novelraw Chapter 108 : Chapter 108
Chapter 108 : Chapter 108
Chapter 108 - The Tower of the Forgotten Warrior (7)
The portal opened.
The place we were heading to was the final floor of the tower.
The message had clearly stated that the ‘Forgotten Warrior’ was waiting for us there.
“I need to see the face of whatever bastard he is!”
“Why? Are you going to go and grab him by the collar?”
“What’s to stop me! After he played such games with our sword family.”
Heo Jeong-ah’s face was flushed.
The quests had been consistently related to the Taeseong Sword Family. The reason for that was about to be revealed.
“And Seo Ji-han! Don’t you think you need to have a talk with me? Later, that is.”
“Later?”
“Yes. My thoughts aren’t organized yet!”
I nodded for now.
And another person about to pass through the portal. Kim Jeong-rak’s expression was stiff.
“The Forgotten Warrior…”
It was unexpected.
I thought he would be expecting to meet his two sons soon, but his gaze looked quite complicated.
“Your expression is dark.”
“Do I look that way now?”
“Yes. I don’t know the reason, but didn’t you have a strong will to come here?”
“I did. I didn't tell you, Young Master Seo, but there was something I wanted. But suddenly, I have a strange feeling.”
Still, his last-minute intuition was quite useful.
Once he passed through the portal, all his expectations would be shattered.
Although it was very late, he had vaguely sensed it.
“What kind of feeling is it?”
“It’s nothing. Nothing at all.”
It was natural for him to be confused in many ways.
From the beginning, Kim Jeong-rak’s purpose in coming here was because he expected his two sons to be here.
But since there were no clues about them here, he must have felt something was strange by now.
Moreover, his plan to kill me had fizzled out, and before he knew it, he had reached the end of the tower.
“Then, let’s go.”
Kim Jeong-rak’s steps seemed heavy.
A stark contrast to Heo Jeong-ah, who seemed to be bracing for something.
And so, with different feelings in our hearts, we walked towards the portal.
***
Countless Skeleton Soldiers were lined up in rows on either side.
At the long line of troops, Heo Jeong-ah couldn't close her agape mouth.
The skeletons were all holding swords.
It was a force of such a scale that if they were to attack us all at once, we would have to struggle considerably.
Furthermore, the demonic energy exuded by the skeletons here was on a different level from the previous floors.
But fortunately, the skeletons stood on both sides without moving a muscle.
As if they were out to welcome us.
And for good reason, the place the three of us were stepping on now was an incredibly long red carpet.
And in the distance, a figure sat on a throne.
‘A human.’
He was the only human present here, excluding the three of us.
He was wearing a mask, but it wasn't difficult to guess who it was.
The greatest genius ever produced by the Taeseong Sword Family, Heo Gyeong-woo.
He was no longer speaking to us through an Abyss message, but with his own voice.
“Come this way.”
The distance was considerable, but his voice was filled with power, so the sound struck our ears clearly.
I gauged his full strength with my Mana Eyes.
It was impossible to fully evaluate a person with mana alone, but I could immediately tell that the public's evaluation of him was not exaggerated in the slightest.
I had rarely seen a person with this level of mana even on the Kalia Continent.
On Earth, there wasn't even anyone of a similar level.
From that man, I could feel the kind of power one could only feel from a Sword Master.
Step, step.
The three of us walked side by side.
“The faces of you three are quite interesting. Should I say it's an exquisite combination, as if someone wrote a script?”
His lips twitched under the mask.
Heo Jeong-ah and Kim Jeong-rak probably had no idea what this meant.
“Are you the Forgotten Warrior?”
At Heo Jeong-ah’s question, Heo Gyeong-woo nodded his head.
“Yes. It seems the Abyss has named me so.”
“You, you bastard! You won't get out of here alive today!”
“Hoh! Was that directed at me just now?”
“Then, who else is there but you! You piece of trash!”
“You’re saying something you'll regret.”
“Regret?”
Heo Jeong-ah immediately aimed her sword at him.
The momentum was such that she could leap out and plunge her sword into Heo Gyeong-woo right now.
But the one who stopped her was Kim Jeong-rak.
“Wait! Would you let me have the first turn? I have a more urgent matter than you, Commander Heo.”
“Family Head? No, why all of a sudden!”
Kim Jeong-rak blocked Heo Jeong-ah and took a step forward.
Heo Gyeong-woo was watching this situation with interest.
“Yes. You, Kim Jeong-rak, must have a lot to say to me. Well then, let’s hear it.”
Heo Gyeong-woo was under the mistaken impression that Kim Jeong-rak had come to see him.
Kim Jeong-rak asked him with a stern face.
“My purpose in coming here is to find two missing people.”
“...Two people?”
“That’s right. Kim Joon-kyung and Kim Jin-seop of the Jungwon Sword Family. Do you perhaps know of their whereabouts?”
It was the first time Kim Jeong-rak had mentioned his two sons’ names.
Given the situation, it was as if he had come out in front of me.
Of course, Heo Gyeong-woo would have no idea what this meant.
“This is a strange affair. Judging by the way you speak, it seems you have no idea who I am, Kim Jeong-rak.”
“Just answer the question! Do you know the whereabouts of those two people?”
Kim Jeong-rak’s voice became even more anxious.
“I don't know what you're talking about, and I certainly don't know who they are.”
“Earthlings who were trapped in the dimensional wall after coming to conquer the Abyss a while ago! Are you saying those two are really not here?”
Eventually, Kim Jeong-rak yelled.
“An Earthling trapped in the dimensional wall... There is one.”
“Tell me right now!”
“But it's a bit different from what you just said. It wasn't a while ago but 40 years ago, and it wasn't two people but one.”
At those words, Kim Jeong-rak’s brow furrowed.
He had a premonition that his two sons and any clues to find them might not be here.
And Heo Gyeong-woo’s next words shattered even his remaining expectations.
“Kim Jeong-rak. It seems you have completely forgotten my voice.”
“Forgotten... your voice?”
“Well. It has been 40 years.”
Heo Gyeong-woo did not drag it out any longer.
Shwiiik!
He threw off the mask that was covering his face.
It was the moment his face was revealed again after 40 years.
Wrinkles deeply etched with the traces of time.
But his clear eyes and high-bridged nose were exactly as they were in the photograph.
“Do you recognize me now?”
“Y-You are!”
Kim Jeong-rak stepped back as if he had seen a ghost.
“It seems you finally recognize me.”
Heo Jeong-ah was just as shocked.
Her eyes were wide.
Even though she had never seen him in person, the face of her grand-uncle in his youth must have been engraved in her mind.
She could only stare at this situation with a dumbfounded face.
“I never thought you would come looking for me here. I thought you would keep it buried until you died.”
“...Why are you here!”
Kim Jeong-rak took another step back.
“I thought something was strange. The map that opens this place. Wasn’t it you who had it?”
It was a situation that needed some sorting out.
The time for me to step in had finally come.
“This map, you mean. I had it. Of course, it was originally the property of the Jungwon Sword Family.”
Kim Jeong-rak looked at me with a startled face.
“What on earth are you talking about!”
“Your son, Family Head. I obtained it from Kim Joon-kyung.”
“You, you bastard! Speak so I can understand!”
The complicated tangled thread that had started with the Map of the Holy Sword Bastian mission.
It was the moment when the deceptions and counter-deceptions, layered two, three times over, were finally being unraveled.
“To get straight to the point, I killed Kim Joon-kyung. In addition, Kim Jin-seop also died by my hand.”
In that moment, Kim Jeong-rak’s pupils shook violently.
“Of course, those two tried to harm me first. Under a disguised identity. Well, it was all your script, Family Head, I presume.”
In that moment, killing intent exploded.
“You son of a bitch!!”
As soon as my words ended, Kim Jeong-rak’s sword moved.
Of course, it was as I had expected.
My own sword was drawn at the same time.
Claaang!
But what blocked his sword was not the Holy Sword Bastian.
A dagger thrown from Heo Gyeong-woo had neutralized Kim Jeong-rak’s attack.
“Unauthorized killing in my space is not something I can tolerate. And you, Kim Jeong-rak, shouldn't you have a conversation with me first?”
But Kim Jeong-rak had already lost his reason.
His gaze was fixed on me.
“I’ll kill you!”
“If you had tried on the 2nd floor as you originally planned, your chances would have been a bit higher. Why didn't you muster the courage then?”
“Dieeee!!”
Another huge burst of killing intent erupted.
But the one who screamed was Kim Jeong-rak.
“Aaargh!”
A dagger thrown by Heo Gyeong-woo had lodged itself in Kim Jeong-rak’s thigh.
It was amazing.
And perfect.
Neither excessive nor lacking, a neat yet exquisite control of mana.
With this alone, I could easily gauge Heo Gyeong-woo’s skill.
“I have no interest in the affairs between you two. However.”
Swoooosh!
Another dagger flew.
This time, it was the other thigh.
“Aaargh!”
“Shouldn't we settle the debt from 40 years ago first? Thanks to you, I have spent these long, long years trapped in the Abyss.”
Two daggers had been thrown.
They extinguished Kim Jeong-rak’s killing intent and turned his gaze to Heo Gyeong-woo.
“Then, I'll ask again. Do you really have nothing to say to me? After meeting like this after 40 years.”
“I have no interest in you!”
“You’re being shameless. When you should be begging for forgiveness.”
“My choice was unavoidable! By competing fairly, I couldn’t break down the solid vested interests created by you 10 great sword families! Didn't you all always treat the minor sword families as mere extras!”
“You used dirty tricks and now your tongue is long, Kim Jeong-rak.”
“Kill me if you want! At this point, I have no lingering attachment to life anyway!”
Kim Jeong-rak pulled out one of the daggers embedded in his thigh and continued speaking.
“However, I intend to cut off this bastard Seo Ji-han’s head before I go!”
And then he pulled out the remaining dagger.
Blood dripped from both his legs.
His strength was considerably weakened due to the serious injury, but Kim Jeong-rak was determined to see it through to the end.
“You are pathetic, Family Head Kim Jeong-rak.”
“As expected, you bastards from the 10 great sword families are detestable! Always acting all high and mighty!”
“Well, I partially agree with that.”
“I don’t like that attitude either. Let's be companions on the road to the underworld together!”
“That’s a bit much, Family Head Kim Jeong-rak. Let's just take down the Jungwon Sword Family’s sign starting today.”
I know from experience, but the road to the underworld is something that only appears in fairy tales.