Chapter 284. Constellation Uprising (4)
Joo Minha’s father had been a pastor.
Though calling it a church was generous.
It leaned closer to a cult than an orthodox denomination.
Still, his father wasn’t the type obsessed with making money.
He interpreted the Bible in his own way and devoted himself to preaching an apocalyptic worldview.
But from childhood...
Joo Minha had always doubted his father’s teachings.
He couldn’t believe in the existence of God.
And he considered things like the end of the world to be nothing more than fantasy.
Then...
ten years ago...
the catastrophe happened.
And Joo Minha’s beliefs were shaken to their core.
The apocalypse had become reality.
Everything his father had preached...
had turned out to be true.
But amid the chaos, Joo Minha lost his parents and was forced into a brutal life.
And that gave birth to a new fear.
If the apocalypse truly existed...
then salvation from God should exist too.
So why could he not feel God’s presence?
Was it because...
he had refused to believe?
Was it because he had acted irreverently?
Joo Minha became terrified.
And his life only grew worse.
After losing his parents, there was no one he could rely on.
Whenever he tried to depend on others...
they exploited him.
Once...
he was even sexually assaulted by a pervert.
Joo Minha had no ability to survive alone in such a chaotic age.
He dug through trash cans for food...
and endured one hopeless day after another.
As those nightmare-like days continued...
Joo Minha prayed every day.
He promised that from now on, he would never doubt.
That he would obey absolutely.
So please...
save him.
Please let him escape from this Hell.
Then one day...
he truly heard the voice of an absolute being.
He quickly realized that the being possessed transcendent power capable of crossing space and time.
Joo Minha was designated as his ‘agent’...
and received an order to raise a savior who would rescue the world.
At the same time...
he was ordered to conceal the existence of the absolute being as much as possible.
Joo Minha was ecstatic.
After praying for so long...
a truly transcendent absolute being had finally appeared.
Not only that...
Joo Minha had been chosen to serve as the agent who carried out that being’s will.
At last...
a new world had begun for him.
After that, Joo Minha became a Contractor and took over the church his father had once run.
There...
he cared for orphans and waited for the proper time.
“Are you the person in charge here?”
Then came the fateful meeting.
Kang Yujin.
The man with the qualities necessary to become the savior.
Joo Minha used everything he had to support him.
Sometimes from closer than anyone else.
Sometimes from far away.
He devoted himself entirely to turning Kang Yujin into the savior.
And little by little...
his efforts bore fruit.
At last, Kang Yujin won Armageddon and truly rose to the summit of the Material Realm.
All that remained was to deify him as a savior admired by the entire world.
Joo Minha had just begun preparing for that...
when Alexei carelessly said something.
And everything fell apart.
The absolute being’s command was clear.
Do not tolerate anyone who investigates his existence.
The Nameless King had to be eliminated.
And Kang Yujin, who tried to protect him...
had to be eliminated too.
There was no room for compromise.
The command of the absolute being was exactly that.
Absolute.
Still...
Joo Minha told himself it didn’t matter.
If Kang Yujin could no longer become the savior...
then he could simply find another one.
He hadn’t even lived half his life yet.
Surely another chance would come.
With that thought...
Joo Minha let go of his lingering attachment to Kang Yujin.
Even as he felt a huge hole opening inside his chest.
“Ghk!”
In the end...
Joo Minha used [Disruption Barrier].
His Awakening Skill canceled Ha Mina’s magic.
Joo Minha shoved her away and panted heavily.
“Haa... haa...”
He squeezed out what strength remained and fired projectile magic at Ha Mina.
Caught defenseless...
Ha Mina was struck by the spell and coughed up blood.
“Joo Minha...!”
But at that exact moment...
Kang Yujin charged in from his blind spot and punched.
Joo Minha had been focused on suppressing Ha Mina.
His magic barrier had also been destroyed earlier.
So Kang Yujin’s fist struck him cleanly.
THUD!
Joo Minha rolled across the ground.
Bones broke.
Internal organs ruptured.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
“Ghk...!”
He could feel it.
The wound was fatal.
Considering it had been a direct hit from Kang Yujin, now the strongest person in the world...
the fact that he hadn’t died instantly was already fortunate.
“Joo Minha.”
Kang Yujin approached while calling his name.
Was he going to finish him off?
“Joo Minha, you...”
But Kang Yujin knelt beside him instead.
Don’t tell me...
He deliberately controlled his strength so I wouldn’t die instantly?
Joo Minha coughed up another mouthful of blood...
watching Kang Yujin try to say something.
Then he tried to move his hand.
How foolish...
He intended to use his authority and counterattack.
But before he could...
a sharp pain pierced his hand.
"...!"
Ha Mina, who had somehow pushed herself upright...
had stabbed a dagger straight through Joo Minha’s hand.
“Ha Mina!”
Kang Yujin hurriedly grabbed her shoulder.
“You’re... too soft, Kang Yujin.”
Ha Mina laughed with blood spilling from her mouth.
“You have to... finish him properly, don’t you?”
“He’s dangerous...”
“Stop!”
Seeing Ha Mina try to drive the dagger into Joo Minha’s heart...
Kang Yujin shoved her away.
“You really are doing something foolish, Lord Kang Yujin...”
Joo Minha forced the words out.
“You really are... an idiot, aren’t you?”
“This happened before with Ha Mina too.”
“There have been plenty of times... when you failed to finish someone off quickly enough... and it caused problems...”
“Even so...”
Kang Yujin’s face twisted with pain.
“I don’t want to become someone who can kill a friend without hesitation in a situation like this.”
“A friend...?”
Joo Minha laughed weakly.
“How ridiculous.”
“I never once thought of you as a friend.”
"..."
“Friends... stopped meaning anything to me ten years ago...”
A rush of blood interrupted him.
“Just do your job, Lord Kang Yujin.”
“Joo Minha...”
“The Nameless King probably ordered you to destroy his enemies.”
“Even if you feel friendship toward me...”
