The Negotiation (4)

The instant Phantom stepped out of the Inventory, a vast conference room opened before Hanseong's eyes. A dozen people and more came into view with it, and for a moment the chamber went dead silent.

Only for a moment.

Bewilderment bloomed across their faces. The first to react was Lieutenant Colonel Park Minsu, standing on the dais.

"Intruder! The conference room is under att—!"

A serving soldier's reflexes, and quick ones. Hanseong's answer was every bit as fast.

A crushing weight slammed through the conference room. Under the pressure bearing down on the air, the assembly members dropped into their seats one after another.

"Ghk! M-my body—!"

"Kugh!"

A few of the older ones couldn't endure it and lost consciousness. He didn't care. He had business with only one of them anyway.

Hanseong turned Phantom toward the middle-aged man in the seat of honor—a toad-faced man in a suit and glasses.

"Who in the world are you..."

Acting President Yoon Cheolmin. Minister of Foreign Affairs. Hanseong answered the trembling question with his name, short and plain.

"The Fire-Lightning Mage."

"...!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Cheolmin's eyes flew wide. He was not the only one. Lieutenant Colonel Park, down on his knees on the dais, and everyone else still clinging to consciousness wore the same stunned look.

"I came because I have something to say to you."

"S-something to say...?"

"Lift the martial law order and the mobilization order. And stop demanding that survivor groups across the country join you, or interfering with them by force."

The moment he stated his business so bluntly, Cheolmin and the assembly members looked as if they couldn't make sense of a word of it. Of course they couldn't. They had heard it with no context at all. Every act needs a justification, and Hanseong knew that well enough, so he gave them the reason behind the demand.

"Phase 3 ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is about to begin."

"That's..."

"This is the time for everyone to cooperate. I will not tolerate humans fighting one another in a situation ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like this."

These were not just anyone's words. They came from the very man who had announced the start of Phase 3. Unless they were complete fools, they would have grasped the situation well enough.

"...I understand what you are saying."

As expected, the confusion in his eyes slowly faded. Cheolmin nodded, then rolled his eyes and went on.

"However, lifting martial law is not a matter that can be decided on the spot. Through discussion..."

"Then do it right now."

Right there in front of him. When Hanseong said it like a threat, Cheolmin's face turned troubled.

"Even so, there is such a thing as procedure. Some here have lost consciousness, so we will need time."

"...That's right. An agenda of this weight is hardly light enough to settle overnight."

Lieutenant Colonel Park spoke as if in agreement, as if the two of them meant to talk Hanseong around somehow. At the same time, it looked an awful lot like stalling. Sure enough, across his map, blue dots were closing in on the conference room.

A moment later the door burst inward with a crash, and soldiers poured through. At the same instant Cheolmin, Lieutenant Colonel Park, and the rest flattened themselves to the floor as one. Taking that for the signal, gun muzzles swung toward Phantom.

Click. Rat-tat-tat-tat!

Dozens of barrels spat fire. A storm of bullets poured at Phantom, and not one of them landed. A Mana Shield was holding over its body.

"Wh-what? Why won't they—"

"Damn it! Keep shooting! Dump everything you've got!"

Panic was written all over them. They didn't give up. They kept yanking the triggers, and the result was the same as before. Hanseong looked at the soldiers with eyes gone cold and stretched Phantom's hand toward them.

In that instant the rounds hanging in the air began to spin at terrible speed. The moment they reached their limit, each bullet went looking for its owner.

Thuk. Thuk-thuk-thuk. Thud.

"Kugh!"

"Aaaagh!"

"Gyaah! M-my leg—!"

Rounds punched through heads and torsos, through arms and legs. Wretched screams turned the conference room into pure pandemonium. They hadn't expected this. Cheolmin and the assembly members froze where they were, faces blank with shock. Hanseong, the counterattack finished cleanly, let a desolate light gather in Phantom's eyes.

...Should I just kill them all?

Wouldn't it be cleaner to slaughter every last one of them and be done with the nuisance? The urge crept up through him, and then he shook his head. The moment the killing intent rose, words he had heard from J, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the guide of the Tower, cut across his mind.

The more blood he got on his hands, the deeper the karma piled, the more it might become the very thing that cost him the decisive battle still to come. Remembering J's advice, Hanseong forced the rising killing intent down. Then he sat Phantom in the chair Cheolmin had occupied and spoke.

"I'll give you ten minutes."

"...Pardon?"

"Decide. Right now."

"A-as I said, that is an unreasonable demand. This is not something I can decide alone..."

He still hadn't grasped reality. Hanseong extended Phantom's hand toward the window, and every gaze in the room, Cheolmin's included, followed it outside. What Phantom pointed at was a five-story building—the warehouse where the Sejong Provisional Government stored its food and supplies. The moment every eye fixed on it, he cast again.

Dig triggered at a point beneath the ground, a skill that opened a pit five meters deep. The moment the foundation vanished, the building above it collapsed like a castle raised on sand. It dropped in on itself with a long, grinding crash, and the people watching it happen in real time opened their eyes wide.

"Wh-what?!"

"The building, all of a sudden..."

Shock, confusion, raw disbelief. Hanseong took in every reaction, then turned his gaze back to Cheolmin.

"One every ten minutes."

"What do you... mean by that..."

"The longer your decision takes, the more buildings here I bring down. One by one."

"...!?"

The color drained out of them. Cheolmin and the rest gaped, stunned, while Hanseong paid them no mind and kept going.

"If I still haven't heard an answer after thirty minutes, I'll bring this building down for you."

If they didn't want to die, they would start talking now. Under that hard threat, Cheolmin and the assembly members finally understood. Stalling against him was nothing but a waste of breath.

And the result: the discussion on lifting martial law and the mobilization order ended in a single minute. It was unanimous.

"W-will this do?"

Hanseong activated his Magic Eye without a word.

Of course. They had watched a building collapse in front of them. None of them had the nerve to lie.

"We're not done."

"...Pardon?"

"Announce what you just decided through the Information Strategy Board, the radio, and the rest. Where a contact network is already in place, call them yourselves and deliver it."

"A-and by when..."

"Right now."

At Hanseong's urging, several assembly members fled the conference room as if escaping, off to carry the news to every place already on the network. They might bring reinforcements. That was fine. He could erase them the same way he had erased the ones who opened fire.

"And the Information Strategy Board?"

"Th-that! We're drafting it now."

Lieutenant Colonel Park answered in a shaking voice. As spokesman for the Sejong Provisional Government, he said he would post the notice the moment the draft was finished. Hanseong nodded Phantom's head, then rose and turned away.

"I'll be leaving for today."

The words were barely out before relief colored Cheolmin's face, and Lieutenant Colonel Park's with it. Hanseong spoke to the two of them.

"Let me warn you. If you try any tricks behind my back, I'll start by erasing the two of you."

"...!"

"It won't matter where you hide. Don't forget that I can come here whenever I want."

Warning and threat, and that was the last of it. Hanseong activated the Inventory.

Phantom vanished, and silence swallowed the conference room again. Everyone simply stared, blank, at the place where it had been.

Once Phantom was safely retrieved, Hanseong told Yuna—who had been watching him with open curiosity—what had happened in Sejong. A little later, when the full account was done, she asked again, face startled.

"Y-you really did that...?"

"Yeah. It should be all right now."

Hanseong nodded, calm. Of course they might change their minds, or nurse some other intention. If they did, then J's advice or not, he meant to wipe them out completely. He didn't say that out loud. Not with Yuna watching.

"They went after my family. No one else's. They have to pay a price that fits."

"Ahaha, they haven't actually touched them yet, but..."

Yuna let out an awkward laugh. Even so, relief settled over her face. She must have been glad they would not have to join the Sejong Provisional Government. Hanseong looked at her.

"That goes for you too."

"Huh? Me?"

"If something comes up and you need help, don't agonize over it. Just tell me. I'll help with whatever it is."

One line, and the sincerity in it was plain. Yuna's eyes went round for a moment. Then she smiled, soft and bright.

"Okay. Thank you, oppa."

Hanseong smiled back without a word.

A little later, a post from the Sejong Provisional Government went up on the Information Strategy Board.

The contents were exactly what he had already heard: with Phase 3 about to begin, martial law and the mobilization order would be lifted, and survivors everywhere were to stay where they were and prepare, rather than forcing their way to Sejong. Comments flooded in at once.

Reactions that said they didn't understand. Fair enough. This was the exact opposite of everything the Sejong Provisional Government had shown until now. Either way, the Vigilante Corps and Suwon were free of Sejong's unreasonable demands. He was leaving the board with a satisfied look when a call came through from Jihye, her voice urgent.

"M-Mage!"

"Did you go to Sejong, by any chance?"

"Yeah. I just got back."

Come to think of it, he ought to tell Jihye too. He passed on what he had told Yuna, and a moment later, when the explanation ended, a quiet reply came back.

"Ah. So that's what happened."

Jihye's voice had settled considerably, as if the question had finally been answered.

"They contacted us as well. They said they'd leave the prisoners taken in Uijeongbu with us for the time being."

"I see."

"Yes. And Uncle asked me to pass along his thanks. He said that thanks to your efforts, his burden got lighter."

Hearing that, he realized he had unintentionally done a brigadier general's work for him. Hanseong told her not to worry about it, and the conversation with Jihye ended there.

Right then, Yuna stood.

"Then I should get going too."

"Heading back to Daejeon?"

"Yeah. I have to tell everyone. That thanks to you, oppa, this whole mess wrapped up well."

Yuna smiled brightly.

"And once Phase 3 starts, I'll have to be the one protecting Mom and Dad."

No one knew what would happen when Phase 3 began, just as no one had known when Phase 2 started and elite monsters first appeared. Hanseong nodded. Then he took from the Inventory a piece of loot he had been keeping and held it out to her.

"Right. Then take this."

"This is... a whistle?"

"Yeah. It'll help if you keep it."

The Wolf King's Whistle—gear that could summon phantom wolves. The higher one's affinity with animals, the more wolves it could call. For Yuna, there was nothing better. She must have checked its performance herself. Her eyes went round as a startled rabbit's.

"C-can I really take this?"

"Of course. There's no one else I'd give it to."

"But you have a girlfriend..."

"Huh? A girlfriend?"

"You know. Captain Lee."

Was she talking about Jihye? Hanseong burst out laughing.

"Jihye and I aren't like that."

"Then what are you?"

"Colleagues. A cooperative relationship."

"...Really?"

"Yeah. Really."

He put weight behind the answer. They were closer than ordinary colleagues, of course. Through the Blood Contract, Jihye was bound to him as master and thrall. Explaining that, though, would mean revealing that Jihye was a vampire, and that didn't seem like good manners. Even Jihye herself did not appear to have told her family what she had become.

"I see. And here I thought..."

"Thought what?"

"Mm. Nothing."

Yuna shook her head. Then she hung the Wolf King's Whistle around her neck and smiled brightly.

"Thank you, oppa. I'll take good care of it."

With that thanks as her last word, she left the base, returning to the Vigilante Corps to prepare for Phase 3.

From that day on, Hanseong threw himself into his own preparations and the work in front of him. And when exactly ten days had passed—

A new notification appeared. The contents were nothing especially surprising. He had already heard as much from A, back when he visited the Mage's Tower. The problem was what followed.

The sky stained red, and a new cataclysm began.