Chapter 427

〈 Chapter 427 〉 Part 1, Chapter 18, Section 9

Executioner Baek Hee-a has appeared. This was not your usual press conference but rather a different form of official announcement. No journalists were invited to the press room; instead, those who wished to hear the Executioner’s announcement simply entered the video address where it would be broadcast.

And there she appeared through installation-type magic gears set up all over the nation. As always, in her beret and uniform, the Executioner stood before the public as a hologram.

– Hello everyone, this is Executioner Baek Hee-a.

People sighed with relief at her relaxed expression, so unlike when she stood before reporters. Back then, she often dropped bombshells like “I’m heading to Mexico tomorrow” or “We’re attacking Pyongyang.”

– The reason I stand before you today is none other than to inform you about our upcoming expedition abroad at 10:00 AM tomorrow.

It was unexpected. While people had anticipated the Executioner might mention an expedition, they weren’t ready for such a long-winded explanation. She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket, which magnified itself for everyone to see.

– This expedition involves sending small teams of heroes and hunters across various locations worldwide. As you can see, the list includes…

Those who participated in the Mexican expedition, along with others stationed in Korea, were now being scattered across the globe. From Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Ghana, Paris, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan—heroes were literally being dispatched everywhere.

– A team led by Usa will head to Indonesia. Team M’s members are listed below, while…

The Executioner hesitated slightly for the first time.

– …Team N will consist of me, Cheongnyeon, and Lee Seung-hyung, bound for Turkey and Istanbul.

Gasps rippled through the crowd at the unexpected mention of Lee Seung-hyung breaking his long absence to join the frontlines. What kind of mental fortitude did he possess to already be active on the world stage? Had their relationship truly been mended?

– …And just to clarify beforehand…

The Executioner sighed, offering a wry smile.

– Garura will not be participating in this expedition.

That confirmed it—their relationship hadn’t improved at all.

Soon after, waves of condolences flooded Lee Seung-hyung’s social media.

* * *

<Night 10 PM, Baegnaroh Conference Room>

“Why do people keep acting like I’m dead when I’m clearly still alive?”

“They think your spirit is dead. Especially when someone experiences this level of pain, people tend to react strongly.”

Amidst global sympathy for Lee Seung-hyung, criticism towards Gold Sun also began spreading. Through these divisive opinions, people’s sexual preferences became glaringly obvious, yet the overwhelming tide of sympathy for Hwakwon’s tragic love story continued to grow.

“Everything’s going according to plan. Thousands of women have already fallen for Hwakwon on social media. Even filtering out B and A-rank specials abilities, we’re talking hundreds.”

Baek Hee-a gleefully analyzed Lee Seung-hyung’s social media trends. Though some mocked him for losing his lover, many more expressed sympathy and invited him to their countries.

“Who’d have thought that leaked voyeur video would lead to this?”

“It’s all about using the situation well. If something’s already out there, why not leverage it for world peace?”

“Hmm…Phoenix Sir, what would you do if you were in the same situation?”

“That depends on who ‘you’ refers to…”

If only I could take Chang-yeom to Times Square and sway my hips with pride, even if she hides herself under sunlight out of embarrassment…

“Get used to it. Unless barriers are cast, hero and hunter actions will inevitably spread globally in the future.”

“What?! Are you saying my situation isn’t unique?”

“In the future, this will become commonplace. There are too many paparazzi using powers for personal gain—those with invisibility, time-stop, hypnosis, even brainwashing abilities. They’ll use them for these kinds of things.”

“So villains, huh?”

“And monsters too.”

These monsters will be eradicated by the Blue Wind Sect’s worldwide expansion efforts. Before entering specialized containment facilities, they’ll all shout “Long live Azidahaka!” right before their demise—even though it’s completely false.

“Therefore, Hwakwon, you must succeed in this mission—for your honor, Garura’s honor, and world peace.”

“Can world peace really be achieved through such a strategy…?”

Lee Seung-hyung genuinely worried about the script handed to him.

“Don’t worry—it’s a surefire success rate.”

But with all spirit users and Blue Wind Sect officers brainstorming together, how could it fail? Despite any variables, it will succeed. I gave Lee Seung-hyung a thumbs-up.

“You just need to enjoy a carefree lifestyle locally.”

“But I don’t know how to do that…”

Unlike his nephew, Lee Seung-hyung lived a righteous life, possibly due to resentment towards Sun I-cheol. Now, it was time to shed that image.

“Think about it—your lover wore her shoes backward, the man stumbled drunk, and an opportunistic woman approached. How brilliant!”

“…So you’re saying my role is to party wildly outside work hours?”

“Why not enjoy legal rebellion?”

“But it feels wrong to Garura…”

“I know you’ve rarely held hands with anyone else besides her. But let’s face facts—you barely found anyone who could match your physique until Garura came along.”

“Master?”

“To be honest, haven’t you reached the point where you can’t live without Garura? Fufu~”

“…With the Executioner listening in, you shouldn’t say such things.”

Though I’ve transcended gender as a spirit, Baek Hee-a sat quietly nearby, showing no reaction whatsoever.

“Hwakwon, don’t worry.”

Baek Hee-a bowed politely with a warm smile.

“I’ll ensure there are no legal issues regarding human-demon marriages. And not just demons—spirits too.”

“Miss Baek Hee-a?”

“Phoenix Sir, please don’t misunderstand. I merely wish to reflect public opinion and suggest relevant legislation.”

We all knew exactly who and where these “various sectors” originated from. Though despicable, I wasn’t innocent either since it aligned with my ideals.

“Alright. Let me know if you need my name later.”

“Of course. Right now, the public’s most pressing concern isn’t just Hwakwon and Garura but also Qinghua and Phoenix. People are anxious whether Qinghua might experience a similar situation.”

“Guh…”

Even Hwakwon grimaced at the thought. Physiologically, neither of us wanted to imagine such pairings.

“If Master gets bewitched by someone…”

“What?”

“Isn’t there an abundance of women around you? Being a spirit, you probably don’t discriminate based on gender.”

“…Not entirely incorrect…”

I hesitated to answer, especially with Baek Hee-a watching intently. So I quickly changed the subject.

“Exactly. Since I can be bewitched, you could fall under Azidahaka’s spell too. Worry about yourself before others.”

“But indulging isn’t easy…”

“Don’t worry—I’ve prepared a special chant for that.”

I recited a magical incantation that would prevent Hwakwon from failing his mission.

“If you fail this mission, your Garura will be replaced by Black Flame Dragon.”

“…Is that supposed to motivate me?”

“Of course.”

Right?

* * *

Most personnel were grouped into three-person teams for this expedition. Each team would eliminate monsters in their assigned country and neighboring regions.

“Monster.”

Though I wanted to call them natural occurrences as per the original work, some officers decided to nickname them after observing their behavior.

“Isn’t naming them troublesome?”

“How does it matter what we call them?”

“That’s true.”

Deokbae and I infiltrated New Seoul, casting barriers so no one noticed us. We enjoyed kebabs while observing public reactions.

“People still get uneasy whenever heroes go on expeditions.”

“Seok Harang hasn’t earned enough trust yet since she stayed cooped up in Busan all this time.”

“To be honest, given the Korean Peninsula’s size, Seok Harang could handle East Asia alone beyond just covering the peninsula. It’s just that she doesn’t need to step out much right now.”

After diving into the deepest seas, handling East Asia should pose no problem for Seok Harang. Ultimately, she remained home again, though she didn’t particularly desire to venture out.

“We should support her as a homebody. She’ll protect the place well, especially since Hydra is absent.”

“True. Our enemy is Azidahaka now. Shouldn’t we release C-Day? Why are we dispersing the heroes?”

Deokbae chewed a mouthful of kebab while speaking.

“If we find the main body of Maamryong, it’ll be game over, right? Isn’t this about finding its location? Even Hikari hasn’t discovered it yet?”

“Yes. That’s why we’re expanding the scanning radius. Core detectors created by Hikari, distributed to every team leader.”

Teams were organized alphabetically from A to Z, with core members of the Blue Wind Sect joining teams N to R. Those aware of cadres and spirits carried detection devices to search for Azidahaka and Maamryong traces worldwide.

“Not only the Blue Wind Sect but Karna and other global figures will move too. While heroes operate externally, our monsters will quietly lay traps.”

I pointed to the cluster of cores wrapped around my waist like chains beneath my robe. Once aboard the Baegnaroh destined for Turkey, I’d conceal them, but these multicolored cores represented our ultimate weapon against Azidahaka.

“Azidahaka coming to Turkey to bewitch Lee Seung-hyung would be ideal, but they might target others too. Thus, I’ll secretly assign one monster to each team in this manner.”

I channeled magic into a green sphere, enhancing Tubulus’s power within the refined green core.

“Before departure, I’ll distribute monster core weapons to team leaders. Once aboard Yu-Sung’s private jet, they’ll receive them.”

“Will that protect the kids? In case anything happens, you’ll jump in immediately.”

“Of course. The moment the main body’s location is pinpointed, I’ll rush there. Or if an Azidahaka avatar appears…”

I raised my bow, stringing an arrow infused with blue wind magic toward a blonde muscleman leaving the terminal.

– Long live Azidahaka!!

“Aaaagh?!”

As the man’s smartwatch exploded, shouting praises to Azidahaka, people backed away from him. His wrist severed, he transformed into a monster resembling a bloated pufferfish.

“Hehehe…I added a bit more power to expose them instantly.”

“Do vampire hunters need silver weapons or something?”

“Exactly.”

Western Sea Weapon, Yoo Eun-shin, Blue Feathers, Emperor Shi, Black Sand Gall, Callipera, Rasputin…

I embedded part of my flames into these converted beings. Anyone wielding them as weapons could reveal a monster’s disguise.

“That’s why we went through so much trouble embedding spirit stones into everyone.”

Only Chang-yeom could peel off the disguises of these monsters.

Later…

The pufferfish monster was quickly subdued, and I grabbed the remaining kebab before standing up.

“Let’s move then? Let’s eradicate all the monsters in Korea.”

With twelve hours until the Baegnaroh departs, I spent my time thoroughly exploring the Korean Peninsula.