Chapter 130
“Ghh…!”
Han Min-oh grimaced.
He barely dodged a fatal strike and escaped.
‘Whoosh!’
‘Thwap!’
An arrow grazed his cheek from afar.
The Incarnations were serious.
They were genuinely trying to kill him.
‘So I was right…!’
Thank goodness he had taken precautions.
He had considered the possibility that Incarnations existed beyond just the bodyguards.
He had also found it suspicious when the man suggested they go check things out alone.
The way he chose a secluded, shadowy area had raised further doubts.
It was only thanks to his heightened alertness that he avoided instant death.
‘Team Leader Kim Chan-min! So he really was an Incarnation!’
And when the other Incarnations gathered immediately after—
He recognized them all at a glance.
They had assumed he was dead and revealed themselves, but in that brief moment, he had identified their faces.
It wasn’t just one or two.
The number of Incarnations who gathered was staggering.
‘All the bodyguards are Incarnations.’
Easily over forty.
That was just the number surrounding Kim Chan-min.
If you added in those disguised among the civilians, it could be much higher.
‘Tap!’
After running for some time, Han Min-oh abruptly stopped.
He had fled in panic—but was this truly the right choice?
‘They saw my face. They’ll kill me no matter what.’
He was only about a kilometer away from rejoining the civilian group.
If he ran back and cried for help, the people would fight desperately to protect him.
But in that process, many would die.
Would it mean anything to survive by letting innocent people die?
‘If I go back, people will die. At least a few hundred.’
They had accepted him even knowing he was the reason the Abyss opened.
Even when their leader—the Incarnation—objected, they showed mercy.
If they hadn’t taken him in, he’d already be dead.
‘Huuuu…’
He took a deep breath.
The pain didn’t matter.
His tension was easing.
‘Shing!’
Han Min-oh drew his sword.
Either way, they were after him.
If he died, the Abyss would close and everyone would return to their peaceful lives.
But—
‘I’m not going down without a fight.’
He was all too familiar with standing still and being pelted with stones.
Every time he tried to dodge, a bigger stone would follow.
He had given up.
But just once—before he died—he wanted to resist.
Even if it was the last thing he did, he wanted to scream at the world that tormented him.
“Given up already?”
‘Shff!’
The Incarnations quickly surrounded him.
At their center, Kim Chan-min stepped forward.
“You really are unlucky. If you’d just kept your mouth shut, none of this would’ve happened.”
“Shove it, you bastard.”
“…I thought you were just some spoiled brat. Guess you had some bite in you.”
Kim Chan-min smirked.
It was his first time seeing this side of Han Min-oh.
Originally, they hadn’t planned to kill him.
Killing him would cancel the divine beast contract and allow it to escape.
To capture the divine beast, they had to keep Han Min-oh alive.
But the Creators’ opinions had started to change.
【He’s nearly died multiple times, and still there’s no sign of the divine beast.】
【Looks like he never had a contract in the first place.】
【So we were wrong?】
【The Destroyer, Cygnus definitely appeared.】
【It must’ve just brushed past him.】
【No way a divine beast would form a contract with a mere human.】
It wasn’t just a matter of Han Min-oh being unaware.
There was no trace of the divine beast’s presence or mana.
Not even when his life had been in danger inside the Abyss.
And not even now.
【Kill him.】
【He’s a worthless human.】
The Creators had finally run out of patience.
If they had sensed even a hint of divine beast presence, they would’ve stopped the Incarnations.
Forced them to obey.
But Han Min-oh had too many suspicious points to be a true contractor.
Defective.
Just a worthless human.
“With the first son Han Shin dead, and now you, Han Min-oh, gone—Han Yeon Group’s future will be fun to watch.”
“……”
“Oh right. Don’t you want to know your brother’s true identity?”
A provocation.
Han Min-oh remained silent.
Kim Chan-min shrugged.
“Han Shin is an Incarnation. Just like us.”
“Bullshit…!”
That, he couldn’t stay quiet about.
Han Shin. His brother. An Incarnation?
He may have had devilish talent—but he wasn’t a devil.
He was just so brilliant that everything bored him.
He had no interest in things beneath his standards.
Han Shin was nothing like these Incarnations.
He had everything—why would he need to obey a Creator?
He had never taken orders from anyone.
“Guess you really didn’t know. Well, at least you die with the truth. Han Shin was an Incarnation. And a monstrous one, contracted with a powerful Creator.”
It was well-known among the Incarnations.
Han Shin’s absurd power.
The kind of equipment no mere talent could acquire.
Without backing from a Creator—especially a strong one—it would’ve been impossible.
If that’s not an Incarnation, what is?
“Why do you think Han Shin died?”
“…He didn’t.”
“Hah! I thought you hated your brother.”
Kim Chan-min laughed loudly.
He knew the two brothers didn’t get along.
Yet here Han Min-oh was, refusing to believe Han Shin was dead.
Kim Chan-min continued.
“Han Shin was killed by a mage during the ‘Second Night.’ A very powerful mage.”
“…What?”
“They say it was the ‘Mage Who Exists Without Existing.’”
Han Min-oh’s eyes wavered.
His brother—killed by a mage?
A mage who ‘exists without existing’?
He didn’t understand.
Kim Chan-min rubbed his chin.
“Maybe not? Maybe it was a mage so powerful they ‘couldn’t’ exist? Heard they could cast spells freely without chanting. Anyway, I’m not lying. I’ve no reason to in this situation. I just wanted—”
‘Grin.’
“To let you know you’re no different from us.”
“…!”
“I really hate the rich. Always pretending to be good. While doing all kinds of filth behind the scenes.”
He had been a mercenary.
He’d seen people from every corner of the world.
He had no choice but to witness how cruel the rich could be.
…If they’d just shared a little, there would be no war.
See?
Even Han Shin, the so-called best of them, was still an Incarnation.
Pretending to be good—while playing a puppet to a Creator behind the scenes.
Han Min-oh was no different.
Han Yeon Group would soon belong to the Incarnations.
More specifically, it would become a puppet of the Incarnation Union.
“Go join your brother.”
With that, Kim Chan-min pronounced Han Min-oh’s death sentence.
—
…He knew.
He couldn’t win.
But Han Min-oh resisted with everything he had.
Not because he wanted to live—but because dying passively was too humiliating.
He didn’t want to surrender to fate.
But he always had.
‘Why am I so weak?’
He didn’t have the strength to overcome fate.
Facing a tidal wave barehanded—impossible.
He always got swept away.
‘I want to be strong.’
Strong enough to stand against fate.
If fate was a real thing, he wanted to punch it square in the face.
‘I want to be strong.’
That was all he wanted.
A hero?
A savior standing beside Lee Hyuk-soo?
No.
He just wanted to be strong.
Nothing is more pathetic than the dreams of the powerless.
This was the first time—
He had craved power so badly.
The first time—
He had ever defied fate.
Even when he met the Devil Merchant in the Abyss, he only begged to live.
He hadn’t even considered fighting.
But now—this was different.
‘Thud!’
His skin was slashed, a sword drove deep into his body.
But Han Min-oh didn’t scream.
He didn’t beg for his life.
‘Just a little more! Just a little more!’
He fought back.
Against this damnable fate.
If he didn’t resist here and now, he knew he’d die with regret.
‘Hang in there!’
His muscles screamed.
Every cell felt like it was on fire.
‘Move!’
He couldn’t muster strength in his arms anymore.
‘Move, damn it!’
He had lost too much blood.
“You disgusting freak!”
“Why won’t you just die?!”
Han Min-oh was dying.
But he didn’t give up.
With venom in his eyes, he roared at the world.
And in that moment—
‘Crack!’
Something shattered inside him.
Was it the sound of victory over this cursed fate?
It didn’t matter.
“You’re… smiling?”
“Looks like he lost his mind before death.”
Han Min-oh smiled.
Yes, he had won.
Even if he died here, he had won.
He fell to his knees and closed his eyes.
He didn’t have the strength to stand—or even to keep his eyes open.
‘Whoosh!’
A sword flew through the air, aiming to sever his neck cleanly.
Instant death.
But just then—
‘BOOM!’
‘SHRAAAAGH!’
“Gah!”
“W-Who’s there?!”
“What the hell—block it…!”
Chaos erupted among the bodyguards.
And it didn’t stop.
“Guh-huk!”
“Argh…!”
“What the hell is this guy?!”
“He’s a monster!”
Had a monster from the Abyss appeared?
Han Min-oh didn’t know.
He couldn’t open his eyes.
His blood was crusted over—he wouldn’t be able to see even if he did.
But—
The chaos didn’t last long.
Before long, the world went still.
Like everything had returned to the beginning of creation.
Silent and still.
If it was a monster, it would come eat him next.
And yet…
‘Tap.’
He felt a presence.
Half-collapsed, Han Min-oh raised his head and asked,
“Who… are you?”
The one who singlehandedly slaughtered over forty bodyguards.
The one who annihilated the powerful Incarnations in an instant.
Who could it be?
Who could cause such a miracle?
The figure finally answered.
In a voice all too familiar—
“Just someone passing by.”