〈 Chapter 147 〉 Part 1, Chapter 8, Section 6
And thus, I – no, we – had our plane hijacked. I jumped out of the side of a plane with a hole blasted in it, staking my life (?), and while I survived, Deokbae who came along with me ended up dead.
“Ohhh, how pitiful. Oh Jo Deokbae.”
I placed Deokbae’s Core on the ground and infused it with magic power.
Jo Deokbae. The second man I turned into a monster died due to acrophobia and a heart attack, but as his creator and master, I have the power to resurrect him.
Whoosh.
Blue flames erupted from Jo Deokbae’s Core. His body began to form into human shape through magical energy, soon becoming the bald man who was just sitting next to me cracking jokes on the plane earlier.
“Huuuuh… huff… huff!”
Deokbae panted heavily as he checked his body up and down. Thanks to me pre-making clothes for him with magic, he avoided the disaster of wandering around mainland China naked.
“Alright then, let’s go. Put this back on.”
I handed over the smartwatch I’d taken off Deokbae earlier. He glared at me with slitted eyes like an axe murderer, but I just smiled and quelled his complaints with laughter.
“You’ve got complaints, subordinate?”
“…Yeah, but you wouldn’t listen anyway. Damn it.”
It seems Deokbae has given up. As a monster under my command, he can’t rebel against me even if he wants to.
“For instance, if I say ‘die’-”
“Khrghk!”
Deokbae spat blood and collapsed.
“…”
I once again pulled out his core and revived him. Deokbae, now pale as death, shouted at me.
“Watch your words! If you chirp nonsense one more time, I’ll pour cement down your throat!!”
“Sorry. I didn’t know Mr. Jo Deokbae’s loyalty ran so deep. You really would die if I said so. Pfft.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, but since tormenting Deokbae any further would make me feel a bit guilty, I decided to stop.
“Shall we turn on the smartwatch?”
“…”
Without uttering a word, Deokbae followed my instructions and turned on the smartwatch. This Western Sea Weapon-like device bought through the Black Market will surely come in handy during our activities in China.
“Is it working alright?”
“Yeah, it works great. Enough that I want to report you to the Imperial Guards.”
“Even if you did, they probably wouldn’t be able to catch us anyway. For now, don’t send any signals yet.”
I took off the smartwatch on my wrist. This watch issued by Blue Wind Sect doesn’t have any contact information and is also a location tracker that exposes my magical waves to satellites.
“Tch.”
Crack. I crushed the watch with sheer force. Due to prior warning, Deokbae wasn’t particularly surprised, but he still looked disapproving at my act of destroying a device worth over a million won.
“Subordinate Number Two.”
“What.”
“Anyway, money can always be earned again.”
“That’s none of my business, but how are you planning to contact anyone?”
“…Why do we need to contact anyone?”
I wagged my index finger at Deokbae left and right. Deokbae seemed about to curse, but I understood his feelings.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t explained the operation to you yet, Mr. Deokbae?”
“Does the operation start with jumping off a plane?”
“Yes.”
I never expected things to go so smoothly from the very beginning.
“I never imagined the lackeys of the Dongchuang would follow us all the way from Korea, but thanks to this, it’s a two-for-one deal.”
“Two-for-one?”
“Yes. First, we eliminate the spies within Yu-Sung. The traitors who sold our departure info will be dealt with by Miss Yun Yuhwa.”
The Association-side already knew about our departure details before meeting Seok Harang, so naturally, the only source of advance information about my departure could be the Yu-Sung Group.
Since its leader Yun Yuhwa wouldn’t betray me—more precisely, wouldn’t betray the puppet En Jaemin set up by her—it must have been someone from the board of directors or management team who betrayed her.
“Whatever… whether it was money or gender that bought them out, we’ll investigate when we return to Korea. The operation starts here, here.”
I pointed at the broken smartwatch again.
“The moment the signal cuts off, the grand operation <Princess Sleeping in the Graveyard> of our Blue Wind Sect begins.”
“…Graveyard?”
“Yes. Graveyard.”
I manipulated Deokbae’s watch and projected our destination on the screen.
“Our princess who needs to be awakened is currently sleeping deep inside the graveyard.”
* * *
Chaos Dragon (混亂幻龍).
One of the seven executives of the Dark Legion in charge of Illusion Magic. In the original story, it was discovered by Mo Taegyeong and used as a tool for mass-producing superhumans.
Unlike most spirits, it willingly follows humans for one reason:
– It’s too lazy to do anything itself.
This being exists purely as a spirit, finding even breathing too troublesome, living as a spectral entity.
When the heroes rescued the captured heroine, they were utterly deflated to find she hadn’t been doing anything because she was just too lazy.
‘This guy will lend us his power, but expects us to handle world destruction ourselves.’
The combination of Chaos Dragon’s laziness and Mo Taegyeong’s ambition made Mo Taegyeong a constant troublemaker.
For example, firing missiles at unidentified flying objects without proper confirmation.
Or attempting to kidnap foreign dignitaries before planes even land.
‘Can’t you use some common sense?’ such complaints arose frequently as Mo Taegyeong sought excuses for territorial expansion.
War hawk.
Thanks to his frequent use of superhumans to start wars, the Chief Administrator of the Guild suffered the most in the original story.
Business trip. Business trip. And another business trip.
Whenever monsters needed handling, they called upon the Guild, causing neighboring countries immense hardship, leading to frequent dispatches of the main characters to deal with these monsters.
“Then the protagonist discovers Chaos Dragon, and the great escape begins.”
‘Using extreme measures like border closures.’
Fortunately, even in a brainwashed state without full awakening as a spirit, Chaos Dragon offered no resistance to the protagonist.
-Too lazy to resist, plus this guy looks kinda tasty, so might as well let him be.
With the help of Yunjang Xiao Lin, who rebelled against Mo Taegyeong, the protagonists embarked on a long journey through the Liaodong Peninsula and the Taebaek Mountain Range to successfully escape.
‘Those bastards at production.’
They designed the game to have the protagonists flee via a 2500km land route. If not for the occasional events with heroines, the game might have become a legendary piece of crap.
“But now we don’t need to do that, why? Because…”
I spread my wings.
“Phoenix can fly!”
“Are you crazy? What if we get caught while flying? We’ll end up getting hit by missiles again?”
“…”
That was the first thing Deokbae said after listening to my long explanation.
I obediently folded my wings, and we started running down the mountain path.
* * *
“We must protest immediately! No, this cannot be resolved with just a protest!”
“What was the Guild thinking when they allowed a Beast Tamer on the plane?!”
“What exactly did the Monster Countermeasures Department do?! Why didn’t they stop it?!”
Men in suits raised their voices, blaming each other. The girl seated at the far end of the conference room found their behavior so pitiful and petty that she felt no desire to speak.
“Executor.”
The prime minister called out to the girl. Amidst the headache-inducing blame game, she was the prime minister’s sole lifeline.
“What is the Guild’s stance?”
“The higher-ups of the Guild are also in emergency meetings right now. They didn’t expect such drastic measures immediately after takeoff.”
“…What about the Round Table?”
The prime minister’s gaze shifted to the opposite side of the girl. Contrasting with the dark-haired girl, a white-haired woman—Seok Harang—sat there.
“I’ve only been there for a short time, so I don’t know much.”
Seok Harang continued speaking in a slightly stiff tone. Her seat was originally occupied by her late teacher and father, Hyeo Yoon-hwan, wielder of Light Blade.
“…However, the Round Table is also in a similar state of confusion right now.”
“Why?”
The prime minister unintentionally blurted out a question.
“Why is the Round Table confused too? Wasn’t the head of the Round Table, Sir Gawein, the one who negotiated politically with Mo Taegyeong?”
“…Yes, that’s true. But…”
Seok Harang tilted her head, seemingly unable to understand herself.
“…Ah. I shouldn’t say this…”
“Director Setwhaling.”
The girl Executor looked up and met Seok Harang’s gaze.
“Director Setwhaling is a Hero of the Round Table, but first and foremost, she is a citizen of this country.”
“…Yes.”
“Blue Youth is also a Beast Tamer, but above all, a citizen of this nation. Now that he has gone missing overseas, can you provide even a minor clue? Even if it involves classified information.”
The Executor paused briefly to catch her breath before continuing.
“Just leave the Round Table.”
“What?”
“This, this… Young man, your words are rather…”
The Executor’s harsh rebuke left others flustered. The prime minister’s lips trembled as the successors of the Chief Administrator and the Light Blade squared off against each other.
‘I should have resigned alongside Sunja when he stepped down.’
What was the point of his lust for power? If the prime minister could turn back time, he would have acted before Sunja resigned.
“…Young people. Calm yourselves.”
The prime minister raised his hand to stop them both.
“First, what’s the status of the signal from the smartwatch issued to Blue Youth? Is it still active?”
“Yes. Until just a moment ago, the signal was… uh.”
The man’s expression turned pale.
“The signal… has been cut off.”
Bang!
The Executor slammed her hands on the table and stood up.
“We don’t have time to keep arguing here. I’ll go.”
“You, you! Hold on!”
The prime minister stood up and rushed to block the Executor, despite being much taller than her.
“There’s no need to worry about diplomatic issues. I’ll handle it properly.”
“No, wait! Tae, Tae!”
The girl Executor, called Tae, frowned and stiffened her expression.
“This is a formal setting. Private titles should be avoided-”
“Are you planning to drag a battleship along?”
“…”
Executor Baek Hee-a nodded.
“It’s a rescue ship. It’s fine. Since it’s Guild-related, if Director Setwhaling cooperates, entry under the name of the Round Table will be possible-”
“Probably not.”
Seok Harang wore a reluctant smile. The blue butterfly hairpin adorning her white hair shimmered under the LED lights.
“Director Setwhaling.”
Baek Hee-a faced Seok Harang with a serious expression.
“At least save the person first before dealing with the aftermath-”
“It seems the borders will be closed.”
“…What?”
Seok Harang’s unexpected response left Baek Hee-a speechless. Given the context, the country referring to border closure could only be one.
“Lie.”
“No. …In fact, the Round Table has been troubled by this issue lately.”
Seok Harang finally revealed the truth.
“It’s not just Blue Youth who has gone missing.”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
“…Yunjang and Red Earth.”
Seok Harang pressed her forehead with her hand.
“They’ve disappeared.”
* * *
“Wow, this is working well. You really can’t keep up with the times if you’re old and stuck in your ways.”
An elderly man wearing a straw hat cast his fishing rod into the sea. In his hand was an old smartphone, with a monster clad in scale armor standing guard beside him.
“Hey you! Teach me how to use this thing!”
[…….]
The monster remained silent. The old man grumbled discontentedly and turned his head toward the sea.
“Tsk. Nowadays, the young ones just show off and don’t respect elders.”
[…….]
The corner of the monster’s mouth twitched, looking somewhat like a smirk or a sneer, but the old man’s attention was entirely focused on the smartphone.
“Damn it, this thing is hard to use. Let’s see, where’s the button…”
The old man began rotating the smartphone, examining it closely. Feeling frustrated, the monster attempted to teach him but stopped when it sensed a massive magical presence coming from the sea.
“Grrr.”
“What, what is it? Another monster?”
The old man retreated behind the monster, trembling slightly. Focusing on the distant sound, the monster sharpened its claws.
It’s definitely audible. Being an A-Rank monster created from the corpse of the Western Sea Weapon, it was stronger than most A-Rank superhumans. Thus, it clearly heard the hoofbeats approaching from afar.
[Grrrrk?]
Hoofbeats on the sea?
Clopp. Clopp.
Western Sea Weapon saw it.
A crimson horse splitting the vast horizon and rising onto the water surface.
And the woman holding the reins, galloping toward the beach. She wore a tight-fitting high-leg swimsuit, her wet hair fluttering as she approached the shore.
“??????”
Stunned by the surreal scene, Western Sea Weapon lost for words. Moreover, the overwhelming magical aura emanating from the woman and her horse was beyond what it could handle.
“□□□□□□□.”
The woman alternated her gaze between the old man and the monster before speaking. Although she clearly said something, the old man couldn’t understand a word.
“What the heck?”
“…….”
Western Sea Weapon snatched the smartphone from the old man and launched the translation app. There was no smartwatch on the woman’s wrist to track her movements.
Click.
Western Sea Weapon skillfully operated the smartphone and pointed it at the woman.
“Oi, oi, you low-life. Didn’t bother to tell us when Grandpa was suffering.”
“□□□□□□?”
The woman spoke again. Upon hearing the translation app interpret her words, the monster whistled.
– Is this the land of the Phoenix?(Chinese)
Western Sea Weapon drew a circle above its head in confusion.
