Part 1 Chapter 9-8

At that time, the New Seoul Hero Association Branch in South Korea.

The sight of Phoenix and Phantom Dragon engaging in a power struggle naturally streamed live across the nation and the world.

Phoenix quietly stared at Mao Zeping without a word.

And Mao Zeping, casually glancing around with a relaxed expression.

The rumor that Mao Zeping was behind the hijacking of the plane Cheonghwa was on was quite convincing, and nine out of ten supported the theory of Mao Zeping’s involvement.

“Wow, that one’s got some temper, huh?”

The Praetor sipped his canned coffee and pointed at Cheonghwa. The scene of Cheonghwa and Mao Zeping glaring at each other without any conversation was quite a spectacle, yet also an incident on the level of a broadcast mishap.

“She’s from the Seoul refugee camp, so it can’t be helped.”

The Executive clicked their tongue, pointing out Cheonghwa’s direct display of emotion.

“Look. Mao Zeping is overflowing with composure. If he were truly behind it, he would have cut ties and emerged.”

“……Composure?”

Fire Fist, Lee Seung-hyung, who was sitting with them, tilted his head with an ambiguous expression. Seeing that the only S-rank in the room didn’t seem to agree with his thoughts, the Executive frowned and challenged Lee Seung-hyung.

“Is there a problem?”

“Ah, no. It’s not that…. Rather than composure….”

Lee Seung-hyung was unsure, but decided to state his feeling as it was.

“He just looks like he’s not thinking anything at all?”

Lee Seung-hyung’s finger was pointing at none other than Mao Zeping. All the superpowered individuals gathered in the briefing room laughed or clicked their tongues, refuting Lee Seung-hyung’s remark.

“Fire Fist-a. The opponent is Mao Zeping. He’s worse than Seonui Cheol.”

“Keul keul keul. Surely the second-in-command of the continent wouldn’t appear like that without any thoughts. Heo heu heu. There must be an ulterior motive. Indeed.”

Wusa and Pungbaek, as representatives, refuted Lee Seung-hyung’s words. If Lee Seung-hyung judged with the unique perspective of an S-rank, they judged with the discernment accumulated through experience.

“……I don’t know.”

Unsa gave up. It seemed they weren’t convinced.

Ultimately, Lee Seung-hyung’s idea was dismissed as a joke, and in the meantime, the banquet-cum-meeting barely proceeded. After the Good Morning Terror, monsters that had been dormant across China awoke and began their activities.

“It’s strange that there’s no civilian damage. They must have woken up annoyed, for sure.”

“It’s a movement born of fear. Perhaps it’s because of the SS-rank Chaos, but….”

“Harang killed them, didn’t he?”

“Then maybe they’re scared of Harang.”

Just as monsters didn’t set foot in New Seoul, which Gwanggeom protected, it seemed monsters also recognized the territory of the strong. Monsters attempting to raid civilian homes were busy fleeing whenever a song echoed, and the abnormal behavior displayed by the monsters intensified the closer they got to Beijing.

Thanks to that, heroes and hunters could hunt monsters very easily, but major monsters still remained.

“Executive. Which named ones have shown a reaction since yesterday?”

“They are the S-rank monsters Heuksagal, Muljigi, and Jiparyong. All of them are mid-tier S-rank monsters, and in the case of Heuksagal….”

“It’s the progenitor of the S-rank monster Heukjeongal.”

“…It’s a monster the Association considered semi-SS. Will it be alright?”

In the video, Twin Sword Rabbit was passionately discussing the dangerous monsters. Cheonghwa listened intently, Seok Harang blinked, and Xiaolin had her eyes closed, deep in meditation.

[Hoo hoo.]

Mao Zeping merely watched them, smiling. As if he was no different from the beings beyond the screen, he remained a step removed from the meeting, observing contemplatively.

“He’s probably just being composed because all measures have already been taken, right?”

“Well. Either way, I hope we get an opportunity. Executive. Has the negotiation with the Chinese Association gone well?”

“……Not yet.”

The Executive bit their lower lip. For superpowered individuals affiliated with Korea to step forward and eliminate monsters in China was a form of overreach. However, to publicly announce which country Cheonghwa belonged to, they had to at least try to ‘put a spoon on the table’.

“If only we knew the mechanism for controlling monsters, we could try something.”

“Still, don’t you have some rough guesses?”

“Resurrection through a core? How would I know if that’s true or not, old man?”

“……Truly, they are such mysterious beings.”

[…That concludes the reactions of the currently detected S-rank monsters.]

Three. Yuhwangsook finished her explanation and took her seat, and Cheonghwa raised her hand, drew a triangle on the map, and nodded.

[Yes. I understand. Thank you for the explanation.]

[Then, Cheonghwa-yang. We will not spare any support, so please, at least one….]

“For a man like the Chairman to be so flustered. Keueung.”

“Isn’t it a good sight? It’s obvious he’s fallen for her at first sight. Isn’t that right, Fire Fist-a?”

“……Why are you suddenly calling me?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Lee Seung-hyung. Seung-hyung blushed and cleared his throat, and the Praetor raised a hand to report.

“I saw it! That bastard was shamelessly hitting on Cheonghwa-yang in the limousine!”

“……Praetor-nim? When did I ever-“

“I asked if you’d never seen it!”

“That’s something I really did seem to see, so I’m saying…. Ugh, fine. Yes. I showed interest. Is that enough?”

Lee Seung-hyung raised both hands in surrender, and the heroes shook their heads as if disgusted.

“Face-obsessed jerk.”

“Ability supremacist.”

“Pedo bastard. …Ah, maybe not quite a pedo?”

“Everyone? My interest was as a fellow Korean, not that I felt it romantically….”

[I understand. But, um…. May I speak with Seolhwaryeong-nim? It seems difficult for me to decide alone.]

[I agree as well.]

[Hoo hoo. Then let’s do this.]

Mao Zeping, who had been silently keeping his mouth shut, tapped his wrist and continued speaking.

[One hour. After having lunch and resting for an hour, how about we gather here again and resume the meeting?]

[Ah, I understand. We shall do so. Yes, let’s do that.]

Under Mao Zeping’s mediation, the meeting paused. The live-streamed video also temporarily stopped, and announcers and panelists began explaining the profiles of the monsters mentioned during the meeting.

“That’s unexpected.”

The Executive stroked their chin, nodding.

“It seems Mao Zeping and Yuhwangsook have switched roles. Disrupting the meeting outright must have been a psychological tactic to pressure Cheonghwa-yang.”

“Since it’s hard to refuse a request in front of the whole world, he’s asking her to deal with the S-rank monsters across China?”

“He won’t stop at just one. He’ll slowly try to tempt her. To naturalize. Tsk.”

“……Well.”

Lee Seung-hyung once again expressed his own thoughts.

“He just looks like he doesn’t want to do anything…..”

“If you say so, then it must be so.”

“Keul keul keul, Fire Fist. You still don’t have an eye for people. Would someone who kidnapped a valuable person from another country and blew up a plane just give up the very next day? Heu heu.”

“…….”

Lee Seung-hyung felt strange, as if he had become a ‘Nakdong River duck egg’. At Lee Seung-hyung’s unusual reaction, the Executive pointed at the Chairman reflected on the screen.

“Then what about that man? The Chairman.”

“……He seems to have fallen for Cheonghwa-yang at first sight.”

Lee Seung-hyung spoke the truth. And everyone looked at Lee Seung-hyung and scoffed.

“Are you jealous?”

“It’s jealousy.”

“That’s pathetic, Seung-hyung-a.”

“……Yes, I’ll just be a very jealous person.”

Lee Seung-hyung raised both hands in surrender. Then, the men, led by Wusa, Pungbaek, and the Praetor, began whistling and shouting.

“Lee Seung-hyung likes Cheonghwa!”

“Love is originally forgotten by another love!”

“Kkeol kkeol kkeol! But she can’t even go to Seoul, which would be her in-laws’ home. Kkeol kkeol kkeol!”

“…….”

Lee Seung-hyung gave up. Only the Executive watched the Chairman and Lee Seung-hyung intently, then observed Cheonghwa’s face as she rose from her seat on the screen.

“She is pretty, though.”

The Executive wiped their lips with their thumb. There was still plenty of time left until the meeting resumed.

“Then, let’s prepare to be able to leave at any time.”

“Executive. Already?”

“‘Already’ or not. Why else would I have flown in from the government building?”

The Executive shook the key in their hand and smiled.

“I came to drive this after a long time, didn’t I?”

* * *

A short while later. Inside the Central Party Headquarters in Beijing, China, the waiting room.

“Aargh!”

Bang! The desk flipped over from my kick. As much as I wanted to rip off Phantom Dragon’s head, that Phantom Dragon was currently exchanging words next to the Chairman, not next to us.

“Don’t do that too much. You’ll just get angrier.”

Seok Harang tried to calm me down, but I knew. He, too, being a fellow Spirit, must have read Phantom Dragon’s true thoughts, so he would know how much Phantom Dragon was daydreaming during the meeting.

“That damn ghost just made Phoenix a worldwide fool!”

“He was a fool to begin with, so isn’t there no particular problem?”

“Seok Harang, you-!”

At the official meeting, they made me look like an idiot who couldn’t even properly control their anger.

“I don’t think there will be much of a problem.”

Xiaolin briefly recited the reactions regarding the banquet.

“‘Cheonghwa-yang also seems to think Mao Zeping is behind it,’ ‘I don’t know what Mao Zeping is thinking,’ ‘What is the Chairman doing, caught in the middle and flustered?’ ‘Even I would freeze up in front of someone who tried to kill me,’ ‘Mao Zeping’s poker face is also amazing’….”

“It’s not a poker face; he’s just not thinking anything at all.”

“No. He is thinking.”

Seok Harang shrugged and joked.

“The thought of ‘I don’t want to do anything’.”

“Ah, seriously…. Where on earth is Bonghyo and what is he doing? Phantom Dragon is in this state.”

I pointed out the absence of Bonghyo, the monstrous human who was supposed to assist Phantom Dragon. It was fine that he possessed Mao Zeping, but Bonghyo, who was supposed to control him from the side, had left his post.

“He should at least be watching from the side in spirit form, why isn’t he appearing at all?”

“How would I know that? Xiaolin-ssi, do you know?”

“……I’ll tell you later. For now.”

Xiaolin pointed at the map.

“Please decide which monsters to catch.”

“……This side also doesn’t seem interested in the meeting. Haa.”

Phantom Dragon had no thoughts, and Xiaolin was itching to fight monsters. She seemed happy at the thought of defeating monsters within China, but more than that, she was-

“You want to show your face and be active, right?”

“Yes. You really do know me well. And furthermore-“

“Fight with your underwear on.”

“Tch.”

Xiaolin clicked her tongue and turned her head. Her pouting lips clearly showed her dissatisfaction. At that, Seok Harang let out a hollow laugh, as if dumbfounded.

“What are you talking about? ‘Fight with your underwear on’…? Are you talking about a bodysuit?”

“No. Bra and panties. She fights without a bra or panties.”

“Ugh.”

“Please don’t misunderstand. I don’t have an exhibitionist tendency.”

Xiaolin quickly excused her ‘tendency’.

“I merely wish to fight without elements that hinder combat.”

“Then why don’t you take off your top too and fight naked?”

“But I am, aren’t I?”

Chak. Xiaolin pointed at her clothes. Only then did Seok Harang realize the true nature of Xiaolin’s attire.

“……Clothes made of mana? Then you, surely.”

“Yes. This alone is sufficient, what more could I need?”

“……What can I do if she wants it? Haa.”

Even though a 19+ strip show would unfold worldwide if I merely withdrew my mana, Xiaolin insisted on wearing clothes woven from my mana. If she were my monstrous human, it would be one thing, but since she’s Phantom Dragon’s monstrous human, I couldn’t order her to ‘please wear underwear, I’ll even make it for you’.

“If that’s the case, you should’ve stopped her, why are you making it for her? You idiot?”

“If she were someone who could be stopped by stopping, I would have.”

“Hoo hoo hoo. I am now a being freed from the restraints of Unjang. Nothing can stop me. If something blocks my way, I will simply cut it down, defeat it, and move past it!”

“…She’s a complete loose cannon.”

When she was Unjang, she was an obedient child due to Mao Zeping’s suppression, but as soon as she became an SS-rank God of War, she immediately began to show her true colors. I knew well that trying to stop her would be useless, so I merely made clothes that covered her exposure as much as possible.

“Anyway, let’s just save Phantom Dragon’s slacking off for a later spanking, and go catch some monsters. After the banquet, I’ll immediately tell them. Let’s go catch monsters.”

“Then I’ll just go straight back to Korea…. Hey.”

Seok Harang frowned and showed the message that had arrived on his watch.

“The Korean Association says they’re dispatching an escort? Starting from the Three Sages, most of the A-ranks, and Fire Fist Lee Seung-hyung-“

“They’re trying to ‘put a spoon on the table’, aren’t they?”

The shallow schemes of the higher-ups disgusted me.

“They seem to be coming hoping for some crumbs, but it’s useless.”

I patted Xiaolin’s shoulder.

“She can handle everything on her own, so why would they come all the way to Korea? Tell them not to come and just get cursed at, but to go back.”

“……Hoo hoo.”

“Is that so. Ugh. Why are these people suddenly…. Whoa.”

“What now?”

Seok Harang froze as he scanned the message, and I went to his side and read the message with him.

“Whoa.”

The entire world was sending love calls.

To me.