Chapter 76: Fenrir
The Demon King had famous companions, subordinates, and even familiars. Surprisingly enough, there were also those among his party who fulfilled all three of those roles. One of those very members of his party was the boy in front of him now.
“Kiiiiillllll?”
“Not kill, but Jun-Kyeong,” Lee Jun-Kyeong replied.
“Kiiillll?” he chirped again.
“No, Jun-Kyeong, I’m Lee Jun-Kyeong.”
The boy couldn’t even say a sentence correctly. If anything, the only thing he knew how to do was growl like a wolf.
“Grrrr…”
“Ha… ha… Mr. Lee…”
Jeong In-Chang appeared. Since he had already been directly in conflict with Fenrir before, he had a clear understanding of the power the wolf boy had.
"Fenrir… I am not an enemy..." he gasped.
Fenrir growled, "Grrr…”
So, even just meeting him like he was doing now made him uncomfortable. Fenrir crouched, guarded against Jeong In-Chang, but soon, he pounced toward the Hunter.
“Goongj–!”
But the wolf turned to grab the princess and headed outside. It felt like something they had seen before…
–Cough cough…
Although Hyeon-Mu’s awkward coughs could be heard in the background, the sound of Jeong In-Chang shouting as if he was ignoring everything around him rang out.
“No!!”
“It’s fine. The kids are just playing,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said.
“But…”
As Jeong In-Chang tried to object and say that was ridiculous, he was interrupted by the sound of notifications.
[<The Prince on a White Horse> has a sorrowful expression.]
[<The Sky of the Apocalypse> smiles triumphantly.]
It may have been because they were both directly involved with the Familiars in question, but the two Sponsors showed very different reactions to the situation.
“Misters!”
Then, another child came up to them. It was the village chief of Heaven Lake Village.
“...”
At the sight of the little girl, Jeong In-Chang forgot his words for a moment. His face was full of uncertainty as he wasn’t sure how to react. When they had escaped Heaven Lake, she had been the one staring at them with a frosty gaze, exuding tremendous energy.
"Do you want to eat some potatoes?" she asked.
But, at this moment, she looked just like a little child. Jeong In-Chang shivered at the sudden sense of incongruity.
“What’s wrong? Mister?” Ungnyeo asked.
However, Jeong In-Chang just kept his mouth shut, which was the same way he had reacted when he was dealing with Fenrir.
“Don’t be too wary, Mr. Jeong,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said. He gave the uneasy Jeong In-Chang a look while accepting the potato that Ungnyeo had offered him.
Lee Jun-Kyeong explained, “She’s not like this because she wants to. You can think of it as a side effect. Her treating us like this right now isn’t acting. Seriously.”
“You’re saying such big words, Mister,” Ungnyeo said while smiling as if she had at least inferred that he was on her side while wiping another potato clean with her sleeve and handing it to Jeong In-Chang.
The other man stuttered, “Th…thank you.”
In the end, once Jeong In-Chang had accepted the potato, Ungnyeo’s demeanor suddenly changed.
“Okay, so what is the plan for you two next?”
Her voice and the aura around her had shifted to the woman they had met when they had exited the Seal of Heaven Lake.
“Ha…”
Jeong In-Chang’s mind was in chaos, and he felt like he was going crazy.
“I’m going to go get some air…” he whimpered.
So he left, leaving behind Lee Jun-Kyeong and Ungnyeo, who were staring at each other.
***
"What are you doing?" Ungnyeo asked.
Lee Jun-Kyeong led her somewhere. He walked forward, and she followed, even though he was walking without saying anything about their destination.
‘How…’
To Ungnyeo, he was a strange being. Having lived in Mt. Baekdu since infancy, she had grown up as a friend to the mountain and the animals that lived there. Then, when a nuclear test destroyed North Korea, her life had been forever changed when the refugees fled to Mt. Baekdu. She had found herself burdened with the responsibility of other people’s lives.
However, she had always wanted to live a normal life.
'I wanted to…'
But fate was harsh. She, who had been considered special even before the appearance of the gates, had become even more special. Even her body had become something that couldn’t be regarded as normal.
‘Make friends too.’
She had wanted to share her feelings, share stories with the refugees. However, they were refugees to Heaven Lake Village and were fleeing from a fallen country, so they had become her followers. Hence, they couldn’t become friends.
That didn’t mean that they were bad, however. They were loyal and warm. The way they treated her, someone who changed moment to moment, was unchanging.
Still, nevertheless, she still always had a curiosity toward the outside world.
‘What sort of place could the outside be?’
Those who came from the outside were generally enemies, but the one in front of her was different.
She wondered whether he was an enemy?
Or was he a friend?
Lee Jun-Kyeong and his party were an entity whose affiliations couldn’t be determined.
“Where are you going?!” Ungnyeo shouted as she rushed to follow his rapid pace. Then, when they had finally arrived at their destination, she found herself at Heaven Lake.
“Why did we come here again…” she muttered.
The two of them stood together in front of the vast lake, and Ungnyeo shook her head and spoke with a tranquil gaze.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” she asked.
“You must have seen this every day,” he replied.
She nodded. Ungnyeo reminisced for a moment. If it hadn’t been for this beautiful sight, then she might have run away from all of the responsibility.
“I made a promise to Sangun.”
“...”
Lee Jun-Kyeong’s comments had come out of the blue.
“I will remove the intruders and help Sangun recover.”
“...”
“And if I succeed…”
Lee Jun-Kyeong looked straight at Ungnyeo. Ungnyeo, who still had the appearance of a young girl, turned her head for a moment, not knowing what to do.
"I’m going to take you with me."
"…!"
Ungnyeo quickly looked back at Lee Jun-Kyeong. However, the Hunter’s eyes had turned back towards Heaven Lake again. Before Ungnyeo could even ask a question, Lee Jun-Kyeong gave her a notice without any consideration.
“But not yet. I’ll come to pick you up on my way back from China as soon as my business is over. I’m preparing for it right now.”
“...”
And then, he withdrew a sword from his inventory, a sword that was unparalleled in its splendor. It was a sword more suitable for decoration rather than practicality. Ungnyeo flinched for a moment when she saw that he had withdrawn a sword, but then looked back once she saw its appearance.
Lee Jun-Kyeong threw his sword at Heaven Lake. Heaven Lake swallowed the decorative sword, the sword skinning deep into its depths.
“Guard that sword until I get back.”
“What?”
“I’m asking you to make sure that no one can take it away. It would be nice if, like, you could do some rituals or something for it, too,” Lee Jun-Kyeong continued.
Before she was even able to ask what he meant by “take her away” or even give any permission, she became flabbergasted at the fact that the man was speaking as if all the plans had already been decided.
“That sword is important. Later…” he said, turning his head as if he was back to when he had first come here again.
“I’m going to give it to someone,” he finished with an indecipherable smile.
In the end, she was the one who was left speechless.
***
‘Ungnyeo.’
She wasn’t one of the former companions of the Demon King. However, the Demon King had highly valued her.
[She had talent and the power to match.]
Lee Jun-Kyeong thought that the person he saw matched that description as well. The Demon King may have seen her as someone who simply was born with talent, but to him, she was a High-Level Hunter who had to be admired.
Furthermore, she had skills that Lee Jun-Kyeong could never have.
‘That girl is…’
He needed her.
And, if she stood with him, her abilities would be able to shine even further. He would always be able to help her deal with any changes that she would undergo. That was how he thought, so he said what he did without any hesitation.
As for Heaven Lake Village?
‘Sangun will protect it.’
In the future, if they wanted as well, they could leave Mt. Baekdu, and he would be able to help them meld into the world where people lived.
If she really wanted to save and protect Heaven Lake Village, then it wouldn’t be by hiding out in this crater. Instead, she would have to follow him.
‘Take her.’
Those were the words that Sangun had said to him when they had made their agreement. Sangun had willingly—no, with great heartbreak, allowed it.
‘Sangun…’
He knew about her aspirations, about her sorrows.
“Mr. Lee!”
Jeong In-Chang waved to Lee Jun-Kyeong, who was returning to Heaven Lake Village with Ungnyeo. The Hunter wasn’t alone either.
“Are you only returning now?” he asked.
“You’ve come so late, young man.”
“Oh, the village chief is with him too?”
“We’ve been waiting for your return!”
The Heaven Lake Village residents had gathered together to welcome Lee Jun-Kyeong as well. There was the smell of bonfires and roasting meat, and the noise of people tickled his ears.
“Of course, we should have a festival,” Ungnyeo whispered quietly to Lee Jun-Kyeong.
“Regardless of what happened, whether it’s Heaven Lake Village, or Sangun… or even me… you saved us.”
Having said that, she started running forward.
"Uncles!"
She had returned back to the form of a little girl again. Lee Jun-Kyeong also slowly walked forward toward them. He could see Fenrir “playing” one-sidedly with the princess from far away.
“Growl!”
“Goongj...” the princess wailed.
The people of Heaven Lake Village smiled brightly toward him, regardless of who he was. Lee Jun-Kyeong headed toward them.
‘These people…’
Mt. Baedu was dangerous. China’s gateization would accelerate even further, and even now, the formidably strong monsters would become even stronger and more numerous, and they would invade the mountain and its inhabitants.
How long could Sangun be able to protect them?
This wasn’t a problem that could be stopped, even if he went to China. Therefore, he refused to leave them behind. But, arrogance wasn’t what made him think he had to save everyone.
‘I’ll save everyone that I can see.’
He would do whatever he could. As he thought, Ungnyeo approached and pulled his sleeve.
“Come quickly, mister! They say there’s wild boar meat!”
Lee Jun-Kyeong joined them soon after.
“Well, about before, we apologize…”
“Whenever we talk about foreigners, we’re referring to those who want to plunder us or have bad thoughts about us…”
“Who would ever consider villagers like us as people? We apologize.”
The residents of Heaven Lake Village took turns apologizing to Lee Jun-Kyeong.
“Hehe.”
Looking over at Jeong In-Chang, it seemed as though he had already accepted their apologies.
“I fully understand.”
It was a situation where they could only stay closed off. Not only was it not enough for their nation to exploit them, but it had also then self-destructed. Then, monsters ran rampant and slaughtered their people. In the midst of it all, there would have been no shortage of looters among the victims as well.
One couldn’t count out the people that must have come down from the north due to the monster attacks that were taking place in China, and they must have had many demands for the peaceful town.
Because the inhabitants were Hunters.
Because there was Sangun, Ungnyeo.
‘Because there was power.’
That was the only way they had survived.
"Please, eat."
Lee Jun-Kyeong looked at them and the offered meat. The wild boar must have also absorbed mana, as it was massive.
.
Most of the villagers were Hunters, but if they could only grow properly, they would be of great strength.
‘They could defend themselves.’
It would be fine if they couldn’t become extremely powerful. He just thought that it would be good if they could protect themselves.
The man who had shot an arrow at Lee Jun-Kyeong when he had come to Heaven Lake Village the first time asked, “Do you drink at all?”
“Please give me one glass,” he responded genially.
Today, Lee Jun-Kyeong had decided he would drink. The festival started when he took the cup, and Heaven Lake Village had regained its light and laughter for the first time in a long while.
Sangun was alive and well through the help of Lee Jun-Kyeong, and as for the intruder who tried to destroy Heaven Lake Village…
“Hoho… I can’t believe that little brat was the bastard from back then,” someone commented.
Another person nodded. “It wasn’t something to be taken lightly back then too.”
“Growl!”
They all talked as they watched Fenrir playing in the fields with the princess.
***
"Are you leaving already?" Ungnyeo asked.
“Yes,” Lee Jun-Kyeong answered, stroking her hair.”
“I don’t have much time,” he explained.
“Awww.”
Ungnyeo dropped her head as if she regretted asking that question. However, he responded to her pouting quickly, "I'll come to pick you up soon."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
Lee Jun-Kyeong smiled bitterly at Ungnyeo, who couldn’t remember what they had talked about. Ungnyeo's side effects seemed to be getting worse.
‘It didn’t seem this bad originally.’
He wondered if she had gotten to the point where she wouldn’t be able to even connect the memories of when she changed personalities.
"Ask Sangun about it,” he said as he looked toward the cave.
A colossal being waited in the cave, Sangun. It sat lazily as it looked over at the two of them.
The Seal’s power had been restored, and as Ungnyeo didn’t have to put any effort into maintaining the Seal, Sangun’s treatment was being carried out effectively.
However, the tiger was old.
"Take care of your health, Sangun,” Lee Jun-Kyeong commented offhandedly toward the cave.
–Move quickly.
A voice traveled toward Lee Jun-Kyeong, who was turning away from the cave.
“Let’s go!”
Alongside him, Jeong In-Chang joined while carrying a large bag.
“What is that?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked.
“You told them we were leaving, so they prepared a lot of potatoes for us?” Jeong In-Chang replied, not sure of it himself.
“Potatoes…” he murmured.
Then, another new companion approached.
“Growl!”
Fenrir walked forward and stood next to Lee Jun-Kyeong. Then, the boy immediately turned his head and bowed toward Ungnyeo and the cave.
In return, they heard Ungnyeo’s innocent laughter, coupled with Sangun’s despondent chuckle, one after another.
“Let’s go.”
And like that, Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang left Mt. Baekdu.
1. The word ‘kill’ in Korean (??) is somewhat?similar to Jun-Kyeong, (Jookuh, Jun-Kyeong).
2. I forgot to mention it earlier, but the child Ungnyeo and the Hero Ungnyeo have very different speaking styles. The child speaks with a lot of affectionate words and inflections, while the Hero speaks a very modified, older dialect, similar to how Odin speaks, but a lot more serious in tone.
3. Specifically, bachelor, which is a term Koreans use to address younger, working-age men who aren’t married.
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