Laying the Groundwork
Clomp, clomp.
To cut straight to the point, we were standing at Dongmyo.
Dokja’s impersonation of Yoo Joonghyuk had been so convincing that even if those bastards still harbored suspicions, they had ultimately brought us here without further protest.
Oh, and for the record, the guy we’d first run into at Dongdaemun Station went by the name Lee Seongguk.
One of the Prophets—and one of those extras whose deeds in my memory were little more than a blur.
And right now—
Whoosh—
“What are you staring at so hard?”
“H-huh?! Nothing at all!”
Dokja had already slipped behind Lee Seongguk with a burst of speed. The man frantically shoved the phone he’d been reading into his pocket and resumed guiding us.
“Th-this way! The representative is waiting inside.”
“Move it already!”
“Y-yes, sir.”
In one corner, people were dismantling the corpses of demonic beasts. The sight of them being worked like slaves nearly sent Jung Heewon charging forward, but Dokja held her back. After a quick whispered exchange, she dropped to one knee again and slipped back into her archaic speech.
“Park Hayeon. You wait here as well.”
“As my lord commands.”
I followed the order of the woman currently playing Yoo Joonghyuk and took my place beside Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung.
Dokja disappeared into the tent to speak with their leader, but the sound-blocking barrier around it kept every word from reaching us.
“Hayeon-ssi. What do you suppose Joonghyuk-nim is thinking?”
Jung Heewon asked, still fully in character, her voice laced with genuine curiosity.
“My lord almost certainly knows exactly who these people are. That is why she went so far as to put on this act just to come here.”
“I only hope everything turns out all right…”
“Huh?”
While we were talking, a man in a tracksuit strolled over and addressed us.
“Faces I don’t recognize… Who the hell are you?”
“Who are you to stand around chatting like you own the place?”
“And who are you to pick a fight out of nowhere?”
Jung Heewon fired right back at the man’s snide tone without a second’s hesitation. His face twisted; a hand drifted toward the sword hilt on his back.
“A nobody who isn’t even supporting cast dares talk back to me?!”
“What the hell has this bastard been yapping about this whole time?”
Well now…
“What? Bastard?!”
Her provocation landed perfectly. He ripped the sword free and brought it down in a vicious arc.
Crash—
Jung Heewon simply leapt clear; not a single scratch marked her.
“Yeah. You, bastard.”
KRA-BOOM—!
A thunderous impact followed, dust billowing into the air.
“Jung Heewon!!”
Dokja burst out of the tent, took one look at the scene, and froze in horror.
When the cloud of dirt finally settled—
Clang—
“…Hayeon-ssi?”
“Heewon-ssi. My lord would never have wanted this outcome.”
I stood there, blade locked against Jung Heewon’s, shielding the man who had been a heartbeat from death. He was now crumpled on the ground behind me, trembling.
“Sheathe your sword first.”
“Tch…”
With clear reluctance, Jung Heewon slid her blade home.
I gave Dokja a quick rundown the moment she stepped fully outside. She then herded me, Jung Heewon, Lee Hyunsung, and the tracksuit guy into the tent.
The instant we entered, Lee Seongguk and the other man dropped to their knees.
“I’m so sorry! My friend here had no idea and just—”
“Hey, you apologize too!”
“…I’m sorry.”
The apology looked like it tasted bitter in his mouth.
“Jung Heewon. I told you not to act rashly.”
“That bastard started it first—!”
“Jung Heewon!”
“…I apologize, Yoo Joonghyuk-nim.”
Under Dokja’s scolding she left the tent, still fuming. Lee Hyunsung followed her out.
“My lord. Should you need anything, call for me at any time.”
“Mm.”
With that short reply I stepped outside as well.
“Hayeon-ssi. What on earth is Joonghyuk-nim thinking?”
“My lord is almost certainly waiting for the right opening.”
“An opening?”
“Yes. A single decisive move that will wipe them all out at once.”
In truth, Dokja planned to tear the station rights right out of their hands. That was the entire reason for the Yoo Joonghyuk act—and for all this patience.
“So for now, we wait.”
“Hayeon-ssi is right, Heewon-ssi. Let’s trust Dok—Joonghyuk-ssi and hold back a little longer.”
“Haa… Fine.”
“Hoo.”
“Unbelievable—private quarters? How did these people build a force this large?”
“They completely bought that Dokja-ssi is Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi…”
“Hold on.”
We had settled into the tent Lee Seongguk and the man Jung Heewon had clashed with—Jeong Minseop—had assigned us.
With Dongdaemun Station and Cheonggu Station now under her flag, Dokja’s banner had turned navy blue, and the stations we controlled had quietly climbed to five.
Dokja wasted no time sharing everything she knew about Lee Seongguk and Jeong Minseop.
Jung Heewon’s face twisted in confusion at Kim Dokja’s message.
“It worked, right?”
“Everything is going according to plan. Dokja-ssi will give the signal soon—just a little longer.”
Jung Heewon, Lee Hyunsung, and I stayed hidden, waiting for Dokja.
This was the groundwork for taking Dongmyo.
“That’s our lord.”
Just before Dokja stepped into the tent where Lee Seongguk and Jeong Minseop were staying, she sent us a tiny signal.
“Shall we begin?”
“I’ll go first.”
Whoosh—
My legs, transformed through Blackened Water, carried me into the heart of the station in a single bound.
“Wh-what the h—”
Slash—!
The sentence never finished. A head sailed into the air.
“From this moment on, anyone who so much as takes a step closer to that tent loses their head. Understood?”
“Wh-what are you talking about?!”
“Hayeon-ssi!”
Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon joined me almost immediately. The fight dissolved into chaos within seconds; I focused solely on cutting down anyone who tried to approach the tent.
And while the battle raged—
You have occupied ‘Dongmyo’.
The message window bloomed before my eyes at the same moment Dokja emerged from the tent, the flag on her back shifting from navy blue to brown.
“Everyone, stop. It’s over.”
They had seen the occupation notice too. One by one they sank to the ground with the blank faces of people who had just been freed from something heavy.
“Well done, my lord.”
“You worked hard too, Hayeon-ah.”
“What will you do with them?”
“Hmm… Good question.”
Dokja’s bright little smile made the people of Dongmyo tremble even harder where they sat.
I won’t kill them, so don’t worry.