Ch.163Chapter 6. And Nobody Knows (1)

Dueoksini was dead.

Quietly, in a place where no one could see, she vanished inside an ordinary gymnasium.

[That’s fortunate. It was handled quickly outside.]

[Did… did you deliberately come out after everything was taken care of?]

[Yes.]

[If even one had survived…]

[Dueoksini would have escaped into another body.]

At my words, the expressions of the three outside hardened simultaneously.

If Dueoksini had escaped despite all our preparations, I would have had to scold these three.

‘That can’t happen.’

I used a technique specifically intended to kill.

I only released the Room of Truth because I sensed the situation outside was mostly under control. Otherwise, I would have finished Dueoksini inside before coming out.

But the reason I came out without finishing her myself was to let Ymir deliver the final blow, and to make Dueoksini feel despair.

Was it a close call?

I don’t know.

Unless Ymir had let Dueoksini escape, but Ymir eliminated Dueoksini before I could even say anything.

I trusted Ymir.

Even if Ymir had momentarily lost track of her, I would have immediately given orders to cut Dueoksini down on the spot.

“So… is this really the end?”

[Yes. Yoon Yi-seon, you worked hard too. I apologize again for involving you in this.]

“No, no! Goblin, you did nothing wrong! I was the one who offered to send the text message!”

I wrote the message text, and the Tavern Owner sent it, but we borrowed Yoon Yi-seon’s account.

If it appeared to come from an Academy student, she would get angry and rush over immediately.

That trap worked perfectly, and if someone else had sent it, she might have approached with suspicion.

[I should return to my original position soon.]

The time was approaching dawn.

Since both Yoon Yi-seon and Ymir had snuck away, they needed to return to their lodgings on Ulleungdo.

And I too needed to return to Ulleungdo with Taowu.

[Platinum Sun. I’m counting on you with Yoon Yi-seon. Always be careful on your way back.]

[I’ll contact you again soon. But what about this place…?]

“We’ll clean it up.”

The gymnasium was a complete mess.

The floor was soaked with blood as if someone had painted it red.

There were sword marks all over the walls, and though only one window was broken when Dueoksini first entered, most were barely holding their shape, ready to shatter at the slightest gust.

[Yoon Yi-seon. If someone tracks your GPS later and asks why you were here, tell them you were hacked. We’ll leave evidence of hacking.]

“Ah, is that really necessary…?”

[Your Taeguk Watch might have server records of sending messages from a backdoor account here, so be careful.]

That possibility is always open, and if there’s a possibility, it’s best to be cautious.

[Thank you. We’ll discuss compensation soon.]

“Ah, yes!”

[Then we’ll be going now. …Thank you so much for your hard work.]

[You’re the one who worked hard.]

Ymir nodded lightly, then took Yoon Yi-seon’s hand and tore open space.

Fwash!

As golden light flashed, the two disappeared.

“…Phew.”

Left alone with Taowu in the gymnasium, I removed my mask, and Taowu immediately approached me.

“Are you okay?”

“…I feel like I’ve used my mental strength to its limit.”

“Even if your magical power has recovered, mental fatigue is another matter.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this exhausted.”

“Yes. We should rest. I’ll take you right away.”

We came here through Ymir’s spatial movement, but there was no immediate need to let Yoon Yi-seon know that our destination was Ulleungdo.

“Then… shall I clean this up like this?”

As Taowu put her hands together as if in prayer, green wind burst forth around her and enveloped the gymnasium.

“First, let’s check.”

Whoosh!

The blood remaining inside the gymnasium surged with the wind and gathered in one place.

“…Maybe we should have kept Ymir here? To check if Dueoksini is still in this blood.”

“I still have some of Ymir’s magical power left. I just need to release it all here.”

Taowu gathered all the blood Dueoksini had shed into one mass, and I examined the blood-red sphere that was much larger than an exercise ball.

Fwoosh.

I poured out the last of Ymir’s magical power.

But the blood was just blood, and there was no sign of anything burning or reacting within it.

“No residual thoughts or anything like that?”

“No. If there were, either you or I would have asked Ymir to eliminate that too. This is just blood.”

“I thought Dueoksini might sprout from the blood.”

“…If she could resurrect like that, she’d truly be disgusting.”

Thankfully, Dueoksini was completely dead.

If she appears somewhere again, we’ll have to kill her in a way that prevents any resurrection.

Whether she claimed to be the god of Uranus or actually was one, or was an avatar who gained their power, it’s enough to confirm that they can be defeated.

“Pandemonium must be in chaos. One of their seven heads has died.”

“Hmm. …Ah, Taowu. I need to ask you for a favor.”

I took out my club and lightly scooped up a drop of blood with it.

“I want to embed a thought in this. Is that okay?”

“Whose thought? Dueoksini’s?”

“Don’t worry about resurrection. I’m just going to place a fragment of the conversation I had with her. The thought I’ll leave… is mine.”

The Goblin’s memory.

A part of it.

I copy a fragment and leave it in this drop of blood.

“…Are you trying to reveal your identity?”

“For now. I’d rather have Pandemonium believe that the Goblin killed her with some special power than realize she was essentially killed by Platinum Sun’s power.”

“Whether they believe it or not, you want to confuse the enemy?”

“That’s one purpose.”

Not the entire conversation.

I only need one specific part.

“I want to create a crack starting from Dueoksini that spreads throughout Pandemonium.”

“You’ll pass out if you do that too.”

“If I pass out, I hope you’ll take me to Ulleungdo.”

“Hah, really.”

Taowu came over to me and lifted me up in her arms.

“…This isn’t exactly how I imagined being transported.”

“How does it feel to be carried like a princess after usually carrying others?”

“At the very least.”

I was about to put my mask back on but just covered my face with my hand instead.

“I’d prefer people not see the Goblin being carried by Taowu like this.”

“Hehe. Don’t worry. That’s… my specialty!”

Green wind rose from Taowu’s body, and we instantly broke through the ceiling and escaped outside.

“Collapse.”

As Taowu poured magical power downward, the gymnasium instantly caved in.

Rumble rumble.

Dust rose as the interior collapsed, and Dueoksini’s blood, which had been gathered into a sphere, burst as if crushed by the falling ceiling and flowed out among the debris.

And I embedded my memory, my thought, into it.

If someone tries to find traces through Dueoksini’s blood, they will discover it.

That the Goblin fought Dueoksini.

And that Dueoksini died.

With no mention of Yoon Yi-seon, Ymir, or Taowu.

They will only learn that in some strange alternate world, Dueoksini was thoroughly destroyed by the Goblin.

And.

“…Fortunately, the Syndicate has no traitors.”

I closed my eyes.

Hoping that Pandemonium’s Seven Deadly Sins—the “Seven Stars”—would sense Dueoksini’s final death cry.

Whoosh.

Taowu raced across the sea.

Leaving Sejong Island behind for Ulleungdo, but no one noticed Taowu.

Unlike my usual “spirit form,” Taowu was simply too fast.

“Can you keep up at this speed?”

“…You developed this so quickly?”

Super-high-speed movement.

Perhaps her pride was hurt when she couldn’t chase Dueoksini while merged with me, so Taowu awakened her super-speed ability.

“How did you develop it?”

“I just decided to think simply. Twice my normal speed, then twice that, then twice again. I thought if I kept increasing like that, I might reach it.”

“I see. Infinite repetition of double speed.”

It’s different from the super-speed Dueoksini showed.

It’s a case of gradually accelerating to eventually reach 64 or 128 times normal speed, but if you shorten the time it takes to reach that speed, you can use super-speed without the time lag to reach maximum velocity.

“I’ve suddenly acquired a new skill.”

“It should have helped when facing Dueoksini.”

“Still, things turned out well, so that’s fortunate.”

We did lose track of her once, but looking at the end result, it wasn’t a bad outcome.

Dueoksini is dead.

Ymir gained a reliable comrade in Yoon Yi-seon.

Yoon Yi-seon established a connection with the Goblin.

And she met Taowu, who learned super-speed movement.

“But you know, the world doesn’t know Dueoksini is dead.”

“……”

“What are you going to do? Make it public? Say the Goblin killed her?”

“I’m not sure.”

While I intended to let Pandemonium know that Dueoksini was killed, I hadn’t thought that far ahead.

“I was just focused on killing Dueoksini.”

“…True, we moved rather quickly. Ymir has drive, but she tends not to think about the consequences of her actions.”

“I agree. Well, resolving such issues is the role of agents and the Syndicate, isn’t it?”

Taowu had already arrived at the pension in Ulleungdo.

“Tavern Owner.”

“You’re back? …Looks like you succeeded.”

“Ah, of course.”

I got down from Taowu and lay on the sofa.

“Give me the Taeguk Watch. I need to report to the Chairwoman.”

“You’re reporting right away?”

“Yeah. I also have something to ask her.”

Beep.

She answered immediately.

“I’m sorry for calling so late, Chairwoman.”

[No. I was awake.]

“I’ve dealt with Dueoksini. Completely eliminated her.”

[…Good work. Get some rest.]

I have someone I can rely on.

[I’ll handle all the political issues, so please rest well, Department Head. Understood?]

“…I love you, Chairwoman.”

[I love you too. I’d like to keep talking, but I’m about to collapse. Sleep well, my love.]

Click.

The call ended.

I held the Taeguk Watch to my chest and closed my eyes.

“Tavern Owner.”

“Yes?”

“…When I wake up in the morning, a hot bowl of soup.”

“Sure. Rest well. Think about everything after you’ve slept.”

“……”

I closed my eyes.

“Yap.”

“……”

Taowu overlapped her body with mine and lay down beside me, but I kept my eyes closed.

Both Taowu and I needed rest.

-We must immediately capture and eliminate Dueoksini!

Whether the government and the world were in chaos looking for Dueoksini or not, I needed to rest first.