Chapter 21
Chapter 21
The chairman of Taeseong Group, Lee Young-sik, and his only daughter, Lee Seo-ah.
Father and daughter, locked in an embrace.
As Joo Do-gyeom watched them, a strange sensation welled up in his chest.
Paradise Illusion.
The faces of his parents from that vision surfaced in his mind.
—Do-gyeom.
—Joo Do-gyeom. Our son.
Even though he knew they were illusions, their voices lingered in his ears.
Do-gyeom quietly closed his eyes.
Longing wasn't the kind of emotion that disappeared just because you swallowed it down.
You could only fold it neatly and tuck it deep into your heart.
But the moment a crack appeared in that careful storage, the unwelcome guest in his mind began to stir.
'Get lost.'
A single word.
That was all it took for the madness to subside again.
Silence returned to his mind.
When he opened his eyes, the room was filled only with the sound of a reunited family's joyful tears.
And then, a small voice slipped through the cracks.
"......Thank you."
It was Kang Tae-woo.
A genuine whisper, spoken without even turning his head—so faint it was barely audible.
Do-gyeom heard it but chose not to react.
This moment didn't belong to him.
Seo-ah had fallen asleep again.
Exhausted from crying for so long.
But this wasn't the same unconsciousness as before.
Just an ordinary, peaceful slumber.
Back in the reception room, the moment they sat down, Lee Young-sik abruptly stood up—
And then, he knelt.
"Chairman...!"
Kang Tae-woo gasped in shock.
Young-sik silenced him with nothing more than a look.
Tae-woo froze in place.
Only then did Young-sik turn his gaze to Do-gyeom, bowing his head as he spoke.
"First, I must apologize. I threatened my benefactor's life far too many times."
"It's fine."
Do-gyeom replied calmly.
Young-sik continued.
"And... thank you. Because of you, my daughter has opened her eyes again. I consider this a debt I can never repay."
A corporate tycoon, kneeling on the floor.
Looking down at him, Do-gyeom's emotions were, frankly, complicated.
'Lee Young-sik.'
In his past life, this man had been known as a ruthless figure.
So much so that he was called Hunter Slayer and Golden Demon.
And those titles came from hunters themselves—because the majority of those he had brutally killed were hunters.
Do-gyeom had thought it inevitable.
In the original future, Seo-ah would have died three years from now.
Despite countless hunters attempting to save her, none had succeeded.
And exactly two years after her death—
Right when Do-gyeom was just entering the hunter world, Eden Garden and Adam's Apple would become known to the public.
It would have been stranger if Young-sik hadn't gone mad.
Back when Korea was still intact, one of the hunters who had encountered Young-sik had even told Do-gyeom:
—If Korea hadn't fallen back then, no matter how rich he was, he would've ended up as a wanted villain.
And yet—
During the Seoul Invasion, while other tycoons fled in panic, Young-sik had stayed behind until the very end and perished.
At the time, Do-gyeom had found it ironic.
A man who had despised hunters so much had died doing something more heroic than any hunter.
But now—
Looking down at this kneeling man, Do-gyeom finally understood.
'Back then... in Seoul...'
Seo-ah's ashes had been there.
He hadn't stayed because he refused to run.
He couldn't leave his daughter behind.
Not a ruthless chairman.
But a father who had protected her until the very end.
Do-gyeom mulled over that realization for a moment before standing up.
Then, he extended a hand to the kneeling man.
"Please rise."
"Will you accept my apology and gratitude?"
"There's no need for formalities. As I said before, I came here because I wanted something."
His tone was so devoid of emotion it bordered on indifference.
Yet, paradoxically, Young-sik found that very dryness comforting.
Finally lifting his head, Young-sik stared at the offered hand for a moment—
Then grasped it firmly.
As he rose naturally with Do-gyeom's help, he was about to bow again when—
Do-gyeom spoke.
"What if I have multiple requests?"
Young-sik paused.
Then, he nodded.
"Of course. As long as it's within my power, I'll grant you anything you desire."
"In that case..."
Do-gyeom began listing his requests, one after another.
Originally, he had only planned to secure the Formless Armament Myriad Forms.
But his mind had changed.
After experiencing this, he realized that maintaining a long-term relationship with Lee Young-sik would be mutually beneficial.
So he made several additional requests—some that might have seemed like imposing debts.
Subtly implying that they could become partners.
Young-sik, being a businessman, caught on immediately.
His reaction was favorable.
"If this is how it's going to be... we're practically in the same boat now."
"It seems so."
"A joyous occasion. To share a boat with my benefactor. Haha..."
A future villain tycoon?
It didn't matter.
Because in this world, that future would never come to pass.
In fact, it was welcome.
When the world began its march toward destruction, only those like Young-sik—who could go mad for what they desired—would survive.
'This turned out to be quite the unexpected windfall.'
He was in a rather good mood.
By the window of the Taeseong Group chairman's mansion.
Lee Young-sik and Kang Tae-woo watched Do-gyeom's retreating figure.
The man had stubbornly refused an escort, insisting he disliked unnecessary fuss.
So they had let him leave alone.
But as Young-sik watched that receding back, something felt... odd.
In what way?
'He looks... lonely.'
And yet—
He was big.
Not in terms of height or shoulder width—though Do-gyeom was large even in that regard.
No, what Young-sik saw was his presence.
Normally, that kind of aura only came from those who carried heavy burdens.
As a corporate chairman, Young-sik prided himself on having met many such individuals.
But among them, had there ever been one with a presence as vast as Do-gyeom's?
No.
At least, not in recent memory.
'Ah...'
Except for one person.
A face surfaced in his mind.
From the distant past.
His childhood.
The man who had been the previous chairman of Taeseong Group—a legend in Korean corporate history.
Lee Tae-sung.
The man whose name had become the group's own.
The back that had carried the livelihoods of tens of thousands overlapped with the young man's before him.
No—
'...If anything, his seems even larger.'
His instincts whispered.
An unbelievable notion.
Setting aside the fact that Do-gyeom had been an ordinary person until recently—
He wasn't even in a position of responsibility now, was he?
And yet, this was the impression he gave.
"......There must be much I don't know about him."
A quiet murmur.
Beside him, Kang Tae-woo cautiously spoke up.
"Should I have someone follow him?"
Young-sik laughed.
Then, with a humorless gaze, he countered:
"Are you trying to turn me into an ungrateful jackal, Director Kang?"
"......My apologies."
Tae-woo immediately bowed his head.
Young-sik patted his shoulder lightly, as if in understanding.
"I know your intentions. But let's not live like that."
"......I'll remember that."
"Good."
Smiling again, Young-sik turned his gaze back outside.
Do-gyeom had already vanished.
The street he had walked down felt strangely empty.
Chairman Lee Young-sik's mansion was in the Green Zone.
The safest, most heavily guarded district in all of Korea.
Do-gyeom passed through it in silence, took the subway through the Blue Zone, and finally reached his own residential area—the Red Zone, on the city's outskirts.
Perhaps because he had just visited the Green Zone—which still resembled the world from over a decade ago—
The dimly lit subway station and the general scenery of the Red Zone felt oddly unfamiliar.
But even as he thought that, his gaze remained indifferent.
Then, he spoke softly.
"Just come out already."
A brief silence.
Then—
From somewhere in the empty subway station, footsteps echoed.
Followed by the sound of something spinning.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—!
Cutting through the air.
Do-gyeom turned his head.
A man descended the stairs leading aboveground, twirling a long chain with a steel hook at the end.
And he wasn't alone.
The station's closed iron gates swung open, revealing several burly men simultaneously.
Each gripping their own weapons.
Their eyes filled with murderous intent directed at Do-gyeom.
Do-gyeom thought:
'Who are these guys?'
Not Chairman Lee's doing.
No reason for that, and if he'd wanted Do-gyeom dead, the mansion would've been more convenient.
Besides, he wouldn't have sent such amateurs.
With his wealth, he could've hired far more formidable hunters.
The problem was, no other faces came to mind.
Though, in Seoul's Red Zone, attacks didn't always need a reason these days.
"You're clearly holding a grudge."
Do-gyeom's quiet remark.
The man with the steel hook, having caught it mid-air with a thud—, spoke.
"Remember Im Jeong-yeol?"
Do-gyeom shook his head.
"Seems like you've got the wrong person..."
"Zombie Burst Dungeon. Guy with a crossbow. Really don't know?"
"......."
He didn't know the name, but he had an idea.
There had been a crossbow-wielding looter among those who had ambushed him.
The man with the hook continued.
"I'm Im Jeong-soo. Jeong-yeol was my little brother."
"I see."
He understood now.
How they had gotten dungeon intel or tracked him down didn't matter.
He could ask about that after this was over.
"More than enough reason to fight."
Whoosh—!
The man—Im Jeong-soo—swung the hook in a wide arc but shook his head.
"Wrong. Not a reason to fight..."
Screeeech—!
The hook shot forward.
"A reason for you to die, you bastard."
Do-gyeom dodged it effortlessly.
At the same time, he drew Daeboo from his inventory and swung it in a wide arc.
The moment he evaded the hook, four or five men charging at him were simultaneously bisected.
Blood sprayed.
Shock filled their expressions.
Do-gyeom halted Daeboo's momentum mid-swing and murmured:
"No choice."
He wasn't merciful enough to spare those who had come to kill him.
Daeboo cleaved through the air again.
Through flesh.
Blood and screams erupted simultaneously.
In his mind, Heaven-Slaying Star's madness danced with joy.
Do-gyeom didn't stop.
[Skill: Five Senses Unity (3★) has leveled up.]
[Skill: Burst Movement (3★) has leveled up.]
The next morning.
Do-gyeom checked the news on his phone.
[Horrific Scene in Red Zone District 5 Subway Station.]
[Authorities conclude it was a clash between local gangs...]
[Subway service in Red Zone District 10 to resume normal operations by 14:30. We apologize for the inconvenience.]
That was all.
After last night's carnage.
In just over a decade, the world had changed this much.
The article about the subway reopening had the highest views.
Do-gyeom glanced at it indifferently before lowering his phone.
Closing his eyes, he thought:
'I should go grocery shopping later.'
He wanted to test his newly acquired skill, Panacea Stew, as soon as possible.
Other than that, he planned to rest.
'Now that I think about it...'
Despite last night's events, Heaven-Slaying Star's madness had been unusually subdued.
Even when he reflected inward, it felt like a tranquil lake.
'...Was it satisfied?'
He dismissed the thought.
He'd had good luck all day yesterday—a bit of misfortune at the end wasn't strange.
'Come to think of it, I forgot to ask how they found me.'
He'd killed them too indifferently.
Well, he could guess.
Magic items that relayed a user's final moments, or necromantic contracts that allowed viewing death scenes—
Such things weren't uncommon.
Having a mage ally would've helped prevent that.
'A mage...'
Not a bad candidate for his next companion after Kim Han-yul.
Otherwise, he felt nothing in particular.
At least this made the news now.
In the future he remembered, incidents like this wouldn't even be noteworthy.
'...I should sleep some more.'
He was unusually tired. Might as well close his eyes a little longer.
Late afternoon.
An unusual spectacle appeared at the entrance of the alley where Do-gyeom lived in the Red Zone.
A sleek, high-end sedan—jet black.
These days, such vehicles were rare even to see in the Red Zone, let alone parked at the mouth of an alley.
Residents gathered at a distance, murmuring.
Unaware of the commotion, Do-gyeom stepped out of his house, grocery bag in hand.
He intended to test his new recipe skill, Panacea Stew.
The moment he appeared—
The sedan's door opened.
A man in a suit stepped out and bowed.
It was Kang Tae-woo.
The murmuring crowd recognized him instantly.
"Huh? Isn't that...?"
"The Taeseong Group's executive director? I've seen him on the news."
"Yeah, that's him. But why's he in the Red Zone...?"
The commotion grew.
Tae-woo ignored it entirely, approaching Do-gyeom and speaking.
"Could we speak in the car for a moment?"