Chapter 36
1.
Inside the rattling car.
I drove Iming's car instead and headed for H Sector.
I'd been drinking—was it really okay for me to drive?!
Yeah, it's fine.
Drunk driving doesn't even count as a minor offense in the Necropolis.
What if I hit someone?!
Yeah, that's fine too.
Lord Xi'an Iming will handle the insurance.
"Rowen."
"Yes, hyung."
The car glided through the darkness.
Today, Iming was especially sentimental, reeking of booze as he let out a long sigh from the back seat.
"Did you know that all mages are insane?"
"Is that so? Looking at you, hyung, I'm not so sure…."
"No. Ah… right… I'm a little crazy too. Kheh-heh."
This bastard's at it again.
Whenever alcohol gets into him, Iming gets fully charged with sentimentality and starts rambling about things no one asked about.
Usually, though, it's less self-pity and more him getting drunk on the idea of 'me, still standing proudly as the lord of the Hyeon-gwi family while carrying such sorrow.'
But hey, I'd already shamefully poured myself a mixed drink.
I could listen to some drunken whining for the sake of raising affinity.
It was educational about the setting, too.
"You know ordinary humans can't become mages, right?"
"Yes, because our mind, body, and spirit are non-mage, aren't they?"
"No, it's an issue even before that. Ordinary people compromise with reality, don't they? Magic is an act of denying the world.
What you need is an overwhelming ego that affirms 'my world,' not the reality in front of your eyes."
"Isn't that what the spirit is, hyung?"
"No, that's different from the spirit. Every mage has a 'flaw' that ordinary humans can't possess.
Whether it's a horrific lack, a longing that surpasses human limits, or endlessly warped desire—it's the flaw that supports a bloated ego. We mages gave that flaw a name."
Iming bit down on a cigarette and struck an absurdly showy pose before saying in a low voice,
"Cheonmyeong (Heavenly Fate)."
This guy seems fucking terrible at explaining things.
Suddenly I missed Cere mama's gentle, easy-to-follow lessons.
"That Cheonmyeong lets you cross walls ordinary people can't. Those who haven't swallowed their Cheonmyeong can't become mages. That's why every mage is mentally ill."
Hmm, so Cere and Ines are a mother-daughter pair of menheras.
And Arbel is a menhera bunny girl.
Then is Iming's Cheonmyeong just his fetish?
Isn't he just dressing up his weird sexual tastes in fancy language?
As I mulled over that dubious question, the car eventually reached H Sector, the place Iming had indicated.
H Sector's job is to be a landfill.
A place for burying the trash Arden throws away.
Trash piled literally mountain-high was filling nearly the entire gap in the wide ravine.
And since the scavengers had already hauled away anything useful, it was a deserted sector where only pure trash was left.
"Hyung, we've arrived. Is this the place? There's nothing around here."
"You came to the right place. Follow me for now."
How eerie.
"This way."
Iming kicked at a steel hatch set in the middle of the trash heap.
-Clunk!
With a heavy sound, the hatch gaped open.
Inside, stairs leading underground stretched into endless darkness.
-Clank, clank, clank
At the bottom of the stairs, waiting for us were complex locks and three layers of thick steel doors that looked like they belonged to a bomb shelter.
"Oooh…."
"Exciting, isn't it?"
"Yes!"
I'm getting a little excited~
Bomb shelter, hideout, bunker. All words that set a man's heart ablaze.
If I had a bomb shelter like this, couldn't I become a celebrity in Viva Apocalypse too?
-Click
When the last steel door swung open, Iming's hideout finally came into view.
I had expected something bunker-like, but it wasn't.
The interior was arranged like the lounge of a luxury hotel I once stayed at in Macau.
A tiger-skin rug covered the floor, with a velvet sofa and a table made of ebony.
A room where East and West had been blended in exquisite harmony, perhaps?
Cedric was a little disappointed.
In the slums they're eating cockroach cubes, and here he's gone and decked the place out with ridiculous extravagance.
"You're the first person I've ever brought here, Rowen."
"Really? I'm honored!"
"Wait here for a moment. Until I tell you to come in."
"Yes, sir!"
I waited briefly in front of the thick wooden door.
What is he trying to show me, taking his time like this?
I had a rough idea.
It's obviously Project Z, isn't it?
Whether to hand the confidential documents to Gisela or tell Overnus about them.
This would be a major turning point for Iming as well.
With only five days left until Project Z breaks out, it was about time to make a decision.
It was only natural he'd want to consult the younger brother he trusted.
A little while later.
From beyond the door, Iming spoke.
"Rowen."
"Yes, hyung. I'm listening."
"I believe human bonds are measured by depth, not length. Though our connection is short, I want it to continue for a long time to come, Rowen."
"What you're saying is…."
"You're not Zuo-bi. You're my right-hand man."
"Hyung!!!"
No, that's not really necessary….
Just show me the documents already and ask for advice on what to do.
I'm ready to become your human bidet and help persuade you to make a big decision.
Still, if I think about it, it's not bad.
In this shitty city, it'd mean I'd have a solid backer like Iming.
Of course, I'd have to be careful not to get caught sneaking around with Cere.
"But before that, do you remember the Cheonmyeong I mentioned?"
"Yes, hyung."
"I assume you've heard the rumors about me too, Rowen."
"Yes, I have."
"Necrophilia. Corpse-fucker. Things like that, right?"
"Hyung, don't worry. Even if everyone points fingers at your Cheonmyeong, I, your humble younger brother Rowen, can accept it."
A faint chuckle.
"Yes, I knew my Yowpi would say that. But it's all a misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding?"
"I'll show you. My true Cheonmyeong."
-Creeeak!
The door opened.
I winced at the blinding light, and when I opened my eyes again,
a bizarre room that looked like a dollhouse made real came into view.
A doll smiling with perfect makeup, holding a teacup beside a lavish tea table.
A doll sitting on a velvet sofa, wearing a kimono and reading a book.
A doll in a princess dress, half-hiding its face with a fan and leaning beneath a golden candelabrum.
Each one carefully made up, their eye sockets gleaming with intricate glass prosthetic eyes.
Dozens of dolls were decorating the room.
Of course, these weren't finely crafted dolls.
This room wasn't a dollhouse recreating the ballroom a girl dreams of either.
It was all a showroom for fully embalmed corpses.
"The disgraceful rumors floating around out there are an insult to my art."
Standing in the middle of that exhibition hall was the exhibitor.
Xi'an Iming, with a tattoo-covered, hulking body, wearing a beautiful dress and full makeup.
"…I am merely an artist who pursues the ultimate beauty in solitude. This is my Cheonmyeong."
He was blending into his own collection in a ridiculously unnatural way.
No, fuck.
What am I even looking at?
"I believe beauty should be eternal. I believe eternal beauty lies in death. And I too want to become one with them. Even if, to others, it may look like an ugly form."
Agh!!!! You fucking bastard!!!!
Don't bullshit me!!! How is that a Cheonmyeong!!!
That's just your taste!!! Don't dress it up to sound cool!!!
"What do you think—can you still call someone like me… hyung?"
Before Iming, wearing makeup and a wig and giving a bitter, self-mocking smile,
even the great Cedric couldn't keep a straight face.
I could still rationalize it up until I saw the dolls.
But seeing Iming in drag made my stomach turn.
I want to use that missing receipt to clone the Myo-beop Loyalty Scripture and shred it to pieces.
Fuck if I know.
Flattery and flimsy lies are useless here. He'd already seen through me from my expression.
"Hyung, honestly… I don't know. Why this is art, or why you're dressed like that."
"Yes, I suppose not."
Regret, disappointment, self-mockery, resignation.
A complicated emotion flickered across Iming's face.
"But that doesn't matter. Hyung, you trusted me and showed everything to this younger brother of yours."
"……!"
"That fact alone is enough to set my heart on fire."
"…Rowen, you…."
-Flap!
I threw off my clothes.
"Please give me a dress too, hyung! That hill you seek to climb—I'll climb it with you!"
"Rowen!!!!"
My thoughts on cross-dressing for the first time in my life.
Surprisingly, stockings give you psychological stability.
…I didn't really want to know that.
2.
After prettily cross-dressing in front of the mirror.
After hearing Iming, grinning from ear to ear, explain one thing after another.
I learned a few things even Cere hadn't told me.
"The documents say 'Awakening Serum Reagent Z,' but I believe the actual identity of that biochemical weapon is a liquid diluted from the blood of a 'True Ancestor' (Jinjo)."
"The purpose of this experiment is probably a clinical trial to control the True Ancestors."
"Securing resources is just an excuse."
Even if Iming looks stupid, he's still a second-rank mage and the head of the Hyeon-gwi family.
If I hadn't hooked him with stockings, recruiting him might have been impossible.
But as expected, Iming felt a massive burden simply from holding the 'Project Z documents.'
It had been perfect up until he backstabbed Cere during negotiations and slipped the documents out.
What he doubted was whether giving them to Gisela would really get him Cere's corpse.
"If Overnus Pharmaceuticals finds out I concealed something this important, that's a problem in itself. So I'm curious what you think."
"What would I know, hyung?"
"Still, you've got an uncanny knack for reading the room, Rowen. I've lost count of how many times I've admired that."
Naturally, what I should say here was, 'I don't think this is it, hyung.'
"How about laying low and biding your time while you plan for the greater cause?"
"Hmm, but… I really want to add Cere to my collection…."
"Even so, there's too little in it for you, hyung. There's even the risk that you'd have to feed Cere the formless poison, isn't there?"
"Still…."
"If it's really that hard to resist… I'll get you Director Cere's anklet."
"An anklet… a foot bracelet?"
"Yes, the silver anklet Director Cere always wears."
"...Really?"
For the next three days and nights, I followed Iming around, persuading him.
Iming agonized over it, but in the end he made a copy without a watermark and handed it over to Overnus Pharmaceuticals.
After that, everything moved like clockwork.
Once Overnus Pharmaceuticals learned about Project Z, they sent a top-tier protest letter and gathered forces around the Red Dragon family.
Faced with their stance that they would even go to civil war if Twilight Resource Development pushed ahead with the project, even the most brazen Twilight Resource Development backed down.
Gisela, the one among the eleven directors who had pushed Project Z most aggressively, took all responsibility and resigned her directorship.
It was obvious Cere had been behind that outcome.
And then, the long-awaited fifteenth day.
"You're… really amazing… hey, wait a sec! I'm talking!"
"Let's talk after, okay? After we're done?"
10 seconds, 9 seconds.
I counted down like it was New Year's Eve and looked out the window.
Soon.
Very soon.
3
2
1
0
No deafening siren blared.
No street announcement of a riot either.
In other words, Project Z had been stopped.
Kyaa!!! Cleared!!!
The rush of being rewarded in one shot for all the hell I'd gone through!
The relief that I wouldn't die now!
And Cere mom's reward, too!
My head was spinning from dopamine.
I threw myself into Cere mom's soft, sweat-damp embrace.
Ahh, I feel like I'm being sucked in….
"Whew… we survived… this was really fucking hard…."
Damn… those two weeks were brutal.
I honestly had no idea how we were supposed to clear this.
I want to do nothing and rest for a week like this.
I was so happy I buried my face in the embodiment of maternal love and sobbed.
"We made it!!! I'm alive!!! Fuck! I'm alive!!!"
Cere mom seemed to pause for a moment, then patted my back.
"Haah… I told you, didn't I? You didn't need to worry so much…."
"Lady Cere…!"
So kind!
Was her attitude especially different this run because of my imagination? Or was she being nice because I was giving her tangible benefits?
Either way, it was a kindness I never would have imagined from our first meeting.
And yet even someone like Cere mom is said to hide an abyss like Iming does?
I can't believe it.
That bastard Iming definitely lied because he was embarrassed, right?
Well, anyway.
After countless failures and setbacks, Project Z had finally been stopped.
A smooth relationship with Xi'an Iming was also established.
My relationship with Cere mom was also set—a casual fling that could even develop into a mother-daughter combo, along with the master-disciple arrangement.
With that, I'd no longer have to see that bitch Kisara's face.
Every time I saw her, it was fucking awful. Let's never meet again.
In other words, it was time for the final settlement.
"Lady Cere, should we wash up first?"
"I'll rest a little longer, so you go wash first."
"Aw, don't do that. Come on. I'll wash you. The body wash I gave you is seriously killer, isn't it?"
"Haa... you're always so noisy and chattering."
Personally, it was an event I'd been looking forward to.
I'd long been curious what obscene precepts our Cere mom was hiding.