Chapter 108

〈Chapter 108〉 Part 1, Chapter 6 (14)

<5:17 PM, New Seoul Government Office>

“Mr. President. This is….”

The atmosphere in the government situation room froze like the ocean outside. The phenomenon defied human logic and reason, leaving everyone awestruck.

President Sun Icheol quickly rapped his knuckles on the table to bring people back to their senses.

“Minister! Contact the Association immediately. Assess the level of that attack.”

“Yes, yes!”

At Sun Icheol’s command, Minister Jang Hujung swiftly contacted the Association.

In the live feed from the Association, Princess Snow was seen flexing her hand as if gathering her strength, while the passenger ship settled in the middle of the park, completely devastating it.

“Mr. President, at this rate, the reconstruction budget will be….”

“Prime Minister, isn’t that secondary right now?”

As Sun Icheol glared fiercely, Baek Se-joon flinched.

“We can squeeze money out of corporations later. The problem is Princess Snow. Even though I’m not an expert on heroes, I know that wasn’t ordinary. Minister, what do you think?”

Having finished contacting the Association, Jang Hujung nervously swallowed. His voice trembled.

“It’s still uncertain, but her instantaneous firepower seems to have exceeded the upper limit of S Rank. Though this is not yet confirmed…”

Bang! Sun Icheol slammed his hand on the table to grab everyone’s attention.

“Contact the broadcasting stations immediately and lift the signal block.”

“Excuse me? Won’t that just invite journalists and those pesky reporters?”

“Tch.”

At the Prime Minister’s objection, Sun Icheol clicked his tongue.

“That’s why you’ll never be president in this era. You’re too outdated.”

“……”

Baek Se-joon’s face turned bright red. It was hard to keep his emotions in check when being publicly criticized by a president who looked over a decade younger than him. Sun Icheol paid no mind and adjusted his glasses.

“I feel like grabbing a camera myself and broadcasting this live. Whether it’s national TV or local channels, send someone out there to record this immediately. No, better yet, broadcast it live worldwide.”

“Pr… President?”

“What are you waiting for? Move already! Call the mayor of Busan and send every available officer with smartwatches to film this!”

Only then did the Prime Minister understand the President’s intention. Spreading his arms wide, Sun Icheol declared:

“The first-ever SS-Rank special ability user in South Korea, the first in the world! Broadcast it live across the globe immediately!”

Staff members sprang into action. Sun Icheol smirked faintly.

Light Blade had fallen, and Cheongsong had disappeared. Some were cautiously mentioning the lame duck period. Sun Icheol aimed to turn this crisis into an opportunity.

“Mr. President.”

While everyone was busy with their tasks, the Director of National Intelligence quietly approached the President from behind, holding up his smartwatch. A small screen appeared on the President’s glasses, displaying text only he could see.

– At coordinates 40.1, 124.4, Chinese heroes are engaging a monster but some have retreated.

“…I sincerely apologize.”

Sun Icheol removed his glasses and glared at the Director.

“Next time, just say it aloud. Is this the location I’m thinking of?”

“…Yes. They seem to be moving.”

Sun Icheol clicked his tongue again. It seemed the ‘them’ in Seoul had already detected the Chinese heroes claiming they would stabilize Pyongyang.

“Heaven is helping us.”

Sipping his herbal tea, Sun Icheol turned his gaze to the screen on the wall.

Moby Dick was now perilously close to the coastline.

* * *

■■■!!!

An enraged Moby Dick rammed into the iceberg headfirst.

Though it seemed foolish to try breaking through frozen sea with a headbutt, Moby Dick was thoroughly provoked by Harang taunting him from beyond the ice.

“Are you tired already?”

Harang mocked from the edge of the iceberg. Moby Dick responded by firing water cannons.

“You learn nothing!”

Dodging the suppression fire, Harang leapt backward. As Moby Dick simultaneously surfaced, he glared at Harang from mid-air.

Woooom–!!

A magical sphere formed in Moby Dick’s mouth. With a click of his tongue, Harang froze the water surface beneath him and slid backward. Moby Dick opened his mouth wider and unleashed his breath attack.

Kuaaaah! The breath attack carved through the frozen surface in a straight line toward Harang. The wave-filled breath attack seemed ready to crush Harang.

“Hmph!”

With ease, Harang extended his hand forward and released magical power.

From the tip of the icicle spear grew more ice, forming an umbrella-like shield. Harang filled the canopy with ice, gripping the spear tightly with both hands.

“This kind of attack…”

The breath attack glanced off Harang’s conical defense, striking the water surface and shooting upward into the sky. Harang effortlessly blocked the attack with his ice umbrella.

“Compared to that brat’s attacks, this is nowhere near strong enough!”

Still holding the umbrella, Harang jumped into the air. Thanks to the brief flight, he was carried toward the mainland by the breath attack’s force.

■■■?!

As the breath attack ceased, Moby Dick crashed onto the iceberg. When his chest collided with it, Moby Dick showed great pain.

■■■■■■■!!

Firing water cannons through his scales, Moby Dick rampaged. He seemed frustrated that his attacks kept failing against this slippery nemesis.

Since when has he ever experienced such humiliation? Since emerging through the dimensional gate in Naha, he had been the king of monsters, the tyrant ruling the seas. He was the mass murderer who drowned hundreds of thousands in Okinawa.

And now, this self-proclaimed ruler was being toyed with by a human-looking spirit. Moby Dick roared furiously in shame.

■■■■■■■■■!!!

A massive sonic boom erupted around Moby Dick, spreading in all directions. Shockwaves created waves on the sea surface, which became a tsunami by the time they reached the coastline.

“Wow, it’s really high.”

Harang, shaking sand out of his slippers on the beach, looked up at the waves in amazement. The waves reached nearly five meters high thanks to Moby Dick’s roar.

“But seriously, your learning ability really is non-existent.”

With a smug smile, Harang stepped lightly on the seawater.

“It’s useless, I tell you!”

Crack!

The sea instantly froze. The incoming waves froze into an ice wall as they approached the shore. Moby Dick, swimming toward land, stopped abruptly upon encountering the frozen waves.

“You’ve been asleep for almost nine years in Okinawa, while others have trained tirelessly for nine years.”

Magic power overflowed. Strength overflowed. If before using spirit power felt like struggling to pull water from someone else’s field, now it was like drawing from an inexhaustible spring.

“But here…”

Harang glanced behind him. There stood the fence he had previously erected with ice spears. Realizing where he had landed on the beach, Harang’s eyes widened.

“Whoa. Did I really fly all the way to Haeundae?”

Harang rested the spear-umbrella on his shoulder. It made him look like a tourist casually setting up a parasol, which was quite amusing.

He felt relaxed. With newfound power came mental peace and confidence to take on anything. Moby Dick continued to anxiously thrash about, unable to catch him. Harang raised his wrist.

“This is Setsumi speaking. I still have its aggro.”

[Great job luring it away! We were worried it might head toward the cruise ship!]

“…”

Harang nudged his flipped-off slipper with his foot, cold sweat trickling down his back.

“Ah, hahaha. Of course. Who am I? Are there any casualties?”

[None at all! Thanks to the fence you created, no monsters have reached civilian areas! Reinforcements are coming soon, so please hold on a little longer!]

“Do I really have to?”

Harang aimed the spear tip at Moby Dick, who was charging through the broken ice.

“I could take it down right now!”

Kicking off his interfering slippers, Harang dashed across the beach barefoot. As he crossed the shoreline and stepped onto the water, he froze the surface and ran across it.

■■■■■■!

Moby Dick swam toward him as if challenging Harang’s charge. Sliding along the ice wall Harang had created, Moby Dick leaped high into the air.

“Wow.”

Despite being overshadowed by the fifty-meter-long whale monster, Harang remained calm.

“You really don’t know anything beyond charging, do you?”

As Harang paused, confusion flickered in Moby Dick’s eyes, but he lowered his head over the waves anyway.

■■■■■■■■!

Gracefully dodging the water cannon fired from mid-air, Harang poured magic power into the ice spear in his hand. Though maintaining balance on the water surface seemed difficult, the sea cradled his legs to keep him steady.

A small white hand overlapped on his shoulder. Like a child preparing to throw a spear together, the tiny hand firmly gripped Harang’s.

Three. Two. One.

■■■■■!

Moby Dick dove underwater after crossing the waves. The breath attack generated from his open mouth engulfed Harang.

It seemed Harang might get crushed by Moby Dick. The worried white hand prompted Harang to raise his confidence with a magical power-infused smile.

“Why should I…”

Harang spread ice wings. Gathering all his strength into his arms, he reinforced his muscles and hurled the lance.

Squeak-! The tip of the ice spear charged directly toward Moby Dick’s breath attack.

“Fight you properly?”

Using the momentum from throwing the lance toward Moby Dick’s mouth, Harang flapped his wings. Gliding through the air, he landed on the beach as Moby Dick’s massive body collided with the lance and the ground.

Kyaahhhhh! As the lance pierced Moby Dick’s mouth, a massive earthquake shook the beach.

Kwaahhhh! Moby Dick smashed his forehead into the ground. His head sank into the sandy seabed. Simultaneously, something stirred beneath his belly.

Pang-!

With a sound like a balloon popping, Harang’s ice spear shot upward into the sky. The lance, having pierced through the breath attack and Moby Dick’s throat, maintained its momentum and broke through to his stomach.

Guguu…! A nearby high-rise building began collapsing slowly. The building under construction helplessly leaned toward the beach.

“…Poor construction quality. Yeah, definitely poor construction.”

Harang landed on the beach. Moby Dick, with his head buried in the sand, convulsed and tilted toward…

The beach, toward Harang’s direction.

“…Oh my.”

If that fell, the damage would be significant. Harang quickly gathered magic power. At that moment, a gentle breeze tousled his hair.

“Cut (斬).”

Hayette, who had suddenly landed beside Harang, sheathed his sword. Hayate raised an eyebrow at Harang, who mockingly commented on his lack of professionalism.

“You said you wouldn’t bother with finishing blows?”

“Well, it looked dangerous, so I helped out. Hehe.”

“Pfft.”

“…What?”

Hayette stood up, and the tens of pieces Moby Dick’s body split into fell into the water and sank.

“Hey, Haeundae?!”

Harang rushed forward, grabbing Hayate’s collar as he stared at the blood-red sea in front of Busan.

“What are you doing contaminating someone else’s seaside?!”

“Haha! Why?! We took it down, so it’s fine. If we hadn’t, another building would have collapsed!”

Hayette casually pointed to a swaying skyscraper to the east. Standing nearly a hundred meters tall, it wobbled precariously. Realizing it was a super high-rise apartment under construction belonging to Yu Sung and Yun Yuhwa, Harang reluctantly released Hayate’s collar.

“…Damn.”

“What? Ah, today’s translation software is really acting up. Is it broken?”

Hayette smoothed out his wrinkled scarf while fiddling with his smartwatch. Harang wanted to make that overly relaxed expression crack.

DING. A command from the Chief Administrator arrived on both their watches.

[Focus! We’re still detecting monster signals from Moby Dick’s corpse!]

“…”

“…Oh dear.”

Hayette drew his sword as Harang conjured an ice spear in mid-air. The sea where Moby Dick died began bubbling.

Kwa-gwa-gwa! Reddish sea foam mixed with white mucus spread from the bloody sea. Horrified by the sight, Harang and Hayate checked their screens.

“What, what are these numbers?!”

“10, 100, 1000?! Are these all Moby Dicks? Why are there so many?!”

Bubbling. The two heroes stiffened as they watched the wriggling masses emerge covered in mucus.

Surely not. Surely not. It can’t be.

But their fears were tragically confirmed.

“KYAAAAAAH?!”

Thousands of indescribable creatures, trailing purple tentacles, began swimming toward the coastline.

# # #

# Pyongyang Side

<Meanwhile, at the Yalu River>

Clang! Blocking the sword with my hand, the opponent tries to retrieve it, but my punch is faster.

“Ugh!”

The hero gets knocked out cold with a punch to the chest. That makes 276. I’ve taken down quite a few, but there are still far too many remaining.

“Thinking about it, Seok Harang must be having quite the tough time somewhere.”

“Hey! Stop fooling around and fight!”

Deokbae rolls on the ground to dodge an arrow. The snake-like projectile passes by me, targeting me next.

“Ah, that brought back unpleasant memories.”

I raise my hand and incinerate the arrow. Seeing the marksman far away on the building scolding me, I grab Deokbae’s hood and throw him at the building.

“Deokbae, catch!”

“□□□Ah!!”

Deokbae crashes into the building in a parabolic arc. A flame giant emerges from the collapsing building, only to have its upper body explode by an A-Rank hero nearby. I quickly soar up to recover Deokbae’s core.

Reviving through death, I’ve taken down quite a number of Chinese heroes already. Is this the seventh death?

” Damn, you’re dead again? Seriously.”

Phantom chokes a hero with a tentacle and throws them to the ground. The hero mysteriously smiles blissfully before fainting. Phantom approaches me.

“Why so sudden? Are you tired already?”

“No, I just… thought of something wriggling… Ah! Not Phantom, don’t misunderstand me.”

Phantom’s mask-covered eyes half-close. I hurriedly explain.

“There’s Moby Dick, and since it’s a shadow type, it has a second phase, right?”

“Mm. Makes sense. Sure.”

“You don’t believe me, huh. Tsk.”

Phantom’s expression still hasn’t loosened. I pick up Phantom and fly into the sky to evade falling artillery fire.

Boom! Dust flies everywhere. Phantom instinctively wraps their arms around my neck.

“What’s so special about Moby Dick’s second phase? Difficult?”

“Not at all. It’s incredibly easy. More like a bonus stage…”

I carry Phantom and gracefully soar through the sky, evading the raining artillery fire. Circling widely, I reach the midst of long-range attacking heroes, whereupon Phantom leaps down and knocks them out with their tentacles.

Then I revive and drop Deokbae onto the ground. In mid-air, a flame giant revives and engulfs the heroes below.

“When Moby Dick dies, its second phase begins. You either need to freeze its entire massive body or burn everything inside it, otherwise chaos ensues when you just cut it in half. Things come bursting out from its insides.”

“…Inside?”

Phantom’s expression darkens. I land smoothly while kneeing a wind mage about to cast a spell in the face.

“Yes. Moby Dick’s second phase has a specific name.”

Just thinking about it makes me shiver with disgust.

“Anisakis.”

Whale parasite. I couldn’t bring myself to explain the meaning to Phantom.