Yeouido Ablaze: The Phoenix Returns
Yeouido. The flames churned.
Kim Ji-hwa trembled violently but couldn't release his ability.
"H-Hiiik!"
The barrier was definitely blocking the enemies' entry completely. Led by Cheolpyo, the Pine Tree Unit pounded away at the barrier from outside, but the Azure Flame barrier covered not just the speaker's chamber door, but the walls, ceiling—and even the floor.
"Captain! This thing's definitely in there, right?!"
"One hundred percent!"
Cheolpyo hammered the barrier with a confident voice. His steel fist swung through the flames, melting and dripping away, but he kept smashing it with a face full of ecstasy, like he was high on drugs.
"Find it, and I'm out on parole, shit!"
What exactly they were looking for was unclear. But Ji-hwa had a good guess.
The Cube. The mysterious magitech device Phoenix had found after killing the monster in the plenary session hall. They must have come searching for the thing that created monsters and revived the dead.
'It's not here!'
Like Phoenix would leave something like that behind. Crazy. He wanted to shout out the window that there was no such thing here, but that would just provoke them more.
Then.
Ji-hwa's eyes caught sight of his savior.
"Ah!"
From far down the corridor, Phoenix in her kaijin form walked toward the speaker's chamber. She seemed to have already stopped by the plenary hall, cradling Ga-eul's corpse in her arms.
Ji-hwa, the Beacon kaijin, instinctively realized it. What had been Cheon Ga-eul's corpse had become a kaijin just like him.
"Who the hell are you?!"
Cheolpyo spotted the approaching Phoenix and Cheon Ga-eul from behind and let out a mad laugh. The figure engulfed in flames the same color as the barrier. She had to be connected to it—or the one who set it up.
"Hand over the goods!!"
Cheolpyo charged. His subordinates' eyes flipped in rage as they rushed at Phoenix too.
Fwsh.
Phoenix lightly clenched and unclenched her right fist, the one cradling Ga-eul.
Boom.
The faces of the charging Pine Tree Unit ability users exploded. Their faces burned green as the ability users tumbled into the corridor.
Step, step.
Phoenix leisurely entered the barrier, having instantly created several charred-face corpses.
Ji-hwa released his ability and quickly knelt.
"I'm sorry!"
The telepathic voice burrowing into his head carried clear anger. Rather than a long explanation that might piss her off more, Ji-hwa decided to cut to the chase.
"Cheon Ga-eul awakened as an ability user, attacked me, and bolted out of the barrier!"
Phoenix set Ga-eul on the sofa, her body igniting. A shift from kaijin form to human form.
Phoenix mulled over Ji-hwa's words.
"Cheon Ga-eul awakened as an ability user? Masquerade.... Ah, that's why."
Phoenix stroked the mask on Ga-eul's head. Masquerade's ability copied appearances and powers through the image of a 'mask.' It had warped during kaijinization, but if it was an ability user's kaijinization rather than a human's, it fit perfectly.
Masquerade's ability enveloped the tentacle frog. The mask devoured all the tentacle frog's mana, leaving Ga-eul nine tail-like tentacles as its final proof of existence.
"Mask kaijin...? Tentacle kaijin...? Either way, not bad."
Phoenix seemed to reach a self-concluded decision. To lighten his own blame a bit, Ji-hwa quickly summarized what had happened.
"Th-the heroes massacred people in Dongjak. It looked like the Pine Tree Unit. Ga-eul said she had to stop them, and when I tried, we got into a scuffle."
"And then she awakened?"
"Yes."
"Holy crap. What kinda timing is that?"
Phoenix chuckled heartily and flopped into a chair. At her gesture to stand, Ji-hwa hesitantly rose.
"Ji-hwa, you're B-rank, right? And you lost to someone who just awakened?"
"......I passed out from the awakening backlash. Her initial awakening was A-rank."
"Whoa."
Phoenix was genuinely surprised.
"I figured even if she awakened, it'd be C-rank at best."
She'd awakened far earlier than in the original story, and right near her affinity's max for a first awakening. Playing with cores daily—and even sleeping with one—had paid off.
But in the end, Cheon Ga-eul had brushed past Ji-hwa and escaped the barrier. With Ji-hwa's combat skills, he couldn't stop an A-rank ability user.
"It's all Cheon Ga-eul's fault, huh. Sigh."
Since he'd given the order, Ji-hwa must have tried hard to block her. Ji-hwa let out a big sigh of relief.
"Phew. ...Um, Phoenix."
"Yeah?"
"May I report on the current battle situation? Since I took command as ordered, things are a bit..."
"You actually did it?"
At Phoenix's words, Ji-hwa nodded.
"How'd you relay the orders?"
"Like relay riders to each team. By sending one member from a Guro-adjacent team to an outer team..."
"Nice. Let's see it."
Ji-hwa activated his ability again, illuminating the battlefield map. Phoenix scanned all of Seoul quickly, then bit her lip.
"Snow Flower Princess can't block the fireball, Gangnam's lost. All hellhounds dead. Guro kids bailed ages ago. Dongjak's.... oh, mid-battle?"
"Pardon?"
"Ah, mic on."
Phoenix tapped her smartwatch, bringing up a screen. The video-connected faces were Architect and Haneulseong. Having escaped Gangnam underground, they were now deep in battle in Dongjak.
Architect responded.
"Sorry. But didn't I contact you when I was busy?"
"Puhuhu. Of course I called to help. How should I help?"
Haneulseong traded blows with a rampaging hero. Several heroes were already subdued, gagged, full of bruises. They were Cheonghwa-dan members from Guro and Gangnam, restraining the heroes with core weapons.
Phoenix looked at Ji-hwa. Feeling a pang of guilt, he spilled excuses.
"B-before you left, you told me to give orders.... I contacted Architect to block Dongjak's killers.... And with Ga-eul's issue and the deal with Architect—"
"Good job. Keep doing that from now on, Kim Ji-hwa."
"Th-thank you. Sniff."
Tears welled in Ji-hwa's demon eyes. As the battlefield map blurred momentarily, he hurriedly wiped them with his sleeve.
Phoenix turned to the screen.
"But who are those guys?"
Phoenix clicked her tongue at Architect's furious yell. Even as the underground king, some wouldn't trust him and fled. Their intentions differed from Ga-eul's barrier escape, but they had to face the consequences. If they'd stayed hidden quietly, they'd have survived.
Phoenix cautiously spoke.
"Architect? Our deal..."
Rage flickered in Architect's eyes.
"Throat."
Phoenix pointed to her neck.
"Guys with Pine Tree crests on their necks? Check."
Architect flipped the subdued ones' necks one by one. All bore the Pine Tree Unit's pine tree crest, proof of their affiliation.
Clang!!
Haneulseong crushed a red-haired man, subduing him. He too had the pine tree crest on his neck.
"Perfect. I have a gift for them anyway. Architect!"
Phoenix sliced her finger across her throat.
"Kill 'em however—slice, bash. Those guys. Just. Sever the heads clean. Keep the crests attached to the skulls. Got it?"
Architect panicked. Phoenix drummed the chair arm, then explained again.
"Kill 'em. Kill them all. OK?"
The red-haired man, now bound by Haneulseong's ability, reverted to normal form as Haneulseong released it.
Phoenix tapped her collarbone irritably.
"That's for regular heroes. Pine Tree Unit scum—if you let 'em go, they'll just kill more. So handle it somewhere out of sight, your way. Got it?"
Architect knelt theatrically on one knee. Haneulseong pressed his fedora to his chest and bowed. Behind him were his surviving subordinates who'd fled with him.
"What're you talking about? Both are getting wrecked right now."
Phoenix snarked curtly. To the puzzled Haneulseong, she sent an article.
"Good?"
"Snow Flower Princess? Puhuhu. Right about now...."
Phoenix smacked her lips with a grin.
"She's probably busy blocking a rolling bomb, yeah?"
* * *
A massive fireball rolled.
Like a fire demon dragon smashing down the mountain path, the blue flame sphere showed no sign of stopping, accelerating instead.
"Tch!"
Ha-rang gritted her teeth and squeezed out mana. She erected a thick ice wall in the fireball's path. Nearly 3 meters thick. The ice rampart seemed impregnable to any siege.
Suddenly, a voice from earlier echoed in Ha-rang's head.
Flashy, but no substance.
Crash!
The fireball smashed the ice wall and kept rolling down the slope.
Ha-rang's butterfly wings flapped again, chasing the fireball.
"HQ! Respond! Now!"
Mana signal unstable, but she barely connected to HQ. The screen showed not Shin Jin-gwang, but an Association operator holding the fort.
"Where's everyone else?!"
Shin Jin-gwang had ordered evacuation, and everyone fled the sports complex in a panic. This operator stayed by choice.
"What're you doing?! Get out!"
Ha-rang snapped, but the man shook his head firmly.
His face resolute, he continued.
"Ya ice bastard! Evacuate or you're screwed!"
Ha-rang bellowed. The man smirked.
Resolute, he shouted.
Ha-rang bit her lower lip hard.
The guy wouldn't listen. Only one way to save the idiot: Ha-rang had to stop it.
Dozens more ice walls rose in the fireball's path.
Crash crash!
But the fireball shattered them one by one, unrelenting. Chilled by the ice walls' cold, it shrank slightly, but Ha-rang lacked mana to chip away its full power.
She'd burned too much mana dueling the mystery fire mage.
Unable to stop the fireball on her own, Ha-rang exploded in frustration.
"Aaaargh!!"
Heat rising. Irritation boiling. Furious at herself for failing against a mere giant fire lump.
Kaboom!
The fireball burst through the arboretum. At this speed, it'd hit command in seconds.
Then the operator yelled.
The operator never lost his smile. He thumbs-upped Ha-rang.
His triumphant grin was almost cocky. But Ha-rang knew: with his ability level, he couldn't escape the blast radius in time.
Blood boiled. Powerlessness made her tremble.
Suddenly, the fire mage's words resurfaced.
The essence of mana within the image.
"!!"
A massive image flashed in Ha-rang's mind. A giant butterfly unfurling ice wings in the deep sea.
Shh.
Her ice butterfly wings scattered like snowflakes. Ha-rang blasted mana behind her, overtaking the fireball.
Screech—!
Sliding on an ice path, Ha-rang braked with friction and stopped.
Ha-rang had landed in the fireball's path. Where the mountain path ended and the asphalt began—the spot where the fire demon dragon had smashed buildings descending.
Snow Flower Princess faced the fireball head-on.
Roooar!
Ha-rang's hair whipped. Simultaneously, a massive blizzard swirled behind her, forming a giant's shape. Torso and two arms. No head, no lower body. The frost giant crouched, extending its arms forward.
No other body parts needed to block the fireball.
The fireball entered the giant's hand.
Grind!!
The frost giant was pushed back. The fireball pulverized its hand, shattered the wrist, yet kept spinning.
"Pfft!"
Mana backflow. Ha-rang coughed blood momentarily.
But amid the pain, she kept mana flowing to the frost giant.
The operator's report fell on deaf ears. Ha-rang wrung every drop of mana to maintain the giant.
Light Sword had taught: always hide 30% of your power.
But Ha-rang rebelled for the first time.
Full power. Draining her never-depleted mana tank dry.
The fire mage had said: flashy, no substance.
Ha-rang half-accepted it. Can't fix flashiness now? Then pack substance inside it.
"I won't!"
The frost giant's forearm vanished.
"Let anyone die in front of me!"
The giant lay flat, shoulders down, blocking with its body.
Hummm!
Ha-rang's white pupils turned transparent.
"NEVER!!"
Shh.
The frost giant crumbled. Ha-rang thrust both arms forward.
Gigantic butterfly wings unfurled before her hands. Ice wings enveloping the entire fireball. Paper-thin, but densely woven ice crystals firm as ramparts.
Clearly different from prior ice.
Bang!
The fireball struck the wings. But they held form, gnawing the fireball.
Shhh.
The fireball quivered. Already unstable, cracks formed on its outer edge.
KABOOOOOM!!
It exploded spectacularly.
The massive mana blast crushed Ha-rang wings-first.
Crack crack!
Snowflakes flew from the wings like chunks of dirt. Teetering like glass about to shatter, but Ha-rang clung to consciousness, slamming mana into the shield.
"A a a a ARGH!!"
Last drops twisted out flowed into the wings. The blast's aftermath tilted upward like an inverted umbrella, flames shooting skyward.
Roooar!
The erupting fire pillar soared like ascending to heaven.
"Ha, ha."
Ha-rang finally relaxed and collapsed.
Her ice butterfly wings melted like snowflakes.
KABOOOOOOOOOM—
The fireball that nearly obliterated Anyang exploded mid-air.
Ha-rang smiled at the blue flames filling her vision, then fell backward.
Body in tatters, but satisfied she'd stopped it for now.
Ha-rang's consciousness went dark.
* * *
"Failed."
Seon Ui-cheol smiled bitterly at the blue fire pillar on TV.
Meant-to-be protagonist Lee Seung-hyung coughing blood, side character Seok Ha-rang defeated. Command post annihilated.
"But more than that...."
The Pine Tree Unit heroes sent to Yeouido were all dead. Location uncertain, but their last signals pinpointed Yeouido National Assembly.
"The Cube. It was in the National Assembly after all."
Seon Ui-cheol traced his left eye scar with a finger.
He'd never cared much about the operation's success. Just confirming the monster hiding in Yeouido and the Cube's location made it a win.
The burned National Assembly still hid that monster with the Cube.
Everyone would demand blame for failure, but Seon Ui-cheol had pinpointed the Cube.
All that remained: retrieve it without anyone knowing.
"My victory."
Soon after, Seon Ui-cheol addressed the nation.
Seoul reclamation failed. Vowing no repeats from this hasty mistake, he bowed to the people.
No one noticed the slight curl at his eye corner.