A N.O.B.I. production factory located somewhere in Old Seoul. Yang Jin-Mu attacked one of them. After turning all the employees and hired private soldiers there into corpses, he began to manipulate the control panel.
"Damn it. Biotechnology isn't my major."
Grumbling, Yang Jin-Mu finally accessed a certain sector and liberated three N.O.B.I.s. But at that moment, the factory wall smashed open, and a large truck charged in. Unable to react in time, Yang Jin-Mu was hit by the truck and sent flying.
'Science damn...! He's the only one who would pull off this kind of crazy stunt...!'
Right then, the bombs loaded inside the truck detonated all at once. The factory was engulfed in flames, and the ceiling was shattered enough to see the sky of New Seoul.
"Yu-Han!? Did we really have to go this far?"
"What a stupid question to ask. I'm just disappointed we didn't have enough money to invest more."
At that moment, Yang Jin-Mu appeared behind Yu-Han. He tried to eliminate Yu-Han instantly with his magic, but what wrapped around Yu-Han was vermilion-colored mana.
"You bastard... the 'Rüdiger Limit'!"
The legendary mana that cancels out any magic and decomposes it into pure mana energy, the 'Rüdiger Limit'. However, the people who could use it were extremely few. And it wasn't simply because it was difficult.
"Kuh-huk!!"
It was Yu-Han who began coughing up blood instead. The Rüdiger Limit also affects the user's own internal mana flow, and failing to control it could lead to side effects severe enough to be life-threatening. If someone had a sound mind, they wouldn't try to use such an unstable technique in actual combat.
"Beat him up while he's holding out!"
Lee Sang-Deok shouted as he began beating Yang Jin-Mu with a steel pipe, and Alice followed up by slashing with her beam sword.
"As expected, no matter how strong you are, your roots are still a nerd scholar! It's common sense that nerds are weak against group beatings!"
"That claim is unscientific!"
Yang Jin-Mu, refuting Yu-Han's nonsense, made the entire ground disappear with his magic. Yu-Han and Lee Sang-Deok noticed the sign and leaped high using magic, but Alice ended up falling down.
"...First, that's one."
Yang Jin-Mu turned the ground, which had been in a wave state, back into a mass of earth, burying Alice.
"Hey, Yu-Han! Is the robot unable to dodge something that simple!?"
"She's a robot, so she's probably alive. If she's alive, she'll crawl out on her own."
While the two were conversing, Yang Jin-Mu was already floating in the air.
'Is the mana I received from Lee Nam-Yong already depleted...? It'll be hard to even run away from them.'
Actually, Yang Jin-Mu's mana hadn't recovered at all after being consumed in previous battles. That was because he wasn't a true living being, but an unstable existence temporarily maintained by magic.
'If I can't run away, I have no choice but to kill as many as possible with my remaining mana before I go!'
Yang Jin-Mu gathered and focused his mana. They were already prepared for radiation magic and high-heat rays. In that case, the only thing left was to bring out his ultimate move, mobilizing all his knowledge of physics!
"Do you think we're fools who will just stand and watch!"
Lee Sang-Deok pulled out a pistol and shot at Yang Jin-Mu floating in the air. Even though Yu-Han was standing still like a fool.
"Why are you just playing around!"
"You know why. I don't have a firearms license."
"Then shoot an arrow at least!? You rotten bastard!"
"...Can't you see my physical condition?"
His body was already a rag from using the 'Rüdiger Limit'. In the end, it was Lee Sang-Deok keeping Yang Jin-Mu in check alone, but as a wise elf, he quickly realized that firing bullets at a ghost had zero stopping power.
"Damn it. Don't tell me I have to use 'that' here? I didn't want to use it... The ultimate secret technique that only those who have reached the pinnacle of elves can use...!"
With Lee Sang-Deok's words, the ground beneath began to vibrate. Yu-Han spoke with anticipation.
"Just preparing to use it makes the ground shake... Just how strong is this technique!? Damn it!"
"...? I haven't used anything yet though..."
At that moment, the ground literally burst open, and Lee Sang-Deok and Yu-Han almost lost their balance. What emerged from the cracked fissure of the earth were brilliant orange flames. It was the legendary divine beast, the Phoenix.
[I have come here receiving the command... However, Contractor. I would appreciate it if you could summon me in a wide-open space if possible... not from inside a pile of dirt.]
"I couldn't... help it..."
Alice grumbled as she grabbed the cracked fissure and struggled to climb up. Seeing the Phoenix, Yu-Han's expression crumpled.
"Alice. When did you make a contract with that Buldak chicken again?"
"He suggested we do it first."
At Alice's answer, Yu-Han glared at the Phoenix with eyes full of dissatisfaction.
"...Very sketchy and unpleasant."
[Mortal. Let me advise you with my ancient wisdom: such negative emotions will only gnaw away at your own lifespan.]
After finishing its words, the Phoenix immediately flew toward Yang Jin-Mu. Seeing how it knew exactly what to do right away, it seemed its claim of possessing ancient wisdom wasn't entirely wrong.
[You there. You are trying to use a dangerous magic.]
"You're too much, letting your summon bother me."
Without a reply, the Phoenix immediately fired its holy flames. Yang Jin-Mu tried to ignore it, claiming it was just mere flames, but the moment it touched his body, he felt intense pain.
"Oh My Science...! What is this flame!!"
[I have already seen through the fact that yours is not a normal human body. However, before my flames that burn the soul, everything is meaningless...]
Yang Jin-Mu even canceled the ultimate move he was preparing and began a flashy aerial battle with the Phoenix. The three people on the ground watched the spectacle.
"For a robot, you carry around quite a cool pet. Hey. Care for a cup of green tea while we watch?"
Alice was dumbfounded by Lee Sang-Deok's offer.
"Green tea in the middle of a fight... What on earth are you thinking!?"
"It's not like there's anything in particular we can do. It's just going to be a boring war of attrition anyway, so don't be so stiff."
While the two were talking, Yu-Han had already laid out a mat and was setting up teacups. Yu-Han asked Lee Sang-Deok with a serious expression.
"Hey. Don't tell me you put milk or sugar in it. That's «Contamination»."
"Ha! Who would do that, I'm not a kid."
However, hearing those words made Alice uncomfortable. Every time she drank tea, she found it tasteless and put in several sugar cubes... How could they call it childish...
Around that time, Yang Jin-Mu, who was fighting exhaustingly, also witnessed the scene of the three people pouring and drinking tea, and was appalled.
"Do I look that easy to you! Drinking tea right in front of me!"
Of course, Yu-Han never missed an opportunity to talk back to someone else's words.
"This is the difference in class! You might have gained a certain level of combat power thanks to your smart brain, but you're not the real deal!! You lack patience, courage, and anyway, other stuff too!"
"You have the nerve to say that after fighting 3 on 1?!"
"...Could you call it the strategic utilization of numerical superiority?"
While Yu-Han was speaking as he slurped his tea, Alice spoke urgently.
"This isn't the time to spout such nonsense... the mana to maintain the Phoenix is...!"
"What?"
And as Alice's strength ran out, the Phoenix instantly vanished from sight. Yang Jin-Mu was finally certain of his victory.
"It ends with this, Yu-Han! I will blow away everything around here with my ultimate move! You won't even be able to run away!"
Yang Jin-Mu was about to gather mana again, but his body stopped for a moment. His entire physical body was corroding.
"What... is this!"
Then, an arrow pierced through Yang Jin-Mu's heart. However, this time it didn't pass through like a ghost but completely embedded itself near the heart. The person who shot the arrow was Yang Su-Hyeon, who had arrived supported by Yi Rang and Kim Ga-Eun.
"...Let's stop this now. Oppa."
"I see. So it was back then..."
When Yang Su-Hyeon fought Yang Jin-Mu, she didn't simply spray poison gas. She created mana substances and let them naturally infiltrate Yang Jin-Mu's body, waiting for them to form a physical sediment. Yang Jin-Mu eventually crashed to the ground.
"What was that ultimate move supposed to be, anyway?"
"Alice, it's better to kill the enemy without seeing their ultimate move."
While Yu-Han and Alice were conversing, mana vapor began to spew out from Yang Jin-Mu's crashed body. A short while later, what remained was a transparent-looking Yang Jin-Mu.
"Is he liberated... from his magic?"
At the word 'liberated', Yu-Han asked warily.
"Don't tell me there's a Phase 2?"
"...There's no need for such wariness. I've merely become a powerless soul now..."
Transparent Yang Jin-Mu was rapidly fading away, anyone could see that. Yang Su-Hyeon asked him before that.
"...Who exactly resurrected you, Oppa? Why?"
"It's a person named Lee Nam-Yong. He said he would resurrect souls filled with resentment and obsession to judge Korea..."
"Were you manipulated by him?"
"...No. It was all my will. I wanted to test it. Whether Koreans truly deserved to be judged..."
"But it seems they don't. Since you were stopped by us, Oppa."
"...There are things proven at the end of pursuing the wrong path. Actually, I think it's fortunate that you were the ones who stopped me."
Then Yang Jin-Mu looked back towards Yu-Han and Alice and spoke.
"...However, it can only be considered complete when you stop Lee Nam-Yong and the remaining comrades of Thanatics. Will you truly be able to overcome them?"
""Of course!""
The exact same words popped out from Yu-Han and Alice simultaneously. The two glared at each other with expressions asking, 'Why are you copying me?'. Seeing that, Yang Jin-Mu smiled contentedly.
"Is that so? Then I suppose... I don't need to worry about my sister living in this world either."
"Worrying, when you tried to kill me?"
"If the world was too painful to live in, I was going to kill you for you."
"Useless worry. So... goodbye."
Yang Jin-Mu's soul gradually began to fade, and then completely disappeared.
***
After everything ended, everyone returned to where they belonged. Yang Su-Hyeon also returned to her house. Supported by Yu-Han, that is.
"Are you sure you really don't need to go to a hospital?"
"I have no money. Are you going to pay for me?"
"No."
As Yu-Han was about to leave, Yang Su-Hyeon said something.
"I've... already forgiven you."
"What nonsense. Why forgive someone who doesn't even apologize? Just..."
"Are you going to tell me to hate you and not forgive you again? I said I'll forgive you, so just shut up and live knowing that."
After saying that, Yang Su-Hyeon nervously turned over on her bed. And Yu-Han spoke towards her back.
"...I was sorry."
He left only those words and silently exited her house.
"If you were going to say it anyway, you should have said it sooner. Rotten bastard."
Lying on her bed, Yang Su-Hyeon grumbled and cursed, asking what kind of bastard apologizes after already receiving forgiveness.