Part 1, Chapter 4 (18)

Gaeul rose to her feet.

Unable to even think about wiping away the smudged makeup around her eyes, she staggered into the audience aisle like someone drunk. The ending credits were already nearing their end.

In the quiet theater, with all the lights turned off, Gaeul stood alone, stock-still.

“So, am I going to die now?”

Gaeul asked Cheon Gaeul in the mask. Cheon Gaeul in the mask rose from the audience seats and stood facing Gaeul.

“Yes. As an actress, and as a human, you are dead.”

“……?”

Cheon Gaeul in the mask raised a hand.

Drrrk.

The pulley moved, raising the curtain, and a giant screen descended onto the stage again. The entire audience seating vanished like ash, leaving only the long aisle where Gaeul stood, leading towards the stage.

“Go.”

“Where?”

“To the place where you belong.”

Cheon Gaeul in the mask pointed to the stage. Gaeul walked down the aisle with a bitter smile.

Thump.

The sound of Gaeul’s heels echoed on the stage. At the same time, all the stage lights focused on Gaeul and lit up.

“So, you’re telling me to act one more time before I die?”

“No. I’m telling you to act anew.”

Cheon Gaeul in the mask took off her mask and threw it to Gaeul. The mask flew into Gaeul’s hand as if it had a will of its own.

Gaeul held the mask in her hand.

The right side was white, the left was black.

The mask, which had been vertically split into two black and white colors, turned completely black, then became dull with a gray hue.

“……? What is this?”

Gaeul ran her hand over the mask’s surface. Cheon Gaeul, now unmasked, or rather, Masquerade, pointed to her face.

“From now on, it’s better to cover your face.”

“Become a faceless actress?”

“You’re already dead, physically and legally, aren’t you? So.”

Masquerade’s body turned transparent. Cheon Gaeul, pointing to her face with a hand that was fading into light, smiled.

“From now on, you are a ghost.”

Pat.

The ending credits finished. The video that should have stopped playing continued, showing the last remaining scene.

The Main Assembly Hall of the National Assembly Building.

A blue girl, Phoenix, embraced Gaeul, holding Gaeul’s dead body. She embedded something into Gaeul’s chest, and soon the entire Main Assembly Hall was dyed with gray mana.

Clap.

The ghost turned her head. Masquerade clapped. Masquerade was crying and laughing at the ghost, with an envious, proud, yet sorrowful expression.

“What movie these days doesn’t have a post-credits scene?”

With that, Gaeul’s consciousness faded.

Blue flames engulfed the theater.

* * *

Gaeul blinked her eyes. As her vision cleared, she saw Phoenix smiling gently.

“Are you awake?”

Phoenix gently shook Gaeul. Her right hand, placed behind Gaeul, was supporting Gaeul’s back.

Gaeul stared blankly at Phoenix, then suddenly hugged her tightly.

“Huh? Excuse me? Gaeul-ssi? If you suddenly do this…”

“I’m sorry.”

Gaeul’s hands grabbed Phoenix’s shoulders. Their eyes met as Phoenix knelt.

“You told me not to leave the Barrier. Was it because you thought something like this would happen? I’m sorry. For not listening and coming out. I wanted to tell you that when I saw you again.”

“……No, I’m more sorry.”

Phoenix held Gaeul’s hand with her left hand. A warm sensation was felt.

“I was unnecessarily restricting you. I shouldn’t have put Gaeul-ssi in such a dangerous situation. I should have hidden you somewhere else entirely, not the National Assembly Building. No, even if I were in a little danger, I should have taken Gaeul-ssi to New Seoul….”

“That’s not it. Phoenix-ssi must have had her reasons. We made a deal, didn’t we? It was a part where we both compromised. It’s just that this happened before that. So I’m more sorry….”

“No, Gaeul-ssi. I’m more sorry-“

Gaeul and Phoenix chuckled simultaneously. The conversation, like a couple in a drama bickering and apologizing to each other, naturally made them laugh.

“But you’re using formal speech again? Last time, when we were alone, you told me to speak informally.”

“Huh?”

A look of bewilderment appeared in Gaeul’s eyes.

“……Isn’t this the afterlife? So you’re granting wishes before I die or something?”

“It’s not the afterlife…. Wishes?”

Gaeul nodded. She lowered her hands from Phoenix’s shoulders and firmly held Phoenix’s hands.

“I wanted to apologize to my fans and my parents. But… right now, Phoenix-ssi came to mind. I just wanted to apologize. Just, I’m sorry.”

“…Haa.”

Phoenix sighed. There was a hint of her trying to suppress a laugh.

Hwarrk.

Azure Flame illuminated the darkness of the Main Assembly Hall. Only then did Gaeul realize this was the place where she had died.

“Oh?”

Gaeul instinctively placed a hand on her chest.

Thump, thump.

Her pierced heart was clearly beating. The pulsation was very faint, but something emanating from her heart was vigorously flowing throughout Gaeul’s entire body.

Gaeul quickly realized what it was. The ability she awakened right before death. Thanks to that, her sixth sense, which had undergone an Opening of the Eyes, detected mana.

“This, is it mana?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

“…Uh, well.”

Gaeul raised her hand. It was extremely pale, as if all the blood had drained, but it clearly moved according to her will.

Did I not die? Gaeul swallowed hard and glared at Phoenix, then grabbed Phoenix’s cheek with her hand.

“Hmph-mph.”

As her cheeks moved as if being kneaded, Phoenix’s words became muffled. Gaeul, as if possessed, rolled Phoenix’s cheek with her palm. Her lips bunched up vertically then relaxed, and stretched widely horizontally. Phoenix’s eyebrows furrowed.

[Stop it.]

“Kyaa!”

A voice echoed in her head. Gaeul was startled by the mana imbued with intent. Phoenix glared at Gaeul with a sullen face.

“……You did die. Your heart was pierced. So.”

Phoenix picked up a cube that had fallen on the floor. The cube with grotesque patterns had lost its light and become dull, looking as if it would crumble at any moment.

“I revived you with this. …Huh?”

Crack.

The cube cracked. The broken surface of the cube flowed down Phoenix’s palm like sand. Phoenix stared at the cube with a puzzled expression.

“Why did this break…?”

“Then I’m revived?!”

Gaeul grabbed Phoenix’s shoulders and shook her. The Otherworld God’s Core flowed right through Phoenix’s fingers.

“No, why is this, why is it broken, wait a minute!!”

Phoenix shouted to calm Gaeul down. Both Phoenix and Gaeul were flustered. Though the reasons for their surprise were different.

After a moment of deep breathing, Phoenix was the first to calm down.

“Phew. We’ll find out why the cube broke later. How are you alive, Gaeul-ssi? Resurrection of the Dead! The revival of the dead! I can revive the dead if I just have the right equipment and tools! Okay?!”

Gaeul looked at the scattered fragments in Phoenix’s hand and burst into tears.

“That… to save me…”

“Ah, don’t worry about it too much! I can always get more of these anyway! Gaeul-ssi is much more important and valuable than the trash that would destroy this world. I don’t know why, but it broke right after saving Gaeul-ssi….”

“…Ah! Dongjak! There are crazy bastards in Dongjak-gu trying to kill people! We have to stop them!”

Gaeul came to her senses. Phoenix’s gaze sank.

“Gaeul-ssi, surely you didn’t come out of the Barrier just to save people you have no connection to….”

“Are there more of those?! You can save people!”

Phoenix was about to say something but mumbled her lips. Gaeul’s two hands again grabbed Phoenix’s hands.

“I’m sorry for breaking my promise once. But please. You can call me a selfish bitch if you want-“

“No. …I can revive the dead, but they’re not human.”

“? ……?”

Gaeul’s eyes widened. Phoenix looked up at the ceiling. It was a clear act of avoiding her gaze.

“Whether a dead person is an ordinary person or an ability user, if there’s a monster’s Core or Core, and my mana, I can revive them. But this isn’t reviving them completely as a human….”

Phoenix moved her left hand close to her face and pressed her smart watch with her chin. The home screen opened.

“Want to turn on the selfie camera?”

Gaeul, with trembling fingers, rotated the screen and launched the camera app. Phoenix adjusted the smart watch so Gaeul could see her face like a mirror on the screen.

“Heeek.”

Gaeul shrieked, seeing her face reflected on the screen.

White skin completely devoid of blood. A face like a mannequin. Her eyes, if not for the gray pupils, looked dull like rotten fish eyes.

“This is…?”

Her eyebrows and hair, reflected above her eyes, were bleached silver-gray. As if mana had taken the place of the missing pigment, mana could be felt in her hair.

Tok, tok.

And the most noticeable thing was the mask. A gray mask hung like an ornament on the upper right side of her head. The very mask she had received from Masquerade in her dream.

“…Masquerade? No, it’s a little different?”

Phoenix muttered to herself. The mask was the symbol of Cheon Gaeul’s ability. The fact that such a mask was on Gaeul’s head confused Phoenix even more.

Complex thoughts could wait. For now, the immediate problem had to be solved. Phoenix cleared her throat and continued speaking.

“Ahem, so I’m not reviving them as humans, but as monstrous humans, as ‘monstrous humans’ (怪人). Like how Jo Deokbae-ssi became a rock monstrous human, and Kim Ji-hwa-ssi became a Beacon monstrous human….”

Phoenix trailed off. Gaeul understood immediately without needing to hear the rest.

“You revived me as a monstrous human, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“…It’s fine. I ran wild without listening, died, and came back to life, so I have to accept that much.”

Gaeul gave a bitter smile, then suddenly acted startled as if something had just occurred to her.

“Ah! The people who killed me are probably still around here! They’re definitely after Ji-hwa-ssi-“

“A monstrous human’s.”

Phoenix, rarely, and with a strong tone, cut Gaeul off.

“…The identity of a monstrous human is not revealed by their original ability, but by the Core that has become their new heart. While there are cases like Deokbae-ssi, who originally had the ability of physical enhancement, being reborn with a rock monster’s Core and his ability fusing into a rock monstrous human.”

“……And?”

“There are also cases like Kim Ji-hwa-ssi, where their original ability is further strengthened. I didn’t explain, did I? The Core embedded in Kim Ji-hwa-ssi’s heart, I used one from a B-grade monster influenced by Terra. That’s why she became an ‘Evil Eye’.”

Phoenix pointed at Gaeul’s mask and shook her head.

“……I’m sorry, but I didn’t use a monster Core like that for Gaeul-ssi’s mask.”

Phoenix covered her face with her left hand. Only then did Gaeul realize that Phoenix had been continuously supporting her back with her right hand.

People usually use their right hand to touch a wristwatch on their left wrist, not deliberately use their chin to tap a smart watch.

That implied there was a reason she couldn’t use her right hand. Gaeul subtly lifted her body.

Squish.

” “

An unknown sensation felt behind her back. Gaeul got goosebumps from the texture, like the liquid monster toy children often played with.

Soft and squishy.

What was more frightening was that it wasn’t a sensation Gaeul felt by touching it, but a sensation as if it were a part of her own body.

Gaeul’s head snapped back like a machine. Phoenix’s pupils trembled violently.

“Well, I was in a hurry. Among the things I had, I figured if I was going to do it anyway, I might as well use the best one….”

“Hey.”

Gaeul dropped her honorifics.

“Did you perhaps use a Tentacle Toad Core?”

Phoenix’s head dropped. At the same time, nine neatly arranged tentacles, like tails, swayed from Phoenix’s dropped right hand.

” “

Gaeul lost consciousness.

Beep. Phoenix’s smart watch alarm rang. It was Beacon.

– Phoenix-nim, please save me

– I’m sorry

– But right now

– The Pine Tree Unit outside

– has been knocking on the Barrier for 10 minutes

“……Why do all monstrous humans lose consciousness when they’re revived?”

Phoenix changed her body into her monstrous human form and picked Gaeul up. She supported Gaeul’s upper body with her right arm and gathered Gaeul’s legs with her left arm.

Wiggle.

Nine tentacles dropped to the ground. Unlike those of a Tentacle Toad, these tentacles protruded like tails from above Gaeul’s pelvis and swayed.

Of course, their form was, given the original source, indescribably obscene.

[I’ll have to deal with this later. …Before that.]

Phoenix was about to move but stomped her foot instead.

Boom!

A circular pillar of fire erupted around Phoenix. The Azure Flame Barrier, appearing somewhat excessively, deflected the black arrows shot from the darkness.

[They say the culprit always returns to the crime scene.]

Phoenix withdrew the pillar of fire. Simultaneously, black arrows scattered in all directions again.

Four light arrows, spreading to the east, west, north, and south, curved and shot towards Phoenix. Phoenix, holding Gaeul, jumped straight towards the main entrance of the Main Assembly Hall.

“Kuk!”

The archer hidden behind the wall quickly drew their bowstring. A black mana-infused arrow was nocked on the bow.

[Did you think I wouldn’t know?]

As Phoenix’s eyes flashed, fist-sized fireballs appeared beside her. The fireballs, positioned in the line of fire of the previously shot arrows, incinerated the mana arrows.

“…!”

As Phoenix approached, the archer quickly abandoned their bow and fled. The archer, who had shot a wire to the end of the corridor, ran along the wall, trying to escape from Phoenix.

Hwarrk.

[Don’t think you can escape.]

Phoenix appeared before them and kicked the archer in the chest.

“Keok!”

The archer gasped for breath and collapsed to the floor. Phoenix stepped directly on the archer’s solar plexus and burned away their mask.

“…….”

[Archer Star Yooishin?]

A beauty with black bobbed hair. Phoenix immediately recognized the opponent’s face and knew who it was. In the original story, she was a mercenary from a hunter background, a B-grade ability user famous for her efficiency relative to her hiring fee.

[Indeed. So she was in the Pine Tree Unit and then laundered her identity as a hunter.]

“Kuh, kill me!”

Yooishin bit her lip and shouted. Since her identity was already known to the opponent, there was no chance of survival.

[Oh really?]

Phoenix nodded and gently shook Gaeul.

“…….”

Gaeul was still unconscious, showing no signs of waking up. For a moment, the flame inside Phoenix’s helmet seemed to flicker as if she were smiling.

[Then so be it.]

Phoenix slit Yooishin’s throat with her foot.

Swoosh.

Yooishin’s head detached from her neck and rolled down the corridor. Yooishin’s eyes were filled only with shock and terror.

[Oh, right.]

Phoenix returned to the Main Assembly Hall and collected the cube fragments. A handful of ash to be kept for future research. The rest was unnecessary.

Hwarrr.

The Azure Flame that rose from the Main Assembly Hall incinerated the cube fragments. The fragments, burned without leaving even ash, were completely annihilated from the Earth.