Seo Kang-rim couldn’t understand Shin Soo-ah.
There is nothing Shin Soo Ah gains from being together.
And yet she said she wanted to be by his side.
“Even if you run away, I will follow you to the end. So please give up and stay by my side.”
Shin Soo-ah was looking at Seo Kang-rim with unwavering gaze.
Seo Kang-rim knew those eyes well.
In this life, and in the past life, she always looked at me with that kind of gaze.
Even when everyone approached him and reached out to him, a lowly third-class official who had been shunned by everyone else.
Even when she ran away from the sect because she thought her existence was harmful, Shin Soo-ah still managed to find Seo Kang-rim and bring him to her side.
And this time, she didn’t change.
“… … Shin Soo-ah is a really strange person.”
“Okay. I’ll say something like that.”
“How did you know about the boundary? Did your teacher tell you about it?”
“That’s a secret.”
Even if it’s a secret, only Seo Hwa-kyung knows about her situation.
I had no idea how much Seo Hwa-kyung had said, but it was obvious that even if I lied clumsily, I would be caught.
Seo Kang-rim eventually gave up.
“… … Okay, I understand. I won’t run away.”
Only then did Shin Soo Ah smile brightly.
Although she looked relieved, she still did not let go of Seo Kang-rim’s hand and asked a question.
“What are your plans for the future?”
“As you might have guessed, I’m going to the rift to find the sword that the anonymous man left behind.”
“Alone?”
Seo Kang-rim nodded.
At first, the anonymous person engraved the sentence and said that only one person could go.
Shin Soo Ah also heard the story that Moo Myeong had told, so she didn’t cling to it any longer.
“Okay, but from now on, please don’t hide anything and just tell me. Okay?”
Seo Kang-rim nodded, but it was a lie.
There was something she was keeping hidden from him and it would not be known until after she died.
What will her expression be like when this lie is exposed?
I couldn’t see her expression, but I just hoped she wasn’t sad.
* * *
“Ha, as I said last time, it is taking time to make the highest grade magic potion because the supply of materials is not smooth.”
Lee Hyeon was sitting in the office talking on the phone.
My secretary would handle most things, but the person I was talking to right now was such a big shot that I couldn’t avoid it.
Few people could avoid a call from the Fate Guardians.
This wasn’t the first time the Protectorate had received such a harassing call.
It had been a frequent call since Lee Hyun stopped supplying the potions to the Protectorate, but today it was particularly persistent.
Lee Hyeon responded patiently.
“There is a general shortage at the moment… …. We will contact you when the supply is available.”
After several attempts to persuade the other person, I was finally able to hang up the phone.
Lee Hyeon let out a deep sigh.
‘It’s become annoying. I can’t even keep saying that I don’t have the materials anymore.’
After joining hands with Seo Kang-rim, he drastically reduced the amount of goods he traded with the protectorate.
In particular, all items classified as top quality are excluded.
At first they seemed to understand, but as months went by, the excuse of not having enough materials became untenable.
‘Seo Kang-rim, I’ve become entangled with that guy and it’s become a nuisance in many ways. If things continue like this, the Protectorate will put pressure on me… … .’
At that moment, a notification window popped up before my eyes.
When Lee Hyun saw that, a vein stood out between his eyebrows.
[The ‘King of Dirt and Bugs’ requests unpaid communication from you.]
They say even a tiger will come when you call it, and just as I was thinking about it, I got a call from Seo Kang-rim.
I wanted to ignore it, but the notification window kept popping up.
He connected the call reluctantly.
“It’s me. What’s going on?”
“[I have a favor to ask you.]”
Neither of them said a word of greeting.
To begin with, we weren’t close enough to have a friendly conversation.
In the midst of the unpleasant feeling of the voice resonating through his head, Lee Hyeon clicked his tongue at the word “please.”
“I don’t know how many times I’ve asked you to do me a favor. What’s going on now?”
“[I’m sure even Lee Hyeon Man-shin will like this request.]”
The voice coming from the other side was strangely calm.
Lee Hyun didn’t like that voice.
He asked in a mocking tone.
“What would you like me to do?”
“[Before that, I have a question. I understand that there is a poison that is activated by the spirit in the Black Gate. Is that correct?]”
Undok (言毒) was one of the poisons secretly made at Heukuimun.
If you ingest the poison, you won’t die immediately, but it won’t be excreted from your body either.
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The poison took effect when the specified sentence was spoken or heard.
It was a poison that was fed to traitors and spies to keep secrets.
Since it is a secret poison, no one but the executives of the Black Gate even know of its existence, including the recipe for making it.
I wondered how Seo Kang-rim knew about such things, but I didn’t ask about the source.
Because from the beginning, that guy knew strange things as if he had lived twice.
“I don’t know how you found that out. But why the sudden unread?”
“[Lee Hyun Man-shin, do you know about my current condition?]”
At that question, Lee Hyeon closed his mouth for a moment.
I thought it would be a more troublesome story than I thought.
He asked with a furrowed brow.
“In your condition?”
“[I’m getting closer to the boundary. If you’re Lee Hyun Man-shin, you’ll notice.]”
I knew very well about Seo Kang-rim’s condition.
The ominous aura that had been emanating from him for a long time was now strong enough to be seen.
But why are you suddenly talking about your condition and looking for a partner?
At that moment, as he was wondering, the color drained from Lee Hyeon’s face.
“You, no way. The favor I like… is that you want to eat the undog?”
“[yes.]”
For someone asking to be killed, his voice was very calm.
A voice that doesn’t convey even the slightest hint of fear.
While Lee Hyeon was speechless, Seo Kang-rim’s voice was heard from the other side.
“[Of course, I’m not asking you to kill me right now. If I cross the line… or… . my body is taken over by the unchanging Eternity, I ask that you activate Undok.]”
“Unchanging eternity? What kind of guy is that?”
Seo Kang-rim calmly explained the unchanging eternity.
With the words that if his body were taken away, a great crisis would come to the world.
Lee Hyeon muttered with a puzzled expression on his face.
“… … Was that why I felt an evil aura from you since childhood?”
“[You’re quick-witted.]”
“Shut up.”
I’ve always felt that Seo Kang-rim was a dangerous being in many ways, but when I found out the reason, it was suffocating.
After all, he is too dangerous to keep alive.
Even so, asking to kill yourself?
“Aren’t you afraid of dying?”
It’s been like that since I was little.
He was not even ten years old at most, and he neither cried nor laughed.
Even when he grabbed the young Seo Kang-rim by the collar and tried to drag him out, didn’t he just look at him with indifferent eyes without showing any sign of fear?
Rather, those eyes that looked at me as if they were begging me to kill them.
“[……I am.]”
At that moment, after a brief pause, Seo Kang-rim’s voice was heard.
It was a lonely voice from somewhere.
“[I’m more afraid of being left alone.]”
When Lee Hyeon heard that story, he remembered the first time he met Seo Kang-rim.
A young child with a terribly ominous aura.
He said that his entire family died in an accident and he was left alone.
I don’t know what kind of life Seo Kang-rim lived after that.
But the fate given to him must have been a lonely and thorny path.
A fate where you have to go alone or create a graveyard alone.
A life that must be lived entirely alone.
“[Please, Lee Hyun Man-shin. I don’t want to be a threat to those around me.]”
“So you want me to kill you?”
“[yes.]”
Lee Hyeon gritted his teeth at that bland answer.
It wasn’t a bad suggestion for Lee Hyun either.
No, rather, if you cooperate on your own, there is nothing better than this.
Seo Kang-rim was determined to kill himself if he crossed the line.
Even if he is hated by Seo Hwa-gyeong because of it.
But he didn’t like this situation.
It would have been better if Seo Kang-rim had been a villain.
If I were a human who would struggle to live alone even if everyone else died, I would have died with peace of mind.
Doesn’t he value other people’s lives more than his own?
“[Please. There is no one else who can take on this job but you, Lee Hyeon Man-shin.]”
If Lee Hyeon was in front of him, he would have gladly gotten down on his knees and asked for a favor.
What a fool, he begs so desperately to be killed.
Lee Hyeon was silent for a long time and then let out a deep sigh.
“… … Okay. I’ll get it ready.”
“[Thank you. But how effective is that poison? I’m the type of person who can’t handle most poisons, so if it doesn’t work, it’ll be a problem.]”
“It’s called poison, but it’s actually closer to a curse. Even if you’re immune to poison, it’ll work.”
“[That’s great. Then I’ll ask you to do it as soon as possible.]”
After saying that, the silent communication ended.
Lee Hyeon gritted his teeth and muttered.
“He’s a guy I never liked… … .”
I didn’t like the fact that the bastard came to me and asked me to kill him.
I remembered something Shin Soo Ah said one day.
You are the real villain who hurled such abusive language at the young Seo Kang-rim.
I don’t regret what I did back then.
The thought that Seo Kang-rim was still in danger did not go away.
But those eyes, the eyes of the young Seo Kang-rim who looked at me as if asking me to kill her, came to mind.
“… … Tsk.”
He clicked his tongue briefly with a reluctant expression.
After thinking about it for a while, Lee Hyeon got up from his seat and headed to the pharmacy.
The black hems fluttered like a shroud.
* * *
Candles lit here and there in the dark room flickered.
There were talismans hanging in the room and incense burning, so a strange scent wafted around.
Thanks to the items installed here, my physical condition was pretty good.
My body had recovered somewhat, so now it was time to head towards the crack.
I had already shared this fact with Shin Soo-ah and other people.
Everyone said they would follow, but I was the only one who could go.
I barely managed to convince him to at least watch the road ahead and kick him out.
Even so, he’ll be waiting in front of this room.
The person who was actually with me in this room was not a member of the Bihomun group, but an outsider.
“Tsk, bothering you by calling me all the way here.”
Lee Hyun was looking at me with his arms crossed as if he couldn’t stand it.
It was I who called him.
Before you go, you need to prepare for an emergency.
Lee Hyun threw something at me while standing awkwardly.
“It’s poisonous. You know that you can’t get rid of it if you eat it, right?”
