Chapter 46: Demonic Beast Subjugation (2)

Two days quickly flew by as Kwon Oh-Jin prepared for the subjugation.

“This should be enough,” he remarked, slinging a bulky backpack over his shoulders. With his enhanced strength as a four-star Awakener, it felt as light as a laptop bag.

“Isn’t that a bit much?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“It’s better to have too much than not enough.”

“The cheapskate himself, splurging? What a sight.”

“Look, I know when to spend and when to save.”

After all, he couldn’t cut corners on survival gear.

“Anyway... why are you dressed like that?” he asked, eyeing her tight-fitting leather armor. He could tell it was designed for mobility, but it clung to her like a racing suit, highlighting her figure.

“

Haha!

Why? Do you like it that much?”

She chuckled, striking a dramatic pose like a magazine model. Kwon Oh-Jin's face grew hot from secondhand embarrassment.

Seriously, what am I gonna do with her?

Only the two of them were present now, but he couldn’t help but wonder what she intended to do with that outfit in front of others.

“Hurry up and go put something else on.”

“

Heheh

, why? This is super comfy and practical~!” she said, covering her mouth as she mischievously giggled.

Kwon Oh-Jin raised an eyebrow in response.

“

Haha!

I’m obviously joking. As if I’d go out like this!”

She pulled on a long jacket she had hidden nearby, covering up her thighs. She jumped and put him in a headlock, messing up his hair playfully.

“

Awww,

you’re so cute! What, were you jealous? Worried that someone else might look at me?”

Kwon Oh-Jin’s eyes turned cold.

“Yeah, I was jealous.”

“...

What?

”

She flinched at the unexpected response. He gently loosened her arm from his neck and turned around to face her, then continued, “Only I get to look at you like that. No one else."

“Oh... Oh-Jin?”

“Ha-Eun.”

He stepped closer to her and then pressed her against the wall.

Thud!

“W-Wait...” she mumbled, trembling. Her visible eye darted around nervously.

He slowly leaned in closer, his face an inch from hers.

“Oh-Jin! W-Wait a second!” she stuttered, looking flustered.

“Close your eyes,” he urged.

“

Ah!

”

She squeezed her eyes shut.

“Oh-Jin...”

She slowly lifted her chin, hesitantly but anticipatingly parting her lips—where he suddenly flicked his fingers.

“

Ow!

” she yelped.

“

Hah!

I’m just messing around.”

“Y-You bastard!”

She rubbed her lips where it stung and kicked him.

Well, you shouldn’t have teased me in the first place.

“We’re gonna be late. Let’s go.”

“

Ugh

...” She frowned as she gathered her gear and followed him, completely irked.

They loaded their belongings into the car provided by the association and got ready to set off toward Sokcho.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Song Ha-Eun glanced around and asked, “Wait, you know how to drive?”

“I learned.”

“

Oh?

When?”

“Yesterday.”

“Fuck.” She nervously gripped the handle above the window beside her.

With a shimmer, Vega materialized from the pendant around Kwon Oh-Jin’s neck.

“

Ooo,

are we finally leaving?”

“Yeah. It’ll take a few hours though, so go back in. I’ll call you when we get there,” replied Kwon Oh-Jin.

“

Hmm

. Before that, I’d like to check out this 'car' thing for a bit,” Vega uttered. Sitting atop his head, she glanced around with curiosity. “Riarc did mention that humans traveled around in these metal boxes, but I never thought I’d find myself inside one!”

“Is it that fascinating?”

“Of course! I’ve never seen anything like this in my world!”

“Yeah, it’s a pretty cool first for me too.”

“...?”

Alright, time to get going.

“Right pedal is the accelerator, left is the brake.”

“My child...?”

“Perfect, let’s go.”

“Are you sure it’s

perfect

?”

“Nope, this is definitely not perfect at all,” Song Ha-Eun shrieked.

Vrooooom!

The engine roared like a wild beast as the association's high-performance car took off at a ferocious speed.

“Th-This thing...!”

The level of thrust far surpassed even the engineers' wildest calculations!

“Kyaaah!”

Song Ha-Eun screamed.

“S-Stop!” Vega shouted.

Their shrieks only turned louder by the minute.

***

Click.

The car doors opened.

“We got here pretty fast,” Kwon Oh-Jin calmly remarked.

“Haa, haa, haa!”

Song Ha-Eun gasped for air, crawling out of the passenger seat. Vega had retreated into the pendant less than five minutes after the trip had begun.

“I-I thought I was gonna throw up...” Song Ha-Eun mumbled.

“Hey, I got the hang of it halfway through and slowed down, didn't I?”

He had slammed the accelerator a bit too hard initially but adjusted the speed after a while.

“I’m never getting in your car ever again.”

“Well, there is the trip back.”

“... Damn it.”

Song Ha-Eun groaned, on the verge of tears, and Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled.

After about five minutes of walking, Sokcho came into view in the distance.

“That’s...”

“It's pretty bad,” Kwon Oh-Jin observed.

Black smoke rose from various ends and engulfed the distant city. The signs of demonic beasts were clear.

“They said everyone’s been evacuated, right?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“Yeah.”

The association and the guilds had prioritized evacuating the residents before launching the subjugation mission.

“Sokcho must be filled with demonic beasts right now, then.”

“Seems that way," Kwon Oh-Jin replied.

With the civilians gone, the demonic beasts that had holed up near Mount Seorak were assumed to have descended to take over the city.

“

Ugh,

taking them on might’ve been easier when they were still lurking in the mountains,” Song Ha-Eun mumbled.

“Maybe, but if they scattered and rushed into the city all at once, that would’ve caused more issues.”

For the association, civilian safety was unavoidably the biggest priority.

“Let’s go,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

“Okay.”

After walking a little further, they spotted a gathering of over two hundred Awakeners. Reporters with heavy-duty cameras swarmed around guild members to interview them.

Click! Click!

“Could you tell us the Star of Peace Guild's mindset going into this subjugation mission?”

The guilds welcomed the interviews as if they had been waiting for them.

“We’re always dedicated to maintaining the nation's peace. Rest assured, we will exterminate these vile demonic beasts to ensure the safety of all citizens!”

The focus on subjugation seemed overshadowed by a flurry of speeches on public safety and peace. However, their attention shifted soon enough as Kwon Oh-Jin approached, the press rushing towards him like ants to sugar.

“It’s the Thunder Wolf!”

“Wow!”

“Awakener Kwon Oh-Jin, could we get your thoughts on this situation?”

Camera flashes burst around him like scattered starlight.

Alright then.

Kwon Oh-Jin briefly paused before speaking, his voice cold. “... What are you all doing?”

The reporters froze, taken aback by his glare.

“Excuse me?”

“

Um

, we're... interviewing...”

Kwon Oh-Jin continued, “There may still be civilians out there in danger. Is now really the time for pointless interviews?”

“

Oh...

”

He clicked his tongue and snarled, “Move aside. I have work to do.”

With an exaggerated scowl, he pushed past the reporters. But in truth, he didn’t particularly care if there were any stranded civilians.

“Wow... That's the Thunder Wolf, alright!”

“Nice! This is the good stuff!”

“We can write at least three articles on this!”

Their heated responses were just as he had expected.

Something like this is far more effective than rambling on about public safety or whatever.

No one cared about stale platitudes anyway.

Song Ha-Eun clicked her tongue, realizing Kwon Oh-Jin's true intentions.

“... You’re as silver-tongued as ever.”

“It’s how I made a living, after all.”

He shrugged and made his way toward the subjugation force's assembly point

“We will all split into groups of three due to the nature of the urban environment! Anyone without a complete team, write your name and combat role on the signup sheet here!”

Since it was just the two of them, Song Ha-Eun and Kwon Oh-Jin filled out the form. Not long after, a young man carrying a massive shield approached them—his jawline so sharp and square it looked like it had been drawn with a protractor.

He looks like a tank.

He seemed like a good addition to balance their party.

... Though, he doesn’t seem like just any tank.

In his other hand, he was holding a massive hammer.

“

Oh!

Thunder Wolf! You’re Thunder Wolf, right?!” the man yelled, smiling from ear to ear. “Wow~! It seems destiny has brought us together!”

“Destiny?”

The fuck?

“

Haha!

I’m from the Valhalla Guild! I’ve been hearing about you since even before the Seoul Station incident!” the man replied.

“

Ah

.”

“

Hehe.

It’s a pleasure to meet you!

Oh

, I’m Park Chang-Hyun, an apostle of Taurus!”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kwon Oh-Jin, an apostle of Lyra.”

Kwon Oh-Jin vaguely recalled the man from Lee Shin-Hyuk’s memories.

Was he the one who conquered the Mok-dong Gate in the first timeline?

“How’s Mr. Lee Woo-Hyuk doing these days?”

“He’s busy trying to catch the Black Star Society or whatever it's called.”

Glad he’s on top of it, but it’s been three months. He still hasn’t found a lead?

Kwon Oh-Jin had given Lee Woo-Hyuk the contact info for Ashad Khan, but Lee Woo-Hyuk seemingly hadn't found any solid evidence yet.

Well, it's not a shocker.

Lee Woo-Hyuk did have the contact info, but that was also all he had. He wasn’t aiming for just Ashad Khan, he was trying to take down the entire Black Star Society; to destroy those lurking in the shadows, he would need a lot more than just a phone number.

“Well, he’s been going out often recently, so I think he might have found something,” Park Chang-Hyun conveyed.

“I hope there’s good news soon,” Kwon Oh-Jin replied.

Kwon Oh-Jin was watching out for the Black Star Society, too.

They’re the ones who give birth to the Heavenly Demon in the future. Of course, I plan to make good use of them, but they're dangerous enough to stay wary of.

They were lunatics claiming they would help the Black Star rule the world. If they were just delusional, he wouldn’t have had to worry, but they also held the power and influence needed to make those delusions a reality.

“If we hear anything promising, we’ll be sure to let you know,” Park Chang-Hyun said.

“That’ll be much appreciated.”

They shook hands, and then Park Chang-Hyun’s gaze shifted to Song Ha-Eun. He asked, “By the way, who is this?”

“I’m Song Ha-Eun, an apostle of Draco. I’m not used to formalities, so you can go ahead and talk casually.”

“

Woah!

What an easygoing personality you have!

Um...

I’ll speak casually once I get a little more comfortable, thank you,” Park Chang-Hyun replied and laughed heartily.

“Shall we get going, then?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

“Sure.”

As they were about to head toward the center of the city—

“Well, look who it is! It’s the

great rookie

himself, isn’t it?”

A blond young man approached the team, with a face that hinted at a nasty personality.

“Remember me, you bastard?” he asked, pointing at himself.

“Nope. I don’t,” Kwon Oh-Jin casually replied.

“You little—! I’m Park Jung-Woo of the Pandinus Guild, asshole!”

Oh. It’s that guy from the registration test.

“

Pfft!

Did you pass along my regards to your guild master?”

“Regards, my ass!” Park Jung-Woo shouted, gritting his teeth.

I doubt he got chastised for simply sending my regards.

He probably saw me on the news and realized he'd been played.

Just then, a middle-aged man approached Park Jung-Woo from behind and gently urged, “

Whoa, whoa!

Calm down, Jung-Woo.”

Oddly enough, this was another face he recognized—twisted with a wickedness that made even Kwon Oh-Jin uneasy.

“Well,

well!

We meet again!” the man said with a chuckle, flicking out his long tongue toward the trio. His eyes especially lingered on Song Ha-Eun, shining with lustful desire.

Kwon Oh-Jin’s expression twisted in pure disgust.

“... Choi Jong-Cheol?”

Why the hell is this bastard here?