The Brigade of Wicheon

The Brigade of Wicheon was infamous even among Villains.

Twelve members in total. A small elite force. Each and every one of them was a monster rated at least Superior-class. Not all of them were combat specialists — a few held non-combat roles — but the terrifying part was that even those were still Superior-class.

And they're persistent, too.

That was why, in the game, when the Brigade of Wicheon targeted playable characters early on, most players simply gave up on them and rolled a new one. It was the same reason I'd been lying low lately. If I made my move openly, the righteous factions would back me up — but if that demon called the Brigade of Wicheon came bearing down on us, no amount of help would matter.

Progress through the story far enough, and they were an inevitability; eventually you had no choice but to fight them.

But honestly, the best outcome is never crossing paths at all.

Once Hong Yuhwa was involved, though, that became impossible. Because the ones who would come to collect the Red Tower Lord's life at the lavish party held after the final exams — were the Brigade of Wicheon.

I looked ahead.

WHOOOOSH!

A crimson grimoire unfurled itself before Hong Yuhwa. Scarlet mana whipped around her in a vortex, and from the grimoire's pages, ten orbs of flame emerged.

She was different from her usual self. The magic she normally favored was efficient and elegant — this was rough, almost savage.

The last orb she conjured barely finished forming in time.

The fireballs' shapes wavered, unstable.

"A mage! Everyone, charge her!"

"Don't make me laugh! She's already cast! Run!"

The demon worshippers were scrambling for a way out. Too late. The fireballs streaked toward them.

KWA-BOOM!

The flames slammed into the demons. The detonation split the air, and their screams rose over it.

"Save me!"

"I—I never did anything yet—!"

Ash drifted down like gray snow. Demons, even in death, could find no rest in this world. In payment for coveting a power beyond what they could ever reach at their level, their souls were denied peace even after dying — for the beings of the Outer planes held strength enough to defy death itself.

CHINK-CHINK-CHINK!

A chain of smoldering fire snared the fleeing worshippers. Hong Yuhwa whipped the chains viciously, and killed them all.

There were faint dark circles beneath her eyes. Very faint — a flow of mana so subtle I only caught it because of my Divine Sight.

Above Hong Yuhwa's head, I could just make out the translucent shape of a crown.

A precursor, then.

The omen of the Usurper's awakening. Push her a little further, and it would come.

"Yuhwa. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Feeling anything strange?"

"Strange how?"

Her voice was razor-sharp. She was clearly worn down from exhaustion.

"Like a talent settling into you. Or strength trickling back every time you take someone down."

"……"

Hong ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Yuhwa closed her eyes. For a moment she seemed to be quietly taking inventory of her own body.

Yeongcheon.

-Yes, Master Seoha!

Let's tidy this up.

-Right away!

Yeongcheon began weaving her spellwork into formula, and I poured Yeokcheon into the array.

Soul-Devouring Poison — the built-in skill I'd gained upon unlocking the Heukcheon Demonic Sword. With it, I could sweep my senses across Yeongcheon's soul and cast her sorceries as my own. Still weak, crude magic — but it worked.

SHAAA!

Shadows saturated with Yeokcheon surged up in spikes and skewered the demon worshippers. Only stragglers remained, and with their numbers so few, a single cast was enough to finish them.

-As expected of you, Master Seoha! Nice one!

-Truly an absurd pace. Even my previous owner couldn't manage this.

-Oh come now, Heukcheon. Why compare him to your old master? Our Master Seoha is the finest blade in all of history, past and present!

Yeongcheon said this, then looked up at me — with eyes that practically screamed I did well, didn't I?

The back of my neck went hot, and I shook my head. I knew this was just how she was, but the sincerity woven into the thoughts she sent me made my face flush all the same.

-Oh my, Master Seoha! Are you... blushing?

-So this was our master's weak spot? All this time he seemed anything but a child, yet looking at him now...

While Yeongcheon and Heukcheon chattered back and forth, Hong Yuhwa opened her eyes. Crimson mana spilled out of them.

"...How did you know?"

"I've got good eyes."

I said it, tapping the area beneath my own eyes. Then I used the talent Perusal (-) to check her status window.

...?

A question mark was attached to the Usurper's rank. That had never happened before. I'd assumed the Usurper transcended S-rank — that it was the single greatest of all S-rank talents — but apparently the System itself couldn't classify it yet.

"It's real. Something has changed," Hong Yuhwa said, opening her eyes. "My vessel — is that the word for it? It feels like something is pouring into it."

"Really? So it's still at that stage."

"'Still at that stage,' you say?"

"It's the most exceptional of all your talents, after all."

"Is it?"

Hong Yuhwa frowned. "Well, forget that. We've got a much more serious problem."

"Which is?"

"I'm — I'm so sleepy."

"……"

That was, admittedly, a serious problem. I'd been working her nearly without sleep for the past three days straight.

I scratched my head, then crouched down and offered her my back.

"Hop on. I'll walk you to your dorm."

"...Okay."

Hong Yuhwa climbed onto my back without a word of protest.

Aaah~ why is there so much work?

Erciel grumbled under her breath as she tapped at her tablet. She had made a major decision in order to properly reward Lee Seoha — and the workload had swollen accordingly. Normally no one else would meddle in matters like these, but within the Merhen family Erciel was all but guaranteed the position of next head, and as the heir presumptive she was expected to learn the trade. Hence the paperwork.

While I'm at it, it'd be nice if I at least got to see his shocked face when he gets it.

Thinking that, Erciel glanced out the window. Beyond the glass stretched an entertainment district. Korea might have risen to stand shoulder to shoulder with America at the top of the world, but human desire was not a thing that could be legislated away. Evening was beginning to fall, and the crowds were out looking for—

Huh...?

Erciel saw them. Lee Seoha and Hong Yuhwa. More specifically — Lee Seoha, carrying Hong Yuhwa on his back, stepping out onto the street.

"Wha — hey."

"My lady?"

The butler said something, but Erciel didn't hear him. More precisely, she didn't have the presence of mind to.

Ring of Illusory Dreams.

Her magic eye swept over Hong Yuhwa. Looked at closely, Hong Yuhwa's clothes were subtly torn here and there. Lee Seoha's, by contrast, were immaculate. But the location was the problem. Motels and hotels clustered thick around them, and this was an entertainment district advertised by scantily clad women loitering on every corner. The two of them, here?

"No. Way."

The scene played itself out, unbidden, in Erciel's head: Hong Yuhwa and Lee Seoha's eyes meeting, the two of them heading for a hotel, Lee Seoha roughly tearing at Hong Yuhwa's clothes—

"No!"

The two of them were... that kind of relationship? Erciel stared at them with trembling eyes.

"Why would Lady Yuhwa fall for a guy like that...?"

"Don't tell me Hong Yuhwa's been seduced?"

"Well, Hong Yuhwa is a woman, after all. With that face of his, she must've caved."

The onlookers murmured and whispered, their eyes on me. Too late to realize it now, but I should have brought along one of Hong Yuhwa's followers to carry her instead.

I quietly reached ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back and tapped Hong Yuhwa where she slumped against my shoulder.

"Mmmh... five more minutes..."

"……"

-Master Seoha, shall I cast an invisibility spell for you?

No. Don't.

Invisibility was excellent for hiding the body — but this was a place where the Emperor, Seo Yebin, had stationed her Stars. Botch the spellwork, and the third Star might judge me an enemy and put an arrow through me.

Sloppy casting there means dying for real.

I was strong. And Yeokcheon negated most abilities — but did that mean I could stand against the Stars, which glimpsed the very wall of Transcendence? Several question marks there.

In my current state, it would probably take a few hundred of me just to bring down a single Star.

"My lady Yuhwa?"

One of Hong Yuhwa's followers — Follower A — stood there, staring at me blankly.

"You're close with Hong Yuhwa, huh."

"Wh-what? Someone like me, with Lady Yuhwa...?"

"You know where Hong Yuhwa's dorm is? That's all I need."

"Y-yes, I know it."

"Then could you guide—no, never mind. It'd be awkward carrying her all the way there myself. Can you call the others and get her moved?"

"Yes, that much I can do... Is Lady Yuhwa all right? She's seemed worn out lately."

"She's been training with me. It's mostly over as of today, though."

There wasn't much more I could give her now beyond advice from the sidelines. If I truly wanted to grind her down, I could push further — but I worried about Hong Yuhwa's mental state. It wasn't just the training, either.

If. If the absolute worst came to pass and I failed to save the Red Tower Lord, Hong Yuhwa might simply collapse. That was how dangerous the Brigade of Wicheon was — a ludicrous group capable, under the right circumstances, of killing even Transcendents. Their commander especially was a monster who could trade blows with the Seven Evils.

And yet they weren't demons, which meant Seo Gayeon's Starlight Mana wouldn't work on them either.

Which is exactly why they're such a nightmare to deal with.

In the truly worst case, the option of sealing off every observer's sight and deploying Seo Gayeon would be off the table. Because every last member of the Brigade of Wicheon was still human. Villains who shattered the law and threw society's order into chaos — and that was precisely what made them so troublesome to fight.

"Anyway, give Hong Yuhwa my regards."

"Oh — where are you going?"

"I was planning to go out tonight anyway."

With that, I pulled the hood of my hoodie up over my head. Once I'd left the academy branch building, I donned the Faceless Mask of Glamour.

Hong Yuhwa wasn't on Seo Gayeon's level, but she was someone I cared about. And living here as I did, I knew what was coming: the Red Tower Lord would die, and she would burn her own life as fuel to grow stronger in pursuit of vengeance — a woman forged of steel.

Steel does not bend. But someday, inevitably, it breaks. And no one, even in the late game, ever wished for that strength of hers.

But things were different now. I did not want to see her grieve.

"Hm? What's with him?"

"Boss, some bastard in a mask is coming this way?"

"...Shit, run!"

I drew the black swords from the black bracelet on my wrist. Five of them. Four floated on thought alone; I gripped the fifth in my hand.

"Kghak!"

The black sword hurled by thought punched through a demon worshipper's heart.

And the simplest method of all: kill demon worshippers, and raise Yeokcheon.

I want to hit 50 before the final exams, at the very least.

The road ahead was long. I raised my black sword and began the hunt.