Chapter 390

〈 Chapter 390 〉 Part 1, Chapter 16, Section 25

Seongju’s brainwashing wasn’t a simple method of just overlaying a new personality. It was about creating the self one desired. The ideal self.

By turning them into cadres, Seongju didn’t just create monsters but removed the spirits’ flaws and transformed them into their ideal selves. Though the spirits developed individual personalities during their battle with Seongju in Tera, these hastily constructed identities left them somewhat unhinged.

A prime example was Jeolpung, who maintained an oppressive authoritarian persona. His subordinates feared him greatly, and Seongju exploited this loyalty to suppress Jeolpung first.

As for Penril turned cadre, they became much lighter, almost frivolous. While this lightness bordered on superficiality, it solidified Penril’s sense of self immensely.

The previous self—Jeolpung—and the current self—Penril—are clearly different.

This was the statement Kim Penril made about Jeolpung in the original work.

Rather than returning to the defeated form of Jeolpung, Kim Penril chose to maintain the victorious identity of Penril.

That was Kim Penril’s choice: maintaining their sense of self even as Seongju’s pawn rather than fading away by being reabsorbed by Jeolpung.

This is how I understood Kim Penril’s thoughts toward Jeolpung. Despite the spirit’s awareness of itself, Kim Penril’s strong sense of self prevented Jeolpung from reclaiming dominance.

Simply erasing Kim Penril would have been easy, but Jeolpung attempted to absorb them. By trying to make Kim Penril’s carefree, wind-like nature their own, Jeolpung deliberately spared them despite their awareness.

It was different for Gaechonkwang when they accepted themselves as Karna.

Spirit Gaechonkwang felt pity for Karna while also discovering joy in combat. This once peace-loving spirit found ecstasy in brawls as Karna in the human world.

Thus, Gaechonkwang agreed to let Karna take the lead while remaining in the background to watch over them. Having grown disillusioned with fighting during the war with Seongju, Gaechonkwang fell in love with Karna’s way of life.

On the other hand, the Wind Spirit not only refused to yield control to Kim Penril but actively tried to seize it.

In the original story, Future Jeolpung envied Penril’s calm and ease. From within Penril, Jeolpung tried to consume their self-identity, prompting Penril to unconsciously create the character Kim Penril to prevent losing control.

Ironically, due to Jeolpung’s intense envy, Penril’s sense of self grew even stronger.

While spirits were supposed to hate and destroy the cadre personas that had taken over their bodies, Jeolpung sought to assimilate Penril’s nature into their own.

This was all part of Seongju’s plan.

Even if the brainwashing wore off, Seongju hoped the corrupted magic lingering in the spirits would influence them enough to re-brainwash them easily.

“If the brainwashing wears off but the spirit retains some of the cadre’s power, re-brainwashing should be simple.”

If Seongju intended to corrupt the spirits into specific personalities, his brainwashing could be considered successful. All the spirits viewed their cadre personas favorably. In this regard, Seongju’s scheme seemed effective.

However, when the cadre personas dissolved, the spirits retained only their altered personalities, while the corrupted magic was purified.

Seongju miscalculated—this world defied expectations.

Who would have guessed that evil organization cadres would fall in love with the protagonist and sacrifice themselves?

Thus, I struggled to figure out how to approach Kim Penril.

In the original story, Jeolpung sacrificed themselves for Kim Penril instead.

Watching Kim Penril become moved by the protagonist team through their interactions, Jeolpung grew disillusioned. Their once idolized alternate self shamelessly flirted with humans and even tried seducing some blonde Westerner.

Ultimately, Jeolpung gave up on becoming Penril again, leaving behind a claw mark on Penril’s left eye before disappearing.

“Should I try convincing the Kim Penril currently my enemy, or should I try bringing Jeolpung back?”

Before declaring war worldwide, I decided to speak with Kim Penril. Perhaps there was a way for both selves to coexist; Kim Penril could live as Kim Penril, and Jeolpung as Jeolpung.

Or maybe I could extract the Wind Spirit Jeolpung and sync them with Park Ra-on or someone else.

…Though this conversation was delayed because I had been cheek-sucking Kim Penril thanks to the lingering effects of a dream involving Chang-yeom. Definitely not out of personal feelings…

Honestly speaking,

Had anyone entered the room, chaos would’ve ensued.

So, with my last ounce of willpower, I called Manager Huan to deliver ice cream to Kim Penril.

I thought I could maintain rationality around Kim Penril, but it proved difficult.

Even a rotten mackerel is still fish—Kim Penril was still a heroine.

The sole cadre who devoured a spirit yet became both hero and heroine. They even registered a new family name, joining Mint Chocolate as Nuri’s younger sibling.

I nearly crossed the line with Penril before Chang-yeom snapped me back to reality.

Now a sinner, I knelt before Chang-yeom’s presence, head bowed.

“Excuses?”

“It’s your fault for teasing me. Look, Jeolpung’s out there. Get rid of them quickly so I can persuade them to devour Kim Penril.”

“What do you mean ‘devour’? Kill Kim Penril? Or eat them in bed?”

“…Convince them to coexist.”

Perhaps that was possible. Luckily, Nuclearian left behind a Wind Attribute SS Rank Core at a 1/7 chance. Could we use it to create a homunculus centered solely on the Wind Attribute before Seongju arrives?

“How likely is that to succeed?”

“We won’t know until we try.”

“You’re not planning to make both Jeolpung and Penril your two flowers, are you? Twin sister harem ending? Sister-in-law cover-up? Pfft.”

“Why am I feeling drunk when I’m the sober one?”

“That’s because our bodies are shared. The intoxication hasn’t fully dissipated, affecting me too. Go outside and clear your head. What if another heroine walked in?”

“…”

Highly probable I’d have fallen for whoever entered first. After all, Chang-yeom did allow similar acts, so chances are I would’ve acted on impulse.

“Maybe calling Kim Penril was the best decision after all, hiccup.”

“No. Bringing an enemy instead of someone else put us in serious danger. Did you know? Other heroines might try taking advantage of you, but Kim Penril could cut off your head while you sleep.”

“Then I shouldn’t be here like this, right?”

“Yes. But if you tried persuading Jeolpung in this state, you’d probably end up heading straight for the main bedroom anyway. I know your lack of integrity.”

Chang-yeom teased me by flicking their tongue. Since their words held much truth, I offered no defense, merely grumbling.

“Would I really look at others after what we did yesterday?”

“You might not look, but your actions might differ. After all, you did rub against my thighs! So letting others do the same wouldn’t be too bad, right? About 96% probability you’d unconsciously head for the main bedroom.”

“That’s absurd!”

“It’s statistics.”

Chang-yeom furrowed their brows and waved their hands. Thankfully, nothing unusual happened outside while I was detained by them.

“Let’s go then…though it’s probably too late already.”

Snap.

Chang-yeom snapped their fingers. My consciousness flared with blue flame, and I opened bleary eyes.

“Haa…Haa…Haa…”

There stood Jeolpung, completely undressed, panting heavily. My mouth was filled with the scent of mint chocolate.

“Eep.”

Could I have done this unconsciously? I ran my hand over the hickeys covering Jeolpung’s body, then sucked on their collarbone again to confirm—it was my mark. Oh no.

“Did I really do this while asleep?”

“Now you ask about tone? Heh.”

The dazed Jeolpung (?) grabbed my cheeks with both hands. Their tail wrapped around my neck, pulling my face close.

“While sleeping, you harassed this body, huh? Heh. Clearly, you’re not them.”

“…”

“Jeolpung has been suppressed again. The noble spirit fled due to your grooming skills. Heh, you missed a rare opportunity to awaken the spirit.”

My plan to provoke Kim Penril into bringing Jeolpung to the surface failed again thanks to Chang-yeom’s interference.

“I didn’t expect this outcome.”

“Heh, your tongue technique is impressive, but it’s not enough to defeat me.”

Kim Penril kicked my stomach. Protected by magic, I stumbled backward.

“Hold on, are we fighting? I have an incredible plan to save both you and Jeolpung.”

“Too busy to chat. Orders piled up, manager’s busy.”

Fortunately, it was Kim Penril. Exhausted, I dissolved the barrier as Kim Penril picked up a piece of mint chocolate cake from the table with bare hands.

Whooosh!!

Wind swirled, restoring Kim Penril’s clothing. Apparently, they maintained their maid outfit with magic. Conversely, setting it ablaze with magic would leave them naked.

“Hmph…fine. Tell the manager this then. There’s a big party on the 30th, so prepare a magnificent cake.”

“Party?”

“Yeah. Since you’re here, I’ll tell you early.”

I gestured to Kim Penril and drew a finger across my throat.

“The Round Table will declare war on the Dark Legion. To root out the seeds of evil spread worldwide, I’ll announce that your former identity here, <Lady Cattish>, was a Dark Legion pawn.”

“That’s quite bold.”

Kim Penril swept their hair back with a smirk, appearing more like Cadre Penril ready to make an announcement.

[Look forward to it. You’ll need to defeat Hydra and Azidahaka first before facing me.]

With a green gust of wind, Penril wiped their face and vanished like the wind, leaving only a creaking window behind.

“They’re full of bravado as always.”

Even if Penril had stolen power from the awakened Jeolpung, their strength was capped at 99. In a 1:1 fight, I hold the advantage considering attributes and overall power.

“But Jeolpung…Haa. Why does Chang-yeom keep trolling?”

Giving into mere tongue play and missing such a rare opportunity—did Chang-yeom dislike Jeolpung? The reason eluded me.

“Truly incomprehensible. Haa.”

Drunk-like confusion surrounded the day. Seeking fresh air, I exited my bedroom and headed to the front gate where a bald monster lay vomiting on the ground.

“…What are you doing here?”

“A-Ah, well…”

Ha Sun-tae in yellow robes covered his face with embarrassment.

“…Trying to remove a stuck rice cake manually went wrong.”

Ughh!!

Deokbae violently vomited everything from dinner. Feeling sorry for him, I snapped my finger.

Flare.

Blue flames illuminated the darkness. Deokbae passed peacefully, leaving behind a core which I dusted off.

“…Phoenix Sir?”

“Yes.”

“Lock your doors tight tonight.”

“…?”

Ha Sun-tae muttered something strange, shivering before leaving.

“…Well, it can’t hurt to listen.”

Turning back, I returned to my bedroom.

“Ah, forgot to set the barrier.”

Did Ha Sun-tae know this when he said that? Fully sober now, I re-established the barrier before lying down under the covers.

“Kim Penril.”

“Jeolpung.”

“And Penril again.”

Thoughts tangled like threads in my mind. Amidst the confusion, I reached one clear conclusion:

“Ah.”

Chang-yeom must’ve pulled me into that situation because things were truly dangerous.

“Could I really have…”

Unconsciously indulged in tongue grooming play and almost ended up in the main bedroom?

A chill ran down my spine.

* * *

“Guh!!”

Oracle gasped, sitting upright.

“Uh, guh.”

They saw it. And hurled the dildo aside.

“Ugh…about time…”

Though the urge subsided, no further climax occurred. Over the past few days, Oracle’s nocturnal emissions exceeded 100 times, including the recent dream.

“Mint chocolate breast milk flavor, ugh. Insane.”

Despite their disturbed expression, Oracle picked up a pen to record the dream’s contents.

Their smartwatch continued beeping, but Oracle ignored it to document the vision.

Oracle realized the signs of impending global doom while boarding a flight to Korea.