Episode 116
Kang Tae-min’s words made the two of them tense. If you can live if you cooperate, doesn’t it mean that you can die if you don’t cooperate.
“How can you believe that?”
At Ko Jung-hwan’s question, Kang Tae-min laughed.
“What if you don’t believe me?”
“what?”
“Are there other options?”
Kang Tae-min did not give him a choice. What he told me was, to the last, the result of a choice.
“No, yes… .”
“Just do as you are told.”
Hwang Ye-ri cut off his words. She was quick to grasp the situation as she was sensitive to damage.
‘It’s still okay, not yet… .’
It could have been just a simple threat. I don’t know if Kang Tae-min will really do harm.
But that’s all hypothetical.
‘Everything can be done with something that didn’t exist.’
As long as no one gets hurt, that’s fine. However, the moment you use your own hands, it becomes an irreversible situation.
“… If your sister is like that, that is.”
Ko Jeong-hwan wrinkled his nose slightly and shrugged.
“But I don’t know where to begin even if I told everyone to tell me.”
“Everything you know.”
“Even if I told them to talk about Nobody, there are only two members that I personally saw. The pit has already been identified, and the other is called the torso.”
It was the truth.
Kang Tae-min kept an eye on Ko Jeong-hwan’s karma log and listened to the story.
“She is a little bit crazy. But his ability is outstanding.”
Ko Jeong-hwan explained about Torso’s abilities. The power to fuse different things together was very rare.
“You know I died once. Torso brought me back to life. He was the first one I saw when I woke up.”
“… revived?”
“Um, to translate what Torso said, they say it’s a ‘success case that doesn’t match the cost-effectiveness’.”
“What does that mean?”
Go Jeong-hwan frowned and scratched the back of his neck.
“I didn’t give a detailed explanation. All I know is that someone else’s body was used to restore my body.”
“What do you mean?”
The question that popped up this time was Hwang Ye-ri’s.
“Does your sister know? My body has undergone mutations with seeds. I removed the mutated part and filled the place with someone else’s body with Torso’s ability.”
Go Jung-hwan did not hide his bitterness. It wasn’t something I wanted to tell you.
“Anyway, it took me a while to adjust to my new body after that, and Torso stopped paying attention to me. Pete was not suited for a horse. so i was alone I’ve always thought of going back only to my older sister, to my older sister.”
“So you don’t know anything?”
“Because it’s true. Ah, this might be useful. Pete can only open portals to places he has been to.”
That was definitely good information. However, it was not satisfied with Kang Tae-min’s last name.
“What about No Name?”
“Well… I’ve never seen one myself. It’s probably because of what Torso said about ‘cost performance’. Success, but feeling like a failure?”
Ko Jeong-hwan smiled self-deprecatingly, but the other two did not. He spoke again with an embarrassed face.
“Still, there is something memorable about the conversation between the two of them. Torso once asked me why I had to find the fitters.”
“Did No-Name answer?”
“I did. Even if it was a bit ambiguous answer.”
“vagueness?”
Go Jung-hwan raised one eyebrow and rolled his eyes. It was because it was an answer that I couldn’t understand even when I thought about it again.
“To ‘select’ people. That is the reason for their existence.”
Kang Tae-min’s face immediately frowned.
“Selection? By what criteria?”
“I don’t know. Really just said that and it’s over. Haven’t had any hookups since. I came out to protect my sister.”
Kang Tae-min didn’t ask further. Go Jeong-hwan was always telling the truth.
He took a moment to catch his breath and opened the subspace.
“… wait.”
“what? Not releasing… .”
The subspace closed and his voice disappeared.
Taemin Kang took out a cigarette and asked.
‘It’s a choice… .’
He messed with his memory.
It is not a memory that remains clear with awakening and can be taken out at any time.
It was a memory that he had been recalling with his will.
* * *
the day my parents died.
I was just an immature high school student.
“Ah, it feels dirty because it’s George at the end.”
“Those bastards are definitely hunters who bought regular accounts.”
It was me who slit palms and went to internet cafes with my friends. At that time, I thought that such a life would continue.
“Ha, it feels very good. If you wake up.”
“I know yeah. If you wake up anyway, you won’t have to study, right?”
“You guys. What’s the difference between not working because you’re going to win the lottery?”
I liked the time when I just hung out with my friends without thinking about the future. There was a time when I thought nothing would change.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“good.”
I believed that a tomorrow like today would come.
“I’m here.”
But that tomorrow never came. Because ‘today’ has already changed.
“mom?”
Our house was a small villa. Therefore, I should have felt the presence of my parents from the entrance.
But that day was different.
“Did you go to the meeting… ?”
As soon as I turned on the lights, I froze. Blood stains from the kitchen to the living room.
The red palm stamped on the wall and the long bloodstain as if something had been dragged led to the master bedroom.
“uh… uh… .”
The me of that day was different from what I am now. I didn’t feel like my head was broken in the sudden situation.
body moved first.
slammed the door open. Only the thought of saving her mother remained. And the sight beyond that door I will never forget.
“uh… uhh… mom… .”
Death was an unrealistic concept to me at the time. You can only see it in movies, games, and cartoons, and in the news beyond the screen.
It was definitely the story of ‘South’.
“Wow… !”
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Legs were weak. I vomited what was inside my body. The smell of vomit mixed with the smell of blood made my stomach upset.
My mother’s face was different from the death I knew.
I thought dead people close their eyes. I thought that even if I couldn’t close my eyes, they wouldn’t be as lifeless as the dynamic eyes.
It wasn’t.
The mother’s face was contorted with pain, and her eyes were bloodshot red.
It was completely different from the death I knew.
“Keep it… .”
I crawled on all fours like an animal. He headed outside to escape from the real death he encountered for the first time.
“Oh, Dad… Dad… .”
I needed help, and I thought of someone who would help me. It was also a struggle to take out the cell phone because there was no strength in the body.
When I pressed the hotkey, the call signal went.
And.
“uh… ? uhh… ?”
Tears, runny nose, and drool mingled with the remaining vomit, I turned my head.
The all-too-familiar default ringtone that not only my father but most of my uncles haven’t changed.
The sound came from the bathroom.
“no… no… Hey… .”
it will be someone else It must be a coincidence.
Barely denying the reality you don’t want to believe. That was the maximum resistance I could do.
I had to do that so I wouldn’t collapse.
“hehehehe… .”
My head was dizzy. I was suffocating as if I would die at any moment. Nonetheless, I headed to the bathroom.
I leaned against the door, but it seemed to be caught on something. Only a very small gap was open, through which I could see inside.
“ah… .”
The bathroom floor was all red. Unlike the outside, the blood did not completely harden.
Next to the drain, the fallen father’s back and bloodied smartphone were glowing.
[My pride]
My name and my number popped up on the screen.
That was the first time I knew the feeling of being blacked out. My mind was confused and my body was weak.
“This time too… handle… .”
As I was losing consciousness, a voice leaked in. Someone was left at home.
It must have been the culprit. It was clear that he was an Awakener or a Villain as he didn’t show any signs of being seen.
“This child… .”
I thought I was going to die too. No, I would rather have.
When I opened my eyes again, I wanted all this pain to disappear.
“Noname… .”
At the last word, consciousness completely went out. And when I woke up, I wasn’t dead.
In the cold, dead house, I realized that I had awakened.
* * *
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Late at night, Johanna’s research building.
Even though the lights in Veritas’ other R&D facilities were also turned off, she was still engaged in research.
In front of her was the data of Alexei that she had researched earlier.
‘The fusion of souls is possible.’
She judged that soul fusion was impossible due to Go Jung-hwan’s death and mutation. The Corrupted mutated by the Seed was thought to be a symptom of that side effect.
Because the soul also affects the body.
‘It’s clear that Go Jeong-hwan is also alive.’
I hate to admit it, but No Name has a better understanding of Seed than her creator. There must have been a reason that No Name took not only Seed’s prototype, but also Go Jeong-hwan’s body.
‘The seeds improved by Nobody have fewer side effects. But normal people eventually turned into Corrupted. It means that the Awakened have a higher chance of succeeding in fusion.’
She constantly expanded her thinking. That was what a wizard had to do.
‘Seed contains traces of the soul. The central soul that accepts it, the ego must be clear.’
Alexei’s personality was unique. In other words, it also meant that it was insensitive to changes in the external environment.
‘Until now, I thought that mana came from the soul… .’
She could see Mana with her own eyes, and could tell them apart. In other words, not all mana is the same, but each individual is different.
But soul fusion turned that idea upside down.
‘The fusion of souls also means the fusion of mana. The fact that different mana is mixed means that there is a common denominator.’
In fact, it was difficult to imagine. It was like creating ‘hot ice’.
But it wasn’t impossible. In fact, there was an experiment in which hot ice was created.
‘The base of mana is the soul, and the base of the soul is something else.’
Unfortunately, the expansion of her thinking ended there.
“Johanna.”
She shuddered at the sound of a voice that penetrated her thoughts. When I turned around, Kang Tae-min was standing there.
“Sir Kang? when?”
“I called and knocked, but there was no response.”
“Oh, did you? I have something to think about.”
Kang Tae-min’s entry in itself was not a problem. During vacation, he had been granted permission to enter the research building for student training.
He had the virtue of exterminating Ann Nahoz and protecting the research building, so he left the authority as it is.
“But what are you doing at this late hour?”
“I came because I needed some help.”
“help?”
“Yes. Is it okay to talk in subspace for now?”
Johanna tilted her head.
“Why are you there? Right now, we are the only ones in the research building.”
“… I caught Hwang Ye-ri and Ko Jeong-hwan.”
“… what?”
At Kang Tae-min’s answer, Yohanna widened her eyes. Without hesitation, she got up from her seat.
‘I don’t know if there will be a little more clues if I investigate Jung-hwan Koh… !’
It was thanks not only to her trust in Kang Tae-min, but also to her desire to explore.
As he said, when I entered the sub-space, Hwang Ye-ri and Ko Jeong-hwan were there.
“Oh, Johanna.”
Go Jung-hwan smiled and waved his hand. It was like meeting an old friend after a long time.
Hwang Ye-ri gave Go Jung-hwan a glare.
“Crazy, are you happy to be the bitch who killed you?”
“Ah, my sister is also true. Did Johanna do it on purpose?”
It was a conversation that was difficult to accept, but Johanna was greeted calmly.
“Since Go Jung-hwan is alive, can’t you hate me or Pyo Ji-hoon a little less?”
“You say that… !”
Hwang Ye-ri was furious, but soon she shut her mouth when she saw Kang Tae-min coming in.
Johanna lit her pipe and looked away.
“By the way, Mr. Kang, didn’t you say you missed two people?”
“I needed some cooperation, so I made a rough move.”
“Uhm… .”
She let out white smoke and shook her head.
“So you need my help?”
“Once verbally, I made some ‘transactions’ with Ko Jeong-hwan… .”
It was the reason Kang Tae-min respected him. He was not a player who simply listened to information and discarded it.
“Please intermediary to make it more certain.”
“mediation?”
“Yes.”
Why did he find Johanna?
“I want to make a devil’s contract.”
A contract with the soul as collateral.
It was because she had already made a contract with the devil while obtaining the body of the Pyosuho.