Chapter 137 – Farewell [Burial]

In an instant, Ivan Ivanov’s figure grew distant.

Siguk’s soul pierced straight through the Ilsun General Hospital funeral hall building and rapidly ascended into the void.

Soon, the entire city of Seoul came into view, then the entire Korean peninsula, and not long after, the entire Earth was captured in a single glance.

‘In this situation?’

Passing Mars, the enormity of Jupiter, the splendor of Saturn, the strangeness of Uranus, and the blueness of Neptune, Siguk’s soul traversed the Lake of the Galaxy and arrived at the place where the abyss awaited.

[O Torture Technician.]

There, for the first time in a very long while, yet not a welcome one, the Unknown Darkness called to Siguk.

Siguk gave no response to that call.

He merely gazed into the abyss, searching within that unseen, profound darkness for the one who had called him.

[The time has come.]

It was a story he had heard five years ago.

The time has come.

After uttering those words, the darkness had given Siguk a kind of quest.

And that quest had nearly taken Siguk’s life.

‘In the current situation?’

Siguk silently stared into the darkness.

There, a being akin to a god spoke to Siguk.

[The time has come for you to witness the truth.]

What truth was it talking about?

Siguk gave no response.

[Are you prepared to face the truth?]

Faced with this clear question, Siguk remained silent for a while.

The darkness, too, ceased any further conversation after those words.

For a time, Siguk quietly observed the flow of time while gazing at the darkness.

After a moment, Siguk asked the darkness in return.

[Ever since you intervened in my life, history has changed.]

The darkness replied.

[History changed from the moment you traveled back through time.]

[It’s true that the Regression changed some aspects of existing history. Kim Yanggi died, buried corruption was exposed, and the JH Group came to occupy the place where the YK Group should have been. However, what I could change was at most the position of a stone within the vast river of history, not the current itself.]

B-Rank Villain Lee Siguk.

His abilities and character were sufficient to save a woman named Lee Nayeon and change the history of Korea’s underworld.

But likewise, that was precisely the limit of what he could do.

He could move a few boulders on the riverbed, but he could not alter the current of history itself—that was the power of a B-Rank Villain.

But upon meeting the darkness, everything changed.

The B-Rank Villain became an A-Rank Hunter. He saved the Russian president, who should have died, and rescued the nation of Russia, which should have been destroyed and fragmented.

The 2030 System, which should have been born from organized Hunter strikes, was never born. Instead, Korea became a country under the more sophisticated and cunning behind-the-scenes control of Hunters.

In China, instead of Dong Xian from the hardline Beijing Faction forming the 7th generation leadership, the moderate, isolationist Shanghai Faction’s Li Kebao became the Chairman.

And Ululu Tumbebe, who originally should not have stirred from Africa until at least 2042, began to exert influence beyond Africa.

As a result, Lee Jeonghoon and Yoo Seoyoung, who should have lived until at least 2042, died before reaching the age of fifty.

[At first, I thought my Regression itself had caused a butterfly effect. But that wasn’t it. From the moment you, you intervened, the current itself changed.]

Even when the Russian president survived and his daughter became my lover and live-in partner,

Even when I became a behind-the-scenes power broker in Korea,

Even when I created a cartel to unite and control the Villains of Asia and reigned as its Chairman,

Even when I intervened in the future leadership of the great nation China and brought about the desired outcome,

Siguk remained composed.

There might have been momentary thrills, surprises, elation, and joy, but on the grand scale, he was composed.

Even as he created historical changes with his own hands and witnessed them with his own eyes, Siguk did not feel a great surge of emotion.

But the moment he saw the corpses of Lee Jeonghoon and Yoo Seoyoung, he could not remain composed.

[They are people who should have lived longer and died after me. But… the moment you intervened, they died. Much earlier than me.]

As Siguk’s words gradually took on a tone of protest, a massive bolt of lightning flashed once within the darkness.

And the darkness spoke to Siguk.

[You, too, were ultimately human. Not a demon with madness, selfishness, and an evil nature, but a human who knows sorrow and possesses attachments.]

[Is that the truth I must witness? That I am human? That through the deaths of Lee Jeonghoon and Yoo Seoyoung, I feel sorrow—that I, a human, can also grieve—is that the truth? If that’s the truth, I felt it to the bone in my previous life. When Nayeon died, more bitterly than anyone else in this world.]

[O Torture Technician!]

Lightning flashed, vast enough to swallow thousands of galaxies, and the darkness’s message shook Siguk’s soul.

Siguk fell silent again.

The darkness spoke.

[The truth you must witness is immense, and in the face of that immense truth, the fact that you are human is of great importance.]

The darkness pushed Siguk away again.

Siguk’s soul gradually distanced itself from the darkness and returned to the Lake of the Galaxy.

[Remember this. You must see the truth.]

Passing through the Lake of the Galaxy and the giant planets of the solar system, Siguk finally returned to the private room of the Ilsun General Hospital funeral hall.

[To Torture Technician Lee Siguk, the Unknown Darkness requests a deal.]

[Request of the Unknown Darkness: Go to Africa and kill Ululu Tumbebe.]

[Reward upon successful completion of the request after accepting the deal: The Gate of Truth will open.]

[Penalty for rejecting the deal or failing the request: Death.]

[Acceptance or rejection of the deal depends entirely on the will of Torture Technician Lee Siguk.]

[Time remaining for response regarding acceptance or rejection of the deal: 30 days.]

[After accepting the deal, the request must be completed within 730 days.]

This time was different.

Although it was called a request or a deal, in reality, it was an order.

‘If I don’t accept the deal… I die?’

Anyway, if the request failed—that is, if he failed to kill Ululu Tumbebe—Siguk would die, so the penalty for failure was practically meaningless.

The important thing was the penalty of death that existed for rejecting the deal.

‘Can it kill me? From that universe?’

Siguk briefly considered the possibility.

‘…It’s possible.’

In the first place, the being that granted Siguk immense power in that universe was precisely the entity known as the Unknown Darkness.

Killing Siguk probably wouldn’t be difficult either.

‘Kill Ululu Tumbebe…’

Siguk turned his gaze to Ivan Ivanov.

Ivan Ivanov was silently watching Siguk.

‘For revenge? For Lee Jeonghoon and Yoo Seoyoung?’

Siguk closed his eyes for a moment.

Various memories and emotions tangled, confusing him.

But that confusion did not last long.

When he opened his eyes again, Siguk’s eyes had returned to their usual cold and resolute state.

He emptied his soju glass and then, looking at Ivan Ivanov, spoke.

“Personal revenge would be impossible, I suppose. Storming Ululu Tumbebe’s stronghold and killing him.”

At Siguk’s words, Ivan Ivanov nodded.

Siguk refilled his own glass and continued.

“But… if it’s a righteous cause of fighting terrorism, and if the international community agrees to that cause, then the elimination of a criminal would be possible.”

Feeling a momentary illusion of a spark leaping from Siguk’s cold eyes, Ivan Ivanov emptied his soju glass with a hardened expression.

8:00 AM, March 6, 2033.

Amidst an unceasing drizzle, the hearse carrying the bodies of Lee Jeonghoon and Yoo Seoyoung left Ilsun General Hospital.

The hearse left Seoul and arrived at a privately owned hillside in Yeoju, belonging to the JH Group.

Siguk, holding the portrait photographs, led the way up the hill, followed by CEO Park Jeongmok, Han Myeongho, Kang Bonggil, and other CEOs of JH Group affiliates, each carrying one of the two coffins.

『Later, I’d like to build a villa here. Pave the road nicely enough so it’s convenient for driving and also for taking walks. Well, with my retirement funds, that should be possible, right?』

When this land was first purchased, Lee Jeonghoon had come here with Siguk and talked about his retirement life.

His retirement plan was to build a splendid country house, keep a large dog in the yard, a cute cat inside, and grow some simple vegetables in a small garden.

When talking about it, Lee Jeonghoon had the happiest expression in the world.

But the country house he dreamed of was replaced by a grave.

The two coffins descended simultaneously into a wide, deep pit.

『I don’t know who will die first. Well, since I drink a lot, the probability is higher that I’ll go first… But anyway, even if one of us leaves first, I’d like us—me and Seoyoung—to be buried together later. I guess I want to be together even after death?』

During his lifetime, Lee Jeonghoon often said such things.

Whenever he did, Yoo Seoyoung, who was by his side, would make a face as if it gave her goosebumps, but she didn’t particularly dislike it.

Lee Jeonghoon thought he would die first.

But, as if to defy expectations, the two died simultaneously, in the same place, and were buried on the same day, at the same time, in the same location.

“Sniff… sniff… Mom… Dad…”

Nayeon, who had spent most of the funeral period crying until she fainted repeatedly, being more in the emergency room than the funeral hall, and had barely made it here, was in Hwang Jungi’s arms, shedding tears as she barely managed to watch Lee Jeonghoon and Yoo Seoyoung’s coffins being lowered.

“……”

Siguk looked down into the grave without a word.

“Sigh…”

“……”

Even Han Myeongho and Kang Bonggil were grieving as, finally, the two coffins safely reached the bottom of the pit.

Soon, lime was sprinkled over them, and the funeral directors began to cover them with soil.

『I think it’s better for us to just maintain a dry relationship like this.』

In response to Siguk’s playful question, ‘Shall we try having a close relationship like Nayeon and Yoo Seoyoung?’, Lee Jeonghoon had insisted with a serious face that they should have a dry relationship.

And as per that request, Siguk and Lee Jeonghoon maintained a dry relationship throughout the over sixteen years they spent together.

Officially, they were father and son, but personally, the two never once thought of each other as father or son.

Yet, the two were very close.

Lee Jeonghoon was the one who witnessed from the closest proximity that Siguk was no ordinary person. Lee Jeonghoon was the one to whom Siguk could confide his secrets without hesitation.

He was a capable business partner. When Siguk made Deals of Darkness behind the scenes as Vice Chairman and General Planning Manager, Lee Jeonghoon performed his role well as Chairman, transforming them into legitimate deals in the open.

He was never a father, but in reality, he was the most precious person to Siguk other than Nayeon.

‘Rest in peace.’

Looking down at the coffins of Lee Jeonghoon and Yoo Seoyoung disappearing into the soil, Siguk silently wished for their peaceful rest in his heart.

Until the very end, the words ‘father’ or ‘mother’ never emerged, neither from his heart nor his lips, but a single teardrop formed in Siguk’s eyes, which were always cold and bleak.

That evening, as the drizzle gradually turned into heavy raindrops, the evening news of Korea’s major broadcasting stations focused on reporting the funeral of JH Group Chairman Lee Jeonghoon and his wife, and the summit between Ivan Ivanov and Nam Hanseok.

『At this bilateral summit, held privately at Russia’s request, discussions took place regarding future joint responses and condemnation statements by Korea and Russia concerning Ululu Tumbebe’s terrorist acts, as stated by the Blue House and the Russian Embassy in Korea.』

『After the summit, Russian President Ivanov paid respects at the National Cemetery, a first for a Russian president, before returning to Moscow.』

And the next day, in the early morning of March 7th.

Amidst the shock and lingering aftermath of the Denpasar International Airport terror attack in Indonesia, news arrived from across the sea that a second terror attack by Ululu Tumbebe had occurred in Rome.