Chapter 357 ·Epilogue – Kim Min-soo
Chapter 357: Epilogue – Kim Min-soo
After parting ways with Jang Woo-hyun in the Living Spirit Mountain Range, Kim Min-soo arrived in the Central Heavens Realm only a few days later.
The cloud created by Son Goku was incomparably faster than ordinary Flying Apparatus, and traveling from the Demonic Spirit Realm to another Middle Realm was not difficult, allowing him to reach the Central Heavens Realm in no time.
As soon as the cloud carrying Kim Min-soo arrived in the Central Heavens Realm, it gradually dispersed until it finally vanished.
Kim Min-soo landed on a small Floating Stronghold nearby and simply lay there without doing anything.
Although he had been able to return to the Central Heavens Realm thanks to Jang Woo-hyun, he still had not regained the will to live.
For two days, he did nothing except lie there and stare at the sky.
What should he do? How should he live?
He could not think of a single answer.
As Kim Min-soo gradually withered away once more, a powerful gust of wind reminded him of something Jang Woo-hyun had said.
Senior Lim is waiting for you.
"Gwanhwa..."
The name surfaced because she cultivated martial arts and sorcery that controlled the wind.
Lim Gwanhwa.
A bond he had formed in the Central Heavens, and someone truly special to Kim Min-soo.
He had wanted to spend more time with her. However, because of the True Immortal and the Ascension Cult that followed him, and because there were things he had to accomplish, they had no choice but to part ways.
"Should I go to the Five Elements Cult?"
Even if he abandoned everything else, he wanted to see Lim Gwanhwa at least once.
"No. Woo-hyun might be risking his life right now."
I'll take care of everything before I come back. Live your own life. Go to the Five Elements Cult and meet Senior Lim too.
The moment he thought of Jang Woo-hyun, those words echoed in his ears as though branded there with a seal of fire.
Perhaps Jang Woo-hyun had anticipated that he would think this way and had told him beforehand.
Objectively speaking, worrying would not change anything.
There was nothing Kim Min-soo could do.
The Bull Demon King, the other Great Monsters, and the Six Sovereigns had all become involved.
No matter what he did, he would only be a burden.
"Right... I'll do as Woo-hyun said."
Having made up his mind, he rose to his feet.
A faint trace of vitality returned to Kim Min-soo's corpse-like body.
Using the Flying Apparatus he possessed, Kim Min-soo headed toward the Five Wheel Five Elements Cult.
Making use of the World Tree and a spatial transportation spell formation, he arrived at the city where the Five Wheel Five Elements Cult's Main Division was located after only three days.
Although quite some time had passed, the city remained unchanged.
Countless people came and went, all with bright expressions.
Only Kim Min-soo existed there alone, like a figure painted in black and white.
With powerless steps, he walked toward the Main Division's front gate.
As the corpse-like Kim Min-soo approached, the martial artists guarding the gate slightly furrowed their brows.
"What brings you here?"
The voice was stiff.
There was a hint of caution and displeasure, but the guards neither looked down on nor ignored Kim Min-soo.
"I'm here to meet someone. They're a martial artist from the Five Elements Cult."
"So you know someone here. In that case, don't go through this gate. Go to that building over there instead."
One of the martial artists stepped forward and pointed toward a small building a short distance away.
"If you go there and tell them your name and the purpose of your visit, they'll help you meet the person you're looking for."
"Thank you."
Kim Min-soo gave a respectful bow and turned around.
"Brother."
An older martial artist who had been walking toward the front gate happened to call out to him.
Seeing Kim Min-soo looking so lifeless, he could not simply ignore him.
"You're looking for someone from the Five Elements Cult? My shift ends soon. If it's someone I know, I can bring them here quickly. What's the name of the person you're looking for?"
"Ah... Lim Gwanhwa. Lim Gwanhwa of the Five Elements Cult. We shared a connection in the past."
"...What?"
The name that casually came out of his mouth was anything but ordinary.
Lim Gwanhwa was none other than the Right Protector, the second most powerful figure in the Five Elements Cult.
Not only the older martial artist, but everyone guarding the front gate instantly stiffened.
"Hmm-hmm~"
Humming cheerfully to herself, Lee Ga-hang walked along.
Although she had only recently Ascended, the member of the Vermilion Bird Pavilion of the Five Elements Cult had already become one of the leading candidates to succeed the Pavilion Master thanks to her outstanding ability and extraordinary connections.
"The Fire Blossom Fruit is delicious no matter when I eat it."
Lee Ga-hang was on her way back to the cult after enjoying her favorite food.
Her stomach was full, there were no problems to worry about, and she no longer had any chance of getting entangled with dangerous people.
It was such a happy moment that humming came naturally.
As she bounced her shoulders and headed toward the Main Division's front gate, she noticed several martial artists arguing with a man who looked as though he could collapse at any moment.
"How do you know the Right Protector?"
"We shared a connection in the past."
"What? What kind of connection?"
The atmosphere did not seem pleasant, but Lee Ga-hang did not interfere.
She had her own business, and the gate guards had theirs.
Casually returning the guards' greetings, she walked past the corpse-like man.
From what she overheard, it seemed he had come looking for the Right Protector.
"Where did he even hear her name?"
The man could not clearly explain his affiliation and merely claimed that his connection with the Right Protector had happened by chance long ago.
From the Five Elements Cult's perspective, there was no way he would not seem suspicious.
Eventually, even more martial artists gathered to surround the strange man.
"Don't be too rough with him."
Since he neither looked strong nor seemed far from death, Lee Ga-hang casually threw out the remark.
"Yes, don't worry."
Assuming he was just another nobody who had come seeking the Right Protector, Lee Ga-hang passed through the front gate.
"Hmm-hmm~"
She resumed humming happily as she walked.
Then she suddenly stopped.
Turning her head, she looked back.
The man surrounded by the Five Elements Cult's martial artists.
"That's strange."
His aura was faint, and his face was utterly devoid of vitality, as though he had suffered endlessly.
Yet somehow, he looked familiar.
"Hmm..."
After watching him for a moment, she began to think that this was not his true appearance.
"He's weak."
He looked as though a single punch would knock him unconscious.
Yet at the same time, he somehow looked strong.
Confused by that contradiction, Lee Ga-hang studied him more carefully.
"Have I met him somewhere before?"
He had not cultivated Five Elements Qi.
If that was the case, then he was not someone she knew from the Lower Realm.
The Lower Realm where Lee Ga-hang had lived was a world where martial artists used martial arts and sorcery based on Five Elements Qi.
"It couldn't have been someone I met in the Central Heavens either."
Most martial artists she met in the Central Heavens cultivated using the Lower Dantian as their foundation, but because she belonged to the Five Elements Cult, she had not met that many.
If someone this unusual had crossed her path, she would definitely have remembered.
"The only person I know from the Lower Realm who didn't cultivate Five Elements Qi was that man."
There had indeed been one man on the Dawn Continent who cultivated martial arts unrelated to Five Elements Qi.
He was a monster impossible to forget.
She remembered him perfectly.
Their connection had even continued after arriving in the Central Heavens.
"Other than that crazy man, I don't know anyone... Huh? W-Wait..."
Thinking about that monstrous man suddenly reminded her of someone.
The Projection that had always accompanied him on the Dawn Continent.
Although the atmosphere was completely different, the face standing before her now was unmistakably the same.
"What were you thinking, coming here and casually mentioning the Right Protector's—"
"Hey! Stop!"
Realizing Kim Min-soo's identity, Lee Ga-hang rushed over.
"Y-You're Great Hero Kim, aren't you?"
The rising expert of the Five Elements Cult immediately clasped her fists respectfully and bowed deeply.
"Excuse me? You know me?"
"We met on the Dawn Continent. Back then, you were in your Projection. Remember when you summoned the monsters? I was the one who captured the spellcaster."
"The Dawn Continent? Ah..."
Only then did Kim Min-soo recall Lee Ga-hang through the memories left behind by his Projection.
"It's good to see you."
"Y-Yes. It's good to see you too. But... what brings you here?"
"I came to see Gwanhwa. Lim Gwanhwa of the Five Elements Cult."
"Ah... you mean the Right Protector."
"When I knew her, she wasn't the Right Protector yet. Unless there's another Lim Gwanhwa in the Five Elements Cult, then yes."
"I see. Hey, go tell the Right Protector— Ah... um... Great Hero Kim, what is your name... I mean, your honored name?"
"Kim Min-soo."
"You heard him, right? Tell the Right Protector that Great Hero Kim Min-soo has arrived."
"Huh?"
"Quickly."
"Y-Yes!"
The cult member, still completely confused, hurried away the moment Lee Ga-hang frowned.
"Captain, who is this man... I mean, this gentleman?"
"He's someone who knows that lunatic."
"Huh? Which lunatic?"
The martial artist widened his eyes at the unexpected insult.
"What do you mean, 'lunatic'?! Hey! Why are you calling Great Hero Jang a lunatic?!"
"...Didn't you just call him that yourself...?"
"Ahem! What nonsense. When did I ever call him a lunatic?"
Everyone present had clearly heard her say it, yet Lee Ga-hang vehemently denied her own words.
"But just now you definitely—"
"Enough. Move aside. Great Hero Kim, please come inside."
"Captain, you can't simply bring an outsider inside."
"Didn't you hear me? He's acquainted with Great Hero Jang."
"Huh? Is that really true?"
Instead of answering herself, Lee Ga-hang looked toward Kim Min-soo, silently telling him to answer.
"If the Great Hero Jang you're talking about is Woo-hyun, then yes. We're acquainted."
"I'll personally guarantee his identity. Great Hero Jang even calls him 'Senior.' Now move aside."
As Lee Ga-hang glared at them, the martial artists quickly stepped aside.
The moment they heard him casually call Jang Woo-hyun "Woo-hyun" and learned that Jang Woo-hyun addressed him as "Senior," their attitudes completely changed.
"Please, come in."
"We had no idea you were acquainted with Great Hero Jang."
"..."
"Let's go, Great Hero Kim."
Kim Min-soo stood there in confusion at the sudden change in attitude until Lee Ga-hang guided him inside.
"It seems Woo-hyun has quite a significant connection with the Five Elements Cult."
"He's no different from our benefactor. There are even cult members who admire him."
He had rescued the Five Guardian Divine Beasts, eliminated the traitorous Left Protector, and helped the Five Elements Cult in its war against the Radiant Light Sect.
To the Five Elements Cult, Jang Woo-hyun was both a benefactor and a hero.
Among the younger disciples, some even idolized him.
Furthermore, the Cult Leader, the Right Protector, and the rest of the leadership all viewed Jang Woo-hyun and the Immortal-Slaying Division favorably.
There was no reason anyone in the cult would dislike him.
"Could you tell me what happened?"
"Of course. It isn't difficult to explain, but..."
Lee Ga-hang trailed off as she pointed ahead.
The person Kim Min-soo had come to meet was flying rapidly toward them.
Sensing that something about Lim Gwanhwa's demeanor was unusual, Lee Ga-hang quietly stepped backward.
Tap.
Unlike Lim Gwanhwa's light landing, a powerful gust of wind surged outward.
Kim Min-soo stood silently for a long while as he looked at Lim Gwanhwa for the first time in ages.
Watching the two of them, Lee Ga-hang quietly backed away and hid behind a nearby tree.
Step.
Without saying a word, Lim Gwanhwa slowly walked toward Kim Min-soo.
"Gwanhwa..."
Seeing her in person caused countless emotions to surge within him.
As Kim Min-soo struggled over what to say and how to express his feelings, Lim Gwanhwa stopped before him.
"I just wanted to see you once—"
Smack!
Without even letting him finish, Lim Gwanhwa slapped him across the face.
The blow was so powerful that Kim Min-soo staggered.
"You bastard. Never show your face in front of me again."
Leaving only those words behind, Lim Gwanhwa turned and walked away.
There was no lingering attachment or regret in her retreating figure.
"..."
Holding his stinging left cheek, Kim Min-soo simply watched her walk away.
He had no idea what he was supposed to do in a situation like this.
Tap. Tap.
Someone poked his arm.
Still reeling from the shock, he failed to react.
Tap. Tap.
The person poked him again.
When he still gave no response, they firmly pressed against his arm.
Only then did Kim Min-soo turn his head.
Lee Ga-hang had somehow appeared beside him, silently mouthing words.
Go. After. Her.
"As you just saw, Gwanhwa—"
Creak.
The sound of grinding teeth made Kim Min-soo stop speaking.
Unlike her kind demeanor moments earlier, Lee Ga-hang now glared at him with murderous eyes.
Go. After. Her.
And. Apologize.
Since Lim Gwanhwa was exceptionally skilled and controlled the wind, Lee Ga-hang feared she might overhear, so she continued speaking only with exaggerated lip movements.
Hurry.
Go.
Tell.
Her.
Everything.
Honestly.
"She said never to show my face again—"
Craaack!
Grinding her teeth even harder, Lee Ga-hang shot him a murderous glare.
Then she shoved him forward.
Go already.
Urged onward, Kim Min-soo reluctantly took a step.
His mind became a tangled mess as he struggled to find the right words.
"Even if this is the last time I ever see her... I'll tell her the truth and apologize."
His slow steps gradually became faster.
His hesitation steadily faded away as he organized his thoughts.
Almost running now, he finally caught up with Lim Gwanhwa.
"I have something to tell you. Even if you never want to see me again, please... just hear me out."
Lim Gwanhwa stopped walking.
Then she slowly turned around.
Her face was colder than if she had been wearing a mask carved from ice.
"I'm sorry!"
Kim Min-soo immediately bowed deeply.
"There was no other way back then."
It had involved the True Immortal.
If things had gone wrong, Lim Gwanhwa might have been placed in danger.
She might have been forced to spend the rest of her life fighting because of him.
"I could have at least explained things to you. I was shortsighted. I didn't even understand what truly mattered."
Still keeping his head bowed, he continued.
"...You may not believe me. But I didn't want to put you in danger. Because... you were someone precious to me. I'm sorry. No... I'm still sorry. It was all because I was too pathetic. Even if we never meet again, I wanted you to hear those words."
He poured out everything in his heart.
Yet the person before him said nothing.
No other sounds could be heard.
Time itself seemed to crawl.
A moment later.
Kim Min-soo cautiously raised his head.
"..."
After hearing his honest confession, Lim Gwanhwa smiled as tears streamed down her face.
She was crying.
Yet she was smiling.
Meeting her gaze, Kim Min-soo slowly straightened up and walked toward her.
The closer he came, the more life returned to the face of the man who had looked like a corpse.
Kim Min-soo embraced Lim Gwanhwa.
He had fully expected to be slapped again and was prepared to accept however many blows she gave him.
Instead, Lim Gwanhwa remained still within his embrace.
"I'm sorry. I won't leave you again."
-Think about the bonds that matter to you.
Just as Jang Woo-hyun had told him, Kim Min-soo also had bonds that sustained him.
The man who had lost his light in the depths of despair found those precious bonds once more and regained his light.