[Chapter 167]
[Harbinger of Destruction (4)]
The Cocoon needs to be inspected.
Eun-ha sent such a petition to the Mana Management Organization through Han Seo-hyun.
The response from the Mana Management Organization was that the Cocoon is inspected once every 2 years, and according to last year's inspection, no particular abnormalities were observed.
To summarize, they were asking why he was bringing up such a bothersome request to inspect again when they had done it last year.
said that? I expected such a response, but they didn't even try to listen properly?
By chance, Yoon I-byeol got caught in the middle while delivering the message.
Thanks to this, Eun-ha was able to exchange recent news with Yoon I-byeol after a long time and share the detailed circumstances.
"If the Twelve Seats say no, we can just propose it to the Fairy who's above them."
He didn't want to use this card, but
It was unavoidable.
Eun-ha decided to contact the Fairy through his father.
As expected, his father had the Fairy's contact information.
At that time, his father called the Fairy with an indifferent expression, as if saying let whatever happens happen.
And so─
"─It's been a while. Have you been well? This is the first time since I saw you fight with Hyeon-cheol at the academy... Ah, should I address you respectfully as the Pandora Clan Lord now?" "...Call me as you like."
"What are you saying, being so disrespectful to the Fairy? Now act with proper etiquette as a Clan Lord."
The main hall of Jongmyo Shrine where the Cocoon is installed.
Im Ga-eul, who received Eun-ha's contact, immediately put pressure on Mo Ra-yul to investigate the Cocoon.
And Eun-ha, receiving her invitation, visited Jongmyo with the sub-lords.
"Ah, you're the child of Galaxy Industries' president. Is your father well?" "...Yes, he's doing well."
"I see, tell him not to overwork himself. Let's get along well from now on." "Yes, I understand."
Grumbling that Eun-ha was being disrespectful to the Fairy,
Mok Min-ho, who had been complaining to Eun-ha, soon tensed up upon receiving the Fairy's attention.
Moreover, when she mentioned that he was the direct descendant of Galaxy Industries after seeing his face, Mok Min-ho flinched.
Mok Min-ho, who received words of encouragement from the Fairy, was greatly flustered.
That person has a good memory.
It's understandable since she was someone who could memorize an entire script.
Thanks to that, Baek-ryeon was scolded by her for not being able to memorize even that...
On the other hand, Eun-ha smiled bitterly.
Having memories from before the regression, he shrugged his shoulders, his attitude towards the Fairy being light.
Soon, the Fairy turned her gaze to Jung Ha-yang and Noh Eun-ah.
"Eun-ah, have you been well? Is clan life not too hard?" "Yes! It's still manageable. Summer unnie, ah, Fairy, are you not feeling unwell anywhere?"
"Call me as you like. These days I'm not sick anywhere, but I've caught a disease where I can't go outside."
"Work is important, but resting is really important too. If you don't, you'll collapse later from accumulated fatigue."
"You're really the only one who worries about me. Isn't that right, Bodyguard Park Sang-jin?"
"I think we're adjusting the schedule sufficiently so that it doesn't burden the Fairy's body, but..."
Probably the only person in this country who uses the title 'Fairy unnie' is Noh Eun-ah.
As Eun-ah and Im Ga-eul chattered, Bodyguard Park Sang-jin, who was accompanying the Fairy, softly chided.
"And this is Chairman Min Jun-sik's cherished granddaughter. Or should I say Pandora Clan's sub-lord?"
"Hello, Fairy. I'm Jung Ha-yang, Pandora Clan's sub-lord."
"Yes, hello. I heard about your engagement. Congratulations in advance."
"Yes, thank you."
Im Ga-eul smiled brightly.
Unlike Mok Min-ho, Jung Ha-yang dealt with her without being particularly stiff.
After shaking hands with her, Im Ga-eul turned her body and looked at the person entering the main hall.
"I'm sorry for calling you when you're busy. But it came from a reliable source, so I thought we should check it out." "...It's alright, Fairy. But by any chance, is this reliable source the student Noh Eun-ha here?"
""""...."""
Twelve Seats Mo Ra-yul.
She appeared with a face like she had eaten something bad, as if emphasizing that she was angry, and glanced at Noh Eun-ha.
Student Noh Eun-ha.
It was a title that seemed to belittle him, who had now become a proper Player after graduating from the academy.
Well, it's understandable that she would dislike me.
In her eyes, I must look like the culprit who dumped work on her.
Eun-ha accepted it silently.
It was understandable that Mo Ra-yul wouldn't like him.
"I don't know how a student who just graduated from the academy can be a reliable source, but let's say he is."
Mo Ra-yul's attitude was sharp.
But Im Ga-eul didn't try to question Mo Ra-yul's attitude.
As if saying, go ahead and bark alone.
She just smiled brightly.
Only Park Sang-jin, who was by her side, frowned as if displeased.
And then─
"─Well, since everyone who should be here has arrived, shall we go inspect?"
Eun-ha also spoke as if he didn't mind.
As he walked towards where the Cocoon was, he nodded his head towards Mo Ra-yul.
"This is really..."
He's treating people like objects.
So arrogant.
Mo Ra-yul gritted her teeth.
☆
The principle was to inspect the Cocoon once every 2 years.
At this time, when inspecting the Cocoon, it was necessary for the Twelve Seats to be present.
Of course, the Twelve Seats member who had to be present was the Navigator division Player.
This was the reason Mo Ra-yul was dragged here.
"─But why did you bring up inspecting the Cocoon? I'm going along with it because it's you saying it and I can't just ignore it, but I don't understand."
Mo Ra-yul was inspecting the Cocoon along with the technicians.
Im Ga-eul, who was watching from a slightly distant position, asked Eun-ha.
"It's been quite some time since the Cocoon was installed, right? So I thought maybe the Cocoon's lifespan might not have much left."
"The Cocoon can be used for 20 years at most. There's still 5 years left." "Only 5 years left, right?"
To this, Eun-ha replied as if it wasn't a big deal.
The Fairy also didn't say anything more, as if his words had some merit.
In the previous life, the Cocoon had 5 years left but suddenly broke. It means there must have been some defect in the Cocoon.
While watching the people inspecting the Cocoon,
Eun-ha was lost in thought.
In the previous life, the Cocoon broke suddenly, without any warning.
That became the cause of monsters flooding into Gangbuk.
It wasn't that monsters broke the Cocoon and invaded Gangbuk.
It was such an unlucky event.
Of all times, Im Ga-eul had left on a tour to other regions to infuse
Once a year, the Fairy would leave on a tour for at least a month, at most two months, to infuse mana into the Cocoons in the provinces.
As it was the Fairy's procession, the Twelve Seats also accompanied her schedule.
But the monster army launched a massive invasion while she and the Twelve Seats were away from Seoul.
At that time,
At that time, Im Ga-eul was accompanied by two of the Twelve Seats, and some of the Twelve Seats were not in Seoul due to regional work.
So the calamity could only run rampant uncontrollably.
By the time the Fairy and the Twelve Seats reached Gangbuk after 3 days, many areas had already collapsed.
It's hard to stop that many monsters. The Cocoon needs to hold out to some extent to buy time for the Twelve Seats to return.
Monsters invade Seoul.
The prophecy of
Whether the Cocoon broke or not, it was a foregone conclusion.
Therefore, what Eun-ha could do was to make the Cocoon play the role of blocking the invasion of the army and further weakening them for a long time.
So he requested an inspection of the Cocoon, and─
"─There are no particular abnormalities. If we do a detailed inspection it might be different, but that needs to be done at the workshop, and this is the limit of what we can do here."
The technician who had been examining the Cocoon's condition spoke up.
Other technicians nodded, and Mo Ra-yul sneered as if to say 'See?'
"See? I told you there was nothing wrong, didn't I? I said I inspected it last year."
"What are you going to do about that?"
While Mo Ra-yul was cackling,
Im Ga-eul spoke to Eun-ha, ignoring her presence.
"How about doing a detailed inspection?"
Strange.
Eun-ha tilted his head inwardly.
In the previous life, the reason for the Cocoon's collapse was speculated to be an internal factor.
As a result, the Fairy Government changed the inspection cycle to once a year.
Eun-ha, who knew the situation well at that time, found the inspection results strange but thought that maybe it could be a problem that could be identified through a detailed inspection.
Then Mo Ra-yul said─
"─A detailed inspection will take an enormous amount of time. We'll need equipment too."
"Hmm..."
"We might even have to temporarily shut down the Cocoon to examine it, you know?"
She interjected as if it was bothersome.
At the mention of possibly shutting down the Cocoon, Im Ga-eul made a troubled expression.
"I think it's not too late to decide whether to shut it down temporarily or not after we open it up and look inside, right?"
On the contrary, Eun-ha was adamant.
Mo Ra-yul frowned.
"Look here, student Noh Eun-ha. You seem to be speaking so casually because this isn't your work, but this job is extremely tricky, you know? So stop saying such things."
Mo Ra-yul, who dropped formalities at the end.
She growled.
Eun-ha frowned.
Then Im Ga-eul, who had finished thinking─
"─Alright, good work everyone. We already inspected it last year, so there's no need to go through all that trouble again."
She mediated the situation.
In the end, the situation led to not inspecting the Cocoon.
This person doesn't know anything. There's a problem occurring inside the Cocoon right now, and there's not even a month left until it stops operating.
He couldn't say that the Cocoon would collapse in a month.
Eun-ha was just frustrated.
If he wasn't careful, Im Ga-eul could be affected by this incident.
No, Im Ga-eul wasn't the problem.
The problem was Ha Baek-ryeon, who was destined to become the Fairy after her someday.
Your political position doesn't matter, but we need to care about Baek-ryeon.
Let's say it one last time.
If it doesn't work, we'll just focus on blocking the monsters.
Eun-ha, who had been agonizing, opened his mouth again.
"Still, one more inspection..."
"Hey!!"
Just as Eun-ha started to speak,
Mo Ra-yul, who had been holding back her anger, screamed shrilly.
"I told you there's nothing wrong with the Cocoon! Are you going to keep being annoying!?"
""""...."""
"If anything happens to the Cocoon, I'll take full responsibility, so stop it already!!"
With a shrill scream.
Even the Fairy was dumbfounded by the sudden outburst.
Of course, other people were the same.
Eun-ha was no exception.
Eun-ha was also stunned by her scream when her patience suddenly snapped.
But the shock only lasted for a very short time─
"─Really? Will you really take responsibility?"
"Yes! I said I'll take responsibility!?"
Oh really?
Unexpectedly, he gained a breakwater.
Then now, if anything happens, can't we blame Mo Ra-yul?
The corners of Eun-ha's mouth reached his ears.
☆
Only a week remained until the day Gangbuk would collapse.
Eun-ha told Han Seo-hyun to gather as much storable food as possible.
Although Han Seo-hyun was suspicious, she obediently followed his words.
There's still more to do.
It was important to survive the destruction, but we also had to think about the world after the destruction.
That day, Eun-ha left the clan hall and visited the slums located on the border of Bomun-dong and Sungin-dong.
"─Twenty-five."
"What brings you here at this late hour?"
When Eun-ha called Twenty-five's name, he suddenly popped out from somewhere.
Twenty-five blinked his eyes as if all sorts of things happen.
"There's something I'd like you to investigate."
"Seeing that you called me out at this hour, it doesn't seem like good news... What do you want me to investigate?"
"How to breach the security of the Galaxy Group mansion in Hannam-dong." "...Master, you're only asking for difficult things. Of course, you want me to investigate the movements of the people there too, right?"
Eun-ha answered with silence.
Silence meant affirmation.
Twenty-five, who realized Eun-ha's thoughts, sighed.
"Then I'll get going."
"Okay, I'm counting on you."
Twenty-five disappeared into the darkness.
Eun-ha stood there for a long time, looking up at the moonlight faintly twinkling, hidden by the building walls.
"Not much time left."
Seoul Special City, Yongsan-gu, Hannam-dong.
A neighborhood where chaebol families are concentrated.
The Galaxy Group's main house located there.
The chairman of the Galaxy Group, no, now former chairman Choi Yun-han was there.
☆
Myeongdong Cathedral in Jung-gu.
As the world faced destruction once, people no longer believed in God.
Nevertheless, to live in a world where only despair could be seen, hope and something to lean on were necessary.
"─Then let us offer our prayers today."
""""...."""
God abandoned humans.
God is dead.
People living in the destroyed world no longer believed in the gods that existed before the destruction.
However, people created new gods to replace them.
"God is always by our side, watching over us. Although this world has been destroyed, our God has not died."
After the leader's sermon ended,
A woman wearing a black habit walked forward and spoke.
Black hair visible under the hood.
Green eyes changed by mana.
The woman wearing low-heeled shoes soon climbed onto the podium.
People cried as if moved by her every movement.
"May God's grace be with you all today as well."
They bowed their heads repeatedly.
The woman standing on the podium smiled benevolently as if they were her own children.
She clasped her hands together.
People followed suit.
As she recited the prayer, this time too, people repeated each phrase she uttered.
"─We pray this through our Lord, the Mana God. Amen."
""""...We pray. Amen.""""
"Oh, hallelujah!"
""""Oh, hallelujah!""""
Mana Religion.
The people who worshipped the Mana God all called her by the following name: