< Chapter 77: Aftermath (1) >
Having confirmed that the Sword Spirit and Ghost Spirit were completely dead, the first thing I did was check the injuries of Team 1 officers, including Jia.
“…Fortunately.”
Everyone’s alive.
With this much blood loss, it wouldn’t be strange if they died from excessive bleeding, but they had only lost consciousness, somehow, everyone is still breathing.
It must be thanks to superhuman vitality.
I pulled out emergency medication from my pocket.
Since there was only one, I decided to apply it to Jia’s wound, which was the most severe.
“Ouch.”
It must have stung; she moaned with her eyes closed. Her beautiful face was a mess with dust and blood.
“Sigh.”
It’s all my fault.
Knowing the abilities of the Sword Spirit and the Ghost Spirit, yet failing to link them with Drake was my mistake.
…No, perhaps expecting that far was arrogance in itself.
I chuckled bitterly.
“Ah.”
This is not the time.
I approached the Promosium Dagger, stuck next to the corpse of the Sword Spirit.
“…What do I do with this?”
I need to hide it, but there’s no way to do so.
I left my equipment carrier behind in a hurry.
I reached out to the Promosium Dagger.
Crack-!
“Ah, it’s hot!”
I can’t hold it, as expected.
“…This is really bad.”
I looked around.
The effect of the Ghost Spirit’s Chaos Ghost is still lingering.
Once the Chaos Ghost’s effect is gone entirely, reinforcements will arrive.
And naturally, the superhumans who come to support will take an interest in the Promosium Dagger.
Next, they’ll realize that the dagger is an ancient relic.
It’ll soon be revealed that I wielded this dagger.
Many people, including Instructor Jinseolha, saw that scene.
Then, my secret will be exposed to the world.
I must avoid that at all costs.
“I have about 30 seconds left.”
Roughly 30 seconds until the effect of the Chaos Ghost is gone completely.
I need to devise a plan before then.
But my thoughts were interrupted.
“What on earth is this….”
“!”
I heard a woman’s voice from behind.
I quickly turned around.
“Yuhwa… you?”
It was Yuhwa.
Yuhwa was desperately checking the unconscious officer students one by one.
“Phew.”
She exhaled a sigh of relief, seemingly realizing that they were all still breathing.
“How did you break through the barrier…?”
How did she get through the Chaos Ghost?
“I responded to the dispatch request. I just broke through the barrier. My stealth is immune to external status anomalies.”
“Ah.”
Unaffected by external influences.
I seem to recall such an effect.
So that’s how she could ignore the Chaos Ghost.
“More importantly…”
Yuhwa glanced at the corpses of the Sword Spirit and Ghost Spirit and finally gazed at my Promosium Dagger.
“Indeed.”
Her eyes were filled with certain conviction.
Could she know what this is?
“…That thing. It’s an ancient artifact you received from Ail, right? An artifact of the Beast Tribe.”
I put my hand to my forehead.
Unless others check the information about the dagger, there’s no way to know whether it’s an ancient artifact or just a regular item.
But Yuhwa is different.
Yuhwa is the link between the Collector and me.
Naturally, she must have seen the information about this dagger.
She must remember it.
“Well, what happened here is…”
I have no choice.
Since things have come to this, I must go with Plan C of the promise.
‘I’m actually a beastman! Woof woof!’
It’s the only strategy!
“I’m actually…”
I was about to mouth the lie when…
“It’s fine. I know everything.”
“Excuse me?”
Yuhwa interrupted me with a dead-serious expression.
I was dumbfounded.
…She knows? What does she know?
“What are you talking about…?”
“We can discuss the details later. We don’t have time, right?”
She quickly approached me and pulled a palm-sized box from her waist pocket.
“What are you going to do…?”
“We need to hide this first, don’t we?”
“That’s true, but…”
Chwarararak-
The box made a noisy mechanical sound and expanded in size simultaneously.
“…A portable transport carrier?”
A costly piece of equipment that professional superhumans carry one of, just in case.
“Yes. It’s not big, but it’s enough to contain the dagger.”
Yuhwa opened the device and placed it in front of the Promosium Dagger, skillfully manipulating the panel.
Then, the carrier emitted magical energy, wrapping around the Promosium Dagger.
“…It even has an anti-gravity device?”
I knew that was incredibly expensive.
“It’s quite convenient once you get used to it.”
Following Yuhwa’s operation, the dagger that was stuck in the ground floated up and slipped into the carrier.
Thump-
It was the moment Yuhwa completed her final operation and closed the carrier.
―Over here!
―The recognition barrier has broken!
I could hear the voices of the superhumans in the distance.
The Chaos Ghost was completely dispelled.
“Seo-yul.”
Yuhwa, holding the carrier, spoke to me.
“Just trust me.”
“…?”
My mind was filled with questions.
* * *
The Tyrant Drake rampage incident was treated as literally Drake going mad and running wild.
The victims totaled 12.
Two teams were sacrificed to Drake.
This morning.
There was a funeral for those 12 at the school.
And now it’s 7 PM.
I was having a conversation with Yuhwa in her mention.
“It’s unfortunate. At such a tender age.”
Yuhwa handed me a cup of tea with a forced smile. I took a sip of it. Perhaps because I drank the bitter tea, the corners of my mouth turned bitter.
“How is Jia?”
“The injury to her leg is severe, but luckily there should be no aftereffects.”
“She hasn’t woken up yet?”
“Yes.”
24 hours have passed since Jia was transferred to the hospital. But Jia was still unconscious.
“It must be because she used magic too much. Don’t worry too much.”
Had my expression betrayed me?
Yuhwa offered words of consolation.
“What about the Ghost Spirit and Sword Spirit? How were they dealt with?”
“Hold on.”
Yuhwa placed the teacup on the table and fumbled for something.
It was the paperwork for handling the incident.
“We spoke to the Shinwa Group and decided not to officially announce it. The Military Academy also expressed that they would prefer it not to be announced.”
“I see.”
A scion of the Shinwa Group was almost kidnapped by a villain of the Saviors of Truth. From the Shinwa Group’s standpoint, and the Military Academy’s standpoint, it would be a shame to reveal.
Of course, they would want to keep it hidden.
“Ah. And about the Promethium Dagger.”
Hmm.
I flinched at Yuhwa’s words.
“I’ve hidden the existence of that dagger well, so you don’t have to worry.”
“…I see.”
Yuhwa smiled thinly.
A brief silence followed.
“Yuhwa, do you…”
I hesitated before speaking.
“Aren’t you curious about how I can use ancient artifacts?”
“Yes.”
Yuhwa took a leisurely sip of tea.
“I told you then, I already know everything.”
My eyebrows narrowed.
What was Yuhwa thinking?
“What do you know?”
Yuhwa looked at me with eyes full of confidence.
“Your past, Seoryul.”
My past?
…Could it be.
Yuhwa handed me another document.
[Sunlight Orphanage Human Experiment Records]
…You again?
The human experiment report.
Are you the culprit again?
But how did you find this?
It’s a record that only someone who assisted in covering up the incident could obtain.
No, what does the Sunlight Orphanage human experiment have to do with my ability to use ancient artifacts?
“You’re a survivor of the Racial Fusion Project, right?”
“….”
No, I am.
A survivor of the System Transcendence Project.
“The reason you can use the ancient artifacts of the Beastman race is because of the fusion with the Beastman factors during that experiment.”
Actually, that happened because I got drunk with the Creator and blurted something out, causing an error in the system.
“That also explains why you requested the Gauntlet of the Fierce Tiger during the first negotiation.”
That was just because when I thought about what I could gain, that’s the only thing that came to mind.
“The perpetrator of the experiment is Saviors of Truth. It’s natural to harbor a grudge. That’s why you’re chasing Saviors of Truth. Pirel Alo, Doppelganger, Pyo Il Chan, Vagabond. The reason you don’t seek compensation is also for revenge.”
Those were just various situations that coincided.
The Saviors of Truth are just getting in my way, so I’m trying to get rid of them.
Wait, Pirel Alo isn’t even part of Saviors of Truth, why is he included?
“The reason you’re well-versed in information about Saviors of Truth is that you remember the words of the researchers during the experiment, right?”
That’s because I know the original novel.
“Judging by how you gather various ancient artifacts, it’s highly likely that you also have the factors of various other races besides the Beastmen.”
I have never had other racial factors transplanted.
“Is there anything I said that’s wrong?”
“….”
I was at a loss for words.
Uh, um.
If you ask me what was wrong.
I can answer like this.
…Everything was just wrong.
Of course, I couldn’t say that.
All I could do was lick my lips in confusion.
My eyes were also lost, shaking wildly in bewilderment.
“…Ah.”
Then Yu Hwa began to look at me with the saddest eyes in the world.
“…I see.”
She smiled a bitter smile, filled with guilt.
“I’m sorry. That must have been traumatic for you, Seo-yul. I was insensitive.”
Then she got up from her seat and moved next to me.
“!”
And then she gently hugged me from the side. My body stiffened in surprise.
“You’ve had a tough time, haven’t you?”
“….”
I turned my neck like a rusty machine, looking at Yu Hwa’s face right in front of my nose.
Her eyes, staring straight at me, were full of moisture.
“Alone… enduring that experiment for so many years. All by yourself, without being able to tell anyone….”
Her voice trembled with a sob.
“But it’s okay now.”
Yu Hwa grabbed both my shoulders and smiled brightly.
It was the most refreshing smile I’d seen from her.
“From now on, I’ll be by your side, Seo-yul.”
“….”
Looking at that smile, I thought.
….
No.
I stopped thinking.
* * *
“…Really?”
That night.
Yu Hwa was on the phone with Maiden.
“−Really? You said something so bold?”
“…Ugh.”
Yu Hwa, lying on the bed with her face buried, groaned.
−Hahahaha!
Maiden’s laughter rang out cheerfully from the other end of the line.
−I knew you were sensitive, Yu Hwa, but I never knew it was to that extent. Hehe!
Yu Hwa shivered, her ears turning red.
“No! You should have seen his expression! How pitiful it was as the light disappeared from his eyes with every word I spoke.”
Yu Hwa’s face, lifted from the pillow, was red as a tomato.
“His lips were trembling! His pupils were lost and shaking! His face turning paler and paler! It was really no joke!”
−…It was that bad?
Maiden stopped laughing.
“Yes. Normally, he would at least shake his head, but he couldn’t even say a word. His shoulders were just shuddering. He looked like a wounded baby bird. You would have done the same if you were there, right?”
Yu Hwa turned serious.
So did Maiden.
−Even so, saying ‘From now on, I’ll be by your side, Seo-yul. Smile’ was a bit too much.
“…Eek!”
Yu Hwa bit her lip.
She felt embarrassed by that remark again.
‘How could I say something so crazy!’
−Just looking at the data makes one go mad and jump around. There’s no way someone who went through that experiment wouldn’t be traumatized.
Maiden said, grinding her teeth, thinking of her daughter Leah who died from the experiment.
−It’s actually surprising that he’s laughing now.
“…Yes. I think so too.”
What if she had been in Kang Seo-yul’s place?
Could she have lived, smiling and joking as Kang Seo-yul does now?
Yu Hwa shook her head.
No matter how she thought about it, she didn’t think she could.
−The kid is strong-willed; he will do fine. Unnecessary care might be toxic for such children, so keep treating him as you have.
“I know that, okay?”
−As long as you know.
Yu Hwa pouted her lips.
She was the guild leader after all; when would they stop treating her like a child?
−Ah. And I’m coming to Korea by plane early tomorrow morning. The preparations have gone faster than expected.
“The ancient artifact?”
The reason Maiden was coming back was to prepare for bringing the ancient artifact to Kang Seo-yul.
−It should come through the hero channel. It’s a high-speed ship, so I think it will arrive by Friday night.
“That’s fortunate.”
−But I’m not sure if the kid will like it.
Yu Hwa casually replied.
“He’ll like it. By the way, how many did you find?”
−Find what?
“The number of ancient artifacts stashed in the warehouse.”
−Ah. Didn’t I tell you? There weren’t as many as I thought.
Maiden said nonchalantly.
−There were three.
