Part 1 Chapter 6 (22)

5:50 AM, Amnok River.

“Heroes, disperse immediately! Otherwise, I’ll bury you all right here!”

Phantom infused mana into his voice and shouted at the riverbank. His vocal power, honed by his acting career, echoed across the river, halting the heroes’ advance. A hero with a yellow headband swung his axe and pointed a finger.

“Cowardly bastards! Do you not possess righteousness and chivalry?!”

“That’s right! How can you, fellow ability users, not only fail to capture monsters but also manipulate them to pursue personal gain?!”

“Awaken!”

“Awaken!”

“Awaken! Awaken! Awaken!”

The heroes simultaneously raised their fists and chanted a unified slogan. Though it couldn’t have been prepared beforehand, hundreds of heroes shouted in unison as if they had practiced. Phantom’s momentum, which had been shouting in front of hundreds, faltered.

I placed my right hand on Phantom’s shoulder, defending him. With my left hand, I wrapped around Unjang’s waist, ready to stab him at any moment.

[If you can’t do it alone, I will.]

“That doesn’t seem like a good idea. You’re in your monstrous human form precisely so you don’t reveal yourself, aren’t you?”

[But at this rate, won’t they cross over soon?]

I pointed my chin at the heroes across the river. The heroes who had rushed from Shenyang looked menacing, as if they would cross the river at any moment.

If there hadn’t been hostages, they probably would have filled the river with people. Phantom scratched his head, annoyed.

“Ah, seriously. It seems the hostage isn’t working?”

[It can’t be helped. The Round Table must have been contacted by now.]

The smartwatch on Xiaolin’s left hand was sending an emergency rescue signal.

When a Round Table hero faced a dangerous situation, the signal requesting rescue from the nearest Round Table member was clearly accepted by another nearby Round Table hero. Could it be that Round Table member from Russia, or perhaps Jilpungek, who might have stopped by Japan?

Whoever came would only become a second hostage. Just like Unjang now.

“Hey. You try acting like a hostage too. Cry mournfully.”

Phantom poked Red Hare’s belly with a Tentacle. Red Hare, whose mana armor had been released, leaving him virtually naked, cried mournfully, his two legs tightly bound by Tentacles.

Heeheehing, Hiiing.

“Can’t you cry more violently?”

The Tentacle whipped Red Hare’s back like a lash. Red Hare cried out loudly, even shedding tears of sorrow. I secretly sent mana only to Red Hare, so Phantom wouldn’t hear.

[……Are you enjoying this, right now?]

“……Hiiing.”

Red Hare, shedding tears, was clearly smiling. It was a bit shocking to discover this hidden side of Red Hare, who in Xiaolin’s route had somehow helped Xiaolin escape and then met a tragic death.

That damn stallion was definitely a perverted bastard. I relayed that information directly to Phantom, and Phantom began to beat Red Hare even more vigorously.

“What?! You like being beaten like that? Then cry louder, you pig-like horse!”

Heeheeheeiiing—!

At Red Hare’s scream, which sounded like a mix of crying and laughing, the Chinese heroes flinched. Regardless of the process, the heroes were unable to cross the river. I quickly scanned the riverbank from left to right.

[There must be at least four hundred here.]

If the first enemies who had just emerged from the nest were a motley crew, then the four hundred determined fighters currently before them were mostly A-rank or B-rank.

[I misjudged. They didn’t hastily gather heroes from around the branch. Most of them are A-rank. Most of the 400.]

“What?!”

Phantom’s eyes widened under his mask. It was a world of difference from the strength Beacon had assessed beforehand.

“So they were prepared from the start?”

[They must have been waiting for an opportunity to advance south at any time.]

Even if Moby Dick hadn’t appeared, the Chinese heroes would have advanced south in response to a similar incident. Moby Dick merely provided a good excuse for the Chinese heroes-and Mao Zeping, who was manipulating them from behind.

“Then what do we do? If there are so many A-ranks, it’s like an S-rank force.”

[Fortunately, there are no S-ranks. …It can’t be helped. We have no choice but to use our last resort.]

I quietly conveyed my intentions to Phantom. Phantom’s face immediately paled, then he sighed and bit his lip.

“Don’t you dare try to use such a despicable strategy on me again.”

[Is it okay to make someone else do it?]

Phantom’s lips curled upwards. I took Unjang with both hands and walked towards the riverbank, while Phantom climbed onto a streetlamp on the bridge and shouted again.

“I’ll count to three! If you don’t retreat a hundred steps while I count to three-“

The heroes’ gazes focused on Phantom. I subtly tore the front of Unjang’s uniform over his abdomen.

찌직. Unjang’s white belly was revealed. The heroes across the river widened their eyes at the smooth, muscle-less abdomen. Phantom clicked his tongue in response and shouted again.

“Not only Unjang’s identity, but also his naked body will be broadcast live to the entire world!”

On the scales of the mana dragon in the sky, Beacon was diligently filming the video.

* * *

At that moment, above Khabarovsk, Oracle’s private jet.

“Ahahaha! Aren’t those guys crazy?!”

Oracle stuffed a handful of fries into his mouth. Gawain was restlessly monitoring the private jet’s flight speed.

“Can’t we fly faster? At this rate, Xiaolin-yang’s body is going to be broadcast live to the whole world!”

“…Captain. I’ll tell you something, just you.”

Oracle opened the lid of the soda can. With the fizzing sound, Oracle gazed at the screen with melancholy eyes.

“Will it really just end with nudity?”

“What?!”

Oracle picked up a fry, shoved it into the soda can’s opening, then pulled it out.

“Those bastards would probably publicly r*pe-“

“Is there nothing that brat can’t say?”

A white hand slapped the back of Oracle’s head. The greatly shaken soda can wobbled, soaking Oracle’s clothes entirely. Gawain brightened at the woman’s appearance.

“Undine?! How did you get here?”

“I roughly calculated the incoming flight path and teleported.”

“Th-that kind of dangerous thing?! What if you had gotten caught in the private jet?!”

“Then he’d die even faster than his prophecy. Hey, you brazen brat.”

Undine shook Oracle’s shoulder, who had frozen after spilling the cola. Oracle’s pants were soaked with cola, as if he had wet himself. Oracle, trembling, turned his head and cursed profusely.

“What the Son of-“

“Oracle.”

Undine’s expression was colder than ever. Oracle gulped.

“Wh-why?”

“Gwanggeom Heo Yun-hwan’s death. You said it happened much earlier than your prophecy, didn’t you?”

“…Uh, yeah. He was supposed to die about 5 years later. Around the year of the Day of Ruin?”

“…….”

Undine sipped her vodka, lost in thought. Undine’s attitude was so serious that even Gawain revealed his true colors.

“Do you have any suspicions?”

“There is one, but it’s such a terrible possibility that I don’t even want to think about it.”

Undine openly frowned. Gawain also furrowed his brow at the fact that she, who was called the ‘Ice Witch’ within the Round Table for never changing her expression, was now showing one.

“Is it serious?”

“Very serious. Extremely. The world could end right now.”

Undine pointed at the flame monstrous human who had torn Unjang’s clothes. Gawain also hardened his expression.

“The one presumed to have killed Gwanggeom….”

“An ability user not in the prophecy.”

Oracle continued Gawain’s sentence. Oracle had countless reasonable suspicions that the monstrous human might be the culprit behind the numerous monstrous birds appearing in his dreams. Undine pointed at the speedometer.

“Oracle. Can’t you fly faster?”

“…We’ve already greatly exceeded maximum speed. If we go any faster, the engine will overheat.”

“Tch, then I’ll go first-“

“No. Let’s all go together.”

Gawain stood up from the co-pilot’s seat. Oracle’s face turned pale.

“Captain, you’re not planning anything strange, are you?”

“Haha, of course not. I’m just choosing the best way to go fast without overheating the engine.”

Gawain stood in front of the airplane door. Oracle quickly opened the door, and Undine grabbed onto the pilot’s seat.

Thump! Gawain launched himself to the side of the airplane. On the external camera, Gawain crawled along the airplane like a leech, reaching the tail. Undine, even capping the vodka she was drinking, asked Oracle.

“You’re not actually going to do *that*, are you?”

“Hey, Ice Tag. Quickly sit here and buckle up.”

Undine quickly sat in the co-pilot’s seat and buckled her belt, and Oracle also hastily shoved the fries into the storage compartment. Gawain’s face appeared on the screen.

[Here we go!]

With Gawain’s signal, the airplane’s speed began to accelerate. The engine’s status remained the same, but the forward speed was clearly much faster than before.

“……Is that how all the world’s strongest are?”

“Don’t ask me.”

Oracle silently calculated the estimated arrival time. Approximately 10 minutes later, they would arrive at the monster ‘nest’ on the Amnok River, their destination. Oracle relayed that information to Gawain.

[Understood! Then let’s fly even faster!]

“Ah, no! Don’t! You can go slowly!”

[Isn’t Unjang’s chastity in danger?!]

Gawain smiled refreshingly and unleashed even more mana. The airplane soared through the sky like an arrow, propelled by the mana from its core engine and the reddish-gold mana.

Gawain was flying behind the airplane, pushing it through the sky.

* * *

“Two! Hey! What are you guys doing?! Aren’t you going to retreat right now?!”

Phantom yelled at the top of his lungs. I used my nails to tear a long rip down the side of the uniform. Unjang’s legs were fully exposed through the torn fabric.

“……Ahem.”

The heroes each cleared their throats uncomfortably. I thought, ‘Surely not,’ then my eyes met Red Hare’s. Red Hare kept sticking his tongue out and pushing it to the side. It was disgusting to watch.

“Just do it!”

Phantom got annoyed. I subtly lifted Xiaolin’s uniform.

[Like this?]

His mid-thigh was exposed. As Xiaolin’s white skin, reflected in my flames, was revealed, the heroes, conversely, took another step forward.

Splash! One hero fell into the river. I grabbed the uniform and ripped it off completely. And I was certain.

[This is having the opposite effect.]

“W-we don’t take orders from anyone!”

“We are the spokespeople for the will of the people, who have risen up on their own!”

“Unjang-nim would surely say! ‘Don’t mind my body, just show your resolve’!!”

The heroes, with fury in their eyes, leaped into the river. It was unclear whether it was chivalry to save Unjang, or the birthplace of a desire to intentionally jump into the river and see Unjang’s naked body up close, even for a moment.

[But since you’ve crossed the river, I must keep my promise.]

I raised my hand high into the sky and snapped my fingers. With a sound like two steel pieces clashing, the Mini Phoenixes from the nest flew up over the river, and the Black Flame Dragon truly began to fly across the river and rampage.

Kwoaaah! The Black Flame Dragon landed on the ground and spewed breath from its mouth. The heroes, even if rotten, were still good enough to easily evade the breath and began to intercept the Black Flame Dragon. The Black Flame Dragon lashed its tail in a fit of rage, but it only managed to send two or three heroes flying.

[It possesses S-rank power, but its essence is A-rank. It can’t be helped until it adapts.]

“Hey. The hostage situation failed, so how long are you going to keep holding him?”

Phantom pointed at Unjang, whom I was holding. His smiling expression gave me an odd, chilling feeling, so I wrapped mana around Unjang’s body. The mana stretched out like a cloak, covering Unjang’s naked body.

[I need to keep Unjang asleep. It’s too dangerous for him to personally enter the battlefield.]

“So you mean you’ll stay in the rear?”

The Blue Feathers riding on the Black Flame Dragon’s back leaped off and began to seriously engage the heroes. They were outnumbered and at a disadvantage in combat power, but this side had infinitely resurrecting lives.

[The Mini Phoenixes will collect the Cores and bring them to me. I plan to resurrect them immediately.]

“So what’s your real intention?”

[An SS+ won’t gain experience by catching B-ranks. I can’t grow any further here, so it’s better for you guys to awaken through combat experience.]

“Your words are really flowery.”

Flame giants appeared on the riverbank, kicking heroes, and fire arrows rained down from the sky. The monstrous humans used their abilities to fight the heroes as if their lives depended on it. Phantom knocked down a hero who had crossed the river, right next to the nest, with a Tentacle.

“Let’s say we deal with these guys. Will you fight again then?”

[Of course. But it won’t take long either.]

I took a moment to check the war situation in Busan. Seok Harang had achieved mental growth with great ease, becoming a true SS-rank, and was collecting numerous A-rank Cores from Anisakis.

‘It’s quite unexpected that Jilpungek came here.’

I couldn’t understand what possessed that wanderer, who would later roam the world freely without caring for his younger sibling, to join the Moby Dick subjugation.

‘Then who received Xiaolin’s call?’

Someone must have received the signal automatically sent by Unjang’s smartwatch. It couldn’t be Jilpungek, as he was rampaging in Busan, so I racked my brain, wondering if it was that Russian hero.

‘I don’t really remember anything about him other than him being a water-attribute ability user.’

He was only mentioned once in passing in the Fenrir route. Fenrir, who awoke in Northern Europe, immediately went on a rampage because he was hungry, ate a Round Table hero who came from Moscow, and then fell back asleep.

‘It doesn’t matter if it’s him or Jilpungek. The Round Table will come anyway.’

Holding Xiaolin like a doll and leaning against the nest, I returned only my hand to human form and neatly arranged Xiaolin’s hair. Xiaolin was sleeping soundly, unaware that my hand was messily tousling his hair.

[Aren’t you curious who will come to save you? Will it be Saladin, or Geronimo?]

It didn’t particularly matter who came. As long as it wasn’t Gawain, that taste terrorist, anyone else was fine. I sent a Mini Phoenix to knock out a hero Phantom had missed, then leaned Xiaolin against a tree and stood up.

[They’re coming.]

A massive mana signature was felt from the northeast. There were no less than three of them. Among them, the familiar mana signature made me double-check if I had felt it wrong.

[……?]

I had definitely felt it wrong. My reason made that judgment. But my senses insisted that what they had felt was not mistaken.

[A Spirit in the Round Table…?]

That couldn’t be. Even if a Spirit awoke from its slumber and opened its eyes, it was impossible for it to break free from the Seongju’s brainwashing on its own. Therefore, if the aura of an executive was felt, that would be an understandable situation, but that pure mana signature was clearly that of a Spirit.

[What is it, really?]

I was confused. Someone like Gawain, flying in the distance while pushing an airplane, wasn’t important right now.

Shaaa. A woman who had dropped from the airplane gently landed in front of me, scattering ice dust. The platinum-haired woman’s skin was smooth, as if she had just entered adulthood. And that typical Western beauty type strangely resembled Seok Harang.

No. Seok Harang resembled this woman. I tried to hide my agitation and asked the woman who had appeared before me.

[Why are you appearing here?]

The woman snorted with an expressionless face. Next to the woman, Gawain, who had fallen from the sky, straightened his posture and stood up.

“Undine! It’s dangerous!”

“It’s fine. She’s an acquaintance.”

[But I don’t know you.]

The woman gave me an eerie smile. That smile held the cunningness of a water ghost in a river, just before it snatches the leg of someone who has fallen into the water.

“For now, I am . A hero belonging to the Round Table, and Anastasia of the Russian Vladimir family. Vladimir R. Anastasia.”

[That’s not what’s important.]

I became flustered without realizing it. I had thought things I didn’t know would eventually pop up, but I truly never imagined they would appear in this place, in this manner.

“Yes. That’s not what’s important.”

The woman uncapped the vodka and took a sip. Even with alcohol that made one’s insides churn just by looking at it, the woman’s complexion remained unchanged. I inhaled sharply at the Spirit’s aura I felt from the woman.

[How are you alive?]

“……I’d like to ask you that myself. I don’t know how you woke up, or why someone who lives so self-importantly would associate with mere humans, but.”

The woman thrust a sharp ice spear at me and glared with cold eyes.

“You’re the trash who killed my husband, aren’t you? You filthy tattletale.”

[…It seems a long conversation will be necessary.]

I never imagined I would meet someone I had never encountered in the original work, like this.

[It’s good to meet you, for now. Rusalka.]

“The pleasure is mine.”

The woman, Vladimir ‘Rusalka’ Anastasia, unfolded a mana Barrier.