Chapter 26

Chapter 26

They were not completely pointed like the elves he had met before. Perhaps they were about halfway between a human’s and an elf’s.

Only then did Zeon understand what Deioden meant by “half-breed.”

That girl was definitely of mixed blood between a human and an elf.

‘A child born between a human and an elf.’

Leaving aside Deioden’s boundless hostility toward elves, the elves’ feelings toward humans were not very good either.

At least the elves Zeon had experienced were like that. So hearing that such an elf had met a human and formed a family could only feel strange.

The girl was hiding behind the middle-aged man, secretly watching Zeon and Deioden.

Her expression was full of fear, but curiosity was also nestled within it.

Then the middle-aged man’s gaze turned toward Zeon.

“He is a child I have not seen before. Is he your disciple?”

“Disciple? That idiot? Hah!”

Deioden burst out laughing.

Zeon’s face crumpled, but he did not bother refuting it. Compared to Deioden, it was true that he was an idiot.

The middle-aged man said to Zeon,

“My name is Go Du-won. What is your name?”

“I’m Zeon.”

“Are you perhaps of Korean descent?”

“I don’t even know who my parents are.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dig into your wounds. I was only glad because you seemed to be of the same Korean descent.”

“It’s fine.”

Even in Neo Seoul’s slums, there were quite a few people who cared about origin.

There had been quite a number of foreigners in old Seoul.

As the world changed like this, foreigners who could not return to their homelands settled down in Neo Seoul.

They survived tenaciously and married Koreans or other foreigners, having children.

As countless races mixed together like a melting pot, it became difficult to find anyone of pure Korean descent.

Deioden mocked Go Du-won.

“Are you still idiotically distinguishing between Korean descent and foreign descent? When your own child is a half-breed bastard with an elf?”

“You have not changed at all. Still rough, still rude......”

“When a person changes too easily, it means death isn’t far off.”

At Deioden’s answer, Go Du-won shook his head.

Deioden, whom he was seeing for the first time in years, had not changed at all.

Even down to the venomous words he poured out like daggers without caring about other people’s feelings.

Go Du-won knew better than anyone why Deioden hated nonhuman races so much.

It was not that he could not understand his anger, but a full hundred years had passed.

Among those who had experienced the incident back then, only a few, including Deioden, were still alive.

Everyone else had quietly buried the memories of that time in their hearts and lived on, but only Deioden lived while carrying such rage. Go Du-won could only find that sorrowful.

Go Du-won asked carefully,

“Why have you come here? Did you perhaps come to deal with the Bomb Bees?”

“Why would I deal with the Bomb Bees?”

“You mean that is not why?”

“Are you still dreaming that hollow dream? Foolish.”

“It is not a hollow dream. If only the Bomb Bees are dealt with, this forest can be brought back to life. Do you truly not understand?”

“There is only one thing I know. A tree that is already dead cannot be revived by any means.”

Deioden struck a tree with his hand.

CLANG! CLANG!

A metallic sound flowed from the carbonized tree.

“It did not merely die. It was completely carbonized. And yet you think it can be brought back to life? Did that woman whisper that to you? You believe the words of a filthy elven bitch? You would be better off putting a knife in your mouth and killing yourself.”

At Deioden’s venomous words, Go Du-won only bit his lip.

Deioden’s anger toward elves and nonhuman races was too great to persuade him.

“If you are not going to help, then why did you come here?”

“I simply stopped by while passing through. The outskirts of the Black Forest are shaded, so they are worth resting in for a moment.”

“I hope you will not stay long. Everyone in our clan fears you.”

“Do you think I care about such things?”

“Of course not. You are Deioden, after all. Deioden the Massacrer. I had forgotten that fact for a moment.”

“Now that you know, get out of my sight. Before I take that half-breed’s head.”

“You know better than anyone that I cannot do that.”

“Shall we find out? Whether you can or cannot?”

“Still, I will withdraw here. I hope you have a safe journey.”

Go Du-won lowered his head with a miserable expression.

Deioden was a man who always did what he said he would do.

His madness had swelled over a hundred years, and now there was no one who could stop it.

Go Du-won took his daughter’s hand.

At that instant, his figure vanished without a trace.

Zeon murmured in surprise.

“He’s an Awakened.”

“He leads a clan, at least. If he had not awakened, he would not have been able to take care of his clan until now.”

Because they were a clan with the Go family name, living in the fields [野], they were called the Goya Clan.

That name, too, had been given by the elf who had been Go Du-won’s wife.

That made Deioden dislike it all the more.

“We will leave shortly, so prepare.”

“Yes!”

Zeon nodded.

He still had many questions about the Goya Clan, but decided to cut off his interest here.

That was because he had to eat before setting out on a long journey.

Zeon took out a piece of jerky and put it in his mouth.

He chewed the jerky as slowly as possible and swallowed it.

Since he had only just woken up, his mouth felt dry and stale. Even so, Zeon chewed the jerky without stopping.

He ate two pieces of jerky and even drank water.

Zeon clapped his hands clean of lingering attachment and stood.

Now it was time to leave.

Deioden picked up Crayon, which he had stuck into the ground.

It was when the two of them were about to leave the Black Forest without hesitation.

VMMMM!

Suddenly, an intense noise flowed from deep inside the Black Forest.

It was the sound of Bomb Bees beating their wings.

And not just one or two of them, but hundreds, thousands of them flapping at once.

Deioden muttered,

“Something must have excited the Bomb Bees.”

Bomb Bees were monsters.

And they were monsters with a strong obsession over their territory.

They absolutely would not tolerate other living creatures entering their domain.

Something had clearly entered the Bomb Bees’ territory carelessly.

But Deioden’s interest ended there.

In any case, this was only a place to rest briefly.

What happened here did not matter.

“Let’s go!”

Deioden turned away coldly.

It was when Zeon was about to follow him.

“Har! Har!”

Go Du-won came running toward the two while desperately calling someone’s name. Behind him were several men who seemed to be members of his clan.

Arriving before the two, Go Du-won asked Deioden,

“Have you seen my daughter Har?”

“Why are you asking me where your daughter went?”

“She was playing in front of the bunker, but she suddenly disappeared.”

Then one of Go Du-won’s clansmen pointed toward the Black Forest.

“There?”

“The Bomb Bees are reacting.”

At their words, Go Du-won’s face turned deathly pale.

Go Du-won had hunted all the monsters in the area.

He had protected his clan by hunting monsters periodically.

Naturally, there should not have been any monster left that could provoke the Bomb Bees.

“Could Har have gone into the Black Forest?”

“We have to save her quickly.”

“Har is in danger.”

Urgency appeared on the clansmen’s faces.

The Black Forest where the Bomb Bees lived was one of the most dangerous places on the surface.

Bomb Bees were colony creatures like ants.

To repel intruders, they did not hesitate to choose self-destruction.

No matter how strong a monster was, survival could not be guaranteed inside the Black Forest.

His daughter had entered such a dangerous forest alone.

He could not even grasp how he was supposed to save her.

Go Du-won knelt before Deioden.

“Please save my daughter. I will pay any price, so......”

“Heh-heh! Why would I save that half-breed?”

“Did you not make an oath?”

“An oath?”

Deioden’s face twisted.

“You owed my father a debt of life. In exchange, you said you would watch over Har so she could grow safely until she turned twenty.”

Veins stood out on Go Du-won’s neck.

His eyes were filled with blood.

Go Du-won was making his request with his life on the line. That was because Deioden was his only hope.

Long ago, Deioden had suffered a fatal wound. The one who saved him had been Go Du-won’s father.

At that time, Go Du-won had already married an elf.

Deioden’s anger toward nonhuman races was greater than anyone’s, but even he could not bring himself to kill the daughter-in-law and granddaughter of the benefactor who had saved his life.

When Deioden said he would repay the favor in another way, Go Du-won’s father had said he would be satisfied if Deioden simply left Har alone until she turned twenty.

Deioden had sworn to do so.

“Har is only twelve years old now. There are still eight years left before your oath ends.”

“I said I would watch over her. I never said I would protect her.”

“How can you watch over Har if she does not survive?”

GRIND!

Deioden gritted his teeth.

It was the contradiction in the oath.

‘I was tricked by that foxlike old man.’

Only now did he realize why Go Du-won’s father had made him swear such a thing.

He had clearly prepared for this kind of situation.

Go Du-won said,

“If Har does not survive, you cannot watch over her. Am I wrong?”

“Do not force logic. Do you think I will accept your stubbornness just because you say that?”

“I will give you my life. Please save my daughter. That child is our clan’s, and beyond that, the only hope of the people barely clinging to life around here.”

Go Du-won’s voice held desperate paternal love.

Deioden looked at Go Du-won with a furrowed brow.

Go Du-won’s words were close to sophistry, but they were enough to make Deioden hesitate.

Deioden had lived however he pleased all his life, but at least when dealing with fellow humans, he had never once lied.

A look of conflict appeared on his face.

Then a voice saved him.

“I’ll go.”

It was Zeon.

Because he had traveled with Deioden for so long, he had noticed his complicated feelings.

If Deioden had truly had no intention of helping, he would have simply cut down Go Du-won and left this place. The fact that he was hesitating like this was proof that he was conflicted.

Deioden looked at Zeon.

“Why you?”

“I happened to become curious about the inside of the Black Forest.”

“Hmm!”

Deioden furrowed his brow.

What made Bomb Bees frightening was that they were colony creatures.

Because countless bees carried out self-destruction attacks, ordinary Awakened could never deal with them.

That was also the reason Go Du-won had coveted the Black Forest so much and yet had been unable to reclaim it.

He hunted with a bow and arrows like an elf.

He was excellent at hunting large monsters, but he was no match for colony monsters that pressed forward with overwhelming numbers like Bomb Bees.

That was why Go Du-won had begged Deioden so desperately.

By contrast, Zeon had the best compatibility against colony monsters.

For someone who handled sand as a weapon, superiority in numbers was no problem at all.

Deioden said bluntly,

“You seem confident.”

“There is something I want to test.”

“If you say you will go yourself, I will not stop you.”

“Please wait until tomorrow morning. If I do not come out by then, you may leave.”

“Hmph! I was planning to do that even if you had not said it. Remember this. Until tomorrow morning.”

“Then I’ll be back.”

It was when Zeon moved toward the Black Forest.

“I will go with you.”

Go Du-won followed him.

Zeon glanced at him.

“Will you be all right?”

“My daughter’s life is at stake. As her father, how could I only stand by and watch?”

“Understood.”

Zeon nodded.

There was no reason to oppose a father who said he would save his daughter.

The other clansmen did not dare follow them inside and could only stamp their feet. Unlike Go Du-won, they were not Awakened.

Go Du-won walked close beside Zeon and said,

“Thank you. For stepping forward so readily.”

“It’s nothing special.”

“Stepping forward for another is not something anyone can do. I will not forget this debt.”

At Go Du-won’s words, Zeon looked faintly awkward.

That was because he had not stepped forward out of pure intentions.

After rising to Grade D, he had realized a Skill.

The best way to check a Skill was to fight enemies.

Bomb Bees were the optimal opponent.

That was why he had stepped forward without anyone telling him to.

Since he was not entering the Black Forest with a pure heart, he could not help feeling embarrassed.

That was when it happened.

Bzzz!

A fierce wingbeat sounded from ahead.

Go Du-won’s complexion changed completely.

That was because he realized it was the sound of a Bomb Bee flying toward them.

He nocked an arrow to the bow he was holding. But Zeon moved faster than him.

SHAAAK!

Sand surged up in front of them.

Then a BOOM rang out.

The Bomb Bee charging fiercely had collided with the sand wall and exploded.

Go Du-won’s mouth fell open in shock.

“My God!”