Goblin Workshop In Me

110. The Truth of the World

The term ‘Dragon’ proved to be quite familiar. Even if he investigated the Ancient Shop right now, there was a product called Gold Dragon Meat. Of course, for Ko Byeong-gap, it was like knowing a celebrity but not knowing their face. Seo Si-hee continued to explain.

Madmut had performed a miracle, and the last 18 awakeners fell back in time and into the past. As she was drifting aimlessly in the current of time and space, she encountered a mysterious entity that seemed to be drifting like her. It was a Dragon. It aimed at Seo Si-hee desperately.

It wasn’t that she did anything wrong, but the Dragon who discovered Seo Si-hee approached her aggressively. It gave her no time to resist. Seo Si-hee had to taste the terrible feeling of being deprived of her ego. She was scattered all over the place, but she resisted instinctively. A battle ensued between her two selves for the control of her body. It could’ve happened either in a tenth of a second or over 100 million years. Paradoxically, the exact calculation was meaningless since time didn’t flow in the gaps of time and space.

However, Seo Si-hee used the expression ‘long enough to lose her mind.’ And finally, the battle for herself was over. The winner was before him now.

“After that, I gained mysterious abilities. Being able to open a portal connected to this world is one of those abilities. But the thing that changed the most was my thinking.”

“Your thinking?”

“Yes. In the endless battle over control of myself, I won, but I was greatly influenced by the other me.”

Seo Si-hee paused and stroked her chest with nuance as if she was stroking someone else’s head.

“All it had left was its hatred of Madmut. It was a great hatred that couldn’t be filled even with all the seawater in the world.”

“…Madmut must’ve eaten their race, and that’s why you must hate him so much.”

“Hm?!”

Seo Si-hee looked at Ko Byeong-gap with her eyes wide open. Her eyes shook, surprised at how he knew.

‘How couldn’t I know? It’s in the Ancient Shop. The Dragons were used for God’s dinner.’

Ko Byeong-gap changed the topic by waving his hand.

“Why are you so serious? I’m just saying. So, you’re taking a hostile stance against Madmut because your ideology changed, right?”

“In conclusion, it’s like that. The hatred of the Dragon covered my hatred.”

“Isn’t that a convenient situation?”

He said it sarcastically, but Seo Si-hee nodded with a bitter smile.

“I’m different now. I realize it’s wrong to exterminate mankind just out of revenge.”

“If you hadn’t harmonized with the Dragon, wouldn’t you be joining that plan? It’s plausible, but isn’t this hypocrisy?”

“It’s… it’s…”

She mumbled. To be honest, she couldn’t say for sure, so they decided not to talk about it. It was useless to come here and examine their morals.

“That’s enough. Let’s stop talking about the past. So, what’s the plan? You must have your own goals.”

Seo Si-hee unconsciously looked at the children by the side of the fireplace and quickly turned her head. Her clasped hands looked as anxious as a child who had lost her mother’s hand in the mall.

“We came back to the past. I came back to the past on February 9, 1999, about 27 years ago as of now.”

The world in 1999 had yet to escape the shock of the Deep Impact. On the streets, the apocalypse was in full swing, and soldiers were scattered throughout the cities. Around this time, the awakeners, who knew nothing, either jumped into the cracks. With that, they either died or disappeared. Seo Si-hee was 19 years old in 1999. At that time, she was just a high school girl who had yet to become an awakener.

The next year, 2000, was the year when countless people around the world awakened. There was Seo Si-hee in the gap. No, the main character of Korea in 2000 was Seo Si-hee. Her awakening was the birth of the first SS-class hunter in the Korean Peninsula! She acted according to her existing history because she couldn’t get her emotions straight. Still, she created one more identity just in case, under the stage name of Kim Hana.

Time went on. Seo Si-hee repeated the existing history with a complex mind. Then, in 2003, Billian Miller, one of the 18 awakeners, visited her.

– It’s time. Come with me.

Billian’s private plane flew them to a deserted island in Norway. The 18 hunters were gathered there, though some of the last members had yet to wake up. It was strange that she couldn’t even recognize them at first. There was a particularly noticeable child among them, about ten years old. If the child hadn’t said hello in Korean, she wouldn’t have noticed that he was Go Geon-ryong.

Seo Si-hee was dumbfounded. In the meantime, something even more bizarre happened. The last members bowed their heads to Go Geon-ryong and said:

– Messiah, we have finally gathered. Please give us the next order.

“Messiah?”

“Yes, people called him Messiah or Archbishop.”

“Why? Did he gain some special power just like you?”

“Yes, he was a little different from us, as we found out later. He can communicate directly with Madmut.”

‘Communication with God… that’s awesome.’

“So, what happened?”

Ko Byeong-gap urged the story on. Seo Si-hee continued without delay.

“The last members started doing this and that, led by Go Geon-ryong. The establishment of the Six-rays Bridge was one of the representative projects.”

“Six-rays Bridge… you’re talking about that cult.”

“Yeah, they needed limbs for their plans. Thus, he created a ridiculous religion called the Six-rays Bridge and spread it all over the world. They also advanced the development of the Magic Stone Power Plants by more than 15 years.”

Seo Si-hee touched her forehead and winced.

“I didn’t know at the time why they wanted to advance the power plants….”

“Were you just watching? You said your hatred for Madmut was boiling over. Why didn’t you interfere with them then?”

“At that time, I was… I hadn’t decided yet because I was confused. It was already too late when I finally did.”

In 2011, Go Geon-ryong took the title of the strongest man in the world. Around that time, Seo Si-hee began to persuade the last members. It wasn’t the right thing to do. Rather than lead mankind to destruction, they had to persuade and unite! The last members were surprised by Seo Si-hee’s sincere appeal, yet they killed her relentlessly.

“They didn’t even try to speak with me. I was just torn to shreds.”

“Now, wait a minute. You say you were killed that day. But how are you alive now?”

“It’s because of the Dragon’s ability. I am immortal as long as I’m properly prepared.”

“…”

Ko Byeong-gap couldn’t respond properly, so he just decided to ask something else.

“Didn’t you think you should ask for help?”

“Of course, I did. When I was first killed, I realized it was impossible to stop them on my own. I searched for people I could trust and asked for cooperation.”

“What happened?”

“Well…”

Seo Si-hee laughed quietly. It wasn’t a pleasant laugh, however, but one that was full of frustration.

“They were all smashed before we could do anything about it. All those who were involved with me were killed, and I was killed again.”

“…”

“It wasn’t a very pleasant experience. I completely abandoned my status as Seo Si-hee after that day. I hid thoroughly.”

Seeing her unhappy face made him hungry for a cigarette. Ko Byeong-gap looked away and turned to the children by the fireplace.

“So… what are you going to do now? You said it’s become meaningless to take the three kids around and break the power plants. And you didn’t call me to complain.”

“Of course not.”

Seo Si-hee took a moment to continue.

“I know the fatal loopholes in their plans.”

“I hope it’s something plausible.”

Ko Byeong-gap was sarcastic, but she didn’t care.

“They can never complete their great task without what they call a Messiah, namely Go Geon-ryong.”

“…”

“Alpha. Beta. Omega.”

“Yes, Master.”

As soon as she called, the three children came running. Ko Byeong-gap looked over them with his arms folded.

“Are they dragons too?”

“No, these kids are human. They’re just unlike any other human being.”

“What’s the difference?”

“I’ve told you before. I’m looking for irregulars, like them. They are rare Growth-type Awakeners.”

“Growth-type Awakeners?”

Although he was a hunter, he had never heard of the term before. The levels of awakeners were usually permanent unless judged again or in special cases like the Goblin Lord.

“So, they constantly grow stronger?”

“In theory.”

“I don’t think they’re that strong.”

The children’s expressions hardened when he provoked them. Seo Si-hee gently raised her hand and calmed them down.

“Because there’s a limiter. If even one limit had been lifted that day, you wouldn’t be alive.”

“…”

There was confidence in her voice.

“These are the secret ingredients I’ve created. Three daggers that will stab God in the heart.”

“Are you going to assassinate Go Geon-ryong and end this game?”

“Exactly.”

“Then, did you say you need me…?”

“That’s right. Because I want you to be the fourth dagger.”

***

It was around evening that Ko Byeong-gap left Seo Si-hee’s residence. The two exchanged quite a few stories. They took the same stance against the death of humanity, but at the end of the day, there was no consensus. As soon as he came over to Earth, he headed back to Ashvilam. He was heading to Valtadren.

“Ah, Lord! You’re here!”

“Here I am. Have you eaten?”

“Yes, I ate earlier.”

“Yeah, do your job.”

The Goblins’ facial expressions had noticeably brightened in the past few weeks.

He headed for the restaurant and saw that cleaning was in full swing inside. After receiving another greeting, he called Ea to bring some food. He was hungry since he hadn’t eaten anything all day.

“This is all I have left. If you had told me beforehand, I would’ve caught a chicken. Or should we catch one now?”

“Come on, it’s okay. This is enough.”

What she brought out were dishes of steamed corn and some sweet potatoes. Ko Byeong-gap was lost in thought as he wolfed them up.

‘I can’t believe it.’

The stories he heard from Seo Si-hee were surprising. However, he couldn’t comprehend the fact that there could be a huge battle soon.

‘I just want to live in peace.’

The life he wished to pursue was to earn money on Earth and live peacefully by farming after returning to Ashvilam. However, this tangent blew that little hope away. It wasn’t very exciting to know the truth.

‘I can’t just complain. We need to hurry up and prepare.’

Still, knowing that future disasters could come, it was easy to prepare for them. Moreover, he had a shelter that no one else had. A super-strong shelter that one couldn’t enter without the proper qualifications.

‘We’ll have to prepare for a full migration to Ashvilam. I’ll bring my mom first, and I’ll have to collect more Goblins before it’s too late.’

Ko Byeong-gap drew plans in his head while chewing sweet potatoes. It was now time for the second advance of Ashvilam.