Chapter 19

〈 Chapter 19 〉Part 1, Chapter 2 (5)

“Huh?”

An unsettling sensation prickled my skin. I slammed on the brakes and focused on the distant energy.

“Yah! Can’t you drive straight?!”

Deokbae’s neck snapped back since he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. Just as I was about to point it out, my smartwatch started beeping wildly.

Beeeep—-

“It’s a monster alert. Where? Gwanaksan? A dimensional gate? Hmph. There’s gonna be chaos.”

Deokbae blew a raspberry as he looked out the window.

“Gwanaksan, huh…”

It’s not that far away. The spirit fragment sleeping in Yeouido isn’t going anywhere by tomorrow anyway. But if a dimensional gate opened in Gwanaksan, hundreds of monsters could come pouring out.

I glanced at Deokbae’s crossbody bag resting on his lap before flooring the accelerator.

“Hey! You’ll blow the tire! Don’t press so hard!”

“It’s fine with magic reinforcement! Let’s go full speed, shall we?”

As Deokbae watched the speedometer quickly surpass 100, he hurriedly fastened his seatbelt.

* * *

Confusion.

Seunghyeong, who should have remained calm and rational in any situation, couldn’t handle the turmoil in his heart as he shouted at the film set staff.

“Everyone! Run west!”

The voice of the A-Rank hero imbued with magical power began to calm everyone down. Seunghyeong cleared his throat and shouted again.

“I’ll block the dimensional gate! Reinforcements from the association will arrive soon. Please run to Gwangmyeong City!”

Gwangmyeong hadn’t fallen yet. With the small number of people, they could escape along the same road they came and avoid immediate danger.

“W-Won’t Seunghyeong come with us?!”

The director hesitated while asking Seunghyeong’s intentions. Though he seemed apologetic for causing this trouble, Seunghyeong’s sharp senses clearly revealed his true feelings.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you right now.”

Hwoarrrk.

Behind Seunghyeong’s upper body, red flames erupted. The flame resembling a bear skin vividly demonstrated why he was called “Fire Bear.”

“I’m going to close the dimensional gate right now.”

“Ah, got it. See you alive!”

As the director fled, the crew members all rushed to their vehicles. Seunghyeong approached Cheon Gaeul, who had gone pale and frozen among them, and firmly held her hands.

“Gaeul, you’ll be fine. I promised to protect you, didn’t I?”

Gaeul’s vacant gaze regained focus. She pulled her hands away while avoiding Seunghyeong’s eyes.

“…Yes.”

Her gaze fell on her high heels. The killer heels she wore to compensate for her height would make running downhill difficult. Seunghyeong tried to remove her shoes amidst the commotion.

“I’ll escort you to the van. No, let me take you to the station first. Just-”

“No. It’s fine.”

Gaeul’s small hand pushed against Seunghyeong’s shoulder. That tiny hand felt like Mount Tai, lifting him up.

“Seunghyeong, please go close the dimensional gate. Isn’t that what heroes do?”

“But-”

“I have legs too. If it’s troublesome, I’ll just take them off. I’m a good runner. You know I’m two years older than you, right?”

Clutching her fists tightly in a fighting pose, Seunghyeong involuntarily grinned.

Gaeul puffed her cheeks while lowering her hand but flinched when their gazes met.

“Gaeul.”

“?!”

Having lived as an actress for over ten years since childhood, Gaeul had an innate sense of human emotions. Her talent and effort confirmed that the man before her was speaking with 100% sincerity.

“I’ll really close the dimensional gate and come back alive. There’s something I want to say… Will you listen?”

“Hmph, I’ll hear you out.”

“Ho ho.”

Seunghyeong smiled childishly, stood up, and ran like a bear toward the mountain summit. Gaeul unknowingly blushed as she moved toward the parking lot, still feeling the intense emotion Seunghyeong left behind.

“…”

Her neck had turned red.

* * *

Dimensional Gate.

The numerous interdimensional gates Seongju opened between Tera and Earth while recovering control. As Seongju entered recovery mode, the gates went haywire, causing monster waves.

These portals emit strange magical reactions before appearing, warning of their arrival.

Humanity learned to detect this mysterious power – Tera’s corrupted mana – and developed mandatory alert apps for smartphones and watches to warn people of danger.

“And nearby heroes and hunters step in.”

A race against time. If the monsters aren’t hunted and the gate destroyed quickly, stronger ranked monsters will emerge.

Heroes protect humanity by blocking the gates, while hunters hunt the monsters coming through to obtain cores.

“So we need to clear it before S-Rank shows up.”

No matter how lazy the government is, they’d have to send Light Blade once a dimensional gate appears.

“Still, picking fights with Light Blade too early might be troublesome.”

For some reason, a hero concealing their strength. If their identity is revealed and they fight recklessly, survival can’t be guaranteed.

“If either of us dies, or I kill you, neither option appeals to me right now.”

“So you’re going to jump around in Gwanaksan? After dealing with Yeouido, you said you’d lay low and build power, right?”

“There’s an S-Rank monster in Seoul; it’d be inconvenient for me if one appeared.”

“You’d probably just burn everything.”

I shrugged. The truck collided with a monster emerging from the bumper, its mouth filled with blue flames.

Kwaang!

“I could do that if I wanted. But then I’d be provoking the whole world. My identity would be exposed. Do you think I created the Blue Wind Sect for nothing?”

Squeeeek–!

I sharply turned the truck at the intersection, shaking off the monster clinging to the side. It tumbled across the ground and crashed into a guardrail in an undignified manner.

“The fragments need to be collected quickly, but if enemies discover I’m gathering them, who knows what countries will do. They might hide them deep in the Mariana Trench or launch them into space where they can’t be found. So annoying.”

“Isn’t that excessive paranoia?”

“It’s realistic.”

The producers must be crazy, modeling real-world rulers after notorious eccentrics. Just look at Germany’s prime minister being named Adolf Wilhelm – no need to mention other countries.

“The Blue Wind Sect needs at least enough power to defeat an entire country within five years.”

The truck jolted violently. A monster trying to leap out of a manhole cover got its face crushed by the reinforced tires.

“It might end up being America or Russia.”

“…This organization, the Blue Wind Sect, is even more chaotic than I thought.”

“You’re part of it too.”

I smashed through the guardrail, sending the truck tumbling down from the elevated road. It slid along the asphalt and continued forward.

Squeeeeeek!!

Deokbae gripped the car frame tightly before turning to shout at me.

“Hey!!!”

“My hearing’s fine. This is the fastest route according to navigation.”

The navigation system momentarily lost data connection before recalculating the route.

“Hmm? Oh, it’s suggesting this way since we passed the mountain.”

I closed the navigation app and fully opened my senses.

Woooom–

A palpable sense of discomfort pointed in a certain direction. Recalling the last map coordinates from the navigation, I unbuckled my seatbelt.

“Well then, prepare yourself, Mr. Jo Deokbae.”

“What kind of preparation?”

Though frowning deeply, Deokbae followed suit and unbuckled his seatbelt. I drove straight while rolling down the window.

Kyaaaahh!!!

From behind, zombie-like monsters were sprinting down the road. Despite sensing B-Rank aura, they were chasing us relentlessly, likely due to the A-Rank core in Deokbae’s bag.

“Hmm.”

I tapped the steering wheel, withdrawing my magical power before slamming on the brakes. The car skidded to a stop at the edge of a dike.

Deokbae braced himself against the inertia as if expecting it, looking at me with a somewhat smug expression that annoyed me slightly.

“Mr. Jo Deokbae, may I have the bag?”

Taking the bag handed over by Deokbae, I opened the zipper. Pushing aside convenience store items, I grabbed what I needed.

“Here.”

“Huh?”

After I wrapped a veil around my neck, Deokbae took the bag back and rummaged through it. Soon, a crimson-colored monster core appeared in his hand.

“What is this?”

“What else? An A-Rank monster core that didn’t sell and ended up losing money.”

I unfolded fiery wings behind me, knocking a charging monster flying.

Gyaahh!!!

Startled by the sudden release of my magical power, the monsters hesitated to approach, keeping their distance while growling. Even though blinded by the A-Rank core, they instinctively sensed a stronger predator.

“Mr. Jo Deokbae, as you can see, these little gems attract monsters. Right?”

“I can tell at a glance. So?”

The surrounding monsters drooled uncontrollably, clearly intoxicated by the addictive scent emanating from the A-Rank core.

“I’m going to close the dimensional gate in Gwanaksan. However, oh no? Troublesome heroes are rushing to the gate. It’d be bothersome if my identity is revealed too early, but Korean heroes aren’t reliable enough to leave it to them yet. Unfortunately, I have to go! Therefore, Deokbae needs to draw attention. I’ll return quickly after closing it.”

“In short, you want me to grab aggro. Can’t you just say that?”

“Yes.”

I tightly clenched the two orbs in my hand. Under the pressure enhanced by magical power, cracks began forming on the surface until eventually,

Pssshh!

They burst like balloons. Deokbae gaped in shock.

“You…that…now…”

“Hehe. Watch closely. This is another power of your master.”

The core fragments floating above my hand stirred the air before soaring upward above my head. Their original color disappeared, transforming into pure blue flames characteristic of Phoenix, becoming radiant gemstones of pure magical energy.

“Spirit Stones. Quite beautiful despite being made by me. What a pity.”

Deokbae couldn’t tear his eyes away from the gemstones. Suppressing laughter barely, I extended the gem toward him.

“Then, Lieutenant Two. Today, you must once again become my guinea pig.”

“Guinea pig? Hey, you don’t mean-”

I responded with a smile.

The blue gem emitted massive azure flames, enveloping Deokbae.

“Kuuuuaaagh?!”

Deokbae writhed in agony, screaming. However, the azure flames paid no heed to his cries, wrapping around his entire body while gradually expanding.

“It’ll hurt for a moment, but when you regain consciousness, your perspective on the world will change. Hehe. Please take care of those nuisances for me.”

Confirming that the azure flames around Deokbae had formed a giant humanoid shape, I swiftly headed toward Gwanaksan.

“Kiiaaaah!”

“Hmm.”

I spotted a group of monsters blocking the way ahead. Monsters hidden throughout Seoul’s asphalt jungle, disturbed by the emergence of much stronger ones, hastily fled.

“D-Rank cores need to be collected and sold to Sangwoo, but…”

Skreeeek!

I caught the leaping panther-type monster by its head. Unable to do anything, it thrashed its four limbs in midair while I hurled it forward.

Squeeeek!

“Bothersome…”

Mostly D-Rank. Occasionally C-Rank monsters were visible, but none were particularly satisfying.

‘Still, garbage needs to be cleaned up.’

Eventually, the entire Seoul area would require a thorough cleaning. Whether human or monster, anything tainted by misfortune descending upon Seoul must be completely eradicated.

Roast them, kick their heads, pluck their claws and throw them at their eyes. Burn the blood splatters before they stain my clothes and advance bit by bit.

‘Should I increase the output a bit?’

Even if reaching S-Rank is pushing it, B-Rank level should be safe enough. I slightly increased my magical power and extended my hand toward the charging monsters.

Click.

Like lighting a lighter, I pressed the air with my thumb. Simultaneously, blue flames ignited on the monsters’ bodies.

Kiiaaaah!

In agony, the monsters rolled on the ground. Stepping over their corpses, I leapt onto a building rooftop and sprinted straight toward Gwanaksan.

Roooaaar!!

Incinerating every monster foolish enough to charge at Phoenix.