During the Nuts Crusher incident, I was intrigued by the fake Goblin case.


    The appearance of a fake Goblin could be imitated with cosy.


    Buy a ck overcoat, wear a mask resembling the Goblin, and make sure to hide your hair so it doesn’t flow out from behind the mask. That was it.


    But they couldn’t replicate the Goblin’s ability to disappear using spiritual transformation.


    I found out that the fake Goblin was Thunder Empress Kim Yun-ji, but I hadn’t heard how she disappeared in detail.


    I confirmed it here.


    [Digitizing the human body. That’s an incredible ability.]


    “You’re amazing for figuring it out just by seeing it.”@@novelbin@@


    Kim Yun-ji smiled and spoke to me in a rxed tone.“Since we’re both here on Jeju Ind, there’s no need to speak formally, is there?”


    [Suit yourself. I don’t expect formality when I’m not using it myself.]


    “Great. We’re on the same page.”


    Kim Yun-ji treated me warmly.


    Before, when Doul, Hyeon Se-rin, was around, our conversations felt more distant. Without her presence, Kim Yun-ji seemed morefortable.


    “The person next to you, tinum Sun, is effectively on your side, right?”


    [I’m not on the Goblin’s side. We’re just coborators.]


    Yumir responded to Kim Yun-ji in a slightly sharp tone.


    I pondered whether tinum Sun had met Thunder Empress before. To my knowledge, unless they’d met during a demon-cleansing mission, they hadn’t.


    [You two are meeting for the first time?]


    [Not exactly. We’ve crossed paths a few times during demon cleansings.]


    “As a government hero and a hidden ability user, it’s fate that we meet like this. Why don’t we talk morefortably?”


    [I’m fine as is.]


    “Well, suit yourself.”


    Kim Yun-ji didn’t press the matter despite Yumir’s distant attitude.


    “Showing this to tinum Sun feels a bit awkward, but what you saw is exactly it. For about ten seconds, I can turn into electricity.”


    [That’s shorter than I expected.]


    I imagined she could travel from Korea to the United States via optical cables, but it seemed Thunder Empress’s ability was still in its early stages of development. ???Ν??????


    [But a lot can happen in those ten seconds, like when you destroyed Nuts Crusher’s body and vanished.]


    “Exactly. But keep one thing in mind. As the Thunder Empress, I won’t use this ability.”


    [You mean you’ll only use it for viinous actions?]


    “Correct. You really get it, being Se-rin unnie’s partner and all. No wonder she keeps you around.”


    [It’s the opposite.]


    This tangent deviated from the main topic. When Kim Yun-ji implied something about my rtionship with Hyeon Se-rin, I noticed her looking at me in surprise.


    “Then what about that woman, Gunggi? You seemed tobine powers with her or something. Is she your temporary partner?”


    [A Goblin’s partner is always changing. Right now, tinum Sun is my partner.]


    “…So do you twobine powers too?”


    [We could if we wanted, but what kind ofbination are you talking about?]


    “You know, like Dodjirider tinum Sun Form or something.”


    […Hold on. Timeout.]


    Yumir extended her hand toward Kim Yun-ji and created a soundproof barrier with her magic.


    [Oppa, that woman doesn’t understand jokes. She’s the textbook FM hero.]


    [An exemry hero, indeed. Aside from cosying as a Goblin and acting like a viin, her hobby is saving people.]


    Kim Yun-ji was the epitome of a hero, carrying out the “5-minute readiness” protocol that Baek Seol-hee had abandoned when she chose another path.


    Swift as lightning when dealing with viins, she had the highest viin takedown count among S-ranked heroes.


    [People call her a “killjoy” behind her back, don’t they?]


    [Calling someone like her a killjoy just shows mean-spiritedness. She’s a paragon of justice. Conversations might feel rigid, but it’s understandable. She’s the Thunder Empress, after all.]


    I lightly patted Yumir’s back before stepping past her soundproof barrier to face Kim Yun-ji again.


    [Would you teach me that ability?]


    “…Even if I wanted to, how much do you know about electricity?”


    Kim Yun-ji stared at me, her pride slightly pricked.


    “You’d need at least the knowledge of an electrical engineer or a master electrician.”


    [Then I can’t. What a shame. It’s a fascinating ability, but it requires that level of expertise?]


    “…Hmph. Do you know why they call me the Thunder Empress? I hold an Advanced Electric Power Engineer license.”


    I could feel Yumir’s questioning gaze from behind me.


    She seemed to be asking, What’s that?


    “What, don’t you know? Well, I get it. Most people don’t. Just think of it as me being insanely knowledgeable in engineering. Got it?”


    […Doesn’t having more knowledge make using your ability harder?]


    Yumir tilted her head.


    [The more you know, the harder it must be to use it. After all, abilities can be covered by imagination, right?]


    “…What?”


    Oh.


    Her reaction—utter disbelief—felt like a line ripped straight from a light novel world.


    “What did you just say? Huh?”


    [If you have imagination, you can do anything, so why bother umting knowledge about your ability? Wouldn’t that just give you headaches? For example…]


    Yumir extended both hands forward, conjuring magic.


    [Golden Lightning.]


    Bzzzzzt.


    Golden lightning sparked between Yumir’s hands.


    [Isn’t this enough?]


    “…….”


    Kim Yun-ji twisted her lips as if incredulous, and I gently pulled down Yumir’s wrists.


    [The way abilities manifest differs from person to person. Some approach it from a humanities perspective, while others, like Thunder Empress, take a scientific approach. She’s the ultimate example of thetter,pletely different from you.]


    The Thunder Empress used her ability with the knowledge of an electrical engineering professor. Her power was based on calctions and logic.


    Of course, turning one’s body into electricity involves a degree of imagination. While one could argue against its logic, the important point was that she logically justified it to herself.


    [Too bad, but I guess this isn’t the kind of ability I can learn.]


    If it were another variation of spiritual transformation, I might have considered learning it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t, and thus, not something I could master.


    Yumir, with her protagonist-like traits, might one day suddenly acquire it with narrative convenience. But such powers were reserved for elemental ability users.


    Bing mes, turning into ice, or transforming into smoke—abilities belonging to the “natural” category.


    Even if the principles could be understood and mastered, the sheer amount of study required wasn’t something I was willing to take on.


    [Now that I’ve confirmed what I needed to, it’s time to talk business.]


    “Business?”


    [Yes. I’d like to ask you for a favor.]


    “…A favor?”


    [It’s nothing too big.]


    I operated my Taeguk Watch to disy an image of a hotel building.


    “That’s….”


    [In the final week of the summer semester, an auction will be held at this hotel. A very expensive item will be up for bid.]


    “You’re talking about the Phoenix Feather, aren’t you?”


    [Correct.]


    As expected of an S-rank, she was already well-informed.


    The reason four S-ranks—Baek Seol-hee, Yun I-seon, Kim Yun-ji, and Tae Irin—gathered in Jeju wasn’t just because the academy’s training ovepped with Ji Chun-hyang’s attack.


    It was also because the Phoenix Feather auction was taking ce, and their presence was necessary to counter potential threats.


    [What I’m asking is simple: cause a ckoutsting just ‘three seconds’ right before someone wins the bid on the Phoenix Feather.]


    “…You’re not nning to steal it, are you? If so, I can’t cooperate with that.”


    Kim Yun-ji drew an X with her hands, rejecting my request.


    “If the Phoenix Feather gets stolen by the Secret Society, even more people wille after you, Goblin. You might be able to handle the aftermath, but with all the S-rank ability users targeting this auction, are you sure about this?”


    [No. I don’t n to steal the Phoenix Feather.]


    “……?”


    [All I need is a momentary ckout. That’s it.]


    If it was the Thunder Empress, she could ck out the hotel without anyone noticing.


    [It doesn’t have to be a total ckout. Shutting down the electricity in the auction room for just three seconds—or even one second—will suffice. A brief moment of darkness is all I need. The rest will be handled by the Secret Society.]


    “How am I supposed to agree without knowing what you n to do?”


    [Didn’t I tell you? I won’t do anything.]


    “…So, you just want me to cut the lights? And what’s the gain from that?”


    [Suspicion.]


    Even if it was just for a moment, creating such a “situation” would be enough.


    [In those three seconds—or even one second—a seed of doubt can be nted. ‘Could someone have swapped it during that ckout?’ That’s what I’m asking you to do.]


    Later, if the Phoenix Feather turned out to be fake, people wouldn’t think it was a fraud from the beginning. They’d suspect it was swapped during the ckout.


    If the Phoenix Feather was revealed to be a fake, everyone at the auction would start doubting one another.


    Who could have stolen the Phoenix Feather?


    By cutting the lights just once, you could transform a lie into truth and create a new falsehood.


    Even if it’s eventually discovered that the Phoenix Feather was fake, no one will suspect it was fake from the start.