32. Black God Cult (2)

* * *

This tiny child is the one who opens gates.

In the original story, the reason Choi Si-woo struggled so much against what should’ve been just a handful of Black God Cult members was precisely because of this golden-haired brat.

Every time the Black God Cult caused trouble, they’d use this kid to escape, leaving Choi Si-woo helpless.

“What are the conditions for you to open a gate?”

“I can teleport to any place I’ve been to before.”

So it automatically gets recorded in her memory once she visits a place.

The Black God Cult really raised something useful.

I don’t remember her name. She’s apparently an experimental subject secretly raised by the cult’s executives. Her abilities are limited-she’s essentially just a dimensional gate device for transportation.

With this ability, it wouldn’t be impossible to unleash monsters in Seoul.

“So you can teleport indefinitely?”

“Hmm, it’s a bit different. I need miasma.”

“The cost must be astronomical depending on the distance.”

It can’t require the same amount of mana every time.

“Yes.”

“What about the distance between Songdo and Hanseong Academy?”

“I can do it twice a day.”

That means she can make two round trips to the academy daily. Not bad.

“You’re a monster, aren’t you?”

If she manipulates miasma, that means she’s a monster.

“Yes. This ability came after I became a monster.”

“So with mana stones, you could theoretically do it infinitely?”

Mana stones-known as pure crystallized mana. Monsters can consume them to restore their miasma.

Miasma and mana are essentially two sides of the same coin, so the theory holds. Unlike normal people, only monsters can restore miasma by consuming mana stones.

“Yes. But mana stones are hard to come by here.”

“I’ll get you mana stones. Then you’ll do it for me?”

“Yes, Azhidahaka-nim.”

Easy enough.

I went outside and gathered the miasma concentrated around the church, crystallizing it.

I produced several high-purity mana stones.

When I showed them to the golden-haired brat, her eyes sparkled.

“Is this enough?”

“More than enough.”

“From now on, you’re my personal shuttle. I could fly, but I’d rather not waste time on tedious things.”

If Yoo Jin-seok finds out, I’ll definitely be barred from crossing the Wall.

“Understood.”

“Your name… since you open gates… Hmm. Let’s call you Kate.”

She looks like a stray from the West, so Kate seems fitting.

As soon as we arrived in Songdo, I absorbed all the miasma and turned it into mana stones.

I could’ve absorbed it all, but I can’t handle that much right now.

Besides, these mana stones are useful for making money. Sure, cores are valuable too, but mana stones are worth more than the cores of monsters even civilians could kill if they risked their lives.

With recent research applications, demand has skyrocketed.

When I summoned a few executives and showed them the mana stones, even they blinked in surprise.

“Can we sell these? We need capital to get anything done.”

“That’s… easier said than done.”

One of the executives muttered awkwardly.

“Explain. How have you been funding yourselves until now?”

“The quarantine zone was abandoned by the government, so there’s no shortage of valuables to use as capital.”

Makes sense. In all that chaos, no one would bother hauling stuff back to Seoul.

That’s why some idiots online secretly organize expeditions into the quarantine zone.

Most never return.

They either die from miasma exposure or get killed by monsters-one or the other.

Even I wouldn’t let trespassers encroach on my territory.

“So you’re saying there’s no market for mana stones.”

“Yes. The quarantine zone is a dog-eat-dog world.”

Literally the law of the jungle-stealing, killing, surviving like ancient tribes.

At least with me here, the Black God Cult’s situation should improve.

Since I’ve purified Songdo’s miasma, civilians could live here safely. We can gather survivors hiding in the quarantine zone.

“Monsters don’t need to eat to survive, so things are slightly better, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll take the mana stones to Seoul and sell them myself.”

I happen to know a buyer.

The heir of Cheonsan Group-Lee Yu-jeong’s older sister, Lee Yu-jin. In the original, she was brainwashed into handing over an Ancient Relic to villains, but she’s no pushover.

She’s been scheming behind the scenes with mana stone ventures.

That’s why she secretly made contact with villains.

“Then tell us what we should do next, Azhidahaka-nim.”

Hmm, what should I have them do?

Ah, delegating tedious tasks sounds good.

“Start relocating nearby civilians to Songdo.”

“Understood, Azhidahaka-nim. What about the villains?”

Right. The villains are the problem. Ideally, I’d make them work under me.

If I’m going to throw them into the fight against China, I need to keep as many alive as possible.

At least the quarantine zone villains are weak-thankfully.

“Try negotiating first. If things turn violent, contact me through magical comms. I’ll handle the rest.”

“Understood, Azhidahaka-nim.”

“And ‘Azhidahaka-nim’ is too long. Shorten it.”

“Azi-nim.”

Azi-nim? Sounds like a pet name. Annoying.

“Sounds like a dog’s name. Dahaka-nim is better.”

“Understood, Dahaka-nim.”

“Store the mana stones in a warehouse.”

“We’ll fill a room with them.”

I should probably report my findings to the Association, so delivering a few mana stones would be wise.

But first, there’s something else I need to do.

On my way back to Seoul, I stopped by Onsu Station.

Currently, it’s the Black Dragon Society’s base. I need to crush them before they expand into Seoul.

I already took the Ancient Relic, but you never know.

“By the way, why didn’t you mention the Black Dragon Society earlier?”

[The Black Dragon Society was marked as enemies from the beginning, Master.]

Akashic Records knows just what to say.

The Black Dragon Society’s headquarters was no different from a Black God Cult church.

They’ve repurposed a gas station building and a few shipping containers.

I decided to go in guns blazing.

“Hello? Anybody home? Konnichiwa? Nihao?”

“Who the hell are you?”

“The grim reaper here to kill you all~.”

The Black Dragon Society’s grunts burst out laughing.

Understandable. A lone nun claiming to be the grim reaper?

“You think you can take us all on alone?”

“We might be nobodies, but you think one bounty hunter can take us down? Even real hunters would struggle.”

“She’s top-tier. Let’s have some fun before selling or killing her.”

They seem more interested in capturing me than killing me, slowly advancing with fists raised.

They should’ve brought guns. Idiots.

Not even worth using White Flame.

A single spoonful of Chaos will do.

*Flick!*

I lightly flicked my fingers, planting Chaos into their heads.

“What the hell, you crazy b-“

*Slash!*

The boss had his throat slit by his own subordinate’s sword.

This is the kind of thrill I live for.

Watching them underestimate me as a woman, only to stab each other in the back moments later-never gets old.

“What the fuck are you doing, moron?!”

“Were you working with her?! Gah-!”

“Told you. I’m the grim reaper.”

The Black Dragon Society isn’t large, but they’d make decent assets.

But I can’t just let human traffickers and rapist murderers run free.

With this, I’ve eliminated one of the original villain factions.

Causality or whatever-doesn’t matter. Anything in my way dies.

“M-Monster!”

“Oh my. Hardly words I’d expect from human traffickers and murderers.”

A few surviving villains, heavily injured, begged for mercy.

“P-Please spare me.”

“Heh heh heh.”

It’s been a while since I felt this exhilaration. Seems I never fully abandoned my old self.

But I’m not without mercy.

Smirking, I raised my foot over the villain clinging to my ankle.

*Crunch!*

* * *

Korea Hunter Association

Association President Choi Cheol-sik sighed at Jung Na-yoon’s report.

“So. Run that by me again. My old brain’s slow on the uptake.”

Either his brain or his ears must be failing.

And for good reason. A temporary hunter-a former cadet-crossed the Wall and returned within hours, bringing back high-purity mana stones and eliminating villains. Even for Yoo Eun-ha, locating mana stones and the Black Dragon Society without detection equipment should be impossible.

The quarantine zone has been uncharted for years. And she mapped it all in hours?

Unbelievable.

He expected it to take days-if she returned at all.

“To summarize: Hanseong Academy cadet and temporary hunter Yoo Eun-ha went to Incheon, mined mana stones, stopped by Onsu Station on her way back, and eliminated the Black Dragon Society.”

“You’re… serious?”

“Are you deaf in your old age? Yes, that’s what happened. She even purified the miasma the Black Dragon Society spread and marked the coordinates.”

When Jung Na-yoon snapped at him, Choi Cheol-sik lowered his head.

This is just bullying the elderly.

Back in his prime, he was the undying hero who slaughtered monsters with Solar Fist. Now he’s being scolded by Jung Na-yoon, who’s eyeing his position.

Still, Choi Cheol-sik had something to say.

“The Black Dragon Society aside-this makes no sense. Mana stones? Why weren’t they discovered before?”

“Who knows? Maybe the scouts pocketed them and reported nothing to the Association.”

It’s possible.

Risking their lives out there, only to hand everything over to the Association? Of course they’d skim.

But even so, how did no traces surface until now?

Well, it’s not impossible to find. Purifying and condensing miasma creates mana stones-but the cost is prohibitive.

Choi Cheol-sik strained his aged brain and finally reached a conclusion.

‘Only Yoo Eun-ha could pull this off.’

And so, Yoo Eun-ha gained another believer.

“Hmm. In that case, Han Jung-seok might support the quarantine zone purification project now.”

“She might’ve just gotten lucky-Incheon, for instance. Should we report this to the President?”

“No. Let’s avoid another pointless argument.”

Han Jung-seok is Choi Cheol-sik’s rival-their opinions never align. Better to draw a line than bicker.

“Understood.”

“Keep this from Yoo Jin-seok. Bring the mana stones. We’ll have the Association’s research facility examine them.”

“Understood.”

If Yoo Jin-seok finds out his little sister went to the quarantine zone, retrieved mana stones, and eliminated villains-all hell will break loose.