The Binary Choice
I yanked the knife from her chest, and Cheon Geomhwa collapsed straight onto the ground.
“…”
Even though she couldn’t catch her breath, her eyes burned with a dying fire as she glared at me.
I couldn’t let her die here.
Her will to live wasn’t just for herself. I had to respect that much resolve.
Zing!
The backlash had already hit.
First, I released the full-power deployment state.
Whoosh.
I exhaled a long breath, and white steam rose from my body.
At the same time, I activated the emergency cooling system and poured every last drop of energy into the disguise ability, shutting down all existing combat functions.
Cough… cough!
Pain surged through me, and blood mixed with fragments of my own organs spurted from my mouth.
Still, I felt a flicker of relief.
Cheon Geomhwa had played along exactly as I intended for this short, decisive clash.
If she had sensed my time limit and tried to stall, I might have lost.
An overwhelming exhaustion pressed down on me, making me want to drop right there.
Endorphins flooded my system to dull the pain, yet my hands still trembled like a junkie’s, and the sensation of ants crawling under my skin, gnawing at my flesh, refused to fade.
Shan was completely blacked out, unconscious.
It was fortunate.
If she had woken up, she would have writhed in agony. I should let her rest deeply like this.
We were still caterpillars in the middle of the molt toward full maturity.
Forcing a full-power deployment in that state meant a storm was coming.
Full power deployment burned a week’s worth of calories and essence in just one minute.
I had no idea how badly my body had been wrecked in that fight.
For now, I had to take absolute rest and pour every resource into recovery.
This was supposed to be my last resort, something I’d avoided using as much as possible… Damn it, White Ghost, when I get out, I’ll rip every last drop of marrow from your bones.
Whoosh.
“You lost.”
I hadn’t been waiting for Cheon Geomhwa’s answer.
It was purely for my own satisfaction, but my heart felt a fraction lighter.
Now it was time to choose.
Kill Cheon Geomhwa, or save her.
Take her heart and recover every ounce of power I’d just spent, or bind her to me.
Taking the heart would restore all the power I’d burned.
At the same time, I could claim the abilities she possessed.
In a city packed with metal, Steel Bloom was nearly invincible.
I could gain a wide-area skill that threatened even superior-grade monsters, plus the energy I needed for the next molt.
The other option was just as viable.
I couldn’t restore her body or steal her powers, but I could bind her to me instead.
No time left.
Baba Yaga’s subspace barrier was a strict timer—exactly ten minutes.
The window for thinking was razor-thin.
“I have a proposal.”
Tuk.
I plucked the last steel flower still blooming beside the dying woman and laid it over the three holes in her chest.
Slowly, the petals drifted down, sealing the bleeding wounds one by one.
At the same time, I rested my hand on her forehead.
Cough…!
“What do you want?”
“I’m reading your thoughts. If it’s too hard to say out loud, just think it.”
Using the Whispering One’s power, I sent my intent straight into her mind.
As if the principle and reason no longer mattered, Cheon Geomhwa forced her eyes open and continued her thoughts.
I made my decision.
At this spot, Cheon Geomhwa must not die.
Without White Ghost’s interference, that man would have become an ally on his own with the Ember. I didn’t want to kill him with my own hands.
It wasn’t sentiment or honor that decided it. It was simply the result of flipping the abacus.
As someone who had devoured countless villains’ hearts, no matter how I looked at it, saving this one and using her was the right call.
The moment the contract broke, Beelzebuth would devour everything.
Beelzebuth had targeted Shan, and she was still after her.
After crossing into Area 7 and clashing with New Order on the outskirts, I was already her mortal enemy.
For the sake of a bright future, I had to deal with her the moment the chance arose.
So I would never let Beelzebuth have her way.
Besides, saving Cheon Geomhwa and claiming the promised reward from White Ghost meant I’d get the Ember for free.
“If Cheon Geomhwa dies here, what will happen to your sister?”
At those words, the dying light in Cheon Geomhwa’s eyes flared back to life.
“Right? Your company and your sister will both be devoured.”
<…Do it.>
“What?”
Cheon Geomhwa begged me desperately—the same woman she had just fought a life-or-death battle with moments ago.
“Why me?”
It was fortunate that Cheon Geomhwa was quick-witted.
“Right. You have something you want. Cheon Geomhwa, you already dropped to the bottom saying you’d save Roseria, didn’t you?”
Honor, life, soul—everything.
“So, since there’s nowhere left to fall, what’s the difference if I go a little deeper into the abyss?”
“Use every last drop of your remaining power to seal everything you possess inside your heart. Become the ‘Iron Heart’ and submit to me forever.”
In the original story, Cheon Geomhwa had torn out her own heart to treat Roseria’s incurable disease and forged it into an artifact containing all her abilities.
Including her soul and ego.
She might still be able to do it now.
As expected, Cheon Geomhwa was stunned that I already knew her secret.
“You’re in no position to ask now? No time. Choose or have your heart pulled out and die.”
Even if you submit to me, I have no intention of telling you.
Even if you learn the truth, the one who pulled out the heart is no different from a puppet I can control at will.
The time Cheon Geomhwa spent in conflict was short.
She accepted my proposal almost immediately.
“You didn’t even hesitate?”
“Correct.”
Even before her own death, Cheon Geomhwa chose Roseria.
“Fine. The contract is established.”
.
.
.
“No survival monsters detected!”
“All villains captured!”
“Branch reports that the hero arrest team has been dispatched. Expected arrival within fifteen minutes.”
While Tiss and Cheon Geomhwa were still inside the barrier, the outside world was being tidied up at lightning speed.
“It’s White Ghost!!!”
The moment White Ghost appeared, one of the villains spotted her and shouted.
Everyone reacted with confusion, wondering what the noise was about.
The neck of the A-rank wolf beastkin villain Robo, who had been fighting Lionel, suddenly teleported into White Ghost’s hand.
Everyone immediately accepted the fact.
“I don’t want to die a dog’s death!”
A few more bold ones lost their heads, and the rest surrendered or fled.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Baba Yaga blocked the fleeing villains.
After deliberately leaving some freshmen-level villains behind, the impromptu third test to pick the last dregs was over.
Everyone waited anxiously for the subspace barrier to lift.
“How is the situation inside?”
“I don’t know either. The subspace barrier confines the target so they can’t escape for a certain time. Once the barrier ends, it can be done.”
“How long until it’s over?”
“Ten minutes.”
Neither Baba Yaga nor White Ghost outside could see what was happening inside.
Everyone waited with anxious hearts.
Finally, Baba Yaga’s subspace barrier began to retract.
“The barrier is!”
“Sia, calm down. Baba Yaga-nim and White Ghost-nim are there too.”
Sia, burning with anxiety as she prayed for Tiss unnie’s safe return, tried to run out, but Siwoo barely held her back.
“Unnie, please…”
The first figure to emerge was a tall woman in black combat gear.
Cheon Geomhwa, with three holes in her chest.
“Tiss unnie?”
Cheon Geomhwa, who had been standing still like a corpse, staggered forward.
“I kept… the promise… White Ghost…”
“…Understood.”
“…What? Hey, Whitey, keeping a promise with that? Whitey, you don’t mean…?”
Leaving the shocked Baba Yaga behind, White Ghost approached Cheon Geomhwa, and the Ember fell in front of her.
“How dare you…!”
The moment the gathered people moved to stop Cheon Geomhwa from reaching out her hand.
A voice rang out.
“I’ll take this.”
A space fluctuation appeared in front of Cheon Geomhwa.
When the fluctuation settled, a human form took shape, and what stepped forward was Tiss.
Tiss, face exhausted, received the Ember from Cheon Geomhwa’s hand. Cheon Geomhwa whispered something softly, then collapsed to the ground.
“It’s fine if I take it, right?”
Tiss looked at White Ghost and spoke. White Ghost gave a slight nod, then vanished in an instant.
Tiss, holding the Ember, turned toward Sia and Siwoo and smiled.
“I’m back.”
“Unnie!”
Sia and Siwoo, faces soaked with tears, rushed to Tiss in one breath.
There were so many things I wanted to say.
I was worried. Why did you do something so reckless?
But for now, more than anything else.
“It’s fortunate.”
Sia opened her arms and pulled Tiss into her embrace.
*I didn’t know you were this small.*
Sia’s heart ached.
The unnie who always looked so bold and strong was now so tiny and fragile in her arms.
Sia wanted to hug her with all her strength, but Tiss looked so exhausted she might break at any moment, so she held back.
“Sorry… for a moment… eyes…”
Tiss couldn’t finish the words she was saying and fell asleep in Sia’s arms.