Arrival at Hainan
We arrived at Hainan.
Seong Ha-ri and I stepped off the ship as if nothing had happened. Her face was still faintly flushed, though. The Chinese nearby kept their heads down and minded their own business.
Ha-ri looked relieved. She seemed to think no one knew what we had done on board.
In reality, the rumor had already spread everywhere.
We had spent more than half the voyage having sex. And Ha-ri, completely lost in it, had screamed as loud as her lungs would allow. Soundproofing was never going to be perfect, so of course people had heard. They simply pretended not to know.
A Chinese hero guided us toward the temporary base building.
"Ha-ri. You feel something?"
"…It's strange. It feels just like coming home."
"The Jinryeong Seong Family?"
"Yeah. Back home we use barriers to create an environment close to the Spirit Realm for the spirits."
Her words made me realize it late. The atmosphere really did resemble the Jinryeong Seong Family estate.
I've been inside the Spirit Realm before.
Well — "inside" was generous. I had barely dipped a toe in.
What did it feel like back then?
It had been so long I couldn't quite remember.
"Anyway, the fact that Makina could materialize so easily on her own means this place is definitely under the Spirit Realm's influence."
"Yeah. I think so too."
We entered the temporary headquarters. The building was a mess — old, or rather, just plain tacky.
We headed into a conference room deeper inside. The room was spacious, and more than twenty people were already seated. They watched us in silence. Some eyes were full of wariness; others simmered with open resentment. No one offered a greeting. Ha-ri and I took empty seats.
"Everyone who needs to be here is present. We'll begin the briefing."
A man walked to the center of the room as he spoke.
"First, please turn to page three of the documents we provided. That is a map of Hainan. You see the red sections? Those are Spirit Realm zones. The zones are expanding. We estimate the entire island will become Spirit Realm in roughly eighty days. We must resolve this crisis before the situation becomes irreversible."
I picked up the papers on the desk.
Flip, flip, flip.
I leafed through them casually. A map of Hainan Island, intel on the spirits occupying it, recommended tactics — all of it written in Chinese.
I glanced sideways at Ha-ri. A deep crease had formed between her brows as she glared at the documents. Hers were in Chinese too.
Obviously she couldn't read a word of it. And there was no interpreter.
So I'm supposed to translate everything myself?
I could do that.
I could — but it pissed me off. If the papers had at least been in Korean, I would have let it slide.
Watching Ha-ri strain every muscle trying to make sense of the documents only made the irritation worse.
They needed her power, and this was how they treated her… My temper twisted hard.
I slouched sideways in my chair and planted my feet on the desk.
"……"
The briefing stopped. The looks aimed at me turned ugly. The man running the briefing, in particular, went beet red.
"Pfft."
He looked so much like a roasted whole pig that a laugh slipped out before I could stop it.
"Ah, sorry. Just reminded me of roast pork. Carry on."
"…Do Koreans not understand basic manners?"
I raised my middle finger.
Crunch.
The papers in the man's hand crumpled. At the same time, several people around the room began drawing mana. The air trembled. Ha-ri, realizing what was happening, let out a sigh and prepared for a fight.
I moved my mana as well.
Crack.
Current sparked at my fingertips.
Honestly, we were at a disadvantage. There were more than twenty of them, every one of them A-Class or higher. In a fair fight, we would lose. At my current level, even two or three of them would be a problem.
But I've got weapons and consumables.
Used right, I could kill about half of them. If things went completely sideways, we could just run.
"Enough."
A voice like scraping metal rang out from the corner.
Every gaze swung toward it. A pale-faced man sat there — an old man in black Chinese robes. Bald, he stared straight ahead as he continued.
"Stop this pointless posturing and continue the operation briefing."
"F-forgive me, Lord Wang."
The roast-pig lookalike broke into a cold sweat and resumed the briefing. Even the ones who had been radiating hostility toward me checked the old man's expression and turned their attention back to the documents.
Who the hell is this geezer?
I stared openly at the old man in the corner. He felt my gaze and still didn't turn his head.
Looking closer, his skin isn't just pale — it's grey. Like a corpse.
I explained the operation to Ha-ri. Loudly, clearly, in Korean, every syllable distinct. The Chinese scowled and glared, but with one eye on the old man, they didn't dare do a thing.
"The operation begins in two hours. That concludes the briefing."
"……"
Everyone watched the old man. Only after he rose and walked out did the others stand as well.
They shot us one last dirty look and filed out of the conference room.
"Lord Yang is with us on this. We should be more than enough on our own. Why the hell did they drag Koreans into the mission? I have no idea what the Association is thinking."
"The Association decided we couldn't handle it alone. Doesn't sit right with me."
"Should we go to the Association and raise hell?"
"…I don't know. Doesn't seem worth that much."
"Would the Association even listen to us?"
They left.
"Haa."
Ha-ri sighed. Looking exhausted, she rested her head on my shoulder.
"Why did you do that all of a sudden?"
"Do what?"
"You got angry earlier."
"They invite us and then treat us like garbage."
"…I was angry too. But you still have to think about the aftermath. What were you going to do if a fight broke out?"
"If it looks like we're losing, we run. They're the ones who lose if we're not here."
"Still, this is enemy territory…"
I cupped Ha-ri's cheek. Her words cut off. Our eyes met, and we quietly pressed our lips together.
I asked Yang Tao about the old man everyone called Lord Wang.
"Who is Lord Wang? How could you not know Lord Wang… Ah. Right. You're Korean. Your Chinese is so fluent I forgot for a moment."
"Whatever. Who is that old man? His presence was no joke."
"He is one of China's S-Class heroes, and the sect leader of the Death Spirit Sect — the Death Spirit Emperor, Lord Wang Zixin."
"Death Spirit Emperor? A necromancer?"
Yang Tao nodded.
"China's greatest necromancer. Show him proper respect when you see him."
"…Why is that so-called great necromancer even here? What this crisis needs is a spirit tamer, not a necromancer."
Yang Tao frowned, clearly not liking the question.
"I don't know the details either. I wasn't the one who brought him. From what I've heard, he was the one who set up the barrier holding the spirits back."
I turned away. Beyond the fact that Wang Zixin was an S-Class necromancer, I hadn't learned much.
Death Spirit Sect… Never heard of it. Connected to Gwirakgok, maybe?
Gwirakgok.
One of the most dangerous villain organizations in the world, somewhere in China.
A concentration of jiangshi masters, necromancers, and the like.
Wang Zixin… That old man reeks of danger. Better stay careful.
The operation began.
Ha-ri and I were grouped with three Chinese. Our mission: head south, locate the spirit believed to be the root of this crisis, and eliminate it.
In other words, take out the boss monster.
The other teams had the same objective. Only the starting points differed.
The Chinese Hero Association doesn't trust us.
They were half-skeptical of Ha-ri's abilities.
I didn't know the full picture, but internal politics at the Chinese Hero Association were almost certainly tangled up in this.
They want Wang Zixin to be the one who solves it. What a headache.
Either way, we proceeded according to plan.
The Chinese trio kept sneaking glances at Ha-ri. Her beauty was that striking. Trying to impress her, they took the lead.
Wind blew.
From behind, then from the front, then sliding in from the side.
The alien wind made everyone freeze and tense. It gathered in the empty air ahead and took shape — a bizarre wind spirit with the lower body of a horse and the upper body of an elephant.
"So you've come. Filthy humans."
The spirit spoke.
But only Ha-ri and I heard it. The Chinese, deaf to its words, gripped their weapons and charged the wind spirit.
That level… upper-tier. An upper-tier right from the start… This is going to be rough.
The wind around the spirit sharpened into blades and lashed at the Chinese. They handled it well enough — dodging or blocking the wind blades as they closed in. Their mana-charged weapons dealt meaningful damage.
"Aaaagh! Humans! I really hate you!"
The spirit flew into a rage. A massive gale rose and swept the entire area. The Chinese screamed as they were hurled into the sky. The wind toyed with them in midair. Every gust tore blood from their skin.
I caught Ha-ri's shoulder as she moved to intervene.
"…Oppa."
"Hold on. Something's off. Don't you think so too?"
"Off…?"
Ha-ri tilted her head.
I stepped past her and activated Spirit Eye, focusing hard on the wind spirit.
I could see its spirit core — the heart of a spirit, the very root of its existence. Part of that core was stained black.
"…A Demon Spirit."
"What? A D-Demon Spirit?!"
The word for a fallen spirit.
I had faced Demon Spirits before, in the past.
"…No. Not a Demon Spirit yet. Part of the spirit core has been eroded by demonic energy… Wait. Is that even demonic energy?"
I tilted my head.
At first I thought it was demonic energy, but the more I looked, the more it felt different.
Static!
I grabbed the radio at my waist.
"What."
"Are you just going to stand there and watch?! Save your comrades!"
Furious Chinese crackled through. The word "comrades" made irritation spike through me for a second.
"Did you people run experiments on spirits?"
"St-stop talking nonsense and focus on the operation!!"
The operator buried his fluster in an instant and shouted. That was all the confirmation I needed. The Chinese Hero Association had conducted some kind of experiment on spirits and failed. And the one at the center of it was almost certainly Wang Zixin — that old man.
Otherwise there's no reason a necromancer would be here.
I dropped the radio and crushed it under my heel.
"Hey, elephant!"
I stepped forward and called out to the wind spirit.
"I am not an elephant."
Its answering voice was soft. Probably because of my high spirit affinity.
"Fine. Talk with me for a second."
"No."
"Why not?"
"You're a human too… But you don't seem like a bad one, so I'll let it go. You must not enter this place. Turn back. Ah — leave the human beside you. That one has to die."
The spirit was hostile toward Ha-ri. She flinched.
"She's my woman. Can't you just let her go?"
"No. She must die."
"Why?"
"Because she's terrifying. So she has to die."
"……"
Ha-ri's face fell. She sighed, looking dejected.
"Ha-ri."
"…I'm fine, Oppa. I've known for a long time that spirits hate me. Makina's the weird one for not hating me."
The wind began to rise. The spirit's target was Ha-ri.