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Chapter 29: To Become a Hero Pt. 4

The group suddenly bowed their heads and declared their allegiance, but their actions only served to disconcert Jeong In-Chang.

“What… quickly raise your heads…” Jeong In-Chang said as he gestured for them to get up with his hands.

“I want to live honestly. Not only as a Hunter but also as the father of a child,” said one of the representatives of the guild members who was bowing.

Another member then raised his head and said cautiously, "There is something that the Deputy Guild Master doesn’t know."

There were no passersby nearby. It may have been a coincidence or planned that way. Regardless, he continued, “We are murderers.”

"…"

Jeong In-Chang\'s face stiffened.

***

As promised, Yeo Seong-Gu had come to see Lee Jun-Kyeong the next day. They met at Lee Jun-Kyeong’s apartment to avoid having to meet outside. It may have been because they had gotten more comfortable with each other or because of the secretive conversation they were about to have, but Lee Jun-Kyeong welcomed him warmly and had prepared some tea.

"Hyung, do you like jujube tea?"

He sat down at the table holding a steaming cup, and across from him was Yeo Seong-Gu with an unreadable expression.

“...”

“...What?”

They had planned to talk today, but the look on the guild master’s face made him feel as though it would be challenging to begin the conversation.

Fortunately, Yeo Seong-Gu spoke up first.

“Did I end up harming you with my actions?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong answered calmly, “If you’re talking about what you had said to the reporters after the gate raid, it’s fine.”

All the guild master was going to say was that it had been a mistake. Furthermore, because of his actions, Lee Jun-Kyeong had instantly become a superstar.

“I’ve become famous thanks to you. It\'s great.”

He had become the main topic of the morning newspaper and TV channels, and his face had been plastered everywhere. Everyone cheered for him, and everyone was astonished. A-Grade Gates hadn’t been raided recently. Of course, this gate had been a B-Grade initially, but that change had made it even more exciting. He was a Hero who had overcome adversity.

The public found it astonishing as it was unthinkable that a single person had conquered it. It would have been more probable if the Northern Army Guild had done it instead.

-Underdog, who Is the Mysterious Hunter who Conquered the A-Grade Gate, Contrary to Everyone’s Expectations?

He had earned a reputation, and the people now called him Underdog.

“You’ve earned yourself a name that doesn’t suit you.”

Yeo Seong-Gu was right. The term underdog was the same as calling him weak. Lee Jun-Kyeong had never been weak.

“But it’s not like it’s a wrong statement, is it?”

He was a newcomer with no expectations upon him. They may have called him the Super Rookie, but that moniker had been erased due to this incident. He had been a Hunter who didn’t have the power to raid an A-Grade Gate. Moreover, he was a relatively weak Hunter compared to the Northern Army Guild as he had no power. The term Underdog wasn’t all that far off.

"Anyway, thank you for thinking that way," Yeo Seong-Gu said while nodding.

Since Heimdall had made the first, it was Lee Jun-Kyeong’s turn. “How did you know?”

The bald man asked, "What do you mean?"

"The fact that I was going to use \'Making a Hero\' and warp it for my own use."

Heimdall’s expression had relaxed for a moment, but furrowed once again.

“Making a hero…”

The term ‘Making a Hero’ hadn’t been used yet in this day and age. Heroes weren’t made, nor could they be made. In this era, people only thought that Heroes would be born through the blessing of heaven, a Sponsor’s will, luck and timing. But in reality…

“Does that mean you can make a Hero?” Yeo Seong-Gu asked as if he was curious.

“You already know the answer to that,” Lee Jun-Kyeong replied, throwing a fastball. Instead of throwing a curveball that spun round and round, he had hurled a direct fastball straight into Yeo Seong-Gu’s rigid expression.

He hadn\'t finished yet either.

“Hyung, you…”

Gulp.?

Lee Jun-Kyeong swallowed and did his best to continue. He was about to drop the final fastball, his winning move.

There was a chance that everything could be ruined.

Whether it was his plans for the future, or his relationship with Yeo Seong-Gu, if their relationship went wrong from this, things may spiral out of control, as they didn’t have a concrete trust between them yet.

However, Lee Jun-Kyeong thought it was time to let it all out of the bag.

“Because you’re a member of Asgard.”

Jolt.

He had felt it for the first time. This was ‘Hyung’s current real power.’ For the first time, Yeo Seong-Gu had expressed hostility towards him in the form of bloodlust. But soon, the bald man suppressed it, his expression returning to its previous calmness. However, he didn’t hide the uneasiness and distrust in his eyes.

"You’re not denying it."

Truthfully, Lee Jun-Kyeong had already guaranteed his victory.

This had been information he had definitely seen in the Demon King’s book.

[Heimdall. When he and I met, he was already a member of Asgard.]

However, Lee Jun-Kyeong wasn’t sure of when the two had met. Furthermore, he didn’t know if the Yeo Seong-Gu he currently knew had entered Asgard yet or not.

Asgard was the secret organization of Hunters with great power. There was great significance to the name and many stories about its secrets and members. But, if he had to pick out one thing that was significant about it, then it’d be the fact that that man was the head of the organization.

The same man Choi Yeong-Seong had been raving about without pause was also a member of Asgard.

“How did you know…?” Yeo Seong-Gu asked carefully.

“You first, Hyung. What drove you to even act like that?” Lee Jun-Kyeong replied.

He already knew Yeo Seong-Gu’s personality. While it was bound to have some differences from the Yeo Seong-Gu of the future, the bald man still severely hated getting attention or interest. It was a tendency Lee Jun-Kyeong had learned by spending a lot of time with him. To think a person like that had acted to absorb the spotlight…

‘I can’t think of any other reason than that he knew my plan and wanted to help.’

This was how he had already guaranteed his upper hand.

“Looks like I suffered a loss,” Yeo Seong-Gu finally said with a disappointed expression.

“I also had doubts about you. You had a growth rate that defied common sense. And your eyes and actions always seemed like you knew something…”

“So that’s why you decided to make the next move,” responded Lee Jun-Kyeong.

“Right.”

Yeo Seong-Gu had wanted to see Lee Jun-Kyeong’s reaction when he had acted in that manner. The guild master had doubts about him and had made his move after much thought in order to confirm them. Both of them had revealed each other’s secrets. However, Lee Jun-Kyeong had something that he didn’t.

\'I\'m the one with the sword, Hyung.\'

It was the information about the future and the information he had read from the Demon King’s book. This was the nail in the coffin.

“Hyung, why do you think I acted like that?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked.

“Is it because you wanted to be a Hero?”

“No.” Lee Jun-Kyeong shook his head and smiled slightly. Then with a soft voice, he said, “I want to be a part of Asgard.”

There was no need for him to turn around. He had found a faster path.

***

“It’s been… not too long.”

A dark, gloomy face had appeared. Lee Jun-Kyeong was once again welcoming a guest to his rental apartment. As it was one given to him by the Hunter Association, the Association most likely knew every visitor that came to his home. Nevertheless, Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t hesitate to meet people at his home. This time, Jeong In-Chang was visiting.

"How have you been… I guess there really isn’t a need to ask," said Lee Jun-Kyeong as he followed what the other man had done. There was no way that Jeong In-Chang had been well, judging by the other man’s gloomy expression and dark circles.

‘It’s to be expected.’

He had betrayed his guild that he had considered family and killed an old friend with his own hands. Everything would have been a mess, whether it was his life or happiness.

‘Looks like he’s been through hell.’

He was probably going through the lowest point of his life. He would see the figure of himself falling without end.

“Why did you want to meet…?” Jeong In-Chang asked carefully.

“Let’s work together,” Lee Jun-Kyeong responded without beating around the bush. Jeong In-Chang didn’t seem flustered but instead looked somewhat troubled.

“I know my usefulness ended at the Rhine River Gate…”

“...”

“I no longer hold any value to the Northern Army Guild nor any power over it. Furthermore…”

The other man paused, musing over something.

“...”

Lee Jun-Kyeong’s expression had hardened. Jeong In-Chang’s reaction was well within his expected range. Betraying one’s guild and one’s friends would bring great guilt to anyone. However, this had reached another level of severity. Jeong In-Chang had grown up as a Hunter and must have dealt with the various aspects of humans and the monsters known as monsters, but his heart was weaker than Lee Jun-Kyeong had thought.

How did such a person become the great Hero Siegfried?

Currently, Jeong In-Chang resembled nothing more than a cripple who was drowning in self-loathing.

"You are a person that is more than worthy enough," Lee Jun-Kyeong said to convince him.

What came back in response was even more bitter self-hate.

“You speak as if you know anything and everything. Yes, you were right, Mr. Lee. The Northern Army Guild was garbage, and I was a part of that garbage heap.”

He continued with tears in his eyes, “I… I couldn’t stop any of what happened…”

There was something different going on.

Lee Jun-Kyeong mistakenly thought Jeong In-Chang had fallen into such self-loathing from betraying his family and friends. However, the reality was different. He had sunk into this ditch due to something else.

“Did something happen?”

Jeong In-Chang thought about something for a moment.

“It will be revealed anyway, so I guess we can talk about it,” he said in a determined manner. Lee Jun-Kyeong patiently listened to him.

“The Northern Army Guild was more garbage than I had thought. Yeong-Seong Hyung and… Yong-Su had been hiding everything from me.”

“What did they…?”

The other man continued in a halting voice, “It was worse than what I had known… more brutal things had been done. The Northern Army Guild members… at Yeong-Seong Hyung’s orders…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered what Jeong In-Chang was about to say. Although he knew a lot about the Northern Army Guild, Gunther, and Choi Yeong-Seong, most of what he had known was stories of the past. These were stories that were written after the birth of a Hero named Gunther at the Rhine River Gate and the successes of the Northern Army Guild.

‘There’s nothing I could know about this.’

This was a secret that had emerged as a result of the history he had changed.

Jeong In-Chang finally admitted, “To be honest, it’s murder.”

"I beg your pardon?"

Secrets that emerged from history were even more brutal, like a secret of an unknown fairy tale.

“What you had gone through, Hunter Lee. Do you still remember it?” the former deputy guild master asked.

“You’re talking about the conflict between the ordinary people and Hunters,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said, putting it simply. But, in reality, it was closer to persecution than conflict.

The other man bit his lip. “Correct. Conflicts that I wasn’t privy to… it apparently happened quite frequently.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong predicted what he would say next.

“Are you saying… that the Northern Army Guild killed the civilians that they had conflicts with? Before the civilians could report them anywhere?”

“Yes… and…”

Even if Jeong In-Chang didn’t elaborate, Lee Jun-Kyeong felt as though he understood the situation. He had understood how it all worked and been subject to similar situations, so he could envision the entire situation. But, like what he had undergone, he was aware of how the Northern Army Guild handled their issues.

He stated, “He must have entrusted these things to the guild members he had planned to sacrifice in the gate.”

That was why Choi Yeong-Seong had tried so hard to deal with them. They knew the secrets of the Northern Army Guild and would have been a thorn in his side.

‘If these members of the Northern Army Guild had ended up fine, they would have been disposed of slowly.’

Even if it wasn’t during this gate, it would have happened eventually. Just like the Slayers unit of the Northern Army Guild had done, they could have gathered separately and carried out massacres of the civilians. Granted, that was something from the era when hunters ruled the world.

It was the secret history of the Northern Army Guild that had been uncovered in the future and the reason why the Demon King was angry with them.

“Yes…” responded Jeong In-Chang, his eyes red.

“Yeong-Seong Hyung was concerned that the civilians who had conflicts would end up going against that man. He had the civilians who were a part of the conflicts secretly assassinated. He used the guild members that he had planned to discard away…"

His hands were shaking, and Lee Jun-Kyeong could begin to understand his feelings. However, as more of the story came out, the more Lee Jun-Kyeong tried to tell him the truth.

“Do you really think Choi Yeong-Seong was worried about that man?”

“...?”

“The person that the civilians who had the conflicts with, may have been Choi Yeong-Seong, not that man.”

Jeong In-Chang fell silent. He was like a doll that didn’t know what to say or how to act. He must have been suspicious as well and probably didn’t want to admit it.

‘Did he just had a breakdown?’

It might have been that the truth had been too harsh, or it might have been because he was reaching a sensitive topic, but Jeong In-Chang’s reaction was relatively muted.

It was becoming dangerous. At this rate, Jeong In-Chang would become completely destroyed and become a cripple. But even if what Lee Jun-Kyeong had said wasn’t true, he was determined to bring the man to his side.

‘I refuse to give up.’

Furthermore, he had the determination to do so.

"...What do you think would happen if the same thing happens over and over again from now on?"

1. It reads monsters(Korean) called monsters(English).