Part 1 Chapter 6 (18)

5:02 AM, Azure Syndicate Hideout Rooftop.

The executives scattered to prepare for battle. With all the monstrous humans, except Ryu Cheon-seong of Haneulseong and Architect James, deciding to join the fight, Phoenix was the first to climb onto the rooftop, perching on the railing and gazing up at the night sky.

“Moping around by yourself again.”

Deokbae, who had somehow made his way onto the rooftop, stood beside Phoenix. Phoenix was about to snap at Deokbae but swallowed her dissatisfaction with an inhale. Deokbae looked down at the Han River in the early morning and spoke with feigned innocence.

“Why? Did I say something wrong?”

“Can’t you see I was deep in thought by myself just now?”

“So, the best outcome you thought of by yourself was annihilation?”

“…….”

Phoenix completely shut her mouth. Seeing her refusal to talk, Deokbae twisted his lips and sneered.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“…What are you talking about?”

Phoenix, with her lips pouting, seemed somehow sulky. Deokbae, without any thought of comforting Phoenix or pretending to be considerate, spoke his mind without reservation.

“You deliberately made yourself out to be the bad guy and blocked off the options. If you set that as the last resort, do you think people would have agreed to it? They’d try to step up and fix things somehow, just like now.”

“…You told me not to mess things up before.”

“What you’re doing right now is messing things up. What are you doing after raising all these executives?”

At Deokbae’s words, Phoenix looked up at him with an expressionless face.

“Even if you say I’m nothing but a nobody without that Spirit Stone, the monstrous humans you created aren’t ordinary ability users. Even A-ranks get scouted by other countries, you know? Do you think they’re children?”

“…They were famous people from the start, weren’t they? But-“

“Are monstrous humans your action figures? Why are you trying to protect them so much?”

Deokbae scratched his head. Phoenix still looked up at Deokbae without saying a word.

“You said they can revive if their Core is alive. So even if you drive the monstrous humans into a death trap, can’t you just recover their Cores? They’ve all died once anyway, so what’s the difference if they die again? Unless you don’t revive them. Don’t you know that if you save something too much, it becomes useless?”

“…….”

“Even if you assume those Feather guys are marked by you and Cheon Gaeul and are forced to follow, do you think the others are following because of that order? They all have their own thoughts, which is why they trust you and work under you. If the leader keeps acting so pathetic-“

“Ugh, fine, I get it.”

Phoenix raised both hands.

“Surrender. I surrender. I was too complacent regarding all you grown adults. Action figures, huh…. Right. I admit it. I was thinking only of myself again.”

“…If you suddenly admit it like that, I feel a bit awkward, you know? What’s gotten into you?”

Phoenix fiddled with her veil and smiled.

“I’ve decided to adapt to the situation and reality. At first, I just struggled to try and do everything by myself, but thanks to all of you, my thoughts have changed a bit.”

Phoenix clenched and unclenched her hand.

“You know, they say two heads are better than one, even with a blank sheet of paper. In that sense, thank you, Jo Deokbae-ssi.”

“Ugh. Why are you acting so creepy? Are you crazy?”

Deokbae flinched and recoiled from Phoenix, who subtly raised the corner of her lips.

“I turned you into a monstrous human that day without thinking, but you’ve been quite helpful in many ways. As a guinea pig, as a fighting force. Though your fighting force isn’t much help. Fuhuhu!”

“Hey. Hand over the Spirit Stone right now.”

“Sorry. This isn’t yours, nim.”

While Phoenix and Deokbae bickered, monstrous humans began to appear on the rooftop one by one.

Beacon Kim Ji-hwa, Phantom Cheon Gaeul. And the monstrous humans of Blue Feather, including Archer Yooishin. And finally, the man in the black suit who came up last had a white bandage wrapped around his left arm.

“…….”

The man immediately approached Phoenix and knelt. On the man’s collar was the Blue Feather tattoo, which was etched into the necks of the monstrous humans called Dullahan.

Black Flame Dragon Kwak Yong-woo. He, who was also the leader of the Blue Feather, stepped onto the hideout’s rooftop, having left Mapo Bridge.

“I heard you were looking for me.”

“Yes. There’s a role for you to play.”

“Please give your command.”

Although he had become much calmer after becoming a monstrous human, his nature and sensibility had not disappeared somewhere. The monstrous humans averted their gazes one by one, and Phoenix extended her hand towards the man’s crown. A Spirit Stone was held in Phoenix’s hand.

“I need you to become a monster with this.”

“Understood.”

“……?”

Phoenix’s hand paused. The other executives’ expressions also turned ugly. Deokbae’s expression, in particular, was a sight to behold. Phoenix quickly lowered her hand and met Black Flame Dragon’s gaze.

“No. What do you mean, accepting it so easily? You’re supposed to react with ‘What?’, ‘Me?’, ‘A monster?’ so I can say, ‘Yes! A monster, you see…’ and then explain further!”

“What? Me? A monster? Is this how I should react?”

“Aaaaargh!!”

Phoenix tore at her hair. Black Flame Dragon had absolutely no intention of messing with Phoenix. He was genuinely trying to understand and obey Phoenix’s words, and that drove Phoenix even crazier. Phantom cleared her throat and quickly interjected.

“Alright, what’s this ‘monster’ thing again?”

“Ahem. It’s simple. It’s about making a monstrous human into a higher-tier monster by making their Core go berserk. The Spirit Stone is the means to do that.”

“…That’s possible?”

To Deokbae’s skeptical face, Phoenix put her other hand into her pocket, pulled out the cube inside, and shook it.

“What can’t be done with these two? Originally, I was going to transfer it to my main body, but-“

“Rejected. Didn’t you fight Unjang with your main body once? There’s a risk of being discovered. You’re already fighting Chinese heroes, and they’ll find out you’re alive. All the Round Table members will flock here.”

“-as Gaeul-ssi said, it’s become a bit difficult for me to bring out my main body. So, this is the second method.”

Phoenix held the cube in one hand and placed the other hand, holding the Spirit Stone, on Black Flame Dragon’s crown. Black Flame Dragon remained silent.

“I don’t know what kind of monster you’ll become, depending on your ability, Core, and potential. However, since my will and mana will be infused, you’ll likely become a ‘bird-type monster with fast flight capabilities’.”

“Are there any side effects?”

Yooishin asked, gripping his bow tightly. Although others might call him a Phoenix fanatic, to Yooishin, Phoenix was a grateful superior who, as the leader of the Blue Feather, treated the former heroes of the Pine Tree Unit without discrimination, calling them ‘those equally blessed by divine grace’.

“As for side effects… you won’t be able to return to human form until you yourself advance to the next stage? Since Black Flame Dragon is A-rank and a monster would be S-rank, you won’t be able to change back freely unless you awaken yourself. Like this.”

Phoenix changed her form. It was only for a moment, but the Pine Tree Unit-especially Iron Mark Park Seong-tae-flinched in surprise at her monstrous human form.

[If you cannot reach S-rank, you may shed your human form and live your entire life as a monster. Can you bear that?]

“If that is how I become stronger, I will gladly accept the trials of the gods.”

At Black Flame Dragon’s calm words, Phoenix changed back to her human form. Her expression was somehow apologetic yet proud.

“You really won’t regret it, will you? This is your last chance. It’s not too late, so make your final choice-.”

“I have no regrets. Since the gods have bestowed their grace upon me, it is only right that I follow it. And….”

The man, a Villain who was called Black Flame Dragon in his former life, raised his head.

“I want to become stronger. Even if it means transcending humanity.”

“…Then, as you wish.”

Phoenix wrapped flames around her hand. Black Flame Dragon’s body was soon engulfed in blue flames.

* * *

[5:00 AM, Hero Association New Seoul Branch.]

“Move it, move it! Heroes in Busan, follow orders and stop the monsters along the coastline!”

Yoo Young-ho moved the dots on the screen, deploying them along various points of the coastline. He arranged the heroes primarily in areas where monsters could relatively easily cross over towards residential areas, even among the ice walls created by Seok Harang.

Where gaps appeared, they would cooperate with the military to stop them and buy time. Then, heroes departing from Seoul would arrive to finish the job.

“Cruise location?!”

“34.9, 129.3! Currently heading north towards Busan!”

A passenger ship departing from Osaka happened to pass Tsushima Island in this dangerous situation. With it being dangerous to dock at Tsushima Island and difficult to head directly to Busan, the captain seemed to have chosen to go to Busan.

“Keep trying to contact them! Keep going until you get a signal!”

“Yes, sir!”

[This is Seolhwa Princess!]

On one side of the screen, Seok Harang’s screen appeared. Her mana reaction was at its peak, as if she was using her mana at full power.

[At the current location, my Ultimate Skill-]

“Stop!”

Yoo Young-ho cut Harang off and glanced at the map. Calculating the cruise’s location and speed, and Moby Dick’s movement path in his head, Yoo Young-ho instantly assessed the danger to the cruise. Yoo Young-ho displayed a screen informing Harang of the passenger ship’s situation and instructed her on the ship’s rescue.

“I’m sorry. But there’s no one else who can move right now besides you!”

Harang, startled, exchanged words with Yoo Young-ho for only a moment. Harang immediately followed Yoo Young-ho’s instructions, creating a path of ice in the air and flying towards the cruise.

“Whew.”

Yoo Young-ho let out a sigh of relief. Since he had sent Seolhwa Princess, it was now time for follow-up measures.

“Fire Fist, Sam-sa, right now-“

“Abnormal reaction in Seoul!”

At the operator’s scream, Yoo Young-ho gripped the ballpoint pen he was holding. The plastic pen barrel broke, and Yoo Young-ho immediately brought up the Seoul screen.

“Monster reaction in Yeouido! …S-rank! It’s S-rank!”

“What?! Suddenly?!”

Yoo Young-ho bit his lip. Should he have left Fire Fist in New Seoul? He never imagined that an S-rank monster would suddenly appear without any warning, especially in the heart of Seoul-even in Yeouido.

“Connecting satellite footage!”

Satellite images appeared on the screen. In the middle of dark Seoul, there was a gigantic Demonic Dragon emitting blue flames from its entire body. As if a dragon from Western legends had manifested, it raised its head and spewed blue flames from its mouth, flaunting its majesty.

Yoo Young-ho thought. Unlike the Fire Dragon that appeared from the dimensional gate in Gwanak, that black dragon was truly a ‘Demonic Dragon (魔龍)’ .

Kyaooooooh—-!!

As the Demonic Dragon roared towards the sky, noise began to appear in the satellite footage. The powerful mana waves emitted by the Demonic Dragon quickly caused the video to go blank.

However, before the video disappeared, the blue flames emitted by the Demonic Dragon gave some hint of its identity.

“Following the Dullahan, those blue flames again…!”

One of the strange phenomena appearing in Seoul, which had become a demon realm after the dimensional gate opened. Just as the Hellhound’s revival was, and as the Dullahans were, this time an S-rank monster suddenly appeared.

‘Has the snake from the city hall, which they said was killed, revived?’

Yoo Young-ho slammed his fist on the desk and shouted.

“Turn the cameras towards Gyeonggi Province! Contact Seoul residents immediately! Evacuate-“

“The S-rank monster is taking flight!”

The Demonic Dragon soared into the sky. The Demonic Dragon, nearly 40m in length, glided gracefully through Seoul’s dawn sky, setting its course.

North.

“What?”

Before Yoo Young-ho could even react in surprise, the Demonic Dragon stretched its wings straight towards the north. Soon, it sprayed blue flames from its wings like jet engines and rapidly disappeared towards the north.

“…….”

[Wh-what’s happening?!]

Jang Hu-jeong, the Minister of the Monster Countermeasures Department, startled, looked for Yoo Young-ho.

They had even dispatched Fire Fist Lee Seung-hyung to Busan in preparation for the danger there, so it was only natural to be surprised when an S-rank monster alarm suddenly rang in Seoul as well. Yoo Young-ho tried to calmly explain the situation.

“An S-rank monster has appeared in Seoul-“

[Then what’s the possibility of it coming to New Seoul?!]

Yoo Young-ho, cut off mid-sentence, frowned.

“Isn’t the evacuation of Seoul residents the priority?”

[B-but what if, just what if! Seoul has 60,000, but this place has millions!]

“…It went north!”

Yoo Young-ho turned the screen with annoyance. In that short time, the S-rank monster had already passed Kaesong and was heading towards Pyongyang.

‘Could it be aiming for Pyongyang?’

No sooner had that thought crossed their minds than the monster passed Pyongyang and headed even further north. Everyone in the situation room had the same thought.

“…Why?”

For a moment, the question arose: what on earth was in the north that it was rushing there so urgently?

Bwoooooooom—! Moby Dick let out a ship’s horn sound and appeared on the water’s surface. As the alarm signaling an emergency blared, the operator turned her head to another screen, revealing that the stern of the cruise had been severely torn off by something.

“Damn it! First, deal with Moby Dick right in front of us! You, keep an eye on the S-rank in Seoul! Report if it looks like it’s going to make a U-turn!”

“Yes, sir!”

Yoo Young-ho gritted his teeth and focused all his attention on Busan. For now, he had no choice but to concentrate on the situation in Busan.

Please, let it keep going north and cause havoc in China.

Yoo Young-ho earnestly prayed to a god he didn’t even believe in.