Part 1, Chapter 8, 22

Before Bonghyo’s head was taken by Phoenix.

The Hwanryongdan fled from Phoenix but were pursued by Phoenix’s ghost army, and the monstrous humans who stepped forward to block their path one by one became Cores.

Convinced that they would be caught at this rate, Bonghyo chose an extreme method.

“Xiaolin. We will buy time. Go to this place in the meantime.”

Bonghyo tore his clothes and wrote characters in blood. The silk garment revealed an address written in blood.

“Brother. This place is…?”

“Yes. It’s where Musin’s corpse lies. And Master, no. Liege.”

Bonghyo grabbed Hondonhwanryong’s hand and earnestly pleaded with him.

“My Liege, you must become the bait.”

“……Me?”

Hondonhwanryong was immediately frightened. The heat from the pursuing Phoenix was so intense that even though it was night and the sun had set, it was as muggy as daytime.

“Yes. While Xiaolin retrieves Musin’s corpse, my Liege must escape alone.”

“M-me, escape alone?”

“Yes.”

Bonghyo said with a resolute face and bowed his head.

“I apologize. I told you that my Liege wouldn’t have to do anything, but this time is different.”

“But Xiaolin is here…! Xiaolin can just take me and run!”

“Unfortunately, my Liege. …Xiaolin will be caught if she runs with dead weight.”

Hondonhwanryong was shocked by Bonghyo’s scathing remark. His whole body trembled at being called dead weight by the man who had spoken as if he would give his liver and gall for him.

“How could you…?”

“Xiaolin. I will send the signal. Then immediately take my Liege to the river.”

“The river?”

“The Janggang.”

Bonghyo revealed his plan.

“My Liege, you must escape along the river. Follow the Janggang all the way until it flows into the sea. Xiaolin, you must seize the corpse in Shanghai and go upstream. And then meet in the middle.”

“That’s reckless.”

“But this is the only way.”

Bonghyo swallowed dryly and closed his eyes.

“My Liege. I apologize. But you must understand this.”

Bonghyo left his last words to Hondonhwanryong.

“If there is no one left by your side, then it will be time for you to do something yourself.”

And then Phoenix descended upon them. Bonghyo and the monstrous humans blocked Phoenix’s path, and Xiaolin took Hondonhwanryong and ran southeast.

“……I see it.”

Xiaolin stopped right in front of a cliff. Hondonhwanryong stubbornly shook his head and refused, but Xiaolin set him down on the ground and bowed her waist.

“Thank you for resurrecting me, who was killed by my father. My Liege. If I were a little stronger, I could repay this grace, but I still lack power. Therefore, my Liege must possess Musin.”

“Can’t you just take me with you…?”

Hondonhwanryong crawled on the ground and grabbed Xiaolin’s leg. It seemed like a desperate plea for her to take him, but Xiaolin mercilessly shook off Hondonhwanryong’s hand and shook her head.

“I apologize. I will be back soon.”

*Thwack!*

Xiaolin kicked off the cliff and leaped high. Her light-foot technique, powered by the overflowing mana of a monstrous human, surpassed subsonic speeds. Hondonhwanryong’s gray hair fluttered in the powerful sonic boom Xiaolin left behind as she departed.

“……In the end, I’m alone again.”

Hondonhwanryong got up and trudged towards the edge of the cliff. The vast Janggang, wide enough to be mistaken for the sea, came into view. If he had just looked at it, it would have been a magnificent sight, but now it didn’t register at all.

‘It’s annoying to run away, should I just take the hit…?’

Since they had cleared up their deep misunderstanding, Azure Flame Phoenix probably wouldn’t try to kill him completely. He could feel her anger and hatred, enough to want to kill him at times, but at the same time, he also felt her consideration and care for Hondonhwanryong.

Love-hate.

At the very least, she wouldn’t kill him.

“But it’s scary….”

It was the first time Azure Flame Phoenix had expressed her emotions so strongly. Whether it was the influence of brainwashing or a change of heart after coming to this world, Azure Flame Phoenix expressed her feelings without filter.

If Azhdahak had gotten angry, he would have just laughed it off. But it was terrifying for Hondonhwanryong to deal with her, who never usually got angry, rushing at him with murderous rage.

She obsessively fixated on his male organ and crushed it. Hondonhwanryong’s entire body trembled at the fear of her inserting that enormous club inside him and stirring it around.

*Ding ding ding*

“H-eek?!”

The horrible ghost songs rang out. The Hwan-yeomnyeong pursuing him quickly located Hondonhwanryong and began to surround him.

*Ding ding ding ding ding ding.*

“Stop…! Stop!”

He felt like he was going to get a nervous breakdown. Hondonhwanryong clutched his heart and looked down at the river.

River. Water.

“……That’s it!”

Snowy Night’s Rusalka. He had to find her. Cross the Janggang, possess Musin’s body that Xiaolin would bring, find Snowy Night’s Rusalka, and make her confront Azure Flame Phoenix. Then he could just sit back and enjoy the show, eating rice cakes and having fun.

“No matter what, I have to go east…!”

In the end, Bonghyo had given him a precise path to the very end before leaving. Hondonhwanryong hardened his resolve.

“……I’ll definitely find you and resurrect you.”

For a life where he wouldn’t have to do anything.

Hondonhwanryong leaped into the waters of the Janggang.

***

“What’s their current location?”

[I put the Hwan-yeomnyeong in the water, but it was useless. Nothing was visible. If they keep hiding in the water, we won’t be able to find them.]

“Understood. Please continue the search for now, Emperor-nim.”

[Understood.]

I gave instructions to the Black Scorpion monstrous human, then briefly set Deokbae down on the ground and pondered.

“It seems like they’ve gained a little motivation….”

But the direction of that motivation seemed to be all wrong. I was very disappointed that the phenomenon of Hondonhwanryong himself hardening his strong will had not yet occurred.

“Still lacking will, will.”

Hondonhwanryong currently lacked desperation. He didn’t have the protagonist’s urgency to defeat Seongju within the remaining three minutes until world destruction, nor did he have my desperation to escape Seongju’s brainwashing beam and maintain his ego to survive until the end.

“In the end, he’s probably just going to give up without doing anything.”

If it doesn’t work, then so be it. So, let’s quit. Since he’s going to quit anyway, let’s just not do anything.

-It’ll just hurt again if I try anyway. So, I might as well not do it from the start. Yeah, let’s not do anything. Because I don’t want to get hurt.

Fear of failure. That was his true feeling that I heard on Hondonhwanryong’s route. So, I would firmly fix Hondonhwanryong’s mental state.

“Because you only learn to ride a bicycle well after falling many times.”

To boost Hondonhwanryong’s will, I completed the final preparations.

“Jo Deokbae!”

“Yeah.”

Deokbae returned to his monstrous human form and shrugged. His complexion was a little closer to human, and his skin, which had been rough with rocks, shone like polished marble. His head also shone.

“From now on, I’m going to prepare for the final battle. Join up with Emperor-nim and escape via the planned route.”

“Got it. That… whatchamacallit.”

Deokbae scratched his shiny head.

“……Ah, just do what you want.”

Deokbae put on the watch I threw him and disappeared to the north. I couldn’t tell what he wanted to say, but a hollow laugh escaped me for no reason.

“Is he crazy….”

He seemed to be crazy indeed. He definitely went crazy after evolving to B-grade.

“……Ah, damn it, I was just getting into the mood.”

It was all because Deokbae’s head was shiny. I composed myself and spread my wings of flame.

“All conditions cleared.”

I forcibly woke Hondonhwanryong, who was sleeping, and made him get up on his own. Since I had stimulated his dormant emotions, he would now pour out his true feelings with just a little more stimulus.

I stimulated his emotions and made him confess his secret himself. Now he no longer hid the fact that he was a Spirit.

Now all that remained was to possess a strong will.

And the power that gives one that will is love.

‘But that doesn’t necessarily mean only romantic love, does it?’

I hoped my thoughts were right, and spread my wings towards the Janggang.

***

Hondonhwanryong swam through the water, following the current. His speed was faster than when he ran on land.

*Brrr.*

Hondonhwanryong swam at full speed in the water in his spiritual form. The monsters hiding in the river at intervals noticed Hondonhwanryong’s aura and, startled, moved out of his way, allowing Hondonhwanryong to easily rush towards the mouth of the Janggang.

‘But how far does this go…?’

Bonghyo had said it was a river. He said he just had to keep running until the sea appeared, so the distance wouldn’t be too far.

‘But I feel like I’ve been swimming for over 20 minutes already.’

When he started moving in earnest in his spiritual form, he was surprisingly fast. Due to the characteristic of moving by expelling mana, Hondonhwanryong was essentially racing along the Janggang as if it were a track in a racing game.

Fortunately, the Hwan-yeomnyeong no longer pursued him. Although they were also spiritual beings like Hondonhwanryong, they seemed unable to directly enter the water as they were beings born from Phoenix.

‘Anyway, let’s keep going.’

Just as he was getting annoyed with this wide and long river, Phoenix must also be struggling to find him. Hondonhwanryong ran through the water, sweating profusely.

“……Sweat?”

It wasn’t sweat. It was impossible for a spiritual body to sweat. But it was clear that the water temperature was steadily rising as he followed the river.

“No way…!”

Hondonhwanryong screamed and stopped in his tracks. But Hondonhwanryong had already emerged from the water.

“Oh no…!”

Hondonhwanryong hadn’t come out on his own. Hondonhwanryong had continued to move along the river at the same height and speed. It was simply that the river itself had receded, causing Hondonhwanryong to emerge from the water. Hondonhwanryong raised his head at the sight of the area, which was as bright as day.

[I was waiting.]

There, Phoenix, in her monstrous human form, stood with only her index finger raised, a large orb resting on its tip. Hondonhwanryong bit his lip and materialized.

“Sotaeyang…!”

[It’s true that I’m weaker at night than during the day. In that case, I just need to change it to day for a moment.]

Phoenix tossed the orb on her finger high into the sky. The brightly glowing Sotaeyang illuminated the area below Phoenix as if it were the actual sun.

[Then the stage is set. Hondonhwanryong. Are you ready?]

“W-wait! If you’re angry, just say it! You bad bitch!”

Hondonhwanryong shrieked and floated into the air.

“Why are you so hell-bent on devouring me?! We both know we’re Spirits, so why don’t we just live our own lives without fighting each other anymore?!”

[Oh. No.]

Phoenix clenched and unclenched her fist, then spread her arms wide. The flames beneath her armor blazed more fiercely than ever.

[We can only survive if we defeat Seongju and then the true evil behind him. We don’t have much time left.]

“So you go and work hard! I told you! If I meet Seongju, I’ll spread my legs for him myself! Do you think you’d be any different?!”

[I will ensure that doesn’t happen. By killing you.]

“What…?”

Phoenix lied. To make Hondonhwanryong waver.

[The method to break free from the constraints of a subordinate is simple. By killing another subordinate and absorbing their power. Seongju is truly a vicious being. It’s a very malicious method.]

“Lies. That can’t be.”

Phoenix lied. To make Hondonhwanryong fall for the lies Phoenix carelessly uttered.

[That’s why I’ve already killed one.]

Phoenix pulled out a white butterfly badge from inside her armor. Hondonhwanryong turned pale at the abundant Spirit aura he felt from it.

“Rusal…ka?”

[I killed her. And made her my subordinate. Yes, a monstrous human.]

“You’re crazy.”

[Yes. I am crazy.]

Phoenix snapped her fingers. Blue wings of flame unfurled behind her back.

[How could one survive in this trashy world without going crazy?]

Phoenix pointed to the Cores hanging in clusters beneath her wing feathers. Hondonhwanryong’s vision was blurry due to the shimmering heat haze rising from all directions, but he could accurately grasp their number.

It was the same number as the remaining Hwanryongdan monstrous humans, excluding Xiaolin.

“Hey!!”

[Even monstrous humans will now become mine. But I don’t need these kinds of monstrous humans.]

Phoenix grabbed one of the Cores with her hand.

*Crunch. Crunch.*

“Y-you, what are you doing?!”

[What. Am I not disposing of them? Useless monstrous humans. You just watch from there.]

*Crunch, crunch, Smash!*

Phoenix clenched her fist and crushed the Core. Hondonhwanryong’s mouth fell open, and Phoenix let the powdered Core flow into the Janggang below.

“You crazy bitch! Why are you doing that as you please-“

[Why are you getting angry?]

Phoenix shrugged.

[Are they not mere humans? Are they not just slaves who prepare a good bed for you? Then why not just make better ones into monstrous humans?]

“Don’t judge as you please! Those are my monstrous humans!”

[Then you shouldn’t have left them lying around. Who do you think caused them to be caught by me?]

*Smash! Smash!*

Each time Phoenix snapped her fingers, a Core shattered. Hondonhwanryong was dumbfounded as he watched the Cores scatter into dust. Phoenix raised her index finger and pointed at Hondonhwanryong.

[Weren’t they the ones who ended up like this protecting you?]

*Smash, Crash, Smaaaash!*

The Cores caused a chain explosion. Phoenix picked up the last Core amidst the scattering dust.

[He was the most troublesome one.]

“You-“

*Smash!*

Phoenix shattered all the Cores without further ado. Phoenix set the Core dust on fire and annihilated it all.

[Now then….]

“Aaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

Hondonhwanryong clutched his head and screamed. Phoenix clenched and unclenched her fist, then spoke softly.

[Why are you so angry? It’s all because you didn’t do anything anyway. Just stay still now. Don’t do anything, and I’ll kill you-]

Aaaaaaaaaaah!!!

Gray mana began to boil over from Hondonhwanryong’s body. Phoenix distanced herself, avoiding the gathering storm.

[Yes. I was waiting.]

Rampage. The moment a subordinate goes berserk in monstrous form. Phoenix rubbed her palms together and twisted the corner of her mouth.

[Come on. I’ll bury you in the Janggang with your subordinates.]

*Rooooar!!*

A giant beast of illusionary mana roared. Phoenix also gathered her mana and clashed with full force.