Chapter 28

〈 Chapter 28 〉Part 1, Chapter 2 (14)

In that brief moment before Gaeul woke up…

I used the empty lecture room’s blackboard to organize my jumbled thoughts. From the plans I’d made while in the magma, I started listing urgent tasks, prioritizing them one by two.

1. Recovery of the Cube at Yeouido.

I know where the Cube is. An S-Rank Field Boss lurking in a free dungeon. Just go there, cut off its head, and recover the Cube.

2. Rallying the villains of Seoul.

Originally, I planned to slowly build power by subjugating them one by one with brute force, like carving up land.

But due to the unexpected appearance of the Dimensional Gate, I had no choice but to drastically revise the plan of placing the villains under the Blue Wind Sect.

“We can’t just let them run away out of fear of the Dimensional Gate.”

The villains must act as a breakwater against the monsters descending from the north. Monsters in Pyongyang endlessly produce more monsters using the Cube’s power, most of which are D~B Rank—perfect suppliers for core trading.

“And those funds will be usefully spent nurturing the protagonist.”

There’s also the rather secondary goal of buying some land and buildings in New Seoul, opening a cafe, doing some leasing business, driving supercars—but massive funds are needed for world peace.

“Since we’ll have to travel around the world anyway. Hmm. Not guilty. No problem.”

Plus, we need to collect all the Cubes. There are 24 outside the Korean Peninsula alone, so it’ll take about five years of nonstop airplane and train rides.

Why not fly directly? I refuse to get blasted again by someone like Mo Taegyeong with a missile.

“And lastly…”

I looked fondly at Cheon Gaeul, who was blinking her eyes as she held my hands tightly. Cheon Gaeul was quite flustered by my “new face” comment.

“Cheon Gaeul, are you an ability user?”

“…No?”

Cheon Gaeul is a non-ability user. If she awakens her abilities and grows properly, with an 88% affinity for Illusion Magic, she has the potential to reach the upper echelons of A-Rank ability users.

But sorry, looks like I messed up that flag.

“Yes, a non-ability user. Though you might be great as an actress, could you safely make it back to New Seoul alone?”

“That would be fine if Phoenix helped a little, right?!”

“Why… me?”

I deliberately enunciated each word. I could feel faint tremors from the hand I was holding.

“What do I gain by helping you, Gaeul? You want us to bring you to the Hero Association? As you might expect, we’re villains.”

I released Gaeul’s hands and spread my arms over her shoulders.

“Wow! Gaeul, you’re repaying the favor of saving your life with enmity! I’m going to jail just for rescuing someone and handing them over to a hero out of goodwill!”

“Then, send me to the hunters! They’re okay, right?”

Gaeul began shaking her whole body, including her shoulders. Standing on a chair kicked over by Deokbae, I balanced on one foot.

“Deokbae, what do hunters like most?”

“Money.”

“And if we had a bounty on our heads?”

“They’d report us immediately.”

With a dismissive wave, I kicked the chair back upright.

“Oh dear. Then hunters won’t work either. Since they’d definitely report us upon seeing us. Running away would start a persistent chase by the association—that sounds annoying. What’s left…”

I pointed alternately between Deokbae and myself.

“Would be people like us ‘villains,’ right? Would that be alright with you? Although I’ve lost interest in that sort of thing now, Deokbae is still—oh!—surprise. Stand over there with your hands up.”

My ears nearly popped. I punished Deokbae. Despite his grumbling face, he moved robotically, facing the wall with both hands raised high.

“Hmph. Most villains wouldn’t leave Gaeul alone, right? How many creeps are out there who’d drug you and knock you unconscious before raping you? Right, Jo Deokbae?”

“…Muted.”

Ever since realizing there’s a mute filter, he’s been trying to swear openly. It’s proof that his C-Rank evolution increased his magic power, but it’s arrogant.

I decided to impose stricter orders on Deokbae soon, then approached the increasingly pale Cheon Gaeul.

“Hiiik?!”

“Let’s assume you miraculously avoid villains. What’s left?”

Now trembling even harder, Cheon Gaeul was overwhelmed with fear. I hugged her tightly again and patted her.

“There are monsters, you see, that don’t view humans as food but as sexual objects. Oh, and there’s no gender distinction here. There are plenty of monsters willing to penetrate any hole they find. Later, even humans may emerge who think it’s possible to mate with monsters… Oops. Cut.”

Monster-related statements are still NG. Clearing my throat, I patted Cheon Gaeul’s back. Thankfully, her racing heart gradually slowed down.

“So, I’ve thought about it. I don’t necessarily have to escort Cheon Gaeul to New Seoul, and Cheon Gaeul could return safely without my help!”

“…Phew. Alright.”

Cheon Gaeul gently pushed me away. In response to her weak force, I loosened the hug and created distance.

“Tell me. If it’s something I can do, I’ll do it. I’ll repay the favor, and I won’t repay it as an enemy, as Phoenix suggested. Absolutely not.”

“Well, nothing special. It’s simple. It depends on Cheon Gaeul’s effort.”

I unfurled Chang-yeom’s wings behind me, deliberately enlarging them to fill the entire lecture hall to flaunt my power.

Gaeul pretended not to notice but was clearly startled. Her fidgeting fingers froze stiff.

“If you had power, you wouldn’t have to worry about being attacked by monsters or villains, right?”

“…Yes.”

That much Gaeul herself must painfully realize, considering she almost died from a monster attack just now.

“So, gaining power would solve it, right?”

“It’s not that simple, though, is it?”

Gaeul clenched her fists. Her damp eyes revealed a sense of injustice mixed with determination.

“All I can do is ‘act.’ My assets? My property consists of just one house in New Seoul. Power? What power does a single actress have?”

“You’ve got a body, though, right?”

Slap.

My cheek tingled. Though my head didn’t turn, my cheek felt her palm—one centimeter away from actual contact.

“Aah…”

Gaeul clutched her own hand in pain. Between her hand and my cheek, an extremely thin barrier of magic had already formed.

Even if the opponent is Cheon Gaeul, I can’t allow anyone to touch Phoenix’s sacred body.

“I understand your resolve. You don’t want to sell your body, correct?”

“Of course! Who likes selling their body willingly? If there’s another way, I’d choose that!”

I felt oddly unsettled hearing those words come specifically from Cheon Gaeul’s mouth.

“Hmm. Alright. So someone who only has their body but refuses to sell it?”

I sat on the desk. I recalled the hatred and cries toward the world when I first met Cheon Gaeul.

“There once was a woman.”

A woman who received no help from heroes and was betrayed by people, left alone amidst a horde of monsters. A regular person who was gang-raped and toyed with by monsters, barely surviving her first experience.

Though I didn’t hear this directly, I pieced together fragmented stories over five years through community posts about Cheon Gaeul’s past.

“Miraculously saved by passersby from the monsters, alas! The tragedy wasn’t over yet. The woman was rescued by vagrants hiding underground. Those beastly men treated her as a trophy, raping her for years. How many times was it?”

I couldn’t remember whether it was three or four times. I hadn’t heard it directly from Cheon Gaeul, and reading the summary itself was unpleasant.

However, Cheon Gaeul’s expression grew increasingly rigid. Was it different hearing about a future she could have faced?

“That woman, living like a slave, eventually awakened her special ability. The men treated her like a toy, just like the monsters, then abandoned her to the monsters again. The men hid and laughed as the woman was assaulted by the monsters.”

When Cheon Gaeul’s backstory was revealed and she was identified as the main heroine, the community naturally erupted in flames.

Even in a game, why subject someone to such severe suffering?

“But the woman, nearly killed by the monsters, miraculously awakened her special ability at that moment.”

Masquerade. Instinctively copying the special ability of a man mocking her, Gaeul killed the monsters and the men. That was Cheon Gaeul’s day of awakening and her first night of murder.

“The woman took the lives of those who had forcibly taken hers. Among them were not only men but women too, but that’s beside the point.”

I deactivated my wings and turned my gaze to the window. In the distance, I sensed magical fluctuations—it seemed Shadow Phoenix was engaging in a major battle with the heroes.

Seeing the chaotic magical fluctuations of the heroes, I wondered if I should’ve beaten them up earlier. Twirling my veil, I continued.

“Do you know what the woman learned most during those few years? How to use her body. Flirting, seducing—since the only value she possessed was her body. Luckily, the woman had a good figure.”

I recalled my intimate moments with Gaeul. Despite enduring such hardships for five years, it was hard to believe how meticulous Gaeul was in maintaining her body.

One colleague who teased Gaeul about anti-aging in the game knelt down to apologize after learning her past.

“…You.”

Deokbae’s expression twisted as he looked at me. Unhappy with it, I flicked my finger and sent him flying. He crashed through the wall and rolled down the hallway.

“……”

Gaeul’s expression now looked like she was about to cry. The medicine was starting to kick in.

“Alright, that’s enough story. You probably don’t want to hear more, so let’s wrap this up appropriately. …Too long? Hmm. I could continue if my heart desired—”

“Stop it already!”

Gaeul shouted despite sobbing. Seeing her spirit broken, I nodded and smiled.

After talking this much, she wouldn’t insist on wandering around Seoul alone, right?

“Then, let’s return to the original topic. Anyway, Miss Gaeul needs to utilize the strongest ‘power’ you possess.”

“Tha, my body—”

“No. While your good figure is acknowledged, your Illusion Magic affinity at 88%. Do you know what that means? Upper-tier A-Rank. To give you an idea, increasing medicinal herbs’ effect by just 2% can reach S-Rank—”

“Wait a minute!”

Gaeul interrupted by waving her hand.

“So, what you’re saying, Phoenix, is that I have talent as an ability user?”

“Yes. Well, it’s a bit odd to call it talent. Humans can all awaken as ability users—”

“So ultimately, you’re saying I should awaken as an ability user and return to New Seoul on my own? And until then, stay with your organization?”

“…Yes.”

Suddenly, I felt melancholy, like having the strawberry I set aside for last snatched away.

“…As Miss Cheon Gaeul said, until you awaken as an ability user, you need to stay with us in the Blue Wind Sect.”

Gaeul bowed her head as if deep in thought. Concerned I might have pushed her too hard, I consoled her.

“Th… Don’t take it too personally. These kinds of things happen sometimes. But realistically, you need to understand that our methods to help you awaken as an ability user are currently limited.”

“Helping me awaken?”

I summoned a circular flame of Chang-yeom.

“You have over 50 affinity for Wind Attribute too, besides Illusion. Given that I can awaken people with over 50 Fire Attribute affinity, it’s the same for Wind and Illusion Attributes.”

“What?!”

Deokbae, who had just re-entered, froze in shock.

“Are you saying there are seven magical attributes?! So apart from you, there are six others like you?!”

I applauded.

“Wow! Student Jo Deokbae, poor behavior in class but excellent comprehension! Yes, there are six others like me.”

The seven Dark Legion leaders. By now, they’re likely operating covertly worldwide, building their own forces while brainwashed.

“Anyway, if you meet them, Miss Cheon Gaeul can become an ability user, that’s what I mean.”

“Could I… become an ability user?”

Gaeul covered her mouth with both hands in astonishment. I approached her and straightened her wrinkled veil.

“I wish I could make you an ability user right now and send you to New Seoul. But sending you off while you lack the strength to protect yourself makes me uneasy.”

What if you’re attacked by monsters again and put in mortal danger?

Currently, among the main heroines, Cheon Gaeul is the only one who isn’t an ability user. My plan is to stick with her until she gains the strength to protect herself.

Chugk. A massive surge of magical energy radiated from the south. Looks like the battle is intensifying.

“…Five minutes. I’ll give you five minutes to think. Decide whether you’ll come with us or escape Seoul alone.”

I walked towards the window and shattered it with magic. The cold night air began seeping in.

“Mr. Jo Deokbae, protect Miss Cheon Gaeul. Any funny business, and it’ll really end badly for you.”

“…Understood.”

Why the sudden tension? Ignoring it, I leapt onto the windowsill, aiming for the rooftop.

“Hmph.”

Grabbing the railing, I landed on the roof and called the MiniPhoenix floating nearby with magic. Responding to my call, it swiftly flew onto my hand and perched.

“You sense it to the south? Where the imposter is fighting. Let’s fly there.”

-Understood.

The MiniPhoenix spread its wings and soared southward toward the ongoing battle. Through the connected magic, my vision synced with the MiniPhoenix.

Descending along the mountain path carved by Shadow Phoenix running down Mt. Gwanak, I arrived where the battle was reaching its climax.

“There’s nothing more entertaining than watching low-level battles.”

Using magic, I conjured a rocking chair and lounged on it.

Some popcorn would be nice right about now.