Chapter 64
Chapter 64
Nan looked straight at Nari. Watching the somewhat dazed expression on her face, he lifted both her hands into his.
“You don’t need to tell me what’s going on. We’ll figure it all out, resolve it, and then report back to you.”
“…Why? Why are you going that far? Why am I so important to you? I wasn’t the one who helped you, it was my mom.”
Kang Ihyun had given her help, so it made sense she trusted him and cherished him. She understood that.
Jeong Suho had shared years with her, so it made sense she valued him too. She understood that as well.
But the man in front of her was someone she had met only yesterday. He had been helped not by her, but by her mother.
And Nari had just witnessed the cult that exploited her mother’s resurrection. She couldn’t trust his words now.
When Nari voiced her natural doubts, Nan tightened his grip on her hands slightly. There was pressure, but it wasn’t painful, so she didn’t pull away.
“Do you know why our guild is called Mago?”
“I don’t.”
“It’s your conception dream.”
Nari blinked at the answer. Nan continued his explanation.
“Your mother told me. When she was pregnant with you, she dreamt of a girl who created the world in her sleep.”
“So that’s…”
“Yes, that’s why it’s Mago. This guild, Mago, is your mother’s legacy.”
Nari held her breath for a moment at those words. Mago the Great Mother, the creator goddess who had dreamed the world into being.
A guild name that didn’t quite suit a place full of monks. It was because the name itself had always been pointing to her.
“Miss Nari. Your mother was a thoughtful person. That’s why, after Hana passed away, she entrusted your safety to us.”
Her mom had made a guild for her, and even asked others to protect her. Why? Nari thought about the reason.
Maybe her mom had known. That once people died, they wouldn’t return. And that for a Hunter like her, the threat of death would always be there.
“Whether you believe it or not doesn’t matter. Whatever you say, we will always stand for you. That’s why this guild was summoned together in the first place.”
His fervent gaze rested on her. Nari relaxed her hands. Sensing it, Nan released them, and her hands slipped free with a soft sound.
“Then what… what am I supposed to do in the meantime?”
Light returned faintly to her dazed eyes. Relieved, Nan quietly sighed in his heart and looked at her.
Twenty-five years old. She was still far too young. Of course she probably thought she was grown, able to take responsibility for herself, but in Nan’s eyes she was still far too young.
And since her mother’s death, Nari had taken responsibility for her own safety from a very early age.
While he had been in prison, Kang Hana had died. He had barely become Mago’s second guild master, but the world had already changed.
Even with the extraordinary power of the first guild master, her mother, there had been no word of Shin Bitnari. She couldn’t be found even through connections. Nari’s father had kept his distance from them.
Meanwhile, it seemed Kang Hana’s daughter had only grown more and more worn down. Now it was time to provide the protection she hadn’t received.
“This isn’t something you can resolve on your own.”
“…You’re right.”
“So just enjoy yourself. It’s Busan, after all. There are plenty of people and places to have fun. If you have friends, invite them. If you have a lover, go on dates. And if you don’t, there’s no problem enjoying yourself alone.”
“…Really, it’s okay? Even if I don’t do anything? I can just play?”
Nari spoke awkwardly. Her sharp eyes stared blankly. Nan thought she looked so much like her mother at that moment, and he straightened his back.
“You can’t solve what your father went through. You know that, don’t you?”
“I know.”
“As your legal guardian, your father had a duty to protect you. And he didn’t fulfill it. You know that too.”
“…I do. But he’s still family…”
“You need to make an effort not to be bound by family. Especially with your father.”
At those words, Nari flinched and turned her gaze aside. Nan sighed and crossed his arms.
“I don’t like the idea, but from now on, we’ll protect your father. You can just check in on him from time to time.”
At that, Nari looked up at Nan. Seeing her expression, he raised one eyebrow.
To abandon a daughter who looked so much like the wife he had loved… Nan thought the man was insufferable from start to finish. If it had been him, he never would have done such a thing.
“So for now, let go and live. In times like this, people grieve in tragedy, but eventually they accept their loved one’s death and spend happy times with those left behind. I hope you’ll be one of the latter.”
Dong— As his words ended, the gentle tolling of the temple bell ceased. Nari looked toward where the bell hung, then nodded faintly. Turning back to Nan, she whispered,
“…Thank you. I’ll see you later then. Um… Uncle.”
Uncle. She must have been embarrassed, because she darted quickly down the mountain. Nan watched her retreating back and checked his watch. 6:20.
He pulled out his smartphone and slowly took off his horn-rimmed glasses. When the glasses came off, his black pupils turned jade. Nan immediately called someone.
After several rings, there was a click. Nan spoke in a dry voice.
“There’s a sect proclaiming itself as Mago’s predecessor. Investigate and report back within two hours.”
From the other end came the voice of a craftsman at Kkangtong Market who made and sold sword hilts.
[Yes. I’ll spread the word to the nearby merchants. You’ll have your answer in an hour. Oh, right, the brother who went to Wargod is coming down soon. He says he’ll stop by here.]
“Tell him to visit the temple. I want to see what kind of mess things are in up there.”
Nan hung up without another word, then immediately dialed another number. After a few rings, a taxi driver answered.
“Father of Mago. Trace today’s movements and get me the final destination within four hours.”
[Come on, boss! Who do you take us for? Two hours! Just give us two hours~]
Ending the call, Nan slipped the phone back into his suit pocket. The farther from Seoul, the slower the recovery. In the southern provinces, the farthest of all, they had no choice but to develop their own ways of surviving.
In Yeongnam or Honam, it made no difference. In the south, if an outsider went anywhere or did anything, you’d know within four hours.
The wariness of the metropolitan Hunters who had tried to dominate this region by force twenty years ago still lingered.
“People in the south have ten eyes.” That was the slur used for them by Seoulites.
Nan started walking and sat down on a nearby bench. He intended to rest briefly before the reports came in.
At times like this, he always remembered their first meeting.
* * *
“Oh my, hold still. If you move, you’ll just get hurt worse.”
“What the hell is this…?”
Twenty years ago, Nan, then a vigorous powerhouse of Busan, lay bound in jade-colored threads, pinned to the floor. He couldn’t budge.
Above him stood a woman with long, curly brown hair, holding the end of the threads and pressing her shoe hard against his chest.
For her small frame, her strength was incredible. Nan immediately knew who she was. Korea’s number one, the Incarnation of the Supreme, the Jade Taoist, Kang Hana.
“Goodness, do you think I want to do this? It’s because your mother asked me. You really should live better, you know~”
“And what do you know to spout crap like that?”
“I told you to be quiet, didn’t I?”
Crunch. She pressed her foot harder into his chest. Nan felt his lungs compressed and could barely breathe.
Kang Hana bent slowly, lowering her face close to his. Her jade-colored eyes filled his vision. Constellationtled, Nan looked up at her. She smiled lightly and said,
“See this? There’s potential.”
“What do you mean?”
Shff, with those words she snapped open a jade fan. Jade ornaments jingled from the handle. Her eyes went hollow and empty.
“Maybe… the ending can be changed.”
He couldn’t understand what she meant. But compared to just before, the dry, hollow air around her made Nan swallow hard.
She waved the fan lightly in one hand and said as she looked at him,
“Let’s make a contract.”
“A contract?”
“From this moment, I’m going to force a contract between you and a Constellation.”
A Constellation. Nan blinked at the word, his face twisting in disbelief.
“A mere Incarnation, forming a contract with a Constellation? Don’t joke. Even a five-year-old knows that’s impossible.”
“No? I can make it work.”
With a flick, Kang Hana pulled something from her inventory. A ritual dagger set with a large jade. She was always draped in jade like her alias, he thought wryly, when she grinned.
“Let’s see… you’ll be suited to this one. And look, the name matches too.”
“…What? Ugh…!!”
Crunch. She stabbed the dagger into his right shoulder. The sharp pain of being pierced by the blade made him clench his eyes shut. Jade threads seeped through the wound in his shoulder.
“Endure it, it won’t be long.”
“What the…! Ugh, what are you doing!!”
Unfazed, Kang Hana yanked the dagger out and dug her hand into his wound. The feeling of torn flesh made him scream in agony.
“I said hold still! Do you think I’m doing this just for fun?!”
Again she stomped his stomach. After rummaging inside the wound for a while, she pulled out a green orb. No, not an orb, but a cluster of light that looked like one.
“Whew…”
She looked at it with an irritated expression. She flicked blood from her hand and swept her messy hair back.
“There! Look. This is your soul. Pretty, isn’t it? Green, just like your mother. I like green.”
She didn’t care about the blood matting her hair. She stared straight at Nan and showed him the green light.
At that sight, Nan forgot his pain and held his breath. He felt a primal terror that she could kill him here and now if she wished. She smiled softly and went on.
“I’ll change your fate for you, Mr. Nan.”
“…There’s no such thing as an offer without a price.”
At that, Kang Hana laughed aloud as if amused. A bright laugh, and with it, jade light spread gently in all directions.
[Incarnation Exclusive Trait :: ‘Guardian of Order Who Receives Heavenly Mandate’ is activated!]
[Using the authority of the Constellation ‘The Great Supreme Jade Emperor, the Grand Heavenly Venerable of the Golden Palace of Vast Heaven, the Profound Firmament’s High Sovereign who embodies the Way and the Truth, who commands talismans and power, governs the Nine Palaces, and reigns over the Great Hall of Myriad Ways and Non-action.’ is activated!]
“If I die, take care of my daughter.”
Kang Hana smiled as if both sad and relieved.
He hadn’t understood then. But now, Nan thought she must have already foreseen her own death.
If he had known earlier, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. But by the time regret came, everything had already passed.