Foretold Terror -5-
The airship rose into the sky. Every soul living in Unhwa witnessed the sight of a massive white cloud ascending above them. It was majestic at first glance, yet somehow sorrowful at the same time. For humanity, who had hidden themselves underground, the sky no longer existed. That cloud, too, would never reach the true heavens above; it would remain trapped in the low airspace. Even so, the majesty of it still stirred the heart. The citizens of Unhwa clutched their swelling chests and thought about the airship’s fate today.
On the other hand, there were those who spared no such worries. The majority of the Royal Roaders aboard the airship. We have this much money. We hold this much power. The airship we’re riding is this sturdy. And we have Athena. How could anyone possibly dare commit an act of terrorism against them?
Gulp. Gulp. The drug-laced beverage slid down the Royal Roaders’ throats. It was a special fungal strain that Nadja had stolen from Cheongang’s third pharmaceutical company and sampled. Within a minute, red spots would bloom across their entire bodies, stomach cramps would set in, and their skin would burn with fever. The first stage was a success. Sooner or later, those who sensed something wrong would begin to appear one by one.
It was around this time that Mary began glancing around anxiously. Ten minutes had passed since the airship departed. Just in case, she had even sent Chae Yuha a DM. She had received a proper reply. The interior was so vast that she was getting lost, so she would be grateful if Yuha could come to the edge of the hall.
Yet when she reached the edge of the hall, there was no one there. Or rather, there was exactly one person. A golden-haired man sitting with his eyes gently closed, as if concentrating on something. She remembered him. He was the one called Last, a first-generation Enhanced Human.
“Ah, found you!”
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out from behind Mary. Though she had only heard it once in reality, it had somehow become a voice she could no longer call unfamiliar. Chae Yuha (A.G.O) approached with a bright smile, waving her hand.
“!!!”
Mary, who could not speak, bounced excitedly in her wheelchair, expressing her joy without words. Alfred, who was pushing the wheelchair, quickly turned it toward A.G.O with perfect timing.
A.G.O was wearing a black dress—the very one Mary had once gifted her, urging her to try it on. In truth, it was a visual tracker duplicate; the real one was buried deep in a closet at home. But in this world, sometimes a little white lie was necessary, wasn’t it?
“You’re Miss Mary, right?”
A.G.O, now standing right in front of her and slightly out of breath, asked. Mary’s mind went completely blank. What should she say? I’m your fan? Hold my hand? You bitch, cry your eyes out for me?
As Mary floundered in panic, Alfred cleared his throat knowingly and introduced his lady in her stead.
“You must be Miss Yuha. A pleasure to meet you. This young lady here is the legitimate youngest daughter of the Rothschild family, one of the seven great houses of Royal Road—Mary Nacin Rothschild.”
At that, an irritated Mary weakly thumped Alfred’s thigh with her powerless fist. She had been about to introduce herself—what gave him the right to steal her moment? In response, Alfred pulled out Mary’s personal tablet from inside his suit and mounted it onto the wheelchair.
Mary reached for the tablet mounted on her wheelchair and began communicating with A.G.O. A.G.O tilted her head at the words that appeared, then glanced at Alfred. The quick-witted Mary typed again.
A.G.O felt uneasy at Mary’s sudden honest confession. But Mary, as if lost in her own tragic tale, continued typing without pause.
A.G.O felt even more uncomfortable. These were words that the real Chae Yuha should have heard. Yet at the same time, she felt a strong urge to do something for this pitiful girl.
“May I call you Mary?”
A.G.O gently lifted Mary into her arms. Alfred flinched in surprise, but A.G.O gave him a reassuring look that said it was fine. “You’re such a good girl, Mary. Living such a difficult life and never blaming others.”
“??!?”
Lifted out of her wheelchair, Mary could not answer. She could only flail about, her face flushed bright red.
“You know, I’ve seen so many people. ‘I’m unhappy, so I can act like this. I’m strong, so I can act like this. That person is evil, so they deserve what they get.’ People who rationalize everything that way.”
A.G.O continued speaking while gently patting Mary’s back.
“You’re a Royal Roader, aren’t you? You could have expressed your deep-seated resentment and anger much more intensely. Yet instead of doing that, you purely say you like me. I wanted to thank you for that.”
“Ah, ahi, aaai… aah…”
That’s not it at all. The family that had treated her cruelly were simply stronger than her, so she couldn’t touch them. The weaker underlings, she had crushed so thoroughly they could never rise again. And she had harbored that vulgar desire for A.G.O to shed even more tears for her sake. But if she said that now…
“Uuu…”
Large teardrops welled up in the corners of Mary’s eyes. She lowered her head so her face couldn’t be seen and began to cry, drop by drop. Why had everything turned out the opposite? Why were human emotions like this…
Watching the scene, Alfred swallowed tears of emotion. As expected, bringing his lady together with this person had been the right choice. After becoming paralyzed and being cast out by her family, his lady had seemed to lose all emotion. Yet at some point she had begun to smile brightly, and now she was even shedding tears.
“...”
And Jinhyun, who had been watching the entire scene with his eyes closed, thought to himself: This is getting a bit burdensome. I wish they would do this somewhere else.
Meanwhile, there were those watching the scene with clear displeasure. They were the group of influencers who had ignored or shoved past Chae Yuha when boarding the airship. Each of them had become famous as singers, celebrities, or internet broadcasters. In other words, they had endured long periods of obscurity and clawed their way up through sheer grit and effort.
So what about that bitch? Where the hell did she pop out from, and how was she stealing attention even from the Royal Roaders?
When they first saw Chae Yuha’s Instagram ID appear like a comet, they had been shocked. Even fairly well-known celebrities didn’t gain followers at that speed. Later, when they learned she had gained attention by cozying up to the Enhanced Humans, they had simply found it ridiculous. Of all people, living off the interest of Enhanced Humans? How low-class.
But when they saw the very Chae Yuha they had dismissed loitering near the airship, the shock was beyond words. She must have come to the wrong place. She probably wanted to ride but couldn’t, so she came to watch from afar. That’s what they thought.
But no. She had boarded the airship as if it were the most natural thing in the world. What’s more, Athena had followed behind her like some kind of special escort. Their stomachs twisted with rage. Especially since they had exhausted themselves trying to please the Royal Roaders who had invited them.
Unable to contain her anger, one influencer approached the woman (who was not actually Chae Yuha) sitting with Mary on her lap and chatting softly. In her hand, she held a glass of red wine that would not easily wash out of fabric.
“Oh my, isn’t that Miss Yuha!”
A natural approach. She had deliberately let her long skirt hem trail behind her, making it easy to trip over. If she fell and soaked her hair in wine, it would feel refreshing. It would give a sense of superiority. Yes, it definitely would.
“I’m such a huge fan!”
The wine glass tipped. Aimed at Chae Yuha, avoiding Mary. And it stopped in midair.
It happened in the blink of an eye. Jinhyun, who had been sitting with his eyes gently closed at the edge of the hall, had used his signature acceleration to catch the glass before a single drop could fall.
For a moment, the atmosphere around that spot grew deathly quiet. The influencer who had tried to spill the wine couldn’t say a word. Because Jinhyun’s blue eyes, Mary’s red eyes, and Alfred’s green eyes were all glaring at her with murderous intent. At least, that was how the influencer felt, even if it wasn’t entirely true.
“F-fan… I’m a fan… I-I’m sorry…”
The terrified influencer tried desperately not to meet their eyes as she awkwardly retreated. She could no longer question why only Chae Yuha received such treatment. If she uttered even one more word, she felt like her neck would be severed on the spot.
And at the exact same time, the real Chae Yuha was muttering to herself.
“Aah, setting up the camera without A.G.O really is inconvenient.”
Having finished preparing for the broadcast, she cleared her throat with a loud “ahem” and loosened her voice.