Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: The True Black Curtain
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Go Minji followed Kang In as they walked through the Blade Guild building.
"I'm ashamed to have brought you to a place like this."
Kang In, walking ahead with his back fully exposed, spoke up.
Kang In had clearly been strong as a former ranker.
Even without assuming any rest period after retirement, it was obvious that Go Minji, who had held a top ranking in the United States, was powerful.
But he had sealed his own mana and even bared his back.
'No openings at all.'
Kang In's weaknesses weren't visible to Go Minji's eyes.
It felt like something irreversible would happen if she attacked that back.
'What on earth happened?'
Kang In, who had retired after losing both legs, was now perfectly fine—claiming to be the leader of the Black Pavilion, no less—and he had grown so strong that even she, who had thought he must have wallowed in misery all this time, found it hard to handle.
"......"
Corpses littered the path.
And those were...
"Demon seeds. No......"
Kang In said.
"You know about Demonic Stones, right?"
Go Minji flinched.
She had sensed something off in the United States.
It was a new type of drug, traded in extreme secrecy in America's underworld, where narcotics were far more rampant than in Korea.
What set it apart from other drugs was that it didn't just plunge users into hallucinations.
"Or......"
It was rumored to grant immense power and abilities, ultimately leading users to ruin.
"Devil's Jaw."
Devil's Jaw—the cursed item that had gained notoriety from the Goldian incident.
"These are the fates of those who touched things like that."
The corpses were mostly ordinary, but a few were different.
They looked no longer human, as if fused with parts of monsters.
With her senses extended now, she could feel the ominous aura from them even without Kang In's words.
"So......?"
Go Minji asked sharply.
"......Ha, I won't say anything yet. Let's talk after you meet the person who wants to see you first."
Her head was throbbing as if it might burst, and it felt like she needed to meet whoever was at the end of this corridor just to clear it up a little.
And then.
"You can go in now."
In front of the Blade Guild master's office, Kang In stepped aside.
"You're not coming in?"
"I can't interfere with your meeting. All I'm permitted to do is escort you here, Player Go Minji."
What the hell.
Kang In, who effectively controlled Korea's entire underworld as the self-proclaimed leader of the Black Pavilion, was acting this humble—why?
And if what he said was true...
"......"
The one ahead was the true black curtain, who kept even Kang In beneath their feet.
'Villain.'
No—even worse than a villain.
"Got it."
Go Minji slowly opened the door.
"Ugh, uuuugh......"
A sharp stench of blood wafted out, accompanied by groans that she presumed came from the Blade Guild master.
And then.
Crunch.
In the end, her suspicions were correct.
"......Explain."
The head she thought would clear up was spinning wildly.
Her vision darkened as if she might collapse.
Go Minji, a superhuman among superhumans, wouldn't fall to something like that.
"Explain! Go Yohan-!"
*
*
*
The place Kang In had led her to held Go Yohan, standing before the presumed Blade Guild master, who knelt on the ground.
Silver-white hair, sky-blue eyes.
If this were some trick to fool her eyes, Go Minji would have noticed.
But something in that gaze—she couldn't mistake it for anyone else, not after spending so much time with him, even if it had been ages.
"Explain......"
Go Minji said, her voice breaking like a sob.
The Black Pavilion, the true villains of this era that she had chased, obeyed Go Yohan's orders?
The Forest Guild massacre—was that actually Go Yohan's doing too?
"Explain...!"
Go Minji bellowed, eyes bulging.
"The Blade Guild traded demon seeds circulating from China and used them on their members."
Go Yohan's voice came.
"It was during the Gate Break, the Russian Black Lands, the Black Gates—everything was chaotic, and the Black Pavilion had stepped away for a bit."
Go Yohan looked back at the Blade Guild master and continued.
"By the time the Black Pavilion caught on and moved, Blade had already distributed the demon seeds to their guild members and......"
Seeds of magic beasts—they had used them to boost their guild's strength.
Boost was just a word for it; they had simply gained the power to wield demonized forces.
And then.
"He himself took a demon seed into his body and devoured everything from his guild members."
"......"
"Aren't the guild members pitiful? Sure, they are. But demon seeds......"
Go Yohan twisted his lips into a smile.
It was an incredibly self-mocking grin.
"Aren't something you can handle like that. Once you're assimilated by a demon seed, that's the end. Unless you have the will and ability to break free from it......"
That was the moment.
Thud.
The Blade Guild master's head rolled across the floor.
"We took him in from the Black Pavilion."
"......Go Yohan."
"I'm still thinking about how to handle the Chinese side. Their roots run deep, so I'm pondering where to start and how far to go."
"Go Yohan!"
"Forest diverted the Devil's Jaw during Korea's last Black Gate incident."
With a gesture from Go Yohan...
Sizzle.
The thing that had been the Blade Guild master vanished completely.
"The Black Pavilion?"
Go Yohan looked at Go Minji.
Flinch.
Go Minji instinctively shrank back.
The madness in Go Yohan's eyes made her heart shrivel just facing it.
But.
Clench.
She balled her fists to stop the trembling.
"They're grateful people. They devoted everything to root out the demons and threw themselves into the shadows."
She was Go Minji.
"I was the one who leaked info about the Black Pavilion to the Association. My sister needed to come back from the US—America's already its own battlefield."
"You......"
"Those already ensnared by the devils' schemes have sunk deeper into the shadows, or in some places, they're operating right out in the open. Figuring out the boundaries is why America is still dangerous."
"Don't give me that crap."
Go Minji snapped.
"You expect me to believe that? And......"
Go Yohan's sister.
"Why the hell are you doing this!"
This was what was driving Go Minji insane.
She felt like she could burst into tears.
He had always been special and extraordinary since childhood, and...
"The Black Pavilion?"
So pitiful.
"It makes sense when I think about it... Skipping high school for the equivalency exam, your trip to find me? And that Pure White incident when you were in eighth grade..."
Go Minji.
"It all fits. The Black Pavilion seduced you back then, right? That's why you joined them. Your power... it came from their demon seeds, Devil's Jaw, whatever else."
She was sharp.
"Fuck... These goddamn bastards. I'll kill them all. How dare they touch my little brother..."
"You're smart, sis. You make reasonable guesses from the info you have, right?"
"Go Yohan."
"So you get it."
Go Minji and Go Yohan met eyes.
"That my words are true. That no one seduced me into this. That I..."
Go Yohan's voice was soft, but...
"......created the Black Pavilion."
It rang like thunder.
*
*
*
In his battle with Kartul, Go Yohan had recalled something he had forgotten.
It was his faith in the goddess—and his purpose.
'Demons.'
He had to exterminate them all.
He had vowed to become a villain, even a demon, if that's what it took.
But.
Clench.
These were the problem.
The sanctity, that warm space, had changed so much in him.
It had soothed his rage and resentment, made him keep postponing things.
That couldn't happen.
'I am the goddess's knight.'
Her one and only knight.
"I can't believe it."
Even aside from that, he had thought he would become that someday.
No—he had to.
He couldn't shove his duty onto others and tell them to endure all the hardship, torment, and humiliation.
The things he had started—he had to take responsibility.
"You have to believe it."
"I can't... believe it."
"Why am I doing this?"
At Go Yohan's question, Go Minji raised her head to look at him.
"Because I opened the door."
"......?"
"I was the one who summoned the demons."
"......!"
"To slaughter every last one of them."
And then.
Thud.
Go Minji drew the greatsword strapped to her back.
"......Yeah, maybe what you're saying is true."
Flames flickered in Go Minji's eyes.
"But no. You've been deceived by the Black Pavilion. And... demon seeds—infected? Or Devil's Jaw... Or maybe demons. Possessed by those things from the Black Gates. Maybe back when you were little, without us knowing... that Incheon villa."
Whoosh!
Flames surged in her eyes.
"I'll snap you out of it. I'll... as your big sister."
Humm.
"I'll bring you back."
It happened in an instant.
Go Minji's sword swung toward Go Yohan's neck.
Clang!
Go Minji recoiled from the clash, cracks spiderwebbing across her massive greatsword.
It was a unique-grade item, yet...
Crack.
It couldn't withstand Go Yohan's blow and was on the verge of shattering.
"I'll save you...!"
Still, Go Minji swung again.
"......!"
Her greatsword was caught in Go Yohan's grip.
In the next moment.
Shatter!
The cracked greatsword finally broke apart.
"......"
Go Yohan said nothing.
Thud.
Go Minji collapsed to her knees right there.
"......You're insane. This is straight-up madness."
The reason she had attacked Go Yohan was simple.
She wanted to see his reaction if she truly tried to kill him.
But.
"You......"
Throughout it all, Go Yohan harbored no killing intent toward her.
He wasn't being used.
Really, Go Yohan...
"What the......"
"Sanctity and I can't coexist. After all, I'll be this era's true archvillain."
Words that sounded like a joke.
"I wanted to tell you, sis... At least one person..."
Just as Go Minji had been special to him, so had he to her.
"I wanted you to understand."
With that, Go Yohan walked out.
Go Minji, slumped on the ground, stayed frozen in place like a statue until Kim Dayeon finally arrived much later.
"Minji!"
"......Hic... Hahaha... Waaaaah!"
All she could do was burst into tears.