"That hammer and sickle… there are still communists around!?"
Ma Sa-Yun yelled in panic, as a man who looked like the leader stepped forward.
"Still around, you say? As long as capitalist oppression exists, we will never die out!"
"Yuna Nim isn't even a capitalist!"
"She's a capitalist lapdog deceiving the masses! Her crimes are unforgivable! And her fans are just as guilty! Now die!"
It was obvious that trying to talk sense into them was a waste of time. The thugs charged at the group, brandishing their weapons.
Ma Sa-Yun wielded a pair of axes, holding his ground against enemies pouring in from all sides, while Na Ye-Jin summoned giant snakes and scorpions to break their formation.
As for Alice… instead of her highly lethal but power-draining beam sword, she opted for a carbon-coated blade to deflect attacks. Her AI had perfectly replicated Yu-Han's swordsmanship, dispatching enemies painlessly with minimal movement.
Yu-Han, on the other hand, was half-heartedly clashing swords while doing something else entirely. He was whispering, seemingly talking to thin air.
"(…Hey, I found the ringleader like you asked.)"
[Who told you you could just casually telepath into my head!?]
"(I'm in the middle of a fight right now. I don't exactly have the time to dial a number.)"
Thanks to their magical contract, a mana-based communication channel had automatically formed between them, allowing for free telepathy. Though neither of them particularly wanted it.
[Sigh… Just hurry up and send me the coordinates. I need time to figure out exactly what to wear and what my opening line should be.]
"(Hah. Then I guess I should put an end to that deliberation.)"
[What?]
At that moment, a flash of light burst forth. As the smoke cleared on the battlefield, the figure that appeared was… Yuna, in her pajamas. Yu-Han had forcefully summoned her by exploiting a momentary gap in her guard.
"(You trashy slave! How dare you—!? If anyone sees me like this, I'm finished!)"
The spot where Yuna was summoned was actually closer to Alice than Yu-Han. Yu-Han subtly signaled Alice with his eyes. Alice instantly caught onto his intent and felt deeply annoyed internally.
"Look closely, everyone! What do you think of the dragon I personally summoned?
This is something only I can pull off! Definitly!"
"(You call that acting!?)"
Yuna complained to Alice, but thankfully, no one else seemed to notice the sheer awkwardness of the performance.
"Yuna Nim in her pajamas! I can die happy!"
Ma Sa-Yun desperately pulled out a holographic device with one hand, trying his hardest to film her while still fighting.
"This is kinda sudden, but I guess it's time to start the stream… Today's content! The execution of the scums who dared to insult a dragon!"
In a flash, Yuna's pajamas transformed into a blue magical girl outfit, and she grabbed her tungsten-alloy magic stick with one hand. She immediately snapped the arm of a nearby communist, bringing him to his knees, and then lifted him by his head using pure grip strength alone.
"Hi there! Want to do a little interview? Why did you do that to my fans, who are basically my personal property? Who the hell are you guys?"
It seemed the broadcast was already live. The fanatical communist, however, showed no signs of bending his convictions.
"It was… to build a communist utopia!!"
"Communist…? Hey, trashy slave. Do you even know what communist means?"
At Yuna's question, Yu-Han gave a half-assed explanation.
"It's just a fancy way of saying, 'You have more money than me, so hand it over.'"
"I understand perfectly. So basically, you're just a bunch of parasitic robbers!"
Yuna crushed the communist's head like a melon, popping it with just her grip. And the viewers went absolutely wild over the splattering blood and brain matter. An era where even violence and murder were consumed as content… This was the reality of broadcasting in this age. Still, the fact that Yuna genuinely believed she was maintaining the image of a pure, delicate girl was pretty astounding, even by this era's standards.
"Tsk tsk. The depravity of capitalism is truly unwatchable…"
A man appeared before Yuna, wearing an outfit that clearly distinguished him from the regular grunts.
"And what are you supposed to be?"
"Perfect timing, seeing as we're live. I am the leader of the Korean Communist Labor Revolution Union, Kang Ui-Je!"
"Too long! How about I just call you 'future corpse'?"
"You foolish lizard… You don't even realize you've walked right into a trap!"
Suddenly, Yuna felt a wave of dizziness. Her mana was slowly draining away.
"Ugh… Now what!?"
"This is a Communist-Magic realm… Any greedy pig who enters it has their mana stolen… I mean, redistributed to us!"
"Why does keeping my own mana make me greedy!?"
"The fact that we can take it is conclusive proof that it was never yours to begin with!"
"Since you won't listen to reason, I'll just have to use that!"
Mana began gathering around Yuna before firing off as a bright pink beam of magical energy.
"Justice Supernova!!"
However, Kang Ui-Je merely scoffed at the incoming beam.
"Pink? The color of those vulgar capitalist pigs!!"
Mana surged around Kang Ui-Je as well, firing off as a blood-red beam of energy!
"Bolshevik Supernova!!"
The two beams clashed violently before ultimately canceling each other out. Yuna was thoroughly displeased.
"Ugh, seriously. I'm so sick of playing along with these humans!"
Yuna gave up and just transformed into her true dragon form. With a single swing of her massive dragon claws, several union members crumbled like dry leaves. Kang Ui-Je calmly issued orders to his subordinates.
"Everyone, climb onto the dragon's back! That's her blind spot!"
The zealots swarmed up like ants, scaling the 20-meter-long dragon's back.
"You pests, get off!"
Yuna desperately tried to scratch her back, but her dragon-anatomy prevented her arms from reaching. The union members relentlessly hacked at her thick scales with their tools. It didn't hurt in the slightest, of course, but it put Yuna in a terrible mood. Alice called out to Yuna.
"Hey, Yuna? Why don't you just undo the transformation!"
"I finally revealed my true form! If I just tuck my tail between my legs and revert back, what happens to my dragon pride!? Let's go with the scenario where we overcome this with the power of friendship!"
"So we have to deal with it…"
If you're wondering how a 20-meter dragon and Alice were conversing so easily from the ground, Yu-Han had seamlessly been turned into a living walkie-talkie for the two women.
"Alice Unnie! Summon the phoenix! We can fly up and get on her back too!"
Na Ye-Jin, looking inexplicably excited, urged Alice.
"If I summon it, what about you?"
"Doesn't matter, just do it!"
Alice squeezed out her mana and managed to summon the phoenix. It was only big enough to carry about two people. However, when she looked to her side, another phoenix of the exact same size had been summoned.
"This can actually happen!?"
[Contractors, my true body resides in the Spirit World.]
[What you summon are merely avatars possessing a fragment of my power.]
[[Therefore, it is entirely possible for multiple people to summon me simultaneously.]]
"But do you really need to speak in stereo? It's giving me a headache!"
Na Ye-Jin grumbled at the phoenixes. Na Ye-Jin and Ma Sa-Yun boarded one phoenix, while Alice and Yu-Han mounted the other, and they took to the skies. The phoenixes began mercilessly scorching the bugs off Yuna's back with holy flames.
"Leader! Our magic isn't working on those phoenixes!"
[Foolish humans. I've had people try to steal my mana thousands of times. Did you really think a Divine Beast wouldn't be prepared for this?]
"Ugh, divines are always the problem. Damned opium of the masses. We have no choice, we're retreating!"
"But how do we escape from monsters like them?"
"The ones fighting the hardest on the front lines will make excellent bait."
Kang Ui-Je and his inner circle swiftly fled the scene while their 'comrades' were busy fighting. The fate of the humans left behind doesn't need to be explicitly explained.
***
With everything settled, Yuna returned to her human form.
"In the end, I had to turn into a dragon and carry the whole team on my back… literally!"
[Child. Shouldn't you be thanking the others who fought so hard for you?]
"Ugh…! Who summoned this bird again!? Send it back, quick!"
[Is that how you speak to your mommy? If I had stayed by your side, I would have disciplined you much better…]
The phoenix continued to nag, but surprisingly, Yuna seemed to listen to her words relatively obediently.
"Fine, fine. You want me to express my gratitude, right? Then, as an after-party, I'll put on a special performance."
"Can I just comfortably take my payment in cash and leave?", Yu-Han said.
"Shut up! My performance has a value that can't be quantified by money! And for the record, I'm not thankful to you at all, you trashy slave! You should consider it an honor just to be allowed in the audience!"
As Yuna activated her holographic device, the desolate abandoned factory instantly transformed into a dazzling concert stage.
Her singing and dancing were surprisingly professional. Her moves were a perfect blend of fluid, almost jointless flexibility and millimeter-perfect breaking. Vocals that effortlessly crossed four octaves, showcasing an array of techniques and styles. Alice instantly understood why Yuna had so many fans despite her completely busted personality.
"Joining Elite Guard was the best decision of my life!!"
Ma Sa-Yun and Na Ye-Jin were shedding tears of profound emotion. The phoenix, still in Spirit Mode, watched the performance with a proud, warm gaze. And so, the private little concert came to an end.
[I'm so glad you've grown up so well…]
"Hmph! Whether a birdhead like you was around or not, I was always destined for greatness."
After purposely giving a rebellious reply to the phoenix, Yuna turned her attention to Yu-Han.
"Hey! Trash! Do you realize your own foolishness now? Obsessing over pocket change when you had front-row seats to the greatest performance of your life?"
Yu-Han gave a thoroughly unimpressed response.
"Well… with that level of skill, you at least wouldn't starve to death busking on the streets."
"Do you want to die!?"
"Whoops. Alice, isn't the summon time limit just about up?"
Using Alice as an excuse, Yu-Han unceremoniously sent Yuna back to her original location. Alice narrowed her eyes, glaring sideways at him.
"Yu-Han, instead of being embarrassed, why didn't you just compliment her honestly?"
"Compliment, huh! That was nothing compared to Michael Jackson. Job's done, so I'm out of here."
Watching Yu-Han hastily run away, Ma Sa-Yun and Na Ye-Jin thought he had a more childish side than they expected… Though to Alice and the phoenix, he had always looked like a child from the very beginning.
***
"Yeom Gi-Uk teacher, we managed to inflict significant damage on that dragon girl."
"Is that so?"
Kang Ui-Je was reporting to a man whose lower face was covered by a red bandana.
"I'm sure that the next time we meet, we'll be able to kill them for good! Besides, we even have you with us—a member of Thanatics! To think a senior pioneer of the movement was among their ranks."
"…Don't get ahead of yourself. I am not here for the movement now. I simply wish to settle an 'old grudge'…"
Yeom Gi-Uk muttered under his breath, gazing up at New Seoul floating high in the sky.