translation by mourningmoor
—Unnie.
Juhee sobbed uncontrollably, unable to string together a single sentence.
“Why are you crying? Huh? What happened? Juhee-yah.”
She was crying as if she were mourning a death, so I couldn’t ask for more details.
“Where are you?”
—Salpêtrière…… I don’t know. It’s a hospital with a hard-to-pronounce name.
“Wait right there. I’ll come to you.”
After hanging up, Mina rushed to the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital.
* * *
I was slightly taken aback.
I thought someone must have been seriously injured, given how hard she was crying.
Whether Juhee herself was hurt, or Irene, the American fan she was with, or someone else, I thought that must be why she was crying like this.
But neither of them seemed injured.
When I asked why she was crying, her answer was bizarre.
“I was definitely seriously hurt! My face was cut below the nose, my leg was torn, and Irene’s face was all…”
She couldn’t bring herself to finish, shaking her head as she spoke.
“But suddenly, I wasn’t hurt at all.”
She said she was shocked because the bloodstains were still there, but the wounds had disappeared.
Then Irene, in broken Korean, nodded and confirmed that everything Juhee said was true.
“What kind of nonsense is this?”
Did they both hit their heads or something? They were spouting all kinds of ridiculous nonsense.
“It’s not nonsense. Unnie, it’s true! There are a lot of fans here who experienced the same thing.”
Did they all hit their heads together? Or maybe it’s some kind of delusion caused by the psychological stress from the explosion…
“Well, at least you’re not hurt.”
As soon as we get back to Korea, I’ll have to send Juhee to a psychiatrist for counseling. She might develop severe PTSD at this rate.
Once I confirmed Juhee’s safety, my attention shifted elsewhere.
The treatment center at Salpêtrière Hospital was a complete mess.
Mina craned her neck and looked around the treatment center, asking,
“What about the LIT members? Ichan? Siu?”
According to the news articles, they were only slightly injured.
When Mina asked about LIT, Juhee started tearing up again.
“Gyuhyung-nim was seriously hurt.”
Oh no, it seems Team Leader Lee Gyuhyung really was injured.
I thought it might be him when they said one of the managers was seriously hurt.
“Leader Kang was crying…”
Tears fell from Juhee’s eyes again.
“I thought my heart would break.”
Hearing that Ichan had cried made Mina’s heart ache too.
The unshakable leader had finally broken down in front of his manager.
Why do these things keep happening to LIT? Mina felt sick to her stomach.
“His clothes were covered in blood, but I don’t know if Leader Kang was hurt or not. They said he went to another hospital, not this one. Only the fans were brought here.”
As Juhee said, no matter how much I looked around, there was no sign of anyone from Blade Entertainment.
Just then, the cameraman, who had said he’d ask his friend in Paris, came running over in a hurry.
“Editor-nim. They’re not here. They’re at Bordeaux Hospital. Let’s go. Quickly.”
Mina nodded, rummaged through her bag, and handed Juhee a handkerchief.
“First, wash your face. I’ll call you, so keep your phone on. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Juhee took the handkerchief and nodded. Then she tightly grabbed Mina’s hand.
“Unnie. Please let me know how the kids are doing. Okay?”
“Okay.”
With that, Mina left the treatment center.
She got into the taxi the cameraman had already hailed and headed to Bordeaux Hospital.
Perhaps due to the aftermath of the accident, the traffic was annoyingly congested.
PD Pyo, who had watched the South American concerts and returned to Korea, skipped the UK concert and was supposed to arrive in time for tomorrow’s Paris concert. I wonder what he’s doing now. He probably doesn’t have a plane ticket.
“Ugh. Do I have to worry about someone else’s plane ticket too? My nose is already three feet long… huh?”
Just as the taxi was pulling up to Bordeaux Hospital.
“Isn’t that… Ichan?”
Ichan, with a cold expression, came out of the hospital. Then a man in a black suit approached him and bowed deeply.
“Huh? That person, doesn’t he look familiar?”
The cameraman whispered quietly.
“That’s him. Timothy Gordon, the chairman of SS Group.”
Right. It’s Timothy Gordon.
According to sources, SS Group had expressed interest in investing in Blade Entertainment. I heard Blade rejected it, but it seems he still has lingering feelings, following them all the way to Paris.
But Ichan’s face is way too combative for someone dealing with an investor.
“That’s the face our Ichan makes when he’s not happy with something.”
After asking the reporter to wait for a moment, Mina hid in the taxi and watched the two.
Just then, she saw Ichan get into Timothy Gordon’s black car.
The cameraman, who had been taking photos while hiding, spoke in a tense voice.
“Looks like they’re moving.”
“Yeah. Let’s follow them.”
Mina asked the taxi driver to follow the black sedan, her mind racing. Something was on the tip of her tongue, but it was just out of reach, making her mouth dry.
“Timothy Gordon… and Leader Kang.”
What is it, what is it, what is it? There’s something…
“Uh, what connection?”
Mina slapped her knee and turned to the cameraman.
“What connection?”
“The spontaneous combustion.”
The three National Assembly members who died from spontaneous combustion recently—they’re all connected to the SS Group. And Lim Jingyu, the former CEO of H-NET, was an outside director of SS Group’s Korean branch.
The Jeju tangerine farm that had a fire accident not long ago—that was also owned by SS Group. There’s also the Japanese branch director of SS Group.
“If we investigate the famous Spanish singer and the British clergyman… and find a connection to the SS Group, wouldn’t that complete the picture?”
The cameraman’s eyes widened.
“Editor-nim, that singer. There’s a connection.”
“Huh?”
“His wife is close friends with Timothy Gordon’s wife.”
“Natalie Grace?”
“No. His ex-wife. The mother of his twin children.”
Then we can assume there’s at least an 80% connection, right?
Looking at the black sedan driving ahead of the taxi, Mina almost screamed.
“No way. Our Leader Kang is in that car.”
With SS Group’s Timothy Gordon? Mina’s reporter instincts screamed that Ichan might be in danger.
* * *
The invitation Bartholomeus sent didn’t include a location.
Naturally, there was no time either.
It simply said, “You are invited.”
Since he said he’d come to pick me up, I thought Timothy Gordon would appear when the time came.
But I couldn’t wait any longer.
How dare he hurt my people? It’s time to end this.
If we’re going to end it, it’s better to make the first move myself.
So I stirred up some more trouble.
He probably thought I’d just cower after this kind of terror attack. But I had no intention of sitting back and taking it.
While Gyuhyung was in surgery, I kept busy.
As expected, Timothy Gordon contacted me.
As soon as he called, he shouted.
—I told you not to act rashly. My children…
“If your kids are precious, you shouldn’t have touched my people.”
Timothy Gordon couldn’t respond.
I know it’s not entirely his fault. But since he couldn’t stop that crazy old man, he’s not entirely blameless either.
So I’ll use him as much as I can.
“Tell your master. Let’s meet right now.”
The invitation without a location or time wasn’t just a threat disguised as terrorism. Judging by the preparations, it’s more like a prelude.
“It’s time to see the end.”
Today, one of us has to disappear here. Or maybe both of us.
* * *
The place Timothy Gordon took me to was the concert venue where our concert was supposed to be held.
As expected from the site of today’s terror attack, the venue was in shambles.
All the stage equipment and lighting for this tour were destroyed.
“Crazy. Do you know how much money was invested in this? And you turned it into this mess. I’ll make sure I get every penny back.”
As I looked around the venue, Timothy Gordon bowed his head.
“I’m sorry. SS Group will take full responsibility for the compensation…”
“Your master takes a dump, and the group cleans it up? I don’t need that.”
I’ll get the compensation from him.
I climbed onto the half-destroyed stage and shouted toward the second floor of the venue.
“Old man. Come out.”
I’ve destroyed almost all the ‘mana transmitters’ scattered around the world.
I’ve freed most people, and some were burned at the stake by their own choice. Ah, of course, recently I haven’t given them a choice. I just crushed the rings and left.
Anyway, Bartholomeus should be on his last legs, relying on the little mana he has left.
“Let’s settle this one-on-one.”
He shouldn’t be emitting such a strong survival signal that I can feel his presence like this.
“I can feel everything here. Come out already.”
Just then, the door on the left side of the venue opened, and a pretty blonde girl walked in. Behind her was a boy who looked exactly like her.
They must be Timothy Gordon’s twins.
And behind them, Bartholomeus walked in, standing tall.
Somehow, he looks healthier than when I saw him at the art museum.
“I thought you were on the verge of death, but you look lively.”
I glanced at Timothy Gordon.
He quickly averted his gaze.
Bartholomeus. To think someone like him was the Grand Mage of Armania.
There was a reason the goddess brought endless calamities to that land.
“Well, ‘lively’ might be a stretch. You’re not holding on by your own power, are you?”
At my words, Bartholomeus curled one corner of his lips.
A cold smile flashed in his arrogant eyes, tinged with red.
“A being who was once a Grand Mage, now reduced to… merging with the Demon King? Is that even allowed?”
Bartholomeus now holds the power of the Demon King. No, he’s consumed the Demon King.
I deliberately left the Demon King in Korea, but it seems Bartholomeus has crossed a line he shouldn’t have.
Well, it’s not entirely unexpected.
It’s just bitter that it turned out as I expected.
“Demon King. Did you do the homework I gave you properly?”
There was a reason I left the Demon King in Korea. There was something he needed to do there. But this old devil laughed at it.
“Ah, the Grand Mage’s mother. No, the kid’s mother? The homework to protect her?”
He sneered as he spoke, and I gritted my teeth.
“I brought you here to make sure you’d do it properly.”