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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 23
Baekya was led to the Deputy Sect Leader's office at the Sun-Moon Divine Sect headquarters.
A mother-of-pearl nameplate with the three characters for "Deputy Sect Leader" inscribed in Hanja sat atop the large desk.
Ryu Haneul took off the durumagi he was wearing and hung it on a wall. Then, he personally brewed tea and offered it to Baekya.
[TL/N: Durumagi — It is a form of outerwear which is usually worn as the topmost layer of clothing, over a jeogori (jacket) and baji (pants).]
"Please, have some. It's from the Tower."
"Thank you for the generous hospitality."
"Please speak comfortably, Senior. It's hard for me to get used to formalities."
It might have been awkward to be stared at so intently while he himself didn't even touch his tea, but Baekya didn't mind.
"Is that okay?"
He had reigned at the top of the world for 15 years, achieving countless feats.
Many people tried to get close to him, but Baekya often met people without even knowing who they were.
Ryu Haneul, like a fan who became a celebrity because of their admiration for a star and finally stood on the same stage, nodded his head enthusiastically.
"Yes, yes. Please do."
Baekya half-closed his eyes and finished the remaining tea.
'This is nice.'
He savored the aroma rising from his throat to his nose.
"Then let me ask you something."
He threw his first question.
"How do you know me?"
No matter how busy Baekya was or how many people he met, Ryu Haneul was a powerful Hunter, presumed to be S-Rank.
Even if he wasn't Korean, there was no way he could be completely unaware of Baekya.
Haneul smiled a bit awkwardly and replied.
"Originally, I didn't exist in the Awakened society yet."
Baekya felt a sense of dissonance at the word 'yet.'
"Yet?"
"I was originally supposed to awaken at twenty. Regression has moved the timeline forward quite a bit."
"So you're about 18 years old now?"
"Yes."
Baekya was surprised twice: once at the casual mention of regression, and again at the fact that he was 9 years younger than him.
He carefully examined Ryu Haneul's features.
Although his long hair that reached his waist and the intense appearance typical of high-ranking Awakened obscured it somewhat, there was definitely a youthful air about him.
'No wonder he looked so young...'
"Then you are."
"Yes. I'm a disciple you'll take in the future, Senior. You cherished me greatly. I climbed the Tower with you and saw things that people in this world couldn't even imagine."
Baekya thought that must have been true.
The amethyst-like eyes, meticulously cut like brilliant diamonds, the longing for the Tower in his tone, and the self-assuredness that comes from genuine self-worth.
These were all qualities that Baekya valued highly.
He didn't know why he was called 'Senior,' but he would find out eventually.
"So that's why your fighting style felt familiar."
"Yes. You taught me everything. When I saw the Flame Arrow, I knew you'd aim for the neck. But I didn't expect you to follow up Explosive Recovery with Hellfire."
"I wouldn't have done that originally. I wouldn't have let my sword break in the first place. It was partly improvisation."
"Hehe. It's amazing to hear you say it was improvisation, Senior. You blocked every attack I made, as if you knew exactly what I was going to do."
"Of course. I must have taught you. That was also a dilemma for me. I wondered if I was forcing my methods on you guys even though our abilities were clearly different. Was I trying to teach a bird to swim? I had those worries."
"You said the exact same thing!"
"Really?"
"So I said, wouldn't it be good if a bird could also swim? Because... someday, it will fly away. You let Siyeol hyung, Eunwoo hyung, and Jeongwon hyung all become independent, didn't you?"
Gathering information wasn't that difficult.
One side had already completely opened up.
Ryu Haneul giggled.
It was a pure laugh, completely incongruous with the 'Heavenly Demon' who had just wielded the Dark Heaven Sword Qi.
"It was the greatest honor of my life to be the one who stayed by your side until the very end, Senior."
At that moment, Baekya was certain.
Not all Regressors were his enemies.
'Even Na Jeongwon said he would give me a second chance. There are factions even among them.'
Of course, Ryu Haneul could turn out like Cheong Siyeol.
Just like Cheong Siyeol had...
'My idol, my hero, my sun! I will kill you with my own hands before you fall!'
Ryu Haneul could do the same.
'So please stay as my Senior forever!'
Baekya left that as a possibility and pondered his next question.
'I need to ask about the regression.'
Just as he was about to open his mouth...
"Then..."
Knock. Knock.
There was a knock on the door.
* * *
"Team Leader Park?"
"Deputy Sect Leader. I apologize."
It was Team Leader Park who entered.
He couldn't even look Baekya in the eye and fidgeted nervously.
"I made a wrong decision, blinded by personal feelings."
Ryu Haneul spoke coldly.
"Be specific."
Team Leader Park continued, bowing deeply at a 90-degree angle.
"We were managing a Gate in Namhansanseong with a mining company called 'Uri Mining.' While working as an executive there, my younger brother provoked Mr. Ilha, and even tried to take his brother, Wolha, hostage. After being defeated, my brother tried to use my name to smooth things over, and I felt humiliated that the situation wasn't resolved even after my name was mentioned. Thus, I made the grave mistake of attacking Mr. Ilha when he visited our headquarters today."
Ryu Haneul looked at Baekya, and Baekya held out his hand to Team Leader Park.
Team Leader Park respectfully offered the paper bag he had brought.
Baekya could feel its weight, filled with money.
He could also sense the amount written on the green bankbook.
'500 million won in cash, and another 500 million in the bank account... This is more than enough to let this slide.'
From the beginning, he had no intention of receiving any reward or compensation from the Sun-Moon Divine Sect.
Frankly, he would have been satisfied with just a 1 billion won receipt as a token gesture.
'Hyung, where did you get this money?'
'The Sun-Moon Divine Sect gave it to me.'
'Hyung, where did you get this elixir?'
'The Sun-Moon Divine Sect gave me that too.'
'Hyung, how did you get so strong?'
'With the help of the Sun-Moon Divine Sect...'
He could have used it to launder the slush fund in his inventory.
Even for a team leader of a large guild, it wouldn't have been easy to gather 1 billion won in cash in less than an hour.
This was a sincere enough apology.
"Team Leader Park."
Baekya put the paper bag down on the side.
"Yes."
"Do you know exactly what you did wrong?"
"I let my pride get the better of me and drew my sword first..."
"Let's not talk about press conferences or anything like that."
"...."
"Do you still have any shame left? Your mistake was losing to me. If you had won, there wouldn't have been any problem. But you lost, didn't you?"
"...."
"Don't lose. Because if you do, even sins you didn't commit will be created, and you'll lose everything you have."
Baekya didn't entirely agree with that way of thinking.
But he had learned something while working as the first chairman of the Association.
Awakened were governed not by the laws of the existing society, but by the laws of the Aitel System, which had suddenly appeared 15 years ago.
If they lost to a monster, they lost everything.
That's why, when an A-Rank monster roared before them, the only thing that kept them standing was their pride.
There was no benefit in needlessly provoking that pride.
He opened his wallet.
He returned all the checks he had taken earlier.
"Take this. I was rude too."
* * *
The door closed.
Baekya was about to bring up the Regressor topic again, but Ryu Haneul spoke first.
His lowered voice, filled with anticipation and vigor, sounded like a mischievous child plotting something.
"What are you going to do now?"
"Now?"
"You must have plans for the future, right? Are you going to live quietly? Or seek revenge? Or maybe just stay holed up in the Tower?"
His tightly clenched fists perfectly reflected his anticipation.
Ryu Haneul, after countless regressions, finally grabbed the hand of his senior, whom he had longed to meet again.
"Any plan is fine. Take me with you. I'll tell you everything I know, and I'll do anything I can."
Baekya tried to shake off his hand, but it was no use.
So he decided to strike a mental blow.
"Didn't you also try to kill me?"
It was a statement with an unspoken implication: "So what makes you think I will trust you?"
But neither of them felt that anything was left unsaid.
Ryu Haneul's shoulders slumped like a dejected puppy.
"But... you said it back then. You said you were like the immortal bird, that even if you died once, you would be reborn from the flames."
Baekya didn't remember saying that.
'Well, it sounds like something I would say. But I don't remember it.'
However, the scene from that day was still vividly imprinted on Ryu Haneul's eyes.
The blazing world and Baekya turning his back on him.
That back, as broad as ever, yet unprecedentedly cold.
'Senior!'
'....'
'Wh-Why are you doing this?'
'....'
'Please, just say something. Then I'll follow you. I'll kill whoever you want me to kill, and I'll save whoever you want me to save. You know how capable I am!'
He was Ryu Haneul, the 'Heavenly Demon.'
He was the one who was supposed to break through the heavens and transcend them to open a new world.
But this era of the Aitel System was too chaotic.
'Believe in the Aitel God and go to heaven!'
'The conflict between the ruling and opposition parties over the Awakened Conscription Act is intensifying day by day.'
'South Korea must stop exploiting other countries using its superior Mana Stone refining technology...'
'Which country's politician are you!'
'A Rank 1 Gate has opened on Mount Baekdu! North Korea has used nuclear weapons, and China's Shenyang Military Region has mobilized its tank units.'
He couldn't even tell what heavens he was supposed to break.
That's when Baekya became his guiding light.
'Follow me.'
'Where are we going?'
'To the Tower.'
'Why?'
'I need to know. What's at the top. And why this is happening to us.'
As much as Baekya, or perhaps even more than Baekya...
'...Then I'll find out first and let you know, Senior.'
Whether it was good or evil, it didn't matter.
His sole ambition was to stand beside his Senior, that was his heaven.
Ryu Haneul's eyes welled up with tears.
"Please take me with you, Senior. Don't abandon me this time. Don't leave me alone again."
Baekya knew well that he was weak to the tears of promising youngsters.
'This kid is just as crazy as Cheong Siyeol. Now I understand why they left him behind.'
It was natural for a master to step aside for their disciple, a senior for their junior.
'Well, all my disciples are like that.'
As if giving in, he asked—
"Then tell me about the Regressors. You're one of them, aren't you?"
Ryu Haneul averted his eyes, looking uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry. I'm not a proper ally, so I don't know much."
"What?"
"I didn't join them until the 99th-floor raid. By then, so many Awakened had been killed that they were desperate, even needing someone like me who was pro-Baekya and had a bounty on my head. They were initially planning to regress without me, but I managed to convince them to take me along."
Baekya changed his question.
"Then at least tell me why I turned evil."
Ryu Haneul answered without a moment's hesitation.
"If I knew that, I would have turned evil alongside you, Senior."
That answer was satisfying in its own way, but it wasn't the answer Baekya wanted.
"No, there must have been some incident or information, right?"
"That's... I'm sorry."
"Is there some kind of systemic restriction? Will your lifespan be shortened if you tell me?"
"No. I really don't know. That's why no one understood you, Senior."
Ryu Haneul's shoulders slumped.
Baekya extracted as much information as he could from that answer.
'I'm not the type to brood alone. I always discussed important matters with those around me. But if no one knows, it's highly likely it was a personal matter. Maybe I was taken hostage, or there was a need to reduce the population, or I was hit with a mental attack. Or maybe I actually died, and a flame-type demon or foreign god disguised as me descended.'
And then, as if to provoke Ryu Haneul, he asked—
"Then what can you do for me?"
Ryu Haneul trembled all over with a sense of powerlessness.
"Th-Th-That's...!"
He stammered, his mind seemingly crumbling. Then, he raised one finger.
"I-I'll get you a new identity!"
"Identity?"
"If I say it's for a side account, it'll be ready in a day! Then you can enter the Tower again, can't you?"
Ryu Haneul pointed at the handkerchief tied around Baekya's wrist and reached out his hand.
'His fingers are quite slender, aren't they?'
His touch was careful as he retied the part that had loosened during their spar.
"As you know better than anyone, Senior..."
"Yes, the Tower's efficiency is incomparable to Gates. Especially if it's a power-leveling zone."
"Yes. I'll even lend you my private hunting ground!"
Baekya imagined himself entering the Tower in front of Cheong Siyeol.
'Not bad.'
If he trained in the power-leveling zone on the Sun-Moon Divine Sect's floor, recovering his stats to the 800s within the year wasn't a dream.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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