< 112. Shock and Terror (10) >
Min-jun was in shock.
"Did you say it's Endelion?"
Yes, Agent. That's correct.
It was the most shocking news he had heard today.
"Not just any Endelion, but a princess?"
The person he was curious about turned out to be the royal heir of the cephalopod species!
It was an utterly incomprehensible selection.
'Sending an ancient race to such a remote dimension.'
Ancient races tend to avoid desolate places. The position had been vacant for a long time for a reason.
But they sent a princess?
'Could it be because of me?'
Was the sudden increase in his talents deemed suspicious, prompting them to keep a close watch on him?
But he quickly discarded that thought. It was merely a delusion that everything revolved around him. It wasn't some adolescent fantasy.
'Could this be related to Del?'
As far as Min-jun knew, the most recent cephalopod visitor to Earth was his ex-wife.
However, using this fact alone to link the two Endelions was pure speculation.
Regardless, it was undoubtedly a surprising and shocking development.
'For a while, nothing else will surprise me more than this.'
Min-jun decided to hang up and wait for the security personnel Blair had sent.
After a little while, the sounds of commotion filled the hospital.
"They must have arrived."
"Brother, shall we set off now?"
"Yes. Just a brief handover…"
At that moment, Jeong-pal, who was looking out the window, stiffened.
"What… is all that?"
The congressman's expression also hardened as he followed Jeong-pal's gaze.
"······?!"
Choi Pan-seok, who had been staring outside for some time, finally spoke.
"Agent, was there any intelligence that a coup was being planned at this hospital?"
Only after seeing what they were looking at did Min-jun understand why they said that.
Thud thud thud—
The sound of heavy air was being disrupted. A fleet of helicopters was approaching from a distance. These weren't the emergency transport helicopters used by the hospital. The patient room windows were opened, and patients looked out in astonishment. The dull green rotorcraft began to land one by one on the roofs of each building. As there weren't enough helipads, they were also attempting to land on the ground.
And.
"Are those tanks? Unless my eyes are deceiving me…"
Military trucks and tanks were entering the external parking lot. Armed special agents jumped down and scattered across the hospital grounds. Under the commander's orders, everyone quickly deployed.
The scale of the personnel and equipment was extraordinary.
All units, take your positions!
Min-jun recognized familiar faces among the soldiers.
And there were quite a few.
'How many immigration agents have been dispatched? With just these, they could capture a young dragon.'
It seemed that all available agents in the country had been gathered.
At that moment, the door to the patient room opened.
"Agent, good to see you!"
Salute!
An agent in combat gear entered and saluted with a rigid gesture. Though not as prominent as Min-jun, he was a veteran of considerable renown within the Immigration Bureau. Though he appeared to be about twenty years older, his demeanor showed respect towards Min-jun.
Min-jun raised his hand in a casual greeting.
"Oh, it's been a while."
Instead of responding to the greeting, the agent reported with precision.
"According to your request, we are now conducting a joint military defense operation centered around this hospital!"
"···What an overreaction. And you're not even real soldiers."
Min-jun tilted his head in confusion.
"But I only requested personnel to guard one person, not to turn the hospital into a military base. Or, is there a hatchling kidnapper hiding here?"
The agent explained that Blair had given the orders directly.
The subsequent explanation seemed to omit some important details, as if addressing another audience, but Min-jun quickly grasped the situation.
Not long ago, Jenkinson had lost a Red Star executive possessed by Ha Eun-seong, who was being protected by Min-jun. The person had been kidnapped helplessly. The failed attempt to protect a friend had inflicted a deep crack in the pride of the Red Dragon.
After that, the dragon gave orders to his subordinates. From now on, if Min-jun made similar requests, they should mobilize all available forces. In other words, to do their best.
And true to her extreme FM-ism, Blair had followed the orders faithfully. With no way to contact Jenkinson, there was no one to put the brakes on her.
The result was the scene unfolding at the hospital now.
'The flaws in the dragon and elf's personalities have created a perfect collaboration.'
Doctors and patients who couldn't grasp the situation peeked out into the corridor and fled in terror at the sight of soldiers carrying machine guns.
The congressman mumbled with a stunned expression.
"W-well, this is certainly appreciated…"
Min-jun waved his hand dismissively.
"It's already done; we can't reverse it. Just make the most of it."
The elf would not budge, claiming to have acted according to orders. Min-jun felt there was no need to request anything further.
'With this much, you don't need to stay here. Yuntus, let's go with us.'
Since the invisibility spell might break while waiting for Choi Seon-ah to wake, this was actually a good thing.
= As you command. =
Through the open door, the hospital director, with a stunned expression, watched the situation unfold.
Min-jun accompanied the cleric to the troll's residence.
And was disheartened.
"Damn, just as expected."
As the police had already declared, there were no clues to be found. Neither the house nor the convenience store yielded anything.
"What should we do, hyung?"
Unaware that the hidden priest was observing, Jeong-pal asked Min-jun.
"We should stop here for today."
There were no more places to investigate or witnesses to interrogate. Min-jun decided to wrap things up for the day. Jeong-pal then dropped him off in front of the shop.
"Shall we have a drink before we go?"
"I'm fine. Oh, by the way, I saw that you had missed calls earlier?"
Min-jun, who had been lost in thought, took out his phone, which he had avoided checking. The missed calls and texts were mostly from Cathy, informing him of a visitor at the office.
'Who could it be?'
"Then, I'll go in and check."
"Alright, take care."
After sending off Jeong-pal, Min-jun opened the office door and froze.
"······."
"Oh, you're here?"
Cathy's voice came from the break room attached to the office. But Min-jun couldn't turn his head in that direction. Instead, with a cold face, he stared at a single spot.
On the guest sofa, a woman who should not have been there was sitting.
"Hello, you've come."
Her tone was calm, as if they were meeting after a few hours.
At the same time, it was an unforgettable voice. It was a voice that had repeatedly appeared in recent dreams. Soft and soothing to the ear, yet Min-jun felt a chill running down his spine.
The woman, reclining comfortably with a relaxed and stable posture as if in her own home, was...
"...Del?"
Startled!
As soon as Min-jun spoke, the hidden Inquisition Judge displayed a peculiar reaction. The name was familiar to him.
Yuntus remembered. The name that had been repeatedly screamed in a haunting voice by the avatar, who had been tortured by nightmares and drenched in cold sweat.
That was the name.
The smell of blood.
Min-jun felt the strong scent of blood lingering at the tip of his nose. The peaceful office scene instantly overlapped with a dark, experimental lab from another dimension.
At the same time, he recalled his conversation with Blair.
The committee has sent a new head to the Earth Representative Office. The person arrived on Earth today, but there's an embargo until midnight Korean time tomorrow, so please be aware. The welcoming ceremony today will be unofficial. The dispatched individual is... the princess of the ancient race Endelion.
No matter how royal the princess might be, it was unlikely she would bring along attendants from another ancient race. To such a remote dimension? It was absolutely impossible.
In other words, the only Endelion currently on Earth... no, the only one with its tentacles touching the planet, was the princess.
"······!"
An Endelion princess visiting Earth.
And Min-jun's ex-wife was an Endelion.
The two concepts merged in his mind.
'Oh my God.'
Just being an Endelion was already a level above having a silver spoon in one's mouth—it was more like having a titanium spoon… and among them.
'A princess?'
As Min-jun's face hardened, Del smiled gently.
"Are you very surprised, dear?"
Clang!
The sound of Cathy dropping a tray while preparing snacks in the break room.
Del did not turn her head toward the noise. Instead, she focused on what her ex-husband was holding.
"A frying pan? I thought you didn't like weapons other than daggers, but has your taste changed? It's quite a departure."
"······."
"Do you carry that around now, hitting the bad guys on the head? Very tough… though it doesn't seem like your style, people do change."
She cast a calm glance at the frying pan and spoke.
"I understand it's sturdy. With the right edge, it could even cut through a spaceship's outer hull. But, could you carry something else instead? The look isn't quite right. Should I make one for you? As long as it's in the shape of a frying pan, is that fine?"
=No, this lady is really saying some unexpected things! But… who is she? I can't read her mind any more than I can yours.=
Ignoring the frying pan's grumbling, Min-jun finally managed to move his frozen lips.
"Wait, let's talk privately."
He considered moving to another location but couldn't think of a better place.
'Yuntus, to the basement.'
=Understood. Until you call me again, I'll stay there, cleansing both body and mind while recovering my divine power.=
Min-jun then turned to Cathy. She was looking at Min-jun and Del alternately with a pale expression, as if faced with ghosts.
"Cathy, I'm sorry, but could you leave for today?"
Her response was delayed by 6 seconds.
"···Oh, sure?"
She then looked down at the broken plates.
"Still, I should clean this up…"
"No, it's fine. I'll handle it."
After Cathy left, Min-jun found himself unable to speak for a while.
When he finally managed to speak, his voice sounded so dry that it felt unfamiliar even to him.
"Why are you here?"
The question held two meanings.
Why had she come to Earth as part of the committee?
And why was she here, in this house?
Del understood both questions and responded with a word that answered them simultaneously.
"Because of you."
She gazed blankly at her ex-husband. Her eyes were as deep as pitch.
"Are you going to stand and talk?"
Min-jun was stiff. Even when they had reunited at the terminal, it wasn't this bad.
Although his vision had turned black and white around his ex-wife and the air had grown cold like the skin of a dead beast, it had not felt this dreadful.
He soon realized the reason.
'It's because of the dreams.'
The horrific dreams he had repeatedly experienced had transported his emotions back to the past.
Min-jun, upon sitting down, immediately began to pseudo-seal the frying pan. He put it away in the storage and then spoke.
"Why did you hide it until now..."
He stopped before finishing his sentence. Upon reflection, she had never really hidden it; he had never asked.
Should he blame his lack of imagination for not considering asking if she was a princess?
He changed his question.
"So, the Endelion princess came to such a remote dimension, and the royal family approved it?"
Del made an openly disappointed expression.
"Are you more curious about how I arrived here than why I came?"
Min-jun didn't answer, and Del sighed lightly before explaining.
"I'm supposed to be here to find a fragment of Asif-1."
"······."
The prisoner did not show any surprise on her face.
He thought there would be nothing more shocking today, but his premature assumptions were being shattered repeatedly.
"But that's not something I'll openly announce. The royal family has placed such a large bounty on it that all sorts of riffraff will swarm to Earth."
"A bounty on the fragment from the Endelions?"
"Specifically, it's mostly our tribe's will and budget that are reflected in it."
Del said this, then muttered in a dejected tone.
"I was going to explain this later... I need to be on the opposite side of the planet in a few hours. Since you came late and there's not much time left, I wanted to postpone the work talk."
But Min-jun's cold expression remained unchanged, so Del decided to reveal the details.
"The most important reason I was dispatched here... to reiterate, it's you. The goal of finding the fragment is ultimately connected to you."
Min-jun barely managed to suppress his gaze towards the sealed frying pan and asked.
"How?"
"Do you know what happens after the prisoner acquires the fragment? The committee, which receives it, ends up sharing ownership with the Endelion royal family."
Min-jun was unaware of the internal workings of the committee.
"And I received a credible tip that the fragment has flowed into Earth."
She explained why she needed to be by Min-jun's side.
"If I find it... wouldn't it be better to make it appear as if you found it and submitted it to the committee? This plan would be my 'Plan A-2'."
The mention of Plan A-1 and Plan B hinted at other strategies.
But a more pressing question was...
"What's it a plan for?"
Del's eyes widened.
"Of course, it's a plan to set you free!"
Min-jun naturally recalled the 'assassination plan' from the past. Seeing his expression, Del shook her head and said.
"Put those old thoughts away. Plan A-1 is for you to complete minor missions and accumulate a retirement fund. Yes, like with demonic goblin genes. There's also an update on that which we'll discuss later. And Plan A-2 is to find the fragment and cover the retirement fund in one go. I hope the retirement fund doesn't exceed 7 million talents?"
After a brief silence, Min-jun asked.
"Then is there a Plan A-3?"
"No, instead there's a Plan B."
"What's that?"
Plan A represented the most desirable solution from both Min-jun's and Del's perspectives.
A method for the prisoner to accumulate and pay the retirement fund and rightfully regain freedom.
On the other hand, starting from Plan B, the approach deviates from the righteous path.
"I can't give you all the details of Plan B right now. Still, the reason I mentioned it is that I need to ask you for something."
A request?
"What is it?"
Then the ex-wife earnestly implored him not to think poorly of her request.
"Actually, I did come to see you today, but I also want to take something from you."
Min-jun felt a foreboding sensation creeping up his chest.
"So, what is it?"
His ex-wife glanced around nervously and mumbled.
"Don't misunderstand, but could I take a little bit of your blood and cerebrospinal fluid?"
"······."
Min-jun began to contemplate constructing a banishment barrier to expel the Endelions.
< 112. Shock and Terror (10) > End