Chapter 39
Part 38
Lucas.
Han Yugeon.
Hwang Mingu.
And every member of the Emperor Guild.
“Huh? What...?”
“What happened?”
“Why are we suddenly...?”
The guild members looked around in confusion.
Some had been about to eat.
Some had been making coffee in the break room.
Others had been brushing their teeth.
And now...
They were standing in the middle of an open field.
“Everyone! Combat positions!!!”
Hwang Mingu screamed with killing intent filling his eyes.
SHING!
The confused guild members reacted immediately.
They fell into formation almost by instinct.
Their movements were so well trained...
Not one of them stopped to question the Guild Master's order.
They simply obeyed.
“You... You're Han Yugeon, aren't you?”
“That's right.”
“Before I kill you, answer one thing.”
Hwang Mingu's hands trembled.
“Why?”
“...”
“Why did you kill my brother?”
Yugeon answered calmly.
“Your brother isn't the only one.”
“What...?”
“I'm going to erase you and every member of this guild too.”
“THEN WHY?!!!”
Hwang Mingu finally screamed.
He had never even met this man.
Why was Yugeon treating his guild like a mortal enemy?
“Because of what you did to Woojin and his family.”
Hwang Mingu flinched.
No way...
Was Kang Woojin acquainted with this man...
The Awakener suspected of being a Great Star?
“Kim Deokbae already told us everything.”
Yugeon played the recorded confession.
“...”
Hwang Mingu clenched his fist.
The moment Kim Deokbae's name came up...
Hwang Mingu stopped thinking about excuses.
There was only one solution now.
Kill Han Yugeon.
“...I am only providing the battlefield. I will not participate in the fight.”
Lucas stepped away.
“Don't worry. I have no intention of asking you to.”
SHING!
Hwang Mingu adjusted his weapon.
His class was Berserker.
The longer he fought...
The stronger he became.
“Everyone...”
He glared at Yugeon.
“Pressure him.”
“...”
“I'll kill him myself.”
RUMBLE!
Two hundred guild members charged simultaneously.
Even while sprinting...
Their carefully prepared formation did not break.
Their movements were nearly perfect.
Yugeon watched them.
Then smiled.
“Did you line yourselves up because you wanted to make cutting you easier?”
Shing.
Ding!
[You have activated Heaven-Annihilating One Sword.]
[Feat 1 has been consumed.]
FLASH!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Yugeon's sword moved.
Tick.
“That's... impossible...”
CRACK CRACK CRACK!
RUMBLE!
Hwang Mingu...
And every member of the Emperor Guild...
Were cut horizontally in half.
SHATTER!
Their bodies collapsed.
At the same time...
Lucas's Battlefield Alteration space cracked apart.
He cut through my space... with brute force?
Lucas stared blankly.
Power capable of cutting apart space itself.
His instincts had been right.
The man in front of him...
Was a monster.
Ding!
[The time of the world's destruction has been pushed back.]
[The Sanctuary finds amusement in seeing the destruction delayed once again.]
[The Outer Realm is dumbfounded by the delighted Sanctuary.]
[The Sanctuary ignores the Outer Realm's provocation.]
[The Outer Realm becomes interested in Han Yugeon.]
[The Sanctuary and Outer Realm watch mortal Han Yugeon's next actions.]
Feat +1
What?
The world's destruction was pushed back?
Yugeon frowned at the message.
He had only destroyed the Emperor Guild.
Why would that delay the end of the world?
These guys didn't even exist in the future.
What was going on?
There was something he did not know.
“Hyung!”
As Lucas's space collapsed and Yugeon reappeared outside the building...
Woojin ran toward him.
“What I asked for?”
“I got it.”
Woojin pulled something from his spatial storage.
“That Awakener you mentioned is him, right? Lucas...”
Woojin looked toward Lucas, who stood motionless nearby.
His spatial ability was similar to Woojin's...
But fundamentally different.
Woojin had felt the creation of a strange independent space.
“Exactly like you said, Hyung. Lucas took every Awakener in the building and disappeared.”
Woojin looked at him.
When Yugeon killed Hwang Youngjun...
He had given Woojin one instruction.
Steal the Emperor Guild's ledgers.
And its main data server.
Yugeon turned toward Lucas.
“Lucas.”
“...Why are you calling me?”
“How long until you can use your ability again?”
“Why do you ask?”
Yugeon pointed around them.
“Clean up these corpses.”
“...”
The bodies of the Emperor Guild members had returned when the altered space collapsed.
“You can dispose of them with your ability.”
Lucas stared.
“Trap the bodies in your space, then cancel the ability.”
“?!!”
Lucas's eyes widened.
Nobody knew about that application of his ability.
Nobody except him.
So how did this monster know?
“How did you figure that out?”
“A guess.”
“Don't joke with me.”
“Do I look bored enough to joke with you?”
“...”
Yugeon tilted his head.
“So how long?”
“...”
“Ten minutes?”
“Thirty.”
Lucas answered reluctantly.
“I need at least thirty minutes.”
“Hmm. Back then, you could reactivate it in five minutes. I guess your proficiency is still low.”
“Five minutes?”
Lucas frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
“Nothing important.”
Lucas stared at him.
Yugeon continued.
“In thirty minutes, clean up every corpse here and go home.”
“Why should I obey you?”
Yugeon's gaze turned cold.
“Because that's the price for leaving alive.”
“...”
Even if Lucas was not supporting the Emperor Guild...
Yugeon had originally intended to kill him simply because he was present.
But Lucas had cooperated.
So Yugeon was willing to let him go once.
“Cleaning up a few bodies is cheap if the reward is your life.”
“...”
The statement was ridiculously arrogant.
Lucas still said nothing.
Because it was true.
If Yugeon wanted him dead...
Lucas knew he would die before he could properly resist.
“Understand?”
“Understood.”
Lucas finally nodded.
If disposing of some corpses was enough to survive...
It truly was cheap.
There was no reason to provoke this monster.
Then Lucas asked something that had been bothering him.
“What exactly are you?”
Yugeon looked back.
“Are you truly a newly risen Great Star?”
Yugeon snorted.
“Great Star? I'm not even Level 100. How could I be a Great Star?”
“...?”
Lucas tilted his head.
Not Level 100?
Was this some strange Korean joke?
How could the overwhelming power he just witnessed possibly belong to someone below Level 100?
Yugeon noticed the look.
“Why are you staring at me like that? I'm not joking.”
“That's a new one.”
Lucas clearly did not believe him.
Yugeon sighed.
“Seriously...”
Whoosh.
[Lv. 21]
Yugeon displayed his level for Lucas.
Every Awakener could display parts of their Status Window to others if they chose.
“L-Level 21?”
Lucas's face twisted.
He had thought it was a joke.
Yugeon truly was not Level 100.
Forget Level 100.
He was not even Level 30.
Then what was that overwhelming power?
Lucas remembered the strike from moments ago.
Just imagining it sent chills through his body.
Could Lucas himself cut down every Emperor Guild member simultaneously?
Impossible.
Even if he reached Level 100...
He doubted he could do it.
Yet Han Yugeon had done it.
Without even blinking.
As easily as breathing.
If he's already this strong at Level 21...
How monstrous would he become after reaching Level 100?
Yugeon noticed his expression.
“Now that you've seen my level, are you thinking you can ignore what I said and attack me?”
“...I'm not that stupid.”
“Good. You're quick to understand.”
Yugeon smiled.
Then he turned and left with Woojin.
Lucas remained still...
Silently watching Han Yugeon's back disappear.
[Breaking News: Corruption within the Emperor Guild, one of Asia's most famous guilds, has been exposed.]
[Yesterday afternoon, USB drives containing records from the Emperor Guild's main data server were delivered to every major news agency.]
[The Emperor Guild's headquarters is currently completely empty. Clothing and personal belongings were left behind.]
[Authorities believe the guild fled immediately after realizing its data had been stolen. The Awakener Association announced that it would not treat this matter lightly.]
[The Association is also investigating whether another Awakener attacked the Emperor Guild. However, no clear traces of combat have been found so far.]
“Eighteen years old? What about school? Isn't it school time right now?”
“Your father is really the CEO of Seonghwa Corporation? I've never met someone from a chaebol family before.”
“Um...”
Woojin had arrived at their Yeongdeungpo base.
He was immediately overwhelmed by Mincheol and Hwarin's barrage of questions.
He had worried they might treat him like an outsider.
Instead...
They welcomed him with open arms.
“You said you control space and gravity?”
Mincheol's eyes sparkled.
“That's insanely cool!”
He rubbed Woojin's hair.
Mincheol was 191 centimeters tall.
Woojin was only 173.
Standing beside Mincheol...
Woojin looked almost like a child.
Even Hwarin was 171 centimeters tall, making him look smaller.
“But seriously, what about school?”
Hwarin asked.
“If you skip like this, won't you have to repeat the year?”
“Noona, if a minor Awakens, I think they're exempt from the usual minimum attendance requirements.”
“Oh, really?”
Hwarin looked surprised.
She had never personally known an underage Awakener.
“But then won't you fall behind in class?”
“I... I'm ranked first in the entire school.”
“What?! That's even cooler!”
“AAAAH! Y-Yugeon Hyung! Save me!”
Mincheol continued furiously rubbing Woojin's head.
Woojin finally begged Yugeon for help.
Yugeon only watched them with a faint smile.
Yeah.
What I've been doing hasn't been meaningless after all.
