Ch.616Chapter 23. Patriotic General Do Ji-hwan (20)

“Son! Oh, yes! Are you busy right now? Ah, it’s nothing really…”

“Yeah, right. About Kiwoo, didn’t he leave Haeguneul recently? Has he found a new job? I know someone…”

“Oh my, brother-in-law! It’s been a while. Um, is your younger brother still single…?”

While the ajumma network began searching for countless good men across the country, I headed to the underground prison of an unmanned motel in Uijeongbu to make their dreams and hopes come true.

“Are you conscious?”

“……”

Three women, each confined to their own room.

Though called a prison, it’s structured like an underground bunker, and the bunker layout resembles the motel rooms above.

Correction.

It’s actually better.

The underground bunker serves as both a prison and accommodation for The Syndicate’s executives and agents when needed, so unlike the small rooms upstairs, each room has a “suite” structure.

Except for the underground view, the room configuration rivals that of a decent 3-star hotel suite.

And here, in one of these suites, is the woman who confronted me.

“Is that your true form?”

“You could say that.”

“…I never imagined the Goblin would be Do Ji-hwan.”

I openly revealed my face.

The woman who had been Emperor Yoo-hyun looked up at me with a dejected expression as she sat on the bed.

“Showing your face means you don’t intend to leave me be, right?”

“Correct.”

Crackle.

Yoo-hyun stretched her hand forward to summon magical power, but barely a trace emerged from her body.

Of course.

This woman’s magical power is completely depleted now.

“You’re really ruthless.”

Yoo-hyun raised her hand, pointing to the handcuffs on her wrist.

“You’ve reduced me to practically a normal person, and now you’re going to Zenros me too?”

The pink, fur-lined handcuffs were blazing with light pink flames.

“A physically enhanced ability user who can’t use a single bit of mana is just an ordinary person with slightly better martial arts. Someone who can’t even defeat a C-rank, not even a D-rank.”

“You understand your situation well.”

A device preventing Yoo-hyun’s mana from naturally recovering.

It’s also attached to Gwanwung and Jangdeok over there.

“Curious about how it works?”

“No thanks. It doesn’t matter if I know. Even if I did, that information wouldn’t reach the authorities.”

“You understand that too.”

“I know you have no intention of letting me go. I know how you treat captured ability users. Because… I’ve seen it happen many times.”

As in Jeju Island, ability users who illegally entered from China have been repeatedly kidnapped and detained by The Syndicate.

Some were reduced to bone dust, scattered into space with the wind.

Some were reborn as new beings through ideological education.

And others became ordinary people through Zenros via cradle breaking.

“What do you plan to do with me?”

“What do you think?”

“You’re overflowing with confidence. Just because you’ve caught the fish, you think you can be this casual with me?”

Yoo-hyun mocked me with a relaxed voice.

“Isn’t Baek Seol-hee looking for you right now? Wondering where Do Ji-hwan went?”

“Baek Seol-hee knows. That Do Ji-hwan is the Goblin.”

“Uh…”

“Lord of Radiant Wings knows too. If you’re hoping for heroes to help you, there’s no hope.”

Yoo-hyun’s expression distorted.

“You’re probably expecting the Chinese authorities to contact the Korean government and Hero Association about ‘the disappearance of the Peach Sisters,’ suggesting The Syndicate is behind it.”

“Kuh…!”

“It’s already too late. Even if such contact was made, the Association wouldn’t listen. The heroes have already collected and submitted evidence of what you’ve done.”

“Damn it…”

There’s no escape.

“The Chinese authorities have no choice but to cut ties with you. You attempted a radiation terror attack at the World Cup Stadium to secure the Olympics. The Chinese authorities have already…”

“…called it an individual’s deviation.”

“You know well.”

She understands both her situation and her circumstances.

Just because she’s a physically enhanced ability user doesn’t mean her brain is made of muscle.

The only thing she doesn’t know is what The Syndicate will do with her.

More precisely, what I will do.

“Just tell me straight. I’m tired of this dragging on. Whether you erase my memories and turn me into a Korean-praising bitch, or Zenros me and dump me in some Chinatown, or use me for yourself—just do whatever you want.”

“Hmm.”

“…But in exchange, let my sisters go. Even if you Zenros them, please spare my sisters and let them leave alive.”

Yoo-hyun looked at me again with a clear face.

“I know it’s shameless. But as you said, I’ve been abandoned by the authorities. Please consider it the final request of a woman with nowhere to go.”

“If we were truly an evil organization.”

I paused briefly to build suspense.

“You would be confined in a machine by now, brainwashed and corrupted through all sorts of methods to become a minion of evil. Maybe with a name like… Chokka.”

“What?”

“Just hypothetically. I’m saying this because we have no such intention.”

“…Are you trying to convince me that ‘we’re not the kind of evil organization you’d find on the dark web’ with talk like that?”

“Of course. Instead, I plan to make you Korean through other means.”

I tapped my Syndicate watch and displayed numerous profile pictures.

“Choose your husband yourself.”

“W-what…?”

“I’ll at least give you one chance to choose. You will become unable to use your abilities for life and live as the wife of a Korean man.”

“…You’re insane. Are you telling me to become some kind of Korean factory?”

“That’s up to you.”

“…What?”

Yoo-hyun’s expression became strange at my deliberately ambiguous words.

“Whether you manipulate the man who will be your husband, become his slave, or explain the situation to him and escape The Syndicate’s surveillance to flee to China together—that’s up to you.”

“…!”

“The same goes for your sisters. Same conditions as you.”

“…What are you thinking?”

“What am I thinking? I’m just following the manual.”

According to The Syndicate’s plan for managing villains, I have no other thoughts than arranging a match for this woman.

“What? Do you prefer a Westerner? If so, we have mixed-race candidates and Western men who’ve naturalized to Korea. The list of recommended candidates is growing by dozens in real-time.”

“What?”

“The men don’t know. But The Syndicate’s tavern owners are working hard to find them. Men who will become your husbands.”

“Tavern owners… aren’t they women?”

“That’s right.”

“……”

Yoo-hyun still looked at me with uncomprehending eyes.

“I just don’t…”

“I was surprised. I thought the Chinese authorities had already made you the subject of the kind of ‘indecent acts’ you’re imagining.”

“…Hmph.”

Yoo-hyun openly frowned.

“Rather than mixing bodies with a man I don’t want, I’d rather leave for another country or die.”

“Good. That’s the right mindset. Now you can choose the man you want.”

“That’s not…!”

“Do you think you have the option of ‘not choosing’?”

The diversity of options is limited only to ‘who.’

“Choose the man you want. After that, you can do as you please. Whether you share sweet love with him or act like a queen toward him.”

“Ha… You seem to be underestimating us too much…”

Yoo-hyun raised her wrist again.

“Don’t think we’ll continue to be unable to use mana because of this. We could become demons or regain our powers. What, are you going to monitor us?”

“We’ll monitor you, but I don’t intend to let that happen, so what you’re worried about won’t occur. Me suffering 24 hours a day monitoring you.”

Because.

“I told you. You won’t be able to use mana from now on.”

“That’s just because of these handcuffs…”

Whoosh.

The pink, fur-lined handcuffs instantly turned to flames and disappeared.

“Huh…?”

Suddenly freed, Yoo-hyun stared at her wrist as her expression hardened.

“W-what did you do to my body…?!”

“I left just enough mana to make you think it was natural recovery. A tiny amount of mana that I allowed you to use, thinking it was naturally recovering.”

“Tell me!! Why can’t I feel my mana?! What did you do to my brain?! That’s it, right?!”

“No. Not your brain.”

I stood up and slightly bowed toward Yoo-hyun.

“I should thank you. Thanks to you three sisters, I’ve obtained some very interesting experimental results.”

“W-what…? You experimented on us…?”

“Yes, I did. There’s no ethical issue or impact. We’re villains, after all.”

“But you just said you weren’t that kind of evil organization—”

“We’re selective about our means and methods, but being selective means we can still cross lines when necessary.”

I pointed to Yoo-hyun’s lower abdomen.

“Simply put, I ‘sealed’ it. Your mana. Your cradle.”

“W-what…? What does that mean…?”

“To understand the principle, you need to connect it with your current situation. Specifically, the fact that you must become someone’s wife.”

“What on earth…”

She wouldn’t understand.

Even Ymir wouldn’t understand with such fragmentary information.

That’s because this idea came to me while figuring out how to deal with them.

“Your mana has been sealed. It’s different from Zenros, different.”

“……”

“I placed a taboo on you. Until the taboo is lifted, you can never use your ability.”

“W-wait. This flow… Don’t tell me, you…”

“Impressive. You’re as quick-witted as the woman I know. Well then, can you tell me how to lift the taboo?”

“……”

Yoo-hyun placed her hand on her stomach.

“By… getting pregnant…?”

Clap, clap, clap.

“Correct, ability user.”

To summarize in one sentence:

“I placed a seal that will be lifted from the Zenros state when you become pregnant.”