Chapter 138
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: A Necessary Farewell
The atmosphere in the room grew heavy in an instant.
As if they’d heard something they shouldn't have, as if they'd said something they shouldn't have.
Yohan leaned back in his chair, and Kanghyeok spoke in a low voice.
“There's a church in Italy. It's far from here, but there are many kids like you. I want you to go there for a while.”
Yohan's fingers, resting on the table, curled into a fist.
He looked as if he felt a deep sense of betrayal, and also a sense of loss.
Kanghyeok was the only person Yohan trusted and relied on.
And now, that person was telling him he was being sent away.
The loss of usefulness, a burden, a shackle holding him back.
It was easy to think of it that way.
*Clatter, clatter, clatter.*
Yohan’s trembling fist on the table caused the silverware on the plate to make a faint clattering sound.
“Is this why... you bought me dinner?”
Kanghyeok looked down at the table, his lips pressed into a firm line.
The empty plates and leftover sauce remnants clearly showed they had enjoyed a satisfying meal.
This lavish meal was the first and last they would share together.
“Yes.”
“…Why?”
Kanghyeok looked into Yohan's eyes.
He was terrified.
“Because it's dangerous.”
“What is? Is it because those gang members came into the city? I-I fought too. I wasn't great, but still...”
“It's not enough.”
He knew Yohan had done well against the gang members.
Yohan was now better than a rookie mercenary, capable enough to perform his duties admirably on a battlefield, provided he had a competent commander.
But was that enough?
No, it wasn't.
He had only done well against mere gang members.
Iron Mask's subordinates were on a level Yohan couldn't handle.
“You wanted to avenge your mother.”
“Yes!”
Yohan replied loudly, as if begging to be allowed to stay by his side.
“As you are now, you're not enough. You'll only die, let alone get revenge.”
“…I know. That's why I'm training.”
“I don't have time to watch over you.”
Training only becomes meaningful when someone is there to guide you.
Training requires a teacher to confirm your growth, an instructor to guide you through the proper curriculum, a senior to pat you on the back and tell you you're doing well.
Without that, it's just exercise or practice.
“I don't know what's going to happen. They might attack again, or I might have to go somewhere far away. I no longer have the time or energy to train you...”
Kanghyeok trailed off, looking at Yohan.
He had a familiar look in his eyes.
It was the same look he'd had back then, when he was holding his mother, murdered by gang members, and pleading for help.
The eyes of someone who realized he was alone in the world, eyes wet with tears of loneliness, loss, and sorrow.
‘Damn it.’
It was because of that look that Kanghyeok had taken Yohan in.
But now, it was because of that same look that he couldn't keep him by his side.
He was afraid of losing someone he cared about, someone close to him.
It was a thought he hadn't been aware of until recently.
‘Since when?’
When did I start thinking like this?
When Aiden died in the desert?
No.
Aiden's death had merely rekindled the feeling of loss.
It was much earlier, back when the world had ended, that he had felt this fear.
When everyone had died, and even the survivors he had barely managed to find were all killed.
The terrible emotions from that time had become a trauma, a scar that would never fade.
He never wanted to experience that feeling again.
That was why Kanghyeok preferred to fight alone as much as possible.
If anyone were to be by his side, it had to be someone with the strength to protect themselves.
Yohan wasn't at that level yet.
“I promise you. I'm not abandoning you. When the time is right, I'll call for you again.”
As Yohan flinched, Kanghyeok continued, his voice firm.
“The timing is bad, we share a common enemy, and they're targeting all of us. We're just separating for a little while.”
He felt like a father sending his child to the countryside because of some damn circumstances.
“Until when?”
“Until it's safe.”
Kanghyeok spoke in a subdued tone, hoping his feelings would be understood.
Enough time passed for the waiter, who had come to ask about dessert, to pace behind the curtain and retreat twice. Then, Yohan opened his mouth, his expression pained.
“I'll come find you.”
The unexpected words caught Kanghyeok's attention.
“I'll keep training there. When I'm strong enough to be of help, I'll come find you.”
Kanghyeok watched Yohan without a word.
He had expected accusations or pleas.
But Yohan did neither.
He recognized and understood that Kanghyeok's decision was firm.
“Please don't try to stop me then.”
Kanghyeok closed his eyes and brought the water glass to his lips.
“I won't.”
Then he took a sip of water.
Coffee was served for dessert.
It probably smelled and tasted good, but all he could taste was bitterness.
*Rustle.*
Sitting in his chair, Iron Mask took the thickly folded paper handed to him by a subordinate.
It was his office, and preparations to move were underway, filling the space with a heavy chill.
*Creeak.*
The chair groaned as Iron Mask leaned his metal-clad body back.
“An email just arrived. It's encrypted, so the sender is unknown.”
The subordinate standing beside Iron Mask spoke, but he didn't respond.
He simply unfolded the thick paper.
The paper was folded many times, growing larger with each unfolding.
When fully unfolded, it was as vast as a pirate's treasure map.
In a way, it was.
The sender of the email was Gary Chang.
A member of the company and the same group as Iron Mask, he had made a promise.
To provide a new enhanced exoskeleton.
The schematics Gary Chang had emailed were exactly what Iron Mask, encased in metal, desperately needed.
‘Faster than I thought. Was this developed in cooperation with the U.S. military, or was it an independent project...?’
Either way, it was good news for Iron Mask.
*Rustle.*
Iron Mask studied the schematics.
The schematics were filled with so many shapes and figures it was dizzying. But Iron Mask read through them with the focus of someone reading scripture.
He had once received training to be a successor.
The abusive education and training he'd endured, all so he would never be inferior to his subordinates, was now proving useful.
As he mentally assembled the components from the schematics, Iron Mask's lips twisted into a smirk.
“And I thought he was just a worthless punk...”
The subordinate at the door glanced at Iron Mask.
It was because he seemed to be in a good mood for once.
‘This is a vast improvement on what the U.S. military was developing.’
A model with reduced bulk and improved output compared to the MK2 version.
Even the operational time was improved, to the point that if built as is, it could be deployed in combat immediately.
*Thud.*
Folding the schematics, Iron Mask closed his eyes and imagined himself wearing it.
He would be able to control this heavy body properly.
He could lift a heavy gun, wield a sword with agility.
His metal-clad body would protect him even if he were hit, and he could corner Kanghyeok with immense power.
That bastard's regenerating body?
His undying flesh?
*CRASH!*
Imagining himself stomping on Kanghyeok's head and crushing it, he unconsciously stomped his foot.
It sounded like a two-handed demolition hammer slamming into the floor, and a tickling shock traveled up his ankle.
The terrified subordinate, his own heart pounding with excitement.
Iron Mask placed a hand on his chest and handed the schematics to his subordinate.
“Sh-should we build it according to this?”
“No.”
“…Sir?”
“Improve it further. Boost the output and extend the operational time. Add our technology to it.”
He felt that building it according to these schematics would be sufficient.
But Iron Mask wanted something more.
How he won was more important than just winning against Kanghyeok.
There was no point unless he crushed the man with overwhelming, despair-inducing force, instilling in him frustration and terror.
“It... might take some time.”
“We have plenty of time.”
“Uh, if this is about Kanghyeok, wasn't another organization already supposed to take care of him?”
The subordinate instantly realized he had made a mistake.
But Iron Mask seemed not to care in the slightest.
“It doesn't matter. He's not the kind of man to be killed by someone else.”
Is he in a good mood?
But the subordinate soon realized he was mistaken.
The eyes of Iron Mask, trapped within his helmet, were gleaming with more murderous intent and madness than ever.
“I will be the one to kill him. I have decided it.”
A chill that sent shivers down the spine could be felt in his voice.
The subordinate hastily bowed his head, took the schematics, and left the office. Iron Mask leaned back deep into his chair.
His wide-open eyes stared at the ceiling.
But what he was actually seeing were the scenes playing out in his mind.
Kanghyeok, his head shattered to pieces.
And if he still didn't die?
“There are many ways.”
Mumbling as if lost in a dream, Iron Mask slowly raised the corners of his mouth.
Whether it was dunking him in the potent poison called Elixir, dissolving him in sulfuric acid, or throwing him into a furnace to be burned until not even ash remained, it was easy to create a situation where even a man who didn't die easily would have no choice but to perish.
All he had to do was subdue him.
And he was steadily preparing for that.
The opportunity hadn't yet arisen, so he had to wait. Like a beast hiding in the darkness, stalking its prey, Iron Mask's eyes gleamed as he slowly exhaled.
That night.
Yohan took a large bag out of the closet and unzipped it.
It hadn't been maintained in a long time, and the smell of mold and dust was terrible.
“Ugh.”
Yohan tilted his head back to hold his breath, covering his nose and mouth with his sleeve as he looked down at the bag.
It was a suitcase.
It was old and covered in scratches, and the zipper was even rusted.
‘I'd forgotten about this.’
It must have been about five years ago.
His mother had brought home a suitcase she'd found abandoned on the street.
Back then, Yohan had asked brightly, “Are we going on a trip?” but his mother had just silently wiped the bag clean.
For a while after that, she kept the suitcase in a conspicuous place and would occasionally just stare at it.
He didn't know it then, but thinking back now, his mother might have wanted to escape this wretched city.
But in the end, it wasn't his mother who would be leaving the city with this suitcase, but Yohan.
*Wipe, wipe.*
Yohan wiped away the mold with a damp cloth, then wiped the inside again with a dry towel, and began packing his clothes one by one.
‘Italy. It must be very far away.’
Kanghyeok had told Yohan to leave this city.
It felt like he was embarking on a long journey with no set return date.
But he would definitely return someday.
That was why Yohan only looked at the photograph of his mother on the dresser, but didn't pack it in the suitcase.
Instead, he made sure to pack his workout clothes and a spare pair of sneakers.
And, naturally, he also placed his pistol and magazines in the most visible spot.
‘Kanghyeok said he'd get the plane ticket, so I guess I'm all packed.’
There was a little space left in the bag, and he was wondering if he should pack some more bullets.
*Knock, knock.*
Someone knocked on the front door.
Yohan's head snapped toward the door as if he'd heard a gunshot.
‘At this hour?’
It was night.
He hadn't seen his landlord in ages, and Kanghyeok had never once visited at this time.
There was no one who should be visiting, and what Kanghyeok had said earlier that day came to mind, filling him with a sense of foreboding.
*Click.*
Taking the pistol from the bag, Yohan stood before the door.
He could sense someone standing right behind the door.