Chapter 116

〈Chapter 116〉 Part 1, Chapter 6 (22)

<5:50 PM, Yalu River>

“Heroes, disperse immediately! If not, I’ll bury you all where you stand!”

Phantom projected his voice with magical power, shouting toward the riverside. His actor-trained vocal cords carried across the river, halting the heroes’ advance. A hero with a yellow headband swung an axe and jeered.

“Cowards! There’s no justice or honor in your ranks!”

“That’s right! How dare you manipulate monsters for personal gain while claiming to be fellow ability users hunting beasts!”

“Awaken!”

“Awaken!”

“Awaken! Awaken! Awaken!”

The heroes raised their fists in unison, chanting with perfect synchronization despite no prior preparation. The morale of hundreds of heroes made Phantom’s earlier bravado falter.

I placed my right hand on Phantom’s shoulder to support him while keeping my left hand ready to strike Unjang’s waist.

“If it’s too much alone, I can step in.”

“That wouldn’t be wise. You’re maintaining that disguise for a reason.”

“But at this rate, they’ll break through soon.”

I nodded toward the heroes across the river. Hundreds of reinforcements from Shenyang were approaching, looking ready to cross at any moment.

Without hostages, they probably would have already flooded across. Phantom scratched his head in frustration.

“Seriously, the hostage gambit isn’t working?”

“There’s nothing else we can do. Hopefully Xiao Lin’s distress signal has reached the Round Table by now.”

Xiao Lin’s smartwatch was sending out an emergency rescue signal as planned. Someone among the nearby Round Table members must have accepted it – perhaps the Russian member or maybe Gale Guest who might be passing through Japan.

Whoever comes will just become another hostage, like Unjang.

“Hey, you should act more like a hostage. Cry pathetically.”

Phantom jabbed Red Earth’s stomach with a tentacle. With her magical armor dissolved, she was practically naked, bound tightly by tentacles, and began sobbing pitifully.

Hiiiiing…

“A little more dramatic crying wouldn’t hurt.”

The tentacle lashed across Red Earth’s back like a whip. She cried louder, tears streaming down her face.

Hiiiiiiiiiiing!

Whether from laughter or crying, Red Earth’s shriek made even the Chinese heroes shift uncomfortably. Despite the questionable methods, they were still hesitating to cross the river. I scanned the opposite bank.

“There must be about four hundred of them.”

Where our first enemies were random rabble, these four hundred were mostly A-rank and B-rank fighters.

“I misjudged them. These aren’t hastily gathered local heroes. Most of them are A-rank. Four hundred of them.”

“What?!”

Phantom’s eyes widened behind his mask. This strength was far beyond what Lighthouse had estimated.

“So they’ve been preparing for a southern invasion all along?”

“They’ve probably been waiting for an opportunity to move south whenever possible.”

Even without Moby Dick, some major incident would have prompted the Chinese heroes’ southern movement, manipulated by Mo Taegyeong behind the scenes. Moby Dick merely provided a convenient excuse.

“So what do we do? That many A-ranks would require S-rank power.”

“Fortunately, there are no S-ranks… We have no choice but to use our final option.”

I quietly conveyed my intentions to Phantom, whose face paled before he sighed and bit his lip.

“You better not try any underhanded tactics like this on me again.”

“Would you rather assign it to someone else?”

Phantom smirked. I grabbed Unjang with both hands and walked toward the riverbank while Phantom climbed atop a streetlamp to shout again.

“I’ll count to three! If you don’t retreat a hundred steps by then-”

The heroes focused on Phantom. I subtly tore open Unjang’s frontal armor.

Rip. Unjang’s pure white abdomen was exposed. The sight of his completely muscle-less, smooth stomach shocked the heroes across the river. Phantom clicked his tongue in annoyance and shouted again.

“Not only will I reveal Unjang’s true identity, but I’ll broadcast his nudity live to the entire world!”

High above, the dragon-scaled camera mounted on the Lighthouse drone was recording everything.

* * *

<Meanwhile, Over Khabarovsk, Oracle's Private Jet>

“Hahaha! Those guys aren’t crazy, are they?”

Oracle stuffed his mouth full of fries. Gawein anxiously monitored the jet’s speed.

“Can’t we go faster? At this rate, Miss Xiao Lin’s body might be broadcast worldwide!”

“…Captain, let me tell you something privately.”

Oracle opened his cola can. As the carbonation hissed out, he gazed wistfully at the screen.

“Will it really end with just nudity?”

“What?!”

Oracle picked up a fry and shoved it into the cola can before pulling it out.

“Those guys probably plan to publicize ra-”

“Don’t you know any words you shouldn’t say?”

A white hand smacked the back of Oracle’s head. The violently shaken cola spilled all over Oracle’s clothes. Gawein welcomed the newcomer’s arrival.

“Undine?! What brings you here?”

“I calculated the flight path roughly and teleported.”

“But that’s dangerous! If you got stuck in the plane-”

“Then this guy would die sooner than his prophecy predicts. Kid, you’re stark naked underneath.”

Undine shook Oracle’s frozen shoulders. His pants were soaked with cola as if he’d wet himself. Shaking uncontrollably, Oracle turned and unleashed a string of curses.

“What the Son of-”

“Oracle.”

Undine’s expression was colder than ever. Oracle swallowed hard.

“W-why?”

“The death of Light Blade Heo Yun-hwan. You said it would happen much earlier than your prophecy, right?”

“Y-yeah. About five years early. Around the year of the apocalypse?”

“…”

Undine sipped her vodka thoughtfully. Even Gawein revealed his true colors at her serious demeanor.

“Do you have any suspicions?”

“There is one possibility, but it’s so horrific I don’t want to think about it.”

Undine furrowed her brows openly, which made even Gawein raise an eyebrow since she’s known as the “Ice Witch” for never changing expressions within the Round Table.

“Serious situation?”

“Very. Cataclysmic. The world could end immediately.”

Undine pointed at the flame monster tearing Unjang’s clothes. Gawein’s expression hardened.

“The entity presumed to have killed Light Blade…”

“An ability user not foreseen in the prophecies.”

Oracle continued Gawein’s sentence. Oracle had rationally suspected countless times that this creature might be the mastermind behind the monstrous birds appearing in his dreams. Undine pointed at the speedometer.

“Oracle, can’t we go faster?”

“…We’re already well beyond top speed. Pushing further would cause engine overheating.”

“Tch, then I’ll go ahead-”

“No. Let’s all go together.”

Gawein rose from the co-pilot seat. Oracle’s face went pale.

“Captain, you’re not planning anything strange, are you?”

“Haha, of course not. I’m simply choosing the fastest method that won’t overheat the engines.”

Gawein stood by the aircraft door. Oracle quickly opened it, while Undine grabbed the pilot’s seat.

Bang! Gawein leaped out beside the plane, clinging to its tail like a leech. Undine, who had been drinking vodka, closed the cap and asked Oracle.

“Are you really going to do that?”

“Hey, Ice Queen, get in here and buckle up.”

Undine quickly took the co-pilot seat and fastened her seatbelt. Oracle hurriedly shoved the fries into a storage compartment. Gawein’s face appeared on the screen.

“We’re moving!”

With Gawein’s signal, the plane accelerated beyond its current speed. Though the engine status remained unchanged, the forward momentum clearly increased.

“…Are all World-Class beings capable of this?”

“Don’t ask me.”

Oracle silently calculated the estimated arrival time. Approximately ten minutes until reaching the Yalu River monster nest. He relayed this information to Gawein.

“Understood! Let’s increase our speed further!”

“No, wait! Slow down!”

“Unjang’s virtue is in danger!”

Gawein smiled cheerfully while emitting more magical power. The plane soared through the sky propelled by both the core engine’s magical power and Gawein’s golden magical energy.

Gawein flew behind the plane, pushing it forward while flying alongside.

* * *

“Two! Hey! What are you doing?! Retreat immediately!”

Phantom shouted loudly. I tore the side of the armor with my fingernails, exposing Unjang’s legs.

“…Ahem.”

The heroes coughed awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable. I caught Red Earth’s eye, wondering if she’d do something unexpected. She stuck out her tongue and pushed it to the side repeatedly – quite disgusting.

“Just do it already!”

Phantom snapped. I lifted Xiao Lin’s armor slightly.

“This much?”

Thighs were now exposed. The heroes, illuminated by my flames, took another step forward instead of retreating.

Splash! One hero fell into the river. I ripped off the rest of the armor and realized:

“This is counterproductive.”

“What? We take orders from no one!”

“We are the embodiment of popular will risen on our own!”

“Lord Unjang would surely say ‘Do not concern yourself with my body, show me your resolve’!”

Enraged, the heroes charged into the river. Whether motivated by righteous indignation to save Unjang or the desire to get closer to his exposed body, it was impossible to tell.

“But having crossed the river, we must keep our promises.”

I raised my hand high and snapped my fingers. The sound of steel clashing signaled the mini phoenixes rising above the river while the Black Flame Dragon flew wildly toward the other side.

Kwwaaa! The Black Flame Dragon landed and spewed breath. The heroes, skilled enough to dodge easily, began intercepting the dragon. Its tail thrashing in anger managed to only knock away two or three heroes.

“S-rank power but essentially A-rank. Until adaptation is complete, there’s nothing we can do.”

“How long do you plan to hold onto the hostage when the hostage tactic has failed?”

Phantom pointed at Unjang in my grip. His smirking face felt somewhat unsettling, so I wrapped Unjang’s body in magical energy resembling a cloak.

“I need to keep Unjang unconscious. It’s too dangerous for him to fight directly.”

“So you’re staying in the rear?”

Blue feathers leaped from the Black Flame Dragon’s back to engage the heroes. Outnumbered and at a disadvantage in combat strength, they possessed the advantage of infinite resurrection.

“The mini phoenixes will retrieve cores for me. I plan to revive them immediately.”

“And your real intention?”

“SS+ rank fighting B-ranks won’t gain experience. There’s nowhere left for me to grow here. It’s better for you all to gain combat experience and awaken.”

“Smooth talker, aren’t you?”

Flame Giants appeared on the riverbank kicking heroes with fiery arrows raining down from the sky. The monsters fought fiercely using various abilities against the heroes. Phantom knocked down heroes crossing the river with tentacles near the nest.

“Assuming we deal with these guys, will there be more fighting?”

“Of course. But it won’t last long.”

I briefly checked the situation in Busan. Seok Harang had achieved remarkable mental growth, becoming a legitimate SS-rank while collecting numerous A-rank cores from Anisakis.

“It’s quite surprising Gale Guest showed up here.”

I couldn’t understand why my brother, who usually roamed freely without a care, followed the Moby Dick elimination effort.

“Then who responded to Xiao Lin’s call?”

Someone must have received the automatic distress signal sent by Unjang’s smartwatch. Gale Guest is causing chaos in Busan, so it couldn’t be him. Perhaps the Russian hero?

“I only remember he’s a water-element ability user.”

In the Fenrir route, he was mentioned once. Upon awakening in Northern Europe, Fenrir caused havoc due to hunger, captured and ate a Round Table hero sent from Moscow before falling asleep again.

“Doesn’t matter if it’s him or Gale Guest. The Round Table will arrive.”

Cradling Xiao Lin like a doll against the nest, I transformed only my hand back to human form to neatly arrange her hair. Xiao Lin slept soundly, unaware of my rough handling.

“Curious who’ll come to rescue you? Saladin or Jeronimo?”

It didn’t matter who came, as long as it wasn’t Gawein, that culinary terrorist. After sending a mini phoenix to incapacitate a hero Phantom missed, I leaned Xiao Lin against a tree and stood up.

“They’re coming.”

From the northeast, I sensed three massive magical powers approaching. Among them, one familiar magical aura made me double-check.

“…?”

Reason concluded it was mistaken. However, my senses insisted the sensation was correct.

“Round Table with spirit…?”

Impossible. Even if the spirit awakened from slumber, breaking free from Seongju’s brainwashing is unthinkable. Therefore, sensing a cadre-level presence is understandable, but that pure magical aura was undoubtedly the spirit’s.

“Really, what is this?”

Confusing. The insignificant figure of Gawein pushing the airplane while flying doesn’t matter right now.

Swoosh. The woman who fell from the airplane landed gracefully before me, scattering ice powder. The platinum-blonde woman looked like she had just entered adulthood, with smooth skin. And her typical Western beauty strangely resembled Seok Harang.

No, Seok Harang resembles her. I tried to hide my disturbance while asking the woman who appeared before me.

“Why are you here?”

The woman blew a raspberry with an expressionless face. The man who fell from the sky beside her straightened up.

“Undine! It’s dangerous!”

“It’s fine. An acquaintance.”

“I don’t know you.”

The woman gave me a chilling smile. Her grin was like a rusalka about to pull drowning victims underwater.

“My name is currently <Undine>. A Round Table hero and member of the Vladimir family of Russia. Anastasha Vladimir R.”

“That’s irrelevant.”

I became unexpectedly urgent. While I anticipated unknown elements emerging eventually, I never imagined they’d appear like this, here.

“Yeah. That’s not important.”

The woman uncapped her vodka and took a sip. Her complexion remained unchanged despite the alcohol that made my stomach churn. I inhaled sharply at the spirit’s aura emanating from her.

“How are you alive?”

“…Rather, I want to ask how you awakened and why you’re associating with mere humans.”

The woman thrust a sharp icicle at me, glaring coldly.

“Are you the trash that killed my husband? You disgusting parasite.”

“…This seems to require a long explanation.”

I never expected to meet someone from the original story who never appeared before.

“Let’s start with greetings. Nice to meet you, Rusalka.”

“This way.”

The woman, Vladimir ‘Rusalka’ Anastasha, erected a magical barrier.