Chapter 94
Chapter 94
13. The Donghae Gate Incident -5
"Team 1, carry out your mission under the command of Honorary Duke Noah Won. This expedition will extend Donghae's lifespan by a good three years, at least."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
They had departed, if only for a while. The final opportunity had come.
After confirming that the hunters of Seoul, led by Noah Won, had taken a group and left the city-state of Donghae, the spy elf lit the fuse on a large-scale riot she had been sketching out for a long time.
Through multiple channels, by multiple means, she fed the story to the hunters of Donghae she had already worked on in advance.
"How pathetic."
"What?"
"Isn't it? Living while tiptoeing around mere civilians. Absolutely pitiful."
The message was what mattered. The spy elf melted in covertly—as a comrade, as a superior, as a subordinate, as an anonymous citizen—and whispered. She dripped poison quietly into their ears.
"Those bastards were hiding in their rooms while we risked our lives holding the gates. And now those insects are shoving laws in our faces. And Yeon Arang is going along with it, trying to hand our leash over to the Seoul bastards."
"Huh⋯⋯"
"And think about it. Let's set aside all the resentment and do the math. Seoul apparently has the manpower to dispatch hunters outside. If you get absorbed into them, what happens to your positions?"
Anxiety comes from uncertainty. She made them worry about the future. She made them think that their pride, their authority, everything they enjoyed would crumble away and end up shoved into the mud. It was a very simple thing.
"If we go under Seoul, we'll spend the rest of our lives as their lackeys. Crushed under that pasty-faced bastard's feet."
"……Fuck that shit, we can't live being treated like that!"
"Then you flip the table⋯⋯ isn't that right?"
All she had to do was whisper exactly what the spy elf herself had felt. A traitor to the 『System』 knew well what kind of feelings drove certain people to choose rebellion. She had carefully gathered only the trash that was easy to incite.
"……What's the method?"
"Of course there is one."
So all they needed was a single line they could shout. They were humans who had been itching to stage a coup from the start, even without a pretext.
They were completely bewitched by the spy elf's superficially plausible operation plan.
Now they would rise up all at once and attack Donghae. They would ambush Countess Yeon Arang's close aides, seize the city, take citizens hostage, and surround Countess Yeon Arang to kill her.
And at that very timing, by coincidence, a moving 『Erect Violet』 would rush in and assault the city's outskirts. With problems erupting from both inside and out, a great chaos would arise that could not easily be contained.
Even though she had prepared so diligently—
The truth was, defeat was already a foregone conclusion.
"Shit⋯⋯"
She clawed at her head, scratching furiously. The spy elf was not stupid.
She had to accept what needed accepting. The world ultimately runs on power. No matter how much a weakling schemes from behind and stages a coup, the moment a single truly strong hunter is dropped in, all the preparations collapse like a sandcastle.
The spy elf was already aware of Noah Won's party's combat strength. They had returned after dicing up a plant army with ease. At that level, he would be a full D-rank hunter on the verge of promotion to C-rank.
On the other hand, the spy elf was upper D-rank at best. If she fought, she would die.
At the point she made that judgment, she should have fled.
"⋯⋯Damn it, if only I had a little more talent. If only I'd tried a little harder before turning traitor! No, if I'd known it would come to this⋯⋯ I should have just stayed a hunter⋯⋯"
But it was too late. She couldn't even pull out. Even if she died, she had to die here.
Back when she was human, she had been a talentless wretch crawling around the bottom of D-rank. But by luck, she had met the 『Sower (播種者)』, accepted a 『Seed』, and been reborn as an elf.
A miracle that took her from the bottom of D-rank to the upper ranks in an instant!
It was a growth rate that would make the 『System』's low-rank hunters' eyes roll back in their heads. That was why the spy elf had chosen to turn traitor. Because with her own talent, she didn't think she could ever climb higher no matter how hard she tried.
At first, it was good. She went to her own planet, crushed the plants, and thoroughly enjoyed playing the hero. But everything has a price, doesn't it?
The 『System』 bestows the grace of Credits so that one can grow, even little by little. But the 『King of Plants』 is indifferent to elves, with no intention of giving anything more to long-eared caterpillars that just gnaw on leaves.
So for an elf to grow stronger⋯⋯ she had to trade for a new 『Seed』 through dealings with higher-ranking elves.
Instead of a frail, powerless wild grass, a strong and brilliant flower. Instead of a weed easily snapped by the wind, a tough grass that could stubbornly survive!
And not long ago⋯⋯ the spy elf had received a very generous offer. One of the noble settled elves, who normally wouldn't even glance at a wandering elf like her, had given the order.
=You're trash that can't even set foot in a house, a mere weed stuck at the species stage. If you help me until I open an artificial gate on that planet, I'll grant you a fairly decent 『Seed』. What do you say?
The spy elf accepted the command with a bow, and was soon dispatched to Earth.
After that, she made extensive preparations. Now there truly wasn't much time left.
"I⋯⋯ I've come all this way! I just need to hold on a little longer. Just a little!"
So to preserve her life while achieving her objective, simply causing chaos wasn't enough. The problem was time. Time!
She had to get her hands on something more important.
And as it happened—there was one way out.
"But for the person whose ⋯⋯ was requisitioned, it will be ⋯⋯ an object. They must be deeply distressed⋯⋯ I'll personally⋯⋯ ⋯⋯⋯⋯"
Just before the operation began, when Noah Won and Yeon Arang were speaking privately. That conversation the desperate spy elf had barely managed to pick up by overloading her ki sense to the point of amplification!
"Give it... here. Don't waste... pointless... time..."
"I'll return... it. Countess, you're... good at... but this... is... important... to...——"
A scuffle.
Noah Won and Yeon Arang were scuffling over an object. Think about it for a moment and it's strange. Noah Won was close to being the absolute superior in the current situation. If anything, Yeon Arang was someone who wouldn't even dare look up at him.
Because he held overwhelming superiority in both food and military force!
And Yeon Arang was not a person lacking a sense of reality. Yet even so, she had argued with Noah Won. Over that⋯⋯ object. Over a single object.
The spy elf recalled the moment the last hot-air balloon had been launched. At that time, Countess Yeon Arang had secretly enclosed an object that appeared to be made of some plastic material in an envelope.
And the moment he received that object, Noah Won had come rushing to support Donghae all the way from distant Seoul. That was it.
Let's think a little more.
If that object were valuable in itself, he would naturally have just taken it and kept his mouth shut. So that object was a kind of promissory note. Most likely part of what Yeon Arang had agreed to pay.
After the overheard conversation continued, she had not witnessed any sign of an actual transaction being completed between the two of them.
In that case—the "something" Yeon Arang intended to pay as the price for calling Noah Won, an object desirable enough to tempt a System hunter on the verge of C-rank promotion, was still stored somewhere in Donghae.
She had a guess. The personal safe located in Countess Yeon Arang's office. The safe she stubbornly refused to explain, telling even her close aides they didn't need to know what was inside.
She would use the chaos to crack that safe.
And take it hostage. She would buy time that way, and somehow hold out!
KWA-KWANG—! KWANG—!
"A-an attack⋯⋯!!"
"Who the hell would attack Donghae?! The Hunter Monarchy remnants shouldn't have any room to run wild⋯⋯ Kgh, it's a coup! Betrayal from within!"
"Who's the enemy?! Who the hell is the enemy?!"
Chaos.
Countess Yeon Arang watched the chaos rapidly swelling in scale with calm, settled eyes.
"Lee Seongho, Park Taewoo, Jang Sutae⋯⋯ The ringleaders appear to be these three. I'd been keeping an eye on them from the start, but I held onto them because their combat strength was too valuable. I should have cut them out long ago."
Behind her, subordinates she had gathered through layer after layer of vetting stood lined up in formation.
Unlike the traitors below the window, attacking without hesitation the very people who had once been their allies, she had gathered only those who would never betray her.
"Once you enter, the ones I named must be killed. Do not hold back. They are men who turned their blades on their comrades."
"Yes, Countess!"
Now she simply had to lead them and suppress the coup.
But she could not move immediately. She had to endure until the full shape was revealed. At the same time, she had to wait for news of the coup to spread throughout Donghae.
Only then would it take effect.
She could have struck the moment they drew their swords and taken their heads in one blow. But if she did that—the ones who hadn't bared their teeth until the very end would hide their malice and burrow deeper inside. And they would sharpen their blades, waiting for the next opportunity.
If she was going to pull them out, she had to pull out every last root. This was the patience required for that.
Ordinarily⋯⋯ for this clean finish, she would have had to accept a few sacrifices.
"Now we take Donghae! Kill them all!"
"Don't worry about civilian casualties! They never awakened anyway, they're nothing! Shout at them and they'll grovel on their own!"
As the coup spread and its roots were exposed, people would inevitably have died. Yeon Arang would have had to grit her teeth and endure that guilt.
It was something she had experienced time and again while running the city-state of Donghae. Dividing those who would die from those who would live, and advancing down a road stained red with blood for the sake of the greater number.
But this time was different.
Noah Won had said she could make her decision with a light heart, and to just wait.
And soon—it truly became so.
Seureureuk— tuk.
The head of a rebel who had been gripping his sword, about to stab a hunter to death, was cleanly severed and dropped. A fountain of blood shot up, and the head rolled across the floor. For an instant, a sliver of empty air seemed to glint.
Such things happened one after another. Hunters on the verge of death experienced the necks of the rebels attacking them dropping off as if by magic.
And then.
Jijijik— the outdoor billboard, which had been falling apart with its power cut, lit up. It began broadcasting footage of the rebels screaming as they stabbed their comrades in the back.
-Now we take Donghae! Kill them all!
"Wh-what is all this commotion? And what's that broadcast?"
"For now, let's get inside the building, Wook's father! Get inside and stay quiet!"
The broadcast simultaneously exposed the ugly face of the coup currently unfolding and served as an evacuation advisory for the citizens. The citizens who grasped the situation hurriedly took cover.
The attacks that seemed to swing invisible blades—among Noah Won's party, the only one who handled such techniques was the woman who called herself an android. The provisional S-rank hunter, Elijah.
Blonde hair scattered in the wind. Countess Yeon Arang easily found her traces.
Elijah was perched atop the billboard, quietly wiggling all ten fingers. As if playing an instrument. Seeing a single cable extending from her body connected to the billboard, the video broadcast also seemed to be Elijah's ability.
Sallang.
Their eyes met.
Elijah gave Yeon Arang, beyond the window across the way, a radiant eye-smile. Then, at Elijah's nonchalant "hello" mouthed without sound, Yeon Arang let out a faint laugh.
"Pfft⋯⋯ hahaha!"
She had wondered what he was planning by making her wait, but Noah Won's answer was simple and bluntly straightforward. There was no clever scheme. He had simply⋯⋯ waited for the coup to expose its roots while making sure no one died. By dropping in Elijah.
Right. If you're strong enough, even this becomes possible.
"⋯⋯So Seoul's finances are healthy enough that you don't need to drive anyone to their death, is that it?"
If that was the case, then she would simply give the order with the utmost joy.
Wearing a relieved smile, Yeon Arang gestured to those lined up behind her.
"Suppress them, Team Leader. There's no need to wait any longer."
"Yes! Understood, Countess Yeon Arang! But, will you not be commanding directly?"
"No. I will remain here. I'll delegate operational command, but you may prioritize your own safety and the safety of the citizens above all else. Because this time, it seems that will be acceptable."
"⋯⋯Understood. All units, arrest the coup ringleaders! If suppression proves difficult, lethal force is authorized! Move out!"
Cheok-cheok-cheok-cheok!
Yeon Arang's close aide hunters filed out of her office in step. In a sense, it was a deployment order that bordered on mere formality. Judging by Elijah's gestures, she alone seemed capable of suppressing the coup.
But when would they ever again enjoy such a luxurious order? To be told that, while carrying out the mission, they could consider civilian safety on top of their own well-being.
"No, from now on, maybe it won't even be that luxurious⋯⋯"
The food that had left home at the coming of the apocalypse had returned through the power of Noah Won and the 『System』. If so, wouldn't the lost children of morality and order soon return as well?
Just as Yeon Arang was fiddling with her pocket, filled with a strange satisfaction and anticipation.
"──All of this is nothing but an illusion. Yeon Arang."
Kkiiiik— KWANG!
The spy elf entered the office where Yeon Arang remained alone.