Chapter 89

Chapter 89

Urgency appeared on Kim Jae-kyung’s face.

Her ability was mental attack.

Aside from the Grade C Skills Subordination and brainwashing, she had no other real means of attack.

Even so, she had never thought that was insufficient.

Until now, there had been no one she had set her mind on subjugating and failed to subjugate, and no one she could not brainwash.

At least, not in Dongdaemun.

Because of that, even as she entered Shinchon, she had been confident that she could subjugate Zeon in an instant.

But for some reason, her Skill did not work on Zeon.

“Grr! Subordination!”

She used her Skill once more.

Zeon merely stared at Kim Jae-kyung.

As expected, a tremendous backlash struck her.

“Aaagh!”

At the overwhelming pain, Kim Jae-kyung clutched her head and screamed.

This was the first time she had ever met someone her mental attack did not work on.

Because of that, she was the one who fell into panic instead.

Fear appeared in Kim Jae-kyung’s eyes.

That was because Zeon’s gaze, looking down at her intently, felt frightening.

‘I have to get out of here.’

Kim Jae-kyung gave an order to the customers at the stall.

“Everyone, attack that man.”

At that instant, the men’s expressions changed completely, and they attacked Zeon.

“Die!”

“Hrahap!”

They were not Awakened.

Even so, they attacked Zeon without any fear.

That was because they had already been brainwashed.

The moment they had approached Kim Jae-kyung and flirted with her, they had already been brainwashed.

“Tch!”

Zeon clicked his tongue and swung his fist.

THUD, THUD, THUD!

There was no need to use a Skill.

With three punches, all three men were sent flying.

By the time Zeon turned around after knocking them down, Kim Jae-kyung had already disappeared.

She had escaped after using the men as sacrifices.

“I can’t just let her go.”

Whatever the reason, she was someone who had tried to brainwash him.

Awakened who could interfere with and manipulate another person’s mind were extremely rare.

It was fortunate that Zeon’s mental strength was firm. If it had been even slightly weaker, he would have been brainwashed and followed her orders.

In a way, a Grade C Awakened capable of mental manipulation was more terrifying than a Grade B martial-type Awakened.

He could not simply let someone like that go.

He had to make her pay the price for touching him.

Zeon launched himself in the direction Kim Jae-kyung had disappeared.

Her escape route was obvious.

‘She’ll head to Dongdaemun.’

Before the Great Cataclysm, areas like Jongno and Euljiro had existed between Shinchon and Dongdaemun. But those place names no longer existed now.

They had vanished along with Seoul’s destruction.

Now, there were only similar-looking slums in their place.

What made them different from Shinchon or Dongdaemun was that because there was no clear ruling force, they were even more backward and complicated.

Kim Jae-kyung used that fact.

“Hmph! No matter how fast he is, once he enters this place, he has no choice but to get lost.”

By contrast, she knew the terrain here as clearly as the lines on her palm.

Kim Jae-kyung ran through the maze-like slums at high speed.

In the distance, a tall steeple came into view.

It was the Church, the symbol of Dongdaemun.

“I made it.”

The moment joy appeared on her face, it happened.

Tap!

Someone in front tripped her.

Kim Jae-kyung tumbled across the ground at the same speed she had been running.

After rolling three or four times and crashing into a wall, Kim Jae-kyung shook her head and got up.

“Which bastard......”

Her eyes widened as she lifted her head to find the culprit.

That was because the man who had tripped her at the decisive moment was Zeon.

“Wh-when?”

“You should train your physical abilities too. How are you going to make it back to Dongdaemun when you’re that slow?”

“Grr!”

Kim Jae-kyung sprang up as if having a fit.

She hurriedly looked around and was about to use her Skill on the people nearby.

“Tch! You shouldn’t do that.”

Zeon moved first.

THUD!

His strike landed in Kim Jae-kyung’s abdomen.

Kim Jae-kyung flew backward without even being able to scream.

At the impact that felt as if a hole had been punched through her stomach, Kim Jae-kyung could not get up for a while.

‘Fuck!’

With tears and snot streaming down her face, she looked at Zeon.

Zeon did not go easy on her because she was a woman.

Before she was a woman, she was an Awakened.

Zeon knew better than anyone that an Awakened could not be dealt with half-heartedly.

Kim Jae-kyung raised her hand and stopped Zeon from approaching.

“W-wait! Let’s talk.”

“Talk......”

“Why is a man so petty? Let’s resolve this through conversation.”

“Talking with someone who tried to brainwash me? I don’t think that’s a very wise choice.”

“That was my fault. I’ll apologize like this. I just wanted you too much. Since it has come to this, I’ll be honest. Join hands with Dongdaemun. It’ll be good for you too.”

“What exactly would be good?”

“We’ll acknowledge you as the ruler of Shinchon.”

“I don’t need that. Why would I take on something so bothersome......?”

“Th-then what about me? I’ll assist you. I’ll do anything you want.”

In the end, Kim Jae-kyung brought out her final means.

There was no fool who did not know what a woman meant when she said she would do anything one wanted.

At a glance, Kim Jae-kyung looked plain, but on closer inspection, she possessed a strange beauty.

Any man would inevitably be tempted by her appearance.

Kim Jae-kyung thought Zeon would like her offer too. But the answer Zeon gave sent her plummeting into the abyss.

“Even so, you’re still Johan’s fanatic. I don’t need a fanatic.”

“Ah......”

Keeping a fanatic around would only be exhausting.

Zeon did not want to experience that kind of mental fatigue. It would be cleaner to cut off her breath here.

WHOOSH!

Seeing flames flicker from the Ultra-Heat Gauntlet, Kim Jae-kyung’s eyes widened.

“No!”

Zeon swung his fist without mercy.

Intense flames engulfed Kim Jae-kyung in an instant.

Kim Jae-kyung could not react and squeezed her eyes shut.

‘It’s over.’

BOOM!

At that instant, a miracle occurred.

Just before the flames engulfed her, someone intervened and blocked them.

The person wore a red hat, a red monk’s robe, and a mask that covered even the nose.

An existence with a bizarre atmosphere that made it difficult to tell whether they were male or female.

Kim Jae-kyung shouted,

“Joshua?”

The one called Joshua embraced Kim Jae-kyung as he was and launched himself toward Dongdaemun.

His speed was truly like a flash of lightning.

In an instant, he grew distant from Zeon’s sight.

The Heretic Inquisitor Joshua.

Another blade wielded by Johan.

His other nickname was Joshua the Swift.

When it came to speed alone, he was so fast that no one in Neo Seoul could follow him.

“Tch!”

Zeon clicked his tongue.

It was not that he could not follow if he wanted to, but if he did, he would cross into Dongdaemun.

Then a true war would begin.

“A war with fanatics is a bit......”

Even for Zeon, a war with fanatics was something he wanted to avoid.

That was because once it began, he knew it could never be ended half-heartedly.

It would only end after every person loyal to Johan was killed.

There was no telling how many of them there were.

Even if only half of Dongdaemun’s population was loyal to Johan, that would still be tens of thousands.

No matter how strong Zeon was, he could not kill them all.

It was not because he lacked the ability, but because Zeon still retained a human heart.

“Tch!”

Zeon clicked his tongue and turned around.

Some regret remained, but this much should have served as a sufficient warning to Johan.

If he provoked him again after this, Zeon could respond then.

Thinking that, Zeon started walking.

His steps on the way home were not light.

***

“Put me down now!”

At Kim Jae-kyung’s words, Joshua stopped and set her down.

Kim Jae-kyung bent over with both hands on her knees.

“Haa! Haa! I thought I was going to die.”

Her face was flushed red, and her heart was pounding like mad.

Thanks to Joshua, she had narrowly escaped with her life, but the sense of danger she had felt a moment ago was something she had experienced for the first time.

Even now, when she recalled that moment, her heart raced and she felt as if she might vomit.

In fact, she collapsed onto the ground and dry-heaved for a while.

Joshua silently watched Kim Jae-kyung.

Only after some time passed did Kim Jae-kyung rise.

She wiped the corner of her mouth with her sleeve and said,

“I’m fine. Thank you. For helping me......”

“It is a miracle that you are alive.”

Joshua opened his mouth for the first time.

Unlike his androgynous appearance, his voice was rough and metallic.

Joshua was a man.

Kim Jae-kyung asked,

“Is he hard for even you to handle?”

Instead of answering, Joshua lifted his sleeve. Then a half-burned sleeve came into view.

Kim Jae-kyung’s eyes widened.

The monk’s robe Joshua wore was a specially made item.

It was a precious item with special defenses against fire and water.

That kind of item had been damaged.

It was proof of just how powerful Zeon’s attack had been.

Joshua said,

“He is at least a Grade B Awakened.”

“Then it’s only natural my Skill didn’t work.”

Although it was only a difference of one grade, the difference in power was like heaven and earth.

There was a reason Awakened risked their lives to raise their grade. But increasing one’s grade was never easy.

Some people remained in place even after a lifetime of effort.

Kim Jae-kyung was the same.

Because she had awakened at a high grade from the beginning, she had never found a reason to risk her life raising her grade.

Because of that, she had remained stagnant all this time.

Kim Jae-kyung clenched her teeth and suppressed her anger.

Joshua suddenly looked back.

It was the place where Zeon had been.

He had already left and was no longer visible.

“His judgment is good.”

“What do you mean?”

“Excellent skill, and even cold judgment. He is not an easy opponent.”

“Even for you?”

“When I blocked his attack, I received a severe shock. If I face him head-on, even I will not find it easy to handle him.”

“He’s that strong?”

“That is why he dealt with Goran and took Shinchon. If we wage war against him in our current state, it is certain that we will also suffer great damage.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?”

“Persuade Lord Johan.”

“What?”

Kim Jae-kyung looked at him with an expression of disbelief.

It was the first time Joshua had shown such weakness.

Joshua was the Heretic Inquisitor.

As the title suggested, he carried out the task of dealing with those in Dongdaemun who did not believe in Johan.

That was a task possible only because he possessed powerful martial force and a resolute mind.

Joshua was someone who had never once regretted a mission until now.

She could not believe such a person was saying this.

“If you cannot persuade Lord Johan, then we must put all our strength into eliminating him instead. He is not someone we can handle by touching him half-heartedly.”

“Mm!”

“Whichever choice is made, it depends on you.”

“Fuck!”

Instead of answering, Kim Jae-kyung cursed.