Part 1 Chapter 4 (21)

4:55 PM, Anyang Command Headquarters.

“You can’t do this!”

Sin Jingwang slammed his hand on the table and shouted. But he soon realized his mistake and bowed his head.

“…I apologize, Your Excellency!”

– It’s fine. I understand your feelings. It must be bewildering for me to suddenly declare the operation a failure, especially without a single word to you, the field commander.

It was a unilateral declaration, a decision made solely by the President. President Seonui Cheol announced the operation’s failure without any consultation with Sin Jingwang, the field commander. Of course, Sin Jingwang was not in a position to discuss such matters with the President. However, Sin Jingwang received news of the operation’s failure and termination through media reports.

Seonui Cheol pushed up his glasses.

– However, look here. We’ve lost too many Heroes. Haven’t we?

Sin Jingwang clenched his fists.

Two A-rank Heroes, six B-rank Heroes, and fourteen C-rank Heroes. A staggering 22 Heroes lost their lives, were declared MIA, or went missing in action. Excluding the 12 confirmed dead, the remaining 10 missing were practically as good as dead.

Furthermore, the number of Heroes injured or in immediate need of rest was countless. Among them were the two S-rank ability users, Fire Fist and Seolhwa Princess, who were core to their combat strength.

Seonui Cheol continued, his voice heavy with sorrow.

– I cannot afford to lose any more Heroes. Not because of my stubbornness, you see.

“Your Excellency! Please retract your words. It is due to my lack of ability!”

– No. You’ve played your part well enough. A commander who couldn’t trust his Heroes and abandoned the command headquarters. You’ve smeared the honor of the Republic of Korea. Am I wrong?

“…….”

Sin Jingwang could not answer. As a result, Seolhwa Princess succeeded in blocking the enemy Villain’s attack.

However, in that process, Sin Jingwang’s ugliness was fully exposed. A commander who abandoned his subordinates and fled first. Many are still criticizing his act of running away to save himself, when he was the one who should have taken responsibility.

– I understand your actions. You must have been afraid. But you shouldn’t have done that. You should have evacuated everyone and died right there. Isn’t that the responsibility of a commander?

“I have no excuse.”

Sin Jingwang lowered his head.

– Yes. What will you do now? Since I announced the operation’s failure, public opinion has already gone wild. They say that because an incompetent commander abandoned the command headquarters and fled, innocent Heroes suffered terribly.

“I will take full responsibility.”

– Responsibility? Kekeke.

Seonui Cheol chuckled softly.

– That’s only possible when you’re in a social position to do so. The position of Minister of the Monster Countermeasures Department isn’t that weighty, is it?

Seonui Cheol sipped a cup of tea, moistening his lips.

– Still, I’ll give you a chance to perform one last duty.

“……!”

Sin Jingwang instantly understood what that meant. It meant he was going to be cut off.

– Take all the disgrace upon yourself. If you go live on some island in the South Sea, no one will recognize your face. I’ll make sure your family is compensated generously.

“…..Understood.”

– Then you may go.

Click. Seonui Cheol’s call ended. Sin Jingwang trembled with betrayal and slammed his palm on the table.

Bang!

His palm stung from hitting the steel desk, but his heart ached even more.

“Damn it, damn it!”

It was an operation everyone guaranteed would succeed even if an elementary school student commanded it. Yet, Sin Jingwang became the one responsible for the defeat, unable to exert any power.

If Sin Jingwang had fought a losing battle despite commanding with all his might, public opinion would have been sympathetic, saying, ‘They lost, but they fought well,’ and ‘We saw the possibility of reclaiming Seoul.’

However, the entire nation already knew. Sin Jingwang’s unreasonable command and the resulting conflict with the Heroes. The Hero fandom already treated Sin Jingwang worse than a death row inmate, beyond even life imprisonment.

Strangely, there was not a single word about the unidentified enemy.

“……Hoo.”

Sin Jingwang stood up. A Pine Tree Unit Hero next to him pointed to the door with a scornful look.

Creak.

The door opened. Reporters waiting in the makeshift briefing room raised their heads like meerkats.

Stomp. Stomp.

Sin Jingwang walked towards the podium. During those short steps, not even 10 paces, Sin Jingwang’s senses were overwhelmed.

The reporters who had fled in a hurry as soon as he gave the order. They seemed emboldened by the President’s public apology, ready to tear Sin Jingwang apart.

Thud.

Sin Jingwang’s weary steps stopped before the podium. The moment he opened his mouth to say something, photo flashes erupted, and a barrage of questions from reporters poured out.

“Minister! What do you think are the reasons for this operation’s failure?!”

“Were you aware that Fire Fist had a chronic illness?! What was the specific reason Hero Lee Seung-hyung collapsed?!”

“What will you say to the families of the deceased Heroes?!”

A barrage of reproaches disguised as questions poured out. The reporters also knew that the flow of this operation had unfolded quite strangely, but they cornered Sin Jingwang according to the influence of their desks and the government.

A witch hunt. This press conference room was a stake for the defeated commander, Sin Jingwang. Sin Jingwang blinked, seeing a hallucination of blue flames leaping up his legs.

“Um, that…”

Sin Jingwang opened his mouth to say something. He gave a meaningful look to the Hero acting as a bodyguard, but the Hero ignored his glance and turned away from Sin Jingwang.

With no one stopping them, the reporters began questioning even more aggressively. Among the countless questions, one particular remark grated on Sin Jingwang’s nerves.

“Even though Seolhwa Princess Seok Harang successfully blocked the enemy’s attack, why did you abandon the command headquarters and flee?!”

He choked up. He almost burst out in anger and curses, just like when he was in the military. Asking if they hadn’t fled together. But the cameras positioned behind him were broadcasting every single one of Sin Jingwang’s expressions live nationwide.

Sin Jingwang could only bow his head.

The only role left for him was that of a puppet, answering like a parrot.

“I, Sin Jingwang…”

The reporters quieted down.

“…take full responsibility, and will resign from the position of Minister of the Monster Countermeasures Department-“

Thwack.

Something reeking of a disgusting smell flew from somewhere and hit Sin Jingwang’s head. What fell with a thud to the floor was the decaying corpse of a monster.

Thwack. Another monster corpse flew towards Sin Jingwang. Sin Jingwang did not dodge and received the monster corpse directly in his chest.

Behind the reporters’ seats, a woman was venting her rage. In the flash of a reporter’s camera, the engagement ring on her ring finger sparkled.

“You son of a bitch! Giseong-ssi died because of your idiotic command! And all you’re doing is resigning?!”

“Drag her out!”

Heroes grabbed the woman and exited the briefing room. The reporters recalled that the woman was a Hero who had been deployed in Gangnam.

“I…”

The reporters’ heads turned back to Sin Jingwang.

“…will take full responsibility.”

Sin Jingwang could only say those words.

* * *

5:30 PM, Yeouido C Hotel Room.

“……Ah.”

Gaeul opened her eyes. She wanted to keep lying on the mattress that softly enveloped her, but the strange sensation in her pelvis forced her to wake up.

“Ah, this, seriously.”

Inside, all sorts of curses welled up, but Gaeul barely swallowed them. Her blood-stained clothes seemed to have been removed by someone, and a fluffy gown was draped over Gaeul’s body.

The problem was that the back of the gown was torn long from the point where her tentacles were. If she didn’t cover her back with her tentacles, the entire backside of her lower body would be exposed.

“This isn’t even an ero-game…”

Gaeul lifted one of her tentacles. If only its tip were slender like a fox’s tail, but the tentacles had a uniform thickness, like a cat’s tail, except for the very ends.

“Can I grab it with my hand?”

Gaeul wrapped her hand around a tentacle. Its circumference was such that her thumb and middle finger couldn’t meet with one hand. Gaeul recoiled in disgust and let go of the tentacle.

“Still…”

Gaeul focused her mind on the tentacles. All nine tentacles moved according to Gaeul’s will.

They could stand stiffly, undulate like waves, or twist as if wringing a rag. Gaeul carefully wrapped a tentacle around the stem of a wine glass displayed on the wall.

The tentacle lifted the wine glass as if it were a human hand. Even when she turned it upside down, it didn’t fall at all.

“…Should I be happy about this, or sad?”

If it was an inescapable situation, she decided to resign herself to fate. Gaeul slapped her cheeks with both hands to clear her head.

“Right. This is a tail. At least it didn’t grow on my back like a tentacle toad.”

Gaeul stood before the mirror. While the tentacles had the most prominent presence, other parts also showed a distinct difference from when she was human.

Her skin was so white it was pale. With all the blood drained from the veins throughout her body, there was no way she could have any color in her complexion. Moreover, her hair, eyebrows, and pupils. All those parts had turned silver-gray. Gaeul used a tentacle to remove the mask from her head and placed it over her face.

An eye mask covering the bridge of her nose. The last trace left for a ghost remaining on stage after a masquerade ball.

Gaeul placed her hand over the mask and fell into thought.

Knock, knock, knock.

Rough knocking echoed from outside the door. Gaeul pushed her tentacles inside the gown, tidied her attire, and opened the door.

“Don’t you know it’s polite to ring the doorbell?”

“I’d have to have been to a hotel before… *cough*!”

Deokbae cleared his throat and averted his gaze. Gaeul’s chest, revealed through the gown, was proudly flaunting its presence.

“…….”

Gaeul crossed her arms, covering her front. Because she was pulling the torn back of the gown from both sides with her tentacles, she hadn’t been able to tidy the front. Gaeul glared at Deokbae with narrowed eyes and asked,

“What’s going on? Where is this?

Why a hotel all of a sudden?”

“Phoenix put you to sleep here after you fainted. She put the gown on you, and I came to deliver clothes for you to change into.”

Deokbae handed over the clothes he was holding. Gaeul, who had awakened as an ability user and become a monstrous human from an S-rank monster’s Core, recognized the mana flowing from the clothes at a glance.

“This clothing, it’s woven with mana, isn’t it?”

The mana threads were woven very tightly. It wasn’t that mana was applied to threads; rather, mana itself was woven stitch by stitch, finer than hair, to become clothing.

Gaeul took the clothes from Deokbae. Of course, since her hands were covering her chest, two tentacles that subtly protruded took the clothes.

“Where did she even get something like this?”

“…She made it herself, apparently.”

Deokbae’s expression, upon seeing the tail protruding from Gaeul’s back, was unusual.

Shock, fear, disgust. Among them, the most distinct emotions visible were pity and regret.

Swish!

One tentacle whipped past Deokbae’s eyes like a lash. Deokbae’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected strike.

“There won’t be a next time. Be careful.”

Gaeul warned him, then turned and went back into the room. Deokbae was dumbfounded and let out a hollow laugh.

“Now even *that* is stronger than me?”

Thirty minutes passed until Gaeul came out after changing her clothes. Deokbae silently stared at the firmly closed door, as if in a staring contest.