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Chapter 15
“What… what are you all doing?! The young master! Escort Young Master Hyunwoo immediately!”
“This concludes the Formal Assembly! A-all honored guests, please vacate the hall quickly…!”
After a moment of nightmare-like silence came utter chaos.
The Formal Assembly was hastily brought to a close.
The royal guards scrambled to escort the guests out, and the heads of the noble Sedo families scattered in clusters, disappearing somewhere.
Something felt wrong.
It was all too staged, unnaturally orchestrated like a theatrical performance.
“Dad!”
“Arin!”
Yu Sang-hyeon rushed down to the training ground and scooped up Arin in his arms.
The heir to the powerful Andong Kim clan, considered the most promising of the current generation, Kim Hyunwoo, had just been shattered in a single blow by this girl.
And yet, the one responsible stood there with an innocent, carefree smile, seemingly unaware of the significance of what she had done.
“Dad, did you see my aura force? I was so strong, right?!”
“Y-yeah. You really were.”
“How strong am I? With this power, I can protect you and our uncles too…!”
She bounced excitedly as she spoke, but only for a moment.
Thud!
Before she could finish her sentence, Arin collapsed.
There were no visible injuries, but having just awakened her aura, the backlash had finally caught up to her.
Now fully drained, Arin lay limp in Yu Sang-hyeon’s arms.
But just as he held her close, a cold, low voice reached him.
“Commander. We will take custody of Lady Yu Arin. Please comply.”
At the sound of the voice, Yu Sang-hyeon turned around.
Standing before him was a squad of the Royal Guard, Joseon’s elite combat unit, composed entirely of aura users, who had been guarding the training ground. They now surrounded him, demanding he hand over Arin.
“Take custody? What are you saying?”
“This is an order from higher authorities. We must escort Lady Yu Arin for further verification of her abilities…”
“Verification, you say? So, in other words—”
Cutting their words short, Yu Sang-hyeon slowly rose to his feet.
The Royal Guard tensed at the weight of his voice.
And then—
“You’re telling me… you’re going to take my daughter from me? From me, the Commander of Iron Tiger Corps?”
Kuuuuu—!
With a frigid voice sharper than steel, his aura exploded outward, overwhelming everyone in its path.
“If you think you can, go ahead. Try me.”
“……!”
The situation was seconds from detonating.
The Royal Guard exchanged glances, their hands moving to their weapons, taking up a combat stance.
But at that very moment—
“Lady Arin has used aura force exceeding the allowed threshold. That is a clear violation of the rules for group sparring during the Formal Assembly.”
A new voice cut through the tension like a blade, snapping the taut string.
The Royal Guard immediately sheathed their weapons and bowed respectfully.
Turning his gaze, Yu Sang-hyeon saw Kim Junghun, the head of the Andong Kim clan, standing before him.
“She unleashed enough force to damage the arena, harm honored guests of Sedo families, and even injure my own son. That is a serious violation of the regulations.”
“She’s just a child. Besides, Arin… my daughter only just awakened her aura! Detaining her like this is—!”
“No matter the reason, the rules are the rules. There can be no exceptions.”
“This is absurd!”
“Absurd, is it? Then answer me this.”
Kim Jungheon stepped forward, releasing his own pressure, and declared:
“Are you, Iron Tiger Commander Yu Sang-hyeon, challenging the authority of the Royal Guard?”
“……!”
Only then did Yu Sang-hyeon take a proper look around him.
Guuuuhhh—!
Above, a combat helicopter’s heavy machine gun was aimed squarely at him. Behind the Royal Guard stood fully armed soldiers from the Royal Training Command, their artificial exosuits humming as they monitored the situation.
And above all… the mere presence of Kim Jungheon made everything worse.
‘Surrounded on all sides.’
Grinding his teeth, Yu Sang-hyeon slowly retracted his aura.
This land was, for all intents and purposes, the Andong Kim clan’s domain.
Resistance would be meaningless.
“There are many things we must ask the General about the power Lady Arin has displayed.”
Two figures dressed in crimson stepped forward on either side of Kim Jungheon.
Agents of the Royal Inquisition Bureau.
Seeing them, Yu Sang-hyeon’s expression flared with anger.
They were treating a child who had merely shown her power, as if she were some sort of criminal!
“So now the Royal Guard is taking my daughter, and the Royal Inquisition Bureau is here to detain me? Is this really—!”
“They were dispatched only because they were close by. The investigation will proceed lawfully. If you cooperate, both you and your daughter will be released without issue.”
“Oh, really? Then let me ask just one thing.”
Raising his hands as if to surrender, Yu Sang-hyeon turned and fixed his gaze on Kim Jungheon.
“This ‘issue’ you keep mentioning… Just what exactly is the problem?”
“…….”
Kim Jungheon said nothing. He simply turned his back.
Far off, Arin, unconscious in the arms of the Royal Guard, was being carried away.
As Yu Sang-hyeon watched her disappear in helpless silence, the Royal Inquisition Bureau agents approached to seize his arms.
“Don’t touch me. I’ll walk on my own.”
“…….”
The agents stepped back and respectfully lowered their hands.
As Yu Sang-hyeon began to follow them, the noble officials in the hall broke into hushed murmurs.
“What on earth just happened? Young Master Hyunwoo was just…!”
“Forget that—did you see the power that girl, Arin, unleashed?! Don’t tell me she’s—”
“Shh! Shhh! The Royal Inquisition Bureau is watching! Say the wrong thing and…!”
The chattering aristocrats hurried out of the ceremonial hall with their hands covering their mouths, terrified someone might’ve overheard them.
‘Worms. All of them.’
Watching them scurry away, I thought to myself:
‘They can’t think straight anymore. Their eyes and ears have been clouded by fear.’
Why does Joseon hold its status as the world’s one and only hyperpower?
And how did those bloated old pigs manage to stay at the pinnacle of Joseon’s power for over three hundred years?
Is it because of Joseon’s dazzling economy or its boundless technological supremacy?
No. That’s not it.
The civil wars of the Central Plains are gradually stabilizing. And the military-industrial corporations ruling over the Japanese Archipelago are quickly catching up to our technology.
Then, is it because of the strict quality control seen in this very Formal Assembly, the way it ‘produces’ powerful aura users?
No.
Sure, aura users from the Sedo families are strong, but other nations have them too. Even commoners, not just nobles, have awakened aura.
Joseon already suffers from a low population. And yet, it filters talent based on lineage and status. It’s only a matter of time before we fall behind in the number of aura users too.
So then… why?
Is it, like they all claim with their mouths full, because the great King Gwangjo is watching over Joseon from the royal throne?
What utter lunacy.
The reason, as I see it, is far simpler.
Stupidly simple, even.
‘Because they were lucky.’
The Great Rift Crisis that swept across the world…
Joseon was the only civilized nation that remained untouched by the catastrophe.
When a rift opened in Beijing, wiping out billions across the Central Plains…
When Tokyo’s rupture turned all of Honshu into a hellscape overrun with beasts…
Nothing happened to Joseon.
When the tiger dies, the fox plays king of the mountain.
And when even that fox is gone, a stray alley cat might strut around pretending to be a tiger.
They survived.
And among the survivors, they were the strongest.
That’s all there is to it.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
‘Which is why their greatest fear… is change. Anything that could shake their grip on power.’
Yu Arin.
If she were merely a girl with a powerful aura, they wouldn’t have panicked like this.
No, they’d probably have bought off her family, manipulated the narrative, orchestrated some conspiracy…
Done whatever it took to absorb that power into their bloodlines.
But this girl, Arin, her aura was different.
It was royal power.
The power of a hero, the same power that now sits on the royal throne, watching over Joseon.
That power has reappeared… in an unnamed girl.
That same golden radiance that once forced them all to kneel at its feet long ago—
Its return terrifies them more than anything else.
Even now, three hundred years later.
****
“But it’s too late. It’s already begun.”
I watched them, those sheep-like nobles, scattering in panic across the wreckage of the ceremonial grounds.
The king’s power… once forgotten.
No—forced into oblivion.
And now, it has returned.
The old, withering cats will retreat to their holes, yapping in fear of the newly born mountain lion.
Because the king… has come back.
That the power they’ve built for centuries… will crumble like a sandcastle.
The stopped clock is ticking again.
A revolution that will swallow this rotting Joseon whole—
That storm has begun to rise.
And so, I have but one duty:
‘I need to step into the eye of the storm.’
I’ll stick close to the one who stirs this tempest…
And laugh as all those fools get swept away by it.
With that thought, I slipped into the crowd.
With Kim Hyunwoo down and the nobles’ attention pulled elsewhere—
No one would notice me.
* * *
Thump-thump-thump-thump—!
The deafening roar of rotors thundered across the night sky above the neon-lit city of Hanseong as a single armored helicopter soared overhead.
Inside were a squad of enhanced soldiers from the Royal Training Command—and leading them was a soldier of the Royal Guard.
Their mission: secretly dispose of the unconscious girl Yu Arin lying in the corner of the cabin.
“How long until we reach the target site?”
“Roughly five minutes. But, um…”
The pilot glanced nervously at the cargo bay in the rear.
With a conflicted look, he turned to the Royal Guard and hesitantly asked:
“Are we really… going to dispose of that child? I mean, she’s just a kid…”
“Orders from above are absolute. Don’t question them.”
“Y-yes, sir…”
The pilot fell silent.
Behind him stood the Royal Guard. If he ran his mouth one more time, it could very well cost him his neck.
“…Huh?”
Tension filled the air. Suddenly, something caught his eye in the distance.
A tall building on the outskirts of Hanseong.
Something was flying toward them.
Strange.
No alarms were going off.
As that thought crossed his mind, the pilot squinted—
Thunk—!
An arrow pierced straight through the center of his forehead.
He died instantly.
The armored glass of the cockpit, rated to deflect even anti-tank rounds, had been punctured by a single arrow.
“We’re under attack?! What the hell—?!”
Bzzzzt—!
The moment the pilot drew his last breath, the arrow’s tip released an electromagnetic pulse.
The cockpit flared red with warning alerts.
Seeing the chaos unfold, the Royal Guard clenched his jaw.
The arrow had hacked the entire control system of the helicopter.
‘Even with Tier-1 security modules, the system was breached in an instant… The only ones capable of something like this are agents from the Royal Inquisition Bureau…!’
It was a surprise attack, but the Royal Guard quickly assessed the situation.
Judging by the timing, there was only one thing the intruders were after.
He turned to the unconscious Yu Arin and shouted:
“Dispose of the target! Now—!”
But it was already too late.
“No. You’re too slow.”
With that cold whisper, the enhanced soldiers guarding Arin began dropping one by one.
Standing among their fallen bodies was a masked intruder.
He wore the eerie, mouthless Hahoetal mask, known for its grotesque design.
“Hahoe…! You damned traitors, I ought to rip you apart for this!”
BOOM—!
And that wasn’t all.
The helicopter’s ramp exploded open, and more masked figures flooded in through the breach.
Their goal: to snatch Yu Arin and escape.
One of them reached for Arin and leapt toward the sky.
The Royal Guard didn’t hesitate. He launched himself after them—
“Where do you think you’re going?”
CLANG—!
The masked man wearing the Hahoetal intercepted his charge in mid-air.
There’d been no sign of him entering the chopper.
The sheer intensity radiating from his body told the rest.
He was an aura user.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—!
In the blink of an eye, dozens of blows were exchanged.
“Tch.”
He’d managed to block the attacks of a Royal Guard, one of the elite Royal Guard.
That meant he wasn’t just any low-level thug with aura.
‘He must be a top-tier agent… maybe even a commander within the Hahoe Organization.’
Meanwhile, the other intruders who’d jumped first were already on the ground.
The Royal Guard’s expression hardened.
‘If this keeps up, they’ll escape with the target.’
That was unacceptable.
Steadying his stance, the Royal Guard drew in a breath and concentrated every ounce of his aura into a single point.
FWASH—!
In the next moment, a massive shockwave erupted from his body, blasting off the entire rear half of the helicopter.
It was a signature technique: unleashing compressed aura all at once.
Only a select few in the Royal Guard could perform it.
“Damn it! You weren’t kidding about being a Royal Guard—freakin’ monster strength!”
The masked attacker had managed to block the blast with both arms, but was sent flying into the open sky regardless.
Seeing this, the Royal Guard didn’t pause.
He sprang off a chunk of flying debris and launched himself straight toward the ground.
‘They’re inside that vehicle.’
The Hahoe agents who’d extracted Yu Arin had already transferred her into a getaway car.
The Royal Guard activated his retinal scanner, sure enough, Yu Arin was inside.
At this rate… he’d be too late.
Gritting his teeth, the man immediately drew the pistol holstered at his waist—
And fired at maximum output.
BOOOOOM—!!
The vehicle was struck by a high-pressure plasma round, exploding in place.
Engulfed in flames, the car was instantly reduced to ash.
No matter what kind of life-support systems were installed, no one could possibly survive that kind of blast.
THUD—!
The Royal Guard landed shortly after, crashing down from the sky.
He rushed to inspect the burning wreck.
In the back seat, all that remained was the charred body of a child.
Even amid the grotesque scene, the man calmly scanned the victim’s teeth and hair for biometric data.
Identity confirmed.
Two Hahoe agents and the disposal target, Yu Arin, were confirmed dead inside the burning vehicle.
“…We were going to dispose of her anyway, but I didn’t expect the Hahoe rats to sniff us out.”
And that arrow earlier, what the hell was it?
He turned his eyes back toward where the helicopter had exploded.
But it was pointless.
The chopper’s remains had rained down across the entire city. Searching through every last piece of wreckage would be futile.
“This is insane… What the hell happened here?”
“Royal Guard-nim.”
A voice called from behind.
Agents clad in the crimson robes of the Royal Inquisition Bureau stood at attention, saluting him.
“We have confirmed the death of Yu Arin. The investigation will now be formally transferred to the Royal Inquisition Bureau.”
“…Is that so.”
Without another word, the agents dispersed across the area, inspecting the remnants of the wreck.
Far off, atop a rooftop, a figure named Chang-woon watched silently. He calmly lowered his bow and murmured to himself:
“Yeah. You all did your part.”
The mission report would read:
A sudden ambush by Hahoe agents during transport, repelled thanks to the brave efforts of the Royal Guard.
Target attempted to be extracted.
Getaway vehicle destroyed by the Royal Guard.
Both Hahoe agents and the girl—dead.
No one would suspect a thing.
Just as that thought settled, an old, dusty sedan pulled up in front of the building where Chang-woon stood.
He descended to the first floor and opened the door.
Inside—
lay Yu Arin, unconscious but breathing.
“…Mmm… ah, da…ddy…?”
“Oh-ho.”
So she slept through an exploding helicopter and a high-speed clash between aura users…
And only now decides to wake up?
That’s one hell of a sturdy heart.
Watching her blink open her drowsy eyes, Chang-woon couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Finally awake, little lady?”
Primary Objective: Yu Arin—secured.
Mission: Success.
---The End Of The Chapter---
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