Ch.146Chapter 6. Hellfire Peninsula (3)

The enemy is targeting Ymir.

I didn’t tell Ymir directly about this situation to avoid burdening her unnecessarily.

[It turned out just as you predicted.]

[I never thought they would mass-produce demons so recklessly. I thought… the person presumed to be Platinum Sun would spread demons in the city where the field training was taking place.]

Like a detective who discovers the Grim Reaper is in Tokyo through a time-delayed broadcast using a body double, I definitely thought Pandemonium would create demons starting from where Ymir was located.

I was wrong.

Either because I covered things up too well, or because Pandemonium is just stupid, they haven’t figured out who Platinum Sun is.

So they’ve scattered bait everywhere.

Looking for team members from places where Platinum Sun appeared, or people whose Taeguk Watch signals suddenly disappeared, or people whose Taeguk Watch remained in one place during this chaos.

To find them, they’re indiscriminately spreading demons.

The number being 72 is probably just because Dueoksini is a pervert.

[What are you going to do about Ymir? That person will definitely try to step up now.]

[Has there been any mention of Platinum Sun appearing yet?]

[No.]

[Then… there’s only one answer. Right now, she can’t transform. She’s in a situation where she can’t leave her position, making it difficult to transform at all.]

Someone must be right next to her.

[So what should we do? Should I rush to Ulleungdo now?]

[If I go now, I’ll be suspected. Instead.]

I briefly examined the GPS map.

[I’ve sent someone to Ymir who can create an opportunity for her to transform into Platinum Sun, so it should be fine.]

[I sent them.]

[…I love you, Chief.]

[I love you too. Feel free to be grateful. If nothing else.]

Anticipation began to seep into the Chief’s voice.

[The Syndicate’s best hitgirl is heading to the Korean peninsula to support you.]

* * *

“I’m sorry. As you all know, the current situation isn’t suitable for continuing the field training.”

Ymir nodded heavily when she finally met Yoon Yi-seon, who had joined Ulleung Team 1 late in the evening.

The training was already over.

On the first day, the moment demons appeared in the training teams around lunchtime, the nationwide training had ended.

“Until last year, there were… at least 3 cases of people becoming demons during training. And officially, only about 1 case was publicly known. This is the first time demons have increased on such a large scale.”

Yoon Yi-seon hung her head dejectedly.

“If only we could understand why the demons have increased… Anyway, let’s stay together. I’ve asked the other team members from Ulleungdo to gather here, so all four teams will soon be assembled here.”

“Um, Student Council President?”

“Yes, Ymir?”

“I need to use the bathroom…”

“…You can’t go alone.”

The situation was too urgent to argue about going to the bathroom alone.

70 people.

In this situation where anyone could become a demon at any time, going to the bathroom alone?

You might become the toilet demon.

Understanding these concerns all too well, Ymir couldn’t bring herself to object to not being allowed to go alone.

“Senior Eun Hae-young? Would you go with me?”

“Tch, why should I…?”

“I can’t go, as you can see….”

Yoon Yi-seon pointed to the two men beside her.

“…I’m restraining them, so hurry back.”

Next to Yoon Yi-seon, Nam Du-chang and Gong Tae-beom were wrapped in something like pink tails flowing from behind her back.

“Training, training must continue…!”

“How dare you try to stop hero activities! This cannot be! Quickly, we must set an example for others!!”

The two men were clearly insane.

Despite the situation, they insisted on continuing the training, and when they attacked Yoon Yi-seon, they were immediately subdued by her.

“Or would you prefer to restrain these two, Senior Eun Hae-young?”

“Well, we can just continue training without restraining anyone! No demons have appeared on Ulleungdo yet!”

“The country has convened the NSC and the military and police are mobilizing as if we’re in a near-wartime state, and you want to continue training? Senior, are you in your right mind?”

“Kuk…!”

At Yoon Yi-seon’s harsh words, Eun Hae-young turned away and moved into the pension.

“What are you doing!”

“Ah, um, well.”

“I’ll be in the pension!”

“Eun Hae-young!!”

“Don’t call me by my name, you’re younger than me! I’ll do ‘as I please’!”

Eun Hae-young finally turned and went inside the pension.

“Haah, really…!”

Yoon Yi-seon seemed to be holding back curses out of frustration, and watching this, Ymir felt like she was going to lose her mind.

“Um, senior. If those two become demons….”

“For now, I’ll just keep restraining them.”

“Why? At the academy, they taught us that demons should be killed….”

“Things are different now. Because Platinum Sun exists.”

Ymir’s heart ached at Yoon Yi-seon’s confident words.

“Whatever their character, as fellow ability users and heroes, our best option is to ensure they maintain their human dignity rather than dying as demons. Even though they seem to be halfway to becoming demons already…!”

Yoon Yi-seon bit her lower lip.

“ARGH! TRAINING!! TRAINING!!”

“THIS ISN’T SETTING A GOOD EXAMPLE!!”

“…They still have some reason left, so she will definitely appear. Whether sooner or later, with demons rampaging like this…!”

While somehow restraining the two crazed men with her pink magical tails, Yoon Yi-seon nodded firmly at Ymir with a hopeful smile despite her struggle.

“Now, we don’t have to kill demons anymore…!”

“What a truly righteous mindset, young lady.”

“!!”

A voice came from behind them.

“You are….”

“An oni?!”

“I’M NOT AN ONI!!”

The man called an oni by Ymir screamed in rage.

“Oni, oni! That damned oni!! I have the beautiful and excellent pure Korean name Dueoksini!! Don’t treat me like some Japanese yokai!”

It seemed there was more than one crazy person around.

“You, you’re definitely the one who created the Patent Infringement Demon back then…!”

“Ah, you mean that failure? You remember. Yes. The Student Council President, Yoon Yi-seon, who tried to persuade that student who became a demon back then. Correct?”

“Kuk, you approached knowing who I am…!”

“Yes. Since I’m on Ulleungdo anyway, I thought I’d watch for fun. Well.”

“Dueoksini, you!!”

Clap!

“Thank you for calling me by my proper name! That blonde foreigner made me quite upset, but in recognition of using a person’s name correctly, I’ll bestow a trial upon Student Council President Yoon Yi-seon!”

Dueoksini pulled something from his chest.

It looked like a Western grimoire with a cover made of rough leather.

“Awaken, final demons! Turn this peninsula into a world seething with hellfire! Now, awaken!”

As Dueoksini raised the grimoire high into the sky, the bodies of the two men restrained by Yoon Yi-seon began to twist violently.

“Tear apart, Malphas! Devour, Botis!”

“Ah, aaah…!”

“I am, Gong Tae… Botis…!”

The men’s entire bodies began to contort.

In an instant, their joints twisted and their bodies broke, escaping Yoon Yi-seon’s restraining tails and beginning to crawl on the ground like spiders.

“Ugh…!”

And then.

PWAHAK!

From the men’s backs, something like long pillars emerged.

They seemed slightly curved, and joints began to form along them.

“Huhuhu. Watch carefully from now on. Humans transforming into demons.”

They looked like demonic spines.

“Now, even if Platinum Sun comes, she won’t be able to stop this.”

Ymir sensed it.

That voice was desperately hoping for Platinum Sun to appear.

“Are you… hoping for Platinum Sun to come and defeat the demons?”

“……WAHAHA!”

Dueoksini threw his head back and burst into laughter so hard it seemed he might fall backward.

“Of course! Absolutely! Platinum Sun! Oh, where are you?! Come out, come out! Reveal your identity! I’ve prepared this stage especially for you—surely you won’t just watch while other heroes subdue it?!”

“You endangered this entire country… just to draw out Platinum Sun?!”

“My, my. ‘Just’?”

Dueoksini answered in a voice of incomprehension.

“For one being with special… well, what you call S-plus level abilities, I would gladly sacrifice an entire archipelago over there. Platinum Sun is worth that much.”

“What…?”

“Surely you don’t think 150 million ordinary people are worth more than Platinum Sun?”

Dueoksini shrugged as if stating something completely obvious.

“Isn’t it natural that Platinum Sun’s value is higher?”

KYAAAK!!

From the spines, something like flesh began to sprout.

“Come, hurry! Platinum Sun! A stage has been prepared for you! If you’re late…!”

Dueoksini shouted toward the sky.

“The protagonist’s place will be taken by others!”

Watching this, Ymir clenched her fists.

Protagonist or whatever.

That man who forcibly turns people into demons.

He is an evil that must be eliminated.

Therefore—

“……I will—”

“Demon spotted!!”

A cheerful voice from the sky.

In the moment a slight breeze seemed to blow, a woman in a black suit landed in a cat-like crouch in front of Ymir and Yoon Yi-seon.

“Protagonist, enter!”

“…I didn’t call you. No, why are you here…!”

“Nyahaha. Why am I here? I came for work, of course.”

The woman with a cat-like face and narrowed eyes fiddled with the black bridge that peeked out from under her messy white bob haircut.

“To protect Ulleungdo, the sacred ground of patriotism.”

“Kuuuk…! You filthy Syndicate people…!”

“Oh right. That friend asked me to tell you.”

The woman brushed back her bangs, her gray eyes sparkling as she pointed at Dueoksini.

“你已经死了.”

“…What? Wait. One more time.”

“你已经死了.”

Dueoksini tapped the device on his wrist, and soon a voice came from it.

[You are already dead.]

“……Why are you speaking Chinese to me?!”

“Ah. Well.”

The woman shrugged.

As she summoned her magical power, her white hair turned green.

“Because you’re a Chinese yokai. What’s wrong with speaking Chinese to a Chinese person?”

“…You, one of the Four Chinese Fiends, how dare youuuu!!”

“I was trying to be polite, how sad. But you know, I’m not Chinese?”

The woman glanced behind her, then extended her hand to the side.

“You people arbitrarily named perfectly normal people things like Qiongqi, Taowu, and whatnot.”

“Die, Taowuuuu!”

“I’m not Taowu. Well, I’ll accept it since it’s a ‘villain’ name.”

Ulleungdo.

“And you know.”

Pandemonium.

S-class villain, [Dueoksini] appears.

“Sorry, but I’m someone who can’t die even if I wanted to.”

And.

“I’ll be your opponent until the real protagonist arrives.”

The Syndicate, Yimemangryang.

“Ni chu ba le ma.”

“You damn villain scum!!”

S+ class villain, [Taowu] appears.