Chapter 440
Chapter 440
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 441
Chapter Title: Mourning the Fallen King
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The mana disaster that had destabilized mana flows across South Korea finally came to an end, ushering in a refreshing morning.
7 a.m.
The time when people slowly woke from sleep to prepare breakfast.
Han Se-yeon had spent the entire night without sleeping, gazing anxiously out the window.
“……He’ll be okay.”
The invasion of Seoul by Cruas.
The subjugation was taking longer than she had anticipated.
At some point, both the news and radio broadcasts had cut off, leaving her completely in the dark about what was happening.
Time passed like that...
Ellen, who had been in the room with her, seemed to sense a presence and rose from her seat.
Moments later, footsteps approached from beyond the door, and it opened.
“……Uncle Su-gi.”
The one who entered was the Han Sung Family's swordsman, Sword Ghost Jang Su-gi.
His body was covered in wounds and dust from fierce combat, his clothes torn and stained with blood, presenting a gruesome sight.
“Are you okay?”
“We succeeded in subjugating the disaster-grade mana beast. Seoul is safe now.”
Han Se-yeon let out a sigh of relief at Jang Su-gi's words.
The disaster-grade mana beast descent event that Kim Jin-woo—no, Kim Seon-woo—had warned about while taking on the role of villain had been resolved.
Though they had suffered great losses, she could finally breathe a little easier.
“What about that person? Was he there too?”
At the question, Ellen turned questioning eyes toward the Sword Ghost as well.
The Sword Ghost fell silent for a moment, lost in thought, then nodded.
“Kim Seon-woo joined the subjugation. Thanks to him, we barely succeeded in what was nearly a failed beast subjugation.”
“......As expected.”
She knew he would show himself.
To think he had shone even in such a dangerous place.
Feeling an indescribable peace of mind, Han Se-yeon asked again.
“What happened after that? He didn’t get chased by the Association as a demon, did he?”
The Sword Ghost didn’t answer. He seemed hesitant, clamping his mouth shut and brooding alone.
His uncharacteristic demeanor made Han Se-yeon feel a twinge of unease.
“……Uncle Su-gi?”
At that moment, the Sword Ghost carefully pulled something from his bosom.
When he opened his hand, Han Se-yeon’s eyes widened.
A small sprout the size of half a palm... The sprout had arms and legs, sleeping peacefully like a newborn baby.
She stared at it in a daze and murmured.
“……Gretel?”
“Kim Seon-woo, known as the king of the Three Great Demons, is reported to have died this dawn. Kim Seon-woo is said to have vanished while trapped in a rift alongside Cruas, the evil dragon that appeared in central Seoul around midnight tonight...”
The anchor announced someone’s death with a somewhat stiff expression.
Lee Seo-jun sat on a bench, covering his face with both hands and biting his lip.
“......Kim Seon-woo’s claim that Cruas would invade Seoul has ultimately been proven true. As a result, claims are gaining traction that the terrorism he caused was a calculated move to prepare for Cruas.”
“Wizards who were at the subjugation site at the time are asserting that Kim Seon-woo was not humanity’s enemy, but a hero for humanity. While the Association has not issued an official stance, they have put forth the opinion that it is a fact Kim Seon-woo sacrificed for humanity, and that he was likely a human who gained demonic powers, not a pure demon.”
“The Association has stated they will thoroughly investigate the core message of ‘chaos’ left behind by Cruas and Kim Seon-woo through this incident.”
After a few minutes of news delivery, the screen changed.
Somber music began to play. Moments later, a photo of a smiling young man appeared.
Those who had denounced him as the ‘Demon King’ or ‘terrorist’ felt deep confusion mingled with regret.
Lee Seo-jun squeezed his eyes shut upon glimpsing that faintly visible face through his fingers.
“……Kim Seon-woo.”
The events in the rift still felt as vivid as if they had just happened.
Kim Seon-woo’s final words: Let it end on a good note.
Lee Seo-jun felt belated regret and guilt.
He should have refused that request.
There might have been another way if he had looked harder.
The thought that he hadn’t given his all tormented his heart.
Lee Seo-jun let out a deep sigh and rose from his seat. Feeling suffocated, he loosened the tie of his mourning suit slightly.
As he walked down the corridor, countless camera shutters captured him in the controlled space.
—Hey, hey. Lee Seo-jun’s back.
—Isn’t he taking over the vigil?
—......With no family, his closest friend Lee Seo-jun is handling the vigil. Who would’ve thought public opinion on Kim Seon-woo would flip like this.
Lee Seo-jun stared at them for a moment before resuming his steps.
「Late Kim Seon-woo’s Funeral Hall」
There were more condolence visitors in the reception room of the funeral hall than expected.
There were students from the Wizard Academy, and comrades from the Special Forces team with whom he’d had brief ties.
Prominent figures like family heads were there, and some unexpected faces too.
Yang Tae-min, owner of Shin Cheol Workshop who had forged his sword.
Choi Jae-hyung, head of the Choi Family, and Eun Hye-su of the Eun Wol Family.
And others with unfamiliar faces had gathered.
In the corner, a black-haired young man eating yukgaejang spotted Lee Seo-jun and lit up with a glad expression. At the same time, the woman beside him pinched his arm.
“Ow! Hey! Na...”
“Tsk.”
As he blankly stared at the suspiciously shady condolence visitors, a woman with a face immersed in deep sorrow burst out from the incense room and ran outside the funeral hall.
Someone he knew. Han Se-yeon of Han Sung Group.
“Where’d you go?”
Shin Young-jun, dressed in the same mourning suit as Lee Seo-jun, asked him.
“Just cleared my head for a bit. Still recovering too.”
“......I see.”
Lee Seo-jun gave him a brief smile before entering the incense room.
As soon as he stepped inside, he saw a photo of Kim Seon-woo smiling softly.
Beside it, Yoon Ha-young, who had cried all night, gazed at him with hollow eyes, while Choi Seo-yoon stared blankly at the floor without any reaction.
Lee Seo-jun felt pity watching the two of them.
The depth of emotions they had shared with Kim Seon-woo over the past time might even surpass his own.
That was why he couldn’t dare presume the extent of their grief.
“I’ll stand watch here, so go get something to eat.”
Yoon Ha-young glanced at Choi Seo-yoon beside her and shook her head.
“I’m fine.”
“......Okay.”
Lee Seo-jun then noticed the photo clutched in Yoon Ha-young’s hand.
A group photo including Kim Seon-woo.
It had been under the box storing the Compass of Bonds.
Seeing it made emotion well up again.
At that moment, a commotion arose from behind.
—Chairman Kim Jin-cheol is here.
—Hello, Chairman.
Amid the stir, Kim Jin-cheol appeared in a sharp black suit.
His expression and steps were solemn. Even his signature beard had been neatly trimmed short, giving him a much cleaner look.
At his entrance, Yoon Ha-young and Choi Seo-yoon rose weakly from their seats.
“……Tch.”
Kim Jin-cheol stared blankly at Kim Seon-woo’s portrait before letting out a short sigh and speaking to Lee Seo-jun.
“Are you okay? I heard recovery would take some time.”
“I’m fine. Got some basic treatment.”
“Fine, my foot...”
Kim Jin-cheol muttered softly soon after.
“When your heart aches, you forget the body’s pain.”
Having lived a long life, Kim Jin-cheol knew this from countless similar experiences.
Lost in bitterness, Kim Jin-cheol turned his gaze back to the portrait.
He gazed at the photo blankly and offered a silent prayer.
In the meantime, another commotion sounded.
Puzzled, Kim Jin-cheol turned around to see a familiar-faced man looking at him.
“Old man?”
“......Il-hyun.”
The man was Kim Seon-woo’s master and Kim Jin-cheol’s disciple, Choi Il-hyun.
A small park near the funeral hall. Whoosh.
Fire flared in midair, lighting the cigarette in Choi Il-hyun’s mouth.
Smoke soon billowed from his mouth like a sigh. Watching this, Kim Jin-cheol narrowed his eyes.
“A guy who avoids crowds actually showed up here.”
“My bond with that kid was deeper than I thought.”
Choi Il-hyun took another drag.
“Anyway, I heard you got sealed in the rift, but you escaped quick.”
Rifts born from mana disasters usually take about three days to dissipate naturally.
But Kim Jin-cheol had escaped in less than a day.
“I twisted the natural mana flows with a spell to get out. Was a bit rough, of course.”
He said it casually, but it was nearly impossible with human capabilities.
To deliberately alter natural mana flows using spells.
Choi Il-hyun felt a chill hearing it.
“Why that face? Kim Seon-woo even created a rift himself.”
“But is that true?”
“What?”
“That Kim Seon-woo created the rift on purpose.”
It was impossible for humans to create rifts.
Like making lightning strike from the sky—it was beyond human domain.
“It’s true. I saw it with my own eyes.”
Choi Il-hyun fell into thought. Kim Seon-woo handling rifts...
Recently, having witnessed Kim Chang-hyun using powers of numerous minority tribes, he thought maybe rift manipulation was possible too.
“Anyway, there’s a lot to investigate about this incident. My hunch is that guy... Jin Cheon-woo is involved.”
“Definitely connected.”
Kim Jin-cheol looked at him with questioning eyes at Choi Il-hyun’s firm words.
“Found something out, huh.”
“Met Kim Chang-hyun.”
Three days had passed since Kim Seon-woo’s death.
The demons’ hideout, having lost their king, was plunged into deep chaos.
“We’ve checked all the elders of the Demon Council too. The king’s authority hasn’t been inherited by anyone.”
Ha-ryeong sensed the gravity at Seon-hwa’s words.
Even the Demon Council elders were questioning the current situation where the king’s authority hadn’t been inherited.
“......It is strange. How could this happen?”
The Compass of Bonds connected to the king had broken.
A broken Compass of Bonds meant the heart of someone linked to it had completely stopped.
“Maybe the rift space vanished, so the power hasn’t transferred yet?”
“That’s the most likely.”
The king had vanished with the rift.
Perhaps his authority was locked in the rift, preventing inheritance.
And Seon-hwa felt absurdity.
In demon history, the throne had never been vacant...
“Even without inheritance, we need a leader to guide the tribe. Even without the king’s authority, one of us must take on the new king’s role.”
No king meant the demons’ society would fracture.
Those craving human blood could rampage, causing chaos in society, and failure to control it could lead to the demons’ downfall.
“......Even if we pick a king among us, without the authority, they won’t be recognized. It’s meaningless.”
Seon-hwa wasn’t wrong. Demons pledge loyalty to the strong.
And the ‘king’s authority’ symbolizes immense power.
“......There’s one way.”
“A way? What way?”
Ha-ryeong recalled a past conversation with the king.
—There’s something called a mana conduction stone.
—As the name suggests, it’s a stone with the power to transmit mana. It’s a relic, by the way.
—Using the mana conduction stone, you can supply mana to the blood crystals obtained from blood.
“We just need to satisfy their desires.”
[Special effect ‘Blessing of the Demon Tree’ activates.]
[Sharing the abilities of ‘Immortal Demon Tree Gretel’ suited to the user’s situation.]
[Unique effect ‘Immortality’ activates.]
In deep darkness. Mana began swirling in midair.
Mysterious power enveloped my body, strength returned to my vanished flesh, and sensations began to revive.
A feeling like being born anew.
Feeling a peace I had never experienced before, I opened my eyes.