Chapter 19
"Headquarters, this is Agent 21. The target has descended to Hanseong's mid-layers and entered Highway 33. Continuing pursuit."
—Acknowledged, 21. Report any anomalies immediately.
The agent, cloaked in optical camouflage, slowly revealed himself with a brief radio transmission. His eyes were fixed on the vehicle carrying Hamgyeong Province's Military Commander, Iron Tiger CommanderYu Sang-hyun. Having stubbornly refused the car provided by the Sedao, he rode in a common taxi used by ordinary folk, heading toward Seoul Station for the train to Hamgyeong.
But that lasted only a moment.
Zzt. Zzt.
"Hm?"
Something went wrong with the taxi carrying Yu Sang-hyun. The drone tracking it in real-time suddenly powered down, and at that instant, the vehicle veered off, plunging toward Hanseong's underlayers.
"As expected, he had other plans."
They must have thought neutralizing the drone would let them slip away. A miscalculation. Agent 21 immediately connected with headquarters.
"This is Agent 21. Surveillance target has deviated from predicted route. I repeat, surveillance target has deviated from—"
But that too was fleeting. The agent's face twisted as he checked his communicator.
"Headquarters? What's going on? Communications are unstable. Headquarters?"
The moment he demanded an answer—
Thump.
"Mmph?!"
Someone clamped a hand over his mouth. Turning his gaze, he saw behind him a bune-tal—a mask with cheeks and forehead smeared with traditional ink.
'No way... Hwae?! How did they...!'
"Shh..."
A shrill voice buzzed in his ear. How had they pinpointed his location? He'd been invisible under optical camouflage until just seconds ago!
"Don't worry. We won't kill you. If we did, the entire Inspectorate would tear this place apart."
Hearing that, the agent quickly spun his thoughts.
"Then the moment you found me, you sealed your own defeat."
Catching him proved Hwae and Yu Sang-hyun were connected. But the figure in the bune-tal behind him didn't lose composure.
"We know that. So..."
And in the next instant—
"Let's call it all even. Your pursuit of Yu Sang-hyun, our little meeting—gone, just like that."
"...What?"
With those words, the masked figure jabbed a finger into the agent's ear.
Crunch—!
"Gah...! Argh...!"
Attached to the bune-tal's finger was a metal needle. It pierced straight into the agent's central neural hub, linked directly to his brain.
Agonizing pain. And with it, Agent 21's vision filled with static noise.
"Wh-who are you?! Yu Sang-hyun's orders?! You think you'll survive after messing with the Inspectorate...! Aaaagh?!"
"Shut your trap and open your skull. I wanna puke just hearing you Inspectorate scum talk."
A vicious growl. And in that moment, he realized what this bune-tal-masked intruder was doing.
"N-no way...!"
The events of moments ago melted away like shadows dissolving into darkness. This bastard was rewriting his memory data.
"Ugh. Figures it'd be Inspectorate-grade—slathered in security modules. More machine than brain at this point, huh?"
"No... stop... p-please...!"
"Top-spec hardware, outdated design. Makes hacking a breeze."
Manipulating human memory data on the fly? Without a data center or interface gear? By hand? Impossible. It would take dozens of expert programmers...
'No, this isn't the time to be impressed!'
If this continued, he'd forget Yu Sang-hyun's location, even why he was here. He couldn't let them have their way.
'Resist... just a little... remember something...!'
Yes. Remember. Must... remember...
Re... mem... ber...
Re...
Click. Crrk.
—Agent 21? Communications still unstable. Adjust to current frequency. I repeat—
"...Ah."
The agent snapped to, responding to the voice on his communicator. Zoning out during a stakeout? If a superior had been listening, he'd be disciplined for sure.
"This is Agent 21. The vehicle carrying Yu Sang-hyun has been loaded onto the direct train to Hamgyeong as scheduled."
—Any external contacts?
"None confirmed. Yu Sang-hyun returned to Hamgyeong alone."
—Understood, Agent 21. Train pursuit will be handed to local agents. Mission complete. Return to headquarters.
Beep.
Mission over. Finishing his report, the agent glanced back over his shoulder without thinking.
"...?"
Nothing but empty space lined with towering buildings. Staring into the void, he narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.
"Felt like someone was behind me..."
A foggy haze in his mind. Rummaging through his memories turned up nothing specific—just an inexplicable sense that he'd forgotten something important.
—Mission complete. Damn, my head's burning up.
"Good work, Bu-ne. Head straight back to base."
A voice crackled through the communicator, aged a decade in exhaustion from the bune-tal's wearer.
—Don't you dare pull this insane crap again. Neutralize the informant without killing the tail? Shake pursuit without letting him know he lost the target? What am I, a magic wand? 'Gold, come out!' and poof?
"You pulled it off, though. Had faith in you."
—My neural net's about to fry. Gonna need a week to cool down after this overload. Remember that. And one last thing! That Sedao brat!
Bu-ne's rambling turned feral mid-rant.
—Tell that little shit loud and clear! Next time he pulls this, I'll roast your brain instead! Got it?!
The line cut without waiting for a reply.
'Next time,' huh. Calling a Sedao kid that despite hating them? The boy must've really grown on him.
"Word just came in. We've handled the tail following you."
In a rundown church in Hanseong's deepest underlayer, the man in the imae-tal turned to the middle-aged man trailing him and spoke.
"Tracking and shaking an Inspectorate agent... Hwae lives up to the name."
"Thanks for the praise. So, General...?"
The wary gaze belonged to Iron Tiger Commander Yu Sang-hyun, who'd followed him. The imae-tal man turned to him awkwardly, voice subdued.
"Mind easing off the aura now? Fine for normals who can't sense it, but for another Aura User, it's killing me..."
Yu Sang-hyun didn't budge.
"Understand. Meeting a real Hwae operative after hearing so much—can't let my guard down."
"..."
No trust, huh. Fair enough from Yu Sang-hyun's view. The Royal Guard had tried dragging his daughter off to die—enough to drive anyone mad. And Hwae, eternal traitors, had saved her? Now bodyguarding him too?
'Not just his daughter—he was nabbed and released by the Inspectorate himself. Brain hasn't caught up yet.'
Muttering inwardly, the imae-tal man approached the church door and pushed it open. Inside the tidy interior, contrasting the shabby exterior...
"Daddy!"
His daughter, Yu A-rin, tangled in a gaggle of kids, playing.
"A-rin!"
Yu Sang-hyun rushed over, scooping her up. Her unscarred face beamed brightly. Only then did his tension snap, shoulders shaking.
"Sorry, A-rin...! Daddy... Daddy...!"
"Huh? Daddy crying? Why?"
Oblivious to the rescue op—she'd been unconscious the whole time—Yu A-rin just patted her father's back innocently.
"Who bullied you this time? Those old geezers you always bow to?"
"Oh, looks like it went well."
As the imae-tal man watched, a boy emerged from the basement door—the mastermind behind the escape: Kim Chang-un.
"Bu-ne-tal... our comrade said to pass this on: Do it again, and you're dead."
"Not bad for someone griping. Toying with the Inspectorate? Top-tier traitor indeed."
Chang-un chuckled, but the imae-tal man just stared silently. Then, after a beat:
"Thanks."
"Huh?"
Chang-un looked up, face weirded out by the word from the man's lips.
"Your plan saved the king's bloodline from them unharmed. Bonus: rescued the Iron Tiger Commander, who now sees the Sedao for what they are."
"And saved a ton of our comrades to boot, right?"
"Yeah."
Compared to their original plan, the results were absurd. Without Chang-un's intel and scheme, countless more would've died.
"If you're grateful, pay up. Disposable clone printer, cloning materials... I'm broke now."
"Funding's not my call."
"Terrorists with 'authority'? You ain't civil servants."
"I'll tell the Elder. He'll hook you up proper."
Had to. Humming smugly like he'd won, Chang-un drew the imae-tal man's gaze between him and Yu Sang-hyun. He turned slowly.
"Mission success. Time for us to ghost."
"What? No chit-chat with them?"
Plenty of future business. Pointing at Yu Sang-hyun, Chang-un prodded, but the man shook his head.
"We shook the tail, sure—but this is Hanseong. Too risky for deep talks here."
Confirming each other's existence and non-hostility was enough. Turning to the boy before him, Chang-un.
"Why the stare?"
"...How'd you know?"
"Know what?"
Out-of-nowhere question. Chang-un pressed; the imae-tal man replied gravely.
"How'd you know surveillance was on him?"
Bu-ne had hacked the agent's memories, but only thanks to the boy's intel: Inspectorate tail routes, optical camo model specs, and crucially, neural access points on agents' brains. All top-grade military secrets. Not something a Sedao kid just knows.
"And that's not all."
During the op, initial contact, deal-making—the boy acted like he knew Hwae's playbook inside out. No time to dwell then, but looking back, uncanny.
"A fifteen-year-old kid, how..."
"How can I handle this danger like it's nothing?"
Chang-un cut in with an impish grin.
"No big reason."
Lowering his voice like spilling a secret:
"Truth is, I'm from the future."
"...Hah."
The imae-tal man let out an involuntary laugh. Brushing it off with a joke. 'You don't need to know.' Something like that. He turned away.
"See you next time."
With a curt farewell, he exited the church. Moments later:
"...It's true, but no one buys it."
Scratching his head sheepishly at the man's departure, Chang-un added. Honesty gets you nowhere. No wonder he had to spark a revolution.
Thud. Thud.
Heavy footsteps echoed as Kim Jung-heon, impeccably attired in formal headgear, strode down a corridor of ancient wood. Trailing him: Kim Hyun-woo and other Sedao heirs. Destination: Geunjeongjeon, pinnacle of Hanseong.
"Open."
At Kim Jung-heon's command, two courtiers bowed and slid the doors open. Ornate Joseon patterns, a dragon carved into the ceiling center. And on the throne below...
"...!"
All who entered bowed as one upon seeing it.
The throne, veiled in white. Beyond it loomed a human-shaped shadow, already seated.
The king who'd ruled Joseon for three centuries. GwangjoLee Cheol-heon—his shadow.
"Y-Your Majesty...!"
But as they hastily paid respects, some Aura Users—Kim Hyun-woo included—sensed something off.
'Aura...'
'It's not there. Why?'
Gwangjo Lee Cheol-heon, savior of Joseon from monsters. Why no aura from such a hero? As doubts swirled, Kim Jung-heon, eyeing the throne, beckoned the courtiers.
They approached with utmost reverence, parting the white cloth over Gwangjo's form.
"Wh-what...!?"
Everyone gaped at the revealed king.
"Impossible... this..."
Yes, any Joseon scholar would question it. How could Gwangjo, born early 20th century, rule for three hundred years? Even advanced medicine couldn't sustain someone from then. And if alive that long, why call a living king by a posthumous title? Attaching a myo-ho to the breathing—blatant treason, shrugged off casually.
Or maybe not so strange.
For this nation's king.
Joseon's savior, Lee Cheol-heon, was...
"A c-corpse...?"
"Tsk!"
A few muttered in disbelief, eyes wide. Kim Jung-heon barked at them, face stern.
"All of you—pay your respects."
At his voice, the heirs gulped, lining up.
Hanseong's colossal skyscraper of steel and machines. At Geunjeongjeon's peak throne.
There sat...
"Our nation's sovereign, His Majesty."
Surrounded by life-support devices.
The body of Gwangjo Lee Cheol-heon.