#109. Decision

Kim Jin-Woo’s heart sank.

“F-Father, Mother…”

He couldn’t even feel any sensation in his cold fingertips; it was as if his soul had escaped his body. He was barely able to force his hardened jaw to move as he tried to utter words, but they came out as an inaudible mumble.

And, as expected, his words were consumed by the darkness before they even reached his parents.

“Urgh…”

Kim Jin-Woo’s parents didn’t seem to have heard him; they continued to look around with pale faces, filled with fear by the eerie silence of the Underworld. Their pale complexions, the way their eyes darted around in confusion amid the surrounding darkness, and their short but deep breaths as they exhaled loudly in exasperation, all clearly showed how much fear and despair they were feeling.

“Father! Mother!”

The choking feeling in Kim Jin-Woo’s chest finally cleared, and he was finally able to let out a scream. His parents’ gazes, which had been wandering around aimlessly, turned to focus on one location.

“J-Jin-Woo?”

“Jin-Woo!”

Their voices were cracked and hoarse, and although their human eyes were unable to distinguish anything in the total darkness, they recognized the presence of their son immediately.

“Mother! Father!” Kim Jin-Woo shouted once again.

“D-don’t come near! Jin-Woo! It’s a trap!”

“Jin-Woo! Don’t come near!”

How terrifying must the battlefield have been when tens of thousands had died not too long before, filling it with the disgusting stench of their blood and rotting flesh? How terrifying must the insidiousness and hostility of the Underworld, that repelled all things related to the surface, have been?

But instead of begging to be saved, Father and Mother shouted at him to not approach them.

The moment Kim Jin-Woo felt their infinite sense of parental concern, something triggered inside of him. That belated anger transformed into a huge monster in an instant.

“Father, Mother. Don’t worry.”

What came out of his mouth was a calm and soft voice that surprised even Kim Jin-Woo himself.

“I’ll save you.”

“Ah… Don’t do that. Jin-Woo, don’t do that. We’re…”

“Don’t think of anything else, and just run. Jin-Woo, we’re okay…”

Kim Jin-Woo’s expression turned cold when he heard his parents’ reassurances, which were full of concern to the point of neglecting their own well-being.

“Was it you?” he asked as his gaze suddenly pierced past his parents, directed toward the woman who was standing right next to them.

“Did you bring them here?” Kim Jin-Woo asked the woman, who was trembling in fear at his anger. But even as she continued to tremble, she didn’t retreat from the hostages. Kim Jin-Woo continued, “I’m asking you, Yoon-Hee. Was it you who brought them to this godforsaken place?”

Yoon-Hee’s eyes darted around in fear as Kim Jin-Woo’s deep voice became even colder, before she turned to glance desperately at the Immoral Lord.

“Be careful. She’s nothing. She’s too small and insignificant to receive the wrath of something like you. If her heart stops before your wrath, so will theirs.”

There was a subtle threat in the wicked Lord’s words. The Immoral Lord threatened Kim Jin-Woo, saying that if something were to happen to Yoon-Hee’s life, his parents would share the same fate.

“Now, it’s my turn to do the asking,” the Immoral Lord said as she slowly retreated before standing beside Yoon-Hee.

Until then, Kim Jin-Woo found his hands tied, unable to do anything. He feared that Yoon-Hee might do something out of fear and jeopardize his parents’ lives if he acted hastily.

“Will you be able to stand proud in the face of their deaths?” the Immoral Lord asked. It was a blatant threat, and Kim Jin-Woo knew exactly what she wanted.

“I’m guessing what you want is ‘Night’,” Kim Jin-Woo replied.

Instead of answering, the Immoral Lord let out an abominable laugh.

While speaking to the Usurper, Kim Jin-Woo telepathically communicated with Angela. Unfortunately, she stated that, as things were, she was unable to save his parents.

When she had gone on her mission to capture Yoon-Hee and retrieve the Wish Stone, Angela had succeeded in the latter, but not the former. She blamed herself for not performing her duties properly at that point in time.

In addition, it was Angela herself who had served as her master’s bodyguard on the surface. Thus, it wasn’t unusual for her to feel greatly responsible for their current predicament.

“Ah…” While telepathically communicating with Angela, something clicked in Kim Jin-Woo’s mind, and he let out an involuntary exclamation.

The Usurper must have taken Angela’s ability into account, as she gave a cold warning to Kim Jin-Woo. “If you’re placing your trust in the True Blood Lord, give it up. If Yoon-Hee dies, or if they’re separated too far from her, they’ll die immediately.”

“You asked if I could stand proud even in the face of death?” In response, Kim Jin-Woo responded with a seemingly unrelated question of his own. He continued, “I’m afraid of death.”

The Usurper looked puzzled by Kim Jin-Woo’s outrageous remark. However, she didn’t bother to stop him, perhaps because she thought the ball was now in her court.

“I’m afraid to die, and that’s why I’m also afraid of losing others,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

The Usurper grinned widely. She seemed to think that Kim Jin-Woo had accepted her offer as she replied, “Don’t worry. If you hand Night over to me, your parents will be able to return to a world where the sun shines warmly again, as if nothing had happened.”

The Usurper’s pretense of thoughtfulness, as well as her gentle tone, was shameless to a fault. However, Kim Jin-Woo stayed silent despite that fact. He simply looked at her with an indescribable expression.

“But I am a little surprised. I thought you wouldn’t feel any attachment to them by now,” the Usurper continued. Was it because he had behaved too coldly until now? She seemed a little surprised by his remarks.

“Looks like you’re still the little Jin-Woo I remember,” she spat, in an ambiguous tone that could mean either ridicule or admiration.

She hurriedly approached him and held out her hand, saying, “But that’s not a bad thing either. My little Jin-Woo never belonged in this cold and dark world from the beginning. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to live close to them on the warm surface. After all, the Spider Duke you were trying to get revenge on is no longer in this world, so you should live the rest of your life happily on the surface.”

“That’s right. That doesn’t sound so bad either.” Shockingly, Kim Jin-Woo voiced his affirmation. When the Immoral Lord heard his reply, she smiled brightly.

But that didn’t last long. Suddenly, Kim Jin-Woo’s attitude changed and he said, “But the thing is, I have no desire to head back to the surface with them.”

The Kim Jin-Woo who was overly concerned for his parents’ safety no longer existed.

“What?” the Usurper exclaimed.

“The life that I yearn for on the surface doesn’t include them,” Kim Jin-Woo continued.

How had his parents’ lives, which he had seemed to be protecting with his life until just moments before, suddenly become so insignificant? Was he regretting having to part with Night’s powers? The Usurper found Kim Jin-Woo’s sudden change in attitude highly suspicious and took a few steps back.

But by then, it was already too late. Kim Jin-Woo suddenly closed the gap between the two of them in an instant and grabbed her hand.

“What’s the meaning of this? Are you saying it doesn’t matter if they die a terrible death?” the Usurper exclaimed belatedly.

Kim Jin-Woo shook his head and replied, “Of course not. I’ll definitely be sad. I might even feel sorry.”

“I don’t understand you. Then why do you look as if you’re about to devour me?” the Usurper asked, gazing at him warily. In response, Kim Jin-Woo merely grinned.

“No way…” After staring intently into his eyes for a long time, struck speechless, the Usurper’s pupils turned white. She screamed, “Why!?”

The petite hand Kim Jin-Woo clasped struggled to and fro, and the Usurper did her best to shake off his grip. However, he no longer intended to let go of her hand.

“Because they’re…” Kim Jin-Woo responded coldly, staring eerily at the Usurper as if he were looking at prey. He finished, “…not my parents.”

“What?” The Usurper let out a shocked groan and looked toward Kim Jin-Woo’s parents.

The two who had been begging for the well-being of their son just moments before were gone. They had been replaced by pale shadows with squashed and blurred faces.

“Even I’d forgotten about it,” said Kim Jin-Woo as he looked at the Usurper, who was staring wide-eyed at the incomprehensible scene before her.

“Among the summons I’ve created, there is a poor, poor clan that can’t survive without imitating others,” Kim Jin-Woo explained.

As soon as he finished speaking, the shadows that resembled human beings, albeit indistinctly, turned into hazy clouds of gas. He continued, “The Mirror Wraiths. That’s the real identity of the ones you believed to be my ‘parents’ and took hostage.”

“Aaaah!” The Usurper finally understood what had happened. She staggered from momentary weakness as her legs gave way.

“Yoon-Hee, you knew, didn’t you?” Kim Jin-Woo asked as he looked at the Usurper for a moment before turning to face Yoon-Hee, who was still standing by the Mirror Wraiths.

“Yes,” Yoon-Hee replied.

“So why? Why did you continue to pretend despite knowing that fact?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

Yoon-Hee hesitated for a moment before answering ambiguously, “Because I thought nothing would change anyway.”

After some time, she belatedly added an explanation. “Whether they were really your parents or not, I didn’t think anything would change. I watched you closely by your side for a long time, and you’re the coldest person I’ve ever known. And knowing you, I simply couldn’t see you letting go of your lifeline because of two beings who aren’t even your real parents.”

The look on Kim Jin-Woo’s face became complicated when he heard her answer.

“Besides, you’re not a fool. Both you and I know there would have been no guarantee that the hostages would be safe, even if you granted her request.”

This time, Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t disagree with Yoon-Hee. He was well aware of the futility of promises in this damned Underworld; thus, he knew better than anyone else that there was no guarantee that the cunning Usurper would keep her promise even if he granted her request.

Considering that fact, the entire hostage scenario had been meaningless in the first place.

However, that didn’t mean his adoptive parents held no meaning to him. Although there was no longer any need for him to satisfy the Usurper’s demands, he still would have done his best to desperately save his parents. He might even have had to inflict considerable damage to himself in order to save his parents and put him in a difficult position.

But now, those were all meaningless assumptions. The ones who were standing there weren’t his parents, but rather the Mirror Wraiths, and their value as hostages had been lost.

“How arrogant. Don’t talk as if you know me,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

“I apologize. I’ll be careful going forward,” Yoon-Hee replied.

Contrary to those words, she showed no signs of regret. However, Kim Jin-Woo wasn’t cold-blooded enough to punish her for what she had done. That was ultimately his weakness, but he saw no need to deliberately expose himself.

“It’s as you heard.”

Kim Jin-Woo looked away from Yoon-Hee and turned his attention to the Usurper again.

“Both Yoon-Hee and I know how meaningless a hostage scenario is with my life on the line.”

His eyes gleamed with a subtle rage, as if staring right into the Usurper’s soul.

“And you probably knew that as well.”