Chapter 73. The Weight of Longing and Regret (1)
“So it came to this after all.”
Jeonghyeon smiled lightly at Yukgap’s warning.
Then he spoke in a much more serious tone.
“I was planning to reveal my identity once I understood your intentions anyway. I just missed the right timing.”
With that, Jeonghyeon grabbed the back of his head and pulled hard.
His hair and skin peeled away like a layer of flesh.
Only then did Yukgap realize that the face covering Jeonghyeon had been an elaborate disguise.
“My Korean name really is Jeonghyeon. But after I was adopted in America, people began calling me by another name.”
Beneath the disguise appeared the scarred face of a rough-looking man.
The friendly, easygoing appearance from before was nowhere to be seen.
His face looked weathered and worn, almost as if it had been carved from desert rock.
Then the name Yukgap had been waiting so desperately to hear left his lips.
“Kevin.”
Jeonghyeon, no, Kevin, held out his hand to Yukgap.
“Let me introduce myself properly.”
“My name is Kevin Meyer.”
“In the underworld, I’m known as the Mercenary King.”
After No. 9 escaped, they took the boat back to the ship where the interview had been held.
The middle-aged man who had introduced himself as “Kevin” earlier came rushing over to greet them.
“Are you all right?”
The real Kevin answered casually.
“I’m fine, Rendell. Let’s talk about the details after we get aboard.”
At the name “Rendell,” the man paused before cautiously asking,
“So I don’t need to keep pretending to be ‘Kevin’ anymore?”
Apparently, he wanted to confirm that Kevin had revealed his identity.
The real Kevin nodded.
“Yes. The enemy has withdrawn. There’s no need to continue the deception.”
“That’s a relief. Playing Kevin when I never wanted to was exhausting.”
The fake Kevin, Rendell, let out a relieved sigh.
Apparently, impersonating Kevin had been harder than it looked.
The moment they boarded the ship, Yukgap turned sharply on Kevin.
“Why did you go through with this ridiculous act? And the whole thing about needing a personal chef was a lie from the beginning, wasn’t it?”
There was no point dancing around the issue anymore.
Kevin hurriedly explained, as though trying to calm him down.
“As long as Abraxas is targeting me, I needed to find a way to deal with them.”
“Even if I hide or change my identity, Abraxas will continue pursuing me relentlessly.”
“So rather than keep running, I thought it would be better to deliberately create an opening and lure them in.”
Yukgap knew better than anyone how persistent Abraxas could be.
No matter where the target hid, Abraxas would send an Archon suited to the situation and continue until the assassination succeeded.
Even if Kevin ran, escaping No. 8, who specialized in tracking, would be difficult.
If he hid himself completely, he would still have to deal with No. 7’s infiltration abilities or No. 5’s corrosive powers.
So instead, he deliberately exposed a weakness, predicted what kind of assassin would come, and prepared accordingly.
In a way, it was an extremely clever method.
“If word spread that I only traveled by sea, I assumed Abraxas would send an Archon suited to naval operations.”
“So I prepared thoroughly and waited.”
Kevin gave a faint smile.
“And just as expected, Abraxas moved exactly as I predicted.”
“Sly bastard.”
Yukgap summarized his plan bluntly.
Kevin chuckled.
“I’d prefer ‘well prepared.’”
“More importantly, there was another reason I needed to do this.”
Kevin studied Yukgap closely.
“Lately, an unbelievable rumor has been circulating in the underworld.”
“One of Abraxas’s prized Twelve Archons deserted.”
“And now that Archon is working as a chef in some back alley.”
Half curiosity and half suspicion filled Kevin’s eyes as he looked Yukgap over.
“At first, I thought it was complete nonsense.”
“But after seeing you, I realized it was true.”
“Yukgap... or rather, No. 6.”
Yukgap growled the moment he heard the old designation.
“I’m warning you. Don’t call me that.”
Kevin ignored the hostility and continued explaining calmly.
“That’s why I announced the chef recruitment in the first place.”
“If you were targeting me, I assumed you would naturally use the opportunity to approach.”
“And my prediction was correct.”
“I’m not after you.”
Yukgap quickly spoke up, worried that Kevin had misunderstood.
His voice trembled with desperation.
“I escaped because I missed my family.”
“I don’t kill people anymore.”
“I just want to know about my past.”
“For someone saying that, your reputation in the underworld is far too infamous.”
Kevin answered flatly.
Yukgap flinched.
He could not argue.
No matter what excuses he made, he had hurt countless people while serving as one of Abraxas’s weapons.
That truth would never change.
“Yukgap doesn’t kill people anymore!”
Victoria suddenly shouted.
She jumped to Yukgap’s defense.
“I can swear on my mother’s name! Yukgap is a good chef!”
“He even jumped straight into the sea earlier to stop another Archon!”
Kevin remained cold despite Victoria’s passionate defense.
“In this world, nothing is more suspicious than someone claiming pure goodwill.”
The suspicion would not disappear.
How could Yukgap make him believe?
After thinking for a moment, Yukgap slowly reached for the daggers at his waist.
“These are the overtechnology weapons Abraxas gave me.”
“Monomolecular cutters.”
“They’re no different from my fangs.”
Then Yukgap threw all six daggers down at Kevin’s feet.
