Chapter 164

〈Chapter 164〉 Part 1, Chapter 8, Section 24

<June 12th, 10 PM. Blue Wind Sect Hideout, Phoenix Penthouse>

The night before departure from Seoul.

Phoenix had no intention of bringing anyone from China along. Despite various issues, she believed she could handle things alone.

That was how the original Phoenix would have acted. But now, she had the Blue Wind Sect and trustworthy allies by her side. Among them were those she considered her heroines, with Cheon Gaeul being especially close to her.

Thus, Phoenix entrusted Cheon Gaeul with an important mission.

“Convince Chaos Dragon to join us.”

“Me? How am I supposed to do that?”

Cheon Gaeul couldn’t help but panic after hearing Phoenix’s request upon being summoned to her room. The task of persuading Chaos Dragon, a formidable commander whose name alone evoked power, felt like a death sentence.

“Isn’t it a spirit that possesses others? What are you planning if it possesses me?”

“That’s why I’m entrusting this to you.”

Phoenix pinpointed the key to conquering Chaos Dragon: attacking both its physical and mental forms simultaneously. This was the unique awakening method for Chaos Dragon among other commanders.

“Chaos Dragon is immersed in chaos. It doesn’t want to separate from its monstrous body. So we’ll intentionally drive it into chaos overload to extract the dragon.”

“So you’re saying we separate the body and mind?”

Cheon Gaeul quickly grasped the explanation. I organized persuasive phrases using my knowledge of the original work, which Cheon Gaeul memorized like lines from a script.

“But hey…”

“Hm?”

“Isn’t this something you’d only confess to someone you love?”

“…”

“Is that the case here too?”

“…I won’t deny it.”

Cheon Gaeul pouted. In the end, I ensured her safety by placing her right next to my core before departing from Seoul.

The strongest talent in illusion magic combined with Chaos Dragon itself – the ultimate pairing recognized by players worldwide. Depending on the event scene, they even formed a canonical trio sometimes.

I deployed Cheon Gaeul personally to maximize their synergy…

…but I swear it wasn’t because I was angling for a threesome.

***

“This place is total chaos.”

Cheon Gaeul slowly wandered through the interior of Chaos. Despite its monstrous 100-meter form, the inside was eerily quiet and bizarre, like another world entirely.

“And it’s not even a maze.”

Doors stretched endlessly in every direction. In this monochrome world, the only one with color was Cheon Gaeul, whose black-tinged figure stood out starkly.

“I have to find a spirit in this mess?”

Hundreds, thousands of doors were visible. Carefully, Cheon Gaeul opened one.

KIIIAAAHHH!!

A ghostly army screamed across the heavens. These banshee-like creatures resisted fiercely, spewing magic power, but fell powerless against the dark-robed figure’s staff.

KEEGERK! KEEGEEK!

The banshees driven mad by the violet magic began tearing into each other, engaging in brutal cannibalism.

STOP IT! PLEASE STOP!

The gray-haired maiden commanding the ghostly army collapsed to her knees, tears of blood streaming down her face as she glared at the dark-robed figure with eyes full of anger and hatred.

WHAT ARE YOU?! WHAT ARE YOU?!

The dark-robed figure merely pointed their staff at the screaming maiden. Violet magic lifted her into the air, binding her tightly.

■■■ Become my slave. □□ Now.

The dark-robed figure reached out, kneading the maiden’s head with sharp tentacle-like appendages that burrowed into her brain.

UUUGHHH!!! AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!

The maiden screamed before going limp. Cheon Gaeul barely managed to slam the door shut with her remaining strength.

“Huff… huff!”

The scene was shocking. Phoenix’s warnings came flooding back.

-Under no circumstances open any other doors. If you disobey again, I really will punish you.

“Guess you don’t know, huh?”

Wiping cold sweat from her brow, Cheon Gaeul caught her breath and scanned the doors Phoenix had indicated.

“It’s not here?”

No matter how hard she looked, all she saw were square doors. Searching thoroughly, she couldn’t find the pattern in question anywhere.

“Are you messing with me?”

Surely she didn’t have to open them all to find it. Standing where she first entered, Cheon Gaeul surveyed her surroundings.

“…”

Placing a hand on her forehead, she noticed something. Right beneath where she had been standing, a small taijitu symbol was etched into the floor, its yin-yang harmony twisted strangely.

Knock knock knock.

Squatting down, Cheon Gaeul knocked on the floor. When there was no response, she furrowed her brow.

“If only you’d properly indicate these things… oh, it’s a doorknob.”

Twisting the pattern with her finger, hundreds of doors surrounding Cheon Gaeul crumbled, leaving only the one she had initially opened.

“Do I really have to open this again?”

Swallowing hard, Cheon Gaeul pondered her decision. With no way to contact Phoenix, she had to rely solely on the information given to her.

“Come on, might as well open it and die! That’s what it takes to become S-rank and deal with tentacles!”

SMACK! Cheon Gaeul slapped her cheek to steel herself. Surely another horrifying scene awaited behind the last remaining door.

CREEEEEEAK.

Opening the door, Cheon Gaeul finally faced the gray-haired maiden, Huanlong.

“…So you’re Chang-yeom’s underling. You’ve finally come.”

Huanlong, reading Cheon Gaeul’s magic, sighed in resignation from her bed, clutching her hair and grinding her teeth.

“Do you really have to torment me like this? Can’t you just leave me be? What did I ever do…?”

“You haven’t done anything wrong. You.”

Cheon Gaeul spoke sincerely. Huanlong looked up dumbfounded.

“What?”

“You haven’t done anything wrong. Fact is…”

Cheon Gaeul sat on the edge of the bed, stroking Huanlong’s hair with a smile.

“Most of the problems are that bird’s fault. You’ve just been caught up in his mess. I’m one of his victims too.”

“…Are you one of Chang-yeom’s creations?”

“Yeah. A monster. Do you know how I became one?”

Ignoring Phoenix’s methods completely, Cheon Gaeul began recounting her own story. Huanlong gradually tuned in to her voice.

* * *

Black Flame Dragon Defeated.

In an epic battle, humanity’s first official SS-rank hero subdued the Black Flame Dragon. The ice shields erected on the ground remained unbroken even when struck directly by the dragon’s breath, and Seok Harang became a steadfast wall protecting Beijing’s 20 million citizens.

When brute force attacks failed to breach the impenetrable ice walls, the Black Flame Dragon attempted to break into Beijing but was ultimately reduced to shards of ice and destroyed by Snowflower Ling.

With the aid of the Round Table, the rescued citizens were left wondering:

-Why did the Black Flame Dragon in Seoul rush to Beijing?

Had the monster tamer disappeared, the Black Flame Dragon would have rampaged in Seoul. However, the dragon suddenly changed course over the Yellow Sea and headed north toward Beijing.

Foreign media began circulating meaningful articles.

-Isn’t it possible that the beast tamer was kidnapped and detained in Beijing?

Though plausible, there was no evidence. Still, the dragon’s erratic movements were inexplicable.

Spread rapidly through third-rate tabloids, entertainment magazines, and gossip, the speculation soon turned into certainty.

If there hadn’t been an irregular monster reaction in the middle of the Yangtze River, people would have been in an uproar trying to identify the culprit.

“Hey, sister. Looks like everything’s fine here.”

[Got it. I’ll keep running the program.]

After finishing her call with Yun Yuhwa, Seok Harang dropped an ice chunk onto the rising head of Chaos.

KERRRRKK!

Struck squarely on the noggin by a house-sized ice block, Chaos groaned and sank back underwater. Keeping Chaos submerged, Seok Harang checked the screens floating on her watch.

[Breaking News] S-rank monster? Being suppressed by Snowflower Ling.

[Association] Upgrading special monster’s rank to SS. Naming it <Chaos>.

[Summary] Truly, the Round Table… “National borders mean nothing when it comes to citizen safety.”

“<Chaos>, huh.”

Not quite understanding what about it was chaotic, Seok Harang sealed off the area where Chaos was contained.

BUBBLE BUBBLE.

“Nice one.”

As the water began to boil, Chaos thrashed about underwater, firing breath attacks.

“Weak.”

Seok Harang created an ice path through the breath attack’s trajectory. The curved ice path redirected the breath, causing it to soar past her head and into the sky.

WHOOSH!

Though a hole was punched through the rainclouds, Seok Harang paid it no mind. The moisture-laden clouds above the restrained Chaos poured down torrential rains, replenishing the Yangtze River waters vaporized by Phoenix.

“Setting up the perfect stage and leaving.”

Seok Harang raised her hand. The rainclouds continued pouring down heavy rains, consisting of the Yangtze River waters evaporated by Phoenix.

“If I let it escape, I won’t have any face left to show Golden Horse.”

Remembering Phoenix, who had prepared the battlefield despite her injuries, Seok Harang resolved to simply contain Chaos.

“But how long do I have to keep doing this?”

Fiddling with her hairpin, she tried calling Phoenix, who seemed to be busy elsewhere.

“…I guess I can wait a bit longer.”

Spirit. Huanlong.

Longing for her new family to awaken soon, Seok Harang splashed water on the head of Chaos, which had peeked above the surface.

“So give me Huanlong already!”

CHURP CHURP!

Seok Harang gave Chaos another dunking.

* * *

“Really, such a thing happened?”

Huanlong was astonished by the actions of Blazing Phoenix. From the moment she saved Cheon Gaeul until now, Phoenix’s outrageous behavior shocked Huanlong in various ways.

“She wouldn’t do something like that…”

“Well, maybe the person you know isn’t who she really is.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just speculation. There are a few others besides me who’ve fallen under her influence, whether intentionally or unintentionally.”

Cheon Gaeul chuckled bitterly. Including herself, three people had already had their hearts stolen by Phoenix – whether through romantic love, companionship, or familial affection, it didn’t matter.

“Isn’t it ridiculous? She goes around seducing everyone while playing the field with women. You should be careful too. Before you know it, you might fall under her spell.”

“…”

Huanlong closed her eyes, resting in Cheon Gaeul’s arms.

“Why do you follow her then?”

“Because I like her.”

Cheon Gaeul’s straightforward confession made Huanlong blush instead.

“Regardless of gender, I just like her existence. She may be foolish, stupid, and frustrating, but she still tries her best to do something.”

“…”

Huanlong felt envious. Cheon Gaeul hugged Huanlong to her chest and patted her back.

“Eventually, you see her making trouble everywhere. I can’t just sit by and watch. Who knows where she’ll cause trouble next? I need to be there to help her, to keep her grounded so she doesn’t do something reckless. And while we’re at it, we might as well save the world.”

“…Idiot.”

Huanlong shook her head.

“Wouldn’t you regret it if you kept loving someone who wouldn’t return your feelings? What if she falls in love with someone else and tosses you aside like trash? Could you endure that pain?”

“…We’ll see when that happens. For now, this is what I want.”

Cheon Gaeul expressed her true feelings.

“To give my all to the present. To pour everything into trying to win her over. And if I succeed in the end, that’s all that matters, right? Isn’t it?”

“…You’re such an idiot. The ending is already decided anyway. We’re all doomed.”

“Then we’ll struggle until the end. We can’t just sit around waiting to die, can we?”

“…”

Huanlong turned away. Comparing herself to the insignificant human, she felt her pride as a spirit diminish.

“…Then you guys struggle on. I’ll just enjoy myself and eat rice cakes.”

“We needed your help, which is why I came looking for you. If she didn’t need you, she wouldn’t have bothered with you at all.”

“…Then stop bothering me altogether. What difference does my existence make?”

“There is a difference.”

Cheon Gaeul pointed at herself, raising her head proudly.

“You said you could make me reach S-rank, didn’t you?”

“…What nonsense has she been spreading around? That crazy woman. …Hmph.”

Huanlong pulled at her hair. Though Cheon Gaeul didn’t fully understand what she meant, she patted Huanlong’s back to comfort her.

“Yeah. She’s crazy.”

“An unnecessarily strong but brainless incompetent woman. I can’t tell what she’s thinking, and everything she says is strange and eccentric, making her seem like an idiot.”

“That I agree with. But watching her antics is entertaining and cute, isn’t it?”

“…That woman… Hmph.”

Huanlong squeezed her eyes shut before reopening them.

“I’ve decided.”

“What about?”

Seeing Huanlong’s renewed determination, Cheon Gaeul smiled in relief. The once lifeless eyes of Huanlong began to regain their vitality.

“You’re too precious a human to waste on that chicken-brained woman.”

“…Huh?”

“I should take you for myself.”

“W-Wait a minute?!”

CHU.

Huanlong kissed Cheon Gaeul on the lips. The gray world shattered.

Following Snowflower Ling Seok Harang, this marked the awakening of the second spirit, Huanlong.