The Aberrants Make Their Entrance (6)

I followed the limousine carrying Yeongeun with my eyes as it headed for the Blue House, and Franc, floating at my side, asked in a voice edged with anger.

"Will you truly leave those who slighted Yeongeun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠untouched?"

"Leave them be, and what am I supposed to do when I finally blow a gasket?"

I'd tossed it off playfully, but from the moment Yeongeun told me the whole of it, I'd been turning over how to make those American bastards pay. However strong I was, keeping the people I treasured safe from a nation armed with modern science was more than I could manage alone. I could seize High Grade and Superior aberrants wholesale with mental manipulation and be done with it, but that was a power I had to keep hidden.

If it came to charging in ready to die with them, or if all I meant to shield were the people truly precious to me, I could do it. Guarding the country Yeongeun loved along with them, though, made an open, reckless assault impossible. Winning a host of other nations to my side and isolating America until it couldn't pull anything stupid might work—but coming up with a plan that could actually do that was beyond me.

Hmm. How was I supposed to screw America over...

Right. Yeongeun would be in the middle of talks with the American and Russian presidents right about now. I should crash that meeting.

If I wanted to apply a little pressure, I could wrap myself in Darky, turn Miho back into her true form, and barge in—then call that mouthy American president out to his face. Bring up how the first raid failed, and how they still hadn't come to their senses and were gearing up for a second?

By any ordinary measure it was madness. But making that kind of madness possible was exactly what my power was for. My ability. The nickname military dictator might make the rounds again, but whatever.

I ought to film it, too, and put it up on the social video networks. I pulled up the Certifier and checked the price of the automatic adjustment for video-broadcast streaming.

Why was this so expensive? And what was this—a privacy law against illegal filming? So they'd brought it in to keep Certifier streamers from trampling over people's private lives whenever they felt like it.

...Figures. It's always the clueless, trashy streamers who ruin it.

I went back to school, barged into the teachers' office, and told my teacher I had to leave early on urgent business.

"Urgent business?"

"Well. This is top secret, but... another aberrant has shown up in the real world, and it's to do with that."

"Ah! R-really? Then go, quickly!"

Our poor old-maid of a homeroom teacher took fright at the word aberrant and all but shoved me out the door, telling me to hurry. From the look of the office, she wasn't the only one who was scared.

Lydia wasn't in the classroom when I got back, so I swept the school with Spatial Perception. She was sitting demurely in the student council room, deep in a meeting for the year-end school festival. I marched straight there, knocked three times, and flung the door wide. The officers' eyes went round.

"Excuse me."

"Whoa. Senior Jung Seoha?!"

"Sorry to interrupt when you're busy. I need to borrow Lydia for a minute. It's urgent."

"S-Sir Seoha?"

I took Lydia's arm where she sat in the meeting, and her eyes went wide. The tiny twintailed student council president beside her flustered, looking back and forth between us. I used Space Leaping and dropped us into the rooftop garden. Lydia couldn't catch her balance and nearly toppled; she stared, dazed, at scenery that had changed in an instant, then turned on me a look no words could capture.

"I-is this Space Leaping?"

"Yeah. I was thinking of using that video I got last time however I want. That all right? It was a gift, but I figured I should still give the British government a heads-up through you."

"Yes. Please do as suits you. Use it freely, however you wish. It is a gift from me and from Britain, after all. Oh, and..."

The moment she finished calling it a gift, Lydia raised a hand and went on.

"Two container ships that left Japan, crossing the Pacific bound for America, lost contact about a day's sail from Hawaii."

"Hit by the Blade Flyer?"

"Britain believes so."

That was even more useful for what I was about to do.

"Thanks. I'll sell you one Superior-grade Phase Stone, so have them send someone. I'll tell Aunt Hyeryeong."

"A Superior-grade Phase St—! Y-yes! Thank you!"

Blue Stones ran about ten times more efficient than Phase Stones, so it was time I started mass-producing them. Once I did, the Superior-grade stones I'd charged in bulk would turn into dead stock, and I ought to start selling them off. I ruffled the delighted Lydia's hair, Space Leaped home, and in the storage room swept about twenty Phase Stones—Superior-grade and High Grade together—into my pocket. Then I stepped into the living room and spoke to Darky, who was surfing the web on a laptop.

"Darky, we're deploying. Can you wrap my body the way you did with Ha Cheolsu last time?"

"Deploying! 'Course I can, boss! I'm ready for this!"

...This guy was speaking English now. Darky hopped off the table, pattered over, hugged my shin, and in a squelching rush wrapped my entire body. Strange as it was, even sealed in without a gap, I had no trouble breathing.

"Hey. Peel it back above the neck."

Oh. That was the same droning buzz Ha Cheolsu used to make. Interesting. In any case, Darky had sealed me watertight from behind the ears down to under the jaw, and the feel of it was as comfortable as a well-cut suit. I raised a hand and felt along the body, the arms, the legs, the shoulders he was covering. No other sensation came through—just something soft and yielding, like wearing rubber gloves and touching rubber.

I checked myself in the full-length mirror, and I looked better than I'd expected. I'd thought the uniform would bunch and wrinkle, as if I were wearing translucent tights over it, but standing there I didn't look much different from usual.

"Not bad. Miho. Turn into your fox form and follow me."

"Huh? For real? You're taking me too?"

She'd been sprawled on the living room carpet playing a game, sneaking envious glances at Darky. At my words her ears shot up, and she sprang to her feet to ask.

"Yeah."

"Yay!"

She didn't even ask where we were going. Delighted, she threw both hands in the air, then—afraid I wouldn't take her if she was slow—shot up and shucked off clothes, skirt, and underwear in a flurry until she was bare. Pale white light wrapped her body as she began to grow and stretch. Her back curved; her arms thickened and lengthened. The seven tails at her hips swelled, her face gradually became a fox's, and dense white fur sprouted over every inch of her. Transformed, Miho was a giant white fox some three meters long.

Less a transformation than a return to her true form. She had the build of a red fox, but every hair on her was white. Only the tips of her paws and the ends of her seven tails were dyed black, like a white fox in black socks—huge, and yet, how to put it... cute. Honestly, she was a little sharper and prettier than a red fox. Larger, slenderer eyes, the kind that looked as if they were smiling.

"Pretty. And cool."

"Really? Ehehe~"

At the praise her seven tails swayed, her black eyes curved into crescents, and she laughed, ehehe.

"Oh. You can still talk, even as a fox."

"Huh? You're right! Nyahaha."

She'd gotten big all of a sudden, though. Back when she was a High Grade subspecies she'd been 1.2 meters at most. She'd nearly tripled. Nose to rump she was 3.4 meters, and with the tails included she reached six. Seven tails fanned out behind her, and at a glance she really did look like a snow-white nine-tailed fox. Her shoulder stood two meters off the ground. She'd truly grown. Lift her head all the way and it would brush the ceiling.

"Nyahaha. I'm bigger than Master!"

Miho lay down on the living room floor, seven tails swaying, pressed her face to my cheek, and started to nuzzle. When I stroked her head she smiled with her eyes again and let out a funny little laugh—nyahiing. Franc, who had watched the whole thing from the side, looked up at Miho with an impressed face and burst out in admiration.

"She is truly immense. Should she reach Highest-Rank, she will not even be able to transform inside the house."

"By then we'll have moved into the grand mansion in Shinchon-dong, so it won't matter."

Drawn by the commotion, Suhan came out of the kitchen, saw Miho, and gasped. She blinked, realized who it was, and let out a small sigh. I felt the strength leave the hand that had been locked around a kitchen knife.

Anyway, even lying down, Miho's back rose nearly to my chest. Riding her would cut quite a figure. I took hold of her shoulder, caught Franc about the waist, Space Leaped to the rooftop helipad, and spoke to Miho.

"You're cool enough that I want to try riding you."

"You want to ride me? If it's Master, I'd love it!"

"Yeah? Then, Darky, go back to your original form. When I say so, wrap me again."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

What had this guy been eating, acting like a knight all of a sudden? The moment I finished, Darky gathered himself up over my shoulder, shrank to Thumbelina size, and dangled there. I caught him, tucked him into the breast pocket of my uniform shirt, and set a hand on the back of Miho where she lay low like a hound. It sank—whump—into the white fur. God, it was soft. Softer than Mom's mink coat, the one I'd touched as a kid.

"All right. I'm getting on."

"Mm!"

I sprang lightly up and settled on the middle of her back, and the feeling of sitting astride something alive left me strangely stirred. I rode my lovers' bellies every single day, but this was another thing entirely. The plush fur served as a saddle even without one, so it was remarkably comfortable, and a body heat a little higher than a human's, along with the beat of her heart, came up through my thighs and my seat until my own chest was pounding.

Once I was mounted, Miho rose on all fours and began to creep along. As she shifted this way and that, the play of her muscles came through my thighs and my hips, unfiltered. I hadn't known riding a living creature could thrill like this. I'd ridden a foal once, on a family trip to a ranch back in elementary school, but a ranch hand had held the reins and there'd been a saddle, so all I'd thought was, oh, a moving ride. The vitality under me now couldn't even be compared to that foal. Was the difference between a saddle and none really this stark? If I'd still been wearing Darky, I never would have felt it. Good thing I'd had him revert.

"Master. How is it?"

"Yeah. The best. No words for it."

I answered while fiddling with the fluffy fur of her back, and Miho pricked her ears and turned only her head to look at me.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Really."

"Ehehe. I'm happy!"

Her tread grew light as she paced the helipad, and my mood lifted with it. That was when I noticed Franc nearby, watching with a deeply envious face.

Did Franc want to ride too? Then...

"Franc can ride too. It's okay."

"Really? Then I shall try for just a moment."

"Okay."

Before I could even say it, Miho offered first. Seeing her look after Franc warmed me, and when I scratched the nape of her neck the seven tails began to sway again. Franc climbed up behind me and murmured, marveling at the plush feel.

"Ahh... To compare her to a horse would be an insult in itself. The stability is extraordinary."

"Well, Miho's a Superior subspecies. You can't compare her to something like that."

"Hehe. Indeed."

Felines usually undulate along the spine like a wave when they run flat out, which makes them poor mounts, but Miho was canid if you thought about it, and large enough that she didn't pitch much.

"All right. Try flying."

"I can fly?"

"Yeah."

When I gave permission, one of Miho's seven tails poured out green light, and wind buoyed her body and lifted her into the air. Riding that wind, she began to circle the sky above the Grand Blue Building as naturally and elegantly as an eagle.

"Oooh."

This was ten times more thrilling than the Blue Dragon coaster. One slip and I'd be flung into the sky, so I leaned forward and clutched her fur, and only then did I feel secure. While I adjusted to the flight, Franc savored the wind, smiled faintly, and poked my shoulder.

"I shall get off here."

"Ah—okay."

When Franc rose from Miho's back, Miho's eyes went round. She halted, hovered, and asked.

"Was I uncomfortable?"

"No. Of everyone I have ever ridden, you were the most comfortable, Miho. Even so, if we think of Seoha's dignity, would it not be better if only Seoha rode upon your back?"

"Uuung. You think so?"

It must have been break time. Through ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Spatial Perception I sensed Grand Blue's staff plastered to the front glass of the office wing, staring blankly up at us where we hung in the sky.

"Miho. Show the people in the office wing how cool you look."

"Nyahihi. Okay!"

The moment I finished, she cut a flashy aerobatic path centered on the office wing and Business Support Buildings One and Two, drawing every eye at once. Some of them pulled out their phones to film us. This, too, would spread across the internet fast enough.

"Everyone's only looking at me and Master!"

"That's because you look cool. They've seen you with me now, so if you go around in that form, people won't be all that shocked."

She laughed a bright nyahing-hing at that, and in high spirits left the Grand Blue Building behind and began to fly freely through the sky.

"Franc. Get ready to film. I'm putting it on YouTube."

Franc, flying alongside, looked puzzled, but she obediently took out her phone and prepared to record. I activated the Certifier and synced the streaming system I'd bought for 1.2 billion won to her phone. I started to text Yeongeun, telling her not to be surprised... and stopped. The impact would be stronger if she was startled too, and the people around her with her.

"I am ready."

"Yeah. Miho, hold still a second."

"Okay!"

She stopped where all of downtown Seoul spread out below, floating so quietly and elegantly that it was hard to believe wind alone held her up.

"Darky, transform."

"Yessir!"

Darky, sealing every inch of me except my head, went lumpy for a moment, then reshaped himself into a splendid full plate that looked as if it belonged in a medieval fantasy game. I activated Mana Vision and focused Mana Sieve through my whole body, so a blue light would seep out, soft and steady.

Darky's body became a medium and began to scatter the light of the mana aura. Clad in translucent black full plate, beautiful blue light rippling across it, mounted on Miho—white as snow, black only at the tips of her paws and the ends of her tails—I made, honestly, a fantastic sight, especially set against proportions that were, frankly, unfair. If my face were a little better-looking, the effect would have been even stronger. Compared to those demons' ugly mugs, though, this much was something ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to be grateful for.

"Ahh~! You are beautiful!"

"Master looks so cool!"

Franc must have switched from video to photo; shutter clicks burst from her phone one after another. I gave her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a moment for pictures, then smiled and signaled. Her face flashed oh— and she flipped back to video and sent me an OK sign. I glanced at her, swallowing hard as she focused on the recording, activated the Certifier, and played the footage I'd been given as a gift from Lydia—more precisely, from Britain. I hit record, and watching a fleet ravaged by the Blade Flyer, too pitiful to even call a battle, I opened my mouth.

After that brief greeting, I angled the hologram toward the phone camera Franc was holding and went on.

Franc seemed to have caught my intent at last. She took up the filming with a serious air.

Just then, in the footage, the Blade Flyer—the flying-fish aberrant—fired a water jet ten meters across from its maw and smashed a torpedo boat to pieces. At the same time a destroyer farther off erupted, vomiting a crimson mushroom of fire and a column of black smoke. Shells and missiles sprayed outward. Elemental rounds from the ability users, projectiles steeped in TP, and even throwing spears limned with a faint glow. I pointed at the footage, heavy with the grim splendor of violence, and spoke into the lens.

Still watching the screen, I flicked my eyes north, toward the Blue House, and Franc turned the camera that way.

"I see it! We go there?"

Conscious that they were filming, Miho began to fly with elegant care, and Franc followed, phone raised, filming the two of us. Aware of the phone in her hand, I muttered, loud enough to be heard and meaning to be.

Franc shot me a look that asked whether it was all right to say that, and I grinned.

What was there to worry about? This wasn't a hundred and fifty years ago, when the Phase World had first appeared and they called it the Age of Chaos. Now, with the institutional safeguards fully in place, if ability users started killing one another to seize Phase Power, the Precognition Department and the Ability User Alliance's Special Operations would deploy at once. Killing a lower-class ability user didn't even mean anything. You had to kill one as strong as yourself, or stronger, and that was hardly easy.

A criminal tempted by how easily Phase Power could be stacked might still try an ambush, of course. But a person like that was born to be a criminal, and would commit some other atrocity sooner or later even if left alone. Anyway, once I dangled the bait—that an aberrant could absorb an ability user's Phase Power—other countries would catch the gravity of this fast. Then at least the nations bordering the Pacific would push back hard against America's raid.

Heh heh heh.

America would hate the sight of me for spoiling their little event, but doing anything about it right now would be a reach. I was hardly your everyday ability user. More than that, with the eyes of world opinion on them, petty retaliation wouldn't come easy, would it? And even if they tried, they knew full well that if someone with overwhelming power like me lost his shit and went berserk, it would be nothing but harm to America. Never a benefit.

They might aim trade retaliation at Korea instead of me, of course. If they did, I had no intention of sitting quiet. I'd either reveal what the Blue Stones really were ahead of schedule, or dump the Superior-grade Phase Stones I'd stockpiled. One or the other.