s your plan after that?”

“After?”

At my counter-question, Deokbae nodded.

“If Japan and China just sit idly by? Once the Light Blade falls, they’ll immediately dispatch the Round Table to New Seoul, right?”

“Japan, I’m not sure about, but China’s possible.”

Hwakwon is hospitalized, and Seohwagongju has entered intense training after suffering a humiliating defeat against me.

Effectively, aside from the Light Blade, their prestige has taken significant damage. In this situation, if the Light Blade were killed, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say South Korea’s hero strength would be reduced by more than half.

“Those Chinese bastards, didn’t they stay poised and ready in the Yellow Sea during the dimensional gate incident?”

Then Japan and China will immediately move to swallow up Korea. The international community won’t intervene in the affairs of this small Far Eastern country amidst all this chaos.

Deokbae crossed his arms with a troubled expression.

“Let’s avoid the worst-case scenario, alright?”

“It’s fine. We can handle it together when that happens.”

“Who? With Cheon Gaeul?”

I shook my head.

“My fellow spirit.”

“…That spirit? Hey, wait. Is there some connection between the Light Blade and the spirit?”

“Of course there is. Ah. Signal incoming.”

Far to the south, ripples of magical energy appeared. I stood up on the rooftop railing and shook my hand.

“If anyone asks, tell them Phoenix went out to play at night.”

Whoosh. My vision turned blue.

Dizziness briefly took over, and when I opened my eyes again, I was on the rooftop of the hotel where Mini Phoenix had been hiding. I transferred through the Mini Phoenix I had attached to Lee Giseong.

Vroooom!

Lee Giseong and the heroes departed the hotel with the roar of powerful engines.

I quietly descended from the rooftop and hid myself among the trees.