Sovereign of Judgment Chapter 18:
Baek Seoin was at the veterans’ hospital when it happened . Due to the sudden assembly announcement, crowds of people were gathering in the hospital parking lot . Though the assembly announcement Baek Seoin received indicated the hospital as well, the reason why he was there was a bit different .
He was in his father’s ward . His father lay there suffering in pain without the ability to speak . The doctors said he couldn’t last for much longer . His father who wasn’t in his right mind . For the first time, Baek Seoin realized how painful the illness known as cancer was .
“Uh… ueh… . ”
He had leukemia . The common illness that hit his parent’s generation who worked since young to support their children and their parents- and for the revival of their nation, cancer .
Baek Seoin never liked his father . Because the values of his paternalistic and worldly father and the more free-spirited Baek Seoin were too different, they would always fight at home .
At that time, to Baek Seoin, his father could have been somewhat of an enemy .
An enemy who would never break under his youthful follies . An existence who would last forever strong .
However, his father was currently so thin that he had a hard time speaking .
The insults at the previous president and the participation in rallies that would always become topics of dispute… even if those things happened, his father couldn’t say one word .
He never knew that that would be so painful .
‘Forgetting that my dad was human as well… I acted all cocky in front of him…’
A year after his father was hospitalized . Baek Seoin was in a state of deep depression .
His mother came to substitute for him .
“Oh . Seoin . Go home and rest . ”
“No . I want to stay a bit longer . ”
“You must be tired, you should rest . ”
“No, it’s okay . ”
“Okay… but did you also see strange things too?”
“Yes . Hah… whoever they are, aliens or gods, couldn’t they have helped father if they had that much power?”
“Yeah… It did seem a bit scary . A surprise attack and an assembly area… It’s not like it’s the 6/25 incident[1] . ”
“Our assembly area is here anyways so it’ll be fine . ”
“Yeah… Still, go rest a little . ”
“Okay . Then I’ll come back after a drink . Father . I’ll be right back . ”
That was how Baek Seoin left the room holding a drink .
Late at night . There were much more people waiting in the parking lot than before . There were even some who wanted to enter the hospital by passing through the security guards . There were even people who were speaking nonsense, something about seeing monsters . Perhaps he would have thought about it more seriously if he had seen the weapons inside the hospital . However, due to the fact they quickly hid them to prevent disorder amongst the doctors, Baek Seoin didn’t think much of it . Instead, he was busy worrying about his father .
Just when he had taken a sip of his drink, Baek Seoin suddenly had an ominous feeling . Cold sweat ran down his back and his heart raced .
‘Leave!’
It was as if he heard a scream coming from within him . He felt like he would suffocate .
[You have awakened the unique skill ‘Intuition’!]
A message suddenly appeared but due to the fact his heart felt like it was being squeezed, he couldn’t pay it any heed . Baek Seoin was in a panic as he hurriedly left the hospital . His heart was pounding and his vision narrowed . He hid in a building nearby . Immediately, as if it was all a lie, his heart relaxed .
“What was that…?”
Just then . He heard the sound of a large explosion . Flames erupted in various places around the city and he started to hear desperate cries .
Craash!
A monster the size of an apartment that spewed flames from its eyes and mouth suddenly appeared as if it had dropped down from the sky . The tyrannosaurus-like monster kicked the building right next to the one Baek Seoin was hiding in .
Crash!
Baek Seoin’s body stood up .
The scenes afterwards passed by as if in slow motion . The monster stomped towards the hospital and people dispersed like a swarm of ants . The monster blew flames and those flames spread out in a circle, completely burning people in its path . The advancing monster swung its tail and bashed its head on the hospital and meticulously burned the people under the wreckage . Behind it was a swarm of monsters that hunted and killed the escapees . People were popped like tomatoes and boiled in flames .
“Nnn… nnn!”
Baek Seoin cried .
Unable to do anything, he stifled his cries and could only let tears drop from his eyes . The monster that smashed the hospital suddenly disappeared . Just then, Baek Seoin received another message .
[You have survived a close call with the Wyvern of Destruction . Additional rule revealed . ]
——————–
[Additional Rule Revealed]
The Wyvern of Destruction will appear again on the final day . The Wyvern of Destruction will protect the escape code .
——————–
That was Baek Seoin’s story .
“My Intuition… It only cared about my safety… It didn’t matter if my parents lived or died as long as I ran for my life . ”
Baek Seoin’s eyes were bloodshot to the point as if they would drip blood .
However, he settled his emotions with deep breaths before calmly continuing .
“Currently, most people don’t know that the number of monsters will slowly increase and that the Wyvern of Destruction will appear on the final day . At this rate, everyone will die . The Wyvern of Destruction is already unstoppable, if a million monster underlings charge as well, no one will be able to escape . We need to form a suicide squad that will destroy the monster-spawning portals ahead of time and kill the Wyvern of Destruction . And to do that, I need your help . ”
That moment, Choi Hyuk was deep in thought .
‘The Wyvern of Destruction… How can I kill it?’
Was it possible to kill an apartment-sized monster with a sword? Perhaps it was not meant to be a monster to kill . Maybe they were supposed to lure it away and escape .
However, his fighting instincts knew no limits and he had a reason to fight .
‘If I kill that thing, I will definitely catch their attention . ’
Choi Hyuk resolved himself to kill the monster . It was fine if he looked for the method starting now .
“First, okay… Then show me the way to the portal . Let’s see if your Intuition is real or not . ”
Choi Hyuk suggested . Baek Seoin revealed a slightly hopeless expression .
“Right now?”
“Yes . ”
“… My Intuition tells me that the monsters over there are going to be stronger than the ones here . Wouldn’t it be better to look for more people before then?”
“It’s fine . ”
“… What if I told you that, even if you don’t, I get the feeling I will die there?”
However, Choi Hyuk just shrugged his shoulders .
“Let’s just think of it as a test . If you want to stay with me, it’s a bit troublesome if you die facing monsters at that level . ”
It was checkmate for Baek Seoin .
**
The foot of a mountain .
Leaning against an altar split in two, Choi Hyuk and Baek Seoin were drinking a potion next to each other . The almost fatal wounds were washed away .
Around them, the corpses of 20 Crooks and a [Mountain Orc] who rode on a Crook wielding a hammer were sprawled on the ground .
Baek Seoin groaned .
“I almost died…”
However, Choi Hyuk who was still immersed in the pleasant feeling of the fight said nothing . Although it wasn’t a fight he thought he would lose, it was definitely more thrilling than the fight against the Bladed Ghost .
The Crooks were twice as hard to deal with than the Bladed Starving Ghosts . On top of that, there were more of them and Baek Seoin wasn’t helpful as he was wounded . All he did was try not to die .
And riding on the leader of the Crooks, the mid-boss, the Mountain Orc, was terrifyingly fast and strong .
‘If I didn’t upgrade my Retribution Points, I might have had to run away without being able to kill them all…’
If that happened, then perhaps he wouldn’t but Baek Seoin would have died .
Luckily the effect of upgrading his Retribution Points wasn’t only letting him distribute the full karma point instead of 0 . 1 . The moment Choi Hyuk entered the fight, he felt it . A more refined cognitive ability and quicker reflexes . The upgraded Retribution Points changed his neural network that was locked into the limitations of a human’s into that of a superhuman’s . Perhaps the type itself enhanced?
Even before that, Choi Hyuk was already a genius . With the addition of quicker reflexes and a more refined cognitive ability due to the upgrade in Retribution Points, he was like a fish in water . He was able to slaughter 20 Crooks and a Mountain Orc by himself .
The Crook Leather Armor and the Necklace of Protection did their job as well . Due to the attack-intercepting necklace and the impact-reducing armor, he was able to fight even more aggressively . If not for them, even if Choi Hyuk didn’t die, Baek Seoin definitely would have .
Choi Hyuk stretched his arm to stab the Mountain Orc . The Predator’s Blade absorbed the blood of the Mountain Orc . Baek Seoin who watched this mumbled .
“Let’s first secure supplies before fighting next time . What a waste . ”
Baek Seoin looked at the corpses of the Crooks that were wasted with regret . Choi Hyuk laughed . He had already somewhat acknowledged Baek Seoin . Although he wasn’t strong, he wasn’t weak either . Even if Choi Hyuk did help him a bit, eventually it all relied on his ability . And didn’t he also have a useful ability called Intuition?
So he decided to confirm a few things .
“You said that your Intuition is only sensitive to your wellbeing . ”
“Yes . ”
“Then how do you know the locations of the portals?”
It was strange when he thought about it . Why would the Intuition that only activated when he was in danger lead him to danger? It was the same when they met . If it wasn’t for Choi Hyuk, he would have died fighting the Bladed Starving Ghosts .
Baek Seoin took a moment to organize his thoughts before explaining .
“It’s because I resolved myself to kill the Wyvern of Destruction . From that moment, I started to fight with my Intuition . I thoroughly ignored my heart that wanted to find and trust a safe group . After a day of looking for information and ignoring my Intuition, a new Intuition formed . It’s probably telling me a way to survive even after fighting the Wyvern of Destruction . I felt that I had to find a portal and fight and that someone would come . And someone really did come . That moment, I realized . That the only chance of surviving while killing the Wyvern of Destruction was you . ”
While listening to Baek Seoin’s answer, Choi Hyuk thought about followers . An ability he received once he obtained two Qualifications to be a Sovereign .
Choi Hyuk liked Baek Seoin . He especially liked the ‘crazy’ thought of needing to kill the Wyvern of Destruction .
So he asked another question .
“Why?”
This ‘why?’ was asking why he was trying to kill the Wyvern of Destruction . Baek Seoin knew what he was talking about even without any context .
His face distorted . His calm face was once again filled with an intense emotion .
“… I was always an unfilial son . So I’m planning to be unfilial one last time . Even if I die . That lizard bastard… I will definitely kill it . ”
Baek Seoin ground his teeth .
Choi Hyuk was able to understand him better than anyone else .
He liked his thirst for revenge .
The moment Choi Hyuk decided,
a message appeared in front of Baek Seoin .
[The King without Subjects, Choi Hyuk, wants to accept you as his follower . Once you accept, all your karma points will increase by 20% . Do you accept?]
Baek Seoin looked at Choi Hyuk with surprised eyes .
He examined Choi Hyuk’s face, bit his lips once and nodded his head .
Flutter .
Above Baek Seoin’s head, a fluttering flag appeared .
“Ah…”
Baek Seoin looked above his head . He was tightly biting his lips .
His eyes were filled with raging flames as he looked at Choi Hyuk and respectfully said .
“If we really hunt the wyvern… I will truly serve you as my king . ”
However, Choi Hyuk didn’t care for those formalities and was only interested in his goals .
“You said we needed a suicide squad?”
“Yes . The number of monsters will grow, even tomorrow, it’ll be too difficult for the two of us to clear the portals . ”
“Good… Then let’s go fight . ”
Choi Hyuk lifted his nearly recovered body . Since it was obvious that if it was going to be harder tomorrow, it was best to destroy more today .
However, Baek Seoin, who had almost died, couldn’t help but forget the seriousness he had just now and groan .
“… Already?”
“You said let’s hunt an apartment-sized monster . ”
Only then did Baek Seoin stand up .
Choi Hyuk grinned as he walked in front . Baek Seoin hurriedly shouted .
“I… Still, no matter how much of a hurry we’re in, let’s first secure some supplies! And eat!”
“Okay . ”
Choi Hyuk continued to walk . Baek Seoin hurriedly followed behind him . When he caught up to him, Choi Hyuk’s steps were strangely light . Instead of being nervous, it was like he was happy that he was able to fight more .
Baek Seoin recalled the savage smile Choi Hyuk had during the whole fight .
‘A berserker crazy for battle…’
He somehow naturally came to that thought . A frightening person . However… that was why he trusted him more .
‘I can’t become a hindrance . ’
To calm his fear, Baek Seoin raised his fighting aura and rage .
It was still far from night .