Chapter 73
As the concerns in Gyeongju deepened, Baek Seol-hwa, following Bahamut’s command, led the American diplomatic envoy to the headquarters of the Balhut Cult in Gyeongju.
Baek Seol-hwa herself, along with several soldiers from the Balhut Cult, took up escorting duties for the envoy, but in truth, considering the escort force that the diplomatic envoy brought along, the Cult’s escort was hardly necessary.
Their role was more or less a kind of surveillance, a precaution against the possibility that these guests might not truly be from the United States.
“Heh. I heard that all of East Asia was in chaos from the zombie apocalypse, but now that I’m here, I don’t see a single zombie around.”
The fact that Baek Seol-hwa was accompanying them as a monitor was, of course, easily understood by the American envoy, but they made no mention of it.
From the Balhut Cult’s perspective, these were truly unexpected and abrupt guests, so it was only natural for them to harbor doubts about whether Steven and his party were genuinely from the United States.
Instead, Steven, as if trying to ease the tense atmosphere, casually commented to Baek Seol-hwa that despite the zombie apocalypse, there were no zombies to be seen.
“Yes, they’re not in the city, but there might be wild zombies or monsters along the roads connecting Gyeongju and Pohang.”
“Indeed. Is that the reason for your escort, then?”
“Yes, though you’d probably be fine against ordinary wild zombies. However, powerful mutants can be dangerous even for Awakened.”
In response to Steven’s question, Baek Seol-hwa kindly explained that there were no zombies in the city, but there could be wild zombies or monsters outside.
When Steven, with a nonchalant look, asked if that was the reason for her escort, Baek Seol-hwa nodded lightly, mentioning the wild mutant zombies that roam outside.
“Powerful mutants. Are they named?”
At the mention of powerful mutants, Steven’s expression suddenly hardened, as he used the term “named.”
Not understanding the significance of the term, Seol-hwa looked at Steven, whose expression had abruptly become stern, and opened her mouth in confusion.
“Named?”
“Ah. On our side, we call powerful monsters or commander monsters that lead others ‘named.’”
“Ah, that’s similar. We refer to powerful zombies as mutant zombies.”
Seol-hwa nodded in agreement.
The “named” creatures she and the Balhut Cult had encountered were often endowed with immense strength or capable of leading groups of zombies.
If they evolved further, new entities like the mutant spider zombie could appear, but there was no need to mention that at the moment.
“Come to think of it, the United States didn’t experience a zombie apocalypse, did it?”
“No. It wasn’t zombies but aliens… no, rather, we called it the Gate Apocalypse.”
As they exchanged information between the Korean Peninsula and America, understanding each other’s circumstances became a priority.
Although it was casual chatter, Seol-hwa and Steven were both subtly trying to glean internal information from each other through their conversation.
However, for Seol-hwa, an ordinary girl, it was only natural to be at a disadvantage against Steven, who had received professional training.
“Hm. So the apocalypse in America was a different kind than in East Asia. No different from what I’d gathered from the internet.”
However, Baek Seol-hwa had Bahamut, who could observe the situation as a third party.
Through Seol-hwa, Bahamut could verify the appearance and demeanor of the diplomatic envoy from America.
‘Mind Scan.’
He could even ascertain their true identities through magic.
However, using it remotely through Seol-hwa, Bahamut considered that if there were an Awakened among them sensitive to magical energy, this magic might be detected, so he used it solely to determine their affiliation and identity.
Of course, he could risk detection and attempt additional magic or pursue a successful assessment, but from Bahamut’s standpoint, it wasn’t necessary to go that far.
As long as he could identify the true affiliation of Steven and his entourage heading to Gyeongju, that would be enough.
“They really are diplomatic envoys from America. Their objective… hmm, pushing it further might be unwise. The casting time is too short for more insight. I could probe deeper if I wanted to, but that would be greedy.”
Without detection, he could subtly gather information about them.
He indeed felt an urge to learn more of their motives, but knowing there was a perception-type Awakened next to Steven, Bahamut deemed it excessive and withdrew.
“Also, this magic itself feels… unsettling.”
Above all, Mind Scan itself was a magic that disregarded the privacy of its target.
From Bahamut’s perspective, he had no interest in Steven’s personal affairs, and eavesdropping felt like an invasion of his rights, so he drew a clear line and only relayed the information he’d gathered to Baek Seol-hwa.
“They really are guests from America.”
“Of course. Haha. Who would dare to lie about being from America? This is indeed a delegation from the White House.”
“They could have been deceivers. I apologize for briefly doubting you.”
As Bahamut withdrew and confirmed that the individuals before her could be trusted, Baek Seol-hwa smiled brightly, affirming that Steven and his group were indeed guests from America.
She smiled with an expression of apology and embarrassment for having doubted them, but Steven, whom she was facing, suddenly seemed to accept the fact that they were indeed from America.
With a smirk, Steven laughed it off, but inwardly, he was more than uncomfortable.
He wasn’t upset that the Balhut Cult had suspected him and his group.
After all, the Cult’s suspicion was within his expectations, and he had already planned to maximize his advantage through that suspicion.
‘Wait, did she see through me?’
Rather, seeing that they had quickly confirmed his identity and relaxed after only a few exchanges, Steven began to wonder if Baek Seol-hwa had perhaps figured him out.
Before the apocalypse, reading and controlling someone’s mind was something out of fiction, but now, with the advent of Awakened, the world had changed.
Among the Awakened, there could be those capable of reading minds or controlling people to the point of brainwashing, and the U.S. intelligence network had long since noted the existence of such mentally empowered Awakened.
But to say the girl before him possessed such abilities…
“According to our intelligence network, Baek Seol-hwa’s specialty is magic that controls temperature, meaning she’s not a mentalist.”
Information about Baek Seol-hwa’s abilities had already reached the American intelligence network.
While Baek Seol-hwa was a powerful mage, her focus was specifically on temperature manipulation, with no mentalist abilities.
Still curious, Steven glanced at Anna, the sensory-type ability user beside him. She casually took his hand, signaling to him with the agreed-upon sign.
“No trace of magical power. Did she simply trust us?”
If Anna’s signal was to be trusted, their counterpart hadn’t used any magic whatsoever.
Not only was there no magic, but she hadn’t even sensed any sign of magic activation. With that confirmation, Steven could only conclude that she trusted them wholeheartedly.
Of course, this conclusion wasn’t entirely unfounded.
“Well, according to the information, she’s 14 years old in Korean age. It’s an age where it’s natural to trust people purely.”
The mention of ability information naturally implied that her personal information had also been collected, and her minor age was noted as a factor in the judgment.
Thinking about it logically, she was a girl who admired America. The fact that American delegation had come to meet her personally could explain her excitement. Even if there was something off, it was enough to create a rationale that the public—and even Steven himself—could accept.
In truth, this young girl had indeed been greatly surprised to hear that America had come, and interpreting her subsequent friendly actions, it was reasonable to think that Baek Seol-hwa was anticipating this meeting.
“But what’s this? Even though I’ve found logical reasons to accept it, my heart feels strangely heavy.”
There was no need to take this too seriously with a minor.
It was an opportunity to show the girl the composure of an adult, but Steven couldn’t shake the feeling that he couldn’t dismiss it so lightly.
He had confirmed through his companion that there was no sign of magic or magical energy, and all the personal information about the Cult had been acquired through American intelligence.
He had pieced together his reasoning from that information, and it had reached a level he could mostly accept—yet, for some reason…
Why was his instinct insisting that this wasn’t the right answer?
“What exactly am I missing?”
Instinctively, he felt he might be overlooking something.
What was it, exactly?
Steven’s mind was plagued by a myriad of trivial thoughts and paranoia, filling him with unease.
“Mr. Steven? Mr. Steven?”
“Oh, ah? Yes?”
“Haha, it seems you dozed off for a moment.”
At Baek Seol-hwa’s words, Steven managed to regain his focus.
It seemed that the trivial doubts occupying a corner of his mind had engrossed him too much.
They had arrived in Gyeongju, with the Balhut Cult’s main temple right before them, yet he had barely been able to stay focused the entire way, only coming to his senses at Baek Seol-hwa’s prompt.
“My apologies. I must have been very tired.”
Steven apologized sincerely, then followed Baek Seol-hwa’s lead into the temple interior, where he spotted a young girl.
“As the information said, the leader of the Balhut Cult is young.”
Steven and the diplomatic envoy had already identified who the girl was.
The leader of the Balhut Cult, known as the Priestess of the Dragon in South Korea, Choi Yuna.
Rumor had it that she possessed terrifying power and had unified Gyeongju through that strength.
“This girl also has power beyond imagination.”
“Well, what? Was the Balhut Cult starting a superhuman project from birth or something?”
As expected, the girl before him was extraordinarily powerful.
The American Awakened accompanying the envoy couldn’t compare to the magnitude of her power.
Receiving this information through Anna’s signal, Steven couldn’t help but let out a bitter chuckle.
“We have talented Awakened, too, you know. I’ve met those even more gifted than me. But none of them have made me feel such a vast difference. Yet here I am, facing a power I can’t even begin to compare with.”
In America, a new generation of talented Awakened was emerging, some of whom were born with exceptional abilities.
Steven himself was considered talented in the American Awakened community, which was why he had been appointed as the special plenipotentiary ambassador at such a young age.
He had encountered many Awakened stronger than himself, but…
“This explains how she was able to govern Gyeongju and establish a government.”
He wondered if even those Awakened could compare to the girl before him.
Honestly, he would have preferred to think that Anna had lied to give him a reality check for being too casual.
But Anna wasn’t lying. In fact, she looked pale and seemed to be struggling to keep herself from shaking as she averted her gaze from Yuna.
Seeing Anna’s efforts to conceal her trembling hands and pale expression, Steven steeled himself and took the lead.
***
“It’s an honor to meet a representative from the White House.”
“Yes, we, too, find this meeting significant. Leader of the Balhut Cult, Choi Yuna.”
“Oh my, you know a lot about me.”
Upon hearing that the White House was well-informed about the Balhut Cult, Yuna looked at Steven with wary eyes.
Rather than feeling afraid of her gaze, Steven thought—
“I’d much rather deal with human suspicion.”
He found comfort in dealing with human suspicion rather than the unknown and brushed it off with ease.
Recognizing Choi Yuna, with her boundless strength, as someone he could still communicate with like a person, Steven responded to her wariness with feigned innocence.
“Fortunately, the information gathering of our government hasn’t gone rusty. The United States is still strong.”
“Yes, I’ve read about it on the internet.”
Boasting of America’s strength, he asserted that the U.S. government remained intact.
Unlike South Korea, whose government and even head of state had vanished, America still retained its structure. Yuna’s suspicion faded slightly.
After all, she already knew through Bahamut that the envoy before her was indeed dispatched by the White House.
Her previous remarks could be seen as mere posturing or as a minor attempt to test him.
“I am Steven David, appointed as the envoy representative by the White House.”
“As you know, I am Choi Yuna, leader of the Balhut Cult. Now then…”
Yuna glanced at each member of the envoy around her.
“Shall we get to the main point?”
She then guided the diplomatic envoy to the negotiation table.
—
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