Chapter 87

〈Chapter 87〉 Part 1, Chapter 5 (20)

It had been a week since Light Blade returned as a monster.

May 22nd. Saturday.

Lying in bed and staying cooped up at home, President Sun Icheol was replaced by Baek Se-joon who temporarily took over presidential duties and surprisingly handled the aftermath of Light Blade’s death quite well.

Now back to work, Sun Icheol decided to announce the good news from Seoul with tears in his eyes to calm the citizens’ anxieties.

Even though Light Blade perished, Seoul had been reclaimed.

The villain coalition in Seoul uploaded footage through the Black Market network showing their attack on city hall’s snake, calling it a highly successful monster raid that quickly reached ten million views.

The government, Hero Association, New Seoul, villains, Seoul, and Busan all prepared for what lay ahead amidst an eerie calm before the storm.

* * *

Bang!

A piece of pottery shattered against the wall. The expressions of the secretaries standing nearby darkened.

“Still can’t find her?!”

Sun Icheol fumed, disheveled and far from his usual composed self with his tie undone and one lens of his glasses dangling.

“Just give us a little more time…”

“Shut up! You incompetent fools! How can you not find one person?!”

“Some of Pine Division are starting to disobey orders. We’re struggling to locate Cheongsong…”

Pang! An ashtray from the desk hit a secretary’s head, breaking into pieces as blood trickled down his forehead.

“Find her! By any means necessary! Figure out where that blasted woman disappeared to immediately!!”

Knock knock knock.

“President Sun, it’s Baek Se-joon.”

“Come in!”

A man with a gentle demeanor entered. He was Prime Minister Baek Se-joon, currently running the country while Sun Icheol was supposedly gravely ill.

Despite being much older, Sun Icheol spoke rudely to him, a sign of how mentally strained he was.

“Did you find her?”

“…Mr. President. Right now, Pine Division isn’t the problem. There’s a mountain of inquiries and issues coming through the Foreign Ministry that require your stance…”

“I’ve already appointed ministers to handle that! What about that guy?!”

“He’s practically given up.”

Baek Se-joon listed off the unresolved diplomatic matters:

“The official response to the Hero Association’s support request, international investigation into Light Blade, willingness to dispatch Round Table members, joint international response to the Pyongyang monster, partnership with the Seoul villain coalition, and deployment requests for S-Rank heroes Hwakwon and Snow Princess…”

“Why them?”

“Japan requested assistance. An S-Rank monster appeared in Okinawa and they want swift help…”

“Deny it. Absolutely no way.”

Suddenly calmer, Sun Icheol replied. Known as the reincarnation of Heungseon Daewongun for his pathological distrust of foreign relations…

“Dispatch two S-Rank heroes to Okinawa? Ha, those bastards just want to start a war while our S-Ranks are away.”

“Surely such atrocities aren’t possible in the 21st century…?”

“Are they not? Look at Russia. As soon as they abandoned the Far East, China and Japan jumped in claiming it was theirs. It only became unclaimed territory thanks to monsters.”

“Understood. We’ll ignore that request then.”

As the prime minister moved to the next screen, the president provided guidance on each issue.

Though exhibiting some erratic behavior without Cheongsong around, his political instincts were still sharp. However, losing control over media and public opinion was a major blow to Sun Icheol.

“What’s today’s approval rating?”

“84%. Still high.”

Sun Icheol slammed his fist on the table.

“Still?! We were at 95% after handling the Dimensional Gate incident! That’s an 11% drop already!”

“Failure in reclaiming Seoul and Light Blade’s death were direct causes. At this rate, it will continue to decline…”

“Damn it! What about public sentiment?”

Another secretary chimed in.

“Public broadcasting is still following our guidelines. However, completely blocking internet broadcasters and personal channels is proving difficult.”

“Tch. Unable to move Pine Division makes me furious. Is there nothing we can do?”

Consulting with the special abilities unit leader, Sun Icheol asked.

“Even one A-Rank requires three or more of the same level for safe capture. Since Light Blade passed, not only captured villains but also original Pine Division members have begun resisting. With the writing still visible, it seems Cheongsong is alive…”

“So who kidnapped her, huh?! Is it Yu-Sung again?!”

“Everyone except Yuhwa, whose whereabouts were unclear at the time, has alibis.”

“That reckless fool?”

Once suspicion begins, everything becomes suspect. Thinking hard, Sun Icheol came up with a drastic plan.

“Send a formal invitation. What does Yuhwa’s business side handle?”

“Food service and space industry, mainly operating ‘Starlight’ under Yu-Sung.”

“Then pick out a few underlings from that area.”

“Mr. President, why that reckless one…?”

The prime minister was flustered. Smirking, Sun Icheol adjusted his glasses.

“It seems we need to take hostages.”

* * *

“Thank you, Prime Minister. I appreciate the warning.”

Yun Yuhwa smiled kindly as the screen showed the anxious prime minister.

[Anyway, keep your promise! After I retire…!]

“Could there be any other choice? If you desire a position, please let me know. Aren’t you the savior of my life?”

[Haha, you really love your brother!]

After exchanging meaningless pleasantries, Yun Yuhwa ended the call with the prime minister. Simultaneously, the golden aura in Yun Yuhwa’s eyes disappeared.

“A maximum-security prison cell should suffice.”

Yuhwa sat up while manipulating other automatons lying down, wearing a helmet-like computing device that gleamed as it controlled the automatons.

“Hmm.”

Switching the automatons to autonomous action patterns, Yuhwa got out of bed. The person they were about to face wasn’t someone who could be persuaded easily while jointly controlling automatons.

“Time’s up, Miss.”

“Thank you.”

Straightening her clothes, Yuhwa followed the butler down the hallway. Unlike Yuhwa’s secluded quarters, the reception room bathed in sunlight greeted her. Taking a deep breath upon arrival…

“It will succeed.”

With absolute determination to succeed, Yuhwa opened the door to the reception room.

Amidst the rich aroma of grapes, a blonde man held a bottle of red wine in his right hand and white wine in his left, sipping directly from the bottles like a flute. Though feeling slightly annoyed, Yuhwa tried to understand.

“Time’s up, sir.”

“Is that so? Time flies.”

The man wiped his golden beard and finished both wines like cheap grape juice, casually sitting down at the table.

“Then let’s begin. Why should I help you?”

Heo Yoon-hwan, Light Blade. Revived as a monster under Yuhwa’s proposal, he triumphed over Phoenix in three matches and was transferred to Yuhwa’s care, occupying a room.

Yuhwa joyfully conversed with Light Blade, presenting various visions of a rosy future for him and Harang, which Light Blade politely declined with a smile.

“Do you think you’ve found what I desire?”

“…Yes, I have.”

“One last chance. If you miss this opportunity, our contract ends here. I’ll go kill that bastard again, and naturally die once more. Will you challenge me anyway?”

“Of course.”

Yuhwa handed over the approval tablet she’d brought. Light Blade accepted it and asked,

“Are you certain this is the correct answer?”

Light Blade opened the tablet. His expression immediately turned cold.

“What does this mean?”

“Exactly what it says.”

Yuhwa pointed at the paper with a smile.

“Give me your daughter.”

Inside the tablet was a marriage certificate naming Yuhwa as husband and Harang as wife. While every blank was filled out, only Harang’s signature remained.

“I’ll act as a barrier until Harang finds true love.”

“Are you suggesting a same-sex marriage?”

Yuhwa shook her head.

“I possess the special ability of puppeteering. Using scandals known to you, I’ll marry publicly with my brother, Jae-min, to make Harang unavailable.”

“Can true love truly find someone who’s already married?”

“I believe anyone trying to win the heart of the president’s wife of Korea’s top conglomerate needs some guts. Otherwise, I cannot hand Harang over to you!”

“…Ah, is that so?”

Light Blade awkwardly folded the marriage certificate. For a moment, despair flickered across Yuhwa’s face.

“Perhaps I’ve caused you too much trouble.”

“……What?”

Light Blade slipped the folded certificate into his pocket and extended his hand to Yuhwa.

“Just help our Harang from the sidelines, as a father figure.”

“…Is this what you desire, sir?”

For Yuhwa, born into wealth and believing all aspects of life were transactions of mutual benefit, this was a moment of revelation.

Light Blade looked at her as if she were asking something obvious.

“What else could a father wish for beyond his daughter’s success?”

Smiling, Light Blade waved his hand. Yuhwa nodded dumbly.

“But I have one favor. Please protect my daughter from that wretched Phoenix customer.”

“Yes, that’s a given.”

Yuhwa firmly gripped Light Blade’s hand.

“With my entire fortune, I’ll prevent any future where Phoenix has children with Harang.”

Yuhwa’s eyes sparkled like stars.

Monster Heo Yoon-hwan became Yuhwa’s subordinate.

* * *

The administrator has returned.

That man, who had stopped eating and drinking after losing Team Leader Kang Soyeon, sprang back to life like a sponge soaked in water the moment she returned.

Kang Soyeon informed Yu Young-ho of an alternate truth.

The government attempted to turn ten heroes into Pine Division members, kidnapping them in the process. With Yu-Sung’s help, the heroes escaped. During the escape, Soyeon, who assisted, was captured and endured severe torture but managed to escape fortunately.

…Though the facts were twisted, ultimately, Kang Soyeon returned to Yu Young-ho’s side. The administrator concealed her return with all his might.

“Administrator, I’ll be stepping out for a moment.”

“Huh? How long? Where to?”

One issue arose: the administrator had developed a slight obsession with Soyeon. Blushing, Soyeon coughed.

“I’m going to wash my hands.”

“Hands? That’s just…”

As the administrator continued, Soyeon clutching her stomach caught his attention. Seeking understanding, Soyeon hurriedly left for the restroom.

“Damn.”

Her lower abdomen churned violently. Below her navel, it felt like it was burning.

“Haa, haa.”

Breathing heavily, Soyeon entered a toilet stall. Lifting her skirt and stockings revealed a blue heart-shaped mark on her lower abdomen.

“Ugh, uhnnn…”

Suppressing strange emotions, Soyeon activated her smartwatch and connected to the network. A masked woman awaited her call.

Soyeon, biting her lower lip, trembled as she asked,

“What is it suddenly?”

[Just called you for fun? Are you in heat? Hehe, amusing.]

The blatant remarks from Phantom made Soyeon punch the bathroom wall. Fortunately, no one was in the adjacent stall.

“Joking around like this…”

[Consider yourself lucky to be alive. Do you want to wander around Seoul without a head?]

Threatened by Phantom, Soyeon shut her mouth. Playing with the brush in her hand, Phantom laughed.

[Anyway, do well. Remember, I have the same special ability as your tattoo artist. Got it?]

Phantom ended the call. Though baffled by the random call, Soyeon lay down on her bed as sensations grew hotter.

“Ahh, haa. Haaaang.”

Her fingers traced the tattoo, satisfying urges. Biting the pillow in frustration and shame, Soyeon surrendered to the sensations.

“Haaah, Administrator, haaaang!”

Moist sounds and scents filled Soyeon’s room.

Ultimately, it took Soyeon 30 minutes to return to the administrator’s side. Unaware, the administrator didn’t notice, but Soyeon’s stockings were a different color than when she left.