Part 1, Chapter 5 (7)

9:00 PM, New Seoul Government Complex, Presidential Office.

Seonui Cheol lay on the sofa, resting. The gentle classical music playing from the LP record brought peace to his mind and body.

Tremble, tremble.

However, his leg trembled uncontrollably, and his hands tapped against the armrest. More than anything, his gaze wouldn’t leave the sofa opposite him. If one were to describe Seonui Cheol’s current state in two words, it would be ‘anxious’.

He was extremely anxious. He, who had calmly greeted people even when elected president by a 2% margin, was now trembling.

Whoosh. The shadow cast beside the sofa shimmered greatly. Seonui Cheol feigned composure and lifted his teacup.

“What happened?”

“It’s impossible. The security is too tight.”

Cheongsong thrust his burnt arm forward. His slender wrist was clearly visible. Seonui Cheol slammed the cup down roughly and shouted.

“Impossible! Impossible! Impossible! I didn’t wait until this hour just to hear that from you, did I?!”

Seonui Cheol uncharacteristically lost his temper, but Cheongsong’s answer was firm.

“What’s impossible is impossible. Birds watch during the day, and the Beacon keeps its eyes wide open at night. Just getting near Yeouido immediately draws an attack.”

“Damn it!”

Seonui Cheol suppressed his anger and gulped down his tea. In his heart, he wanted to rush to Yeouido right now, cut off the villains’ necks, and find the Cube, but Seonui Cheol was not a superpowered individual.

God had granted him absolute power, but not superpowers.

Ultimately, the Pine Tree Unit was the extent of the hero forces he could mobilize in the shadows. And with that, he couldn’t even attempt to infiltrate Yeouido. Seonui Cheol, having suppressed his anger, asked.

“Is it that S-ranker again?”

“Yes. They appear like ghosts and attack at the slightest opening. The fact that they specifically focus on cutting necks means they must be the one who sent the box.”

Seonui Cheol stroked his own neck. The monster who had placed the Pine Tree Unit members’ heads in a box and thrown it onto the government building’s rooftop had passed over Seonui Cheol’s head at a speed no one could perceive.

Gwanggeom had quickly moved to intercept, but the monster had calmly blocked it and escaped, they said.

“Ugh. Still no news from Gwanggeom?”

“No. Still no news. He’s undergoing secluded training, so no one knows when he’ll emerge.”

Seonui Cheol clicked his tongue.

“Is reality some kind of wuxia novel? Seriously. Secluded training in the 21st century.”

“Didn’t the President-nim say it was fine because he could reach a transcendent state?”

Cheongsong retorted as if dumbfounded. Seonui Cheol mumbled, then moistened his throat with tea and spoke.

“I didn’t know there’d be no news for over two weeks. Look, Cheongsong, can’t you become S-rank? It seems you haven’t progressed from A-rank for six years now.”

Cheongsong replied with a choked voice.

“Do you think awakening superpowers is easy? There are tens of thousands of heroes worldwide who can’t rise above C-rank no matter how hard they try their whole lives.”

“Lee Seung-hyung became S-rank in one go, didn’t he?”

Cheongsong’s fist slightly rose and then fell. His hand, emerging from between his scorched clothes, was so fair and delicate that the phrase “slender, beautiful hands” suited it perfectly.

“That’s because Fire Fist-nim is abnormal. Fewer than 10 flame users have reached S-rank since recorded history. Perhaps it’s a backlash from his sudden awakening, but isn’t he still recuperating in the hospital with Seolhwa Princess?”

“…So you’re saying we can’t even touch Yeouido. Haa.”

Seonui Cheol sighed.

Given the circumstances, the Cube must have fallen into the hands of evil villains. The traces of the S-rank monster that had been in the National Assembly Building were nowhere to be seen, and the fact that the villains had received the special delegation there was the circumstantial evidence.

“There’s no choice then. We can only hope they don’t know the Cube’s true power. Cheongsong, are you ready?”

“Yes. All 10 heroes have been put to sleep. If we put them in the research facility tonight and begin the imprinting, it should take about a week.”

Cheongsong pointed to his neck with his finger. Seonui Cheol smiled with a slightly more relaxed expression.

“Good. Since they’ve learned the truth but we can’t kill them to silence them, shouldn’t we muzzle them? Thanks to you, I can rest easy with both legs stretched out again today. I’m always grateful.”

“……Don’t mention it.”

Cheongsong turned his head as if embarrassed. Seonui Cheol questioned Cheongsong with a subtle gaze.

“Is there a problem?”

“No. It’s just…”

Cheongsong paused for a moment.

“President-nim, do you truly wish for me to become S-rank?”

“……Huh, were you worried about that?”

Seonui Cheol let out a hearty laugh.

“Don’t worry about it. Didn’t you say it yourself? Becoming S-rank is extremely difficult. Then there’s nothing we can do. No need to overdo it.”

“…….”

As Cheongsong remained silent, Seonui Cheol hastily added.

“Don’t go into secluded training like Gwanggeom, for no reason. I can’t do anything without you. Didn’t you practically put me in this position?”

“…Understood.”

Cheongsong bowed his head. He disappeared into the shadows, just as he was sitting in the chair. Seonui Cheol silently drank the remaining tea.

“Tsk.”

The tea had a bitter aftertaste. Seonui Cheol closed his eyes, listening to the music.

“Can’t use that anymore either.”

Seonui Cheol’s monologue, unheard by anyone, scattered into the air with the music.

* * *

Azure Syndicate Hideout.

The Cube is somewhere in the Daejeon Research Complex.

My explosive, or rather, non-explosive, statement must have left the executives speechless.

“Huh….”

“No, that’s….”

Everyone except Deokbae looked dumbfounded but showed a common reaction. Jihwa stood up and shouted.

“If something like that exists, shouldn’t we go find it right away?!”

“Calm down.”

Ryu Cheon-seong raised a hand to stop Jihwa. His eyes were scolding Jihwa, but the brief glance he shot at me held an accusation.

“Listen, Leader. Do you know who or where is researching the Cube? You know how vast the Daejeon Research Complex is, right?”

“…No? But I have a suspicious location.”

At my words, Ryu Cheon-seong was silent for a moment, then nodded.

“Indeed. So you can’t move because you can’t be certain.”

I snapped my fingers, affirming Ryu Cheon-seong’s words. The others seemed to find it a bit hard to understand. I clarified in one sentence to make it easier for them.

“The research facility is within Gwanggeom’s ‘domain’. Gwanggeom will rush out the moment we enter.”

“Ah.”

“Gwanggeom….”

Everyone groaned. The weight of the name Gwanggeom was that heavy.

“So, Daejeon is out of the question. Unless Gwanggeom leaves New Seoul. In that sense, we should diligently do our work. Right here in Seoul.”

“Indeed. Just Seoul alone has a mountain of problems right now.”

Ryu Cheon-seong agreed with me. It was the perfect time to end the meeting.

“Yes. But you know what?”

I pointed to my smartwatch. It was already well past 9 PM, nearing 10.

“We’ve all worked hard, haven’t we? We even got a bit of a break after negotiating with the special delegation. And tomorrow’s Saturday, so…”

Everyone’s expressions brightened. They all seemed to have understood my intention.

“How about we all take it easy this weekend? I’m sorry for keeping you late. Let’s all get some good sleep. Azure Syndicate executives, dismissed!”

With those words, the meeting concluded.

* * *

At the same time, a hotel on the outskirts of New Seoul.

“How long do we have to stay here?”

Lee Giseong pounded on the door, complaining. The thumping sound was loud enough to shake the window on the wall, but the guards outside, protecting them, gave no answer.

“Damn it!”

Lee Giseong kicked the door violently. The steel door was dented with the mark of his shoe’s toe. But still, there was no news from outside.

“Haa, haa.”

He took a deep breath to suppress his anger and slumped onto the bed.

From being put into a vehicle in Anyang to arriving at this isolated hotel in New Seoul, they had only briefly posed for photos for reporters before being transported here.

– You must have suffered for weeks, so stay at the hotel for a night to rest and prepare for tomorrow.

The government had provided a top-class hotel out of consideration for the heroes, but to Lee Giseong, this hotel room felt more like a prison than a shabby room in Yeouido.

No, it was a prison.

They were now confined again in New Seoul. Not for the crime of having returned alive, but for the crime of having learned an ‘unnecessary truth’.

“Seonui Cheol, that son of a bitch….”

Lee Giseong muttered in a low voice.

The Pine Tree Unit. Civilian massacre. None of it was acceptable as a hero, or as a human being-it was a massive sin.

But Lee Giseong had no power. He was a weak C-rank hero, so weak that he had been bitten by a Hellhound during the Seoul recapture operation.

Even on the Hero Wiki, the piercing evaluation was mostly, ‘He is full of righteousness and a sense of duty, but his talent doesn’t match.’

“If I just stay like this….”

Lee Giseong stroked his collarbone. There was nothing on his skin yet, but tonight, a single emblem would be etched there.

The Pine Tree emblem.

Lee Giseong and the other kidnapped heroes, despite not being criminals, would be branded with the Pine Tree Unit’s mark and become Seonui Cheol’s slaves.

Suddenly, the laughter-filled voice of a woman, like a nightingale, came to Lee Giseong’s mind.

– It’s fine if you ignore the truth and return to your daily lives. But if we meet again as the Pine Tree Unit, we’ll be enemies, okay? Heh.

“This way, it’s just as those guys said.”

He had been uncertain. He had thought it was cunning sweet talk from villains.

But the shocking sight of heroes massacring civilians had planted a seed of doubt in their hearts, and that seed sprouted when they were confined in this hotel.

Communication cut off from the outside. One night’s time.

Knock, knock. A knock was heard. Lee Giseong hastily straightened his posture.

“Excuse me.”

The thick steel door opened, and a woman in a black suit entered.

From head to toe, the woman was clad in black, and on her chest was a name tag emblazoned with ‘Monster Countermeasures Department’. Without a name.

Lee Giseong’s body naturally tensed. As the woman pushed, the thick steel door closed firmly.

Late at night, a man and a woman left alone in an isolated hotel room. Lee Giseong gulped. The woman chuckled.

“Agent Lee Giseong, C-rank hero. I apologize for the late hour. Preparations are complete, so we’ll be moving soon.”

“…Where to?”

Lee Giseong subtly scanned the woman’s entire body. Not for lewd purposes-though her figure was good-but to check for any lingering mana aura from her.

None. The other party was not a superpowered individual. Lee Giseong inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. The woman replied with a benevolent expression.

“We want to conduct tests at the Daejeon Research Complex to see if there are any physical abnormalities due to the dimensional gate’s influence. The dimensional gate has closed, but its aftereffects might remain, mightn’t they?”

“Ah, yes.”

That sounds plausible, Lee Giseong thought. An inexplicable sense of unease slowly crept up.

A brief silence. Only the second hand ticked. The woman subtly checked her smartwatch and then scanned the room. Her gaze fell upon the dishes on the table.

“You didn’t eat dinner, did you?”

Porridge and soup. And a few nutritional supplements. It was a meal prepared with consideration for heroes who might have gone without food for a long time. Lee Giseong made an excuse with an embarrassed face.

“I don’t really like liquid food….”

Lee Giseong avoided the woman’s gaze. Her stare was so intense it felt like she would pierce him with an ice pick.

“Haa.”

The woman’s deep sigh shook Lee Giseong’s heart. It contained both exasperation at a hero being picky about food and a very faint hint of annoyance.

The woman tapped her smartwatch.

“Seriously, bothering me at the very end.”

Bang! The steel door violently swung open, and men in black suits and dark sunglasses entered the room. Each of them had their necks covered with scarves.

“…!”

Lee Giseong, startled, kicked back his chair and stood up. But faster than him, the men in black suits subdued Lee Giseong and made him kneel.

A faint mana aura could be felt through the gloves of the men holding Lee Giseong’s shoulders.

The woman pulled down her tie. As if feeling stuffy, she unbuttoned the top button of her shirt, and the tip of the Pine Tree emblem peeked out from her collarbone.

“What?!”

He hadn’t felt any mana at all. The woman raised the right corner of her mouth at Lee Giseong’s bewildered eyes.

“Curious, aren’t you? Too bad. I have no intention of telling you.”

The woman pulled something out of her pocket. A tiny syringe, like something out of a child’s play set. An indescribable purple liquid shimmered inside.

“Just sleep for a bit and wake up. Everything will be different when you wake up. Ugh, why are you making a fuss about food and bothering people?”

Thud. The syringe needle pierced Lee Giseong’s neck. Along with a sense of loss as his mana instantly evaporated, Lee Giseong lost consciousness.

♪♬

The hotel room, now empty.

A small canary, hidden in the ceiling, calmly flew through the window and up to the rooftop.

* * *

Whoosh.

The night wind is cold. The moon hung beautifully in the sky as a crescent.

Step, step. Footsteps were heard in the darkness. I greeted him warmly as he approached the rooftop railing.

“You’re quick-witted. I thought you wouldn’t know.”

“You said anyone below B-rank isn’t an executive, right? So I can’t be dismissed.”

That’s right. Deokbae, still C-rank, wasn’t an executive. Deokbae understood the meaning behind my last words and came to find me separately like this.

Executives dismissed. Deokbae was just a small fry who sat in that position due to seniority.

“Your quick wit is S-rank. Is it thanks to the Spirit Stone?”

“Enough. Get to the point. …You’re going, aren’t you?”

I nodded. Deokbae pressed his temples as if he had a headache. I smiled and patted Deokbae’s shoulder.

“I’m just going to scout for a bit. Okay?”

“And you’re keeping it a secret that you’re going to Daejeon, where Gwanggeom is. Haa. Can you beat Gwanggeom?”

“Can I beat him?”

I pointed to the ground with my finger.

“There’s no one on this planet who can defeat me one-on-one.”

“I’m curious about the source of that baseless confidence, but let’s say there’s even a 1% chance you can defeat Gwanggeom. Then what will you do afterward?”

“Afterward?”

Deokbae nodded at my question.

“Would Japan and China just stand by? If Gwanggeom falls, they’d immediately dispatch the Round Table to New Seoul, wouldn’t they?”

“I don’t know about Japan, but China is a possibility.”

Fire Fist was hospitalized, and Seolhwa Princess gritted her teeth and entered training, but she suffered a humiliating defeat at my hands.

In fact, apart from Gwanggeom, their prestige has been significantly damaged. If Gwanggeom were to be killed in this situation, it’s no exaggeration to say that more than half of Korea’s hero forces would disappear.

“Those Chinese guys, even during the dimensional gate incident, they were camped out and waiting in the West Sea.”

And Japan and China would immediately come to swallow up Korea. The international community is already too chaotic to pay attention to the affairs of a small nation in the Far East.

Deokbae crossed his arms with a displeased expression.

“Didn’t we say to avoid the worst-case scenario?”

“It’s fine. We’ll just have to handle it together then.”

“Who? Cheon Gaeul and you?”

I shook my head.

“My kin.”

“…That Spirit? Hey, wait. Is there some kind of relationship between Gwanggeom and the Spirit?”

“Of course there is. Ah. A signal came.”

A mana wave resonated from far to the south. I stood on the rooftop railing and brushed off my hands.

“If anyone asks for me, tell them Phoenix went out for some night fun.”

Whoosh. My vision turned blue.

With a brief dizziness, I opened my eyes again on the hotel rooftop where the Mini Phoenix was hiding. I had transferred to the Mini Phoenix I had attached to Lee Giseong.

Vroom-!

Lee Giseong and the heroes left the hotel with a loud engine roar.

I quietly descended from the rooftop and hid myself in the forest.