"That Park In-Hyeok bastard! How dare he skip town in the dead of night!"
After the Cheon-Rang Center incident, Park In-Hyeok had lost contact with Kim Je-Hyeon.
As things weren't going well, Kim Je-Hyeon began to grow anxious.
It was because disposing of Yu-Han was making slow progress.
Kim Je-Hyeon immediately made a phone call somewhere.
"Hey, it's me. I have someone I need you to take care of!"
[Senator, for you to call us, don't tell me...]
"That's right! Use black magic!"
***
Meanwhile, at the Cheong-Am Center.
"Yu-Han, you've completely become the Deputy of our center now."
As Alice spoke with a smile, Yu-Han, who was sitting on the sofa drinking green tea, had a look of incomprehension.
"What are you talking about? I just played the part of Deputy for a bit to handle some troublesome mess."
"Your face is already all over the news as the Deputy, you know?"
"Don't worry. I'll hold a press conference and set the record straight."
"Instead of doing that, you practically founded this center, so why don't you take some responsibility?"
"You'll do fine. You're the savior from the legendary prophecy, after all."
"...Could you stop and just do it?"
"No."
"Do it!"
"No!"
Another argument between the two began, and the eyes of the spectating Yi Rang and Kim Ga-Eun darted back and forth between them.
Perhaps because both of them were quite stubborn, it ended with no results even after bickering for nearly 10 minutes.
Once a truce was established, Alice banded together with the other girls.
"God, that guy… He's such a stubborn cat."
At Alice's remark, Yi Rang and Ga-Eun gasped.
Yi Rang looked at Alice with eyes full of worry and asked.
"Alice, ya think that crazy bastard is cute like a cat?
Should we call a computer repair guy or somethin'..."
"No! What I mean is, he only has the flaws of a cat!
A selfish jerk who only cares about himself!"
Yu-Han refuted Alice while watching an avian documentary on a hologram screen.
"Hey... the animal I hate the most is a cat!
What on earth do I have in common with those fur-cockroaches..."
Just as Yu-Han was speaking, a weak 'poof' sound effect was heard.
In the spot where Yu-Han had been, a chatty black cat was meowing about something.
Noticing its own state, the cat jumped up in surprise.
"Yu, Yu-Han? Is it transformation magic? That doesn't make you cute at all, you know?"
At Alice's question, the cat shook its head vehemently.
"Step aside, Director. I'll translate, since I'm in the feline family too."
Yi Rang crouched down next to Yu-Han, listened carefully to his intense meowing, and nodded.
"What! 'I will pay off all of Employee Yi Rang's debt. I won't mess around from now on' ya say!?"
The black cat let out an angry hiss and pounced on Yi Rang.
One minute later, Yi Rang was lying face down, pathetically defeated, and the cat was sitting on the back of her head like a conqueror.
Yu-Han pointed with his front paw at something on the table in front of the sofa.
"The hologram device? You want us to bring it?"
While Alice was checking, Kim Ga-Eun extended a tentacle from her body and handed it to Yu-Han.
Yu-Han manipulated it with difficulty using his front paws, then activated translation mode.
[Ah, can you hear me well? Damn it. To turn into a cat, 'This sentence cannot be translated due to policy'.]
The dry TTS of the machine voice translated and spoke Yu-Han's cat language.
"Yu-Han C! You look lovely in your cat form! Ehehe..."
[Ga-Eun. Is this the time to be saying such carefree things? This must definitely be a curse attack from the enemy! We need to go find those bastards right now and 'I'm sorry, but it cannot be translated due to policy'.]
At the word 'curse', Alice thought carefully and spoke.
"Of course, we have to lift the curse... but you're the one who's always preaching about give and take, right?
If I lift it, what's in it for me?"
[Money? Or emotional praise?]
"I don't need either. How about quietly taking the Deputy position?"
[Those are two completely separate issues!]
"If you don't want to, live as a cat for the rest of your life."
[Ugh... Fine, I'll do it.]
Hearing Yu-Han's surrender, Alice smiled with satisfaction.
[So, how are we supposed to find the enemy?]
"Ah. I don't think about that."
At that moment, Kim Ga-Eun stepped forward confidently.
"Yu-Han C! The enemies must have obtained Yu-Han C's biological tissue and used it as an ingredient for black magic, right!?"
[Probably? And?]
"So... I'll track down Yu-Han C's scent with my nose!"
[What kind of nonsense is...]
Kim Ga-Eun tightly hugged Yu-Han, who had become a cat, and began to rub her face against him.
"To firmly imprint the scent! I have no choice but to do this! Sniff, slurp."
Seeing Kim Ga-Eun bury her face in the cat and ravenously sniff its scent, Alice felt that as a fellow woman, it looked a bit indecent...
***
No matter how good a chimera monster's sense of smell is, searching the entire city is impossible.
So Alice decided to get some help.
From the Yong-Ho Office, which was previously the Cheon-Rang Center.
Ma Sa-Yoon listened to Alice's story and nodded.
"...I see, Director Alice. Are you asking us to join the search?"
"Yes. As for the compensation..."
"It's fine! Since we committed a huge discourtesy last time, we will help you for free this once."
Alice thought Ma Sa-Yoon was a big-hearted man. Unlike someone else.
"But, Yi Rang C. Why are you walking around with a cat on your head? Is it fashion?"
For some reason, an ominous black cat was sitting on the crown of the gloomy Yi Rang's head.
Yu-Han was too lazy to walk, so he decided to use Yi Rang as his personal chauffeur.
"Ah! I'd like ya to search usin' this cat's scent!"
"Search team! Come out!"
At Ma Sa-Yoon's call, all the beastkin with a good sense of smell popped out.
They sniffed a few times near Yu-Han to memorize the scent.
"This scent... why do I get the chills smelling it?"
"Yeah. The scent itself is ordinary, but what is this unpleasant, creepy feeling..."
Alice thought she knew the reason.
Because that cat had wiped out their center two days ago.
"Then, search every corner of Old Seoul thoroughly!
If you find them, avoid combat and just report!"
"Huh. I thought you said you'd help for free."
"I meant only up to the search. There's no way we'd help with a life-threatening fight for free..."
"Yeah... okay."
While Alice and Ma Sa-Yoon were conversing, a rabbit beastkin naturally passed through the hallway and overheard them.
Baek Myo-Hee. Seeing that black cat, she flinched in surprise, then hid in a deserted shadow and began to make a call.
***
The Korean Black Magic Research Group.
A secret organization that doesn't hesitate to perform various rituals, including human sacrifice.
Although from a third party's perspective, they're just hopeless human scum who think they know the secrets of the world by doing bizarre things.
The president of that organization was in his room, wearing a black robe and on the phone.
[...Hey, I accidentally saw someone under your magic.
I was thinking, maybe you should stop...]
"Who was it that left our group saying you were sick of it, and now you're lecturing me?"
[S-Still, we were friends... Everyone is chasing you, so stop needlessly bothering others...]
"I can't just stop because you tell me to!
This is a direct request from Senator Kim Je-Hyeon!
If I just succeed, I'll finally have connections too!
And... I've already committed human sacrifice for that curse!
I can't just pretend it never happened and drop it now!"
[Human sacrifice? Why did you even go that far? Isn't it unnecessary?]
Baek Myo-Hee wasn't reprimanding him, but asking out of pure curiosity.
The nuance was as if saying to someone opening a door with a Goldberg machine, 'Can't you just grab the doorknob?'
"Shut up! I have no intention of taking orders from an outsider!"
The president unilaterally hung up the phone.
A subordinate standing nearby asked cautiously.
"President, who is that woman?"
"An autistic monster. I called her a friend once, so she thinks she really is one.
Well, she's just a stepping stone I used to perfect my great black magic."
Not long after, a loud alarm blared within the building.
"What's going on! Did those trainee bastards summon something wrong again!?"
"No! Some crazy cat invaded and is butchering the members!"
"Hey, what the hell does that mean!?"
As the president urgently checked the CCTV screen, a black cat clad in mana around its claws was bisecting people with a single strike.
Not only that, but a bizarre chimera monster and a fierce-looking tiger beastkin too...
And directing all of it was Alice.
"Those Cheong-Am Center bastards, how did they track us so fast?!"
"Could it be that woman from earlier betrayed us..."
"I won't forgive you! Baek Myo-Hee!!"
Actually, Baek Myo-Hee truly did nothing but make that phone call, but somehow she became the target of their resentment.
And the door to the president's office smashed open.
A black cat with a hologram device attached to its neck was glaring at them.
[Hey, care to tell me how to lift this curse?]
"Don't tell me, are you Yu-Han!? It was definitely supposed to be a curse where you cough up blood and die in one second!"
[...If you don't lift it in 3 seconds, you die. 3... 2... 1...]
"I-I'll lift it!!"
With a 'poof' sound effect, Yu-Han returned to his human form.
"I bet this is Kim Je-Hyeon's doing, right? Then die now."
"You said you wouldn't kill us, you scammer!"
"I only said I'd kill you if you didn't lift it. Never said I wouldn't kill you if you did.
It's basic logic. Just because one statement is true doesn't mean the inverse is."
Holding his carbon-coated sword, Yu-Han cheerfully chopped them to pieces.
And later on the internet news, articles like 'Cheong-Am Center Defeats Vicious Black Magic Group!' would be headline news...
***
The hideout of the Black Magic Research Group, which had become a sea of blood with only corpses remaining.
And the one who carefully entered that place was Baek Myo-Hee.
"Oh my... I warned him, but I guess I was too late.
Well, there's no way my trivial advice would have been helpful... Haha..."
However, as she entered the president's office of the Black Magic Research Group, someone was standing there.
It was a peculiar gentlemanly young man wearing a suit.
"Wh-Who are you...!?"
"Ah, don't be scared. My name is Shin Gi-Deok. I came to scout someone."
"There are only corpses here..."
"I came to scout you. The founder of the Black Magic Research Group, Miss Baek Myo-Hee."
At those words, Baek Myo-Hee's face darkened.
"...I just wanted to play around using fun magic, but people gathered on their own and called it the Black Magic Research Group!
Everyone was always talking about dark things like blood and sacrifices every day...
I was really scared..."
"Scared, of blood and sacrifices?"
"...Why would such trivial things be scary? Of course, being stuck in a group of fierce-looking people was the scariest part!"
Seeing Baek Myo-Hee on the verge of tears, Shin Gi-Deok smiled with satisfaction.
"Don't worry, Miss Baek Myo-Hee. I will give you the best support, so wouldn't you like to work under me?"
"Are you going to use me too?"
"That depends on what the scope of 'use' is... Shouldn't we negotiate that?
For now, shall we have a conversation in a cozy place rather than this bloody location."
"...Well, if it's just having a conversation..."
As Shin Gi-Deok left the room with Baek Myo-Hee, he spoke as if he just remembered something.
"Ah, that president guy, he was badmouthing you behind your back, calling you an autistic monster. Guess he didn't really think of you as a friend."
"I know that. But, between friends, that much is trivial...
Whether he curses at me or doesn't consider me a friend..."
"Is that so? Then do you know what this president's name is?"
"I don't know, and I couldn't care less. Things like that are trivial!"
And a letter of resignation was submitted to the Yong-Ho Office.
Still, no one at the Yong-Ho Office seemed to care much about the sudden resignation of one unremarkable rabbit beastkin employee...