Inside the plane heading to Korea.
Gwang-taek carefully asked Seong-jun.
“But Seong-jun. Don’t you regret turning down the American Association’s offer? Those conditions were incredible—enough to make you give up everything you’ve achieved in Korea.”
That was true.
In the end, Seong-jun refused the American Association’s proposal and chose to return to Korea.
The reason was simple.
If he let himself be swept away by the conditions and left Korea, it would inevitably deal a massive blow to the image he had built as the Saint.
Still, he left a loophole.
If a situation ever arose where he had no choice but to leave Korea, he would go to the United States under the same conditions offered now.
“I worked hard to build that image. The moment I abandon Korea because of conditions, my image as the Saint takes a hit. At the same time, people would frame me as someone who moves whenever the conditions are right. It’s not the right time yet. Even if I leave Korea, I need to leave with a justifiable reason in hand. Besides, it’s not like I’m so desperate that I’d be swayed by those terms right now.”
The conditions were tempting enough to make him hesitate for a moment, but they weren’t so attractive that he would accept them at the cost of his image.
He was already living comfortably in Korea, with nothing to envy from others.
“That makes sense. But do you think a situation where we have to leave Korea will actually come?”
“Why? Regret turning down America’s offer?”
“Huh? No, that’s not it. I was just wondering if we’ll ever really have to leave Korea.”
A situation like that probably wouldn’t come easily, but you never know how things turn out.
“Hard to say. But one thing’s for sure: if we do have to leave, it has to be because of external circumstances beyond our control, not our own will. That way we can maintain the image we’ve built while leaving Korea. If that never happens, we can just stay in Korea forever. Besides, we’re living just fine here, aren’t we?”
At Seong-jun’s words, Gwang-taek let out a snicker.
“Heh, true. Oh, but by the time we land in Korea, it’ll be morning. Are you going to rest for a day? Or jump right into helping Seon-hwa with her experiment?”
“I plan to help right away. But since helping Seon-hwa noona with her experiment is something I have to do alone, you, Yuseon, and Chang-su should go in and rest. I need to move to Switzerland right after helping noona.”
Seong-jun intended to help Seon-hwa with her experiment without a break, then head straight to Switzerland the next day.
“Help Seon-hwa with her experiment and leave the next day? Do we really need to move that urgently? You should get some rest too.”
“By now, the Swiss headquarters must have realized something’s wrong with the American branch. They might even know that other countries’ branches are in trouble too. If we drag our feet and waste time here, they might feel something’s off and relocate. To make the most of the information I have, I have to move as quickly as possible.”
Once they realize the American branch is in trouble, and then learn that other country branches are also having issues, they’ll start responding in their own way.
The problem is if they choose a defensive response instead of an offensive one.
If they move the headquarters, relocate the Master’s residence, and shift the testing devices somewhere else, all the information we’ve gathered so far becomes useless.
Seong-jun planned to strike the Swiss headquarters before that happened.
“I guess that makes sense. Still, I can’t just leave you to suffer alone. Even if I don’t have anything specific to do, I’ll stay by your side.”
When Gwang-taek said he’d stay with him, Seong-jun gave a meaningful smile and spoke.
“Are you sure you’re not staying by Seon-hwa noona’s side instead of mine?”
At Seong-jun’s words, Gwang-taek’s face turned red as he coughed awkwardly.
“Ahem! What are you talking about? It’s not like that!”
At that moment, Yuseon, sitting in the back seat, suddenly chimed into the conversation.
“Oh, please. Is there anyone among us who didn’t know you like Seon-hwa unnie? She probably knows too.”
“No, I told you it’s not like that! Geez, I’m going to sleep! Don’t talk to me!”
Gwang-taek snapped, then turned his head away and hurriedly closed his eyes.
“Heheheh, my brother is so easy to read, isn’t he?”
Hearing Yuseon, Seong-jun smiled and agreed.
“Brother Gwang-taek does have a pure side to him. Anyway, Yuseon, you should get some sleep too. We still have a long way to go before we reach Korea.”
Since there was still plenty of time before arriving in Korea, the group closed their eyes for a bit.
Deep within the Forest of Darkness.
A massive red crystal was constantly emitting light.
woong! Woong! Woo-woong!
And that light was spreading throughout the entire Forest of Darkness.
“Oh! This brilliant light. Truly dazzling.”
Standing before the red crystal was a woman draped in a red robe.
At that moment.
Flap! Flap!
A creature with a body incomparably larger and heavier than any Drake flapped its wings and approached her.
Koo-woong!
It then landed in front of the red crystal.
A massive, heavy creature with a red body.
It was a Red Dragon.
Whoosh!
The gigantic body radiated light and then transformed into human form.
“Lady Kellares. I have a report.”
At those words, the woman in the red robe pushed back her hood and turned around.
She was a beauty with long, luscious red hair that reached her waist.
“Yes, Ferield. Did you confirm?”
“Yes. I can feel no intervention from Hemeias anywhere on the continent. For a new Hero to appear on schedule, her intervention should have already occurred. Yet there is no sign of it… It seems you need not worry about the Hero’s emergence.”
At the dragon named Ferield’s words, the red-haired beauty named Kellares spoke.
“Still, we must not be careless. Hemeias is clever when it comes to schemes; she must have prepared something we don’t know about. Do not slacken the surveillance. The moment you sense her involvement, inform me immediately. The only power capable of opposing His strength is Hemeias’s power.”
The unprecedented power emanating from the massive red crystal.
The only entity that could oppose that power was the Goddess of Light Hemeias, revered as the one and only deity of the continent.
But since Hemeias couldn’t descend directly onto the continent, she had to send a proxy called a Hero, which required a certain degree of her power to intervene in the continent.
Yet, her intervention had not been detected.
“Understood. But what about the other clans?”
When asked about the other clans, Kellares smiled wryly.
“The Green Clan, Black Clan, and Blue Clan have agreed to join us. But the Gold Clan is still holding out. Even though they said they wouldn’t interfere in continental affairs, I can’t take their word for it. If they side against us, it could become a headache. Soon, we’ll unite with the other clans to wipe out the Gold Clan.”
The Dragon Clan was divided into five clans: Gold, Black, Red, Blue, and Green.
Among them, the most powerful dragon clan was the Gold Clan.
The other clans had all agreed to side with the Red Clan, but only the Gold Clan refused their hand.
For now, they claimed they would remain neutral and never intervene, but as long as they didn’t share the same cause, they could become a variable at any time.
That was why she planned to join forces with the other clans to strike the Gold Clan.
“A battle will soon break out. Understood. I’ll prepare accordingly.”
With that, Ferield’s body began to radiate light again.
Whoosh!
Then he polymorphed back into a massive Red Dragon.
Flap! Flap!
With a huge flap of his wings, the Red Dragon Ferield soared high into the sky.
Once he left, Kellares was alone again.
She gazed at the red crystal and murmured softly to herself.
“The time is almost here. When He awakens, the continent will be bathed in blood, and all dimensions will tremble in fear. Ah, I can’t wait for that moment.”
Kellares wore an ecstatic expression as she gently stroked the red crystal.
—
Seong-jun’s group arrived in Korea and headed to the hideout.
They managed to reach it a little after 11 AM.
“Welcome back. I heard you caused quite a stir in America, huh?”
As the group entered the hideout, Seon-hwa greeted them warmly.
“A-rank monsters were a piece of cake. Only S-rank gives a little tension, you know? Hehe. Anyway, what did you do, unnie?”
At Yuseon’s question, Seon-hwa looked at the equipment and replied.
“I was preparing the experiment. I planned to start as soon as Seong-jun arrived.”
Although she had obtained a new identity, it was still awkward for her to go outside.
But since she had already spent months locked in her lab before, she didn’t feel uncomfortable staying in the hideout.
“Oh! So we’re starting right now?”
“If Seong-jun is okay with it?”
Seon-hwa said that while looking at Seong-jun.
Seong-jun then turned to the others and said.
“I’ll be helping Seon-hwa noona with her experiment, so everyone go in and rest. We’ll have to move quickly once we head to Switzerland tomorrow.”
At Seong-jun’s words, Yuseon shrugged and said.
“We already rested well at a five-star hotel, and we slept plenty on the plane back to Korea. I’m not tired at all. I want to watch Seon-hwa unnie’s experiment here.”
Gwang-taek nodded in agreement.
“Me too. Today’s the day Seon-hwa officially starts her experiment, so I should keep an eye on her.”
“I have nothing to do if I go in early anyway.”
Since they had already rested enough in America and had nothing to do in their rooms, all of them said they would watch Seon-hwa’s experiment.
“Fine, do as you like. So, what do you need me to help with?”
In response to Seong-jun’s question about what he should do, Seon-hwa walked over to the equipment and said.
“I made something while you were in America. I’m going to inject this into myself. Stay by my side, and if you notice anything abnormal with my body, use a skill to heal my internal organs.”
The decisive reason she had decided to seek Seong-jun’s help back on Jeju Island was because of his skill that could heal internal organs.
Since she was conducting an experiment to fuse with a monster, she had no idea what changes might occur in her internal organs.
“Got it. Then let’s start right away.”
“Wait a moment.”
She climbed onto a table that could restrain her entire body and began to secure her lower body, starting from her ankles.
Click! Click! Click!
Then she lay down and used her right hand to secure her left wrist and arm.
Click! Click!
With her remaining right hand, she picked up a pre-prepared syringe.
“Come over here and fasten the restraints around my waist and chest.”
Seong-jun then locked the waist and chest restraints attached to the table.
Click! Click!
“Do you really need to go this far?”
When asked why such restraints were necessary, Seon-hwa smiled faintly.
“This is incredibly painful. If I didn’t do this, I might thrash around. I need this level of fixation. Now I’m going to inject this into myself. After that, immediately secure my right arm too.”
“Haah, all right.”
Seong-jun sighed and moved to her right side.
Thump!
Seon-hwa stabbed the syringe she was holding into her chest, near her heart.
Then the liquid inside the syringe was automatically injected.
Ziiiiiing!
Once all the liquid was administered, Seon-hwa pulled out the syringe and moved her right arm toward the restraint.
“Lock it now.”
“Yes.”
Click! Click! Click!
Seon-hwa turned her head to look at Seong-jun.
“You don’t need to worry about external changes. But if I start coughing up blood, it means something’s wrong internally, so use your healing skill immediately.”
“Understood.”
Even though she didn’t know what changes would occur in her body, Seon-hwa remained calm.
She could have died if something went wrong, yet she seemed almost excited about the new experiment.
After a short while.
“Kkh!”
Seon-hwa grimaced in pain.
“Krrrgh! Ugh! Uuugh!”
At the same time, her entire body began to tremble.
She seemed to want to writhe, but couldn’t because her whole body was restrained.
“Are you okay?”
“Uuugh! I’m, I’m oka… Aack! Uuugh!”
Simultaneously, her skin began to change strangely.
Scales appeared and disappeared, her skin turned green and then back to normal—external changes were happening.
But since she had said not to respond to external changes, Seong-jun just watched.
“Khueok! Ueok! Cough!”
Then, at some point, she coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“Cough! Cough! Seo, Seong-jun… Cough!”
Seong-jun quickly activated his skill.
‘Perfect Recovery!’
He cast Perfect Recovery, a skill that healed internal organs.
Woo-woong!
A soft light seeped into Seon-hwa, and her coughing of blood seemed to stop.
“Krrgh! Ugh!”
Nevertheless, the external changes continued, and after a while, she started coughing blood again.
“Cough! Cough!”
‘Perfect Recovery!’
Woo-woong!
Every time she coughed blood, Seong-jun cast Perfect Recovery, and she seemed to recover temporarily.
But soon she would cough blood again, and Seong-jun kept casting Perfect Recovery without pause.
Woong! Woong! Woo-woo-woong!
About an hour passed.
The external changes stopped, and then her convulsions gradually subsided.
“Hah, hah, hah.”
She seemed to no longer feel pain and regained her calm.
“Is it over?”
Seong-jun asked cautiously. Seon-hwa replied with an exhausted expression.
“Yeah. First, undo these restraints.”
At her words, Seong-jun began unlocking the restraints one by one.
Click! Click! Click!
Once all restraints were undone, Seon-hwa got off the table.
“What kind of experiment did you do exactly?”
Seong-jun asked, curious.
Seon-hwa replied nonchalantly.
“I conducted an external transformation experiment using a sample extracted from the Harpy Queen. If it worked properly, I should at least look human when transformed. Of course, I didn’t expect to succeed on the first try.”
The experiment Seon-hwa had just done was an external transformation experiment.
She used a sample extracted from the Harpy Queen’s corpse to create a drug, and without any stability tests, she directly injected it into herself.
After all, there was no test subject to conduct stability tests on.
“But you were bleeding a lot. Are you okay? That’s a sign of internal damage, right?”
“Right. I didn’t have a test subject to test stability, so I didn’t test it separately. I’ll have to consider that part for the next experiment. If it weren’t for you, I would have died just now.”
The reason Seon-hwa could conduct such a reckless experiment was solely because Seong-jun was there.
With Seong-jun, who was on a completely different level from ordinary healers, she had the confidence that she wouldn’t die, so she proceeded with the experiment.
“I’m glad you’re okay. Please take better care of your body. Anyway, if you transform now, will you look different from before?”
“Who knows? I’ll have to try it.”
With that, she immediately began her body transformation.
Krrrk! Krrk! Krrrack!
As the change started, Seon-hwa’s body grew to nearly two meters tall.
Then.
Riiip! Rrip!
All the clothes she was wearing tore apart.
When the transformation ended.
“Hmm, it does feel a bit different from before. What do you think?”
Perhaps because of the Harpy genes mixed in, her transformed appearance was completely different from before.
“Whoa!”
At the same time, Gwang-taek and Chang-su’s faces turned red, and they quickly averted their eyes.
“Compared to before, your body definitely looks more human-like. But… shouldn’t you put something on?”
Since she looked similar in shape to a giant woman’s body due to the Harpy appearance, it was quite revealing.
“Oh? I’ll need to look in a mirror first.”
Seon-hwa didn’t seem to care much either way.
She walked over to a mirror and examined her reflection.
“Hmm, something feels off. There’s still some monster features left on the face, and I don’t like the green skin. I’ll have to research whether I can change the skin color. And the fact that my arms and wings are fused is annoying. Ah, maybe if I inject the drug made from the Twin Head Drake sample, that part will be resolved?”
Seeing Seon-hwa calmly analyzing what needed to be fixed while looking at herself, the group just shook their heads.
It was a perfect example of what happens when someone is truly obsessed with research.
“So the experiment is over for today?”
At Seong-jun’s question about whether the experiment was finished, Seon-hwa looked puzzled.
“Huh? What do you mean? There’s still one more. I need to inject the drug made from the Twin Head Drake’s corpse too.”
Since the external transformation experiment was done, it was time to proceed with the main purpose—the drug experiment using the Drake.
“What? You want to do another experiment after going through all that pain just now?”
“Pain is temporary anyway. But the results that follow last a lifetime. Come on, let’s start right away.”
Saying that, Seon-hwa reverted to her original form and walked back to the table.
Seeing this, Seong-jun was speechless.