The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 128

Woong-

Cheon Yuhwa, who was reading the report given by Kim Jaehyun while eating candy, frowned slightly at the name written on the vibrating phone.

"What did you call for this time?"

Although it was prickly, it was a much less prickly tone compared to when Cheon Yuhwa usually talked with Lee Shin.

The investigation into the [Black Dragon Society] had proceeded much more smoothly than expected, and the Ten Kings had grown by competing with the clan masters over the past week.

As things went smoothly, her tone naturally softened.

"I have a favor to ask…"

Flinch-

And so, the moment she heard Lee Shin's voice, Cheon Yuhwa froze.

"I want to enter the World Dungeon where the dwarves are… if possible, six people… if not, even just me would be fine…"

"You… Hey, you, wait a minute, don't hang up…"

Cheon Yuhwa hurriedly grabbed the phone to say something, but.

Ttuuk-

Lee Shin hung up as if he had said all he needed to.

"Agh!"

Cheon Yuhwa nervously chewed on her candy and replayed the short conversation from a moment ago.

Thinking about the possibility that she might have misheard.

"Hah, there's no way I would mistake that voice…"

A low sigh escaped her without her realizing it.

A voice that sounded tired from trying to suppress something to its limit.

A voice that was strangely excited, as if wanting to jump up and leave at any moment.

A voice that seemed to have a threat mixed in, as if telling her not to come near.

Cheon Yuhwa had heard Lee Shin's voice like this a few times before.

So she knew all too well what would happen if she provoked Lee Shin when he was using this kind of voice.

'Why? I definitely prepared a stage where this guy could play properly.'

The one reason Cheon Yuhwa hadn't completely blocked Lee Shin's movements was to prevent him from going on a rampage due to accumulated stress.

But for some reason, Lee Shin was on the verge of rampaging.

"Hah, really."

Cheon Yuhwa instructed Kim Jaehyun to create an opening to put a few people into the dwarf World Dungeon, then hurriedly got up from her seat.

Her destination was Lee Shin's house.

It was a minimum precaution for a 'just in case' situation.

***

'Hah… did she notice something too? Yeonwoo, and her too, they're both ridiculously quick-witted.'

Lee Shin threw the phone that had served its purpose somewhere appropriate and staggered up to his room.

He threw his body onto the bed there and wrapped himself tightly in the blanket, curling up as much as possible.

Hoo-eup- Haa-

In that state, Lee Shin quietly exhaled.

He did his best to suppress the impulse that was continuously spreading in his head and trying to consume his entire body.

It had piled up and piled up and piled up, and his chest trembled and his head throbbed as if it would explode at any moment.

Finding that absurd, Lee Shin let out a few chuckles.

'It seems to have gotten worse than before. Well, it's natural if you think about it.'

Because when a person gains great power, they become anxious to use it.

The only difference was that for Lee Shin, that feeling was distorted in a slightly different direction and appeared more intensely.

'I want to cut them to death. I want to slice them to death. I want to burn them to death. I want to crush them to death. I want to stab them to death. I want to break them to death. I want to fight them to death. I want to kill them painfully. I want to freeze them to death. I want to fry them to death.'

He could feel the murderous impulse he usually felt running wild like crazy.

And Lee Shin pressed them down firmly.

He might feel better if he killed a few people according to his impulse.

This is the kind of world it is.

One person killing another, and being killed by another, happens more often than one might think.

He had even killed people a few times already, and if he went outside right now, there were plenty of trash-like humans.

Kkuuk-

'So I shouldn't go out anymore.'

There is a drastic difference between wielding killing intent and being wielded by it.

Lee Shin knew that better than anyone else.

He wanted to avoid a situation where he couldn't control his own impulses and went on a rampage.

His heart was beating so strongly that it felt like his head was filled with blood instead of brain matter.

Jikkeun- Jikkeun- Jikkeun-

Feeling a terrible pain as if his head was being slowly squeezed, Lee Shin just quietly exhaled.

The killing intent flowing from his body was about to rampage towards everything around him at any moment.

Even in that situation, Lee Shin slowly fell asleep and had a dream.

It was a dream of a time that was nostalgic yet not nostalgic.

***

When he was young, he was a bit different from now.

Lee Shin always had a murderous impulse in his head, which made his head feel stuffy, so he spent a lot of time in a daze.

On top of that, he couldn't get used to the headache that felt like it was squeezing his head, so he spent a lot of time lying down.

But if you were to ask if his childhood was difficult, it wasn't.

-Son, want to go eat meat? You like meat, son.

-Sometimes, instead of reading a book, shall we go out and play a bit? If you don't have friends to play with, it's okay to go to an amusement park or something with mom.

-What is it? Can't sleep, son? Then how about taking another warm bath and playing a game with dad?

It wasn't full of stimulating things like now, but it was a time full of a comfort and coziness that was hard to feel now.

'It's been a while since I had this dream.'

Lee Shin looked at his younger self and strolled lightly between memories as if taking a walk.

Seeing his own past from a third-person perspective, it felt like he had come to an exhibition.

"It's a memory with nothing special, but I don't know why I like it so much."

His mother was mischievous yet gentle.

When I would just stare at my mother, she would look at me with gentle eyes and then hug me with all her might.

Even if I asked her to let go, she would say I was cute and never let go.

His father was active and friendly.

When my younger self would just lie on the sofa, he would sometimes suggest going for a walk, and sometimes suggest playing a game together.

Thinking about it, the person who first taught me about games was my father.

Lee Shin slowly strolled through those trivial memories, examining them one by one.

It was a bit different from now, but it was a fun time in its own way.

And so, I took one step forward at a time, and as my feet moved, my five-year-old self had become nineteen and had finished the college entrance exam.

-Son, you worked hard! Now, let's go eat!

-Huhu, thanks to you, son, we'll get to eat something delicious today.

My parents, who smiled brightly at me as if to say I had worked hard after finishing the exam, and I went to a restaurant near our house to eat.

-Now, now, you learn to drink from your father!

My father, seeing me, said I was an adult now and offered me a drink, and I, wondering if this impulse would subside if I got drunk, kept drinking.

-Sigh, you're incorrigible.

My mother shook her head as if she couldn't be helped, but she had a smile on her lips as if she would let it slide just this once.

It was probably a choice she made out of consideration for my father and me, who had finished the exam.

My mother couldn't drink because of her weak constitution.

And so, my father naturally stayed away from alcohol, but today, using me as an excuse, he got tipsy.

It was a pleasant time.

A pleasant evening with a cool breeze. An outing after a long time, delicious food, and the first time trying alcohol.

That must have been why.

-Shall we rest at the park for a bit before we go?

Those words came out of my mouth without me realizing it.

My parents smiled and nodded, and so the three of us headed to the park at night.

I was so drunk that it was hard to even walk properly, so I leaned on my father as I walked.

It was possible because I had drunk a lot, and my father had only had half a bottle.

My father, who was slightly drunk, was pleased that I was leaning on him and boasted to my mother, and my mother smiled lightly as if she understood and followed the two of us.

Pook-

So none of the three of us expected someone with their face covered by a black mask and a black hat to suddenly jump out from an alley.

It was strange.

I was so drunk that I couldn't even properly distinguish things on the ground, but the sight of a kitchen knife stabbing my father's side came into my eyes so clearly.

Kuhluk-

My father staggered, spitting blood, and my mother, as if she still hadn't grasped the situation, looked at my father's collapsing back with dazed eyes.

And I, watching my father collapse, calmly took out my phone.

Because I knew he could still be saved.

-You! You, put that away!!!

But that action provoked the robber.

The robber, who had been breathing heavily and had taken a few steps back, now rushed at me.

But the robber rushing at me was rather what I wanted.

In this state of being so drunk that I can't even walk properly, I can't do anything.

I needed to sober up, even if it was a bit drastic.

The pain of being stabbed by a knife is not scary at all.

If I had been afraid of the pain of just being stabbed by a knife, I would have chosen suicide when I was young.

Forcibly composing my hazy mind, I focused all my attention on the single knife.

In my current physical condition, I had to be stabbed in a part that was not life-threatening, so I raised my concentration more than ever before.

-No!

So I didn't notice or stop my mother who was running from the side.

Pook-

My mother got between me and the robber, and the kitchen knife that should have stabbed me stabbed my mother's back.

Tears well up in my mother's eyes as she looks at me.

They are eyes of worry for me.

My mother is an ordinary woman and is afraid of violence.

Sometimes, when something like a fight comes on, she would let out a small scream in surprise.

But that mother had now jumped in to save me.

Seeing as she had run this far from that distance, it seemed she hadn't hesitated.

I look at the wound.

It's where an important organ is.

Her mouth, from which blood is flowing, moves slowly.

Run. A. Way.

Watching my mother collapse like that, for the first time, my mind was swept away by the impulse I had kept locked up.

At that, the fact that I was so drunk I couldn't even control my body was no longer an obstacle.

A pure killing intent led my body and granted my wish.

Peok-! Peok-! Peok-!

With the sound of something breaking, someone's scream was heard, and the fishy smell of blood pierced my nose.

It was ecstatic.

It was so sweet that I couldn't understand why I had endured this until now.

How much time had passed?

Seuk-

The moment I was about to break the last thing I had postponed, looking at the robber who was a mess from my swinging fists.

Something wrapped around my blood-soaked hand.

There was no strength at all, but strangely, I couldn't move my arm.

Kuhluk-! Kuhluk-!

The tinnitus that had filled my ears disappeared, and someone's cough was heard.

It was a familiar voice.

Only then did I notice my father's presence, clinging to my back.

He hadn't just grabbed me now.

Blood was pouring from the stab wound in his side, soaking my body.

Seeing that, I was at a loss for what to say and just stood there blankly.

"Move…"

My father, who said that and pushed me away, stabbed the robber's heart with a piece of glass he had gotten from somewhere and collapsed.

The complexion of my collapsed father was so dark that the dim streetlight could not illuminate it.

The impulse in my head says it's already too late.

The moment I tried to deny it, my father looked at me and said.

"You didn't kill him… Dad did… so you're… okay…"

"…When did you know?"

I was caught.

The moment I realized that fact, my mouth moved like flowing water and said that.

At that, my father chuckled and said.

"I'm your parent… I… and your mom… we've known for a long time…"

I was surprised.

Because I thought I had hidden it well.

My father chuckled at me and said.

"Try to endure it if you can, okay?"

With those final words, my father closed his eyes, and it was a long time later that an ambulance entered the alley.

"It's still a shitty memory."

Muttering that, I got up from my seat.

I was the one who killed my father.

I was consumed by killing intent and forgot my father, and my father, in trying to stop me, overexerted himself and his wound worsened.

I was also the one who killed my mother.

Because I was consumed by killing intent, I neglected my mother, who might have been able to be saved.

Now that I've engraved that in my head once again, it should be fine.

The experience of losing something precious to me by being consumed by killing intent was more than enough for one lifetime.

(End of Chapter)