Chapter 90
“Ahh! Mic test, mic test. Can you hear me?” A voice echoed inside the unconscious Seo-Yeon’s head. It was her voice.
Her subconscious grabbed a mic and spoke, “My parents divorced when I was five years old because my father had an affair. I followed my mother, and we spent a few years at my grandparents’ place.”
She spoke as if she were introducing herself to her classmates on the first day of elementary school.
“I was happy because I received all the love from the people there, especially my grandmother. But... my mother wasn’t.”
Seo-Yeon’s grandmother still had a patriarchal mindset. She was embarrassed that her daughter got divorced, and always scolded her for being unable to keep her husband, despite it not being her fault.
“I had to be conscious of my mother’s feelings while in my grandmother’s arms. The happier I was, the more unfortunate my mother seemed to get. Then, my mother remarried a few years later.”
Her partner had also divorced once, and he had a son four years older than Seo-Yeon.
“I got a stepfather and stepbrother. My mother seemed happy, but when I entered middle school, she suddenly changed as if she had become a different person.”
Seo-Yeon was popular in middle school. She entered puberty, developing her secondary sex characteristics, and grew taller. Several male students confessed to her each month, and she became so beautiful that even neighboring schools talked about her.
“Initially, I thought it was no big deal. Whenever she saw me talking to my stepfather, she cut our conversation short by asking me if I’d done my homework, or if it’s time to go to cram school.”
However, her mother’s condition grew more severe. She became more wary of her daughter once Seo-Yeon grew up from a girl to a woman. Seo-Yeon couldn’t help but think of one possible reason her mother would be so hostile to her. She was having delusions of infidelity.
“At first, I doubted it. After all, a normal person wouldn’t doubt a father-daughter relationship. However, my mother wasn’t normal.”
Seo-Yeon thought about what made her mother turn out this way. She tried to get into her mother’s shoes. Her first marriage was a bitter failure because her husband had an affair with another woman.
She thought her daughter, whom she had with that man, was on her side, but her daughter received all the love at her parents’ place while she was shamed as an inadequate wife who couldn’t even keep her man with her.
Her painful memories about her husband’s affair and her resentment toward her daughter for taking everything from her began to mix. On top of that, she had to watch her daughter become more and more beautiful as she grew older with each passing day.
“One day, I ended up understanding how my mother felt.”
Seo-Yeon once again thought about what turned her mother into this.
Her husband, who had an affair? My grandmother, who showered me with love? The patriarchy? My mother’s paranoia?
“I won’t forgive anyone who calls my mother a psycho. She’s... my mother. My poor mother.”
After that, Seo-Yeon stopped decorating herself, such as putting on makeup, getting manicures, and shortening her school uniform skirt. She even cut her long, silky hair, which her friends were jealous of.
“But none of my efforts stopped my mother’s suspicion. Whenever she looked at me, she always mumbled to herself, That sly nine-tailed fox.”
Seo-Yeon suffered. Her mother, who should have always been on her side, treated her with hostility, and her stepfather treated the issue as no big deal because he did not want to lose his new family.
“The only person I could rely on was my stepbrother, but my home became hell when he was Lost.”
If she were to give a name to the environment, it would be Distrust Hell. No one could trust one another.
“Does trust even exist? Is there such a thing as a relationship you don’t have to doubt? How does it feel to have unconditional and reciprocal trust in someone?”
As she continued to ask questions without answers, a voice suddenly screamed, “KYAAAH!”
“Someone... please... help me... if only I... had a family... filled with trust...”
The voice of her subconscious grew fainter, and Seo-Yeon regained consciousness.
***
But jealous souls will not be answered so.
They are not ever jealous for the cause,
But jealous for they’re jealous. It is a monster
Begot upon itself, born on itself.
William Shakespeare, Othello
***
“KYAAAH! Cough, cough! That hurt so much!”
“Mmm... What’s going on?” Seo-Yeon opened her eyes and looked at the Latina woman, Lalisa, coughing and shaking.
“Urgh! Team Leader! What kind of attack were you hit with?!”
“What do you mean?”
“I cut a little of your hair and burned it, but... Urgh! That devil in human skin! How dare he put my team leader through such pain?!”
Seo-Yeon ignored the fuming Lalisa and looked around.
Is this... the recovery room at Union Headquarters?
From the hospital bed and white curtains, she was sure she was in a recovery room located on the first floor of the Empire State Building.
Oh, right. We investigated the victims’ interpersonal relations to find a Hard Drug workshop that Seong-Hwi would likely appear in. We staked him out, and then...
Seo-Yeon’s eyes widened. She turned to Lalisa and quickly asked, “Lalisa! What happened to our team? How are the members selected for the operation?”
“It’s practically a mass funeral,” Lalisa answered.
“What?” Seo-Yeon gritted her teeth.
Did that many people die? It’s my fault for commencing the operation without ample preparation. I should’ve left it to Team 1 or 2!
Seo-Yeon bit her lip, steeled her heart, and asked, “How many casualties?”
“One.”
“I see... one... wait, what?”
“Just one. Roman Duris, the leader of Suppression Team 8, is the only casualty,” Lalisa clarified.
“But... you said something about a mass funeral.”
Lalisa smiled and answered, “The items of the humans who participated in the operation were all corroded and reduced to scrap metal. From their condition, they can’t be restored.”
“Oh!” Seo-Yeon expressed relief.
However, she also wondered, What’s that man’s deal? What is his motive? He only killed Roman Duris, and no one else?
Naturally, keeping someone alive was more difficult than killing them in battle. In other words, Seong-Hwi had spared them on purpose.
And... Seo-Yeon trailed off as she recalled the man’s voice.
Just then, a man with glasses and long hair tied back swung open the recovery room door. A fragrant scent filled the room the moment he entered.
“Seo-Yeon!” he shouted worryingly as he approached Seo-Yeon, sitting on the hospital bed.
“Oppa? What are you doing here?” Seo-Yeon asked.
“What do you think?! I was worried sick because you didn’t wake up for half a day despite having no injuries!”
The man’s name was Kim Seo-Gyeong, Seo-Yeon’s stepbrother. He had been the only one Seo-Yeon could depend on, on Earth and in the Mirror World.
“The one who did this to you is Cheon Seong-Hwi, right? He even sexually harassed you, no less? Just wait, once I get my hands on him, I’ll—”
Seo-Gyeong’s black eyes blazed with fury. He was Lost two years before Seo-Yeon. He was the leader of Extermination Team 1, and 145th in the human ranking, making him a Semi Ranker.
“Urgh!” Seo-Yeon groaned as she grabbed and lowered her head.
She was dizzy and had a splitting headache as if she were having a hangover.
“Are you okay, Seo-Yeon?!”
“Oppa... can you let me... be alone for a minute? Lalisa... please leave too.”
Lalisa shrugged and left the recovery room.
Seo-Gyeong patted Seo-Yeon’s head and turned toward the exit. “Okay. I’ll ask the full story once you’re feeling better. Get some rest.”
As Seo-Yeon listened to the door closing and footsteps getting further, she recalled what Cheon Seong-Hwi had whispered to her last night.
“Don’t trust Kim Seo-Gyeong. Don’t trust anyone. It’s easy, right? It’s what you always do, after all. Oh, and...”
Seo-Yeon gritted her teeth and grimaced.
“Son of a bitch!”
***
On the Hong Kong street of North Earth, Lina Ahn was sprawled on a chair like a zombie in a building with its neon sign reading Chalisi powered off.
“Are you okay, Lina?” Seong-Hwi asked.
“I’m okay. I’m fine. No, I feel better than ever. It feels like I’ve surpassed my limits.”
“How many nights have you gone without sleep?”
“Not that many. I had a nap a week ago,” Lina replied with a smile, her face as dry as a corpse.
Seong-Hwi shook his head and thought, She hasn’t changed one bit. If she gets hooked on something, she won’t rest until she gets to the bottom of it.
Lina pointed to her desk, where three glass vials were held in a vial rack. The one on the far left was the Inferior Orc Gene she had shown him when they first met, while the other two were new.
[Intermediate Dragon Gene (Consumable Item)
Rank: B
Description: An intermediate gene extracted from the serum of a dragon hatchling. It is an extract of genes encoding information about stats, secondary force, and the like of the race Dragon.]
...
[Superior Goblin Gene (Consumable Item)
Rank: A
Description: A superior gene extracted from the serum of a goblin who restlessly heightened their caliber. It is an extract of genes encoding information about stats, secondary force, and the like of the race Goblin.]
...
The golden liquid was the Intermediate Dragon Gene, and the light green liquid was the Superior Goblin Gene.
Seong-Hwi carefully examined the items and expressed, “This is amazing.”
“I want to say it’s because I’ve mastered extracting genes, but it’s honestly because the quality of the materials was so good.”
She grabbed the Intermediate Dragon Gene vial, shook it, and continued, “Dragons sure are something. He may have been a Royal, but he was only a hatchling. Despite that, the result was excellent.”
She grabbed the Superior Goblin Gene vial and said, “This one had high caliber, as you would expect from a High Ranker’s corpse. I managed to extract a superior gene.”
“So, I just have to drink these, right?” Seong-Hwi asked.
“An intravenous injection will yield the best results,” Lina said as she grabbed three syringes from her desk drawer. However, she shook her head as Seong-Hwi extended his arm. “But not right now.”
“What?”
“Even if you are a match and possess the Ancient Fairy Queen’s Wings, it’s too dangerous. We need a safety test.”
“A safety test? How long will that take?”
“I told you that you reduced what would’ve taken three years to three months. It’s only been three weeks. We need to wait over two months.”
Seong-Hwi shook his head. Two months was too long. He needed to participate in the operation to seize an Elixir and prevent Faber’s declaration to support the angels. All his plans would be delayed.
“I don’t have that kind of time. Inject them right now,” he remarked.
“Huuu... I knew you would say that. Sometimes, it looks like you’re being chased by something. But this isn’t a recommendation. It’s mandatory,” Lina said firmly.
Her response was only natural. Absorbing the genes of other races and forcibly heightening one’s stat caliber was bound to place an insane burden on one’s body.
Seong-Hwi was trying to steal the countless years of evolution that the other races went through. In other words, he needed to achieve in an instant what they took who knows how many years. Since it had never been done, no one knew the result. Lina couldn’t risk Seong-Hwi’s life over such uncertain chances.
“You’re the first match I’ve met after years of searching. I refuse to lose you over an untested experiment,” Lina remarked, her eyes filled with worry. “You said you wanted to become one of the Ten Lords and Fiends. I want to see you accomplish it, too, but you have to be alive to do it. It’s only two months. Can’t you just wait?”
Seong-Hwi stared at Lina in silence. He understood how she felt.
However, he said, “You’re wrong, Lina.”
“What?”
“You said I have to live to become one of the Ten Lords and Fiends, but you’re wrong. I have to die. Only through countless deaths can I barely reach that level.”
Seong-Hwi’s eyes shone brightly. Any of the Ten Lords and Fiends could easily eradicate a race alone. Conversely, they could also protect a race from eradication. After returning to the past, Seong-Hwi strove to become one of the Ten Lords and Fiends. Lee Kang-San was the only human World Ranker, but was one of the lower ones. Hence, humans were disrespected, despised, and ultimately eradicated.
“We don’t need a safety test. Nothing is safe on the path I’m walking. Rather, I’m glad that it’s dangerous. The pain will serve to heighten my caliber,” Seong-Hwi said.
“You’re... completely insane. Why are you so desperate? What’s chasing you?” Lina asked, unable to understand.
Seong-Hwi answered, “My destiny.”
He still had no idea why he returned to the past. He assumed it was because of the Destiny Stone, the humans’ Race Stone, but even that was a guess. He was sure of one thing: as someone who returned to the past, only he could walk this destiny.
“Chased by... your destiny?” Lina asked.
“Yeah. I’m still being chased by it, but it’s time I grasped it.” Seong-Hwi grabbed the vials in the rack and continued, “Give me the syringes. If you don’t, I’ll just drink them.”
“Crazy son of a bitch,” Lina remarked.
“Right back at you.”
Lina glared at Seong-Hwi. She sighed and mumbled, “Put the vials down.”
“I told you—”
“AND I TOLD YOU THAT INTRAVENOUS INJECTIONS WILL YIELD THE BEST RESULTS! PUT THEM DOWN NOW!”
Seong-Hwi silently placed the vials in the rack.
Lina filled each syringe with the genes and mumbled, “Yeah, why should I care if he dies? We didn’t know each other for long.”
“That’s a bit harsh.”
“Right back at you!”
There was a red liquid in one, a golden liquid in one, and a light green liquid in the last.
Lina continued, “Listen carefully. Grafting is all I can do. Once I do that, it’s entirely up to you whether your new branches grow toward the sun and bear fruit. They may rot instead.”
“Sounds good.”
“Use the Ancient Fairy Queen’s Wings as much as possible. Its description, saying it harmoniously embraces various qualities, isn’t there for no reason.”
“Okay.”
“Then let’s inject them one by one, starting with the inferior gene—”
Seong-Hwi smirked as Lina exercised extreme caution. He stuck the three syringe needles into his vein in the blink of an eye, like sticking darts on a dartboard.
“You crazy son of a bitch!” Lina shouted.
Seong-Hwi paid her no mind and injected the three syringes’ contents simultaneously.
“If I die here, it just means that’s as much as I amounted to, but if I survive this...” Seong-Hwi trailed off.
Sounds that should not come from a human body echoed from Seong-Hwi’s body. His veins, starting from his right arm, wriggled like worms.
“Kurgh—!”
Seong-Hwi widened his bloodshot eyes, exuding madness and determination, as he endured the wave of excruciating pain.
I’ll never catch up to them if I grow stronger step by step! I need to skip as many steps as possible!
His heart pounded like drums. He would soon see if his gamble paid off or not.