Chapter 575

I didn’t need to see it up close or rush over to check for a pulse.

The moment the blue-flame-wreathed spearhead drove into the Kraken’s body, I knew.

It’s over.

Slash! Boom!

The spear cut through it, and fire qi exploded from within.

The monster’s head, some ten meters¹ tall, burst like a balloon. Blue blood that hadn’t evaporated rained down over the sea.

And then—

Whoooooosh—

As the Kraken’s enormous body finally collapsed, a clear chime rang in my ears.

Ding.

System

You have defeated Lv. 140 ‘King of the Black Sea’ Kraken!

You have gained a large amount of EXP!

Myriad-Poison Ring has detoxified all poison within your body!

Status Abnormality: Poisoned disappears!

Status Abnormality: Paralyzed disappears!

Even with the System telling me I’d defeated the Kraken, my mouth felt as gritty as if I were chewing sand.

Damn it.

I should have kept it alive. Somehow, I should have kept it alive long enough to learn who was really behind this.

But one moment of carelessness had brought about consequences I couldn’t undo. The Kraken was dead, and the question remained unanswered.

If it had attacked me directly, I might have had a chance to capture it, but…

Too late now.

The Kraken had been smarter than I’d thought.

It knew I was stronger than it, even poisoned. It knew it couldn’t escape.

That was why it had gone after the survivors instead of me. It would rather die than be captured.

Faced with its final desperate move, I’d had only one choice.

“…Phew.”

I sighed, looking at the Kraken’s corpse half-submerged in the sea.

There had been no other choice. If I hadn’t killed it with that one strike, someone would have died right in front of me.

People talked about sacrificing the small for the sake of the greater good, but that was just a pretty phrase. In the end, it was still a sacrifice—doing nothing while someone died pointlessly, despite having the power to prevent it.

I shouldn’t have let my guard down. Not until it was over…

But what was done was done.

I was anxious and regretful that I had ultimately failed to uncover the truth behind the disaster. But I did not regret killing the Kraken.

People had survived because of my choice.

“Over here! Please, help us!”

“Cough! Please, my child…”

“Mom! Mooooom!”

Maybe fighting as far away from them as I could had helped.

Hundreds of people had been killed or injured before I’d even arrived, but there were still more survivors waiting to be rescued.

Their desperate cries came from the choppy water and the broken Gwangan Bridge. I forced down my exhaustion and shot toward them.

Fwoooooosh!

The briny, refreshing smell of the sea filled my nose.

I raced across the water like a gust of wind. Passing the Kraken’s floating corpse, I reached the survivors and began pulling them up.

“It’s dangerous out there, so everyone needs to stay here. If you still have the strength, help me rescue the others first.”

A young man who looked relatively unharmed spat out seawater.

“Cough. B-but shouldn’t we run somewhere else…?”

“Run?”

“Y-yes.”

I raised a hand and pointed. Black smoke rose between the densely packed buildings all around us.

Ordinary civilians couldn’t hear what I could, but my senses had already told me what was happening.

Hssssss!

“Tank! Three steps forward!”

“The building! The building is collapsing! The civilians are in danger!”

“Aaaaaagh!”

Rumble! Boom!

Faint screams and crashes. Humans and monsters were fighting in the streets not far away—and in several places at once.

“There are monsters in every direction. Still want to go?”

“…No. I’ll stay here.”

At least he caught on quickly.

The Kraken was dead, but this was far from over. If I was going to get this chaos under control, I had a busy day ahead of me.

Fwoooooosh! Boom!

The survivors stared, dazed, as I kicked off the water and shot into the sky.

Everyone ate. But who you ate with, and where, made a difference to how formal the meal was.

By that measure, the breakfast shared by the two people sitting across from each other had been formal indeed.

The late-starting breakfast had continued for a full two hours amid quiet conversation. By then, a beautifully decorated dish of sujeonggwa² had been placed on the spotless white tablecloth.

“Since Seollal³ is just around the corner, I had tteokguk⁴ prepared… I’m not sure whether the meal suited your taste, Team Leader Choi.”

Choi Minwoo wiped his mouth with a napkin before answering the gentle, courteous voice.

“It was excellent, Mr. President. Thank you for taking such care.”

“Ha-ha. I’m glad.”

The middle-aged man across from him, President Baek Hanseong, smiled warmly.

“You’ve been so busy lately that I was worried you weren’t eating properly. So I repeatedly impressed upon the head chef here at the Blue House⁵ that you were an important guest and that he needed to take special care with your meal.”

“Important guest” was no empty compliment.

An invitation to breakfast at the Blue House⁵ already marked a person as powerful and influential. A meal alone with the President meant something more.

Baek Hanseong valued Choi Minwoo that highly.

“You eat well. It’s nice to see. Makes me proud, too.”

Choi Minwoo dipped his head.

“Thank you. Still, I don’t go hungry as often as you seem to think, Mr. President. I feel I may have caused you unnecessary concern.”

“Oh? Well, I suppose you have a personal chef.”

“No. Someone has been making my meals for me lately.”

“Someone making your meals… Ah, do you mean…?”

Choi Minwoo gave a small nod.

“Mr. Jin Taekyung’s mother cooks for me.”

“My goodness. His mother does it herself?”

“Yes. I’ve tried to refuse—it doesn’t feel right—but she won’t hear of it.”

President Baek Hanseong let out a quiet exclamation.

He already knew Jin Taekyung’s family was staying temporarily at Choi Minwoo’s estate. Hearing Choi himself speak about it, though, gave that fact new significance.

If she’s even cooking for him… They’re closer than I thought.

Jin Taekyung and Choi Minwoo. Choi Minwoo and Jin Taekyung.

From President Baek Hanseong’s perspective, the two men were not only enormous fish he could never afford to let go, but also the only means of restraining the Ares Guild, which wielded tremendous influence.

Jin Taekyung, with his extraordinary standing. Choi Minwoo, Cheon Taemin’s maternal grandson and only living blood relative.

With those two on his side, Baek could rise still higher. After becoming the youngest president in Korea’s history, he might well become the first to win reelection under the amended law.

Whatever it takes, I have to bring them both over to my side.

While President Baek Hanseong entertained thoroughly political thoughts, Choi Minwoo was thinking about something completely different as he drank his coffee.

She said she was making dinner tonight… Kimchi stew, was it?

Strange. He had just finished breakfast, yet his stomach felt empty.

He wanted Jin Taekyung’s mother’s kimchi stew more than the tteokguk⁴ the Blue House⁵ head chef—a master of Korean cuisine—had prepared with such care.

Fluffy white rice from a pressure cooker of a kind rarely seen these days. Pork cooked until tender, and well-aged kimchi.

And the people huddled around the same table, frantically moving their spoons.

Hmm.

As Choi Minwoo realized he was unconsciously smacking his lips, he let out a faint, bemused laugh.

So that’s what it is.

He wasn’t particularly fond of tteokguk⁴ or kimchi stew. Nor was he looking forward to dinner because her cooking was better than the Blue House⁵ chef’s.

He simply liked being there. The warm food, shared with warm people.

Home.

And family.

Choi Minwoo had lost both before he was as tall as the chair he sat in now. He had thought he could never have them again.

No. I do still have one family member.

A hero who had saved humanity. A living savior.

But a man who had been unable to protect his own family.

Choi Minwoo thought of the last time he had seen his maternal grandfather—a meeting he could no longer remember.

Soon… I’ll see you again.

At the thought of the grandfather who had shut himself away for decades, a feeling he couldn’t name rose within him.

Noticing that Choi Minwoo’s mood had changed, President Baek Hanseong asked with concern, “Is something troubling you?”

“Ah. No. It’s nothing.”

“Ha-ha. I see. Well, now that we’ve finished eating, there’s something important I’d like to discuss with you, Team Leader—”

The door flew open.

President Baek stopped mid-sentence. He frowned at the aide who had entered without knocking.

“I thought I told everyone not to come in.”

“I’m sorry. I tried to avoid it, but you weren’t answering…”

“Answering? Of course not. My phone’s on silent.”

With an important conversation under way, taking out a smartphone would have been discourteous, given who was at the table.

“Huff… I’m sorry. But it’s urgent.”

The aide was breathing hard, sweat beading on his forehead.

Sensing something was wrong, Choi Minwoo took the smartphone from inside his suit jacket. He had more than ten missed calls from Butler Kim and a string of text messages.

Dread rose in him.

Don’t tell me…

He opened the messages. One of his neatly groomed eyebrows twitched.

Butler Kim

└ Butler Kim: Butler Kim

└ Butler Kim: Emergency Monster Wave in Busan

└ Butler Kim: Extra-large named monster sighted

└ Butler Kim: Young Master, where are you?

└ Butler Kim: Young Maㄴter

The messages were from Butler Kim. They were short, but there was nothing small about the news.

A Monster Wave? In Busan?

Busan was Korea’s second-largest city, home to millions. An extra-large named monster could cause an enormous loss of life just by doing a forward roll.

And what the aide said next made matters worse.

“The emergency alert was delayed for about ten minutes. The Monster Wave happened so suddenly, and the Gate management office and all the surrounding facilities were destroyed…”

“You idiot! Do you hear yourself?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Sweat poured down the aide’s face as he continued.

“But according to the report that came in one minute ago, the extra-large named monster has been subdued. Hunter Jin Taekyung happened to arrive at the scene just in time…”

“What? Are you certain?”

“Yes. The remaining monsters are being dealt with, and survivors are being rescued.”

“……Phew. At least that’s a relief.”

President Baek Hanseong exhaled in relief, while Choi Minwoo rose from his seat without hesitation.

The worst of the immediate crisis might have passed, but this was no time to sit and talk.

“I’ll be going, Mr. President.”

“Of course. We’ll speak another time.”

They exchanged brief farewells. Choi Minwoo had just left the Blue House⁵ when—

Bzzzzzt.

The smartphone he had turned back on began vibrating forcefully again.

Team Leader Choi thought he knew who was calling and answered at once.

“Yes, Butler Kim. I’m on my way ri—”

“It’s me.”

“…!”

Choi Minwoo stopped dead.

Song Cheonwoo’s aged voice came through the phone.

“Let’s talk for a moment. It’s urgent.”