The First Key to Fantasia's Resurrection

Haah, this is nerve-wracking as hell. Porina, was it? When that Bananaman boss started talking about bluffs and all that, I gotta admit I got a little rattled. Not that I wasn't putting on a massive show myself. The guard at the entrance had a gun, so why wouldn't the boss? I figured I'd bluff hard, crank up the fear factor, and maybe overcome the gun that way. The one lucky break was that all the other gang members had stripped down, so the only one still packing heat was the boss. Still, even if the bluff was fake, the story wasn't. I really had killed everyone upstairs before coming down. Guns must be expensive, because not every punk was carrying one. And none of them had the marksmanship to track my movements and actually land shots. When it came to close quarters, I just charged through while using corpses as shields. It was scary, though.

"S-stay back! You monster!"

The boss's legs had given out. He couldn't even walk properly and was shaking like a leaf. What a pathetic excuse for a human being. No wonder he'd been so relaxed about assaulting Yu Jin-ri. Thanks to that, I'd had plenty of time to clean up everyone upstairs before coming down.

"Monster? Isn't that a bit much? In a world where actual monsters exist, calling a person one feels excessive."

"Y-you beat a gun! If that's not a monster, what is?! You terrifying freak! I don't have any money to give a monster!"

"Did I dodge bullets or something?"

Honestly, when that message popped up saying 'Porina is about to draw her gun,' my heart nearly stopped. I wanted to mess with the bastard a little more before killing him, but I was too scared to drag it out. I just wanted it over fast.

"And what? You're not giving me the damn money? Hey, asshole. What did you say to Yu Jin-ri earlier?"

"What do you mean? I didn't say anything!"

"Bullshit. You think I don't know? You told her that if you borrow money, you have to pay it back, right? You hypocritical piece of shit."

Whack!

"If you borrow money,"

Smack!

"you pay it back, you bastard."

Crack!

I adjusted my strength so I wouldn't kill him and kept hammering the top of his head. The boss started making these weird, delighted noises like he was enjoying it. Getting beaten really does it for him, huh?

"Look at that, he's smiling. Must love getting hit."

"H-his facial muscles are just malfunctioning from the shock to his brain."

"You think I don't know that? If you're clueless, at least read the room."

Truth was, I hadn't known. But you have to pick your moment to butt in. This is why I can't stand know-it-all geniuses.

"Y-yes, sir..."

Yu Jin-ri shrank her shoulders and looked away. Hard to blame her. After watching that many people die, staying sane would be tough. Me? I was fine because I'd decided to kill them. Corpses didn't faze me anymore after possessing this body.

"Anyway, boss. You handing over the money or what? Did you really think I'd be satisfied just taking Yu Jin-ri? She needs research funding!"

"U-um... I never actually said I'd go with you..."

"What? You're not coming? Then go rack up another debt and face another crisis like this. I'll let you research magi all you want. Why wouldn't you come?"

"C-couldn't this kind of crisis also be a great opportunity to satisfy one's sexual curiosity? Of course, if you'll let me research magi freely, I'll come with you!"

Yu Jin-ri's eyes were sparkling. This guy was something else.

"Hey, you wait here for a bit. I'll see you later."

I'd make sure to thoroughly cure whatever sexual curiosity or delusion this was.

"Now then, boss. Keeping your mouth shut won't do you any good. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Just hand over fifty million won and let's end this nicely."

No answer. Had he actually died?

"This fucking— You died from just that? What's with your durability?"

Harsh, sure, but trash like this didn't deserve mercy. Why had I spared the people at Geumtaeyang Textiles? Because that was just a debt situation. These vicious bastards needed to die for the world's sake.

"Ended up becoming a mass murderer somehow."

Still, if I didn't practice crushing scum like this, I might go soft when I finally got my revenge on Choon-sik. Better to train now.

"Looks like I won't be getting that fifty million after all."

Money could be found anywhere, though. I still had plenty of IOUs rotting away.

"Hey, Yu Jin-ri."

"Yes!"

I gave up on the fifty million I'd never see and turned to my real target. She was three years older than me, but I had no intention of using honorifics. Anyone who could sit there spouting nonsense about sexual curiosity while in that situation needed a cold dose of reality.

"Once you join Fantasia, I can't promise it'll be immediate, but I'll make sure you have the conditions to research magi as much as you want. You know what kind of organization Fantasia is, right? Being a magi researcher and all."

"Of course! Fantasia used to monopolize everything about magi, but lost it all because of the Tushin and now has nothing left, right?"

"You know your stuff. That's why we're trying to research magi again. We desperately need your help."

"You won't regret this choice! I can confidently say I'm the best magi researcher in the current human city."

"So why do you want to research magi? You could've had an easy life in Carpediem."

"Well... if something clearly exists in this world but no one knows about it, isn't that a waste? No one's researching it. So I decided to do it myself!"

Now that was the mindset of a true scholar. I almost wanted to applaud. With a personality like that, of course he'd been babbling about sexual curiosity. Spending all his time studying probably meant he had no idea how dark this world really was. Time to show him.

"Then follow me. There's something I need to tell you before you join Fantasia."

"Tell me? What are you going to tell me?"

"Something that clearly exists in this world, but you don't know about."

I led Yu Jin-ri to the body disposal site I'd already scouted with Observation. We passed corpses of gang members along the way, but she didn't even glance at them. The moment she saw the women's bodies at the disposal site, though, she froze solid.

"W-what is this...?"

The women weren't in any decent state. They had only ever been women, and now they were just cold, stiff lumps of meat.

"What do you think? Something that could've been your future."

Yu Jin-ri gagged, then collapsed as her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠legs gave out. The gang members had been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bastards who deserved to die, so their corpses hadn't felt real to her. But seeing women her own age grotesquely murdered? That hit different. Especially when she realized it could've been her.

"If you'd kept sitting there all calm trying to satisfy your sexual curiosity or whatever, and I hadn't come to save you, you would've ended up just like them."

"Ah..."

"If you were normal, you would've tried to run no matter what. Even if it meant dying on the spot, at least you wouldn't die like that. Save the sexual curiosity for when you actually fall in love with someone. Got it?"

Yu Jin-ri finally seemed to grasp what situation she'd been in. Her pupils dilated and her eyes trembled.

"That's the darkness of the syndicates. Joining Fantasia to research magi might sound good, but if Fantasia gets destroyed, you could end up like that too. That's why I wanted to show you before taking you, to ask if you're really okay with it."

She was a genius. Recruiting a genius scholar would be incredible, and I'd come here planning to do exactly that. Still, I wasn't going to trick her. She needed to understand how dangerous getting involved with an organization could be. Dragging her in without knowing that would be fraud.

"I don't want to drag someone who knows nothing into the dark. I didn't want to go into the dark myself, either."

So the choice was hers.

"I talked rough about taking you earlier, but if you don't want to come, I won't force you. The Phone Cash and Bananaman who were harassing you are gone now, so you'll be safe."

I looked down at her. True to her genius reputation, she'd already calmed herself and was taking deep breaths.

"Excuse me. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Can I ask one thing?"

"What?"

"Does Fantasia do stuff like that too?"

"Are you insane?"

The answer came instantly. Fantasia would grow until it could stand alongside Carpediem, but it would never harm innocent civilians in the process. The only ones we'd crush were other syndicate scum. Otherwise, when Fantasia rose again and brought Carpediem down, the world wouldn't look at us kindly. Plus, I personally hated that kind of thing.

"Very decisive answer."

"Of course. We would never do anything like that. If I tried, my boss lady would throw a fit."

"Boss lady? Unusual way to refer to someone. Is that Fantasia's boss?"

"Yeah. She's a bit of a mess, though."

"I see."

Yu Jin-ri smiled up at me.

"Then I'll join."

"No regrets?"

"None at all."

"Not scared?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. But I want my research to help more people. And if I research magi in Fantasia, I could probably punish bad people more effectively, right?"

"Well, probably."

This organization was so weak I could probably destroy it alone. But the three major syndicates had their own darkness, and I couldn't handle that by myself. So magi research would definitely help. The old Fantasia had ruled the underworld with nothing but magic, after all.

"Then I'll do it! I'm scared, but it's fine."

"Well, I'll do my best to make sure nothing like that happens."

"Come to think of it, I don't even know your name. What's your name?"

"Woo Hyun-woo."

"Hyun-woo-ssi will do his best? That's reassuring."

"Reassuring, my ass."

I was the guy who'd frozen up in front of Carpediem's scope laser. I swallowed the words and stuck a cigarette in my mouth. I was still weak. I'd mocked the Bananamen for being weak, but I was no different. This level of power wasn't nearly enough. I'd never reach Carpediem like this. I exhaled the heavy feeling along with the cigarette smoke.

"...Well then. Shall we go?"

The cigarette burned down in an instant. I flicked off the ash and pocketed the butt. Someday people would figure out I was the one behind this massacre, but getting caught right now and having my momentum stopped was the last thing I needed.

"Great! I want to meet this boss lady person too."

And so Yu Jin-ri, the magi researcher, was recruited into Fantasia. She was the first key to Fantasia's resurrection.