Ch.156Chapter 6. Riding Doll, Acceleration (5)

Daejeon Metropolitan City outskirts, an empty lot.

Whoosh.

Golden stars twinkle in the air.

The golden light touched dozens of demons, seeming to drain their demonic energy as it seeped into them. Their demonic forms withered away along with their mana, transforming them back into human shapes.

A massive pig-like demon’s burning skin peeled away to reveal a human form beneath, while a gargoyle-like stone demon crumbled into dust, revealing a human figure inside.

All of them collapsed to the ground with white hair, appearing malnourished. They lay naked on the ground as golden orbs emanating from them gathered toward Platinum Sun.

“…Excuse me.”

Heroes from the Korean Hero Association, wearing protective suits, began detaining and arresting the naked former demons one by one, while the remaining heroes surrounded Platinum Sun.

“Are you Platinum Sun? Or Solar Platina?”

[Please call me Platinum Sun. Snow White.]

Snow White, looking somewhat tired, stepped forward as the representative to address Platinum Sun, who was floating golden orbs above her hand like planets.

“Are you truly someone who purifies demons?”

[I purified the demons. Yes. I would appreciate it if you could gather them like this next time as well.]

“Thank you for your cooperation. However.”

Baek Seol-hee gestured around and pointed to her Taegeuk Watch.

“You’ll need to come with us for a moment.”

[Why?]

“Obviously, because someone who doesn’t reveal their identity cannot be considered a ‘hero.'”

[Must one reveal their identity to be a hero?]

“Don’t misunderstand. The Hero Association is an organization meant to help you. We’re trying to help you.”

[I appreciate the thought. Thank you for the offer.]

Boom!

Platinum Sun drew a large circle with her hand, and a golden magic circle appeared before her.

[If I decide to walk the path of a hero, Snow White, I’ll contact you first.]

“…Don’t you want to join us as a hero?”

[I’m not qualified to be a hero. The best I can do is appear like this and purify demons, nothing more. Yes. Would you… call me the Demon Purifier?]

Platinum Sun bowed gracefully, then disappeared through the magic circle.

Boom!

With a golden explosion, Platinum Sun vanished.

Looking at where Platinum Sun had disappeared, Snow White wore a complicated expression as she pretended to look at her Taegeuk Watch while actually checking her own face.

She felt disappointed.

She had finally found a justice-minded colleague, but couldn’t fight alongside them.

If someone took a photo of Baek Seol-hee now, the headline would surely read, “Snow White’s Recruitment Offer, Platinum Sun Puts on Hold.”

‘Phew.’

Baek Seol-hee felt relieved.

This had established some justification and plausibility for Platinum Sun—Ymir’s actions.

“Snow White. Do you know Platinum Sun?”

“No. I don’t.”

“Then why did she say she would contact Snow White?”

“…Maybe because I’m a woman?”

“I see. Because you’re both women. Understood.”

Baek Seol-hee managed to dispel suspicions with a reasonable answer to the sharp question from a nearby hero.

Of course, investigating Baek Seol-hee wouldn’t lead to discovering Ymir. Her only connection to Ymir was through Do Ji-hwan, and the only private conversations she’d had with Ymir were at Do Ji-hwan’s house or the Ulleungdo pension.

Therefore, investigating Baek Seol-hee’s connections wouldn’t reveal Ymir.

Unless there was some crazy person who would investigate her messages to find a man named Do Ji-hwan, and then investigate Ymir through him.

“Wow, this is amazing. How did she purify so many demons at once?”

“…It’s been a while.”

“It has been a while, Sister Snow White.”

“I told you not to call me sister.”

“Ah, my apologies.”

A narrow-eyed boy with dyed blonde hair stood next to Baek Seol-hee, smiling mischievously.

“The world has changed so much. Just half a year ago, everyone was in a panic saying to kill demons on sight.”

“That’s because we now have a way to turn demons back into humans.”

“Right? People are like that. Seeing demons return to human form feels…”

“What are you trying to say, ‘Jun-gyeong’?”

“Jun-gyeong? My hero nickname is ‘Cheok Jun-gyeong’.”

The boy, Cheok Jun-gyeong, shrugged lightly.

“And what I’m trying to say is obvious. Those demons should have been killed before they became Zenros.”

“You.”

“Am I being too harsh? Some of them have already killed people. When did we ever consider a demon’s circumstances before dealing with them? We just killed them all, didn’t we?”

“That was then, things are different now.”

“Yes, things have changed. Heroes now know how to purify demons, so there are more heroes getting killed when trying to subdue demons, and demons go crazy more easily knowing someone can purify them later.”

“Hey.”

“But setting that aside, do you know what the biggest change is?”

Cheok Jun-gyeong pointed at the former demons, the Zenros being escorted away.

“They now have someone to blame.”

“……”

“If they had died as demons, their families would face criticism and condemnation until they committed suicide or emigrated, disappearing from society one way or another. But look, they’re alive. And as ordinary people without abilities… Things will become chaotic. Look at that.”

Cheok Jun-gyeong nodded toward where the Zenros were being taken.

“People are already here.”

“You, you bastard! You killed her! My little sister!!”

A young man appeared, trying to rush at a female Zenros being carried on a stretcher.

Though he had no special abilities, he had enough strength to handle one person with the stone in his hand.

“C-calm down! This isn’t the time!”

“I’m going to kill her! I’ll kill her and go to jail or whatever, just please let me kill her…! Please!!”

The young man screamed in anguish but was restrained by nearby soldiers and collapsed to the ground.

“Please, please let me kill her…! The one who killed my little sister…!”

“Like that, they now have someone to take revenge on and the possibility to do so. Sister, what do you think?”

Cheok Jun-gyeong shook his head with disgust.

“Wouldn’t it have been better to just kill them all cleanly, forget about purification and legal judgment? That’s what I think.”

“I also think that would be the cleanest solution.”

“Oh?”

“But.”

Baek Seol-hee took a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing.

“…Everyone thinks that way about the Goblin. They feel uncomfortable killing themselves, but feel relieved when the Goblin does it for them.”

“This world needs an executioner?”

“An executioner. Maybe so.”

Baek Seol-hee looked up at the sky.

“The rest will be left to legal judgment. And they’ll be sorted out. Those who committed serious crimes deserving the death penalty, and those who simply went berserk and caused property damage. At least…”

Baek Seol-hee glared coldly at a Zenros who had previously destroyed a temple in Ganghwa Island, causing dozens of casualties.

“Those who killed people must be judged properly.”

“…Do you believe in this country’s laws, Sister? What if those guys are sons of judges or related to the court?”

“If that’s the case.”

Baek Seol-hee whispered quietly so others couldn’t hear.

“…Should we ask the Goblin for a favor?”

“……Sister.”

Cheok Jun-gyeong gave two thumbs up.

“You’ve been flirting with the Goblin and now you’ve adopted his ideol… no, I’m sorry. The flirting I mentioned wasn’t like that.”

“Shut up. You clean up here.”

“Ah, Sister. I’m not done talking.”

“What else?”

“About Platinum Sun. Those golden orbs she created.”

Baek Seol-hee stopped in her tracks.

“At the end, she extracted something golden from the demons.”

“And?”

“Couldn’t that be… the demons’ abilities?”

“……I don’t know.”

Baek Seol-hee silently left the scene.

* * *

Boom.

As a golden circle spread out, Platinum Sun landed lightly on the floor.

“Phew.”

Ymir removed her mask and hood.

Purifying so many demons at once had required concentration, and sweat was running down her face.

“…Huh?”

“……Would you like a cup of sikhye?”

Ymir saw a red-haired woman standing in front of her.

The bespectacled woman had set up some impressive equipment in the living room and was offering Ymir a cup of sikhye from the kitchen.

“There’s no one around right now, so I can speak freely. Don’t worry. I’m Manager Do’s supporter. Nice to meet you, Ymir.”

“…Who are you?”

“Tavern Owner. I’m from the company.”

“Ah, that…”

“The Syndicate.”

“Yes. Ah, hello…?”

Ymir bowed her head in greeting as she accepted the cup.

Then she squeezed her eyes shut, regretting her actions.

She remembered his passing comment from before:

-When teleporting, shouldn’t you always think about what’s on the other side before moving?

She never expected someone would be at the pension when she teleported there.

“I thought I was alone…”

“Sorry, but the ‘man visiting Ulleungdo alone’ setup only works a couple of times. If a man keeps coming to Ulleungdo alone, he gets blacklisted, so a woman was needed at this point.”

“Was that… you?”

“Don’t worry. I haven’t slept with Manager Do yet.”

“…Really?”

Ymir felt slightly relieved.

“Though I can’t say the same for her.”

“Her…?”

“Hi there.”

A white-haired woman sitting on the sofa approached Ymir with a bright smile.

“So you’re the woman our Manager Do is interested in?”

“W-who are you…?”

“Me? Taowu. S+ class villain. And…”

The woman, Taowu, flashed her eyes that began to glow green.

“The Goblin’s ex-girlfriend.”