239. Poisonous Fruit 3

The soldiers approached them. Cheon Geon-young did not hand over the struggling Geum Gang-seop to the soldiers, but instead took him directly to the helicopter's boarding stairs. Geum Gang-seop, despite his injured leg, insisted on seeing Yoon Tae-ha’s face one last time. Meanwhile, Yoon Tae-ha, after confirming that the majority of the special operations unit lying on the ground were incapacitated, headed for the helicopter.

“Do you think that everything I’ve built up over decades has collapsed just because you got your hands on some stupid artificial intelligence? I haven’t been defeated yet. I have countless cards left that you don’t know about, cards that will determine the fate of this planet.”

As the soldiers put handcuffs on his wrists, Geum Gang-seop, as if he had forgotten the pain in his thigh, tightened his jaw and glared at them. One of the soldiers mechanically wrapped a bandage around his thigh to stop the bleeding.

“If I don’t send a message every 10 minutes that I’m safe, Kal will step in. If you get hit by the full force of Kal’s madness, whatever plans you have, they will fail.”

“Is there a hunting dog that doesn’t show up until its master is in this state?”

Cheon Geon-young, who said it coldly, re-checked the handcuffs on his hands, then forced him into the helicopter. The helicopter was scheduled to move to Changcheon’s aerial flagship, which was floating in the sky close to the aquatic city. As Yoon Tae-ha and Cheon Geon-young also boarded the helicopter, the propellers rotated, and the aircraft ascended.

“I’m the only one who knows how to control Kal.”

“From now on, all you have to do is tell us that in detail.”

Yoon Tae-ha replied calmly.

“What if I don't? How are you going to make me talk? Are you going to torture me? Are you going to make me, who has been serving for the safety of this world, kneel with the barbaric methods of Espers?”

Cold sweat ran down Geum Gang-seop’s forehead. At that moment, Yoon Tae-ha remembered his old rival, whom Geum Gang-seop had considered a thorn in his side.

Her grandfather, who had returned from the dead.

Geum Gang-seop did not know that Yoon Jeong-hoon had returned to Earth. That’s why he still believed that Kal would move the monsters for him. Geum Gang-seop probably already knew that Kal had shown special loyalty to Yoon Jeong-hoon. The being that had bothered him the most in the process of surpassing Yoon Jeong-hoon was probably Kal, right? There must be a crack in Geum Gang-seop’s trust toward Kal that would be easy to exploit.

Deciding to use Geum Gang-seop’s sense of rivalry and hostility toward her grandfather, Yoon Tae-ha leaned her upper body forward.

“No matter how many allied forces there are, it won’t be easy to stand against the monsters Kal has prepared. Countless large monsters have already crossed over to Earth. Even if they can't open the fissure, there will be no problem destroying one or two countries. Which one should he destroy first? Our hometown?”

“Kal went to my grandfather.”

The Chancellor's jaw dropped stupidly.

“What are you talking about?”

Geum Gang-seop’s lips trembled at the news, which was worse than the complete annihilation of the special operations unit.

“You know it too. That Yoon Jeong-hoon is a special existence to that snake.”

Meanwhile, Cheon Geon-young, who was sitting across from Yoon Tae-ha, was loading his gun and keeping an eye on the surface of the sea, which was too dark to see well. The sound of him loading his weapon mixed with the sound of the helicopter created an even more terrifying atmosphere.

“Yoon Jeong-hoon is dead.”

“If he were dead, I would be happy too. But he’s alive. He was breathing perfectly fine right in front of you. Kal deceived you. For a very long time.”

“That's nonsense.”

At that moment, the helicopter went down a bit and shook. Yoon Tae-ha did not get agitated by the unstable movement of the aircraft and stared directly at Geum Gang-seop.

“Kal was never loyal to you. The Elysian Project? That was probably not for you, but a plan for Yoon Jeong-hoon, who would be resurrected someday. You worked hard to prepare the stage. The camera, the Titan, the monsters, and the aquatic city that would be a symbolic background.”

“Did he… fake his death?”

“You get it now? Then think a little more. Why is Kal quiet? You know that snake’s abilities well. Does he really not know that you’re in our hands? Or is he perhaps waiting for us to kill you instead?”

Yoon Tae-ha’s words, like a fatal poison, began to eat away at Geum Gang-seop’s inner self. Confusion and fear swirled endlessly in his eyes.

“His plan must be to hijack my plan at the end. Yoon Jeong-hoon always tried to gain the upper hand in a cunning way.”

“There’s a point where we agree. I’m surprised.”

“So, where are Kal and Yoon Jeong-hoon now?”

“That's not my business. I only have one demand. Tell me how to kill Kal. That snake isn’t moving for you anyway. If we don’t kill you, he'll probably come out and kill you himself.”

Geum Gang-seop rolled his eyes to the side. Seeing that he understood Kal’s betrayal so quickly, he must have known deep down that the snake's loyalty was not absolute.

“To kill Kal, she has to return to her true form.”

Geum Gang-seop, who had been intensely thinking about a direction that would be advantageous to him, finally opened his mouth.

“Not her human form, but the form she had when she first crossed over to this planet.”

Yoon Tae-ha was listening carefully to his words. At that moment, Cheon Geon-young, who had been watching the sea all along, took out the flashlight that was fixed under his seat and shined it on the sea. He aligned the light with the direction of his gun as if he had felt an unusual presence.

“There’s something below.”

Cheon Geon-young warned in a low voice. Just then, a black shadow that had been flickering under the surface of the water suddenly shot up. The unidentified mass of flesh that shot up toward the helicopter fell onto the surface of the water with a tremendous sound, not reaching the height of the helicopter they were in.

The soldiers quickly exchanged communications with the flagship, announcing the appearance of the monstrous creature. Yoon Tae-ha held Geum Gang-seop’s knees tightly so that he wouldn't fall, then looked down. Geum Gang-seop groaned, saying that it was a monster that Kal had sent to kill him.

Soon, a thick, salamander-like tail was caught in Yoon Tae-ha’s sight as she narrowed her eyes.

“A tail? The end is split a little.”

“It’s an adult scissor-tailed salamander. It seems to be moving toward the residential area of the aquatic city. We estimate there are more than twenty of them.”

Cheon Geon-young, who had put on his ear piece, told her the name of the monster. Another helicopter flying around them turned on a large light and shined it on the surface of the water where the monstrous creature had shot up from. A thick shadow flickered under the water. Then, the monster's tail rose again, targeting the helicopter they were in. As if the monster had also realized that it was not tall enough, the whip-like tail was much longer than before.

This time, the bottom of the helicopter might be scratched. Just as Yoon Tae-ha was getting ready to jump down to deal with the monster, Cheon Geon-young, who had opened the helicopter door on his side, calmly fired his gun.

Bang! The bullet that tore through the jet-black night sky flew like a meteor shower, drawing a red trajectory. The bullet instantly pierced the very center of the agile tail. The constantly moving target didn’t seem to be a big problem for Cheon Geon-young. The monster let out a horrible scream. Where the bullet had passed, there was a hole big enough for a large bus wheel to fit through.

Yoon Tae-ha looked back and forth between the ordinary-looking handgun that Cheon Geon-young was holding and the massive hole it had left in the monster’s tail. She knew that fire-based Espers often enjoyed using special weapons called ‘handguns that don’t need bullets,’ but she had never seen one with such destructive power before. The monster sank into the sea.

“I’ll take care of them as we move.”

Cheon Geon-young said, pressing his ear piece. As he instructed, the helicopter smoothly changed direction and chased the monsters’ shadows. While Yoon Tae-ha took out her mother’s keepsake from her vest and put it around her neck, Cheon Geon-young leaned half his body out of the helicopter and took care of five more scissor-tailed salamanders. When the helicopter on the opposite side shined its light, he started firing, and the bullets never missed.

Yoon Tae-ha, who also had her ear piece in, finished preparing to attack. At that moment, a soldier sitting across from her, holding Geum Gang-seop’s arm, said.

“Your spear is under the chair I’m sitting on.”

Hearing that, Yoon Tae-ha took Moglai out of the black box under the chair. Because of the length of the spear, she had to go to the door that Cheon Geon-young had opened and put her hand holding the spear outside. Cheon Geon-young put his military boots right next to her boots so that she wouldn’t lean over in the tilting helicopter. He said in a low voice.

“We’re going to the residential area.”

The scissor-tailed salamanders seemed to be moving with a clear purpose.

“Kal gathered the monsters. This must be the beginning.”

For the first time in a long time, Yoon Tae-ha activated Shadow of the Abyss. The ring vibrated finely as if it was happy to be called by its owner, then summoned hundreds of blue blades around the helicopter. The soldier sitting next to her widened his eyes at the sight.

“First, I’ll lure them to the surface.”

The blue blades poured into the sea at different times. The heavy monsters that had been moving like submarines under the surface of the water thrashed and shot up to the surface as the blue blades were embedded in them like hail. Cheon Geon-young did not miss the opportunity and fired bullets at the monsters’ carapaces, which were divided like centipedes. The bullets with fire attributes, which boasted a destructive penetrating power, sank them. The scissor-tailed salamanders that stuck their heads out of the water whipped their fat, whip-like tentacles on both sides, and seemed to be communicating with their own kind.

At that moment, Gwon Hyuk gave Yoon Tae-ha and Cheon Geon-young separate instructions. The order was for Yoon Tae-ha to hand over the key to Cheon Geon-young and go down to the residential area to participate in the rescue mission, and for Cheon Geon-young to take the two keys and Geum Gang-seop and go up to the flagship. After completing the transport operation, Cheon Geon-young was scheduled to move to the module where Cheon Seong-beom was staying.

“I shouldn’t go to where Yoon Jeong-hoon is, should I?”

Yoon Tae-ha, who had heard the explanation, asked in an uncertain voice, but Gwon Hyuk replied that he would send a team consisting of fire-based Espers and foreigners to the area around the module where Cheon Seong-beom was staying. It was because of fire immunity and cancellation.

Soon, the helicopter carrying them slowly approached the residential area. The surviving scissor-tailed salamanders were climbing onto the edge of the module. Just as Cheon Geon-young was aiming for the head of the monster that seemed to be their leader, a kite-shaped monster suddenly rushed toward the helicopter with its back to the moon.

Yoon Tae-ha and Cheon Geon-young activated their weapons and tore the thin, membrane-like wings at the same time. The monster shrieked in a twisting voice and crashed into the sea. The helicopter had to quickly go up to the flagship before more monsters swarmed them. Yoon Tae-ha took out the key she had left and handed it to Cheon Geon-young.

“See you in a bit.”

She didn’t want to give meaning to this separation. They would meet again. But she couldn't hide the fact that her fingertips, which had brushed against his as she handed him the key, were trembling.

Cheon Geon-young carefully checked to see if she had all the necessary items for combat, then firmly grabbed Yoon Tae-ha’s hand, which had both of her legs out of the helicopter. There was no guiding. But at that moment, Yoon Tae-ha felt a warmth and affection that she wouldn’t trade for anything in the hand she was holding. With a face that suppressed his emotions, Cheon Geon-young said dryly.

“I’ll be waiting.”

Another monster shot up from the sea. People’s screams began. It was Yoon Tae-ha who let go first. She held her spear in her right hand and bravely dropped down.