Ch.124124. Anxious Waiting

[3 days ago]

Deokmin Yu was eating something in the darkness. Even he didn’t know what it was.

He was just insanely hungry and wanted to eat, that’s all.

[Don’t eat… Don’t eat…]

A familiar voice echoed. But Deokmin ate anyway.

Because he was hungry, because he had to.

But the more he ate, the voice came not from his ears but from inside his head.

‘What was I doing?’

When Deokmin came to his senses, his surroundings were stained with blood.

As his vision cleared, he saw what he had been eating.

“Aaaaargh!”

It was Gangsu Min, who was now weakly mumbling.

Suddenly, a massive snake was looking down at him.

“Uaaaaargh!”

It wore a golden crown on its head and was covered with steel-like scales that were almost metallic. Two fangs protruded like tusks.

And above all, it was enormous.

With Deokmin’s knowledge, second only to Jonghyun Do’s, there was no doubt this was a Mahanaga.

It was just too massive.

‘Wasn’t a Mahanaga about 25 meters long? This is…’

Four times, no, five times that size. Its thickness and size were beyond numerical comparison.

While Mahanagas varied in size, this one was exceptionally enormous.

[Interesting experiment. Even though it’s merely a trace of my cells.]

“Huh…?”

His knees trembled as the Mahanaga looked at him.

He wet himself and tears flowed. Just from being looked at.

[What a clumsy one. You provided some entertainment, but that’s all. Why should I lend you my power?]

“W-w-what are you saying?”

[Of course, my power now is incomparable to when I faced that cursed woman. But you’re still far from reaching the monsters of the ‘ancient’ era. Close, but not yet.]

“…”

Deokmin realized then that this monster wasn’t talking to him.

[But it’s interesting. Not just a lowly inferior monster, but a ‘chimera’ gathering those with my cells. Yes. The more my cells gather, the closer they come to me. But a handful is nowhere near enough. What? So you called me for that? Bold girl. If we weren’t on friendly terms, I would have killed you long ago.]

The Mahanaga glared at Deokmin.

[But thanks to humans, I can return to my ancient power faster, so I’ll repay that much. But only this once. Don’t use my body in this way again. That should only happen when I myself have the will to do so.]

At that moment, green poison spread everywhere. Deokmin lost consciousness as if being intoxicated by it.

Deokmin finally woke up, gasping for breath and drenched in sweat.

“Huk! Huk! Huhuk!”

“Finally awake, I see.”

A warm voice was heard.

As soon as he woke up, Deokmin could see Serin Eun.

“In-Instructor?”

“Honestly, I was scared because Mahanaga can interfere with the mind. But it worked out, didn’t it? Honestly, since the Monster Suppression Unit has helped you, shouldn’t you help them too? Anyway, the experiment was a success.”

“What are you talking about? Why am I here?”

Deokmin was dumbfounded. He should have been dead. Serin answered with just a smile on her lips.

“You confessed to Ariel, got angry, and turned into a monster, right? Then you died miserably.”

“If I died, how…?”

“Mahanaga’s cells can interfere with the mind. Plus, you’ve already become one with Mahanaga’s cells. I gathered the cells together and revived that consciousness. Since Mahanaga lives on in its cells anyway, I thought if we combined specimens to make them stronger, we could meet it.”

Using Mahanaga’s corpse to become a monster? Deokmin was shocked.

“That… red powder…”

“That’s right. It was made by grinding up Mahanaga. You ate it without knowing? Surely you didn’t think that eating away at your body to increase your abilities was real? How pathetic.”

Deokmin became even more confused amid Serin’s mockery.

Was this Serin looking at him and sneering? Serin was connected to the red powder? Moreover, this wasn’t the kind and beautiful Serin he knew.

“Who… are you?”

“I’m an academy instructor and a researcher for the Monster Suppression Unit. By the way, this facility is one of the Monster Suppression Unit’s underground bases. It’s been a while since I’ve been here. You’ve been suspecting me so much.”

“Monster Suppression Unit? You were with them?”

“Yes.”

Such a cheerful laugh. Deokmin was too shocked to speak.

“Anyway, now that it’s proven through experiment, you won’t bother me for a while. To be honest, I was skeptical. I didn’t know the real one would come even if the cells reacted. Literally an experiment. Thanks to that, you survived. By eating Gangsu Min.”

“G-Gangsu? Gangsu is…”

“You ate him up. I kept combining you with the cells of consumers, including Gangsu Min’s. In other words, it was a question of whose mind would represent the combined subjects, and you won. It didn’t matter who it was.”

Deokmin looked at Serin in shock. Her smiling attitude had no warmth whatsoever. Just the pleasure of looking at a product.

Deokmin, enraged, lunged at Serin.

Normally, he shouldn’t be a match for her. But Deokmin rushed at her with surprising agility, even to himself.

“Ouch!”

Serin fell to the floor with Deokmin standing over her.

“What have you done? What have you…! You bitch!”

“You wanted power. Isn’t this what you wanted?”

Serin’s sneering face was truly that of a villainess and incredibly alluring.

Deokmin, filled with rage, was about to put his hand on Serin’s chest when—

“Really? Since you have power, do as you please…”

“Aaaaargh!”

But soon, Deokmin contorted in pain. His arm was somehow being ‘decomposed.’

‘Who is it?’

Surprised, Deokmin turned around to see a child who looked younger than elementary school age.

But its face was extremely difficult to recognize as human. A hideous appearance that seemed like it had some disease.

This child with a reptilian-like face was glaring at him.

As the child used magic, another piece of Deokmin’s arm flew off.

“Ugh… ah…”

“Stop!”

At Serin’s voice, the child was startled.

[Mommy… Mommy…]

Shockingly, this strange creature was calling Serin “mommy.”

Deokmin was horrified to see his arm regenerating despite the pain.

‘My body?’

“It’s Mahanaga’s power. You’re lucky. Mahanaga is basically snake-shaped, but it can transform into whatever it absorbs. Thanks to that regenerative ability, it can become anything. Understand? As thanks for saving your life, I’d like you to serve loyally. If you move carelessly, who knows how this child will change.”

[Mommy…! I did well! I did well!]

The child clung to Serin’s legs and glared at Deokmin.

“And please don’t make me use this. I let it slide earlier because it was a somewhat expected pattern.”

Serin pulled out a remote with a strange button.

“What is that?”

“It’s an explosive device attached to your heart. No, not your heart anymore, but Mahanaga’s core. I put it in because I thought this might happen.”

“You trash…”

Deokmin realized that Serin possessed two powers to control him.

“Anyway, I need to submit an experiment report to the Monster Suppression Unit, so shall we do some tests?”

“Shut up! I’m going to kill Jonghyun Do! Ariel too…”

“Do as you please.”

Serin snorted.

“But there’s one condition. Don’t kill Jonghyun Do at your ‘first meeting.’ That’s all you need to follow. Ariel is none of my business.”

“Why?”

“He’s an interesting subject. You might understand when you see him.”

Serin was also curious about what would happen if Jonghyun Do faced a life-threatening crisis in his human state.

“Just don’t do anything unnecessary. If you disobey, you’ll die too, kiddo.”

If Deokmin just followed her orders, she could achieve all the results she wanted quite meaningfully.

In the end, Deokmin listened to her because he didn’t want to die again.

Serin said that to kill someone out of personal revenge, one needed to avoid interference.

That’s why hostages were needed, and why she told him to use a high-grade gate as a hideout.

Deokmin prepared a gate with the cooperation of the Monster Suppression Unit and monsters, and attacked Jonghyun Do.

And now, the time was approaching to meet Ariel, another object of his love and hatred.

*

Serin Eun met Sunghee Jo again. More precisely, Sunghee had come to coach Ariel.

‘Well, she is the one who caught Mahanaga.’

It made sense.

Moreover, Ariel was a top-priority agent connected to the Magician Guild.

In a very tight timeframe, Sunghee passed on her information and knowledge to Ariel.

It was truly a heartwarming teacher-student relationship to witness.

Serin even recalled old memories.

‘Enough. More importantly, reassuring the Monster Suppression Unit now will make things easier going forward.’

Originally, before her regression, she had been operating covertly from the second semester, someone the Monster Suppression Unit wouldn’t even suspect.

It was only because of Jonghyun Do that things had quieted down.

[With this, don’t doubt me. I’ve provided plenty of useful information.]

In a deep voice, Astro stroked his beard.

[Using humans who turned into monsters after being addicted to Mahanaga powder as sacrifices to summon Mahanaga… Indeed, only a woman like you could come up with such a crazy idea. The Master was right to keep an eye on you. Are you going to take that little one with you? It’ll be difficult, won’t it?]

[I’ve grown attached while raising it. After all, it is my child.]

[Is this maternal love? Well, I suppose the child follows you because you’ve shown it affection. Moreover, if we tried to take it by force, it would negatively affect the child. Clever.]

[Don’t talk nonsense, Astro. My affection is real. Your words are just after-the-fact reasoning.]

[Fine. Using Mahanaga’s cells, data on hybrid children, and subtly promoting the red powder. It would be good for you to make a splendid appearance when Deokmin attacks the academy.]

After gaining the trust of the Monster Suppression Unit, Serin now only needed to observe the whole situation as an observer.

But somehow her heart raced seeing Sunghee and Ariel exchanging glances up close.

Old memories surfaced. Wasn’t she once in Ariel’s place?

‘It was delayed because of that child anyway. This is how it has to be in the end.’

Trying to ignore her feelings of jealousy, she turned her head away.

‘Even so, I’ve already received Mahanaga’s power beyond Sunghee’s era. Even if it’s incomplete, it’s SS-class. How could Ariel, who’s barely A-class, win? You need the power to counter weaknesses. She’s likely to die.’

Serin thought that while Jonghyun Do might be different, Ariel would die. She had talent but lacked the power to hope for miracles like Jonghyun Do.

Now the Monster Suppression Unit was active, and she was responding accordingly.

[I’ll help you, Instructor!]

[Sis!]

But even as she sent Ariel off, Serin’s heart ached thinking of Jonghyun Do.

Normally she would remain composed, but her emotions were becoming unsettled in Sunghee’s presence.

“You seem uneasy.”

Just then, Sunghee suddenly stroked Serin’s forehead.

“!”

Serin stepped back, unable to control her expression. Sunghee looked at her ruefully.

“Do you still hate me?”

“Leave me alone, like ‘that child’.”

“I haven’t forgotten either of you. Not now, not ever.”

Serin’s emotions welled up.

‘Now of all times!’

“More importantly, what are you going to do? Mahanaga is the monster you caught using your master’s power, right? I don’t think Ariel can reach S-class no matter how hard she tries.”

“There are two points to dig into. First, if Mahanaga could be generated from its cells, it would be serious, but this case is the only one. Monster transformation due to red powder has been reported many times, but becoming a Mahanaga is exceptional. Deokmin Yu and Gangsu Min were also red powder suspects, right? They probably gathered cells to get as close to the original as possible.”

Sunghee watched as Ariel departed with other Magician Guild members.

“Second, if humans infected with Mahanaga’s cells don’t all become Mahanaga, then why is this happening? It’s not normal. In other words, this is likely a special environment. A mere cell combination producing Mahanaga as is? Since Mahanaga can attack mentally even from its cells, something might have been done. This doesn’t happen normally. Don’t you think so too?”

“…Well, I’m not sure.”

Serin broke into a cold sweat as Sunghee spoke as if she knew all about her machinations.

“Then there’s a possibility. A weak point to strike. It’s just a part of the cells. Even if they awaken as Mahanaga, will they reach the level I faced? That’s a degraded copy. Supporting evidence is that despite how strong Mahanaga’s mental infiltration is, the boy Deokmin’s mind is still alive. That’s why I brought up the two people with a grudge relationship.”

Serin was impressed by this judgment worthy of a leader of the three major guilds. With just the faint puzzle pieces given, she was assembling the situation and getting close to the truth.

“It’s impossible. Or do you think, Serin, that Mahanaga would be mentally dominated by a mere lower-class kid?”

“Indeed… that’s true. But if Mahanaga is lending its power, couldn’t it exceed the level we know and grant that much power?”

“That’s a good point too. But you know what? Mahanaga’s size changes according to its power. But Deokmin’s transformation was a bit small, wasn’t it?”

“!”

Sunghee smiled like a true strategist.

“A body receiving Mahanaga’s power can’t be that small. Even if Mahanaga can now grant power beyond what I know, power equivalent to its former self, the size should match. Clearly, that’s not at the level I encountered. At best, it’s on the lower end of SS-class.”

“But even if it’s SS-class, Ariel can’t win. Did you send her knowing that?”

When Serin gave her a reproachful look, Sunghee stroked her forehead.

“I always believe in my kids. That includes that arrogant noble girl. I gave her a silk pouch; now it’s up to her to make her own judgment.”

“I hope my student returns alive too.”

Serin was angry at herself for momentarily recalling old feelings at this touch.