The basement of the Cheong-Am Euthanasia Center had a rather fascinating history. In the past, there had been a plan to build a new subway line through Old Seoul, but the project was cancelled after the construction funds were embezzled. With no money left even to demolish the half-finished structure, it was simply abandoned.
An investor, unaware of this, built a building on top of it. Only after discovering the truth did he take his own life. Later, Yu-Han bought the abandoned building dirt cheap.
In any case, the basement of the Cheong-Am Center, once intended to become a subway tunnel, was incredibly spacious. That made it suitable for use as a training room. At the moment, every employee of the Cheong-Am Center was gathered there.
"Magical aptitude varies from person to person. Because it behaves somewhat like a light spectrum, the concept of a 'Mana Spectrum' was born. In short, what matters is widening the range of your spectrum and making your existing spectrum brighter."
"Huh~ So there was somethin' like that?"
Yi Rang spoke as if she genuinely found it interesting. Alice, meanwhile, sincerely wondered how Yi Rang, a supposed veteran sanctioner, didn't even know such a basic concept.
"First, you find your aptitude by directly using the four major branches of magic."
At the mention of the four major branches, Alice raised her hand enthusiastically and answered. Finally, a topic she knew about had come up.
"By the four major branches, you mean Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth magic, right!?"
"...What kind of ancient primitive world view is that? Obviously, they're Statics, Dynamics, Thermodynamics, and Electrodynamics!"
"Director, you didn't know that?"
Not only Yu-Han, but even Yi Rang looked at Alice with eyes that said she was a bit pathetic. Alice bit her lower lip in embarrassment and frustration. The manga and anime she watched definitely said so...
Anyway, Yu-Han showed them a list of magic with high usage rates in actual combat. He also emphasized the importance of high-purity mana energy once again. Afterward, he made Yi Rang and Alice wrap themselves in their own mana and take turns sparring.
"Yi Rang. Why is your mana yellow?"
"Ugh... I didn't choose this color."
Yu-Han cut in and explained teasingly.
"Maintaining the purity of mana isn't easy, you know! Otherwise, you end up with that piss-yellow color."
"Hey!! Callin' it piss-yellow is crossing the line! At least call it gold or somethin'!!"
While Yi Rang and Alice trained like that, Kim Ga-Eun wiped away tears.
"I'm truly moved, Yu-Han C... To think I'd finally make a female friend! Being alone with Yu-Han C is nice too, but handling all your nonsense by myself was really hard, you know!"
"Shut up. Just turn into a monster already. We're doing the usual."
Yu-Han picked up a blunt wooden training sword and began sparring with Kim Ga-Eun in her monster form. He dodged Kim Ga-Eun's attacks with acrobatic ease, then kept smacking her on the head with infuriatingly cheap shots. Even the onlookers started getting annoyed.
However, watching them train made Yi Rang and Alice feel a crushing sense of inferiority. Especially Alice, who had taken a beating from Yi Gyu-Chan yesterday.
'Damn it... will playing house like this really work?'
"Ha, Yu-Han. Ridiculous. Gathering in a place like this to play house with girls?"
At that moment, as if reading Alice's thoughts, a distinct voice echoed through the basement. The voice belonged to a well-built young Elf man with platinum hair, someone Alice had never seen before. Yu-Han openly frowned upon seeing him.
"That is Lee Sang-Deok."
"Don't tell me you're going to say this is another 'old grudge.'"
"Can't you tell by looking?"
Lee Sang-Deok looked around, sneering with an intellectual but frivolous air.
"Tsk, tsk. I came all this way. A simple 'thank you' would suffice. By the way, aside from the monster, are a bot and a pet the new members?"
Hearing that, Yi Rang flared up.
"Hey, watch your mouth, will ya?! I'm a damn human!!"
"I can't understand a word it's barking. P. E. T."
"You bastard!!"
Enraged, Yi Rang rushed at Lee Sang-Deok. However... something snatched her ankle and lifted her into the air.
Tree roots sprouting through the floor hung Yi Rang upside down, binding her entire body in a bizarre pose.
"You rotten bastard!! Put me down right now!!"
"Noisy."
A tree root gagged Yi Rang's mouth, leaving her unable to even groan properly. Kim Ga-Eun shook her head from side to side.
"Alice C. Lee Sang-Deok C is... equal to or stronger than Yu-Han C."
"In combat power? Or in craziness?"
"Maybe both."
"Hmm. Birds of a feather flock together."
At Alice's words, Lee Sang-Deok glared at her with dissatisfied eyes.
"What a cheeky bot. I'm only helping because I lost some stupid little bet to Yu-Han. But, I am clearly stronger and wiser than this guy."
But Yu-Han disagreed with that.
"'Defeated in the match' would be more accurate, right? And of course, I, who won the match, am stronger and wiser. Reality proves it."
"You used a dirty trick... Want to try again?!"
To stop the two from growling at each other, Alice changed the subject.
"So, what brings our noble Elf-nim to a shabby place like this?"
As Alice spoke sarcastically, Yu-Han answered.
"...Well, a collaborator. For the work we're about to do."
"Work?"
"We're going to kill Yang Jin-Mu."
"!?"
Yu-Han seemed puzzled by Alice's reaction.
"Why are you so surprised? To become a Grade 3 National Contributor, turning in a terrorists's heaad is the fastest way."
"That's true, but I need time to mentally prepare..."
"Why the hell would a robot need mental preparation? Besides, Most events in life happen without preparation anyway."
At their conversation, Lee Sang-Deok laughed loudly.
"Yu-Han, to set up such a cowardly bot as the Director. So, bot? You just guard the house and do the chores."
Lee Sang-Deok's arrogant remark triggered Alice's competitive spirit once again.
"...Fine, Elf. Let's see how well you fight!!"
"Ha! Worry about whether your warranty period has expired!!"
Eventually, the four left the basement, chatting noisily. ...However, they seemed to have forgotten someone.
"...!! #&^%!!"
Yi Rang had to stay tied up in that somewhat obscene pose for quite a while...
***
Yang Jin-Mu stood on the rooftop of an abandoned building, leaning against the railing with his eyes closed. He slowly opened his eyes. They were full of firm resolve, yet looked somewhat bitter.
"...Are you Yang Jin-Mu?"
At that moment, Lee Sang-Deok appeared behind him.
"You found me well, Elf."
"Nature told me."
"...I don't feel even a bit of nature in this city. Does the power of nature work for Elves even in a place filled with artificial objects?"
"Ha! What a stupid thing to say. Just as an anthill built by ants is part of nature, artificial structures made by humans are naturally part of nature as well...!"
"That is a very interesting perspective."
"Want to see something more interesting?"
At that moment, Lee Sang-Deok summoned a heavy metal object into his hands.
It was... a flamethrower.
"This is Nature's Judgment—!!!"
In an instant, Yang Jin-Mu was engulfed in flames. Of course, these flames were enhanced by magic, powerful enough to melt even steel in seconds.
"Behind you."
To Yang Jin-Mu, who had already moved behind him, Lee Sang-Deok spoke.
"I know! The spirits of the concrete already told me!!"
Lee Sang-Deok delivered a back kick, accurately striking Yang Jin-Mu behind him. Pushed back, Yang Jin-Mu began gathering light at his fingertips.
"Gamma-Ray Magic!!"
Lee Sang-Deok was exposed to gamma rays carrying massive energy. It was power far exceeding a lethal dose, enough to cause an agonizing death.
"Hey, shining a light for me is fine, but invisible rays are useless as lighting, you know?"
"Nonsense...!"
"You seem to know nothing about the true origin of the Elf race."
Records of a pointed-eared race appear in literature all across the world. They were called Elves, beings who loved nature and possessed the power to purify it, appearing in various creative works. But where they came from had never been revealed.
"—But I figured it out! Elves are mutants who survived in high-radiation zones! The fact that the number of Elves increased exponentially after the nuclear war supports this!!"
"What did you say...!?"
"Still don't get it? These pointed ears aren't decorations! They're antennae for detecting radiation!"
Lee Sang-Deok opened his palm toward Yang Jin-Mu.
"Here's your refund."
Lee Sang-Deok released the radiation absorbed into his body back toward Yang Jin-Mu. Elves, who loved and purified nature, could of course absorb radiation. And theoretically, it was also possible to release that radiation back at the opponent!
Receiving the massive energy, Yang Jin-Mu's clothes and body were left tattered. However, Yang Jin-Mu... was still alive, his whole body twisted and full of holes. He even moved his mouth slowly in that state, as if feeling no pain.
"Excellent. If I still had my doctorate, I'd want to turn your hypothesis into a paper right now."
"No need to thank me. One should always help the inferior races."
Yang Jin-Mu's damaged body was unnaturally restored.
"However! I think I need to kill you first!!"
Yang Jin-Mu activated another magic. The rooftop floor beneath them disappeared in an instant.
"...! It didn't disappear. The matter... turned into waves...!?"
"I praise you, Elf student. I can use magic that converts matter into waves and waves back into matter. The floor has just turned into a standing wave with zero velocity!"
As Yang Jin-Mu gestured, the rooftop floor was restored. Lee Sang-Deok broke into a manic grin.
"Quite interesting for a human...! I'd like to discuss nature with you more intimately... but that seems impossible."
And appearing from behind were Alice and Kim Ga-Eun. Yang Jin-Mu released gamma rays at the two, but it didn't work on them. They were beings who had already surpassed humanity.
"This robot, did she even prepare for radiation? Thorough indeed..."
Torn apart by Alice's beam sword and Kim Ga-Eun's claws, Yang Jin-Mu became tattered again, to the point where his cross-sections were visible. His body was restored again, but the speed had noticeably decreased.
"Only three? Where is our bloody rat-like friend, Yu-Han, hiding?"
"Right here, asshole."
Suddenly, the floor shattered, and Yu-Han soared up from the floor below. Wrapped around his entire body was heavy scarlet mana...! Yang Jin-Mu "dodged" an attack for the first time in this battle.
"To use that. You want to kill me that badly again? Just like when you killed me back then!!"
While Yang Jin-Mu dodged Yu-Han, he was pierced by one of Kim Ga-Eun's tentacles. He didn't die, but the damage continued to accumulate, pressuring him... And that pressure made for a perfect distraction.
Aliced recalled Yu-Han's advice.
Alice was still muttering, chanting the spell. However, the spell that was supposed to take an hour was on the verge of completion in less than six minutes. The method was simple. Alice's vocal module recited the incantation at ten times human speed.
'Now... it's complete!'
The moment Alice was about to utter the last syllable... Yang Jin-Mu was looking directly at her.
"Did you think I wouldn't notice?"
What fired from Yang Jin-Mu's hand was a superheated ray. It was heat that not even Alice could withstand.
At that moment, a massive hand blocked Alice's front and took the ray instead. As the monster's arm began to burn, the monster did not hesitate for even a moment before amputating its own arm. And in the blink of an eye, new flesh and bone sprouted from the stump, regenerating the arm as if nothing had happened.
"You guys... let's settle the score next time. I don't like this place enough to make it my grave."
"Endure it even if you hate it!!"
Yu-Han swung his blade, but Yang Jin-Mu had already transformed his body into high-velocity waves and fled.
"Yu-Han... we will meet again. Just like back then, kill me again... If you killed me once, you can kill me twice, right?"
"Yu-Han, what on earth does that mean...!"
Alice asked, her voice filled with confusion.
Looking at the spot where Yang Jin-Mu had disappeared, Yu-Han remained silent for a while. And finally, he opened his mouth.
"You don't need to know."