Chapter 335

〈Chapter 335〉 Part 1, Chapter 14, 26

I had arrived in Seoul in no time.

But Seoul was as calm as ever, with nothing out of the ordinary. It was a picture of pure peace.

[Customer? Aren’t you here a bit early?]

Yun Yuhwa, who had noticed my arrival in Seoul, quickly contacted me. He seemed to have sensed something amiss about my coming to Seoul first, leaving the Dimensional Gate and Baegnaroh unattended.

[Is something wrong? This doesn’t feel like a good situation.]

[Did anything happen?]

[Huh? In Seoul? No, nothing happened.]

That’s impossible. So did Azidahaka deceive me?

But trickery to fool enemies is more Hydra or Penril’s style. Azidahaka is an officer who fights straightforwardly. Although his abilities may seem underhanded due to their nature…

[Seoul… Customer placed the Kinna-ra corpse with Black Flame Dragon, who’s waiting by the Han River for orders. The officers who returned from Russia are standing by quietly.]

[What about Seok Harang?]

[…Hold on? I spoke with him an hour ago.]

Yun Yuhwa connected the call with Seok Harang, but he didn’t appear.

[Damn.]

[What?]

[I keep saying this: things start going wrong one by one.]

If only we had completed the network between the spirits earlier. We postponed it because Karna suggested we’d create a perfect network once four officers gathered, never expecting it would backfire like this.

[Maybe it’s just a temporary phone issue?]

[Even I can’t reach him. Either he’s set up a barrier himself, or he’s inside one already.]

It’s possible the three officers trapped him with a triple barrier, similar to how they might have boxed me in.

Or perhaps Seok Harang sensed them and challenged them, only to get caught in a barrier.

[Where was Seok Harang last?]

[Well, Busan.]

[Then the battlefield must be Busan.]

Seok Harang wouldn’t leave Busan, his home base. With China and Russia tightly controlled by Huanlong and Rusalka respectively, Busan is the only route into Korea.

[Yun Yuhwa, head to Yeongjong Island ahead of time.]

[Ah… Is something happening?]

[Yeah. I’ll promote you to S Rank right there.]

[I’ll prepare immediately.]

The connection with Yun Yuhwa ended. I scattered my magic power across Seoul again, searching for any signs of the enemy.

There were many entities hostile to me, but none bore the unique presence of the officers—specifically, Tera’s corrupted mana.

“…Grrr.”

Am I imagining things? There’s an irritating sensation… and not just from one place, but three.

“Let’s save Seok Harang first.”

If Seok Harang is fighting both Penril and Hydra simultaneously, he’s likely in a highly disadvantageous 1-on-2 battle due to elemental weaknesses.

[With light and dark attributes combined, let’s see how your other four attributes fare.]

Azidahaka probably came as a clone, but the other two won’t have. I flew back to Busan at full speed.

* * *

<At that moment, Padre Jaun.>

“……”

Padre Juan was struck dumb by the miraculous scene before him.

Never in his life had he witnessed such an event. Juan was utterly flabbergasted by what was happening in his café.

“…….”

The green-haired woman sat slouched in her chair, trying not to draw attention. She nervously nibbled on a fork coated with mint chocolate cake, glancing around to see if anyone had noticed her.

“……Ah, um, that.”

Juan was confused. Truly, deeply confused.

“Right now, uh, fusion…?”

Suddenly, the maid with green cat ears kicked off her chair and dove into the blonde woman, merging instantly into a gust of green wind.

If this scene were described in scripture, Juan would undoubtedly phrase it thus:

“……Shhh.”

The woman raised a finger to her lips with a solemn expression. Juan swallowed hard under her charisma but couldn’t help but find her adorable as she perked up her ears to listen intently.

“……Phew.”

After a brief moment, the woman sighed in relief and relaxed. Juan, though bewildered, decided to let it slide.

The landlord and acquaintances of Phoenix were always peculiar beings, weren’t they?

“Uh, um…”

The green-haired woman gave Juan a rather awkward smile. Her nails were clenched tightly as she flexed and unflexed her fingers, clearly deep in thought.

“Hmm.”

Juan stroked his mustache and nodded.

“Would you care for some mint chocolate shake? It’s my own recipe…”

She twitched.

The green-haired woman shrank back slightly and nodded.

“Ho ho, the acquaintances of Phoenix are certainly unusual.”

“Aren’t you surprised…?”

Though her hair turned green and cat ears sprouted, her voice and mannerisms remained those of the previous blonde. Juan rested his hands on the counter and looked wistfully at the ceiling.

“Have you ever seen a 2-meter tall giant clad in armor whipping egg whites while wearing an apron?”

“What?”

“This is that kind of place.”

Café Padre Jaun.

The sole café in Yeouido was a mysterious realm even Seoul residents hesitated to visit.

“Not many people come looking for someone these days. Lately, even Phoenix doesn’t visit directly, just uses magical gear to communicate. Seems quite busy. Are you here to meet Phoenix? I could contact him for you—”

“No, it’s fine. He’ll come eventually… You said he doesn’t come often, right?”

“Yeah. Lives here in Yeouido but only drops by about once a week?”

Fortunately or unfortunately, Juan hadn’t noticed Phoenix flying overhead. The woman glanced around anxiously and asked hurriedly.

“Um, excuse me…”

She hesitantly raised her balled-up fists.

“Um, do you… by any chance… have any job openings…?”

“……”

Juan stared at her for a long time with mixed feelings, then pointed a finger and scanned her from top to bottom.

“Inappropriate attire.”

She was wearing a maid outfit.

* * *

<Nearby abandoned building in Songpa-gu, Seoul.>

“Hey, Phoenix is here!”

At the brash man’s shout, black-haired foreigners rushed to the balcony. Among them was Su Ri, who had been chewing dried meat just moments ago.

“Whoa, check it out?”

Above the 63 Building.

Phoenix hovered with azure wings spread wide, surveying Seoul as if declaring ownership over the land.

“Can you sense it? Can you read the pattern?”

“Nope, not at all.”

“Shit. Is this really someone else? They’re saying Qinghua is causing chaos in India closing dimensional gates?”

Their mission was to lure Phoenix to their nation through persuasion, using the ridiculous method of threatening an SS-Rank villain.

“Hey, why don’t we betray them and re-naturalize? We’re the same race after all, right? Who’d want to kill us?”

“Seok Harang hates our guts. Who’d take us in? Luckily Guangjian isn’t here or we’d all have lost our heads at the airport.”

“But we still have bonds, right?”

“We were the ones who abandoned those bonds and fled abroad first, dummy. You jumped ship to Japan faster than anyone else and now you’re already trying to switch sides again?”

The foreigners bickered and insulted each other. Su Ri quietly watched Phoenix from the railing.

Flame.

“Beautiful…”

To others, it was a secret, but this was her sole, guarded treasure. Su Ri carefully hid her secret from everyone.

“What? Beautiful? Ha, do you think so too? Wow, you’ve got artistic sensitivity. Are you part of that Sun Cult thing?”

A boisterous man playfully flicked Su Ri’s head with a beer can and snickered. Startled from her thoughts, Su Ri grabbed the man by the collar.

“You little punk…!”

“Wow, your swearing has improved! If you dye your hair, you could pass as Korean, hehe. Hey, Su Ri, do you actually think you can join that Blue Wind Sect or whatever? Forget it. Even A-Rankers have trouble getting in there.”

“Especially defectors who abandoned their country. Right?”

The foreigners laughed and drank together. The man forcibly pried Su Ri’s grip loose, and she growled softly.

“Don’t act so tough and go away.”

“Hehe, you know what? If we weren’t in Seoul, you’d be dead by now. Just sayin’.”

“…”

Su Ri ignored them. The men leered at her body, and the women joined in the crude conversation.

“Damn, let’s party somewhere today?”

“Stop talking nonsense and stand properly, idiot!”

In an instant, raucous laughter filled the air. Su Ri pushed away the men trying to pat her shoulder, climbed to the roof, covered her ears, and gazed skyward.

“Ah…”

The blue flame had drifted southeast. Su Ri stared blankly at the sky, biting her lip.

‘Academy.’

She clutched the pamphlet hidden in her bra.

‘Till the enrollment date… let’s endure.’

Please open soon.

Su Ri prayed to the trail of blue flames embroidered across the sky.