Chapter 239

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4.

Kim Yul.

With that echo in my head, I faced the man.

‘Good looking.’

The man had long hair. As the night breeze blew, his silver hair danced gently as if it was weightless. If it was cut from the roots, his hair would probably go flying to a far away place... I felt like it would fly into some unknown desert.

That’s right. His silver hair seemed to long for a sandy desert. A place it had left, a place it could leave at any time, a place it would leave. The countless drifting hairs seemed to be longing to roam a sandy desert.

“Mr. Kim Yul.”

“You called me. But, what is this magical land? There are so many powerful beings here, even if I was in my prime I wouldn’t be able to guarantee my victory.”

His sharp blue eyes scanned the courtyard. There were the elites of the Demonic Cult, now the warriors of my family clan. The Blood Guard met Kim Yul’s gaze with vicious energy.

“—incredibly powerful.”

The cafe part timer, who reigned as an absolute powerhouse on the Tower’s 50th Floor, evaluated them with a sincere expression. In fact, Kim Yul always had a sincere expression on his face.

“Exactly how powerful is incredibly powerful?”

“Even if they went up to the 50th floor like this, those rabble wouldn’t dare get close. Even those witches who live in those spider web-covered magic towers will only be able to determine who is truly the lords of the 50th floor after fighting them.”

“Then.”

Tuk, I tapped Uburka’s arm.

“What if we add this child?”

“...”

Kim Yul carefully examined Uburka’s body. From his lumpy pectoral muscles, to his protruding thighs. Raising an eyebrow, Kim Yul tapped the muscles around Uburka’s airway with a tuk, tuk.

“Amazing. Is he a monster?”

Kim Yul was expressionless.

But from his eyes, it was clear that he was expressing genuine admiration. There was probably no one apart from the Librarian and I who was this skilled at reading Kim Yul’s expression.

“The epitome of the Heavenly Warrior Body.There are martial artists, who, at best, can only cut humans when they swing their blades, so they are called Human Warriors. There are great warriors who can split the land with a swing of their blades, so they are called Earthly Warriors. However, Heavenly Warriors are different. When they swing their blades and split the sky, they don’t care how many people die, or how many countries are thrown into disarray. Colossal. With just the power gathered here in this residence, it wouldn’t be difficult to invade and destroy the floor of any Constellation...”

“He’s my son.”

“...”

For the first time since he was summoned, Kim Yul fell silent.

In his blue eyes, there was a mixture of shock and confusion.

I was a being that could confuse Kim Yul. Wasn’t that amazing?

“If he’s your son...?”

Kim Yul turned his head and took in Uburka’s size, then he looked at my size, then Raviel’s. It looked as if an incredibly complicated equation was being processed in his head. Surprisingly, beads of sweat began to form on Kim Yul’s forehead.

“How? ...that’s impossible. It should be physically and racially impossible. Is it the Tower’s curse? The influence of a skill? No, but his growth rate...”

“He’s my adoptive son.”

“Do you want to die, Death King?”

Suddenly, Kim Yul grabbed me by the throat. He was a Hundred Ghost that had lost the strength he had in his prime so it didn’t hurt, but being stared at by those deep blue eyes scared me.

“Y-, your expression of emotion has become quite diverse. Although your face is still expressionless, you clearly showed your admiration for Uburka and your rage towards me...”

“I’m also a person. It can’t be helped.”

Letting go of my throat, Kim Yul sighed.

“I lost the skill which allowed me to gain power by sacrificing my memory. In this notebook, I wrote all the things I threw away, in other words, half my life.”

Kim Yul took a notebook from his pocket and looked down at it. His eyes were filled with emotion as it scanned over the old leather cover of the notebook.

“I already threw away everything I could throw away, so it’s impossible to throw away any more, which means there is nothing more to gain. Death King, as you promised. I am living.”

“The things I didn’t feel before, and the things I felt but threw away quickly are slowly accumulating in my mind now. The more things accumulate, the more my slumbering heart will gradually overflow. When that time comes, I too will be able to laugh, cry, get angry and love just like everyone else.”

Kim Yul looked at me.

“If you hadn’t brought the class president back and reunited us, I would still be nothing more than a machine with an empty heart. Death King. Everything is thanks to you.”

I smiled.

“That’s awesome. Kim Yul is a cool person. But, aren’t you sad?”

Kim Yul tilted his head to the side.

“Sad? What are you talking about, Death King?”

“Mr. Kim Yul seems to have found a precious person. Mr. Kim Yul’s class president. Even though he’s a bit unreliable, Hamustra also likes Mr. Kim Yul. Even if you regain the skill to throw away memories, you wouldn’t throw them away so easily, would you?”

“...”

Kim Yul thought expressionlessly.

“That’s right.”

After a while, he nodded.

“I cannot throw them away.”

“...”

“There is a person who lived their life because of my death. There is someone who is fascinated by my life and loves me. The luxuries that humans lavished in from birth to death should all be enjoyed. I can’t miss all the good fortune.”

Kim Yul looked up at the night sky.

“I see.”

Then he slowly looked back at my face.

“I am happy now. Death King.”

“...”

“You made me happy.”

In Kim Yul’s eyes, there was embarrassment, surprise, gratitude... but that wasn’t all. There were many emotions floating in those eyes which were reminiscent of the deep blue sea.

“Is that your wish?”

Mixed there, was also unknown anxiety.

“Do you intend to make everyone you encounter happy? Speaking for myself, it was definitely not easy to make me this way.”

“Uah. It was really different.”

“I lost my memories. You created the [Trauma World] to recover the fragments of those lost memories. I was unhappy. But to prove I wasn’t just unhappy, you brought the class president... it wasn’t profitable. It’s hard to apply ointment to a single wound, Death King. What the hell are you dreaming?”

Letting out a laugh, I scratched the back of my head.

“It’s nice to see.”

“What?”

“It’s nice to see everyone smile.”

“...”

When we became unhappy, there was a God who bore our misfortune.

It was a difficult task.

If I had been born earlier, it might have been to see even more smiles.

It was difficult, but I thought it was worth it.

“Mr. Kim Yul.”

“Say it.”

“You now have things to protect.”

The Director, Hamustra, and the Planetarium Cafe that he liked.

“However, you don’t have the strength to protect them.”

“...”

“As you are now, you can peacefully enjoy the smell of books and coffee at the cafe that was built in the Great Library. Hunters can’t go and make a mess in that place. Myself, the Black Dragon, Ten Thousand Temple, Chun Mu-mun, Merchant Union, and Civil Militia can guarantee its safety because we all invested jointly. But, in other words, Mr. Kim Yul’s current happiness is entirely dependent on others.”

I grabbed Kim Yul’s shoulder.

There was a time in my life when I had lost my life without even being able to touch his body.

But now, it was really easy. Kim Yul couldn’t shake my hand off or run from me.

“...”

Kim Yul knew this too.

That was why there was a tremor in his beautiful eyes.

Seeing the tremor, I smiled.

“Aren’t you scared?”

“...”

“The Director is weak. He’s old. If some crazy Hunter decided to rush towards him, he would definitely be brutally avenged by us, but the Director would still be dead.”

The tremors spread to Kim Yul’s shoulder, which my hand still held.

“Hamustra is no longer a Constellation. Now, he’s just a small brat. A weak little boy who likes to read. That child lost his power. So if a crazy bastard charges at him, he would die too.”

“...what.”

Kim Yul opened his mouth.

“What do you want... me to do.”

“If you ask me to protect them, I will.”

I said.

“I will order the members of my warriors that are quick witted and sharp eyed to infiltrate the library and guard them 24/7. Not only that, even if something happens and they die, I have the ability to [reverse time by a day].”

“...”

“So you can leave everything to me.”

Even if it was like this, it was fine.

I wouldn’t blame him.

As for the sins he’d committed, that much, I could take it and cover it up.

However,

“If you don’t want that.”

If he wanted to choose something other than safety and comfort.

“I will give Mr. Kim Yul a chance to live again.”

Slowly, Kim Yul raised his head to look into my eyes.

“To live...?”

“I’m a little stronger than before. The abilities you had to give up after becoming a Hundred Ghost. The skills. I can give them all back.”

Kim Yul froze.

He looked at the warriors whose eyes glittered all over the courtyard. Not so long ago, they were just as helpless as Kim Yul. Although they all had their knowledge of fighting and tremendous tenacity, it was impossible for them to use their internal energy or perform martial arts.

“...indeed.”

Finally, Kim Yul’s gaze reached Estelle.

What he could feel from Estelle’s silent figure, was the power of a Constellation, the very one who had single handedly destroyed the Aegim Empire.

When Kim Yul saw the Devil King responsible for destroying the empire he’d founded, he realized the truth in my words.

“You continue to grow stronger by the day.”

“Well. This world doesn’t allow me to be weak.”

“...The definition of [strong] varies from person to person. However, if the person who supports their family saves time every day to swing a pickaxe, if they keep swinging their arms incessantly because they’re wasting seconds and minutes, then that person is strong. They’re not wasting time. They’re buying time. That can be considered a measure of strength.”

Kim Yul looked at me.

“You always buy time. Even if you can turn it back, even if you can return a day or a year, even if the value of time might be less for you than others, you live every day as if you can never go back.”

The expressionless Kim Yul talked about me.

“That’s why I think you’re strong.”

Then, Kim Yul said,

“I want to be strong like you too.”

“...”

“I will work hard. Death King.”

I was silent for a while.

‘Everyone is working hard.’

I wanted to spend some time savoring that fact.

Estelle. A child who was once a doppelganger and wanted to become human. That was Estelle’s wish. So she would work hard to become a human, and she would work hard to build a father daughter relationship with me.

Sylvia. An immature noble young miss who wanted to have Raviel. That was Sylvia’s wish. So she would work hard to have Raviel, and she would work hard to fulfill Raviel’s conditions.

Kim Yul. A man who once grew stronger by throwing away his memories, now had things he couldn’t throw away. He didn’t want to throw things away anymore. That was Kim Yul’s wish. So he would work hard to not throw himself away.

‘Good.’

The others as well.

‘Ng. Good.’

Since everyone had something.

I was sure they would definitely work hard.

‘As long as they have a small opportunity.’

And,

I could be that opportunity for them.

“I will give you a body, Mr. Kim Yul.”

I became strong to become an opportunity for others.

[The Earth Bone Dragon’s Box activated.]

[The Earth Bone Dragon’s Box has been completed.]

Just like Estelle, the Four Demon Lords, the cult members, and Sylvia Evanail, the existence of Kim Yul also became a black bead that stained my heart.

Feeling a bit sad that it wasn’t white, I breathed out.

My breath was as black as my heart, and as it escaped my lips, it sank to the ground like a thick mist.

From it, a body gradually began to take shape.

“...”

The Constellation Killer.

The man who had been freed from being a ghost and returned to being a human, slowly opened his right hand and closed it. He repeated this action several times.

Then, he murmured.

“I liked the passages I read in the book today. They were beautiful.”

Kim Yul looked up at the night sky.

“However, much more beautiful things are awaiting me.”

At that moment.

The Constellation Killer waved his hand, and from it stretched an aura that cut through the night air. It cut the moonlit clouds in half. With the full moon hanging between them, the dim clouds silently drifted apart in different directions.

The white moon shone through the scattered clouds.

Kim Yul looked at the moonlight pouring down on him.

“Now, I can’t remember that passage.”

“...”

“Death King. How should I address you?”

I walked towards Kim Yul.

“For now, call me Family Head.”

“Family Head.”

“Yes. Someday, we will be each other’s family. However, I’m worried about hastily talking about family from the beginning. We don’t know much about each other yet, and we’re not familiar with each other.”

“...”

“We will definitely get closer.”

I took something out of my pocket.

It had been a week since I’d met God.

In that time, I’d wandered around the city and prepared this and that. While passing an old road, I stumbled upon a stationery store. After passing an elementary school student who had skipped school and was playing with a game machine in front of the store, I entered the store and found it.

“It wasn’t that expensive.”

Shuk.

I untied the yellow rubber band that held the Constellation Killer’s hair together behind his head.

The rubber band was strong, and the silver hair was tied tightly.

“It’s a gift I got while picturing that this day would come.”

After a while.

“Mm .It’s my first time tying it, so it’s not really working.”

“...”

“Ah. It seems it’s been a while... is this okay? Well, anyway, I think it’s okay.”

The Constellation Killer’s hair was tied with an ordinary hair tie.

I took the yellow rubber band.

“You don’t need this anymore.”

And burned it away with my aura.

“...”

It had probably been a long time.

Hundreds of years.

While throwing away the thoughts of Kim Yul, Lefanta Aegim probably thought.

[Even if I erase my memories, I won’t forget that I was abandoned by the world].

The students of Shinseo High School probably bullied Kim Yul into wearing the yellow rubber band. It hurt to tie your hair with a rubber band. It was simple yet effective bullying.

Everyone could see Kim Yul wearing the rubber band, so everyone knew he was poor, and everyone could see that he was being bullied.

It was a brand.

Lefanta Aegim didn’t hesitate to throw away Kim Yul’s memories. He didn’t have any good memories anyway. So he was happy to be able to throw them away.

But this was proof.

He wanted to leave proof that the world had abandoned him. He wanted to prove the type of person he was, how he was born, and how his life was branded.

Only then could he curse the world as he pleased.

“...”

The proof of the past, which had bound the Constellation Killer for a long time, had now been burned.

Without any expression on his face, Kim Yul reached back and groped the back of his head. Kim Yul’s fingers touched the 100 won hair tie that was sold at any stationery store.

“I want you to serve as a leader in our family clan.”

“...”

“Mr. Kim Yul, please become our family clan’s Shadow*(家影). Be the shadow of our family clan who will monitor the movements of our enemies and gather information.” (*: Should be ‘family shadow’ but I’ll leave it as shadow)

“You mean espionage.”

“Yes.”

I pointed towards the warriors hiding in the shadows.

“Among the Four Demon Lords, there is one called Ghost Flame Demon. He was the cult member in charge of spying for the Demonic Cult, and the Memorial Squadron led by him is a unit that specializes in spying on the various powers. Mr. Kim Yul. Lead them.”

“...is that really the right position for me?”

“You are good at recording and analyzing information.”

I tapped the notebook that Kim Yul was still holding.

The old notebook shook.

“From now on, don’t write about who you killed, who you should kill, and what you should throw away.”

“...”

“Please write on for us, for the family clan. That notebook will become our diary. Kim Yul, please make proof for us with your pen and your writing.”

Then.

“Then I will also be happy.”

Kim Yul was silent.

Time passed and the scattered clouds dissipated.

Under the faint moonlight, in a hanok in the corner of his hometown city where he was born and died, Kim Yul knelt on the ground.

“Understood.”

He lowered his head to me.

“I will offer my life for your dreams.”

And Kim Yul vowed.

“My Family Head.”

~~~

(TL: Apologies for the long and unannounced break. I took some extra time to make a backlog of chapters for rainy days, so there will be one chapter released daily at/around 12am gmt-4 (4am gmt 0). I’d schedule it in advance, but free chapters need to be unlocked manually.

Note: The posting time is still under consideration, so it might change as we go forward depending on circumstances.)