Head Crusher (2)
Snap!
[W-Wait!]
“Die!”
Crack!
[No, hear me out—!]
“Die!”
[Gurk!]
“Just fucking die already!”
Kim Joo-hyuk's fists and feet moved without pause, pummeling every inch of Barche's body, while Barche filled the empty void with all sorts of screams.
How much time had passed like that?
[Now stop—]
Snap!
“Stop? Fuck that! You deserve way more!”
Crack!
“This is for erasing my future!”
Snap!
“This is for blowing up half my secret stashes!”
[That wasn't me—! Gah!]
“Shut up!”
Thwack!
“Just die, you bastard!”
Even after quite a while had passed since he started beating the shit out of Barche, Kim Joo-hyuk didn't take a single break and kept hammering away.
“Hoo……”
[Groooan……]
Only when Kim Joo-hyuk felt like a decent amount of time had gone by did he finally stop the beating. He looked down at Barche, who was sprawled out in a mangled heap, and asked.
“So, why the hell are you here?”
His voice was refreshingly light now, as if all his stress had melted away.
[……Psychopath?]
“Wrong.”
[Then you're not?]
“It's not that I'm a psychopath—you're the one who turns me into one. Got it?”
[……]
Barche stared at him with utterly dead eyes, but Kim Joo-hyuk really believed it.
No matter how much of an asshole his personality was, he wasn't the type to punch someone in the face the moment they met.
'This fucker deserves it.'
How much had he suffered because of this guy?
He'd built up a solid position, money, and fame—enough to live comfortably—and that wasn't even the half of it. He'd even trained five disciples who could secure his smooth retirement.
And how much time had he poured into those five disciples?
Sure, he'd trained them harshly, but thanks to that, they were strong enough not to get pushed around anywhere.
In short, Kim Joo-hyuk had gone all-in on a happy retirement in his previous life.
But this bastard?
“Ah, thinking about it pisses me off again.”
Thwack!
[Guk!]
By killing him, the bastard had robbed him of everything he'd built—without even letting him enjoy it.
Decades of preparation for his golden years!
Gone without a single taste!
[Gro…… How about we call it quits now? If you keep attacking me like this, I'll……]
“You'll what?”
Barche flinched.
Even though there was no mana here in this mental realm, a sinister aura seemed to creep up around Kim Joo-hyuk's body. Barche hurriedly changed his tune.
[More importantly, aren't you curious about this place?]
“……This place?”
At Barche's words, Kim Joo-hyuk finally looked around and noticed the eerie oddity of their surroundings.
“……What the hell is this?”
What he saw was a gray space.
Truly nothing there—just everything shrouded in gray.
[This is the mental realm.]
“Mental realm?”
[Yeah. More precisely, it's the space inside a Divine Weapon relic. I don't know how much info you've got, but do you know about Divine Weapons?]
At Barche's question, Kim Joo-hyuk recalled what he'd learned in the last class and nodded vaguely.
“So this is inside a Divine Weapon?”
[Correct. The form of me you're seeing is just a manifestation in the mental realm. My real body vanished 300 years ago.]
“……Hold up. So basically, you're stuck inside a Divine Weapon?”
[That's right.]
“Does that mean you're a Constellation?”
Barche grinned at Kim Joo-hyuk's question.
[Correct. I've become a Constellation.]
“Look at that smug fucking grin. So goddamn punchable.”
[……]
“What're you staring at?”
[You always interrupt when someone's talking.]
“Not just interrupting—wanna punch something else too. Can I?”
Barche hurriedly averted his gaze and pretended not to hear.
Kim Joo-hyuk looked at him with utter disbelief and spoke.
“You really Barche? You seem way different from 300 years ago.”
Kim Joo-hyuk recalled Barche's appearance from 300 years ago.
The overwhelming power that earned him the title Destruction King, dragging the Tower of Destruction down to Earth for a mutual kill.
As far as he remembered, that Barche wasn't a prick, but incredibly solemn and taciturn.
[Well, if you're asking which is my real personality, this one's closer.]
“Bullshit.”
[What?]
At Barche's question, Kim Joo-hyuk shook his head tiredly and got to the point.
“Whatever. Now explain shit properly.”
[……Explain what?]
“?”
[?]
Snap!
[Guk! Why the fuck are you hitting me!? 300 years ago was one thing, but now I have no power—one hit hurts like hell!]
“Quit whining. Talk or eat another fist.”
[Fine! Fine!]
Kim Joo-hyuk lowered his raised fist at Barche's scream-like shout.
Barche sighed as he watched him and spoke.
[Jeez, can't even joke around…… Just checking, but you wanna know about the notification window, right?]
“Yeah.”
[Can you tell me what's written on it?]
Kim Joo-hyuk frowned oddly at the question but answered.
“Top says the Tower of Destruction is back. Then something about finding Divine Weapons and memories, and head to the Constellation Room?”
[Nothing else?]
“There is, but it's blacked out in a solid black box. Can't read it.”
Barche nodded at Kim Joo-hyuk's words, paused a moment, then spoke.
[First off, wanna hear what I've figured out?]
“No need to figure—you made this system window, right?”
Barche made a face like what the hell and shook his head.
[Why would I? After you killed me, I've been powerless in here for 300 years.]
“……Then what?”
[So I'll tell you what I've pieced together.]
Barche looked at Kim Joo-hyuk as he said that.
Kim Joo-hyuk stared back with a strange expression, then jerked his chin.
With that, the explanation began.
Kim Joo-hyuk listened for a while, then nodded as he summarized.
“So, to recap: You died by my hand, woke up as a Constellation trapped in a Divine Weapon with all your power gone?”
[Right.]
“Then, confused as hell about what's going on, a system window popped up for you too?”
[Right. Mine said to make contact with you and recover my memories.]
“Nothing else?”
[Unfortunately, that's it. At least for me: 'Make contact with the reincarnated Kim Hyeon-oh.']
“And you think this is all the doing of 'that guy' who made you lord of the Tower of Destruction…… Something like that?”
[Right. Actually, I only remembered someone made me tower lord after running into you.]
“Who the hell is he?”
[No idea. It's weird—like that part of my memory's just blank. All I know is someone made me tower lord.]
“……So the bastard who made you tower lord reincarnated me and locked you in here?”
[At least that's my guess. Anyway, nothing ringing a bell for you?]
“Me?”
[Yeah. If my memory's right, your window said to find Divine Weapons and memories, right?]
“Yeah, but……”
Kim Joo-hyuk rummaged through his mind but nothing came up.
'No, I didn't lose any memories to begin with……?'
Barche said his memories were cut off, but Kim Joo-hyuk had no such gaps.
His Tower memories were intact, and everything from before checked out fine.
'What the hell?'
As Kim Joo-hyuk tilted his head puzzled, Barche shrugged.
[Well, if nothing's coming up, maybe recovering memories is next for you.]
“Next?”
[Yeah. Your status said Divine Weapons and memories, right?]
“Yeah.”
[You found the Divine Weapon, so next is memories?]
“Ah, so this place is inside the Divine Weapon?”
[Correct.]
Kim Joo-hyuk frowned oddly at Barche's answer, then his face twisted in disbelief as realization dawned.
“No way…… The thing you're in right now……”
[That 'no way' is right. I'm a Constellation using one of the weapons you wielded—the Blunt Sword—as my relic.]
Ha.
“We're fucked.”
“……You didn't do anything weird, right?”
“Nope.”
“……For real?”
“No, you said B2 could mentally contaminate and kill you?”
Outside the Constellation Room building.
Kim I-gun eyed Kim Joo-hyuk, who was standing there staring back, and nodded slowly.
'Doesn't seem mentally contaminated……'
“Anyway, I'm off then?”
“……Yeah. Head back.”
Kim Joo-hyuk spoke before Kim I-gun could ask anything, making him nod unconsciously.
'……What's with this uneasy feeling?'
Kim I-gun tilted his head as he watched Kim Joo-hyuk walk out normally.
And so, as Kim Joo-hyuk headed to the dorms, sorting through what happened in the Constellation Room—
“Hey, punk.”
“……?”
A gang of thugs popped out like they'd been waiting.
“We said we'd see each other often, right?”
The thugs approached with twisted smirks, Reric of the Sunrise family grinning in the middle.
Eight of them total, they sauntered up like they'd already won, faces drunk on victory, and stood before Kim Joo-hyuk.
“Nice seeing you here?”
Kim Joo-hyuk glanced around at the words.
Just an unpaved road stretching in a straight line.
With Valhalla's vast grounds and the Constellation Room isolated from other buildings, no eyes reached this spot.
“……”
Reric, realizing Kim Joo-hyuk had clocked the situation, flashed a sadistic smile and opened his mouth—
Snap!
—but couldn't speak.
Reric flew back in an instant. The thugs froze, still processing, staring blankly.
“Ahh—this heavy, chilling sensation. 300 years……”
Kim Joo-hyuk.
“The endless time holding back my rage, the soul-crushing boredom.”
Grinned like a demon.
“Now it's time for Head Hunter Kim Joo-hyuk to return!”
And drew the Blunt Sword.