Chapter 297

〈 Chapter 297 〉 Part 1, Chapter 13, 14

There was still plenty of time left until the appointed hour.

The Heroes waiting outside the barrier, including the Executioner, were anxiously awaiting the alarm to sound. Tempest Lady had already been circulating magic power throughout her body for quite some time, ready to burst in at any moment. The Hwakwon user had to step in multiple times to calm down the restless group.

“Miss Chunja, there’s still five whole minutes left! If you keep channeling magic power this early, you’ll exhaust yourself…”

“But sir, we can’t be too careful! The barrier might drop suddenly!”

Tempest Lady slammed her fist infused with magic power against the door. Still blocked by the barrier, the door refused to budge, only draining her precious magic power in vain.

“Tch! This barrier is infuriatingly strong!”

Tempest Lady spat on the ground in frustration and stepped back from the door. Though she knew deep down they were no match for the Villains’ power, she couldn’t help but vent her anger on poor Usa instead.

“Uncle! Why do you keep calling me Chunja?! I clearly changed my name to Xianwu-”

Pfft…

The blue flames forming the barrier began to flicker and fade. The once roaring inferno that seemed like it would burn forever now dimmed and weakened, revealing the VIP room reserved for Cheongnyeon. The heroes started gathering their magic power, with Tempest Lady raising her fist as she shouted:

“Executioner!”

“…”

The Executioner closed his eyes briefly before reopening them. In just those ten short minutes, his eyes had sunken deep with worry and anxiety.

The barrier had dropped earlier than expected. As a responsible leader, the Executioner had to make a judgment call about the unexpected situation and began gathering his magic power to assess the internal conditions. With the barrier gone, Phoenix’s room synchronized with the Executioner’s perception, allowing him to clearly see inside through the flow of magic power-

“Absolutely do not enter right now!”

The Executioner paled and issued an order to stand down. Sensing trouble within, the heroes ignored his command and moved toward the door. Seeing his authority being disregarded, the Executioner raised his voice.

“I said, it’s not time yet!!”

“But Unsah could be in danger!”

“Executioner, why are you so worked up? Did something happen-”

“Something DID happen! That’s why you shouldn’t force your way in!”

The Executioner shouted in panic unlike ever before, but Tempest Lady took a few steps back and raised her leg.

“Sorry, Executioner!”

KWAANG!!

Tempest Lady kicked the door open. The sliding steel door crumpled and fell with a loud crash as she used the momentum to leap inside.

“You villain scum! So this is your true nature-”

Tempest Lady froze solid at the hot air inside the room. Her mind went blank when she saw what was happening on the bed.

“…Wow.”

Sitting at the edge of the bed, Phoenix was holding a strawberry in her mouth with wide eyes. The crumpled steel door lay precariously close to her feet.

“It’s been such a long time since someone broke in like this…”

Phoenix muttered something incomprehensible to anyone, staring wistfully at the mangled steel door by her feet.

“The last person who did this was either Yahwang or Agni… Cough.”

Phoenix cleared her throat and turned to address the intruder – Tempest Lady.

“What brings you here to break down doors so rudely?”

“Eh, I, this is… What exactly-”

Tempest Lady struggled to speak, seeing two women panting beside Phoenix, nearly naked. Their trembling bodies clearly indicated what had transpired inside.

“…”

Phoenix placed the strawberry basket next to the bed and raised her hand. Having just eaten a freshly chilled strawberry, her hand glistened with moisture.

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s absolutely NOT what you think.”

“S-so then what-”

CHUNK.

Tempest Lady slipped on the wet floor while backing away unconsciously. Whatever it was, it felt sticky and had a sour smell.

“…Tsk.”

Phoenix’s gaze briefly flickered to Yu Ishin’s lips.

“Geez, what exactly happened in-”

Before Tempest Lady could finish her sentence, Hwakwon tried to enter but quickly turned around. In that brief instant, Hwakwon had already comprehended the entire scene inside perfectly, worthy of an S-Rank hero.

“What is it? Did Unsah turn into a Monster-”

Usa barged in past Hwakwon, only to freeze at the sight inside. Phantom, standing further back, adjusted his mask and licked his lips beneath it.

“So she’s finally in heat…”

The gray eyes beneath the mask were definitely sizing Phoenix up like a delicious prey. Pungbaek looked completely dazed, while the only one still thinking clearly – the Executioner – pushed through the male heroes to restore order.

“What exactly did you do in there during those ten minutes-”

“Ahhh…”

Unsah let out a breathy sigh and flipped over. Phoenix swiftly summoned her magic power to cover Unsah with a blue veil.

“Ah-AH!!”

The male heroes led by Hwakwon either squeezed their eyes shut or turned their heads away. Unsah scanned the room with a dazed expression and hugged the veil with a smile.

“So this is what it feels like to become an adult…”

All eyes turned to Phoenix. She sighed deeply while looking at the ceiling, then straightened her neck proudly as she declared to the heroes:

“It’s all a misunderstanding.”

* * *

A little later.

I was placed in front of the briefing room like a defendant in a courtroom. To clear the suspicions against me, I stood before the heroes and confidently proclaimed my innocence.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. The ones who got carried away while I was dissolving their concentrated magic power are the ones at fault.”

“…”

The heroes gave me skeptical looks. Surprisingly, the one glaring hardest wasn’t Tempest Lady who broke down the door, but Phantom Cheon Gaeul.

“I already explained. Magic power hardens and becomes unusable if left alone. I simply channeled my magic power inside to invigorate their entire bodies.”

Anyway, nobody else knows what really happened inside the barrier except Park Ra-on and Yu Ishin. I decided to brazen it out, leaving the heroes unsure.

“Then what about Unsah?”

The Executioner narrowed his sharp eyes at Unsah. Though she had managed to redress herself, her clothes were still somewhat disheveled from the hasty dressing.

“Is everything Chingnyeon said true? You weren’t forced into anything or silenced after being violated?”

The Executioner fiddled with the onyx-like ring on his ring finger while interrogating Unsah. I worried she might say something incriminating against me.

“Unsah,

“It was truly an exhilarating massage.”

Unsah began recounting her experience in detail.

“Lord Chingnyeon used magic power to dissolve the knots in my magic power. She explained magic power is like muscles, and even infused more magic power into my body.”

“…That’s right.”

My heart raced but I maintained composure with effort, worrying Tubulus might be revealed. After hearing Unsah’s explanation, the Executioner tilted his head and pressed further.

“Was that all?”

“That’s correct… Embarrassingly, it was my first time receiving a massage, and I’ve never experienced such deep fatigue relief. It felt like soaking in a hot spring.”

“Oh, I get it now.”

Pungbaek snapped his fingers.

“In short, Miss Chingnyeon’s massage skills are so amazing that our Unsah has become a docile kitten, right?”

“…Not sure about the cat metaphor.”

“Haha! That’s why! Seeing this normally stiff girl so flustered is priceless! Hehehe!”

Pungbaek slapped his knees and burst out laughing. The heroes looked uncertainly between Unsah and me, but Pungbaek’s distraction helped me avoid further trouble.

“How about letting this old man try a massage sometime?”

“Right now works too.”

With gratitude, I approached Pungbaek and placed my hands on his shoulders. Though he shivered as if scared, his tension gradually eased under the flow of magic power spreading from my hands.

“Phew… Paradise.”

“This is just a quick session due to time constraints.”

“The ‘due to time’ part means there will be more later, huh? Hehe.”

Pungbaek joked as I slowly massaged his tense muscles with my thumb. Thanks to Pungbaek, the accusations against me were gradually fading away.

“Then why was Gongsung only wearing a shirt?”

“…”

Tempest Lady’s sharp question made my hands freeze.

“Eh, um…”

To explain Gongsung’s presence would require mentioning Tubulus, which would lead to a more detailed account of what the two women experienced.

“Gongsung… Well…”

“The reward for working hard during practice.”

Gongsung came to my rescue this time.

“Once you’ve experienced Lord Chingnyeon’s touch, it’s hard to resist. Isn’t that right, Phantom?”

“…Indeed. Hmm, hmm.”

Though Phantom squinted beneath his mask, he didn’t seem interested in making my current predicament worse. For now.

“And I was only wearing a shirt to better absorb the Core.”

“Absorb a Core?”

Gongsung’s statement drew interest from the other heroes. Seeing the subtle look in Gongsung’s eyes, I reluctantly pulled out a black Core from my robes.

“Revealing information about Monster enhancement isn’t much of an issue…”

“Should be fine.”

Gongsung opened his shirt again without hesitation. The male heroes’ gazes briefly landed on him before quickly averting.

“You can look. It’s not like it’s going to wear out. And there’s nothing lacking about me.”

Gongsung acted very nonchalantly. Accordingly, Pungbaek and Usa turned their heads without reservation. Hwakwon glanced sideways.

“…”

Only the Executioner appeared even colder than usual. I silently mouthed to Gongsung as I extended the S-Rank Core toward his chest.

Did you intentionally bring this up now?

This Core-related stumble was Gongsung’s secret offer of exchange. In return for letting me off the hook regarding Tubulus, he intended to use the Core to seal everyone’s lips.

Nod.

Gongsung answered with a long blink of his eyes. I sighed inwardly and pushed the Core toward his chest.

“Normally it should be attached while in non-human form, but this works too.”

“Haaah…”

Upon receiving the Core, Gongsung began rubbing his body. As he claimed, the pleasure of increasing magic power was indescribable, and he quickly absorbed the Core’s magic power. Though most of it leaked out.

“Monsters can be enhanced this way. I did it for Unsah while helping with her magic power knots. Is that settled?”

Snap.

As soon as I finished speaking, I flicked my finger to dissipate the excess magic power overflowing from Gongsung’s chest. The heroes looked complicatedly at the vanishing magic power before quickly turning their heads again at Gongsung’s exposed chest.

“Are my misunderstandings cleared now?”

“…There are still many uncomfortable points.”

Checking his watch, the Executioner clicked his tongue.

“Unfortunately, we’re about to enter Indian airspace, so we need to prepare to disembark from the aircraft. …All special ability users, please prepare for disembarkation in your respective rooms and return to the briefing room according to instructions.”

“Oh dear. How coincidental. Is it already that time? Puhehe.”

Everyone’s attention turned to me. Though I wondered if I should have spoken, I didn’t regret it.

“If you have anything else to say to me, text me on this.”

Pointing to the magical gear on my wrist, I hurriedly fled the briefing room back to my quarters.

Thud, thud.

I heard footsteps approaching and tidied up the disarrayed traces in the room before welcoming the visitor.

“Here already?”

“What’s with that scared look?”

Standing in the doorway, Phantom Gaeul had removed her mask and was glaring hungrily at me.

“You’re not trying to keep secrets from me too, are you?”

“…Of course not.”

Was it an illusion?

Behind Gaeul, I could clearly see nine tendrils wriggling that I had inserted into her body.

“I’ll call Gongsung too. Since we’re all here, I’ll explain the situation to all the Blue Wind Sect officers.”

I had gathered the officers and planned to finish the explanation before the Executioner’s designated time.

“…Tsk.”

Gaeul clicked her tongue. She obviously looked disappointed.

…I must never be alone with Gaeul and two Cores.