Chapter 568
Clap, clap, clap.
The sound of strong applause. At the same time, the voice of someone I’d sensed for a while rang out.
“Amazing, truly amazing.”
Click. Shiny black dress shoes stepped toward me.
Perfectly pressed dress pants with not a wrinkle, a knee-length leather coat on top. He stopped right in front of me.
“Mister Jin, I’d heard the rumors, but… it was worth coming all the way here. You’re even better than I imagined.”
This sudden situation was confusing. Seeing my baffled expression, he answered with a relaxed look.
“There’s no need to be so surprised. It’s just that the time has come.”
“The time has come?”
“That’s right. Did you think you were the only hero in this world?”
“What?”
“From now on, you’re part of a much bigger world. You just don’t know it yet.”
…?
A jolt of electricity ran through my entire body. Grinding my teeth, I glared at the uninvited guest.
“You—what are you?”
“There aren’t many people who know my true identity.”
He gave a small, mocking laugh and continued.
“If you must know about me…”
“No, I’m asking what the hell you’re supposed to be.”
“Huh?”
He looked at me, eyes wide as if this wasn’t how the script was supposed to go, but I just waved a hand.
“Never mind. Keep going. You’ve still got lines left, don’t you?”
“Is that alright?”
“Of course. Go on.”
Ahem. Clearing his throat loudly, he continued with a serious look.
“My name is King Fury, the head of the Barrier…”
Thwack!
“Ugh—!” His jaw took a direct hit. The Skeleton King staggered as if he were drunk. Not missing the chance, I kept landing punches.
Thwack! Thwack! Crack!
“Ugh! Hey! Wait, wait! My jawbone!”
“Wait, my ass. Damn bastard.”
This guy needs to be beaten up a bit.
While some of us are slaving away day and night for a brighter future even in times like this, this clown shows up out of nowhere cosplaying a movie character.
No wonder he’s suddenly wearing a leather coat he’s never worn before.
“Is it fun? Are hero movies really that fun?”
Getting pummeled, the Skeleton King suddenly straightened his face and gave a thumbs up.
“Super fun.”
“I hate it three thousand times.”
“Hey, what the—”
“Wait! I think you broke a bone!”
Thwack! Thwack!
“How can you call yourself human? Huh?”
“I—I’m a monster!”
“Only when you want to be, huh? What are you, a B-type vampire? Is this a multiple-choice question?”
Thwack! Thwack!
“Wait! Seriously, just stop for a second. I think it’s an orbital fracture this time!”
He sure has the terminology down for a monster. The professional touch in his medical vocabulary made me pause my fist for a second. Seizing the moment, the Skeleton King quickly pulled away, trembling with humiliation.
“Despicable human. You’re not even a person.”
“Did I really just get called that by a monster?”
“Demon. When the day of judgment comes, may you fall to hell.”
“Are you going to church lately or something? Your word choice is pretty suspicious.”
At that, the Skeleton King hesitated and coughed awkwardly.
“Ahem. A human woman… what?… A pretty human woman spoke to me first. I met her at the crosswalk out front. She said if I followed her, we could all sing together and eat good food.”
“So?”
“I went.”
It wasn’t all that fun, but not terrible. Apparently, the pastor recognized my nobility and even gave me a gift.”
“Dear God.”
An undead monster in a church—really?
While I was at a loss for words, the Skeleton King straightened the collar of his coat in a dated style from forty years ago.
“Huhu, behold.”
If my ears doubted what I’d just heard, now it was my eyes.
What he boldly revealed between the coat’s collar was a cheap cross necklace.
“This is the symbol of a noble king.”
That’s an exorcist symbol, isn’t it?
For a moment, I wondered if he’d met an exorcist, not a pastor, but Magic Johnson’s illusion spell was flawless.
The ever-growing number of Skeleton King’s SNS followers was proof enough.
Click.
“…And you’re taking selfies right now. Should I just smash that smartphone?”
“I bought it with my own money. A despicable human has no right to say anything, so keep your mouth shut.”
A monster who’s adapted to capitalism—now that’s a true monster.
Besides, he even said it was his own money, so I couldn’t say much. It’s not like it was sponsored. He’d paid for it fairly with the payment recently received from the Peace Guild.
“Now, even among humans, I’m something of a high earner. I heard people in this world rank by annual salary, and mine is 600 million a year. For the next ten years, too!”
Welcome to a decade of slavery.
Even for a Hunter, someone like Skeleton King would more than qualify as S-rank, and yet he’s being worked for a mid-rank Hunter’s salary.
Chief Choi’s ruthlessness makes me want to smack Hyuk Mu-jin’s balls.
“What’s with that look?”
“It’s nothing. Don’t mind me. Just keep making lots of money.”
Narrowing his eyes, the Skeleton King looked me up and down.
“Suspicious. Not just now, but you’ve been acting strange the past few days.”
“Who? The undead monster going to church?”
“I mean you! You despicable human!”
Shouting, the Skeleton King continued.
“Even in the Gate, you keep zoning out. A human who doesn’t even have a scrap of culture is drawing and taking notes. Yesterday, you even ignored the emergency rescue call so I had to show up myself!”
He’s pretty sharp for a monster. Maybe it’s because he’s the one who’s been hanging around me the most lately.
Scratching my chin, I replied to the Skeleton King’s tirade.
“I get what you’re trying to say. So what?”
“Huh?”
“What’s your point? I can’t think sometimes? I can’t draw or take notes?”
“Well, that’s not exactly what I meant…”
He faltered for a second, then quickly started arguing again.
“Other things I can understand, but ignoring the emergency rescue call—”
“I put it off because I could afford to. Even without me, you were there.”
“H-huh?”
“It wasn’t a mutated Gate, and seeing the magic power stat increase, I figured it would be fine. That’s why I sent you instead.”
“M-me? Instead of you?”
The Skeleton King stared with his mouth open, voice faltering.
“Because I can trust you.”
Until now, I’d always gone with him just in case, but after seeing him firsthand and hearing from others, I figured he could handle it alone. The Skeleton King is an undisputed named monster.
He already had formidable power when he was called the Warlord, but after fighting the Arch Lich, he became even stronger.
‘No ordinary named monster could stand up to him.’
From what I’ve seen, his physical abilities are outstanding, and with his unique authority, he can raise a one-man army.
In that aspect, even current S-rank Hunters can’t keep up with the Skeleton King.
Well, unless it’s a grand mage who can dominate the battlefield, like Magic Johnson.
‘And with me on top of that…’
Even just the two of us could easily sweep through a Gate.
And the only reason I’d insisted on keeping the Skeleton King by my side despite his strength—
‘His insane lack of social skills.’
He never outright revealed his true identity, but he made it obvious everywhere that he was born to be a monster.
If I’d taken him to the last Blue House press conference, he’d have called President Baek Han-sung a ‘male human,’ and the independence army, led by Ju-mo as commander-in-chief, would’ve dug up that foreigner’s background and waved Taegukgi flags.
But now—
‘I feel at ease with this guy. He even goes to church. The kid should live a bit freer from now on.’
Pat, pat.
At my warm hand tapping his shoulder, the Skeleton King’s eyes went wide. Or maybe it was because of one word I’d said earlier.
“F-free?”
“Yeah. Now that you’re trustworthy, you deserve that much freedom.”
“Despicable human. Weren’t you watching me?”
“Watching you?”
I laughed softly and continued.
“You, who saved my life in China?”
“That was…”
“Of course, you probably owe me too. Neither of us talks about it, but just know I’m always grateful.”
His golden eyelids trembled finely. The Skeleton King looked at me with an expression that was hard to describe, his eyes growing moist.
“Despicable human.”
“Oh, damn it. Don’t say anything.”
“But I have to say this.”
“Don’t. Seriously. I’m not into this vibe.”
It felt like background music was playing from somewhere. Uncomfortable, I stared off into the distance as his voice reached my ears.
“Then can I go to the club tonight?”
“I got tricked by that magician twice and ended up at a gay bar. This time, I must succeed in a noble boogie at an actual club.”
Noble boogie, my ass.
Give me back my mood, you bastard.
“Please, despicable human. I swear I’ll be back before midnight!”
“Yeah, go.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah. Go. If you want to die.”
“Crazy bastard, talking about clubbing… What kind of trouble are you going to cause?”
Hearing he’d ended up at two gay bars softened me a bit, but the Skeleton King still wasn’t fully socialized.
It’s not because I’ve never been to a club myself.
…Seriously.
“Why! Why! I’m so good-looking!”
As the Skeleton King howled in anguish, his phone suddenly vibrated.
Bzzzz.
Seeing the screen, his face twisted in misery. I didn’t even need to look—I knew it was a hologram.
“Did you get an emergency call?”
“…Damn it.”
Perfect timing. After checking the message, I looked up and stared at him.
“What are you doing? Go.”
“No, despicable human. You go this time.”
“What are you saying? You know exactly how this goes. You can handle it alone.”
“Damn it. Why do you get to hang around here while I’m the one working?!”
Hang around? Who, me?
But there’s no way the Skeleton King could know what I’m working on.
I just smiled, raised my hand in goodbye, and the Skeleton King, realizing the situation, slipped out the door in a flash.
Bang.
With a noisy slam, the door closed and didn’t open again until sunset turned to the next morning.
And then…
Ssss. Hoo. Shik, bang!
In that quiet, isolated space, I continued my breathing exercises and training without stopping.
It was a long journey searching for a new path I’d never walked before, holding onto a flickering thread.
A pale face, trembling fingertips.
I don’t know when it started, but as I listened to the story, a cold sweat trickled down my neck and dripped onto the floor.
* * *
“W-what did you just say?”
Despite looking like a man in his seventies, with a huge build and a middle-aged face, his voice was as faint as someone standing at death’s door.
The story he’d just heard was that shocking.
“S-so… you… you kidnapped my family?”
“Kidnapped is such a strong word. People might get the wrong idea.”
“Y-you dare—”
“Let’s call it protective custody.”
Across the table, overflowing with luxurious dishes, Seok Go-jun answered cheerfully as he cut into his steak.
Juices from the rare beef ran down his angular jaw, and his next words, spoken as if nothing, dug into the old man’s ears.
“To begin with—”
Watching Song Cheon-woo’s frozen face, Seok Go-jun smiled in satisfaction.