826

 [Chapter 208]

[Devil of the Sea]

March, Year 22 of Seonryeok.

Galaxy Steel was mining mana alloy deep in the South Sea, and Samra Shipping was transporting it.

That day, the sea was very rough.

"...Don't you feel like there are too many monsters lately?"

"Since last fall, maybe? It does seem like monsters are appearing frequently."

People on the cargo ship exchanged words while looking down at monsters poking their heads above the water surface.

For those who spent most of the year at sea, monsters were not unfamiliar beings.

Among the experienced workers, some showed the ability to deal with 7th rank monsters.

Of course, it was rare for them to fight monsters, and mostly players dealt with them.

Today was no exception.

Monsters appeared in the sea.

Players prepared their devices and dropped below the cargo ship to battle the monsters.

While the battle was taking place, they should avoid driving the cargo ship as much as possible.

So people were just looking down below the ship.

"They say the South Sea is rich in mana content so monsters appear frequently, but this is too frequent... Hey, how many times is this just today?"

"It's probably the 16th time."

""""...."""

"Were there that many appearances? Why is it like this today?"

At a sailor's words.

People were taken aback.

16 times.

It was unsettling that they had encountered monsters 16 times when Busan wasn't even in sight yet.

They stared intently at the sea, trying to swallow their anxiety.

It was then.

"─Whoa! There, there! What's that!?"

"...A whirlpool suddenly?"

People made a big commotion.

A whirlpool suddenly formed on the water surface where players were fighting.

And something was rising to the turbid water surface.

The sailors recognized from their long experience that the form was a monster.

They also realized that the being possessed power incomparable to their experience.

Splash splash splash

The sound of the whirlpool was rough.

The sea shook greatly.

The players dealing with monsters on the water surface lost their balance and fell into the sea.

The players died instantly.

──!!

Then the monster revealed itself above the water surface.

It was an octopus large enough to easily engulf one cargo ship.

Splash splash splash

People were dumbfounded.

There was no way they could deal with such a huge monster.

In the time it took to make an "ah" sound.

The monster entangled one cargo ship and dragged it into the sea.

One cargo ship was simply destroyed.

Only then did other people come to their senses and start moving the cargo ships to escape from it.

But none of the cargo ships there were intact.

[─Breaking news. Today at 2 PM, a 3rd rank Demonpus appeared in the South Sea. As a result, 11 cargo ships returning to Busan Port were destroyed, and the survivors are... currently being identified.]

[Additional news has come in. The monster has disappeared, and it is reported to have caused serious damage to China and Japan as well.]

The news spread quickly.

A player who discovered illegal Chinese fishing boats detected the energy of a 3rd rank monster during the pursuit process.

The player moved to the location fully prepared with colleagues, and encountered the terrible sight of cargo ships destroyed by the monster.

There were 0 survivors.

Everyone either died or went missing.

Fortunately, the identity of the monster could be determined.

Clans located in Busan joined forces to focus on the investigation, and similar damage was occurring in China and Japan at the same time.

[It is said that Samra Shipping's economic loss is serious due to the appearance of Demonpus. Some are saying that Samra Shipping loaded too much cargo, attracting the monster's attention... We need to check if Samra Shipping followed regulations first.]

[The damage compensation alone will be serious. Companies associated with Samra Shipping will find it difficult to avoid losses.]

[Since it's damage from a disaster, couldn't the Fairy Government and Hana Group provide help?]

[They may mitigate some damage, but the government and Hana Group won't bear it all. Especially Hana Group is not a charity organization. They'll probably provide financial aid in exchange for significant management interference.]

Current affairs commentators all voiced gloomy prospects.

In fact, the prospects they spoke of were easily predictable by anyone.

A red light was turned on for the Samra Group, and Galaxy Group, which had been receiving magestones from Samra Shipping, couldn't be completely safe either.

Meanwhile, Korea, China, and Japan resolved to jointly subjugate Demonpus to prevent further damage.

☆

The situation was serious.

At this time, the emotions felt by the Fairy Government and the people were very different.

People living outside of Busan simply mourned for those who passed away, but they didn't realize how much impact this incident would have on the economy.

On the other hand, the Fairy Government reacted sensitively to the crisis that had come close.

"Tell them to suspend all activities in the South Sea, West Sea, East Sea, etc. for the time being. And contact the clans operating in various regions to thoroughly check if there are any other abnormal signs in the sea."

Im Ga-eul, who heard the news, instructed the officials.

Having experienced several calamities so far, she had become a character who responded obsessively at the slightest sign.

But her measures were appropriate.

There was no guarantee that 3rd rank monsters wouldn't appear in other seas.

The officials quickly followed her words and issued official documents to clans operating in areas adjacent to the sea.

"Which companies suffered major damage this time?"

"Samra Shipping suffered the most damage, and Donghae Shipping also suffered considerable damage. The scale of damage for others is being assessed."

"They must be busy trying to come up with self-rescue measures. Let's postpone measures for companies damaged by this incident for later. The most important thing is subjugating Demonpus."

Samra Group's business ranking this year is 7th.

It will drop significantly next year.

It might even be pushed out of the top 10.

This was because Samra Group's core businesses were concentrated on the sea.

But 11 of Samra Shipping's super-large vessels sank.

That alone would be a big loss, but the cargo that filled those 11 ships also sank into the sea.

The estimated damage would be enormous.

Im Ga-eul decided to set aside the ripple effects that would be derived from Samra Group for now.

"We need to catch Demonpus as quickly as possible so that economic activities can proceed smoothly. Director, what did China and Japan say?"

Monsters living in the sea were quite tricky beings.

What was scarier than flying monsters was that it was difficult to visually confirm those hiding in the water.

Also, it wasn't an environment conducive for players to fight.

The difficulty will increase considerably if we have to consider underwater combat.

Fighting on the water surface required tricky mana control, and it was even more difficult to fight while breathing underwater.

Moreover, when using magic, one had to properly calculate how the magic would move underwater.

Therefore, dealing with Demonpus was by no means simple.

It's being treated as roughly 3rd rank because it appears in the sea so the extent of damage can't be estimated, but in reality, it wouldn't be a problem to call it over-rank.

That's why Im Ga-eul didn't want to defeat it alone as Korea.

Even if China and Japan had been detecting its existence until now, they had only been responding minimally probably for that reason.

They must have tried to drag us in somehow to reduce their power loss.

China and Japan's intentions were clear.

It was utterly despicable.

But even if it was Im Ga-eul, she would have acted like them.

Anyway, she had no choice but to join forces with them to subjugate Demonpus.

"China and Japan said they would actively participate in monster subjugation. China said they would dispatch 2 each of the Eight Generals and Seven Star Generals, and Japan said they would dispatch 2 each of the Twelve Divine Generals."

"That's not bad. Then let's dispatch two of our Twelve Seats to match the numbers."

The director of general affairs spoke.

Im Ga-eul nodded.

If Korea had the Twelve Seats, China had the Eight Generals and Seven Star Generals, and Japan had the Twelve Divine Generals.

The reason China divides Twelve Seats level players into two is because there are two people with the Gift of <White Silver>.

China's Hou Yi were twins.

Thanks to a miracle that could be called heavenly fortune, the multi-ethnic country has been maintained to some extent until now.

"And Fairy."

"Yes, go on."

"The two countries additionally contacted us, suggesting we hold a Korea-China-Japan summit meeting together on this occasion."

"A summit meeting?"

"Yes. They say let's gather and share friendship after a long time..."

"Who suggested this first?"

"...China did."

"That country with just a disgustingly large land... What era do they think it is, still wanting to be treated like a big brother?"

""""...."""

Im Ga-eul openly sighed.

The officials inwardly agreed.

In a world teeming with monsters, the relationship between Korea and the United States was ambiguous.

They were formally allied countries, but due to the physical distance between the two countries, they only exchanged information.

In contrast, Korea, China, and Japan often formed relationships due to their close proximity.

And China tended to try to command Korea and Japan as usual.

From Korea and Japan's perspective, in very vulgar terms─

"─They're putting on airs."

Im Ga-eul's words could express it.

Korea, China, and Japan all experienced destruction once and faced crises inside and outside their countries.

Korea was relatively less affected.

Korea was able to quickly give up northern Gyeonggi and protect the south.

Although the era of monarchs arrived afterwards, regional conflicts were somehow well reconciled.

Compared to that, China─

"─What's the use of barely driving out monsters by grinding people, when more than half of the country's territory has been devastated and become a monster land. Yet they still have such pride..."

"But Fairy, even if they lost half, the remaining half of the land is still enormous. Compared to us..."

"Director of Intelligence, whose side are you on?"

"Of course, I'm on your side, Fairy."

"Wrong. You should be on this country's side."

"Hehe..."

China prevented destruction by using humans as shields.

China, where one party dominated the political situation, also committed numerous experiments on people during that period.

Thanks to that, China quickly gained the power to counter monsters, but the damage was severe.

The public sentiment of the ethnic groups that made up the huge country of China plummeted endlessly, and the country was torn apart.

Fortunately, Hou Yi appeared by heavenly fortune and barely appeased public sentiment.

Afterwards, China used Hou Yi's power to force submission on each ethnic group.

The power of cocoons was absolutely necessary, so they had no choice but to submit.

This was the reality of China today.

National development progressed rapidly that way, but...

Still, it's difficult to recover all of China's territory with just 2 Hou Yi, so they're barely maintaining the status quo.

China was struggling just to recover its territory.

So they couldn't interfere with Korea and Japan.

Nevertheless, they were acting like big brothers, saying they wanted to maintain their pride.

Having large territory in a world where monsters exist is problematic in many ways. Japan is somewhat better than China in that regard.

Japan had problems too.

But she couldn't keep criticizing other countries.

Im Ga-eul, as the Fairy, had to respond to the messages from China and Japan.

"Yes, a Korea-China-Japan summit sounds good. Even though China's leader isn't Hou Yi, let's just go with it. Foreign Minister, please tell the two countries that I will attend as well."

"Yes, understood, Fairy."

"It's been quite a while since the three, no, four of us met. How long has it been?"

"It was 4 years ago."

"Ah, that time. That's when I got angry after hearing the twin Hou Yi and Kaguya talk about the Seoul Disaster."

""""...."""

"I'm really curious what kind of conversation we'll have when we meet this time. This won't do. I need to make something to boast about to them."

Soon, Im Ga-eul's eyes sparkled.

The memory from 4 years ago came to mind.

How much Kaguya and Hou Yi had laughed then.

Im Ga-eul's pride was hurt, but she couldn't properly counterattack.

"What should I do..."

A meeting of the Fairy, Kaguya, and Hou Yi.

This meeting was not only to exchange information and receive cooperation, but also a place to show the dignity of one's country.

So bringing people also required effort.

She had to bring people who possessed maximum power with minimum numbers.

"Let's dispatch <Thunder God> and <Wind Mage> from the Twelve Seats. And how about taking Baek-ryeon along? We should boast that we have a successor they haven't found yet."

"...A wise decision."

<Thunder Emperor> and <Wind Mage> wouldn't lose to players dispatched from other countries.

And by bringing Ha Baek-ryeon, they could help her learn about international affairs while also using her to boast to Kaguya and Hou Yi.

The officials all agreed with what she said.

Her opinion was good, and above all, she had completely grasped the political situation.

"Above all─"

Meanwhile, she raised the corners of her mouth.

The officials paid attention to her words.

Then she revealed her true intentions.

"─If we say we're bringing Baek-ryeon, the Pandora Clan Lord will come along, which would be great. If anything happens, we can leave it to the Pandora Clan Lord."

Use what can be used.

This was Im Ga-eul's principle.

If given the opportunity, she would show Noh Eun-ha's power and tell the leaders of each country.

─It seems the Pandora Clan Lord was no match for them after all. Really, I think we're fortunate to have so many talented people in our country.

And she resolved to practice laughing unpleasantly while saying "hohoho" and showing off in every way possible.

Whether the officials were appalled or not.

Im Ga-eul decided to practice laughing unpleasantly whenever she had time for a while.

Later, the venue for the Korea-China-Japan summit was set as Jeju Island.