Chapter 91
Exposure (1)
“You knew that the plague magic formula was planted inside the buildings reassigned by the newly arrived servants and workers, didn’t you?”
“I was trying to check on the situation as there seemed to be some commotion… Now I see you were the cause. Just how much have you been poking around on your own…”
The head of Jeokhwa didn’t even attempt to deny his crimes. Instead, he just glared at Lee Hyun with hostility.
“How did you manage to escape after noticing it? Did you kill Big Feather?”
“If you mean the one disguised as the steward, then yes. I slit the throats of all the others at the scene too.”
“Tsk. It seems your skills aren’t just for show after all. But what a waste. He was quite a useful beast for an animal.”
He clicked his tongue as if regretting the loss of an expensive item.
Yeon Minha couldn’t follow their conversation at all.
“Plague… magic formula? Wh-what are you talking about…? Why are you discussing this with Father…”
“They were demons. All of the newly arrived servants and workers, including the steward.”
T h is w as co p i e d fro m k i n g mt l . o r g
“What…?”
“They hid by taking human form without their demonic energy. Those beasts were installing large-scale dark magic underground here. The building reassignment was to hide the points of the massive magic formula. I just came from fighting them.”
The male student’s continued statements left Yeon Minha even more dumbfounded.
“And your father… was turning a blind eye to their actions.”
T h i s wa s c opi e d f r o m k ing m t l . o r g
Yeon Minha wished she could cover her ears if possible.
Th i s w a s c o p i e d f r om ki n gm tl . o rg
She turned to face her father.
“N-no, right, Father…? Th-there must be some big misunderstanding…?”
“…”
Despite Yeon Minha’s desperate question, he remained silent. This was as good as an affirmative answer.
“Ah… ah…”
Yeon Minha clutched her chest as if unable to breathe. Today was more horrifying than any nightmare she had ever had.
Lee Hyun hesitated for a moment seeing her groan in pain, but soon steeled himself and turned his gaze back to Yeon Jeongmun.
“Why did you do this? What could someone of your status possibly lack that you’d join hands with beasts…”
Lee Hyun asked while maintaining a cautious attitude.
He needed time. Time to recover his body even a little. Time to think of a way to escape this situation.
He also needed at least a small clue to find out why Yeon Jeongmun had committed such a terrible act.
Lee Hyun’s common sense couldn’t begin to guess the reasoning behind his actions.
“That’s none of your business. It’s not even that big of a deal.”
Th i s w as c o p i ed f r om ki n g m tl . o r g
“Not a big deal? When that magic formula is completed, countless people in the capital will suffer and die from the plague…”
“That may be so. But what does that have to do with me?”
However, he flatly ignored Lee Hyun’s question. The man’s tone, as if stepping on an ant was as easy as killing it, instead engraved anger in Lee Hyun’s heart.
Even though he himself hadn’t lived a life comfortable enough to worry about others’ lives.
“All I want is to fulfill Jeokhwa’s long-cherished wish, and to be able to see that child I love so much again. Whether thousands of commoners die, or tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands. Compared to those things, it’s just not a big deal.”
His eyes, which had seemed empty, were now consumed by chilling madness. Lee Hyun realized this man was already just a shell. Like a clockwork doll blindly moving towards its goal.
Someone who didn’t even care about family had no reason to care about the lives of commoners he looked down on.
If there was one fortunate thing, it was that he was ruled by madness rather than cold reason. If he had truly intended to thoroughly conceal what he was planning, he could have easily steered the conversation in a different direction.
Though it was just a brief exchange of questions and answers, he was able to obtain at least a small clue.
The long-cherished wish of Jeokhwa that he desired was likely overcoming mental contamination.
And judging from the conversation he just had with Yeon Minha, the child he loved so much referred to his twin sister. Also… Yeon Minha’s mother.
He didn’t understand what it meant to be able to see someone who was already dead again, but even after over a decade had passed, he still had a strange obsession with his younger sister.
What he had done. Letting demons into his mansion located in the capital’s highlands and allowing them to install a plague magic formula that creates poisonous clouds.
And what the demons who had been kidnapping people every night to draw dark magic with fresh blood said under his tacit approval.
A sacred great work.
“…”
His head, already hazy from the rising poison, felt even dizzier. He had clearly obtained clues, but the series of events didn’t quite connect.
All those incidents clearly stemmed from one branch. But for now, he had no way of knowing the single link connecting them all.
So the only thing he could say now was:
“…You’re insane.”
The head of Jeokhwa continued to maintain his nonchalant attitude.
“Enough. Let’s stop wasting any more time.”
He raised his right hand and snapped his thumb and index finger together. Then small lightning flashed in the air and spread in all directions, creating a loud cracking sound.
Soon, the soldiers of Jeokhwa entered with heavy metallic footsteps and surrounded them on all sides.
T h i s w a s co p i ed fro m k in g m t l .o r g
“You’ve committed too many disrespects to be spared, and you’ve seen and heard too much. If you accept your fate, I’ll at least let you go without pain.”
“I never said I’d die quietly.”
“That spirit of yours is quite admirable. But what can you possibly do in that state? You look like you can barely stand.”
“…”
“This is actually for the best. I’ve heard complaints that the magic formula’s completion was too slow with the blood of slum commoners. They’re a breed with almost no particle sensitivity, you see.”
The man continued speaking.
“Mixing in the blood of talented individuals should speed up the formula’s completion a bit. Then the day I can meet that child again will come sooner too.”
It was clear to anyone listening that he meant to kill Lee Hyun and use his blood as material for the magic formula. Lee Hyun inwardly laughed bitterly.
Even commoners with little magical talent have some particle sensitivity, but he, a complete non-responder, didn’t even have that.
Even if they tore apart Lee Hyun’s entire body and put it in, the magic formula’s production speed wouldn’t progress much faster.
But one strangely jarring word among what he said caught his ear.
“…Individuals?”
“Minha should also be given a chance to atone for her sins. A child who was born by devouring her own mother, after all.”
The hollow-eyed man uttered those terrible words as if they were nothing. He wasn’t just mad, he was completely insane.
“Father… why, why are you doing this…”
Yeon Minha blocked the front, almost as if shielding Lee Hyun.
“Please come to your senses… please…”
“Don’t worry. Your father is more sane now than ever before.”
T h i s w a s c o pi ed f r om ki n g mt l . o r g
“Father!!”
“…”
T h i s w a s c o p i e d f r o m k in g m t l .o r g
Yeon Minha cried out in disbelief, but the man didn’t answer. As he raised his hand, the soldiers all around put their hands on their particle arrangers and aimed at Lee Hyun and Yeon Minha.
There was something strange about that swiftness. No matter the head’s orders, to aim magic at the heir without hesitation…
Lee Hyun turned his head to scan his surroundings and met the eyes of the soldiers through their visors. With unfocused pupils and hazy eyes, they didn’t look like people in their right minds at all.
Yeon Jeongmun had clearly done something to them.
Particles were taking shape above their palms, forming lethal projectiles.
The situation was heading towards its climax.
No matter how he thought about it, escaping this place without any damage seemed impossible.
And just as he was about to make a decision, feeling rushed by the hopeless deliberation.
-Thud!
Like a stone falling, something pitch black suddenly appeared from the sky and crashed into the ground with a loud noise.
It had feathers sticking out all over its body, and was panting heavily as if alive.
Lee Hyun immediately recognized the identity of the strange object. It really was a living creature.
Thi s was co pi e d f r o m ki n g m t l . or g
A crow with white feathers on its head. Sa Jaehyuk’s friend and one of the few people who knew his real name.
The head of the Masada branch of the Intelligence Bureau overseeing domestic espionage missions. It was Mok Jinwoo’s communication crow.
After catching its breath for a moment, it hopped up from its spot.
Then it swiveled its small head around before fixing its gaze on Lee Hyun.
“How did external communication get through here…”
Yeon Jeongmun blinked in disbelief at the sight of it.
Jeokhwa’s vast private property was strictly covered by magic designed to block external communication methods, commonly called an air defense network.
An unauthorized crow entering meant there was a problem somewhere in that air defense network.
However, before he could take any action, the crow opened its bright yellow beak wide.
Then it vividly played back Mok Jinwoo’s pre-recorded words.
Everyone present could hear that death sentence.
-Paechun has made a direct move. They’re aiming their blades at Jeokhwa. Get out of there. Right now.
Leaving only that urgent message, the crow spread its wings again and flew off into the sky as if it were a divine messenger.
“Paechun… why would those rat bastards suddenly…!”
The head of Jeokhwa, who had only been speaking in a dry voice until now, ground his teeth so hard they could be heard. His eyes were filled with rage burning like an active volcano.
And before his words even finished, loud explosions accompanied by shockwaves could be heard in the distance.
-Boom! Boom! Bang!
It was the typical particle rebound explosion that occurs when high-mass physical shells strike a magician’s field.
The explosions that started near the main gate soon spread along the massive barrier surrounding Jeokhwa’s private property. It moved as fast as a wildfire riding the wind.
The intruder detection alarm blared loudly. Red lights flashed all around the mansion, signaling the emergence of danger.
-Boom!
T h i s w as cop i ed f r o m k i n g mtl .or g
Another loud explosion rang out near the main gate. This impact was accompanied by a physical manifestation. Even from afar, a massive glacier soaring high into the sky could be clearly seen.
This w a s co p ie d f r o m k i n g m t l . o r g
It had crumpled and enveloped the sturdy main gate coated with particle-resistant material as if it were a sheet of paper.
Dozens of heavy footsteps. The flashing of fields deflecting physical shells, the loud metallic clanging of blades clashing, shouts and screams coming from all directions, smoke, the smell of blood.
Before long, white breath began to emerge from the mouths of those present.
Bodies shivered, and the beautiful luminous plants and garden trees around them withered to a dark color in an instant as if hit by frost.
Footsteps approaching from beyond the quiet, hazy darkness of night gradually closed the distance.
And finally, at the figure revealed, Lee Hyun, who had been on guard, couldn’t close his mouth.
Hair as black as the night sky rippled gently, and two eyes sparkled dazzlingly as if containing all the gold in the world.
Her gaze, full of inexplicable anger and hatred, remained fixed on the head of Jeokhwa.
“Yeon Jeongmun. You’re finished. And so is Jeokhwa.”
End of Chapter