The Mysterious Pursuer
Deep within a secluded alley lay a hidden hideout. The place was perpetually shrouded in darkness, untouched by light—even when the sun hung high in the sky. An ever-present silence and gloomy atmosphere filled the space. With almost no foot traffic passing through, it was the perfect refuge for a certain kind of people.
In the innermost room of the hideout sat a man. His face was rough and menacing, adorned with threatening tattoos along his arms. A grotesque scar on one side of his face only amplified his intimidating presence. No matter how you looked at him, he didn't resemble an ordinary citizen.
The man leaned back arrogantly in his chair, legs crossed and propped up on the table. He was none other than the boss who managed the local thugs in this district. More bluntly, he was the ringleader of the neighborhood delinquents. Back when the great calamity struck, he had been a notorious outlaw in northern Seoul. After the Council security firm restored order, he had settled into running a gang of small-time punks—but he had once been a capable awakened one himself.
That said, he held no particular complaints about his current life. If anything, he was more satisfied now than before. His fighting prowess and awakened status had easily secured him this position. The money was decent too. Handling dirty work for the clean old men in the light, along with a bit of loan-sharking on the side, brought in several times more than he used to earn. Of course, he delegated everything to his subordinates rather than doing it himself.
One might wonder what the police were doing about all this. He didn't know the details. What was clear was that the police, rebuilt after the calamity, didn't crack down hard on local gangs for some reason. He could only guess they had been bribed by the organization. From his perspective, as long as the money kept flowing, the reasons didn't matter.
The Council, another force maintaining order, focused solely on dungeons and gates, so they paid little attention to his side of things. However, their strict management of awakened individuals meant he always stayed cautious. Getting caught and exposed as an unregistered awakened one would not end well.
In short, he had retired from active duty and was living comfortably. Approaching middle age, he was steadily preparing for retirement. It was a leisurely life where money came in just by sitting back and giving orders.
But recently, a problem had arisen.
He ran a hand through his messy hair, recalling the events. That day had started like any other. The only difference was the discovery of an enormous windfall nearby. When he heard the details, his eyes widened instantly. A massive quantity of magic stones had been found in an otherwise worthless dungeon, prompting the Council's investigation team to seal off the area. He also learned that an entire party had been wiped out inside, but that didn't interest him. His focus was solely on the magic stones.
He didn't know the exact amount, but if the Council was involved directly, it had to be substantial. Eyewitness accounts of Council staff entering and exiting the dungeon suggested the interior was likely secured. It was the perfect opportunity for a quick score.
Of course, given his shady background, he had no intention of moving personally. As usual, he planned to send his subordinates. If caught during the operation, prison time was inevitable, but there were plenty of volunteers. Promising a share of the profits had drawn eager participants. These were low-level grunts anyway—if the operation failed and they were caught, no critical organizational secrets would leak. It was a low-risk gamble: success meant a huge payoff; failure meant only minor disappointment.
That was how it should have gone. Even when he heard the operation had failed and the men he'd sent were captured, he merely clicked his tongue in regret without despairing. But then came the follow-up report that left him speechless. From that moment, everything began to unravel.
Those hopeless subordinates had caused a massive incident. Several idiots had secretly carried firearms into the operation without his permission. Worse, when discovered, they had opened fire on the Council's awakened ones. He didn't know who had initiated it, but it was clearly the work of those hoping to score big and leave the organization. Now he alone had to clean up the mess—a bolt from the blue.
Losing the expensive firearms smuggled through dark channels was the least of it. Even with the unstable security after the calamity, firearm regulations remained strict. The police, now armed with concrete evidence, would scour the area investigating illegal gun use. Though they usually turned a blind eye to local gangs, direct evidence like this forced them to act. As a result, officers were poking into even the darkest corners, restricting his operations and cutting into his income. The crackdown would eventually ease, but until then, movement was difficult.
"Agh... Those brainless morons! I told them guns don't work on awakened ones... and they still caused this mess! I'm losing my mind!"
He vented his frustration internally, but the damage was done. No amount of self-reproach could change reality. All he could do was curse the subordinates who had gotten greedy over the magic stones. He wanted nothing more than to find them and snap their necks, but they were already in custody. The inevitable result was weakened influence and reduced profits. Causing such an undeniable incident also meant drawing attention from above. Warning lights flashed over the future of this awakened gang member who had been rising steadily.
His mood had been foul ever since. Every report since the incident brought only bad news. That remained true even now.
"Huu... haaah..."
The man, slouched in his chair, exhaled a plume of white smoke. One hand rested on the armrest while the other held a cigarette. The still-burning tip glowed red in the dim room, a lone point of light.
"So... Youngsoo. Care to explain? What the hell is this ridiculous situation?"
He leaned forward, crushing the cigarette in the ashtray. His dark eyes, filled with stress and menace, fixed on the man standing before him—his most trusted subordinate. The man wasn't awakened, but he was highly competent. The reason for such fury was simple: the unidentified girl who had entered with him.
The girl wore plain clothes and looked no older than mid-teens at best. Long bangs partially covered her eyes, and her hair reached her waist, giving her a slightly gloomy air. But that wasn't what bothered him. What mattered was that she clearly didn't belong in this atmosphere.
"Damn it... This isn't some neighborhood stationery store. Why'd you bring a kid like her here?! Say something already. You're not mute, so what the hell are you doing?"
If the subordinate had offered any explanation upon entering, he wouldn't have been this angry. But the man had remained silent since stepping into the room minutes ago. Staring at him incredulously yielded only deep silence. The black mask he wore for operations made it impossible to read his expression. Unable to endure the inexplicable situation any longer, the boss spoke first.
Yet even his furious roar elicited no reaction from the subordinate. Under normal circumstances, this never happened. As he puzzled over it, an unexpected voice broke the silence—the girl.
"...As I thought, hearing your voice confirms it. The boss of the thugs managing this area—Kang Il-sung. That's your name, isn't it? Am I wrong?"
"!?... You, what are you? How do you know my name?"
Her voice was pleasant, like a cute bird's chirp. But her words were anything but. Il-sung's eyes widened in disbelief at the sudden revelation of his real name. He never shared it even with close subordinates. Yet this tiny girl he'd never met knew it. Something was terribly wrong. A primal sense of danger pierced his mind, and he shot to his feet.
At the same moment, a figure collapsed forward. The man sprawled on the floor was his trusted subordinate—the very one who had brought the girl.
"!!!... Kim Youngsoo! You...!"
"I've achieved my goal, so I don't need him anymore. If you want, I can return him. Though he's already dead."
The girl muttered in a chilling voice as she watched his horrified expression. Her cold black eyes, visible between her bangs, held none of the innocence expected from a girl her age.
"You little... How dare you touch my subordinate! Who the hell are you? What do you want from me?"
The dismissive attitude he'd shown moments earlier vanished completely. Il-sung stared at her with a hardened expression, his guard raised to the maximum. Rage consumed him, but a shred of reason held him back.
"No need to be so wary... I just have one question for you. Cooperate quietly and neither of us will have to get tired."
The girl spoke to a man several times her size with an arrogant confidence that felt perfectly natural. Her casual, informal tone slipped out so smoothly that it didn't even register as odd at first. Hearing such words from a girl who looked far younger than him left him beyond incredulous—bordering on absurd.
Crack... crack...
His hands suddenly emitted grotesque sounds and began to grow. In an instant, they became enormous, nearly the size of the girl's head. This was his awakened ability: physical enhancement that strengthened his hands. Fists empowered by it could shatter steel with ease. Combined with his past boxing experience, the ability was devastatingly effective. There was a reason he had survived so long in this world.
"I don't know which organization sent you, but you didn't think you'd get away with touching my subordinate, did you? Cooperation? Go feed that to a dog. The only thing I'll give you is this!!"
Rejecting her offer, Il-sung launched a powerful jab straight at the girl. The strike tore through the air like lightning—astonishingly fast despite its size. At this close range, his jab had never missed. Its power could easily crush an ordinary person's skull. The girl wouldn't survive taking it head-on.
"......"
Even with the fist flying toward her, the girl didn't move. But her stillness wasn't from fear. Just before impact, her eyes flashed faintly, and a small burst of light filled the room.
Boom!!!!
A tremendous crash echoed. A deafening collision sound rang out. He felt the impact of his fist striking something. But when the light faded and his vision cleared, Il-sung's eyes widened at the sight before him.
It was a cross. A massive white cross, large enough for an adult, stood directly in front of the girl, blocking his fist perfectly at its center. Naturally, no such cross had existed in the room before. It had appeared from empty air.
Whoosh!--- Thud! Thud!
"!!? Aaaagh!!"
The momentary opening created by his confusion proved fatal. Two more crosses—shaped like swords—struck his body, embedding precisely in his shoulders. The force slammed him backward, pinning him to the wall with the crosses through his flesh. Intense pain threatened to knock him unconscious, and he gritted his teeth, groaning.
"...Still the same as back then—letting your own power blind you to reason. You're consistently foolish."
Through his hazy consciousness, he forced his head to turn toward the voice. The giant cross that had blocked his fist had vanished. In its place stood the girl, completely transformed. White eyes and long white hair. An immense, unidentifiable aura overflowed around her. Only now did he realize the truth—she was an absurdly powerful being far beyond him.
"Ugh... What the hell are you talking about? I've never met you before... What do you mean?"
"Ah. Right, in 'this world,' today would be our first meeting. Though we were supposed to meet several years later."
His rebuttal was met with an even more incomprehensible reply. What did "this world" mean? What did "supposed to meet" imply? The girl showed no intention of explaining further. She approached the man pinned to the wall and grasped his neck with her slender arm. Her grip was far stronger than her delicate appearance suggested. Watching him struggle and gasp for breath, the white-haired girl narrowed her eyes sharply.
"You'll never understand even if I explain now anyway... If you don't want to suffer more, answer quickly. Where is that man... 'Kim Seo-jun'?"
"Kuh... Who is that..."
"Don't play dumb! You definitely received a request related to him around this time... I heard it from your own mouth back then. You're not going to deny it now, are you?"
Seeing Il-sung's reaction completely different from what she'd expected, the girl shouted in anger. She had every reason to be certain—the information came directly from this very man in the previous world. But no matter how she pressed, his confusion and denial only fueled her frustration. If she had recalled the related memories even a little sooner, she could have acted first... The bitter regret filled her mind, but it was already too late. The past had changed far too drastically, and she had no time to dwell on headaches now. She had to find that man as soon as possible. Otherwise, this world would meet the same ending again.
The girl briefly recalled the final memories of the previous world. How could she forget those arrogant, empty eyes looking down on them? The worst monster in history, seated on a throne, facing humanity's last heroes—the Demon King, Kim Seo-jun...
"What... This is my wallet, isn't it? I thought it was gone. Why do you have it?"
[I kept it separate just in case. It was the most valuable thing you had on you, after all.]
"If we're being precise, the phone is more important... but whatever. It doesn't really matter now that my actual body has turned out like this."
I accepted the black wallet Ulthar handed me. Inside were a few thousand-won bills. Besides that, there was a driver's license I'd barely used despite obtaining it, along with expired credit cards. Suddenly, I pulled out one card from among them.
It was none other than my resident registration card bearing my former appearance.
[No matter how you look at it, now is better, right? A pretty, cute girl like this is way nicer than some ugly old man!]
"What's wrong with my old face... Stop picking a fight over weird things."
Ulthar had sidled right up next to me and muttered that. I narrowed my eyes at the creature before lowering my gaze again. On the name field above the resident registration number, my former name—Kim Seo-jun—was clearly written.