“Haa… haa….”

“Jodie. Jodie, can you hear me?”

Sangsik’s voice came from directly in front of her.

“S…Sangsik….”

“That’s right. It’s me. It’s over now.”

The savagery faded from Jodie’s expression. Slowly, she blinked, her eyes clearing as she looked around.

Dozens of hunters lay sprawled across the ground, each of them marked by gaping wounds.

She glanced down at her own arm. The fur that should have been silver was drenched red, matted with blood.

“While you were holding them here, All Around and the Peacekeeping Force Unit broke through from the rear. All we have to do now is wait.”

“……”

Jodie raised her head.

“It’s not over yet.”

Her features twisted again, fierce once more.

“The ones who turned me into this… they haven’t been caught. Sangsik. You too—”

But he shook his head.

“They have been caught.”

“…What?”

Her eyes widened.

“Or as good as. The one who betrayed Sherry and informed the higher-ups is here in this lab. The doctor who used you as a test subject is here too.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Yang Len confessed. Once Oh Sungcheon abandoned him, he spilled everything to the mayor.”

“……”

Jodie remembered then—Yang Len, leader of the Black Hounds, had been captured by Cheon Jiwon.

“And…”

Sangsik bit his lip before continuing.

“Oh Sungcheon is dead.”

Jodie’s eyes went wide.

“Brain dead. The hospital made it official, or so the Peacekeeping Force Unit’s commander just told me.”

“Ghh…!!”

She ground her teeth.

“That bastard… he wasn’t supposed to die like that…!”

Her fur bristled, rage and grief drowning out her reason.

But then—

“……!”

Her whole body froze.

Because tears were running down Sangsik’s face.

“…I’m sorry.”

He only realized he was crying after he turned his back. Raising his head, he spoke quietly.

“Of course it isn’t truly over. Arresting everyone here doesn’t mean all the guilty are gone. The Black Hounds are still out there.”

“That’s right. They’re the ones who captured me and delivered me to Forward.”

“And they’re the ones who killed Sherry. But your hands won’t be stained with their blood. Not anymore.”

“What? What’s that supposed to mean!”

Jodie shouted, betrayal flashing in her eyes.

“The Black Hounds will be arrested by Mayor Cheon Jiwon and the Peacekeeping Force Unit.”

“No! I won’t accept that! Never!”

“Jodie.”

Sangsik seized her arm.

His hand was immediately soaked red from the blood clinging to her fur.

“Our job now is to testify in court. To tell the world what was done to us. To expose everything they did. That way, society itself will deliver judgment.”

“Why? Why can’t we just take revenge with our own hands!”

She pulled, straining to free her arm from his grip.

“Because I don’t want you to live in hiding anymore.”

“!”

Jodie flinched.

Her strength ebbed away all at once.

Sangsik remembered the words Yein had told him yesterday.

“Jodie is another threat to the mayor. Her power is something he cannot control.”

That was something he had never thought of before.

“What the mayor wants is order. If Jodie shows she won’t break that order, then he’ll watch her carefully, but he won’t kill her. But if you choose that path, you’ll have to give up your revenge.”

And finally—

“Tomorrow, whether Jodie’s hands are stained with blood or not… that will be your decision, Teacher.”

“We lived in the shadows because we believed no one would help us. But now things have changed. All Around, the Peacekeeping Force Unit, even the mayor—they’re with us.”

“……”

“If we keep swinging the blade of vengeance in this situation, the mayor will have no choice but to punish us.”

He tightened his grip.

“But I want you to live under the sun.”

Jodie lowered her gaze.

Silver fur, soaked in blood.

Claws sharp enough to shred anything they touched.

Those monstrous hands—Sangsik held them firmly in his own.

“…Sangsik.”

She muttered.

“What about you?”

“Me? I’ll live, of course.”

He met her eyes.

“And I’ll use the rest of my life to make sure no more victims like us are ever born. The past can’t be changed. But the future hasn’t happened yet. That, we can change.”

“……”

Jodie stood in silence for a long moment. Then, with her free hand, she grasped his wrist. Gently, she peeled his hand away from her arm.

“……”

His face hardened. But then she spoke.

“I can’t accept it. My body will never return to normal. People will look at me like a monster. And the moment I lose my temper, I might hurt them. I can’t live under the sun. And above all, my head still screams at me to kill the ones who made me like this.”

Pain twisted Sangsik’s face.

“So if you want me to live like a normal person, then stay by my side. Always.”

“!”

He looked at her.

She gave him a bitter smile.

“Because when you’re here, I can find my reason again.”

“…Of course. I’ll stay.”

He nodded firmly.

“…Yes. Understood. You’ve worked hard. Please tell Jodie the same. I’ll see you soon.”

I hung up the receiver.

“You—did it work?”

When I turned, Lumina was staring at me with a nervous expression. Seo Yui and Meiling were there too.

“Yeah. The lab’s completely taken. And Mackenzie and Oh Yuwon were on site. The mayor caught them both.”

“Huh? Who are they?” Lumina tilted her head.

“Mackenzie is Forward Trading’s vice president. And Oh Yuwon… she’s the daughter of Oh Seonghu, the eldest son of Forward’s former chairman, Oh Yeonggwang.”

Meiling explained. As the daughter of Forward Artifact Engineering’s president, of course she knew the family tree well.

“But how did anyone even know there was a lab in Gimpo?” she asked, eyes narrowing at me.

“Not me. Teacher Kim Sangsik uncovered it. Remember the incident in Bucheon?”

“Oh—yeah. When the mayor showed up to help, right?” Lumina said.

I nodded.

“Back then, Jodie and the teacher were in Bucheon because they were after a Forward lab. And it was there they found out about the one in Gimpo.”

The Bucheon lab was for monster research.

Forward had been pulling beasts out of a hidden dungeon there, one the city didn’t even know about.

They harvested materials from those monsters to make the enhancement drug.

And those materials were sent on to the pharmaceutical lab in Gimpo.

I’d known all this already—from the game. But it was more natural for Kim Sangsik to provide that information than me, so I let him handle it.

All Around’s cooperation was also possible because of him.

I’d told him to be honest with Zeke about his past.

After all, it was through us that All Around became Forward’s enemy in the first place.

At this point, they had every reason to want Forward destroyed.

And with the chance to expose Forward’s crimes alongside the city itself?

Coupled with the justification of being former guild members, it would be all the easier for them to move.

Just as I expected, All Around gladly agreed to work with Seoul City—more precisely, with Cheon Jiwon.

The joint strike force of the Peacekeeping Force Unit and All Around completely subdued the lab and succeeded in capturing its members.

For Kim Sangsik and Jodie, it must have felt like others interfered with their revenge. But at least Sangsik must realize by now that without their help, his revenge would’ve been impossible.

“Forward is finished now.”

Meiling crossed her arms.

“Pulling monsters out of dungeons, abducting awakened children to use as test subjects—that’s a bomb so big that Gwangcheon’s corruption doesn’t even compare.”

“Exactly. Unlike Valhal, there’s no way they can claim it was just the fault of a few individuals.”

When I said that, Seo Yui’s gaze changed.

“Yui…”

Lumina noticed too, and squeezed her hand.

“I’m fine. I’m not angry or sad. Just glad that now, no one else will have to go through what we did.”

Seo Yui smiled faintly.

“Oh Sungcheon shouldn’t have died like that.”

Meiling clicked her tongue.

“Agreed.”

I felt the same.

In the original civil war scenario, Oh Sungcheon had two possible endings.

The first was my favorite: defeated in the civil war and executed by the people in Gwanghwamun Square.

The second: victorious in the civil war, ruling Seoul as a tyrant—only to later be struck down by a Latessai.

The reason? Simple. They didn’t like that a mere human who wasn’t even awakened was ruling Seoul.

A man who tried to bend the world to his will, snuffed out like an ant by a greater power—that ending was satisfying too.

“We’ll be able to go out soon,” Meiling said.

“With Oh Sungcheon dead, his two right-hand men captured, Forward’s crimes exposed, and new magic stone power tech revealed—they’ve got better things to do than chase us now.”

Not yet.

At her words, I whispered inwardly.

When the pharmaceutical lab in Gimpo and the Black Hounds are investigated, the worst of Forward’s atrocities—and humanity’s original sin in this world—will be revealed.

Tonight’s raid had set the stage.

But I didn’t need to involve myself anymore. From here on, the mayor and the Peacekeeping Force Unit would uncover everything.

And there’s still Gwangcheon’s corruption to expose.

That task belonged to Hanye, currently wearing Im Sungyeon’s skin.

All I needed to do was ask the mayor to protect her.

“Yes. We’ll be out soon.”

I smiled at everyone.

Hope shone on their faces.

A week later.

That same night after the raid, Lee Seon contacted me directly.

“For now, stay in the safehouse. We don’t have the manpower to bring you back to Seoul yet. Tonight, we’ll deliver a week’s worth of meals in one go.”

They must’ve been drowning—sorting through mountains of evidence from the lab and tracking down the remaining suspects.

The news was saturated with Forward.

Today, so-and-so from Forward was arrested.

Another hidden facility was exposed.

Forward had been running human trafficking on the outskirts of the city.

Seven fleeing Black Hound members had been caught with All Around’s help.

And then—Hanye exposed Gwangcheon’s corruption. Now Gwangcheon was under investigation too.

Classes there must’ve been completely halted. Staff, faculty, everyone—they were probably spending more time with police and Peacekeeping Force investigators than with students.

Day after day, Forward’s scandals filled the news.

And finally, the biggest bombshell dropped.

It was Sunday morning.

I was in the safehouse living room with my squad, Jodie, and Kim Sangsik.

Ever since the raid, watching the news together had become routine.

On-screen was the TBC anchor, pale as a corpse.

[We bring you very shocking news…]

He double-checked the papers on his desk, then continued.

[Investigations have revealed that the electricity Forward produced was not simply generated from magic stones… but from human beings.]

No one spoke.

We’d already seen the breaking reports online.

But watching it confirmed on live television was different.

The screen cut to Lee Seon, standing before a wall of reporters.

[It has been confirmed that Forward was using awakened individuals to alter the properties of magic stones. They turned their bodies into conduits that amplified mana, preventing the energy from dispersing and enabling sustained power generation. But in the process, the awakened died. The number sacrificed for Forward’s power plants is still under investigation, but in Seoul alone, the figure already exceeds one hundred…]

“A-ah…”

Lumina went white and trembled.

Seo Yui bit her lip hard.

Meiling, Jodie, and Kim Sangsik wore expressions of utter disbelief.

“Then… then what does that mean?”

Meiling’s eyes were wide.

“The electricity we’ve been using all this time… was made by killing people?”

She was right.

This was Forward’s greatest sin.

The original crime of humanity in this world.

And in the civil war scenario, this was the secret Forward fought to the death to keep hidden.

The broadcast continued, but in the living room, silence reigned.

[Ring ring ring!]

Suddenly, the phone on the wall rang.

“I’ll get it.”

I stood, lifted the receiver.

“This is Nam Yein.”

[Yein. It’s me.]

Cheon Jiwon’s voice was low and heavy.

“Yes, Mayor.”

[Tomorrow morning, I’ll send Peacekeeping Force to fetch you. I think it’s finally safe to bring you and your friends out.]

“That’s good news.”

[You’ve done well.]

Truthfully, it was Cheon Jiwon who had done the hard work.

I just fed him information and nudged him along.

[Gwangcheon is still under investigation, so I don’t think you should go back to the dorms yet. I’ve booked a hotel. Stay there with your friends for now.]

“Understood. Thank you for arranging that.”

[Is there anything you need?]

“Not at the moment.”

[Good. Then let me speak with Teacher Kim Sangsik.]

“Of course.”

I handed the phone to him. He’d likely get the same instructions. Unlike us, he had a house—he could return there with Jodie.

When I told the others what the mayor had said, Meiling practically shouted.

“Finally! We’re getting out of here!”

Guess the safehouse had been suffocating for her.

“The first thing I’m doing is calling my parents.” Lumina gave a weary smile.

“I’m going out to eat. If I see one more boxed meal or instant noodles, I’ll scream,” Meiling said, face scrunching.

“Sundae soup?” I teased.

“Of course!” she snapped, crossing her arms.

The three of us burst out laughing. Even Meiling cracked a reluctant grin.

Monday morning.

We returned to Yongsan.

We’d stopped by once or twice before, but it had been nearly two weeks since we were properly back in Seoul.

“Let’s unpack and then get some food,” I said.

“You bet.” Meiling darted into her room like lightning.

Lumina and Seo Yui smiled and headed to theirs.

I stepped into my own room, set my bag down, and looked out the window.

Buildings. Cars. Seoul’s skyline.

“…What?”

I froze.

Out there, among the buildings—something strange.

A castle gate.

Like a chunk of theme park scenery dropped right in the middle of the road.

Police tape surrounded it, holding the crowd back.

“…Hah. No rest for the weary.”

A sigh escaped me.

That wasn’t just any gate.

It was a dungeon entrance.

And its appearance could only mean one thing—

The start of Phase Two.

(End of Chapter)