Chapter 332

〈Chapter 332〉 Part 1-14, Chapter 1-23

After a brief outing, all the heroes boarded the Baegnaroh.

Though they were treated like celebrities everywhere they went, they couldn’t wander around as much as they’d hoped. Still, after a long-awaited overseas trip, everyone managed to buy a few desired items and some simple souvenirs.

I scratched my head.

Some took full advantage of my offer to “scratch away,” while others exercised restraint. There was even one who returned after just drinking tea, but ended up receiving countless gifts.

In the end, it didn’t add up to even the value of an S-Rank Core. We’d stop by China later to return Callipera, where I planned to simply grab one Core and call it a day.

India, 17:00.

With cheers from countless Indians, including Rama, we departed New Delhi and set our course for Incheon.

* * *

<Arrival in Korea in 4:33.>

“Anyway, since today is my last day too, there won’t be any training. Handle things on your own. Our expedition’s work ended with the Karura battle.”

At my words, the heroes looked somewhat uneasy, perhaps wondering if I was testing them. I clarified once more.

“Karna, you and I need to talk briefly.”

“Hmm, understood. Shall we do it here?”

“No. In my room, just the two of us. And…”

I glanced at two heroes who had secretly bought alcohol, unnoticed by Baek Hee-a.

“Once we return, we’ll have to report to the Association, so don’t show up looking disheveled like this morning. Got it?”

It was a warning. They’d had plenty of free time last night to rest and play, so I was subtly pressuring them to stay quiet until we docked in Incheon.

“Anyway?”

“Yeah.”

Fortunately, it seemed they didn’t plan to cause trouble until our return. Baek Hee-a let out a quiet sigh of relief, while Garura nervously checked the arrival time.

“Master…?”

“Garura, come to my room too.”

“What? Why would you…?”

Gaeul scowled deeply, but Garura and Seong-hyung brightened up.

“I’ll go back to my room then…”

Seong-hyung wanted rest, and Gaeul didn’t particularly try to stop him. If anything, she seemed focused on Garura.

“Phantom, that’s enough for today. Let’s continue when we get back to Seoul.”

“Aww, don’t be like that. If you keep doing this, people will think I’m in heat or something!”

I glared at Gaeul, but she only joked around. Was this her true nature emerging as we approached SS? She had grown somewhat through this battle, though we’d have to see the exact numbers once we returned to Seoul.

“Understood. I spoke out of turn. Then I’ll take Garura.”

“Alright. Can the ladies help me out?”

Gaeul transformed into Cheongnyeon. I realized her scheme and shivered.

“We’ve already confirmed everything except the body, right? So now let’s try fitting what we bought and run some tests.”

“That sounds good.”

“Hmph, if it’s something wholesome, I’ll join in too.”

Yu I-shin and Yang Seonyu entered the fashion show, their eyes sparkling as they alternated between me and Gaeul. It was giving me serious chills.

“…I should head to the captain’s quarters…”

Baek Hee-a immediately left, wanting to attend the fashion show but choosing duty instead. She was both admirable and pitiable. Next time I should send her a Hanbok skin as a gift.

The Hanbok skin was originally made for Baek Hee-a anyway. Sending her one of each type might make her wear it at home too.

“…Hoo.”

And here we had one woman who cared nothing for her own clothing but loved dressing others up. Cheong-gaeul had unknowingly opened the gates of hell by letting Park Ra-on loose.

“Why? Are you interested? Do you have a thing for this kind of stuff?”

“Let’s go inside and discuss, shall we?”

“Eh, uh, okay.”

Cheong-gaeul must have felt déjà vu. By the time she left the room, she’d understand Garura’s feelings. After all, those lusting after Cheongnyeon’s body weren’t limited to Cheong-gaeul alone.

‘Anyway, making ice sculptures or creating Xroids or homunculi is worse than this.’

I tried to overlook it, though I knew exactly what everyone was up to. They just hadn’t realized they’d been caught yet.

“Ugh. What should we do…?”

“Sir, why don’t you just read as usual? I’ll watch some movies.”

“Movies? You want to watch those in this situation?”

“Well, seeing our battles filmed from the outside counts as a movie, doesn’t it?”

“Hmm, that’s true…”

Ha-baek and Hyun-taek wanted to stay in the briefing room. The screens there were larger than in individual rooms, perfect for reviewing the raid footage.

Among the heroes, they appeared to be resting most constructively. For their diligence, I provided them with special footage.

“Do you want to see the video I took of me and Karna going all-out? It’s from my perspective, so it might feel strange to watch…”

“Fashion show canceled.”

“……”

There really wasn’t much to hide. Even Seong-hyung, who had gone to his room, returned to the briefing room. I pulled up the video recorded through my Magical Gear…

“Ah.”

“Why?”

“I’ll mute myself in the video.”

I muted my voice in the footage. Though the audience shouted in protest, hearing it again would be unbearable for various reasons.

“Can I watch too? I want to see you fight.”

“You need to talk to me, so come along.”

“Hmm…”

Karna sighed regretfully. The video I left through my Magical Gear started from Garura’s birth and continued until she hugged Seong-hyung. It captured every battle scene.

The moment Garura transformed into Karura, the heroes struggling to evade Karura’s advances, and every instance of my own fighting—all of it would be visible to the heroes.

“By the way, everyone might have some embarrassing moments, but are you okay with that?”

“It’s fine. Watching together makes it less awkward anyway.”

“There’s someone who might socially ruin themselves, but do as you please.”

“……”

The guilty party always flees the scene. Now no one could escape. Just as the footage showed Garura sitting in a reclining chair—

Clickclickclickclick

“……”

Forget it.

I took Karna and left.

* * *

A short while later, my personal quarters.

I sat across the table from Karna. There was no need to put on airs, and with barriers erected, no one could overhear our conversation.

“Why did you leave Bijaya waiting outside the barrier?”

“Didn’t I say guard? This is a discussion meant for spirits alone from here on.”

My voice remained Chang-yeom’s. I had no intention of revealing the body or voice of Baek Cheongnyeon. Fortunately, Karna didn’t comment on the change in tone.

“Alright, what do you want to know?”

“The Cube.”

“Aha.”

Karna nodded vigorously.

“Definitely a conversation better kept from others.”

“By any chance, do you have any Cubes?”

I had already used a Cube to summon Chang-yeom. Ideally, Karna either had none or just one. Two or more could mean the interdimensional deity might turn on the mood lighting and guide us to the bed.

Now that Baek Cheongnyeon’s body existed, extra caution was necessary.

“Hmm… No.”

Karna shook her head and spread her hands wide to indicate having nothing. I let out a sigh of relief.

“That’s fortunate. Better not to have them.”

“Why? As an artifact granting special abilities, it has its advantages.”

“Eventually, it’ll come back to haunt us in the fight against Seongju. It’s best not to use such unsettling objects. Rather, it’s better to create them ourselves.”

“Hmm. In that case, allow me one personal request.”

Karna pulled five beads from her robes. The golden beads, faded and damaged in places, were her guards.

“My enforcers. Or as you’d call them, apostles.”

“Monsters?”

“Some are monsters, others are monster-humans. Either way, they’re my disciples, so calling them apostles seems more appropriate.”

Weaponized apostles. Not bad. Someday Garura might transform into Karura-like weapons too. While the originals were called monster-humans, standardizing the term wouldn’t hurt.

Existing monster-humans purified by Chang-yeom became apostles.

Those still influenced by the Dark Legion or corrupted by madness remain monster-humans.

It’s a simplistic binary classification, but whoever claims the keywords first wins. Besides, “apostle” sounds better than “monster-human.”

“In any case, you don’t have any Cubes, right? Hmm.”

“Then Phoenix, do you have any Cubes stored?”

“No. I burn them as soon as I find them.”

“Of course. Understood. Once we return to Seoul, if I discover any during my travels, I’ll destroy the Cubes too.”

Karna clenched her fist enthusiastically. While awakening the spirits partly aimed to locate hidden Cubes, I couldn’t have Karna destroying them.

“Bring any Cubes you find to me. I’ll handle their destruction.”

“Eh? Why? They should be destroyed immediately upon discovery.”

“Only I can destroy them. The Cubes.”

Karna gritted her teeth.

“That sounds like you’re underestimating me.”

“No, I wouldn’t underestimate anyone. It’s simply a matter of nature. Only my flames can purify the Cube’s corruption.”

“…Hmm, if that’s the case, there’s nothing to be done.”

Fortunately, Karna quickly recovered. Unlike others who needed detailed explanations about the background, Karna, as an awakened spirit, required no such elaboration.

“Thus, your flames likely have some effect in undoing our brainwashing. It’s fortunate you’re the one breaking it, not someone like Maamryong. She’d surely mess things up.”

While acknowledging me, Karna subtly criticized Maamryong and Azidahaka.

…Their affinities counter each other, but as evident from their relationship, it’s far from ideal.

‘They fit numerically but clash violently.’

“With that said, I intended to discuss the main topic…”

Whoosh.

I withdrew my magic power upon sensing something unusual outside. As soon as the barrier disappeared, alarms blared throughout the Baegnaroh.

[Master Cheongnyeon, Master Karna, please come to the bridge.]

“What’s going on…?”

[The Indian Air Force is following us. Five fighter jets.]

“…Figured they wouldn’t just let us go.”

I took Karna and left the room. We raced down the corridor—not toward the bridge, but the deck.

“I’ll intercept them. Karna, what about Bijaya—”

“This feels nostalgic.”

Karna already held Bijaya, transformed into a weapon. The altered bow gleamed with radiant gold.

“Five fighter jets, you say? Shooting them down should suffice.”

“…Hold on. Shouldn’t we at least understand their intentions first?”

“What difference does their intent make? We must always be prepared to intercept whether they’re hostile or not.”

“But we might give them the impression we’re initiating hostile actions.”

As Karna and I argued, we reached the deck.

The other heroes were still unprepared—though I had rushed here with Karna to avoid prying eyes—and we began channeling our magic power in anticipation of unexpected events.

Though it was sunset, neither Karna nor I were weak enough to be affected by such timing.

“Karna.”

“What is it?”

“If I can’t fight, you’ll have to handle everything if problems arise, right?”

“What nonsense is this?”

Karna genuinely seemed baffled, and I struggled to smooth out my furrowed brow.

“So when I’m in ‘Cheongnyeon’ form, I’m completely powerless and weak, right?”

“So what? With a flick of your finger, you could intercept those incoming jets.”

“No, I mean, this is my life as Cheongnyeon and Phoenix—”

BOOM!

A fighter jet flying toward the Baegnaroh’s wing suddenly exploded mid-air.

“Huh?!”

“Just now. It was about to fire, then it exploded on its own.”

Karna clicked her tongue and lowered Bijaya. I stared in shock as something leaped from the exploding plane.

“<Mahatma>?”

Thud.

The figure, clearly dressed to conceal their identity, landed before us. But when I immediately exposed their true identity as Mahatma, the figure froze mid-hero landing pose.

“…I am not Mahatma.”

“Your magic signature screams Mahatma. Stop pretending. Your magical pattern is obvious…”

“Damn it…”

Sure enough.

“Karna. It’s one of Azidahaka’s monster-humans.”

“…Maamryong’s?”

Karna openly expressed irritation, and the figure, holding their hands together, shouted.

“You fool! Do not dare speak the goddess’s name lightly! And I am <Salvation>—”

Pew!

Karna released Bijaya’s string. A golden laser passed straight through Salvation’s crown.

“If it’s Maamryong’s monster-human, it deserves death.”

Karna turned to me with a grin, clearly seeking praise for a job well done.

“…You did well. But we won’t obtain any information—”

I’ve noticed lately, but my sentences keep getting cut off. And understandably so.

WooOOO—!

An eerie, familiar energy began swirling from Salvation’s corpse.