Part 1 Chapter 6 (23)

Vladimir R. Anastasia

Hero Name: Undine

Affiliation: Knights of the Round Table (The Round Table) 2nd Generation

Nationality: Russia

Date of Birth: October 13, 1992

Height: 159cm (160 according to herself)

Hero Rank: S

Ability: Ice-type, Water Current-type, Teleportation

# Russia’s Snow Woman. // She is a world-renowned Hero, to the extent that if Korea has Seolhwa Princess, Russia has Undine. As a Hero currently affiliated with the Round Table, it is no exaggeration to say that she is responsible for the entire defense of Russia.

# Illness. // She suffered a severe illness in her childhood and was pronounced dead from a heart attack, but miraculously came back to life. Although there was considerable confusion in her memory, she fortunately regained her senses quickly. However, perhaps due to the aftereffects, her body is weak, and she is said to live on medication.

# Teleport. // Undine’s ability to move anywhere there is water. Thanks to this, Russia was able to defend its entire vast territory. This is why the Round Table recruited her, despite her mana amount being slightly lower than Seolhwa Princess.

# Korean Food Lover? // Surprisingly, a severe Korean food enthusiast. It is quite a famous fact that she once overturned a fusion Korean restaurant that opened in Moscow, or that Undine was the mastermind behind the GImhae Airport Pork Soup Incident.

From the Hero Wiki, Undine entry.

* * *

Shaolin had a happy dream.

A dream of a bird, trapped in a cage, regaining its freedom and soaring freely through the sky. In it, unlike now, there were comrades with whom she could open her heart and bicker, and there was also the ideal husband she had only longed for in her dreams.

“……Ah.”

However, upon opening her eyes, she realized anew that the sweet dream was nothing more than a dream. Her stomach ached, and she couldn’t put strength into her entire body. More than anything, the unknown object restraining her limbs bothered her.

Squish. Shaolin was horrified by the grayish-white tentacles binding her limbs, but she was even more surprised that the mask covering her face was gone. Shaolin instinctively tried to cover her face, but her hands were restrained by the tentacles and couldn’t move.

“It’s no use. Your mana is being consumed in real-time.”

Phantom, who had restrained Shaolin with tentacles, pointed at her clothes. Her green cloak was gone, and a blue flame cloak covered Shaolin’s body.

Even though most of her mana was gone, she could still feel a minimum amount. Ashamed at the fact that she would immediately become naked if the mana cloak was dispelled, Shaolin lowered her head.

“Th-this, what happened….”

“You lost. To our side’s ability user.”

Phantom pointed near the nest. There, a boy with a familiar face was exchanging heated words with a man in sunglasses. Shaolin’s face brightened.

“Oracle…!”

“Not just that. My, you must have been quite an important person in the Round Table, weren’t you?”

Phantom pointed at the man standing by the river. The man, with golden hair and blue eyes, clad in white armor, let out a lion’s roar, threatening the Chinese Heroes.

“The Round Table will not tolerate any further approach! Return immediately!”

“Is it reasonable to tell us to just go back when a hostage is taken?! Is the Round Table on China’s side, or on the side of those villains?!”

“The Round Table acts for justice and world peace! If you cross this river-“

Gawain plunged Galatine into the bridge.

“Anyone, under the sun, will have to face me!”

Before long, the sun began to lift its head above the horizon. Galatine, plunged into the bridge, absorbed the sunlight and scattered reddish-gold mana.

“Ugh! Th-then at least release Unjang-nim’s restraints! A fellow Round Table member is captured like that, what is that person, who claims to be the leader, doing now?!”

“Hey! Get rid of the video equipment right now! Unjang-nim’s esteemed face must not be revealed to the world!”

The red-headbanded Heroes tried to restrain the Heroes next to them, but the Heroes purely affiliated with the association were simply staring blankly at Unjang’s disgraceful state.

It was already surprising enough that the strongest martial artist, who could defeat S-rank monsters with a single blow, was actually a delicate woman, but the fact that her limbs were restrained by tentacles, with her body barely covered by a translucent cloak, was a tremendous shock to the Heroes.

At the same time, an illicit feeling slowly crept up from the depths of their hearts. This sticky feeling, like rice glue, was clearly a sense of depravity.

“……No, is there any proof that person is Unjang?”

“It could be someone else! It could be a body double!”

“Right! If it’s Director Mao Zeping, he would have prepared one or two body doubles! Unjang-께서 is certainly not weak enough to be easily taken hostage like that!”

While the Heroes were causing a commotion, Lin Lei, the Hero Sajae affiliated with Dongchang, subtly manipulated their smartwatch. After quickly summarizing the current situation, they waited endlessly for a reply.

Beep. A message soon returned. It was Bonghyo, the head of Dongchang and Mao Zeping’s direct subordinate.

[Kill.]

“……!”

They didn’t know how much meaning was contained in that single word. But Bonghyo’s order was as good as Mao Zeping’s.

It seems their lord intends to conquer Pyongyang, even if it means abandoning Unjang, and even if it means fighting a decisive battle with the Round Table. What on earth is in Pyongyang that makes them so obsessed with it?

‘I don’t need to know.’

Lin Lei secretly conveyed the secret order to the Dongchang-affiliated Heroes hidden among the others. They flinched for a moment, but soon scattered quickly to obey the command and began to incite the Heroes.

“What intention does the Round Table, which only interferes in disputes between nations, have in obstructing our resolve?!”

“We are on our way to defeat monsters! But how can a fellow Hero block our path?! Can it be said that the Round Table has colluded with Korea and acknowledges the former North Korean territory as Korea’s own?!”

“That woman is not Unjang! If she were Unjang, a fellow Round Table Hero, and even the leader, would not just leave her like that without saving her! Therefore, that woman is a fake usurping Unjang-nim’s name! Let’s kill her!”

“Kill her! Kill her!”

The Heroes’ momentum turned ominous. Phantom, who had been watching the red-headbanded Heroes from afar, clicked their tongue and asked Shaolin.

“It seems you’ve been abandoned, doesn’t it?”

“…….”

Shaolin leaned her head back against the nest tree. Her expression was filled with regret and remorse.

“……I expected to be used as a discarded card someday. The moment the undefeated God of War is defeated, my usefulness ends.”

“…Oh, hey. Are you crying?”

Shaolin didn’t change her facial expression, like an emotionless doll, but tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. Phantom, looking troubled, scratched their cheek, then wiped Shaolin’s tears with the one remaining tentacle.

“Don’t cry. You’re a Hero of the Round Table. If you cry like that just because you lost once….”

“Director Mao Zeping is my biological father. The moment Unjang was defeated and taken hostage, he must have thought of the benefits to be gained by killing Unjang.”

“But she’s Round Table? S-rank? His daughter?”

“S-rank ability users can appear at any time, and I am merely a slightly good chess piece. There are countless illegitimate children of my biological father besides me. Half of them are A-rank ability users, so he’ll probably think someone will replace my position.”

Shaolin, calmly reciting her situation in a cold voice, sounded as if she were talking about a stranger’s story. Phantom, no, Gaeul, read the true emotions from Shaolin’s mana transmitted through the tentacles.

“You. You’ve been thinking that way for a long time, haven’t you? You’ve had a premonition that something like this would happen if you lost your value by being defeated, for a very long time.”

“……It’s the thought of a bird in a cage. On the surface, I yearn for the world outside the cage, but deep down, it’s a continuous life of worrying and agonizing over when and how I’ll be abandoned.”

Shaolin pointed at the river with her chin.

“Look. Those who were following my orders just an hour ago are already desperate to kill me, aren’t they?”

Shaolin’s voice was gloomy. The happy dream she had while unconscious might have been the last mercy bestowed by the God of War upon the one who usurped her name before her death.

“May I ask for one favor?”

“What is it?”

“If I’m going to die anyway…….”

Shaolin’s gaze fell upon the Barrier made of ice.

“I wish to die by the hand of the victor who defeated me.”

Shaolin calmly spoke of her death.

* * *

Among the ability users I had met for about two months so far, there were almost none I didn’t know. Korea had no major dangers until the original story began, and most of the main ability users survived and met me as allies or enemies.

The only exception was perhaps Jo Deokbae, a local delinquent, but I didn’t grasp every single ability user to the extent of memorizing even foreign Villain organization small fry A.

So I was flustered. An overseas ability user I hadn’t even thought about, a Hero destined to be devoured by Fenrir, was Rusalka. It felt like my saliva was automatically going down my throat.

[How are you alive?]

“Why? Did you think I was dead?”

[You were clearly supposed to die by Gwanggeom.]

Rusalka snorted. Unlike the small-framed girl she appeared to be in Seok Harang’s route episodes and character designs, the current Rusalka was just a tiny bit taller than my human form.

“Yes. I died. Rusalka, the executive of the Dark Legion, that is.”

[……?]

I tilted my head without realizing it. Rusalka shrugged and pointed to her heart.

“Rusalka’s heart was pierced by Heo Yun-hwan’s sword. The Spirit’s power went to my daughter… my child, and the executive’s Core went to Heo Yun-hwan. But exactly one thing remained.”

[Soul.]

Rusalka nodded.

“I lost my body and my power, but my soul remained and wandered the nine heavens. Do you know why? Because just before I died, that damn monster’s brainwashing was released.”

Rusalka tapped her temple with her finger. Only then did I grasp the clue to the tangled thread in my mind.

[You awakened. You released the brainwashing yourself.]

“Yes. I lost my power after giving birth to my daughter, and I even handed over my Core to my husband, but of all times, at that very moment, I became aware of ‘who’ I was. Squeezing out my last remaining strength, I ended up wandering the world as a spirit.

[Indeed. Have you possessed the owner’s body now?]

“That’s right. As it happened, there was a child who had just died.”

I recalled the contents of the Hero Wiki I had quickly skimmed before talking to Rusalka. The girl who had a heart attack and miraculously revived to become an ability user. Rusalka’s soul had entered Vladimir Anastasia.

“Originally, I tried to enter my daughter’s body, but….”

[You must have broken the brainwashing with your love for your husband and daughter. That’s amazing, Rusalka.]

“…Hehe. It’s no use praising me. Anyway, brainwashing? So you’ve awakened too?”

[Of course.]

I changed my body from the monstrous human form to the human form. Rusalka’s expression momentarily twisted.

“A fire-attribute Spirit from the destroyed world, Terra. A phoenix born from Azure Flame. Seongju made me the ‘Azure Flame Phoenix’.”

“Yes. We were Spirits. We were even stripped of our ‘true names’ and had our brains extracted to be remodeled into executives.”

“True name?”

Rusalka’s expression flinched. I quickly changed my expression.

“What? Didn’t you release the brainwashing?”

“…When I came to my senses, it was already released?”

“Did you just brute force it? No. There’s only one condition to release brainwashing. How did you release it? You don’t mean-“

“No.”

I quickly waved my hand.

“I didn’t release the brainwashing by loving someone like you did. I released the brainwashing by loving this person.”

I placed my hand on my chest. Rusalka let out a hollow laugh.

“You crazy bitch. I knew you were a psycho from way back, but you seem even worse than when you were on Terra. What was it called? Narcissism?”

“I’m not a narcissist. You wouldn’t understand even if I explained, so let’s skip that part, and first, I’ll apologize.”

I bowed my head to Rusalka. It was clear to see Rusalka flinching and stepping back.

“You, you tell me honestly. You released the brainwashing because you went crazy, didn’t you? Otherwise, there’s no way you’d calmly apologize to me-“

“Heo Yun-hwan.”

Rusalka’s body stiffened.

“I’m sorry for killing Gwanggeom Heo Yun-hwan. But if I hadn’t, your daughter, Seok Harang, had the possibility of going berserk due to Terra’s influence.”

I briefly explained why I had to kill Heo Yun-hwan. Rusalka seemed to be suppressing her anger, clenching and unclenching her hands several times.

“…So my daughter became a Spirit?”

“She’s a human with the power of a Spirit. She’ll get closer to our true form when someone she loves appears later.”

I pointed to the white butterfly badge pinned to my lapel. Rusalka let out a groan and fell into contemplation.

“My daughter is 21 this year. Ugh…. It’s already well past the age when she would know men.”

“She’s still preserving her purity, though?”

“What did you just say?”

“…I found out while guiding her. So she wouldn’t be consumed by the Spirit’s power.”

I briefly explained the current situation with Seok Harang. Seeing Rusalka asking trivial questions about Seok Harang occasionally, I thought, ‘A mother is still a mother,’ and shared a little bit of information.

“Right, so Harang’s taste buds are like that…. But how do you know that?”

“…You can find all her personal preferences just by searching the Hero Wiki. Let’s see. Anastasia. Likes Korean food. Bulgogi enthusiast. Do you know pork soup? What, caused a disturbance by bringing pork soup onto a passenger plane? Fuhuhu! Who did she live with to get such taste buds?”

“Shut your trap.”

I wondered if her taste buds had changed to be closer to Busan’s while living with Heo Yun-hwan. They say you become like the one you love. I approached Rusalka with a sly expression.

“But why haven’t you revealed your identity? It seems Gwanggeom doesn’t know you’re alive either, just like me.”

“……One must have a sense of shame. How could a monstrous bitch who tried to devour her husband and daughter stand before them again?”

Rusalka clasped her hands together with a bitter smile.

“I didn’t deliberately seek them out. The life of Anastasia, the owner of my body, was very busy to live. Being loved by my father… ahem, my father-in-law, was very strange, and living with my older brothers and sisters is another happiness. Even just watching my daughter grow up from afar through videos….”

“That couple is crazy as hell. …Ahem!”

“…You seem to have become quite ‘human-like’ too, you know?”

“I am now a person in every sense of the word. Since I decided to live as a person, I am a person. I do not accept any objections.”

“Alright. Go ahead and love yourself and comfort yourself to your heart’s content. So, what are you going to do now?”

Rusalka pointed outside the Barrier. Outside, Chinese Heroes began to cross the river as if they had fallen into mass hysteria. Gawain was shouting something, but it was useless.

“Their leader is really useless, aren’t they?”

“What do I care? They’re acting like that over there because you’re doing weird things here, aren’t you? Why did you show up here and do this?”

“It’s quite a long story to explain-“

Flinch. I turned my head to the west. Rusalka looked puzzled.

“What’s wrong?”

“It doesn’t seem to be a mistake after all.”

I changed my form to the monstrous human type. As the Barrier that concealed my appearance disappeared, the smartwatch on Rusalka’s wrist began to ring loudly.

WEEEEEEENG——

Not only Rusalka, but all smartwatches were signaling an emergency. The Heroes crossing the river, the Azure Syndicate members trying to deal with them, and the Round Table Heroes caught in the middle, unable to do anything, all stared at the purple alert on their screens.

Dimensional Gate detected. Dimensional Gate detected.

“……Heaven helped us.”

A gigantic Dimensional Gate opened in the sky above Xi’an City, China.

* * *

“It’s noisy. I can’t sleep.”

The sleeping girl awoke from her slumber.

Even in the pitch-black darkness, the girl’s eyes glowed with a grayish light.

“Damn it. My mana recovery isn’t finished yet. This alarm is really loud, seriously. Ah, alright. I’m getting up. I’m going to kill humans.”

The girl kicked open the coffin lid, stood up, and crawled on the ground like a zombie. From the sky, a familiar aura of death surged.

“……It’s annoying, should I just go back to sleep? Yeah, okay. Let’s sleep for 5 more days. They’ll probably all die on their own anyway.”

The girl fell back asleep with only her upper body sticking out of the coffin.