Chapter 135 : My Fate....
My Fate....
"Mewzealand... Demon King... eight guardian deities... racial discrimination... and even reincarnation...."
I recounted what I'd gone through to Baek Suhyuk.
I didn't tell him everything, but just hitting on the main points was more than enough.
From living for fifty years as the Demon King in Mewzealand, to returning to Earth.
Even the fact that I'd returned in the form of reincarnation was easy to explain.
Then, I talked about what I'd experienced in this life as well.
"How about it? Can you believe it?"
"..."
Baek Suhyuk fell silent and lapsed into contemplation.
He had lived for over eighty years, but he'd definitely never heard anything like this before.
Though an era overflowing with magic power had come, things like warping or reincarnation hadn't officially been realized.
After briefly closing his eyes in thought, Baek Suhyuk opened his eyelids and spoke.
"Of course, I have to believe it."
"So easily?"
"It's not that I want to believe it. It's that I have no choice but to believe it."
Baek Suhyuk had heard what I'd accomplished with this young body up until now.
The Yong-in Gate and Golden Gate in Yong-in.
Both incidents were impossible for a middle schooler to handle alone.
Yet, I had done just that. There were even testimonies from subordinate guild members.
It was only natural to arrive at the conclusion that he had no choice but to believe it.
"So the Yong-in Gate really was your doing."
"I had my own reasons for entering the gate back then."
"What did your parents say?"
"I snuck in, of course."
No one would allow a first-grader at the time to waltz into a gate.
If anyone did, they'd be a madman like Kwon Yongha.
And besides, I didn't even have a hunter's license at that point, so it was illegal.
Anyone brazenly doing that would be even crazier.
"In that case... what was Yoon Jaeho's state at the end?"
He was the hunter I killed in the Yong-in Gate that time.
He had once been an A-rank hunter with the Angel guild, then joined hands with the Murderer guild.
I can vaguely recall his last moments.
"He'd gone completely mad. Even as he was dying, he was thinking of his daughter."
"It's all my responsibility that he ended up like that. Thank you so much for stopping him."
"He kidnapped a child and even killed her parents—there was no value in keeping a guy like that alive."
"Yes, Yoon Jaeho's actions led to Eunseol's birth parents losing their lives."
Yoon Jaeho's downfall was due to his own guildmaster.
In other words, Eunseol's parents dying was also his responsibility.
"I was too careless back then. Who could have known that his unique trait would be so invaluable for those guys...."
"A trait?"
"Yoon Jaeho had the ability to 'appraise' awakeners' talents. Of all things, this was just what those Murderer groups operating in the shadows needed."
Apparently, it wasn't just limited to appraising talents.
He could even distinguish whether someone could be a vessel for something.
"Do you know about the Black Flame Cult you destroyed?"
"Yes, I've heard about it from an acquaintance."
I'd thought the Black Flame Cult was just a low-rank murderer group.
But in truth, it was a subsidiary organization under the Holy Church, and the Black Flame Cult's leader was related to the Holy Church's leader by blood.
What was their name again...?
I killed them before Yoon Jaeho, so I can't remember clearly.
"The purpose of the Black Flame Cult is to bring down some god. Behind them is a massive organization which gives those orders."
"The Holy Church?"
"You're well-informed. The Holy Church has the same goal."
"They're trying to bring down a god, then."
"The identity of this god's vessel was already revealed thanks to Yoon Jaeho's trait. And you know the person."
Yoon Jaeho had kidnapped young awakeners, causing many missing persons cases.
That was likely an act to find a vessel for the god.
And there was one girl—just one test subject—who fit their criteria perfectly.
"Eunseol."
"That's right. The girl you saved... and I adopted."
She's now protected by the Angel guild and receiving guidance from me.
But that's no reason to let our guard down.
"That day, after wrecking the Black Flame Cult, you purposely left Eunseol at the scene and drew us in—effectively tossing her to us."
"Did that offend you?"
"No, you did the right thing. If she'd been left at some random orphanage, there would've been a bloodbath."
"So the Holy Church noticed her, right?"
"Yes. We've actually had several skirmishes with them because of her."
Once the Holy Church knew of Eunseol's existence, everywhere she set foot would become a bloodbath.
It was obvious what they'd do to get their hands on her.
If she went to an orphanage, the staff and all the children would die; adopted by a family, that family would die.
Just like her real parents.
"But you could say it's a small mercy in this misfortune. She's definitely their target, but... she doesn't seem to be their top priority."
"Priority?"
"That's right. Besides Eunseol, there are more god vessels they're after."
Baek Suhyuk said that he'd fought the Holy Church to protect Eunseol all this time.
And from interrogating those guys, he'd learned quite a lot.
"The good news is, after the Golden Gate incident, it's become difficult for them to operate in Korea. The reason is..."
"Because of the Poison guild, right?"
"Correct. Thanks to you."
The Poison guild had been a critical foothold for their Korean activities.
But after the Golden Gate incident, they stopped functioning properly,
so Baek Suhyuk felt safe enrolling Eunseol in Hand.
"The number of gods they're trying to bring down is eight."
Eight. My stomach dropped as soon as I heard that number.
Seeing my frozen expression, Baek Suhyuk said,
"You must have a hunch."
The eight gods that terrorized other races in Mewzealand.
They matched up exactly with the eight guardian deities.
"But we still don't know anything definite about those gods."
"..."
"Do you have any concrete information about them?"
Baek Suhyuk had fought the Holy Church all this time.
I had nothing to withhold from him, so my answer was blunt.
"All eight... are idiots."
"... What?"
"I mean literally. They pretend to be noble gods, but in reality, they're crazed, hypocritical, brainless jerks who do nothing but repeat their own idiotic behaviors."
"..."
Baek Suhyuk gave me a very unfamiliar look.
It was probably because my answer was so far from what he'd expected.
But there wasn't a single lie in what I said.
They pretended to be wise, acted like they knew everything, and if you argued, they shut you up by killing you.
That's what the so-called eight guardian deities were like.
"And yet, they ruled Mewzealand."
—Because? Their strength was absolute.
"Even if just one of them descends, that would be enough for someone like you, guildmaster, to be helpless."
"Haha... The more I learn, the more terrifying they sound."
Baek Suhyuk laughed in disbelief.
If they descended again, it wouldn't be surprising if Earth turned into another Mewzealand.
"I've actually found a lot of things about the Holy Church incomprehensible. By default, they think of mutamits as some kind of disease, but... in reality, there are tons of mutamits even within the Holy Church itself."
"..."
"Hypocritical, brainless... now I get why you used those words."
But his "understanding" was only about their behavior.
He couldn't comprehend their ideology itself.
No ordinary person could. Not ever.
"They're not the only group like that. There's another group that pretty much rules China, too..."
"The Sura guild?"
"Right. I actually clashed with them before, at the request of the Hwasan guild."
I remembered that too.
Angel guild had helped Hwasan for an all-out war with Sura guild.
"Actually, back then... I sent Eunseol out."
"You sent her out?"
"At first, I refused her offer to go. But I couldn't just keep her cooped up forever. Cough!"
Baek Suhyuk suddenly broke into a cough at the end.
Maybe because of his old age, his health didn't look good.
"I'm worried what will become of Angel guild if I'm gone. I don't know if there will be anyone left to protect Eunseol."
Thanks to being adopted by Baek Suhyuk, Eunseol was protected.
But what would happen if his life ended?
Would Eunseol be able to protect herself?
She needed real combat experience to be able to survive on her own.
"Are you worried about Eunseol's skill?"
"She's improving fast, but so are the enemies. When we faced the Sura guild, she came face to face with their core member."
"The core?"
"Their Sura. The one they follow."
"Ah..."
I kind of got it, but still felt an ominous chill.
Over the first semester, I'd seen Ah-rin and Eunseol together.
Their relationship could only be described as the worst—bitter enemies.
Even the pure-hearted Eunseol would bare her teeth the moment she saw Ah-rin.
I always wondered why those two wanted to tear each other apart...
'So that's the reason.'
Now I knew why they fought.
But this ominous feeling just wouldn't go away.
"Apparently, Eunseol was evenly matched with Sura. But she was completely exhausted when she came back after putting her all into it."
"...."
"She can use great strength by unfolding her black wings, but the side effects are intense. If the fight had dragged on any longer..."
"Um... Guildmaster? Can I say something?"
I cut Baek Suhyuk off.
It might sound rude, but I had to get this out.
"About that Sura..."
"...."
"She's in this mansion right now."
"What?"
He stared at me in utter disbelief, unable to process what I'd said.
So caught up in this long conversation, I'd forgotten to mention the Sura guild... and Ah-rin.
Gugugu—!
Right then, the whole mansion shook from below.
It wasn't a full-on earthquake. The house wasn't about to collapse.
But this was the Angel guild's mansion.
Tremors in a place with such tight security could only mean big trouble.
"What's going on?"
Alarmed, Baek Suhyuk jumped to his feet.
It wasn't the time to sit around and chat anymore.
Of course, I felt uneasy too.
Not because I was worried about an intruder.
But because I was sure someone had caused trouble.
****
Rumbles—!
A loud impact echoed from the center of the garden.
The grassy ground had split apart, and the gazebo—a symbol of the garden—had been destroyed.
It was clearly the aftermath of a brawl between awakeners.
Despite that, it could have been much worse; at least they'd tried to hold back.
Right now, too, they were holding back.
"You bastard!! Look what you did to my face!!"
Ah-rin's voice rang out, her tail bristling as she yelled.
"That's my line...! You're the one who suggested this first!"
Even Eunseol, usually calm, was flaring with anger as her wings trembled.
The two of them wrestled, each gripping the other's hands in a power struggle.
There was messy graffiti drawn all over both their faces.
"How could you doodle this bad, even if we're playing?!"
"Hey, you agreed to this, remember? And it's not like you're the only one!"
There was paint splattered all over the ground.
That paint was the source of their facial graffiti.
Even though the fountain was overflowing and soaking the ground, the paint wasn't washing off.
That's what had Ah-rin so infuriated.
"This is special paint. It's basically like oil-based permanent marker!"
"Well, how was I to know? I have a bunch of paints I use—"
It had started as just a prank.
Ah-rin saw the paints Eunseol had brought, and thought of a fun game:
Loser in rock-paper-scissors gets their face doodled on.
Since there was a fountain nearby, they thought any paint could be washed off no problem.
Sang-ah, who had tried to stop them, ended up playing too...
'Help me...'
Now, Sang-ah was sprawled on the ground, out cold.
Her face too was covered in scribbles.
The mood, which had been calm at first, had gotten worse after the true nature of the paint was revealed.
Turns out it wouldn't come off for 24 hours straight.
"What am I going to do?! What's Seongjin going to think when he sees my face?!"
"He'd probably find it hilarious?"
"Hey, did you just say that to my face?"
"Oh? Want me to do more for you? 'Lady Sura~'"
"Why you—!!"
Was this really the Eunseol I knew?
When it came to Ah-rin, she got even angrier.
A primal stubbornness not to lose to this girl would erupt every time.
'My life...'
Mentally broken, Sang-ah couldn't stop the two of them.
She was so exhausted, she didn't even have the will to move.
Just as the two girls, clutching ruined brushes, prepared to attack each other's faces again—
Thud—!
Suddenly, both of them got smacked in the back of their heads and ended up face first in the grass.
"Will you two please knock it off? Hm?"
Appearing out of nowhere to end the chaos, Seongjin said with a sigh.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Kids being kids...
Anyone know how old they are?
Iirc they're around 13-14 y/o?
【( ≧ᗜ≦ )】