episode_0123

40. In the Hidden Mask. (4)

Oh Hyuk-jin opened his mouth as he looked at Hodushik, who was holding the girl who came out of Kochi as if she was precious.

Like a snake in the Garden of Eden, whispering to Adam and Eve with its long tongue, telling them to eat the apple.

” Think about it carefully. Why didn’t that kid tell you about his ‘abilities’? It’s because you ‘love’ that kid.

If you knew that Ling had powers, what would you have done? You would have told her not to use her powers because you valued your daughter.

If I had done as you said, I would definitely have a ‘daughter’ instead of someone here. ”

Oh Hyuk-jin smiled slightly at the sight of Hodushik looking at him with his eyes wide open and continued speaking.

As if everything was going the way he wanted it to.

” If your daughter could come here and revive you, what would she do? She would definitely try to revive her own father, right?

Your daughter also cherishes and loves you! Of course, if she could save you, she would try to save you.

So, what would you do if you could save your daughter? ”

” I, I… ”

Hodushik looks at his daughter with sad eyes.

A lot of thoughts were crossing my mind.

‘Why did my daughter hide her powers from me?, What if I died instead of my daughter…?, What would my daughter do if she could revive me?’

As I listened to the words of my close friend, Oh Hyuk-jin, who was right in front of me, I began to think more and more deeply.

Surely, if she were his daughter as he said… he would try to revive her.

Because the only family left were herself and her daughter.

Even now, whenever I look at my daughter in my arms, tears flow.

With the thought that I should have done better and let her do what she wanted to do.

That is why, even if the thing he is holding right now is his daughter, or something that resembles his daughter, he cannot easily let it go.

The faint warmth he felt from the hands holding the child and the body touching him made his heart even more uneasy.

Oh Hyuk-jin, who saw that he was not easily able to answer his question, slowly approached him and put a hand on his shoulder, saying:

” I’m not saying give up on your daughter. Rather, I’m saying let’s let this child live and play again. ”

Black smoke slowly spreads from the hand placed on his shoulder and begins to enter his walnut-shaped nose, ears, and mouth.

” Right now, that child’s soul is still in that body. But it’s not waking up easily. Why is that? It’s because there’s no goal. No goal to live for!

But you heard it just now, right? ‘The voice of the daughter’! You are there to protect her. So that she doesn’t disappear helplessly like before.

It’s a strong wall that blocks anyone who comes! ”

As Oh Hyuk-jin finished speaking, the black smoke completely entered Hodushik’s body, and then his body began to change with a ‘snapping’ sound.

” Ugh! Huh! ”

Hodushik, who was holding the girl in his arms, placed her on the floor and began to cover his own body, falling to the ground in pain.

Black smoke begins to flow out of his body, and at the same time, an armor begins to form around his body.

Soon after, a knight was born there, wearing armor made of black steel and wielding a huge axe in both hands.

The only thing that was unusual was that there was something like a silver brooch attached to the chest.

” Hahaha! Okay, okay. This is it. This will make ‘Two Bowls’ fall into despair. Perfect! ”

As Oh Hyuk-jin waved his hand, a gourd made of black smoke appeared again and threw the girl on the floor into it.

And then he ‘thump, thump’ hit the armor of the blackened steel knight.

” Watch carefully this time. Hehe… ”

After those words, no more sound was heard from there.

As if there had been nothing there to begin with.

*****

When morning came, I quickly got ready and headed to the main gate of the settlement, where Ji-seong oppa and Hyeon-seok oppa were.

When Hyunseok oppa found me, he came over to me with a smile and hugged me, asking if I slept well. I buried my face in his arms and told him that I missed him, and hugged him tightly.

Yeonseo and Jisung frowned at that sight, but what do you know? I like it.

” I hoped it would go well… but it wasn’t like this… ”

Yeonseo said those words while looking at me and my brother, but this is her own fault. She kept telling me that I was being a jerk to my brother, and I just realized what I was thinking based on those words.

Not long after, Sister Jia, who had been giving instructions to the people in the situation room, came down and saw us.

” It’s good to be on good terms, but now, it’s time to get to work, so take it easy. ”

” Okay… ”

” Okay, I understand. Okay, then I’ll start the briefing. ”

Zia showed us the map on her device and explained our route.

The plan was to use Yeonseo’s summons to quickly move, enter the building that was supposedly a department store where the reconnaissance team was staying, and look for their traces, then go to the entrance of Namsan Tunnel No. 3 and go to Baekbeom Square and the Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Hall above it.

” Are you going towards the square and the memorial hall? ”

To Ji-seong’s question, the older sister nodded

” Yeah, at first it was right near Namsan Tower, but when I checked again today, I got a signal from there. Maybe, with what little energy he had left, he headed that way.

It’s a pretty good decision. The devastation caused by the Namsan Tower has been enormous, but at least there are places where such buildings remain hidden, so it’s better. ”

” Hmm, that’s right. Well, I guess it would be good to go to the department store, check the traces, and then assess the situation. Okay, this is enough. Let’s go. ”

While listening to the story, I saw Ji-seong oppa and Ji-ah unnie trying to move with Yeon-seo who took out the summoner and I called out to them in a hurry.

” Wait a minute! I have this, I have this. ”

” This is… a ‘brooch’, right? ”

When my sister suddenly wondered why I was giving her something like this, I explained that it was a brooch that contained my power.

With that being said, it would be safer to have it since it temporarily heals and creates a protective shield when you take major damage.

” Whoa, I didn’t know our youngest would prepare something like this. Thank you. ”

” Yeah, thank you very much. Especially since I’m not very good at fighting, except for exploring. ”

The two of them said thank you and put the brooch in their bosoms as they climbed onto Yeonseo’s summoned beast. My brother Hyunseok and I followed suit and climbed onto our summoned beasts, and that was the beginning of our journey.

There were people who saluted and greeted us as we left, but since my sister must have told us in advance, there weren’t many people outside, so we were able to leave with a somewhat relaxed mind.

‘Sir… please wait.’

I was concerned that the brooch the old man was wearing had a healing reaction, but it didn’t seem to have suffered enough damage to break it.

If the brooch had been broken… it would have been a life-threatening situation.

But strangely, the power contained in the brooch I gave to the old man has been disconnected from me for some time now. It’s as if… something was covering it and blocking the signal.

‘It’s bothering me, but… I’m going to find you now… So you don’t have to be impatient… Yeah. ‘

I just hoped that the old man would be okay, thinking that if I got impatient I might miss something more important.

Without even knowing how he had changed.

*****

How far did you run while riding Yeonseo’s summons?

There was a building right in front of our eyes that was the department store we were aiming for.

Rather than staying on the side of the road, they decide to make a base for their exploration in the parking lot inside, and just as they are about to enter, Yeonseo bumps into them with a ‘thud!’

” Ugh… It hurts… What the heck… ”

‘Tok, knock’ As Yeonseo tapped with her hand, a thin film appeared surrounding the building.

Ji-ah and Ji-sung approached Yeon-seo and slowly reached out to touch her.

” Is this… glass? Or… something similar to that? ”

As my sister slowly touched the transparent, thin membrane, tapped it or lightly scratched it to check, I approached her and put my hand on the thin membrane, feeling the energy.

” Everyone back off. Quickly! ”

When I touched it, I could feel the ‘energy of the evil god.’ Clearly, I could tell that the one who had the broken godhood of Thanatos had created this.

‘Why…? Why didn’t I know that before I touched it…? Does that mean you’re that good at manipulating energy?’

When I suddenly shouted, everyone moved away and asked what was going on.

” This… seems to contain the energy that was in Ji-sung oppa’s left arm. Just in case, everyone, stay far away and build a wall. ”

” Okay. ”

Ji-sung oppa said he knew and instructed Hyun-seok oppa and Yeon-seo to build a wall to surround them, and I confirmed that the wall surrounding them was being built.

” Okay, let’s get started. ”

As I slowly placed both hands on the thin membrane covering the building, I felt the shattered divinity of Thanatos.

As I slowly absorbed it and simultaneously let my divine power flow through it, a crack appeared from the place where my hand touched with a ‘Crack!’ sound and began to spread in all directions.

How long had it been? The crack had risen so high that it could not be seen even with eyes strengthened by divine power.

As I was looking up, something started hitting my forehead with a ‘thud’.

” Ouch. This is…! ”

A shard of the thin glass covering the building had fallen.

That obviously means that debris is falling from above.

” Everyone be careful! ”

I quickly created [Region, Brittany] that enveloped everyone along with my body while shouting, and soon after, I heard a ‘Kugugugu’ sound from above.

Large, glittering debris was falling towards us from the cloud-covered sky.

As if shedding the shell that had been covering it, the building reveals its original appearance as a department store.