Chapter 276
Ham Sohyun was about to talk, but then she closed her mouth. The golden-eyed Itachi began to speak. They weren’t ordinary ‘words’.
Hyukjin could tell that Itachi was delivering a prophecy right now.
“A door opens where no door would have opened.”
“And a path leads to that which would have remained undiscovered.”
“The fate of he who has the authority of Gold be intertwined.”
Hyukjin committed the three sentences to memory. Itachi’s eyes returned to normal.
“What you said is certainly true, Sohyun,” the astrologist confirmed.
“What did Miss Ham say?”
“That looking at you feels like peering into the darkness, like seeing a face without truly seeing one.”
Hyukjin thought for a moment.
‘That’s how I feel when I see the Demon King.’
Apparently, ‘seers’ got the same feeling looking at him that he got from looking at the Demon King.
“It’s nice to meet you. My name is Itachi.”
In front of him was the genius astrologist of Japan. He felt restless upon seeing this seer, who was destined to die early in his late 20s. Hyukjin wanted to confirm his suspicions.
“I’m Kim Hyukjin. Itachi, I’ve wanted to meet you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. There are a few things I’d like to know.”
Everyone took a seat first. Song Kiyeol stayed out of the conversation, focusing on what the others were saying.
“What would you like to know?” asked Itachi.
“Have you made a contract with a casper?”
Itachi fell silent, closing his eyes in thought before opening his mouth to answer.
“Yes. I see you know many things.”
“It seems you already know what kind of Intermediate Administrators caspers are.”
“In the worst case scenario, I’ll have my body stolen and my mind erased.”
“Why did you establish a contract with a casper despite knowing that?”
“Because that is the fate of my class.”
In other words, Itachi the Astrologist could only exist if he was contracted with a casper.
“Is your class that important? More important than your life?”
“Yes.”
“How come?”
Itachi could see the future. It was possible he was aware he would die early. So why, then, did he have a contract with a casper? He didn’t seem to be an unknowing victim, like Sunhwa.
“Because it is ecstasy.”
“Ecstasy, you say.”
“Drug addicts are unable to tear themselves away from drugs, despite knowing it will lead to their ruin.”
“Seeing the future is like a drug?”
“Yes, at least to me.” Itachi wrapped his arms around himself. “It is a sensation far more delightful than e****lation.”
“When a prophecy comes to be, I am overcome with an ecstasy far more wonderful than an or**sm.”
“…Ah.”
Hyukjin was left at a loss for words. Itachi’s way of speaking was a little difficult to adjust to. The young astrologist quivered.
“And recently, I saw the fulfillment of yet another prophecy.”
That was the precognitive note that Ham Sohyun had written.
“A false, sweet fragrance shall permeate you.”
“The prophecy of the true seer h come to be.”
“I, too, saw a similar star. That day, a certain star surged high into the sky.”
Song Kiyeol explained for Hyukjin’s benefit, “I think that prophecy was referring to what happened in the patisserie in Yangpyeong. That day, Miss Ham gave me a precognitive note with those words.”
Itachi nodded.
“You fulfilled the prophecy.”
“I see.”
That day in the patisserie, he hunted a casper, thus eliminating a dormant danger to Sunhwa’s life. That seemed to be what Itachi meant by ‘a certain star surged high into the sky’. With the threat to her life eliminated, Sunhwa could grow undeterred.
“And one more thing.” Itachi looked straight at Hyukjin. “The great red misfortune that occurred in Korea… I already knew about it.”
“You must be referring to the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon’s break.”
“Yes. But it happened too fast.”
Hyukjin knew that, too. Originally, the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon opened on February 28, 2019. Wings and Taeguk Shield cleared it on March 28, 2019. Even after its opening, the dungeon had a one month leeway interval. Hyukjin found it strange, as well.
“As if someone induced it.”
“Induced? Is that possible?”
“Let me make an analogy. Think about it like a small table clock.”
A small table clock. Itachi raised his fingers.
“Move the minute hand like so, like so.”
He moved his finger counterclockwise.
“And on, and on.”
The speed at which his finger moved grew faster and faster, until his finger was drawing quick circles in the air.
“Like turning back time by force.”
“And you’re saying you had that kind of feeling.”
“I don’t know if that’s a natural phenomenon, or something someone artificially caused, but that’s how it felt to me.”
Ham Sohyun added, “I felt something similar as well. I think some massive power descended upon that place. I had a nightmare.”
Two seers who weren’t supposed to meet were now in one place, saying the same thing.
‘The Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon… wasn’t a simple break.’
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There was some external force. He needed to look into it.
Ham Sohyun spoke up again. “If you don’t mind, may I go back to what I was going to say earlier?”
Truthfully, that was what Song Kiyeol had been most curious about. Was Kim Hyukjin truly going to Nanba Terminal just to harass Junghye? Ham Sohyun seemed to know the answer to that question. At Hyukjin’s nod, she elaborated.
“A great power is slumbering in Nanba Terminal.”
“Kim Hyukjin, you will — — —- that power.”
Once again, Hyukjin was fascinated by Ham Sohyun’s ability. This was something he had heard by Jung Sangchul after planting the assassin as a spy. There was a fleet slumbering in Nanba Terminal. In the past, this wasn’t known, but there was apparently some kind of hidden piece there, and Jackson told Song Junghye about it.
Hyukjin shrugged, then stared at Kiyeol. “As you’ve just heard, I’m going to Japan in order to acquire that power.”
To be more precise, he was going there to steal what Song Junghye was supposed to get, or to destroy it if that wasn’t possible. He had no intention of letting Song Junghye grow wings.
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‘And—’
One more thing.
‘I’ll also find out how Jackson got ahold of such intel, and why he gave it to Song Junghye.’
It almost felt like he was playing chess. The whole reason why Hyukjin was admitted to the hospital and needed to recuperate for a while was because he used the Endless Sky Crystal and Isabel unleashed too much strength.
‘That Endless Sky Crystal was given to me by Jackson.’
And why did he have to use it?
‘There was a reason I had to use it. The Red Devils.’
So why did the Red Devils break free and run rampant far ahead of schedule, so unexpectedly that even an astrologist was shocked?
‘I would have been out for the count, and Song Junghye would have gained a new power in the meantime. With Jackson’s help.’
It was still too early to say where Jackson’s allegiances lay. Was he an ally, or a foe? There was really no way to know. Even so, Hyukjin could hold his own in a battle of wits.
‘There was a variable: Senia. A superior potion, to be exact.’
And not just Senia.
‘Jung Sangchul, as well.’
Without him, Hyukjin wouldn’t have known to go to Nanba Terminal. In two days, Song Junghye would leave for Japan. Hyukjin decided to go at the same time.
‘Before that.’
He would visit the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon. He told Ham Sohyun he wanted to go with her, and they went together.
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A gate had formed at the northern entrance of the stadium. Through it, you could enter the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon. The area around the gate was swarming with reporters, and groups of people were there to take a look.
‘The dungeon is activated, like I thought it would be.’
Hyukjin made a cursory scan of the surroundings, but he didn’t find anything worth noting. He walked forward, pushing Ham Sohyun’s wheelchair.
“It’s nice to feel the outside breeze for the first time in a while.”
“I thought you went on a lot of walks with Miss Cheon Sooji.”
“Sure, but I can’t go any further than the hospital grounds.”
“Why?”
“I am an important resource of Taeguk Shield. And because I’m so weak physically, I’m susceptible to ambushes. It’s because you’re here that I’m able to go out. There isn’t a person out there who can slip under your radar and assassinate me.”
Hyukjin tilted his head.
“Someone is targeting you?”
“Guildmaster Song Kiyeol seems to think so, yes.”
A certain face came to mind.
‘Song Junghye.’
There was no other likely suspect. Song Kiyeol already knew. He knew his little sister was capable of killing someone. It might even be that Song Kiyeol was afraid that such a thing would happen.
‘He’s weak.’
Song Junghye was Song Kiyeol’s big weakness.
‘As his business partner…’
Crushing Song Junghye seemed to be the right move after all.
The area around the Sangam World Cup Stadium was a large, well-maintained park. Since the formation of the dungeon, hardly anyone was out picnicking on the grass, but the park itself was neat and tidy. For the first time in a while, Ham Sohyun felt as though she was out on an outing.
The smell of the wind, the dirt, she enjoyed it all. Until—
“Mr. Kim Hyukjin.”
Ham Sohyun shivered.
“Darkness is approaching.”
“Darkness?”
She pointed with a trembling finger at a handsome blonde man who was walking their way.
It was the Great Explorer, Jackson.
‘Jackson… is the darkness?’
“You said I’m darkness, too,” Hyukjin said.
“This is a different kind of darkness. Your darkness is dark, but not scary.”
After saying that, the woman in the wheelchair fainted. It was as though a ‘future’ Ham Sohyun could not handle right now had approached.
“Oh dear, did I cause some discomfort?” said Jackson.
“Jackson. Why are you here?”
“The Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon broke far faster than I expected, you see.”
Jackson had come to investigate because of the same thing?
“Where did you get the Endless Sky Crystal?”
“In the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon.”
“It was already active at that time?”
“Yes. I activated it,” Jackson said with zero qualms. “I am an explorer, and I can open new dungeons by satisfying various conditions.”
“And you got the Endless Sky Crystal there?”
“The break occurred at the same time. Ah, it wasn’t because of the Endless Sky Crystal. Someone made this dungeon break by force.”
Hyukjin recalled the state Jackson had been in when visiting his house. To say he looked awful was no exaggeration. It would add up if Jackson had barely escaped the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon while exploring it.
“Break by force? Is that possible?”
“It is.”
“Then who did it?”
Ham Sohyun’s finger twitched. Very quietly, so quiet no one could hear, she mumbled, “You… can’t.”
Heedless of her warning, Jackson continued, “I don’t know his exact name or identity, either.”
“For now, I’ve been calling him the ‘Demon King’.”
“The Demon… King?”
“It’s not his real name. That’s just what I’m calling him. Because there are traces of the Demon King all over the world.”
Jackson looked straight into Hyukjin’s eyes.
“I am certain that the Demon King’s existence will greatly interfere with the person whose head I must anoint with oil, the king I have chosen.”
Jackson’s eyes seemed to be saying, ‘The king I’ve chosen is you’.
“As a result, I have no choice but to chase the Demon King’s footsteps. That’s also the reason why I’m back at the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon.”
Just then, blood fountained from Jackson’s neck. The Great Explorer’s head rolled to the ground.
Ham Sohyun convulsed, saliva dripping from her mouth. Unconscious, she screamed, “The darkness… the darkness… THE DARKNESS IS COMING…!”
