Two Mothers Must Be Nice (2)
“Mr. Nam Juyeon, are you sure you’re okay? You don’t look so good.”
The next morning, while I was buttering a dried-out piece of bread for breakfast, Yu Junseo tossed the question my way. He was blowing on a cup of instant noodles he had somehow procured.
“I just didn’t sleep well, that’s all.”
I didn’t bother adding that the Scorched Saint Selene and the Mother of Ill Omens Karne had spent the entire night arguing, while the Storm of the North Sea Mirien kept clinging to me and turning the whole thing into a three-way brawl. It was a secret I couldn’t tell anyone, so there was nowhere to vent anyway. The fight yesterday had ended in a draw; once I finally snapped and told them all to shut up so I could sleep, they quieted down. I should have yelled sooner. Still, the strange tension between Selene and Karne lingered. I would need to work on that gradually—for the sake of the grand plan they kept talking about.
“…Mm. So the battle fatigue was that bad. I get it. I saw the battlefield myself and thought no human could possibly fight like that. One day isn’t nearly enough to recover, yeah, yeah.”
Yu Junseo conveniently misinterpreted my awkward expression and silence. He went on to describe, with plenty of exaggeration, how fierce the fighting had been and how dire the defensive lines had looked while holding back the disasters.
“By the way, it’s surprising.”
“What is?”
“That the Association President actually fought hard.”
What had really surprised me was that Yu Junseo had fought alongside Leihu and the rest of the Chinese Awakened Alliance. Given how he had behaved during the Tower of Rebellion raid, it wouldn’t have been strange if he had fled immediately. The fact that he stayed and fought meant he had grown—at least a little. Or perhaps the barrier Karne had spread simply left him with no escape route. I suspected the latter was just as likely.
“Anyway, Mr. Nam Juyeon, are we going to be all right?”
“All right? What do you mean?”
“We told the government we were just going to track down Actor, then we suddenly left and joined the Chinese in defending the tower. The government’s definitely going to make an issue out of this.”
“Make an issue?”
“Of course they will. While the Korean Peninsula still isn’t even stabilized, we ran off to China and helped them out. They’ll interpret it as two S-class Awakened preparing to defect. The media will jump on it and run special reports.”
So that was what had been bothering him. Yu Junseo fidgeted, terrified of the media beating he expected, but I felt indifferent.
“What does the media or the government matter right now? The two of us are heroes who successfully defended Seoul during the last Rift Eruption. Who would get angry at heroes for taking a little trip abroad?”
“Hmm… Maybe no one?”
Yu Junseo showed me his phone screen, which displayed the usual daily news comment section. The comments under an exclusive report from some shameless outlet were a mix of worry and outrage. Most of the vitriol was aimed at the government, but there was no shortage of criticism directed at us as well.
“…”
Koreans really were born to pile on. And since we had gone to China—the country they hated so much—even someone like Seo Ye-rin, that patriotic content addict, might call us honorary Chinese. I didn’t care about public opinion or finger-pointing, but the real problem wasn’t me; it was the disasters I commanded. If the media started tearing into me, Selene or Mirien might do something reckless. Mirien had already wiped out the leadership of a Daejeon Awakened clan just for badmouthing me. Now that the hard-to-control Karne had joined as well, it was better to tread carefully.
“Well, we can just bring back results the government and the public can’t ignore.”
“You have something like that? You’re not planning to drag Actor back, are you?”
“That’s impossible. So I’ll have to think of something from now on.”
Since I planned to stay in China a few more days anyway, I figured I could figure it out later. Just as the thought crossed my mind, Yu Junseo glanced around and leaned across the table, lowering his voice like he was about to share a secret.
“What now?”
“Mr. Nam Juyeon, actually… I saw something strange yesterday.”
Yu Junseo began. I listened, and when I sorted through what he said, it came down to this:
“…So you’re saying a 5★ disaster tore through the nest’s barrier and intruded?”
“Yeah. The Storm of the North Sea Mirien. That disaster we supposedly have in Korea. She looked like she was searching for someone. I wondered if you might know anything.”
“…Mm. I wouldn’t know.”
I let my words trail off. What Yu Junseo described was almost certainly true. After the nest had been deployed, Mirien must have rushed inside to join us and run into him.
“Then this incident is probably connected to Actor too, right? Huh?”
Detective Yu Junseo pressed for confirmation, but I didn’t answer. Still, his words had given me an idea—another way to strengthen the Awakened Association and everyone under me.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
I set the bread down and stood up.
“Huh? Where are you going?”
“I’m going to see the Alliance. They’re probably still in the middle of their victory celebration.”
“Yeah, probably.”
I nodded and, just before leaving the building, turned back to Yu Junseo.
“By the way, are you not attending the celebration, Mr. President?”
“Huh? Why would I go into a cockroach nest?”
He never changed.
Leihu, leader of the Chinese Awakened Alliance, treated me with the utmost hospitality. His cheeks were faintly flushed; he had probably dug out a bottle of Maotai he had been saving for toasts.
“What brings you here?”
Lao Ying asked. I met his gaze and spoke.
“From here on, I’ll be speaking rather practically.”
“Practically?”
“We miraculously repelled the disasters once, but their forces are still circling the outskirts of Beijing.”
That was a lie. Once Karne joined my base, all the subordinates she commanded had scattered. They were still dangerous, but not in numbers large enough to threaten a city. Yet Leihu, who had already experienced the army of ill omens, darkened at my words.
“I’ve also heard that countless disasters are appearing all across China. For example, there are already more than six 4★ disasters rampaging across the mainland. If another Rift Eruption occurs, that number will surely double.”
That part was true. China’s landmass was incomparable to ours. The scale of each eruption matched, so the next one would inevitably unleash millions of disasters.
“When that time comes, the Chinese Awakened Alliance will never be able to defend Beijing. Not just Beijing—every other city in China will fall.”
My words sounded like a death sentence.
“…What exactly are you trying to say, Dragon Lord?”
Leihu asked cautiously. I got to the point.
“Come to Korea. The entire Alliance is welcome.”
“…You mean immigrate?”
After hearing the translation from his adjutant, Leihu’s eyes widened. He immediately shook his head vigorously.
“There are still many people left in Beijing. To abandon them and leave…”
“That’s the Party’s concern. Since they’ve already cut off support, the Alliance has no obligation to fulfill its duties anymore.”
According to Lao Ying, the Party leadership had already abandoned the people and fled to some massive bunker in Russia or wherever. Even the Alliance’s Awakened had scattered, realizing they could no longer survive without support.
“It’s a miracle you’ve held out this long in such harsh conditions. No one can blame you, Alliance Leader.”
“…”
“If you stay, you’ll all die for nothing. At least preserve your lives so you can build a new China someday.”
I pressed the offer, exploiting the opening. But Leihu was one of those rare upright Chinese of this era. He shook his head with a stern expression, though the gesture couldn’t hide his hesitation. After all, Beijing’s fall was already inevitable. Playing a symphony on a sinking Titanic wasn’t the only way to honor humanity.
“If you come to Korea, the Association will welcome you as vital forces. Unlike the Party, we don’t abandon our Awakened.”
“…”
“Think it over. You have about a week.”
Of course, I didn’t expect Leihu to agree so easily. In the end, I was asking him to abandon his people and flee. That was why I had prepared a rather flashy show to convince him. It was about time.
Crash!
The door burst open and an Alliance Awakened rushed in, panting. He shouted something in Chinese. Leihu shot to his feet, his face rigid. Lao Ying translated for me in a panic.
“H-Hebei Province… a 5★ disaster has appeared?”
The report came with a photo of a woman with deep blue hair. The petite figure floated among thunderclouds, her fur-lined cloak billowing. There was no need to say more. It was the Storm of the North Sea Mirien. Leihu’s expression grew even darker—perhaps he had already heard the sighting from Yu Junseo.
5★ Storm of the North Sea Mirien casts 「Thunderstorm」.
A storm began raging across all of Beijing. Lightning struck madly in every direction, creating the illusion that the end of the world had arrived. The Chinese Awakened Alliance understood all too well what this storm meant. A candle in the wind—there was no idiom that fit the situation better.
“Ah…”
“Ah?”
And Leihu, leader of the Awakened Alliance, was a man with an extremely narrow sense of justice.
“Little brother!”
“…Big brother!”
Following the customs of guanxi culture—though not under a peach tree—we swore brotherhood beneath the storm. That evening, one more person boarded the chartered plane returning to Korea. A few days later, Alliance Awakened swarmed passenger ships and crossed the Yellow Sea. It was the 21st-century Incheon Landing Operation.