Resurrection Chapter 84 - Not That One

“No, I can’t let you be in danger, Mr. Yitae. Instead, I’ll go and retrieve your sword and meet Min Gongchan.”

“The sword I lost is my sword, not yours, hyung? No one but me can even touch it. Besides, I don’t know if Min Gongchan will be cooperative with you. Not only can we not be sure he’s on our side, but we also left him behind in a fiery hell last time. He might be very uncooperative, so someone like me who knows how to sweet-talk needs to be there……”

“You can’t.”

I clamped my mouth shut. Instead, I looked at him with eyes protesting that this was extremely unfair.

I get that he was surprised when Yaksha suddenly showed up last time. I get that he had no choice but to use Manifestation again at that time, and now that he knows what Ulfheðinn does, he doesn’t want to do it again. But telling me to stay cooped up in this safe house was ridiculous.

Of course, at Lv.51, I couldn’t hold a candle to Yaksha, but at this level, I wouldn’t be pushed around anywhere I went. S-rank hunters over Lv.60 were complete monsters, so they were an exception, but in reality, anyone over level 50 was a high-level Awakener, belonging to the top 0.3% of all Awakeners in the world.

And among them, I was a rare Magic Swordsman. I was even the First and Only Apostle of the Golden Emperor, so I could be considered very strong. For him to tell someone like me to hide because it was dangerous was beyond concern and slightly rude.

Thinking that he was being overly protective, I pondered how I could persuade Heesoo hyung. But I had already said everything I could to persuade him. I didn’t want to argue anymore, so I made a simple proposal.

“Let’s spar, and if I land even one hit on you, hyung, I get to go out. How about it?”

“……”

When Heesoo hyung hesitated instead of taking the bait, I provoked him slightly.

“What, not confident?”

Rather than falling for my provocation, Heesoo hyung nodded his head as if it didn’t matter, as long as this method could make me behave. Then, he picked up the wooden sword he had momentarily set down, swung it skillfully, and said.

“Let’s make it 15 minutes. If you so much as graze my clothes within that time, I won’t stop you, Mr. Yitae.”

“Deal!”

I stood facing him and aimed my wooden sword.

👑

“Phew.”

Kim Piljoong tugged at the uniform tie that was constricting his neck. Although he had reached a point where he could handle press conferences with his eyes closed, it was still tough when something this big happened.

Reporters were still swarming the press conference venue that had been set up outside the field headquarters. Even though he had clearly announced there would be no questions, they were all raising their voices, showing no intention of leaving.

“What was the reason Yaksha attacked the Yiyicheong Training Center last time?”

“You need to clearly state Yaksha’s purpose for entering Dungeon 77!”

“Is it true that Yaksha is targeting Mr. Kim Yitae!”

“Aren’t you intentionally hiding Yaksha’s death to lessen Yiyicheong’s burden?”

“What do you think about the opinion that the power of S-rank Awakeners must be preserved!”

Kim Piljoong loosened his collar, slumped into a chair, and propped his feet up on the table, crossing them.

What he had said at the press conference today was merely a confirmation of facts that had already leaked out as rumors. There had been a major disturbance in Dungeon 77, and Yaksha’s artifacts, including the Trishula, had been discovered there. That was all.

It might not have been satisfactory for the reporters, but it was his side that wanted to make Yaksha’s death official. Personal regrets about not being able to thrash Yaksha aside, realistically, there were more than a few troublesome issues if Yaksha was alive.

“Yoo Woon……”

Everyone called him Yaksha as if he had no real name, but in fact, he did have one. The man named Yoo Woon was, like most S-rank Awakeners, from the old generation.

However, his whereabouts before the era of divine power were a mystery. It was clear that he was from Seoul, but Seoul had become a barren land where people could no longer live due to Leviathan. Now, even though it was the real world, it was a land of monsters teeming with creatures.

Talk of reclaiming Seoul had come up countless times, but with the constant change of government, it had never even been attempted. An enormous amount of funds and manpower would be needed to exterminate the monsters lurking in Seoul, and the current number of Awakeners was already stretched thin just stopping the occasional Monster Breaks and defending major strongholds. Since Sejong City was adequately fulfilling its role as the capital, the justification for making such sacrifices to reclaim Seoul was also weak.

In any case, a huge amount of data was lost when the legendary S-rank hunter Shin Rion and Leviathan perished together. Records of Yaksha’s birth and the schools he attended were all gone, so there was no way to find out what kind of person he was before he became Yaksha.

Since they didn’t know his background, it was difficult to predict his goals. The only person who might know would be…….

“Min Gongchan.”

If he was really a regressor, he would know what Yaksha intended to do by getting his hands on Kim Yitae. He would have to meet him someday, but it wasn’t something he was keen on.

He was talking about none other than the end of the world, so he was worried that meeting him would just drain his energy. If the future was already set, didn’t that mean all the struggles for the well-being of the world were useless?

Just then, Go Jaei appeared, lifting the flap of the barracks entrance. The leader of the Haedanghwa Team, she shook her head as if just the reporters’ clamor was draining her energy.

“I couldn’t be the Special Task Force Commander even if I died and came back to life.”

Hearing that, Kim Piljoong wiggled his feet on the table and smiled.

“I never thought I’d become something like the Special Task Force Commander either. My dream was to be a civil servant with a secure job.”

“Well, you did get a secure job, didn’t you? What’s more of a secure job than Special Task Force Commander?”

“When I could die at any moment, the term ‘secure job’ itself is funny. Unless I can keep this job in the afterlife.”

Putting aside the idle chatter, Kim Piljoong took his feet off the table and sat up straight. Then he gestured toward the object Go Jaei was carrying, wrapped in a thick cloth.

“Let’s see it.”

Go Jaei nodded, placed what she was holding on the table, and unwrapped the cloth. What was revealed was a longsword bound in chains of ice.

Its antique design was clearly out of the ordinary. The object, which would normally radiate so much heat that it couldn’t be touched, had been sealed with ice-attribute magic and brought all the way here.

“It’s definitely Kim Yitae’s magic sword.”

After the heat storm that had been burning up Dungeon 77 subsided, the Special Task Force entered. The purpose was to track Yaksha, who refused to show himself, but they unexpectedly found Yaksha’s artifacts, including his Trishula.

Not far from there, Kim Yitae’s magic sword was also lying on the ground; it seemed he hadn’t been able to grab it in the chaos. The Special Task Force brought it out along with collecting Yaksha’s artifacts.

Kim Piljoong admired the appearance of Lævateinn and said.

“Since this is a divine object, he’ll come looking for it soon.”

Go Jaei nodded and added.

“The same goes for the Trishula. It’s not a divine object, but it’s Yaksha’s signature item, so if that bastard is alive, he’ll definitely come looking for it.”

“Perhaps the one who comes looking for Lævateinn will also be Yaksha. With this, he could lure out Kim Yitae. And also……”

That thing in the basement of the Yiyicheong Training Center.

It was highly likely that Yaksha would come for that as well.

Kim Piljoong asked Go Jaei.

“Are the preparations to move Baekro going well?”

“Yes. As I mentioned before, we plan to move it to the Gyeryong National Treasury. That place boasts the highest level of security, so we should be able to fend off an attack even if Yaksha raids it.”

“Good. We’ll move Yaksha’s artifacts, including the Trishula, tomorrow. I’ll hold onto this.”

At Kim Piljoong’s words, gesturing at Lævateinn with his chin, Go Jaei told him to go ahead. Then, with a slightly cautious air, she changed the subject and reported.

“Sir, Commander. There’s one thing I need to report.”

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the Mugunghwa Team Leader, Hwang Chihong, is acting a bit strange.”

“Hmm.”

In fact, Kim Piljoong had been feeling the same way, so he didn’t ask how he was strange. To be precise, it was because he was being overly normal rather than strange.

Hwang Chihong, the youngest of the Special Task Force team leaders, had a forward personality. He always talked back, and he never let anything slide, so apart from being competent, he was not an easy person to have as a colleague.

But lately, as if the sun had risen in the west, he suddenly started acting meek, as if he had become a different person. He would run small errands like ordering lunch without a word of complaint, and he had stopped interjecting with blunt remarks.

He had wondered if he had just matured, but now that even Go Jaei was saying he was strange, it seemed it wasn’t something to be simply brushed aside.

“Tell Baek Seorin to find out if anything is going on with him. It would be nice if he just matured, but there’s no harm in being cautious.”

Go Jaei replied, “Understood,” and went outside. Left alone, Kim Piljoong picked up Lævateinn.

The sword, which looked like it had jumped out of a legend, was quite magnificent. A sword that reminded one of a hero from a children’s storybook he had read in his youth?

Kim Piljoong held it lightly and raised it straight in front of his face. The ice chains made his hand cold, but it was bearable.

Kim Piljoong stared at the dark purple blade that shimmered blackly, then let out a “Haap!” and aimed the sword forward. Since it was currently sealed with ice chains, it was nothing more than a stick, but it was more than enough for him to fantasize about being a hero in a story.

“Take my sword!”

Kim Piljoong, having returned to his childhood, swung the magic sword at a non-existent dragon, but his hand got too cold and he dropped it. Lævateinn, as if taking revenge on Kim Piljoong for his childish prank, fell on his instep. Thanks to that, Kim Piljoong had to writhe in agony for a long time, in pain similar to when he had stubbed his toe on a doorframe.