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Book 2, Epilogue 5 - Return of the Hero(?) (5)
Book 2, Epilogue 5 - Return of the Hero(?) (5)
Book 2, Epilogue 5 - Return of the Hero(?) (5)
The eastern part of the US…
“You guys are too weak.”
A tall man using crude English dusted off his hand within the Leo temple’s training facility. Two hundred Leo disciples lay unconscious around the man…
Two hundred?!
Stevens was surprised when he came upon this scene. It had been well past assembly time, and his subordinates hadn’t shown up. So he had come here to punish them and personally put them through drills.
However, he found all his subordinates beaten to a pulp by a single person! “What the hell is going on….”
The tall man turned around when he heard Stevens’s voice. “Ah. You are Cargo’s steward?”
“S-Steward?”
It was a young man with black hair and bronze skin. The tall man walked toward Stevens like a model.
The man’s handsome face was revealed when he took off his sunglasses. He had sharp elongated golden eyes and a booming laugh, looking striking.
“Cargo has a fussy personality. The fact that you were able to stick it out with him proves that you’re useful as a steward.”
Stevens had never seen this man before, but deducing the man’s identity wasn’t too hard. “Great Spirit Shiva-nim…?”
“Just call me Caram.”
“Hailey’s father?”
“Ha. That’s good too.”
“Father-in-law?”
“You want to die? No, you can just die!”
“Ahhhk! Joke! It was a joke!” Stevens was frightened as Caram tried to kill him using a knife hand strike. He ran away.
Stevens wanted to test how much of a fool Caram was for his daughter. He never knew it was this bad!
‘I heard he was a fool for his daughter, so he was dodging anyone who had anything to do with Lee Gun.’
Moreover, he was incredibly strong! Shiva was a fighting-type god like Lee Gun. Just a slip of a word in front of him could get Stevens killed!
Anyway, Stevens had become acquainted with Shiva around three years ago. It was understandable since Shiva had decided to live in the US with a newly born Hailey. He had chosen to live in a land under the Leo temple.
Of course, Stevens had been on his guard when an energy equivalent to a monarch rank had shown up in his territory.
- What the hell? This energy is…?
Unexpectedly, Leo was the one to move. Leo was a homebody that couldn’t be pestered to move, yet it had gone out somewhere. Then it abruptly said to Stevens,
- This is how it’ll be. For the foreseeable future, my friend will take root in the US. Just know that he’ll be living here.
Stevens had no idea what was going on. He never knew the ill-tempered cat even had a friend. Still, this was the event that alerted everyone to something.
‘Hailey is back.’
She was back with Shiva and the Flame Monarch, her parents. Of course, everyone found out who her parents were for the first time.
‘Shiva came from Mahabharata, like my Zodiac..’
No wonder the freeloader cat had moved. There was a reason Shiva was close to their great Leo.
‘Anyway, that was why they came to the US.’
Moreover, no one had known that Hailey’s whole family had been present in the World of Emptiness.
This was especially true of Hailey’s mother. They had heard she had died not too long after Lee Gun had rescued her.
‘Was she dragged into the World of Emptiness during that time?’
Stevens had no idea what kind of Karmic Debt would send all three of them to the World of Emptiness as prisoners.
Stevens asked, “Caram-nim. I thought you didn’t like the east coast of the US because it was too noisy. What brings you to a place that you don’t like after three years?”
“It’s because unwanted guests keep looking for us.”
The unwanted guests probably referred to Hugo’s household.
‘Hugo’s household is tenaciously trying to make contact with Shiva.’
Since Lee Gun had been in the World of Emptiness with them, Hugo and his family wanted to ask Shiva about Lee Gun’s whereabouts.
Of course, Shiva didn’t seem to welcome the presence of Hugo’s household.
- Stay the hell away from us!
He had even verbally assaulted them, so he seemed to be on bad terms with Hugo and his household. It was still the case right now.
Stevens furrowed his brows. “Despite their attempt, you haven’t moved for the past three years. If you really didn’t like them, you would have moved already.”
“My wife and Hailey like them, so we stayed there.”
Stevens watched Shiva do as he pleased as he opened the training facility’s refrigerator. Shiva really seemed to like the western part of the US. He said something about being able to feel the energy of the ground.
Yet, around half a year ago, he had disappeared without a trace. He went away as soon as Lee Gun appeared on the earth. It was as if he had evaporated into thin air. His whole family had also disappeared as if they had been a mirage!
This event had surprised everyone.
That was why Stevens had almost fainted a while ago in New York. He had been inside the Leo temple’s main palace, naked in the public bath, when Shiva came for a visit.
- Kuh-huh. The temperature of the water here is great.
- Ahhk!!!!!
It seemed he had been celebrating Halloween with his young daughter. Shiva wore a princess mask and held a bloodied knife, frightening everyone.
- Ahhhhk!!!
- You guys are men. Why are you screaming like that? It isn’t cute at all. Is this your first time seeing someone in costume? You want to die?
- Ahhk!!!
Stevens had never expected such a face to be behind the scary princess mask. “Why did you make yourself scarce as soon as Lee Gun appeared?”
Shiva took out an expensive alcoholic drink. He scrunched up his face as he drank it. “Don’t ask such questions, steward. You’re going to get hurt.”
“As expected, it has to do with Lee Gun?”
“I said you’ll get hurt!”
Stevens sighed. He had heard that the relationship between Hailey and Lee Gun had progressed quite far. “Both of them do not have their memories any longer. I doubt anything will suddenly happen between them…”
“My daughter…”
Crack!
“In recent days…”
Crack!
“She said she likes snakes.”
“…?!”
After Shiva opened an expensive bottle of whiskey, a calm murderous intent emanated from his eyes. “I was going to eradicate all the snakes from this world, but I held myself back.”
“….”
Stevens started to sweat. What sin did the snakes commit?
Shiva started laughing as if he was mad. “I’ve always hated gods related to snakes. Do you think I would let that kid have my daughter?? I’ll even eradicate all the worms!”
“Worms have nothing to do with this…”
At that moment…
[Don’t you guys owe a debt to Lee Gun?]
“!”
Leo showed up.
“Cargo.”
[What? Am I wrong? Lee Gun saved you guys, who were slaves in the World of Emptiness, right? You were able to escape the World of Emptiness and come here thanks to him.]
Shiva scoffed. “He didn’t save us. While he was going on a rampage decapitating Universe’s head, we escaped on our own.”
“What? Lee Gun killed Universe?”
“Yes. In return, he lost all his memories.”
“What? What do you mean by… No, are you saying Lee Gun really doesn’t have his memories?”
“How could he have them? In the first place, he shouldn’t have been able to leave the World of Emptiness.”
“…???”
Stevens wanted to ask what he meant, but Leo merely clicked his tongue.
[It seems Aslan wants to make your daughter his daughter-in-law. He doesn’t seem to care if she doesn’t have her memories. I saw him pick clothes for his grandchildren.]
“What? That ungrateful bastard wants to bring who as his daughter-in-law?!”
[Wow. It seems you guys are still close.]
“We aren’t close! I’d rather have Hailey live by my side for the rest of her life if the alternative is to send her there as his daughter-in-law!”
[Does that mean you like Lee Gun as her husband?]
“He is not her husband!!!”
Stevens was letting out a cold sweat.
Should he say something about Aslan already picking out clothes for his grandchildren?
‘He’s picking out clothes for his grandchildren when his son isn’t even one year old.’
How many steps were Aslan skipping? No, that wasn’t important right now.
Stevens was sweating as he looked at Shiva. “I…I’m bringing this up since you mentioned his memories. From the stories I heard from Hugo, Lee Gun’s actions are a bit out of the ordinary. His actions aren’t the ones of a child with no memories…”
Stevens looked at Shiva with an oddly expectant gaze.
However, Shiva didn’t respond. However, he scrunched up his face further as if he had a thought that bothered him more. “He doesn't have his memories. Why do you keep believing in that monarch? He is a liar.”
“I've always wondered about this. Why do you hate Hugo so much? You always slam the door in their faces whenever they come calling.”
It was why the Zodiac Saints of the Serpent Bearer temple and the Archer disciples hated them, including Stevens.
It was a very tough and frustrating situation for Stevens because he really liked the Serpent Bearer temple and the Sagittarius temple.
Leo clicked his tongue at the question.
[Why else? It’s obviously because Hugo killed the Great Spirit of Mahabharata when he was Eternal Change.]
“That’s part of it.”
Originally, there had been three Great Spirits of Mahabharata. The three gods were a triumvirate. Among the three, Shiva was dragged into the World of Emptiness, Brahma was killed by Eternal Change, and the remaining god Vishnu was killed by Lee Gun.
“Caram-nim doesn’t like Hugo-nim because he killed your precious comrades…”
“No. In fact, I’m thankful that he killed Brahma. The only thing that pisses me off is that bastard killed Brahma before I could.”
“…”
“Also, that isn’t why I dislike him.”
[Huh? There is another reason? What is it?]
The tiger-like eyes of Shiva tilted upward more savagely, but he didn’t give an answer. “Anyway, I will never let Hailey meet anyone related to the snake god. If they don’t meet, no relationship will be able to develop. That’s why I’ll be hiding my wife and Hailey in this palace.”
“…I don’t mind it, but are you sure you’ll be able to pull it off? They aren’t much better than you expect…”
In terms of searching and sensing, they were scarily strong…
“Don’t worry. I put a plan in place. They won’t be able to get close to us.”
The father, who was a fool for his daughter, smirked in a sleazy manner.
* * *
Around that time, Hugo was also having problems, like Stevens. In the end, he slapped his forehead.
‘Yes. There is no need for me to go visit Aslan! I have Yeonwoo!'
The one who knew most about Lee Gun wasn’t Aslan. It was Yeonwoo!
‘Unlike that sly fox, she won’t hide anything related to Gun from me!’
Hugo clenched his fist because he supported(?) Yeonwoo more than Hailey. According to Mimir, Yeonwoo had traveled to the World of Emptiness to save Lee Gun. She would know what had happened to Gun over there! Of course, there was a problem…
‘I have no idea where Miss Yeonwoo is right now.’
In truth, Hugo had last seen Yeonwoo three years ago. It was after Lee Gun had ceased to exist in this world.
At the time, Yeonwoo had tried to disappear from their sight. It was as if she was going to follow Lee Gun. She had tried to leave in the middle of the night.
However, Hugo had discovered her. Feeling uneasy, he had tried to grab her. “Miss Yeonwoo? Where are you going?”
A swirl of light had flashed behind her as if she had made a connection to some location. “I’m going to go find and bring back Gun!”
“What?! But…!”
Outsiders couldn't go to the World of Emptiness. It was a world where only sinners could go.
“I found a way to travel to the World of Emptiness!”
This had surprised Hugo.
‘No one would choose to go to the World of Emptiness even if one was capable of going there.’
Hugo knew what kind of place it was, so he desperately tried to stop her. “No! If normal gods go there, they will die!”
Moreover, Lee Gun had promised that he would be back someday. He would come back even if one person remembered him. He would if Faith toward him remained. He would be able to return to the humans as a god.
“That’s why we should believe in him and wait…!”
Hearing this, Yeonwoo unexpectedly put on a serious expression. “No. If our prediction is right, Gun will get rid of Universe. Once he solves all the problems over there, he won’t be able to return to the earth. He’ll be tied down to the World of Emptiness.”
“What? What do you mean by—”
Instead of answering him, Yeonwoo put on a sad smile as she disappeared into the light.
“Koohk!”
Three years had passed since she had disappeared. Lee Gun, whom they had missed so much, had returned as a baby.
So they assumed Yeonwoo, who had gone to look for Lee Gun, would return soon. However, half a year had passed, yet she hadn’t shown up.
They were starting to get worried that something bad had happened to her when…
Kwahng!!
“Who is it?”
A being with a serious amount of energy invaded the room where the young Lee Gun slept. The energy was clearly aiming for the child.
‘Who dares go after my son?’
Hugo’s eyes flashed coldly as he immediately moved to defend Lee Gun. “Gun!!”
An enraged Hugo was about to decapitate the intruder, but…
“M…Miss Yeonwoo?!”
The one hugging the young Lee Gun was none other than Yeonwoo.
Hugo was taken aback. “M…Miss Yeonwoo! Where have you been all this time?”
That wasn’t important right now.
Yeonwoo looked at the sleeping young Lee Gun. The beautiful woman looked flushed with happiness.
Hugo let out a sigh of relief.
‘It really is Gun.’
There was no way he would mistake Gun, but it was nice to get confirmation. It made a big difference.
“Thank you for looking after Gun.” Yeonwoo treated Lee Gun as if he was very precious. She rubbed her face against young Lee Gun’s cheek, looking elated.
Hugo was relieved. “I’m glad you are back. Gun will be happy…”
“Ah! I’m just visiting. I have to go back soon.”
This surprised Hugo. “Y…You have to go? You just came here. Where will you go?!”
“It was good that Gun was reincarnated from the World of Emptiness, but that damn stalker of Gun is… I have to track down an enemy who’s looking for Gun.”
“E-Enemy? Stalker?”
“Yes. I have to annihilate this person so that this person never shows up in front of him again. Please look after Gun until that time.”
“Annihilate???? W-Wait a moment!”
“Oh yeah… If you don’t mind, I would like you to be the only one to raise Gun, Mr. Hugo. To be precise, could you prevent other women from approaching him?”
“What??”
“You can allow Miss Jiwoo and the Constructs to get close to him. It won’t be long. Please do this for me!”
“W-Wait a moment!!?”
Yeonwoo had once again disappeared.
This had happened only a week ago. It was why Hugo was taken aback.
“Did something happen in the World of Emptiness?”
What happened there that Gun returned as a baby? Lee Gun also didn’t seem to have his memories, and he possessed the energy of a monster.
It was unclear what had happened to his Divine status. Lee Gun had become a weird being that was neither god nor human. Also, where had Ms. Yeonwoo gone in the meantime?
“Are you curious about that?”
“!”
A sudden voice surprised Hugo.
“Aslan!”
Before he knew it, Aslan was sitting on the sofa watching the TV. He propped up his chin on his hand as he ate the chicken.
As if he were on a bit of a hot seat, Mimir sat next to him.
Hugo massaged his forehead. “You…! Show your presence when you show up!”
“I’ll tell you everything that happened to Gun. In return, I have some questions for you.”
Hugo’s face was a sight to behold. My god! Of all the people in the world, this guy wanted to ask him a question? Was he really going to “question” him?
Aslan thought of himself as a gifted genius and everyone else as an idiot. That person wanted to ask someone else a question?
“You have a question you want to ask me? Really?”
“Yes. It’s something I am curious about as a father with a child.”
“…???”
Hugo became puzzled. It was a parenting question???
Him??? Aslan was like the king of the gods, who ruled over heaven and earth. He was almost sociopathic in not caring about others. Unexpectedly, Aslan had a serious expression on his face.
Hugo had his arms crossed as he looked dubiously at Aslan. “O…K. I’ll answer it if I know the answer. Before I do, you have to tell me what happened to Gun.”
It was rare to see him laugh brightly like a child. Aslan opened his mouth as he looked toward the TV. “Gun became a monster, because…”
“….”
“…”
“…”
“Aslan?”
“What are you doing, Mimir? Hurry up and retell the story while I watch the movie.”
It seemed he found telling the story himself irritating.
‘Like father, like son.’
When his terrible old master exerted his power, Mimir sighed and started to speak.