Chapter 491

〈 Chapter 491: Part 1, Chapter 20, Scene 23 〉

“Are you alright?”

Yuna crafted a mud bandage around the Hero’s shattered arm. As an immense surge of magic power coursed through it, the bandage hardened into a cast, stabilizing the Hero’s broken limb.

“I’m…I’m okay now.”

“Thank goodness.”

The Hero could hardly believe their luck. What had seemed like a limb that might need amputation after being obliterated by a Terralist attack was now healing rapidly thanks to Yuna’s magic. The pain began to subside.

“Lucky for us you’re durable…”

At Yuna’s side, Ji Ryun’s Hydra formed a soft mud bed on the ground for the Hero to rest on. The comforting sensation wrapped around them, allowing the Hero to momentarily forget they were in the middle of a battlefield.

“You just pump raw magic into someone to boost regeneration…who taught you that?”

“My Master.”

“Phoenix? Figures.”

Hydra scratched its head in exasperation.

“She’s so reckless…how did I end up working with someone like that? Ugh.”

“Do you not like it?”

Yuna grinned mischievously. Hydra wagged a finger warningly as it approached, poking Yuna in the ribs.

“Who’s one to talk?”

“Hmph. Then would you like to come along too, Hydra-sama? Even ‘me’ might be able to catch up somehow.”

Yuna pointed skyward with her index finger. Though they were practically on opposite sides of the Earth, there was a chance Yuna could pursue whoever had left ahead.

“Wh-what? Lady Goddess? What are you talking about?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just that an impatient person went off ahead to capture Pluto’s master.”

Yuna tapped her Magical Gear, bringing up a recording. Just three minutes prior, satellite imagery captured a brilliant blue phoenix rocketing through space toward the moon from above the Korean peninsula. The azure light cutting through the darkness left the Hero awestruck.

“What in the world…?”

“She’s gone off alone to save the world.”

“To do this all by herself…she might even die trying…”

Hydra bit their lip and looked down.

“What does she even think she’s doing, not even being a proper hero…”

“Don’t people change easily depending on their nature…oh no, wait…”

Ping! Yuna’s Magical Gear started beeping loudly. Looking troubled, Yuna tapped the device to answer the incoming call.

“This is Yuna, currently separated from the group.”

[This is no time to be separated!!]

Executor Baek Hee-a appeared as a hologram, hair disheveled and dark circles under her eyes, looking utterly exhausted.

“Executor, aren’t you pushing yourself too hard…?”

[We have to! Phoenix-sama went off alone!]

“Eh? Did Executor also separate?”

[Yep, they’ve gone to gather people! If you can, please return to Yeouido quickly!]

Following Executor’s orders, Yuna looked around. Through translation devices, local heroes heard the Executor’s command and began looking to Yuna for guidance.

“Uh, Lady Goddess?”

“…Sorry, but it seems we need to head back to our own battlefield.”

“What?!”

Local heroes despaired. Without Yuna and Hydra, they wouldn’t be able to handle the Namekings, monsters spawned by them, or creatures emerging from dimensional gates. How could Yuna leave now?

“Are you abandoning us?!”

“For your country alone to survive…?!”

“It’s impossible to help even if they wanted to-”

“Not at all. It’s not abandonment…we’re going to capture Pluto’s master.”

Yuna restrained Hydra who was about to explode and quickly explained the situation – capturing Seongju on the moon, the means located beneath Yeouido in Korea, and their intentions to not flee but fight.

“They say the best defense is offense, right? So…please bear with us for a little while. We’ll resolve things quickly and come back.”

“In the meantime, these guys will help out.”

Clap! Clap!

Hydra clapped their hands. Suddenly, a massive earthquake shook the ground.

Grrrrr…

Hundreds of capsule-like mounds erupted from the earth. Like coffins, their fronts began to open one by one.

Creeeak…

“Aaaah!!”

From each capsule emerged grotesque monsters with brown glowing eyes. The heroes were terrified, but then puzzled as these monsters all knelt before Yuna and Hydra.

“These are the monsters of the Jije Kingdom. Each is about B-Rank hero level.”

“Don’t worry, they were once humans too. They cannot be corrupted by otherworldly influences and have divine protection.”

All the monsters nodded. Thoroughly controlled by , these Jije monsters began appearing not only in Saudi Arabia where Yuna and Hydra were, but in remote areas worldwide untouched by heroes.

“Unbelievable! How could monsters-”

“Then would this convince you?”

Yuna high-fived Hydra, causing Hydra to be absorbed into Yuna. Yuna transformed into Yaldabaoth once more.

“I order all Jije monsters across the globe. Protect the Earth.”

Kwang!

As Yuna struck the ground with their staff, the monsters roared and scattered in all directions. The “absolute command authority” had been activated.

“Certainly, it’s still insufficient…but this should cover for my absence somewhat. I’m heading to Yeouido.”

Yuna disappeared into the ground. Nearby heroes watched in awe as the monsters charged into battle.

“Is this truly the apocalypse…?”

Uooooo—

The monsters wearing brown scarves rushed not at humans, but at Terralists and monsters. Confounded, the heroes watched as the largest monster approached them and spoke.

“In the name of the Goddess. Yu-na.”

Chanting “Yu-na,” the Jije monsters began fighting against Earth’s invaders.

* * *

.

I soared through the skies with fiery wings flapping up and down, propelling myself higher with blasts of magic power against gravity.

No one could touch me, no one could interfere. Not even my Magical Gear came with me, so no one could contact me.

[Hey! What are you doing?!]

“Holy crap.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the ice butterfly that suddenly appeared beside me. As I ascended from the troposphere into the stratosphere, I hadn’t expected anyone to keep pace with me so closely – except perhaps him, the first to synchronize with me, showing near-divine abilities.

“Planting your will into water vapor now? You’re really becoming godlike. God of ice and water. Bingsu-God.”

[Are you joking around right now?! Why the hell are you flying solo like this?!!]

Jokes didn’t land. The frustration and concern transmitted through the ice butterfly from Seok Harang were palpable. Of course they’d be upset – I took off without warning, accelerating like a rocket.

“I don’t have time.”

I stopped mid-air and caught the ice butterfly. Through the contact of our magic powers, I sensed Seok Harang’s location and vice versa.

“Swimming across the Pacific at almost Kim Penril speed?”

[That’s not the point! How far are you planning to go?!]

Having defeated the Water King, Seok Harang was swimming across the Pacific toward Korea, toward Yeouido. Unless something extraordinary happened, none of us except me could reach the moon alone, so some kind of vessel would be necessary.

“Probably until the moon. Going to face Seongju.”

[So why are you going alone?!]

Seok Harang’s shout sounded like it was right next to my ear. Their anger was laced with deep worry for me. I petted the ice butterfly gently before releasing it back into the air.

“I’m starting to fall apart.”

[What? You don’t mean-]

“Take care. Right now, you’re like an older brother to me…but someday, you might be like an older sister.”

[Y-you-]

Crackle.

I mercilessly melted the ice butterfly, severing the connection with Seok Harang. I flapped my wings again and continued ascending.

‘Are you alright?’

Chang-yeom consoled me from within.

“I’m fine. We’ve prepared for this possibility long ago.”

‘Still, those might have been final words…doing it so abruptly was a bit-‘

“This feels just right.”

Though decisive in cutting off communication with Seok Harang, who was like a disciple, younger sibling, and family to me, they weren’t just any ordinary person.

All the Spirits. All members of the Blue Wind Sect. Everyone I’ve ever interacted with.

I entrusted Earth to all of them and was going to fight alone with Chang-yeom against Seongju.

“Wouldn’t mind having a chat, but there’s no time now.”

I channeled even more magic power, ascending faster. Though oxygen grew scarce and breathing became difficult, my body composed of pure magic power didn’t require respiration.

After several minutes of continuous magic discharge, breaking through clouds and overcoming gravity, I reached the silent void where no sound existed.

Space.

‘Typically doesn’t make it to space alone. Truly worthy of Phoenix.’

Wooowwwww…

In the absolute silence of space, I spread my wings and hovered. With no lingering regrets, I turned my gaze toward Earth one last time before proceeding.

‘Holy mess. Due to the Dimensional Gates, whether land or sea, everything’s swirling now.’

The entire world was covered in purple vortexes. The number of Dimensional Gates exceeded even the Azidahaka Gate incident, seemingly creating a gate per person.

Truly a world on the brink of destruction. I shifted my gaze from Earth to the Moon.

‘Hopefully I can return though.’

Even though I departed, I still wished to come back. There were still many things unsaid, many things undone. Having devoted all my time to saving Chang-yeom for this day, I wanted to secure victory and enjoy the aftermath.

“Ah. Ah.”

I placed a hand on my chest and gathered my magic power. Though there was no medium to carry sound, that was easily overcome with magic and spirit.

[Think of it as checking out honeymoon destinations early and dealing with strange beings while you’re there. I’ll return alive to Earth. Together.]

‘Doing a honeymoon trip in space?’

[Capture Seongju, return to Earth, and this time ride a spaceship to tour the lunar base. Perfect.]

I slowly moved toward the Moon.

Gliding through space, my destination was the far side of the Moon.

The entrance to Fangju’s shelter installed by Seongju.

Squeeeak.

Just as I remembered, a massive shelter door opened on the far side of the Moon. As expected, the Moon had already been terraformed by Seongju. It was as if Seongju was welcoming our arrival by opening the shelter doors themselves.

Squeeeak, Chk.

The moment I entered, the shutter closed behind me. Inside revealed an advanced civilization far surpassing the 21st century.

‘Looks like stepping onto a starship from a war among the stars.’

Should I draw a lightsaber? I steadied my breathing and moved forward. A holographic path resembling a red carpet guided me inward.

As I progressed deeper into the lunar base through long corridors, my heart pounded wildly. It wasn’t due to Chang-yeom acting up inside me or magic power surging uncontrollably – purely from nervous tension making my body tremble.

“Blazing Phoenix Revival, Blazing Phoenix Revival.”

I calmed myself and arrived at the end of the corridor, standing before a massive iron door twisted like a spiral. The moment I arrived, the door slid into the walls, revealing a vast white space beyond. In the center of the chamber stood a man in yellow robes.

“Seongju.”

“Welcome, Phoenix.”

Seongju greeted me with an open smile, expressionless yet warm. Judging by the state of his body beneath the robes, Seongju appeared fully prepared.

“Surprising. I expected you to try stalling or firing some sort of brainwashing beam or illusion beam.”

“That would be most efficient, but…perhaps it’s the influence of this body…this is what it means to be human, hmm? Heh heh.”

Seongju stepped forward into a fighting stance. The exact same combat posture I’d only seen in data form was perfectly recreated by Seongju.

“Thinking about it, I never truly defeated your other half, Chang-yeom. In that sense…today I intend to win for real. Defeating you will be equivalent to defeating Chang-yeom, right?”

“Of course. But sorry, I’m going to cheat a little.”

I extended a gauntlet created from magic power. Though similar in form to the Monster Phoenix’s, its color matched Chang-yeom’s distinct blue hue.

“Your opponent isn’t me alone. It’s ‘us.'”

This is the final battle.