Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Laura
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I picked up the glowing stone and examined it.
It had been about a week since Yang Min-seo nearly got hit by that truck.
She had given me the 'Philosopher's Stone.'
I immediately set about preparing for the ritual.
Laura whined faintly.
[Having no physical body is truly difficult. It's like taking a tiny rowboat out into the open ocean.]
"I get it, okay? I'm making a body for you right now."
I headed to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city that I'd scouted in advance.
It was about the size of two soccer fields combined.
Perfect for doing something on the sly.
I took the materials out of my bag.
There were easy-to-obtain things like water, carbon, and ammonia, but it also required alloys and gems I'd never heard of before, so I'd burned through a lot of money.
"Lady Laura, you sure don't come cheap."
[That's after stripping out all the trivial bits with you in mind.]
Following Laura's instructions, I drew a magic circle in the center of the warehouse floor with my blood.
It was supposed to be dragon blood originally, but she said my blood was the closest thing to it on Earth.
The 'Philosopher's Stone' went in the center.
I placed the rest of the materials in their designated spots.
"What now?"
[Stand in the caster's position and activate your Magic Engraving while repeating after me. You just need to start it. I'll handle the rest, even if it strains me.]
I stood at the 180-degree mark on the magic circle.
"Overload."
My heart pounded.
Mana like a waterfall surged through my body, awakening the Magic Engraving.
The engraving began to glow red.
All preparations were complete.
Laura chanted the incantation.
[I, who serve immortality, beseech you: by the primordial covenant, recreate here the miracle of the alchemist.]
"I, who serve immortality, beseech you: by the primordial covenant, recreate here the miracle of the alchemist."
The magic circle took on a blue glow.
It was drawing in mana from the air.
I adjusted the flow so the mana went to the right places.
It was like redirecting a massive wave.
My head throbbed with pain.
It was far from easy.
[I'll take it from here.]
The moment Laura finished speaking, an enormous amount of mana drained from my body.
"Urk."
It was taking even the minimum mana needed to sustain life.
At this rate, I'd pass out.
Suddenly, I felt my body detach from reality.
A translucent message appeared before my eyes.
-------------[Dungeon Entry]-------------
[You have entered 'Dragon's Nest.']
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'Dungeon?!'
Before I knew it, I was standing on a barren plain.
A blood-soaked field.
Corpses of every kind filled the world.
Monster corpses, human corpses, dragon corpses.
The common thread: they were all clad in armor and weaponry.
'Is this Laura's world?'
That's when a chilling presence pressed in from behind.
The hairs on my body stood on end.
-------------<Apocalypse>-----------------
['Fallen Tutelar' has appeared.]
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A red dragon the size of two skyscrapers fused together.
Its jewel-like golden eyes looked down at me.
Overwhelming pressure.
'I can't win.'
An immortal no mere human could stand against.
Maybe Demon King level? Or beyond.
If a creature like this had crossed over to Earth intact, it might've been a bigger threat than the Demon King.
The shape of the magic circle I'd drawn in the warehouse floated up over the barren ground.
Laura was doing something.
Soon, a bright light from the magic circle filled my vision.
When I came to, I was back in the abandoned warehouse.
So then, Laura...
I looked around. No one was there.
'Where is she? Did it fail?'
Something tugged at my pants.
I looked down and spotted something shocking.
Red hair and golden eyes.
Horns on her head, dragon wings and tail on her back.
A little girl with snow-white skin stood at my feet.
Not a stitch of clothing on her.
With a desperate hope it wasn't true, I opened my mouth.
"Could you be... Lady Laura?"
"You know me well! Hurry and give me some clothes!"
"Why... a girl...?"
Laura had always spoken in a dignified, masculine voice.
I'd assumed she'd turn into a man.
"Dragons don't care about gender. We can be either."
So dragons were like wrasse fish that could change sex.
"Then why the male voice?"
"Because humans find more dignity in such a voice."
"And someone who thinks that way chose to appear as a little girl now...?"
"Blame the materials' limits. The Philosopher's Stone lacked the output for an adult form, and what you gathered fell far short. Plus, I've lived more years as a female, so this body feels more natural."
I took off my T-shirt and handed it to her.
"But Lady Laura, how old are you?"
"In Earth years, I've lived eight thousand two hundred and three."
At least that was a relief.
***
'Darkness Jumper' was checking community reactions on her laptop.
Any post with 'Dark Knight' in the title, she'd stay up all night reading them.
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[The One Causing Chaos Right Now Isn't Dark Knight, It's EU]
Only an idiot or someone soaked in inferiority complex doing blind hate would pretend not to notice something this obvious.
Explaining for the idiots.
1. Detention Center Incident (All staff, including guards, dead)
Official police statement: A villain attacked the detention center dressed as Dark Knight, so he's a suspect.
Police are just suspicious. Don't blow up "suspect" like it's "perpetrator." Read the post.
And check the CCTV photo.
[Photo]
Yeah, he's dressed as Dark Knight, that's true.
But notice something weird?
All real Dark Knight footage is blurry.
Even experts agree he has some info-blocking ability.
But this one's crystal clear.
Height around 160cm? Scrawny male or female build.
And Dark Knight's trademark: blue flames and post-it notes.
No post-it, no blue flames.
Just oil and lit a match lol.
Obvious copycat, right?
2. Seoul Alley Incident (Two cops, one hero dead)
[Video (0:54) ▶]
Height around 160cm, super scrawny build?
And the dagger isn't what Dark Knight uses.
[Photo]
↑ Dark Knight's dagger.
Super shiny, obvious rare item.
Fake in the video? Basic cheap dagger.
Cops were shot, but Dark Knight's never used a gun, doesn't seem like he would.
Most important: didn't burn Iron Fist after killing him.
No time for an oil drum? Didn't even burn this time lol.
Forgot the gimmick maybe lol.
Evidence it's a fake copycat is everywhere, how do you not see it?
Sigh... stop already.
What if Dark Knight gets depressed and quits?
Upvotes-27147 Downvotes-21149
(Comments)-61145
[So obvious but needs explaining lol. Really feels like Korea's average IQ is 5th grade.]
[Dark Knight blurs the screen.. lol like a ghost lol]
ㄴ[It blurs, but idiots say experts think it's special gear or skill.]
ㄴ[Your brain's experts? lol]
ㄴ[Go die.]
[Social misfits would suck Dark Knight off even if he held a knife to their throat lol.]
ㄴ[I get you're the idiot.]
[I'm dying of cancer fr. Boomers always saying Dark Knight showed his true colors;]
[Oil arson proves it's not Dark Knight...? Who's calling who an idiot?]
ㄴ[If you had fire powers, why bother with an oil drum?]
ㄴ[He wanted to, what's your dumb logic?]
ㄴ[Fire powers but using oil for arson? Makes sense?]
[Where'd they get doxxed? Blind hate whenever Dark Knight's mentioned ffs.]
[Obvious fake but you don't know? Read articles properly before commenting.]
[No corpse burning means not Dark Knight? lol heading out laughing lol]
ㄴ[Trying too hard to be cool.]
[First, prove Dark Knight did it. Can't prove a negative lol]
.
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The reason Yoon Mi-so dressed as 'Dark Knight' to commit crimes was simple.
To tarnish the 'Dark Knight's' name.
"A bit disappointing."
Before, most people supported 'Dark Knight,' but now support had halved.
In Yoon Mi-so's mind, the ideal 'Dark Knight' was a noble soul who quietly purged society's evils, even if unrecognized.
"Haaah."
But what if he got hate for crimes he didn't commit?
Would he keep hunting villains? She wondered.
And she wanted to see the aggrieved 'Dark Knight's' face.
She knew this raised her odds of being killed by 'Dark Knight.'
As 'Darkness Jumper,' that was exactly what she wanted.
Her dream was to die to the top hero as his archenemy.
Yoon Mi-so wasn't satisfied.
She'd gone through the hassle of the uncomfortable robe, but the backlash was weaker than expected.
The biggest issue was 'Dark Knight.'
He ignored the hate and kept hunting villains.
As if he didn't care about the fake at all.
The one thing 'Darkness Jumper,' who feared nothing—not even death—dreaded was 'indifference.'
A natural attention-seeker, she hated being ignored.
"Guess the dose wasn't strong enough, so maybe next time kill in bulk~"
Yoon Mi-so wanted 'Dark Knight' abandoned by all.
She wanted him broken.
Wondered what face he'd make in despair.
It was driving her crazy with curiosity.
Meanwhile, Yang Min-seo sat in the back seat of a car, scrolling her smartphone.
She was lurking on Hero Korea when she clicked on [The One Causing Chaos Right Now Isn't Dark Knight, It's EU].
She read through it.
Yang Min-seo nodded in agreement with the poster.
"Dark Knight wouldn't do that. Obvious copycat to anyone. Why's all the news bashing Dark Knight lately?"
The driver cautiously offered his opinion.
A promising K Electronics employee specially selected as her driver.
He also unofficially served as Yang Min-seo's secretary.
"Seems like the Association's pulling strings. Sprinkle some money on media outlets, and shaping opinion like this is child's play."
"Really?"
Yang Min-seo thought for a moment.
'I told Dark Knight to ask if he needed help, but somehow I doubt he'd. Maybe I should step up first.'
K Group didn't even need extra cash to move media.
Two outlets tied by marriage alliances alone, and threaten to pull ads—they'd tremble.