Chapter 84
Baby Yongyong used a kiss attack on Firebat!
"You crazy bitch! My first kiss!"
It was super effective! Firebat became enraged!
"Ugh. Not my problem. At your age and still having your first kiss? Honestly shouldn't you have lost your virginity by now?"
How old was she again? Either way, at that age she should've either gotten fucked or at least rubbed against a dick.
Maybe this is all because of heroine plot armor.
"I won't let you get away with this!"
"Puhahaha! Just try and stop me!"
Swoosh! Clang!
Just then, I blocked an incoming sword strike from behind with my axe.
"My my. It's not very gentlemanly to attack a lady from behind, you know?"
"I knew you'd block it anyway, so I went all out."
Yoo Jin-seok, who had somehow gotten close to me, swung his sword.
Clang! Clash!
Oh, as expected of the original Divine Sword user, his strikes are strong and heavy. To think he's pushing me back with just a normal weapon. For a moment I was tempted to use White Flame out of spite.
Still though. Aren't you being a bit too rough with your little sister?
Well, of course Jin-seok only knows me as Baekhwa. But I can't help feeling hurt anyway.
"I see you're not using the Divine Sword?"
I spat out somewhat irritably, like I was being petty.
Jin-seok doesn't have the Divine Sword right now.
No, the Divine Sword itself still exists. But it's just an empty shell. It's become just a normal weapon after losing its Constellation.
Why? Because there can only be one Divine Sword in the world.
That's why Si-woo has the Divine Sword now. Jin-seok lost his Constellation several years ago during the Pyongyang Incident.
It wasn't because the Constellation fell out of love with Jin-seok. It died. On that day during the Pyongyang Incident, when they were fighting monsters and the world nearly faced another Great Cataclysm, Jin-seok and his Constellation gave it their all, and the Constellation sacrificed itself to save Jin-seok.
And the one who took its place was Si-woo's Divine Sword - Choi Shia.
"I'm not fighting to defeat you anyway. But you're no ordinary person."
Screech! Clang!
The sword and axe clashed multiple times.
"I have no idea what you mean. The Divine Sword user saying I'm no ordinary person?"
"To block my attacks with just an axe. Your combat ability is impressive."
"Now's my chance!"
While we were talking, Ji-hye's bat flew straight at my face.
Thwack!
Of course, before that attack could hit, Reina's corruption arrow fell.
"My dear Firebat. You shouldn't forget about my friend."
"Ji-hye! That's enough! I need to talk with Baekhwa!"
"I'm fine with talking, but I have no plans to back down."
If I give in here, I'll get my ass spanked and dragged away.
Should I make some excuses? Try to evoke some sympathy?
"How did you end up becoming a Mutant?"
"It's simple. Just like how Hunter Jin-seok was chosen as a Divine Sword user, I happened to receive the power of an S-Class Core. The old Black God Church territory was overflowing with Cores after all."
"That's impossible. All those Cores were dealt with-"
Firebat made an expression of disbelief.
I shook my head with the same pitiful expression I used when Rachel wouldn't let me touch her body.
"Were they really dealt with properly?"
Back then, A-Class and S-Class monsters guarded the Black God Church hideout. Jin-seok had quite a hard time then. Pyongyang was hell, but Juan, which was Black God Church territory, was just as bad. The strongest forces of the time were deployed to defeat the Black God Church and capture all the monsters.
So I decided to get a bit crafty here.
"5 years ago, civilians got caught up in the Black God Church raid. The battle between Hunters and the Black God Church filled the area with Demonic Power, and the aftermath caused many casualties."
"No way."
"There was a girl there. A girl who became a nun out of faith, trying to do something in this shitty world. But she ends up dying in the battle between Hunters and the Black God Church. And then an SS-Class Core that leaked from a monster's corpse killed by Hunters happened to embed itself in the girl's corpse, and she was reborn as a Mutant."
Yeah. That's basically who Baekhwa is.
The character Baekhwa that I created.
"No, I'm sure we confirmed everyone had evacuated then?"
"How could a young girl have time to evacuate?"
"Do you resent us?"
Resent? No reason to. It's not even my story to begin with.
"Surprisingly, I don't. I might have when I was dying, but when a person becomes a Mutant, it seems their values really do change like they say. I don't particularly feel like getting revenge. Rather, I prefer peace. You could call me a peace-loving Villain?"
In other words, I'll be Villain Yongyong. That's what I mean.
"A Mutant talking about peace."
"The idea that all Mutants are evil is just a generalization because of psychopath Mutants, right? Once I built up my power in the Corrosion Zone where I was lonely, I started eliminating villains and finding survivors."
I started actively building sympathy.
As if I'd forgotten about the drone following me around. I explained to Jin-seok.
The viewers probably just hear voices with a black screen.
"Where are these survivors you saved?"
No reason to tell you that for free.
"That's a secret."
I said that with a little wink.
But these guys are more persistent than I expected.
I underestimated Divine Sword user Jin-seok too much. Just because the Constellation disappeared doesn't mean I should forget that his body was chosen to receive the Divine Sword's power.
What should I do now? The goal was just to drive them away from Song-do for a bit, but somehow it turned into this.
All I've managed to do is run away as far as Reina's range would allow while going in circles.
"Huff. Huff. Damn girl."
At least Firebat looks pretty tired.
It's already past midnight. Should I just run all the way to Busan?
Now that I've revealed I'm a Mutant anyway, should I just fly away?
Come to think of it, did I even need to show up at all?
"Then we could suspect you're doing something suspicious with those survivors?"
"I'll show you tomorrow during the broadcast."
I preemptively blocked their attempt to provoke me into revealing the survivors' location.
Isn't it ridiculous that they're suddenly concerned about survivors in the quarantine zone now? If you think about it, I do all the work and the Association takes all the credit.
"What do you mean?"
"If you knew where they lived, you'd bring Hunters, right? Can't have that. And I don't want you thinking I'm some cannibal or using them as slaves either. I'll show everyone the residential area in the broadcast. Well."
That was going to be the next content anyway.
There's no reason to stay here any longer. The heroines are probably worried by now, heading back is the best option.
Who knows? Even if Jin-seok didn't, Ji-hye might have requested backup from the Hunter Association. They might send a Guild Master level powerhouse.
"You think I'll let you off with just that?"
"This is a one-sided notification though?"
"What?"
"I only came out to play tag, I never planned on getting caught."
I grabbed the drone and flew up high enough that Jin-seok and Firebat couldn't see me.
"That bitch can fly?"
"Well, if fate allows it, we'll meet again?"
I left Jin-seok and Firebat with their dumb expressions, giving them a seductive smile before heading to Song-do.
* * *
Hunter Association
After meeting Baekhwa, Jin-seok and Ji-hye returned to the Association with nothing but a bitter story from the past.
"I'm telling you, that girl is no ordinary bitch!"
Ji-hye, who had firmly sworn to give her first kiss to Jin-seok, was still fuming as she badmouthed Baekhwa to Cheol-sik.
Meanwhile, meeting Baekhwa left Jin-seok with a lot to think about.
A familiar scent. And though it might sound arrogant, as someone titled humanity's strongest, he prided himself on being strong even without the Divine Sword.
Even if he held back a bit, failing to catch one Mutant called Baekhwa - this isn't something to just let slide.
Baekhwa didn't even use her abilities.
"Well, it's awkward to say myself, but honestly that Baekhwa kid is quite strong."
"How strong?"
"In close combat with weapons, I'd probably win eventually, but from what we've seen in broadcasts, Baekhwa can control people to make them commit suicide or kill each other. We don't know her exact abilities, but she didn't even use them against us."
Just how far do Baekhwa's abilities work? Even that's unknown.
"Same goes for you."
"Yes. What's certain is that she's an extremely powerful person. I think most Hunters wouldn't stand a chance against her. They'd be lucky just to survive."
Jin-seok was convinced Baekhwa had enough power to at least subdue Ji-hye. However, she's a Mutant that can be reasoned with.
If the survivors are confirmed in tomorrow's broadcast, some compromise might be possible.
"Mutants tend to be strong after all."
"Then next time we'll just catch her by force!"
Ji-hye, still not over it, vowed to catch and beat up Baekhwa.
"That's not the issue. The truth Baekhwa revealed in front of you has spread all over the internet."
"What do you mean."
"Just when the Hunter Association's image was at its worst, Baekhwa's truth got out. If this was the Association of the past it might be different, but with the Kim Jae-soo incident and our reputation hitting rock bottom, now that it's known Baekhwa was a victim of the Black God Church raid, there's huge public sympathy."
Cheol-sik sighed heavily enough to sink the ground, scrolled through his laptop, and turned it to show Jin-seok and Ji-hye.
It was fresh news posted just tens of minutes ago.
The sad story of Baekhwa, the Mutant of the quarantine zone?
The Black God Church raid. Did they only raid the Black God Church?
Baekhwa can't be the only victim. What is the Hunter Association doing?
S-Class Hunter Lee Nolbu: Survivor settlements outside the quarantine zone worth investing in...
The worst situation. The Association's image fell even further.
The only silver lining was that some articles criticized the Blue House along with the Association.
"Nothing more needs to be said."
"Articles just mocking the Association must have Ha Jeong-seok behind them. You dealt with Hanseong, but we can't do anything about the Association's reputation being ruined over Baekhwa."
At this rate, the Association might have to shut down.
"Then what should we do about Baekhwa?"
"I hate to do this, but we need to meet Baekhwa and get her to join Seoul. President Ha Jeong-seok is pressuring us too."
As soon as the news went up, Ha Jeong-seok called Cheol-sik.
"Ha Jeong-seok?"
"If the Association falls, the Hunter society falls. You know what that means? As dirty as it is, we have no choice but to follow Ha Jeong-seok's words for now."
If the Hunter Association falls, the Blue House will take control.
Yeah. Let's say for argument's sake Korea runs under presidential leadership - the problem is the current president is Ha Jeong-seok.
If that happens, who knows how the Guild system will change.
"Should we go again?"
"No, Baekhwa ran from you two right? She might not appear in front of you again. And we don't even know where she stays."
"That's true. So?"
"Ha Jeong-seok said he's sending Heung-boo, so I'm thinking of sending Seo Ji-yeon. Given Baekhwa's personality, it's better to send a girl who can reason with her. And using her abilities might help arrange negotiations with Baekhwa."
Heung-boo, a Hunter directly under the Blue House. An S-Rank Hunter of South Korea who didn't make much of a name due to being affiliated with the Blue House.
The reason for sending Heung-boo now must be to solidify the Blue House's position with the public and Hunter society while the Association's image is falling.
And they're attaching an Association Hunter.
Making the Blue House Hunter compete with the Association Hunter.
The good news is the Association chose Seo Ji-yeon.
"Ji-yeon wouldn't be bad."
With Ji-yeon's abilities, she might be able to capture Baekhwa.
* * *