Chapter 577
“It happened more than twenty years ago. That was when he lost consciousness.”
Choi Minwoo’s eyes trembled as he stared at Song Cheonwoo’s hardened face.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You may not believe it, but it’s the truth,” Song Cheonwoo said with a sigh.
“It happened one day, suddenly. No one could have predicted it.”
Choi Minwoo unconsciously clenched his fist.
He never trusted Song Cheonwoo, but now, looking at the old man in front of him, he couldn’t sense even a hint of falsehood.
‘So, it’s really true?’
For a moment, Choi Minwoo’s heart sank. Cold sweat rolled down his neck.
He barely managed to pull a voice from his tightly closed lips.
“But I’ve never heard that from anyone. Not even from Butler Kim, who was my grandfather’s closest aide…”
Before he could finish, Song Cheonwoo shook his head.
“It’s not that he didn’t tell you. He couldn’t.”
“That means…”
“I’m sorry.”
There’s a big difference between not telling and being unable to tell. Realizing this, Choi Minwoo glared at Song Cheonwoo.
“So you kept it from Butler Kim as well? Something that important?”
The old man quietly nodded. His aged voice escaped his lips.
“Hwajong was always loyal. And that loyalty was passed down to a life born after the war ended. To a child who lost both parents to an accident and was left all alone.”
“Even on that day when everything changed, his most loyal follower was still at your side.”
Choi Minwoo unconsciously turned his head.
He saw someone in the distance, watching them from the snowy field.
If not for Song Cheonwoo’s voice carrying through the blizzard, that loyal servant would have dashed over and killed the traitor.
“Is this why you wanted to walk alone?”
“I had no choice. If he heard, we wouldn’t be able to talk.”
“If Butler Kim had heard about my grandfather back then, you would have already…”
The calm and composed attitude was gone.
As blue flames flickered in Choi Minwoo’s eyes, Song Cheonwoo couldn’t meet his gaze.
“At first, I was just shocked. I thought he would recover soon, so I kept it secret.”
With weak steps and an old, tired voice, he continued, “But after a month, then six months, then a year, a strange thought crept in. Maybe… he would never wake up.”
Song Cheonwoo and Lee Jeongryong.
At first, they had doubted, but as time passed, suspicion hardened into certainty, which then transformed into another emotion.
“After another year passed, we both recognized each other’s greed.”
The desire to take the seat left by Chun Taemin, the absolute being no one could touch. The desire to become the master of the fortress called the Ares Guild.
“One day, the purge began in secret. Unlike your butler Kim Hwajong, who had already drifted from the Ares Guild, a few of his closest aides who knew the truth died in the gate.”
Choi Minwoo bit his lip hard.
From ancient times to the present, death has always been the surest way to silence the truth.
Lee Jeongryong and Song Cheonwoo chose the same path. To seize the throne from the living king.
Crack.
His perfectly smooth lip split, and blood ran down his chin.
Spots of blood appeared on the white snow beneath Choi Minwoo’s feet as he stepped forward in anger.
“Still, the branch manager managed to survive. What a persistent life.”
At Choi Minwoo’s scathing tone, Song Cheonwoo answered weakly.
“It wasn’t easy for Lee Jeongryong to get rid of me either. Plus, since we both got dirty fighting over the Ares Guild, he must have thought I wouldn’t talk. Which was true.”
Knowing the truth was a reason to be killed, but having shared in the mud meant a reason to survive.
And to Choi Minwoo, Song Cheonwoo never seemed like someone who could oppose Lee Jeongryong to the end.
“Was the price of that deal your appointment as the European branch chief?”
“Yes. At least I was able to save myself and my family.”
Choi Minwoo took a deep breath. The puzzle in his mind finally seemed to fit together.
He now understood why the cold and thorough Lee Jeongryong spared Song Cheonwoo.
And why his only relative, the symbol of the world, had never appeared for over twenty years.
– KUAARRGH!
A yeti’s roar echoed from somewhere, as if reflecting Choi Minwoo’s heart.
‘Damn it.’
A crack sounded from his tightly clenched fist.
He wanted to scream right now. To demand why. To ask for what reason he did all this.
He wanted to shout, grab him by the collar, and draw the sword at his waist to stab the old man’s back.
But…
Swish, thud.
The hand that reached for his sword fell away, powerless.
It wasn’t time yet. Song Cheonwoo would have to pay for his crimes, but only after all the facts were revealed.
Choi Minwoo steadied his pounding heart and spoke in a trembling voice.
“Why did my grandfather collapse?”
Crunch.
Song Cheonwoo, who had been walking ahead, stopped.
He stood before a vast emptiness.
A crevice. A giant crack found in snowy mountains and glaciers, with a dark, unfathomable depth.
“The reason…?”
Looking at the darkness before his feet, Song Cheonwoo muttered low.
“I don’t know.”
“Be clear. Do you really not know, or are you pretending?”
“Do you think I or Lee Jeongryong would have done something to him? To that person?”
“That’s…”
Choi Minwoo stopped. He thought again about what kind of man his grandfather was.
Chun Taemin. The immortal hero of humanity. The first and last hunter to defeat the countless monsters, their lords, and the Demon King Asmodeus who descended on Earth.
The survivors called their savior the Slayer—a title given only to the strongest hunters as a sign of respect.
“I respected and feared him. Lee Jeongryong felt the same. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have waited years for him to wake up.”
Yes. Even after Chun Taemin collapsed, Song Cheonwoo and Lee Jeongryong didn’t act quickly, out of respect and fear.
It took two years, countless experiments to check Chun Taemin’s condition, and a bit of anxious conviction before their greed finally showed.
“Then why…”
Hearing the confused voice behind him, Song Cheonwoo shook his head.
“No one could possibly know why. But one thing is certain. He’s still alive.”
Before Choi Minwoo could ask, Song Cheonwoo answered the question that was about to come.
“And why do you think that?”
“If he had died, Lee Jeongryong wouldn’t have kept me alive all this time.”
“I don’t know exactly where he is now. Area A is just a suspicion.”
“Area A…”
Choi Minwoo murmured, then looked up.
His eyes landed on Song Cheonwoo’s back as the old man stared into the crevasse.
“I have a few more questions.”
“Ask anything.”
After silently watching his back, Choi Minwoo suddenly asked,
“I’m curious about your reason.”
“…Reason?”
“Yes. Why you’re telling me everything now. We’re allies for now, but soon I’ll be your competitor. Why would you tell me something so important?”
An enemy’s enemy is a friend. That was all Choi Minwoo and Song Cheonwoo were.
They were temporarily working together to bring down Seok Gojun and take the Ares Guild for themselves—nothing more.
That’s why Choi Minwoo couldn’t understand Song Cheonwoo’s attitude.
‘He changed suddenly.’ Their last secret meeting was just a week ago.
Back then, Song Cheonwoo had been cautious, guarded in both word and deed.
He knew this temporary alliance would end as soon as their goal was achieved.
‘But why?’
Information about Chun Taemin’s whereabouts was a top secret, a weapon that could make Choi Minwoo retreat if used in a future conflict.
It wasn’t something to reveal because of a passing feeling.
Swish.
Just as Choi Minwoo’s fingers touched his sword hilt, Song Cheonwoo, who had been staring into the void, slowly turned.
“Reason…”
The old man’s voice was calm and composed.
The hesitation and tremor from when they first met at the gate were gone.
Just as Choi Minwoo noticed his gaze falling to his own hand, a quiet voice followed.
“Let’s just say it’s atonement.”
Choi Minwoo gripped his sword tighter.
“Atonement for what?”
“It’s late, but I wanted to say it someday. For what I did to him—and to you.”
“Over twenty years too late.”
“Yes, it’s late. But I had no choice.”
“That’s just an excuse.”
As soon as Choi Minwoo answered firmly—
Rumble!
The snowy mountain shuddered. An avalanche broke out across the crevice.
Even now, on the raging waves of snow, giant, fur-covered beasts were running.
– KUAARRGH!
– KAAUW!
Fierce roars shook the snowy mountains.
Seeing hundreds of yetis charging, Choi Minwoo muttered,
“How strange.”
“What is?”
“Yetis usually gather in groups of about ten.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Crunch. With the crevice at his back, Song Cheonwoo stepped forward, and the sword at Choi Minwoo’s waist was drawn.
It was a hero’s sword, fulfilling its duty even after death.
“A fine sword.”
Song Cheonwoo muttered quietly and took another step.
Over Choi Minwoo’s shoulder, someone was already running toward them.
“Young master!”
Hearing the old servant’s shout, Song Cheonwoo murmured,
“Understand. I had no choice.”
And in the next moment—
Boom! A blizzard swept over them with a roar.