Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Father
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A cold wave hit in the early winter of December.
A long, chilling darkness.
It was a darkness pierced by a colossal aurora.
“Gasp… gasp, gasp….”
A young boy, clad only in his underwear, let out ragged breaths that plumed in the cold air.
A frigid, dizzying sensation shot up from his bare feet.
The streetlight flickered across the dark bruises on the boy's face.
He ran and ran, endlessly.
It was a struggle for survival.
The boy's 'human father' had changed at some point.
It started when he lost his wife and was fired from the factory where he worked.
He was fired for assaulting a coworker with whom he'd always had a bad relationship.
After that, his father fell into a routine of either sleeping all day or going out to gamble, returning late at night, dead drunk.
He even turned his violence on his son.
He would relentlessly throw his fists at the son who grew to avoid him.
And so the boy ran through the streets.
A moment later, streetlights appeared and disappeared above the boy in succession.
Was it a trick of the eye?
One of the streetlights seemed to move unnaturally.
No, was it even a streetlight to begin with?
Pushing the thought aside, the boy crouched down in a city alley.
Contrasted with the glamorous streets of Gangnam beyond, his own wretched state made the boy feel even smaller.
Beside the boy was a green liquor bottle.
The image of a large fist flashed through his mind, and the child squeezed his eyes shut.
Opening his eyes a moment later, the boy absentmindedly looked up at the night sky.
On days when the violence occurred, he would often gaze at the sky like this, losing himself in daydreams.
“Ah… I want to be strong.”
The boy lamented his own powerlessness.
Amidst the violence, his only solace was 'movies'.
He especially loved classic films released decades ago, and he would often watch them on his father's phone under the covers, hidden from the man who was passed out drunk.
He looked up at the moon and recalled a classic fantasy film from a staggering sixty years ago, where a sorcerer cast magnificent spells to fight a villain who sought to wipe out half the universe.
Before him, the warped moon was glowing.
The boy observed the moon intently.
It was as if some strange, unknown force was pulling him in.
In that moment.
A colossal shadow fell across one side of the moon, then vanished.
The boy shot to his feet without realizing it.
There was definitely something on the moon.
At the same time, a blackout occurred.
The city of Gangnam went dark for a moment, then, three seconds later… the lights came back on.
The people, who had paused for a moment, returned to their lives as if nothing had happened.
But the boy could only stand frozen.
It wasn't just because of the cold.
Because, before his eyes, something enormous had descended into the heart of Gangnam city far in the distance, and then disappeared.
But for some reason, the boy wasn't afraid of the phenomenon.
Had he reached a point where he no longer cared what happened to the world?
Or was it a wish for something to make him forget this painful reality, even for a little while?
In any case, a far more terrifying monster lived in his house.
The boy set off.
Even in this situation, he thought of the warm bidet toilet seats in the subway station bathroom.
Yes, I'll sleep there tonight.
He had rushed out without putting on shoes, and the soles of his feet were on the verge of cracking.
The boy turned back into the alley, trying his best to stay out of sight.
In that moment… the boy stopped.
An alley bordering a small hill behind it.
To the left was a massive asbestos wall, and to the right, the alley was lined with shabby villas and officetels.
And in the middle of it all.
A 'single book' was floating in the air.
And from the darkness, an unidentified man appeared.
A strange voice echoed in the boy's ears.
[Now, other stars will rise. Stars that will soothe you, stars that will bless you.]
“Father!!”
Shin-ju’s eyes flew open.
“Cough! Cough! Cough!”
His face was covered in blood.
Blood gushed from his nose and mouth.
Shin-ju realized his body was floating.
Dark red lights swirled around him.
“Kuh-heuk!”
Shin-ju barely managed to turn his head.
It felt as if some invisible force was binding him.
He tried to look at the Old Book floating in the air.
But the moment he saw the bottom of the open page, he squeezed his eyes shut.
Looking at that picture would drive him insane.
Shin-ju squinted, scanning his surroundings.
His eyes fell on a page from the Old Book lying on the floor, and he gasped involuntarily.
It was the letter left for him by his other 'father'—the one who raised him after he ran away from home—before he left for space.
A soft white light was emanating from the page.
It felt like it was faintly protecting Shin-ju.
Finally, Shin-ju came to his senses.
He realized that the only reason he could endure this was thanks to the page his father had left.
With his eyes still narrowed to slits, he reached out his hand.
Shin-ju regretted his negotiation with the Planet Destroyer.
It had been a completely unfair deal.
But it had been necessary to protect Earth.
In a negotiation, giving something up to get what you want is inevitable.
“I had no choice. I had no choice.”
Shin-ju reached out his arm once more.
The words the Planet Destroyer had spoken at the end of their negotiation echoed in his ears.
[You will have no choice but to flee from the things you yourself fear.]
[Something 'else' will board your ark, and at first, you will be completely unaware of it. Not until you get a vaguely unsettling feeling.]
[Once you come face to face with that something, there will be no turning back.]
[You will not even notice that the something has stolen your form.]
[It will speak certain words to you, and they will be the last message you ever hear.]
Shin-ju muttered.
I'm sorry, everyone….
“Graaaah!!”
Shin-ju screamed.
Blood burst from his mouth.
It felt like his arm was about to be torn off.
No, even if it gets torn off, I have to grab that page my father left me!
Shin-ju opened his eyes.
A white radiance surrounded him.
He was sure he had grabbed the page….
Shin-ju looked behind him.
Before him, a massive stone slab stood tall above a calm, black wave.
It was clearly not an object of this world.
The slab was engraved not with a modern language, but with unnatural symbols like letters from a long-lost past.
The content was utterly incomprehensible, but Shin-ju was different.
Having learned the languages of aliens from across the universe through his father, he could vaguely decipher the characters.
“Leave nothing for the enemy. …Maintain silence at all costs.”
And the final sentence.
“To my son. With the deepest compassion in my heart, I urge you to be steadfast, composed, and resolute.”
The last sentence a father left for his son.
Shin-ju pressed his lips together.
That sentence also aligned with the essential mindset a Negotiator must possess.
As he finished deciphering it, a white light burst from the monument.
Shin-ju began to fade into the light.
The interior of the Graudis shook violently from the purple shockwaves.
“Kuh-hmm!”
Silver gripped the control lever tightly. It felt like it might snap.
“Damn it… I can't get any closer.”
Silver muttered under his breath, frustrated.
“Down there!!”
Following Enri's pointed finger, they looked down to see Jekovic clinging to a tree.
He was about to be blown away by the immense shockwaves.
Kwagwagwa-
“Dammit! Help meee!!”
Silver muttered in disbelief.
“What the hell is that guy doing over there?”
“Let's rescue Jekovic first!”
“Hmph.”
At Enri's shout, Silver turned the Graudis.
As the sound of the spaceship grew closer, Jekovic looked up while still clinging to the tree.
“Ooh!! Silverfire!! Nice timing!”
The Graudis landed near Jekovic.
Soon after, the hatch opened, and Silver descended to the ground.
The area was a complete mess.
Twigs and dust were flying everywhere.
Silver fired his arm and grabbed Jekovic's body.
He immediately pulled him aboard the Graudis.
“Phew! I'm alive! Your timing was perfect!”
“Mr. Jekovic, why were you out there all by yourself?”
When Enri asked, Jekovic began to tell them about Shin-ju.
While Jekovic, Enri, and Silver were talking.
Tadadadadak-
Hyde sat in a corner of the spaceship, furiously typing on his laptop.
On his laptop screen, an indecipherable graph fluctuated wildly.
Wham-!!
Sharin, who had been watching quietly from the side, grabbed him by the collar.
“Whoa!”
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Sis!”
Sharin looked back at Enri.
“This bastard… I hear he used to work for that pirate bitch, right?”
“Wait… hold on!”
Hyde calmed his startled heart and looked back and forth between Sharin and Enri.
“To cut to the chase, Cha-yoon and M.I.X are nearby. Let's go arrest them!”
“Huh? Cha-yoon, I get… but who the hell is this M.I.X guy?”
Hyde wore an 'oops' expression.
“Ah… right… you wouldn't know, would you?”
Silver, standing behind Sharin, furrowed his brow.
“M.I.X? M.I.X is here…?”
Enri asked from the side.
“You know him?”
Silver paused for a moment, then said.
“He's the leader of the universe's largest mercenary group, 'Bio Vanguard'. For the record, he's also the thief who stole our Frontline technology and fled… and the reason I came to Earth in the first place.”
Meanwhile, Cha-yoon and M.I.X were watching the dark red light from afar.
Cha-yoon muttered softly.
“Now, Tibee-ra's song will gather many sacrifices.”
A hollow voice replied to her words.
“Indeed. The reason the Bluerobic Planetarians could blend in with South Korea is that the nature of their ethnicity, as a homogeneous people, is similar.”
M.I.X, illuminating the empty space, turned his head toward Cha-yoon.
“Turning Tibee-ra into a superstar was a good strategy.”
“Huhu, thanks to that, I was able to create a rival program and make a hefty profit.”
Aila, who had been listening quietly from the side, realized.
Kim Cha-yoon had used the entire entertainment industry for her scheme.
She had provoked her into competing with Tibee-ra, which allowed Tibee-ra to gain even more media exposure.
She had been nothing more than a stepping stone to make a more superior being stand out.
M.I.X's voice echoed.
“Earth must be reborn.”
Cha-yoon continued his thought.
“Because that is the way to save this planet.”
Fwoosh-!
Suddenly, the purple light vanished, and the surroundings fell silent.
Cha-yoon and M.I.X flinched.
The sudden peace made them uneasy.
Cha-yoon and M.I.X stared straight ahead.
Silence and tension intertwined, like the calm before a storm.
Shwoooong-
Suddenly, a vast energy began to condense rapidly in the distance.
The surroundings darkened for a moment, and a single white dot appeared.
Kwaaaaa-
The gathered energy erupted as if in an explosion, and a white radiance instantly engulfed the area.
The galactic rotation in M.I.X's facial area began to speed up.
He let out a low growl as he gazed at the white light.
“…A useless wanderer has interfered.”