Principal Wife? Emily
Once the solemn ceremony ended, in which his two loyal hunting dogs offered their finest tributes in their own ways, Jinwoo satisfyingly stroked each of their heads. Then he turned his body.
His plague doctor mask pointed precisely at the wreckage of the terminal where Emily was hiding.
"Little rat hiding there." His voice was quiet, yet it reverberated, dominating the entire ruined airport. "Enough now. Show yourself."
Emily's heart seemed to stop. She'd been caught. Frozen in place, she was rooted to the spot.
Saint-Germain screamed in her mind. But her body wouldn't move. She could only stare, entranced, at the three overwhelming figures emerging from the darkness.
The crow mage, the fox-masked hunter, and the red-eyed beast on her shoulder. Like a trinity manifested from hell, they approached her slowly, with an irresistible dignity.
Magic Grimoire's voice echoed in Jinwoo's mind.
Jinwoo stood before the terrified, trembling Emily. He slowly scanned her from head to toe, appraising her value. His gaze pierced her worn Whirlypuff hoodie and the voluptuous curves beneath that couldn't be hidden.
A child's taste, idolizing mages. And beneath it, the qualities of a top-grade bitch. An amused smile curled under his mask.
Saint-Germain desperately warned, but it was too late. Before his overwhelming presence gazing down at her, Emily unwittingly opened her mouth.
"I... I am..." Her voice trembled thinly with fear and awe. "Emily... Great Crow Mage. I am... a mage like you... and an alchemist."
Mage. The word stabbed into Chiharu's ears like a dagger. She scanned Emily up and down. Worn, dirty clothes. A terrified expression. But... breasts as full as her own, or perhaps even more. And above all, that horrific title of mage—something she could never have, placing her on an equal footing with her master.
A nightmarish delusion began to bloom in Chiharu's mind.
That bitch... a mage like Master? Then... those two would... She pictured Jinwoo and Emily at a wedding. Emily in a pure white wedding dress, smiling happily by his side, while she, her mother, Koharu, and Sea knelt like maids, scattering flowers at their feet. After the ceremony, that woman would become the harem's new principal wife, forcing them to kneel and declaring, "You are my slaves from now on."
"Kuh..." At that horrific fantasy, the lewd mark on her lower abdomen burned madly with jealousy and rage.
Jinwoo didn't miss Chiharu's subtle emotional shift, but his gaze remained fixed on Emily.
A mage... good. Another lewd delusion unfolded in his mind.
How entertaining it would be to see that innocent face wailing in ecstasy beneath me, breaking. When I bite into those voluptuous breasts with my teeth, leaving marks, what scream would she let out? I'll etch into her body and soul just how powerless her precious 'magic' and 'alchemy' are before my overwhelming 'domination.'
Having devised a perfect plan for his new toy, he extended his hand toward Emily, concealing his dark intentions. His voice had shed its former arrogance, now soft and kind, like a senior mage meeting a kin.
"Are you alright, young mage? No injuries?"
At the unexpected gentle tone, Emily's blue eyes shook violently.
"Y-Yes...? Ah... Yes, I'm fine."
Saint-Germain cried desperately, but his voice no longer reached Emily's ears.
"Good." Jinwoo personally brushed the dust from her worn hoodie. At the intimate touch, her face flushed red as an apple.
"This place is dangerous. It's safer to stay with us for now. By the way... what school of magic do you wield? That book seems like an alchemy grimoire."
At his question, the blush on Emily's face turned to shame and self-loathing.
"...Yes. That's right. But... it's nothing special." She hung her head, her voice nearly breaking into sobs as she confessed her pathetic reality. "No attack magic at all... immortality but requires daily silver offerings... potions are just vitamin-level... homunculus, as you saw, shattered by one kick..."
As her voice grew smaller in despair, Jinwoo cut her off firmly.
"No. I see potential." He gripped her shoulders and stared straight into her eyes. "You're just lacking materials and proper knowledge, Emily. I vouch for your mana potential. I'll raise you. I'll guide your alchemy to become a true 'power' that shakes the world."
At his declaration, hot tears burst from Emily's eyes. The moment she'd dreamed of her whole life. Like when Dumbledore handed Hagrid the Hogwarts letter—it was happening before her eyes.
The Magic Grimoire whispered delightedly in Jinwoo's mind.
Saint-Germain screamed desperately, but his voice scattered hollowly amid Emily's overwhelming emotion.
Jinwoo gently stroked the tearful, enraptured Emily's head. Then, surveying the surroundings, he reverted to his cold commander's voice.
"We need to get out of here first. Gather the scattered survivors in one place. Mage, any visible survivors?"
"Y-Yes! Over there... behind the terminal wreckage, a few..."
"Good. Chiharu, Corax. Escort this young mage with me and secure the survivors. Now, we begin the counterattack."
With Jinwoo's declaration, the power dynamics of the ruined airport flipped completely. The time for hiding and fleeing was over. Now was the time for the hunt.
They moved as a perfect hunting pack. In the lead, Corax reverted to her massive beast form, striding heavily ahead. Her red eyes precisely detected the faint life signs of survivors hidden in debris piles or burned plane fuselages.
"Caw!"
Corax signaled positions with her cry, and Chiharu flashed out like lightning behind her. Flight attendants on the verge of being devoured by roach-like repulsive monsters. As the beasts lunged for their ankles, a pew! pierced the air—a black arrow dominoed through the monsters' heads.
"F-Fox Mask!"
The survivors cheered at the fox-masked hunter who saved them, the giant crow beast, and finally the legendary Crow Mage who appeared. No more fear in their eyes. Salvation had descended.
Emily watched it all unfold beside her, entranced.
This is... a true mage's battle... Deep self-loathing at her pathetic homunculus mingled with even hotter admiration for their overwhelming power.
Thus, they scoured the ruined airport, gathering the scattered survivors. Including the co-pilot and surviving crew, about 120 assembled under their banner. They made the fuselage of their punctured Boeing 777 a temporary base.
"Now, time to go home." Jinwoo addressed the gathered survivors. "But no walkable exit this time. We... go by sky."
At his words, they murmured, gazing at the cursed sky raging with red storms.
Jinwoo pointed to Corax. "My lion will carry you ten at a time to safety. Fetch the sturdiest metal crates from the cargo hold. Enter them, and you'll be safe from the sky's storms."
Following his orders, they hauled out large aluminum containers from the cargo hold. As the first group prepared to enter, Jinwoo stopped them. He walked slowly to where the battle with the great warrior had raged. There lay the captain's gruesomely torn remains.
The Magic Grimoire rarely paid respects to a human's death.
Jinwoo silently bowed briefly to the remains. The courage to charge bare-handed at a god's apostle to protect passengers. A warrior's worthy final stand.
He returned and addressed the first group. "Take this man's remains with you. He... deserves to die a hero."
The co-pilot and crew tearfully carried their captain's last traces into the container.
Emily felt her chest heat again at the sight.
He's not just strong. He has a king's dignity.
Thus, the first ark of salvation—10 passengers and one hero—lifted in the metal crate gripped by Corax's talons, piercing the red sky toward the real world.
[Virginia, USA, near Washington Dulles International Airport]
Real-world time flowed far faster than in the nightmare. Over 12 hours since British Airways Flight 217 vanished. The White House and 10 Downing Street were deadlocked, finding no signs of hope.
Then, a miracle occurred. An unidentified massive flying object appeared on Dulles control tower radar.
"Unidentified flying object! Altitude 5,000 feet! Approaching Dulles Airport!"
F-22 Raptors scrambled from the Air Force base. But what they saw wasn't a hostile alien craft. From the red sky rift emerged a gigantic jet-black crow clutching a metal container in its talons.
As if by promise, it circled the National Air and Space Museum annex roof, then descended smoothly to the emergency-closed runway.
Corax landed like a massive transport plane, gently setting down the container. Moments later, the door opened from inside, and 10 dazed survivors stumbled out.
"Th-They're alive...!"
The ground crew's scream ignited a global storm of joy at Dulles—no, the world erupted.
Survivors collapsed on the runway, sobbing, trembling hands calling families with miraculous survival news.
In the White House Situation Room, sighs of relief mixed with cold analysis. Watching the live miracle, the President murmured to Senator John Connor beside him.
"In the end... he kept his promise."
Connor nodded grimly. "His envoy, Kim Sea, wasn't bluffing, sir. This means... our 'deal' succeeded."
The President commanded the room, his voice laced not with joy, but a dominator's cold resolve to control the unknown variable.
"Immediately restrict all civilian access around Dulles and set maximum security. Transfer survivors to Walter Reed Army Hospital for full physical and mental analysis. Report every detail they experienced—the nightmare's interior, monster types, and... the 'crow' and 'fox mask's' combat methods, without omission."
He pointed to Corax on the screen, returning to the sky rift.
"And that 'crow'... warn all on-site forces never to act hostile when it reappears. We're making history's first 'deal' with a surreal entity. Don't break the board."
Their joy was no longer mere emotion. It was the start of cold calculations to control the unknown and turn the disaster to their advantage.
Helicopter cameras broadcast Corax setting down the container and vanishing into the red rift. The first-rescued co-pilot tearfully shouted to rescuers.
"Not over yet! Over 100 still inside! But... don't worry! They... they will save everyone!"
His cry wasn't mere hope. It was unshakable faith from one who'd witnessed the miracle.
The world held its breath, praying the red rift would open again for the next ark of salvation.