-A Fortifying Meal
“Nasanhaegyeong? Why has he shown up here? He botches the job he was given, and now he comes to someone else’s feast trying to get a share?”
Irritation surged in Yasin.
He was already so drained he could die, and now, in the middle of all this, he had to deal with Nasanhaegyeong too.
But when he looked closely, it wasn’t Nasanhaegyeong coming through the red portal.
Chimeras made from combinations of lizardmen and orcs were pouring out.
“Oh! Wait a moment. Looks like he didn’t come alone? Is he trying to pull something with those things again? No need for that. I’ll put them to good use instead.”
Yasin’s eyes gleamed as he smacked his lips.
Crude chimeras. But Nasanhaegyeong must have created them using the energy of the Demon Realm.
Which meant that if he devoured them, he could obtain a sufficient amount of dark magical power.
Yasin decided to change his mind and welcome Nasanhaegyeong.
Before long, when Nasanhaegyeong appeared beyond the red portal, Yasin left the control tower and flew lightly over to him.
“What brings you here?”
Even though Yasin hid his annoyance and asked in a relatively dignified tone, Nasanhaegyeong did not answer right away. Instead, he put on a little show, like a beast baring its teeth.
For a moment, he transformed into a leopard and growled.
A snort almost escaped Yasin, but he simply remained still.
The leopard transformation was Nasanhaegyeong’s pitiful party trick.
It was nothing impressive. It wasn’t a proper polymorph, merely the brief display of an illusion.
Yasin could not for the life of him understand why he would show such a petty trick, one that should only be used on ordinary humans, in front of him.
Did he think that would somehow hide his failure?
“You think I came because I wanted to? It was Lord Samir’s command, so I had no choice. He must have thought the way you were carrying on was far too pathetic, old man, because he told me to hurry over and help you.”
Having returned to human form, Nasanhaegyeong spoke with his nose in the air.
“Hahaha! What on earth are you talking about? The one who made an utter mess of his assignment is none other than you. Things are going well here. Can’t you tell just by looking?”
Yasin spread both arms wide and spun around once.
“I can tell very clearly. You said you’d put on a spectacular scene, and this is all it amounted to? Covering the airport in filthy roots? The portal leading to the Demon Realm was blocked too, wasn’t it? And why are Oudin and the mages still alive and well?”
“Shut that mouth of yours. This from the one who got beaten by Oudin, tucked his tail, and retreated.”
“Fine. I failed to finish off Oudin too, so I’ve got nothing to say. In any case, Lord Samir gave me the opportunity to join forces with you here and try once more. So be grateful and accept it.”
Nasanhaegyeong pointed with his hand to the chimeras arrayed behind him.
This time, Yasin could not help but snort.
“What kind of stupidity is this, bringing back something that already failed once and shoving it forward again?”
“True. Chimeras made only by mixing different races aren’t enough. I tried spreading disease, turning humans into zombies, and combining them too, but even that wasn’t sufficient. How was I supposed to know that bastard Oudin could even use purification magic?”
“Oudin can use purification magic?”
Yasin felt a chill run down his spine.
So the nature of the white light that had appeared when Oudin activated his magic really had been divine magic.
That was why he had been able to destroy the core and even block the portal leading to the Demon Realm.
“I told you so. On top of that, he’s fairly capable with spatial magic too, so you’d better stay on your toes, old man.”
“Haha! Stay on my toes? As if a wretch like him can do anything no matter what tricks he pulls… In any case, doesn’t that make these chimeras even more useless?”
Yasin puffed out his chest and spoke loudly, pretending it was nothing.
In truth, the burning pain in his airway was so bad he felt like he was dying. He wanted to devour the chimeras as soon as possible.
For the moment, lava was overflowing, so Oudin and the mages would be unable to exert much strength.
The damage from the attack had caused blood meant to patch the wounds to flow instead of the life water of the Demon Realm, but in any case, thanks to that, the man-eating plants had grown deformed and rampant, and the tentacle monsters that had been frozen had melted and revived. Oudin and those mage bastards would be busy fighting them for a while.
In the meantime, he had to recover his strength quickly.
“No. This time will be different. Those chimeras aren’t complete yet. There’s a separate main ingredient.”
“A main ingredient?”
“It’ll arrive soon.”
Then Nasanhaegyeong swept his gaze around their surroundings.
“What is it?”
“Willing humans. Humans who will become chimeras of their own volition. That should make for a combination far more useful than zombies. I’ll pickle them nicely in the energy of the Demon Realm, so let’s use the new chimeras to stir up conflict among the mages.”
“You’re adding human will to the mix?”
“That’s right. If combined properly, it’s an ingredient with quite explosive energy. When it comes to making chimeras, just trust me. If it’s too much for you, old man, you can step back and watch.”
Nasanhaegyeong was already smiling proudly.
He had no idea that, to Yasin, he sounded as though he were reciting a menu that was making his ears perk up.
“Ah! There they come.”
Nasanhaegyeong, who had been looking around, pointed to one place.
It was dawn before they knew it. The sky was growing bluish with light.
Against the backdrop of the pale sea, they could see people flocking in from the end of the runway.
It seemed they had not crossed over through the portal, but had come up to Yeongjongdo by sea.
“O dark mage! We have come!”
“We have answered the dark mage’s call. Please use us!”
“Bestow upon us the blessing of dark magic so that we may teach those high-and-mighty mages a lesson!”
“Thank you. Thank you for reviving our abilities!”
The humans who had approached dropped to their knees one after another before Nasanhaegyeong and shouted. They were worshippers.
At some point, Nasanhaegyeong had transformed into a leopard and was growling before them.
Only now had the leopard transformation show found its proper place. Foolish humans were bound to fall completely for such a show.
Holding back a snort, Yasin whispered to Nasanhaegyeong.
“Hooh… Where did you lure these humans from?”
“They’re a work I made in advance. Don’t you remember the swarm of jellyfish in Daejeon? It didn’t end just because all the jellyfish died. I’d already cast mental magic on them.”
Having finished his leopard transformation show, Nasanhaegyeong seemed to be in a good mood, and he smiled so widely his mouth nearly split.
The worshippers were reawakened ones who had come up from Daejeon.
After Oudin caused the mental magic to be undone, Nasanhaegyeong had not been able to recover all of them, but he had still saved a portion.
It was enough to use as materials for chimeras right away.
“Not bad. Now hurry and make them into chimeras.”
“That’s what I intend to do. You just stand there and watch, old man.”
“Good. I’ll wait here, so send the completed chimeras to me. In the meantime, I’ll locate where Oudin and the mages are hiding.”
“It won’t take long. Look forward to it.”
Only now, finally mistaking Yasin’s words for recognition, Nasanhaegyeong grew triumphant and immediately led the reawakened ones toward the red portal.
Watching this, Yasin became pleased for his own reasons.
‘I didn’t expect Nasanhaegyeong to bring me such an unexpected gift.’
A fortifying meal was just about to be prepared.
Human will pickled in the energy of the Demon Realm. It would be a truly delicious dish.
A smile rose to his lips on its own.
For once, Nasanhaegyeong and Yasin seemed to be getting along.
Of course, it would only be for a very brief moment.
* * *
Thor, Balder, and Heimdall equipped themselves with stealth magic and approached the dark mages at the end of the runway with extreme caution.
‘Over there! We’ll go behind that first and scout.’
Thor gave instructions to the group with hand signals.
The group went behind an aircraft that lay overturned, badly crushed and torn apart, and hid themselves. Then they examined their surroundings.
Near the red portal, chimeras were swarming. Nasanhaegyeong was nowhere to be seen, while Yasin’s back was visible some distance away.
Unlike when they had first drawn up the plan, the number of dark mages had increased to two, and a great number of chimeras had appeared as well.
It was not easy to attack recklessly.
When they were about to begin the operation, a red portal had opened at the opposite end of the runway, and upon seeing chimeras come squeezing through it in droves, Thor had hesitated, wondering whether they needed to draw up a new plan.
But Oudin had told them to proceed as planned.
He said the timing was actually good and urged them to carry out the operation at once.
Of course, since Yasin and Nasanhaegyeong had gathered in one place, if things went well, it was a good opportunity to take care of both dark mages at once.
But it was also true that, for Thor’s group, the prospect was daunting.
‘One is already more than enough, but two?’
‘I’m not telling you to finish both of them off. You just need to hold them there. If anything, because there are two of them, they’ll be reassured and careless right now. The fact that they aren’t in the control tower helps too. Just guard well and buy time.’
In the end, they decided to follow Oudin’s words.
Thus Thor’s group had crossed into the area filled with two dark mages and chimeras, and were now hiding behind the crushed aircraft, scouting.
“What? What are we seeing right now?”
Looking more closely, the scene unfolding before their eyes far surpassed the group’s expectations and imagination.
“Wait! Is Yasin eating the chimeras right now…?”
“Ugh! What the hell is that bastard doing?”
“He’s disgusting and horrifying, seriously.”
The mages could not raise their voices and were whispering quietly, but they could not hide their shock.
And that was not the only shocking thing.
Looking carefully, the races making up the chimeras were not only lizardmen and orcs.
Humans were mixed in. Not humans turned into zombies, but ordinary humans as they were.
“Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?”
“Huh? It looks like there are humans mixed into the chimeras too.”
“So what Yasin is eating right now is…?”
The three of them felt as though they were literally about to vomit.
A sight of utmost grotesquerie was unfolding.
When Yasin raised black energy from his fingertips and seized the chimeras, they were compressed black in an instant.
Then Yasin gulped down the condensed mass.
Lizardmen, orcs, and even humans were instantly converted into lumps of black energy and sucked into Yasin’s mouth.
“We have to stop him! He’s eating people!”
“Yeah. Let’s attack somehow. Move using kinetic magic and…”
Thor gritted his teeth and stopped speaking.
Because the situation over there had suddenly changed again.
“What? Has this old bastard gone insane? What are you doing right now? Are you eating my chimeras?”
A voice like a thunderclap burst out.
Nasanhaegyeong, having emerged from the red portal, was shouting at Yasin and charging at him.
Soon, red flames poured from Nasanhaegyeong’s fingertips. It was an attack aimed at Yasin.
“Huh? They’re fighting each other?”
“If they do that, we’re grateful.”
Thor’s group swallowed and watched the scene before them.