Chapter 131

“Even if you are my brother, I cannot forgive this. For this time only, I will fight alongside Deputy Commander Yoo Se-byeol!”

“Now of all times…?”

For the past two days, I had been clinging to Yoo Se-byeol’s back like a barnacle, offering nothing but cheers with my glowing tentacles—but now, there was no reason not to help her.

It had been confirmed that my precious smartwatch was in Alexei’s hands, not anyone else’s. Since he was notoriously bad with technology, I was certain he wouldn’t know how to feed Gargantua to other monsters like the other seniors did.

However, Alexei lifted his wrist, skillfully manipulated the touch panel, and muttered.

“Hmm, so I just press this button?”

—Meowww!

“Gargantua!”

Why…!?

“Did you not teach me yourself, Hayan?”

“I taught you?”

“Before you went to see Baek-seon to open the Necropolis to Special Unit Division 3.”

“Ah!”

Only then did the memory of teaching Alexei the basic controls of War of the Monsters flash back to me. Along with instructions to bury the Great One with me if I died and how to maintain the Norkel figurine. At the time, I didn’t know Baek-seon had arrived; I was simply leaving my last will and testament in response to Ha Yeri’s summons.

“Urgh, to think you’d remember something from that long ago.”

“Kuhuhu. As they say, one dies by the traps of the conglomerate.”

“Don’t you mean ‘hoist by one’s own petard’?”

“Anyway, with this, you won’t be able to attack recklessly. Hayan, stay over there and wait while you scrub the dirt off your neck.”

Am I useless once again?

I took a step back, letting out a groan of frustration.

“It’s no use, Deputy Commander. Since it’s come to this, I’ll join the fray once you’ve smashed that smartwatch…”

“What do you mean, Hayan? You met Baek-seon?”

But where I stepped was a landmine.

Instantly, a chilling shiver ran down my spine. Yoo Se-byeol was staring at me from behind her back with dead eyes. Whether it was due to the unique flexibility of a swordsman or some malevolent spirit named jealousy possessing her, her head began to tilt at a bizarre, grotesque angle.

I tried to explain the situation in detail to calm her down, but it only made matters worse.

“It’s nothing major! Lruyeh showed up without notice, so we just had a bit of a business meeting…”

“Ah, Lruyeh. I only just learned that thanks to you, Hayan. Baek-seon’s name.”

An Awakened of Yoo Se-byeol’s caliber couldn’t possibly have been ignorant of a Seven Immortal’s real name. However, I lacked the courage to point that out right now.

“Right, it’s nothing major. Nothing at all. You just hid the fact that a woman you met outside came looking for you. In a private room, crunch! Just the two of you. And right after that, Division 3 was able to join the Necropolis raid, creaaak…!”

“It’s a misunderstanding! It wasn’t a private room, and we weren’t alone! The Commander-in-Chief and Commander Ha Yeri were there too, so what on earth are you imagining…?”

“Oh-yeah? Oh-yeah, you say?”

It was hopeless; we were no longer on a level where conversation was possible. I hurriedly slid off her back.

However, the dark-red mana swirling around her body had already spread to the tip of her blade, finally taking the form of a demon.

“Yes, that’s right. Just look at this promotion evaluation. There’s more than one person trying to tear Hayan away from my side.”

“…”

“I need the power to make Hayan mine. A power far more overwhelming than what I have now. Otherwise… I w-won’t be able to pr-protect you. Like th-that time…!”

“Deputy Commander!?”

It was the second time since Daegu that I had seen her reason consumed by the Archduke’s incarnation. The problem was that, unlike then, we were currently in the middle of the Bureau headquarters. Not only could she not unleash her full power, but the CCTVs installed everywhere were also a major issue.

While I hesitated, Yoo Se-byeol’s head suddenly dropped. Then, she surged forward with incredible speed, swinging the arm holding her sword.

“Die…!”

“Gah!”

Just as I instinctively tried to pull out a tentacle to block—

A single spear plummeted between us. As the smoke obscuring my vision cleared, the figure revealed was Kang Ha-neul. The proud disciplinary officer of Special Unit Division 3.

“Senior Kang Ha-neul?”

His back, with its ponytail, looked remarkably dependable today. Even the CCTVs scattered about had been neutralized by his ability. He turned his head and asked about my status.

“Are you safe?”

“Do I look safe to you?”

I replied from the floor, my vision flipped upside down. His grand entrance was all well and good, but his intervention hadn’t helped at all. His spear, which had blocked the path of Yoo Se-byeol’s sword, was snapped in two, and the shards had pierced my ribcage.

If not for the armor tentacles wrapped beneath my robe, I’d currently have a wind tunnel in both lungs and be having a tearful reunion with my childhood friend in the afterlife. Getting up and dusting myself off, I stepped forward to stop him as he reached for another spear.

“You’re as weak as ever.”

“…”

“You should step back.”

“You’re the one who should step back. I came here to challenge the Deputy Commander.”

What?

I doubted both my eyes and ears. Kang Ha-neul declaring that he would take the position of Division 3 Deputy Commander from Yoo Se-byeol? Since the appearance of the Gates, the only sentence more absurd than that would be ‘Commander Ha Yeri has grown taller than her greatsword.’

I coveted the position of disciplinary officer, but I didn’t want to sit in that chair at the cost of Kang Ha-neul’s life.

“I think you’re looking for a creative way to say you want to die, but the Deputy Commander is extremely dangerous right now. She’ll attack anyone nearby.”

“I know.”

“Then why?”

“Cleaning up the mess you made is also my job.”

The tip of his spear pointed toward a CCTV camera hidden in the fog. Though invisible, many people in the Bureau were likely watching this situation right now.

“If the Deputy Commander is caught in that state, Division 3 is finished. We already don’t have a Commander if the Deputy Commander’s chair becomes vacant too, it’s over.”

“Don’t tell me you knew the Deputy Commander’s secret?”

“How should I know? Maybe if it were the retired Commander Yoo Cheol-jin.”

He might not know she held the Archduke’s incarnation, but he could tell just by looking that she wasn’t normal. So, he had decided to step in first to hide it from the others.

Whether by luck or misfortune, she didn’t seem to have reached the point of a full, uncontrollable rampage just yet.

There were no horns, and her eyes hadn’t turned into the inverted iris of a demon.

Only a dark-red mana swirled around her entire body.

It was likely because the Sword Immortal’s scabbard was still hanging from her waist. If that were the case, she might return to her original self if I could just calm her down a little.

“We are currently in a two-on-two duel. I’ll handle the Deputy Commander; you take Alexei.”

“Will you be alright?”

“Even if I’m not, I have to do it.”

The thick fog surrounding us began to slowly lift. Spinning his spear half a turn, Kang Ha-neul handed me a black object caught on the end of the shaft and asked, “Are you ready?”

“This is…!”

It was my smartwatch, which he had snatched from Alexei with lightning speed right before throwing his spear.

“I see. In the end, I face the stronger one first. Very well! Brother, I have waited for this moment for a very long time!”

“Prepare yourself, Alexei! Sae Hayan, the Light Mage, will defeat his brother who has fallen into the corruption of power, even if it brings tears to my eyes!”

“Khahaha! If you beat me, I’ll let you use the bottom bunk from now on! I’ll even tear up that ‘Adoption Application’ your little sister secretly gave me last time right here on the spot!”

“WHAT?! When on earth did she write such a document! Answer me, Marla-nim! Mala-nim!?”

Like true roommates, those two really started chattering away the moment they met.

Leaving Hayan and Alexei to their bizarre exchange, Kang Ha-neul gripped his spear. His opponent was the granddaughter of the Sword Immortal and the idol of all swordsmen: the Sword Princess, Yoo Se-byeol.

Though she appeared unable to control her rage, her skills were by no means rusty.

“Die!”

“Urgh…!”

No sooner had the fog cleared than a beast-like cry rang out, and a fist that distorted space itself grazed past his nose. As a master of martial arts, she was proficient not only in swordsmanship but in various forms of hand-to-hand combat.

While her precision dropped for attacks requiring fine concentration as her reason clouded, the proficiency of certain techniques requiring raw persistence seemed to have increased.

The tip of the spear he lunged while dodging her fist struck her neck accurately, but thanks to the internal energy technique Indestructible Body, not a single drop of blood was shed.

Changing tactics, Kang Ha-neul draped his entire body in thunderclouds and created several afterimages similar to clones. Originally, this was a formation that many swordsmen had to perform together, but by using his ability, he could execute it alone.

Though their numbers increased, the clones couldn’t leave a single scratch on Yoo Se-byeol’s body. However, his goal wasn’t to defeat her, but to render her unable to move.

“Khhh…!”

Numerous spears grazed her body. The spears that flew past and embedded themselves into the walls and ceiling became shackles that limited her movement.

Just as he had made most of her joints—both arms, legs, neck, and shoulders—immobile, Yoo Se-byeol suddenly relaxed her body and vanished from his sight.

“Wait, could it be…!”

Her body, melting like water, unified with the floor and approached at high speed. He hurriedly spread his fog and retreated, but the blade surging from the shadows was faster.

The spear he was holding split apart like a tree struck by lightning. Though both were shrouding their weapons in mana, Kang Ha-neul could not go head-to-head with Yoo Se-byeol’s sword intent.

“Ugh…! Snap out of it, Deputy Commander.”

The black spear aimed at his heart shattered and stabbed into his shoulder. Kang Ha-neul grabbed it as it was to try and calm her. No blood flowed. Turning his body into clouds holding thunderclouds was a technique unique to Kang Ha-neul, one his other brothers did not possess. Thanks to this, he could remain active in the Special Unit despite the countless injuries he had sustained.

In the first place, if it had been those two, he wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.

He used his ability to turn the struck area into mist, but perhaps because he couldn’t completely nullify an attack laden with mana, a red haze drifted up.

Feeling dizzy, Kang Ha-neul spoke to Yoo Se-byeol.

“What is this? Instead of being a role model for the rookies, you’re showing such a pathetic sight.”

“Hayan… no, not Ha… yan… Ha-neul? What did I… what have I done…?”

“Who knows. I suppose you’ve been possessed by a ghost after hanging around Hayan so much. Regardless, this wasn’t like the Deputy Commander I know.”

“I-I’m sorry! I’ll call an ambulance right now…!”

“I’m fine. More importantly, it’s time you made a decision.”

“A decision? About what…”

As his mana ran out, the fog obscuring the CCTVs was slowly clearing. Coincidentally, the fight between Hayan and Alexei seemed to have concluded as well, as only one person was left standing.

“The position of Commander. Everyone expresses it harshly, but they likely think the same as I do.”

Having someone defeat Yoo Se-byeol and fill the Commander’s chair was one way for Division 3. However, Kang Ha-neul wanted Yoo Se-byeol herself to cast off the shackles of the past and ascend to the position of Commander on her own.

“You know the promotion evaluation period ends today, right?”

“Yes.”

“The transportation to the Central Hospital should still be running. That’s all I can say to you.”

“…”

“Ah, right. One more thing.”

“What is it?”

Pointing to the one person who hadn’t fallen in the battle within the fog, Kang Ha-neul gestured toward Hayan with his broken spear.

“If you’re going, take him with you. He’ll be more help than not.”