Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Ark Shandy Rendezvous
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Lee Gyeo-ul flopped down flat on her back.
Mimir collapsed beside her in a battered state as well.
"I don't even have the strength to lift a finger..."
"M-Me too..."
In front of them lay the corpse of what had once been a dragon.
In the redevelopment complex littered with the bodies of countless grotesqueries, Yubyeol-ha came to her senses and finally sprang to her feet.
"Huuu... Is it over?"
Relief washed over her, but at the same time, she scanned the chaotic surroundings with a worried expression.
She had prevented the rifts from opening in Academy City.
The sky had returned to its normal color, and the terrorists had all been wiped out, but there might still be lingering forces, so the speakers were broadcasting instructions to stay put in the shelters.
The irregulars and criminals seemed to have been safely subdued as well.
The incident had ended without mishap. But...
"What on earth is going to happen now?"
Piles of grotesquery corpses stacked like mountains, the sky turned red, the massive terrorist attack in Ark.
Yubyeol-ha couldn't even begin to guess how time would unfold from here on out.
With a sigh, Yubyeol-ha approached Lee Gyeo-ul.
Judging by the mountain of a dragon corpse lying there, it looked like her senior had won.
"Senior! And witch...!?"
Yubyeol-ha gripped her scythe as she stared at the fallen Mimir.
"I-I'm not, not an enemy! Misunderstanding!"
Mimir was in a wrecked state, but she desperately staggered to her feet and shouted.
It was because Yubyeol-ha's Death's Scythe looked ready to claim her head at any moment.
"Senior! Is what this witch says true!?"
"Hiiing... G-Gyeo-ul... Say something..."
Lee Gyeo-ul lay there with her eyes closed, not moving a muscle.
She was just pretending to be unconscious because the unfolding scene was so amusing, but to Mimir, it spelled disaster.
"Wicked witch, how dare you, how dare you to Senior Gyeo-ul..."
"N-Nooo..."
"You, I won't forgive!"
Mimir bolted away with an aggrieved expression, and Yubyeol-ha kicked off in pursuit, starting a chase.
"Is it over?"
In the quiet ruins after Yubyeol-ha and Mimir vanished, Lee Gyeo-ul gazed up at the stars in the night sky.
I wonder how Baek Do-hyun and Han Cheong-ah are doing.
She probably didn't have time to lie around like this so comfortably, but she couldn't move a muscle.
Vowing to pull herself together soon and head that way, Lee Gyeo-ul exhaled.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Do-hyun."
"What."
"Are you alive?"
"Can't you see?"
I was sprawled out flat on the ground.
I felt a soft sensation at the back of my head—Han Cheong-ah was giving me a lap pillow.
Her face was blocking the twinkling starry night sky.
After returning from the illusion, a sense of exhaustion lingered. Maybe because the Inflection Point's duration had ended—strength drained from my body all at once.
While I was lying on the ground to rest, Han Cheong-ah had approached, knelt gracefully, and sat down.
I'd told her not to because the rough dirt ground would scrape her knees, but she insisted it was fine and stubbornly gave me the lap pillow anyway.
So here we were.
"You've fully turned into a woman now. Why don't you just go to Thailand and get that thing taken care of?"
"!"
Han Cheong-ah ran her fingers through my long hair.
I let out a sigh.
"I'm going to get it cut at the barber shop, so don't tease me..."
The more my vampire trait evolved, the more beautiful my appearance became.
Honestly, even I was often startled when I looked in the mirror. It felt like beauty had been honed and polished to its natural extreme.
Seductive like the legendary vampires who enchanted people and took their blood, but it wasn't the masculine charm I was going for.
At this rate, I'd get treated like a cross-dresser, so I planned to cut my hair once this was all over.
"Why?"
"Because I don't want that thing taken care of. And I didn't grow it out on purpose. There's a whole story here."
Han Cheong-ah shook her head firmly.
"Keep the hair until I chop it off so you can't make excuses."
"Why?"
"It'd look amazing with a skirt."
"?"
What does this girl think my gender identity is?
My sense of aesthetics was far too solid to paint myself rainbow all over.
"I'm a man. And that's a principle that won't change for a thousand or ten thousand years."
"That's what Do-hyun thought too—until everyone started calling him cute and pretty. One day, a muscle-bound guy asked him out for drinks, and Do-hyun realized his true identity..."
"Stop."
I clamped Han Cheong-ah's mouth shut as she spouted that weird narration.
"Kuhk. Suppressing freedom of expression in a country where it's allowed..."
"That's a sex offender mindset right there."
Unexpectedly, Han Cheong-ah had a bit of a fujoshi streak. Not that I wanted to know that.
"It's all over now. I wonder how Winter unnie and the others are doing."
"They probably wrapped up safely too."
"Then AOD's first operation was a complete success."
Thwart the society's plot and protect Academy City from crisis.
That was the phrase Han Cheong-ah had written on the whiteboard. We'd stopped the society from opening the rifts and thwarted the unprecedented terrorist attacks in Academy City.
"Hehe... Good thing."
"The buildings are trashed, but casualties don't seem too bad. The Federal Guidance Bureau handled it well. The citizens seemed well-trained from disaster drills too."
People had calmly evacuated to shelters amid the crisis.
As expected of Academy City's citizens, carrying around the world's most dangerous 'Psyker' bombs.
This incident had wrapped up safely, but the real confrontation with the society was just beginning.
The society, having failed to secure the queen and open the rifts, would learn of my existence whether they liked it or not.
Zero One was the type who never forgave variables. He'd definitely come after me.
From now on, I had to prepare. To survive Zero One and win against the society.
"Good work. Idiot."
"Good work. Do..."
Han Cheong-ah pinched my cheek hard. I could feel the sincerity in her grip strength.
"Ow ow..."
"I hate that nickname. Don't call me that unless you want your hair yanked like Winter unnie does."
"Yeees..."
Seemed I'd touched the dragon's reverse scale.
Han Cheong-ah released my cheek and finally praised me for a job well done.
That was when it hit—an incoming wave of killing intent triggered my progenitor senses.
"Kyaaak!?"
I shoved Han Cheong-ah aside. Her body hit the ground. I covered her and erected a wall of blood.
Bang bang bang bang!!
Assault rifles spat fire viciously. Bullets poured into the red wall in droves, but they couldn't pierce the thick barrier.
As the bullet rain stopped, a woman's voice came from nearby.
"Hello."
The shots had come from all directions. There were multiple enemies besides the woman. They began emerging from the darkness one by one.
They were the Hound Dogs, the hunting pack Lee Gyeo-ul had led before becoming a hero.
Now veterans who'd seen it all, each leading their own hunter teams.
They should have been out hunting the 'irregulars' turned Dimensional Beasts at Lee Gyeo-ul's request, so the only reason they'd come here was one thing.
Eliminate Han Cheong-ah.
In the original story, they were a hostile group constantly clashing with the protagonists to kill Han Cheong-ah, who'd killed Lee Gyeo-ul.
It was revenge for Lee Gyeo-ul, but also because they judged Han Cheong-ah a threat to humanity, pursuing her relentlessly.
In the end, they all died by her hand, but anyway, it was one of the original's bleakest plotlines...
The important thing was now.
If I were still Noble Blood, I couldn't guarantee victory against the Hound Dogs, but as a progenitor...
Crackle, crackle—the ground began to freeze.
I hadn't planned to kill them, but they were tenacious hounds who'd sacrifice their lives for humanity.
Subduing them was essential.
"Hello."
I greeted Han Gao-eul.
"What a bright and cheery monster, manners matching that pretty face. What's your name?"
"Baek Do-hyun. But are you sure you're okay? If this keeps up..."
"Rider."
I gave Han Cheong-ah, pinned beneath me and cracking jokes, a cold stare.
"Haha, sorry."
"Are you with the 21st Century Secret Society by any chance?"
"No?"
Did Lee Gyeo-ul not say anything about me?
The Hound Dogs' atmosphere froze over. I blinked.
She could've at least mentioned there's one cooperative monster...
They were dead serious about taking me down. I felt a twinge of resentment toward Lee Gyeo-ul.
"We can figure out if it's the society or not after we beat you. Hound Dogs, battle ready."
Han Gao-eul, Yamada Sota, Do Bae-man, Kim Seo-gwang—all 1st-grade hunter level—moved to eliminate me and Han Cheong-ah.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Hmm.
Sure enough, I'd become an unreasonable being. It was a sentiment I felt every time since becoming a progenitor.
"D-Do-hyun, it's too cold..."
I transferred some heat to the shivering Han Cheong-ah.
"C-Cowardly bastard!"
"R-Release this ice right now!"
"Y-You trying to kill the dog!?"
"Yeah, there's a real son of a bitch here!"
The entire Hound Dog pack that had charged in boldly was now frozen solid.
I'd just dropped their body temperatures in an instant with a combo of magic and psi. Scratching my cheek, I looked at them now combat-incapable.
They were strong side characters, not main cast but top-tier among supports... I could hear their teeth chattering.
As time passed, these men willing to die for humanity started pathetically begging for their lives.
"P-Please spare me!"
"I'm sorry, Do-hyun. It was all that Do Bae-man over there who made us do it...!"
"Bullshit, you bastard!"
"You're the bastard, you son of a bitch!"
Far from their cool original selves, they'd thrown away all pride and dignity.
I regarded them with cold eyes.
Curiosity struck—what was driving them to beg like this? When I asked...
"Pride won't save my life. It's a last-ditch desperate gamble on that 1% chance."
The words felt reasonable enough that I couldn't help but nod indifferently.