“I’ve been thinking about how I should explain this.”

IAmJesus also knew who Kang Han-min was. Once a shut-in, but now it was no exaggeration to say he held the highest position in Korea.

“These children. Kang Han-min. They’re the Savior’s children, aren’t they?”

I nodded. I didn’t know them personally, but anyone could see those were Kang Han-min’s offspring. Mark Two would surely know better. But that wasn’t the only important thing. It was the changes that had happened to the children’s bodies. Parts of them had transformed into something monstrous.

“...They weren’t like that from the start. When they broke into my room and tried to kill me, when the shockwave went off—that’s when their bodies became like this.”

Those children were already dead. Using his authority, IAmJesus had pulled memories from Kang Han-min’s children, just as he had once awakened the subconscious of the church sister he loved. Back then, even to an amateur like me, it had looked unstable. But now, seeing how he controlled his power and restrained the zombies, it was clear he had reached a state of maturity. Truly, the title King of the Dead wasn’t for nothing.

At any rate, the reason IAmJesus had left his kingdom and secluded himself in these ruins was now clear. The suspicion Nam Ban-jang and others had whispered—that Kang Han-min was behind it all—was true. People had talked about “Kang Han-min’s kids” before, but now the true meaning of that phrase was revealed. Kang Han-min’s children had tried to kill IAmJesus, displaying mutations beyond comprehension.

If anyone understood, it would be IAmJesus, who was closer to the Rift than I was. He knew those zombies were both «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» human and monster. But even I, who had studied and fought Rifts for years, couldn’t explain how such a thing was possible. Was it some sly trick exploiting the shared essence of Awakened and monsters, or an abomination born from pure malice?

“If this gets out, the world will flip upside down.”

IAmJesus gave a bitter laugh and sighed.

“I’ve been thinking, looking at them, about how I could possibly explain this situation.”

“You should’ve told me sooner. Didn’t I give you that? The precious SkeletonNet ID. I didn’t even give that to my closest Defender.”

At my slightly sulky complaint, IAmJesus flashed a cunning smile, as if to show off the results of his growth.

“I figured if I dragged this out long enough, others would call you even if I didn’t.”

“Oh?”

“Come on, it’s obvious what those people think. I didn’t get a grand education, my background’s nothing special—so they see me as a puppet. But even puppets have thoughts. They see. They can read intentions. No matter how smart someone is, the moment they reveal greed or selfishness, it looks no different than kids throwing tantrums for toys in a mall.”

“So you knew everything and just waited for me?”

With a smile still on his lips, IAmJesus nodded.

“Mem, mem.”

“...That damn King.”

I chuckled.

“You taught him well.”

“He was a bastard. But honestly, he was a true badass. His love for Sejong was genuine. That’s why he poured so much effort into a failure like me.”

IAmJesus looked at Kang Han-min’s twisted children. Hatred, pity, and confusion tangled in his gaze.

“What is this? What’s it supposed to mean?”

I hesitated. Should I tell him what I knew about Kang Han-min? I rarely spoke of Kang Han-min, my old colleague and classmate. Especially not about evaluating him. For someone shoved aside into history’s shadows by Kang Han-min, evaluating him would only expose my own inferiority complex. It would wound my pride and the very foundation of my past.

But now, things were different. IAmJesus truly wanted to understand this situation. He was one of my most important allies. Not a comrade manufactured by the state like my classmates, but someone raw, someone forged through my own efforts.

“I don’t know where to begin. But Kang Han-min wasn’t the great man people say he was. He was human. Just one man. A man with flaws, like you.”

Hearing that, IAmJesus’s interest flared bright. His eyes, glowing in the dark, showed keen fascination. Of course he would be. Who wouldn’t want to hear about Kang Han-min from the rival who had watched him longest, closest, and lost to him?

“He was authoritarian. In a different way than King.”

In the eerie twilight among the dead, I spoke of the Kang Han-min I knew. IAmJesus reacted with awe, with regret, sometimes with incomprehension and anger. I knew his feelings toward Kang Han-min were mostly hatred. He had already seen Kang Han-min’s deepest darkness. So what I wanted to show him wasn’t Kang Han-min’s negative side. I wanted him to know that Kang Han-min too carried the same flame of hatred in his chest as we did.

“...That was the last time I saw the Savior.”

I finished the story, recalling the man standing in the deepest part of the Rift, glaring at me as he disappeared. For a long while after I spoke, IAmJesus said nothing. It was as if he were savoring, chewing over the story of a man’s life. At last, he rose.

“That man... he’s broken.”

In the end, my long story hadn’t changed IAmJesus’s view. He still thought of Kang Han-min as a father worse than his own. I agreed. Did Kang Han-min even think of those children as his?

“I’ve got one question.”

Looking at the children, IAmJesus asked,

“Was it artificial insemination?”

“Probably. I’d guess so.”

“What do you mean?”

“There were hundreds of children like this. If he fathered them all the natural way, well, even ten bodies wouldn’t be enough.”

IAmJesus gave a short laugh.

“That’s true. Still, some must have been natural.”

“Maybe.”

I raised my camera. There was someone I wanted to show this scene to. Kim Daram. As a mother herself, I wondered what she would say when she saw this.

When I finished taking pictures, IAmJesus signaled me to step back. I retreated. When there was enough distance—

Boom!

A fierce shockwave, worthy of an Over Level 10 Awakened, swept through the palace of the dead. And then—

Crash!

Kang Han-min’s children shattered as if struck by an invisible hammer, crumpling to the ground. Their heads burst apart. Brutal for the children, yes—but to IAmJesus, this was an act of mercy. Above the broken corpses, particles of light blossomed like golden flowers, scattering around us and illuminating the dark mist.

“...May you meet a better father in the next life.”

With sad eyes, IAmJesus whispered as he watched the lights.

“Maybe my father was better after all. At least he gave me money.”

“Plenty of people valued that more.”

“That’s true.”

The zombies collected the bodies. The sight of corpses cleaning up corpses was beyond eerie—it was surreal. But we already lived in a surreal world. I let it go and asked,

“Will you burn them?”

“No. I’ll bury them. Not cremate.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Feels like the right thing. They never had a home in life—at least in death, they should have a place to rest their bodies.”

“Every child needs their own room.”

“And a puppy.”

“One each!”

“Yeah. Exactly.”

IAmJesus’s face brightened. His expression now carried the dignity of a king, not the awkwardness of a bunker shut-in.

“You know, not everyone in this city welcomes me.”

“I’ve already heard a bit from Nam Ban-jang.”

“Oh, him? He’s on Director Kim’s line, isn’t he?”

“I don’t particularly trust him.”

“Director Kim’s a neutral man. King himself said, ‘Don’t trust him, but don’t suspect him either.’”

“Sounds like King.”

“There are plenty trying to bring me down. Those who protested day and night, demanding elections—they’re behind this. At the very least, they’ve joined hands with Kang Han-min. Maybe even King’s old retainers, the so-called meritorious subjects.”

“They’re the ones giving you headaches.”

IAmJesus turned his head. A zombie approached him. I recognized the face. Je Pung-ho—the former chairman of a conglomerate I’d once crossed paths with. In his cold hands, he carried a familiar object. An animal mask. The one King always wore.

IAmJesus lifted it and, with practiced hands, placed it over his face. Not bear, not tiger—some beast that resembled them all, sewn from many hides. A mask only describable as belonging to a wild animal. From the eyeholes, a fierce light blazed as IAmJesus spoke.

“Someday, I’ll step down.”

“Step down?”

“Yes. King told me to hold this seat until death. But a man must know when it’s time.”

“Wouldn’t it be better not to?”

“Maybe. But I won’t become like my father.”

And IAmJesus said,

“If you need my power, call me.”

“Call you?”

“You’re going to fight Kang Han-min, aren’t you?”

I looked at him in surprise. I knew he had grown, but not enough to surprise me like this. I take that back. IAmJesus was now, without doubt, King’s successor and the ruler of this city.

“I don’t know who that man really is. I didn’t want to know. But now, I understand clearly. Whatever his thoughts, there’s no one more dangerous.”

The King of Sejong, wearing the beast mask, strode ahead. Toward the faint light of the exit, he walked proudly, attended by the dead. I followed. For this moment, I wanted to be his vassal. That’s how it felt.

Maybe it was the sharp contrast with the other boy I had saved in Sejong that moved me so deeply. Two boys, both born to hero’s fates. One became a king. One became the monster of a fallen Tower. I would follow the King of Sejong.

*

“...Kang Han-min. That bastard. That son of a bitch!”

When I showed Kim Daram the children, words she never normally used spilled from her mouth. She couldn’t help it. She was a mother herself. As a parent, to do such a thing to one’s children was more revolting, more hateful than murder itself.

“He was always strange, even in school. You remember, right, senior? He was always a psycho. If he hadn’t Awakened, he’d have ended up dead on some street in China. That would’ve been the fitting end for him. He should’ve died.”

Showing my junior things I didn’t need to show was my decision. I thought they needed to see what I had seen. They needed to judge for themselves, to make their own choice to fight the enemy before us: Kang Han-min. Now he had gone beyond redemption.

Of course, I had never once doubted his sincerity. He, too, carried the flame of hatred. But he had overlooked one truth. Our enemy was far too vast for us to face on our own terms. Humanity might call itself the lord of creation, but could it stop the Earth’s rotation for even a moment? The idea of deceiving and controlling an enemy of planetary, cosmic scale—it was bold, but unrealistic.

Every time I faced monsters, I sensed the malice of the Rift hidden within their incomprehensible nature. The reason they seemed to have no intent or purpose was simply because we were too small to grasp it. From where I stood, my classmate and friend Kang Han-min had already been swallowed by the Rift.

When had it happened? When he lost his family to monsters? When Jang Gi-young tormented him at school? When he saw the true horrors in China? When he awakened to his power? Or perhaps when the people’s fervent adoration twisted his mind?

Once, I had wanted to see where Kang Han-min’s judgment would lead. Not anymore. His judgment was wrong. We had started from the same place, but our destinations were as far apart as the poles. I believed he was wrong. That he was walking the wrong path. And so, I intended to raise my axe.

Yes.

Shing—

I would kill my classmate. I swore it to the reflection of my eyes in the axe blade.

“Senior!”

Kim Daram, riding in the jeep, tapped my shoulder. She knew I hated being touched, so if she did it, it meant it was urgent. That habit would never change, even as we aged.

“What is it?”

“That zombie.”

Kim Daram pointed to a group of zombies wandering the ruins.

“Doesn’t it look like Instructor Jang?”

“What?”

“Instructor Jang Gi-young! Your master!”

I followed her finger. A gaunt zombie was turning its back on us. From our position, it vanished behind a wall of rubble and disappeared into the ruins.

“...”

I couldn’t tell if that zombie was my old teacher or not. But a strange feeling washed over me. Just as I resolved to kill my classmate Kang Han-min, a zombie resembling my teacher had appeared. Whether that was a good omen or bad—I’d soon find out.