“You will die tomorrow.”
The prophet said those words.
And with a very serious face, like a doctor delivering a terminal diagnosis.
But the man who’d been sentenced to an early death just clutched his stomach and cackled.
“Why are you so desperate to see me dead?”
“Geon-ah.”
Instead of answering, Lee Geon threw popcorn at his friend who was spouting nonsense.
Outside the cramped bar, it was pretty noisy.
“If your prophecies were right, I would’ve gone on tens of thousands of dates with the grim reaper by now. Do you even know how many police reports my causes of death alone would fill?”
Lee Geon said that while casually reaching for the chicken box. And what he pulled out was a plump, golden drumstick.
Already his second one.
“If your predictions are gonna keep being this wrong, just go get a job at the weather channel. Today they said nationwide floods, and it’s bone-dry clear.”
Lee Geon was a man they called unimaginable to die. No, he was just that strong.
But the prophet angrily snatched the drumstick back.
“Believe me a little! And don’t you know it’s one drumstick each? That is exactly why you’re going to die!”
“Wow, just ’cause I took your drumstick, my best friend says I’ll die. Then what if I eat all the wings too? Disemboweled and sent off?”
The prophet’s eyes flared.
“It’s not a joke! This time you really will die! Even if it’s not tomorrow, you’ll definitely die on this mission!”
The look in his eyes was dead serious. So Lee Geon asked back, just as seriously.
“Why? Gonna be death by orgasm this time?”
The prophet eventually threw the drumstick.
“Hey, aren’t you taking this seriously?!”
“Ah, why? If I’m gonna die anyway, let me go out that way.”
“Ah… you’re really!”
Back then, Lee Geon was still snickering.
Of course, it wasn’t arrogance. He was the type to be more than cautious enough.
But this time was different.
Though this mission was dangerous, he couldn’t just back out based on his friend’s prophecy. And for good reason—this job was so important that humanity’s very survival hung in the balance.
A few years ago.
Monsters that suddenly appeared trampled human lands and tried to turn them into colonies.
But humanity was able to stay safe thanks to the only beings capable of opposing the demons.
Superhumans, the Awakened.
Lee Geon was one of those Awakened.
Not only that, out of only 13 Awakened in the entire world, he was the most outstanding.
“The monsters’ leader bastard has nested down in Korea.”
This was a raid he couldn’t sit out, nor should he.
But Lee Geon just laughed while crunching on a pickled radish.
“Still, if I die while taking down the boss, the government will at least give me a pure gold medal, right?”
“What are you talking about? You’re the guy who chucked it at the lawmakers’ faces every time they tried. And can you stop hogging those? For humanity’s sake, at least leave the wings.”
“Don’t wanna. And I threw it because they called me over saying it was dangerous, then tried to campaign for elections while taking pictures.”
“Ah. So being used for a political show annoyed you?”
“No. I was pissed because they didn’t even feed me after making me wait.”
“……”
Anyway, it didn’t matter.
At the end of the day, Lee Geon now had to set out for the invaders’ stronghold. The raid.
He didn’t care about the prophecy that he would die.
Most of all, this quack friend’s prophecies had never once come true. So there was no way he’d die this time either.
That’s what Lee Geon thought.
But…
Oh my god, what is this?
“Wait! What happened to Mr. Lee Geon? Why did only 12 come back?”
“Thirteen clearly entered the Devil’s Tower! Lee Geon! What happened to Korea’s Awakened, Lee Geon!”
The people waiting for news of Lee Geon fell into despair. Because of the sorrowful words spoken by the very raiders who had been with him.
“The 13th chose his own death.”
The world was shocked by the truth they revealed.
Humanity fell into grief.
It was the moment humanity had overcome its greatest crisis through their efforts.
A moment moving enough to be recorded in history, yet people wept at the death of the hero they’d believed in.
The raiders who shared Lee Geon’s final moments were no different.
“Though this subjugation was a success, the 13th sacrificed himself for us, as good as.”
Unlike Lee Geon, they were special Awakened who had received power from the twelve gods. A few of them even shed tears and could not raise their heads.
“We will never forget his noble death, sacrificed for all of us.”
“Though the vicious monsters haven’t completely vanished from this land yet, do not worry. Even without Lee Geon, we will absolutely reclaim all the remaining human lands!”
They believed they could restore humanity’s dignity even without Lee Geon.
They were special, unlike Lee Geon.
If Lee Geon had accomplished it, there was no way the twelve of them couldn’t.
“So please trust us! We will not let Lee Geon’s noble sacrifice be in vain. In place of Lee Geon, who fought so hard until now, we will fight from now on! Leave it to us!”
“It took Lee Geon 5 years to reclaim half of humanity’s lands. But we twelve!”
“One year is enough to reclaim the rest!”
But twenty years from that moment.
Humanity still hasn’t reclaimed even 1% of the stolen lands.
* * *
It was a sweltering summer.
Late August in Seoul, where the lingering heat was holding strong.
In a place already reduced to ashes, curses were ringing out.
“Argh, this is why I said let’s not take this route!”
“Dammit, who knew it’d be like this? There wasn’t even an alert today!”
“Ah, I don’t know! We should have paid more and gone to a safer zone after all!”
Two men were cursing. Because of a sudden horde of monsters.
Seoul was already under the dominion of an unknown civilization, but in terms of security, it was a relatively safe zone.
Normally, only the lowest-grade monsters roamed here. And the two of them were monster hunters who were considered fairly seasoned.
Even encountering monsters usually wasn’t a big deal, but today was different.
“Crazy, those guys. They’re all high-grade monsters!”
They were terrified at the approaching wolf pack.
“Of all the times, it had to be ones that only top-tier ability users can handle…!”
“Haha, I don’t know. It’s all over. The fortune teller today said I’d meet a monster beyond compare. Nailed it.”
“What? A monster beyond compare?”
“Yeah. Guess this is what it meant. Ah, I should’ve written a will.”
The young man sighed and looked at the nearby tower.
A towering castle so high it pierced the clouds.
And as if the ancient Tower of Babel had remained, it might have looked like that.
That tower was the impregnable tower where Lee Geon lost his life, and now a demon’s lair feared even by the high-and-mighty 12 Heroes and top-tier ability users.
A dungeon teeming with monsters still unsubduable—humanity’s worst.
But that tower was the grave where humanity’s strongest hero slept, and effectively the memorial tower-pillar for all of humanity yearning for him.
“Dammit, if only Lee Geon were here, the world wouldn’t be such a mess.”
People ground their teeth.
In an era where, far from reclaiming lost lands, they could barely maintain the status quo, Lee Geon’s absence could only feel ever larger.
“Ah, I don’t care! If we’re gonna die anyway, let’s die as the greatest heroes, like Lee Geon!”
“Yeah! It’s an honor to die in the same place as Korea’s first hero! Let’s at least get our names in the paper…!”
But that was when.
Boooooom!
“!”
They screamed. Not because the monsters had pounced.
CRASH!
Because the tower split in two with a roar loud enough to burst eardrums.
The monsters’ den that should never, ever be destroyed!
“Wha-what is it! What’s happening!”
“Ah, the Devil’s Tower…!”
It was a tremendous explosion of magical power. Even the wolves that had been swarming fled in desperation.
‘!’
So they couldn’t help but freeze in terror. Because demons never give up on their prey.
That’s why, as they wondered why those savage beasts were scattering instead of focusing on them, they quickly realized the reason.
“Ah, this is really shitty.”
“!”
Because of someone emerging from the tower.
“You sons of bitches. Locking a person in the tower, and slipping out by yourselves?”
The hunters couldn’t believe their eyes.
And at the same time, they realized.
That the “monster beyond compare” from their fortune meant exactly this guy.
Even though he looked like a wild beast so they didn’t recognize him at all, it was certain.
Lee Geon.
He was the strongest 13th who died 20 years ago.
“You bastards. I won’t let you get away with this.”
It was the moment the hero they’d thought dead returned.
(Continues in the next episode)