Player who Returned 10,000 years Later

"Kim JaeHyun has been taken to the hospital! Thanks to the hospital's staff and healer-class players, his life isn't in danger. He's currently recovering very fast."

"Okay. When do you think that the healing process will be over?"

"In just a few hours, he will be healed enough to be able to move."

Even while saying it, the Hwarang Squad agent seemed to have a hard time believing it.

Chains had pierced his entire body, and he’d also received huge damage from a sword slashing from his collarbone to the pelvis, yet he’d recovered in just a few hours.

It was true that the hospital's staff and the healers that were treating him were good at their jobs, but it was also because Kim JaeHyun's healing speed was unreasonably fast.

"After he’s healed to the point where he isn’t in danger of dying, put a mana restraining jacket on him and bring him to the investigation room."

"Yes!"

Unlike the surprised agent, Baek HwaYeon was calm.

She knew how superhuman the body of a player who had finished the ninth Awakening was.

—As long as their vital organs weren't hurt, it wouldn't take them long to recover.

'Not only that, but we don't want to wait until he fully recovers.'

Things could get more bothersome if he fully recovered.

It was better for him to have recovered just enough to be able to do small talks.

"I'll be taking care of them," Baek HwaYeon said to Chae YeonJoo and KangWoo.

She was looking at the soldiers who had lost their general, the members of the Mir Guild.

After Kim JaeHyun was restrained, they didn't offer resistance or try to escape.

It was an obvious reaction after seeing their leader suddenly losing his mind and being defeated.

Because all of the power in the Mir Guild was centered around Kim JaeHyun, cleaning up the situation was very easy.

After Baek HwaYeon left, Chae YeonJoo turned her head to KangWoo.

"What did you do…?"

Chae YeonJoo glared at KangWoo with sharp eyes.

KangWoo shrugged his shoulders and calmly kept talking.

"I just touched Kim YeongHoon's memories a little bit."

"You even have the ability to modify memories…?"

"There's a lot of things I can do."

"…"

Chae YeonJoo remained silent.

She knew that his strategy had been very clever.

Having defeated the Mir Guild without losing anyone was a great achievement.

They would've suffered many losses if Kim JaeHyun hadn't lost his mind.

'But…'

Chae YeonJoo remembered Kim JaeHyun’s appearance.

She could understand why he had gone crazy.

For his son not being able to remember his name…

It would’ve been weird if he didn't go crazy in that situation.

She wasn't sure what technique KangWoo had used to make Kim YeongHoon lose his memories…

But just thinking about that made her feel sick.

Even though she had a very bad relationship with Kim JaeHyun and Kim YeongHoon, she couldn't help but feel pity for them.

'Although they aren't people whom you should feel pity for.'

Thinking about all the crimes they had committed until then, maybe it was a fair punishment.

No, it probably wasn't enough.

It was widely known that Kim YeongHoon was an asshole—he had ruined the lives of lots of different people.

There was no point in talking about all the lives that Kim JaeHyun had ruined.

He had ruined many people's lives on his way to achieving massive financial success.

'Is it… poetic justice?'

She felt confused.

It didn’t seem right at all to think of KangWoo as someone who punished evil and rewarded the good.

Rather, it was as if a smaller evil had been devoured by a bigger one.

"What's your real identity…?"

She looked at him cautiously.

She couldn't understand the person called Oh KangWoo. She wasn't even sure if he was the same person she'd investigated.

"I'm a human, just as you already know."

"Don't say nonsense. This isn't a matter of talent anymore, this—"

"Chae YeonJoo."

KangWoo cut off her words.

Their eyes met.

Chae YeonJoo trembled a bit, and she suddenly felt chills. She felt that his eyes, which resembled the Abyss, were about to devour her.

"I can help you; you're of great help to me. Isn't that enough?"

"…"

* * *

"You don't need to know many things. There's no need to understand everything. The world won't disappear because you close your eyes. The important thing isn't who I am but what you want to do. You said that you wanted to get revenge. Right?"

"Yes…"

"I'm going to help you get your revenge. I'm going to help you wipe out the cult that killed that person who was so dear to you, so…"

His low voice flowed into her ears.

"Just close your eyes."

She felt those words were very sweet.

She felt a sensation so pleasant that it was as if her mind was about to go numb, and she felt that, if she followed that sweetness, she'd be able to get what she wanted.

Chae YeonJoo remembered a quote she'd read somewhere, 'It isn't a demon because it's bitter. It's a demon because it's sweet.'

When she read that, she thought that it was too cringey. But somehow, she suddenly felt that it made sense.

'I wasn't raising a tiger cub…'

Chae YeonJoo bit her lip.

She thought that she could see another figure overlaying KangWoo—the figure of a smiling demon with a horn and bat wings.

She was starting to wonder if supporting him had been a mistake.

He had grown strong enough to be at her level in just two months.

She couldn't even think of how strong he would become in the future.

'It's too late now.'

She couldn't gather the water that had already been spilled.

'Then…'

Chae YeonJoo's eyes shook.

The memory of a beautiful woman whose dark hair reached her shoulders came to her mind.

Jeong HaEun…

It was the name of a guild member who used to follow her as if she were her big sister.

Clench.

Blood veins appeared on her clenched fists, and she couldn't hold back her anger.

Chae YeonJoo looked at KangWoo while remembering the sweet words of revenge he'd said to her.

It didn't matter if he was a tiger or a demon.

She had a reason for why she had to join forces with a demon.

Chae YeonJoo closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Leaving the process aside, thank you. Because of you, we could catch Kim JaeHyun without any losses."

"It was nothing."

KangWoo kept talking after looking at the surroundings.

"Are we immediately going to the investigation room?"

"Of course. It's a clue we got after so much effort. We must get as much information while we still can," Chae YeonJoo said while leaking out strong killing intent.

Her hate toward the Demon Cult seemed quite deep.

"KangWoo, are you coming, too?"

"Yes."

If he didn't, he would've gotten Kim JaeHyun for nothing.

Chae YeonJoo nodded and walked toward her car.

KangWoo followed her.

* * *

A few hours later…

KangWoo, Chae YeonJoo, and Baek HwaYeon were waiting for Kim JaeHyun.

Click-

The door opened, and Kim JaeHyun, who was wearing a mana restraining vest, was dragged in.

It was a restraining vest similar to those they used in mental hospitals.

"…"

Kim JaeHyun looked at KangWoo while leaking out strong killing intent.

His hair, which had been neatly pulled back, was in a complete mess.

The dark circles under his eyes and his sullen cheeks showed that his body was in a bad state.

"I have a few questions."

It was Baek HwaYeon who spoke first.

"Since when have you been involved with the Demon Cult?" she said with a hard voice.

"…"

"Is there anything you know about their summoning rituals?"

"…"

"Do you know anything about the man who wears a red demon mask?"

"…"

There was no response.

Only Baek HwaYeon's voice could be heard in the investigation room.

Baek HwaYeon punched Kim JaeHyun's cheeks.

Paf-!

Crash-!

Kim JaeHyun fell from the chair.

Baek HwaYeon glared at him.

"Answer. Right now, you are either the CEO of Mir Electronics or the leader of a guild. Either way, you're a criminal who collaborated with a pseudo-religious group."

"…"

"Answer."

Baek HwaYeon grabbed Kim JaeHyun's hair.

The tip of Kim JaeHyun's mouth went up.

"Do you think I'll talk?"

"…"

"Even if the Hwarang Squad has a lot of authority, you're still the government's dog—a dog that moves when an order is given. Baek HwaYeon, did you forget who I am? Do you think I have a relationship with only one or two members of congress?"

Kim JaeHyun kept talking with a smile on his face.

"You still don't understand? You guys are the dog, and I'm the owner that has the strap. How does a dog dare to show its teeth to its owner?"

"You damn psycho…"

Chae YeonJoo, who had been listening to them, stood up.

She grabbed Kim JaeHyun's collar.

Her bracelet began shining with a red light, and chains covered Kim JaeHyun's body.

The thorns of the chains penetrated the restraining jacket and entered his body.

The mana restraining jacket started to become wet with blood.

"Ugh."

Kim JaeHyun started to moan in pain.

"Talk."

"Ugghh…"

"Arrgghh."

"TALK, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!!"

Chae YeonJoo's scream spread through the investigation room.

Even while suffering immense pain, he started to laugh.

"Hahaha… In the end, you guys will lose against that person. You don't know how… Big. What he's planning… You probably can't even imagine it."

"You…!"

"YeonJoo, stop. Things will get bothersome if he dies."

Baek HwaYeon stopped Chae YeonJoo.

Chae YeonJoo took a deep breath and returned the chains to her bracelet.

The two girls looked at him anxiously.

They weren't sure how they were going to make him talk.

"So, it's now my turn to talk with you."

At that moment, KangWoo, who had been silently watching, opened his mouth.

"YOU…!"

Kim JaeHyun frowned aggressively after looking at KangWoo.

"Reveal everything you know about the Demon Cult."

"Didn't you hear? Do you think I'll talk?"

"Yes. I think that you'll talk."

KangWoo laughed in a low tone.

He kept talking while looking at Kim JaeHyun.

"I'll return them."

"What…?"

"If you say everything you know, I'll return Kim YeongHoon's memories."

"…!"

Kim JaeHyun's eyes widened.

His body started to tremble.

He remembered Kim YeongHoon, who’d called him “Mister” while looking at him.

It was an offer he couldn't refuse.

It was an offer that there was no way he'd refuse. Kim JaeHyun clenched his fists.

"You, YOU…!"

He felt uncontrollable anger.

Not only had he made his son forget about him, but he was even using it to negotiate with him. He felt hatred toward the person that was in front of him.

"YOOUU!!"

He twisted his body as if he were about to have a seizure.

Chae YeonJoo and Baek HwaYeon grabbed him.

A scream full of hatred and resentment came out of his mouth.

"YOOUU!! DAMN YOU TO HELL!!"

A scream that was close to a cry.

KangWoo smirked.

"I came back from Hell, idiot."