"Damn. This ain't makin' no sense... Why do Joseonese got automatic pistols and rocket launchers!?"
Yi Rang shouted in frustration. She and Kim Ga-Eun were currently in a standoff, using a building wall as cover.
"I have to admit, even for me, that looks like it'll hurt..."
"Ga-Eun! You got any of those insane area-of-effect magics or something?"
"If I had anything like that, you think I'd be hiding behind a wall right now...?"
It was a moment when the two women were falling into despair. A winged shadow suddenly soared high into the sky.
"Ancient Harpy Magic... '熱風亂殺'!!"
With the shadow's cry, storms and lightning began to pour down on the enemies. It was one of the Harpies' secret arts—pulling storms and lightning straight out of thin air with barely any mana.
"Everyone from Cheong-Am okay?"
Manager Yu Seo-Yeon, who had knocked out that many enemies at once, landed gracefully on the ground. Kim Ga-Eun and Yi Rang were marveling at the power... until they couldn't take their eyes off her current outfit.
"...Just so you know, this outfit is a forced magic-avatar from the enemy's realm. It is not my personal fashion choice."
Before the two could say anything, Yu Seo-Yeon explained calmly. Her eyes were filled with the determination to hunt down and kill the mastermind. Yi Rang felt that her own tiger mascot suit was actually better by comparison
"Manager Yu Seo-Yeon has agreed to cooperate for a bit. She's putting an end to her useless rookie hazing."
Yu-Han spoke as he popped out from behind Yi Rang and Kim Ga-Eun. Yi Rang sounded as if she had finally found a lifeline.
"Deputy! Alice was captured!"
"Alice...? Kim Ga-Eun. How did you miss that? Or did you let her get caught on purpose?"
"N-No way. We lost track of her because the enemies kept firing RPGs..."
"Whatever the reason, you'll admit it's a major blunder, right? We'll talk later."
"Yes..."
Meanwhile, not only the constables but even the commoners in the vicinity rose up. To the lower class Joseonese, insulting the nation was the same as insulting themselves—even if that nation committed terrible exploitation, like taxing the dead.
"Aigooo!! Long live Joseon!!"
"These people... is it the influence of brainwashing? Based on my memory, they weren't even on the list for euthanasia."
Yu-Han answered Yu Seo-Yeon's question.
"These people are residents of District B-4. It'll be a pain to clean up if we kill them unnecessarily. Can you suppress them while keeping them alive?"
"What do you take me for? That much is easy."
Yu Seo-Yeon and the Cheong-Am group began to beat down the rushing, brainwashed Joseonese, carefully controlling their strength. In the midst of the chaos, Yu Seo-Yeon observed the Cheong-Am members' combat.
'That tiger seems like a rookie unskilled in battle. The wolf-headed monster... doesn't use magic but possesses significant physical power.'
However, what Yu Seo-Yeon couldn't understand was Yu-Han's skill level. He was casually batting enemies aside with the flat of a scavenged sword, calm as if he were taking a stroll. Not even breathing heavily.
'Normally, even a veteran gets into an excited state from adrenaline when entering combat... What kind of battles has he fought to reach a level where he wields a blade as naturally as breathing?!'
Furthermore, he wasn't even using any specific magic right now. The way the sword seemed to bend and how he lightly dodged enemies appeared to be his pure technique.
'First, I must report him as a high-risk individual.'
She thought while knocking down another enemy with a single Harpy-strength punch.
***
The battle between Yi Gwang-Cheol and Alice was also growing more intense.
"Mechanical wench, do you know? He who rebels against the King shall have three generations of his lineage exterminated!!"
As Yi Gwang-Cheol swung his Hwando down, it was powerful enough to create a crater in the ground.
"Phoenix!"
At Alice's command, the Phoenix spewed flames in its shrunken state. However, he remained completely unscorched.
"Are you Phoenix, one of the four holy guardian beasts? Abandon that mechanical wench and form a contract with me!"
[Regrettably, I do not form contracts with those whose minds are unsound.]
"Insolent...! You were just an evil spirit resembling a guardian beast!!"
Yi Gwang-Cheol summoned a Joseon -cannon, and fired. Alice was furious that she had to face a deathly crisis from such a lunatic.
[Contractor. To defeat an opponent stronger than yourself, you need wisdom...]
"Are you suddenly blaming me?!"
[Don't get agitated. It means you need to be more efficient than your opponent.]
"I'm already using my combat AI to the maximum!"
[That isn't enough. You also need to induce the opponent to move inefficiently!]
Hearing the Phoenix's lecture, Alice thought for a moment before speaking.
"Fine. For starters, you're the one inefficiently eating up mana right now, so cancel the summons and go back."
[Oh... Hmph. If that's how you feel. I shall see you next time.]
The Phoenix vanished, and Alice was left alone. The enemy seemed to have vast mana, while she had less than half of her mana and battery remaining.
At that moment, Alice recalled Yu-Han, who had toyed with Kim Ga-Eun with mosquito-like, petty movements.
"Right. If attacks don't work, there's no need to try so hard to attack."
"Hah? Have you gone mad, wench?"
Alice cleanly dodged Yi Gwang-Cheol's slash. In that gap, she slipped behind his back and delivered a low kick. Because of the protection magic, it was only a tickle, but it was a significantly annoying attack.
"You little mosquito...!"
"That's right. Right now, I am the mosquito itself!"
Yi Gwang-Cheol swung his Hwando mindlessly, but Alice had already moved away. Like an acrobat, she continuously dodged his attacks while landing annoying strikes all over his body. Even when Yi Gwang-Cheol fired a massive slash in a rage, it didn't hit, and all that vast mana was wasted.
"Fire!"
Yi Gwang-Cheol fired the Joseon cannon, but far from hitting Alice, he only hit himself, who was in the line of fire.
'So this is what it means to induce the opponent's waste...!'
And finally, Yi Gwang-Cheol's sword seemed to cut Alice's body horizontally. However... he seemed to have overlooked the fact that Alice could still move even with her body severed. Alice's beam sword, enhanced by mana, slashed Yi Gwang-Cheol's back. Alice reattached her severed body and mocked him.
"How's that feel? A little itchier than your average mosquito bite, huh?"
"My royal body... what...!"
A vivid line of blood started trickling down his back. Had it not been for the protection magic, he would have died long ago. At that moment, the Cheong-Am colleagues and Yu Seo-Yeon arrived as well.
"What, we didn't even need to hurry. The high-performance AI finished it on her own?"
"You there! Surrender immediately and quietly tell us everything you know! Otherwise, I will execute you on the spot!"
Despite Yu Seo-Yeon's demand for surrender, Yi Gwang-Cheol showed no intention of stopping.
"I am... the King of Joseon...! I must lead everyone...!"
As he continued to show the will to resist, Yu-Han decided to crush his mental state.
"Joseon? Wasn't it just a vassal state that paid tribute to China? Why are you obsessed with a country like that?"
Everyone was startled by Yu-Han's words. It was a taboo subject that should never be mentioned in front of a Korean. Naturally, Yi Gwang-Cheol couldn't help but have a seizure.
"That... was 'practical diplomacy'!! The benefits Joseon gained were greater!!"
"What's practical about becoming a slave? Is that why you became Kim Je-Hyeon's slave to eat his mana? Keke..."
Yu-Han's mockery struck Yi Gwang-Cheol's complex dead center. He completely lost his reason and began to ramble.
"Kim Je-Hyeon!! That man is also just someone I'm using!! Once Joseon is revived, he'll just be an inferior person who washes my feet!!"
[What did you just mumble, Yi Gwang-Cheol- Kun?]
At that moment, a cold voice echoed in Yi Gwang-Cheol's head. His face turned pale at the sound.
[Have you become unable to tell who's who because you were so immersed in playing King? You don't know your place. I shall take back the mana I gave you.]
"It's a royal order, don't take it! Stop this instant!!"
Despite Yi Gwang-Cheol's screams, his realm began to gradually dissipate due to the lack of mana. Everyone's attire finally returned to normal. Yu-Han was finally able to use summoning magic to hold a carbon-coated sword in his hand.
"I'll finish this."
Yu-Han walked quietly toward Yi Gwang-Cheol, whose mana was steadily vanishing. Yi Gwang-Cheol was only trembling, his eyes lost focus. Yu-Han could see the N.O.B.I. mark on Yi Gwang-Cheol's neck as well.
"To escape your miserable life, did you decide to delude yourself into being a descendant of kings? Kim Je-Hyeon used you because of that unique magic... but in the end, you were abandoned. I pity you."
A moment of compassion flashed in Yu-Han's eyes.
"However, if there's one thing an euthanasia sanctioner should do for someone they pity, there's only one!!"
In an instant, mana condensed on Yu-Han's blade, and he swung it so fast he left an afterimage. Before he could even fully feel the pain, Yi Gwang-Cheol's head was cleanly severed.
After Yi Gwang-Cheol died, his Gonryongpo vanished, revealing a red garment crudely fashioned from cardboard.
"Manager Yu. Good cooperation."
"Yes... well."
"So, do you want to continue what we were doing earlier?"
"...There's no need to test your skills further."
"Well, my score is obviously an A+, right?"
"..."
Yu Seo-Yeon couldn't refute Yu-Han's arrogant words. Yu-Han added with a smile.
"As for you, it's a B-."
"...A mere human dares to grade me?"
Yu Seo-Yeon whipped a piece of paper from her pocket as sharply as a shuriken. It was her business card, made of high-quality paper.
"Then, good work, everyone from Cheong-Am. And Deputy Yu-Han, I'll be keeping an eye on you."
Yu Seo-Yeon created a portal in the air, jumped in vertically, and disappeared somewhere.
After the conversation ended, Alice gave him a piece of her mind.
"...Did you really have to provoke her like that? It would be good to build a friendship."
"Ha! She was firing feathers at us to kill us. What's there to be happy about and build a friendship over?"
More than that, Yu-Han had been bothered by something for a while.
"By the way, why do you keep calling me Deputy? Everyone's getting the wrong idea."
"Why don't you just become the Deputy Director?"
"Huh?"
"If you're going to step in every time anyway, it's better to do it with a cool title. Isn't that more beneficial in many ways?"
"...Uselessly."
"It's only natural for a Director to hire the strongest subordinate. I'll keep recommending it until you accept the appointment, so look forward to it."
Everyone was certain that Yu-Han would eventually lose to Alice's persistence. Even Yu-Han himself.
***
"...That concludes my report, Head."
"Good work, Manager Yu."
Yu Seo-Yeon finished a brief report and briefing in the Head's office of the Seo-An-Dang Center. The Head then asked her.
"Personally, what do you think of that man named Yu-Han?"
"I think he's a chilling, disgusting, and unlucky human being."
"That's regrettable news... Actually, I was planning to leave all tasks related to the Cheong-Am Center to you from now on."
"...Pardon?"
Upon hearing that, Manager Yu Seo-Yeon felt the wrinkles on her face deepening...
***
Meanwhile, at a deserted chemical factory.
A woman appeared, wearing a gas mask and dressed in a thick hoodie and pants with no skin exposed. It was Yang Su-Hyeon.
"...Are you planning to surprise me like you did when we were kids? Come out already, Oppa."
Then, a man who had been hiding behind a pillar walked out slowly.
"It's been a long time. Little sister."
It was Yang Jin-Mu, who had supposedly died before her eyes, but had now returned...