Chapter 54
Chapter 54
Chapter 54
Hero (4)
"Eat this."
So Iryeon handed fruit to Hundred Tiger Ghost.
"You came at the right time. I missed you so much."
So Iryeon patted Hundred Tiger Ghost's broad back.
"Stop it. We're not kids."
"I can't help it, you're cute."
Hundred Tiger Ghost was rolling an egg around his eyes.
"Do it in moderation."
When I reprimanded him, So Iryeon answered excitedly.
"You saw how this guy kept charging until the end. It was fun though."
Not only I, but Jimun Seo-saeng and Cheong Ak-sal had watched the fight between So Iryeon and Hundred Tiger Ghost together.
When the fight started, he clearly proved that he was Hundred Tiger Ghost.
During the fight with So Iryeon, his clothes were torn, revealing his solid muscles. He had not neglected his training.
The fight was fierce but ended with So Iryeon's victory. Hundred Tiger Ghost gritted his teeth and charged until I stopped him, and thanks to that, So Iryeon worked up quite a sweat too.
Once it was proven he was Hundred Tiger Ghost, I firmly grasped his hand.
-You've done well to come.
With that, he became one of our family.
"Hundred Tiger Ghost, eat a lot. When you recover, let's go again." Hundred Tiger Ghost flinched.
"Are you regretting it now?" I asked casually.
"No sir!"
"Lower your voice."
"Yes sir!"
I don't know what made him like this.
"How have you been living?"
Only then could I hear about how Hundred Tiger Ghost had lived his life until now.
He was Japanese.
His name was Nabe.
He was born into a wealthy family but was mistreated a lot.
It was because he was terrible at studying. Born as the only son in a family of doctors, expectations were high, but his grades never left rock bottom. On the other hand, he showed special talent in sports.
However, his parents made him give up sports, saying he had to become a doctor. Eventually, upon entering middle school, Hundred Tiger Ghost ran away from home. Though he was young, he was so strong and worked so well that construction sites accepted him.
-It's illegal, but he does the work of three men.
When work ended, he spent his nights training. He repeated that routine for 10 years. Then, persuaded by his parents, he returned home and got a desk job at a hospital.
He had lived that way until now, at thirty-one years old.
When his story ended, I realized one mistake.
'I didn't try to find this guy.'
I had been too busy looking for the Protectors first and didn't show consideration. The incidents of So Iryeon's singing and donations were facts only known to the Protectors.
"But what's that bag?"
I asked, looking at the bag placed next to him.
"It's nothing."
Hundred Tiger Ghost panicked and hugged the bag. So Iryeon, unable to contain his curiosity, snatched Hundred Tiger Ghost's bag. Because Hundred Tiger Ghost desperately tried to stop him, the bag tore and its contents spilled out.
"Huh?"
Items no one expected came out. There were bromides, magazines, photos, and a scrapbook. But the subject of all the items was So Iryeon.
"What's this? Were you my stalker?"
"No! Actually, I was a fan of Protector Mountain Gorge King, no, So Iryeon, no, Protector So."
"Since when?"
"Since you first came to Japan, I even went to your concert."
The concert ticket was carefully preserved in the scrapbook.
"You bastard!"
So Iryeon glared at Hundred Tiger Ghost. Then he put strength into wrapping his arm around Hundred Tiger Ghost's head.
"I knew there was something between us!"
In the previous life, So Iryeon had also liked Hundred Tiger Ghost.
Of course, I don't know if Hundred Tiger Ghost felt the same.
'What a twisted fate.'
I was witnessing a truly twisted fate with my own eyes.
'To think Hundred Tiger Ghost became uncle's fan.'
Reincarnation had changed everyone's positions like this.
The Hundred Tiger Ghost of the previous life was taciturn.
The only thing he said was: ‘Understood!’
He never offered opinions and absolutely followed orders. When you tried to explain why he needed to carry out an order, he was already gone. Absolute obedience.
I pointed this out, but Hundred Tiger Ghost couldn't break his ingrained habit. That's why he was a disciple I paid even more attention to.
'He was a training instructor at the Ming Cult.'
He was from the Ming Cult, and was the first person to be accepted after establishing the Heavenly Demon Cult.
His skills were good, but he had no aptitude for politics or social life. So I took him in when he was rotting away as a training instructor.
Perhaps because of the Ming Cult's rules and his duties as a training instructor, he treated orders like his life.
When Hundred Tiger Ghost died, that was what bothered me most. He died at the hands of a mage while retreating his subordinates in the battle against the Empire.
'One who never once enjoyed life.'
That's how he was imprinted in my mind.
"Hundred Tiger Ghost."
"Yes! Cult Leader!"
He lowered it a lot but his voice was still booming.
"Have you ever dated?"
"No, I haven't."
He could have questioned it at least once, but Hundred Tiger Ghost just stated the facts.
"Good. Then it's an order."
Hundred Tiger Ghost's eyes lit up as he waited for my words.
"Meet a man named Kim Mu-jin and go have fun. Today, all day, do whatever he suggests."
"Yes! Understood!"
As expected, he doesn't ask for reasons. He left those words and turned around.
"Wait."
"Yes!"
"Do you know who Kim Mu-jin is?"
"I don't!"
My head throbbed.
"Then how were you going to find him?"
"I was going to ask Protector Jimun!"
At least he's not completely thoughtless.
"Wait."
I gave him Kim Mu-jin's phone number and address.
"Now go. You just need to come back before lunch tomorrow. Don't come back early either."
"Understood!"
I had already spoken to Kim Mu-jin.
-He will go to heaven with you. Would that be alright?
For some reason, my stomach felt queasy, but he said okay. And so Hundred Tiger Ghost went to heaven.
The next day at lunchtime. Hundred Tiger Ghost, who returned precisely on time, sat at the dining table. After the meal ended and we gathered at the lodging, I asked him.
"Did you have fun?"
"Yes!"
"How much fun?"
"Combining both my previous and current lives, it was the most enjoyable!"
"More than when you unified the martial world?"
"Those are different kinds of joy, so they can't be compared!"
His honest answer made me even more curious. I settled into the sofa to hear the story properly. The others also pricked up their ears.
From then on, Hundred Tiger Ghost's heroic tale began. I had never heard a more interesting story in the world. It was explicit, erotic, and stimulating.
There were various experiences in changing locations. Time and atmosphere intertwined, making it impossible to escape from the story.
Jimun Seo-saeng and Cheong Ak-sal also pricked up their ears before long. Hundred Tiger Ghost continued his story calmly, but we who were listening became careful even with our breathing.
The story quickly climbed to its climax. Just then, someone next to me leaned forward in concentration. It was So Iryeon.
"What? When did you get here?"
"I've been here from the beginning."
"Ah, right."
"What are you doing? Continue."
So Iryeon, also absorbed in the story, urged Hundred Tiger Ghost on. Even though he has the soul of a man, listening to such a story together with So Iryeon felt uncomfortable.
It's like how even though I think of him as a man, I don't change clothes together or shower together—the same principle.
"Why are you like that? It's not like I'm the only one here anyway."
Those words caused a tidal wave of unease. In an instant, I saw one more person next to So Iryeon. It was the Witch.
"I've been here from the beginning too."
My body shuddered as if I'd been hit by magic.
"I'll continue the story."
"No! That's enough!"
In the end, the story stopped at its climax.
"Poot, my little brother is going through puberty."
The Witch left after saying that. The back of my neck felt stiff, but it wasn't something to argue about. And so I never got to hear the rest of Hundred Tiger Ghost's story.
The Korea purification plan was carried out by Jimun Seo-saeng.
Confessions of conscience from politicians and businessmen who couldn't withstand the pressure continued one after another, and public opinion was plastered with praise for the Heavenly Demon Cult that achieved this.
Demonstrations continued day after day on the streets. Citizens exhausted by the corruption of the wealthy and the tyranny of power directly expressed their angry hearts.
Among them were those who chanted for the Heavenly Demon Cult. With 8 months left until the presidential election, politicians had no choice but to be sensitive.
Jimun Seo-saeng skillfully swayed public opinion using this. He connected the politicians and parties enduring the pressure through the source called the presidential election. In the end, the parties had no choice but to cut off tails to survive.
As those involved in corruption stepped down from their positions on their own, Jimun Seo-saeng moved to the next stage.
-We need to cut off the body.
A strange incident occurred. It was an incident where 7 people—5 politicians, a judge, and a prosecutor—committed suicide leaving suicide notes in one place.
Their suicide notes contained their corruption, evidence, and letters of apology. The so-called A Club. It was an organization where those who used power to gain tremendous wealth and honor gathered.
People didn't mourn their deaths. Rather, the atmosphere was that at least they had some conscience to die that way.
Those who committed corruption and were on the list had no choice but to face pressure. None of them believed the A Club had committed suicide.
Of course, this too was the work of Jimun Seo-saeng and Cheong Ak-sal.
'The most cruel person in the Heavenly Demon Cult isn't me but Jimun Seo-saeng.'
Leaving the remaining work to Jimun Seo-saeng, I shifted my attention to another area. Recently, there was one interesting announcement.
-The Chinese government will recognize reincarnators and provide them with opportunities to work for the nation. They will receive treatment befitting their abilities and gain valuable honor.
The Chinese government made the wisest choice first. They officially declared they would recruit reincarnators. Starting with China, the European Union also made announcements with similar context.
-We will organize a security force composed of reincarnators to maintain public order.
Eventually, all nations began recruiting reincarnators. An atmosphere was created where reincarnators no longer needed to hide their identities.
'Except for Korea.'
The Korean government made the same declaration. The problem was that the Heavenly Demon Cult existed.
Reincarnators couldn't be discussed without excluding the Heavenly Demon Cult. The public also wanted the Heavenly Demon Cult rather than reincarnators belonging to the government.
-The government cannot be trusted.
This atmosphere was covering all of Korea. The feelings they originally had were finally beginning to be expressed. When the atmosphere ripened, the Heavenly Demon Cult made one announcement through So Iryeon.
-We don't want Korea to continue falling into chaos. If they just get rid of corrupt politicians and corrupt civil servants, we will actively cooperate with the Korean government.
Along with those words, So Iryeon released an additional list. This time it was a list of prosecutors, judges, police, and high-ranking civil servants. It was natural for public opinion to rise like fire.
Just expecting something and seeing it directly with your eyes are incomparably different. At the tremendous corruption list, all of South Korea boiled with anger.
Around the time opposition arose, clear evidence of the list was presented.
-Their corruption is tangled like a spider web, but in the end, it's all connected. It's a structure where catching 100 people can uncover the corruption of 1,000 people. Since they don't trust each other, evidence is bound to remain.
It's just that the evidence can hurt each other, so they don't make it public. When the Heavenly Demon Cult presented such evidence, the opposition had nothing to say and could only watch.
The pressure continued and the citizens' demonstrations were endless. As the economy reached the point of paralysis, the government had no choice but to take extreme measures.
-We will verify the evidence and ensure that civil servants proven to have committed crimes are thoroughly investigated and punished.
As an example, 20 high-ranking civil servants were fired and sent to trial. Lower-level civil servants resigned on their own.
-We thank the Korean government for its efforts, and the Heavenly Demon Cult will thoroughly protect Korea from reincarnator crimes.
The scene of So Iryeon saying this with a bright smile adorned the headlines of all news.
"It's almost done now. Only the last stage remains." Jimun Seo-saeng said while watching the news.
"What's the last stage?"
"Chaos, encroachment, and next is domination."
Jimun Seo-saeng smiled leisurely. The cruelty hidden behind it was clearly visible to my eyes.