No. 171

“It’s nothing new, but I’d like to say it nonetheless…” Yoo-seong began.

Neither man in the bathroom raised his Aura.

“I’m not glad to see you again.”

Before he’d gone inside the room, Yoo-seong’s muscles were tense. He and Jin Wei-baek hadn’t known each other for a long time. However, even with those short meetings they had been through…

Yoo-seong would be a fool to forget what this man was.

He and Jin Wei-baek weren’t friends. Their relationship was more like a time bomb that could explode at any time.

Jin Wei-baek’s motives were always a mystery. Moreover, he did not hesitate to wield violence wherever he was, whoever was watching.

Yoo-seong couldn’t help but be wary of such a person.

It was only business that tied them together, and the last business they had agreed to was more than six months ago.

It had been a contract to deliver the Sky Scissors. When he was beyond the crack, and until he had returned, Yoo-seong had been planning to keep his promise.

However, Jin Wei-baek hadn’t kept his end of the deal. Instead of him, two of Tenz’s Ship Zone hunters had come to Korea and tried to take the Scissors away from Yoo-seong.

He knew it wasn’t something Jin Wei-baek would have done himself. He didn’t trust the old man, but Jin Wei-baek wasn’t someone who would break his promises either. Even if he had planned to break the deal, he would have faced Yoo-seong in person.

Jin Wei-baek would have argued with his own mouth, and if he’d wanted to, wielded violence with his own hands. The fact that only Tenz minions had come for Yoo-seong…

“I guess things haven’t worked out for you so far,” he remarked.

“That’s a nice way to put it.” Jin Wei-baek nodded.

Coup d’etat.

The Tenz power structure had already been shaken, and Jin Wei-baek had been kicked out.

“Well, it seems this is going to be a long story.” Yoo-seong took something out of his pocket. It was his cellphone.

Yoo-seong then called Yang Chang-guk to tell him he wasn’t feeling well.

“Begin,” he told Jin Wei-baek after ending the call.

From the beginning to the end of the phone call, he hadn’t taken his eyes off the old man. Strangely, Jin Wei-baek looked like he had no intention of moving. Even his hands had remained still.

Finally, the old man’s mouth opened.

“Well… it would be nice to have dinner,” he said.

Yoo-seong raised his eyebrows at the unexpected request.

“I haven’t eaten anything in three weeks,” Jin Wei-baek added.

Yoo-seong pondered if there was any hint or hidden meaning in what Jin Wei-baek had said.

There turned out to be none.

“…because I don’t have any money,” the old man sighed.

***

A humble, home-style restaurant where a meal cost around 8,000 won.

It was quite crowded during lunchtime as many government officials opted to spend their lunch break here. However, at a little past four o’clock in the afternoon, it wasn’t as busy.

“Oh, your father looks very cool. How nice.” The late-middle-aged lady serving them smiled brightly at Jin Wei-baek.

“Thank you,” Jin Wei-baek acknowledged the compliment.

“Wow. Your voice sounds like a famous singer… do you often hear that your voice resembles Na Hoon A?”

Yoo-seong visibly cringed at the exchange happening before him. The woman seemed like she was trying to seduce the old man, who seemed to be enjoying it.

After a while, the woman finally returned to the kitchen, albeit with an expression of regret. Jin Wei-baek turned to Yoo-seong, looking disappointed.

“Why did you act that way?” the old man hissed. “If I didn’t know better, I would think that you were keeping her off me.”

“Well, was there a need for me to do that?” Yoo-seong shrugged.

Jin Wei-baek wiped his hand with a wet towel as he looked at the side dishes before him.

“It looks like you are jealous because her attention was on me,” Jin Wei-baek grinned.

“…”

“Maybe, if you used everything you have right now, you might be able to beat me.”

“There is no need to fight for—” Yoo-seong immediately answered, but the old man cut him off.

“Right. Your so-called principles…” Jin Wei-baek placed the towel back in the bucket at the side of the table. “Even if your heart is screaming to use your power, you will never use those hands ‘without reason’ against another person. Perhaps that’s why you wanted to annoy me and make me strike you first. So you could give yourself permission to succumb to violence.”

“I hear your bullshit,” Yoo-seong answered as he took a spoon and placed it before the old man.

Then he got straight to the point.

“I have no intention of handing over the Needle and the Scissors.”

“Even though we had an agreement?” Jin Wei-baek merely tilted his head.

“Part of the agreement was that we would meet when I came out. But you didn’t show up. Instead, two idiots came for me.”

Jin Wei-baek pursed his lips. “And that young man Sung-wook also got cured, right?”

Yoo-seong raised his eyebrows.

“Besides, he seems happy now with his new bride. It’s a little surprising to see. That child’s body is a treasure that can only be found in great fantasies. To see them both with such happy faces…”

“Hey.” Yoo-seong’s voice turned cold. “If you do anything to them, or even keep talking about them… it will be the provocation you said I was waiting for.”

“Really?” Jin Wei-baek smiled. “Unfortunately, I have no intention of touching them, so I don’t think it will happen.”

“Were you spying on them?” Yoo-seong asked.

Sung-wook and Seoyu’s relationship wasn’t something a casual observer would notice. Somehow, Jin Wei-baek had been carefully watching them.

“Of course. Because I was looking for you.” Jin Wei-baek took a sip of water. “The reason I asked you to find the Scissors a few months ago is that I was busy preparing for something myself.”

“Yes?”

“I was preparing to hand Tenz over to you if only everything had gone to plan.” Jin Wei-baek stared at him.

‘What is this guy talking about now?’ Yoo-seong was surprised. ‘No doubt he’s full of crap, but this…’

“Do you know where the Cheonma priesthood originated from?” the old man asked.

“Not really, but still, go ahead.”

“It’s a story that goes back quite a long time, even before the Sang-go period in your history.”

Suddenly, a thought passed through Yoo-seong’s mind.

“The King of Humans…?”

Jin Wei-baek’s mouth dropped as if he were genuinely surprised. “Whoa, you already know. Who did you hear it from?”

“From the creatures on the other side,” Yoo-seong answered.

“Ah, I also used to communicate with them.” Jin Wei-baek nodded happily. “I don’t know how much they told you, so I’ll explain it. The Cheonma is directly related to what you call Inwang or the King.”

“…”

At that moment, Yoo-seong realized the coincidences between the fantasies he’d known since he was a child and what the Grays’ leader had told him.

“Are you saying that… the descendants of the King are the founders of your religion?”

“Well, close enough. However, they were not his descendants. As the King secured humanity’s freedom against the old inhabitants, there were those who served him closely. Each of them had abilities comparable to those of the Inwang.” One of the King’s closest knights had been the first Cheonma.

“Cheonma is the name that the King gave him. The same goes for the British Grandmaster, the Russian Baba Yaga, the Japanese Sukune, and the African Gguluddene. Although the descendants’ culture and language were different, all the titles passed down from generation to generation are derived from what the Inwang called their ancestors.

They were the descendants of the best hunters.

“Of course, not all Tech come from that era. Most of the Tech we have now were borne out of human desire and conflicts after they began ruling the Earth. However, the oldest and most powerful techniques were handed down to later generations by Inwang’s closest servants. The King instructed them to keep records of these Tech. Any idea why?”

Yoo-seong nodded. “To prepare for this situation.”

“Right. To prevent cracks from reopening. To stop the old masters who wanted to take control of the world once more. To always remain in service of the world and of mankind.”

At that point, the food they’d ordered came out.

“Where should I put the sundubu-jiggae?” the woman asked sweetly.

The hot pot with the strong scent of chili oil was placed before them.

Jin Wei-baek closed his eyes and savored the scent as if it were a world-class delicacy.

“I don’t even have to take a meal, but after not eating anything for three weeks, I couldn’t help but miss the sensation of food and its taste in my mouth.”

“You really don’t have any money?”

“My money is tangled up elsewhere in the meantime.”

Yoo-seong looked Jin Wei-baek up and down. All his clothes and accessories looked new, as if they were barely three days old.

All of them also seemed to be designer items. The sunglasses perched on the old man’s forehead alone looked like they cost hundreds of thousands of won.

“The money to buy all those clothes and accessories…”

“I cannot change the way I dress.” The old man sounded annoyed. Then he quickly downed half a bowl of rice.

As he watched the old man before him wolf down the food like someone who hadn’t eaten for weeks, Yoo-seong carefully organized his thoughts.

All the ridiculous stuff Jin Wei-baek had told him so far made sense since Yoo-seong already had some context. However, there was a question that was nagging at him.

“I have something to ask.”

Jin Wei-baek placed the rice bowl down and raised his head, urging Yoo-seong to continue.

“According to you, the Earth’s most powerful Tech has been distributed to the different countries where the descendants of the King’s entourage reside.”

“Yes, so?”

“Then… what country are the Inwang’s descendants in?”

As he posed the question, Yoo-seong kept his eyes on the man before him.

Jin Wei-baek was the strongest creature he had ever faced, barring no human or monster. Even now, with a bowl of steaming sundubu-jiggae between them, Yoo-seong had a hand ready to press the button at any time.

However, the old man was saying that a person as powerful as him wasn’t even a descendant of the King. If so, just how strong would the King’s descendants be?

However…

“There are no descendants from the King’s line,” Jin Wei-baek answered him.

“What?”

“He didn’t leave a successor.” Jin Wei-baek shrugged.

‘That’s a little strange,’ Yoo-seong thought. ‘He ordered his strongest associates to leave successors to protect the future of the Earth, but he, the strongest of all, didn’t leave one?’

“But looking at the records, it’s understandable,” Jin Wei-baek added.

“Why is that?”

“Inwang was a once-in-a-lifetime intellect,” the old man said in a solemn voice. “He was said to be a genius with unlimited talent. He didn’t even have to learn those talents properly.”

“Well, those ancient records are always exaggerated, no matter how much you look at them…”

“Of course, he had a wealth of Ki, but it was said that it wasn’t bound by any form. He used the optimal movement according to the situation and achieved the best result. Always.”

“…”

“Sometimes, someone else’s Tech unfolded in the King’s hands, but no one dared to open their mouth about it. It was because the power he created was on a different level from the original, and if the Tech didn’t fit the situation, he would not use the same technique again.”

Jin Wei-baek shrugged his shoulders again before turning back to his food.

“It’s up to you to believe this story or not,” the old man added before turning back to his food. “As you said, ancient myths are always exaggerated, but… isn’t it amazing even if it’s fictitious? A human who could use anything around him, to a level that surpasses believability?”