Misassigned Fate
“Ah, no!”
A woman cried out in despair, foreseeing the tragedy about to unfold.
“Damn it.”
By contrast, the man beside her muttered a low curse and bolted forward without hesitation. He threw himself into the path, scooping up the child just as the car slammed into him.
Screeech—Boom!
Harrowing sounds echoed, screams erupting from all around.
“Kyaaah!”
“W-what? What happened?!”
“Someone got hit!”
“The kid’s fine! But the guy who shielded him… Someone call 119 quick!”
Some rushed to clear the man’s airway and start CPR on his lifeless body. Others dialed emergency services with trembling voices. Most onlookers watched with a mix of pity and morbid curiosity, snapping photos or gawking at the gruesome scene.
Overseeing it all was a single man. A mysterious figure with silvery-white hair and blood-red eyes. A devilish tail swayed near his hips, marking him as anything but ordinary. Perched impossibly in midair, he looked utterly surreal.
After observing for a while, he scratched his temple in frustration.
“Finally found him… but I’m one step too late.”
Deep regret filled his gaze as he looked upon the dead man. Moments later, resolve hardened in his eyes.
‘Even if he’s reincarnated now, he was my brother in that past life. I can’t just leave it like this.’
With decision made, he raised his hand high and slashed downward through empty space.
Crack—!
Incredibly, the air split open at his gesture. Through the rift gleamed a lavish palace interior, red silk carpets unfurled amid ornate decorations. Its denizens stared in shock at the sudden tear in reality.
Arms crossed behind his back, the man smirked at their stunned faces. Then, striding forward, he bellowed:
“Come here!”
In that instant, the Underworld went into full alert.
*
The man who’d bravely sacrificed himself to save the child—Seo Joo-hwan—awoke not in a hospital or the afterlife, but in a vast white void. Hours later, he was still grappling with the disorienting reality, trying to steady his mind.
Before him sat a grinning white-haired beauty. Beside him, a dignified elderly man groveled on the ground, groaning.
The white-haired man had just finished a long-winded introduction, claiming to be a demon god from the 7th dimension.
‘Is he insane?’
Seo Joo-hwan’s initial thought. But demonstrations—flames from his palm, lightning from nothingness—made denial impossible. And the tale benefited him immensely, so even if it was a lie, he wanted to believe.
Taking a deep breath, Seo Joo-hwan spoke cautiously.
“MongmaRust-nim?”
“Call me Rust. Speak casually. You were my brother in your past life.”
“…Haha. Thank you, but formal speech suits me better.”
Seo Joo-hwan maintained his politeness. Past life or not, that was then—this was now. The concept felt distant anyway.
Rust nodded nonchalantly, uninterested in forcing it.
“Fine if that’s your preference. But remember this: like I said, your past self was a hero worthy of praise.”
“…Me, a hero? Still hard to believe.”
“Not just any hero—you led every surviving human. Strength, character, leadership: you had it all. Ah, but Earth fell to the Void anyway.”
“E-Earth… fell?”
News he hadn’t heard. His mind blanked at the revelation.
Rust chuckled, waving it off.
“Haha, but I reincarnated and wiped out the Void, so no worries. Oh, the Earth you live on now? Different dimension entirely. No connection.”
“Haha…”
Seo Joo-hwan forced an awkward smile. The story’s scale had overwhelmed him from the start.
Sensing it, Rust smirked.
“Just tuck that away. Not the point right now, right?”
“Ah.”
Each bombshell had dazed him, derailing his focus. Shaking it off, he refocused.
“Anyway… you’re saying you’ll bring me back to life?”
“Yep. Regression point: five years back. Your misassigned misfortune? Gone. Memories intact. That’s the Underworld’s compensation package.”
Compensation meant making amends for violated rights. In other words, the Underworld had infringed on his and caused him harm.
‘That endless bad luck… wasn’t even mine.’
Per Rust, his past life was as a great hero. Yet he’d lived in misery due to an Underworld blunder. The culprit? The trembling old man prostrating beside Rust—their supreme ruler.
Seo Joo-hwan’s gaze toward Yeomra Daewang turned icy.
‘A lifetime of hell… all from some clerical error?’
Balding, erectile dysfunction—physical woes aside, his very existence had been cursed, isolating him even from family to spare them misfortune. And it stemmed from paperwork.
Blood boiled in his veins. His clenched fist trembled with rage.
Then—
Bam!
A thunderous crash. Yeomra Daewang’s head slammed into the ground, startling even the quietly seething Seo Joo-hwan.
Rust had stood and was now grinding his heel into the king’s skull. Yeomra writhed like a bug, groaning.
“Urgh.”
“What a bunch of clowns. Mixing up a cross-dimensional soul and slapping the wrong karma on it? Think those from a destroyed world want to reincarnate unjustly? Should I wreck this one too? Huh?”
“S-sorry!”
“Be honest. Was my brother the only soul you botched? I bet there are more. Shall we investigate while we’re at it? Hm?”
Yeomra shuddered like struck by lightning, cold sweat pouring. He thought frantically.
‘Interference from the dimensionally infamous lunatic Mongma! No way!’
As far as he knew, this was the first mix-up. But who knew what subordinates hid? He’d been oblivious until Rust barged in.
If more surfaced… doom.
Desperate, enduring the pain, he pleaded:
“Rust-nim, forgive us! I’ll oversee a full audit myself—please believe me!”
Rust grinned wickedly.
But his voice stayed low, hiding amusement.
“Apologies go to the wronged party, no? You messed with him too.”
Quick on the uptake, Yeomra looked up at Seo Joo-hwan. Rust’s foot had vanished.
Yeomra cried desperately to him:
“Truly sorry, Seo Joo-hwan-nim. Our Underworld committed a grave error. Please, quell your anger.”
“Y-yes?”
“Words alone won’t suffice, I know. By my authority, I’ll extend your regression by five more years—total ten. Possession or reincarnation also options if desired. This is my utmost…!”
Yeomra slammed his head down again with a thud. Astonishing sight: the judge of souls, commander of eighteen generals and eighty thousand jailers, groveling before a mere human. Any reaper witnessing would doubt their eyes.
Seo Joo-hwan recoiled in alarm at the king’s fervor. Rust winked, mouthing silently:
A voice echoed in his head. Following the advice, Seo Joo-hwan nodded subtly.
Seo Joo-hwan nodded agreement again. Fury had peaked before Rust intervened, but now calm prevailed. With the king showing such—humiliating—sincerity, prolonging it served no purpose, as Rust said.
Moreover, the offer sweetened his bitter past adequately.
Decision made, he extended a hand to Yeomra.
“Please rise, Daewang-nim.”
Yeomra flinched at the gesture but stayed down, awaiting explicit forgiveness.
Seo Joo-hwan sighed softly.
“Honestly, I can’t forgive just yet. It was rough.”
“I… see. Bearing unearned sins… natural.”
Yeomra’s face fell, fearing Rust’s rampage anew. He’d witnessed it hours ago—pure demon god terror.
‘Can’t see that again!’
Worse came, he’d brace for punishment, seek heavenly aid if needed—
Then Seo Joo-hwan smiled gently.
“But I won’t pursue it further. You’ve offered amends, and you’re not the direct culprit. Let’s end it here.”
“…Really?”
“Of course. Just punish whoever botched it directly—grateful for that.”
“N-naturally! *Sniff*. Thank you for your mercy. Compensation assured, and the perpetrator will face severe penalty!”
Yeomra, moved, grasped Seo Joo-hwan’s hand and rose. Rust snorted derisively but inwardly sighed relief, sending:
Thus concluded the Underworld upheaval.
*
“Ahem.”
Yeomra straightened his robes, clearing his throat to reclaim dignity. Back straight, he intoned gravely:
“Then, let compensation proceed. Choose: regression, possession, or reincarnation.”
“Regression.”
No hesitation. All immense boons, but others risked family reunion.
“Understood. Precisely ten years prior: December 22, 2015. Ten seconds—prepare.”
Hummm—
Light emanated from Seo Joo-hwan at the cue.
‘Heading back now.’
Age twenty-two. Before major misfortunes. Solid point.
Yet… something forgotten nagged.
A fleeting memory:
‘…Wait. When did I discharge?’
Koreans enlist around twenty-one. He’d joined May 2014 at twenty-one; December 2015 meant still serving.
Face paling, he shouted:
“W-wait a sec—!”
Too late. A flash engulfed him.
Faintly, Rust’s amused voice lingered:
Vision blackened.
* Cookie.
“You wretch! Blind to your crimes?! Fine! I’ll list them all!”
The Underworld sovereign’s thunderous roar shook the grand hall. Unprecedented fury silenced reapers, jailers—even his eighteen generals.
“Assigning karmic fruit is our core duty, the soul’s lifetime harvest of good and evil. Mishandling it is unforgivable! Yet you neglected it, then hid your error upon realizing—no correction. Worse, later dismissing it as ‘minor, cross-dimensional mix-up’ over drinks. No remorse!”
“Unjust, Daewang-nim! Cross-dimensional souls complicate judgment. The drinks were drunken slip—mercy for that…”
“Silence, worm! No repentance, just excuses to the end! Final chance wasted—no mercy! Guards!”
Jailers surged forward.
Yeomra commanded ruthlessly:
“To the Eight Hot Hells! That soul suffered thirty-two years of misfortune from your error—four years per hell, total thirty-two. Drag him!”
“Yes, sir!”
“E-eight Hot Hells?! No! Daewang-nim! Mercy—wrong, Daewang-nim—!”
The reaper wailed, face ashen. Yeomra ignored him, addressing subordinates sternly:
“Full audit begins now. Generals, jailers—follow. From this hour, I’ll uproot corruption personally!”
His eyes blazed hotter than embers.
From that day, the 69th dimension’s Underworld earned fame for utmost fairness. Later, Yeomra gained the Jade Emperor’s trust, ascending to second only to heaven itself.