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Jeong Ha-yul, upon hearing Jeong Gyeoul’s warning, stiffened her face and cautiously scanned her surroundings.

Beside her, Serena Olson, visibly tense, pulled out a pistol from the drawer.

“You’re not really going to shoot that, are you?”

At Jeong Ha-yul’s words, Serena turned her head.

“…Can’t I shoot it?”

Even C-Class Awakened Ones could block bullets, so firing the pistol would only cause a commotion.

Serena Olson had awakened to A-Class less than a month ago.

Having been captured by the U.S. before receiving any training from the Academy or other institutions, she lacked even basic common sense.

“No, you can shoot it… but it’ll be noisy, so please don’t.”

Jeong Ha-yul paused mid-sentence and hardened her expression again.

She had spotted a shadow near the blinded window.

“……”

Serena also turned her head toward the window, following Jeong Ha-yul’s gaze.

“…There’s nothing there.”

“It just passed by.”

“W-was it a person?”

“Yes.”

Judging by the shadows moving near the window at similar intervals, it seemed they were surrounded.

Even the ceiling seemed to have a presence.

At that moment, the front door opened, and a man entered.

“To think the first ones caught would be Koreans, this is beyond imagination. I thought China, Japan, or Russia would make the first move.”

“…You sound pretty confident it’s Korea?”

“It’s not Korea? That can’t be, I haven’t heard of Demon King Jeong Ha-yul changing her nationality.”

“…”

The man, smirking arrogantly, was David Burns, an S-Class Awakened One and Deputy Director of the CIA.

David already knew Jeong Ha-yul’s true identity.

“…See, it’s not my fault.”

“Is there a spy in the Association?”

“Probably. Or maybe it’s the National Intelligence Service.”

Jeong Gyeoul and Jeong Ha-yul were talking as if nothing was wrong, but Serena Olson was on the verge of losing it.

The agent who came to pick her up in Korea, the Demon King’s identity already exposed, and now it seemed there were American spies in Korea.

What she thought would be simple was turning into the most grueling moment of her life.

“Wow… Eye darting really is a worldwide thing.”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

Jeong Gyeoul, seeing Serena Olson’s eyes darting, exclaimed in a voice filled with admiration, saying something incomprehensible to others.

“No, it’s a thing. Anyway… we should report this to the Association President, right?”

“Thanks to you, I almost died selling information. Let’s go and flip the table.”

It wasn’t just Serena Olson listening to Jeong Gyeoul and Jeong Ha-yul’s conversation.

David Burns, looking incredulous, stared at the Jeong sisters.

“You’re already surrounded, and dozens of the strongest heroes and A-Class Awakened Ones from the U.S. are on standby. Talking like you can still get out of this… where does that confidence come from?”

Although Jeong Gyeoul had roughly guessed the lineup, having it confirmed again was just a bonus.

“Where else? From our skills.”

“…You must be Jeong Gyeoul. The youngest Awakened One. Recently re-evaluated as A-Class at the Academy, right?”

“Wow… you even know about the Academy? What kind of intel is this!”

David, genuinely impressed by Jeong Gyeoul’s tone and expression, felt a headache coming on.

“Uh, hey. It might not be good to provoke them further!”

“…Huh?”

Serena, who had been watching from behind, suddenly jumped in.

“That, that person is the Deputy Director of the CIA! The CIA is the worst group, resorting to torture and assassination even in modern times!”

“All for national interest. It was just necessary.”

Finally, someone who understood the terror of the CIA and his position, David’s expression softened.

“Torture and assassination?”

“There are rumors that all mysterious deaths and disappearances are the CIA’s doing.”

“Wow… that’s totally villainous.”

National interest or not, in Jeong Gyeoul’s eyes, they were just villains.

‘My sister and I don’t do torture or assassination.’

They didn’t do torture or assassination, they just beat people up.

Hearing the word “villain,” David’s face turned red.

As an agent, David was known as a cold-blooded human with no emotional fluctuations, but after becoming Deputy Director, managing subordinates had stressed him out.

Eventually, he developed baldness and anger management issues.

“Shut your mouth!”

“Yep!”

Jeong Gyeoul casually replied and tapped Jeong Ha-yul’s hand.

“Now?”

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

As Jeong Ha-yul nodded her head down and then up again.

Kwaaaaaaang—

“Kkkkkkkkkk!”

Jeong Gyeoul pushed David away with the maximum telekinetic force she could muster.

David flew out through the front door he had just entered.

No one knew how far he flew.

Kwa-jang-chang—

At the same time, the windows shattered as Awakened Ones stormed in.

All the Awakened Ones simultaneously targeted Jeong Ha-yul and rushed into the center of the living room…

“Kyaaaaaaak!”

Jeong Ha-yul, already holding Serena by her side, broke through the ceiling and flew into the sky.

“The Demon King is escaping!”

“It’s the ceiling! What’s Delta Team doing!”

“Let her go! She’s a hero with strong family bonds! Capture the sister left in the living room!”

Their intel on Jeong Ha-yul was accurate.

She was the type to sacrifice her life if Jeong Gyeoul were captured.

But…

They didn’t realize their intel on Jeong Gyeoul was wrong.

A smile seemed to form on Jeong Ha-yul’s lips as she flew into the sky.

‘Come at me all you want. Gyeoul will handle it.’

Flying into the sky without Jeong Gyeoul wasn’t part of a prearranged plan…

It wasn’t anything like that.

It was just the默契 from years of living together.

They didn’t need to speak; they just knew.

She did it because Jeong Gyeoul wanted her to.

‘An Awakened One as strong as me will probably follow me. I’ll handle that one. Gyeoul will take care of the rest and join me, and the mission will be over.’

Jeong Ha-yul, pushing away a few agents clinging to the ceiling, moved away at an incredible speed.

Sure enough, there was one presence following her.

“Demon King! Are you running away like a coward?”

Though his strength was still unknown, he was faster than Jeong Ha-yul.

It seemed he would catch up in minutes, so Jeong Ha-yul chose to land and face him.

“…I’m not the Demon King.”

“Shut up! You media hero, relying on your looks!”

“…Do I know you?”

Jeong Ha-yul was just baffled by the man suddenly cursing at her.

But the man seemed even more baffled.

“You don’t remember me?!”

“…?”

Even after staring closely, she couldn’t recall him.

“You humiliated me globally and don’t even remember…?”

“Really sorry, but who are you?”

Serena Olson, who had never flown into the sky before, was still disoriented but focused on their intriguing conversation.

At that moment, a scene began replaying in Serena’s mind.

A bald man reaching out to Jeong Ha-yul in front of cameras.

Behind him were numerous heroes, including Grand Mage Heinz from England.

‘The Behemoth Subjugation?’

For Serena Olson, who was eight at the time, it was a faint memory.

But the scene before her eyes now was vivid.

[Demon King, if you ever come to Korea, I’ll contact you.]

[…Who are you?]

[What? After risking our lives together to take down the Behemoth… you’re joking, right?]

[I only remember saving everyone who was about to die… Grand Mage! There’s a weird guy talking to me!]

Jeong Ha-yul, with a look of disgust, ran toward Heinz, and Serena’s mind returned to reality.

‘To be humiliated like that in front of cameras broadcast worldwide…’

Technically, it wasn’t Jeong Ha-yul’s fault, but she could understand the man’s feelings.

“My name is Ian Cabill! A hero who fought alongside you in the Behemoth Subjugation!”

“…Bringing up something from nine years ago is really confusing.”

The only hero Jeong Ha-yul remembered from the Behemoth Subjugation was Grand Mage Heinz.

This Ian Cabill guy, claiming to have fought alongside her, was someone she had never seen or heard of.

And it was nine years ago.

Even if she had remembered the heroes, it was a time long enough to forget.

“But anyway, I’m not the Demon King.”

“Denial won’t help! I’ll capture you and restore my lost honor!”

“Sigh…”

The Behemoth Subjugation.

More than half of the heroes who fought alongside Grand Mage Heinz died.

The rest were all incapacitated.

When Heinz requested help, Jeong Ha-yul rushed to the British seas and engaged in a one-on-one battle with the Behemoth, ultimately defeating it.

The Behemoth, in its final moments, unleashed a massive breath attack.

‘Thanks to that, Grand Mage Heinz became bald.’

Even someone like that, instead of seeking revenge, talked about repaying the debt…

She couldn’t understand why someone with a full head of hair was causing trouble now.

At that moment.

Kwaaaaaaang—

Jeong Gyeoul appeared, slamming Ian Cabill to the ground.

“Sis, do you know this guy?”

“No, he’s a stranger, but he keeps acting like he knows me.”

“A stalker. Should I cut him?”

“…We’re not villains, you know.”

Ian Cabill, pinned to the ground, felt a chill run down his spine.

‘…Cut? Cut what?’

Jeong Gyeoul, looking disappointed, got off Ian’s back.

Standing by his head, Jeong Gyeoul looked down at Ian with a cold expression.

“Hey. Cry, curse, do whatever.”

Thud—

“Ouch.”

Jeong Ha-yul, who had snuck up and flicked Jeong Gyeoul’s forehead, shook her head.

“…You need to stop hanging out with Hayan.”

 

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