Chapter 142

〈Chapter 142〉 Part 1, Chapter 8 (1)

The world is collapsing.

Blue Flames have engulfed the entire globe, burning everything to ashes—buildings, people, nature, the whole Earth itself. It’s as if the flames aim to incinerate every last thing, showing no sign of dying out as they consume all in their path.

“Such a beautiful day, isn’t it? The birds chirp, and flowers bloom.”

In the sky floated small phoenixes sprinkling blue flames like clouds drifting lazily by.

Their fiery rain caused screams from humans burning below, echoing up to the rooftop where a blue maiden stood. As though savoring those cries, she hummed a tune while raising her hands high.

♪♬♩♪

Like an orchestra conductor, her delicate white fingers danced through the magical currents spreading around her. To the rhythm of collapsing buildings and the crescendo of agonized screams, she conducted this horrifying symphony.

“So then, it’s your turn to choose…”

The girl turned her head toward me with a playful smile, standing on the edge of the rooftop railing. Her pose mirrored an event scene I remembered from a game—a moment etched into my memory.

“Thank you for freeing me from brainwashing, ■■■.”

In my recollection, the girl, a Dark Legion officer, expressed gratitude after being freed from mind control. This girl before me wore the exact same smile.

“Thank you for revealing the truth to me, Phoenix.”

She addressed me as “Phoenix.” There I was, facing her, forced into an impossible choice.

“No matter what you do, the world will perish. All your struggles up until now have been meaningless.”

The girl scattered glass orbs she’d been holding, letting them roll across the floor. Familiar cores stopped at my feet.

The Blue Wind Sect… and countless others with special abilities I’d turned into monsters…

She had killed them all, extracting their cores to use as leverage against me.

“Well, enough talk. In one hour, the end of the world will arrive.”

Stepping down from the railing, she stretched out her arms toward me. Black gauntlets adorned her sharp claws, which could slice through anything they touched. She opened her chest wide, exposing herself.

“You don’t have much time to think, do you? No matter how hard you try, there’s only one decision you can make.”

She approached me, and without realizing it, I took a step back. But she moved faster, grabbing my hand and placing it on her chest.

Thump. Thump.

The soft sensation of her bosom sent shivers down my spine. Beyond the magic-infused flesh lay her true essence—the core that pulsed rapidly beneath my touch.

It wasn’t excitement from touching her or being alone with her on the rooftop. No, this was the anticipation radiating from her as she awaited my choice.

“While we’re wasting time here, the clock keeps ticking. If we wait too long, neither of us might survive~ Puh-hehe.”

Her words weren’t wrong. Every second I hesitate brings us closer to Earth’s destruction within the hour.

“Why are you stalling? Let me remind you…”

I wanted to cover her mouth to stop her, but instead, she tiptoed and wrapped her arms around my neck, whispering close to my ear.

“Will you kill me to save the world, or let me live and doom the world? Or perhaps this question suits you better…”

Her eyes blazed with blue fire.

“Me or the world?”

* * *

“…What a terrifying dream.”

Shaking off chills, I woke up. Even more unsettling than any pregnancy attack scenes involving heroines in bonus chapters.

“Ugh…”

On the screen ahead was the face of the blue girl—an undeniably beautiful woman whose movements were controlled by none other than me.

“Grgh…”

Changing expressions… maybe a fiercer glare? Recreating that ambiguous look from the dream where she forced me into an impossible dilemma proved surprisingly difficult.

After fidgeting my facial muscles for about a minute, I mimicked her chilling line.

“Me or the world?”

“Ah, you’re still half-asleep if you’re starting nonsense again. Wake up already! Is this really the time to be sleeping?”

“…Seriously?”

Seated beside me was bald bachelor Jo Deokbae, whose body wriggled uncontrollably despite having not a single strand of hair to toss around. With a shrug, I yawned.

“Hmph. If you’re gonna nag so much, you shouldn’t have come along.”

“I’m seriously regretting following you here, ‘Ssaba.'”

“What did you just say?”

“It’s not swearing, alright? That was just shorthand for Russian—’Spasiba! Nyechephallem!'”

His constant urge to curse led me to impose a ban, resulting in this ridiculous behavior. Stretching my facial muscles, I prepared to lecture this crude underling #2 once more.

“Hawawawa…”

“Hey!”

“Ugh, did I drool in my sleep? Deokbae, do you still have that wine from earlier? Give me a glass.”

“Doesn’t this situation bother you?”

He pointed to his lower half. My gaze fell upon his soaked gray pants, causing me to curl my lips in mockery.

“You’ve got serious acrophobia, huh? Wetting yourself just because we’re flying? Disqualified as a monster, Underling #2.”

“Alright, fine, even if I admit I wet myself…”

“Admitting it would be better, don’t you think?”

“Listen up!”

Deokbae pounded his chest, venting his frustration. Curious whether he might die of rage, I tilted my head slightly and blinked.

“Are you going to hit me?”

“Augh, seriously… Back in Incheon, I should’ve drugged you and beaten you to death.”

“That wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t followed me here.”

Bringing up old memories unnecessarily… Not six months, but barely two months ago, yet he still held onto it.

“Should we have just saved that lawyer lady instead?”

“What? You burned her alive, remember. What makes her different?”

“Yeah, she was quite the named villain. Comparatively speaking…”

I gestured toward the masked men pointing guns at us while screaming wildly.

“She’s way trashier than these bandits, right?”

“…Hey, can we really call those guys bandits?”

“They stole a plane, didn’t they? Makes them pretty much bandits.”

“They’ll cry if they hear that. Right now.”

Already, many passengers aboard were shedding tears, blood, panic-induced magic, or urine from their third legs.

“You’re thinking something weird about me again, aren’t you?”

“Tch.”

You always know when I’m scheming. Waving it off, I unfastened my seatbelt and stood up, shaking off the crumbs.

“Don’t move! Move and I’ll shoot!”

“You’re already moving, so why not just shoot already? Are you worried I might die? Did someone tell you to bring me back alive? Puh-hehe.”

I released my magic, sweeping through the plane. Since there’s no sign of external intrusion, they must’ve infiltrated as ordinary passengers when we departed from Gimhae Airport.

Crackle. Zzzt.

My smartwatch can’t even receive proper signals. With such powerful interference devices deployed, it’s likely some of the flight crew are also involved.

“There’ll be hell to pay when we return. I need to report this to Miss Yun Yuhwa. Looks like someone down there took bribes and claimed we faced terrorism.”

“This is my first time flying with Yu-Sung Airlines, and what a start. Ugh.”

Deokbae also unbuckled his belt and stood up. For a moment, I considered using fire to dry the wine stain on his pants but decided against it.

“Hey, wasn’t this whole mess caused by you boarding the plane so openly?”

Whistling nonchalantly, I shrugged.

“…No, I never imagined something like this would happen right after boarding.”

“So what now? Are we getting dragged somewhere strange to eat horse meat hotpot?”

Dang!

Gunshots rang out. The protective barrier I casually erected at the front began trembling due to the overwhelming noise.

“Surrender immediately! Otherwise, the hostages will die!”

A terrorist with a commanding presence pressed his gun to a flight attendant’s temple. Though he lacked awakened powers, the weapon in his hand carried magical energy.

“Even Core Weapons? Seriously.”

“What are you going to do? Just let them die like this?”

“Not much of an issue. Don’t you agree…?”

I smiled warmly at the flight attendant. With the gun pressed against his temple and no hope of rescue from me, he screamed desperately.

“Please save me! Beast Tamer-sama!!”

“There’s no reason to save you. After all…”

I scanned his face, detecting residual traces of magic beneath the mask.

“How could we possibly intervene when a foreign nation’s capable individuals are taking their own people hostage just to capture me?”

“…Attack!!”

As soon as the flight attendant yelled, the terrorists raised their weapons. While inferior to the Blue Wind Sect’s arsenal, these Core Weapons still packed decent firepower, gradually breaking through my barrier.

“Underling #2, do you like skydiving?”

“…Surely you’re not suggesting what I think you are?”

Deokbae shook his head vigorously.

“Hey! Do you know how high we are?! You can fly, but I can’t!”

“C’mon, don’t worry.”

I ignited flames in my hand, extending them toward the side of the plane.

“Is the core really going to break, hmm?”

“First, we’ll die!”

“If you were B-Rank, you might’ve survived, but C-Rank means death. Do you know that?”

I raised my thumb encouragingly toward Deokbae.

“Will this crisis lead to your genuine growth into B-Rank?!”

“That kind of thing isn’t necessary-”

BOOM! Simultaneously dismantling my barrier and unleashing a Flame Sphere, I created just enough space for two people to escape. Grabbing Deokbae’s hood, I leapt through the hole.

“See you later!”

“Aaaagh?!”

The terrorists clutched onto the seats as the plane violently rocked side-to-side. Soon, an enemy ability user started patching up the plane’s gaping wound with magic.

“That’s how they handle it.”

Falling vertically from the sky, I waved goodbye to the plane without unfurling my wings, deliberately thrilling Deokbae.

“Ah, wait.”

I spread my wings behind me. Seeing the turquoise flames billowing behind me, Deokbae seemed somewhat reassured.

“We’re flying!”

“…What? Hey! Wait a sec-”

Squeeeeeeeeek!!

I flew.

Toward the ground.

“Haaaaaah?!?”

“Don’t worry! Everything’s fine!”

Smiling broadly, I transformed part of my body into monster form.

“I won’t die!”

“But I will?!”

“I’ll resurrect you!”

“YAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

Where else can you find a boss who lets you experience skydiving without a parachute? Unable to resist laughing at Deokbae’s expression as he teetered on the brink of unconsciousness, I watched him twist his face like a demon the moment he caught sight of mine.

“Why are you doing this to me?!”

“Just because!!”

There’s a reason. Coming to China for a rare 1-on-1 date, finding myself accompanied not by Cheon Gaeul, Yun Yuhwa, or Seok Harang, but by a big bald guy felt rather disappointing. Perhaps that’s why my dreams turned into chaos.

“It’s all because of your fault I had that nightmare!”

“You were the one who slept poorly. How is that my fault?!”

“Maybe it is!”

“Ugh! Seriously, ughhhh!!”

Despite Deokbae’s cries filled with anguish, I ignored them completely and flapped my wings faster toward the ground.

Faster, faster, faster.

The closer I accelerated, the clearer the leaves of the trees where I aimed to land became.

“Haaaah?!”

I could feel Deokbae activating his Rock Skin ability. Likely preparing to cushion the fall, but even so, I’m not cruel enough to throw my beloved guinea pig onto Chinese soil.

“Haah!”

Just before hitting the ground, I gathered sufficient magic and flapped my wings powerfully. Thanks to the force of my supernatural abilities, I defied inertia itself, stopping precisely 5 centimeters above the ground.

“Aww, too bad.”

“I wanted to get within millimeters…”

Perhaps my concern for Underling #2 prevented me from setting a new record. Carefully folding my wings, I landed gently on the ground.

“Phew, wasted effort worrying about Underling #2. New record missed… Hey, Underling #2? Mr. Jo Deokbae…?”

“…”

No response.

Jo Deokbae.

DEATH.

* * *

The leader of the Blue Wind Sect, Blazing Phoenix,

and her rock monster subordinate, Jo Deokbae.

On June 13, 2020,

they jumped off a Yu-Sung Airlines flight heading from Gimhae Airport to Xi’an, China, disappearing into the heart of the mainland.