Part 1, Chapter 4 (15)

“We have to stop it!”

Gaeul stood up and shouted.

“Jihwa-ssi! Why can’t you get through? Contact anyone to stop that!”

“…I can’t reach the Commander-nim. The clash of mana is too intense.”

Phoenix and Seolhwa Princess were exchanging even more dazzling attacks and defenses. The moths Phoenix created from their right hand were swarming the ice flower petals and shattering them.

Because the mana of two S-ranks was clashing, communications weren’t getting through properly.

As Seolhwa Princess was using mana lavishly and Phoenix was matching them, the summit of Gwanaksan was already more unstable in its mana flow than when the dimensional gate appeared. No contact could be made via smartwatches.

“Th-then, what about Deokbae-ssi? Didn’t he escape from the Heroes earlier?”

– …I’ve used up all my mana too.

Deokbae, who appeared on the screen, had already released his rock skin, revealing his haggard appearance. The Spirit Stone embedded in his chest was completely empty of mana.

– I’m only C-rank to begin with. I can’t stop it.

“Jihwa-ssi! If we mobilize the Azure Syndicate members…. *Gah!*”

Gaeul lowered her head. The number of combat-capable personnel in the Azure Syndicate was extremely limited. Most of the regular members were D-rank or ordinary people without abilities.

Even if they could stop it for a moment, they would be killed immediately.

“…Still, those aren’t the people Architect was protecting. From their condition, they’re just refugees hidden in history. The contract with Architect is-“

“People are dying right now, and you’re saying that?!”

Gaeul grabbed Jihwa by the collar. Jihwa spoke in a cold voice.

“You mustn’t misunderstand, Gaeul-ssi. The Azure Syndicate’s current objective on the ground is to repel the Heroes who came to occupy Seoul….”

Thwack!

Gaeul’s fist struck Jihwa’s jaw. Jihwa’s head snapped halfway around.

“Are you insane?! How can anyone just stand by and watch that?! Fine! I’ll go myself!”

“With what power do you, who have no power, intend to go?”

Gaeul grabbed Jihwa by the collar, shook them, then pushed them away. Jihwa fell, landing on their butt.

“If I don’t have power, am I supposed to just watch that?! I have to do something, anything, whether it’s telling people to run or contacting Phoenix!!”

Gaeul huffed, turning towards the door. Jihwa sprang up as if rebounding, blocking the entrance.

“Get out of the way!”

“…I am a monstrous human, Cheon Gaeul-ssi. Phoenix-nim’s eyes, who must prioritize carrying out Phoenix-nim’s orders. Have you forgotten?”

The pupils in Jihwa’s demonic eyes blazed blue.

“Phoenix-nim told me to protect you with my life. You cannot go outside the Barrier.”

“I said, get out of the way!”

Gaeul somehow pushed Jihwa and grabbed the doorknob. She barely managed to open the door a crack, but Jihwa’s body, blocking the way, didn’t budge like a stone statue.

“You cannot go!”

“Move!”

Gaeul raised her knee and struck Jihwa’s groin. Jihwa’s demonic eyes wavered for a moment but quickly regained composure.

“I, Phoenix-nim’s, orders…!”

They bit their lip, holding their ground in front of the door. Gaeul huffed and retreated for a moment, scanning her surroundings. Fortunately, there was a window on the opposite side.

Swish!

Jihwa stood behind Gaeul, who was about to open the window and leap out.

“Let go of me!”

Jihwa’s two hands grabbed Gaeul’s forearms. Gaeul struggled, trying to move her legs, but Jihwa was also an ability user-a monstrous human.

Even the weakest ability user had far stronger physical abilities than an ordinary person.

“Haa, haa.”

Gaeul breathed heavily and slumped. Jihwa still held Gaeul’s arms, not letting go.

“…….”

Gaeul’s head dropped. Even while she was held like this, people would be dying.

Phoenix had said. If she had power, she wouldn’t be attacked by monsters and Villains.

On the screen, people continued to die agonizingly before her eyes.

What, indeed, was different between them and her?

Even though she had come to Seoul, she was lucky enough to survive the monsters, and thanks to her uncertain future, she had received Phoenix’s attention and was alive like this.

Phoenix had said. They would become the power to protect Gaeul.

However, Phoenix, whom she had observed these past few days, was someone who would only protect ‘Cheon Gaeul,’ not someone who would simply help innocent people being massacred. They would only save someone if there was a reason, just like in Cheon Gaeul’s case.

There was no one to protect them. Gaeul felt both grateful and resentful of Phoenix’s Barrier that was protecting her here.

Phoenix had said. To just wait for a moment.

They had specifically stopped by here while transformed into a monstrous human. They were that concerned about Cheon Gaeul’s safety. If she were to leave this Barrier, it would be a great betrayal of Phoenix.

Nevertheless.

‘If I had power….’

There were things she wanted to protect. As an actress, as a daughter.

And as a human. She wanted to protect something that felt like it would be lost forever if she gave up here.

Cheon Gaeul swallowed her tears and raised her head.

“So this-“

– Do you really have to go?

Her face was reflected in the translucent window with film on it. The Gaeul in the window had her forearms bound by chains, not Jihwa.

Naked, without even rags. Her entire body covered in wounds and bruises. Shackles and stakes restraining her whole body.

It was like the future Phoenix had spoken of, the one Cheon Gaeul might have experienced.

– Follow Phoenix’s words and hide here. Close your eyes and ears and hide until everything is over.

Gaeul’s voice whispering from beyond the window was sweet. Phoenix’s boasted invincible Barrier. As long as she was inside it, Gaeul would not have to feel the fear of death again, like her experience at S University.

At the very least, ‘Cheon Gaeul’ was safe.

The Cheon Gaeul beyond the window scoffed.

– What can a woman without abilities do? Are you going to act in front of the murderers? Are you going to sell your body? What nerve do you have to step forward like that? Just because Phoenix trusts you, do you think everyone in the world will love you that much?

That wasn’t true. If anything, there would be more people who disliked and hated Gaeul than loved her.

The malicious comments she received for her terrible acting, the disgrace she had to endure as a celebrity, all the envy and jealousy she faced as Lee Seung-hyung’s co-star.

Perhaps among those being murdered out there, there might even be someone who had hidden behind a monitor and stabbed Gaeul in the back.

Nevertheless, despite everything.

“When a person wants to save another person, what reason do they need?!”

Gaeul shrieked, shouting. It was truly a cry expelled from the depths of her soul.

– …Really?

The Cheon Gaeul beyond the window was smiling.

– …Yes.

The chains binding the Cheon Gaeul in the window snapped. Her eyes, reflected in the window, began to shimmer with a gray light.

– That’s enough, isn’t it?

The Cheon Gaeul beyond the window crossed her two hands in an X-shape in front of her face. Her hands slowly descended as if sweeping down from her forehead, and beyond them, a black and white mask became visible.

– A new stage. New audience. A new Genre.

Gray mana surged from Gaeul’s body. Jihwa instinctively recoiled from the immense flow of mana.

CRASH!

“Aargh?!”

Jihwa was flung back to the door by the surge of mana that erupted from Gaeul.

Swish.

Gaeul raised her hand and swept it across her face. An unfamiliar sensation covered her face.

The Gaeul reflected in the window was wearing a black and white mask.

– Then, are you ready for the cut, Actress Cheon?

“Of course.”

Gaeul lowered the mask with her hand. Her two eyes were sparkling with a gray light.

“I’m always ready.”

Masquerade leaped out the window.

* * *

Seonui Cheol was listening to music alone in his office.

A break time spent listening to LPs, relics of an old era, in his office.

The muted TV was filled with channels discussing the Seoul Reclamation Operation.

♩♬♪♪

The sound of music filled the office. Schubert’s lieder, his favorite among the classics, his number 18.

Demon King.

Ding.

An alarm rang on his smartwatch. Seonui Cheol, his concentration disturbed, frowned deeply and checked the message.

– This is Cheolpyo. A person has been found in the National Assembly building. Believed to be Cheon Gaeul.

“Cheon Gaeul?”

He searched his memory. The actress Lee Seung-hyung had been so obsessed with. Someone who had already died, even having a funeral held for her. Such a woman had emerged from the National Assembly building.

His thoughts were brief.

“Then.”

Seonui Cheol’s next words took less than a second.

“Kill her.”

Seonui Cheol leisurely picked up the cup containing herbal tea.

***

When an ability user awakens, they instinctively realize how to use their power.

A sensitivity to ‘mana’ that transcends human five senses. They feel exhilaration as the mana accumulated in their body flows through their veins as if exploding.

And the degree of that awakening differs from person to person.

If there were those like Gwanggeom, whose initial rank was D and rose to S-rank, there were also those like Haneulseong, who first awakened as A-rank and remained A-rank for their entire lives.

Cheon Gaeul sent Kim Jihwa flying with just the aftershock of her awakening. It was a wave of mana too powerful for Jihwa to handle, difficult to call mere carelessness.

Gaeul’s awakening limit, which should have originally been C-rank for her initial awakening, had already surpassed A-rank, reaching the very pinnacle of her inherent talent.

Phoenix.

Although their attributes were different, Phoenix was a Spirit, one who possessed pure mana compared to anyone else in the world.

Gaeul, who was an ordinary person, spent a week with Phoenix and unconsciously received the influence of their mana. Simply by breathing near the Spirit, who emitted pure mana, Cheon Gaeul’s body began to accumulate mana received from Phoenix.

The only thing left was the awakening of her mind.

Cheon Gaeul, who had awakened amidst her own crisis, did not turn a blind eye to the crisis of others, and ultimately, she awakened.

An A-rank ability user. An Illusionist with an 88% Affinity Rate for the Illusion attribute.

That mana pattern immediately shook the entire city of Seoul.

* * *

“New mana pattern detected! Ability user! …S-rank? Ah, no! It’s A-rank!”

The operator corrected their mistake. The reaction of a newly appeared ability user in Yeouido.

The concentration of mana from the new ability user, detected by the mana scan from their initial awakening alone, was undeniably A-rank.

“Who is it, damn it?!”

“I’ll cross-reference with the database!”

Since they weren’t registered as a Hero, they must be a Villain. Had a Villain, who had been hiding their identity until now, finally revealed themselves? Or had a refugee hiding in Seoul awakened after being attacked by a monster?

A moment later.

The search results appeared on the screen. Shin Jingwang gripped his baton tightly after seeing the results.

No match found.

“A new Awakener?!”

The headquarters was in an uproar. Reporters waiting in the briefing room stirred.

An A-rank so powerful that a veteran operator momentarily mistook them for an S-rank. Since Seolhwa Princess, who achieved S-rank with her initial awakening, this was the highest-ranked Awakener among South Korean ability users in terms of initial awakening.

Top priority acquisition target.

A promising talent the Association needed to find before they fell into the wrong path of becoming a Villain.

Seoul still had talent. So, should they save them in the current operational situation?

Shin Jingwang fell into thought.

One of the two S-rank Heroes had left the front lines, and the other was tied down by an unknown Villain. The Heroes in Guro had been defeated, and the Heroes in Gangnam were still clashing with Hellhound.

No achievements. Instead, only the humiliation of Heroes being kidnapped remained.

‘This can’t go on.’

Shin Jingwang’s movements became frantic.

“Is there anyone nearby?!”

“The Pine Tree Unit members are there!”

Shin Jingwang’s hand stopped. Of all things, the Pine Tree Unit, who had gone to carry out their mission as a special detachment, was nearby.

Those who had gone to carry out the President’s secret orders, which even he didn’t know.

Shin Jingwang didn’t know what those secret orders were. But he had neither the authority nor the power to stop the Pine Tree Unit from carrying out those orders.

“……For now, keep checking the mana reactions! Once Team A enters Anyang, assemble the deployable Heroes!”

Shin Jingwang anxiously waited for Team A to return to headquarters as quickly as possible.

Desperately hoping, for his own achievements, that the Pine Tree Unit would not classify that A-rank ability user as a ‘spy’.