Chapter 146 : Reverse Wreck (1)
Reverse Wreck (1)
In truth, Sang-ah wasn't entirely at fault here.
Even without barging in with her underwear on her head, Masked Singer was already a complete mess.
One of the key singers had collapsed unconscious.
Such an incident was unprecedented in the history of Masked Singer.
Naturally, the producers would want to prevent this kind of disaster.
After all, the blame would likely fall on them for not handling it in advance.
Sang-ah's intention was simply to patch the unexpected hole as best she could.
She had sung her song, so all she needed to do now was step down.
But...
"The Underwear Mask, please remove your mask... and reveal your identity!!"
Normally, she could have left with her mask still on.
But she'd received the only perfect score of 100, so she was forced to remove her mask.
At this, Sang-ah's face went pale.
'I should've just not come out at all, shouldn't I?'
Singer Cha Eunju's life was spared, but she was no longer able to sing.
With no way to find a replacement at this point... Sang-ah stepped in to sing.
At that moment, the faces of the dejected people lit up with hope.
Immediately they cried out,
—It's this kid!
In the end, swept up by the crowd, Sang-ah ended up on stage.
By broadcast rules, her face had to be hidden, but of all times the Mango Mask had been smashed.
On top of all that, Sang-ah had to use the underwear that Ah-rin had returned as a mask.
Fortunately, it fit her face perfectly.
Was Seongjin's lower body that big?
'No! No! What am I even thinking right now!!'
The moment she put the underwear on her face, her excitement died down.
It was as if it was some kind of magical mask.
Suddenly, she felt a serene calm like she was standing at the surface of a clear mirror.
And after singing, that feeling only intensified.
This wasn't good...
If she kept wearing it, she'd probably be beaten to death by the original owner...
'Kwon Sang-ah, you crazy idiot! Snap out of it!'
She was clearly losing it.
But regardless of her tangled thoughts, the audience was delighted.
Everyone wanted to see the face hidden behind that mask.
Even the panelists in the building next door watching were the same.
—She sounded like a Goddess.
—I'm a professional singer, but even I can't sing that well.
—I'm dying to know what her face looks like.
—She looks pretty young though.
Voices from everywhere hoped she would reveal herself.
Sang-ah, who could hear them all, broke out in a cold sweat.
She knew exactly what her school life would be like the moment her identity was revealed.
—10.
—9.
—8.
—7.
...
...
The countdown ticked steadily lower.
The moment before her unthinkable secret would be revealed.
Rumble—!
Suddenly there was a noise, and the ground shook.
It was closer to a sudden shockwave than an earthquake.
As people wondered at the sudden event—
Rumble—!
The same noise and shockwave occurred once more.
At the same time, a red pillar shot up into the sky from somewhere in Hand.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble—!!
And then the ground truly began to shake.
****
A hidden passage in Hand's subway station.
Normally used as an evacuation shelter, it was now being used as a temporary hideout for the Sura guild.
They launched a small drone to monitor Hand's situation.
At the same time, they moved one step closer to their planned goal.
"The time has finally come."
A massive magic array was glowing red on the ground.
It was the Underworld Formation they had crafted after much hardship.
Lu Huikang was deeply moved as it finally revealed its true power.
"Juhee... Just wait a little longer. Soon, your grudge will be avenged."
Lu Huikang took a photo out of his pocket and murmured to himself.
The photo showed Lu Huikang and a Mutamit succubus.
It was Kang Juhee, the Sura guild hunter who had been found dead earlier.
"Everything is for our Heaven and Earth Society!"
With that, Lu Huikang sprayed perfume on himself.
The other guild members around him also slathered themselves in the same scent.
"If you're finished preparing, leave this place immediately!"
"Is that really necessary? We can't be attacked by the phantom spirits anyway."
"The red light is shooting up now. Who knows who might find this place."
A red pillar had already soared to the sky.
Naturally, people in Hand might notice something strange and storm the hideout.
"And as soon as we leave, secure Sura's location."
"Yes!"
They originally had no idea who Sura was.
But with the help of the phantom spirits, they would find out.
They had been chosen by a master-class phantom spirit.
"Heheheh, today will be those guys' last day."
****
"Looks like Lu Huikang's group pulled it off."
"Sure does."
Ji Ryong-seong, in the driver's seat, looked up at the pillar of red light in the sky.
Ai Hoon's face was all smiles as she saw it too.
She looked like a child receiving a present from Santa Claus.
"How long until the phantom spirits come pouring out?"
"Just give it about 10 minutes."
RUMBLE—!
The ground began to shake steadily.
It was proof that the Underworld Formation had fully activated.
At the same time, the once-cloudy sky turned red, and the surroundings began to change.
Grotesque trees put down roots, spreading throughout Hand.
Soon, those roots even reached the stage broadcasting Masked Singer.
"A-hahahaha! Here it comes!"
The pillar of red light soon vanished from the sky.
A few minutes passed, but nothing in particular happened.
At first glance, it might look like something went wrong, but there was no need to worry.
The real "festival" was about to begin.
Creeeak—!
A massive crack split the sky where the pillar had been.
From it, all kinds of monsters began pouring out.
It looked as though monsters were emerging from a gate, but it was neither a gate nor were they monsters.
It was a passage connecting the underworld and Earth.
The beings emerging were phantom spirits from the underworld.
—KIEEEEEE!!
Countless phantom spirits streaked through the sky, screeching.
Then, sirens began to blare all throughout Hand. It sounded just like the alarms triggered when gates are detected.
However, this was not a gate—it was a passage connecting to the underworld.
The alarms should not have automatically triggered.
"The folks at Hand are responding better than I thought."
"It won't matter. Even with all the hunters at Hand, they can't handle that many phantom spirits."
"But... doesn't it seem strange?"
"What do you mean?"
The sky above Hand was dotted with countless monsters.
As a few began to land, people scattered in panic.
This, so far, wasn't all that strange.
But then, out of nowhere, dozens of security officers appeared to guide people.
Even this, at a glance, seemed normal.
It is, after all, their job in a disaster.
However...
"Don't they seem a little too calm?"
The security officers were calmly shepherding people without any sign of panic.
It was as if they'd gone through several rehearsals before being deployed.
Almost as though they had been expecting this.
"Looks pretty ordinary to me?"
"...."
Unlike Ai Hoon, Ji Ryong-seong and Jin Rain, both S-rankers or above, were uneasy.
Their perception was keener than most.
Maybe they were just overly sensitive?
As those thoughts crossed their minds, Ai Hoon spoke.
"Fine, let's see what happened with that guy."
"That guy?"
"You know who I mean."
"Oh."
Jin Rain, finally catching on, brought up a video on his pad.
They wanted to monitor the student Ma Seongjin's movements.
They had launched a drone above Hand earlier today.
Hand's surveillance system would automatically track him if it picked up on Ma Seongjin.
"This wasn't working earlier, is it okay now?"
"That's why we're trying again."
For some reason, the video had gone black earlier.
They'd assumed it was a glitch and put it aside.
That student was supposed to take the fall for today's incident.
They needed to check his current status for that.
"By now, the passage in that kid's body should've opened."
Just the other day, Ai Hoon had met with Ma Seongjin.
She'd dragged him into the car and turned on the heater, making him breathe the air of the underworld.
And because it wasn't normal air, it was now strongly linked to the activated Underworld Formation.
Therefore, the passage vomiting out phantom spirits would appear in that student's body as well.
"Let's see... Huh?"
Ai Hoon's eyes widened as she looked at the screen.
"Huh?"
"What is it?"
Ji Ryong-seong and Jin Rain were just as confused.
This time, there was nothing wrong with the image. Unlike before, it was coming in clearly.
Ma Seongjin himself was visible on the screen.
But then—
[Uh, uh, mic test. Can you hear me?]
Ma Seongjin's voice rang out from the screen.
Something was off. Since when did a simple surveillance drone transmit audio like this?
No, more than that—
[Pleased to meet you, members of the Sura guild. I'm Ma Seongjin, 2nd year, class 6, from Middle Second Campus.]
"What the...?"
[Oh, and! Guess I didn't have to introduce myself, huh? You've probably already investigated me all you want.]
Ma Seongjin, gripping the drone in his hand, brought his face close to the camera.
Ji Ryong-seong was flustered by his casual, almost teasing manner, like someone making a video call.
He spoke as if he knew all about their scheme.
[You've been buzzing around me nonstop, so I broke this toy so you can't use it. I don't know how much this costs, but you don't mind, do you?]
He'd noticed the drone was tracking him.
That explained why the feed was cut off earlier.
Even his use of the drone as a selfie stick made sense now.
But what was truly baffling was this:
Even as monsters were pouring from the sky, he was smiling without a care.
[I know why you're trying to watch me. Partly because I'm Ah-rin's friend, but mainly... because you're curious how the tampering you did to my body is manifesting, right?]
—And you probably wanted to enjoy the show while munching on popcorn, huh.
The more they heard his voice through the stream, the more their spines froze.
It wouldn't be that strange if Ma Seongjin had just spotted the drone.
But he seemed to know everything about what they were planning to do.
Not to mention, he was taking all of this so casually.
[I bet you're dying to know what I'm saying right now.]
For a hunter trainee at his age, he was far too extraordinary.
His presence struck fear to the bone.
[I can pretty much guess.]
Ma Seongjin smirked, then grinned even more devilishly.
[Because to your eyes... I must look like just another ordinary student.]
With those words, Ma Seongjin set the drone on the ground.
He sprang up and smashed the drone with his foot.
Bzzt-bzzt—
That was the last thing they saw as the feed went dead.
An icy chill swept through the inside of the car, like a storm had passed.
Of course, things outside were chaos too, but the perfume made them immune to the phantom spirits.
The problem was Ma Seongjin's behavior just now.
"What did we just see?"
"How should I know?"
"S-still... in a bit he won't be in one piece either! Right?"
"...."
Soon enough, a fissure would open in Ma Seongjin's body as well.
What that kid had meant remained a mystery, but that could wait for later.
For now, the time for celebration was approaching.
"Oh? Young lady."
"Yes? What is it?"
"On your arm, that—"
Noticing something, Jin Rain turned toward Ai Hoon, shocked.
There was something opening on her right arm.
"Huh?"
A strange crack appeared on Ai Hoon's right arm.
It looked eerily similar to the portal spreading in the sky above.
"Wait, don't tell me...!"
And from the fissure in her arm, something leapt out.
The phantom spirit that suddenly appeared destroyed the car they were in.