Chapter 12. Sacrifice (1)

Until February of this year, exactly half of the 36 heroes—eighteen—were still alive. Korea had five: Shim Jeong-woong, Han Tae-gang, Yoon Ui-seong, Yeom Ui-jun, and Seo Yeon-hee. Europe had three: Andrey Ilyin, Arnaud Duré, and Charlotte Tate. China and Japan had one each. North and South America had five. And three from other countries. That made eighteen in total, and through the hologram, we'd learned there were seven confirmed traitors.

We knew the names of three: two from Korea including Yeom Ui-jun, and one from America. But only Yeom Ui-jun's motives and circumstances were fully understood in detail.

And then, in early March when Sea started school again, I killed Yeom Ui-jun, finally achieving my first act of revenge. The surviving heroes dropped to seventeen, and among the confirmed traitors, the living ones fell to six.

Korea 1/4, North and South America 2/5, China and Japan 1/2, Europe 1/3, other countries 1/3.

Of course, there could be more than six. Maybe as many as ten left. I hoped not, but if there were... Honestly, at this point, our odds of winning were less than fifty-fifty, even factoring in Phantom's full strength.

And killing one of those six confirmed traitors—a European hero—would be an extremely tricky mission with my current power. Simple reason: all three of them were insanely strong.

Even by 36 heroes standards, they ranked in the upper midfield or higher. Incredibly powerful.

First, Arnaud Duré from France. He wasn't a battle-focused mage who'd honed himself for combat. But in conditions he desired, within a sufficiently prepared domain, he could unleash power beyond human limits.

Second, Andrey Ilyin from Russia. One simple epithet summed him up: "Europe's Han Tae-gang."

Finally, Charlotte Tate from England. Tall and statuesque, with firmly toned muscles, looking over ten years younger than her actual age, her face radiating vibrant energy. She appeared to be a lively, beautiful adult woman, and her personality matched her looks.

But I knew better. Among the three, she was the most dangerous. The strongest.

Twenty years ago, Charlotte Tate had been the weakest of the thirty-six heroes. There were S-rank hunters equal to or stronger than her who weren't part of the 36 heroes. She was among the youngest, and hadn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reached her peak back then.

Her potential for growth and status as an immune body holder. Those two factors had earned her a spot among the 36 heroes.

But now, after all these long years...?

More than half the other heroes had declined. Aging, lack of training, insufficient real combat, limits of talent. Various reasons had made them clearly weaker than in the timeline of World Guardian.

Charlotte Tate wasn't one of them. She hadn't aged. She was still clinging ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to her physical prime, barely.

She never slacked on training. Her routine was the same twenty years ago as now.

She'd accumulated even more real combat experience. All rifts in England were reported to her by principle, and if they were at a level to sharpen her senses, she almost always joined.

And one more thing. She had no limit to her talent. As the world's most famous immune body holder, her growth knew no end. She'd overcome the constraints of an immune body, wielding it freely, addicted to her endless strengthening.

The woman walking toward me now, waving with a bright smile, had conquered the curse of the immune body through relentless effort—but in doing so, had gone mad for the power of mana itself. So much so that she'd abandon everything else for just one more step forward. To be even a little stronger than yesterday.

The world's most famous immune body holder. Probably history's strongest. The world's top magic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠swordsman, the Sword Queen Charlotte Tate.

For her, this moment was likely the peak of her entire life. And she pulled me into a tight hug.

"You've grown so much..."

Releasing the embrace, she looked me over with nostalgic fondness.

Arnaud Duré, following behind, quickly interjected. "Lottie, it's not just you who's happy—let go and step aside. If you keep clinging, I might just turn off the translation magic."

Andrey Ilyin added his own words. "You look completely different. Then again, it's been ten years already... natural, I suppose."

Thanks to Arnaud Duré's magic, communication was seamless. After exchanging greetings one by one with Professor Seo Sang-wook, our group of five left the airport and boarded a fairly large SUV.

It wasn't one I drove often, but it was from my garage anyway, so I took the wheel. Professor Seo Sang-wook in the passenger seat, Charlotte Tate and Arnaud Duré in the second row, Andrey Ilyin in the third.

"What about the others?"

Before starting the engine, I turned back to ask. It wasn't just the three 36 heroes coming to Korea for tech exchange. Prominent awakeners and researchers were escorting them, and I'd spotted a few familiar faces at immigration.

"Too cumbersome traveling in a big group. They can go separately."

Charlotte Tate answered my question briskly, then gazed at me again with a wistful smile. Her eyes were on me, but not really seeing me. She was tracing my parents' features in my face.

After a moment, she brightened with her usual cheer and suggested, "Shall we get going, then?"

"Should we head to the lab first?"

With guests of this caliber, they'd normally get state honors and packed schedules—but precisely because they were 36 heroes-level VIPs, they could skip the formalities and move freely. They'd politely declined welcome ceremonies, press conferences, dinners with top officials—everything.

While in Korea, the only people they'd keep close were probably me and Professor Seo Sang-wook. They might reunite with Korea's other surviving 36 heroes, or meet people I'd introduce, but right now, nothing mattered except the barrier tech exchange.

So straight to the lab seemed best, but...

Charlotte Tate replied in a very firm tone. "No way. We go to the one place we have to visit first."

The other two nodded in agreement and told me the destination. The place they insisted on first.

It was my parents' memorial plaza.

"...Thank you."

I gave a short reply, then drove off, setting aside the feeling of gratitude in a corner of my heart. Because I didn't know who to thank.

And I reignited at least one portion of my hatred ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anew. That brazen actor—or actors, two or three of them. I'd make sure to judge them when the time came, I vowed.

We arrived at Namsan Memorial Plaza around four in the afternoon. As usual, there were plenty of visitors, and a few seemed to recognize us but didn't approach.

In front of my parents' statues, I, the three heroes, and Professor Seo Sang-wook bowed our heads slightly.

After a silent moment of personal prayers, Charlotte Tate asked me, "Do you come here often?"

"No, embarrassingly, this is my first time in April."

I'd been busy, sure, and planned to come soon anyway—but excuses didn't cut it. Sorry I haven't come more. Sorry I brought traitors here too.

As I mulled those words, Arnaud Duré and Andrey Ilyin exchanged reminiscences.

"'That time' was fun, wasn't it...? Wasn't it?"

"'Fun' might not be the right word, but I miss it too."

"Ah, want me to tell you an old story? One only I know. Remember when Ri and Seb had that huge fight and ignored each other for a while? Actually, I gave them some perfect advice back then. Watching from the sidelines, it was suffocating—like shoving potatoes down my throat with nothing to drink. They were going to make up anyway."

Professor Seo Sang-wook, standing a bit away and listening, whispered to me. "Who's Ri and Seb? From context..."

"My parents. Right."

'Lee Si-hyeok' was hard to pronounce, so just 'Ri' from the surname. 'Jeong Se-bin' both surname and name were unfamiliar, so 'Seb' from tweaking Se-bin. The sociable Arnaud Duré had nicknames for all 36 heroes. Not many used them besides him.

Surprisingly, the three heroes chatted on about old times, and I chimed in here and there. Professor Seo Sang-wook perked up at these unpublished, hidden anecdotes, while eyeing me—standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the heroes—with a gaze slightly different from usual.

How much time passed? Ding, dooong— The bell rang five times, signaling five o'clock.

We bowed to the statues once more.

"Ri, Seb. See you next time."

Only Arnaud Duré voiced a farewell. The rest of us—including me—did so in our hearts. As we left the plaza, Charlotte Tate asked, "Your little sister's at school, right?"

"Yeah, she has a test today, so she's going to a friend's after."

"Really? She was so cute and tiny back then. I'd love to see her face before we head back."

"She's still cute and young. I'll bring her if there's a chance."

I left it at that and changed the subject. Sea and Jin Yu-ri becoming their disciples was pretty much set in stone... but I didn't want to force a meeting just yet. Even if unavoidable, they needed time to think. A few days of observation wouldn't hurt.

But right then—

Ding— The hologram overruled my judgment. It recommended acting by tonight.

Not just Charlotte Tate—the other two heroes too, making five in total. What intent lay behind it?

And it was a new type of reward I'd never seen. Authority to fine-tune the second sub-quest...

Maybe changing the volume subtitle had influenced it. Like the hologram was saying, Go ahead, steer the plot your way.

And... since it was unavoidable anyway, backing out didn't appeal. So I spoke up in a casual tone.

"Ah, Charlotte."

"Yeah?"

"I've been teaching kids at school lately, and yesterday something really special happened. I think you'd be especially interested... Want me to tell you all about it on the way?"

Professor Seo Sang-wook was probably the only one who'd guessed what I was up to. He watched me with an approving gaze.

At the same time, Lee Sea—who had ventured alone into the heart of enemy territory—was waging a solitary struggle.