151 – The Nymphs and the Hero of the Demon King's Castle! # 1

Cha Yura, South Korea's S-Rank hunter, sat alone in a dimly lit room.

Before her, a dazzling screen glowed, its surface ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crisscrossed with photographs and lines that tangled together like a spider's web.

Swish. Clank.

Kang Cheolmin, the former A-Ranker, finished adjusting his mechanical arm, rose from his seat, gave a light cough, and lifted a slender pointer to indicate the screen.

"Keum Seongmin, chairman of Geumseong Group, was involved in a sudden traffic accident while heading home. And the Cheonhapa executives that Keum Seongmin sponsored began surrendering themselves to the police one by one. Both of these incidents are connected to a single man."

Every thread spread across the wide screen like a spiderweb converged on a single point at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠center — a photograph of a man in a red prison uniform, his inmate number stamped across his chest, wearing a cold, cruel smile.

"Ma Wangjun. An A-Rank awakener of Korea. His most notable achievements include the suppression of the Dongtan A-Rank rift and, five years ago, the quelling of the Second Gangneung Civil War. During that conflict, he moved with remarkable speed to crush the anti-state awakeners."

"A civil war, you say."

"Tch. Team Leader Kang, watch your words. It was just an unlawful protest."

"People like us shouldn't go throwing around words that stir up unnecessary anxiety."

As the room murmured, Kang Cheolmin's thoughts drifted back five years.

A civil war ignited by awakeners chafing under government control. And at its heart had stood Ban Dongju — a first-generation classmate Kang Cheolmin knew all too well.

Swish.

Cha Yura calmly turned her gaze to her tablet. Many of the faces appearing in the data were familiar ones, and the sight of them dredged up memories, drop by drop, from every corner of her past.

"Team Leader, Bomb Mania Ban Dongju planted explosives all over the place and held the city hostage, didn't he? It was never made public, but..."

Back then, as an A-Rank awakener, Cha Yura had scrambled to the scene and frozen every last explosive solid in an instant. It had been a breathlessly dangerous moment — one false move, and countless people along the Gangneung coast could have been hurt.

That "Summer Beach Freezing Incident" was what catapulted the Ice Princess Cha Yura into national fame overnight, and it became the springboard that carried her father, Cha Cheoldo, from opposition leader to presidential contender.

Of course, Cha Yura knew the truth of that incident — a truth very different from the story the world had been told.

"Ma Wangjun..."

He had ruthlessly crushed the awakened rebels. In the process, countless things had happened that could never see the light of day — so all the credit had flowed, unerringly, to Cha Yura.

While she was lost in thought, Kang Cheolmin continued his briefing.

"Ma Wangjun joined the Incheon branch of Cheonhapa at seventeen, awakened, then purged or eliminated every one of the executives before seating himself as the gang's vice-leader. That is the full extent of what is currently known about him."

Kang Cheolmin glanced back over the file he had prepared for the VIP briefing. The intelligence on Ma Wangjun was strikingly thin.

An A-Ranker — yet his ability was listed as [UNKNOWN].

The fact that he had no entry in the databank where every awakener's information was meticulously catalogued was thanks to the special privileges he was enjoying.

"I don't like the bastard."

That the Patriot agency — answering directly to the President — had gathered intelligence, made moves, and still come up empty was nothing short of astonishing.

But nothing in this world was perfect, and recently the Patriot team had obtained a stunning piece of information about Ma Wangjun.

A sly, sharp-minded bastard. I don't know what you're plotting on that Hell Island of yours, but it's coming to an end soon enough, you sleazy gangster punk.

Kang Cheolmin studied Ma Wangjun's face. With those slit, serpentine eyes, the man had "reactionary" written all over him.

"Our own Patriot agent, 'Doctor,' is already headed for Ma Wangjun's Hell Island. We should be hearing something soon."

"Ah, that 'Doctor' fellow—"

"They say it's the elite operative with a 120 percent mission success rate."

"My, my! That certainly is reassuring!"

The VIPs, their faces hidden in shadow, laughed in relief. Just as they began rising from their seats, clapping one another on the shoulder with a hearty "Let's go grab some food," someone approached Kang Cheolmin.

It was Cha Cheoldo, the President of South Korea, first in the nation's protocol order.

"Ban Dongju, Ki Seung-jae... and before them, Jin Somin, Yong Yuhyeon.... The first generation has caused no end of trouble. Is it possible that all those rift crossings without proper protective gear warped their minds somehow?"

"That thesis is garbage, sir. The likes of Ban Dongju caused trouble because they simply lacked the backbone."

Krrrunch.

Kang Cheolmin clenched his fist inside the mechanical arm. Watching him, Cha Cheoldo laid a hand on the man's shoulder.

"With Team Leader Kang and the Patriot team on the job, both my people and I can rest easy. That said, the fewer threats to this nation, the better. Keep up the surveillance."

"Understood, sir."

Swish.

As Kang Cheolmin withdrew, Cha Cheoldo turned his gaze to the screen of a specially built tablet. A single man's résumé spread out before him.

The man's history was a little longer than those of his peers.

"That thesis wasn't garbage. Rifts affect the human mind — for better or for worse. Which one are you?"

"Ha Ildo, you really should think this over. Ma Wangjun is a genuinely dangerous man."

Right before we boarded the boat.

Lee Jina had spoken up. She'd been fidgeting since yesterday like someone holding something in, and apparently she'd finally worked up the nerve to say it.

So I told her:

"He's dangerous, which is exactly why I have to take part in this operation. What if some dangerous guy is cooking up a scheme and we sit around doing nothing while it turns into something way worse?"

A-Rank hunter Ma Wangjun.

By all accounts, the man was a gangster. Unlike the gangs that had sprung up in Macheon City alongside the Fifth Industry, he was supposedly a true relic of the old era who had survived since way back.

"He's your age, you know. You're not thinking you'll just talk things out with him, are you? Because that guy is absolutely not the type of human being a conversation works on, so don't waste your time."

My age?

I looked over the photos Ari had given me once more.

"What kind of guy is my age and already running an entire organization as its vice-leader? Can two people's lives really be this different?"

"This Oinoi...! One look at the photos and it is clear that this 'master of the island' is a villain...! He seems like a very wicked person...! His eyes are even narrowed like a weasel's...!"

Oinoi frowned furiously, worked up into quite a lather. Beside her, Coris was thoroughly entertained by the waves breaking white and the spray of the seawater every time the boat pushed forward.

"This Coris doesn't quite know what's what, but riding a boat is fun...! It reminds me of the old stories about sea nymphs who sang to passing ships and lured them onto the rocks...!"

Singing to passing ships to crash them onto the reefs?

What on earth were sea water nymphs?

As I pondered that, Ari — who had been on a call with someone in the distance — came over to us.

"The talks are finished, Senior. From this point on, you and I are husband and wife. The concept is a couple sneaking away from prying eyes to enjoy their honeymoon on this closed island, Hell Island. Are we clear?"

Ari's expression was dead serious.

Seriousness being contagious, I gulped and swallowed.

"Wait — this is an infiltration mission, though. Is it really okay to just show our faces out in the open like this? Shouldn't we be sticking on fake beards and building cover identities or something?"

"Senior, you're absolutely terrible at acting. If you try to pull off a fake identity, you'll just get caught for no reason and end up drawing even more suspicion. Honestly, the picture of 'the famous Ha Ildo sneaking onto this island to enjoy a secret affair' is far more convincing."

Acting, she says.

And here I thought I had a certain flair for it.

Before long, Lee Jina spoke up.

"So Yu Ari plays the hidden wife role. Then what am I supposed to be?"

"Jina, you see..."

Just as Ari narrowed her eyes, something flashed through my mind — a picture, suddenly complete.

"What if Jina plays my wife too? 'Ha Ildo, it turns out, had two wives all along — and so he sneaks off to a secluded island like this to date them away from the public eye.' Great picture, right?"

In twenty-first-century Korea, having weathered the Fifth Industry, all sorts of laws had been amended — but bigamy was still a crime.

Still, how about this setup: in truth, Ha Ildo was a shameless philanderer with two wives, and on the closed island of Paradise Island, where the secret could be kept hidden, he brazenly enjoyed secret trysts with both of them?

"......"

Ari's expression, however, stiffened slightly. Then, in a small, careful voice, she asked:

"Senior... the most righteous, most noble Senior I know, committing bigamy? Isn't that a bit... much? Personally, I don't care for it. If word got out, for no good reason..."

"Come on, it's just acting. You said it was all negotiated with the higher-ups. It's not real anyway — we just need ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the concept to feel a little more vivid."

"...Tsk."

Ari clicked her tongue, looking distinctly displeased. Apparently she didn't relish even the pretense of me playing a bad man.

Lee Jina, on the other hand, spoke with a gravely serious face.

"I think it's a great idea. Ma Wangjun is not your average guy. You know what his ability is? Among the gangs of Macheon City, they call him the Mind Breaker. Half-baked excuses aren't going to fly with him."

Mind Breaker.

"Is it something like a telepathy ability? Like that Japanese mind-reader, Shizuka? A psychic-type?"

A gangster who dabbled in mind reading. I was mulling over how bizarre that was when Yu Ari fixed Lee Jina with a narrow-eyed stare.

"You know quite a lot of information that even intelligence agents have trouble digging up, don't you? Jina, you seem to know an awful lot about Ma Wangjun. Do you two have some special history?"

"He was my sister's ex-boyfriend."

Unbelievable.

So Jina's older sister, Seona, had been a woman popular with the men in all sorts of ways.

Just then — Boooong — the ship's horn rang out.

"Aaah, I can see it — the island is coming into view...! Paradise Island has appeared...!"

Paradise Island, sitting somewhere off the west coast. It was a fairly large island, about the size of one of Seoul's administrative districts. Originally an uninhabited islet, it had been occupied by Ma Wangjun's Cheonhapa and, through one development after another, transformed into a strange sort of resort.

"Those buildings are tall."

I found myself marveling at the hotel, built so enormous it was visible even from far offshore.

As we disembarked in that state of mind, Oinoi spoke up.

"Aah, that person is someone who used to be on TV all the time...!"

Oinoi was pointing at Kim Minam.

Kim Minam was the ex-boyfriend of Song Minyeo, the nation's top star — the man who, after breaking up with her and marrying an elf, had thrown the entire entertainment industry into an uproar.

Right, that was why Song Minyeo had developed such a hatred of elves and tried to launch terror attacks against them.

"But the woman next to him..."

The woman on Kim Minam's arm was some middle-aged lady I'd never seen before. Not the elf wife he'd even filmed a couple's variety show with — a total stranger.

"This is an island of debauchery and illegality. It's called Paradise Island — a resort, they say — but in truth, every kind of wicked thing happens here."

Ari shivered.

"Wait, the government just turns a blind eye to this?"

I was baffled. I couldn't wrap my head around how this island, like Macheon City, enjoyed what was practically extraterritorial authority.

Tap, tap.

Just then, a big, rough-looking man came up to me. He seemed to be an awakener — roughly C-Rank, by the feel of him.

"We'll need to conduct an entry screening. You are Ha Ildo, Yu Ari, and Lee Jina, correct? Ha Ildo — famous faces everywhere you look these days. Here, please sign this."

The paper the burly man held out to me read: STRICT SECRECY MANDATED.

"It means anything that happens on this island stays a secret once you leave it."

Got it.

Just then, the rough-looking man looked me over again.

"...Though I have to say, you don't strike me as the type who belongs on this island. That Hyper Evolution MeTube video of yours — I watched it. Man, that was seriously impressive stuff!"

"Was it, now?"

"But with most people, you take one look and you know exactly what they're here for — you, though, I can't figure out at all. What's your business on this island? Here for the auction? No matter how I look at it, you don't seem like someone who'd come to a place like this..."

I could read the suspicion in the man's eyes.

Was one wrong answer here going to get me thrown off the island on the spot?

Heheheh.

Someone laughed. It was Ari.

"Believe it or not, Senior actually has rather hardcore tastes. Ha Ildo Senior is constitutionally wired to enjoy being berated and beaten by women. And then there are his tastes that words simply can't describe..."

"Guh...!"

At Ari's words, the rough gang member looked genuinely stunned. He glanced back and forth between my face, Ari's, and Jina's, then nodded with something like admiration.

"Well, everyone's tastes are a little twisted, that's just human nature. Especially with awakeners — their tastes run strange more often than not, you know? Take our Wangjun-hyung, for example... ahem, never mind. Anyway, welcome."

The man gave me a few more appraising once-overs, as if studying some peculiar creature, then stepped aside to let us through.

And so we entered Paradise Island.

Pools and parasols filled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the grounds like any resort, and the natural scenery itself was breathtakingly beautiful.

My job here was simple in theory:

Cause an incident — deliberately — and collide with Ma Wangjun and the Cheonhapa gang under his command. Then the media and the strike teams waiting on standby across the mainland would mobilize and swiftly seize control of the island. And with public opinion behind us, ignite a "War on Lawlessness." That was my role.

Simple, yet difficult.

But it was also a role that fit me perfectly — a celebrity whose stock had been rising fast these days.