Chapter 170
Incheon International Airport.
The checkpoint for special personnel had always been strict in prohibiting pubic access, but today, the terminal was air-tight. Heavily armed players wearing berets neatly lined the entryway, faces stony.
Civilians gave a wide berth. The atmosphere felt as if they had wandered into a gate, instead of an airport.
The subject of the security was an unkempt, green-haired boy—necromancer and heir to the Baus family, Loren.
Loren was returning to his homeland today. More precisely, he had no choice—South Korea, a small and inconsequential country, dared to expel him, the National Treasure candidate of Austria.
The Airport Security Force and the Lion’s Castle forces escorting Loren were tense.
Austria would certainly not respond lightly or kindly to this disrespect. There would be consequences, they knew. And it wouldn’t be strange if the response came sooner rather than later.
“...How could you humiliate me like this? This is wrong. Ask White Night to return my family.”
Mutter mutter.
Loren’s abnormal state as he repeated his incomprehensible words heightened the tension in the air.
“Wait.”
A silver-haired boy approached unimpeded. He was Shinra Kyeong, the successor to South Korea’s number one family. Not even the guards wished to offend him. Moreover, Shinra Kyeong explained his purpose, “We studied together for a semester. I want to say goodbye to him.”
“Ah... Of course.”
The armed forces formed a circle around the two boys and turned around.
Loren’s eyes glowed gold. “I see you’re alone again. Are you planning to do something shameful?”
He hadn’t forgotten how Shinra Kyeong’s vassals had been conspicuously absent the last time Shinra Kyeong had offered his help. He’d been betrayed then, but Loren was desperate; if Shinra Kyeong were offering his help again, he would take it first and sort out the risks later.
Shinra Kyeong shook his head.
“No, I’m here today to warn you.”
“Warn me? It was you who betrayed me, so I should be the one warning you. One day, I will extract a price for your choices—”
“You’re right,” Shinra Kyeong interrupted coldly. “Choices have a price. So listen well. You had better stop thinking of getting revenge on Kang Jae-Hyeok. If you or your family breaks his wings... In the name of Shinra, I will annihilate the Baus family.”
“...Huh?”
Loren stared blankly. Then he laughed.
He found Shinra Kyeong’s attitude absurd. Shinra Kyeong should be worrying about himself. How did he find the time to worry about Kang Jae-Hyeok? In addition, Shinra Kyeong was the Shinras’ heir, not the family head. Who was he to make big threats?
However, there was another reason that Loren laughed.
“Revenge on Kang Jae-Hyeok? I didn’t even think about it.”
Loren brushed back his matted hair, exposing his sharp eyes. Even ragged as he was, Loren’s bearing was absolute.
“Think back on everything he’s done. He won’t live long enough to die naturally. So why should I bother lifting a finger?”
Shinra Kyeong said nothing. He couldn’t refute it. Since entering Lion’s Castle, Jae-Hyeok had been a magnet for calamities. Incidents and crises followed wherever he went. Jae-Hyeok’s confrontation with Loren was but one example—and had Shinra Kyeong supported Loren to the end, Jae-Hyeok might have been dead already.
“You should spend your time controlling Jae-Hyeok rather than threatening me if you truly care for your country’s future.”
Loren left behind those words before allowing the guards to take him away.
Although his Parent Zombies and Do-Jin were still in South Korea, Loren calmed down; he was leaving in defeat, and nothing he could do would change that, for now...
Aside from these, a new desire scratched at Loren’s heart. Threaten my family? Oh, Shinra Kyeong, how should I crush you...
Meanwhile, Shinra Kyeong’s brow wrinkled. He couldn’t help but worry about Jae-Hyeok.
He didn’t cause trouble on the first day of vacation, did he?
***
”Kuahaha!You cocky brat!I will scoop out your flesh while you are still alive to savor it!”
Jae-Hyeok wondered, Is it because he died and came back to life? Or is it the effect of that Blackening Skill?
Jeong Jae-Uk was extremely excited. He no longer hid his vicious nature, and it was to the point that even his combat style had changed.
He no longer hid behind his shield, instead pressing forward with his sword and swinging wildly.
Jeong Jae-Uk used no special techniques, but with his enormous might and aerial speed, Jeong Jae-Uk’s every advance had Jae-Hyeok dancing between life and death.
Jeong Jae-Uk tucked his wings and fell toward Jae-Hyeok with an overhead slash.
“Cough!”
Jae-Hyeok deflected, altering the course of Jeong Jae-Uk’s blade only a little, as he simultaneously flowed around Jeong Jae-Uk with light steps.
But Jeong Jae-Uk’s newfound strength was as monstrous as his visage.
“Where are you running, Little Rat!”
Jeong Jae-Uk threw his tower shield like a throwing star.
“Hup!”
Jae-Hyeok met it with his sword. The force hurled him back. Before he could figure up from down, Jeong Jae-Uk appeared with a beat of his wings and delivered a spin kick to Jae-Hyeok’s stomach.
“Cough!”
Did he create a hole in my stomach? Jae-Hyeok had such doubts, as the pain stole his breath and made the ground spin.
Jae-Hyeok restrained his thoughts and cleared his mind, eyes fixing on Jeong Jae-Uk.
He carefully observed the direction of Jeong Jae-Uk’s gaze and the subtle movements of his shoulders. Gauging the path of Jeong Jae-Uk’s next attack. Only this way could Jae-Hyeok respond to Jeong Jae-Uk’s blinding speed.
The dance continued.
Jae-Hyeok was like a leaf in the wind, but he narrowly dodged Jeong Jae-Uk’s lethal blows again and again.
“Persistent guy!What is the point of struggling like this? The power of a great being flows through me, while you are nothing but a worm.Set down your vain hope and die obediently!”
Jeong Jae-Uk roared in fury. Jae-Hyeok was like a cockroach that couldn’t be stomped.
Jae-Hyeok’s eyes never left Jeong Jae-Uk, and he interpreted something different. He looks nervous. Blackening was a Skill that amplified stats. It was a buff Skill at its core, meaning its duration was limited. Jae-Hyeok believed that the longer he held on, the better the situation would become.
So long as I can last, the fight might even end on its own. Jeong Jae-Uk’s waist was fused backward, and though he looked monstrous, he was still human; his organs would fail the moment his Skill wore off.
In addition...
Jae-Hyeok looked at Iyarugt.
[Iyarugt covets demonic energy.]
[Iyarugt covets demonic energy.]
Every time Jae-Hyeok struck Jeong Jae-Uk, Iyarugt responded with satisfaction. He didn’t know precisely what it signaled, but the sword’s aura seemed to be getting stronger. Jae-Hyeok took it as a good sign.
However, the enemy in front of him was still alive and well.
“Enkuk!Jabarieon!”
Suddenly, Jeong Jae-Uk barked a short spell and opened his mouth wide, from which a column of black mana erupted.
Before Jae-Hyeok could react, he was struck in the chest and hurled from the broken window.
The harsh wind and rain overwhelmed Jae-Hyeok’s senses for a moment.
“Do you see now?My current power transcends human beings!”
Jeong Jae-Uk flew after him with outstretched wings and came close enough that his nose nearly touched Jae-Hyeok’s.
They were four hundred thirty meters above the ground.
By all accounts, Jae-Hyeok seemed destined to die. But he didn’t linger in fear. Fear was a luxury in his current situation.
Jeong Jae-Uk swung his sword hard.
Jae-Hyeok met his blow and every succeeding one without pause. He blocked or countered aggressively. And each time, he directed the recoil to correct his balance. Then, using his mana control technique, he gathered and released mana in bursts from his feet, which arrested his fall for several seconds at a time.
In those brief moments, Jae-Hyeok felt as if he were walking on air.
“Enough with your tricks!Enkuk Jabarieon!”
Jeong Jae-Uk fired another black beam. But Jae-Hyeok released another burst of mana and dodged it easily.
“Do you always chant that spell? I’ve already heard it, so it’s too easy.”
“I’ll tear you apart!”
Jeong Jae-Uk redoubled his attacks.
Jae-Hyeok met him blow for blow.
With every clang, red sparks scattered amid the wind and rain, which had by now intensified into a full-blown storm.
The sight of flashing sparks in the dark sky drew the eyes of people below. And, spotting the source, they were shocked.
“W-what is this...?”
Some trembled, shaken by the winged, beam-firing monster, while others simply enjoyed the artful scene created by the scattering sparks. The former were mainly the civilians employed by Ocean Shipping and the Gugang Hotel.
“Sub-master?!”
The members of the Guardian Guild soon recognized the face of the monster and turned serious.
“W-why does the sub-master look like such a monster?”
Just then—
“Finally!”
Whoosh!
“It is over!”
Jeong Jae-Uk drove his sword through Jae-Hyeok’s chest as Jae-Hyeok swept his sword across his neck. Jeong Jae-Uk's head dangled as if it might fly off at any moment, but it was then engulfed in a cloud of black mana—the bone, muscle, and flesh regenerating at incredible speed.
Seeing Jeong Jae-Uk’s ghastly aura and inhumane regeneration, the hearts of the guild members turned cold. In the past, they occasionally had doubts about the sub-master, but none proved more sinister than reality.
Jeong Jae-Uk looked down and growled. None who’d witnessed his divine state could live.
“Return to dust! Enkuk Jabarieon!”
Jeong Jae-Uk stretched his mouth wide. A beam of black energy erupted, tearing toward the crowd below.
Through his fading consciousness, Jae-Hyeok felt Iyarugt tremble, urging him to fight. Jae-Hyeok’s hand shook. Just then, someone supported him from behind.
“I’ll take it from here.”
The stranger looked frail and sickly, with a full head of white hair, but his face looked middle-aged, and his presence loomed like a giant tree.
“Who... ” Jae-Hyeok began before shutting his mouth.
He knew without having to ask.
The man landed lightly on the ground with Jae-Hyeok, who was bigger than him, in his arms.
At the same time, the man summoned a shield and blocked the beam of energy before it could reach the crowd.
Waves of sinister mana crashed against the man’s shield, like an ocean beating against a cliffside, yet the golden shield never wavered. Soon, Jeong Jae-Uk’s breath attack winked out, while the dispersed remnants dissolved into an insubstantial mist.
“Thank you, boy.”
“I truly owe you a great debt.”
The true master of the Guardian Guild, Park Chang-Cheon, bowed his head before pouring a potion on Jae-Hyeok’s wound.