Part 1, Chapter 6 (17)

4:47 AM, Azure Syndicate Hideout.

It was a reconvening not long after disbanding, so they might have been annoyed, but given the circumstances, the executives’ faces were serious.

Shenyang. A major city in Manchuria, also known as Mukden, and where the Chinese Hero Association branch is located. It holds various geographical significances, but right now, its greatest importance was being ‘the closest major city to Pyongyang’.

“The director of the Monster Management Bureau, Mao Zeping, is a warmonger. He’s practically China’s top dog, moving even the Chairman according to his whims.”

Everyone listened intently to my explanation. High-level information that ordinary people naturally wouldn’t know-under the excuse of my future knowledge-poured out one after another.

“Unjang, Xiaolin is Mao Zeping’s illegitimate child. She was originally a daughter he had no intention of having, but Xiaolin’s birth mother secretly gave birth to her and tried to sell her to a political rival. When Mao Zeping found out, he immediately killed the birth mother and adopted Xiaolin as his daughter. Publicly, he couldn’t hide that Xiaolin was his daughter, but he did hide that she was an outstanding ability user, as she could face scrutiny from the party.”

“So that’s Unjang.”

Whether it was paternal affection or the ambition to acquire a talented individual, I couldn’t tell. His final moments occurred during a private meeting with Xiaolin, so as a player, I had no way of knowing.

“His dream is to unify the entire world under China. If he had been born in ancient times, he probably would have made a name for himself as a treacherous hero in a chaotic era.”

“That man declared an attack on Pyongyang…. He intends to take North Korea.”

I expressed my agreement with Haneulseong’s words.

“The Association will implicitly acknowledge it. That the country that conquers Pyongyang will become the owner of the former North Korean territory. What justification would they have to stop it? ‘It’s dangerous’? With Unjang leading the charge?”

“They failed in Korea, so what gives them such confidence?”

“It’s a human wave tactic. It’s not like they’re short on heroes.”

The number of heroes deployed in Shenyang is several times the number currently registered with the Korean Association. While Seoul also had that many ability users awaken, the heroes in Shenyang are all elite among elites, having been tempered through countless battles with monsters.

“They will succeed. 99%. The problem is, if that 1% chance, however slim, occurs, all 4,000 heroes could be annihilated. Even Unjang.”

As those who directly experienced the aftermath of the Pyongyang incident, they would know well how ferocious the monster Nucleon is.

Although the S-ranks deployed in Pyongyang died due to Gwanggeom Heo Yun-hwan’s rampage, Hwawon Kim Cheol-su, who was the strongest among them, was clearly killed by Nucleon.

As always, Beacon raised a hand, his face filled with worry.

“What happens if the Pyongyang monster awakens?”

“Since it’s awakening after several years, it’ll look for food, right? It’s probably eaten most of the available food near Pyongyang, so it’ll come down looking for the closest food.”

“Damn it. It’s Seoul.”

Everyone fell silent for a moment. Phantom asked me.

“Can’t you handle it alone?”

“I could handle it, but I can’t guarantee how far the aftermath of the battle would spread. Just know that it would be at least more severe than the Pyongyang incident.”

“So, we just have to pray that the 1% chance doesn’t happen?”

No one found it easy to voice an opinion.

So I recited what I had initially thought.

“Should I just bring out my main body and kill all the monsters and heroes?”

All the executives flinched. As expected, the reaction wasn’t good. However, if one didn’t consider the consequences, that was the fastest method.

“It’s already a monster that was shot down in the West Sea because of China. It wouldn’t be strange if it drifted through the sea and appeared near Pyongyang. If push comes to shove, I could even claim that I caught the Pyongyang monster and took its place.”

“…….”

All the executives were silent. None of them seemed particularly keen on killing heroes. I immediately added a caveat to my suggestion.

“…This is just to say that such a last resort exists. I don’t want to use it either. This is truly the last line of defense. So, please give me some good ideas.”

“…First, let’s clarify the conditions.”

Haneulseong spoke first.

“Is the Director’s biggest concern right now still the awakening of the Pyongyang monster?”

“Yes.”

Haneulseong asked the question, and I answered. Beacon quickly organized it, and Gungseong displayed it on the screen by typing.

“Then, second, do we absolutely have to kill the Chinese heroes?”

“No, we don’t. It would be good enough just to drive them away without killing them.”

Though from a different country, they weren’t villains but truly righteous warriors acting to eliminate the threat in Pyongyang and ensure the safety of citizens. There was no reason to kill them. The one manipulating them from behind, Mao Zeping, is the axis of evil within China.

“However, if they become a hindrance, I will kill them. Anyone who tries to awaken the monster will be killed immediately. …Even Unjang.”

“I understand your resolve. Then, finally. If we have to fight with the entire Azure Syndicate, can you take everyone to the north of Pyongyang right now?”

“The entire Azure Syndicate? That’s a bit vague. Just the executives? Or all the regular members too?”

Haneulseong turned his gaze to Beacon. The ball was now in Beacon’s court.

“I’ll limit it to just the executive staff. Including Blue Feather.”

“…So about 20 people. Yes, it’s possible. There are about two methods.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the executives looked at each other and nodded. I felt like I was being ostracized for a moment, wondering if a bond had formed between them without my knowledge.

Phantom pointed to the map, to the north of Pyongyang.

“Then how about making the battlefield here? They’ll be coming down by land from Shenyang, right? So instead of fighting in Pyongyang, couldn’t we fight north of Pyongyang?”

“Even if there are 4,000 people, if they run like hell, they’ll all arrive within at least an hour. Two hours at most.”

Architect pointed to the distance on the map with his hand. Just as New Seoul’s heroes would descend to Busan, Shenyang’s Chinese heroes would also quickly begin their southward advance. They would likely try to settle the score before the chaos caused by Moby Dick in Korea subsided.

Beacon released his hand from his chin and drew the Chinese heroes’ movement path.

“They’ll move along the land route. They wouldn’t bother crossing mountains when there are existing roads.”

“Then where do they go?”

“Sinuiju. It’s probably there,”

In the past, it was where the bridge connecting China and North Korea stood. The northwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula where the Amnok River flows. Haneulseong pointed to that place.

“We can set up camp and wait here. Director, how long would it take to get here?”

“I could make a round trip in 5 minutes at full power, but…. Just a moment, just a moment.”

I clapped my hands, drawing their attention. The executives, who had been exchanging glances and talking amongst themselves, turned their attention back to me.

“Hasn’t something big suddenly been omitted in the middle? Why are we talking under the premise that we’ll all fight together? It’s just a hypothesis, a hypothesis.”

“We’re going to fight anyway. So we should fight too.”

Deokbae said gruffly. The other executives were subtly agreeing with him. Only Yooishin blinked awkwardly. Deokbae crossed his arms and continued.

“To stop a mass murderer who’s worried about that 1% and wants to annihilate all 4,000 people, shouldn’t we at least step up? If you really do that, you’ll just struggle alone with the aftermath and cause more trouble, won’t you? I can’t handle that kind of future.”

As soon as Deokbae finished speaking, Beacon immediately continued.

“Even if the Azure Syndicate’s human forces are insufficient, don’t we have monsters? We can create monsters with the cubes you, Director-nim, brought from Daejeon, and I will command them. Fortunately, China has no S-ranks besides Unjang.”

“…Oh, really?”

I hadn’t known that. I had been so focused on Korean affairs that I hadn’t considered international matters, and it was difficult to grasp details about past events not covered in the original work.

After resurrecting Cheon Gaeul as a monstrous human and killing Gwanggeom, I had decided to pay as little attention to the original work as possible, but a mistake popped up due to information different from the original.

I decided to grasp foreign affairs later, but for now, I had to understand what I didn’t know.

“……Do you happen to know the current strength of the Chinese heroes?”

“I don’t know the details. However, if we assume those 4,000 people are heroes registered at the Shenyang branch….”

“20 A-ranks and 120 B-ranks. The rest are all C-ranks or D-ranks.”

“Crazy bastards. They’re going to attack Pyongyang with just that?”

Oops. I spoke out of turn. I cleared my throat.

“…….”

“……It’s surprising to hear the Director curse.”

“I do curse sometimes, you know?”

I merely maintain my dignity as the Director, as Phoenix. I cleared my throat again, drawing their attention.

“Alright. That level of strength isn’t too difficult. I alone could quickly-“

“Director.”

Phantom shook his head. It was quite unusual for Phantom, for Cheon Gaeul, to call me ‘Director’.

“We can fight too. Why are you trying to fight alone again?”

“That’s right. Haven’t we been hunting the remaining monsters in Seoul for a day like today? I believe our strength has already been proven by conquering the snake in the city hall.”

“…Just consider Unjang separately. Let’s say Unjang and I fight 1:1. Then you all would have to face 4,000 with less than twenty people.”

“Instead, we can die and be resurrected.”

Haneulseong pointed to the monstrous humans and shrugged.

“It’s impossible for humans like me or Architect, but couldn’t the Director just resurrect the monstrous humans?”

“Right. As long as we protect the Core well, you can resurrect us. And think carefully about the forces here. Phantom is quasi-S-rank, right? The rest are all A-rank and B-rank. Except for that rock-headed C-rank.”

Architect pointed a finger and chuckled. Deokbae, with an uncomfortable expression, held out his hand to me.

“Give me the Spirit Stone. I’ll turn into a Fire Giant and rampage as an A-rank.”

“……No, what if your Core gets damaged by mistake?”

“Hey. Don’t get it twisted.”

Phantom shot me a glare. A hint of annoyance was visible in his eyes through the mask.

“No matter how much stronger you are than us, if you die, we all die. Not to mention the monstrous humans, even Haneulseong and Architect will die.”

“If Phantom dies, Cheongsong will revive, and then the 60,000 citizens of Seoul will also be dead.”

“So, the person who needs to be most careful here is Director-nim. Not us.”

I wanted to refute them, but I couldn’t. I let out a hollow laugh at the monstrous humans showing such resolute will.

“Are you that itching for a fight?”

“Oh my. You’re mistaken to an absurd degree. Are we going to fight right now because we want to?”

“…We’re going to save the lives of 4,000 Chinese heroes, aren’t we?”

“And besides, this isn’t anything new.”

Deokbae raised his index finger and wagged it left and right.

“Just like we interfered with the Seoul Reclamation Operation, couldn’t we just obstruct them in the same way?”

I was speechless. I tilted my head back and raised both hands.

“…Beacon.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll mark Unjang, so plan the battlefield and tactics.”

I conjured a flame in front of Beacon. The flame turned into text, and several phrases gathered to form a simple summary table. Beacon pushed up his sunglasses and asked.

“Director-nim, what is this?”

“This is a simple summary of the current strength of the Azure Syndicate executives present here. I’ve disregarded everything else and only assessed individual combat power. Please note that the quasi-S or quasi-A ranks you mentioned have a ‘+’ attached next to them.”

The executives gathered next to Beacon and checked the list. I also double-checked, wondering if I had miscalculated anything.

Azure Syndicate

Phoenix – Human Form: S+

Phoenix – Monstrous Human Form: SS+

Jo Deokbae: C (Fire Giant A)

Beacon Kim Ji-hwa: B

Phantom Cheon Gaeul: A+

Haneulseong Ryu Cheon-seong: A+

Architect James Lee: A

Gungseong Yooishin: A

“….Gwanggeom is currently with Eun Yuha in Busan, so he’s out of the question. The remaining insufficient forces can be filled with Hellhounds or Blue Feather.”

The executives were silent for a moment. Beacon pulled out a pen and began to quickly organize something.

“Um….”

Yooishin cautiously raised a hand. I nodded, telling him to speak.

“Blue Feather also has a former A-rank, Cheolpyo. More importantly, as an A-rank, the Captain-nim also-“

“Just a moment.”

Phantom raised a hand, stopping Yooishin.

“You’re not suggesting we call that man, are you? Shouldn’t there be at least one person to guard Mapo Bridge?”

“……No, let’s take him. It’s already been proven that he’s sufficient as a force.”

Haneulseong opposed Phantom’s opinion, and Architect chimed in.

“Right! If all the Blue Feather members go, how would the Captain feel being left alone in Seoul?”

“…It seems the human members wish for the Captain to leave Seoul right now?”

At Yooishin’s remark, the human executives cleared their throats. I quickly caught on to the strange atmosphere and grinned.

“Yooishin.”

“Y-yes?!”

“Go to Mapo Bridge right now and call that man.”

“……Yes!”

Yooishin left through the door with a dizzy expression. I stood up from my seat and pointed to my watch.

“The current time is 4:57. We’ll gather on the rooftop at exactly 5:05 and depart.”

All the executives stood up.

“Alright, everyone, prepare yourselves. Let’s all work together to prevent that 1% chance from happening.”

* * *

5:01 AM, Mapo Bridge.

“Captain!”

Yooishin stopped in the middle of the bridge, breathing heavily from expending mana.

“What’s wrong?”

The man, clad entirely in black from head to toe, asked with melancholy eyes. He was precariously standing on the railing inscribed with suicide prevention messages. Yooishin swallowed hard and barely managed to utter what he needed to say.

“The God seeks you.”

“…!”

Life returned to the man’s eyes. The man, who immediately jumped down from the railing onto the road, grabbed Yooishin’s shoulders and shook him, his vertically slit eyes gleaming.

“What is the reason for seeking me?”

“…They say they will stop the Chinese heroes advancing south from beyond Pyongyang. All the monstrous humans are deploying-“

“Not monstrous humans. Remember that we are Apostles of God.”

“…Yes.”

This man had a problem. After becoming a monstrous human, he usually maintained his original personality, but whenever he was involved with Phoenix, whom he revered as a ‘God,’ he was prone to rampaging like this.

The man removed the black glove from his left hand. The left hand revealed beneath the glove was wrapped in white bandages.

“Has the time finally come to unseal this left hand?”

“…Please, couldn’t you not go that far? Even I can’t handle that.”

“…? The power bestowed by God is here, so why not?”

The man retorted with a genuinely bewildered expression. Yooishin’s vision went dark.

Black Flame Dragon Gwak Yong-woo. A. – (New!)