〈Chapter 158〉 Part 1, Chapter 8, Section 18
Pfft.
The sound of tearing flesh echoed. Red blood splattered onto my armor, and Deokbae had not only dislocated the opponent’s shoulder but completely shattered it.
[…Unbelievable.]
It was truly an unexpected turn of events. Who would’ve thought that one of the last remaining monsters of the Chaos Dragon would throw itself to save its master?
“…Did you say our master does nothing at all?”
The young man clutched his dislocated shoulder, his eyes gleaming strangely. I recalled Deokbae and stepped back a pace.
[What’s your name?]
“Lost it when I became a monster. Now I am Bonghyo, a monster of the Illusory Dragon Group.”
[…Bonghyo? Xiao Lin’s big brother?]
“Yes. Though we are half-siblings.”
Bonghyo struggled to stand despite his injuries. His shoulder was so mangled it looked better off torn off entirely, yet he showed no signs of pain as he continued speaking.
“Our master, Lord Chaos Dragon, hasn’t abandoned everything.”
[Then what has he done?]
“Decided to do absolutely nothing! It’s not about doing nothing – it’s about working hard at doing nothing!”
[…Huh?]
What kind of nonsense is this? For a moment, I thought my ears were deceiving me. Seeing my silence, Bonghyo raised his arm and shouted louder.
“Have you ever slept with full power?! Our master uses all his life energy for sleeping! It’s not doing nothing – it’s being dedicated to doing nothing!”
[What kind of idiotic sophistry is this?]
“It’s not sophistry! A great leader can demonstrate sufficient leadership by simply placing capable subordinates in the right positions! As someone who leads an organization, you should know this!”
[Yea, but how does that relate to him getting beaten up-]
“Our master has already done everything by making me into a monster! The reason is…”
Bonghyo clenched his fist with overflowing confidence.
“Because I will fulfill every role given to Lord Chaos Dragon!”
[…So these Mo Taegyeong kids all have screws loose. Do you think you’re Zhuge Liang or something?]
“If our master wishes it, I can choose that path anytime. In fact, I’m much better suited for it.”
Bonghyo pointed at his arm. Snap. The already torn muscles ripped further, and the arm rolled on the ground.
“At least I won’t grow old and die in Wuzhang Plains, right?”
[So you’re saying you’ll take over Dark Legion’s duties for him?]
“That’s correct. Our master has already done everything – by turning me into a monster!”
I realized something. I don’t know how much power this overly self-aware youth possesses, but if I leave him be, Chaos Dragon’s sanity might never improve.
‘Should I beat him to death too?’
Though Xiao Lin being his half-sibling gives me some pause. I didn’t care much about characters from before the original story, but now facing him, one fatal setting of the original comes to mind.
‘Xiao Lin’s videos.’
All the videos from when Xiao Lin was hiding her true identity and running rampant. The one who erased all those videos from the internet world and protected Xiao Lin’s secret was this very man, Bonghyo, standing before me.
‘Does he still have the originals?’
[…Fine. Let’s ask then.]
I cast a barrier around us. Chaos Dragon tried to sneak away but I trapped him inside a fiery barrier too.
“H-H-Hiiik?”
“Where do you think you’re running?”
Whoosh.
I transformed into human form and cleared my throat. Bonghyo seemed intrigued by my similar human appearance to Chaos Dragon but quickly grew uneasy when I continued.
“So, Mr. So-called Uncle of Chaos Dragon.”
“…Not an uncle, nor a mere sir. I’m just his loyal servant.”
“Right. Then explain, servant. What exactly are you planning to do here? Surely you’re not just thinking about getting Chaos Dragon a better bedroom?”
“Of course not.”
Bonghyo put his hand behind his back and smiled gently. Chaos Dragon subtly moved closer and grabbed Bonghyo’s arm.
“I plan to completely overturn this land so our master can sleep more comfortably.”
“How?”
“By removing Mo Taegyeong.”
“Oh ho.”
That’s quite an impressive goal. Ignoring the fact that he’s talking about his own father, the idea of eliminating his own father solely for the sake of his master Chaos Dragon makes him quite an exemplary subordinate.
“How?”
But plans need to be heard. No matter how grand the dream, without concrete methods and strength to execute it, it’s useless.
“Are you just throwing out empty challenges?”
“Of course not. I’ve lived my whole life preparing to bring down Mo Taegyeon.”
“…?”
This is the first I’m hearing of it. Seeing my furrowed brow, Bonghyo took it as an opportunity to continue.
“In fact, I joined him precisely to get revenge. Despite being his son, he mercilessly killed my mother. Not just me, all his children were born without love.”
“Right. I knew that.”
Especially Xiao Lin.
“So while serving under Mo Taegyeon, I recorded all his corruption: bribes, sexual tributes, elimination of rivals… I know all about them.”
“Where are those records?”
Tap tap. Bonghyo tapped his temple. I couldn’t help but sigh.
“Even if I use mind reading abilities, would that be admissible evidence? Sigh.”
“Trying to keep records would’ve made my heart explode. He planted loneliness in his children’s hearts after all. Instead, I memorized information that could instantly bring him down…”
“…? Wait a minute. Loneliness?”
I didn’t understand. What did loneliness mean all of a sudden? When I interrupted, Chaos Dragon suddenly interjected.
“There were bugs in their hearts.”
“Heartworms?”
“…No, bugs that issue suicide commands to eliminate targets. I removed them when turning people into monsters. Not out of sympathy.”
“……”
The misunderstanding was cleared up. But there’s still one thing I don’t understand.
“What about Xiao Lin?”
“She had one. She doesn’t anymore.”
Xiao Lin never told me anything about “loneliness” in her heart. She only complained a few times about unreasonable orders from Mo Taegyeon, never suggesting she was forced by any physical means or special abilities.
“At least it’s fortunate she doesn’t have it now…”
“It already burst. Kaaang.”
“?!”
“She committed suicide… probably after being summoned by Mo Taegyeon following her defeat against you at Yalu River.”
“???!”
A shocking revelation beyond my comprehension. Setting aside Xiao Lin being the main heroine, I couldn’t understand why Mo Taegyeon did such a thing.
“S-Rank?”
“Yes. Still, he deemed her valueless after losing to you.”
“Main table hero?”
“Apparently he didn’t like her conspiring with you.”
“…So let me summarize: I defeated Xiao Lin, leading Mo Taegyeon to lose interest in her?”
“That’s right. Her exposure didn’t help either. His original plan was for Xiao Lin to die from battle wounds against you, enraging the public to launch an invasion of the peninsula.”
“…”
Once again, I’m reminded how this world doesn’t go according to my plans, with various incidents happening beyond my knowledge.
‘Could Xiao Lin become a monster too? And end up as one of Chaos Dragon’s monsters?’
And most of these incidents seem to stem from my influence – the butterfly effect. Should I really consult a fortune teller? Annoyance naturally arose as I closed my eyes briefly then reopened them, asking the two.
“So where’s Xiao Lin now?”
“I revived her.”
Chaos Dragon cowered even further behind Bonghyo.
“Bonghyo stole Xiao Lin’s body and… well, I revived her and sent her to you.”
“When?”
“This morning. I thought you came to Korea to capture me…”
“…”
Misunderstanding upon misunderstanding. I pressed my throbbing temples. A headache was coming on.
“Alright. Here’s the deal.”
I dissolved the barrier and picked up Deokbae.
“First, I’ll beat you up, then immobilize everyone. Variable elimination. Isn’t that a good method?”
“…What exactly is this variable elimination?”
“Locking problematic individuals into graves.”
I kicked off and dashed. Passing by Bonghyo, I grabbed Chaos Dragon’s head. Chaos Dragon panicked and tried to hide behind Bonghyo, but my hand grabbing his nape was faster.
“Aaak?!”
“Master!”
“Don’t move. Or I’ll burn you both.”
Blue flames sparked from my hand gripping his hair. Fearful of his hair catching fire, Chaos Dragon froze, and Bonghyo stopped moving uneasily.
“Well, reviving Xiao Lin was a good deed. That deserves praise.”
“G-Give me a break then…!”
“Still, your deranged mental state needs correction. That hasn’t changed.”
I spread my magical power throughout Chaos Dragon’s body. Sensing my intent, Chaos Dragon struggled to escape but my magic already tightly gripped his core.
“Futile. Your days of possession are over. We need to have a sincere talk…”
Whoosh.
Wind sounded. I hastily kicked Chaos Dragon away.
Kagagak—!!
A cutting wind swept through. The Kamaitachi – long-range slicing attacks imbued with magical power – rushed toward me. I created a protective barrier with magic aimed at the direction of the attack.
Ssschh, ssschh!
“…….!”
The barrier was cut. Fortunately, the wind blade dissipated after cutting through the barrier, but the problem was that a simple long-range slash could pierce my barrier.
“Man, today’s just getting worse.”
How could things get this tangled? Seeing the beautiful figure riding the wind approaching, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Tomo, it’s Gale Guest.”
A main table hero and another main heroine, Himeji Hayate of the Himeji siblings. An S-Rank ability user and swordsman, he was smirking while looking at me.
“Care for a match?”
“…What are you saying to a fragile girl?”
I shrugged nonchalantly, dispersing his killing intent. However, Gale Guest grinned widely and applauded.
“Indeed. To deflect my killing intent like that… You’re no ordinary expert. Truly worthy of defeating Xiao Lin.”
“…Stupid.”
Chaos Dragon mocked me from the side. I snorted back at him.
“The stupid one is you. If I defeated Xiao Lin, then aren’t you far beneath me compared to her?”
“How can you determine I’m below Unjang?”
“Since you’re just S-Rank… or rather, forget it. Ignorance might be bliss for you.”
While Xiao Lin as the main heroine could reach SSS-Rank, Gale Guest remains forever stuck at S-Rank, a tragic beauty. I released Deokbae’s weaponization and pocketed his core.
“You’re saying you won’t fight? Putting away your weapon?”
Gale Guest glared at me with killing intent in his eyes, but I shook my head and raised my hands.
“Nope. I know how sharp your sword is, so I’m preserving it.”
“Aha. Still, you should draw your weapon.”
“Don’t worry. No matter how much you thrash around, you can’t win against me.”
Gale Guest is a swordsman, but his magical foundation is wind attribute. According to his sister’s theory on magical attributes, I, being fire attribute, am practically his hard counter.
“I’m busy and distracted right now. Could you step aside? I’ll deal with you next time.”
“After such provocation, I can’t let you go. Don’t you agree? And now is the only time. I’m cutting in ahead of others.”
Gale Guest lowered his stance and gripped his sword. Having no choice with the sudden challenger, I activated my magical power. Gale Guest seemed pleased that I was raising my fighting spirit.
“One strike to fell you.”
“Wait a moment.”
Bonghyo suddenly interjected. Gale Guest’s killing intent turned toward him, but Bonghyo covered his mouth with his hand and smirked.
“You really were distracted, weren’t you?”
“Huh?”
Bonghyo suddenly jumped in front of me. Trying to block my vision, I extended my leg and kicked him away.
“Ugh?!”
Flying through the air with a broken waist, Bonghyo was bleeding and in pain but strangely smiling.
“…!”
The Chaos Dragon hidden behind him is gone.
“Eh, miss. There behind you… guk?!”
Chaos Dragon leaped at Gale Guest. Gale Guest’s magical power began to twist, and I quickly launched myself to punch forward.
Clang-!
Fist met sword. His blade carried gray illusory magical power.
“Tomo, Miss Phoenix.”
Beyond the sword, Gale Guest’s eyes flashed gray.
“It’s Chaos Dragon.”
Chaos Dragon had possessed Gale Guest’s body.
