"Why did you call me all the way out here? And with some weird code, too."
"Fun little code, wasn't it? I knew you'd crack it in no time."
While relaxing at home, Yang Su-Hyeon discovered a series of suspicious numbers laser-etched into her balcony floor. After thinking about them for roughly five minutes, she realized that the code was based on elements from the periodic table.
"But if you wanted to talk, you could've just come inside. Why go through all this trouble?"
"Ha ha..."
Yang Jin-Mu laughed as though he found his little sister's grumbling adorable.
It was the same smile Su-Hyeon remembered him wearing, and the sight left a bitter knot in her chest.
"...Terrorism must be pretty fun if you're still at it even after becoming a specter."
"Actually, it is. Want to join me? You could become one of us in Thanatics."
"Not worth hearing."
An explosion suddenly erupted around Yang Jin-Mu.
As they talked, Yang Su-Hyeon had been laying the invisible groundwork for her attack.
"That 'Virtual Mana Element' you created is still fascinating."
Virtual Mana Element.
Through her magic, Yang Su-Hyeon could create artificial elements with whatever properties she desired. Any element whose properties violated the laws of physics would spontaneously collapse, releasing energy in the process.
Anyway, the details weren't particularly important.
What mattered was this: Yang Jin-Mu had evaded the explosion and remained alive.
"Fascinating as it is, it isn't enough to kill me, is it?"
"Ha! I never expected that alone to kill you!!"
Yang Su-Hyeon fired a bolt from her homemade, 3D-printed crossbow.
Yang Jin-Mu effortlessly evaded it by shifting his body into a wave state.
[Why are you so determined to kill me?]
"...I should've stopped you back then, too—when you swore you'd get revenge no matter what."
[Because you think you and that Yu-Han guy would've worked out if I hadn't been around?]
"That asshole has nothing to do with this! We haven't done anything but hold hands anyway!"
Before she knew it, Yang Jin-Mu was standing on an interior wall as though it were the floor.
His eyes were filled with pity as he looked down at his sister.
"Don't get me wrong. Revenge no longer interests me. The members of Thanatics desire only one thing: the extermination of the Korean people...!!"
"That's somehow even more deranged than revenge. Go on, then. Keep spouting that crap."
Yang Jin-Mu slowly walked down the wall and stepped onto the floor.
"Look at Korean history. Koreans have contributed little to the advancement of human science, yet they've become experts at fighting and exploiting their own people."
"So you hate Koreans!?"
"No. I've gained a new perspective. Koreans aren't the ones to blame. They're merely victims, designed so that they have no choice but to behave that way. You, me, and that Yu-Han fellow—all of us."
"So?"
"That's why I'll kill every Korean and free them from the curse of their Korean flesh. What we do is no different from the work of sanctioners. In fact, it's closer to the true essence of euthanasia."
Instead of answering, Yang Su-Hyeon fired a bolt at his head.
Yang Jin-Mu evaded it by briefly shifting his body into a wave state.
"You're my sister, but you're as toxic as ever. Even without me, you and Yu-Han probably wouldn't have gotten very far."
"Fuck off."
The bolts Yang Su-Hyeon had fired began to glow, generating a field of mana.
"Oh dear. Trying to nullify my magic? I suddenly feel terribly ill..."
Yang Jin-Mu feigned a cough, putting on an exaggerated show.
The siblings were already familiar with each other's magic. Yang Su-Hyeon had inscribed the bolts with magic circles designed to cancel out Yang Jin-Mu's Wave–Matter Conversion Magic.
"How long are you going to keep playing around!?"
"If you want to know, figure it out yourself. You're a scientist, after all."
Of course, Yang Jin-Mu wasn't stupid enough to rely entirely on a single type of magic.
And of course, Yang Su-Hyeon knew that.
But of course, Yang Jin-Mu had anticipated even that...
Such was the exhausting nature of battles between geniuses.
"Radiation Magic—Gamma Rays!"
Even after being bombarded with gamma rays, Yang Su-Hyeon remained alive.
The black mana barrier surrounding her had radiation-shielding properties.
Seeing this, Yang Jin-Mu decided he would have to close the distance. Yang Su-Hyeon sighed as she watched him approach.
"Do I look weak at close range?"
"!?"
Yang Jin-Mu's body began to break down.
It went beyond mere paralysis. It felt as though parts of his body were rotting away.
Yang Jin-Mu hurriedly retreated.
"I've got a fair bit of experience as a sanctioner myself, you know? I don't know who coined it, but at some point people started calling me the 'Poison Moth'..."
"You've grown quite... venomous."
"Turns out I couldn't keep playing the innocent scholar forever."
Yang Su-Hyeon fired another volley of bolts at Yang Jin-Mu.
His body was torn apart once again.
He regenerated almost immediately. Even so, to an outside observer, Yang Su-Hyeon still seemed to have the upper hand.
"But Su-Hyeon, you're forgetting something. I gave up being an innocent scholar long before you did!"
This time, Yang Jin-Mu unleashed a barrage of heat-ray magic from a distance.
Yang Su-Hyeon, however, appeared to have prepared for that as well. She conjured a mana-based substance capable of absorbing thermal energy.
The translucent masses blocked the rays.
'I've got him! I've shut down all his main forms of magic. All he has left are the basics...'
With the battle unfolding exactly as she had predicted, Yang Su-Hyeon became certain of her victory.
Then she noticed something at her feet.
A grenade with its pin pulled.
'Shit...'
The grenade detonated immediately.
Yang Su-Hyeon barely managed to raise a mana barrier in time, but the blast hurled her into the wall, leaving her battered and broken.
"You made the mistake of assuming I fought with magic alone."
Yang Su-Hyeon's brilliant mind quickly figured out where the grenade had come from.
Yang Jin-Mu had converted the grenade into a wave state and hidden it in advance. He had then arranged for the transformation to end after a delay, effectively turning the grenade into a time bomb.
Her nullification field could prevent Yang Jin-Mu from using his conversion magic within it, but it couldn't undo a transformation completed beforehand.
"Why would you go this far...!?"
Yang Su-Hyeon coughed up blood as she spoke, but Yang Jin-Mu remained cold and unmoved.
"I told you. I'm going to exterminate every Korean. I meant it. And of course, you're Korean too."
As Yang Jin-Mu approached, Yang Su-Hyeon's eyelids began to droop.
Then she saw something behind him, and her eyes snapped wide open.
A crazed-looking elven man stood there.
"Found you, you little rat!"
"!!"
Yang Jin-Mu tried to turn around, but before he could, Lee Sang-Deok's submachine-gun fire tore into him.
"The spirits of the hydrogen atoms around here told me where you were..."
"There are spirits for that, too!?"
"Of course! Hydrogen is older than trees—why wouldn't it have spirits!?"
Yang Jin-Mu attempted to flee as Lee Sang-Deok continued firing with undisguised glee.
Then, without warning, Yang Jin-Mu stopped dead.
"What the hell!? Giving up on life all of a sudden!?"
"I make a point of not fighting battles I can't win. Time for me to go."
Yang Jin-Mu snapped his fingers.
Bombs planted throughout the building materialized into view.
He had been prepared from the very beginning to blow the entire abandoned building sky-high.
"Ah, Nature damn it..."
As Lee Sang-Deok cursed, the entire abandoned factory was engulfed in flames.
---
"I get it now...! People need meat!!"
"Yi Rang C! Here's a mountain of garlic, onions, and butter!"
"Ahh~ Now you're talkin'!"
Training had just ended.
The Cheong-Am Center had a single room that served as a break room, kitchen, and dining area. There, Kim Ga-Eun and Yi Rang—today's dinner crew—were happily grilling meat.
Alice and Yu-Han sat nearby, watching them.
"Those two look like they've finally found some common ground. Food."
"One's a predator, and the other's a monster. They must burn a lot of energy."
"I'm pretty jealous that they can eat that much and never gain weight."
"What's there to envy? You're a robot yourself."
"Agh. Do you have to pick apart every little thing I say?"
At that moment, the office door slammed open.
"An enemy!?"
Yu-Han and Alice rushed out, but the newcomer was no enemy.
It was Lee Sang-Deok, carrying a bloodied and battered Yang Su-Hyeon over his shoulder.
"Hey... Yu-Han. What's your relationship with this woman? Found her while she was fighting that son of a bitch Jin-Mu."
"About the same as the relationship between you and me."
"You and me? Aren't we enemies? Then I can kill her right now!"
"Please don't. Just put her down here."
Yu-Han used summoning magic, causing a bed to appear in the middle of the office.
Lee Sang-Deok laid Yang Su-Hyeon on it, and she let out a groan.
"Hey, Doc. Did you seriously take on Yang Jin-Mu one-on-one? That's reckless."
"Damn it... Why'd you bring me here instead of taking me to a hospital...?"
"What the hell are you talking about? You don't even have insurance. I'll patch you up."
Yu-Han used healing magic to stop her bleeding.
All sanctioners received at least basic medical training.
"Yu-Han, my brother was spouting some crap about exterminating every Korean."
"Typical terrorist bullshit. How were you planning to take on Yang Jin-Mu in the first place?"
"...I started by preparing for every kind of magic that asshole uses. First, I inscribed my bolts with magic circles that—wait! You there, tiger! You're too loud!"
Yang Su-Hyeon snapped at the sound of loud chewing.
Yi Rang and Kim Ga-Eun were standing nearby, watching the conversation. Kim Ga-Eun was munching noisily on a piece of grilled meat.
"H-Hey, that wasn't me. She was the one makin' all the noise..."
Yi Rang pointed at Kim Ga-Eun in protest, but no one else seemed particularly interested.
Kim Ga-Eun gave Yi Rang a sheepish, apologetic smile.
"Wait, everyone—breaking news!"
Alice projected a holographic screen from her right eye.
[Greetings, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Yang Jin-Mu of Thanatics—the man who destroyed the terminal last time. Apparently, that wasn't enough to put you on alert. So, beginning now, I'll be launching a wave of terrorist attacks throughout Old Seoul. Well, that's all for now.]
Yang Jin-Mu's video message ended there.
Yang Su-Hyeon watched the screen, swore, and then spoke.
"Ha... What the hell is he up to now!?"
"Dr. Yang, if you're hurt, stay down. We'll handle it. Ga-Eun, Yi Rang—keep Dr. Yang safe."
Yu-Han, Alice, and Lee Sang-Deok rushed outside together.
The three left behind sat in awkward silence.
"Um... would you like some dinner?"
Kim Ga-Eun offered shyly, but Yang Su-Hyeon answered without hesitation.
"...In this condition? I might need surgery. How am I supposed to eat?"
Then the smell of grilled meat reached her, and her resolve crumbled almost immediately.
"Fuck surgery. Just give me a few pieces..."