The AI disappeared, leaving only cryptic words behind.
Levi felt a strange sense of defeat from failing to obtain the information Amon had requested in advance.
‘I’m sorry, Amon.’
She silently apologized to Amon, who had trusted her and entrusted her with this mission.
However, her regret did not last long.
‘The operation isn’t over yet.’
She wasn’t foolish enough to let guilt cause her to fail the remaining operations.
Without hesitation, she moved on to the next phase.
***
“The AI has been deleted, but the contact logs remain. You should be able to use them to identify those involved in this incident.”
Levi printed out the list and handed it to the prince.
The prince examined the names, filtering out those outside the palace who were involved in the assassination plot.
“Hmm… Even the general was involved?”
At the very top of the list was the name of his maternal grandfather.
The prince nodded as if he had expected it.
“So, he really couldn’t stand me keeping the military in check.”
His voice carried no anger or disappointment.
With a composed demeanor, as if handling routine affairs, he passed judgment on his maternal relatives.
“They are all to be executed.”
The chief of the Royal Guard received the order and began assembling troops to carry out the sentences.
“We have secured the location of the Andong Kim clan.”
“I have already obtained the king’s permission for a joint investigation with the air force. If necessary, they will bomb the area.”
“Understood!”
The chief of the Royal Guard burned with determination, ready to capture the traitors at any cost, even if it meant civilian casualties.
The prince, satisfied with his loyalty, nodded before turning back to Levi.
“It seems everything is settled. It looks like we won’t need to use Plan C.”
***
Plan C.
A contingency operation prepared in case of internal unrest within the palace.
But the prince had such a firm grip on the military and intelligence agencies that there wasn’t even a hint of such disorder.
Levi seemed to agree as she finally relaxed.
Her bodyguards—the Cookie Man brother and the Sunwoosunhwa siblings—also eased up a little.
In recognition of Levi’s contributions to the mission, the prince granted her a special residence.
“Stay there for now. Since those ghosts keep lurking around, trying to get at my sister, you wouldn’t be able to leave the palace anyway.”
Levi briefly glanced beyond the palace walls.
Boom! Bang!
The soldiers were tirelessly firing warning shots to keep the ghosts from entering the palace.
As she turned her head, she locked eyes with a water ghost, its drenched hair hanging limply as it screamed.
Levi immediately averted her gaze.
“I would rather never experience being chased by something like that again.”
“Hmm? You want to be chased again?”
“???”
For a moment, the prince’s translator malfunctioned, causing a minor misunderstanding.
But despite the confusion, they secured a place to stay within the palace.
***
Boom! Bang!
A few hours later.
Using the gunfire as background noise, Levi rested in the special residence when Amon finally arrived.
Unlike Amon, who looked relatively fine, Sonia and Cassie were clearly exhausted.
Seeing his lovers in such a state, Amon requested a proper resting place from the prince.
“I understand. I’ll make sure the bombardment sounds don’t reach your quarters.”
The prince generously arranged for their accommodations, even modifying the residence to ensure their comfort.
At that moment, a weak, dying voice squeezed out from behind Sonia.
“M-Me too… Please…”
Amon turned to see the squinting priest, barely clinging to life.
He exchanged glances with the prince.
“Would there happen to be a doctor in the palace?”
“That does seem necessary.”
Thanks to the prince’s generosity, Amon’s group was able to properly rest for the first time in a long while.
Compared to the cathedral’s underground chamber, which could hardly be called a place of comfort, the special residence felt like a paradise.
But while everyone else rested, one person couldn’t afford to.
An incident of this scale couldn’t possibly end so anticlimactically.
The fact that some could rest meant that someone else was working in their place.
And the one who willingly shouldered that burden was Amon.
***
“Your Highness, here is my report.”
While the others dozed off after dinner, lulled by a pleasant sense of fullness, Amon remained in the prince’s residence, delivering his report.
“We have completely neutralized the Sword Sect within the cathedral.”
“Thanks to the EMP strike that severely weakened their capabilities, subduing them had required minimal effort.”
“Amon and Cassie had little trouble taking them down. But getting to this point had been the real challenge.”
“On our way here after subduing the Sword Sect, we encountered assassins from the Killing Sect.”
“If you’re reporting it, I assume something was unusual.”
“Yes. They were all wielding cursed blades.”
In hindsight, it made perfect sense.
‘How could unmodified terrorists have gained such notoriety in a world where modifications were the default?’
The answer lay in their weapons.
“Individually, they weren’t particularly strong. But there were a lot of them.”
Because of their sheer numbers, Amon and Cassie had struggled to handle them.
Unlike with the Sword Sect, they had no reason to show mercy, but they still needed to keep some alive for information.
However…
“They all committed ritual suicide.”
Not a single one survived.
Since they were unmodified, they died instantly the moment they cut themselves, leaving no time for intervention.
And from this series of events, Amon sensed something was off.
“Suicide itself isn’t the issue. But cursed blade wielders forming an organized group, pledging loyalty, and sacrificing themselves for a cause—that’s definitely abnormal.”
From what had been observed with Ji Sunwoo in the past, cursed blades had distinct personalities.
Cunning, selfish, and evil.
For such entities to unite under a cause and sacrifice themselves was undeniably unnatural.
The prince nodded at Amon’s report.
“Understood. I’ll keep an eye on this matter as well.”
“I still have more to report.”
“Oh? More?”
Amon proceeded to relay what Sonia had experienced.
She had faced off against Goetia’s demons on the rooftop of a skyscraper.
Fighting demons wasn’t particularly difficult for her.
Lesser demons would find eternal rest just from her spreading her wings.
But this battle had been different.
“They were demons, yet… they didn’t feel like demons.”
Demons that should have been purified instantly had charged at her without hesitation.
If they had been high-ranking demons, she could have understood.
But upon closer examination, their ranks weren’t all that high.
“Rank 36, Rank 50, Rank 54…”
Perhaps Rank 36 was an exception, but those below it shouldn’t have been immune to her powers.
“She was able to handle them, of course, but I thought it was worth reporting as an anomaly.”
Finishing the report on Sonia’s behalf, Amon waited for the prince’s reaction.
But the prince remained indifferent.
“I see. Well done. But honestly, you didn’t need to report the demon situation to me. That’s Vatican business.”
To the prince, the demons behind this incident were just unusually troublesome terrorists—nothing more, nothing less.
His concern wasn’t theological but tactical.
He only cared about what weapons could affect demons and what wouldn’t.
Their compatibility with Sonia’s divine power was irrelevant to him.
But Amon disagreed.
“Regardless, we are working together. Sharing all information is the foundation of trust, isn’t it?”
Even if the prince had no interest in the theological aspects of demons, proper information sharing was essential for cooperation between the Vatican and Joseon.
The prince acknowledged this and recorded the details.
With Amon’s report complete, it was time for the next person to speak.
***
“Your Highness, I also have a report to make.”
It was Prince Lee Hyun, a member of Levi’s team.
Normally, Levi, as the team leader, should have been the one reporting.
“You should rest. Besides, I wanted to speak with you, Brother.”
After watching Amon report on Sonia’s behalf, Lee Hyun suddenly volunteered to report instead of Levi.
Levi tilted her head in curiosity but ultimately accepted his offer, allowing him to present the next report.
“Your Majesty, we also have unusual findings to report regarding this incident.”
“Speak.”
“The ghosts that pursued us this time… No, that pursued me, do not seem to be part of the Hunt Legion.”
“Explain in detail.”
“The priest has told me that, strictly speaking, the ghosts of the Hunt Legion are not actually ghosts, but rather nameless, miscellaneous demons.”
“In contrast…”
“Hyun, have I not told you that I have no interest in theological approaches?”
“Brother, I thought this part was important enough to mention.”
“Fine. Continue.”
“To elaborate, unlike the Hunt Legion, the ghosts that chased me in Hanyang were vengeful spirits— in other words, the lingering souls of the dead.”
“Ah.”
That alone was enough for the Crown Prince to understand what Hyun was getting at.
“It is familiar. Using the Hunt Legion as a smokescreen to conceal one’s true intentions.”
“Precisely. And if our predictions are correct, then the ghosts surrounding the palace right now are likely—”
“Artificial rather than a natural phenomenon.”
“Yes. Therefore, if we eliminate the leader of these ghosts, the ones encircling the palace should disappear on their own.”
“I understand. I will organize a force to track them down.”
With that, Hyun finished his report to the Crown Prince and turned toward Amon.
Then, the Crown Prince shared information that Hyun did not need but that Amon might find useful.
“Levi Yang asked me to pass this on. The AI couldn’t determine the entity’s true identity. However, it did detect an unusual pattern among the ghosts. The outermost layer of those pursuing us consisted of vengeful spirits, but the deeper we went, the greater the proportion of water spirits.”
“I have confirmed this.”
Amon nodded.
Thus, the late-night information exchange between the three men came to an end.
***
“I’m feeling a bit peckish. Will you stay for a late-night meal?”
The Crown Prince casually extended the offer to the two men.
Under normal circumstances, a member of the royal family—especially the Crown Prince—sharing a meal so informally would be a breach of etiquette.
However, this was a secret meeting.
Bringing out an official royal meal for a covert discussion was impossible.
Besides, the modern-minded Crown Prince was craving a hamburger and had no interest in following courtly decorum at the moment.
Hyun, seeing his brother’s unceremonious demeanor, twitched the corner of his lips and was about to nod.
However, Amon’s response was cold.
“Your Majesty.”
“What is it, Sir Amon?”
“A late-night meal is fine, but I believe our information exchange is not yet complete.”
“What do you mean?”
“Honesty is the foundation of trust. If this is how you intend to proceed, then the 11th Division of the Vatican Special Bureau cannot cooperate with Joseon.”
Hyun was taken aback by Amon’s sudden declaration.
However, the Crown Prince, the one directly addressed, showed little sign of surprise.
“Hmm… I don’t recall hiding anything. Perhaps this is merely a difference in perception. I simply did not speak because you did not ask.”
Of course, that was a lie.
He had concealed information but was feigning innocence.
Yet, Amon had no reason to make an enemy of Joseon’s royal family.
And now, with that statement, the Crown Prince had essentially declared that he would now speak honestly.
Thus, Amon maintained a blank expression, pretending to be fooled, and proceeded with his questions.
“I see. A misunderstanding, then. In that case, may I ask a question?”
“I am aware that you are unfamiliar with Joseon’s customs, so ask in whatever manner you find convenient.”
“Then I shall ask. Was this entire incident orchestrated by you, Your Majesty?”
Hyun flinched at Amon’s shocking question.
He turned to his brother in disbelief.
But the Crown Prince simply shook his head with a composed expression.
“No. I state clearly that this was not an orchestrated act. I swear upon the honor of the Yi dynasty.”
Hyun exhaled a breath of relief at his brother’s words.
However, Amon’s face remained unmoved.
While Hyun found this odd, Amon, maintaining his stern demeanor, continued his inquiry.
“I will take your word that it was not a fabrication. Then, why has the Chumon Group been branded as traitors?”