Mirror World: Destined Return

Roughly two hundred people ecstatically ran wild on the empty streets of Beverly Hills, breaking store windows and looting valuable items.

“Yahoo! Let’s do this!”

“Ehehe! I never thought we’d be able to run wild on Middle Earth!”

“This is our world now! Let’s collect some Karma!”

“Gehehe! Take it all! I don’t even remember how much I’ve salivated whenever I’ve window-shopped around here!”

They were members of Clan Clubhand, who had invaded Beverly Hills by taking advantage of the security gap formed due to the Union's focus of their forces on the west.

“Beverly Hills~! Oh, Beverly Hills~!” sang a slender Asian man with long black hair and black eyes, shaking his right hand as if conducting. He had a congenital condition known as club hand. “I, Kim Jun-Gu, have arrived in Beverly Hills! How does it feel to be invaded by a cripple like me?! Ahahaha!”

He was ridiculed and bullied due to the congenital deformity in his right hand, causing him to develop animosity toward human society. After being Lost to the Mirror World, he created a black clan known as Clubhand to pay back the world for all the disrespect and ridicule it put him through. To him, the dragon invasion was a golden opportunity.

Beverly Hills! The home of the richest! Jun-Gu thought, smiling at the thought of doing whatever he wanted to those snobbish pricks.

“Boss! There’s no one here! They must’ve all run away!”

“Ahhh! Come the fuck out! I want me some Karma!”

“Women for me!”

“Men for me!”

“I wanna bathe in warm blood!”

The Dark Humans, their bloodshot eyes filled with filthy desires, howled like beasts once they noticed there was no prey to hunt.

“No items either?”

“Only low-ranking ones.”

“They took all the expensive shit with them!”

“Where the hell did they go? They couldn’t have gone far.”

Jun-Gu looked around and noticed a giant building larger than a few mansions linked together. “Ehehehe! There!”

The curved building was the largest and most beautiful of those around it. He was certain the prey had evacuated to that building. It was the main branch of the Fence Hotel, known for being one of the businesses with the most Coins.

“The Fence for the Lambs?”

“Gehehe! Yeah! I’m sure of it!”

“Fence Hotel! People go on about how rich they are!”

“They’re swimming in Coins from the item intermediary business they opened with all the dwarven items on the market!”

“Let’s go!” Jun-Gu shouted, taking the lead as they charged to the Fence Hotel.

They immediately got past the front door, arriving at a dark lobby. However, the door to the lobby and the windows were all destroyed. It appeared the hotel had already been attacked. The lights were all off, so they could barely see anything.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“Did someone get here before us?”

Jun-Gu, believing they had lost the initiative, quickly ordered, “We’re late! Advance!”

“Looks like we have competitors.”

“Keh, diligent bastards!”

Thinking they couldn’t come out empty-handed after coming this far, the Clubhand clansmen quickly entered the hotel lobby. The automatic door opened, but at the same time, a dozen men leading the charge collapsed with their torsos separated from their legs.

“Wha—”

“Tsk, tsk, why do people like you always think the same thing?” a voice sounded from the lobby desk.

They finally saw the state of the hotel lobby once their eyes adjusted to the darkness.

“Gasp!”

“What... the hell?!”

The split halves of countless bodies swam in massive puddles of blood filling the floor. A white-haired old man in a tailcoat stood among the piles of corpses, not a single drop of blood on him.

“Are the brains of morons paired via Bluetooth, I wonder?” the old man remarked.

“Who are you?!” Jun-Gu shouted.

“You lack intelligence, as I had feared. What does knowing who I am do for you?”

“Boss! Behind you!” one of Jun-Gu’s subordinates warned.

Jun-Gu quickly turned around and saw men with dark brown skin, holding oval shields, blocking the lobby entrance. They were the Maasai warriors, each peculiarly wearing a red cape over their black suits. At the front of the group was Thumper, a rabbit beastfolk wearing a yellow backpack.

“Huy gaga! They dare try to attack our establishment!”

“Huy yo! Tear them apart!”

“Bad villains! The coffee shop is destroyed! I can’t eat my vanilla ice cream anymore! It’s all your fault! I won’t forgive you!” Thumper shouted furiously, hopping in place.

“It’s a trap!” Jun-Gu shouted.

“A trap? Against the likes of you?” Gerard d’Armont said with a smirk. “You’re the ones who charged in here like moths to a flame.”

“Bullshit! Everyone, watch out in front of you! Haaaaah!”

[Activating Unique Skill: Mana Hand.]

Blue mana rose from Jun-Gu’s club hand and lashed forward like a whip, grabbing the air from where his subordinates were split in half. He pulled, shredding the silver wires that had been difficult to see in the darkness.

“Ahaha! See?! Talking all that shit after using petty traps like this!” Jun-Gu said, cackling as if he had seen through Gerard’s trap.

Gerard smiled mockingly and said, “You would likely make an unpleasant sound.”

He raised his hand, holding a silver hoop of steel wire. He grabbed the end of the wire with one hand and pulled it, extending the wire as a chilling sound echoed from it.

“Mmm...”

“Fall back...”

The Maasai warriors blocking the entrance took a step back, a rare sight for courageous warriors. Even Thumper gulped and covered his eyes with his ears.

“Urgh... Are you gonna do that again? Take it easy, Friend Gramps...”

They had already witnessed the tuning of Gerard d’Armont, the White Devil.

“Attack him all at once! He is a manipulator, and by the looks of it, a trapper! He’ll be a piece of cake to beat as long as we stay close to him!” Jun-Gu ordered.

“Time to cut up this geezer!”

“Ahyahaha!”

The Clubhand clansmen simultaneously charged at Gerard.

Gerard’s eyes were dyed red as he licked his lips, saying, “I’m getting thirsty.”

His D Weapon, Steel Piano Wire, unraveled as it spun.

[Activating Unique Skill: Absolute Pitch.]

[Activating Unique Skill: Artisan’s Tuning - Harmony.]

The unraveled wire intertwined like a fish net, wrapping the Clubhand clansmen like a school of fish.

“What the—”

“I despise cheap pianos. I will tune you all at once,” Gerard interrupted.

The large net formed from the Steel Piano Wire condensed, becoming as small as a soccer ball. Bones and flesh were dismantled like apples sliced by an apple slicer, creating a harmony. The dismantled body parts dropped on the floor like puzzle pieces.

“Slightly off pitch,” Gerard mumbled apathetically, echoing throughout the hotel lobby.

***

Gerard walked down the Fence Hotel’s hallway. The rooms and hallways alike were filled with people.

“Sniff! I’m so scared...”

“What’s going on out there?”

“D-don’t worry... The Union will t-take care of it.”

Gerard stared at the groups of trembling people and mumbled, “Lady Jurie is too kind. We didn’t need to make the hotels an evacuation shelter.”

“Hehe! Friend Gramps! Friend Gramps! You say that, but you’re working the hardest out of anyone to help them!”

“Yes, at Lady Jurie’s request.”

“Hmm? Hehe, okay, I believe you! That aside!” Thumper hopped to reach Gerard’s eye level. His black eyes sparkled as he asked, “What’s that silver wire you’re using, Friend Gramps? I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“It’s piano wire. Imperative when making a piano.”

“Piano?”

“The pianoforte. It is a beautiful and delicate keyboard instrument. It makes sounds when a hammer strikes a string.”

“Wow! I wanna see one! Can you play this piano instrument, Friend Gramps?”

Gerard momentarily remained silent, then shook his head as he replied, “No, I couldn’t become a pianist. I didn’t have enough talent to be one. That’s why I had to be satisfied with working as a tuner to be around pianos.”

“Okay, then! In that case—”

“Stop asking questions, you chatty rabbit. I’ll tie your ears together if you keep pestering me,” Gerard said as he pretended to reach for Thumper’s ears.

“Ahhh! You’re scary, Friend Gramps!”

Gerard smirked as he watched Thumper hopping away and thought, I sure have changed. It’s not a bad feeling—no, it’s a good feeling. It’s all thanks to Lady Jurie.

He reached the manager’s office and opened the door to find Thumper, who had arrived before him, whining to Leo.

“Friend Leo! Friend Leo! Friend Gramps said he would tie my ears together!”

“That sounds nice. Why don’t you ask him to tie them into a ribbon shape?” Leo said.

“Not even you, Friend Leo!”

“Quiet, you two! I can’t focus!” shouted Lina, grabbing a pile of paper.

Leo blinked as if he were falsely accused, and Thumper’s ears drooped. Gerard walked past them, toward the true tuner who had fixed his life.

“They’ve been more or less taken care of, Lady Jurie,” he said.

“Oh, I didn’t notice you, Gramps,” replied Jurie, lifting her head after having been focused entirely on her smartphone screen.

“Our Maasai friends are cleaning things up, but... we should probably hire professional cleaners later. The entire place reeks of blood.”

“That doesn’t matter right now. Nivalis destroyed the Walls of Tallinn and has entered the Capital!” Jurie tapped on her smartphone and continued, “Considering the sightings all over the place... They must have divided their forces to attack the city from all sides simultaneously!”

“So, they don’t have a set destination. They want to do as much damage as possible,” Gerard answered.

He could guess their intent from their actions. If they had a clear target in mind, they would have advanced straight there. However, if they had divided their forces to attack several places simultaneously, their goal was likely to spread as much destruction in the Capital as possible.

“Yeah. What kind of grudge could these damn lizards have against us to be doing something like this?!” Jurie shouted.

“It’s probably because of Underground,” Leo responded.

Gerard agreed. “It is almost certainly the case. The dragons are rather... prideful.”

“Prideful? More like narrow-minded!” Jurie shouted as she continued to tap her smartphone. “Whatever the case, we have to stop them! They probably divided their forces because they believed they would still win that way, but... that’s good for us! We can defeat them one by one!”

“We?” Gerard asked.

Jurie turned to him and said, “Gramps, go to the coordinates I designate and kill the dragons there. As long as we attack the right places, we can isolate them.”

“I cannot do that. I must protect you by your side,” Gerard firmly refused.

Jurie pointed at Leo and said, “No, I have Leo here. He’ll protect me and Lina unnie. You’re strong enough to kill dragons by yourself, Gramps! Keeping you here would be a waste of forces!”

“That is not the case. Nothing is more important to me than protecting you.”

“Gramps!” Jurie shouted.

However, Gerard obstinately shook his head. His brown eyes began to turn red.

Seeing that, Jurie’s eyes widened. “Gramps... Are you—”

“I... I need you, Lady Jurie. If you’re not by my side... I don’t know what I will do.”

Gerard raised his hands. Veins were wriggling on the back of his hands, and his fingernails had become as sharp as blades. Seeing that, Jurie stopped forcing the matter.

She grimaced as she shouted, “Dammit! Where the hell is Cheon Seong-Hwi in such a crisis?!”

From what she could gather from the Network, he was last sighted in Garapan, but had vanished without a trace.

If only he were here! Jurie shouted inwardly.

***

A grey warp gate opened, and a thousand orc cavalry rushed out of it. An old orc riding at the front collapsed on his horse’s back as he coughed up blood.

“Chwik! Atanggi Bi! Are you alright? Dammit... tend to the Bi!” Tasha shouted as he pointed at Atanggi, the Tusk tribe’s Bi. An orc warrior beside him grabbed Atanggi and rode away. “Chwik, he must have pushed himself too hard. He created a warp gate where there was no warp zone...”

“Neigh! But thanks to him, we’re here! That is the Capital!” Ibiso the centaur said, pointing at the Capital, as small as a dot, in the distance.

“There is... smoke rising,” Tasha mumbled.

The smoke was visible even at this distance, resembling a dragon rising toward the sky. The expression of Seong-Hwi, riding Ibiso, hardened.

Seong-Hwi said, “I’ll go on ahead, Tasha. I will entrust the reinforcement to you.”

“Chwik! We will help you as much as you helped us, my friend! Chwik, I can only apologize about the size of the advance party!” Tasha shouted.

Seong-Hwi nodded as he sprouted the Wings of Evolution and soared into the sky. The wings flashed iridescently, and he flew toward the Capital at supersonic speed, leaving a vapor trail behind him. His face was filled with unfiltered rage.

“Dragons... I will not let you do as you like!”

He would stop it, whatever it took. He had not returned to the past to repeat his mistakes.

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