108 – Queen of Seoul (5)

I screwed up.

Shouldn’t have left him alone.

Before the formal talks, a little separation for a tiresome game of nerves was the root cause. By the time I got the belated call, it was already too late.

Lee Seo-joon had vanished. Darco, and that tin can too.

They seemed to have disappeared in an instant, somewhere within the banquet hall.

“…Tch!”

“B-Boss… are you alrigh-?”

I glare at Tsubame for asking such a useless question. She yelped and quickly averted her gaze.

Where could they have gone?

Probably didn’t stray too far from this banquet hall. At least, if I think rationally, it shouldn’t be a major incident.

Darco isn’t stupid.

He can distinguish between situations where he needs to use force and those where he doesn’t. The fact that the banquet hall is still this quiet means he must have judged that fighting wasn’t necessary.

And that tin can as well.

That damned android rubs me the wrong way, but he’s undeniably useful.

But if that’s the case, it’s even stranger.

This banquet hall is the Queen’s territory. Quantum itself, practically.

Everything that happens here falls within the Queen’s sight…

So, despite this absurd situation unfolding, the Queen hasn’t made a move?

That woman, who loathes any trouble in her domain?

“…Oh, this isn’t good.”

The train of thought quickly barrels towards its conclusion.

Fine veins throbbed on Black Mamba’s forehead, Hundred Eyes’ Baek So-yeon.

“Is this b*tch serious…?”

“B-Boss?! No! Hold it! Hold it back!”

He wasn’t exactly known for his patience. Yet, lately, he had been restraining himself.

Wanting to show her only his best side.

But this? This was too much. To hold back when that old hag had likely dared to meddle with what was his?

Baek Soyeon stopped. He looked at a security guard nearby.

The guard flinched.

“S-Something you need, sir?”

“Tell your boss.”

“…Yes?”

“Tell everyone here, including you.”

Black Mamba loosened his hands.

“They’re my hostages now.”

. . .

“…Boss.”

“…Huh, uh…huh? What is it, what’s wrong?”

The Queen of Quantum startled, answering her aide’s summons almost unconsciously.

He spoke with clear distress.

“There’s a disturbance in one of the halls where the banquet is being held.”

“Which reckless fool is it?”

“…It’s Black Mamba of Hundred Eyes. He said he’ll turn everything upside down if you don’t come immediately…”

“Ah.”

The Queen of Quantum blinked. Understanding dawned belatedly, and she couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Are there any casualties? Anyone hurt?”

“Not yet, but… he said he’ll start slitting throats, one every ten minutes…”

“Ah. Yes. Well, he might. This situation is… exceptional, so please understand.”

“…Yes?”

The aide blinked. The Queen of Quantum smirked at the endearing reaction.

Had she ever, anywhere in her life, compromised?

No. Not that she could remember. And she was also well aware of this fact.

Within the Quantum’s domain, any fool who caused trouble was eliminated, without exception.

That became the catalyst for what she is now called, the Queen. An autocrat with overwhelming power, an existence with the strength to crush any reason whatsoever.

So it was no wonder that even the mere consideration of ‘understanding’ as an option surprised her closest aides. But only for today, it was an exception.

“…I knew exceptions existed in the world… but I never thought I’d utter the word myself…”

The Queen of the Quantum tapped her fingers lightly on the back of her hand,

gazing at the spectacle unfolding before her eyes.

“I understand. Yes. I understand. With something like that in your possession, you have no choice but to challenge even me. Something you’d cling to, even at the risk of losing everything. Good heavens… such a child was hidden away in Busan? Just how deep are the government officials’ eyes buried? And in the first place, the one who raised this child… why did they let her go?”

“Boss?”

“Ah. Yes. Just talking to myself. Just muttering to myself. Something I would never normally do. But… this is simply too compelling to ignore. Look. Little one. Can you see Chaeyoung’s expression over there? And what about Seoyeon’s?”

Their faces were already as if possessed by a demon, simply staring with wide eyes, fixated on the moving hand.

A look she had never seen, even as she had raised them herself.

And surely, she herself must be wearing the same expression.

She knows nothing of the technical aspects.

Nor can she fully grasp the extent of its magnificence.

Yet, she knows that that skill reduces all the artisans she has seen thus far to mere ‘ordinary people’.

Visible to the untrained eye, to someone who isn’t an expert.

The divine fingertips, shaping life itself.

“…This changes things…”

The Queen of the Quantum’s eyes grew clouded with desire.

Having discovered the most exquisite treasure in the world.

“I want it. Truly.”

. . .

Quantum.

They’ve made contact.

They’ll tell us the location, so go there.

“Ambush, high possibility!”

“So what?”

Despite Tsubame’s worries, Baek Soyeon moved. After regrouping with all the personnel she had brought, she headed inside without hesitation.

Passing through long corridors and ascending stairs,

relentlessly moving upwards.

The employees she passed, as if forewarned, melted to the side. Even the numerous guards watching over the building did the same.

Finally, she reached the room at the end.

Standing before it, Baek Soyeon kicked the door open with savage force.

-CRASH!

“Get out here! You old bat! Who do you think…! “

“Shhh.”

“…….?”

If it had been the Queen who’d shushed her, she would have clawed her face off then and there.

But, ironically, it wasn’t.

It was Lee Seojun, who had vanished.

He had a finger pressed to his lips.

“…Are you alright? What ‘shhh’? I was going crazy because you disappeared, what I was about to do…! “

“Just a moment.”

What ‘just a moment’ again?

Baek Soyeon, about to explode with anger, obeyed him for now. She quickly closed the distance, keeping him within arm’s reach, following his gaze as she turned her head.

There, sitting quietly, was the Queen of Quantum.

The Queen existed.

“……. “

Silence. Utterly silent.

It wasn’t as if the place was empty, but everyone was holding their breath.

A strange tension. And it emanated from the syringe she was holding.

As if she’d just injected something into the bloodstream…

Were they all witnessing the Queen shooting up, or something?

“…What, is this some kind of drug party? What’s going on here?”

“Just a moment. Only a moment longer. I want to see the results too.”

“What results? Explain yourself prope—”

A shift began.

A chilling sensation sent Baek Soyeon’s hand rising without her conscious thought.

Instinct.

Instinct was screaming a warning.

A subtle shift. It was starting somewhere.

But from where, exactly?

“…Ah.”

The sound breaking the silence came from the Queen of Quantum.

A tall woman. Infinitely large even compared to his not-insignificant stature, she rose to her feet. In her slightly distorted eyes were the undeniable traces of shallow years…

But they vanished in the very next instant.

As if a person were regaining their youth.

The change, begun in a heartbeat, consumed her entire body. The bizarre transformation, as if a miracle were manifesting, went beyond simply reversing time, warning of endless danger.

A dense, blood-red aura leaked from her body. As if a power she couldn’t control was running rampant, she gasped.

“What is this…?”

“Breathe.”

“Hey! What are you doing?! Get back here!”

Lee Seo-jun, having suddenly broken ranks, stood before her. Even with the pre-eruption power laid bare before his eyes, he fearlessly raised his hand toward her.

“Breathe properly. Maintain your breathing. It’s just your body being shocked. It always happens. It’s because they use my personal equipment. Originally it’s not this bad… but since you’re using a power you couldn’t use at all from the start, the symptoms are particularly strong. But it’s not a power you can’t handle. It was originally yours.”

“……..”

“Slowly. Exhale very slowly. Keep your breathing steady, and… relax all the muscles in your body. It’s alright. It will disappear soon.”

The Queen of Quantum slowly exhaled.

Along with it, the blood-red aura thinned. With the complete disappearance of that symptom, the Queen of Quantum’s skin returned to normal.

Still clear and beautiful, but with a touch of time mingled within it.

Silence once again enveloped everyone. The Queen of Quantum quietly opened her closed eyes.

She gazed at Lee Seo-jun before her.

Her voice trembled.

“…This…can be done…semi-permanently?”

“If the personal equipment is permanently implanted in the body. It would be a somewhat complex procedure… but it’s possible. Not semi-permanent, but you could almost call it permanent. If you receive additional maintenance, you might be able to live as long as you’ve lived until now… no, even longer.”

“……”

“How was it? I’d like to hear your direct impressions. Hearing directly how the results felt to the user is the instinct of an artisan.”

The Queen of Quantum turned her gaze.

Baek So-yeon flinched. Still not understanding the situation, she bared her teeth.

“Who are you to kidnap my people?”

“…Black Mamba. Boss of Hundred Eyes. I have a proposal to make.”

The Queen of Quantum smiled.

“If you wish, I could bestow upon you any treasure in this world…”

Her hand, extending with a natural grace, enveloped Lee Seo-jun.

“Won’t you give me this child?”

“…Huh?!”