n

n124. Going South

n– Drop.

nThe radio soon lost communication. The man’s last word was meaningful but creepy.

n“Hey, hey…! Damn it!”

nThe rookie hunter failed to abandon his regrets and tried to communicate a few more times, but there was no answer. He eventually gave up and dropped his head in vain.

n“Hell… What does he mean? What does that mean?”

nThe young man broke the silence. He didn’t specifically point out someone to ask. Perhaps that was why no one could readily answer.

nHowever, the hunters didn’t carry their heads as ornaments. Each of them had different ideas, but they came up with a common image of Seoul being captured by flooding monsters.

n“Now… Now what?”

n“What should we do? We have to go down.”

n“Let’s go down? Where?”

n“We have to go to Korea. Where else is there?”

n“But just by radio, that place is hell…”

n“Then, are you going to stay here?”

n“Hold on, hold on. Everyone, calm down.”

nAbout two beats later, voices came from all directions. Different sounds emitted from different mouths, which caused confusion.

nThere were many kinds of fear in the world, and the greatest of all was the fear that came from ignorance.

n“Mr. Byeong-gap.”

nShim Seung-seop approached Ko Byeong-gap secretly. He lowered his voice and said, “I think that’s what you said before.”

n“I think so too.”

nKo Byeong-gap also lowered his voice and answered.

n“What are we going to do now?”

n“Hmm…”

nKo Byeong-gap couldn’t easily answer since he also had no ideas. He expected it to happen, but he didn’t know it would be this fast and sudden.

nWhile he hesitated, Jeong Seon-kyung and Han Chang-hoon also approached. They didn’t know why they were doing it, but they whispered.

n“Hey, Byeong-gap. The one you said. I think it’s here.”

n“That’s what I’m saying. Looks like it’s over.”

nKo Byeong-gap stroked his chin with an uneasy face and raised his head as if he had made up his mind.

n“Everyone, everyone!”

nHe shouted and drew attention. The hunters made all kinds of speculations about the current situation, but they stopped and looked his way.

nKo Byeong-gap opened the door leading to Ashvilam and continued.

n“Let’s go over there for a moment. I have something to tell you.”

n“…”

nThe party followed Ko Byeong-gap without a word.

nThey gathered in the auditorium where they stayed for the past few days and sat around widely. Some had pure curiosity, while others had a meaningful expression.

n“What are you going to say? Hurry up and tell.”

nSome even urged him. Their faces showed a subtle expectation that Ko Byeong-gap might solve this mysterious situation entirely.

nKo Byeong-gap hated it and wanted to get rid of it quickly since the weight of the truth on his shoulder was getting bigger and bigger.

n“What I’m going to talk about from now on will be somewhat shocking. Try to believe it and judge for yourself. But I promise to only tell the truth as far as I know.”

nKo Byeong-gap hurried. The audience remained silent, and the story progressed tail to tail.

nThroughout the story, there was a strange silence in the hall. It sometimes represented their feelings of awe or deploration. It was a silent cry.

nFinally, the revelation ended. All of them looked like fools, except for the three people who knew in advance.

n“I can’t believe it…”

n“Even if it doesn’t make sense, it’s true.”

n“So, does that mean Jin-cheol is following Six-rays Bridge? Oh, my. That’s crazy!”

n“Haseon unnie was a believer of the Six-rays Bridge, right? How could she agree with that silly plan?”

n“Then now in the country…”

nDenial, anger, bargaining, depression, and eventually, acceptance. They reacted very humanly as they groaned before becoming alert again.

n“Oh, mom! My mom!”

n“My brother! He’s alone right now…”

n“Oh, my. Oh, my.”

nThe crowd stomped their feet. The veteran hunters who had been through all sorts of hardships were the only ones that reacted differently. In other words, not everyone could say ‘Go ahead’ with a solemn face.

n“Hey! Please send me outside. I have to go right now!”

n“Calm down, please. If you went out alone…”

n“Calm down? No, ** you, calm down?!”

nS-class hunter Kyung Chan-hyung almost tried to run. No, he actually rushed in, but Jeong Seon-kyung immediately intervened and blocked him.

n“Ah, Chan-hyung! Don’t make silly comments!

n“Hey… Hey Seon-kyung… What should I do with Min-woo and his mom? If something wrong happened with the two of them…”

n“Ah, drop it! What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Both of them will be fine!”

n“Hik…”

nJeong Seon-kyung, who said they would be safe, also had a dark expression. With common sense, the possibility of being safe was extremely low.

nKyung Chan-hyung sat down as if his leg had lost strength.

nMost of them responded like that, and Ko Byeong-gap let them express their emotions at will. At that rate, they would eventually get tired of it. He thought about something else for a moment. It was about Seo Si-hee.

n“Does the chaos in Korea mean that she failed?”

nWhere and what was Seo Si-hee doing right now? Was she even alive? There was no way to contact her, so he could only worry.

nKo Byeong-gap unconsciously looked north. Even so, all he could see was the wooden wall, but what he stared at was beyond the wall.

nIf he spent a few nights going north, he would find a vast snowy mountain area. If he went through the freezing cold for a few days again, he could reach Cheondo Mountain. Seo Si-hee’s residence was there.

n‘Quit thinking about going to Cheondo Mountain. That mountain denies the entry and exit of other creatures. If you step in clumsily, you will surely die.’

nLandriol suddenly spoke to him. Ko Byeong-gap tried to answer but then gave up because Landriol fell asleep again immediately.

n‘Huh. I had no intention of going in the first place.’

nWell, where was it, exactly? How would he get there? If he went back and forth, it would take a month. The risk was too great to bet on uncertainty.

nHis head coldly explored his options. By the time the confusion surrounding the auditorium had slowly eroded, Ko Byeong-gap was able to come up with a fairly reasonable idea.

n‘Are we going to take the humans?’

nHe thought of bringing humans into Ashvilam. He could build a small castle next to Valtadren and accommodate the refugees there. Of course, it wouldn’t be for free since it wasn’t possible to provide daily food harvested by the Goblins.

n‘I can make non-awakeners work and the awakeners to fight. Then, the Goblins wouldn’t have to go to the front line so that we could minimize the damage on our side. If I do well, I can do my job as a member of mankind and as the Goblin Lord.’

nOf course, the world wouldn’t just go around like a cogwheel.

nThe most worrisome thing when gathering people was the possibility of them going out of control. He was the Goblin Lord, not a Human Lord, right?

n‘We’ve been told not to pick up black-haired beasts since ancient times.’

nHumans were desperate, although not everyone was. However, one wise man said that when five people gathered, one of them was trash.

n‘It would be nice if humans were Spirits since, by nature, they like peace and hate struggle.’

nKo Byeong-gap thought about how to control a race other than the Goblins. Eventually, he thought of a person who had a history of unifying humans and all children on the continent. Although he didn’t like the ending, he wanted to get advice.

nKo Byeong-gap closed his eyes, and as he dived, he plunged into the inner world of his mind. It was a dark space. Ko Byeong-gap shouted at the top of his voice there.

n“Landriol! Landriol!”

nHe cried out for a long time. Just as he was about to get annoyed, Landriol appeared with a face as if he was dying of discomfort.

n“A man with no manners. Do you think I’m a dog that guards your house? Screaming as if I’ll come running to you.”

n“You come out of nowhere without my permission, don’t you?”

n“Permission? Who are you to give me permission?!”

nKo Byeong-gap crumpled his face. He then muttered, ‘This man…’

n“Landriol, the conqueror of the continent. The only king who dominated everything.”

n“… What is this all of a sudden?”

n“I want to ask you something.”

n“Tell me.”

nLandriol’s tone became quite serious. Ko Byeong-gap didn’t hesitate to ask questions.

n“What should I do to dominate a race other than the Goblin?”

n“You’re asking such a stupid question without blinking an eye. Aren’t you ashamed?”

n“Don’t hesitate and just tell me.”

nLandriol was lost in thought with both hands on his waist. He replied after spitting out sighs such as ‘Hmm’ and ‘Haa’ several times.

n“To become a great unifying ruler, one of two virtues must be possessed.”

n“What is that?”

n“Overwhelming fear, or overwhelming virtue. In other words, if you want to rule a herd of dogs, you have to be a wolf at least. In my opinion, you can’t even do this right now. But do you have the wisdom to move the heavens? I don’t think so.”

n“It’s more annoying because I can’t deny it. What should I do?”

n“What are you going to ask me? As of now, you cannot rule over a race other than the Sarahons.”

nLandriol asserted. Ko Byeong-gap had to quench his bitter taste. Suddenly, Landriol added right away.

n“You can’t rule right now, but coexistence is possible.

n“How?”

ncharms that can win the favor of others. Aim for favor, not loyalty. Make friends who are willing to stand by your side in times of crisis and those who sympathize with your utopia. The reason I was able to conquer the continent wasn’t because I possessed a powerful force. Before I sat on the throne, many friends I made while traveling the world gave me strength.”

nKo Byeong-gap slowly pondered Landriol’s words. Landriol looked down at him and smiled.

n“There’s nothing difficult about it. Give the hungry man a loaf of bread, and cover the shivering man with a blanket. A person who knows grace will bow his head, and a shameless person who does not know shame will rather stare. Kill impure seeds relentlessly. No one will blame you.”

n“I get it… Thanks for the advice. I learned a lot thanks to you.”

n“Get rid of the unfamiliar noise and turn it off quickly. I’m sleepy.”

nLandriol became cloudy.

nKo Byeong-gap opened his eyes again. For some reason, it wasn’t noisy. The people were staring blankly at him.

nThe words ‘Did he fall asleep in this situation?’ seemed to be written on their faces.

nEither way, Ko Byeong-gap stood up and said, “Everyone, prepare. Let’s go save the people.”

n***

n‘Awesome! It’s incredible!’

nB-class hunter Choi Doo-cheol stood on the roof of the building and looked down. A perverted smile spread across his lips, and his face was filled with mischievous desires.

nA few days had passed since Judgment Day. Seoul’s city center was in a state of disarray. It looked like a random mixture of paints.

nAny person would’ve felt terrible. However, Choi Doo-cheol felt bliss. After preserving to himself for a long time, didn’t a world just for him finally come?

nNow, according to the doctrine, he could splash the world with the blood of unclean unbelievers. When all the unbelievers were executed, the stairs would come down from heaven!

n“Doo-cheol, let’s go. They said some unbelievers have been found.”

nThe woman next to him, named Yeom Jeong-hwa, spoke. It was said that she was a believer who was active near Daejeon. Like him, she had been a devout believer of the Six-rays Bridge for a long time.

nSo Choi Doo-cheol liked Yeom Jeong-hwa, but the person next to her was infuriating.

n“Hehe, let’s go. To punish the unbelievers!”

nA young man stuck next to Yeom Jeong-hwa. Was he Kim Hakseung?

nHe was an unbeliever until just a year ago. In other words, he was one of the people that came in when Illumination was established.

nSuch men had no faith or anything. They were just puppets that moved because they were fascinated with the bishop. As evidence, they didn’t even receive a ‘ring.’

nChoi Doo-cheol felt a strange sense of superiority.

n“Annoying.”

n“What? Me? Why?”

n“Yes, you! Don’t be fussy and just stick with us. Don’t mess around and become monster food like the unbelievers.”

n“Hehehe, don’t worry. I can protect myself. By the way, why didn’t you give me a ring? I want one too.”

nChoi Doo-cheol was going to say, ‘Why would I give such a valuable item to a guy like you?’ Instead, he only clenched his weapon.

nThe three believers moved to the location where the unbelievers were found. They had to pay attention because the unbelievers who were still alive were more likely to be Awakeners.

nThey soon discovered a group of unbelievers, and they felt relieved.

n‘Eh? Soldiers and civilians. Boring.’

nIt was a group of about seven humans. They rushed to a small shopping mall and were rolling down the shutters. There was a sense of urgency in their faces.

n“Shall I go ahead and deal with it?”

n“Tsk! You don’t even have a ring. I’m coming.”

n“Doo-cheol, let’s go together.”

n“It’s okay, Miss Jeong-hwa. Stay here with him. Because I’m enough alone.”

n“… Then do it.”

n“There are no monsters either…”

nChoi Doo-cheol drew his sword and ran towards the group of survivors. There were about seven non-awakeners, so two cuts were enough.

nHe spewed out Karma and prepared for a blow. At that time, Choi Doo-cheol was split lengthwise by an ax flying above his head and died.

n“What? What just happened?”

n“Doo-cheol!”

nThe two, who were looking at Choi Doo-cheol’s back, grasped the situation one beat later.

nYeom Jeong-hwa shouted in a hurry.

n“Hakseung! Stay alert!”

n“You bastards, are you Illumination?”

n“What?”

nYeom Jeong-hwa’s body froze at the eerie feeling. She seemed to have entered the jaws of a beast.

nShe barely moved her eyes and looked to her side. A woman with tremendous presence stood between her and Kim Hakseung, putting her arms around his shoulders.

n“Shit!”

nKim Hakseung hurriedly pulled out his sword. At the same time, his right shoulder was pulled out, and he died. A one-sided and overwhelming death.

nYeom Jeong-hwa completely froze and trembled.

nJeong Seon-kyung looked at Yeom Jeong-hwa’s attire with fierce eyes. She seemed certain when she saw the hexagonal patterns engraved on her clothes.

n“That’s right, Illumination.”

n“Sa… Save…”

n“I don’t want to.”

nJeong Seon-kyung gave strength to her grip. The bright red paint soaked the world.

n