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n84. Secret Talks

n“Lord, you coughed. How are you feeling?”

nDorma, who met him by chance along the road, asked in a worried tone. Ko Byeong-gap answered after lighting a cigarette in his mouth.

n“Oh, I took a nap, and I feel alive again.”

n“Everyone was worried. Did you enter a crack again without us?”

n“It’s not like that. It’s a little complicated to explain.”

n“Is that so?”

nKo Byeong-gap changed the topic.

n“Where are you going?”

n“Oh, I’m on my way to the castle wall.”

n“Are you on duty today?”

n“No, I’m just going. On days when there is no subjugation, I have nothing else to do.”

n“Can’t you take a break? You worked hard yesterday.”

n“No, I’ve had enough rest during the night.”

nKo Byeong-gap smacked his lips.

n“Okay. Yeah, go to work.”

n“What are you going to do now, Lord?”

n“I have to go home. Oh… I parked my car on the shoulder of the road. They didn’t tow it, did they? That would be a headache.”

n“What?”

n“It’s nothing. Just talking to myself.”

n“Please take good care of yourself.”

n“Yes, work hard.”

nDorma bowed his head and left. Ko Byeong-gap sat on a suitable bench and stretched his knees.

nHe couldn’t sleep until dawn due to muscle pain and neuralgia. He then fell asleep without realizing it and felt surprisingly refreshed when he woke up.

n“Good evening, Lord.”

n“Lord, hi.”

n“How are you feeling?”

nWhile he sat on the bench, the Goblins that passed by greeted him. Ko Byeong-gap responded roughly by nodding his head or waving his hands. He wasn’t ignoring the sincerity of the Goblins, but at that time, he was saddled with other things.

nIt was a waste to have spent 700,000 crystals in anger, and he was just as angry that his 4.5 billion won disappeared right in front of his eyes. And most of all…

n‘What the hell are they?’

nThe fugitives he faced yesterday bothered him. The faces he knew and the stories they told. What about Kim Hana’s extraordinary ability? He didn’t know that there would be more people with abilities like his.

n‘Is she a Lord too? Is there anything else besides a Goblin Lord?’

nIt wouldn’t be surprising if there were a few more Lords since many races lived on this continent in the distant past. His head reasoned out, but his chest wasn’t as sympathetic. So he went to Ea and asked. She answered without a trace of concern.

n“Well, at least before I met you, I’ve never seen anything other than the Gruggles and the Spirits on this continent. Didn’t I tell you last time?”

n“Are you sure?”

n“Why would I lie to you? Well… but I’m not 100% sure because I didn’t go all over the continent. Why do you ask?”

n“Never mind, it’s nothing.”

nEa folded her arms and made a stern expression on her face.

n“Ah… You made me curious over nothing. You’re a little mean this time.”

n“Oh, yeah. Work hard.”

n“Ah! Yes. You, too.”

n‘Should I go there, too?’

nKo Byeong-gap made an impression, reflecting on the coordinates that came into his head. Kim Hana injected it on her own, and he was wondering whether to leave it aside or not.

n– Let me explain the truth of the world.

n“What is the truth of the world? There’s no such thing as that.”

nHe was estranged from superstitions and conspiracy theories from any angle, even though he was a Goblin Lord.

n“I don’t think it’s a trap.”

nIt didn’t seem like a ruse to harm him. If that were the intention, she wouldn’t have done this to bother him. Above all, she said she needed people like him.

n“Should I just call the association or the police?”

nIn fact, that might be the wisest judgment. Handing over the coordinates that Kim Hana gave to the authorities would help the investigation. Suddenly, he remembered that Kim Hana said it would be no use to bring other people. She wouldn’t have told him her personal information without any countermeasures.

nAlso, quite possibly, they might question him on how he knew the fugitives and if he was affiliated with them. Ko Byeong-gap suffered for a long time, but he couldn’t come up with a clear answer.

n“Eh, I don’t know. Let’s go home and eat first.”

nHe cautiously walked through the door. The place that appeared was in the mountains, where traces of the battle last night remained intact. He hurried to take cover and looked around. Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be anyone. Sweeping his chest, he crept down the mountain.

n‘I went too deep.’

nAfter walking for less than an hour, he came to a barbed-wire fence and road along the boulevard. There was also the power plant in the distance.

n‘It’s a mess.’

nAt first glance, it didn’t look normal. The dome-shaped concrete structures collapsed, and the walls surrounding the complex were also broken in half. Once again, the assailants achieved their desired goal.

nKo Byeong-gap clicked his tongue as he went to the spot where he parked the car yesterday. Fortunately, the car was parked intact. He got in the car quickly and left.

nAfter arriving home, he washed and headed to a nearby restaurant. Sure enough, the breaking news on the TV spoke of the attack on Yeongwol Power Plant. He kept a close eye on any mention of himself. Unfortunately or fortunately, he didn’t hear anything related to him.

nHe looked away and took out his cell phone. He entered the map app and entered the coordinates that Kim Hana told him. Unexpectedly, it was Mt. Jirisan. It was also in a part with rough terrain that wasn’t even connected to a hiking trail.

n‘It’s amazing.’

nDid they have a secret hideout in the middle of Jirisan Mountain? They were terrorists, so they wouldn’t set up an office in the city center.

n“Here’s the extra-large sundae gukbap you ordered.”

n“Oh, thank you. Put it here, please.”

nIt seemed like it would take some time for him to organize his thoughts. Ko Byeong-gap vowed to focus on finishing the meal in front of him.

n***

nNorway, a country with magnificent natural scenery. Every year, tourists from all parts of the world flock to see its mountains and seas, but the existence of a remote island about 200 kilometers from the mainland was unknown to tourists, even to residents of the country.

nThe island, which had no proper name and was identified with a combination of letters and numbers, was just an ordinary deserted island on the surface. However, under the towering mountain peak, there were enormous facilities that ordinary people couldn’t even imagine.

nThe most secret place in the underground. Humans in veils gathered in a dark hexagonal conference room, and in total, there were 17 people. They differed from each other by race and nationality. However, they had one thing in common: they were all Awakeners with tremendous power.

n“Archbishop, something interesting is happening in your country.”

nAriena, a South American beauty sitting with her legs crossed in a bewitching manner, said jokingly. Ko Geon-ryong, a man who occupied one of the corners of the hexagonal table, only smiled.

n“The Desired Fox is alive and not dead.”

n“Are you going to leave her alone?”

n“Well.”

nKo Geon-ryong continued, tapping on the table with his fingers.

n“It’s going to be fun watching her work her teeth out. It’s kind of like a joke.”

n“I don’t think that’s the attitude to take before a big event.”

nThe man sitting directly opposite Ko Geon-ryong walked in a serious tone.

n“It would be right to deal with her quickly; what do you think of it, Archbishop?”

n“There’s nothing to worry about, Billian. How cloudy would it be if a single loach clouded the ocean?”

n“If the Archbishop doesn’t want to step up, I’ll act personally.”

n“Hahaha, there’s no need for that. Let it go.”

nWhen Ko Geon-ryong shuddered, Billian looked displeased, but he no longer opened his mouth. Ariena spoke as she rolled her knotted brown hair with her fingers.

n“By the way, what is that old lady? You killed her twice. How is she alive? I thought she was really dead this time because she hadn’t been around for a while. Does she possess some kind of magic?”

n“She’s one of the last people like us, so she must be something special.”

nA silent Indian man, Arush, answered with a distinctive English accent. Ariena stared at Arush then turned her head toward Ko Geon-ryong.

n“Archbishop, you’re in the same country as that old lady, right? Are all Koreans so weird?”

n“Well, that’s enough chit-chat. Let’s talk about work.”

n“Tsk, there’s nothing to talk about.”

nAriena pouted her lips at Ko Geon-ryong’s dismissive attitude, then Arush asked abruptly.

n“Archbishop, Africa seems to have been cleared up. Shouldn’t we have to nominate the next place?”

n“I was going to talk about it. Let’s go to Argentina to build the next pillar.”

n“What?! Argentina? Why?”

nAriena freaked out and asked back. She was born in Argentina, and Ko Geon-ryong questioned with a slight frown.

n“Is there a problem?”

n“No… I don’t really have a problem, but we can do it somewhere else. There’s Brazil and Chile, but Argentina…”

nKo Geon-ryong laughed bitterly at Ariena’s restless response.

n“Now that you’re here, do you have any lingering attachment to your motherland?”

n“No, no. It’s not like that..”

nAriena mumbled at the end of her sentence and suddenly changed her attitude.

n“Yeah! I have regrets. What can I do? It doesn’t matter if we go after humans, but seeing my homeland being trampled on seems like an unstable dream.”

n“They are all destined to have the same fate. By the decision of the Archbishop.”

n“Darn it! If you like it so much, you can vote for your country.”

n“Haven’t you been attending the conference for four years? India and China can’t have the pillars because they have to be used as sacrifices. Don’t you remember that?”

n“Shut up. Please don’t talk to me. I feel like my ears are rotting.”

nArush growled at Ariena’s abusive language.

n“What? Are you done talking?”

n“Who knows what I could do if you mess with me like this?”

n“Don’t provoke my temper. I could tear you apart here.”

n“Ha! Now I’m getting rid of all sorts of crap. I didn’t like you from the beginning. Why should I go on the ark with a guy like you?”

n“Alright, I’ll cut your legs off, so you can’t get on the ark, or do you want me to cut off your neck instead? Just say it, and I’ll do what you want.”

nArush and Ariena spat out energy as if they were going to kill each other right away. The people sitting in the conference room only clicked their tongues or let out a sigh.

nAt that time, a huge energy lightly overwhelmed their energies and surrounded the conference hall. Arush and Ariena swallowed their breath.

n“That’s about it for the both of you.”

nAs Ko Geon-ryong sent a warning, Arush and Ariena immediately lost momentum.

n“Tsk! I’m only holding back because of the Archbishop!”

n“Move as far as you can and stay out of my sight. My patience is not that good.”

nOn the one hand, Billian muttered, “What a bunch of trashy people. Every time they meet, they fight.” He thought as if recalling flashbacks.

n“Now that you mentioned the ark, where are we going with it? After all, Ireland–”

n“The ark should be made in Korea.”

n“Korea? You mean the shop’s country?”

n“Yes.”

nWhen Korea was mentioned, Ariena began to retort, filled with fuel.

n“What! You pointed out my regrets over my country, but you want your country for the ark? This isn’t fair! Oh, I see. Are you letting the old lady run wild so that we don’t have to build a pillar in the Archbishop’s country?”

n“Ariena, calm down. It’s not like that.”

n“I don’t think so.”

n“Archbishop, I agree with you a little bit, but I don’t think this is right. Korea has too many people to be used as an ark. It’s also unnecessarily wide. Aren’t you the one who said that if we want to use the ark, we have to clean up the land?”

n“That’s why I said it.”

nExcept for Ko Geon-ryong, everyone else tilted their heads. He smiled softly at him, and it was a very evil smile.

n“When the third pillar is raised, the first revelation will come. At least until the second revelation, the Korean Peninsula will be cleaned up. With my own hands.”

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