Chapter 617

〈 Chapter 617 〉 Part 2, Chapter 2, Section 12

The opponents are estimated to be around A Rank Agents. In a way, it was an expected turn of events.

‘Gaon is A Rank, so if Gaon’s gonna catch someone, another A Rank needs to come.’

In this world, there are definitely means to enhance the limits of supernaturals beyond just commanders. The problem is that Dark Legion’s monsterification process is the most representative example, and the enemies chasing us were clearly monsters.

“I only know about Winter. <Rasputin> is a monster, and those are the underling monsters Rasputin sent to capture our Gaon.”

“Wha-? Why would they want Gaon?!”

“It’s because Rasputin is a pedophile who wants to cuddle with Gaon!”

Pssst! Something grazed my earlobe. Judging by the red blood dripping from beneath my coat, it seemed like a long-range attack had narrowly missed me.

“Sir, should we keep running down this passage?!”

“Crackle, crackle…”

Right beside me, YuhaC got hit. The Xroid whose head was cleanly sniped collapsed onto the floor, leaking oil like blood.

“Damn rats.”

Footsteps echoed from afar. The traces of magical power in the voice hinted at the presence of a monster.

“That raspy voice is a characteristic of monsters. They’re such nasty creatures, aren’t they?”

“…Is the translator malfunctioning? You’re saying such things right in front of me. But now it’s certain—you’re definitely the one who planted nonsense ideas into <Undine>’s head.”

“Hmph… Let me see… That person over there looks like <Zmei>. An A Rank supernatural from the Russian intelligence agency. Actually, they’re a monster belonging to Matryoshka, one of Rasputin’s subordinates.”

“……So it wasn’t Kim Gaon causing trouble after all. Looks like I’ll have to kill you here no matter what.”

Whoosh. The blond woman in a suit raised her golden nails and pointed them at us. Her hands had grown large and sharp like a beast’s, resembling the claws of a monster.

“Body transformation. So you’ve been turning animal forms into magical power, haven’t you? Aren’t you embarrassed? Trying to kidnap another woman just to make her a victim of rape.”

“Foolish one. Once you receive His grace, thoughts like that won’t even cross your mind. Indeed, once you experience His love.”

Zmei smirked as she scratched her lips with her nails. Her eyes began to glow with a purple light.

“After all, women were born to be penetrated by dicks. After being taken by His dick, you won’t even think about rape anymore.”

“What the hell kind of ridiculous-”

“Winter, be quiet.”

I covered Winter’s mouth with my hand. It’d be better for me to take charge of the conversation rather than cause unnecessary commotion.

‘It’s super dangerous right now.’

Though I’m pretending to be calm, our opponent is an A Rank monster. On the other hand, the only ally by my side is a naked D Rank supernatural with big boobs.

“By the way, how did you end up naked, Winter?”

“My clothes were changing when the boss suddenly walked in, leaving me like this!”

“Oh, I see. What a coincidence. Excuse me, may I ask for a moment?”

I gestured toward Zmei.

“First, could I please get Winter something to cover herself with? Is that okay?”

“Hmph, trying to appear considerate? She’ll be offered to Him anyway.”

“At least let her cover her body first, right?”

“Fine. Though it seems like you’re stalling… Just don’t move while I approach.”

Clomp, clomp. Zmei slowly walked towards us. I handed my coat to Sun Gyeoul and faced Zmei.

“Never thought we’d end up fighting like this.”

“Do you plan to fight? Tch, you look like a powerless fool. You will die here no matter what.”

“One question: Is Rasputin a pawn of the Dark Legion?”

“…What insolence! How dare you spout such nonsense!”

“Ah, so that’s a yes? Cut.”

Swoosh. Zmei’s arm swung toward me but was severed mid-swing. The detached limb dissolved into golden powder and scattered uselessly in the air.

“Weapons formed through magical power concentration—not true body transformations—are problematic. Once disconnected from the main body, they disperse instantly.”

I waved away the glittering gold dust in front of me. Zmei screamed upon seeing her missing arm.

“Aaaah!!”

Her wrist was cleanly cut off, and dark, sticky blood began to drip heavily from the wound.

“You, you bastard! What did you do?!”

“Did you really think I’d come unprepared against an A Rank monster?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle inside.

“My condolences. Have you been mentally raped by Rasputin too? Is this the extent of your judgment?”

“You, you son of a bitch! Tell me NOW! Aaaaargh!!”

Zmei summoned magical power toward her hand. Blood-like tendrils shot out like grappling hooks, and soon her hand reformed into a grotesque mass that barely resembled its original shape.

“What exactly do you want me to say? I didn’t do anything.”

“Aaaargh!!”

Having lost her sanity, the monster swung her blood-formed claws at me. I casually deflected her with the edge of my hand, grazing her neck.

“You should’ve considered whether there might be something—or someone—else involved.”

Swoosh!

An invisible blade swept through like a storm. Zmei’s body shattered as if thrown into a blender. I quickly shielded Winter’s eyes as her arms and legs disintegrated into particles, leaving only her torso and head twitching on the ground.

“This…this absurd…”

Zmei’s entire body had been shredded by the wind blade. Her arms and legs had completely broken down into particles, leaving only her head and torso struggling weakly. I stepped forward and crushed her head with my foot.

“Even if you try to regenerate your magical power, it’ll be useless. With the severed surface exposed to the air, it won’t work.”

“Kiiiaaaah!!”

Zmei spat saliva at me. It looked like some sort of toxic liquid, nearly hitting my shoes.

Whiiiiirrrr!!

A powerful wind, unimaginable in an underground tunnel, blew through. The saliva Zmei had spat performed a 180-degree turn and slammed back into her own face.

Crackle…

Zmei’s face began to melt. I lightly stomped on her head left and right before reaching into my inner pocket.

“Ah, I gave my coat. Excuse me, Winter.”

Approaching Winter, I opened her coat. Even in the darkness, her ample chest was unmistakably visible, but I acted as if nothing unusual was happening as I pressed into the inner pocket of the coat she wore.

Click.

“It’s a secret.”

I pulled a pistol from the inner pocket of the coat. Its weight felt satisfying, though I wasn’t thrilled that it was single-shot.

‘I’ll need to replace it later.’

It might have been his primary weapon, but I preferred something else. For now, this was the only usable option, so I aimed the gun at Zmei and pulled the trigger.

Click, click.

“Ah, forgot the bullets. Winter, sorry.”

“Hiieek!!”

Reaching into the inner pocket again, I had to dig deep to finally grab one bullet.

“Ah, gray. Illusion magic.”

I unscrewed the cap at the end of the barrel and loaded the bullet. Then I tapped Winter’s ear.

“If you don’t cover your ears, your eardrums might burst. This thing is unnecessarily loud and big, just like my size.”

Click.

With a thunderous sound, Zmei’s remaining pieces were torn apart.

* * *

An emergency alert rang out at Yoo Sung’s Xroid store.

The signal indicating the appearance of a monster brought nearby heroes, key figures from the Hero Association, Patriotic Youth Corps members, and Yuna’s group rushing to the vicinity of the Xroid store.

“The opponent is causing chaos on the basement level! There seem to be more than five A Rank monsters at minimum!”

“Tch, why now in New Seoul…!”

Looking up briefly at the sky, Seol Ji-young, near the Hero Association headquarters, sighed. Due to the battle taking place underground, aerial support was impossible. To defeat A Rank monsters, at least twice as many A Ranks would need to be deployed.

But deploying A Ranks immediately was practically impossible. Seol Ji-young anxiously waited for the heroes to arrive.

“Not good, I’ll have to go in first!”

“No way! If something happens to the Association Leader, everything’s over!”

“If the building collapses, it’s game over!”

Although Yoo Sung is a private company, in terms of managing battle suits, it’s practically a national-level institution. If the entire building collapsed, the economic loss would amount to tens of trillions.

“Any updates from Yoo Sung?!”

“They’re asking us to minimize damage to their products and customers’ belongings…”

“Ugh, this is insane!”

How easy is that request supposed to be? In Seol Ji-young’s mind, images of heroes holding back due to expensive suits flashed. The real concern wasn’t their lack of power but the aftermath of defeating the monsters.

If sued by Yoo Sung, the state wouldn’t take responsibility. Compensating for all damages would be unrealistic for the Hero Association.

“How about the authorities?!”

“They’ve requested the Hero Association handle the monster situation…”

“They won’t help either!”

Seol Ji-young angrily slammed the ground.

At that moment,

Gurgle, gurgle.

A massive tremor shook the ground. Simultaneously, the magical power map displayed by Magical Gear changed abruptly.

Bam!

“What’s going on…?”

The responses from the monsters were disappearing one by one, as if being eliminated by someone. A Rank monsters were being ‘killed’.

“I’m going in!”

Seol Ji-young channeled her magical power and rushed into the basement. Pushing open the door, she stumbled back, covering her mouth at the sight of decapitated bodies rolling around.

“Ugh…!”

On closer inspection, these weren’t human corpses but Xroids oozing red oil instead of blood. Their lifelike appearances made Seol Ji-young’s heart sink.

“Too realistic… Hiiik!!”

“Grgh… Grgh…”

Among the Xroids lay severely wounded monsters with countless wounds across their bodies, lying on the ground with limbs severed, trembling as if on the verge of death.

“Who are you?! Who sent you?!”

Seol Ji-young grabbed one of the monsters by the neck and interrogated him. But the golden-haired, blue-eyed monster was already on the brink of death.

“Hehe…”

“Huh?!”

“Guh… Guh…”

Plop. The monster dissipated into black mist. Clearly, his power had run out, causing him to vanish. Seol Ji-young felt as if she’d been hexed.

“Who could possibly be doing this…human response?”

Magical Gear detected a human presence. Seol Ji-young immediately ran toward the female dressing room where the signal was coming from, leaping down the emergency passage.

Far ahead, two life signals were detected. Seol Ji-young sprinted with full strength.

“Ah…”

There were familiar faces—a man and a woman. The woman was lying on the ground, wearing only a coat over her nudity, while the man hovered above her, his face buried in her chest.

Amidst the confusion, one thing was clear to Seol Ji-young.

“Blood…!”

The man’s back bore a deep wound, seemingly inflicted by an attacker.

* * *

“Hmm, so this is the Commander’s weapon?”

Penril of Gale examined the gun handed to him by Cheongnyeon, moving it around to inspect its structure. At first glance, it appeared to be crafted from the materials of A Rank monsters, making it more appropriate to call it a “hand cannon.”

“I’ll scan this and send it to P later.”

Through Magical Gear, Penril scanned the interior of the gun.

This information, already discussed with Cheongnyeon, would serve as valuable leverage to persuade P regarding the weapons used by the Commander.

“With even the Knights of the Round Table becoming monsters…this requires immediate investigation.”

Beep beep. Penril dialed someone, who answered the holographic call promptly.

[What’s the matter at this hour?]

“I stumbled upon some interesting info while lurking around the target. Turns out Rasputin is a monster who rapes the women under him and turns them into slaves.”

[…Hmm, that’s quite significant news. None of the others seem to know this…Could it be Rusalka? Or maybe others without my knowledge? Hmm, well, this source is worth investigating.]

“…”

Penril hesitated. Should he share the information from the Commander or keep it to himself?

‘Too straightforward might raise suspicion. Better to hint around it.’

How should he phrase it? Penril grinned mischievously.

“Hehe, don’t accidentally mess with the wrong person and end up as a sex slave yourself.”

[Enough with the jokes. Who am I to become a sex slave? Irritating. Shall I assign you Rasputin’s assassination then?]

“Can’t take a joke, huh? Oh yeah, I gathered some intel on the target’s weapon. Can you see this? Looks like a gun.”

[…Length?]

“Approximately 22 cm, and the diameter is around 17 cm?”

[…Hm. Got it. Since you joked, let me return the favor. That gun was apparently made to match his own size. Puhehe.]

Click. The connection ended. Penril stared at the gun in his hand, then pointed the barrel toward his lower abdomen.

“…Is this thing supposed to fit entirely?”

Click.

Unknowingly, Penril pulled the trigger. Fortunately, no bullet was discharged.