Chapter 126

〈 Chapter 126 〉 Part 1, Chapter 7 (6)

<1:00 AM, Seok Harang's Residence in Busan.>

After finishing the interview with the Round Table, Harang lay back on the beanbag and scrolled through various community boards online. The news about her SS Rank promotion was the least of her concerns; Harang couldn’t help but be shocked by the videos she came across.

“Wow, these guys are crazy. For real.”

Every single community was in an uproar.

Sun Icheol immediately held a nationwide address claiming it was all lies and defamation, but Governor Yu Yinghuo had already brought Baek Cheongnyeon from Seoul, who revealed every truth.

‘At least they’re trying,’ Harang thought for a moment before watching another video and letting out a string of curses.

“What the hell?”

The atrocities committed by Team Pine, the methods Sun Icheol used to eliminate his rivals, and how Sun Icheol abandoned Seoul while exploiting Light Blade Heo Yoon-hwan’s weakness to shackle New Seoul—everything started coming to light through Baek Cheongnyeon’s testimony.

As more truths unfolded, Harang continued to curse and express her anger. Especially when it came to Light Blade, her master and parental figure, Harang’s face went blank.

“The truth behind the Pyongyang incident is Light Blade’s rampage?”

It didn’t make sense—but it also did. Baek Cheongnyeon testified to everything within her knowledge, and at the very least, every word out of her mouth seemed true.

“Pyongyang’s monster consumed Hwakwon? And Light Blade stopped it but lost control? Other heroes died trying to stop him? Even S-Rankers?”

The video showed the heroes believed to have perished during that event.

<Circle of Illusions>, <Executioner>, <Fierce King>—all the S-Rank legends were said to have fallen victim to Light Blade’s uncontrolled power. It was a huge shock to the public. Only one young boy, slightly older than Harang at the time, disappeared without a trace, his body never found.

“So, why are people blaming Light Blade?”

Harang didn’t understand. If the Pyongyang monster had overpowered the mighty Hwakwon, then Light Blade merely pushed his Special Ability to its limits to stop it, and an accident happened in the process.

“…Hmm, I can see why from the families’ perspectives.”

Hypotheticals like “What if everyone had worked together instead of using force?” were meaningless. Unless that missing boy returned, there would be no witness to the actual events.

Light Blade Heo Yoon-hwan was already dead—or so it seemed. Almost as if the boy had come back to life to exact revenge.

“Wait… what?”

Harang’s mind began racing.

The one who killed Light Blade was Phoenix. Phoenix looked like a young girl but was suspected to resemble a youth in their true form.

“Nah, impossible.”

Once the suspicion started, her thoughts kept circling back to it. Why did Phoenix need to kill Light Blade? How did Phoenix know beforehand that Light Blade’s rampage would be dangerous?

“…No way. There’s no way Gold Horse knows more than this kid.”

Calling someone “Mother” Rusalka, the existence of Spirits, information about extraterrestrial life forms like <Whispering in the Dark>. This person claimed to be “Blazing Phoenix.”

“Yeah. That shouldn’t happen. They absolutely can’t be the same person. Yeah.”

But what if… even just 1%…

If Phoenix were that missing hero pretending to hide their true identity, then what should I do?

Harang gulped nervously as she checked the boy’s information.

Baek Cheongnyeon. Born in 2000. S-Rank Flame Sorcerer. Went missing during the 2012 Pyongyang Incident.

“What if he turned into a Spirit?”

“KYAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!?!?”

Harang rolled around on the beanbag, denying reality despite knowing her assumptions stemmed from baseless fantasies.

Alright, let’s ask. Harang clenched her hairpin tightly.

[Hey, are you a guy?]

[What the heck are you saying at this hour? Go to sleep.]

See? The voice lacks any refinement and isn’t feminine at all. To calm her nerves, Harang continued the conversation.

[Just curious. Why did you name yourself ‘Cheong’ after becoming a Beast Tamer? Is it because Blue Wind Sect is called ‘Cheong’?]

[Why are you picking on my alias? I have a different real name, you know. And isn’t Blue Wind Sect easier to pronounce than Blazing Phoenix? …Why are you asking so many questions? Are you interrogating me?]

[Then what’s your gender?]

[Spirits don’t have genders. If I want, I can transform into a male human form or partially change.]

“WHAT THE ACTUAL WHAT???”

Harang’s heart started pounding. She felt like she’d opened Pandora’s Box, trembling uncontrollably.

[Then why do you appear as a girl when in human form?]

[…I don’t feel like bringing out the male form intentionally. What are you doing at this hour anyway? I’m busy. Disconnecting.]

Click. The hairpin went dark. Harang covered her face with both hands.

“I thought she was just a girl pretending to be a guy…”

Her pointless worries only deepened.

* * *

<Korean Time, 2:22:22 AM, LA Hero Association Headquarters, USA.>

A dimly lit room filled only with the sound of computers whirring. Five screens flickered to life amidst the empty space.

Each screen displayed its own unique icon. One by one, the screens blinked.

“After Snow Princess’s SS rank announcement, reactions have been ecstatic. The long-vacant throne finally has a new owner.”

“At the same time, the situation in Korea has become unstable. All the corruption we’ve uncovered about Sun Icheol is circulating wildly online. Even things we didn’t know.”

“No one knew about Light Blade’s history. I actually admire how Sun Icheol used that knowledge to his advantage.”

“Good news always brings bad. How’s China handling things? I heard you sent Gawein.”

“It seems things went well, huh. Without going into details, the current situation involves the dissolution of the uprising Chinese heroes, thanks to Round Table’s intervention via Nuclearian.”

Then the first screen spoke again.

“So, the issue remains: the Phoenix not mentioned in Oracle’s prophecy.”

“It’s in the prophecy. According to the previous Oracle, the Phoenix decorates the final act.”

“Then could the Phoenix have started acting earlier? Even Oracles’ prophecies might occasionally fail, right?”

“Oracle’s prophecies are absolute. Up until now, none of their predictions have ever been wrong. That’s why we’ve managed to deal with threats appropriately.”

“Regardless, what matters is the present, right? The important thing is that the Villain presumed to be the Phoenix killed Light Blade but strangely seems to be protecting Korea.”

Another round of speakers took their turn.

“…Let’s focus on preventing the Day of Ruin. Even if they’re Villains, communication might still work.”

“We can threaten them with Seoul if needed.”

“We already decided to bring Snow Princess into the Round Table as a deterrent, right?”

“Not enough. They’ve already failed once. Plus, it’s rumored Light Blade has returned from the dead. High possibility they’re the ‘Monster’ from the prophecy, effectively making them a subordinate.”

“Hey, let’s drop all that and move onto the main topic, shall we?”

The last speaker left the others speechless. After a brief silence, the turn passed back to the first screen.

“Hem, then let’s officially begin today’s meeting. This will likely be our longest discussion yet.”

The topic was thrown onto each member’s screen.

– What should Snow Princess Seok Harang’s SS Rank alias be?

All screens began to flicker simultaneously. Without waiting for turns, everyone shouted their opinions.

“<Snow Emperor>! Now’s the time to use an emperor-level alias! Or <Ice Emperor>!”

“She’s a girl! We need something pitiable yet cute! Like a noble queen standing atop frozen ice—<Queen Empress>!”

“Vanilla Ice Cream, Ra○lai… No! Let’s think of something no one else has used! How about <Ice God>? …What? That means ‘Ice Deity’ in Korean? Ha!”

“Just upgrade her title from princess to queen. <Snow Queen>. No, simply <Queen of Snow>.”

“This is gonna take forever.”

The meeting showed no signs of ending.

* * *

<4:44 AM, Phoenix Penthouse.>

“Ughhh~”

Stretching after waking up. Though it doesn’t really help, it feels good mentally, somewhat relieving fatigue.

“A-Rank cores: 50 to Yu-Sung for sale, leftovers converted into Spirit Stones for distribution to officers, B-Rank below used as energy or weaponized… Yup, perfect.”

I hadn’t had time to sort through the cores collected in China while running around everywhere. A portion needed to be sold to Yu-Sung as promised to Eun Yuhwa, and the rest would sustain Seoul.

“With Yu-Sung sending mechanical constructs and Architech building a large power plant underground, Seoul should fully recover in a couple months.”

Of course, only places like Yeouido and Dongjak will truly function properly, but restoring a city devastated by monsters and villains in just a few months is nothing short of miraculous.

“If this keeps up, we might surpass New Seoul by the time the original story starts.”

“Then where should we train the protagonist? Pyongyang?”

That’s not a bad idea, except for Nuclearian.

“Maybe gather four SS-Rank Spirits to subdue Nuclearian, then create a dungeon there?”

“…That’d be fun, wouldn’t it?”

Would that make Pyongyang the headquarters of the evil organization? I dismissed the ridiculous thought and slumped further into my chair.

“If only Seok Harang hadn’t interrupted my concentration.”

Out of nowhere, she started saying strange things, ruining my focus for quite some time. Now that I have a rare moment of peace, I reflect on why I named my organization ‘Blue Wind.’

“Oh yeah, the protagonist’s real name was also ‘Cheong.'”

Blue Fire (靑 火). Unlike me, who uses the fictional surname ‘Blue,’ the protagonist was named Baek Cheongnyeon—a rather feminine name, if I recall correctly.

“Guess I just picked it randomly. Damn, I can’t even remember my own name.”

Trying to recall memories isn’t possible. Whenever I attempt to remember the past, it pops up and causes trouble.

“Do I really need to remember?”

“Yeah, I’m Phoenix now.”

…Lost in thought again. I glanced at the clock. 4:44 AM. Everyone’s asleep, and summer nights are still dark.

Having no need for sleep gives me plenty of alone time, but these sudden interruptions are inconvenient.

“Is it because of Rusalka?”

After awakening Seok Harang’s spirit and encountering Rusalka’s reincarnation, these occurrences have increased.

“Before Seok Harang caused a fuss, let’s handle this first.”

I removed the White Butterfly badge and placed it on the table, then closed my eyes.

Whoosh. Blue flames erupted around me. My vision turned blue, and my body transformed into its monstrous form. I cast a Barrier around the penthouse and summoned a Mini Phoenix.

The Mini Phoenix perched on the edge of the desk, folding its wings.

– Out of the blue, huh?

I handed it a Cube. The Mini Phoenix obediently bit down on it.

[Discovering Rusalka’s existence was bad news for you. Thanks to that, I became aware of my ‘spiritual body’.]

I infused the Cube with Magic Power. The black armor covering my body crumbled into ash, revealing a flame-made humanoid sitting in the chair.

[I was suspicious but lacked proof. Your mannerisms were too different from mine, whether as a split soul or fragment of my own. I assumed it was unlikely. Until I saw Seok Harang’s.]

I pointed at the White Butterfly badge. The Mini Rusalka Seok Harang created perfectly mimicked Rusalka’s tone.

A fragment split from the original soul should at least share some resemblance between ‘the two.’

– Caught, huh?

The Mini Phoenix swallowed the Cube. The interdimensional god core fragment burned away inside it, turning to ash. The Mini Phoenix gradually grew larger.

In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a girl-like form. Clad in a ceremonial robe with blue hair, she mirrored my human form.

The girl spoke expressionlessly but with burning curiosity in her glowing blue eyes.

“I waited so long to be called out. Two months? Longer than expected.”

[Meeting Rusalka in my monstrous form was a miracle. Otherwise, I probably would’ve brushed it off and moved on.]

The girl turned toward me and sat on the edge of the desk. Her face remained neutral, but her eyes sparkled with interest.

“Really? I just hoped you wouldn’t notice.”

[Honestly, I only suspected. Summoning a soul through the Cube was pure luck. …Or maybe you came willingly. Right?]

For the first time, the girl smiled faintly.

“That’s correct. I figured it was time to reveal myself. As a reward for fully awakening the Spirit.”

[So tormenting Seok Harang paid off. Meeting you makes it worth it.]

“Doesn’t seeing me in person make you happy? Aren’t I adorable?”

[I could say yes, but only because I want to strangle you.]

The girl leaned forward, framing her face with her hands. Our faces were so close I could feel her breath.

“That’s harsh. It’s been ages since I last saw you. Oh, let’s start with this while we’re here, shall we?”

The girl straightened up, placing her right hand lightly on her left shoulder as she bowed her head.

“Pleased to meet you. I am the embodiment of the sun, one of the seven guardians of Tera. The eternal blue flame.”

She raised her head and smiled gently.

“Known as Blazing Phoenix.”