Chapter 179: A Changed World Pt. 4
The voice that had come from behind them had definitely said something.
‘It called him the master.’
Yeo Seong-Gu thought to himself as he looked at the figure behind him. That figure had definitely called someone here the master, and there was only one among them who would qualify to hear that name.
“Lee Jun-Kyeong.”
That figure had called him his master. However, Yeo Seong-Gu couldn’t easily guess his identity.
‘I’ve never seen him with a Familiar like that.’
As the figure removed its hood, they saw an emaciated old man. Although the figure was definitely a man, he was sure that Lee Jun-Kyeong had never shown them such a Familiar…
“Wait, there’s no way…” he mumbled as if he had finally caught on to something.
“Yes, that’s right,” Won-Hwa smiled and said as he continued forward with Jeong In-Chang on his back. “That’s Hyeon-Mu.”
Rumble!
As soon as Won-Hwa finished speaking, the tremor that crossed the landscape came closer and closer. The swarm of monsters had fully emerged, and a wave was rushing madly toward them.
“The monsters…they’ve gotten that strong…?”
Although Yeo Seong-Gu had slain many a monster during the cataclysm so far, the monsters in front of him were of a completely different class than those he had dealt with. Their eyes were filled with bloodlust, exuding an even more ferocious energy than their pre-cataclysm counterparts.
“Red eyes…”
“Quickly!”
At Won-Hwa’s urging, Yeo Seong-Gu quickly stomped forward. They sped away from the swarm of monsters.
Crack, crack, pop.
An unpleasant sound began to spread out from the ground right when the group of monsters was about to clash with Hyeon-Mu.
Hearing that, Yeo Seong-Gu, who had been quickly moving forward, turned his back momentarily and was greeted by a completely new sight. In front of him, there seemed to be thousands of them.
“A Skeleton Corps…”
Contrasting with the blood-red eyes of the monsters, the Skeleton Corps stood with eyes eerily glowing blue.
***
“We’re here,” Won-Hwa confidently said to Yeo Seong-Gu.
Yeo Seong-Gu followed along and shifted his gaze to where the physician had indicated.
“...”
His eyes landed on the indicated landscape, and his expression hardened.
“Is this really…?”
His voice sounded harsh, as before him was a small mountain near the Bukhan River.
“You’re saying that this place where such an ominous aura is overflowing is our destination?” he asked, looking over at Won-Hwa with suspicion. He had a lot of misgivings about the ominous aura that emanated from the mountain.
After thinking about it now that they had space to breathe,‘he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to trust this man. As soon as they had come to Gyeonggi-Do, they had faced a crisis. At that very moment, Won-Hwa and Hyeon-Mu had appeared as if they had been waiting for them.
He wondered.
‘Are these really the same people that I knew from before?’
It was possible that there was another force that took on the form of Won-Hwa and deceived Hyeon-Mu or himself, and the only person who could really confirm it at this moment was asleep on his back.
“...”
‘For all we know, they could have betrayed us, too.’
The cataclysm was a big shock. In the midst of all of these changes in this world that had turned upside down, Yeo Seong-Gu had seen many unbelievable things. There was no guarantee that these people, too, would have stayed steadfast and continued to be loyal to them in all of this mess as well.
Even if Hyeon-Mu was guaranteed to be loyal as a Familiar, Won-Hwa was just another Hunter. What if he was deceiving Hyeon-Mu? What if all this was a trap?
Yeo Seong-Gu’s mind quickly raced, realizing the situation they could currently be in.
“There is no need to be so vigilant,” Won-Hwa said, however, as if reading Yeo Seong-Gu’s heart.
“Gasp…”
A rattling breathing sound came from behind them as Hyeon-Mu appeared behind Won-Hwa’s back. There were traces of battle all over his body. Still, Yeo Seong-Gu didn’t yet relax his guard.
Step. Step.
Then, indications of the existence of people began to descend from the mountain. It was obviously the auras of people and not monsters.
Shing!
In the end, Yeo Seong-Gu drew his sword, preparing for the worst.
“...”
“...”
However, rather than try to appease him or convince him of the latter, Won-Hwa and Hyeon-Mu just watched from the side. Yeo Seong-Gu’s doubts and insecurities continued to grow.
Flutter.
Finally, a group of people began to emerge. There were quite a few of them, and all of them looked as though they were well over thirty. Moreover, all of them were Hunters that were imbued with the strength of mana.
As Yeo Seong-Gu carefully adjusted his hold on Lee Jun-Kyeong and prepared for battle, the crowd of people opened up a path.
“Lord Sangun has asked us to bring you up the mountain,” they said.
At the familiar name, Yeo Seong-Gu looked up at the mountain. When his gaze quickly returned to Won-Hwa, the other man nodded as if to reassure him to proceed.
He knew he had to proceed.
“I guess I need an explanation.”
***
The name of the mountain was Mt. Cheonma.[1] It was a mountain located near the Bukhan River in Gyeonggi-Do.
“It’s this way.”
And the Hunters who emerged from its depths had a clear understanding of the geography of the mountain, moving at great speed without ever leaving a trail.
Yeo Seong-Gu, with Lee Jun-Kyeong in his arms, chased after them like crazy.
“We’ve arrived.”
Finally, he found himself in a small cave situated on a cliff that wasn’t easy to find. Moreover, to make things more complicated, there was a formation there too. The ominous aura on the mountain was exuding from this point, and a formation formed from its energy.
The Hunters didn’t reply to Yeo Seong-Gu’s comment. Instead, they opened the barrier and passed through inside. It was a barrier that seemed to allow Hunters to pass.
“I guess it’s useless to say anything else.”
Yeo Seong-Gu entered into the barrier, temporarily placing his trust in the Hunters and Won-Hwa. As he entered, blasting at him from all sides were the voices of people.
“They’re back!”
“Did that person come?”
“Is it him who said he would save us all…?”
The appearance of the cave was completely different from what he had thought.
“This is insane…”
It was like a shelter. The interior of what he had thought to be a small cave was spacious, well-organized, and lined neatly with furniture. Furthermore, a great number of people stood there, staring back at him.
Yeo Seong-Gu stared blankly at them for a while, then he heard Won-Hwa interject from the side, “We have to hurry; they need urgent treatment.”
It was only then that Yeo Seong-Gu, who had come to his senses, nodded and walked forth with him. The crowd of people split left and right as Yeo Seong-Gu walked forward.
They looked over at the party and whispered among themselves.
“Can we finally get out now?”
"Thank god…”
"Oh, God. Thank you."
They were filled with indescribable hope and unknowing gratitude, even going so far as to pray to a God. They all welcomed the party with different reactions.
Eventually, the party reached a point, and Hyeon-Mu stretched out both his hands and headed over to Yeo Seong-Gu.
“Leave Master to me.”
He was asking the Hunter to hand over Lee Jun-Kyeong.
Yeo Seong-Gu hesitated for a moment but soon after placed Lee Jun-Kyeong into Hyeon-Mu’s hands.
“Thank you.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong, whose complexion was poor, was breathing with great difficulty, and Jeong In-Chang, who was held aloft by Won-Hwa, was in a similar state.
“Then I will go to treat th…”
“I’ll follow you,” Yeo Seong-Gu interjected at Won-Hwa’s words.
However, his desire didn’t come true as something emerged from the darkness of the cave.
“You must have a lot of questions. How about you stay to talk to me?”
It was neither a beast nor a human as it had a grotesque appearance, but it introduced itself to Yeo Seong-Gu.
“They call me Sangun. You must be curious about many things. While the others are receiving treatment, don’t you think it would be nice to talk about your concerns?” it said with a solemn voice and a dignified gait.
Yeo Seong-Gu looked at the figure up and down.
“Sangun…?” he asked in disbelief.
***
“A lot has happened in Gyeonggi-do,” said a figure with a grotesque appearance that was neither a monster nor a human.
It almost seemed like…
‘Half a man, half a beast.’
It had the fur of a beast and the accompanying fangs and claws. It basically resembled a beast down to the texture of the skin that was covered completely by its fur.
However, its figure was clearly that of a human. It said that it was Sangun.
‘But that dog…’
To think it would have changed like this. In fact, its white hair was completely gone, replaced by black and orange fur.
“Are you listening?” Sangun asked.
Yeo Seong-Gu came to his senses. It wasn’t surprising he had spaced out. As his tension had eased and his anxiety dropped, it became difficult for him to stay conscious.
From when they had broken through the veil until now, there hadn’t been a single point where he had been able to rest properly. The situations that had unfolded around him had individually been enough to drain him of all energy.
“I’m sorry. Please tell me again.”
“Hmm…”
Sangun sighed and spoke again.
“We left Seoul to go to Lee Jun-Kyeong’s villa.”
“And Seoul…”
“That’s right. You most likely know the current situation in Seoul, correct?” Sangun asked.
Yeo Seong-Gu nodded.
“Yes, at least generally speaking…”
“We also don’t know much specifics about Seoul, just…just that it was good for us to have left when we did.”
“Mmm….”
“Either way, we had headed to Gyeonggi-Do to go to our home,” Sangun continued, frowning.
He seemed to be remembering something he didn’t want to think about.
“However, none of our family members were there.”
“...!”
“The only thing left behind were the traces of their escape.”
Somewhere along the line, Yeo Seong-Gu had become fully immersed in the story.
“With Fenrir’s help, we were able to follow the trial. For a long time, we followed the trail, and…”
“Wait a moment!” Yeo Seong-Gu shouted as if he had just noticed something just then.
“Where are the others? Fenrir or...Ungnyeo!”
Although he was sure that they had to have been here with the others, he hadn’t caught sight of them whatsoever. Instead, he had only met Won-Hwa, Hyeon-Mu, and Sangun. He had seen the residents of Heaven Lake who had joined the White Tiger Clan in the cave though.
“You’re not saying…”
Sangun looked over at Yeo Seong-Gu and his eyes became fierce.
“Listen to the end,” he said, bloodlust leaking from his voice.
Something bitter and cold emanated from within Sangun.
‘Something has changed. There's something we don't know.'
Yeo Seong-Gu realized the seriousness of the situation once again and hid his uneasiness as he listened to the tale.
“We followed the trail and headed to the vicinity of Yangpyeong.”
“Yangpyeong…”
“When we got there, that bastard was already waiting for us as if he had known everything from the very beginning.”
“That bastard…?” he asked.
Sangun clenched his fists tightly, his sharp claws digging so far into his palms that his hands were beginning to bleed. However, he didn’t seem to feel any pain at all.
“He tried to capture us, and we had to make a choice once we understood the situation. to fight…”
Yeo Seong-Gu finished, “Or to run away…”
The outline of the situation was beginning to roughly take shape.
“As you saw, the White Tiger Clan, Won-Hwa, Hyeon-Mu, and I were able to escape. However…”
“You must have had to leave someone behind.”
Yeo Seong-Gu didn’t know who the man Sangun was referring to was.
However, considering it was an opponent who had made them, with the obviously strong power of the White Tiger Clan behind them, run away, it wouldn’t have been a situation in which they would have been able to retreat easily. They would have needed someone to hold whomever they were referring to as that bastard behind.
“Fenrir…and Ungnyeo stayed behind.”
“...”
“Thanks to them, we were able to escape and come here.”
“Then those two…”
Sangun, who knew what Yeo Seong-Gu was asking, answered promptly, “They’re alive.”
“I’m glad…”
“However, they are most definitely having a difficult time…”
Yeo Seong-Gu looked straight into Sangun's eyes and asked another question, a question with an answer he had to hear. “So, who is he?”
The bastard that had forced them to all scatter and captured Fenrir and Ungnyeo, so he needed to find out the identity of that bastard.
However, the following words that came out of Sangun’s mouth were the kind that Yeo Seong-Gu found impossible to believe.
“Odin.”
“Wh…what?”
“It was the leader of you brats.”
1. Funnily enough, although the mountain is described as a small mountain earlier in the chapter, Mt. Cheonma derives its name from being a very tall mountain, so much so that if one’s hand were to be a little longer, one would be able to reach the heavens. 👈
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