Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: The Impostor's End
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That little shit’s dual citizenship in America.
Yongyong’s single remark was the killing blow.
“Sh-shut up.”
Im Cheol-soon’s face twisted in shock.
“What? Dual citizenship?”
Dual citizenship—legally permitted, it might not have been a huge issue.
“Didn’t Justice protest to abolish dual citizenship for players?”
“Yeah. They said it was outrageous for players to get double benefits…”
A smirk.
On the massive electronic billboard, Yongyong shoved his face forward with a grin.
His tiny teeth flashed, and his small nostrils flared as he spoke.
-That bastard will definitely bolt to America if shit hits the fan. Bet on it.
“Shut up!”
-Guys, you know this?
Was there anything left?
Im Cheol-soon clenched his fists tight.
If that thing on the billboard had been a real person, he felt like he could’ve smashed its skull in with a rock.
-Im Cheol-soon’s posts from his secret account.
Whoosh!
The screen changed, titles and text flashing on and off repeatedly.
-Fucking player bastards. If I were a player, I’d wipe out all you normies lol.
-Truth is, I haven’t awakened as a player yet because I’m slated for some insane job later?
-Want to marry Go Minji.
-Kim Se-hyun’s comments are trash lol. Se-hyun dating? I used to be close with Kim Se-hyun back in the day…
-Go Yohan talking shit lol. I’d be better than Go Yohan. That fucker back then…
Murmurs rose.
Every single post was too cringe-worthy to look at.
“Sh-shut up!”
Im Cheol-soon yelled again.
“No, I didn’t… I didn’t write those… No!”
But that reaction was the problem.
His face flushed red with panic, backing away—it was as good as admitting he’d written them himself.
-Proof attached. Same IP, same ID, and this is hacked data from Brother Cheol-soon’s phone. Oh, and Brother Cheol-soon, you should thank me?
Kraaang! Yongyong howled as he said it.
-The really vomit-inducing stuff, I didn’t show. You know what I mean, right?
Thud.
Im Cheol-soon collapsed to his knees.
-Deny it now, and I release everything? Got it?
“No!”
That was when it happened.
“Really.”
As if time had frozen, in the ensuing silence came the voice Im Cheol-soon had so desperately awaited.
“What a nauseating sight.”
“Aah…!”
The voice he’d longed for—the shame that had consumed his mind moments ago vanished, replaced by overwhelming elation.
“My Queen! My Queen!”
Im Cheol-soon grabbed at her pant leg and cried out.
“Please! Help me! You… you have the power to do it!”
“Of course.”
Baek Sun-hee nodded.
“I even have a gift prepared for you.”
“R-really?”
“Yes. So…”
A smirk.
Baek Sun-hee’s approaching face bore a dark smile.
“No need to look at this revolting worm anymore.”
“…?”
It happened in an instant.
Time, which had seemed to stop, resumed.
More precisely, he who had briefly fallen into a stupor awoke.
“C-Captain. Is that for real?”
The moment Im Cheol-soon turned toward the voice.
Crack!
The head of the protester who’d been speaking to him vanished.
Literally.
“…?”
Gone.
But the strange part was.
Swoosh.
Only the head was missing—the body below the neck remained intact.
Splurt!
Blood sprayed in a fountain, and only then did Im Cheol-soon grasp the situation.
“Ugh…”
His subordinate, who’d moved exactly as he wished.
“Ughaaaaah!”
She was dead.
*
*
*
“Ughaaaah!”
Im Cheol-soon fell into panic, letting out something grotesque that wasn’t quite a scream.
Splat, thud.
His subordinate collapsed, neck severed.
And.
“Kyaaack!”
The area turned into a bloodbath.
Staring blankly, all Im Cheol-soon could see was a black flash.
Like the split-second spark of static electricity, a brilliant blue current.
Crunch!
It tore through the protesters, slaughtering them.
“Go… Yohan?”
Im Cheol-soon muttered in disbelief.
But then, the black flash paused.
Swoosh.
It was looking at Im Cheol-soon.
Not Go Yohan—someone in a mask.
“…!”
One of those eerie superhumans who hung around with Go Yohan.
“How dare you.”
The fiend stood at the center of the protesters and raised his voice.
“How dare you—! Insult the great Lord Go Yohan!”
“…!”
“I am his apostle and zealot…”
He declared like a judge pronouncing sentence.
“All you who have sinned against him—death sentence.”
“Ah…”
Im Cheol-soon felt a massive terror wash over him, his mind going blank once more.
Players, players.
The only difference between him and them was chance.
He’d convinced himself that if he just awakened, he could surpass any player.
But he was just an ordinary man.
The delusion most ordinary people held.
“…Ugh, ugh…”
They’d never experienced the battles and slaughter players endured.
He ignored the stats showing fewer than 10% of awakened players stayed active.
“Ugh…”
How terrifying blood and pain truly were.
Splurt!
He hadn’t known.
What he witnessed before his eyes was far too agonizing and horrifying.
But then a question arose.
‘Why?’
Why was that self-proclaimed apostle of Go Yohan leaving him alone?
And he recalled the owner he’d met in that dreamlike haze moments ago.
-Gift.
His mind flashed.
If that was the gift.
“Go Yohan! You fucking bastard!”
Im Cheol-soon stood and shouted.
“You’re finally showing your true colors!”
Im Cheol-soon bellowed at the top of his lungs, confident in his voice.
“Everyone, look! That’s Go Yohan’s true nature! He crushes everything with brute force—a piece of trash!”
Im Cheol-soon yelled.
“He’s the villain! A demon! An evil that must be exterminated no matter wh—”
That instant.
“…?”
Im Cheol-soon stared blankly at the ground.
A black flash piercing his gut.
When he looked ahead.
Smirk.
The thing was grinning beneath its mask.
‘Why?’
Ah.
Only then did he understand.
That he had to die.
That to his master, he was nothing but a disposable tool.
“You… fuck…”
With those words, immense agony crashed over him.
Clang!
Sparks flew as the black flash clashed with a group.
*
*
*
“Slay the demon impersonating him!”
They were members of the Sanctuary Alliance who’d been mere spectators.
Unable to intervene in the sudden chaos, they charged in and collided with the black flash.
“Fall back this way!”
Association members were helping evacuate the protesters.
But.
Boom!
The black flash was overwhelmingly strong.
In moments, three Sanctuary Alliance members were flung away, two gravely wounded.
“Impersonating him…”
“Any who block the great Lord Go Yohan’s path will die.”
The black flash repeated the same words.
Squish, squish.
As Im Cheol-soon lay collapsed, watching his entrails spill, awaiting death.
For some reason, he thought of that dreamlike moment meeting his master.
All noise faded.
Step, step.
Only the sound of approaching footsteps remained in his mind.
And when he blinked.
A familiar back appeared before him.
Silver-white hair, a massive back like a giant’s.
Even the tattoos behind the ear.
It didn’t take long to realize who.
“Go… Yohan…”
It was the real Go Yohan.
Go Yohan, standing there, scanned the surroundings and raised his hand.
Crackle!
The black flash ravaging the protesters.
Crunch!
It halted, as if torn apart, flesh spraying.
The black flash stopped and gazed at Go Yohan.
In that moment, Im Cheol-soon thought a battle would erupt.
But.
“Ahh!”
The black flash cried out in a holy voice, as if beholding a god.
“Great One! Have I dared defy your will and committed slaughter?”
It prattled on.
“For this sin, I offer my life!”
It moved to plunge its sword into its own heart.
Crunch!
But Go Yohan’s hand moved again, ripping off its head.
For a monster even hordes of players couldn’t stop, it was an unbelievably pathetic end.
“Ah…”
As Im Cheol-soon let out a moan like a sigh.
Step.
Go Yohan turned to look at him.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart, on the verge of stopping, pounded fiercely.
His blurring vision sharpened.
‘I have sinned.’
And now, punishment.
Damn it, if only he’d known.
But a sliver of hope remained.
“I’ll testify… everything…”
He tried to appeal that Go Yohan needed him to prove his innocence, but it was over.
The last thing Im Cheol-soon saw was his own body, tumbling away.
Go Yohan’s hand had moved unnoticed, sealing his fate just like the black flash.
Silence descended.
Flinch.
Those who’d been Go Yohan’s enemies collapsed in place.
Flinch.
Even those who’d tried to side with him recoiled in fear.
-Yohan… bro!
Yongyong greeted Go Yohan from the shattered billboard.
“You came… all the way here…”
The Sanctuary Alliance members who’d fought the black flash said in bewilderment.
Go Yohan approached them and quietly extended his hand.
“You’ve suffered.”
“…Sorry…”
“You’ll be fine soon.”
The Sanctuary Alliance players thought it was Go Yohan’s mercy, a quick end before more pain.
But no.
Whoooosh—!
Brilliant golden light engulfed them.
When the gold light finally faded.
“…Huh?”
The Sanctuary Alliance members realized their wounds from the black flash were gone.