Chapter 196

〈Chapter 196〉 Part 1, Chapter 9, Section 30

The Black Scorpions, having lost their mother unit, were mercilessly slaughtered by the heroes. Under the mission to exterminate monsters, the heroes thoroughly hunted down the Black Scorpions.

“UOOOORRRGGHHH!”

The heroes were extremely excited.

The sense of duty in eradicating monsters, a threat to humanity, all at once.


The overwhelming victory against hordes of monsters.


The thrill of acquiring countless cores to bring back to their homeland.

And someone, filled with resentment and jealousy, kept their hands busy without rest.

After completely wiping out the Black Scorpion swarm, the heroes searched for any lingering reactions from the Black Scorpion hidden deep beneath the lake.

“No… no reaction on the radar…”

“What?”

There was no response on the monster radar that had dyed the lake crimson. The heroes scanned the numerous Black Scorpion corpses scattered around.

“Could this really be the end…?”

No one imagined that the monster might have escaped, so the heroes decided to bask momentarily in the satisfaction of having eradicated the Black Scorpions.

The Association’s radar network detected an astonishing 5,000 individual Black Scorpions. All that remained for the heroes now was the cleanup operation.

“This one’s mine!”

“What?! Our side’s damage dealer took it out with an arrow!”

“H-Hold on! We can confirm by reviewing the footage! Aren’t we comrades who fought together?”

It seemed like it would take quite some time before a proper settlement could be made after hunting the Black Scorpion swarm.

* * *

<June 15th, 4:00 AM. Near Baegnaroh Lake>

At the moment chaos erupted outside,

The executioner, returning aboard the command ship, collapsed heavily into the captain’s chair. It hadn’t even been a full day since leaving Korea, but leading the heroes in place of Director Yu Yinghuo had drained immense mental energy.

“There don’t seem to be any injured people… thank goodness.”

“Isn’t it thanks to Lady Seolhwa?”

Unsah approached the captain’s chair with a steaming cup of tea. The executioner bowed slightly as they accepted the paper cup.

“Thank you. And please, feel free to speak more casually.”

“I find this way more comfortable.”

“…Alright then.”

Was the executioner protesting their inability to command the heroes as coldly as Director Yu Yinghuo? Their shoulders slumped under the distance Unsah maintained.

“This is tough. Really.”

“I believe you’ll adapt quickly.”

“Well, if only.”

The executioner rubbed their cheeks with both hands to compose themselves. Reflecting on their behavior could wait; what mattered now was settling the results of the heroes’ efforts.

Ding.

“Ahh, it’s here.”

The long-awaited result finally arrived. The executioner gulped nervously as they received the notification from the Hero Association.

“…Huh?”

Small cores like D-Rank or C-Rank didn’t even catch the executioner’s eye. What drew their attention were the numbers of S-Rank and A-Rank cores.

“108 A-Rank cores… 21 S-Ranks?”

Unsah marveled at the settlement results displayed on the monitor. Though the total number of S-Ranks seemed modest compared to the overall count, considering the quantity and quality of the special ability users involved, it was an incredible achievement.

“Our estimated target was…?”

“Thirty A-Ranks, five S-Ranks. Congratulations, Executioner.”

Tears welled up in the executioner’s eyes. While outwardly calm, inwardly they worried endlessly about being assigned such a difficult position and feared not gaining anything.

“But how did we get 21…?”

The executioner checked the detailed settlement report. With the help of over ten thousand Chinese heroes, the Hero Association calculated the shares of the Black Scorpion hunt with 99% accuracy. The executioner neatly organized the results of the Korean heroes’ efforts.

“Wow.”

Hwakwon Lee Seung-hyung – 11 S-Ranks, 3 A-Ranks, 12 B-Ranks…

“He’s truly unmatched.”

“Hwakwon is widely praised. Even the elders commend Hwakwon, and foreign special ability users greatly benefited from him. I’ve heard he contributed nearly 10% of the entire operation.”

“Ugh, if only he hadn’t touched that one spot…!”

The executioner pulled their hair in frustration. Although his performance was overwhelming and the results were good, Hwakwon caused a critical issue during the process.

“If only he hadn’t sexually harassed that monster, it would have been perfect…!”

“Don’t worry too much. It wasn’t intentional, was it? If anything, it was because you shouted-”

“I’m reflecting on that too! But still!”

The executioner blushed with shame. They felt embarrassed even though they weren’t the ones touched.

“That monster was the problem! If it was going to mimic humans, it should have at least covered up properly!”

“It’s hard to impose human sexual norms on a monster.”

“…Lady Unsah, do you dislike me?”

“Not at all. I simply offer candid advice.”

Unsah spoke freely. Since participating in the Seoul Recovery Operation, her spear skills were unrestrained, and her body suit fit snugly against her figure.

“……Grrr.”

“If my words make you uncomfortable, I apologize. However, it’s a habit that’s difficult to change, so please bear with it.”

Though the executioner found the distance between them inconvenient in various ways, they resolved to work on improving it gradually.

“Ugh, I’m scared to see how people will react. What if I get criticized? If I’d known more details, maybe this incident wouldn’t have happened…”

“You worry too much. On community forums, people are expressing respect for your decisive actions.”

“Really?”

“Take a look.”

Unsah switched part of the monitor display. Among the constant flow of information, she recited a few comments related to the executioner.

“‘Those criticizing Hwakwon should look now. Thanks to the executioner, we got to see something great.’, ‘The beret flying off was cute. Ha ha ha.’, ‘All those criticizing positioning errors disappeared. Hehehe.’ …As you can see, there’s no one criticizing you.”

“Phew… that’s a relief.”

The executioner hadn’t noticed. An old man with white hair had secretly manipulated things while watching his granddaughter’s exploits sleeplessly in his office. Seeing only the favorable public opinion towards himself, the executioner regained a little confidence.

“B-but what about the national dignity Hwakwon tarnished? At this rate, we’ll all be labeled as sexual harassers…”

“That too is nothing to worry about.”

Since the separate country-by-country settlement results hadn’t been disclosed yet, public attention was focused on Hwakwon and the Black Scorpion.

“Everyone calls Hwakwon a ‘great hero’. Initially mocked as a coward for accidentally extinguishing the flames, he’s now praised as a ‘real man’…”

“That’s less ‘real man’ and more… tsk. Alright, I get it. So no criticism then?”

“Yes.”

“Then the rest is-”

Beeep. The music sound from the executioner’s watch startled them as they jumped up from their seat.

“Eh, th-”

“I must return to the battlefield. Farewell for now.”

With a deep bow, Unsah left the bridge. Alone on the bridge, the executioner closed their eyes tightly, then opened them again as they answered the call.

“Hello…?”

[Am I bothering you while you’re busy?]

“Not at all! I’ve just finished and am relaxing. Thank you for reaching out, Chairman Eun Jae-min.”

Behind the screen, Eun Jae-min adjusted his glasses and smiled.

[I should be the one doing this first. You’ve become a national hero now. Impressive, as expected from Hee-a. By the way, do you know how many cores you collected?]

“…….”

Eun Jae-min’s direct inquiry upon calling saddened Baek Hee-a. But swallowing her inner turmoil, she calmly sent the results.

“21 S-Rank cores. The rest is as you see.”

[…Impressive work, Hee-a. This-]

“Yes. I’ll arrange for everything through Yoo Sung at your request. I’ll handle the association myself.”

[Got it? Thanks so much! Because of Hee-a, I’ll be able to sleep peacefully. Have a safe return to Korea.]

“Yes. Oppa.”

[Ah, Uncle.]

“…Uncle. When I return, maybe we can have dinner sometime-”

[…Hee-a, sorry. I’ve got an urgent call coming in. Let’s talk later! Sorry!]

The call ended abruptly. Baek Hee-a didn’t notice Eun Jae-min’s eyes flashing golden at the end. Collapsing onto the captain’s chair, Baek Hee-a muttered to herself.

“He keeps putting up walls. We need to bring Yoo Sung into our fold to secure Grandfather’s position.”

Baek Hee-a murmured while licking her lips.

“Bring Yoo Sung’s family into ours… and use business connections…”

“Are you done with the call?”

“YIKES! You scared me!”

Baek Hee-a patted her chest to steady her breathing.

“…Didn’t you go to hunt the remaining Black Scorpions?

“Yes. I briefly returned to check if any survived. But before that, please look at this.”

Unsah projected a screen from her watch.

“It’s… empty?”

Under the lake.

Only the empty shell of the giant Black Scorpion—Black Death Scorpion—remained, devoid of core reactions.

* * *

<Meanwhile, Beyond the Ice Wall>

“Whew, lucky break.”

Receiving the report that all Black Scorpions had been annihilated, Bonghyo and Baeg Cheongyoung sighed with relief beyond the ice wall.

“Isn’t it disappointing?”

“Not at all.”

“Why?”

“We’re satisfied with obtaining the Earth Dragon’s core. …Since That One isn’t greedy anymore, we should be content too.”

“…Hmm. It’s regrettable to send something from this land to another country.”

The emperor continued to express concern for future generations. Baeg Cheongyoung shrugged helplessly and signaled all Bright Flame members to return via their watches.

“Each member lead your Bright Flames back. There are no issues on the monster radar, so… hmm?”

Baeg Cheongyoung sensed a familiar presence moving through the bushes. It wasn’t a bird-like creature, but its movement resembled one as it charged toward Baeg Cheongyoung and the emperor.

“Your Majesty.”

“Hmm.”

The emperor raised his poisonous tail. As an S-Rank monster-human hybrid, his close combat skills were formidable.

“……Hmm?”

The emperor twitched his eyebrows. The shadow rushing toward him carried a familiar magical scent.

At that moment, a naked woman burst out of the bushes.

KIAAAAACK!

Her wild hair flying, nails extended, the completely unclothed woman leaped at the emperor. The emperor made no move to counterattack.

KICK, KICK!

Like a madwoman, the woman bit the emperor’s shoulder. Her actions resembled those of monsters trying to devour and absorb power.

“Hmm…?”

Baeg Cheongyoung also sensed something abnormal about the woman. As a monster-human hybrid, he could detect her abnormalities.

“Isn’t this… a monster?”

“Seems so. Probably.”

The emperor wrapped his tail around the woman’s neck and lifted her into the air. Flailing, the woman threatened the emperor but to no avail.

“Personal feeling, but isn’t this the core’s originator?”

“What?”

“Just a feeling.”

The emperor pointed to the core embedded in his chest. Having been born from the core Phoenix harvested from the Black Scorpion, he seemed to sense something peculiar about the woman.

“……Hmm.”

Baeg Cheongyoung pondered. Based on the emperor’s “feeling” and his own “thoughts,” he began to guess the woman’s identity.

“That One definitely referred to the Black Scorpion as ‘Black Death Scorpion,’ right?”

Baeg Cheongyoung’s eyes narrowed into half-moons as he looked at the woman.

“Wow, this trip was worth it. ……Hmm?”

Baeg Cheongyoung’s eyes swept over the woman’s nudity. Her excessively large breasts perfectly matched the figure he had seen in video footage.

“Hmm, ho ho.”

Baeg Cheongyoung poked her cleavage with the tip of his feather.

“KYAUGH?!”

Confused, the woman let out a moan. Baeg Cheongyoung grabbed his stomach and laughed.

“Ho ho ho! Got it! So you turned human to escape death, huh?! Ho ho ho!”

“Survival instinct probably. If you’d fled like that, it could’ve been disastrous. How about it, shall we kill you?”

The emperor sharpened his claws. Feeling like the woman was akin to his offspring, she was terrified at the thought of being killed by him.

“No, no. I have a ‘good idea.’ Yes, it’ll be an excellent ‘revenge.'”

Baeg Cheongyoung regarded the woman—Black Death Scorpion—with an unusually bright smile. She found his smile deeply unsettling.

“What are you planning? Surely not involving that person again?”

“No, not at all. In situations like this, we use her like this.”

Baeg Cheongyoung grinned cheerfully as he called the Illusory Dragon.

[Hoho, what is it? …Ah yes.]

“Master, please inform That One that we’ve captured Black Death Scorpion.”

[…Not using her?]

“Yes. Instead, I’ll handle the negotiation personally. Hehehehe.”

S-Rank Monster Black Death Scorpion.

Captured alive by the Illusory Dragon Group.

The Black Death Scorpion incident has concluded.

The heroes thoroughly searched Qinghai Lake for any traces of the vanished Black Death Scorpion but found nothing.