Chapter 129
“Han Min-oh?”
“The youngest son of a chaebol family?”
“Why would a rich kid leave his bodyguards and come here?”
Murmurs spread through the crowd.
Han Min-oh had suddenly walked in and joined them.
But for the past day, he had been strictly guarded by his bodyguards.
Naturally, people wondered why he would abandon them to blend in with a group of civilians.
‘I don’t know how many of the bodyguards are Incarnations.’
But for Han Min-oh, it was the only choice he could make.
He remembered the conversation he had overheard from his kidnappers:
—Right. Killing a thousand people is better. There’s no point in us Incarnations fighting each other.
They had explicitly mentioned a “split.”
All five kidnappers had been his bodyguards, and their talk of killing a thousand clearly referred to the civilians gathered here.
Meaning it was likely that most of the Incarnations were among the bodyguards.
No—possibly…
‘All of them.’
There were too many suspicious parts.
His father, the head of Han Yeon Group, had once assembled an elite guard to protect Han Shin.
They had paid a hefty price to gather powerful individuals from the Abyss.
But these current guards weren’t the same.
‘I’ve never seen these bodyguards before. They were all swapped out at once.’
Maybe it was due to the chairman’s grief over Han Shin’s death, and he had overhauled the team.
But the fact that so many were Incarnations raised even more questions.
There was no way this was all just a coincidence.
There was a scheme.
‘What are they after?’
It didn’t seem like they were after his life.
One of their options had included keeping Han Min-oh alive.
Was it Han Yeon Group?
Were they planning to kill the chairman and use Han Min-oh as a hostage to seize the company?
‘If they were targeting the group, they’d be more organized.’
To take down a corporation, the Incarnations would have to be united.
But they weren’t.
They were divided—and some had gone rogue and kidnapped him on their own.
If not for that passerby… Park Chan-woo, he would have died.
“Hello. I’d like to ask for your help.”
Han Min-oh addressed the crowd with firm conviction.
The people responded with wary expressions.
To them, Han Min-oh was an outsider.
A noble who had been protected day and night by a wall of bodyguards.
Some of the guards even had emergency food and water supplies.
“Why’d you ditch your bodyguards and come here?”
A large, imposing man blocked his path and questioned him.
Han Min-oh hesitated.
Should he tell the truth or not?
It might only cause more panic.
But he shook his head internally and spoke.
“Some of the bodyguards are Incarnations.”
“…Incarnations?”
“Yes. Five of them kidnapped me, and I confirmed they were Incarnations. I barely escaped. But there might be more.”
“So what? Why should we risk helping you? This whole Abyss thing started because of you, didn’t it?”
The hostility was strong.
And it wasn’t just the man’s sentiment.
The others were also giving Han Min-oh cold, piercing stares.
…It was only natural.
They had been dragged into the Abyss out of nowhere.
Snatched from their everyday lives and thrown into hell—of course they’d be resentful.
“I truly apologize for that. I know I don’t deserve it, but I need your help.”
Han Min-oh bowed deeply.
He couldn’t bring himself to say, “The Incarnations might massacre all of you.”
To speak of a massacre implied they had that kind of firepower.
Which meant there were a lot of Incarnations present.
There might have been some Incarnations among the civilians too—but he still felt far safer in their midst than among the bodyguards.
“You really are shameless.”
“If you just died, this Abyss would end, wouldn’t it?”
“My child is sick. We need to get to a hospital, now!”
Jeers and boos poured from every direction.
It had only been a day, but to them it felt like forever.
They had stayed gathered outside a building, wary of possible threats.
They’d been exposed for over 24 hours, nerves frayed and tension high.
This was the Abyss.
Hell itself, where anything could happen.
They took turns keeping watch and grabbing short naps.
All they wanted was for it to end.
And that ‘end’—for them—was synonymous with ‘Han Min-oh’s death.’
‘He should just die already.’
‘Why is he still alive?’
‘Someone should kill him.’
Their eyes were filled with resentment and mistrust.
Their attitudes toward Han Min-oh were cold and merciless.
The second son of Han Yeon Group?
Titles like that meant nothing in the Abyss.
“……Please.”
Han Min-oh bowed at a full 90 degrees.
Truthfully, he was on the verge of breaking down.
He had no idea why the ‘Sniper Abyss’ had targeted him.
It felt like the world was tormenting him for no reason.
His entire life had been like this.
An older brother who was too perfect.
Constant comparisons and belittlement.
Some might envy him for being born into a rich family—but to Han Min-oh, that family had been a pit of despair.
The very bottom of hell.
In Han Yeon Group, Han Min-oh had been non-existent.
He lived as though he didn’t exist.
And now, after barely surviving the Abyss, he was being targeted and cursed by strangers.
‘What did I ever do wrong?’
None of it had been his choice.
He hadn’t asked to be born. He had worked hard but lacked the talent to surpass Han Shin.
If he had grown up in an ordinary household, he might’ve found happiness.
He wouldn’t have been targeted, kidnapped, or scorned like this.
‘What did I ever do wrong?!’
He resented the world.
“Get lost!”
“Before we beat you to death!”
“Go away! Go away!”
Emotions intensified.
Negative ones spread faster than anything else.
Tap.
Just then—
An elderly woman with a kind face approached and gently placed her hand on Han Min-oh’s shoulder.
“You young folks. Don’t be like that. He looks pitiful. He’s still just a boy, isn’t he? Must’ve been terrifying, being kidnapped like that.”
“Grandma, we’re in this mess because of him!”
“Don’t be so harsh. And seriously, a bunch of grown adults ganging up like this? The world might’ve gone mad, but we haven’t. Look at this poor kid shaking. Just getting here must’ve taken a lot of courage. Tsk tsk.”
She softly patted Han Min-oh’s back.
Drip. Drip.
Tears welled up in Han Min-oh’s eyes and began to fall.
He tried to pretend he was fine, but it would’ve been a lie to say he wasn’t upset.
It would’ve been a lie to say he wasn’t afraid.
Even if he acted calm, being completely alone with no one on his side was devastating.
As the grandmother shielded him, the jeering voices gradually faded.
Just one person.
But one was enough to snap the others back to reason.
“…He does look kind of pitiful.”
“Yeah. What’s the harm in letting him stay?”
“We just have to endure two more days together, right?”
Even they had to admit—Han Min-oh was a victim too.
The Abyss had been created by the Creators—by demons.
The demon had unleashed Incarnations to try and kill Han Min-oh.
He had been kidnapped and barely escaped. It must’ve taken tremendous courage to come this far.
Public opinion shifted.
“……Thank you.”
Han Min-oh choked back a sob.
The large man from earlier asked,
“Still, I want to know why. Why are you being targeted?”
“I don’t know.”
“Hm… is it because you’re a Han Yeon Group heir? Come to think of it, the eldest son recently went missing…”
“……”
“If the bodyguards kidnapped you, it’s gotta be related. Got it. Come in.”
The man stepped aside.
Since there was no clear answer, he made up a narrative that made sense to himself—and accepted it.
Once Han Min-oh joined the group, the man added,
“Looks like we need to keep an eye on the bodyguards too. In this Abyss, humans are the scariest enemy.”
“Should we increase the number of guards?”
“Yes. Anyone willing to help?”
They moved quickly.
If most of the Incarnations were among the bodyguards, then they were now under suspicion too.
—
Half a day passed since Han Min-oh joined the group.
Darkness blanketed the sky.
Thankfully, nothing had happened.
And surprisingly, the people treated Han Min-oh warmly.
‘The world may be insane—but people aren’t.’
Han Min-oh repeated those words to himself.
It was the world that had gone mad.
But people still had warmth and kindness left in them.
…He wanted to protect these people.
Han Min-oh volunteered for sentry duty.
‘The Incarnations are insane.’
They weren’t human.
They were demons wearing human skin.
You couldn’t think of them the same way.
People had been warned to stay vigilant, so attacking wouldn’t be easy—but there was no telling what those monsters might do.
‘If they’re going to make a move, it’ll be tonight.’
One thing was certain: the Incarnations were running out of time.
If they were planning to kill him or wipe everyone out, tonight was the best chance.
The problem was—he had no idea how many there were.
“Aren’t you tired? You must’ve barely slept since being kidnapped.”
A large, dependable-looking man approached.
The same one who had blocked his entry earlier—the de facto leader of this group.
Han Min-oh replied,
“I can manage.”
“Sorry about earlier.”
“It’s fine. I understand.”
“Thanks for that.”
Han Min-oh understood—given the situation, the man had little choice.
―Caw!
―Caw!
In the distance, the cries of corpse crows echoed eerily.
The man tilted his head.
“Suddenly loud, aren’t they?”
“Is something over there?”
“Dunno… we should check it out. Want to come?”
“Yes, let’s.”
“We’ll go. Everyone else stay put.”
The man called to the other sentries.
Then the two of them began walking down a dark path.
They were trying to find the source of the corpse crow noises.
Once they reached a place far enough that the others had completely disappeared from view—
Han Min-oh tilted his head.
“…Nothing here. I swear it sounded like it came from around here.”
“Well, that’s because it wasn’t a corpse crow making the noise.”
“…?”
“Click. You really should’ve just stayed put. Why’d you make things difficult by joining them?”
Thud!
In that moment—
The man stabbed Han Min-oh in the back with a blade.
―Caw!
―Caw!
Soon after, Incarnations who had been mimicking the cries of corpse crows began gathering around them one by one.