Chapter 308
Chapter 308
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 308
Chapter Title: 69. Heir (7)
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Huge karma.
In the case of Jeong Gu, Yeong-woo's biological father, it was only natural that he hadn't truly felt his son's existence for a while.
It was true that he had indirectly modified the person known as Jeong Yeong-woo with implied intent, but he had never actually seen the result.
Therefore, while the fact of Jeong Yeong-woo's creation undeniably existed, Jeong Gu was unaware of it.
However, his birth mother, Ji-seon, was different.
Ji-seon, the one who had physically given birth to Jeong Yeong-woo, knew full well that her son existed in this world.
But she hadn't anticipated that her grown son would one day come looking for her, so she had abandoned him along with her past.
In that way, Song Ji-seon had shouldered a massive "karma," and now its "retribution" was returning.
In this world, made even more brutal through the Reset.
"Motherrrrr!"
As the Conqueror King, backed by 76.8% of the Korean Peninsula's residents, charged forward, even Song Ji-seon—who had no idea of his power—couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine.
―What... what the hell is this bastard?
It was because the movements of the illegitimate child wielding the crimson demonic sword were anything but ordinary.
Screeeeech!
The red blade approached so fast it seemed excessive, forcing Song Ji-seon to hurriedly thrust out her greatsword to block the attack.
Claaaaang!
Then, Yeong-woo's eyes widened in astonishment at his failed preemptive strike.
"As expected...!"
Just as expected of a former conglomerate chairwoman—his mother had been sent back equipped to face even a "Myth."
"Even in this world, you hold privileges!"
As Yeong-woo frantically prepared a second attack, Ji-seon shot back in a tone of extreme displeasure.
―What are you babbling about? I haven't even gotten half my stolen power back.
With that, before Yeong-woo could launch his second strike, she swung her sword first.
Whiiiiiish!
From below to above—a massive diagonal slash.
"Whoa!"
Sensing the eerie energy, Yeong-woo pulled Aratubank toward his body without even checking the hologram guide.
Then.
Kurrrrumble!
He immediately felt his mother's azure greatsword roughly scrape across Aratubank's surface.
'She's... she's insane, for real.'
Her attack speed had outpaced even the hologram guide's reaction time by half a beat.
If not for Aratubank's absurd defensive power, he wouldn't have blocked it.
―Fuck.
Sensing this vaguely, Song Ji-seon scowled at Yeong-woo's bizarre shield.
Despite returning with the prestige of a conglomerate chairwoman, she couldn't even cut down this rootless illegitimate child.
―If you're really my son, shouldn't you get out of your mother's way?
At last, instead of swinging her sword, Song Ji-seon attempted dialogue.
She had finally recognized Yeong-woo as an existence she couldn't simply trample over.
Now, she finally had motivation to talk with her son.
"What do you mean by 'your path forward'? Isn't it just turning Seoul into... no, an icy sea?"
As Yeong-woo eyed his mother's azure blade and asked, the former "Iron-Blooded Empress" and Ice Dragon Song Ji-seon snorted.
―Ha, Seoul? You think I'd be interested in something as trivial as Seoul at a time like this?
"...What? Then you didn't come back for revenge on people?"
Yeong-woo's eyes widened at the unexpected response, and Song Ji-seon continued.
―What's the point of taking it out on those vermin now? Their hatred for us is as natural as breathing.
"......!"
Yeong-woo couldn't help but be shocked by Song Ji-seon's words.
Among all the dragon-kin from conglomerates he'd seen so far, she was the first who hadn't returned with vengeance against the world.
"If you're not here for revenge, then why did you come back? You could have chosen not to mutate in the first place."
As Yeong-woo asked this, Song Ji-seon fiercely raised her left hand in a gesture as if to slap his face.
―Ugh, you little shit. Why wouldn't I want revenge? Are you crazy?
"...What nonsense is that? You just said venting on people is meaningless."
―Exactly—why seek revenge on the wrong people?
"...What?"
―If a dam breaks and causes a flood, do you blame the overflowing water? You go and beat the shit out of the one who broke the dam.
"......!"
As expected of a conglomerate chairwoman who had clawed her way to the top over ruthless siblings.
Song Ji-seon was definitely different from the dragons Yeong-woo had seen so far.
'...Her perspective is insanely off in a whole other way?'
To her, the public wasn't even worth having feelings for.
Just as water flows from high to low, the public's hatred surging from below was only natural in her view.
But that hatred manifesting into reality was impossible—at least in the "real" world.
Yet someone had cracked the impregnable dam, turning what should have been mere delusion into physical force.
That was exactly the point Song Ji-seon was making.
'The real psycho was here all along. Everyone else just felt like background to her.'
No wonder she could abandon even the son she gave birth to.
'Even her own son felt like background? So she just tossed him somewhere far away into the scenery?'
"......"
It felt suffocating.
Swish.
Meanwhile, Song Ji-seon lifted the sword tip she had pointed at Yeong-woo toward the sky.
Whoooosh!
―Seoul is just a footstool for me. The ones I need to take revenge on are the bastards who caused this Reset!
Song Ji-seon, declaring war on the very "heavens."
"......"
Watching his mother gnash her teeth in clear fury, Yeong-woo sensed an opening for negotiation.
"But then?"
―What?
"How do you plan to get that revenge? You don't even know who they are or how to meet them, do you?"
―Well...
At Yeong-woo's words, Song Ji-seon finally surveyed the panorama of "Metal Seoul."
She truly knew nothing about this unfamiliar world.
If she had returned solely for revenge on the public as a mutant's original purpose intended, she wouldn't need to know anything about it.
It was a world she planned to destroy with her own hands anyway.
But if her goal was to hunt down and kill the culprits behind it all, things changed drastically.
―What about you? Do you know a way?
When Song Ji-seon asked this, Yeong-woo didn't lie by claiming he knew—instead, he said this.
"No? I don't know yet."
―What?
"But I'm the one with the highest probability of finding out. Overwhelmingly so."
And this choice was spot-on.
Having been born a businesswoman, Song Ji-seon sensed a subtle trustworthiness in Yeong-woo's phrasing.
―Overwhelming probability? Why do you think that?
As Song Ji-seon pressed him, giving Yeong-woo another chance, the illegitimate child—Jin Hyun-ga’s "mistake" and master—finally cashed in Dogo's name after a long time.
"「Dogo」."
―...What?
"I'm the only one who brought in 「Dogo」 as Seoul's sponsor to elevate our planet's status."
―Planet's... status elevation?
From within her sturdy helmet, Song Ji-seon's flustered demeanor leaked out.
In response, Yeong-woo unflinchingly mimicked his mother, raising his sword to the sky.
Whish.
"Yes. I'm the human closest to the universe. So who else but me could track down the culprits?"
This was truly close to the facts, but for Song Ji-seon, who had just arrived in this world, it was hard to accept at face value.
Had the infant she abandoned decades ago grown into such a terrifying existence?
―In... insane.
Song Ji-seon swallowed heavily inside her helmet.
Her son's claims sounded utterly absurd, but she recognized the vast implications contained in the "「Dogo」" he had just uttered.
She couldn't dare deny it.
The madman's existence, Seoul's sponsor Dogo, and the bizarre structure of the universe itself.
"You think I'm insane? Of course. What did you expect from a kid abandoned to the world without parents?"
As Yeong-woo bellowed this, wearing the labels of heaven's orphan and son, even the great Song Ji-seon faltered.
―Well...
Moreover, hadn't he just claimed to be the human closest to the universe right now?
It didn't quite sink in that this was her son, but if she had to have one, a special figure was preferable to an ordinary one.
Of course, this went far beyond merely special.
And above all, this monster couldn't be easily killed.
―Hoo.
Soon, Song Ji-seon let out a deep sigh and uttered a stunning line.
―Fine. You've grown well. Becoming a spacefarer without your mother's support.
"...What?"
Now it was Yeong-woo who was shocked.
Such a quick shift in attitude.
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
―What do you mean? You said it yourself—I’m your mother.
Since Song Ji-seon's voice didn't waver at all, Yeong-woo's pupils shook instead.
"R... right? My biological sonship with Mr. Jeong Gu has been cosmically notarized, so the Song Ji-seon I met in Bulgwang-dong with Mr. Jeong Gu is..."
―Argh, fuck! That's what I'm saying, you little shit!
At the mention of Bulgwang-dong, Song Ji-seon lost her composure again and swung her greatsword as if to tell him to shut up.
―I said it. I'm your mom.
"Yes?"
Thinking he'd misheard, Yeong-woo widened his eyes, and Song Ji-seon repeated clearly.
―For now, I'll do it! I'm your mom! And from now on, you're my son!
This must have been a huge decision for Song Ji-seon too, as she awkwardly spread her arms wide.
―W-Welcome! My son!
As if inviting a hug, Yeong-woo stood there blankly before taking a step forward.
Clank.
The boots of his Besedel plate armor let out a sharp metallic sound, and the crimson aura of the Bastard sword drew one step closer to Song Ji-seon.
It was because his mother had her arms open while still gripping her sword, so Yeong-woo kept holding his demonic sword too.
"...Is this right? Hugging while both holding swords?"
As Yeong-woo glanced sideways at his mother's ice greatsword and asked, Song Ji-seon snorted from inside her helmet.
―We're not in a position to face each other barehanded and relaxed, are we?
"...True."
For some reason, Yeong-woo nodded in quick agreement.
Then.
Clank.
This time, he stepped forward more boldly.
Swish.
As he took a big step, Song Ji-seon flinched briefly at the Bastard's demonic energy but didn't withdraw her open arms.
No, instead.
―My son, you've grown stronger than anyone.
As if steeling herself, she clenched her teeth and took a step toward her son.
Now the distance between the two was merely two hand spans, and then Yeong-woo cautiously slipped his arms under his mother's armpits for the hug.
"Mother."
―My son...!
Probably history's first fully armored hug.
For Yeong-woo, who had only ever shaken hands with other mutants, this bizarre embrace felt utterly novel.
Smoosh!
Finally, the mother and son of this ruined world succeeded in their cold hug, allowing each to see the other's back.
Though fully armored, it paradoxically left them vulnerable to attack.
"You seem to have some ulterior motive, but you've acknowledged me as your son anyway... so what now?"
As Yeong-woo asked while embracing his mother, Ice Dragon Song Ji-seon looked down at her son's back and replied.
―So, what can you do for your mother?
"Me?"
As Yeong-woo echoed this, his gaze had already landed on Aratubank in his left arm.
The Myth-grade coffin for his bloodline.
"And what can you do for this son?"
―Me? Well, obviously...
As Song Ji-seon racked her cold brain in response to her son's question, Yeong-woo's achievement system, silent for a while, activated.
「Achievement: The prerequisite condition for 'Complete Orphan' has been weakened.」
「You can now start a new family achievement.」
'Huh...?'
And beneath 'Complete Orphan,' a new achievement appeared.
[Complete Orphan]
|Find and eliminate your parents. (0/2)
[Prestigious Family: Root Revival]
|Complete the following three tasks. (1/3)
-Obtain a mother and father.
-Reunite your parents.
-Receive a blessing of existence from complete parents.