“The Association is out to get me?”
“Yes.”
Lydia nodded. She looked around for a moment, then turned to me.
“Given the circumstances, I’m afraid I won’t be able to give you a full explanation, so I’ll save the details for later.”
I nodded without saying a word.
Lydia gave me a small smile, but her expression soon turned serious.
“Choi Jun-Hyung and his group are gathering and organizing various things as evidence to prove that you are a traitor to humanity.”
“What?”
A traitor to humanity?
I stared at her, demanding an explanation for the bizarre statement that hurt my head.
“To put it simply, he’s weaving a narrative that suggests that benefactor is not only deeply connected to the Seven Evils, but that you’re also working with them and had backroom deals with them that were destroyed in this operation.”
Lydia cleared her throat.
“As you may know, the Association has not had the best relations with the Ten Strongest and the World Tree Clan. The Ten have been blatantly refusing to comply with the Association’s directives for some time now, and the World Tree Clan is so powerful that it doesn’t care about the Association’s authority.”
“So?”
“They want their influence to grow, which is why they’ve created this ridiculous organization called the Nurturing Organization to keep the Ten Powers at bay, and although it ended in failure, they once conducted a forced investigation into the World Tree Clan’s territory under the guise of investigating the Evil’s residue energy.”
I nodded.
Indeed, the Association’s role had been little more than a stumbling block in the original story, hindering rather than helping.
“I think the original plan was to incinerate benefactor with the Evil, then claiming you were colluding with it…But it went wrong as you survived.
“So they’re trying to force my connection with the Evils?”
“Exactly, which is why he’s now publicizing his actions and rallying public support. It’s not something even the world leaders could ignore, let alone if they’re in the position of defending someone labeled a traitor to humanity.”
“Hmm….”
“Actually, the Association wanted to take responsibility for your security. They said it was natural to protect the biggest contributor to Minerva’s downfall…if only it weren’t such an obvious ploy. Lee Myung-Joon and company ignored their offer and stationed their own men.”
“Ah, I see now.”
I suddenly understood why so many people spread out around the hospital.
“Many people are here now because they feared the Association might do something.”
“Yes. At least one of the Ten Strongest is always present in the hospital. All of them have expressed their support for the benefactor, and the World Tree Clan has also firmly rejected the Association, so they can’t come out boldly, but….”
“If we waste our time, they’ll gain the upper hand.”
“Yes. To be honest… they probably don’t even care if you colluded with the Seven Evils. As long as they can come up with a plausible story, they’ll leak it to the press, and after that, they can manipulate the story to benefit them.”
“Yeah, well, it’s the fact that it’s out there that’s going to be the problem.”
She snapped her fingers before my eyes, looking at me like a student who got a perfect on their quiz.
“Exactly.”
Lydia nodded vigorously.
“Aegis exists to intercept and defend in the first place, but part of its function is to spy. Perhaps it was through that function that they were able to pull out evidence that could tie the benefactor to the Seven Evils.”
She continued her explanation slowly.
“Perhaps, in addition to strengthening the Association’s influence, they also want to obtain the byproducts of the slain Evil. The forensic teams they’ve already sent out have been unable to obtain any, and some officers are obsessed with them.”
“Byproducts of the Evils?”
“Well, immortality has been the dream of every powerful man.”
She spoke to me in a whisper.
“The Evil you that took on the form of a dragon that showed invulnerability to every attack. It would be strange if no one coveted it with vain dreams.”
“…….”
“Their plan, in a nutshell, is this: brand the benefactor as a traitor to humanity, put pressure on the Ten Strongest and the World Tree Clan, and extract information about the Seven Evils.”
Only after listening to everything she said did I ask her the question that had been on my mind.
“…But that sounds like such a sloppy plan to me. Each step seems more unrealistic than the last.”
“That’s what I think, too. There’s no way a plan this far-fetched could work.”
Lydia inspected my arms.
“I don’t know if a part of me believes in it…Of course, you’re bright enough to realize how flawed their plan is… Well, in any case, it’s clear that they want to defame the benefactor, and just because it’s unlikely doesn’t mean we should leave the beast that’s bearing its fangs at us, does it?”
“And above all,”
“They tried to kill the benefactor without leaving a trace, literally. It does not make me proud to stand by and let such a man go, even if the benefactor tells me to leave them be.”
She muttered in a chilling voice.
“I’m of the opinion that a beast that doesn’t know its place and wants to bite should be beaten to death.”
“…So what do you plan to do? From the way you’re talking, it doesn’t sound like you’re here to give me a warning.”
“Of course not.”
She flashed him a confident smile.
“I’m one of the most important people in the organization, so of course, the report came to me. I had to decide whether to be a moderate or a hardliner.”
“So I chose to be a hardliner.”
“Choi Jun-Hyung and his circle consider me one of their most important allies. In fact, I’m actively working with him in many ways, and when the time is ripe, I’ll blow him up from the inside. I’m currently trying to find information to deal with him.”
“Hmm….”
“Oh, and of course, I’ll keep benefactor informed and tell you everything they’re gathering and manipulating as evidence.”
As she said that, she inclined her head toward me.
“So for now, I suggest you don’t worry too much and take care of yourself.”
“…….”
I stared at Lydia for a moment, speechless.
I hadn’t expected her to be so helpful when I first met her.
And just as I began to question why she continued to help me, she spoke up.
“You know, benefactor, I have an iron rule I’ve lived by for a long time.”
“An iron rule?”
“Yes. Three times the grudge, seven times the favor. It’s a simple, clear rule.”
I looked at her quizzically.
“I still have more to give you. But I know you won’t trust me with that alone, so let’s talk about a few more things….”
She smirked at me.
“The Thorn Cross Society, the Big Watch, and the Red Case I used to be a part of… they were all notorious groups, but now the first two have been all but wiped out, and even the Red Case has been reduced in strength. Do you know what all three have in common, benefactor?”
“…I don’t know.”
She smiled, leaning toward my ear.
“It’s that they were enemies of benefactor and, inevitably, were on the path to their downfall.”
Lydia shook her head.
“I’m not that foolish, and even a child can see that it’s far more beneficial to make friends this way than to antagonize benefactor.”
She straightened her posture.
“Anyway, I think I’ll have to bid you farewell here, as it would be rather dangerous to stay any longer, but I’ll see you next time.”
“Okay, thanks… ugh!”
I groaned as I suddenly felt a pain in my arm.
“Oh, sorry.”
I frowned slightly as I watched Esmeralda reinsert the syringe she pierced into my arm.
The pain I would typically have endured was now almost unbearable.
“If you’re going to do that, why don’t you just use a sewing machine? My forearm is full of holes, and why the hell are you trying to do it when you don’t know how?”
She stared back at me as if she wasn’t going to lose.
“Gosh, I really should have brought a sewing machine. I could’ve used it to close that nasty mouth of yours…”
“Esmeralda.”
At Lydia’s call, Esmeralda immediately changed her expression and stood up.
She bowed politely, giving me a look that said she didn’t want to do this.
“…I was rude. I apologize.”
“Benefactor, I’ll see you next time.”
With those words, Lydia and Esmeralda slipped away.
I sank quietly back into bed, running a hand over my throbbing forearm.
“One problem over, another one in.”
Svengali’s mouth appeared on my arm again.
“Such is the nature of fate.”
“…Fate.”
He chuckled lightly.
“Fate and destiny. It’s such a convenient dichotomy that I love.”
He stopped laughing and turned to me.
“Well… Anyway, don’t think about it for now and get some rest. The people who want to repay you will handle what’s coming perfectly well.”
“I can only hope.”
I nodded, dazed.
For some reason, my mind was starting to drift.
Was it the narcotic painkillers Joo-Hyuk had mentioned?
“You’re going to have to rest for at least a month. Your body is pretty wrecked, so don’t think about anything right now and get some sleep.”
“I will….”
The more I listened to his words, the heavier my eyelids felt.
I blinked and saw the piercing eyes of Svengali staring right back at me.
“I’ll… don’t think about anything, just relax… fall asleep… there’s no pain there…hurt…”
“…….”
“Get a good night’s sleep.”
* * *
“Hmm… You’re really getting weak; I can’t believe you can’t shake a simple curse like that.”
Svengali muttered as he looked at Ji-Hyuk, who had fallen into a deep sleep.
Soon, his right arm was covered in the branches of the World Tree, and then the branches intertwined to form a single figure.
“Mmm, I’m comfortable in this body. Without wings, I don’t feel safe.”
Linked to Ji-Hyuk’s hand and the branches, Svengali, now about the size of a pigeon, stretched and spread his wings, muttering to himself.
“By the way, is this guy being casual, or is he being bold? How much do you trust me you can leave yourself like this before me…”
As he was muttering to himself while staring at the sleeping face of Ji-Hyuk, something bumped into the back of his head.
When he turned to look, a random piece of tissue paper was beneath him.
“Hmm?”
“…! ……!!!”
The person who threw it… No, the person who threw it was none other than Laune.
He shook his roots angrily at Svengali and began to gather up the tissues again.
“Hey, I didn’t do anything weird. I just put him to bed because he kept refusing to sleep.”
“……!!!”
Svengali continued nonchalantly, easily dodging the scraps of toilet paper that Laune threw at him as if to say, ‘Don’t play tricks on him!’
“It would have been dangerous for him to stay awake, don’t you know?”
“…?”
“Tsk, tsk… You have eyes, but can’t you see? I don’t know if you’re doing it consciously or subconsciously. Still, you’ve been deliberately avoiding thinking about Minerva, and even if you weren’t, it’s not like you’ll get better if you’re burdened with such a big problem when your body is already broken… Why!”
Svengali brushed himself off after being hit with a jet of water from an unsuspecting Laune.
He then waved his roots as if it were just a harmless prank among friends.
“You…! You dare to do this to me! I am the father of your ego. Are you really going to try this?”
“……!!!”
Laune slipped out of the tank and quickly posed as if he wasn’t scared.
Svengali looked at him with disbelief, then shook his head.
“Don’t you realize that if I were going to do something weird, I would have done it long ago? As it is, I can take control of his mind and body if I want to.”
Only then did Svengali question why he wasn’t doing it.
Apparently, when he first parasitized his body, he became trapped. He held on to his pride, waiting for an opportunity to take over.
Now that the opportunity had come, it didn’t feel right.
‘You mean to tell me that you like me, Svengali?’
His face scrunched with disgust as he thought of Ji-Hyuk teasing him.
Feeling unnecessarily bad, he shook his head and said.
“How on earth can even a sleeping face look so peculiar and gross… Urgh!”
“……!”
A dropkick from a nearby Laune sent Svengali flying.
He grunted momentarily, and when he got up, Laune stood between him and Ji-Hyuk.
“Ah…Is this what they call a rebelling child?”
Svengali suddenly grinned as if he had an idea.
And it was at this moment that Laune flinched and shuddered as if he sensed something ominous in Svengali’s smile.
“Very well…… if that’s how it is, then I shall consume the body and mind of this creature you love so dearly.”
“……!”
He blurted out, and Laune gasped and shook his head in disbelief.
Svengali giggled and flew into the air, landing on Ji-Hyuk’s forehead.
“It’s too late, child. You should have shown me, your parent, the respect and honor I deserve from the begin–”
Svengali couldn’t finish his sentence.
Something grabbed onto his foot.
“…Huh?”
It was none other than Henir’s Shadow.
He wondered if it was an alter ego, but then he noticed something strange about its appearance.
“Why is it a female form…?”
The appearance grabbing him was clearly based on Ji-Hyuk’s appearance.
However, the one that was holding him was somehow female.
“No way….”
He flinched and shuddered.
“…….”
A change occurred in his alter ego’s usually black face.
His eyes shrunk back into their sockets, and then crimson pupils grew out of them…
“Haaa–!”
A startled Svengali was about to scream, but the shadow moved in and clamped a hand over his mouth.
Then a small voice whispered.
“Shhhh….”
It was the voice of a beautiful woman.
But when Svangali heard it, he literally freaked out.
“Do not disturb his slumber.”
The voice was unmistakably Minerva’s.
