Kill Your X Chapter 99

Whack! Chairman Kang struck Seunghan upside the head. It was right after he had called him out of the villa, saying they had something to talk about.

As always, Seunghan didn’t show any particular sign of pain and met his eyes. It was hard to tell if he had a high pain tolerance or if he was congenitally unable to feel pain. In any case, he was a guy who gave no satisfaction in teasing.

“You disrespectful bastard. You pulled a fake-out in the plan without telling me? Do you have any idea how anxious I was that you might actually get thrown in jail?”

“I didn’t intentionally try to deceive you.”

“Like hell you didn’t, you bastard. It’s a good thing things worked out. When I met Song Gyujin in front of the detention center, I’m telling you, all sorts of thoughts were running through my head.”

“……”

“He went through a lot of trouble to save you. And he runs so damn fast, I thought he might as well change his profession. A static job like a librarian doesn’t suit him the more I see it.”

While Chairman Kang rambled on about this and that, Seunghan just listened silently. Then, when the topics ran out, a brief silence fell between them, and only then did Seunghan open his mouth. Uncharacteristically, his nervousness was palpable.

“Chairman.”

“What is it? You got something to say to me?”

“If you came here to punish me, give it all to me. I’ll take Sunbae’s share as well.”

His jaw tensed for a moment. Seunghan didn’t miss that split second.

“What’s this all of a sudden, talking about punishment? Did your time in the detention center mess with your head?”

Chairman Kang scoffed. Unfazed by the usual flippant reaction, Seunghan put his hands behind his back and bowed his head low. Seeing his serious attitude, Chairman Kang straightened his posture from his casual, legs-apart stance. The atmosphere between them grew heavy.

“Even if Sunbae doesn’t, I have to be punished. Because I willfully abandoned the mission I was supposed to carry out upon coming to this world.”

Seunghan knelt on one knee and offered a respectful bow. This was, in effect, the final nail in the coffin of his certainty.

“My liege. The God who reigns over the lowest place in this world, Hell.”

“Ha, haha.”

Chairman Kang’s lips twisted. That was the first line of the prayer that anyone who enters Hell must recite.

“…Rise.”

Seunghan obeyed the belated command. Chairman Kang repeatedly frowned and then relaxed his expression before asking a question.

“Since when did you know?”

“I’ve had my suspicions many times. Especially after you helped me escape death several times. The first few times could be attributed to affection, but beyond that, I had no choice but to think there was another purpose.”

“Just because of that?”

Seunghan raised his head and met his eyes. In his pitch-black pupils, a loyalty directed at someone other than him was evident. The corner of Chairman Kang’s mouth lifted a little higher.

“A few days ago, Sunbae told me something. He said he happened to meet you near the detention center, and when you saw him chasing after you with a do-or-die attitude, you joked that he should change his profession to a hunting dog.”

A thick eyebrow twitched. Chairman Kang’s expression changed to that of someone trying to hold back laughter.

“In such a case, one would normally use the analogy of a hunter. Not a hunting ‘dog’.”

He explained that he became certain due to the fact that he had tried to save not only himself but also Gyujin, and that he had directly mentioned the tale of the hellhound to Gyujin.

The Demon King let out a long breath. Seeing his relieved face, Seunghan clenched his fists tightly.

“You’ve been quiet for over a decade, I thought you were a bit slow, but you were using your head after all. Well, it would be a problem in its own right if you didn’t catch on after I gave you so many hints. Wouldn’t it?”

A peculiar energy began to mix into the Demon King’s voice. It was not a sound coming from a mere human, but a resonance overlapping from another dimension. Seunghan was instinctively overwhelmed by it, then inwardly composed his breathing.

“I’ll ask you again. I don’t care if I receive the punishment of a hellhound like before, or even something more. Just please let me spend the rest of this life by Sunbae’s side. When I die, I’m destined to return to Hell anyway.”

“Why do you think that?”

Seunghan continued calmly.

“It’s the way of the world that those who sin go to Hell. I may not have killed Song Jeonggun directly, but I have already committed too many sins since coming to this world.”

The Demon King clicked his tongue with a ‘tsk.’ It was because he roughly knew what Seunghan had been through in the organization over the long years.

He doesn’t make a single excuse, saying it couldn’t be helped. You really haven’t changed one bit. The Demon King muttered and, lifting his chin, said.

“Why should I?”

“My liege, you tried to save us until the very end.”

“Are you now claiming that there is another meaning to the punishment I have given you?”

“…I just want to believe that you didn’t help us for mere amusement.”

Even when sent alone to a delinquent debtor’s house and ordered to collect the money by any means necessary, even when sent on a dangerous errand to a rival organization knowing full well he would be beaten, Seo Seunghan was a man who never batted an eye.

But now, Seunghan was being cautious. Although his loyalty was directed elsewhere than the Demon King, the Demon King found that human aspect of him rather commendable.

“A useless worry.”

At the Demon King’s single phrase, his already pale skin turned deathly white. Just as despair was about to cloud his dark eyes, he added.

“The matter of whether you live today or die tomorrow is not for me to decide.”

At the words that followed, Seunghan lifted his head.

“It’s nothing compared to you, but I too have dedicated well over a decade to the organization. Do you know that in all that time, I have never once killed a person?”

Lost in thought for a moment, Seunghan soon showed a reaction of having realized something.

“You’re right.”

“It’s not that I didn’t kill, it’s that I couldn’t. As one who has belonged to Hell from the very beginning, I have no ability to take a human life. The very reason I ordered you to kill yourself and return to Hell when I first gave you the mission was precisely for that reason.”

The Demon King glanced towards the villa. Gyujin, who had been stuck to the window like a cicada just a few minutes ago, was nowhere to be seen. Still, if he dragged this on for too long, he would probably get impatient and come running out. He was a man with a fiery temper, unbefitting of his first impression.

“If you navigate all the evils of this harsh world and still manage to survive, then I have nothing to say about it. A human’s life is finite anyway, and as you said, you will one day return to Hell.”

“Is Sunbae okay then? As you know, my life is inside Sunbae right now.”

“It’s the same. Unless the two of you suddenly commit a double suicide tonight, you won’t be seeing me for a while.”

Seunghan stood there dumbfounded, his mouth slightly agape. At the boring reaction, the Demon King chuckled. He looked more like the playful Chairman Kang that Seunghan knew than the absolute ruler of Hell.

“Look at this guy. Just a few minutes ago, you were kneeling before me. The moment you realize I have no power to take a life, you’re going to skip the thank you? Then I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, that’s not it. I just couldn’t think of the right words.”

“Well, in a way, it’s to be expected. It might be different if you had lived your life reading books like Song Gyujin. But you’ve only ever done rough things as others ordered. You’ll have to put in a lot of effort from now on to become a being worthy of your new master.”

Seunghan nodded his head vigorously. Before, his expressions were so half-hearted you had to look closely to see if he was doing anything, but perhaps due to Song Gyujin’s influence, his range of reactions had become much wider.

“Even though he’s been through a lot, it doesn’t change the fact that he was raised gently his whole life. There’s no guarantee that he will tolerate your ignorance and barbarism forever. Isn’t that right?”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

The Demon King, who had been complaining about Song Gyujin’s sensitive and picky personality, cut his words short at the chilly gaze he felt from the front. The little mutt was already unable to distinguish between friend and foe; it seemed he would do a fine job of protecting his lover in this life.

The Demon King looked up at the clear sky. It was really about time to leave.

“You’ve been loyal to the organization for over twenty years now. I have prepared something for you. This is not a gift from the Demon King, but a gift from a colleague who has worked with you for a long time.”

At his puzzled look, the Demon King pointed to the villa.

“Your severance pay, I’ve moved it inside that villa. Money is what the owner makes of it, but as long as you don’t do anything foolish along the way, it should be enough for the two of you to live without working for the rest of your lives. He’s a person you’ve regained with great difficulty, so take good care of him while you’re alive. Wouldn’t that make me feel less guilty when I make you work for me next time?”

“Thank you.”

This time, Seunghan answered immediately.

“So I finally get to hear those words from you after handing you a bundle of cash. What a loan shark to the bone.”

Saying so, the Demon King dusted off his clothes. Facing their farewell, the two were awkward in their own ways. It was because they had known each other for a long time, having been born into human bodies.

“Ahem. And, I’m going to give you one more reward besides money.”

“What is it?”

“You’ll realize it naturally as time passes, so just know that. This could also become a punishment, depending on how you accept it.”

Although he was curious, Seunghan didn’t press for details. Knowing his fickle nature, he tried not to get on the Demon King’s bad side until the very end.

“Safe travels. I will see you after this life ends.”

“Alright, doggy. Don’t starve and live well.”

Leaving behind a very human-like farewell, the Demon King walked away. From now on, not even a trace of his existence would be found in this world.

But what is the second gift?

Something that could be a reward or a punishment, depending on how one accepts it.

It took some time for Seunghan to realize exactly what it was.