Part 1, Chapter 8, 21

Before heading to Shanghai, Mao Zeping first rushed to where the Chairman was.

“Your Excellency! You’re bringing in the Round Table?!”

There was no knock. As soon as Mao Zeping opened the door, he shouted, suppressing his anger, and everyone in the room frowned.

“……You’ve arrived?”

The black-haired young man greeted Mao Zeping with a sturdy physique. His sharp eyes and confident face were not those of the frail young man he usually knew.

“Your… Excellency?”

“Yes, it is I.”

The young man, over 2 meters tall, looked down at Mao Zeping. Mao Zeping was dumbfounded to see the man, who used to be much smaller than him, looking down at him.

“W-what is this?”

“It’s nothing much.”

The young man gently smiled, tapping his ear.

“I can hear it too. The chirping of birds announcing a new morning.”

“Pardon?”

“Oh dear. You haven’t heard it, have you? How unfortunate.”

The young man’s eyes were full of pity and sympathy. And Mao Zeping noticed.

“Could it be… you’ve awakened?”

“I have awakened. I just hadn’t realized it. That’s why I truly don’t understand.”

The young man asked the ability user standing beside him.

“Are you saying you dislike this clear and crisp sound so much?”

“……If you hear it more than 10 times, your mind will change, Your Excellency.”

The white-haired woman smiled bitterly and shook her head.

“What in the world….”

“For your information, Your Excellency is A-rank. There are even test results indicating that you can rise to S-rank with just a little more growth. Both of them, in fact.”

“What did you say?”

Mao Zeping snatched the test results the woman offered and examined them. He was a dual-attribute wielder, having awakened both the rare Illusion attribute and the Fire attribute at once.

“This is absurd.”

“That’s not the problem right now, Director.”

The young man pointed to the Black Flame Dragon rampaging on the monitor.

“We need power to defeat that harmful dragon, but we don’t have it right now. Since Unjang has gone missing.”

The young man and the woman glared at Mao Zeping as if reprimanding him. Mao Zeping feigned composure and bowed his head.

“I don’t know what you mean, but I also don’t know Unjang’s whereabouts. I merely-“

“That’s why I was forced to request assistance from the association.”

“Pardon? What are you talking about? There was no contact with the Monster Management Bureau!”

As Mao Zeping raised his voice and argued, the young man, looking slightly intimidated, stepped back. And the woman blocked the young man’s front.

“An S-rank monster is targeting the capital. That’s why I came here myself to ask for help.”

The rabbit ears protruding from the woman’s head suddenly perked up.

“Let’s ask the Round Table for help. Isn’t there the strongest ability user conveniently nearby?”

“Th-this!”

Mao Zeping clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. The woman’s relaxed demeanor made it seem as if everything was already over.

“You damn rabbit-eared bitch…! Are you insulting me right now!”

“I apologize. I will accept any disciplinary action for bypassing procedures later.”

The woman twitched her ear and smiled victoriously.

“But isn’t it a hero’s basic duty to ignore such things and protect people?”

“Right.”

The young man cleared his trembling voice and picked up his smartphone.

“I, I personally requested it. To the Round Table.”

[Hello, Director-nim.]

Beyond the smartphone, a familiar blonde face appeared.

“You British bastard…!”

[At the leader’s request, the Round Table has decided to urgently dispatch a hero for the safety of the citizens. The closest hero available for dispatch, that is.]

“Th-this…!”

After personally eliminating Xiaolin, he still hadn’t found an S-rank talent suitable for the Round Table.

“It’s a shame. If Unjang had been here, the monster from Seoul wouldn’t have been able to rampage.”

The rabbit-eared woman twisted her lips and sneered.

Mao Zeping’s own plan led to his downfall.

* * *

Although there were two S-rank ability users in China besides Unjang, they were not as strong as Unjang.

Furthermore, they didn’t have the ability to even touch the Black Flame Dragon, a flying monster that freely soared through the sky.

Since Unjang had always taken charge of handling S-rank monsters, the two were not strong enough to fill Unjang’s void.

“Uwaaagh!”

“Save me!”

Heroes were burning in the dark blue flames. A water-attribute ability user hurriedly doused the fire with mana, but more than half of their mana had already been burned away.

“Don’t go near the flames! Your mana will burn!”

“But what are we supposed to do when flames are everywhere?!”

Infighting began among the heroes. The Black Flame Dragon leisurely flew through the sky, looking down at their confusion.

[The operation should be progressing soon.]

The Black Flame Dragon scanned its surroundings anxiously. The visibility was already dimming, and a considerable amount of time had passed since it had been toying with the heroes.

[Even if it’s an order, it’s boring.]

It was good to have reached S-rank, but once it started wielding that S-rank power, there were no worthy opponents. Neither in Dandong nor here in Beijing was there anyone who could defeat the Black Flame Dragon.

[Should I kill a few as an example?]

The heroes themselves would know best that the Black Flame Dragon was toying with them. But if it were to kill one or two as an example here, they too would rush in without letting their guard down.

[Or perhaps the civilian houses…. Hehehe.]

The Black Flame Dragon burst into laughter. And it recalled the role its master had given it.

– Cause a ruckus in Beijing and die a glorious death at the hands of a hero.

In short, it was no different from saying ‘buy time and then die,’ but the Black Flame Dragon obediently accepted the order.

[As expected, that person truly understands our hearts.]

For those who crave power, it’s natural to want to use that power. And it’s also natural to want to flaunt that power to their heart’s content.

[Truly, truly, it makes me want to trust and follow them for a lifetime.]

The Black Flame Dragon turned its head towards the sea.

Southeast. A cold chill could be felt from the sea. The Black Flame Dragon realized who the hero destined to kill it was.

[Right. All the Seoul Villains harbor one wish.]

The wish to defeat an S-rank hero in their own country. And now, the opponent is also one of the world’s strongest, having surpassed S-rank and reached the same stage as its master.

[Seok Harang, huh.]

Beyond the West Sea, a hero of the Round Table was flying in.

The Black Flame Dragon turned its direction.

* * *

“Oh, it’s started.”

As I gathered the information from the watch I had taken from Deokbae and put on my wrist, I couldn’t stop the triumphant thumping in my chest.

The third act of terrorism, dropping the Black Flame Dragon over Beijing, successfully drew Mao Zeping’s attention, and fortunately, the Round Table succeeded in creating a legitimate justification.

“Mothers’ meddling, I tell you.”

Instead of securing the Round Table’s cooperation, Anastasia wanted her daughter, Seok Harang, to perform spectacularly.

To also show that Seoul’s S-rank monsters were not a threat, I chose the Black Flame Dragon as the monster to confuse Mao Zeping’s vision.

‘He must be itching for a fight himself.’

Seok Harang wins by making a name for herself.

The Black Flame Dragon wins by fighting a strong opponent.

Anastasia wins by proudly watching her daughter’s performance from afar.

I win by being able to focus on the Chaos Illusion Dragon while Mao Zeping’s attention is diverted.

This plan, where only Mao Zeping suffered a loss, fortunately succeeded, and I had to refocus on the Chaos Illusion Dragon.

‘I thought they would flee north.’

They were fleeing south. The Emperor quickly located the Yellow Turban Rebels, and the Illusion Flame Spirits began their aerial pursuit. Based on the information they provided, I blocked their escape route.

“Aaaargh!”

The Chaos Illusion Dragon flinched the moment it saw me. I shook Deokbae vigorously with a bright face.

“Only five left now, huh?”

The Chaos Illusion Dragon, Xiaolin, and three other stragglers. The handsome young man standing right next to the Chaos Illusion Dragon seemed to be racking his brain, looking for an opportunity to escape.

“It’s no use. Your split was quickly discovered.”

“By what means, exactly?”

“You don’t need to know, do you?”

The Mini Phoenixes covering the sky are still providing me with vision. Although that vision sharing will end when evening comes, I can just catch them here.

“So, hide-and-seek ends here!”

I threw Deokbae. The stone club, blazing with blue flames, flew towards the Chaos Illusion Dragon.

“Hmph!”

Xiaolin retreated significantly, creating distance. Since the Chaos Illusion Dragon was clinging to Xiaolin without any will to walk on its own, Xiaolin couldn’t swing a weapon.

So, other monstrous humans had to block. The Sword Monstrous Human and the Guandao Monstrous Human, whom I had previously blown up one by one, extended their weapons forward to block Deokbae.

Kagagang!

“Kuh-huk!”

“Uwaaagh!”

The monstrous humans strained their arms until their veins bulged, countering Deokbae. As Deokbae had been thrown dozens of times already, the monstrous humans seemed to have become accustomed to parrying it.

“Ugh, blocked again, huh?”

Cracks began to appear in Deokbae, wedged between the sword and the guandao. I felt sorry and pathetic, wondering if Deokbae was going to die again, but the ensuing situation far exceeded my expectations.

Pasasak!!

The bumpy stone club burst. Sharp stone fragments pierced the monstrous humans’ entire bodies, and I admired the smoothly revealed club in between.

“It’s really become Deokbaebat now, hasn’t it?”

I pulled Deokbae back with mana. The stone club, polished as smoothly as a real baseball bat, was so sturdy it looked like it could hit consecutive home runs.

“Congratulations. You’re B-rank now.”

Though it was thanks to my diligent use. I swung Deokbae (baseball bat specification) horizontally a couple of times and took my stance.

“Then, new weapon test, here we go!”

Tak.

I kicked off the ground and ran. Two monstrous humans held their weapons and blocked my path.

“Go—!!”

I threw Deokbae again. The two monstrous humans seemed tired of my one-pattern attack, but they appeared tense at the newly evolved Deokbaebat.

“Haaaah!”

The two let out a battle cry and tried to block Deokbae. I scoffed at them and lightly clapped my hands once.

“Kwang!”

“What?!”

Deokbae heated up intensely. Deokbae became a bat-shaped bomb and exploded, and the monstrous human was engulfed in an even more powerful explosion than before.

Kuu——ung!

With an enormous explosion sound, a massive cloud of dust rose. I waved my hand to stir up a breeze, clearing the dust that blocked my view.

“As expected of B-rank. Its self-destruction is incredibly powerful too.”

I pushed through the smoke and picked up Deokbae’s core. Its color was noticeably darker than before, clear evidence that it had evolved to B-rank.

“What in the world do you consider your subordinates to be?”

The handsome young man’s voice came from beyond the dust cloud. So, his name was-

“Bonghyo?”

“Yes. I am Bonghyo, the Chaos Illusion Dragon-nim’s first monstrous human.”

Bonghyo glared at the core in my hand with a stern face. I tossed the core into the air like a toy and caught it, greeting him.

“Nice to meet you. I am the Azure Flame Phoenix.”

“No need for introductions. Explain yourself.”

Jjonggeut. My ears twitched on their own.

“What exactly are subordinates to you?”

“Something I can use however I want, whenever I want?”

In that sense, Deokbae is a very precious guinea pig. Wasn’t it thanks to his sacrifice that I could prove the theory that weaponized monstrous humans gain experience when used frequently?

“……It seems I can never understand you.”

Bonghyo’s expression twisted fiercely.

“If it were me, I would have done it differently. I would have fully trusted my subordinate’s abilities and entrusted everything to them!”

“Oh, but everything gets resolved when I step in. Think about it.”

I pointed at the monstrous humans lying on the ground with Deokbae.

“If he had stepped in, would he have been able to defeat them in one blow like this?”

“……You’re truly impossible to reason with.”

Bonghyo dropped his honorifics. Did it mean he didn’t need to show me respect?

“I’m on the same level as your master, no, even higher than him, you know?”

“What do I care? You’re not my master.”

“That’s true, but.”

Monstrous humans with different masters cannot give each other orders. If they could, when we fought earlier, I would have buried that battle-crazed murderer right away and taken Xiaolin from the Chaos Illusion Dragon.

“Heheh. You’re quite arrogant. What gives you the confidence to act like that?”

“Because I’m really good at this.”

Bonghyo pointed at his head and eyes, scoffing at me. I scoffed back at him, aiming Deokbae.

“Hmph. I think I know what you’re trying to say.”

“Want to guess?”

“You thought I liked to talk, and in the meantime, you secretly let Xiaolin escape, didn’t you?”

The smile on Bonghyo’s face cracked. It was a miscalculation if he thought I would fall for such a classic trick.

“The Illusion Flame Spirits are already chasing after them. Even if the Chaos Illusion Dragon possesses Xiaolin, it won’t do any good.”

“……I’ve been had.”

Bonghyo’s lips drooped. I approached Bonghyo, sharpening my fingernails and aiming them at his Adam’s apple.

“I’ll grant you a last wish, at least.”

“……The blue sky is dead, the yellow sky will rise. You damn bastard.”

“Puhuhu. Just like a Yellow Turban Rebel, indeed.”

If they wish to be bandits, there’s no choice but to purge them. I drew my hand horizontally, severing Bonghyo’s neck.

Denggeong.

A fountain of blood spurted, and Bonghyo’s body toppled forward. I twisted my body sideways, narrowly avoiding his falling form.

“Tsk.”

I had wasted time unnecessarily. I thought there might be something when he approached alone so solemnly, but it was just a trick to buy time.

“Emperor-nim. Where are the two of them?”

[I lost them.]

“Pardon?”

What was this? The Emperor’s subsequent voice shocked me.

[They threw themselves into the Yangtze River. The Chaos Illusion Dragon did.]