Chapter 86

〈Chapter 86〉 Part 1 Chapter 5 (19)

<At the same time, Blue Wind Sect headquarters in Yeouido.>

“Miss Gaeul, do you know the story of the frog who lost its mother?”

“The crying frog without a mother? Why are you bringing that up?”

“Just came to mind.”

Phoenix shifted uncomfortably. But Gaeul tightened her arms wrapped around Phoenix’s waist even more.

“Uh, Miss Cheon Gaeul?”

“What is it.”

“Could you let go now?”

Phoenix gestured to the arms encircling her waist as she turned her head.

Ever since descending to the lounge, Cheon Gaeul had seated Phoenix on her thigh like a teddy bear and hugged her tightly.

Phoenix initially went along with Gaeul’s antics but grew increasingly anxious as more senior members appeared.

In the end, Phoenix remained trapped in Gaeul’s embrace until all the senior members gathered.

“I don’t want to. What’s your excuse? Do you dislike this?”

“It’s not that I dislike it, but as the leader, my dignity…”

“Dignity? Sky Castle and Ji Hwa have more than you so don’t worry about it.”

Deokbae teased, causing Phoenix to bristle. However, none of the senior members gathered in the lounge countered his words. Phoenix lowered her head while Gaeul stroked her hair with a tentacle.

“At this rate, I feel like I’ve become the mascot of the Blue Wind Sect.”

“Anyway, externally Ji Hwa is still the leader so it doesn’t make much difference.”

“Agreed. The boss should just be a figurehead. Only stepping in when necessary as a tactical weapon.”

The two eldest members’ attacks made Phoenix grind her teeth.

“Hmph, fine. Let’s stop this.”

As Gaeul tightened her grip again, Phoenix snapped her fingers and teleported a short distance away.

Suddenly appearing on a chair, Mini-Phoenix burst into flames as full-sized Phoenix sat down firmly. Gaeul glared sullenly while Phoenix cleared her throat to regain attention.

“Hem hem. Pay attention. Let’s prepare for the operation then. Sky Castle, how many people have left Seoul?”

“After the first day, there’s been a steady increase. Even though we told them we couldn’t help, people kept leaving Seoul. 2714 people have left Dongjak.”

Light Blade’s death didn’t just affect New Seoul. It impacted the entire nation of South Korea. During Light Blade’s state funeral, nearly a hundred thousand people fled overseas.

How many of those will return to the country?

Just like New Seoul, Seoul faces the same situation.

People feeling uneasy are gradually leaving Korea.

“Ji Hwa, what’s the international response?”

“There’s nothing new. China continues to block information while Japan closely monitors the situation. Both sides have public opinion mourning Light Blade’s death and wish to dispatch their own heroes.”

“Of course.”

Ryu Cheonseong nodded.

“If we pressure through the Hero Association, we’ll naturally have justification. Since we’ve refused the Association’s support all this time as Light Blade’s followers.”

“Without proper justification, starting a war is still scary given international public opinion. There’s America and Russia too.”

Though the quantity and quality of heroes became a nation’s power, the old superpowers remained strong. South Korea almost crossed the threshold into great power status but everything was undone when Pyongyang exploded.

Snap. Phoenix clapped her hands.

“Then we should start filling the power gap in case a war breaks out. Alright, here’s the outline of the operation.”

Phoenix displayed a screen before the senior members. Everyone was astonished by the systematic organization of the operation’s content and individual tasks.

As the senior staff read through the operation while sipping their drinks, Deokbae who finished first asked Phoenix.

“Did you not do this?”

“What part? The organization? The ideas?”

“Both.”

Gaeul and Ryu Cheonseong looked up. Architect also lowered his screen slightly. Ji Hwa continued looking at the screen.

“I laid out the framework. Yuhwa helped with the detailed guidelines and settings. The key point of this operation is still…”

“Yuhwa.”

Ji Hwa’s eyes lit up. Phoenix nodded trustingly.

“The snake at city hall. We need to raid the S-Rank monster to prove Seoul is safe. Architect will set up a field beforehand to prevent escape, and the rest will attack the snake according to Lighthouse’s orders. Participants are-”

“Everyone except Phoenix. Using the full strength of the Blue Wind Sect.”

“That’s right.”

The Blue Wind Sect doesn’t actually have any real S-Rank members. This was a test of the Blue Wind Sect’s strength excluding Phoenix.

“I’ll deal with all the monsters outside Architect’s barrier. Lighthouse, following the snake’s weaknesses I’ve informed you of, use every means necessary to succeed in the snake hunt. Understood? However, civilians must not die.”

“Well…”

Ji Hwa’s eyes naturally shifted to Deokbae and Gaeul.

“Is it okay if monsters die? They’ll resurrect anyway.”

“Huh?”

“You’re a monster too, aren’t you?”

While Deokbae and Gaeul’s gazes were unfriendly, Ji Hwa’s eyes remained fixed on Phoenix. Phoenix nodded reluctantly with a stiff face before sighing.

“…Emotionally I’d like to stop it, but Lighthouse handle it yourselves. This snake hunt assumes combat under the condition I’m absent. If it’s truly impossible, I’ll intervene. Understand?”

Everyone’s gaze focused on Ji Hwa. Ji Hwa pushed up his sunglasses and smiled.

“No one will die and we’ll succeed in the snake hunt without the director’s help.”

Gaeul lightly poked Deokbae’s waist with a tentacle. Though annoyed, Deokbae listened anyway.

“Why is he acting weird? Did he eat something bad?”

“…He’s probably excited about getting a position.”

“All heard.”

Ji Hwa tapped his chest smugly. While Deokbae and Gaeul found his self-satisfied appearance slightly irritating, tactically Ji Hwa was the overall commander for this operation.

“If you mess up the command, I’ll rip your eyes out immediately.”

“Don’t order suicidal special attacks. I have some bad memories related to that.”

Phoenix whistled to ignore Deokbae’s glare. The other senior members exchanged looks.

Ah, he must have done something back then.

“Not… well, hasn’t he not done that since then? There’s no need to do that anymore now.”

Phoenix scratched her cheek before snapping her fingers.

“<Feathers> are coming too. Now that no more monsters are appearing near Dongjak, bring all defensive forces.”

“…Are you talking about the Blue Feathers?”

“Yes. Their leader too.”

Ji Hwa’s face darkened.

Except for Architect, everyone else’s expression also soured. Ji Hwa contradicted Phoenix’s statement.

“…Can’t that person just stay here? They’ve been doing well dealing with the monsters crossing Mapo Bridge alone.”

“Didn’t I say ‘full strength’? Are A-Rank ability users common knowledge to you, Mr. Ji Hwa? Consider this as practice for handling even stronger people coming in the future.”

Ji Hwa lowered his head. Phoenix lowered the screen before her.

“The snake at city hall is an S-Rank monster we must capture for our strongest ally. Understand? The core must absolutely be secured.”

“Hold on.”

Gaeul raised her hand to interrupt Phoenix’s speech.

“Stop saying ‘ally’, ‘ally’. Who exactly is it?”

“Eh, um, surprise?”

“You told Yuhwa everything, didn’t you?”

Everyone nodded while glaring at Phoenix. With a 1:5 ratio of senior member coup, Phoenix scratched her cheek and raised both hands showing her index fingers.

“1+1?”

“Wouldn’t a cute thing get eaten by me in your sleep?”

Gaeul raised two tentacles. Phoenix sweated nervously before answering.

“…2. Then-”

Flames erupted on both of Phoenix’s index fingers. The straight flames swayed side to side as they twisted.

“S + S is obviously SS, right?”

* * *

“The state funeral has ended, miss.”

Bak Sangwoo finished his report over the phone. In the screen, Yun Yuhwa lay curled up in bed wearing a mask.

[Good work. …Achoo!]

“Can ability users catch colds?”

Bak Sangwoo’s innocent question caused Yun Yuhwa to glare before turning away while coughing.

[Bak Sangwoo, do you know how cold I’ve been for five days?]

“I wouldn’t know. You’ve worked hard. Shall we begin the operation soon?”

[Hurry up. C’mon, we can’t afford to fall behind.]

“…Chairman, it’s problematic to fuel your competitiveness here.”

Yun Yuhwa tore off her mask and shouted loudly.

[Shut up! Do you know how much is riding on this deal? Don’t you understand we need to secure a better position than our opponent in this trade?]

“…Anyway, that girl will probably come up with something crazier than an S-Rank core.”

[That’s why we need to prepare better here! Damn it, I haven’t rested for a single day and now I’ve caught a cold. What am I doing?]

Yun Yuhwa continued her complaints.

“So we should have just gone ahead with it from the beginning, right?”

[Harang has good senses so there wasn’t any chance to switch bodies. Sniff. Noticed it already. Chaos ensued. Sniff.]

Yun Yuhwa blew her nose pitifully after sniffing. Bak Sangwoo blinked briefly before checking the time.

“One minute before midnight.”

[Achoo! …Then let’s begin.]

“Understood.”

The screen turned off and the scheduled time arrived.

May 15th, midnight.

Bak Sangwoo picked up a shovel inside an underground tunnel. Dirt crumbled away revealing a wooden coffin beyond.

“To think we’ve come to the point of switching corpses.”

From far within the tunnel, mechanical puppets controlled by Yun Yuhwa appeared carrying a coffin of identical size.

Clunk. Following Bak Sangwoo’s instructions, the mechanical puppets pulled out the dirt-buried coffin entirely. The coffin was tied with both the太极 flag and the Hero Association’s flag.

Watching the swapped coffins, Bak Sangwoo sighed.

“…I should probably undergo a cleansing ritual when I visit Incheon.”

* * *

<May 15th, 2020, 3 AM, entrance to Gwanaksan Mountain.>

“Alright, here’s Light Blade’s corpse!”

Phoenix stood on the coffin while shouting. The senior members’ gazes turned cold.

“No matter what, stepping on the deceased’s coffin is somewhat…”

Ryu Cheonseong openly scolded Phoenix while showing obvious discomfort. Even Baek Sangwoo standing opposite nodded in agreement.

“You’ll surely get struck by lightning from the heavens.”

“Then shouldn’t I get struck too?”

Yun Yuhwa narrowed her eyes sharply at Baek Sangwoo.

“Watch it. Do you know how much money is involved in this deal? Don’t you understand we need to secure a better position than our opponents? Hmph.”

The shocking actions of these two leaders breaking moral boundaries left the senior members seething internally.

“Are you really going to do it?”

Gaeul looked extremely flustered as she alternated her gaze between the coffin and Phoenix’s hand. In Phoenix’s hand was a golden glowing monster core.

Phoenix lifted the core enveloped in magical energy to chest level and spoke.

“I am Phoenix, the creator of over ten monsters. Through this process, I’ve realized something. Namely…”

“When creating monsters from ability users, the efficiency is highest when the core’s rank matches the ability user’s level.”

Yun Yuhwa interrupted Phoenix mid-explanation. Dark circles were faintly visible beneath the makeup covering her eyelids. Phoenix looked shocked as she retorted.

“…Ms. Yuhwa?! I was about to explain in a very hyped-up manner!”

“Explain to someone else later. I’m kind of sleepy right now.”

Yun Yuhwa covered her mouth while yawning. She was trying hard to resist falling asleep due to the sedative components in the ability user’s cold medicine.

Phoenix slumped her shoulders and opened the coffin of Light Blade. Inside lay Light Blade, smiling peacefully with his eyes closed alongside his iron sword. Phoenix raised her finger and wiggled it.

“Mr. Deokbae?”

“Hey. Even if you ask me, isn’t having me participate in something like this a bit much? Why are you trying to make trash?”

“……Isn’t it better this way?”

As Phoenix looked at each senior member one by one, none met her gaze. Phoenix fidgeted with the core in her hand.

“Then I’ll proceed with the creation as is.”

Phoenix straightened up and approached Yun Yuhwa. Yun Yuhwa was struggling desperately to stay awake. Phoenix handed her the S-Rank core.

“Here you go. Your promised gift.”

“Thank you. Then I’ll take the commission.”

“Of course.”

Yun Yuhwa offered the core back.

“Use this core to revive Master Light Blade.”

“…Let’s review the terms of the deal. Ji Hwa!”

Wearing sunglasses, Kim Ji Hwa flicked the paper with his finger and began reading aloud.

“First condition. Reviving Light Blade is only possible as a monster.”

“Accepted.”

Yun Yuhwa nodded. Ji Hwa quickly read the next clause.

“Second condition. Ownership of the monster Light Blade belongs to the Blue Wind Sect but will be dispatched long-term to the PMC <Knights> created by Yun Yuhwa in the form of a loan.”

“Accepted.”

“And finally, the third condition.”

Phoenix interjected. Ji Hwa’s mouth opened and closed like a goldfish before stepping back.

“After reviving monster Light Blade, persuasion of Light Blade will be entirely Yun Yuhwa’s responsibility. Should persuasion fail and Light Blade refuses orders, monster Light Blade will die again. Haven’t forgotten, right?”

“Of course.”

The decisive reason Phoenix accepted the monsterization of Light Blade despite clearly wanting him dead.

“If I succeed in persuasion, Master Light Blade will continue living as a monster. If I fail, he’ll be transferred to the Blue Wind Sect. Right, Yuhwa?”

“Miss?!”

Baek Sangwoo exclaimed in surprise. He hadn’t heard anything about the contingency plan in case of failed persuasion.

Phoenix took the core from Yun Yuhwa’s hand.

“If persuasion fails, I won’t take responsibility. There will be no leniency or mercy. Reviving Light Blade is a big gamble for me too.”

“Higher levels have stronger resistance to commands…right?”

For a moment, Deokbae’s eyes gleamed but Phoenix didn’t notice.

“Fine. Let’s begin then.”

Phoenix entered the coffin holding the core, bowing her upper body. The wound in Light Blade’s exposed chest had been stitched up with needle and thread.

Crack. Crack.

The sound of something tearing inside the coffin made everyone grimace. Architect couldn’t hold back his nausea and vomited beer onto the dirt ground.

“Magic power is ready, the core is ready. The problem is the incantation…”

Phoenix raised her upper body and looked around sheepishly. She felt embarrassed sharing the rather sensitive incantations used in monster creation.

“…It’s not mandatory anyway.”

When resurrecting Phantom as Gaeul, Phoenix realized that the emotional outbursts from the senior members during the incantation actually held little meaning for monster creation.

Plop. Phoenix inserted the core into Light Blade’s wound. The golden light from the snake at city hall penetrated Light Blade’s heart, followed shortly by purified magic power extracted from the cube entering Light Blade’s heart.

“Excuse me, master craftsman.”

Phoenix whispered quietly into Light Blade’s ear, so softly no one could hear.

“Sorry about Harang getting pregnant.”

Flash.

Light Blade’s eyes flashed. As he opened his eyelids, he silently stared at Phoenix.

“…….”

“…….”

Silence stretched as they stared at each other for several seconds. Light Blade, whose hair had turned golden, quietly spoke.

“Are you the shrine maiden who got my daughter pregnant?”

“…….”

Phoenix hesitated, unable to respond. Light Blade slowly rose from the coffin, picking up the iron sword resting on his body. Phoenix frantically waved her hands while hastily excusing herself.

“J, just a joke! A prank! A surprise to celebrate your revival!!”

“Father.”

As Light Blade stepped out of the coffin and Phoenix put distance between them, everyone who had been straining their ears retreated.

“You called me father back in Daejeon, didn’t you?”

“Wha…”

Especially Yun Yuhwa’s gaze towards Phoenix turned utterly disdainful. Phoenix stomped her feet while shouting.

“A, it was a joke! Why would I marry someone like Seok Harang?!”

“Hmph.”

“Hmm.”

Cheon Gaeul let out a sigh of relief while Yun Yuhwa crossed his arms and tilted his head. Light Blade quietly raised his hand, forming a light barrier.

“So you’re calling Harang useless?”

“How could I?! I adore Seok Harang!”

“Is that so? Then let’s talk a bit first.”

“Absolutely not!!”

Light Blade’s ultimate technique enveloped Gwanaksan.

About three hours later, only the traces of an intense battle remained in Gwanaksan.