Chapter 257

〈 Chapter 257 〉 Part 1, Chapter 12, Section 3

The mishap caused by Undine’s mischievous antics nearly escalated into an international incident.

-Who on earth is the young man who sparked a scandal with Undine?

The young man who followed Undine around and indulged in all sorts of mischief looked purely Korean, except for his blonde hair. Moreover, the Russian Association had never dispatched such a bodyguard with special abilities, leaving them utterly baffled and furious.

-I will personally hunt down and eliminate anyone spreading malicious rumors about my daughter.

Naturally, the person who reacted most strongly was Suborof, the head of the military’s most powerful family and Undine’s father. Acting on his request, Oracle, who was supposed to control Undine, vanished without a trace.

In the end, Russia decided to force through an engagement to bring Undine back to Russia while Suborof himself attempted to enter Korea.

-Korean flights are completely booked; there’s no room for Russian planes to land…

Fortunately, this coincided with a time when foreigners were flocking to Korea due to the presence of three SS-Rank ability users: Phoenix, Seok Harang, and Xiao Lin. Suborof had to return home empty-handed after visiting an airbase, swallowing his pride.

This left the Korean government in quite the predicament.

What intrigued the government and the association most was the identity of the mysterious young man who brazenly dragged Round Table’s S-Rank hero around like a dog during public outdoor collar play. The situation became even more complicated when it wasn’t clear whether this young man was Korean or not, angering Suborof.

-Why are you blaming us for a foreign couple entering illegally and going sightseeing without proper immigration checks?

If the young man turned out to be Korean, that would be one thing, but if he was foreign, Korea was merely guilty of providing the location.

Meanwhile, Executioner Baek Hee-a obtained top-secret intelligence.

-The owner of Undine… apparently is Korean.

Turns out, the young man was actually pure Korean, dyeing his hair blonde to pretend to be a foreigner as he fled with Undine, engaging in passionate romance throughout Busan.

-Then this changes things.

-Even if young lovers’ eyes met, hmm…

-This could be an opportunity! If handled well, we might pull the Round Table over to our side.

Since the information came from Executioner Baek Hee-a, it was unlikely to be wrong. The government saw this as a chance to marry an S-Rank Round Table hero into their fold, fostering friendly relations with Russia’s most powerful political family.

-A special envoy mission then.

The government quickly decided to dispatch an emergency special envoy delegation to Russia to quell Suborof’s anger and strengthen bilateral ties.

-So, who should we send as the envoy?

Executioner Baek Hee-a insisted she couldn’t go due to other duties, and no one else felt capable of handling Suborof’s wrath.

-I’ll go then.

Ryu Cheonseong volunteered enthusiastically, supported strongly by Baek Hee-a.

-No volunteers available, and since he’s an ability user, he can proudly represent us. Dispatching heroes for escort and surveillance will ensure no issues arise.

Thus, Ryu Cheonseong embarked on his mission as a special envoy to Russia, accompanied by Architect, a cameraman, and three heroes, arriving at Moscow International Airport aboard a private jet.

“Alright, we’ve arrived. Thanks to Mr. Yu’s private jet, we reached Russia in no time. Spasiba! That’s the only Russian I know, but anyway, the watch will handle translations.”

Ryu Cheonseong fiddled with the black smartwatch band around his wrist. The cameraman cleverly concealed the camera angle, while people grew curious about the strange device on Ryu Cheonseong’s wrist.

“That guy isn’t the mayor but some advertising rep from Yu Corp.”

“Most items imported into Seoul come from Yu Corporation anyway. Probably bribed the mayor.”

Two heroes muttered behind him. Meanwhile, Architect already dreamed of Russian vodka, paying little attention to broadcasting or diplomatic matters, leaving Lee Seung-hyung mortified upon receiving the briefing upon arrival.

“Seniors, the audience can hear everything…”

“They need to hear it. How much time till the by-election?”

“…Seriously, how many viewers are watching this farce?”

“Already over 600k and Executioner is watching too.”

Usa took an electronic cigarette out of their mouth but hastily stuffed it back into their pocket upon hearing Lee Seung-hyung’s report.

“Does this count toward mission performance?”

“Focus on security.”

Manager Baek Hee-a joined via chat to give orders despite this being classified as a covert operation. Among the hateful comments questioning why such a sensitive mission was broadcast live worldwide, moderators swiftly deleted inappropriate messages.

“Ho ho, it feels so refreshing to be abroad. Thanks to Mr. Yu’s private jet, we safely avoided monster birds and arrived unscathed. I hope trade routes reopen soon. Or perhaps railroads… hmm.”

Ryu Cheonseong cleared his throat and changed the subject. Despite rampant speculation in the chat window, he paid no heed.

“Some may feel uneasy about the sudden departure of S-Rank Hwakwon. However, according to what I’ve heard, SS-Rank Xuehua-ling can influence not just the Korean Peninsula but potentially all of Japan. Rest assured, Korea is safe.”

Ryu Cheonseong patted Lee Seung-hyung’s shoulder and grinned. Although they hadn’t directly clashed during the Seoul Recovery Operation, having once been adversaries made the current camaraderie seem awkward.

“Hehe. Yes, correct. I will do my utmost to protect these individuals. What? Favoritism, you say?”

Lee Seung-hyung’s expression briefly stiffened.

“T-that’s not really favoritism…”

“Favoritism indeed. We have only one S-Rank ability user, so this level of treatment is necessary. In other countries, they’d offer oil just to secure an S-Rank!”

Architect, visibly drunk, mocked the camera. The chaotic broadcast continued unabated, leaving Lee Seung-hyung stuck mediating between conflicting parties.

“Architect sir, that’s not…”

“Ah, they’re here. Look, they’ve come to greet us.”

Architect waved at the approaching men dressed in black suits.

“Hello! Oh wait… Never mind! You’ll figure out the translation, right? Nice to meet you!”

The alcohol-fueled greeting immediately breached diplomatic etiquette. Even Manager Baek Hee-a, closely monitoring the chat, couldn’t intervene. Sky Castle stiffly tipped her hat and bowed deeply to the stern-looking suited men.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Ryu Cheonseong, the special envoy from South Korea to Russia.”

Crack.

Ryu Cheonseong’s upper body swelled as if ready to burst. A formerly mild-mannered university professor transformed into a muscle-bound giant several times his original size.

“Do Russians greet each other with killing intent instead of words? Ho ho ho.”

Despite his now-bursting suit, Ryu Cheonseong laughed heartily and extended his hand for a handshake. The first dark-robed giant approached and shook hands formally.

“I am <Rasputin>. …Welcome to Russia.”

“…What is your relationship with <Undine>?”

“Fiancé.”

Ryu Cheonseong watched Rasputin lick his lips as he gripped his hand. His gaze was sharp, treating the envoy party like prey.

“Very pleased to meet you. Truly, ho ho.”

“Indeed. Pleased to meet you… Perhaps we should release this handshake?”

As they shook hands, a blue-winged bird slowly descended into the Moscow sky.

* * *

“Alright, we’ve arrived. Let’s start infiltrating.”

I flew behind them towards the destination, the Vladimir estate. With a six-hour time difference making it past midnight local time, it was July 22nd Russian time.

Current time: July 22nd, Midnight Russian Time.

“Wake up already. We’ve got work to do.”

“…It’s annoying. I just want to keep clinging to you. Anyway, you can’t do anything either, right? Afraid of getting crushed?”

“This is serious.”

Illusory Dragon clung to me, showing no intention of doing anything. Rather than trying to motivate Illusory Dragon, it seemed better to focus on other tasks.

“Get down. We’re going to revive everyone inside that container.”

I secretly entered an abandoned container and poured out the cores. Illusory Dragon and I gathered the cores of various monsters and prepared to revive them.

“Arise!”

Snap. As soon as I snapped my fingers, the monsters revived. Leading the group was a platinum-blond youth wielding Light Blade, ready to rush off to save Rusalka at any moment.

“…”

“What’s wrong?”

“…Hmm, oh, maybe… Maybe it can’t be helped.”

Again, Illusory Dragon muttered cryptically to himself. I wanted to twist his waist to make him spill the beans, but his next words dissuaded me.

“According to the principles of yin-yang, the birth of chaos commands: as heaven and earth intertwine and merge, give birth to illusion. Rise again.”

“…Wow.”

Hearing that live was unexpected. I wished there was a hole to hide in.

“Chang-yeom’s chant was tolerable compared to this.”

“I prefer the latter.”

Ignoring the commentary from the sidelines, I whispered to Illusory Dragon, who had resurrected the Illusory Dragon Group led by Baeg Cheongyoung.

“Aren’t you embarrassed doing the chant yourself? Silent revival works fine, doesn’t it?”

“…To revive them stronger, it’s unavoidable.”

Illusory Dragon pointed at the revived monsters.

“To enhance their power, the chant is necessary.”

“…That’s true-”

I covered Illusory Dragon’s mouth. Did he hear? He must have.

“Hey.”

A bald troublemaker glared down at me from above.

“You always claim silent revivals are faster and better, but turns out you just didn’t want to revive us properly?”

“…Do you have complaints?”

I shot back angrily. After all, I had the final say in choosing which chants to use.

“No, it’s just… Look at this. Ugh, every time you create monsters, you gotta do those chants, right? I hate it.”

Deokbae shivered and backed away, joined by the other monsters. Western Sea Weapon suddenly clapped his hands as if realizing something.

“Now that I think about it, I was around A-Rank mid-level before becoming a monster, but now I’m probably A+?”

“What?”

“…This guy got extra care crafting him. It’s obvious just looking.”

“Don’t say ridiculous things. People get embarrassed. If you say another word, I’ll burn you all. Don’t ever ask me for chants again.”

For the dignity of myself and Chang-yeom, monster creation and resurrection chants needed to be abolished.

“Chants are bad customs. Got it? No more chants from now on.”

“What if we end up like Cheon Gaeul again?”

“Shouldn’t you obviously recite the Halfaya Heart Sutra-like chants?”

When your heroine dies, does embarrassment even matter? Deokbae and the officers blew raspberries, while Illusory Dragon calmly nodded.

“Then let’s begin the operation. Everyone take care of your own responsibilities. We’ll oversee this mission. Everyone knows what’s at stake, right?”

“If we mess up, you’ll all suffer the consequences… Hopefully it won’t come to that.”

At Illusory Dragon’s words, the 25-member strike team swallowed hard. Especially Light Blade, tasked with protecting the bride-to-be from evil hands, wore an incredibly solemn expression.

“Everyone to your positions. Even if you die, we’ll recover and revive you. Die defending Light Blade’s wedding night.”

July 22nd, 1 AM. Around the time the sun began rising in Korea, Rasputin’s cutting ceremony finally commenced.

And I remembered something I had overlooked.

While the original setting certainly required caution, this world had already deviated drastically from canon 25 years ago.

Surely not.

Rasputin, notorious for his womanizing ways, couldn’t possibly…

Have tastes like that.