TRPM 436

chapter 436

After Chloe and I arrived, quite a few foreigners entered the restaurant, the meeting place.

Their reactions were mostly similar.

First, surprise at seeing me, followed by expressions of joy.

Then, seeing Chloe, they asked for her autograph as fans or were astonished at her skill.

Finally, some cult members even drew their weapons upon seeing the three of us.

“And yet, later in the day’s battle, they’d even be drinking shoulder-to-shoulder with cult members just because they sided with this gathering.”

Although the cult is notorious, they rarely cause trouble in countries other than their own… it happens, but very rarely.

Unless someone nearby had been directly harmed by the cult, there’s no reason to show hostility toward a cultist.

That’s why they could drink so comfortably.

“…Though I don’t think drinking shoulder-to-shoulder is necessary.”

There’s no law against getting along, but had they gotten too friendly too quickly?

As I was thinking that, someone forcefully opened the restaurant door.

Clang!

The door, being glass, shattered when it hit the wall.

…Poor restaurant owner…

“Then we’ll be off.”
“Enjoy yourselves.”

Since I was worrying about the owner, the man who seemed to run the place, the part-time worker taking orders, and the cook in the kitchen all quickly packed up and left.

Their expressions weren’t bad, so it seemed they had arranged this beforehand. Probably, they were paid enough that even demolishing and rebuilding the place would be profitable.

“Hi, Mirae? Long time no see.”
“It has been a while, Arthur. I often spoke with Rachel on the phone, but it’s been long since I heard your voice.”

Arthur, who was in the restaurant, stood up, greeted Yeon Mirae warmly, and casually tossed her a chair.

Yeon Mirae naturally caught it, placed it on the floor, and sat down.

“…Hmm…?”

As she scanned the people inside, Yeon Mirae looked slightly surprised when she saw me.

“…Hmm?!”

And when she saw the cultists, her expression clearly showed shock.

Yeon Mirae seemed to have only a rough idea about this gathering, and she never imagined I would be with cultists.

“…Shall we start with negotiations first? Ah, you know why we’re here, right?”

But only briefly.

Yeon Mirae quickly regained composure and asked Arthur.

“Of course I know. You’re trying to deny our first Artist Believer Gathering, right?”

…Just moments ago, the mood was like a noir film, and now knowing the reason for this situation really kills the tension.

“Of course. First gathering? Sorry, but there have been countless similar gatherings before. Your gathering can’t be the first.”
“Expected that.”

I might have thought that, but the others were serious.

As negotiations between Yeon Mirae and Arthur began to falter, everyone prepared for battle, drawing their weapons.

Even Chloe, who didn’t know there would be an attack today, drew her weapon.

‘Chloe’s weapon… a bow?’

An unusual choice.

Not that a bow is rare—it’s just that fewer people use it compared to swords or staffs. In our country, many awakened people use bows, probably because we have a history of archery.

But using a bow for a mage or summoner like Chloe? She’s the first I’ve seen.

‘Maybe influenced by the elf character she played in a movie, who also used a bow?’

Not important.

What matters is the arrow tip on Chloe’s bow—an enormous amount of magic and elemental energy was gathering there.

“…Chloe? Are you going to shoot that now?”

If that hits, everyone would die.

“It’s okay. I’ll control it so no one dies.”
“No, with that much energy, control or not… ah.”

Fiuung…!

Before I could finish speaking, Chloe released the bowstring.

The arrow shot toward the enemy ranks.

Panicked, I quickly infused chi into a nearby chopstick and threw it to intercept the arrow.

Bang!

Even faster, though, a gunshot took out the arrow.

“I knew it would be shot down the moment she tried.”

There aren’t many awakened people who can use guns. Among them, the one capable of joining a Korean fan cafe and shooting down a flying arrow…

“…Hey, Chloe. Take it easy…”

Only Woo Ji-min.

I didn’t expect him to be here.

“Nicely blocked. Want me to stop this one too?”
“Hey, wait…!”

Watching Woo Ji-min, Chloe Greenwood kept drawing her bow.

Ji-min, panicked, shot down every flying arrow.

Not only that.

Snap.

One of Ji-min’s bullets hit Chloe’s bowstring and broke it.

“Damn… Even if you’re stronger than me, the firing speed of a gun is way faster than a bow!”
“…True.”

Thanks to that, Chloe could no longer shoot arrows.

That was the signal.

“Everyone, attack!”
“Whatever, let’s go!”

With arrows and bullets no longer flying, the awakened people freely launched into melee.

Especially impressive were those who scaled the walls.

“Hey! 4-on-1 is unfair!”
“We know we’re weaker than you.”
“Still, you side with a cultist?!”

Arthur, Baekryun cult leader, and the two next-in-line leaders of the Myung cult all attacked Yeon Mirae together.

‘Baekryun cult uses fists and kicks, the two Myung cult leaders use swords.’

Seeing them, I remembered what Sophia had told me.

[The Myung cult and Cheonma cult mainly use cold weapons. Baekryun follows Cheonma and mainly uses martial arts. Ilwol Shingyo has a mix of mages, psychics, and summoners. Not entirely certain.]

Seems fairly credible.

Putting credibility aside…

The swords of the weaker Myung cult candidates blocked Yeon Mirae’s movements, and Arthur’s sword and Baekryun leader’s fists exploited openings.

Yet, Yeon Mirae fought back surprisingly well.

Although she seemed to be losing, the ones injured were the four opponents, not her.

‘And her internal energy… or rather, her magical energy, slows down the opponent’s recovery and attacks from the inside through their wounds.’

The four had no time to heal, so slowing recovery might be meaningless. But attacking internally through wounds worked.

“(Grr… Using poison?! This sneaky girl…!)”
“(Calm down… It looks like poison, but it isn’t… Let’s retreat.)”

The two Myung cultists shouted curses in Chinese, bleeding from eyes, nose, and mouth, and backed off, knowing they couldn’t last long.

This left Arthur and the Baekryun leader to handle Yeon Mirae alone.

“Ugh?!”
“Ugh…”

They didn’t last long either.

“Phew… phew…”

But even for Yeon Mirae, subduing four opponents quickly wasn’t easy. She caught her breath and scanned the battlefield—or rather, the restaurant.

“……”

Standing intact inside were only me, exhausted Yeon Mirae, and…

“Hmm… do I need to pay for this?”

Only Chloe stood, having taken out all other awakened people with the broken bow and tables and chairs.

Earlier, I noticed she knocked down anyone who came near, friend or foe.

“…Don’t worry about damages; I already paid the owner in advance.”
“Good, that’s a relief.”

Yeon Mirae reassured Chloe, who just smiled quietly.

“…Here I go.”

Yeon Mirae launched herself at Chloe to take her down.

“…Surrender!”

Chloe raised both hands and shouted.

“…What?”
“This is ‘surrender’ in Korean, right? I can’t beat you, Mirae, so I surrender.”
“…Uh…”

Yeon Mirae froze at Chloe’s words.

With that, the battle between the Korean Artist Fan Club and the global Artist Believer Gathering ended in the fan club’s victory.

Sophia, who had watched from afar, sent me a message.

[Wow… that was intentional, right? If I were Mirae, I’d be furious.]

“…I doubt it was intentional. Chloe is surprisingly naive.”

She probably judged she couldn’t beat Yeon Mirae and surrendered honestly.

“…Ah.”

Through the earpiece on my body, Yeon Mirae seemed to have heard something meant for Sophia and let out a sigh.

I used my meditation to observe her.

‘Oh dear…’

I immediately rushed to her and performed a transfusion to put her to rest.

Even I couldn’t easily subdue someone of Yeon Mirae’s strength, but in her current state, it was possible.

[Why are you doing that?]
“She seems mentally off from extreme anger.”

To be precise…

‘Even so, she fell into a dangerous state from rage…’

Yeon Mirae had succumbed to a frenzy caused by Chloe’s previous actions.

‘Still, this is a type of mind technique; overcoming it could be another step forward.’

I chose to think positively.