Chapter 138 – Park Jincheol

At Park Seongcheol’s muttering, the Galaxy Guild members stirred.

“That person… No, is that person Park Jincheol-nim?”

Park Jincheol.

The former Guild Master of the Sunrise Guild who went missing in the Underground years ago, and Park Seongcheol’s father.

Just before his disappearance, he was a figure renowned as Korea’s number one Highest-Rank Awakener.

Having contracted with the Eleven-Star Divine Spirit Hwanin, he was expected to become Korea’s first Transcendent Awakener. And now, he had revealed himself in this Otherworld.

“Indeed. It seems he couldn’t return to Earth because he was in the Otherworld.”

Just as the Galaxy Guild members recognized Park Jincheol, the other side seemed to recognize Park Seongcheol as well. The father and son stared intently at each other.

Lycan had roughly grasped the situation and had stopped running.

Pat.

The next moment, as if skipping the intermediate process, Park Jincheol, who had teleported in front of Park Seongcheol, opened his mouth with trembling eyes.

“You… could it be… Seongcheol?”

“Father, is that you?”

Although their words questioned each other as if in doubt, they were already certain of who the other was.

“Yes… you’ve grown so much.”

“Is that all you have to say? I waited for you for so long!”

“I’m sorry for making you wait. That’s all I can say. I should have returned before you came looking for me like this…”

“…No. It’s enough that you’re alive.”

Park Seongcheol, who had momentarily flared up as if throwing a tantrum, quickly calmed down at his father’s apology.

He knew well from the start that it wasn’t that his father didn’t want to return.

Unless he had a Dimensional Shift-type ability like Lee Hanseong, it would have been extremely difficult for him, stranded in the Otherworld, to return to Earth.

Instead of venting pointless anger through his tantrum, Park Seongcheol decided to fully savor the joy of their reunion.

“Everyone said you were dead, but I didn’t believe them. But look at this. You’re alive and well, just as I thought, aren’t you?”

“Oh, right. But how are you here? And who are these people with you?”

Having somewhat eased the tension, Park Jincheol inquired about the Galaxy Guild.

Park Seongcheol glanced at Lee Hanseong, silently seeking permission, and then explained the Galaxy Guild’s situation without holding back.

They were fleeing to the Otherworld to escape the Apostles and were currently on their way to destroy the source of the Corrosion.

“…So, you have an ability user who can travel between the Otherworld and Earth.”

“Yes.”

“Haa, what a relief. At least you, Seongcheol, aren’t stranded in the Otherworld too.”

“Come to think of it, how did you end up in the Otherworld, Father?”

At Park Seongcheol’s question, the others also seemed curious, perking up their ears.

Park Jincheol stared into the void as if reminiscing about the past for a moment before speaking.

“That… was because of that bastard Luke Meyer.”

“The Sun Star King…!”

The sudden mention of the Sun Star King’s name shocked those listening to the story.

“Why would an Apostle do that to you?”

“A punishment, he said. Punishment for the sin of daring to challenge the seat of the Main God.”

“……”

“You all know that an Eleven-Star Divine Spirit can challenge an existing Apostle at any time. When I contracted with Hwanin and sufficiently raised our Synchronization Rate, I challenged the Sun Star King together with Hwanin.”

This was the only way for an Awakener who was not a 12-Star Vessel’s Great Vessel to contract with an Apostle.

Contracting with an Eleven-Star Divine Spirit and promoting them to Apostle.

Of course, the fact that Hwanin was not an Apostle itself meant he was already a being who had been defeated by an existing Apostle.

However, when a Divine Spirit contracted with an Awakener engages in a one-on-one duel with an Apostle, they can participate in a state Synchronized with their Contractor, so there was a chance of victory.

The Contractor’s way of thinking and abilities become the variables.

“I thought if we succeeded, I would become the Apostle’s Contractor, and even if we failed, it would just be a return to the starting point.”

“So Hwanin lost there.”

“No! We could have won. If that bastard Luke hadn’t dropped my body into the Otherworld right on the verge of defeat, breaking my Synchronization with Hwanin, victory would definitely have been ours!”

The duel for the Apostle’s Seat takes place not in reality but within a higher dimension where the essence of the Constellation exists.

But just as an Apostle’s connection to their Constellation is severed in a Corrosion Zone tainted by the Otherworld’s Laws.

In the Otherworld, the connection to the higher dimension where the Constellation’s essence resides is inevitably severed.

The moment Park Jincheol’s body fell into the Otherworld, his consciousness could no longer intervene in the duel.

“Ha. What a despicable bastard…”

What the Sun Star King did was essentially overturning the board because he thought he was going to lose.

This violent act was likely possible only because Park Jincheol had chosen the Sun Constellation as his own Constellation.

Park Jincheol, looking at his son who was getting angry on his behalf, poured out even more resentment.

“That bastard’s tyranny doesn’t end there. The reason I haven’t been able to return to Earth all this time is also because he prevented me from going back.”

“Huh? What do you mean…?”

“Do you think this old man, having been here for years already, still hasn’t found a single way to return to Earth?”

Saying that, Park Jincheol unfastened his tattered, worn-out top, which was little more than a vest, revealing his chest.

On his chest was a tattoo composed of strange characters.

Seen with the Insightful Eye, it was a shackle named [Brand of Bongrae].

Flash!

The moment he saw that name, new knowledge flowed into his mind through All Phenomena.

Thanks to that, he realized something strange.

‘Why is it that when the Dimensional Corrosion occurred, the Eastern Sea of Arthalia and the Japanese archipelago didn’t overlap in the same phase but were divided into surface and Reverse Side?’

In a normal Dimensional Corrosion, two worlds should coexist in the same space, with the Corrosion Zone becoming a passage connecting Earth and the Otherworld.

But the unique characteristics of the Eastern Sea of Arthalia, also called Dongyeong, created the current multi-layered structure.

‘Dongyeong is another name for Yeongjusan Mountain from the legend of the Three Divine Mountains.’

The mountain has a cave, and inside the cave is another world—that is the Eastern Heaven.

A small world with a kind of nested structure.

Just like when they visited the Mount Hua Sect during Blundell’s Historical Alteration, the Dark Saint Ancestor resided within the Eastern Heaven.

Countless Eastern Heavens were hidden throughout Arthalia.

Among them, the Eastern Heaven of Dongyeong, Yeongjusan Mountain, was special.

Perhaps influenced by the legend of the Three Divine Mountains, it formed a triple-layered Eastern Heaven: within the Eastern Heaven of Yeongjusan Mountain was the Eastern Heaven of Bangjangsan Mountain, and within that was the Eastern Heaven of Bongraesan Mountain.

And when the Corrosion occurred, the Eastern Heaven of Yeongjusan Mountain appeared on the surface of the area where Japan was on Earth.

But the Eastern Heaven of Bangjangsan Mountain settled on its Reverse Side, swallowing the Japanese archipelago that originally existed on the surface.

Finally, the Eastern Heaven of Bongraesan Mountain remained on the Otherworld side, becoming a world where only a mirror image of Japan was reflected.

The place where the Galaxy Guild currently was, was precisely the Eastern Heaven of Bongraesan Mountain.

While Lee Hanseong was gaining this understanding of the Eastern Heaven’s structure.

“As long as this exists, I cannot leave this place.”

As if demonstrating, Park Jincheol moved his body from the edge of the land they were on towards the sea.

Sluuurp.

“…!”

But then, based on the boundary between land and sea, his body returned to the land side.

“Is the space distorted?”

The question was whether this applied only to Park Jincheol or to all of them.

“Well, we can test that.”

Tap.

Just as Lee Hanseong, to test that, momentarily leaped from Lycan’s back towards the sea.

“Stop!”

Thwack!

Almost as soon as Park Jincheol urgently warned with his voice, someone struck Lee Hanseong, sending him flying back to the land side.

It wasn’t that a new enemy had suddenly appeared.

“What are you doing, Uncle Jincheol.”

The one who had just attacked him was Park Jincheol.

“…Sorry, but that wasn’t my will.”

Sssss—

The Brand of Bongrae engraved on his chest was glowing brightly, turning crimson as if heated.

“Are you being controlled by the Brand?”

“Yes. I was uncertain until just a moment ago, but now I’m sure. The Brand of Bongrae isn’t just for preventing my escape. It’s also ordering me to hinder others from leaving.”

Park Jincheol, controlled by the Brand, was like a gatekeeper blocking anyone from leaving the Eastern Heaven of Bongraesan Mountain.

“Probably if you try to cross the boundary of the Japanese archipelago, I will keep trying to stop you.”

“What if we attempt to escape to a place you cannot see?”

He asked with the intention of escaping using Shrinking Earth or the Void Fairy Path outside Park Jincheol’s Perception.

But he only shook his head.

“The problem is that I already know you have the ability to leave this place. The Brand will probably prevent you from even heading outside my Perception.”

“…Damn.”

In that case, it was impossible to head to the Arthalian mainland or return to Earth without defeating Park Jincheol.

Defeating him wasn’t difficult.

With four True God Rank combatants in the Galaxy Guild alone, could they not defeat a mere Highest-Rank Awakener?

It was just that he was Park Seongcheol’s lost father, which weighed on their minds.

“Is there no way to erase the Brand?”

“Maybe there is a way to erase the Brand, as you say. But the Brand won’t allow such attempts. The more you show the will to resolve the Brand, the greater the hostility towards you becomes.”

Shudder…

Park Jincheol kept twitching, as if holding back his attack on Lee Hanseong’s group.

“While I can still hold on, kill me. That’s the only way for you to leave this place.”

“Such a…!”

As Lee Hanseong hesitated at Park Jincheol’s mention of sacrifice.

Park Seongcheol, who had been silently watching his father, placed a hand on Lee Hanseong’s shoulder.

“…Let’s follow Father’s wish.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m not suggesting we kill Father without any thought either.”

Saying that, Park Seongcheol was thinking of Seo Minho.

“We have a way to resurrect the dead, right? Moreover, if resurrected that way, one becomes a Devotee of the Lord of the Throne, so the Lord of the Throne should be able to do something about the Brand too.”

“Right. You’re correct.”

Strengthened by Park Seongcheol’s faith, Lee Hanseong steeled his resolve to fight and looked at Park Jincheol.

He had already achieved Treasure Body and Spirit Overlay again and entered combat posture.

His pupils were already dyed the same crimson red as the Brand.

“Danger assessed. Escape obstruction impossible. Capture impossible. Commencing elimination.”

Muttering in a mechanical tone, Park Jincheol finally stopped trembling and began his attack.

Whoosh!

Park Jincheol, Overlaid with Hwanin and unleashing the 11-Star Grade with almost no loss, deployed the Authority of [Heaven] to cause meteorological changes.

Whoooosh— Rumble! Flash! Patter!

Wind accompanied by dark clouds gathered, thunder and lightning fell incessantly, and a downpour poured down.

“Wind Lord. Cloud Master. Rain Master. Thunder Duke.”

The 8-Star Spirit Dangun Wanggeom resonated with such Authority of Hwanin, summoning the four immortals originating from Hwanin.

They were immortals governing wind, clouds, rain, and lightning respectively.

The weather draped over the sky was refined more intricately into weapons, infused with killing intent.

The wind changed like blades, clouds like shields, rain like arrows, and lightning like spears.

“From now on, we begin the war!”

Amidst this, Park Jincheol himself transformed into the form of the 9-Star Spirit Chiwoo Cheonwang, extending his arms to six, and grasped each of the weather-phenomenon-transformed weapons.

Then, commanding the meteorological weapons filling the sky, he began to press the Galaxy Guild members.

Perhaps due to the folk tale that Chiwoo Cheonwang was the 14th Hwanung of Baedalguk, ‘Jaoji Hwanung’.

As the mythological resonance of Dangun Wanggeom, Hwanin, and Chiwoo Cheonwang occurred, each meteorological weapon possessed an undeniable momentum.

“A war…!”

Amidst the spectacle as if the heavenly army was surging in like dark clouds.

Lee Hanseong’s group was not intimidated in the least.

—Grrrumble!

As Lycan opened his jaws, all the meteorological weapons that had entered within were swallowed by the Twilight Orb.

Jin Yuseong, having undergone Divine Possession by Asta and Celestial Body Transformation, deployed My Way is Threaded by One, unleashing Clone Technique with unified Daoist Arts.

Bam bam bam!

The giant form that had become a celestial body multiplied into dozens, filling the area with giants.

Flap— Whoosh!

Yu Sehee, having undergone Divine Possession by Seras, flapped her massive angel wings and soared high into the sky.

“Shine, Lamp of Immeasurable Radiance.”

Shoom!

The Authority of the Annihilation Lamp, unleashed with the power of the lamp that achieved Divine Artifact Awakening, scattered upon allies light of prolonged life, purification, healing, regeneration, and resurrection.

Upon enemies, it scattered light of absolute fate, impurity, weakening, and destruction.

The light of annihilation containing the power of irreversible death was not used, as they needed to resurrect Park Jincheol later.

Sssss—!

Thus, Park Jincheol could envelop Yu Sehee’s surroundings with clouds to block the light.

Still, unable to block it completely, beams of light seeped through the gaps in the clouds, destroying some meteorological weapons.

But the number destroyed was only a fraction, and the Authority of Heaven kept creating weather, so the overall number of meteorological weapons was actually increasing.

“”””Star-Shattering!””””

But that was before the Jin Yuseongs multiplied by Clone Technique began their attack.

As dozens of giants unleashed the Star-Shattering Fist.

Crackle crackle crackle!

Spatial Rifts densely appeared in all directions, erasing 90% of the meteorological weapons.

Thanks to that, in the Instant Park Jincheol’s figure, previously obscured by the surrounding meteorological weapons, was revealed.

“Exhale—!”

Swoosh!

Lee Hanseong, having undergone Divine Possession by Sword Demon with the Formless Sword Demon Armor, slashed Park Jincheol with the Formless Sword.

Precisely with a sword stroke passing over the Brand of Bongrae.

“Is it done…?!”

But the Brand of Bongrae, engraved with the sword mark, far from losing its effect, emitted an even more intense light.

Hum— Whoosh!

Then it began forcibly elevating Park Jincheol’s Grade.