Ch.87Tyrant Lee Ji Cheol (7)

In the dead of night, Baek Seoha reflected on the events of the day and recalled the day she reunited with Baek Eunha.

‘……’

At first, she had been skeptical. It had been years since she’d heard her brother had died, and not only was his appearance unrecognizable, but even his gender had changed completely.

As time passed and she confirmed it was indeed her brother, Baek Seoha felt she needed to take care of Baek Eunha, who had suffered severe physical and mental trauma.

After all, someone who genuinely believed they were the Lord of Death was no ordinary case of severe mental illness.

‘…But it was true.’

Surprisingly, most of the outlandish claims Baek Eunha had repeatedly made turned out to be true.

Her brother had indeed reached great heights in another world, and had ended up like this due to unexpected side effects during his return to Earth.

‘It’s still hard to believe, but…’

At the very least, she had witnessed fragments of his power. That realization had come just a few months ago.

And now, back to the present.

‘He made Ji Cheol his subordinate?’

Though it wasn’t public knowledge, this was truly an event that could shake the entire nation of South Korea.

Who was Ji Cheol?

An S-rank hunter with countless achievements, known as a tyrant whom no one could control.

Yet that same Ji Cheol had been kneeling.

Right in front of her brother, Baek Eunha.

That scene was, to put it plainly, utterly surreal.

‘……’

Sitting on her bed, Baek Seoha continued to ponder deeply about Baek Eunha.

She couldn’t feel at ease about him now, just as before.

However, the meaning behind that unease had changed somewhat.

If the previous Baek Eunha had been like a fragile small animal, the current Baek Eunha was truly a ruffian in sheep’s clothing.

Just look at his recent activities.

Getting entangled with a strange organization and becoming a target, having disputes with the Italian Hunter Association, and now making a domestic S-rank hunter his subordinate.

Baek Seoha had no idea how to manage her brother, who had become an unstoppable troublemaker.

‘My brother’s way of thinking is dangerous now…’

He was far from a simple modern person; the ways of the other world had become too ingrained in him.

He constantly talked about killing this or that, and insisted on getting whatever he wanted no matter what.

Was this how emperors of ancient times felt?

What was certain was that his behavior was extremely far from that of an ordinary person.

‘I need to be more vigilant.’

She had hinted at this to Song Hayeon, but honestly, she didn’t expect much. Even though they were somewhat close, she didn’t think Hayeon could control Baek Eunha.

From now on, she would have to keep an even closer eye on her troublemaker brother.

Nodding at her own conclusion, Baek Seoha made a firm resolution.

#

“That’s the fifth dungeon. It’s going more smoothly than before.”

“Everyone’s skills have definitely improved. Let’s call it a day.”

After regaining my power, I joined Kim Seungmin’s party as promised and consistently ran dungeons with them.

My strength had increased from before, and I had a secret weapon if needed. Because of that, we never faced any real crisis.

Ding!

【Level has increased.】

【Baek Eunha】

▶Level: 42

▶Title:

The title that had been engraved when I used Khan’s necromancy disappeared as soon as my power vanished.

But that wasn’t particularly important.

I checked my steadily increasing level with satisfaction.

Vroom.

Inside the car, I kept opening my status window repeatedly with the door closed. Seeing this, Song Hayeon asked a question.

“…Why have you been grinning like that?”

“What level are you?”

“47.”

“Tsk. So slow.”

At my words, Song Hayeon shook her head and continued.

“You’re completely excited… Are we going straight home today?”

“Ah, right. I almost forgot. Let’s stop by somewhere else first.”

Come to think of it, Ji Cheol had said he wanted to discuss something in person.

So I urged Song Hayeon to drive to Incheon where Ji Cheol was staying, and immediately followed the address in the message to an office.

Click.

“I’m here.”

“…Yes. I’ve been waiting.”

I had briefly explained the situation to Song Hayeon, but she still seemed to have trouble believing it, constantly making clicking sounds with her tongue.

“I heard on community forums that he’s an extremely violent person, and even worked with Hades…”

“Unnecessary worry. I can’t touch Baek Eunha anymore anyway.”

“Just relax around him. Both of you are equally pathetic, why make such a fuss?”

As we entered the office, Ji Cheol glanced at Song Hayeon and spoke.

“Hey, you. Go make some coffee.”

“What? Why should I?”

“Because I sent all my subordinates away to eliminate listening ears.”

“Ugh. Getting all high and mighty just because he’s strong.”

Still, unable to ignore an S-rank hunter’s words, Song Hayeon got up from her seat while grumbling. I added one more thing to her.

“Hot chocolate for me.”

“……”

Anyway, after that first meeting, Ji Cheol got to the main point.

As I had expected, what Ji Cheol wanted to tell me was about Hades.

“I don’t know everything either. But I certainly know more than you do.”

“Right. So what exactly is this ancient being they’re trying to summon?”

“You know that much already? Then this will be quicker.”

Ji Cheol nodded and continued.

“As you know, Hades has founders. Four in total. And one died recently.”

“So besides Eric, there are still three more left? I already knew that.”

“Yes, and among them, there’s one who first conceived this organization called Hades.”

That was definitely new information to me.

If that was true, then that person would essentially be the leader of Hades.

“Is that the impressive necromancer you mentioned?”

“Probably. The ancient being seems to refer to an entity from the world where the first founder came from. The name is Gildeon. I don’t know much, but I heard he’s considered a legendary being even in the other world.”

“……”

The name Gildeon had also existed in the memories I extracted from the puppeteer Verdi.

If so, then Ji Cheol’s words were likely all true.

“I get the gist of it. Though I still don’t know much about this Gildeon character.”

“Is that so? That’s a bit unexpected. I thought you might know something.”

Ji Cheol sent me a look that suggested this was truly unexpected.

Not understanding his reaction, I could only tilt my head, but Ji Cheol’s expression remained unchanged.

“You really have no idea?”

“Why are you suddenly asking me? How would I know about that?”

To this, Ji Cheol began to give a meaningful response.

“That first founder definitely knew you.”

“Of course he would know me. I’ve killed so many of Hades’ lackeys.”

“No, that’s not what I mean.”

What followed was something I couldn’t have possibly anticipated.

“That person seemed to have actually met you before.”

“Met me? Me?”

“Yes. And he said that your current appearance is very different from what he knew.”

“……”

“In other words, doesn’t that mean he was acquainted with your past self?”

Blinking several times at Ji Cheol’s words, I changed my expression to a serious one and spoke.

“I need to hear more details about this.”

#

After finishing my conversation with Ji Cheol and returning home, I went straight to my room and fell into deep thought.

‘Who could it be?’

From what Ji Cheol told me in detail, it was clear that this first founder, the necromancer, knew me.

Not this weak girl’s body I currently have, but my true form as the Lord of Death.

However, I couldn’t guess their identity, which was the problem.

‘I have no idea…’

Could it possibly be related to the one who made me like this, or the mysterious being behind Shin Doyun, the returnee?

But there were too many inconsistencies to view it that way.

After deep contemplation, I finally gave up and sprawled out on the bed.

“…Well, when I meet and beat them up, I’ll find out everything.”

Whether it’s an ancient being or whatever, what does it matter? With my current power, I fear nothing.

But that confidence was short-lived as I rolled myself in the blanket and clicked my tongue, feeling rising anxiety.

‘No, if he knows my former self, why isn’t he coming to bow his head immediately, and instead acting so confidently?’

That part didn’t make sense logically. It definitely raised questions.

If he was also a necromancer, he would surely have some awareness of what level I had reached.

Despite that, taking this attitude meant one of two things.

Either he was completely insane and blind to reality.

‘Or.’

This so-called ancient being possessed truly formidable power.