< 67. 21st Century Robin Hood (17) >
***
Goryong took Minjun down to the 30th floor underground. The reason why Changcheon ‘collected’ the poor was revealed there.
“The Talent can interfere with the soul in various ways. It can extract the soul from the body of the living, or put it into another body. It can completely destroy the soul, or if its strength is slightly weakened, it can cause the soul to collapse and split.”
“You divide it?”
Are you saying that if you cut it into pieces like a planarian, it will reproduce in two?
But that’s not what Changcheon meant.
“With the power of talent, the soul is broken down into extremely fine elementary particles. The purest energy that creates existence.”
“What next?”
The expected answer came out.
“I’ll have it absorbed by Ryuho’s ghost.”
“Is that the method that Cavite taught you?”
“Yes. A ghost is, after all, an imperfect ghost. A soul damaged and cracked by a terrible death. It would be best to leave it alone and wait for it to heal on its own, but what if you want to speed up time?”
The story was about grinding up the intact soul and using it as a medicine.
Minjun remembered that the number of poor people already arrested was in the hundreds. If you include the empty glass coffins lying there, there were thousands.
“To save Ryuho, you sacrifice another dragon and thousands of humans, orcs, and goblins?”
“That was the original plan.”
So does that mean it’s changed now?
Minjun said in a cold tone.
“The reason I changed my plans now is because no matter how much I think about it, the cost-effectiveness is just too low?”
“That’s not the reason. I’m a dragon, after all. I still think it’s okay to insist on something like that. If I want it, I’ll offer it. Even the lowly races live off my blessings, so I think that kind of sacrifice is a just demand.”
Minjun thought to himself, What kind of nonsense is that?
Changcheon said with a confident voice.
“Since I came to this country, over 2 million new jobs have been created in the decades since. The sales of the conglomerates I control account for 20% of Korea’s GDP. My real wealth is not a dead asset that is trapped inside a rare and never sees the light. Instead, it fills the blood vessels called the economic network and carries added value instead of oxygen and nutrients. Do you know how many people would not be able to make a living if I were not there?”
“······.”
“The value of life is not equal. If I demand the sacrifice of thousands of inferior races, this society must accept it. And if I demand the sacrifice of trash that has fallen behind in the cycle of the community and does not contribute to the economy of this country at all, then it is because even if I gather thousands or tens of thousands of such people, they will not reach my value.”
It was a dragon-like remark that took it for granted that dignity should be evaluated on a relative basis.
Minjun subtly points out the contradiction in those words.
“But you’re going to sacrifice a dragon too?”
“A dragon that has not yet matured. It has never contributed properly and has no treasures accumulated.”
“Isn’t that the same for Ryuho too?”
“No. He was chosen by me. He has value simply because I need him. Of course, that idiot Jenkins would be horrified to hear that.”
Then he said with a hint of annoyance.
“Anyway, my beliefs remain unchanged, but the plan needs some modifications.”
Yong made a confident demand to Minjun.
“We have to hurry because of that idiot. It means we don’t have enough time to build a new medical building and collect more trash. We just signed a contract… If you keep quiet, Jenkinson won’t find any conclusive evidence, but he won’t give up easily. If he suspects something, he’ll use every means necessary to find evidence. So I need you to help me.”
“how?”
“We need a lot of souls to grind. Souls that are proper, not delusional.”
She laughed bitterly.
“I recently found out that you have a strange talent. Should I say it’s necromancy based on the principles of black magic?”
Recently, there have been exactly three instances where Minjun has used necromancy in front of living people.
Once in front of the elves and fairies after going to the scene of the theft of the Bukhansan warehouse.
Once in front of the Changcheon Bank security guards to interrogate a Red Star operative who had died in a suicide bombing.
Once to evacuate civilians from Red Star’s ability training center.
I don’t know which route it took, but the content reached Changcheon’s ears.
“so?”
“I thought that the soul that becomes the material doesn’t necessarily have to be that of a living person. If you grind up the soul of someone who is already dead, it’s all the same, right?”
Although it is normal for people to attain enlightenment in the spirit world at the moment of death, there are also those who are bound and remain on earth.
“I heard that the largest ghost rally ever will be held at Gwanghwamun Square this week.”
Changcheon laughed.
“The most appropriate timing would be right after the meeting ends, right? I want you to release your wraiths there and catch as many ghosts as possible.”
There is a method called exorcism, but only a shaman can capture that many ghosts at once. In other words, in this area, only Minjun could do it.
He answered with a blank expression.
“It’s not that difficult. But I have one condition.”
“which?”
“I need to see with my own eyes whether this magic circle works properly.”
Even if it was Carbide’s technology, Changcheon nodded at the words that he would not move until he confirmed that it actually worked.
“You need a test drive? Okay. Let’s start by extracting the soul of one goblin and dismantling it. Right in front of you.”
“wait for a sec.”
Minjun pointed at Ha Eunseong, who was still tied up and terrified, with his chin.
“I see you brought him here, so I’m sure you already knew what happened… But the talent has been absorbed into that soul. Does that matter?”
The dragon smiled leisurely.
“No problem. On the contrary, it turned out well. I don’t know how the fusion happened, but it’s easier to handle. In a way, that body is the most stable wallet and safe.”
As she gave the signal, the attendants dragged Ha Eun-seong away. They were taking her to the place in the chain magic circle that was originally designed to contain the talent.
“?!”
at that time.
Minjun’s telepathy penetrated Ha Eunseong’s mind, which had turned pale.
=Hey! Come to your senses and listen to me!=
——————
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***
After a while, Ha Eun-seong was watching the researchers moving busily within the transparent barrier.
I think blankly.
‘How did it end up like this?’
The safe house that the Goblin had prepared, which he had been confident would never be broken into, was breached so easily. The pain of having one of his arms ripped off when the expressionless Goblin made a gesture was still vivid.
It wasn’t hard to guess the identity of the opponent. The one who could break the dragon’s barrier would also be a dragon.
‘Fuck, fuck!’
At that moment, the fear from that time was about to rise again like a tide.
‘No, come to your senses!’
Minjun focuses on the chunk of meaning that was sharply thrust into his head just before he was dragged here.
As Ha Eun-seong began to lose himself in thought, Min-jun was waiting for the test drive in the control room with Go-ryong.
The operator said.
“It works!”
With the dragon’s permission, light began to emanate from the magic circle.
Woohoo!
‘Hmm.’
Minjun quietly observes the scene. He takes in the entire flow of how the magic circle absorbs magical power, how it transforms, and where it flows.
He said it as if he was deliberately impressed, even though it was obvious that it had not yet reached the full stage.
“Impressive.”
The dragon laughed.
“Of course. It’s a magic circle designed directly by an ancient race.”
The subordinate of Changcheon said.
“I’ll increase the output a bit more.”
Woof!
As they manipulated the board, the space surrounding Ha Eun-seong began to shake violently.
And at the moment when heavy waves swirled within the barrier, Ha Eun-seong saw a flash of light that was no longer unfamiliar.
‘Ah… As expected!’
A brilliant and beautiful light emanated from within him. The talent that had been combined with his soul was resonating with the magic circle. The flashes of light flowing from the talent mixed with the waves, and the pipes connected to the barrier tried to absorb them. Minjun said that the purpose was to forcibly separate the soul of the goblin trapped in the next room.
If we leave it like this, that’s what will happen.
But Ha Eun-seong remembered Min-jun’s words.
‘I didn’t chase away Ji Seon-gyeong’s spirit. I destroyed it! It wasn’t just a series of coincidences. You clearly prayed with your will back then, didn’t you? You wanted to destroy Ji Seon-gyeong. Do you understand? The talent worked as you intended!’
Unlike back then, when he had unconsciously drawn out the power of his talent in times of crisis, now the magic circle was resonating with it and stimulating the energy it held within.
Moreover, the waves of this barrier were moving with a clear purpose: to extract the souls from the bodies of the living.
‘If I remain trapped in this woman’s body, I’ll be giving that dragon a reason to get his hands on it at any time!’
If he had been in a spirit state like before, he would not have been kidnapped so easily. Resurrection may be an infinitely sweet and desirable fruit to the dead, but from Ha Eun-seong’s perspective, it was not like that at the moment.
So then, what should we do?
The answer was simple. You have to escape from Ji Seon-gyeong’s body. And Ha Eun-seong was in the magic circle that would become the textbook on how to do that.
He is focused.
‘I want to go out. I hate it here.’
I prayed with pure hope.
‘I don’t want to be here.’
The wave that was originally moving with the purpose of tearing out the goblin’s soul and the power of the talent that was supposed to be directed at the goblin changed direction almost simultaneously.
‘I hate it here!’
And as if responding to Ha Eun-seong’s will, light and waves exploded, intertwining like warp and weft.
***
Minjun was observing the movement of the magic circle through the glass window. The magic circle was about to extract the soul according to the command input from the control room. After extracting it, the wave form would change. It would collapse and disintegrate the targeted soul with the help of the talent.
Minjun said, looking at the direction in which the boiling magical power was moving.
Softly.
“Yeah, that’s the principle. Good to see you.”
The dragon asked back.
“what?”
“I guess I have a rough idea of how it works.”
“?”
Changcheon couldn’t help but be embarrassed by those words.
The Goryong and his subordinates gave up on understanding the technology of the Kabite. It was a mysterious technology that was several steps ahead of Earth’s civilization, so it was natural. They simply drew and reproduced it as instructed.
However, Minjun muttered as if he had understood the principle after observing for a while, so his attitude was considered to be a bluff. If he could know everything just by looking at it, Changcheon would not have gone through this trouble in the first place.
But the words that followed immediately had a strange resonance that was hard to dismiss as false. It was a sentence that came out of nowhere without Minjun even intending it.
“Those little duck-shit bastards… they’ve developed a lot in the meantime?”
Wheeeeeeeeing!
At that moment, sirens began to blare throughout the control room. The dragon shouted sharply.
“what?!”
The operator, his face turning pale, shouted.
“Everyone, there’s something wrong with the talent response···!”
At that moment, Ji Seon-gyeong’s body inside the barrier collapsed like a doll whose strings had been cut.
Minjun knew what it meant.
Ha Eun-seong was combined with Dal-lant, but he was not an inanimate object that could be extracted and controlled without protection under the control of the magic circle. Go-ryong underestimated that part. Chang-cheon regarded Ha Eun-seong’s soul settling in Ji-seon-gyeong’s body as an unexpected accident. Dal-lant exerted his power on his own.
However, Minjun was certain that there was definitely some kind of communication between Dallant and Ha Eunseong at the time of the incident.
He took a gamble on that confidence.
In the end, Ha Eun-seong changed the magic circle effect that extracted the goblin’s soul without damage to extracting his own soul from Ji Seon-gyeong’s body.
And Minjun observed the whole process.
=Okay!=
Ha Eun-seong looked up into the air and saw two hands shaped like penguin wings. Then, he felt the back of his neck and felt the handle of a knife. He never imagined that there would come a day when he would be so happy about this hideous thing.
Minjun was also watching that scene.
Kyaaaaah!
The moment Ha Eun-seong’s escape was confirmed.
The shadow monster that Minjun had taken out on the first basement floor but had not used for attacks, spread out behind his body in an instant and began to destroy and tear apart the monitors, instrument panels, and various devices in the control room.
“What are you doing now!”
“······!”
Looking at his determined expression, Changcheon had a gut feeling that the alien had no intention of accepting his proposal in the first place.
“no!”
The moment I confirmed that the shadow that Minjun had cast was extending beyond the control room and toward the room where Ryuho was trapped.
Changcheon made a decision.
Then, the great system that had been isolating Rare from the outside world stopped functioning, and the coordinates in the space that had been jumbled up to prevent teleportation were restored.
Pot!
Minjun saw the surrounding scenery change in an instant. The control room on the 30th floor underground was nowhere to be seen. He was now floating in the sky above Namsan.
‘Emergency Escape Magic Circle!’
Changcheon instantly moved all living things in the control room outside.
It was Minjun’s intention. In order to prevent Ryuho from being released, he threw everyone, including Minjun, out of the lair.
The moment he hurriedly completed the floating magic.
“Eww!”
“Save me!”
The men of Changcheon who had been sent together were screaming and falling all over the place. The dragon didn’t even look at them. Its gaze was fixed only on Minjun as if it was going to cut him down. Uncontrollable anger overflowed from his face.
“You··· You···!”
Pot!
Before he could finish speaking, the air shook violently and a huge shadow appeared, covering them.
Minjun cheered inwardly.
‘You came!’
Minjun’s exit from the lair means that he can communicate freely with others.
Another elder dragon roared in spirit as he teleported across the city center at his call.
=Changcheon! This is it!=
Even without looking up, Changcheon could tell who his opponent was.
Jenkinson.
In anger and despair, she glares at Minjun.
“Why on earth?”
Goryong could not truly understand that alien. If he had joined hands with him, hundreds of thousands of talents would have rolled into his arms. But at the last moment, he kicked it away.
“Why do people make such irrational, unreasonable choices?”
It was impossible to guess from Changcheon’s values.
They are pretending to be human, but their opponents are ultimately aliens of unknown species. No matter how many young dragons, humans, or goblins they sacrifice, it is of no concern to the inmates. If it is for the sake of achieving greater benefits, there is no need to keep loyalty to Jenkinson.
The only purpose of such people is to earn talent and regain their freedom.
“Why?”
That was the limit of Changcheon’s moral imagination.
I didn’t expect Minjun to betray me. It’s not because I trusted him. It’s because I trusted my own judgment that he wouldn’t make such a choice.
“······I see, it was my mistake.”
Changcheon looked at Jenkinson and Minjun one by one.
They are both psychopaths.
Those who make incomprehensible choices, act unpredictably, and continue to take self-destructive actions that go against their own interests.
It was a mistake to presume such an existence within the framework of common sense.
And the consequences of her mistake were dizzying. Changcheon looked down at Lair. Ryuho was still inside, and Jenkinson, who had the evidence, would not stand by and watch the dragon’s ghost. Changcheon felt a sense of crisis as everything he had prepared for was falling apart.
A red ray of light glided across her frozen face. The violent dawn was coming to an end, and the sun was rising clearly above the horizon.
In the dark shadows, Changcheon steeled his resolve.
‘We must kill him. No matter what it takes. Only then can we take care of Ryuho and escape together!’
Jenkins is also an elder dragon, but he is an elder dragon who has lived longer than him.
Pfft!
A strong flash of light spread out from the goblin’s body, enough to kill and bury even the bright morning sunlight.
When the light disappeared, the polymorphed goblin corpse was no longer there. Instead, a long, snake-like, blue-scaled dragon, clearly distinct from Jenkins, who could be described as a winged quadruped, appeared in the empty space of Namsan.
Suddenly, a flash of light collided, and the blue dragon crashed into the enemy.
A long day has begun.
< 67. 21st Century Robin Hood (17) > End
