Chapter 152

〈Chapter 152〉 Part 1, Chapter 8, Section 12

All of China was in an uproar.

Unfamiliar music blared through the skies without warning, and ability users were having seizures whether they were asleep, eating, or even hunting monsters. The alarm sound kept going off no matter what they did.

Dingdingding! Good morning! Dingdingding!

“Aaaaaah! It’s evening, you idiot!”

One hero clutched his ears and rolled on the floor. But even with his ears plugged, the sound persisted. His heart core went pitter-patter and he was one step away from losing it completely.

“Good morning good morning! Zenzen!”

“Aaaaah!! Who the hell is doing this?!”

The heroes were having seizures left and right. The irregular a cappella harmonies were giving them all serious morning dread.

“We can’t hear anything… Is it just affecting ability users?”

“Seems like it.”

Unlike the heroes, regular people couldn’t hear the noise at all.

If sound traveled through air, then the “Good Morning” reverberating throughout China was an ability manifesting through magical power as its medium instead.

“Uh… I think I can kind of hear it too…”

“What? Isn’t it supposed to be only for ability users? Are you saying you’re one too?”

Because of this, there were cases where those who hadn’t awakened their abilities realized “Oh, I’m an ability user too.”

This caused a split in the Central Party, especially among the Eastern Window faction.

“Father! Please make this terrorism stop!”

Culture personally confronted Mo Taegyeong despite usually keeping a low profile. He looked absolutely terrible, almost skeletal.

“The ability users are suffering! We can’t even take naps or conduct operations without hearing ringing in our ears. We’re going insane!”

“When did you start talking back to me like this….”

“Father!”

Mo Taegyeong furrowed his brows and got angry but Culture had a breakdown. Sensing that pushing further might not be wise, Mo Taegyeong stepped back and tried to reason with him.

“It might happen to existing ability users. But Culture, isn’t it called ‘Good Morning’? It’s heralding a new morning for those who haven’t awakened their abilities yet.”

Mo Taegyeong presented video feeds from association testing centers in various cities as evidence. Those who claimed to hear “Good Morning” in their ears were previously non-ability users who newly registered as ability users.

The number was already a thousand.

Considering “Good Morning” had only been playing for less than half a day, it was proving to be an extremely effective way to find ability users who hadn’t even realized they had awakened yet.

“But we don’t know when this auditory terrorism will end! Not just Eastern Window, all the heroes are saying they’re about to lose it, their minds are going to snap!”

“Just endure it. What’s wrong with hearing a little ringing?”

It was unfortunate news for the heroes, but Mo Taegyeong couldn’t hear it at all. If he could have heard “Good Morning”, he would’ve used every resource available to stop the auditory terrorism immediately.

“Think positively. Isn’t it good that the number of ability users is increasing? It’s all for the prosperity of this country-”

Beeerrrrrrr!

A direct line call came into the national office. Mo Taegyeong frowned at the unexpected call but composed himself and answered.

“Yes, Director Mo Taegyeong of the Monster Management Strategy Bureau speaking.”

[Director Gu… We have a big problem.]

“……Chairman?”

The person on the other line was none other than the Chairman himself, the only person above Mo Taegyeong. Even now, he was someone whose respect must be maintained.

[You see… There’s this strange noise in my ear… This ding-ding-ding sound…]

Thud.

Mo Taegyeong dropped the receiver.

[Director?! Help me… It’s so loud I’m about to go crazy…]

This was the moment a crack appeared in Mo Taegyeong’s plan to become a figurehead by succeeding the Chairman’s position in the next party congress.

* * *

“This is deviating from the plan.”

I couldn’t help but be astonished at the number of ability users awakening across China.

With a population of 1.3 billion, the number of people who had awakened their abilities but didn’t realize they were ability users had already exceeded a thousand.

“Probably several times more if we include unregistered ones.”

“What are we gonna do? This is basically fattening up the enemy’s belly, isn’t it?”

“Not exactly. If Mo Taegyeong falls, they won’t be our enemies anymore. More heroes mean it’ll be helpful when we fight Seongju later. Still…”

The Chaos Dragon hasn’t appeared yet. We’re at a crossroads – should we continue risking it and let the Bright Flame Spirits keep singing, or stop the operation immediately?

“Deokbae, where do ability users register?”

“At Hero Association testing centers. Almost 99%?”

“So, the Association, huh… Hmmph.”

Then there’s no immediate problem.

“Keep singing.”

I gave the order to the Bright Flame Spirits flying across China. Mini Phoenixes sent from the Yalu River nest were flying alongside them.

“Like waking up to a woman crying outside your window in the middle of the night, sing as annoyingly as possible. Our purpose is one.”

I instructed the Bright Flame Spirits through the mini phoenixes.

“We need to wake up the slacker.”

“Will this really wake him up?”

Deokbae tilted his head while scanning live footage from all over China.

Most places showed ability users suffering from “Good Morning”, but there was still no sign of the Chaos Dragon or even the White Robe appearing.

“Don’t worry. We have plenty of tricks up our sleeve. If this doesn’t work, we’ll have to move on to Phase 2.”

“What’s Phase 2?”

“If morning calls don’t work, we obviously need to blow reveille.”

“…What trashy songs.”

“…Doesn’t count as an insult. Anyway, Deokbae, find some songs quickly.”

Let’s see how long he can sleep through this. I was getting excited thinking about the Chaos Dragon waking up.

“Surely there’s at least one video of military reveille on U-Tube from somewhere around the world?”

Phase two of the operation began.

* * *

Even though the borders were sealed, news from inside China inevitably leaked out.

“Do I have to listen to this crap here? What the hell is some guy blowing a marine corps bugle in China?”

Oracle was emitting killing intent strong enough to kill someone at any moment as he drove toward the airport, irritated by the bugle sounds coming over the Yellow Sea.

[Apparently ability users near China can hear it. Especially those S-Rank and above.]

Gawain smiled bitterly from the screen. He’d been serving the queen back in England for quite some time now.

“Hey! Rookie! Can you hear it too?!”

[…Yes, very clearly.]

Sul Hwaryeong and Seok Harang wore haggard faces as they forced out hollow laughs. The maddening harmony of alarm clocks and military songs coming from hundreds of kilometers away was shaking the hearts of SS-Rank heroes.

[…What is Unjang even doing? Still no contact?]

Undine and Anastasha were emitting even stronger killing intent than Oracle.

No one pointed out why Anastasha was missing her top above her cleavage, but everyone quietly shut up knowing why.

[Unjang has gone off the grid. He’s apparently turned off his tracker.]

[Hmph. Really. Then take some action already. How long do we have to listen to this damn noise?]

[Damn?]

[…Just a metaphor.]

Even amidst the racket, Oracle felt the expression was somewhat apt. The song wasn’t just grating on the ears – it was more like chirping crickets, dozens of them chattering incessantly.

[By the way, to the Round Table members in Korea.]

Gawain’s expression hardened as he earnestly requested.

[At this point with Beast Tamer Yang missing, the important thing is subduing the Black Flame Dragon in Seoul. Absolutely do not wake him. Understand?]

“That dragon thing… Does he sleep a lot? Doesn’t he care about his master? I heard we still haven’t found the body yet.”

[…Maybe he senses his master is safe?]

Sul Hwaryeong absentmindedly fiddled with her butterfly hairpin as she looked away.

[As long as the master is safe so far, he probably doesn’t react much.]

[Or maybe he’s already in danger.]

The brown-skinned man Saladin twisted his lips.

[Who knows if he’s lying somewhere at the edge of Chinese territory, his limbs cut off and soaked in chemicals. I’ve seen some Chinese movies where they run around like zombies with their arms stretched out-]

[Saladin.]

Gawain sharply reprimanded him.

[Beast Tamer Yang’s safety means the safety of the entire Earth. Have you forgotten the prophecy?]

[…Those SS-Rank monsters? Can’t trust them. Hmph, need to see it to believe it.]

[SS-Rank monsters?]

“Ahh, forgot to explain that to the rookie.”

Oracle briefly explained the seven monsters he’d seen through his ability.

“In five years, monsters will appear worldwide. We suspect these are the true bodies of the dragon kings. We think one will appear in Korea…”

[It was a giant moth that drowned millions of people underwater. We suspect that’s probably Busan…]

[Huh?]

Sul Hwaryeong’s face paled. Gawain smirked and shook his head.

[Don’t worry. That’s why we’re working hard on multiple fronts to prevent it, isn’t it?]

“Right? So rookie, focus on honing your abilities. You can just freeze water moths, right? Haha.”

[H-Haha. Yes…]

Sul Hwaryeong was forcing a smile. Oracle thought something seemed off but brushed it aside. Hearing that millions of people in the city he protected could drown would naturally make anyone feel bad.

“Anyway, let’s deal with the China situation first-”

[Sorry for being late.]

Chichik.

A screen suddenly popped up. A doll-like woman with long black hair appeared, her gray eyes gleaming.

[Unjang?!]

[Where the hell have you been until now?!]

[Explanation later. Oracle, is your private jet in Korea right now?]

“Eh? I was going to take that to America…”

[Let’s go to China. I’m in Korea right now too.]

“Huh?”

Never heard anything about this. Oracle’s lips trembled uncontrollably at Unjang’s unpredictable movements.

“You were doing what where until now?!”

[Will explain later. Let me go first.]

“What? Flying?! What the-”

Kiao-o-o—!!

“Shit! You scared me!”

A beast’s roar rang out in their ears. The members of the Round Table participating in the meeting flinched in surprise at the monster’s roar.

“What is that?!”

[Woo! This is insane! The ride feels amazing! Yahooo!]

Suddenly, Gale Guest appeared on screen, screaming with his long hair flying. Unjang’s face could be seen behind him on the screen.

“You guys are together right now?!”

[Yes. Let’s go first.]

“Wha- What the hell is that?!”

Unjang was gripping something resembling reins. The Round Table members weren’t sure if it was the Crimson Dragon’s reins, but the roar they’d heard moments ago was definitely not a horse’s neigh.

“…”

[Wait, what is…?]

Sul Hwaryeong stood frozen with her hand on her butterfly hairpin. The other Round Table members were equally baffled by the incoming information.

[The Black Flame Dragon…?]

“Woke up.”

Kraaaoooook!

The S-Rank monster Black Flame Dragon roared.

There were two members of the Round Table riding on his back.

[Going in first!]

[I’m following because it looks fun!]

The connection from the two was cut off. Oracle tightly closed his eyes.

“I’m sleeping.”

The Round Table member cut off the signal. The most important thing for him right now was gathering information.

“What the hell is happening in China…?”

That wasn’t in the prophecy.

Oracle started to doubt his own ability more and more.


* * *

The Black Flame Dragon answers to no one’s commands. Except for me, Blazing Phoenix.

Which means the one calling the Black Flame Dragon crossing the Yellow Sea right now is me, Blazing Phoenix.

“Mini Phoenix will be guiding the location. Then we just finish the job and escape on the Black Flame Dragon.”

I exited the stone chamber with Deokbae in tow. Deokbae had been transformed into a weapon by me and was currently in the form of a stone club again.

“Morning calls don’t work, neither does sounding the reveille. The only method left is the third option.”

I swept the stone club against my palm.

“Let’s see if he keeps sleeping even if a bomb falls in his yard.”

I began the third phase of the operation.

Using the S-Rank monster.

Black Flame Dragon.

To explode in the center of the continent.

Though I never imagined there would be two members of the Round Table riding on top of him by then.