Ch.525Chapter 20. American Doblin (15)

Usually, when people think of a sealed soul, they imagine various tools.

I suggested a “bead” among them.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be in the form of a bead, but since the item I currently have is a bead, I had no choice but to present it.

“You want us to use that as our heart…?”

“Of course.”

Cheon Ju-yeon visibly recoiled, but I simply held out the golden bead to her.

“If you use Managold as a core to create a doppelgänger, that becomes your heart.”

“W-wouldn’t it be better to just have Ymir create two doppelgängers for us…?”

“You can’t stay by Ymir’s side forever.”

“Ah.”

Cheon Ju-yeon turned pale once again.

“What if we’re far apart…will it not work?”

“Most likely. You can feel vivid sensations now because Ymir is nearby, but once you’re separated from Ymir, the doppelgänger will probably dissipate.”

“…Let’s try it. Mir.”

Cheon Ju-yeon gripped her shoulders with both hands and gritted her teeth.

“Sis, I’ll try to endure somehow.”

“Um, well… Then, should I quickly go to Canada? For about 5 seconds?”

“I’ll open a barrier for you. Come back quickly.”

“…I see.”

The Chief made a gesture toward the air, and Ymir nodded firmly before also raising her hand to the empty space.

Whirr.

A golden dimensional gate opened in front of Ymir.

What lay beyond wasn’t clearly visible, but it was likely somewhere Ymir could quickly visit.

“Please let the doppelgänger remain stable…”

Swoosh.

Ymir departed.

After carefully closing the dimensional gate, she traveled far away from The Syndicate’s headquarters.

And then.

“…Huh?”

BOOM!!

Cheon Ju-yeon exploded.

She self-destructed like a massive explosion.

Golden mana scattered like snowflakes in the aftermath, and all that remained was Cheon Ju-yeon, naked once again.

“Wh-what…?”

Her appearance was like that of a ghost from a haunted mansion, before she could even construct herself with mana.

Even the mana pouch she had filled up had exploded.

I lightly closed my eyes toward the two modest apples that could barely be covered with a fist, and soon another dimensional gate appeared in the air.

“W-what happened?”

“She ‘pulled a Baek Ha-rang,’ as they say.”

“…Ah.”

Ymir looked over Cheon Ju-yeon as if she had expected this outcome.

“Ugh… I feel like I died a second time.”

Cheon Ju-yeon whimpered as she reconstructed her ethereal body, looking so pitiful that even Seong Ji-eun, who had lost her turn to inhabit a doppelgänger, couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

“Manager Do, you knew this would happen?”

“Of course. Considering who taught her this doppelgänger ability, it was inevitable.”

Originally, the doppelgänger ability belonged to Baek Seol-hee.

Since I knew everything about Baek Seol-hee’s research on doppelgängers, Ymir, who learned directly from me, would face the same limitations.

“If the original body moves beyond the distance where it can continuously send thought waves to the doppelgänger, naturally the doppelgänger will burst.”

“…So that means I have to stay close to Ymir all the time.”

“That’s why the Goblin’s golden bead is the solution.”

I handed one of the golden beads to Cheon Ju-yeon.

“There are two solutions. First, install a Managold network accessible only to The Syndicate’s executives worldwide, creating a hub that can send thought forms to doppelgängers regardless of distance.”

That was Baek Seol-hee’s method.

With ice crystals floating in the sky acting as magical crystal towers, she could connect her original body and doppelgänger from Busan to Osaka.

“Create magical fiber optic cables worldwide. With Managold.”

And that method is what The Syndicate is currently trying to implement across the entire planet in a different way.

“That’s The Syndicate’s goal to achieve within the next 20 years. It’s the most reliable method, but time is its drawback.”

The Chief added to the solution I had proposed.

“But what’s the immediate solution?”

“You don’t need to send thought waves if you can maintain the doppelgänger while storing mana. That’s exactly what this Managold is for. Ymir, would you like to try?”

“Hmm….”

I placed the golden bead on Ymir’s hand.

“The Goblin’s golden bead….”

As Ymir smiled meaningfully, I slightly bent my knees to meet her eyes.

“According to Greek and Roman mythology, the most beautiful goddess Aphrodite was born from Uranus’s severed phallus.”

“……”

Ymir focused all her attention on the golden bead in her hand, listening carefully to my words.

“This golden bead is one I’ve been carrying. It contains natural mana, but also some of my mana. Now you need to infuse your mana into it.”

“Ah…!”

“It’s not just any golden bead. We’re creating it with both your magic and mine.”

“…I see.”

Ymir’s eyes widened.

Like a student who had found the solution to a difficult problem, she dropped the golden bead downward with sparkling, clear eyes.

Whirr.

The golden bead floating in the air continued to emit magical energy.

Within the brilliant platinum light, a human form was gradually being created from ether.

The appearance was like a human form created with CG.

Inside the golden sphere floating in the air, a human was curled up and gradually growing.

“Wow….”

Everyone gazed in amazement at the golden bead, as if witnessing the imminent birth of life.

A golden avatar-like form with nothing else.

With flowing hair, it looked exactly like a clone of Ymir.

If the golden bead were to open now, Ymir’s doppelgänger with the golden bead as its core would be born.

“Why don’t you let Hundun try first this time?”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm….”

Seong Ji-eun glanced at Cheon Ju-yeon, but Cheon Ju-yeon raised both hands and stepped back.

“I’m not that greedy. Sis, give it a try.”

“…Thank you.”

Expressing gratitude toward Cheon Ju-yeon, Seong Ji-eun looked back and forth between me and the Chief.

“Hehe, it’s somewhat of a loophole, but congratulations on your resurrection?”

“If anything goes wrong, I’ll take responsibility and find a solution, so feel free to inhabit it.”

“…Alright.”

Taking a deep breath, Seong Ji-eun reached out toward the golden bead.

She was instantly sucked into the golden bead, and soon the inside began to change.

“Teacher, what kind of person is Sister Ji-eun?”

“Timid but enjoys serving others.”

“Serving….”

“She does have a bit of a masochistic tendency.”

“Wow…!”

Flash!

Just as Ymir exclaimed in amazement, the color of the golden bead’s surface began to deepen.

The semi-transparent interior gradually darkened until it became invisible, and the surface began to develop a visible texture, becoming harder like a shell forming.

“Manager Do, why don’t you tap it once with your Goblin club?”

“Chief?”

“Instead of breaking it from inside, we break it from outside. Like cracking open a gourd, but gently, since cutting it might damage what’s inside.”

“…Understood.”

Since the Chief instructed me to do so, I picked up the Goblin club with trust and confidence.

“I hope nothing goes wrong.”

Tap.

After lightly tapping the sphere with the club, cracks began to form on its surface.

Crack, crack.

As the vertical crack widened and the shell split open from side to side.

Whoosh.

From inside, a woman without a stitch of clothing appeared.

Just like Cheon Ju-yeon before her, platinum bridges occasionally showed through her deep yellow hair with reddish tints.

“…Tch.”

Cheon Ju-yeon bit her lower lip and turned her head away.

As my gaze moved downward from her head and below her eyes, what I saw was—

‘Cerberus.’

Three heads.

One above the neck, two below.

Perhaps for stable balance, the heads below the neck were larger than the one above, making it less awkward to look at.

“…Those aren’t mine, though?”

“They belong to Seong Ji-eun herself.”

“Wow….”

Their overwhelming size made even Ymir stick out her tongue in amazement.

Of course, the difference wasn’t extremely dramatic, but among the produce commonly found in Korea, few could compare to the size of watermelons.

“How is it?”

“…Hmm.”

Seong Ji-eun slowly opened her eyes, flashing her brown irises with a hint of platinum light, and gestured toward Ymir with her chin.

“Um, one more trip.”

“Ah, I’ll be right back.”

Swoosh.

Ymir crossed through the dimensional gate again.

Despite creating multiple doppelgängers and crossing dimensional gates several times, Ymir’s mana showed no signs of depletion.

“……”

“W-well, how is it?”

“We’ll need to confirm more, but it seems successful.”

Despite being gone through the dimensional gate for considerably longer than Cheon Ju-yeon had been, Seong Ji-eun didn’t explode.

“…Phew.”

Seong Ji-eun took a deep breath and began touching various parts of her body.

“Hmm….”

“Sis, how about putting on some clothes? There’s a man here.”

“Hmmmm….”

Seong Ji-eun was absorbed in examining her body, while Cheon Ju-yeon subtly positioned herself in front of me to shield her.

“Hey. Does this mean we’re really alive now? We won’t suddenly explode or anything, right?”

“Of course. The only way you’d burst is if someone precisely hit and shattered the core inside Seong Ji-eun’s body.”

Like if Pharma’s arrow or a blind arrow happened to precisely destroy the core constituting the doppelgänger.

“In that case, you’d return to being a spirit form like you experienced earlier. When you exploded earlier, did it hurt enough to feel like dying?”

“Not as much as actually dying, but it did hurt….”

Cheon Ju-yeon licked her lips while looking at Seong Ji-eun, who was smiling subtly.

“Even that pain felt joyful and welcome because it made me feel alive.”

These people.

“I’m envious. I wish I had one of those too.”

They desire resurrection just as much as revenge.

“The golden beads aren’t just one.”

“……”

“Of course, there are two.”

“I’m not picky about food, but isn’t it a bit much to be resurrected from testicles?!”

Not at all.