Chapter 21 – Fly Me To The Moon

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What kind of race are werewolves?  

From what is commonly known, they transform into wolf-like monsters with fur covering their bodies on the night of a full moon, and they can only be killed with silver bullets.  

In reality, it’s also true. Werewolves only die when shot by silver bullets.  

So, what else is there? Let’s add some more details.  

First, the werewolves I’ve met in real life were all larger than humans. At least over 2 meters tall is common.  

And when the full moon rises, they lose their rationality, revert to beasts, and rampage, but they don’t increase their numbers by infecting others.  

Also, they have strong nationalist tendencies.  

Actually, this isn’t exclusive to werewolves.  

The other vampires I met, who weren’t like me, also had this trait. It seems discrimination between races in this underworld is severe.  

To be precise, it’s not exactly discrimination.  

When beings who threaten each other’s lives coexist, it’s more about survival than discrimination.  

But do all people, all races, feel this way?  

At least in this world where humans occupy most of the sunlit land and can roam freely without worry, there must be dissatisfaction.  

In the end, it’s because of that inequality.  

We’re struggling so hard to survive, while you all live comfortably.  

It’s too profound to call it jealousy, so it’s hard to define.  

“I guess humans aren’t obsessed with mating for no reason.”  

“That’s blasphemous.”  

“But isn’t it because the human population vastly outnumbers other races? Plus, they have a strong competitive spirit, a fighting spirit… it’s more than enough, overflowing even.”  

The priest was soaking wet from the rain in the factory where we were staying.  

I didn’t ask where he had been. Asking such questions would only prolong the conversation.  

Anyway, that’s the end of the information about werewolves.  

What’s important is the White Wolf Faction and Baekmo Cheong-an.  

 

If someone becomes the leader of a martial faction, they must have been extraordinary from the start, right? That’s the basic assumption I wanted to verify.  

But the situation seems to be quite different from what I thought.  

“…Even Round Ark decided it wasn’t worth collecting information? He was just an ordinary person?”  

“Exactly, when I requested information about you, I got an even more decisive answer. It seems there was nothing particularly outstanding about him.”  

It’s a matter of efficiency.  

No one would bother collecting detailed information about a beggar from the slums to sell or use.  

Unless it’s a noble’s child or a high-ranking official hiding their identity, why would anyone do something so inefficient?  

“But that’s strange. He controlled hundreds of werewolves at will? Are you saying such a person was a nobody before?”  

“Of course, as a martial artist, there was some basic information. Before talking about unique abilities, he was disqualified even as a martial artist. I don’t know much about his tendencies since they weren’t thoroughly investigated.”  

Unifying dreams, it must be an incredible ability.  

Since it doesn’t manifest outwardly and isn’t noticeable, proper investigation hasn’t been conducted. This is troublesome.  

That means there’s no way to find out the identity of the giant werewolf sphere I saw in my dream…  

“Ah, now that I think about it, the information isn’t completely absent.”  

I recalled the voice I heard when the sound of clashing blades came from behind me.  

From what I remember, that voice was…  

“Anyway, yes. I heard the werewolves of the White Wolf Faction have become one. What do you think, Father?”  

“That’s a very loaded statement. It could mean they’ve finally united, or if taken literally…”  

The image of the werewolf sphere overlaps with the words. There’s only one thing that comes to mind.  

“A collective consciousness. Whatever he did, Baekmo Cheong-an has unified the thoughts, ideologies, and concepts of the White Wolf Faction’s werewolves under himself. It’s a kind of hive mind.”  

“That’s… terrifying. I’m not entirely unfamiliar with similar cases, but it’s scary. Werewolves don’t have the ability to control such things. ‘Souls,’ I mean.”  

Oh, more new information. One thing leads to another.  

As expected, locals from the underworld are different.  

“Hive mind, collective consciousness, multiple bodies but one soul. That’s the definition. So, the werewolf sphere you saw must be Baekmo Cheong-an’s soul, right?”  

“Oh, damn.”  

Hive mind.  

It’s clearly impossible in reality.  

Given all the talk about souls…  

‘Even things called hive minds in reality… are just things that ‘appear’ that way, but there’s no actual case of a single consciousness.’  

There must be some medium for consciousness to be shared.  

For example, the internet uses waves or similar means.  

‘But…’  

Information can’t travel faster than the speed of light.  

That’s the law of the universe.  

There must be delays.  

But a hive mind transcends all those limitations.  

It’s clearly nonsensical.  

‘Do I need to think more flexibly?’  

What could be the ‘fantasy’ medium for a hive mind that transcends time and space?  

After pondering for a while, I asked:  

“Could it be… that the dream I saw was some kind of hub for the hive mind consciousness? Something that transcends time and space… something astral, like…”  

“What you saw wasn’t a dream but something more fundamental… a place where scientific principles don’t apply, a contact with the bottom of the world. For now, let’s simply call it the subconscious world.”  

I don’t know how I interfered with such a place.  

But that’s not important right now.  

“…You said werewolves have no way of dealing with things like the subconscious world or souls, right?”  

“Yes, it’s not something you can achieve through simple training.”  

I didn’t want to think deeper.  

I liked short, impactful quests but disliked long, intricate chain quests. If possible, I’d rather quickly wrap up the White Wolf Faction incident.  

“Then, Father, you must know a lot about souls, right? Do you know how to separate the hive mind… the unified souls of those werewolves?”  

“It’s impossible through physical means. Baekmo Cheong-an’s soul has now been replaced by that werewolf sphere. If Baekmo Cheong-an dies, the entire werewolf sphere will die with him. The souls will scatter and eventually disappear.”  

The outline of the situation is becoming clearer.  

Baekmo Cheong-an has turned the entire White Wolf Faction into his body and even taken them all hostage.  

“That’s why Baekrangdok was so shaken…”  

Considering the nationalist tendencies of werewolves, he couldn’t harm his own kind.  

I wondered if it was okay to judge a life’s thoughts so simply, but based on the information I have, it seems so.  

Honestly, there’s no need to delve too deeply into intentions, but it’s necessary to understand the opponent’s behavior.  

That’s it.  

Outside, rain was pouring heavily.  

The top of the crane, hidden by the cloudy sky, exuded a gloomy atmosphere.  

The damp, cold air settled heavily on the ground, forming something like fog.  

“Turning hundreds of werewolves into a hive mind… it’s clearly not for ordinary purposes.”  

“I don’t know Baekmo Cheong-an’s ideology, so I can’t say for sure. It might be an attempt to dominate the martial world. But that’s too simplistic.”  

I looked at the priest. He seemed to understand what I was thinking and tightened his coat.  

“I’ll go to the White Wolf Faction’s dojo alone. You don’t need to come, Father.”  

“I didn’t know you had such a strong sense of sacrifice.”  

Unfortunately, it’s not some noble sense of sacrifice.  

It’s just my self-satisfaction. Twisting the genre of life once is enough.  

“No, think about it. You might die, Father, but if I lose a limb, I’ll just say ‘ouch.’ And once people start dying, the genre turns serious, right? Noir, tragedy, you know?”  

“I have a lot to say, but I won’t. If that’s how you feel.”  

“My genre is slice-of-life or comedy. It’s better to avoid unnecessary mental exhaustion. And here, what we can do is different.”  

I can only swing things around recklessly, while this priest is, well, a ‘priest.’  

He lives close to souls and follows the will of heaven.  

“Father, just think of a way to restore the hive mind to its original state. If any werewolves try to escape, handle them.”  

“Understood.”  

The White Wolf Faction’s dojo is still quiet.  

But no matter what, it’s clear that to start acting, I’ll need ‘that guy’ who blocked the blade behind me.  

Baekrangdok.  

Clearly the strongest in that group.  

The reason Baekmo Cheong-an took the entire White Wolf Faction as hostages through the hive mind was likely to bring Baekrangdok under his control.  

‘He wouldn’t kill all the werewolves. They’re martial artists. So, it makes sense that he only gathered those of the White Wolf lineage.’  

I waited.  

Until Baekrangdok and Baekmo Cheong-an made their move.  

And the eerie feeling that the rain had completely stopped came around dusk.  

“It’s lonely.”  

I picked up my Big Magnum and headed toward where I sensed the energy.  

In front of the White Wolf Faction’s hideout, nearly a thousand werewolves were waiting, far more than I had seen in my dream.  

“Vampire lord, if possible, stop them here.”  

“I was planning to.”  

And in the center was Baekrangdok, with a decisiveness in his eyes I had never seen before.  

No, Baekrangdok is a pseudonym.  

“…I am Baekrang Cheongung. Known as the Sword Emperor, Sword Saint, and Heavenly Sword.”  

The Heavenly Sword, also known as Cheongung, raised the massive sword in his hand.  

“Let’s go.”  

And then, the heavens moved.