Chapter 175: Homebound Pt. 12  

Lee Jun-Kyeong and his party didn’t waste any time like they had in Incheon.

Due to the effects of the cave that had been created through the battle between Lee Jun-Kyeong and Aegir, monsters weren’t able to approach their refuge. Consequently, most of the Hunters had gathered into one place. Thus, there was no reason for them to have to spend much of their own time handling the aftereffects.

“Are you leaving?” someone said to Lee Jun-Kyeong as the party finished preparing to head out.

He turned around. “Ah.”

It was a familiar face. He was one of the hunters who had asked them for help against Aegir’s tyranny.

“What about the others…” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked.

Yeo Seong-Gu shook his head.

Most of the other Hunters who had gone to find him had died, even the leader who had led them all to beg them for help.

“Thank you,” said the Hunter.

Regardless of what had happened to his companions, he expressed his gratitude to Lee Jun-Kyeong and the others.

“If it wasn’t for you, Mr. Underdog, and your companions… I can’t even begin to imagine the horrors we would have had to undergo.”

The three of them had bitter expressions. Before Lee Jun-Kyeong could say anything, the Hunter continued, “We also know that our sins will not easily be washed away.”

It had been an inevitable choice as they would have been killed if they hadn’t joined Aegir, but they were Hunters who had stood on the tyrant’s side. However, even if it hadn’t been much of a choice, that didn’t mean that their sins were erased. After all, children had been taken away by Aegir’s orders, and the people had been persecuted. Many of them had even died.

Clench.

Just like the fist that the Hunter clenched, it had been like a mire that, no matter how much one struggled, couldn't be escaped.

“There are always exceptions,” Yeo Seong-Gu said. “Your sins can certainly be said to be great, but…that doesn’t mean that they are impossible to wash away.”

Yeo Seong-Gu slowly approached him and held his clenched fists. The Hunter, who couldn’t raise his head in shame, just trembled before him.

“Ask them for forgiveness. Protect the people here for the rest of your life, and save ten times as many people as the lives you sacrificed.”

“...”

“Still, I guess it still is an unforgivable sin,” Yeo Seong-Gu continued.

The Hunter finally raised his head, tears running down his cheeks. Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered what the Hunter could be thinking at this moment.

‘The people who had begged him for help. The children who had their vitality stolen by Aegir. Even the image of himself taking those children to their deaths.’

He didn’t know which image could be torturing the Hunter before him. However, Yeo Seong-Gu’s wasn’t done there. “Thus. Try. Try until everyone forgives you.”

The Hunter finally answered, “Thank you…”

‘For the rest of your life…atone’

It was an unforgivable sin. So, Yeo Seong-Gu told him to atone for it. In that process, he was to save as many as he could from this point on.

“Although the past is something that can’t be undone, a future that hasn’t been set can be shifted toward the right path.”

Yeo Seong-Gu had finally finished, and both the Hunter and Jeong In-Chang were both lost in their own thoughts. Lee Jun-Kyeong muttered to himself as if he had felt something from Yeo Seong-Gu’s words, “The past and the future…”

‘Am I in the past?’

Or was he facing a future that could be changed?

“It seems I can’t tell anything yet.”

***

They hadn’t developed much affection for Gwangmyeong and they also felt very cramped, so the party quickly departed from the city. Moreover, because they had wasted quite a bit of time from the unexpected ambush in the form of Aegir, Lee Jun-Kyeong and his party quickly moved to Gwacheon.

When they arrived, Gwacheon had a completely different visage from the cities they had been to so far.

“It’s completely ruined…”

It was a barren land with nothing left, and the only living and breathing things were the monsters that roamed the ruins. They stayed within the confines of the city, destroying everything in their sight without leaving Gwacheon, as if they considered the dim veil that surrounded the city as their territory.

There were no Hunters remaining. There were no people either. Only blood, death, and corpses could be seen. Gwacheon was completely ruined.

“The monsters are strangely strong,” said Jeong In-Chang, who had gone out on reconnaissance, with a blood-soaked face.

His body was littered with signs of battle. In fact, he was even injured.

“Oh my god…” Yeo Seong-Gu said while rubbing his brows with his hand.

The monsters in Gwacheon were abnormal, and filled with an overwhelming power. This was the true sign of it all.

“The aftermath of the cataclysm,” Lee Jun-Kyeong looked around as he spoke.

Even if Jeong In-Chang hadn’t gone out on reconnaissance, Lee Jun-Kyeong could feel it. A huge amount of mana filled all of Gwacheon, and there was a dense, demonic mana accompanying it as well.

Clearly, this one was one of the cities most affected by the cataclysm. Orcs were no longer something that Hunters could take down by teaming up, and even the goblins were completely different from what they knew.

“What are you going to do?” Yeo Seong-Gu asked.

Everything in this place was destroyed. Lee Jun-Kyeong brought up wanting to search through the ruins once again, and thus, the group searched after traces of people without rest for a day. However, they only found one thing: more and more corpses.

“Damn it…”

There were only the remains of people who had died under collapsed buildings or corpses dragged about by monsters. Not a single trace of living humans could be found here.

Yeo Seong-Gu asked him once again, “What are you going to do?”

He was asking if they would continue the search.

In order to continue any further, they would have to wipe out all of the monsters here. But, whether it was Lee Jun-Kyeong, Jeong In-Chang, Yeo Seong-Gu, the princess or Hel, there was no way for them to clear the monsters in Gwacheon by themselves even though their power was at a level that no one could ignore.

“There are too many of them.”

There was no way for them to clear the monsters in Gwacheon by themselves. Gate breaks continued to occur, so monsters were pouring into the ruins endlessly. If there was even one person left, they would do anything to save them.

‘However, there’s no one here.’

No matter how hard Lee Jun-Kyeong tried, he couldn’t find any trace of a living human. Thus, the decision was made.

“We’re going to leave Gwacheon.”

They would only be passing by.

“Okay.”

“Understood.”

Yeo Seong-Gu and Jeong In-Chang also didn’t object to his decision. Not only was it a reasonable decision, but it was also just the reality.

In contrast, the situation in Incheon had been very good. While Gwangmyeong was persecuted under Aegir’s rule, it was still better than Gwacheon.

This was what it meant to be in the cataclysm, the moment when people would start talking about the end of the world again. This event would change many Hunters and even the world itself.

Lee Jun-Kyeong looked up at the sky with a conflicted gaze. He had gained strength and became stronger. He had met Aegir and even uncovered some truths. The stronger he became, the stronger he would become.

‘Many things have been uncovered.’

There were the things he hadn’t known, and the truth of things that only those who experienced it would know. After the fight with Aegir, Lee Jun-Kyeong had chewed over it dozens of times a day.

‘The book of the Demon King. And even in history.’

He had gained strength and retraced his memories based on the newly acquired information that he had. But still, other things appeared. There was the truth that he hadn’t been able to see as he hadn’t known about it.

And now, he had obtained the conviction of truths that he hadn’t been sure of earlier with feeble doubt.

“The Sponsors are not on the side of humans,” he said.

‘The cataclysm was created by the Sponsors.’

He wanted to talk with <The Sky of the Apocalypse>.

“...”

However, even in the cataclysm, the clear blue sky refused to give him an answer.

***

As they had decided, Lee Jun-Kyeong and his party left Gwacheon. However, it would leave them unsettled to just walk past the destroyed city like nothing had happened, so unlike how they had planned, they still went through Gwacheon one last time for a day.

–No trace of people could be found.

They attempted to use Hel’s abilities to manipulate souls, but the result was the same. No one was left. It hadn’t even been that long, and they didn’t know how it was possible, but they had no choice but to accept that conclusion as this was the cataclysm.

After leaving Gwacheon, they headed to Seongnam. The dimly lit veil that surrounded it wasn’t the same as the formidable one that had divided Gyeonggi-Do and Seoul. This veil was one that they were able to pass if they were to put some effort into it.

When they arrived at Seongnam, they were surprised. “It’s completely different.”

All they had done was cross a thin, almost invisible veil, and almost surprisingly, they ran into people just after walking for a short time.

“Aren’t you the Underdog?”

They were Hunters who were standing guard, well-armed with weapons. They welcomed Lee Jun-Kyeong and his party.

“It’s the Guild Leader of the League Guild!”

“It’s Yeo Seong-Gu!”

The group also shouted in welcome of Yeo Seong-Gu as well. For a while, the party was shocked by the reaction of those they had run into.

“You…!” Yeo Seong-Gu shouted in a flustered but welcoming tone.

“How are you here?!” he asked.

“Guild Leader!”

“Guild Leader!”

Hunters jumped out of the group before them and rushed toward Yeo Seong-Gu.

Clench!

They hugged each other fiercely, exuding an aura of delight in meeting once again. After the intense greeting, Yeo Seong-Gu said, “These are the League Guild members.”

He introduced them to Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang in a welcoming tone, a mixture of pride, joy, and relief. “But why are you here?” he asked the guild members.

However, it was Lee Jun-Kyeong who was taken aback at Yeo Seong-Gu’s question.

“Wait, you didn’t prepare the Seongnam front, too, Hyung?”

He was shocked because he also knew the faces as well–the guild members of the Seoul Branch of the League Guild.

At that question, everyone’s faces hardened.

“...”

"We…”

After a while, they spoke through dry lips.

“We fled Seoul.”

“We’re sorry, Guild Leader.”

At their hardened expressions, a familiar feeling surfaced: guilt.

“Seoul…”

One of the Hunters who stood guard spoke to Yeo Seong-Gu and the party.

“It has become hell.”

***

Ungnyeo and the White Tiger Clan continued to follow the trail without a break. The traces of their families who were fleeing form the Hunters had been left for too long. They were certain that those who were targeting the family members of the White Tiger Clan were Hunters. While there were Hunters among those who had been left behind, most of them were still ordinary people. They wouldn’t have been able to avoid the Hunters for such a long distance.

Whether it be traces of battle or whatever, Ungnyeo should have found something that showed their stand.

But, even more strangely, that wasn’t the only thing that drew concern.

“The monsters…”

The number of monsters were decreasing as they followed the trail. Unlike on the outskirts, there were extremely few monsters along the trail of the family members. Thus, she was even more anxious.

"This way!"

Fenrir moved quickly and followed the trail. Although tired from the continued pursuit, the White Tiger Clan rather pushed forward even faster, burning with fighting spirit. They had to save their families. They had to return triumphant.

However, there was something off.

'There are no people.'

Ungnyeo continued to have doubts.

No matter how large the land was and how low the population density of Gyeonggi-Do was, she just couldn’t understand why they hadn’t run into anyone by this point, let alone their family members.

“We aren’t far.”

As questions arose from chasing the traces, finally, Fenrir found a clue. Fenrir was not an ordinary being, so he wasn’t using smell to find them. Instead, he was sensing human vitality. He tracked them by pursuing their unique mana, the scent of their very lives.

Fenrir stated with confidence of his discovery, “Hurry up!”

It meant that their destination was near. The group sped up.

“Get on.”

Still, unlike their burning fighting spirit, the White Tiger Clan was still getting more and more exhausted physically, and so, Fenrir offered his back to them. Even if Sangun controlled the animals around them for them, there wouldn’t have been many wild animals that would be ridable in Korea. Thus, in the end, the White Tiger Clan climbed up on Fenrir’s back and continued on.

Caw. Caw.

As they traveled forward, they could hear the sound of crows greeting them from the sky. Fenrir stopped.

“Here.”

They had arrived where the trail had ended.

“But there isn’t anything here?”

All Ungnyeo and everyone else could see was a wide plain.

As their bewilderment continued, the faces of Sangun and Fenrir suddenly hardened.

“...”

And soon, Ungnyeo, Hyeon-Mu, and Won-Hwa also reacted in turn.

“...”

They all looked up at the sky at the same time as if they had all planned it in advance.

Caw.

There was the sound of crows that they had heard before. Moreover, the sky had clearly been bright.

But, something had happened.

“When did it get so dark?”

“Hey, look over there!”

“The crows… !”

They were covering the sky.

Among them, an unusually large crow was slowly descending and approaching. It had an enormous aura.

They all prepared for battle. Eventually, the crow’s voice reached the ears of the party.

–I was waiting for you.