Chapter 25 …
The flustered senior’s gaze pierced straight through me.
“May I hear your reason?”
“If I become a god, then inevitably I won’t be able to meet the people I knew when I was human, right?”
“Would an omniscient and omnipotent being have any reason to meet mortals who merely brush past for an instant?”
I could clearly feel that his perspective was different from mine, who was nothing more than a human.
All the more reason, then, to push through with my own convictions.
Humans are social creatures.
We aren’t beings whose bonds are decided by usefulness—we form groups, build societies, and live together.
“If relationships and encounters are decided by necessity once one ascends to godhood, then I have even less desire to become a god.”
“Hm… Even so, aren’t such ties merely shallow and fleeting relationships among mortals?”
“If they’re shallow enough to dismiss like that, then why did you give me the power of resurrection? As you said, the lives of mortals are but a fleeting moment compared to the eternal time gods live through.”
At my question, the sovereign’s hand trembled as if he had been struck in the head by something heavy.
He muttered something unintelligible to himself for a moment, then belatedly nodded.
“…Indeed. That perspective… may be possible.”
“You understand?”
“Hm…”
I couldn’t tell what expression he was making.
But his gaze toward me had softened compared to before.
After pondering for a long while, he slowly nodded.
“It may not be so bad… to place a bet on such a future.”
“What exactly are you betting?”
“…You’ll find out in time.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the halted dance of the stars slowly began to flow again.
It seemed the time granted to him and me was running out.
“Seems this is as far as we can go.”
“Are we parting now?”
“Looks that way.”
The stellar dance gradually accelerated, and I felt the distance between us widening.
It began to stretch back to the distance that originally should have existed between him and me.
“Before you go, I’ll give you a gift.”
Just as he was about to drift away, he suddenly grabbed my wrist.
He pressed lightly on the back of my hand, then let go.
“A sovereign can’t go around just taking hits. It wouldn’t suit his dignity.”
“Huh? What is this?!”
“You’ll find out once you descend to the lower world.”
As if he could no longer hold himself in place, the distance between us increased exponentially.
He waved at me with a hint of regret.
“Farewell, little sovereign who bears incomprehensible potential.”
“…Jinwoo. Hyung’s alive.”
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Kang Jinwoo placing flowers one by one in front of me.
Judging by the way his sleeves were soaked, he must have cried his eyes out.
“H-Hyuuung!!”
The moment I sat up as if nothing had happened, Jinwoo shot toward me like an arrow.
He checked my body all over to make sure nothing was wrong.
Even then, his expression didn’t improve.
His tightly pressed lips looked ready to burst into tears again at any moment.
“Why’s a grown guy bawling like that? Not cool.”
“Hyung… but Yeoul noona and Iram…”
“Yeah? What about Yeoul and Iram?”
“……”
Whether he couldn’t accept that his comrades had died, or simply couldn’t bring himself to say the word, Jinwoo couldn’t easily continue.
Maybe I should tease him a bit and bring them back.
Fortunately, enough time had passed to allow resummoning.
I resummoned the prepared Kim Yeoul and Seo Iram.
Fwoooosh—!
Darkness gathered and formed a square black coffin.
The sleek coffin, like it was made of obsidian, opened—and Kim Yeoul and Seo Iram stepped out from inside.
The coffin then crumbled into dust and vanished.
“Haah! I seriously almost died.”
“Unni, we did die.”
“Oh. Right.”
Jinwoo’s eyes nearly popped out at the sight of the two casually walking out.
I chuckled and shouted,
“Hey, our Jinwoo was crying his eyes out.”
“Huh? Huh?? Hyung…? Wait… did I die too? Huh??”
Faced with a reality that logic simply couldn’t process, Kang Jinwoo rubbed his eyes over and over.
Kim Yeoul seemed to grasp the situation quickly. She shot me a glare, then naturally sat beside Jinwoo.
“You’re pretty shocked, right? I’ll explain everything, so calm down.”
“Ah… uh… y-yes……”
After steadying his breathing, Jinwoo carefully sat in front of me.
Still fascinated, he kept glancing at Kim Yeoul and Seo Iram before letting out a quiet sigh of relief.
What a desirable talent…
Seeing how he protected things while I was unconscious, his reliability was more than proven.
To begin with, his nature seemed genuinely kind.
At this point, it should be fine to just tell him.
I got down from the chair and sat in front of Jinwoo, meeting his eyes.
Many words came to mind, but in the end, what came out of my mouth was the most direct explanation.
“I can resurrect the dead and use them as summons.”
“…What?”
“I’m not lying. You heard me right.”
That was the normal reaction.
Throughout human history, aside from undead, a skill that resurrects the dead had never appeared even once.
Jinwoo stared blankly at me for a long while, processing it, then slowly nodded.
“Then… Yeoul noona and Iram over there… died once… right?”
“That’s right.”
Still stunned, Jinwoo shifted his gaze to Yeoul.
Kim Yeoul, who had been playing with the kids, simply smiled faintly.
After looking between me, Kim Yeoul, and Seo Iram several times, Kang Jinwoo finally seemed to understand and nodded.
“Then… the reason Iram and Yeoul noona charged in without fear…?”
“They’re summons. As long as I’m alive, they can be resurrected even if they die.”
“Isn’t that ridiculously broken…?”
“I think so too.”
Jinwoo was clearly in awe of the very concept of resurrecting the dead and using them as summons.
He was probably wondering whether such a skill should even be allowed in human hands.
But what could he do?
He had just watched his companions revive with his own eyes.
Still unable to fully believe the situation, Jinwoo looked between me and the others several more times before slowly nodding.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“With your level of ability, you could be treated like a state guest in another country. Why stay in Korea?”
I sensed this question would be pivotal between Jinwoo and me.
So instead of answering lightly, I thought for a moment before speaking carefully.
“The value I’m chasing isn’t money.”
“Ooh…”
“And like you said, even with an overpowered ability, I didn’t want to abandon my homeland and run.”
“Then what’s your goal, hyung?”
“To make sure monsters can’t run rampant on the Korean Peninsula.”
There were a few more plans I’d only imagined so far.
But the most fundamental one was the restoration of the Korean Peninsula.
Jinwoo seemed to roughly grasp the bigger picture—his eyes began to shine.
“As expected… I want to go with you too, hyung.”
“What about your younger siblings?”
“Like you said, we’ll leave them to the National Assembly members.”
There was no more hesitation in his words.
Even his siblings, who had unknowingly been shackles on him, wore brave expressions—as if they had already heard.
“Oppa said he’ll come visit us regularly!”
“He said if he lies, horns will grow out of his butt!”
Jinwoo’s eyes still overflowed with affection for his siblings.
But beyond that, the hope engraved in his gaze was surging.
Jinwoo no longer had the eyes of a boy.
He had become a man.
I didn’t ruffle his hair.
I simply patted the shoulder of the man he had become.
“Waaaah! Kids! Don’t be picky eaters! Eat your bell peppers! Don’t pick out the carrots!! You won’t grow tall! And drink milk if you can—!”
Watching the National Assembly people grow distant, Jinwoo burst into tears.
“You acted all cool sending them off, but now you’re bawling.”
“They’re like my sons and daughters! Waaah!”
“Then go chase after them and baby them!”
“I don’t want to do that either!”
After entrusting the children to the Assembly, we headed back toward Taean.
Our original car had been completely wrecked thanks to Karnak, but fortunately the Assembly provided us with another vehicle.
From what I heard, Sejong City was finally starting to function properly.
They had apparently prepared desperately in case of a monster invasion—at this rate, Sejong might become the second capital.
“So now we save Hunter Kang Cheolwoo in Taean, then go to Seoul and save Hunter Baek Dohyun?”
“That’s right.”
“Wow… that’s a dream team.”
“You’re part of that dream team too.”
The road to Taean was more open than expected.
No monsters in sight—and no people either.
How long had it been since we’d had such peaceful rest?
Leaning back comfortably in my seat and just pressing the accelerator, the scenery flew past.
With autumn approaching, the cool breeze felt especially pleasant.
After speeding past the ruins of buildings for quite a while, I finally noticed the mark on the back of my hand.
Come to think of it, the senior said he gave me something.
A black scythe engraved on my hand emitted a vivid aura.
Its appearance was cruel and fearsome, yet the energy it gave off was warm and gentle—just like when I had seen him.
As expected of the gift he bestowed, the method of using it was already imprinted in my mind.
Since evening was approaching, I stopped the car.
“Let’s stay here for the night.”
“Okay~”
Kim Yeoul got out first and stretched lightly.
Fortunately, the thoughtful Assembly members had put a one-touch tent in the trunk.
“Wow, is this roughing it or camping?”
“I’d rather sleep on Yeoul unni’s thighs…”
“So that’s why my legs were numb every morning—you were the culprit!?”
Since we had become pros at rough sleeping, setting up the tent took no time.
We lit a small campfire and put Jinwoo and Iram to sleep first.
Naturally, Kim Yeoul stayed up on watch with me.
Technically, as a summon she didn’t need sleep, but she still slept periodically to maintain her humanity.
After confirming Jinwoo and Iram were completely out cold, Kim Yeoul plopped down beside me.
“Haa… I’m tired, so tired.”
She acted casual, but I could roughly guess what she was thinking.
“Aren’t you curious what happened that day?”
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t—but I don’t really want to know either.”
“Really?”
Kim Yeoul studied me closely, then lightly flicked the bridge of my nose.
“It’s probably something that made you suffer. Even if we’re summons, you’d feel guilty about your friends dying.”
“…You know me too well.”
“Of course. We’re going to be together for life—how could I not know this much?”
As if she had read my expression completely, Kim Yeoul smiled sweetly with playful charm.
She quietly rested her head on my shoulder and continued.
“But still—we’re alive now. Isn’t that what matters?”
“…Yeah. That’s true.”
“Oh, and you got a new power too?”
“Huh? A new power?”
“Yeah.”
I stood up and activated the mark on the back of my hand.
Mana from my heart flowed through my body, manifesting the darkness on my hand.
Darkness gathered in my palm.
The cloud-like darkness took shape, transforming—
—and soon formed into a long scythe.
The blade in my hand was unnaturally long.
With a light swing, I shook off the lingering darkness, revealing the scythe clearly.
A chilling aura flowed from it, as if declaring the end of the world.
[Unique Authority Manifested – Desperado]
“From life’s end, death’s ecstasy; to the immortal, repose.”
[This is the unique authority of the Soul Sovereign.]
[You can devour possessed abilities to grow Desperado.]
[Currently devourable abilities:]
Fist King Stance
Flame Emperor
Super Regeneration
Oath of Devotion
