Chapter 80

〈 Chapter 79 〉 3. Where there is national pride, there is Two-Eokshini. (5)

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On Jeju Island, inside an abandoned container warehouse in a military base.

"Kuh, kuh, huh...."

The young man fell to the concrete floor, spitting blood.

Pain filled him, and the bleeding wouldn't stop.

"Damn, that damned goblin...!"

"That's why you got hit so badly when you suddenly rushed out."

A woman with red hair approached the young man.

Except for her white skin and hanbok, everything about her was blood-red. She extended her hand toward the young man.

"I'll heal you soon. Just wait."

"......."

A red light emanated from the woman's hand, and soon the young man's wounds began to heal rapidly.

Was it the rapid healing of the wounds?

Or was it the acceleration of time for the cells in the wounded areas?

The principle was unclear, but it was definitely a 'superpower' beyond ordinary hemostasis.

"I'll mark it. Next time, I'll treat 'Janghwa' to a meal. Two-Eokshini."

"Shut up."

The young man, Two-Eokshini, put on the mask he had dropped on the floor.

Although the eye part was broken, revealing his slanted eyes, Two-Eokshini only clenched his teeth and touched the painful area.

"Damn, that damned goblin...!!"

"If you were defeated so easily, just admit it. It's not for nothing that he's S-class."

"Even so, his magic power is below average!"

"But he uses that magic power so efficiently. Was there any waste in his magic power consumption? Were you the type to excessively consume mana? No, you weren't. And you still haven't figured out what type of superpower he has."

"......."

Two-Eokshini bowed his head deeply.

A clear defeat.

The goblin had immediately followed his 'ultra-high-speed combat' and intercepted him even in a time that seemed almost stopped.

"Damn. How did he use such a superpower.... No, this is clearly strange. He doesn't have enough magic power for that. He must be getting mana from somewhere else, more efficiently than just using it efficiently?"

"Then do you think he's pulling magic power from something like solar energy?"

"Solar energy...?"

"Right. How could he pull such a large amount of magic power from a natural state? He probably just stuffed as much mana as he could into his body and used it."

"......."

Two-Eokshini, putting on his mask, fell into thought.

"Using mana to the extreme efficiency while simultaneously pulling mana from the outside...?"

"Either way, you lost this time."

"...Next time, I won't lose."

Two-Eokshini's eyes gleamed fiercely as he clenched his teeth.

"Next time, I won't be interrupted, and I won't lose. And I will definitely recruit that woman, 'Platinum Sun,' to our Righteousness and Loyalty."

"The woman you're obsessed with, the Gold Taoist?"

"Yeah. I think I have a rough idea of who she is."

Two-Eokshini tapped the screen of a Taeguk watch without the Taeguk pattern, and soon a light emerged from the watch, shimmering like a hologram.

A 3D display.

The light, shimmering mostly in blue, created a figure, and the scattered mana around it displayed the woman's profile in text in the air.

"Elmina Sternfert?"

"Yeah. The woman I turned into a demon this time. Her name is Naberius."

"You hate using English so much."

"Would you attach our language to a demon or a villain?"

"Hah, really."

The Taeguk watch, which uses technology several generations ahead of the standard model, was handled naturally by the two as they continued their conversation while fiddling with the hologram.

"So this woman is the Gold Taoist?"

"Ridiculous. It's not her. It's the woman who was her partner... This woman is the Gold Taoist."

Flash.

The hologram shimmered.

There, in the profile data registered at Sejong Academy, was 'Yumir.'

"What do you plan to do with her? E-class? Is the data wrong?"

"It's correct. She was hiding her true identity. That's why someone like Elmina dared to attack her."

Two-Eokshini handed one of the documents about Yumir to the red-haired woman, who curled her lips as she read it.

"Elmina Sternfert tried to hide the fact that she took mana powder during a treasure hunt and attacked Yumir, who was in the same group?"

"It seems to be true."

"How interesting. She was hiding her strength, got attacked, and then revealed her true power to uphold justice."

"So we need to manage her well from now on."

Two-Eokshini took the woman's hand.

"Hongnyeon, listen carefully. Don't reveal the woman's true identity to anyone. Keep the information about the Gold Taoist secret when you report."

"What?"

"For now, only you and I know. There's no information about the Gold Taoist anywhere."

"Keep it secret from the organization?"

"Yeah."

Two-Eokshini staggered to his feet.

"The existence of the Gold Taoist must not be known. She's still a green apple. The more ripe and red she becomes, the better she tastes...."

"What do you mean by that?"

"A bit more, a bit more dramatic. It's no good to make her debut just against someone like Elmina. We need a bigger stage...."

Two-Eokshini's eyes curved into a half-moon.

"Isn't the field training for the Hero Cultivation University in April?"

"If you're talking about the academy's field training, yes, it's in April. Why? Are you planning to stage a large-scale hostage situation there?"

"For the most perfect and dramatic debut."

Two-Eokshini spread his arms and stood up.

"Would it be fitting for a great special-class hero, the Gold Taoist, to become famous by just catching someone like Naberius?"

Clank.

The sound of the warehouse door opening came from outside.

"Sir, it's really true. I heard ghostly voices from inside...!"

"Hey. There's a lock on this door. How could there be voices...?"

"......."

Two-Eokshini moved at the speed of light.

He then reached into the soldier's clothing, pulled out an item, and grinned.

"Smoking tobacco."

Thud.

Something pierced through the soldiers' hearts.

* * *

After the commotion ended in the evening.

I immediately returned to a safe place, Jumo's house.

"I heard there was a commotion? The goblin tried to kill an A-class hero."

"It wasn't an A-class hero. It was a demon. Two-Eokshini appeared."

"...Out of the blue?"

"He suddenly appeared from the sea."

"......Really out of the blue."

Although I hadn't specifically contacted her, Jumo had already grasped all the information available on the internet.

"What was the situation?"

I recounted what I had experienced, and Jumo, with a serious expression, organized the keywords on a whiteboard.

"So, the Righteousness and Loyalty is pretending to be Pandeemonium and trying to promote Yumir as an S-class superpowered hero?"

"Yeah. They're trying to create a situation where a hero must intervene, whether it's a hostage situation or a terrorist attack."

"Putting on a Western demon's appearance to act as a villain and having a hero in hanbok solve the problem? How interesting. It's not even a kid's idea, really."

"They are kids."

Superpowered individuals.

At most, they're 25 years old.

Even if someone tries to tempt them, they're the kind who would fall for it.

"So, what do you want to do, Director Do? It seems like you're trying to recruit the student Yumir."

"I think it's time to seriously consider recruiting her."

"Really?"

"Yeah. To prevent her from falling for the Righteousness and Loyalty, I want to follow the mission given to me."

The boss said.

To observe the situation at the academy and recruit those with outstanding superpowers.

"I've already made some progress in recruiting Baek Seul-hee, but there's a world of difference between her joining us out of reason and joining us as a member. However... Yumir is a bit different. She's not a hero, just an ordinary college student."

"It's easier to recruit her compared to the princess who already has a set affiliation? Hmph. Do you know that the other side thinks the same way?"

"Of course."

Even before I considered her as the main character, I had already planned to bring her to our side.

But now that she has purification abilities, she's become a top priority, almost a 0th priority.

"Then, we should gather information about the Righteousness and Loyalty and Pandeemonium, right?"

"Second priority."

"First priority? The student Yumir?"

"Yeah. Specifically, the curriculum centered around Yumir."

Based on my prediction, I don't think I need to constantly monitor Yumir.

"They will, especially Two-Eokshini, create a grand stage. They can casually approach and talk to her like a regular person during daily life, but that would only be for warnings or simple persuasion, not to cause a large-scale incident."

"So, they will appear in a place that draws more attention, and it will happen within the academy's curriculum?"

"Yeah."

This is the flow of the original story.

A predetermined large-scale event.

The academy's regular curriculum includes several major events, such as field training, on-site internships, and overnight training.

Originally, these were special events to develop relationships with the heroines, but now their meaning will change.

"Every time a big event unfolds around Yumir, Two-Eokshini will cause a commotion, and I will step in each time."

"Then, won't Two-Eokshini try something else? Like attacking on a regular weekday?"

"Absolutely not."

As a villain, he has a certain confidence.

"He wants Yumir, the magical girl Gold Taoist, to become a hero. And he wants that hero to walk the same path as him."

Like a jester who, despite knowing the identity of the rich man, uses every means to destroy the identity of the bat-man but doesn't touch the rich man himself.

"I will make Yumir join our side."

"...But, Director Do, what if it goes wrong?"

"What?"

"Director Do, you're also trying to recruit Baek Seul-hee. Isn't this like walking a tightrope and getting stabbed in the stomach?"

"......I have a good plan for that."

I raised a cup filled with jujube juice toward Jumo.

"Even if I walk a tightrope or spread my tentacles, I can make them like me."

"......What makes you so confident?"

"Of course...."

After drinking the jujube juice, I put down the cup and pointed upward with one hand and downward with the other.

"With a goblin's magic wand."

"...You must be really confident."

"Of course. I've been using it for my business so far."

I, Do Ji-hwan, the director of the Hero Cultivation University's Special Management Department and a goblin.

"Do you think I'm just at the same level as the four board members under the president's direct command?"

With a goblin's magic wand, I can 'persuade' anyone.

"I think we need to change our strategy."

If he were a man, I would have killed him.

But she's a woman.

In other words.

Kill the men.

And the women—

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