Chapter 289: Interlude – The Spectators

In front of the Chicago Dimensional Portal, overlooked by the monster that had once been the Dungan Heavy Industries headquarters — or rather, what used to be the building.

A huge figure named Poison Flower cloaked entirely in a coat, lit a cigarette.

Even as mercenaries around him exclaimed “Woooow!” while holding up their phones, he quietly watched the people falling onto the Monster King’s back.

The Holy Sword, Mara and an unnamed wench, the crow… and finally, the Saintess and the Red Star.

Their consecutive attacks, executed one after another, looked as beautiful as a cavalry charge by knights.

That said, if you asked whether their attack was efficient— not really. The battle had been decided the moment the Holy Sword struck the first blow.

However, sometimes, being cool had meaning on its own. Especially now, with all the media and public attention focused here.

Probably for the next day or two — maybe the whole week — this event would dominate the news cycle.

“I don’t know whether he’s bold, or just lucky…”

Poison Flower, roughly guessing at what Yeomyeong had just done, shook his head and lit his cigarette.

As the smoke rose, he thought to himself how ridiculously tough that guy was. Well, no wonder he managed to master Dzhugashvili to greatness.

— Fwooo.

Dzhugashvili, the Demon King, fate… Poison Flower inhaled his cigarette deeply, his exhale a cloud mixed with worry and exhaustion.

Though smoking was prohibited around the Dimensional Portal, no one — not the mercenaries, not even the Dimensional Portal guards— said anything. Everyone was too busy staring at the Saintess’ brilliant explosion of light.

– Who was that crow just now? Anyone know?

• Anyone who filmed it, send the videos to my number right now! Don’t contact the media individually!

• Portal Guards, stop gawking and get back to your posts! Someone could try to cross illegally!

  Some people, finally realizing the situation, rushed to restore, but many others still couldn’t tear their eyes away from the melting corpse of the monster.

  – Anyone know who that guy who fell with the Saintess at the end is?

• He must be the Saintess’s escort knight.

• A knight using the Comet Blade? Are you serious?

• What? Did it make sense when an Australian stole the Holy Sword?

  Among them were believers bearing the symbols of the Church of Five Gods.

  Seeing the gathering of the Saintess, the Holy Sword, and the Holy Relics Keeper in one place, they let their imaginations run wild.

  They said that perhaps the gods had finally forgiven America, or that the next generation’s Holy Sword bearer would be an Ashian again…

  Watching them, Poison Flower took another drag of his cigarette and smirked bitterly.

  Was it because Marx’s words about religion being the opium of the people crossed his mind?

  No — it was because the one who had just saved these people praising the Five Gods, was a commie as close to being a Demon King.

  “…How ironic.”

  Seeing it all now, he thought he could finally understand, even just a little, why Mara found life so amus—

  “Ironic? What’s so ironic?”

  A gentle voice interrupted his thoughts.

  Poison Flower didn’t answer right away. Instead, he smoked until only the butt remained, then turned his head and exhaled a cloud of smoke as he spoke.

  “It’s nothing you need to know.”

  At the end of his smoke-wreathed words stood a woman wearing a thick sheep mask.

  At her sides stood two suited individuals wearing chicken and tiger masks, exuding an eerie lack of presence — as if they were cloaked in invisibility.

  “…You’re much ruder than I heard.”

  Said the woman in the sheep mask, waving her hand lightly. Poison Flower flicked his cigarette butt to the ground as he answered.

  “It doesn’t seem like the one who came directly to me, rather than to my leader, should be talking about manners. Does your elder handle things like this?”

  The man in the chicken mask, perhaps angered by Poison Flower’s mention of an elder, stepped forward. His bloodshot eyes gleamed menacingly from behind the mask.

  The tiger-masked man, standing behind him, subtly reached for a gun at his waist. As Poison Flower raised his hand and flicked his fingers…

  “Enough.”

  The woman in the sheep mask raised her hand gently, stopping the man in the chicken mask.

  On the surface, it seemed like she was stopping an impulsive subordinate, but judging by the simmering anger in her eyes, it appeared that the woman in the sheep mask herself was the most upset.

  Was she angry that her superior was being insulted?

  As Poison Flower silently mocked the puppet, she spoke with a voice that struggled to suppress her fury.

  “Poison Flower, we’re not here to fight. We just… want to know what happened inside the Corruption Stone.”

  “You want expensive information, then.”

  “If it’s the price, we’ll pay anything. Money doesn’t matter when it comes to uncovering the secrets of the Church.”

  The tiger-masked man followed the woman’s gesture, lifting a heavy bag.

  Looking at the bag, likely full of money, Poison Flower shook his head.

  “What you want to know isn’t the Church’s secrets, is it?”

  “…”

  “Don’t forget what happened to Colombia, who played us. Even without the Skeleton Dragon, we are still us.”

  Maybe it was because she was intimidated by the not-quite-a-threat? The woman in the sheep mask flinched and shuddered.

  “How much do you actually know?”

  “What the Star Entrails knows, we all know.”

  Perhaps not expecting the name Star Entrails to be openly mentioned, the man in the chicken mask looked startled and scanned the surroundings. Fortunately, no one in the chaos seemed to be paying attention to them.

  Poison Flower took out another cigarette from his coat pocket and spoke.

  “If you have any questions, ask me honestly. I’ll be the one to decide whether I answer or not.”

  The woman in the sheep mask hesitated for a moment before slowly opening her mouth.

  “The agents from our side who entered the dream all said they saw a light engulfed by darkness. Tell us, is this the Demon King’s mana?”

  The Demon King’s mana? The fact that they asked so directly showed that the people from the peninsula were incredibly anxious, fearing it might be their turn next.

  The proof that the elder was no more capable than someone at Berry’s level…

  Waaaaa!

  At that moment, cheers suddenly erupted from the crowd.

  – We’re safe after all!

• Oh, Five Gods! Saintess! Look this way, please!

• Ugh, stop pushing! Are you the only ones taking pictures?

  Poison Flower turned his head and saw the Saintess and Yeomyeong walking out onto the slime mass.

  Both of them, probably exhausted to the point of death, were still waving at the crowd as they descended, and their appearance was quite impressive.

  Poison Flower wondered what could possibly drive them to do such a thing, but he didn’t bother searching for an answer.

  After all, humans all had their own reasons and lived as they please.

  Even he couldn’t understand why the great Stalin was obsessed with dimensional travel, so why should he care about what that brat were doing?

  Most importantly, watching the way the people who had fought alongside them — Browning, the Holy Relics Keeper, and even the Saintess — all ran toward the two of them was, in itself, quite an amusing sight.

  Although I don’t know why Mara’s there…

  Watching Mara being dragged like a dog with a leash, Poison Flower couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

  He couldn’t understand how someone who had been preparing in formal attire had ended up in that state. But then again, knowing Mara, it was exactly the sort of thing that would happen.

  …Well, anyway.

  Poison Flower, whose interest had waned, looked back at the woman in the sheep mask. Like Poison Flower, she was watching the Saintess’ group, but oddly, she was staring intently at the wench holding Mara’s leash.

  Was she someone she knew? Or perhaps someone from the same country? Either way, it didn’t matter to Poison Flower. He lit a cigarette and spoke again.

  “That’s not the Demon King’s mana.”

  “Pardon?”

  “The light engulfed by darkness. That has nothing to do with the Demon King.”

  “Then… what exactly was it?”

  “Well, how would you call the night sky swallowing a comet? I’m not sure, though.”

  The poetic analogy made the woman in the sheep mask tilt her head. Before she could ask what it meant, Poison Flower furrowed his brow first.

  …What did I just say?

  Did he just blurt out that literary expression without realizing it? Poison Flower shuddered at the thought of his own words.

  Just as that shudder was about to linger a bit longer, someone jumped off a helicopter hovering near the Dimensional Portal.

  It wasn’t a State National Guard member wearing an egg-shell helmet, but a muscular man dressed in regular combat gear and wearing a mask.

  As the sudden newcomer landed, people’s attention shifted toward him, but it didn’t last long.

  Instead of heading toward the monster or the Saintess, the man began to approach the crowd, specifically, Poison Flower.

  Only the woman in the sheep mask reacted to this unexpected visitor.

  “Is that… someone you know?”

  “I know him. He’s our current employer. You probably know him too.”

  “We do? Who on earth is he?”

  “The Governor of Illinois.”

  “…”

  The woman in the sheep mask looked at the approaching giant with a surprised expression. She quickly realized, not from his face but from his massive build, that Poison Flower’s words were correct.

  He was a whole head taller than Dokhwa, who was over 190 cm, with broad shoulders, bursting pectorals, and thick thighs… There was no way there could be another politician in America with a build like that.

  “Unfortunately, meeting him is beyond my authority. We’ll take our leave now. Let’s meet again in Incheon.”

  The woman in the sheep mask signaled to the chicken and tiger-masked men, placed the money bag on the ground, and disappeared into the crowd.

  Well, at least they left the money behind, so maybe they are better than Berya?

  Poison Flower gave a wry smile as he picked up the money bag, just as the governor’s large hand was placed on his shoulder.

  “Poison Flower, you’ve caused quite an amusing situation.”

  “I’m glad you found it amusing.”

  ‘Ha!”

  At Poison Flower’s shamless reply, the governor scoffed. Meanwhile, some of the people around them, noticing his large size, gave suspicious glances, but their doubts didn’t last long.

  After all, who would ever suspect the governor himself would be here?

  The governor, who understood public psychology well, firmly squeezed Poison Flower’s shoulder.

  “I didn’t give you money to ruin things and chat with the folks from the peninsula.”

  “Nor did you give me money to fight with Browning or the Holy Relics Keeper.”

  “Unexpected situations always happen, after all.”

  “Is the unexpected situation the Big Three? I’ll return that statement to you.”

  The strength in the governor’s grip grew heavier. There was a cracking sound from underneath the coat as flesh and bone were crushed.

  For a moment, the hem of the coat was soaked in blood.

  The governor released his grip and showed a weary smile, which was visible even beneath his mask.

  “Yeah, you’re right. Who would have thought Browning and the Holy Relics Keeper would come out of the Corruption Stone? And on top of that…”

  The governor glanced at the Saintess, who was still waving her hand.

  “Even the Saintess?”

  “…Why are you leaving out the Red Star?”

  “You’re the one who said that commie bastard would be manageable.”

  “…”

  Poison Flower, who knew the true identity of the Red Star, kept his expression carefully neutral. The governor, oblivious, continued with his arms crossed.

  “Anyway, the whole thing turned into a shitshow. I risked being noticed by the Prophet and staked all of Chicago on this… and yet, we ended up gaining nothing. Worse, I lost Hamilton, who was like an extension of my—”

  As he regenerated his crushed shoulder, Poison Flower spoke up.

  “…If you mean Hamilton, I’ve secured him separately.”

  “Oh, now that’s good news. I would’ve been really upset if we lost him too.”

  The governor brightened up as he said this, his voice full of genuine feeling, not sarcasm.

  Sensing that sincerity, Poison Flower felt a near-awe kind of disgust. This man could truly care for his subordinates— and yet sacrifice millions of Chicago citizens without a second thought.

  Everyone who was affiliated with the Old Rulers — including Poison Flower himself — were all crazy, but none were as mad as the governor.

  And as if to prove that madness, the governor glanced back at the Saintess and said.

  “Poison Flower, do you think if we launched a missile at her right now, we could kill the Saintess?”

  “…”

  “The helicopter pilot might ‘accidentally’ fire two missiles… Hm, if Browning weren’t there, I’d really give it a shot.”

  Poison Flower didn’t respond. The governor, seemingly not expecting an answer, laughed heartily and shook off the thought.

  “Haha, what a mess. Instead of missiles, I should probably be handing out medals to the ones who wrecked my plans.”

  “…Medals?”

  “No matter what happened to my plans, aren’t they still the heroes who saved Chicago? I have to pin medals on them before the Washington bastards try to snatch them up.”

  “…”

  “Oh, and that guy standing next to the Saintess. Did you happen to see his dream within Ayatollah’s authority?”

  Out of nowhere? Poison Flower narrowed his eyes, watching the governor point at Yeomyeong.

  “…Why are you suddenly curious about that?”

  “He was leading that whole coordinated attack show. That means he’s got both skill and showmanship… I like him.”

  “…”

  “He’s not the type to waste away in some uptight Holy Knight Order. I’d rather recruit him. If I knew what he wished for in his dreams, it would be easier to lure him.”

  Yeomyeong’s dream? Having failed to wake from his own dreams, Poison Flower couldn’t even begin to guess what it might have been.

  So he answered honestly.

  “…I don’t know.”

  “Is that so? Looks like you didn’t do much correctly this time. I should demand half the contract payment back from Star Entrails.”

  “…”

  “Well, if you don’t know, guess we’ll have to go at it head-on… It’ll be tricky to use a honey trap on him, since he’s got a woman like the Saintess… but maybe if I offer to help him win her over, he’ll join me?”

  Offer to what? Poison Flower grimaced at the thought of what went on in the minds of those in power. He gave a sharp, sarcastic reply.

  “Instead of that, why don’t you just go ask him yourself?”

  It was meant as pure mockery, but the governor took it differently.

  “Ah, that’s a great idea. Since I’m already here, I might as well strike up a conversation.”

  “…?”

  When Poison Flower lifted his head again, the governor was already striding toward the Saintess’ group.

  “Take Hamilton to the secret hospital. And you, cough up half the advance payment.”

  Watching the governor’s retreating back, Poison Flower was momentarily at a loss for words.

  He stared blankly as the governor approached Yeomyeong.

  Just as the governor spread his arms wide to greet him, Poison Flower caught a glimpse of Yeomyeong’s lips as he muttered.

  Um, sorry, but… I’m going to faint now.

  And right as he finished speaking, Yeomyeong actually collapsed.

  It must have been quite the shock for the governor. Not only did the guy faint the moment he approached, it wasn’t just a “momentary” blackout either.

  Yeomyeong didn’t wake up again for another three days.