121 — Chapter 121

Hans the Withered was not an opponent one could ever afford to underestimate.

Had he not fallen so deeply into alchemy, he was a powerhouse often mentioned as a candidate for the next Tower Master of the Blue Tower. He was quick-witted and unpredictable in his techniques, so I needed a place from which he absolutely could not escape.

The place I chose was Drunken Donut in Gwangalli.

Once an ordinary pub in Busan, it had become a symbolic landmark—the heart of the Union—after the great leader Park Mak-rye simultaneously took down Lee Do-hwan’s attempt to seize Busan and a sex offender who targeted only the elderly.

“…”

“…”

As we entered the shop, figures of Mayor Park Mak-rye decorated throughout the place seemed to watch our every move. The atmosphere was murderous, as if the decor itself could detect intruders.

The coffee, the ‘Pink Drink with Açaí Strawberry Blended Refresher,’ and the milk we ordered were served.

I handed the drink to Cheon So-baek, who was sitting next to me, and picked up my warm milk. Then, watching the exit carefully to ensure Hans couldn’t slip away, I spoke.

“I heard you’ve had some trouble recently. Your daughter has gone missing, hasn’t she?”

“…As expected, the Special Unit’s intelligence is terrifying. That is correct.”

To my surprise, he admitted it readily. It seemed he had expected this kind of confrontation from the moment I called him. His hair, like withered vegetation, cast a shadow over his eyes.

I used my mana to block out the surroundings and pushed him a little further.

“To put it bluntly, I’ve received word that you intend to cooperate with the demons, Lord Hans.”

“…”

“And that in exchange for nullifying the Pact of Busan, your daughter’s safety would be guaranteed.”

“To think you even knew that. Who on earth gathered this information so quickly?”

Well, it was all me, of course.

From Hans’s perspective, it must have been shocking that his entire plan had been exposed in just a few days. I lowered my voice even more and hardened my expression. Role-playing… no, investigation and interrogation was the field I was most confident in.

“Our eyes are everywhere. Not even Busan, under Mayor Park Mak-rye’s control, is an exception.”

“…”

“I’m warning you now: don’t even think about running. If you so much as twitch a finger, my subordinate here will use a brand of domination to shatter your mana circuits entirely, just like when she pinned you earlier.”

“So your plan was that thorough.”

“…Cough!”

Cheon So-baek, who was sipping her drink beside me, let out a small cough. Since I’d already told her in the Tower Master’s Room about the mission Ha Yeri gave me, she didn’t interfere. She simply glanced at me with eyes that said I was being ridiculous.

Regardless, I wiped the milk foam from my lips and asked Hans.

“How were you planning to nullify the Pact of Busan?”

“Since you’ve caught me this far, surely you’ve guessed. It isn’t a particularly difficult method.”

In order for the demons to attack the Magic Towers, they had to enter Busan. However, because of the Pact of Protection, no Gates could be generated within the city. The strategy Hans had devised was simpler than I thought.

He planned to use special alchemical bombs to blow up the area near the Nakdong River.

“You’re going to artificially flood the river?”

“The range of the Pact’s effect is limited to the boundaries of Busan as defined after the Seoul Incident. Unlike the city outskirts protected by barriers, it’s difficult to perfectly define boundaries where water flows. A Gate could be opened through that gap.”

“I suppose it’s difficult for you to modify the Pact yourself, Lord Hans.”

“I don’t possess such an ability. Even if I did, a superior Word-Spirit user has already arrived, so such a method would have been useless anyway.”

He was talking about No Yeon-hwa. Regardless, it wasn’t an entirely absurd plan—provided he hadn’t been caught.

“I was dancing in the palm of your hand the whole time.”

“…”

“What becomes of me now?”

Given that I’d heard his confession, there would be no problem with arresting him immediately. However, as I’d told Ha Yeri, I didn’t believe Hans had completely turned to the demons’ side.

“If your daughter’s safety is secured, would you be willing to work for us?”

“Are you saying you’ll give me a chance? If I cooperate with the Special Unit, will my daughter be safe?”

“I can’t guarantee that.”

I didn’t know yet who had kidnapped Hans’s daughter or where she was. I couldn’t exactly interrogate the demons about the fine details at the Council, after all.

But now that I knew the Red Tower was irreparable due to the Heavenly Immortal’s absence, I needed his cooperation to protect the Magic Tower built in Busan.

“First, give me detailed information about your daughter and the demon lackeys who approached you.”

“Understood. My daughter’s name is…”

“Liar.”

“What do you mean, liar?”

“You’re telling me you didn’t come back to the hotel yesterday because you were looking for some girl named Terraria or Bacteria? You expect me to believe that?”

“Her name is Theresia.”

Even if she’s a graduate student, she should at least remember names correctly.

I had contacted No Yeon-hwa urgently and explained that we needed to find Hans’s daughter. Cheon So-baek had already returned to the tower to reinforce the Red Tower’s defense system before the demon attack began.

Though Yeon-hwa clearly didn’t believe my excuse for not opening the door last night, she was cooperating for now since the situation was critical.

“But why me? I’m not exactly helpful in finding some mage’s daughter.”

“Well, it’s because it would be lonely… I mean, because you’re my soul-pair, Miss Yeon-hwa.”

“Do you want to die?! You think I came to Busan for a vacation?”

Despite her raised voice, no physical blow followed. In fact, seeing her pull her cat-eared hood down to hide her face, she actually seemed quite pleased. Realizing I’d secured her consent, I finally revealed the real reason I’d recruited her.

“Actually, there’s one more thing I need to ask of you, Miss Yeon-hwa.”

“What is it?”

“We need to meet Mayor Park Mak-rye.”

I pulled a large glass bottle out from beneath my robe. It was the Heavenly Ginseng Liquor I had brought all the way from the train.

“Miss Yeon-hwa, you’re the only Awakened capable of tweaking the Dragon Immortal’s Pact, and you’ve handled plenty of classified missions in Busan. Surely you can get a private audience with the Mayor?”

“Well, it’s not like I couldn’t if I asked… but what are you planning to do when you meet her?”

“Nothing much. I just want to ask for a small favor to help find Lord Hans’s daughter.”

A task that required the help of Busan’s leader, Mayor Park Mak-rye. Specifically, I wanted to use the statues of Park Mak-rye scattered across the city to track a specific person’s movements. Since this was for the future of humanity, I was certain the Mayor would comply.

After hearing the explanation, No Yeon-hwa looked at me as if she couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

“So, basically, you’re going to comb through CCTV footage to find Theresia?”

“No.”

Theresia was a graduate student under Professor Esma. Since she was originally affiliated with the European branch of the Blue Tower, searching Busan’s CCTVs would never reveal her whereabouts.

Therefore, the person I was looking for was someone also from the Blue Tower, a member of the faculty, and most importantly, the only person who would know where Theresia actually was.

“It’s this person.”

It was Yoo Se-byeol’s friend, Lee So-hyun.

A quiet villa somewhere in the Swiss Alps.

Theresia woke up from a deep sleep in front of a warm fireplace. The rich aroma of La Semeuse beans wafted from the kitchen, and a freshly toasted plate of Rösti sat on the table.

As she took a bite of the Swiss-style potato pancake along with a cup of coffee, tears streamed down Theresia’s face. They weren’t tears of sorrow, but of joy.

“Ah… how long has it been since I’ve had a proper meal like this…?”

This was a luxury she couldn’t have even dreamed of while under Professor Esma. As a graduate student, all she had been given was overtime and caffeine. The only ‘proper’ meal she’d had recently was an Ascetic Energy Bar—a Korean specialty Esma had brought back from a lecture trip to Busan.

“Sniff… I wish this moment would last forever.”

The plush bed, the delicious food—compared to the treatment she’d received at the Magic Tower, this was paradise. Even if her captors happened to be demons.

Finishing her meal, Theresia looked out the window.

—Kieeeek!

—Grrrr…

The cries of monsters echoed through the mountain range occupied by the demons, yet the Swiss scenery remained breathtaking. The monsters stood guard but never approached the villa. The butler, ‘Al,’ who had prepared the meal, had told her to rest comfortably, saying she might feel uneasy if he stayed by her side. His dignity and etiquette were so refined that she had nodded in agreement, momentarily forgetting he was a demon.

“I wonder if they’re looking for me right now?”

Even as she asked herself, she thought it unlikely. Graduate students deserting was a common occurrence at the Magic Tower. Especially for Theresia, who was Hans the Schneider’s daughter but not related by blood; they certainly wouldn’t be active in their search.

Rather, she worried for those left behind—specifically Lee Sohyun, the only person in the Astronomical Observation Wing who had looked after her.

“If they find out she gave a graduate student a vacation, the Professor will definitely scold her…”

She remembered Sohyun’s face when she recommended a ‘great vacation spot.’ It was a gesture of kindness for a girl who hadn’t gone home in a year and had practically merged with her office sofa. How much despair must Sohyun be in now, realizing the ‘Swiss Academic Travel Package for Graduate Students’ was a demon trap? Thinking of her grieving friend made it hard to rest easy.

“Not that I’m going back, though…”

Technically, it was half-voluntary and half-forced. She couldn’t exactly fight her way back through those monsters alone. As Theresia began to trudge back to bed to finish the sleep she had postponed for a year, a voice suddenly rang out from outside.

—Die.

“Eek!?”

The voice, saturated with dense mana, echoed across the entire mountain range like an ominous tolling bell. Immediately following it, the explosions, roars, screams, and monster cries all vanished into silence.

A moment later, the villa door opened. A mage in a black robe and a blindfold entered, followed by a woman in a hooded sweatshirt. The man removed his blindfold and spoke to the woman.

“Congratulations, Miss Yeon-hwa. You’ve finally reached the Upper Level.”

“Shut up.”

“You seem to be in a bad mood. Did I do something wrong again?”

“I just remembered an unpleasant memory. Just grab her so we can get out of here.”

The man approached the bewildered Theresia. Around his neck was a black collar, a gold ring on his finger, handcuffs on his wrists, and a Special Unit smartwatch. He looked remarkably like the Division 3 member Lee Sohyun often talked about—the one she wanted to ‘kidnap, confine, and domesticate.’

His voice was kind, yet carried an authoritative weight that instinctively made her wary. Much like the professors at the Magic Tower.

“I’ve come to fetch you, Miss Terraria. Glad to see you’re safe.”

“It’s Theresia.”

“My apologies. As a Chair Professor of the Red Tower, I don’t bother remembering the names of every graduate student individually.”

He really is a professor, she thought.

“At any rate, let’s go. Everyone is worried. Especially your advisor.”

“Professor Esma?”

“Yes. She mentioned that while you were gone, three hundred experiments have piled up. She said it’s enough work that you won’t need to leave the building for ten years, and that you’d be delighted to hear the news.”

“Hieee!”

At the mention of Esma’s name, Theresia reflexively recoiled. She looked back and forth between the hand reached out to her and the cozy warmth of the mountain villa behind her before speaking cautiously.

“Um…”

“Yes?”

“Can I… just not go?”