Chapter 177

Was he truly alive?

Since his whereabouts had been unknown for decades, I had thought he might have died somewhere.

The Dragon Immortal was an Awakened who had been active before the Seoul Incident, so he was an elderly man around the same age as the Sword Immortal and the Confinement Immortal.

However, the man before my eyes did not look all that old.

“Wow, it’s nice to live a long life. To think I’d see a train running on this land again.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m Sae Hayan from Special Unit Division 3.”

First, I greeted him.

He seemed to have a refreshing personality, and I accepted the Light Mage (in training) figurine he handed over along with a business card.

“I’m called Lee Cheol.”

“Is that your real name, Lord Dragon Immortal?”

“You could say that. Anything is fine, so call me whatever is comfortable. The one sitting next to you is…”

“None of your business.”

“An individual who is none of my business, I see. Let us leave it at that for this section.”

Whether he sensed the Archduke’s energy, the Dragon Immortal showed a slightly tense expression.

However, he soon returned to his original, composed demeanor.

There had to be a reason why a Transcendent Realm Awakened who stood at the pinnacle of word-spirits and wielded Dragon Words suddenly appeared.

I cautiously asked him.

“For what business are you traveling to Busan?”

“Me? Hmm… Since you’re affiliated with the Special Unit, it should be fine to tell you. There are two main tasks.”

“Two?”

“One is because of the Pact.”

The Pact of Non-Aggression, the Pact of Protection, and the Pact of Mutual Annihilation placed upon Busan.

The very person who had established them was none other than him.

“Since decades have already passed, I need to fix what needs fixing. Originally, I was going to remove the Pact of Mutual Annihilation, but they seem to be utilizing it quite well in their own way. I’ll have to talk with the local leader once I arrive, but if possible, I intend to do as they wish.”

“Ahem, excuse me, but have you been busy all this time?”

The balance of power maintained by setting up Grandma Park Mak-rye as a puppet to create an illusionary dictator.

If he had erased the Pact of Mutual Annihilation sooner, Busan wouldn’t have developed such a deformed political structure.

Since decades had passed since the Seoul Incident, a single visit during that time would have easily resolved it.

Realizing that he was partly to blame for his lack of management, he scratched his head with an awkward expression and replied.

“In a world where transportation has been cut off, once you tour other countries, it isn’t easy to return home.”

“Though spatial transfer magic from the Magic Tower works quite well these days.”

“I have rather severe motion sickness… Ahem, regardless, because of that, hasn’t an outstanding word-spirit user emerged in Korea as well? What was her name… Ah! Was it No Yeon-hwa?”

So he did know.

The balance of power from the Pact in Busan had played a major role in No Yeon-hwa’s advancement in realm.

Until early last year, when relations with Busan were poor, she had sneaked in under a classified mission for Division 1 to study the Pact, but later, she was able to enter the convalescent hospital with official permission.

She was probably still in Busan right now.

If the Dragon Immortal assisted her, wouldn’t it be reasonable to expect her to grow to the Transcendent Realm?

The possibility was fully evident.

“Then what is the remaining task?”

“I plan to build an undersea tunnel in Busan.”

“An undersea tunnel?”

That came a bit out of nowhere.

“It was a project pursued to link trade with Japan after the Sea of Decay overflowed, but after that archipelago was completely encroached upon by monsters, construction was ultimately halted even in Busan.”

“Now that the political situation has stabilized, do you intend to expand our territory?”

“Rather than that… it’s more accurate to say we need to prepare a battlefield.”

A battlefield.

The moment that word left his mouth, the train passed through a tunnel.

Amidst the darkness where only the sobbing of the pig farm owner could be heard, the Dragon Immortal spoke in a low, subdued voice.

“A great war will break out soon. The Seed of Calamity that was in Sector 0 of Ground Zero has been annihilated, and four Archdukes have descended upon the earth.”

“…”

“Every Outer God except for the White Tower has lost its light, and a massive entity of chaos has manifested in the place where they once existed, so this is undoubtedly an omen that destruction is nigh.”

Therefore, a land durable enough to withstand the collision of all those forces was necessary.

Advancing further north of the 38th parallel was no longer possible because of the Gargantua’s cubs, so it was better to use Japan, which had already been occupied by monsters, as the battlefield.

The opening of the Gyeongbu Line, allowing for the rapid transport of supplies and personnel from Seoul, also played a part.

If the Dragon Immortal were heading down to dig an undersea tunnel right now under commission from the Bureau or the Mayor of Busan, there was no way I—who had a foot in both camps—wouldn’t know about it.

However, his actions were just as independent now as they had been in the past.

Once we cleared the tunnel, I asked him.

“How do you know all of that?”

“Because I am a word-spirit user.”

Transforming a spell that left one’s mouth into physical reality was precisely what a word-spirit was.

And an ‘outstanding word-spirit user’ meant someone who realized every single word they uttered.

“Ultimately, ultimate word-spirits converge into a form close to precognition. That is why I cannot tell a lie.”

“Are you utilizing your ability as a means to divine a future that has not yet arrived?”

“You are quite clever. Exactly so.”

“Then, could you perhaps look into my future as well?”

A divination received from a Transcendent Realm Awakened.

Nothing could be more amusing or certain than this.

I sat cross-legged and stated the date and time of my birth.

It was all info my childhood friend had told me, and since both that bastard and I were orphans anyway, we wouldn’t know our proper saju¹ regardless, but we had still decided on one among ourselves.

“My current task is handling odd jobs for Special Unit Division 3, but I’m trying to seize the position of disciplinary officer soon. My favorite food is parboiled octopus.”

“No, there is no need to tell me that much.”

“Oh, by the way, this is a tentacle I’m raising. Could you look into its future after mine? If possible, I’d like to know when it will run away from home next.”

“I told you, precognition isn’t for looking into things like that.”

Perhaps because the input information was too disorganized, the Dragon Immortal rolled his head for a while, gathering his mana.

Before long, the train passed Daegu and was drawing closer to Busan.

When the speed of the running vehicle decreased and a station platform began to appear outside the carriage window, he opened his eyes.

“Your name is Hayan?”

“Yes, Sae Hayan.”

“Right, Hayan. It was a pleasure to meet you. I couldn’t find out much about your future, but this one thing is absolutely certain.”

Oh, what is it?

Would I repeatedly get promoted within the Special Unit and ultimately defeat Commander Ha Yeri and Seona to become the Commander-in-Chief?

Or a future where I receive a retirement pension after retiring, raising Gargantua’s cubs while running a private café?

Surely a shocking future where I might have three, four, or perhaps five wives isn’t waiting for me.

Just like a tense me, even Mala-nim inside my sleeve held their breath and listened intently to the Dragon Immortal’s words.

Finally, opening his mouth, he spoke.

“That final war I mentioned earlier.”

“Yes.”

“You die there.”

The train arrived safely in Busan.

A vehicle from the Union side that had been waiting picked up the man who was crying next to the Dragon Immortal and headed toward the pig farm.

Seo Chae-rin, who had arrived upon receiving contact that he wished to present the pig owner with new livestock, looked completely intent on giving him a piece of her mind, asking if he was a madman, but her expression changed the moment she saw me.

“Are you alright? Your complexion looks awful.”

“I am fine. Our destination was Daegu, so we shall be on our way now.”

“Since you’ve come all this way, why not meet with big sister before leaving…”

“Since Lord Dragon Immortal has visited, you will only grow busier, so we cannot take up your time. Let us meet separately in Seoul later.”

“Uh… go safely.”

Driving a Humvee provided by the Union side, I moved alongside Flauros toward our destination, Daegu.

Flauros, who took the steering wheel instead of me since I lacked a license, did not say a single word along the way.

For the record, she had a license.

According to her, she had gone and obtained it secretly in accordance with the orphanage’s policy that she needed to arrange one of many cover identities usable in society.

Though she failed the written exam seven times and had a minor accident where she slammed into a tour bus and a bridge pier, bringing them down during her road test, she was regardless the holder of a Type 1 Ordinary license.

Flauros, who drove through rugged terrain and crushed all the charging monsters into a pulp, murmured softly once we arrived in Daegu.

“Do not let your feelings be swayed by the words of such a cultist. There is no greater foolishness than gathering up the words of those who wag their three-inch tongues.”

“Are you worrying about me?”

“I am merely pointing it out because you are wearing such a sour face. It prevents me from even expecting feedback on a gift I took the trouble to prepare, does it not?”

Reaching her hand out into a blazing pillar of fire, she extracted something.

It was a ring of a design similar to the one she had given me previously.

Handing it over to me, she took back the ring she had given me before.

“It is an object containing a portion of the Star Scars I gathered. Since we can grasp each other’s location, do not remove it from your body even if you are away from me, and treasure it.”

“Is it alright for me to accept something like this? I wonder which finger I should put it on…”

“Normally, I would have forced it onto your left hand even if you refused, but your ring finger has vanished. Wear it anywhere appropriate.”

“Thank you.”

Concluding with her statement that it carried the meaning that she would monitor me from up close for the rest of my life instead of making me her Familiar, so I should behave well from now on, I finished my short vacation and returned to the Special Unit.

However, even after that, the Dragon Immortal’s final prophecy did not leave my mind.

Skipping all of my daily routines, I spent most of my time staying at the healing facility run by Division 6 for ten days.

Unable to watch any longer, Alexei woke me as I lay on the bed.

“Wake up, Hayan. Today’s lunch is parboiled octopus, which Hayan likes.”

“I have no appetite, brother.”

“Even so, you must eat. Look at this, didn’t a body that was originally nothing but bones truly turn into nothing but bones now?”

“Those are actual bones.”

Ever since his showcases increased, Alexei had begun storing not just Kandu mirror balls but also portions of the prey he hunted inside the dormitory.

Thanks to that, unidentified monster bones were often tucked into my bed whenever things got boring.

The moment he pulled back the blanket, a truly gaunt frame greeted the cold air.

Shifting to a grave expression, Alexei asked me.

“Just what on earth happened? Were you struck by poison?”

“Poison… I suppose so. I might die quite soon now.”

“Brother shall absolutely never die. Not as long as I am here.”

“No, I know that I do not have long to live. Brother… if you do not mind, could you grant just one final request of mine?”

“What is it?”

Leaning his body forward, he supported me as I threatened to collapse.

Just as Alexei was about to engrave my request deeply into his soul—seeing me look at him with a serious attitude he had never shown in his life.

Suddenly, Kang Ha-neul threw the door open and entered.

“Hey, you guys get ready to go to training.”

“Deputy Commander Kang Ha-neul. Hayan’s condition is currently terrible. Training is out of the…”

“Have you stayed with this guy for over a year and still haven’t figured him out?”

The Spear of Thunderclouds.

Kang Ha-neul, who saw right through my strategy in an instant, let out a sigh and spoke.

“This bastard found out in advance that we’re going on an overseas expedition training to Japan this time, so he’s executing a scheme to get out of it. Hurry up and grab your passport and pack your bags.”