Chapter 62: Collision (4)

Two shadows raced quickly down the mountain path.

It was the Phantom and the Collector. Heedless of the rough terrain, they charged straight towards their destination on the map.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened.

‘That’s…’

The abandoned building where his mother was.

About a dozen new blue dots had appeared around those coordinates on the map.

Han-seong controlled the Phantom to climb onto the Collector’s shoulders as he observed the scene unfolding on the map.

‘Let’s hurry.’

He had an ominous feeling.

He made full use of the Collector’s physical abilities to hasten towards their destination. As a result, they were able to leave the mountains in less than 5 minutes.

Soon after, they arrived at the militia’s base.

Armed militia members could be seen moving busily. Upon seeing the Collector, they shouted in great surprise:

“M-monster! It’s a monster!”

“Shoot it quickly!”

At first he tried to ignore them and keep running, but once they started shooting he couldn’t leave them be. Han-seong began counterattacking using the Phantom’s telekinesis.

Thwack! Crunch! Crack!

The remaining utensils in his pocket spun at high speed and pierced through the members’ heads. The gunfire ceased, and the members collapsed without a sound.

The militia members were wiped out in an instant.

After dealing with the interference, Han-seong resumed moving, and soon their destination appeared right before them. Just then, a scene caught his attention.

‘A military truck, and…’

Children riding in the truck.

Faces streaked with tears. And intermittent screams coming from beyond the abandoned building.

His ominous feeling intensified.

Han-seong kept the Collector running at full speed, and the militia member guarding the entrance of the abandoned building belatedly noticed and widened his eyes.

“Gasp…!”

But he couldn’t do anything.

The Collector’s arm sliced through the air much faster than he could react.

The Collector’s outstretched arm sent the militia member flying along with the entire entrance door.

Crash!

With a thunderous noise, the door went flying.

The Phantom dismounted from the Collector’s shoulder and entered the building. A scene unfolded that hadn’t been visible from outside.

“Wh-what’s going on?!”

The first voice heard was the startled cry of a man presumed to be a militia member. However, this didn’t capture Han-seong’s attention at all.

His gaze was directed at the floor.

There he saw his mother collapsed as if prostrate, embracing a young girl.

Blood soaking the floor.

His mother, who appeared to have lost consciousness. A militia member stepping on his mother’s back with military boots.

The moment he saw this,

Han-seong felt his blood run cold.

[Activating skill.]

[Wind attribute: Wind Cutter]

The skill activated in the blink of an eye.

The blades of wind sliced through the air much faster than the man could fire his gun.

Slash!

With a chilling sound, the man’s wrist holding the gun flew off. The cleanly severed surface appeared, and the man’s face turned pale.

“Aaaaargh!”

A scream of agony.

But this was only the beginning.

Merciless slashes followed, cleanly severing his ankles, waist, elbows, and more. As a result, the man’s body was instantly turned into blocks.

“Guh! Gack…!”

Spitting up bloody foam with only his upper body remaining, the man soon went limp. And his comrades met a similar fate.

He moved the Collector to blow off the heads of all beings holding guns. Just as the situation seemed to be settling,

“I heard a sound from over there!”

“Be careful! We don’t know what’s in there!”

The sound of multiple footsteps from outside.

Probably militia members who had heard the commotion. Han-seong’s prediction was correct, and he reached out the Phantom’s hand to stroke the Collector’s back.

[Replica: Collector]

[Switching to attack mode.]

“Kill them all.”

Except for the children in the truck.

As soon as the order was given, the Collector slammed into the ground.

Gunshots and screams rang out, and before long the situation outside was cleanly resolved.

Meanwhile, the Phantom carefully examined his collapsed mother. She had lost consciousness but her breathing hadn’t stopped. As he was feeling relieved at this fact,

“D-don’t touch the lady…”

The girl who had been with his mother coughed up blood as she protectively embraced her. It was a face he had seen before through Precise Observation.

The Mage just like himself, Jung Ye-jin.

Signs of mana depletion could be seen in Ye-jin.

Han-seong realized she must have struggled desperately to protect his mother.

“…Thank you.”

“What are you…”

“Just hang on a little longer. You’ll be alright soon.”

Han-seong touched the ring on his right hand.

The Enchant Ring. The skill engraved on the ring activated with the Blessing of Remote Support.

[Enchant Ring: Remote-Healing Field]

A radiance of light spread out centered on his mother.

The pure white light gently enveloped his mother and Ye-jin’s bodies. Along with this, all their wounds began to heal rapidly.

Not only that. Ye-jin’s mana, which had been on the verge of bottoming out, also recovered at a fast pace. Realizing this fact, her eyes widened.

“This is…”

Soon her gaze turned to the Phantom.

Eyes devoid of wariness. It seems she understood from that action just now that the Phantom wasn’t an enemy.

Han-seong addressed Ye-jin.

“Could I ask you to explain the situation?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. So…”

After hesitating for a moment, Ye-jin explained in detail what had happened before the Phantom arrived.

And a brief testimony that came out during this process agitated Han-seong.

“What did you just say?”

“Th-that. They said we were cannon fodder…”

Along with her trembling voice, Han-seong’s face contorted. He clenched his fist tightly and glared at the militia corpses strewn across the floor.

‘…They were going to use everyone here as cannon fodder in the battle against the vigilante group?’

The children, Ye-jin, and even his mother.

The moment he realized this fact, an indescribable rage surged within him.

Han-seong forcibly suppressed his anger. For now, at least here, there was no need to unleash it.

Just then, Ye-jin spoke up.

“Um, by the way…”

“Do you know the lady?”

The Phantom’s actions in tending to his collapsed mother were extremely attentive. Ye-jin asked curiously, and Han-seong answered without hesitation.

“I’m her son.”

“What? Her son…?”

“That’s right.”

Ye-jin’s eyes widened.

At that moment,

“Mmm…”

His mother’s voice was heard.

Is she regaining consciousness? Han-seong hurriedly supported his mother while using the Collector to clear away all the corpses strewn about the room.

He didn’t want his mother to see such a horrific scene. After a while, her trembling eyelids slowly lifted.

“Ah, ma’am! Are you coming to?”

“…Ye-jin.”

A smile formed on his mother’s wrinkled lips.

That beloved voice he was hearing for the first time in 10 years. Han-seong’s vision quickly blurred.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere…?”

“Yes, I’m fine. That’s, well… Thanks to this person helping us.”

Ye-jin pointed at the Phantom.

His mother’s gaze also turned to the Phantom. After looking at the Phantom for a moment, she gently bowed her head and said:

“Thank you for helping us.”

His lips wouldn’t part.

He had so many things he wanted to say when he met his mother, but now that the situation had actually arrived, his voice was choked and words wouldn’t come out.

Was it because of the 10-year gap?

That must be it. As he was agonizing over what to say, a voice came to his aid.

It was Ye-jin.

“He says he’s your son, ma’am.”

“Hmm? Who?”

“This person. When I asked earlier what his relationship was with you, he said he was your son…”

Ye-jin trailed off.

Because his mother’s eyes had suddenly grown as large as lanterns. After a moment, his mother addressed him in a trembling voice.

“C-could it be Han-seong…?”

This time he had to speak.

He had to answer. Desperately moving his lips, Han-seong nodded the Phantom’s head. As he did so, he tried to first explain the circumstances.

“Well, there’s a reason I’ve come to meet you in this form…”

Han-seong took out the ID card and family photo he had put in the Phantom’s pocket. Thinking he could prove his identity if he showed these.

But at that moment,

His mother suddenly stood up and tightly embraced the Phantom’s body. Taken aback by this sudden action, Han-seong asked in a flustered tone:

“M-Mother?”

“Oh, thank goodness. You’re safe. I’m so, so glad. Sob…!”

Soon a tearful voice was heard.

He hadn’t shown the family photo or ID card yet, but his mother seemed certain the Phantom was him.

“…I’m glad you’re safe too, Mother.”

Han-seong moved the Phantom’s hands to carefully embrace his mother.

After quite some time had passed like that,

When his mother had calmed down a bit, Han-seong belatedly showed her the ID card and family photo. As he did so, he asked curiously:

“But how did you know it was me?”

“At first I didn’t, but the moment I heard you say you were my son, I suddenly saw your face.”

Then she felt a strong certainty, she said.

His mother smiled, saying it must have been a parent’s intuition or something like that. Then she looked at the Phantom’s body and asked:

“But what happened to your body?”

“Ah, this is…”

Han-seong gave the explanation he had prepared.

That his real self was not in Daejeon but in Cheonan, and this was like a robot he was controlling remotely.

As she listened to the full story, his mother suddenly looked at Han-seong with worried eyes.

“Then you’re in a safe place, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

Much safer than here.

The Vampire Tree’s roots and vines were wrapped around the apartment’s exterior walls, watching for intruders.

Plus he had the Mana Shield.

At Han-seong’s words, his mother finally showed a relieved expression. As he faced her, Han-seong suddenly bowed the Phantom’s head towards his mother.

“…I’m sorry, Mother.”

“Hmm? For what?”

“I’ve been feeling guilty about being a worthless son for the past 10 years. When we met, I wanted to apologize first thing.”

Words he had kept deep in his heart.

Han-seong finally voiced the one thing he had wanted to say as soon as he left the room.

On the other hand, his mother shook her head.

“I’ve never thought of you that way.”

“But I…”

“You becoming shut in your room, your lower body being paralyzed, it all happened because of an accident while trying to save a child. It’s not your fault, is it?”

A smile bloomed on her wrinkled lips.

Soon gentle words followed.

“You are our greatest pride. 10 years ago, and even now.”

His mother reached out and firmly grasped the Phantom’s solid hand. It shouldn’t be possible, but somehow he felt an illusion that his hand was warming.

“Thank you, my son.”

“Just the fact that you came to meet us safely without getting hurt makes me so happy.”

The bridge of his nose stung.

Somehow his vision was blurring again, so he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. It was good to be immersed in emotion, but there were other things to do now.

“By the way, where is Father?”

“Ah, your father…”

His mother’s expression suddenly darkened.

What is it? Could something have happened?

As an ominous feeling was creeping in, a voice other than his mother’s interjected into the conversation.

It was none other than Ye-jin.

“He was taken to Nonsan about a week ago.”

“…To Nonsan?”

“Yes, almost all the adults who were captured were taken away, except for the women.”

Along with the reason that they needed labor.

In other words, only women, the elderly, and young children remained at the militia’s base now.

As he was realizing this new fact,

His mother spoke as if telling him not to worry.

“Don’t worry too much. Your father is safe.”

“What? How do you know that?”

“We exchange messages every day.”

Messages? How?

It’s not like communication networks are working.

“I put this photo up on the auction house. Waiting for you and your sister to see it and contact us.”

What his mother pointed to was the family photo that had come out of the Phantom’s pocket. Learning this unexpected fact, Han-seong immediately accessed the auction house.

Some time later,

He confirmed the photo registered on the auction house.

[Item for sale]: Old family photo

[Starting bid]: 10,000 coins

His eyes grew wider and wider.

Soon he saw the comments below.

-Just arrived in Nonsan.

-I hear they’re building some kind of fortress.

-I was planning to try escaping when I got the chance, but it doesn’t look like it’ll be easy. Someone just got shot trying to escape a little while ago.

-For now it seems they’ll just make us do labor, so I plan to comply obediently. I just hope we can return safely.

Comments presumed to be written by his father.

Replies from someone else could be seen interspersed. Judging by the tone, they seemed to be written by his mother.

The comments continued up until recently.

-The militia’s movements have been suspicious lately.

-They suddenly halted construction on the fortress and told us to prepare to return to Daejeon.

-I’m not sure of the exact reason, but they must be up to something. I’ll contact you again when I get the chance.

After confirming the last comment written, Han-seong let out a deep sigh of relief at the fact that his father was safe.

At the same time, questions arose. The comments were all written by his father and mother, but there were no comments that seemed to be from Yuna.

“But what about Yuna…”

“We still haven’t heard from her.”

“Didn’t she come to Daejeon with you?”

“No, your sister said she had classes at school, so she was going to come down after they finished. But on the day she was supposed to come…”

The Upheaval happened.

Then there’s a high chance she got stranded at the school without being able to come to Daejeon.

“Which school is it?”

“A university in Suwon.”

At those words, Han-seong’s eyes darkened.

There’s a provisional government in Suwon. And his vassal Jihye had also headed to that location. Yuna might be with the provisional government.

‘I’ll have to look into it.’

But first, he needed to get his mother to a safe place. Han-seong tried to support his mother.

Just then, the sound of multiple footsteps was heard from outside. More militia? Han-seong looked outside with cold eyes.

But this time his prediction was off.

“Hey, how could you go ahead like that?”

A familiar voice struck his ears.

It was the Butcher, Jung Ye-eun. She glared at the Phantom while exhaling rough breaths, as if she had run here from the mountains without rest.

“Do you know how hard it was to follow you…”

As she was continuing her complaints,

Ye-eun’s body suddenly stiffened. After her eyes met those of Ye-jin, the girl sitting next to the Phantom.

Ye-jin also had her eyes wide open.

What’s this? Do they know each other?

“S-sis?”

“…!? Ye-jin!”

The two embraced each other as if to confirm Han-seong’s speculation. Ye-eun let out a sigh of relief with tears in her eyes.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re safe. I’m so relieved.”

“Mm-hmm, it’s thanks to that person saving us…”

Noticing this, Ye-eun bowed her head deeply, in a completely different attitude from earlier.

“Thank you. Really, truly, thank you.”

A voice filled with sincerity.

Han-seong waved the Phantom’s hand as if to say it was nothing.

After all, he was also indebted to Ye-jin. As the conversation was wrapping up, Sang-min, who had entered the building, opened his mouth.

It was with good news.

“Vigilante group forces have arrived nearby.”

“I hear they’re subduing the militia and rescuing citizens. But apparently it’s all women, with no men…”

“Ah, about that…”

Han-seong explained to Sang-min what he had heard from Ye-jin earlier. That most of the captured men had been taken to Nonsan for forced labor.

“I see. So that’s what happened.”

Sang-min nodded silently.

He opened his mouth again. This time with a somewhat hardened expression.

“Ah, and we have a problem.”

“A problem?”

“I got a message from Baek So-hyun. The militia’s main forces are heading this way from Nonsan.”

Leading numerous tanks and armored vehicles.

At this news, everyone’s expressions hardened.

“She says they’ll arrive within an hour, so we plan to rescue all the citizens and move them to our base first. Hurry.”

“Alright, Ye-jin. Let’s go quickly.”

“Okay, ah! Ma’am, please hold onto me.”

Ye-jin supporting his mother.

Meanwhile, Han-seong quietly watched their preparations. And after a moment, he casually said to the group getting ready to leave:

“You go on ahead.”

“…What?”

“I still have something I need to do.”

At these sudden words, not only Sang-min’s group but also his mother’s eyes widened.

“H-Han-seong. What are you saying…”

“It’s alright. Like I said earlier, this is just a robot-like thing I’m controlling, and my real self is in a different place.”

Han-seong reassured his mother.

Then he revealed the reason he wasn’t going with them.

“I’m going to rescue Father.”

“So don’t worry and go to a safe place for now. I’ll follow soon.”

After finishing his answer,

Han-seong turned to Ye-jin.

“Can I ask you to take care of my mother?”

“Yes, leave it to me!”

Ye-jin nodded with a determined face.

Afterwards, the group all boarded the military truck the militia had prepared. Han-seong loaded the Vampire Tree onto the back of the truck and whispered softly.

“…Protect them with your life.”

The Vampire Tree moved its roots up and down.

And so the military truck carrying everyone sped off towards where the vigilante group was.

Watching their retreating figures, Han-seong turned the Phantom’s body along with the Collector.

“Open Map.”

A vast map unfolded in midair.

Numerous blue dots could be seen moving along the highway from Nonsan towards Daejeon.

A number close to a thousand.

Slightly more than the militia’s original size.

‘Then…’

There are probably others mixed in besides just militia. The men who were forcibly taken for labor. Han-seong’s father is likely included among them.

‘I’ve already thought of a way to rescue them.’

So what needs to be done now is,

Preparing to deal with the militia.

[Remote: Magic Spear]

[Charging mana.]

A spear of mana appearing in midair.

As he watched the gradually growing Magic Spear, Han-seong’s eyes gleamed coldly.