Saving My Favorite in a Doomed World Chapter 77

“How can you announce that you’re going to pull such a thing as soon as we join?” 

 

Kim Daecheol shouted at Heo Mugong.

 

“Then what am I supposed to do? We can’t just cancel the operation we originally planned. Besides, a leader who doesn’t utilize talented people when they join… it’s better not to have a leader like that at all.”

 

The ‘Sky Reclamation’ operation that Heo Mugong mentioned was originally going to be carried out by Park Sodu, Heo Mugong, and the rebels who had participated in today’s match. However, with the arrival of new members, they had decided to completely overhaul it.

 

“Then at least change the date.”

 

“I can’t. That day is the City Anniversary. It’s the only day the surveillance becomes lax.”

 

“…Heo Mugong.”

 

“Kim Daecheol.”

 

A tight tension hung between the two. Unable to bear the atmosphere, Nathan threw his hand up and asked a question.

 

“So, how does this Sky Reclamation operation work?”

 

“Hey you, use polite language when speaking to your senior!”\

 

“Why aren’t you using polite language with us anymore?”

 

When Yoo Jian asked, Park Sodu confidently put a hand on his hip.

 

“That’s because, now that you’ve joined, I’m way senior to you guys.”

 

“Yeah, right.”

 

Jeong Mueum and Lee Suho completely ignored the scene.

 

Wow, the heroes sure were having fun hanging out together. Jeong Mueum, the most mature of the group, gestured to Heo Mugong to continue the explanation.

 

‘Sky Reclamation’ was literally an operation to erase the boundary between Enet and the Illusion City.

 

Enet was located above the Illusion City.

 

In other words, Enet was a floating city. The citizens of the Illusion City lived looking up at the bottom of Enet instead of the sky.

 

“Once they see the real sky, there will surely be people who want to join us.”

 

Heo Mugong confidently continued explaining the operation.

 

For the briefing, he spread a map across the table where they were gathered. The blueprints, which filled the entire eight-person desk, depicted the layout of Enet.

 

From the circuits that absorbed light to the devices that converted it into energy, and the energy pathways installed throughout Enet’s underground. Heo Mugong flawlessly pointed out the maze-like blueprint.

 

“The execution date is Enet’s City Anniversary. It’s the day people gather in the center of the city to celebrate and hold parties. On that day, taking advantage of the lax security, we will completely destroy the energy conversion devices located on the outskirts of the city. That will cut off all energy supplied to Enet.”

 

Jeong Mueum, who had been quietly listening, pointed out:

 

“Wouldn’t Enet just crash down then?”

 

“Not exactly. The mechanism keeping it afloat is connected separately to an emergency energy circuit. Instead, when that happens, Enet will cast a barrier over the entire city to prevent intrusions. Once that happens, we’ll be able to see the real night sky for just one day.”

 

Heo Mugong pointed at the empty air above Enet.

 

“The barrier turns all of Enet transparent. Whatever happens inside, people outside won’t know, and they won’t be able to interfere from the outside.”

 

“….Is that all?”

 

Adam asked, as if he couldn’t understand.

 

“If you guys are really dreaming of revenge, you just need to completely wipe out the ruling class of the city of Enet. It’s inefficient. Excessively so.”

 

“The city of Enet is too big for us to bring down on our own. Besides, there are still many among the other citizens of the Illusion City who don’t even know of our existence. In fact, the percentage of people who envy Enet is much higher. That’s why I want to show them the real sky.”

 

Nathan let out a snort.

 

“Hmph. Heo Mugong is surprisingly a romantic.”

 

“I suppose so, Nathan.”

 

Before anyone noticed, he had memorized all the heroes’ names. After the brief operation briefing, he headed off somewhere, saying he would assign them rooms.

 

“If you have a place to stay, you’re free to go there. Honestly, the environment here isn’t great.” 

 

The place they arrived at was a space where abandoned RVs were gathered. The age group varied from children to the elderly.

 

“You can pick any of these vans to use. I believe numbers 6 and 7 further inside are still vacant.” 

 

“…Do young children live in a place like this too?”

 

At Cha Jaeha’s question, Heo Mugong bit down on his traditional smoking pipe and pulled out a crumpled matchbox from his pocket.

 

“The Illusion City isn’t a poor city, but it’s not exactly wealthy either. Those who have no light left to sell gradually fall behind and end up here. Protecting these people is also a role our rebel group takes on. Well then, get some rest. I’ll call you if anything comes up.”

 

The man tapped Cha Jae-ha on the shoulder and left. Cha Jaeha silently headed to RV number 7. Naturally, the Korean heroes ended up staying in the large RV number 7, and the American heroes in number 6.

 

“No, but seriously, does it make sense for a place with heroes to have no villains?”

 

“There are villains, Nathan. It’s just that they aren’t monsters.”

 

“Whatever!”

 

However, the American heroes immediately came over to hang out in RV number 7 and took over the sofa. Lying on the sofa with his arms resting behind his head, Nathan spoke.

 

“This is my first time in a Red Gate. So all I know about exactly how to close this gate is the information I heard from the Korean side. Is that really the right way to close the gate?”

 

“Yeah, that’s right.”

 

Yoo Hwashin smiled at him.

 

“Boring. Being a hero is a job where you go bam! and defeat monsters and get cheered by people.” 

 

Cha Jaeha frowned as he looked at Nathan, who was pouting.

 

“I guess American heroes do this job for fun?”

 

“What?”

 

“Once you’re in, you should do your job. It’s weird to expect fun.”

 

When Adam, who had been quiet, spoke up, sparks flew between the two.

 

“….It seems Korea’s S-class heroes didn’t bother to memorize the regulation about not picking unnecessary fights with foreign heroes.” 

 

Fortunately, Yoo Hwashin, who had brought a phone from their original world, blatantly started filming the scene.

 

“…Hyung, what are you doing?”

 

“Filming a legendary scene.”

 

They hadn’t expected to get along well with the Americans from the start anyway.

 

Then, what would be the best way to enjoy this situation? Naturally, it was to leave some kind of record. He’d have to rewatch the video by himself later. 

 

‘A real….. crazy b*stard.’

 

Jeong Mueum shook his head and fled to the inside of the RV. Lee Suho followed Jeong Mueum, and Yoo Jian was thoroughly enjoying his free time with the kids outside the RV.

 

“You just can’t be reasoned with.”

 

“I feel the same way.”

 

Having captured the blood-spattering staring contest entirely on camera, Hwashin got out of the RV and looked around. Kim Daecheol was playing with the kids. Heo Mugong was watching that sight.

 

“It’s a nice sight, isn’t it?” 

 

At Heo Mugong’s question, Hwashin stepped closer.

 

“How did you get to know Daecheol?”

 

“I was able to find out through my ability.”

 

“….Really? That’s a good ability. More importantly, you can drop the formalities. The guys with unique hair colors already did, so you should too. You have silver hair as well.”

 

“It’s fine. I tend to keep using polite language with people I have no intention of getting close to.”

 

Hwashin smiled gently. At that response, Heo Mugong’s eyes widened before he grabbed his stomach and burst into laughter.

 

“Ah, right. Interesting, you’re interesting. At any rate, thanks for bringing Daecheol back. Originally, Daecheol was the one who started these rebels. I was just a figurehead; Daecheol was the one who was like the real commander.” 

 

The laughter vanished, and his eyes grew sunken once more. 

 

“……But at some point, he just left. When we set up the first operation to infiltrate Enet, a few of our comrades died. It seems that was a shock to him.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Yeah. He was a bit different from me. I thought that sacrifice is always inevitable for a greater cause. I thought he felt the same way. ……It can’t be helped if it’s to claim what’s real, right? Still, well, I recently met a friend who shares my views and got some good information too. Thanks to that, it looks like this operation will go smoothly.”

 

“A friend who shares your views?”

 

“Someone like you. He just suddenly appeared. Well, he also suddenly disappeared though. Regardless.”

 

Heo Mugong opened the long vertical pouch he was holding in his hand. From inside, as expected, came the smoking pipe he favored. Wedging the pipe between his fingers, he pushed himself off the car he had been leaning against and said,

 

“I look forward to working with you. Until that day.”

 

Hwashin gave him a polite smile.

 

“…Of course, Commander.”

 

At the fake smile that resembled his own, Heo Mugong also let out a smirk through his lips that clasped the pipe.

 

“Haha, you’re fun.” 

 

***

 

The day of the operation.

 

5:00 PM. All members of the rebels assigned to the mission headed for the illegal airship.

 

Heading to the center of the city was easy. They slipped through the gaps in the surveillance, which was already as lax as it could be due to the festival.

 

‘Everyone remembers the plan, right?’

 

The aerial port where the airship had dropped them off. Amidst the narrow and dark alleyways leading to the festival, Heo Mugong, wearing a black cloak pulled over his head, whispered.

 

‘I will head straight for the heart of the city where the festival is being held. In exactly one hour, the remaining personnel will go to the outskirts of the city as planned and destroy the devices. During that one hour, I’ll knock out all the guys guarding the devices in the basement of the city hall.’

 

Lee Suho nodded firmly as if he had made a strong resolve. Nathan was swept up in the festival atmosphere with his eyes sparkling, but since Edum was keeping an eye on him, there didn’t seem to be any major issues.

 

‘Let’s go then.’

 

Heo Mugong smiled and swept back his cloak. To head towards the city hall, he blended into the crowd.

 

Enet was beautiful.

 

Houses showing off their own individuality. Above them, small but brilliant lightbulbs decorated the area.

 

The streets of Enet, where evening had fallen, were filled with light. Empty formalities filled with things belonging to the Illusion City. Heo Mugong gripped his pipe tighter. He lightly drew in the smoke and exhaled.

 

The smoke rose into the sky. Higher, and higher, endlessly.

 

This place was real.

 

In the plaza of Enet, various stores, including festival street vendors, were open and showing off a variety of goods. Heo Mugong crossed straight through them.

 

Hooo-.

 

The pure white smoke coming from Heo Mugong’s mouth instantly put the employee guarding the counter into a deep sleep. He slowly made his way down to the basement. This was because the CCTV guarding the outer devices was located on the B1 floor, which was not open to the citizens.

 

It had only been a few days since Heo Mugong himself had learned of this fact.

 

—Hmm, did I arrive too early? Ah, hello.

 

The man who had torn through the fake sky of the Illusion City and appeared upside down had spoken to him with his hair hanging downwards.

 

He told Heo Mugong that he came from another dimension but knew the relationship between the Illusion City and Enet. Of course, Heo Mugong hadn’t believed him at first.

 

But the more he listened to his story, the more novel it became. He said that where he came from, there were heroes and villains, and that he himself was a villain.

 

—But I only became a villain because a villain was needed. Do you think I wanted to be a villain? 

 

He smiled, his green eyes curving.

 

—I’ll give you a gift before I leave. Normally, this isn’t a space where you would be the protagonist. 

 

—….Is that so?

 

You act as if you already knew. Regardless, it’s better for me if things go well for you.

 

The man handed over Enet’s blueprint. Believe it or not, it was up to him. After the man left, the only thing remaining was the blueprint he had given him. Heo Mugong was absolutely certain that this blueprint was real.

 

Because this blueprint was the map Kim Daecheol had stolen and run away with right before he left.

 

“….Is this enough?”

 

The CCTV room. After putting all the employees there to sleep, Heo Mugong watched the rebels on dozens of screens. They were faithfully carrying out their roles. Heo Mugong also turned around without hesitation. Enet would soon lose its power, and a barrier would enclose this place above.

 

“Wow, you already put them to sleep?”

 

Mugong’s face turned pale as he turned around.

 

In stark contrast, the man facing him smiled broadly.

 

“Quite nice to see me, isn’t it?”