Chapter 703

〈 Chapter 703 〉 Bed Ending #000 (H) 01

<Restart>.

* * *

<Summer of 2002>.

You—my champion.

A roar echoed through the plaza. The injured people seemed to either forget or remember their wounds as they erupted in ecstatic cheers.

“People are really amazing, huh. And just two and a half years ago, that incident happened.”

“Rather, because of that incident, we’re all gathered here now.”

From a small hotel slightly removed from the square, I shook my head at the massive roar shaking the windows.

“The monster situation stabilized in just a year, and now they’re holding the World Cup right away. Wow, impressive. The neighboring country gave up, so the stadiums here are packed to the brim.”

“If there aren’t enough stadiums, we can mobilize special ability workers to build them and double the duration of the World Cup, right?”

“That’s what makes it even scarier—they actually did it.”

The World Cup is a global celebration. But with the tournament lasting for two whole months, isn’t that a bit excessive? And the willpower and strength of Koreans that made it possible were terrifying.

– What? The World Cup might be canceled? Deploy all S-Rank heroes! Build Colosseum-style stadiums or ice rinks if you have to!

– What? Worried about flying monsters on your way here? Send an S-Rank hero! Have them visit Germany for tourism and return home together on the plane!

– What? A neighboring country is flexing military muscle? Deploy SS-Rank heroes! Magical power shows-off!

“Wow, the world is full of S-Ranks.”

“You created them, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

I picked up the six orbs stored in the jewelry box on the desk. All but the red one glowed faintly, dormant. I thought of the being we had struggled hardest against.

“Light Blade, I hope you’ve found peace.”

“Of course. She’s probably with Rusalka by now. Don’t worry; the other 101 S-Ranks will handle everything.”

“This country has so many S-Ranks.”

“Right? Who would’ve thought turning every kind-hearted sucker into an S-Rank by force-feeding them magic power could happen?”

Speechless. I couldn’t say anything. Just as she said, I used the six cores to mass-produce S-Rank heroes of water, wind, earth, light, darkness, and illusion attributes. Even adding up all the S-Ranks in the world wouldn’t surpass the number in this country.

Year 2000.

As soon as I returned to the past, I began my work. Contrary to my fears that I’d need 20 years of persuasion, ‘she’ readily accepted me and led me out into the world.

– The original story ended in just a year, right? Let’s wrap everything up in a year then. You and me, let’s do Double Phoenix.

– Wh…What…?

She and I traveled the world burning monsters. No officers were spared, and she—insisting on calling herself Chang-yeom instead of Cheongnyeon—and I incinerated all the officers’ bodies to create cores.

“Worried about making everyone into cores?”

“Not really. If we purify the contamination over time, they’ll eventually return.”

Perhaps someday the personalities of the officers and spirits can coexist. I sealed the jewelry box and lay down on the bed. Chang-yeom laid beside me and pressed the remote control.

– Match begins!

Fireworks signaled the start of the World Cup opening match. On the green field, 22 foreign soccer players momentarily lost their wits as white flames erupted in the sky despite the whistle blowing.

“What a bunch of hooligans.”

“We didn’t make them SS-Rank for that.”

[Vertical Ascension Rocket Fist!]

A pillar of white flame ascended toward the heavens. SS-Rank Fire Attribute Hero <Baek Yeon Shin Quan> Kim Chul-soo’s ultimate move marked the beginning of the 2002 World Cup, and the referee blew the whistle again since no one heard it the first time.

Waaaaaaaah—-!!

The “Blue Devils” covered the world, waving flags while celebrating the global festival. The blue phoenix emblazoned on the flags spread its wings elegantly at a 45-degree angle. Chang-yeom giggled as she saw the camera-captured flag.

“C, H, A, N, G, Y, E, O, M.”

“Ugh, stop it. It gives me goosebumps.”

“Puhh, in the future, this will be called ASMR.”

Chang-yeom lazily changed channels. Every station without exception was broadcasting the World Cup live, even foreign channels.

It was only natural. This was the first global celebration after humanity regained peace. Despite the scientific community mourning the mysterious disappearance of what they once thought was the last planet of the solar system, the 6 billion inhabitants of Earth had found their own peace—a greater fortune for all humanity.

Seongju, annihilated.

All six Dark Legion officers, deceased.

Although the unresolved issue of “Terra’s Dimensional Gate” remains, our use of spirit cores to recklessly produce special ability users has somewhat addressed the dimensional gate problem.

S101, SS7.

These strange codes represent the current numbers of S-Rank and SS-Rank special ability users in this country, which became the driving force behind the originally canceled World Cup.

– Not enough stadiums? We built a World Cup-exclusive island next to Dokdo.

“The patriotism of the SS-Rank durability uncle was a great boon for this country. Even Hydra would surely be happy.”

“The core still exists within her. She’s not dead, so what’s the problem?”

“Hmm, if I were dead, I’d be dead. Ah, but there’s still one more person left to kill.”

Chang-yeom slowly climbed on top of me. Her bright blue eyes sparkled as she seductively straddled my member.

“I’ll kill the ex-girlfriend in your memories, the future Chang-yeom.”

“…You’re blocking the TV.”

“Then how about this?”

Crunch. Chang-yeom immediately took my Phoenix into her warmth, pressing her upper body against mine with a mischievous smile. I placed one hand on her waist and the other on her butt, kissing her forehead.

“Are you not going to watch the game?”

“I prefer watching you.”

“…”

Even though we are the same entity, beings from different timelines are fundamentally distinct. But maybe it’s time to finally accept it.

“…Actually, I like having sex with you better.”

“Puhh, they say if you chop ten times and it doesn’t fall, keep chopping.”

Chang-yeom briefly kissed my lips and started swaying her hips slowly.

“Did your ex-girlfriend never do this?”

“No, it was you who–”

“Honestly, it gets annoying, doesn’t it? Look, it’s getting harder than before.”

“…”

May 31, 2002.

The first opening match of the World Cup, heralding humanity’s regained peace, was covered in blue flames.

* * *

<June 3, 2002>

“Uh, excuse me, sir….”

“I speak Korean.”

“Ahh! Thank you. I don’t speak English well.”

Though it seems absurd for a hotelier not to speak English, it’s understandable given that the young man wasn’t originally in hospitality.

His badge prominently read “Volunteer.”

“Sorry to bother you, but may I ask what you were doing before volunteering?”

“I was unemployed. Then I received the blessing of the Blue Flame and became a hero at C-Rank. Now I’m serving various S-Rank guests visiting this hotel. It’s an honor.”

“Ah, yes…”

His shining eyes watching me were quite burdensome. Like an amateur soccer hopeful idolizing a World Cup national team player, he looked at me, an S-Rank guest staying at this exclusive hotel, with admiration.

‘I’m not even S-Rank.’

If I told him I was the one who bestowed the blessing that turned him into a superhuman, how would he react? Would he kneel and pray, or fear me as a monster?

“While you’re here, why…?”

“I came to pick up an order under the name Baek Cheonghwa.”

“Baek Cheonghwa… Ah! You’re the customer who ordered the strawberry cream pie! So many strawberries! Sorry, I thought you were a foreigner…”

“It’s fine, I unintentionally caused confusion.”

I glanced at my reflection in the mirror. My original appearance was nowhere to be seen, replaced by the golden hair and blue eyes of the protagonist and commander, Xian W. Hibiscus.

…I managed to take on a human form but, regrettably, could only replicate the commander’s exact appearance. Any other form was impossible.

Dropped as an SSS-Rank human, Chang-yeom gained the officer status of Phoenix. The nuclear bomb latent within me transferred to her.

If Chang-yeom were corrupted by Phoenix…

“Here you go.”

The young man handed me the well-packaged cream pie. It was filled with halved strawberries and tinted with a lovely pink cream color—just the kind she’d love.

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure. Oh, by the way, our nation’s match is in a few hours. If you have time, please watch it. We might not reach the Round of 16, but…”

“…If you bet, go for the semifinals.”

“Wh-what? That’s a joke, right?”

Taking the pie box from him, I headed toward the elevator. People gathered in front of the large screen in the hotel, cheering and cursing at the players in blue uniforms.

“Screw it, I could play better than that even if I ran out there!!”

“Well, duh, any S-Rank playing soccer would naturally dominate.”

I patted my chest as I passed the angry middle-aged man and entered the elevator. As soon as I stepped in, seven men and women joined me.

“All familiar faces.”

“Of course. All seven SS-Ranks in this country are here.”

Among the familiar faces, one unmistakably stood out—Kim Chul-soo of Baek Yeon Shin Quan towering at 2 meters, dwarfing my relatively tall frame.

“It’s been a while, BB.”

“Just tell me your business.”

“When will you kill her?”

“Get lost. I have no intention of killing her. Done talking business? Leave.”

The expressions of the six surrounding men and women twisted. Though they knew I made them SS-Rank, they still menacingly channeled their magic power.

“People are still afraid of you, BB.”

“There’s only one officer left. If she goes berserk…”

“She won’t go berserk. Relax.”

There’s one remaining trace of the Dark Legion in this world. Of course, the SS-Rank heroes worry about the unpredictable nuclear bomb, but for me, there’s no choice but to destroy the world alongside the nuclear bomb—I could never remove Chang-yeom.

“We should ignore this and just go watch soccer before spoilers ruin it.”

“It’s a losing match anyway.”

“And if we win? Stop irritating those quietly minding their own business. If we reach the semifinals, leave us alone.”

“Hah, miracles don’t happen like that….”

Ding.

The elevator arrived at the destination. Kim Chul-soo stepped back with a sour expression, and I headed to my room with the cream pie.

“I’m back.”

“I’LL KILL YOU!!!”

My heart sank when I heard the scream as soon as the door opened. Thankfully, I instantly erected a barrier, preventing the sound from leaking outside. Quickly locking the door, I rushed inside.

“Chang-yeom!!”

“Ah, you’re here?”

“……Two of you?”

The scene on the bed surpassed my wildest expectations. There was Chang-yeom tied down with chains of blue flames, and on top of her, another naked Chang-yeom in a 69 position licking her below.

“What…is this?”

“Don’t you recognize it? Look at her eyes.”

Chang-yeom pointed sideways to the lower half of the restrained Chang-yeom. Sure enough, the Chang-yeom screaming about killing had a black visor covering her face. It resembled a villainous mask with sharp edges.

“…Could it be?”

I removed the visor mask from the Chang-yeom beneath. Her eyes flashed with a clear blue and a murky purple.

“Officer Phoenix?”

“Yes. I was watching soccer, and suddenly I split in two. I immediately tried to subdue and capture her…”

Chang-yeom nervously rose while observing my reaction.

“What do you plan to do? Shall we split her evenly?”

“…A miracle.”

Keeeeeeyoooooo!

The Phoenix embedded in my lower half raised its beak high toward the sky.

“Chang-yeom, reinforce the barrier.”

“I’ll burn you both to ashes, you freaks!”

I thrust my head between the legs of the screaming Phoenix.

“Let’s kiss here.”

“…….Puhh.”

Snap.

Chang-yeom and I intertwined our tongues around Phoenix’s climax.