Part 1, Chapter 11, 9

Baek Hee-ah and Eun Yuha, who had tried to ensnare me, succeeded in bringing the Azure Syndicate under their control.

The Azure Syndicate succeeded, and the Azure Flame Phoenix was removed from the Azure Syndicate’s roster.

Eun Yuha pleaded in my arms, asking if I couldn’t join the Azure Syndicate with them, but they eventually gave up due to my firm refusal.

Baek Hee-ah seemed quite surprised but readily accepted Kim Ji-hwa’s signature. It appeared she had some political burden regarding accepting Phoenix.

After adjusting the detailed contents, I gathered the executives and informed them of the situation. Since Baek Hee-ah was accompanying me, I explained the situation to them using formal language.

“That doesn’t mean the Azure Syndicate will change. It’s just that hunting and selling monsters beyond the 38th parallel, as before, has been officially legalized. We’ll have some taxes deducted, but Yuseong will handle that anyway, so it’s not something we need to worry about.”

“That’s a great relief. Although I’ve been placed in a high position in many ways, which has become a burden.”

Kim Ji-hwa, who had now truly become the leader of the Azure Syndicate, somehow sighed in relief.

“What’s that? Do you think I’ll completely wash my hands of it?”

“No. Lead-… What should I call you?”

“Just call me Phoenix-nim.”

“Yes. I will naturally follow Phoenix-nim’s orders. What I said earlier about it being a relief meant that I was truly fortunate you chose a path without fighting.

Ji-hwa seemed to be secretly reluctant to fight. Although I knew he had prepared for battle even more diligently than I had, I decided to respect his attitude of respecting his superior’s choice.

“Now that you mention it, you seem to have changed a bit….”

“Is that so? Hahaha.”

For some reason, Ji-hwa was overflowing with composure. How should I put it, it felt like something that hadn’t been satisfied was now filled.

“Alright then. What about the other executives?”

“We welcome it. Oh, I’ll keep calling you Boss.”

“Now that the Azure Syndicate can be officially operated, this should stabilize public order in Seoul. Thank you, …Phoenix.”

Architect and Haneulseong were also in a position to accept the agreement. As they were the ones who most actively engaged in external activities and restored Seoul, it seemed they were quite bothered by Seoul becoming a battlefield and turning into ruins again.

“I merely follow orders. I will assist Beacon-nim well by their side.”

Gungseong stuck closely to Beacon’s side and smiled with narrowed eyes. Beacon shuddered when Gungseong pressed against them.

“……?”

“I’m leaving the Azure Syndicate.”

“Me too.”

Cheon Gaeul and Jo Deokbae wanted to remain Villains. At their words, I and the other executives were speechless.

“……Why?”

I had no choice but to ask. Gaeul raised her hand first and pointed at me.

“What reason would I have to be in the Azure Syndicate? It’s to be with you. But if you leave, is there any reason for me to be in the Azure Syndicate?”

“I appreciate that thought, but…”

There’s a role Gaeul needs to fulfill by remaining in the Azure Syndicate.

“Even if the Azure Flame Phoenix leaves the Azure Syndicate, I intend to keep ‘Cheonghwa,’ the monster controller, registered with the Azure Syndicate.”

“Are you telling me to act as Cheonghwa?”

“It’s for both reasons. Praetor, explain.”

“Thank you. Ahem.”

Baek Hee-ah politely bowed to the executives, then carefully opened her mouth.

“…Phoenix-nim is leaving the Azure Syndicate, but people still don’t know that Phoenix and Cheonghwa are the same person. If that fact becomes known, it will cause great confusion.”

Cheonghwa, the beautiful girl, a paragon of self-sacrifice who shows heroic actions.

Phoenix, an incarnation of recklessness and a crazy psychopath murderer.

If the public learns that the two beings are the same, people will fall into a state of anomie.

“Fortunately, the Heroes who participated in Phoenix-nim’s presentation at the time also stated they would cooperate fully. As they are tight-lipped individuals, they won’t go around leaking information. I will prevent it.”

I, the Azure Syndicate, the government, the Association, Yuseong.

No one wants the ‘Phoenix=Cheonghwa’ theory to be revealed as truth to the public. Therefore, to ensure that Phoenix and Cheonghwa are different individuals, the two must operate in separate locations.

“The one who will take on Cheonghwa’s role is Phantom. …Can you do it?”

“Alright. I got it.”

Gaeul readily accepted my request. She even transformed into Cheonghwa in front of Baek Hee-ah.

“……Ah, that day too, perhaps?”

“That’s right. I transformed into her.”

Gaeul linked arms with me and pressed her face against mine. She had the same face and body type as me, to the extent that one might suspect she was a clone, not a twin. I told Baek Hee-ah and the other executives how to distinguish us.

“Only the eye color where mana manifests is different.”

Mine is a bright blue, the same as my hair color.

Gaeul’s is ash gray, which is also a symbol of the phantom attribute.

“But at that time…”

“I wore colored contacts. She made them for me.”

“Since the difference is obvious at a glance, of course I took measures.”

Gaeul transformed into my body and rubbed her face and body against me.

“Don’t do that in front of others.”

“So you’re saying it’s okay if it’s not in front of others?”

“……Stop messing around and step back a bit. I’ll play along later.”

“Tsk.”

Gaeul pouted and stepped aside. Baek Hee-ah had a somewhat displeased expression, perhaps a little shocked.

“…Are you really actress Cheon Gaeul-nim?”

“Yeah. That’s right. The Cheon Gaeul that Lee Seung-hyung served as chief mourner for at the funeral.”

“……It’s understandable that Fire Fist would hate you.”

Baek Hee-ah’s glare at me was unusual. I corrected the sequence of events to clear up the misunderstanding.

“I didn’t NTR him, okay?”

“It’s effectively the same thing in terms of outcome, but anyway, I can’t live without her. She saved my life and made me S-rank.”

“……I see. Ah, then Cheon Gaeul-nim. Can you live a double life?”

“Live the lives of Cheonghwa and Cheon Gaeul separately?”

Gaeul quickly understood Baek Hee-ah’s words. I created flames to distinguish day and night like a clock, and Baek Hee-ah continued her explanation using the flames, even while finding it fascinating.

“Yes. You live as Cheon Gaeul during the day, and as Cheonghwa at night. …Although what you do at night would only be sleeping or resting.”

“During the day, I will work as Cheonghwa. Mainly when I’m on overseas tours? Or when I’m at official events-“

“No. You can do it like that time, right? When you went to Gangnam to meet Haneulseong.”

“Ah.”

[Is this what you mean?]

I transformed into Phoenix and stood behind Gaeul. I spread a strong wave of mana around me to hide my body.

“Oh, that was it then.”

[It’s hard at night. At that time, I used the power of the Cube, so invisibility was possible even at night. If they are S-rank or higher, they’ll probably notice if someone is following them.]

I released the transformation and returned to my human body.

“So, Cheon Gaeul has been resolved.”

I asked for his opinion out of courtesy.

“Jo Deokbae, why you?”

“What else? It’s because it seems more fun to hang out with you than to hang out with these guys at the Association here.”

“Ugh.”

I openly showed my displeasure, but Deokbae didn’t back down.

“Where are you going with subordinate No. 2? Huh? Didn’t you have fun with me when you went to China? Isn’t that right?”

“……That’s true. Ah, just a moment.”

I went behind Deokbae and tapped his back with my hand. Deokbae’s back opened up in front of everyone, and soon only his Core remained, and he became a Deokbaet.

“Huh…?”

“Monstrous humans can do things like this too. Keep that in mind.”

I spun the Deokbaet around, checked the grip again, then raised it high into the sky and checked its condition.

“……This one seems better after all.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s a personal matter. Now, Baek Hee-ah agassi.”

I pointed at the Deokbaet.

“Among the Azure Syndicate members, there are also vicious criminals with a record similar to mine, you know? Like him. The detailed record is a bit awkward to talk about, but know that he’s a quite heinous criminal.”

“……I see, so that’s how it is.”

Baek Hee-ah readily agreed. Deokbae’s appearance was certainly unusual.

“Then I just need to ask for the last executive’s intention.”

“The last… Ah. He was there.”

The unfortunate one who still cannot return to human form.

We left the hotel and moved to Han River Park.

“Wow.”

Baek Hee-ah exclaimed in admiration at the 40m-long dragon positioned in the middle of the Han River. Thanks to being outside, Gaeul returned to her original body, and the Black Flame Dragon looked at me, then stood on two legs and raised its wings high into the sky.

“What is that doing? A ritual of submission?”

“That’s a person, you know.”

“……Excuse me?”

“Gwak Yong-woo, the Black Flame Dragon. Oh, is he still registered as the Black Goat on the Villain wanted list? What do you mean you don’t know, even after you yourselves organized it?”

Baek Hee-ah clicked her tongue in amazement, looking back and forth between Gwak Yong-woo’s profile and the giant dragon in front of her.

“The possibilities of monstrous humans are truly endless. They can be weapons, and they can be monsters….”

“For your information, the Flame Giant is what Deokbae transformed into.”

“Huh.”

“And the dragon monster that caught the Water Guardian in China was a fusion of the Flame Giant and the Black Flame Dragon. To be precise… it was a case of covering the Flame Giant with the weaponized Black Flame Dragon’s armor.”

The Black Flame Dragon lowered its head towards us. I explained the whole story to the Black Flame Dragon.

[I will follow the will of God.]

The Black Flame Dragon spewed fiery letters from its nostrils, expressing its will. Baek Hee-ah, who had learned more about the Black Flame Dragon, pointed at the Black Flame Dragon and asked me a question.

“Then is the monster controller a scam?”

“No. I can control real monsters too. If I put my mind to it, I can even revive Water Guardians or Branch Dragons and turn them into monstrous humans or monsters.”

“Th-then.”

Baek Hee-ah seemed quite embarrassed to say something, but she swallowed hard and asked me.

“Perhaps… is it possible to revive even those who have passed away?”

“……If the corpse is intact?”

In fact, I even revived Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who died thousands of years ago, as a Black Scorpion monstrous human by embedding a Core into his mummy. However, because there was almost no original form left, Emperor Qin Shi Huang ended up becoming a true Black Scorpion that turned into a human.

“……I understand. Phoenix-nim, may I ask you a personal favor later?”

“Ah.”

“Hmm.”

“……Uh, so.”

Everyone guessed Baek Hee-ah’s thoughts. And I made a different guess than the executives.

“You want me to revive a dead person?”

“Yes. …If I can find the corpse.”

“Huh?”

The executives were puzzled by Baek Hee-ah’s words.

“Weren’t you trying to revive Gwanggeom?”

“……Wow, this f-, ahem!”

Baek Hee-ah was about to hurl profanities at Kim Ji-hwa with a contemptuous expression but coughed and barely swallowed her words. However, even with her expression, Ji-hwa had already made himself quite disliked by Baek Hee-ah.

“No! That!”

Ji-hwa’s gaze turned towards the platinum-haired young man who was just standing there silently. He must have put his mask away somewhere again, as he was openly showing his face and walking around as soon as he realized people didn’t recognize him.

“Leader-nim of the Azure Syndicate. Even for a Villain, there are lines and duties that must be upheld. Although Gwanggeom-nim was a great person, isn’t it time for him to rest in peace? Surely the leader of the Azure Syndicate doesn’t intend to dishonor the deceased?”

“No. Not at all.”

Ji-hwa glared at me with wronged eyes, but I merely shrugged. Gwanggeom’s monsterification was Eun Yuha’s idea, and I merely carried it out.

“…If it were right before the world’s destruction, there might be a situation where we’d have to ask for help from that person who is peacefully sleeping, but now is the time to let him rest in peace. No matter how urgent the nation’s situation is, we cannot commit the atrocity of raising someone like Chungmugong from their grave.”

“Chungmugong….”

Everyone’s expressions became flushed and agitated. I briefly changed into my monstrous human form to calm myself before laughter burst out.

“…….”

The platinum-haired young man’s expression was a sight to behold. Baek Hee-ah scanned her surroundings with suspicious eyes, then stood in front of the platinum-haired young man and launched into a long speech about the deceased’s achievements.

“Do you think Gwanggeom-nim’s achievements pale in comparison to Chungmugong’s? If so, you are mistaken. Judging by your hair color, you seem to be a foreigner, so listen carefully. Gwanggeom Heo Yun-hwan, as an S-rank ability user who dedicated over 20 years to this country, as a hero who single-handedly protected New Seoul and the Republic of Korea since the 2012 Pyongyang incident….”

The platinum-haired young man died standing.

“…was the pillar of this nation. Ah, would you like to go with me sometime to the place where the deceased is enshrined? It’s a bit embarrassing to praise myself by saying this, but… I wrote his eulogy.”

We couldn’t bring ourselves to reveal to Baek Hee-ah who the platinum-haired young man was.

With this, the reorganization of the Azure Syndicate was completed.

Azure Flame Phoenix, Rock Monstrous Human, Gwanggeom departed from the Azure Syndicate.

The rest, including Cheonghwa, remained with the Azure Syndicate, becoming ability users of the Hunter Guild who contribute to world peace during their probation period.