Novel En
Chapter 337: One Who Deserves To Die (2)
Chapter 337: One Who Deserves To Die (2)
How vicious of a woman was Seon Ga-eul? It was exhausting to even speak of it, so I shall summarize it in one sentence:
A young Min Ji-young.
Considering what kind of woman she was, I didn’t think it’s a huge problem that she was being used to lure those who would feed off her mana powder-laced corpse.
Thus, we must formulate a very meticulous plan using her.
The Chief had already approved the progress of the plan, and now, all that’s left was to execute it as planned.
Before that, to prepare for the major shockwave that would hit this country, I had already arranged a meeting with a certain entity in Jeju Island.
[Hello.]
“…I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Seogwipo City, Jeju Island. From the spacious living room with a clear view of the sea beyond the veranda.
A woman with tangerine-colored hair, wearing only a white shirt and dolphin shorts, looked at me in shock as she stirred a pot of ramen using a textbook titled ‘The Principles of Abilities’ as a stand.[I’m not here to execute you. But, you’ll still have to die.]
“Hey, explain that a little.”
Ji Chun-hyang put down her ramen, straightened her clothes, and knelt before me.
She looked like an ordinary woman with an average build, but she was actually an A-class ability user who protected Jeju Island.
[Do you want me to make this long, or short?]
“Can I listen while I eat ramen?”
[Of course.]
I sat on the couch, turned on the 80-inch TV in front of Ji Chun-hyang, the A-class hero, and the protector of Jeju Island—Kim Min-young.
[Let’s talk while we watch. First-]
Oh, yeah—
On the screen, a foreign man, shirtless, was biting a woman’s neck, who was dressed in a gown.
I turned my head to the right out of curiosity, and despite what was on display, I was surprised to see a 15+ rating mark in the corner.
[Is this what the movies are like these days? And you’re watching that while eating ramen?]
“Uh, no. It’s just a movie. What’s wrong with seeing that in a movie?”
[I seem to have come at a bad time. Sorry for interrupting your movie, but this is an assignment from the Society.]
“Ugh. Just give me three minutes.”
Ji Chun-hyang finished the rest of her ramen in one gulp, put the pot away in the kitchen, and headed straight into the room.
Srrrk, srrrk, whoosh.
“Next time you visit, please don’t just appear through the window like that. Knock first.”
After getting changed, brushing her teeth, and tidying up her outfit, Ji Chun-hyang, now in a proper suit, stood upright and bowed.
“If you’re telling me to die, at least give me a reason. Even if it’s a mission from the Society.”
[Project Jeju. You didn’t read it, did you?]
“……What?”
[You haven’t checked your email.]
I pointed to the TV, and Ji Chun-hyang tapped on her Taegeuk Watch, scanning the TV.
“Ah.”
Unread emails, 999+.
Ji Chun-hyang blushed as she skimmed through her inbox, soon finding the email written like spam.
“I’ll check it right now.”
[Listen while you check it. It’s simple. You, an A-class ability user and hero, need to act dead.]
“Dead…? For about two weeks, pretending to be dead?”
[Exactly.]
With a hardened face, Ji Chun-hyang scanned the message up and down.
“So, in short, you want me to pretend I was killed by a demon? Then, capture those who come after my remains, and use them to set up another trap?”
[That’s right. It doesn’t have to be you, but I’d prefer it. The recommendation came from me.]
“The guardian of Jeju Island has died.”
[That’s the point.]
The guardian of Jeju Island was slain by a demon.
Naturally, the world would look for someone stronger than an A-class, and there happened to be one such person.
[An S-class professor will fill in the gap when they arrive with their students on Jeju Island. But it’s not easy for a newcomer to guard a vast place like Jeju Island.]
“Well… Even for an S-class, no one can protect Jeju as well as I can.”
This woman.
It was no exaggeration to say she was an S-class, at least when it came to Jeju Island.
Her overall abilities may be A-class, but on Jeju Island, she was S-class.
Her ability and Jeju Island’s environment allowed her to perform at an S-class level here.
“But if I die, won’t the situation become chaotic and even more unstable? Especially if we don’t know which demon killed me.”
[Everyone will know. We’ll frame it as if an A-class woman killed on Jeju Island became a rampaging ghost.]
“Who?”
[Seon Ga-eul.]
“Ugh…”
At the mention of Seon Ga-eul’s name, Ji Chun-hyang frowned openly.
“So that’s why you came to me…”
[You have a bad history with that woman. The justification is solid.]
“The justification is solid, but getting beaten by that woman is a bit…! Couldn’t I just be executed by the Goblin instead?”
[That would be like admitting to a crime as bad as being a Nut Crusher.]
“Ugh…”
[If that were the case, I’d have to kill you for real. Just take the medicine.]
I placed a capsule in front of Ji Chun-hyang.
[If you take it, you’ll fall into a comatose state. Technically, you won’t be dead, but you’ll appear like a vegetative patient—alive but unconscious. You have nothing to worry about.]
“Do I have to listen to people gossiping about me right in front of my face? What if I’m lying in the hospital or in a coffin, and they say strange things about me, and I hear it all?”
[Just think of it as earning money every time you’re insulted. A lot of capital has been invested in Project Jeju, so the amount you’ll receive will be considerable. More importantly….]
Whisper, whisper.
I quietly presented something that would catch Ji Chun-hyang’s interest.
“…Is that for real?”
[Yes. You’re not planning to stay an A-class forever, are you? It’s time to step up to S-class and take down Armored Taejo outside of Jeju Island.]
“But that’s not because of my ability; it’s because of my equipment….”
[Ah, equipment is also part of your specs and abilities. Don’t belittle it.]
No more conversation was needed.
I raised the Goblin Bat and pointed it toward Ji Chun-hyang’s back.
[So, are you ready to be struck down by an evil spirit?]Nôv(el)B\\jnn
“W-wait a minute! Before I die… or faint!”
Ji Chun-hyang clutched the capsule in her hand and pointed at the TV.
“I at least want to faint with some dignity!”
[Alright.]
I pointed at the TV.
[We’ll make it look like you collapsed while training your abilities.]
Whack!
Without hesitation, I swung the Goblin Bat at the back of Ji Chun-hyang’s head.
At that time, in the park of H Apartments in Jeju City.
Crash!
“Kyaaa?!”
“What, what was that?!”
“A villain?!”
People playing tennis in the park flinched and looked around at the sudden sound of shattering glass.
Glass shards falling from the sky were about to hit them, and in their panic, they shut their eyes tight, shielding their heads.
“Haaaap!”
A patrolling officer in uniform quickly summoned his magic power, swinging his fist through the air.
The gust from his punch hit the falling glass, shattering it further and directing it towards the flowerbeds, away from the people.
“Th-thank you!”
“Over here, quickly! Damn it, this wasn’t just any glass breaking! It was shattered by an ability user!”
The officer quickly assessed the situation and looked up to check where the glass had broken.
From the first floor to the top floor, the glass of the balconies—
“The top floor? No way! Isn’t that where Ji Chun-hyang lives?!”
Ki-hahahahaha!!
A chilling, eerie laughter.
Everyone in the park was frozen in place by the ghastly wail, feeling a cold shiver run down their spines as they looked up.
“What…what is that?”
White mist was pouring out from the top floor.
It looked like a ghost was escaping, the mist spiraling around the top floor a few times before disappearing.
“That floor…isn’t that where Ji Chun-hyang lives?”
“Try contacting Ji Chun-hyang’s Taegeuk Watch! Damn it, she’s not answering!”
“Let’s go up! Hurry!”
Rumble.
Clenching their fists, the officers sprinted up the stairs in a rush.
On the top floor, after climbing dozens of flights of stairs, an eerie and unsettling scene unfolded from the hallway.
“A villain…?”
“No, could it be a demon…?”
“No way. Could it be that Ji Chun-hyang has become a demon…?”
Claw marks, as if left by a wild beast, were scattered all over the walls.
The front door was open, and the officers cautiously entered Ji Chun-hyang’s apartment, risking their lives.
Gasp?!
In the middle of the living room.
Ji Chun-hyang lay collapsed, her body battered and bruised, as if she’d fought a life-or-death battle.
“Th-that’s…!”
Next to the shattered glass window, something was written on the glass wall.
The letters, smeared with blood, looked like something a serial killer would leave to announce their first murder.
-I’ve returned.
“W-who….”
“W-wait a minute…! That symbol!!”
Next to the message, a symbol was drawn, representing a certain woman.
A circle.
With eight lines extending in different directions.
And, of all colors, it was red.
“[The Witch of the Rising Sun]!!”
Siren sounds blaring — Aeeeeeeeeen!
[The evil spirit of Seon Ga-eul curses the guardian of Jeju Island.]
The first phase of Project Jeju.
[Ji Chun-hyang has fallen, and the perfect defense is no longer in place. Naturally… the predators will start making their way to Jeju Island.]
The collapse of Jeju Island’s security.
[It’s time to start spreading the rumors. The Witch of the Rising Sun, Seon Ga-eul’s spirit, is searching for her body. Her soul has become a demon, and she’s seeking her buried remains somewhere on Jeju Island.]
I placed the thermos on the rooftop of a hotel in Seogwipo.
[Whoever obtains Eldritch’s Life Vessel will also gain A-class mana powder.]
I rested my foot on the thermos, no, the Life Vessel.
In this world.
[An A-class ability user who went missing has returned as an evil spirit. A spirit powerful enough to incapacitate the guardian of Jeju Island.]
Those who drank the mana powder of the strong.
[Seon Ga-eul’s ability, an A-class power… If they can make her bone powder their own, they will come, no doubt.]
They could make that person’s abilities their own.
[A discarded evolution capsule lies here. There’s no way those villainous scum won’t come for it.]