“Who’s Yeonu?”
“!”
At that name, Igeon’s eyes went round.
At the same time, Igeon’s gaze shifted slightly. And seeing that look, Hyugo realized he’d messed up.
Sure enough.
“Did I ever tell you about her?”
“Huh? Uh, uh? No, I mean…!”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Hyugo’s eyes darted around.
‘Damn it, I just blurted it out without turning on the blinker.’
Since it was about the legendary Igeon, he’d been too curious and couldn’t help asking, but it seemed to be one of those untouchable sore spots.
‘Just like with Pungyo.’
So Hyugo, already scared, was about to apologize.
But.
“Ah. So this was when you were tearing the general bastards’ Bible apart.”
“……!”
Without being told, Igeon had immediately figured it out.
The only recent thing connected to that person was the event from twenty-four years ago he’d seen through the general’s body.
And at Igeon’s cool response, Hyugo looked at him with surprise.
‘So it was okay to ask?’
Come to think of it, even though his eyes had changed, his expression was more “Is that what you were curious about?” than anger.
So Hyugo thought this was his chance.
“Who is Yeonu? There’s no way she’s your friend.”
Igeon looked utterly dumbfounded by that.
“Could be a friend, right? You don’t know, you brat.”
“What are you talking about. Since when do you have friends, Geon? It’s only because I’m this great that I hang out with a bastard like you... Ack!”
Hyugo got smacked.
“Ow, why! I was just telling the truth! Anyway, who’s Yeonu? She’s definitely that person, right? The beauty that Pungyo turned into! She’s your lover, right?”
“!”
Igeon’s eyes went wide, but Hyugo was almost 100% certain.
Otherwise, there was no way he’d have gotten so angry seeing that face.
“Ah, so that’s it. She was your lover...”
But Hyugo’s expression changed as he spoke.
All because of the look on Igeon’s face.
So just as Hyugo was about to burst out laughing, he got kicked in the shin.
Thanks to that, Hyugo felt wronged.
“Why! I didn’t even say anything yet!”
“Shut up. Your face already shows what you’re thinking, you know? It was the face of someone who’s thinking there’s no way a bastard like me ever had a lover.”
At those words, Hyugo looked shocked.
“Then she really was your lover?!”
Well, at his age, it wouldn’t have been strange, but still.
Hyugo looked a little disappointed.
“But I feel a bit hurt. You never told me something that important...”
“She’s not my lover.”
“What? No? Really?”
“It’s not that simple a relationship like you’re thinking.”
Igeon’s expression grew complicated as old memories surfaced.
‘Geon-ah!’
Yeonu was a child he had grown up with in the orphanage.
“She was probably born with bad hearing and got abandoned by her parents.”
“Hearing?”
“Yeah. And we grew even closer because we shared memories of being abused by the orphanage teacher.”
“Abused?”
Could that be why this bastard developed masochistic traits?
“Ah, but of course, I took care of that bastard properly.”
The look in his eyes made Hyugo even more terrified.
This bastard was a special breed from the start, huh?
“Anyway, we lived together before I met you. The three of us.”
“Three?! N-no way!!”
Hyugo’s face looked even more shocked than when he thought Igeon had a lover, and Igeon gave him a disgusted look.
“What the hell are you thinking right now, you bastard. I lived with Yeonu and her sibling.”
“Oh.”
“Well, the brother ended up killed by a monster, so eventually it was just Yeonu and me living together...”
But as he was saying this, Igeon glared fiercely.
“Hey. What are you doing?”
Because Hyugo, clenching his fist in joy, was doing a victory pose.
As if he hadn’t been listening for a while, Hyugo was deeply moved.
‘I finally beat Geon at one thing.’
Geon is a forever-alone virgin!
He, on the other hand, had at least been in a relationship! And he’d even had a child.
‘I am the victor...’
But Hyugo was immediately kicked by Igeon.
“Ack!!”
“Anyway, we weren’t blood-related, but she was my only family.”
“Yeah? Family? Just that?”
Igeon fell silent at that question.
Someone who was more precious to him than any friend.
But now that she was dead, there was no point in saying more.
Well, who knows how the future might have changed if that day hadn’t happened.
“The day I awakened. Yeonu died in my place. Killed by that monster bastard.”
“……!”
Hyugo started in shock.
So that was why his friend hated talking about his own awakening.
While others would call it the birthday of a great hero, for Igeon, it was the anniversary of the death of someone he loved.
‘Come to think of it, back then everyone was making a huge deal congratulating him, but his expression was completely grim.’
Igeon spoke with a complicated face.
“She was my best friend in the world, and the family I loved most in the world.”
That day. Others might have thought that the power bursting from his awakening brought her back to life.
But the only one who died that day was Yeonu.
Her name didn’t even make the papers.
That day, the world only cared about the news of the thirteenth awakened.
Yeonu’s name was completely erased from the world by his own name.
Maybe it was natural, since not even a body remained.
“Geon-ah.”
“No, it’s fine. The ones you guys could handle weren’t even there.”
If they had come, it would’ve been total annihilation.
That was because, not long ago, the monsters he’d seen through the general were mostly Red Zone and Black Zone level, brought by the Monarchs.
“I think I just got lucky and took care of them all with the power of my awakening.”
That’s why others called awakening a blessing, but how much better would it have been if that person had lived instead of him, instead of that damn awakening?
“Anyway, that’s all. Her younger brother was also killed by a monster.”
“Monster?”
“Yeah. The monster appeared in a place where it definitely shouldn’t have been, and he died. Well, I’m still searching for Yeonu’s physical remains.”
“Physical remains...”
“She was eaten by a monster. A high-ranking one for sure, but I can’t find it.”
Igeon then gnawed on a chicken drumstick as if to say, “Is that answer enough?” but Hyugo felt troubled.
He felt like he’d brought up the topic for nothing.
At the same time, Hyugo felt like he understood.
Why Igeon hated adults so much. Why his eyes would roll back and he’d wipe out every last monster. And why his friend couldn’t just ignore people’s deaths.
‘Maybe that side of it is guilt.’
Even though he had overwhelming power, perhaps he felt he hadn’t been able to save the person he loved right before his eyes.
‘Well, that’s just my guess.’
Anyway, Igeon probably wouldn’t stop until he’d annihilated them all.
And at Hyugo’s expression, Igeon chuckled.
“Why that face? Right now, you’re my best friend in the world.”
“……!”
At those words, Hyugo was freshly moved.
But.
“And my most cherished lackey in the world.”
This bastard???
He made a face that said, “Why’d you have to go and ruin it?” but soon seemed to accept it.
‘I wondered why Geon was so good at sign language. So that was it.’
Because the family he lived with had poor hearing.
Now there were domes, and inside the domes, even if languages differed or sight and hearing were bad, people could communicate through telepathy.
‘Still, it’s surprising that Yeonu couldn’t hear...’
But as Hyugo watched Igeon walking away, his eyes went round.
It was because of the slime crawling around in snake form, as if trying to promote the Snake Lord’s seat.
And at that moment.
“Come to think of it, snakes can’t hear, right?”
* * *
Meanwhile, around that time.
North of Seoul.
Past the Demon’s Tower area, into the Red Zone.
With the failure of the Seoul invasion, monsters were urgently rushing somewhere.
There were two of them.
[Damn it, the lord’s territory has fallen to the Snake Deity!]
[The lord has even lost the authority over that land!]
[It’s still okay for now. The Monarch’s power hasn’t completely vanished, so that bastard can’t take the Monarch’s territory.]
[Please, regain your senses!]
[O Lord of Pungyo!]
They shouted toward the hide they were carrying.
And while it looked like ordinary hide, it was unmistakably the body hide of Pungyo.
Of course, it retained no power whatsoever.
Since Igeon had taken it all. And it had no function as a material either.
All that remained was a mere handful of Pungyo’s soul.
Sure enough.
[Quickly... quickly, let’s go to him.]
If it was him, he might be able to revive Pungyo with his time regression ability.
Of course, Pungyo had never been beaten this badly, so he had no idea what the result would be.
Whether he’d return to normal, only his flesh would come back, or he might even die.
The ability was so random.
And in the first place, there was no telling if that finicky bastard would even agree to his request.
But he had nothing to lose.
And once his body was healed, he would never leave his own camp again.
He never wanted to meet Igeon a second time.
The only problem was.
‘Igeon, that bastard will ruin all our plans. Just like what happened recently.’
That was it.
In truth, the recent re-invasion had been a taste test, aimed at expanding territory and instilling a sense of helplessness in the humans.
Because humanity had grown arrogant below.
Even if reclaiming territory was impossible, they had been relieved, thinking they would never be captured as food.
So they had intended to shatter those iron walls and trample the humans’ hope.
But.
‘Igeon, that bastard.’
He had smashed that invasion too, and now he’d even reduced Pungyo to this state.
‘There’s no doubt. That bastard is going to wipe out all the Monarchs and gods.’
Anyway, it was a problem.
‘If I completely vanish, my territories that fell to Igeon will lose all ownership. The barriers will disappear too.’
Most likely, his authority would also completely transfer to Igeon.
That was what gave him such a headache.
Among the territories that would fall to that bastard, there were things Pungyo had hidden from the other Monarchs.
‘If Igeon, that bastard, finds them, it’ll be trouble.’
That was why Pungyo was desperately clinging to consciousness and hurrying.
‘It’s fine. Once I get to him, it’ll all be resolved.’
If it was him, he could restore Pungyo to his original state with time regression.
And he planned to tell him.
‘Igeon has a weakness. There’s a surefire way to exploit him.’
He had realized it when he was beaten by him this time. And if it was him, he could put that method into action.
After all, he was the very one who had tried to kill the Snake Lord twenty-four years ago.
Perhaps that was why.
[Anyway, hurry and get to him...!]
[Yes! We’re almost there! We just need to take that gate!]
At his subordinate’s words, Pungyo smiled.
‘Igeon, just wait. I’ll definitely exploit your weakness and take you down.’
But then it happened.
Pungyo, in his hide form, flinched.
It was because of the thick mist blanketing the area.
‘No way, this is...’
There was no doubt.
This sensation was that bastard.
And sensing the ominous feeling, Pungyo urgently shouted.
[Stop! Not here! We have to take another route, quickly!]
But that very moment.
Pungyo and the monster carrying him vanished in an instant.
At the same time, the other monster that had been running while keeping watch came to an abrupt halt.
[Huh? Why am I here?]
The monster stood there blankly, as if it had forgotten all about its master.
And around that time.
The husk of Pungyo, swallowed by the mist, screamed.
[Damn it, hey, what are you doing! This isn’t the camp of Time! Where are you going!]
[Sir? Weren’t we heading to the Snake Lord?]
[Snake... what?! Hey! Why are you going there!]
[Please wait! We’ll soon head to that insolent Snake Lord and make him into the Snake Lord’s wallet.]
[What are you talking about! Hey!!]
But then Pungyo realized his mistake.
This attitude of his subordinate.
One of the Monarchs definitely had an authority that did this.
One that made you forget even your loyalty to him.
So Pungyo trembled.
‘It’s that bastard after all.’
Sure enough.
Right behind him, he felt a terrifyingly piercing and cold aura.
Even though his body had already been stripped bare by Igeon and couldn’t feel temperature, the sensation was vivid.
That aura, as if it would devour even his soul.
And sure enough.
The one who had made his subordinate forget even his loyalty was right behind him.
And this was the culprit behind this entire catastrophe.
The bastard was opening his mouth to swallow him.
And Pungyo, knowing that bastard’s authority, screamed.
[Aack! I’m useless even if you eat me now! My authority, my territory, my rights—all of it was taken by the Snake Lord! I swear... Gack!]
But Pungyo was devoured in an instant.
Crunch!
It was the complete annihilation of Pungyo.
At the same time, the earth shook. It was the moment the pure territory Pungyo had ruled transformed into .
And finally, the wasteland where Pungyo and his subordinate had completely vanished.
Within the mist, this one let out a roar.
[I still need more prey.]
The prey he liked most was a certain woman who had been with the Snake Lord, twenty-four years ago.
Come to think of it, the one who had devoured everything of Pungyo...
Was it called the Snake Lord?
Oblivion began to move.
(To be continued in the next episode)