Ch.126The Guy Called Father

“One more time.”

An earthquake of far greater intensity than before swept across the entire Korean peninsula.

“Urgh?!”

“Everyone, press your bodies against the ground! One wrong move and you’ll be thrown into the air!”

The force was so absurd that every building in Seoul tilted.

Even the Hunter Association building, designed to withstand nuclear bombs, couldn’t handle it.

“Th-the Hunter Association building…!”

“!!”

The Hunter Association building, having taken such an impact from within rather than outside, was visibly beginning to collapse as soon as the tremors subsided.

Thud!

“Lorensky.”

“Lee Jin-ah…”

Landing in their direction from the top of the slowly sinking Hunter Association building was Barbatov Lorensky, Russia’s only National Authority-Level Hunter.

“What happened?”

Lee Jin-ah immediately asked about the situation.

And—

“…”

Lorensky remained silent.

Instead of answering, he simply pointed his thumb toward the collapsing building.

Following his gesture…

Thump. Thump.

“…!”

“He survived that explosion?”

“Truly a massive evil. The future world must have been destroyed by this demon.”

Despite having taken what must have been a nuclear-level explosion head-on, Future Shinwoo emerged from the burning Hunter Association building as if nothing had happened.

‘I need to resurrect Yeopo Bongseon first… No, before that, will we even have time?’

Lee Jin-ah instinctively knew that one wrong move would cost her her head.

The only reason they were still alive was because this man hadn’t yet found a reason to kill them.

Or rather, Lee Jin-ah judged that he had a separate purpose.

Just as she thought.

“Sophia.”

“…Shinwoo?”

“It’s been a while.”

Future Shinwoo showed interest only in Sophia, who stood between them, completely ignoring everyone else.

Meanwhile, Sophia was shocked by the sight of her beloved, now so different from the Shinwoo she knew.

Haggard, exhausted, looking as if he was merely existing rather than living—she covered her mouth with both hands at the sight of Future Shinwoo.

“Are you… okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“The way you look now. You seem so exhausted.”

“…!”

Sophia had simply spoken out of concern for Shinwoo.

But in that conversation, Future Shinwoo saw hope, compassion, and love.

“Thank you, Sophia. It’s always been you.”

“Shinwoo…”

“Getting one word of concern from you feels better than hearing it a hundred times from Lia or the other empresses.”

To quickly bring this lovely person to his world.

To seat her on the empress’s throne he had prepared right beside him.

To give her wealth and honor that no other empress had ever enjoyed—Future Shinwoo walked toward Sophia.

But despite knowing she shouldn’t react this way…

“Don’t come any closer!”

“…What?”

“Please… please, don’t do this, Shinwoo.”

Sophia stretched out both hands to stop the evil god’s footsteps.

Tears welled in her eyes at having to say such things to someone who was still Shinwoo, but she had to do it.

“This isn’t your world.”

“Sophia…!”

“What on earth did you do in the future, you idiot! Did you really… really kill everyone in the world?”

She decided to ask for the truth first.

She wanted to hear Shinwoo’s true intentions, enough to throw away any emotional reunion.

Future Shinwoo stopped in his tracks at Sophia’s reaction, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood.

“…That’s right.”

“!”

“I’m the one who destroyed humanity in the future.”

“Why…”

“Because they betrayed us first.”

Thinking that she would learn the truth anyway once she came to the future world, Future Shinwoo told everyone present, including Sophia, everything he had done.

When his story ended, Lee Jin-ah’s group could only fall into profound silence.

“You turned the world outside the Korean peninsula into a sea of fire…?”

“Well… this is much grimmer than what we heard from Jaewon.”

“W-wait a minute! Does that mean there’s no candy or snacks in the future?!”

Eve, who had somehow regained consciousness while being restrained by Joan of Arc, was also shocked by the situation.

“You took revenge for me…?”

“Yes, it was for me, but also for you.”

Sophia looked into Future Shinwoo’s eyes, which had regained some life, but still seemed surprised.

“Then why are you doing this to your children?”

“……Huh?”

The unexpected question made Future Shinwoo close his mouth, which had been about to smile.

“According to your story, you took your children… your own flesh and blood to the battlefield.”

“…? Why is that a problem?”

“What do you mean ‘why’? They’re your children! Not only did you take them to bloody battlefields, but now you’re even sending them to the past…”

“You’re worried about children you didn’t give birth to? You’re so kind, Sophia.”

“Shinwoo, you idiot! This isn’t something you can dismiss as kindness!”

Even if they weren’t children she had given birth to herself.

Even if she hadn’t properly met any of the children who were still being protected.

If they were the flesh and blood of the one she loved, Sophia could and wanted to love them as much as her own children, as a mother.

Because she had already met her own child who had grown up alone and suffered greatly.

She was horrified by how Shinwoo was treating his children like expendable tools.

“They’re your children… No, before that, they’re our children! After meeting Jaewon, I became certain. Even if they were born from another woman’s womb, I could love them like my own.”

“Sophia…”

“They could be Jaewon’s reliable older brothers or sisters, or younger siblings. Or Jaewon could protect them! How can you, as a father, do this?”

“Jaewon… is that the name of the son we had?”

“Yes! And not just him, but also the children you had with other women… the children you had with Lia, they’re all your sons and daughters!”

Sophia’s voice had risen, and she was breathing heavily.

Why had he changed so much?

Why had he become so broken?

Why had he suffered so much pain until he collapsed?

Seeing the future Shinwoo who had reached this state as a result of all those things, she stopped questioning and began to cry, realizing she hadn’t been able to help him.

Future Shinwoo walked toward his lovely wife to wipe away her tears.

“Sob… don’t come.”

“No, I will.”

“I can never go with you…”

“That’s not for you to decide.”

“If I follow you, what happens to the Shinwoo who remains in this world…”

“It’s already a parallel world. Forget about someone like him.”

He decided not to listen to Sophia anymore.

If he kept his ears open any longer, he might waver and fail to take her.

And humans fear the unknown most of all.

She might dislike it now because she didn’t know the future world, but the moment she saw the empire he had created where no human hatred could be felt—

‘You’ll surely come to like it too.’

With that conviction, Future Shinwoo began approaching Sophia, who was trying to back away, with increasingly rapid steps.

“Lee Jin-ah! Are you just going to watch?!”

“Tch…!”

The moment Sophia was sent to the future, this world would soon face destruction.

All or nothing.

With no real options left…

“Urgh… what happened?”

“Yeopo Bongseon, are you coming to your senses?”

“Was I defeated…? Heheh, to think I would lose to someone. This is interesting too.”

“The world is about to be destroyed, and this person can still laugh in this situation?”

Lancelot, Yeopo Bongseon, Joan of Arc.

Three humans who were once called heroes, far surpassing the current National Authority-Level Hunters…

Plus Lee Jin-ah, who was once America’s National Authority-Level Hunter, and Lorensky, who was called Russia’s hero.

“It’s definitely a combination we can’t win against… but we have no choice, right?”

“Whether we die here or die a little later, we have no options!”

It was a fight with absolutely no chance of winning, but they had managed to regroup while Future Shinwoo was talking with Sophia, and now they were about to charge in like eggs against a rock…

“KRAAAAAAAA-!!”

“?!”

“Huh?”

“You…!”

They were about to charge to their deaths.

At that moment, a roar echoed.

And then, from the side, black lightning crackled as a blade flew toward Future Shinwoo’s head…

Clang!

A pitch-black blade.

“Don’t you dare…”

“I see… so you’re…!”

“Touch my mother!!”

“Jaewon!”

After losing consciousness following his defeat by Leon, Jaewon had regained consciousness, quickly assessed the situation, and succeeded in kaijufication once more, leaping in with a monster form similar to his father’s.

“That appearance! That form! You truly are my real son.”

“Oh really? Then just remove me from that twisted family tree of yours. Unlike you, I’m ‘human.'”

Crack, crack.

As expected, the sacred sword’s blade couldn’t even scratch the pitch-black skin.

Despite both being kaijufied, there was an overwhelming difference in performance. Jaewon was desperately trying to figure out how to attack this bastard.

However, after exchanging a few blows, before a hand could come down on his head—

“Hey, you…”

“?!”

“Sh-Shinwoo?!”

“YOU BASTAAAAARD!!”

Crack!

This time, a pitch-black fist struck Future Shinwoo’s face.

The present Shinwoo, who had chewed on tanghulu to replenish his energy, had run back from North Korea where he’d been thrown and delivered a furious blow.

“Urgh…”

BOOM!

For the first time.

The previously complacent Future Shinwoo was sent flying, crashing into the already half-collapsed Hunter Association building, causing it to completely cave in.

And in this unexpected moment of reprieve…

“Lancelot, protect me.”

“…?! Lee Jin-ah, you’re not…!”

“Yes. I’m going to use my trump card.”

Lee Jin-ah was already at the edge of a cliff.

As if this was her only chance, she pulled out a coffin from the shadows.

Splash!

She began a forbidden ritual by pouring her own blood into it.

“If the human realm isn’t enough… I’ll resurrect a ‘demon’ from hell, a being that once approached divinity.”