After the Awakening

Several weeks had passed since Phantom Luna’s awakening.

First, the issue of the Tartarus inmates still remained a source of confusion in the world.

In a way, this could be considered natural.

[Villain Group from Tartarus B5 Sector Declares New Collective!]

[Growing Civilian Casualties Daily, What Countermeasures from the Association and Government?]

Even if they were just the low-quality villains from floors 1-5, it was natural that they couldn’t be easily stopped when they were rampaging with overwhelming numbers and the anger and madness acquired in prison.

And they weren’t the only ones who had escaped.

[Tartarus B6 Sector, The Villains of the Past Return]

Underground 6th floor.

Since Tartarus was established, numerous villains had entered that place.

Whether men or women, elderly or children.

If there was one characteristic they shared, it was that they were special-class villains who had either inflicted major damage on the nation or world, or held executive positions or higher in famous large villain organizations.

Those who entered Tartarus had been fighting each other like madmen at some point.

For a full 70 years.

It was natural that some died in the process.

But if there were those who died, there were also those who maintained their lives.

‘In terms of martial arts novels, it could be considered Kodoku poison.’

All kinds of poisonous pests fighting each other to kill or be killed in one jar.

A bloody battle waged with malice and toxicity.

What remained after it ended was the most powerful poison among them.

And Tartarus was such a jar of Kodoku, while the villains of the 6th floor were the pests killing each other.

[While the prisoners’ tyranny worsens daily, rumors suggest that the B6 sector escapees are gradually regaining their former power…]

The practical experience and condensed killing intent accumulated over 70 years couldn’t be easily resolved in just a few weeks.

[…Additionally, as the chaotic situation continues, villains attempting to profit from this turmoil are also running rampant…]

And even without those Tartarus guys, there would be others trying to stir up trouble by exploiting the situation.

The chaos would likely continue for at least a few months.

‘If there’s any good news for Korea, it’s probably that another S-class awakened has appeared in Korea.’

Phantom Luna’s awakening.

Another awakened appearing just about a year after Ice Queen’s awakening was exceptional even by global standards.

[A New Star Rising in Korea! S-class Hero Phantom Luna!]

[Born in Japan, Becoming Korea’s Hero! Let’s Look at Phantom Luna’s Life Story!]

Moreover, Korea was currently suffering from a manpower shortage due to the rampaging villains.

In this situation, the emergence of Phantom Luna, who controlled many times more summoned creatures than others, was a blessing that the Korean Heroes Association welcomed with open arms.

A diligent hero with a strong sense of responsibility.

A woman who grew through difficult circumstances and ultimately became a true hero of Korea in name and reality.

It was perhaps inevitable that they began featuring her in various media, as she was narratively perfect and an excellent force.

[Japan: ‘Phantom Luna’ is Clearly Our Country’s Hero. She Only Temporarily Contracted with the Korean Association for Her Sick Siblings’ Hospital Bills…]

[Korean Heroes Association Director Kwon Sang-pil, ‘If You Wanted to Claim That, You Should Have Paid More’ Continuing Controversial Remarks]

It was to establish Phantom Luna as a new symbol and to firmly declare her as a fully Korean hero.

For reference, news was gradually emerging that Japan had belatedly heard the news and was now negotiating with the Korean Association.

‘Japan, huh…’

I was looking through such news when I quietly spoke.

“I should go there once.”

I had finished the awakening of the main heroines.

The growth of other heroes and villains was clicking along on auto-hunting thanks to the inmates.

Truthfully, if I were to go, now would be the best timing.

Furthermore…

[57,853rd Experiment Result]

[……]

[Success. 100% identical to the original Vestige of Mystery.]

[Congratulations, Mr. Maker. You’ve finally achieved what you wanted.]

I had finally succeeded in replicating the Vestige of Mystery.

“Phew… finally.”

Years of experiments.

The artifact naturally played a big role in helping this succeed.

Swish.

The Ever-Changing Transformation that had been assisting me overall.

Beyond that, it naturally helped me develop a sense for handling artifacts, which further increased my understanding of the Vestige of Mystery.

It was worth ignoring the sad and lingering eyes I saw every time I encountered Alpha.

“..Next is the Dew of Lotus?”

Now that I’ve mastered the feeling of creating one, the next ones shouldn’t be too difficult.

According to the Professor, while there are differences in properties and results, the fundamental aspects of all Vestiges of Mystery are similar.

‘I guess it’s time to go to Japan.’

To collect a new Vestige of Mystery.

And if I can just find the alchemist, the preparations to save the Supreme Leader will be almost complete.

For reference, Yoo Chae-hwa, the chairwoman of Raon, the company where I’m the major shareholder, continues to help with tracking down the alchemist.

‘She said she’d bring good news soon, so I should be able to look forward to it.’

Having roughly organized my thoughts, I moved on to another schedule.

“Sigh…”

Phantom Luna emerged from the Association Director’s office.

She heaved a deep sigh and began walking.

‘Becoming S-class is so exhausting…!’

That was her thought as she slumped at her newly assigned desk.

Since her awakening, she had suddenly gained fame.

A hero who had defeated villains that multiple other heroes couldn’t overcome.

It could have ended as a common occurrence, but the fact that two other A-class heroes like her were among the additional support sent.

And her changed attire and additional summoned creatures made it easy to recognize that she had awakened.

After that, intense scheduling and massive marketing campaigns targeting her continued.

“Urrrgh…”

She was exhausted despite having awakened and having most of her work done by her summoned creatures.

Honestly speaking, she didn’t like this situation much.

‘Not just the increased workload, but there are too many people bothering me.’

While some approached with pure respect, many others tried to use her as a mere object of interest or entertainment.

Some tried to dig up her past without permission, while others brought up marriage talk without even consulting her, saying she needed to be tied to Korea.

And it was ridiculous when the Association Director, whom she had never met once since coming to the Korean Heroes Association, suddenly pretended to be close to her.

‘Fortunately, I don’t have to listen to those people today, which relieves me a bit.’

More accurately, she wouldn’t have to in the future either.

The newspaper company that had been meddling in her affairs had been destroyed in a terrorist attack this morning.

“..Hehe.”

Phantom Luna felt it was deserved, though it might be a bit inappropriate for a hero to think so.

If that disrespectful newspaper company hadn’t been completely ruined by the sudden appearance of prison escapees, who knows what she might have done to them afterward.

That’s how severely Phantom Luna had been stressed.

“..Should I visit Master’s cafe again after so long?”

As she thought about it, the way she used to relieve stress came floating back to her.

Kang Yi-an’s cafe.

Since her awakening, she had been experiencing significant awkwardness in dealing with him as before.

‘When the villains appeared, it was an emergency, so I didn’t have time to think…’

But as time passed, she became concerned about how to treat him, who was both Maker and the cafe owner.

He might not welcome her as a hero… no, judging by how he wasn’t surprised when he discovered her identity, he might have known all along.

“Ugh..! I have so many questions… what should I do…”

As Phantom Luna was deeply contemplating.

[When will we go meet the moon’s husband?]

“W-what are you saying!”

The question suddenly asked by one of the yokai.

Phantom Luna’s body stiffened.

Husband.

Not any other title, but specifically husband!

‘M-Master.. no, Maker and I aren’t in that kind of relationship yet…!’

It was a casual remark from the uninformed yokai, but her heart was pounding as if it had committed some wrong upon hearing those words.

Husband…

Just thinking about it made her breath catch and her body tingle.

Phantom Luna twisted her slightly longer hair and spoke that title.

“Hus-husbanwd…”

Just those two words made her face flush red and stopped her thoughts.

Useless thoughts kept popping up in her head.

Maker… no, Kang Yi-an.

What would it be like if he became her husband?

‘..At least I wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry.’

First, he was an excellent cook.

He was also thrifty with household affairs and could be considered quite domestic.

‘He was very kind to me since we met when he was Master.’

He was kind. He seemed to have treated her kindly even when he was Maker (somewhat fabricated).

‘Thinking about how he treats that child working at Master’s cafe… Polia, was it? He seems like he would raise children well too…’

And above all, he had a really nice smile.

Sometimes to the point where it irritated her when he smiled at other people.

A handsome smile that strangely made her want to monopolize it.

Husband…

No, in keeping with Korean sentiment, wouldn’t “Seobang-nim” (a traditional Korean term for husband) be a better expression?

“Seobang-nim…”

It rolled off the tongue smoothly yet was strangely more embarrassing to say.

But as if she were entranced, she said the word again.

“Seobang-nim…”

As if ruminating, as if savoring it.

“Seobang-nim…”

The only one I can lean on.

The one I like…

My…

“KYAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

At that thought, she slapped her own cheek hard enough to make a clapping sound.

‘I’ve gone crazy! Crazy!!’

No matter what, husband! Seobang-nim!

She must definitely be possessed by something.

As Phantom Luna continued her outburst for a moment.

[……]

“..Ahem.”

Soon realizing that she wasn’t alone here, she cleared her throat and returned to her original concern.

‘..Maker. I guess I need to go meet him.’

It was strange to have such thoughts after indulging in strange fantasies, but it was by no means self-interest.

As mentioned earlier, she had many questions, and she had accumulated a lot of stress recently.

It wasn’t impure self-interest, just simple curiosity and a desire to relieve stress.

[..Moon, why do you keep rationalizing…?]

Anyway!

However, even if she wanted to go to his cafe right away, she had too much to do.

Phantom Luna scanned the pile of work on her desk, about the size of a stack of A4 papers.

She contemplated for a moment.

There were many assigned tasks.

From simple tasks that required a lot of manpower, like cleaning up terrorist zones, to very annoying tasks like interviews or congratulatory messages.

The only fortunate thing was that there were no urgent matters or reports of villain appearances.

As if comparing with work, Maker’s face floated up.

Maker’s face during the previous villain attack.

Kang Yi-an’s face with his black hair half-wet from the rain, smiling refreshingly in Maker’s attire.

She alternately thought about them as if comparing them to the documents.

[Are you conflicted?]

“……”

Phantom Luna then gathered her clothes and ran straight out.

Unlike before, Phantom Luna headed to his cafe riding a griffin with a very familiar attitude.

Once she made her decision, she ran faster than anyone else.

She was somewhat excited.

‘Of course, since we’ve revealed our identities to each other and made some progress? in our relationship..!’

It was almost like sharing a special secret, wasn’t it?

As such, she felt nervous yet somehow excited.

After the previous incident, she had developed a strange trust that he would not harm her.

Honestly, she also thought that he might be waiting for her.

‘Ah, I’m already here!’

So Phantom Luna moved with quick steps.

Imagining him smiling brightly at the sight of her.

“..Ms. Phantom Luna?”

“Ice… Queen?”

But what she soon saw was Ice Queen sticking close to Maker.

The sight of Ice Queen holding his hand tightly, smiling and bringing it to her cheek.

“..Huh?”

Phantom Luna’s face twisted fiercely.