I returned to Korea.
Dressed in a crisp, clean suit for the first ti in a while, I headed to the upscale Italian restaurant Jeong Seojin had reserved for us.
As I walked inside, the elegantly uniford staff bowed politely. Acknowledging their greetings with a nod, I brought my phone to my ear.
"Yeah, Seojin. What about the thing I asked you to look into?"
—"Your hunch was correct, Tower Master," Seojin’s voice trembled faintly through the speaker. "This is my failure. I am truly ashad."
"No, it couldn’t be helped. If not for the First Tower Master’s warning, I never would have imagined that there was a demonkin among us, either."
—"Then, will you proceed with the plan?"
"Yeah. Please take care of the clean-up later."
—"Understood. Please be careful."
As I hung up the phone, the waiting host approached with a polite smile.
"May I have your na, sir?"
"Kim Yusin."
"Yes, your reservation is confird, Mr. Kim. I’ll show you to your table right this way."
Following the staff’s guidance, I walked down the hallway and stepped into the VIP room.
The space was reasonably sized, neither too cramped nor overly spacious, and the long table was already laden with a spread of Italian dishes, from rich risotto to steaming spaghetti.
As soon as I crossed the threshold, the four people waiting inside jumped to their feet.
Kim Sarang, Seo Shimhee, Jo Yonghee, and Cha Doyeon.
Counting the late Na Daeyong, the mages hailed as the world’s top five great sorcerers were all gathered in one place.
"Have a seat."
Much like the interview room where I had first t them, I took the head of the table while the four of them sat in a neat row across from .
Perhaps because it was a sudden dinner invitation with no stated purpose, they all looked visibly tense.
"You don’t need to be so stiff," I said with a reassuring smile, hoping to lighten the rigid atmosphere.
A waiting somlier stepped forward, expertly pouring wine into our glasses.
"It’s been a long ti since I’ve had a cozy dinner with my disciples like this. Let’s just enjoy tonight."
Once the somlier finished moving around the table and filling everyone’s glasses, I raised mine.
"Well then, a light toast."
"Yes, sir!"
With a crisp, ringing chi, our wine glasses t in the center and drew apart.
I brought the rim to my lips, quietly observing them. While everyone else took nervous sips, Cha Doyeon didn’t even lift her glass.
Instead, she stared at , her expression dead serious.
"Minister Cha, do you have sothing to say to ?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Go ahead."
She took a deep breath. "Was this recent incident in Bahrain an independent action on your part, Representative?"
"You could say that."
"Intense criticism is pouring in from all over the world, directed at both the Association and the governnt. They’re saying that sinking an entire city isn’t hunting or anything of the sort. It’s terrorism. Intimidation."
I nodded, showing I was listening as I savored my wine.
"You are being too extre," she pressed. "The prestige and influence of the Tower Master position are on a completely different level than they were five years ago. As the representative of hundreds of millions of mages worldwide, I’d like you to pay special attention to your actions. And for matters of this magnitude, you should have sufficiently consulted with the Departnt of Magic before..."
"Does the World Guild need permission from the Korean Departnt of Magic just to hunt down demonkins?" I interrupted smoothly.
She clamped her mouth shut, seemingly at a loss for words. I lifted my head and t her gaze directly.
"I don’t an to disrespect you, Minister Cha, but I’d like to remind you that your words could be considered an overreach of authority. And honestly, those protesting are barking up the wrong tree. If they have a problem, they should take it up with directly. Why harass the Association? From now on, forward every single protest call straight to the Magic Tower."
Cha Doyeon bit her lip. "Representative... Just why are you in such a rush?"
"Nesis."
Her shoulders trembled slightly.
"We don’t have much ti," I continued. "I am fully aware that my current actions may go against the policies of the Departnt of Magic, and I am genuinely sorry for that. However, I just need you to turn a blind eye for the six months we have left to prepare for Nesis."
The room fell into a heavy silence.
As the Minister of Magic, Cha Doyeon could influence and even impose sanctions on the Magic Tower, but her reach had its limits.
The World Guild wasn’t an organization bound to any specific nation. It operated strictly under the direct jurisdiction of the Alliance. Complying with the Departnt of Magic’s rules was entirely my choice.
"Now, are there any other questions?"
Amidst the heavy silence, Kim Sarang raised her hand.
"Yes, Sarang?"
"Why did you suddenly call us all together? I have a night shoot, you know."
A chuckle slipped out before I could stop it.
Classic Kim Sarang, totally marching to the beat of her own drum.
"Alright. Since so of us are busy, let’s get straight to the point."
I t each of their eyes, my tone dropping to a heavy, serious register.
"There is a demonkin in this room right now."
They were too stunned to speak.
Jaws dropped in sheer horror.
"C... co on! What a joke!" Kim Sarang waved her hands defensively, suddenly sweating bullets.
"A demonkin? Wait, a demonkin?" Jo Yonghee stamred, trembling as he dragged his chair slightly away from the others.
Cha Doyeon and Seo Shimhee exchanged bewildered glances.
"Don’t be so alard. It’s not one hundred percent confird yet."
"T... then..."
"To fill in that remaining percentage, I will be interrogating all of you from this mont forward."
Cha Doyeon abruptly stood up.
"This is highly offensive, Representative Kim Yusin! To interrogate us over unverified claims...!" She glared at . "We may be your disciples, but we are now individuals with respectable social standings! I will be taking my leave!"
"Sit down, Minister Cha."
I crossed my legs, offering a soft, unyielding smile.
"I’m not spouting this based on so baseless rumor I overheard. The source is Alexandro, the big shot of the demonkin world we captured in Carnival Land."
At the ntion of Alexandro, their faces turned to stone.
"And as the head of the World Guild, I have the legitimate investigative authority to interrogate you. Naturally, this has already been cleared with the Korean Association President as well."
Hearing the Association President’s title, Cha Doyeon lowered her head and slowly sat back down. Only now did they seem to fully grasp the gravity of the situation.
"Well then, shall we begin? Let’s start with Mr. Jo Yonghee."
I asked everyone a series of simple, routine questions, nothing too difficult to answer.
"What were you doing five years ago? What kind of magic did you primarily learn? How close were you with Na Daeyong in the past?"
And lastly, "Why are you not the demonkin?"
Everyone answered with tense faces. Cha Doyeon cooperated with the first few questions but flat-out refused to answer the last one.
"Very well."
I stood up and shoved the dishes on the table aside to clear an empty space.
I unclasped Anton’s Necklace, which I always wore around my neck, and placed it in the center.
"In the end, this was the problem."
As everyone watched in bewildernt, wondering what on earth I was doing, I pulled Specter out of my subspace pocket.
Gripping the hilt with both hands, I hoisted the blade high above my head.
"Aaaaah!"
"R... Representative?!"
"You’ll get hurt. Step back," I warned.
Grinding my teeth, I pulled my arms back, readying the strike.
"It’s better for sothing like this to just disappear."
And then, I swung Specter down with full force.
A sharp tallic screech exploded outward.
It definitely wasn’t the sound of the Water Veil necklace snapping. A violently tingling sensation shot up my hands as Specter sharply deflected backward.
"...What is the aning of this?" I asked, lowering the blade. "Ms. Seo Shimhee."
She remained completely silent.
At so point, Seo Shimhee had lunged across the table, her right arm completely transford via tamorphosis to block the strike.
"...Why?"
Her pupils trembled violently, quaking with barely contained emotion.
"...Why are you trying to cut this? It’s your important artifact, Representative!"
"It’s my item. How I dispose of it is entirely up to , and it is not a matter for you to get involved in, Ms. Seo Shimhee."
I cast Wind Port. Riding the sudden gust, the necklace on the table flew straight into my hand.
I grabbed it with both hands and applied force to snap it in half.
With a violent, concussive impact, my body was launched through the air.
I only stopped after smashing through several thick walls. The patrons in the back rooms, who had been quietly grilling at, scread in sheer terror as debris rained down.
Shaking off the shock, the first thing I saw through the settling dust was a massive, gaping maw and a blinding flash of energy glowing from deep within its throat.
"Run!" I yelled to the civilians, throwing both arms forward.
A destructive pillar of light blasted from that gigantic mouth, colliding head-on with my seventh-order generated barrier and unleashing a deafening roar.
"Ugh!"
I planted my feet into the ground, pouring strength into my legs to keep from being pushed back.
Sparks showered from the barrier as a web of hairline fractures slowly began to spread across its surface.
Gritting my teeth, I drew out my mana, channeling an extra surge into the damaged shield to repair the cracks.
A massive explosion ripped through the restaurant. Thick smoke blanketed the venue, but I instantly cleared it away with the Aiolos spell I had prepared in advance.
And then I saw it clearly.
She had transford into an enormous Gold Dragon, tightly clutching Anton’s Necklace in her monstrous claw.
Cha Doyeon, Kim Sarang, and Jo Yonghee had hastily deployed shields to protect the civilians around them, but their faces were completely blank, utterly stunned by the sudden turn of events.
"The world’s first transformation mage and the current strongest tamorphosis user, Ms. Seo Shimhee."
I deactivated the Absolute Barrier and slowly approached her.
"Andras’s initial form was a canine-type monster. And supposedly, its final stage form has the appearance of a dragon."
I pulled my phone out of my pocket.
"Actually, that was a trick. It took a little while to figure it out, but Andras’s true final form looks exactly like this."
I switched the device to hologram mode and projected the image into the air.
It was an illustration of a quadrupedal, wolf-like monster covered in long golden fur. There wasn’t a single trace of a dragon anywhere in its design.
"That dragon isn’t your true form, Ms. Seo Shimhee."
eting everyone’s astonished gazes, I stated my cold conclusion.
"It’s your demonkin form."
No sooner had I spoken than the golden scales and fur began to fall out in sickly clumps all over the Gold Dragon, as if it were rapidly molting.
"...I won’t forgive you."
Sharp, jagged bone joints aggressively jutted out through the shedding skin, and countless bat-like wings sprouted violently from its back.
Her form, what everyone had called a Gold Dragon, was actually nothing more than a temporary disguise achieved through an advanced application of tamorphosis.
"I won’t forgive you, fake!"
The grotesque dragon, its hideous bones now exposed in rotting patches, roared.
Guests and staff scread in absolute terror. So fainted dead away on the spot. Fortunately, the standby Magic Tower staff quickly rushed in to evacuate the area.
Feeling the skin-piercing murderous intent radiating from her massive form, I allowed myself a brief mont of reflection.
Just how did we end up like this?
"You have committed countless sins," I said, my voice cutting through the chaos. "You deceived your colleagues, betrayed them, and even deluded yourself. It might be harsh for to say this, but..."
Explosive mana surged from my body. Four massive seventh-order magic circles materialized and began spinning rapidly behind .
"Demonkin Seo Shimhee. As a representative of the World Guild, I will eliminate you."
Reviews
All reviews (0)