Chapter 300

〈 Chapter 300 〉 Part 1, Chapter 13, Section 17

Following the guidance of the venerable monk, we made a full sweep around the Taj Mahal. Though there were traces of destruction caused by monsters here and there, the Taj Mahal was preserved in a state close to its original form.

“How is it so well-preserved like this?”

“For several years now, an individual with special abilities has been active around here. Though they sometimes leave for other places, they generally reside here.”

The venerable monk pointed to a small tent set up on the outskirts of the Taj Mahal. The tents looked as if they might fall apart at any moment, giving the impression of a refugee camp.

“Over there?”

“Yes. Since they don’t accumulate wealth, they say a tent is sufficient.”

“…Hmm.”

Suspicious. Very suspicious. I turned my steps toward the tent. The venerable monk did not stop me.

“Hmm…”

There was no sign of life. It seemed those who lived in the tent had been away for quite some time, but there were signs that someone had been maintaining it. The venerable monk behind me smiled kindly and gestured around.

“There’s no one here now. They’ve gone off on a retreat.”

“Retreat?”

“Yes. Irregularly, they lead their disciples and travel throughout India. Once they leave, it’s usually for at least a week.”

If they’re gone for over a week, a tent would indeed be sufficient. I continued questioning the venerable monk.

“Um…so are these people squatting here? Doesn’t the association or government have anything to say about it?”

“Embarrassingly, they lack the resources to manage such cultural heritage sites. They’re too busy protecting the cities where people live.”

“That’s true.”

Korea was practically falling apart outside of New Seoul and Busan, so it wasn’t much different for other countries. India had many civilians to protect, plenty of heroes, but also just as many monsters.

“By any chance, do you know when they’ll return?”

“…Why do you ask?”

The venerable monk furrowed his brows and began to regard me cautiously. Deokbae beside me whispered.

“Planning to cause a ruckus?”

“Nope. Why does everyone have to be so violent?”

After reprimanding Deokbae once, I clasped my hands together again and apologized to the venerable monk.

“I just wanted to greet the person who guards this place. Is there no way to contact them?”

“…Yes. Since they live so humbly, they don’t carry a smartwatch. There’s no way to reach them.”

“What nonsense is this?”

Deokbae pointed to the magical gear on his wrist. Thanks to Hikari’s research, magical gear didn’t need to be taken off anymore.

“In this day and age, who doesn’t have a smartwatch? Are you just making excuses because you don’t want to tell us?”

Smack.

I kicked Deokbae in the shins, causing him to kneel forward. I pressed down on his hood from behind while apologizing to the venerable monk.

“Sorry. He’s a bit aggressive.”

“…A person with much anger. But it’s fine.”

The venerable monk’s guard was lowered but still showed no intention of telling us more. However, thanks to his words, I became certain.

“In that case, we’ll just take a look around. Thank you for showing us around.”

“You’re welcome. Ah…if anything dangerous happens, please shout. I’ll come running immediately.”

With that, the venerable monk bowed and left. We stepped away from the tent village, and Deokbae, who had gotten up, grumbled quietly but lowered his voice.

“What? Did you come here to fight?”

“Not exactly, but not right now. There’s no opponent, after all. And…”

I pointed to the back of the venerable monk entering the temple of the Taj Mahal.

“He’s human. A real human. No reason to fight someone who isn’t even a villain.”

“Huh?”

Deokbae’s expression changed strangely.

“Not a villain?”

“Yes. Rather than a villain, more like a vigilante? Didn’t he just say if something happens, call him?”

I drew the letter “A” on my palm.

“That guy is a special ability user. An enlightened speed-type special ability user blessed by Gaechonkwang Karna.”

“…Wait. What? Enlightened but not a monster?”

“Yes. Gaechonkwang is a pretty unique one.”

Unique to the point of being extraordinary. While other spirits were brainwashed by Seongju into seeing all humans as targets to kill, only Gaechonkwang Karna maintained a friendly stance toward humans.

“Before destroying the world anyway, they want to fight and die gloriously.”

“Then what does that have to do with enhancing humans with special abilities-”

Deokbae frowned as if realizing something.

“Are they raising them to eat later?”

“Yes.”

I swung my fists in the air.

“Karna is looking for a hero who can defeat them.”

Someone said that monsters are always defeated by humans.

“If the opponent is human, then they will fight as a human too. They love fair battles. That’s why ‘Karna.'”

Not a nickname like Fenril or Hydra, but rather someone who fights against Earth’s special ability users as an equal human, seeking an honorable victory against all humanity.

“Fortunately, we came at a good time. I checked first just in case.”

The Taj Mahal is both the place where Karna fights and the location where they awaken Gaechonkwang’s powers through a one-on-one battle. Unfortunately, they’re absent now, but if we wait patiently, they’ll return soon.

“So what now? Search high and low? At least you must know what they look like, right?”

“Nope. We’re fighting here, so we have to wait until the landlord comes back. I’m the guest, after all. Puh-heh.”

I pulled out a schedule from the magical gear. The previously packed schedule was empty starting from today, the day we arrived in India.

“We’ll handle the S-Rank Monsters in India while waiting for Karna to return. Let’s relax.”

“How long?”

“Hmm…two days?”

“If they’re gone for at least a week, as you said?”

Deokbae had a valid point. For all we know, Karna could be on a retreat and may not return anytime soon. Even if we deal with one S-Rank Monster per day in India, delays in our schedule are inevitable if Karna doesn’t return.

“What’s the best way to summon a landlord who doesn’t respond?”

I gently rubbed my thumb to my middle finger. Deokbae winced upon seeing the sparks of fire emanating from my fingers.

“Are you crazy?”

“Don’t worry.”

I shrugged and flicked my fingers.

“Besides, the place is going to get destroyed when I fight Karna anyway. Does it really matter if I start the fire early?”

Whoosh.

A tiny spark rose in the flower bed. I slipped away with Deokbae, hiding in the sunlight, while conjuring a ball of mana and sending it high into the sky.

“One more sun, and it’ll burn twice as bright, right?”

Though my mana subtly ignited the flames, the red inferno spreading under the sunlight would appear entirely natural.

“Hey, arsonist! You’ve got another criminal record!”

“It’s fine as long as no one else knows. Phoenix already has a rap sheet full of red lines, and Cheongnyeon is practically on probation…”

I brought up Cheongnyeon and Gaeul, who were chatting at the Indian branch of the Association.

“Perfect alibi, right?”

At least Cheongnyeon would be off the suspect list.

“Puh-heh.”

Imagining the flames reaching the landlord, I flew toward the headquarters of the Indian Association.

* * *

Regarding Mahatma’s not-quite deception, the executioner decided to exploit the situation to pull rank.

“In the land of India, any monsters we handle will be entirely ours. Cores, byproducts, everything.”

“Grrr…”

The executioner played hardball. It was so one-sided that it couldn’t even be called unfair. Despite smiling while speaking, the executioner was essentially using the power of special ability users led by Cheongnyeon to intimidate Mahatma.

-Can you catch monsters yourselves? We’ll do it for you. In exchange, we’ll take everything.

“Do you really have to take it all?”

Mahatma tried to preserve his last shred of dignity.

“To raid an S-Rank monster requires at least a battalion-level team of heroes. Remember how during the Seoul restoration operation, we assembled over a hundred elite heroes? It was mainly to defeat S-Rank monsters.”

Mahatma emphasized the importance of support units. Even though the expedition team was the main force, he was saying that they would deploy substantial support troops.

“Yes, but we have no issues. The heroes participating in this expedition are enough to handle S-Rank monsters. Don’t you remember? How Cheongnyeon used Black Flame Dragon to defeat Water Monkey.”

To which the executioner strongly rejected any assistance, almost throwing a tantrum, leaving the heroes beside them somewhat awkward. Despite appearing calm, Mahatma leaned forward to calm the executioner.

“Of course, I remember. Although the incident with the Dark Sand Gale overshadowed it, I clearly recall the feat of controlling one S-Rank monster to defeat another. When Black Flame Dragon transformed into an armored giant and defeated Water Monkey—it was truly impressive.”

Mahatma kept lifting his cup as if his insides were burning. His glass was filled with lemonade glowing with a pale yellow light.

“But moving with less than ten people is far too dangerous. I understand that Cheongnyeon dislikes assistance, but as the representative of the Indian Association, I have a duty to prepare for contingencies.”

“I understand. Then let’s do this: If you feel our numbers are insufficient for a safe monster raid, there’s nothing we can do. Cheonghua, what do you think?”

“Huh?”

The executioner passed the ball to Gaeul, who had been silent.

“If Cheonghua wishes, I’ll return to our homeland and reorganize the expedition team into a company, no, a battalion. More heroes will participate than during the Seoul restoration operation.”

“Uh, um…”

Gaeul was genuinely flustered. Since Phoenix needed to resolve the issue with Gaechonkwang Karna, she was effectively tied to India. However, the executioner had unexpectedly declared their departure from India.

“So…”

Reading the executioner’s expression, Gaeul noticed the slightly trembling pupils despite the cold determination.

While willing to compromise to some extent, the executioner intended to completely block Mahatma’s interference.

The executioner wanted to operate the expedition team independently without any interference. Gaeul realized this instinctively and slightly bowed her head before addressing Mahatma.

“It’s fine with the current members. But since we’ve already practiced together, increasing the team size would only delay things further, right?”

“Hmm…”

Mahatma fell silent upon hearing Gaeul’s words. The implication of “increasing the number” included not only Korean heroes but also Indian special ability users.

“Alright. If Cheonghua says so… I’ve asked for too much.”

“No, I understand.”

Mahatma backed down gracefully, and the executioner sighed in relief.

“So regarding the scale of support…”

“The command authority during the raid will be…”

After a series of verbal sparring matches between Mahatma and the executioner, a conclusion was reached.

The Indian Association would support the hero squad, but the executioner would retain independent command over the heroes participating in the expedition.

“In return, if we capture Yasha, we’ll hand over the core. As for the other monsters, we’ll take everything.”

“…Understood.”

Prioritize handling the S-Rank monster Yasha, and afterward, if there are any other S-Rank monsters, the executioner plans to take everything. Mahatma aimed to secure Yasha’s S-Rank core, while the executioner firmly decided to take everything from non-existent S-Rank monsters.

“Are you expecting the Black Sand Gale incident to happen again?”

“Well, isn’t there at least one more S-Rank monster somewhere in this vast land of India?”

“They would have appeared by now… Alright. Your generous offer is appreciated.”

The lengthy negotiation ended. Mahatma returned to his previous kind demeanor, fanning his face with his hand.

“Negotiations aren’t really my forte… Phew. Still, this outcome is acceptable-”

Beeep!

Mahatma’s smartwatch suddenly buzzed loudly. It wasn’t just a simple call or text; the message sent chills down the spine. Mahatma excused himself and checked the message.

“Fire…at the Taj Mahal?”