The Main Characters That Only I Know

When Yu-hyun opened his eyes after being sealed in a lotus.

He realized that he had lost a considerable amount of things that he owned.

Items, excluding the power and points he had, were the typical examples.

He couldn’t feel the link to the library that he should have had, and the four demons didn’t answer his call.

Among them, Baekryeon was the most important one, without a doubt.

‘Where did he disappear to?’

He fell from the sky out of nowhere.

Yu-hyun looked up at the night sky. There was no way that the sky had dropped Baekryeon, so someone must have had him until now and sent him to Yu-hyun.

But he had no idea who it was.

Yu-hyun approached Baekryeon, who was stuck in the center of the crater, and pulled him out by the handle.

[Wowowowow!!]

At the same time, Baekryeon’s loud voice echoed in Yu-hyun’s mind.

[I’m finally freeeeeee!!!]

“Shut up.”

[You… Yu-hyun?! You…?!]

“My name is not JaYu-hyun, but Kang Yu-hyun. Did you forget me already after five years? That would be disappointing.”

[You, youyouyouyou!! You were alive! You were alive!]

Baekryeon screamed with joy at Yu-hyun’s survival. Yu-hyun felt nostalgic and chuckled at Baekryeon’s voice.

“It just happened. When I opened my eyes, five years had passed.”

[What happened?! What happened in the last five years?!]

“That’s what I want to ask you. Baekryeon. You were with me until the end of the last explosion, right?”

[Yeah. I was. But right before the explosion went off, a golden light came down from the sky and wrapped around you. When you disappeared in the light, I was flung far away to the outside.]

Baekryeon recalled what happened then and told Yu-hyun what he had gone through for five years.

[I flew out to the outside, you vanished from your spot, and there were flashes and explosions everywhere. It was crazy.]

“What happened after that?”

[Someone picked me up.]

“Who? Was it someone from White Flower Management?”

[Satan.]

“What?”

Did I hear something wrong?

Baekryeon’s answer was enough to surprise Yu-hyun.

“Wait a minute. Satan? No, that’s even weirder. Back then, the Earth wasn’t fully integrated into the mixed world yet. How did Satan get you…?”

[I don’t know either. He picked me up as if he had been waiting for me. Really.]

Yu-hyun suddenly remembered that before Buddha saved him, he had talked to someone beyond the universe.

Could it be that Satan was there then? If he talked to me directly like that, it meant that Satan was looking for a chance to intervene in the Earth somehow.

That meant that if Buddha hadn’t stepped in then, Satan might have suppressed the explosion by some means.

“…Nothing else happened?”

[Satan who took me kept me on his planet for a long time. He didn’t even understand me in the first place, so he didn’t listen to anything I said. Do you know? For five years, I had to stay still on that frozen planet with my eyes wide open!]

“…Uh, um. You must have suffered a lot. But how did you get here now?”

[He threw me away.]

“What?”

[He threw me away. He smiled as if he found something, and wrapped his huge tail around my handle, and threw me far away. I couldn’t resist and flew all the way here.]

Maybe Baekryeon came flying like this because Satan threw him with his own power.

And seeing how he aimed so accurately, Satan must have known about Yu-hyun’s return.

‘But why didn’t he come to see me or send a messenger? It wouldn’t be strange if he came right away considering his usual personality.’

As if it was inconvenient for him to meet now.

“How was Satan…?”

[What?]

“Just. His condition, or his actions. Things like that.”

[Now that I think about it, he was strange. I saw how amazing he was, but his whole body was full of wounds. His scales were torn off here and there.]

“Full of wounds, you say? Hmph.”

It was hard to believe that a Divine Spirit as powerful as Satan would get hurt by fighting with someone.

That meant that on the day of the great explosion, when Sakyamuni intervened in the lower world and perished, Satan also suffered injuries because of the Genesis system.

Unlike Sakyamuni, he did not directly interfere, but he had brought his massive body near the solar system.

Moreover, Satan had retrieved Baekryeon from the explosion. According to Baekryeon, it was not his main body that did it, but a separate entity that detached from his power. But that still meant that he had intervened in the lower world.

[You looked very exhausted. That’s why you stayed in your own area for five years and focused on recovering.]

“Did you do nothing else?”

[I just watched what happened in the mixed world. I was close enough to see it. The earth entered the mixed world, the world changed, and so did the people. I stayed in one place, but I saw a lot.]

Baekryeon spoke chattily, but then added in a suddenly gloomy voice.

[What happened to Kang Hye-rim.]

“…”

[Yu-hyun. Do you know too?]

“…I know. What happened to Hye-rim. How everyone calls her now.”

She became known as Sword Empress, after becoming Demon Sky Empress. She ascended to the throne of a lord and gained the name Black Thunder Lord.

And she killed many people on her way to that position.

[…Are you okay?]

Baekryeon asked about Yu-hyun’s condition.

Yu-hyun looked like he had been sealed for five years, so he didn’t know what had happened during that time.

Baekryeon didn’t know everything either, but he had a rough idea of what had happened thanks to watching what Satan was watching.

Baekryeon thought that Yu-hyun would have a hard time accepting reality. After all, Kang Hye-rim was his first contractor, the one he made a contract with before anyone else.

“It would be a lie if I said I was okay.”

He had been troubled by many things until Baekryeon fell.

He felt responsible for her becoming like this, and he felt so pathetic that he couldn’t bear it.

“But…I have to see her.”

[What are you going to do?]

“I’m going to talk to her. I won’t ask why she became like this. I’m going to reach out and ask her to go back to how we were before. To move together again, and find the rest of our scattered comrades. And…I’ll think about what to do next when I get there.”

[…What if Kang Hye-rim doesn’t listen to you, then what will you do?]

“Then…”

Yu-hyun couldn’t continue his words.

It wasn’t because he couldn’t decide what to do.

Rather, it was because what he had to do was so clear and obvious that he felt like saying it would make it really happen in the future.

So he closed his mouth.

“…Let’s change the topic. How are the others?”

[I don’t know much. I just know that they fought each other and parted ways.]

“What about after that? Do you know anything specific?”

[Kwon Jia…she wanders around somewhere in the mixed world. Maybe she was looking for you.]

“What about Sumin, Youngmin, Seoryeon, and Yuchan?”

[I don’t know about Seo Sumin. I only heard that she was the first one to move towards the inner part of the mixed world. Yoo Young-min…he hid his identity right away, but I heard that he leads a mercenary group.]

“A mercenary group?”

[The lords and great lords need someone who can do things for them that they can’t do themselves. Mercenaries are like agents of stars who do those things for them. And the rest of them are probably staying in a village of survivors. I heard that there are cities or villages where such people gather.]

“I see.”

[So…are you really going?]

He didn’t ask where he was going clearly, but Yu-hyun nodded as if he knew.

“I can’t back down now that I’ve come this far. If I ignore it…then it will be really irreversible.”

[Sigh. You’re really the same as five years ago or now. No difference at all.]

“I’ve been sleeping for five years, so there was no chance for me to change. The others…they seem to have changed a lot.”

[Yeah. They all changed. The world changed too. It couldn’t be helped. So I’m glad in a way. At least you’re still the Kang Yu-hyun I knew.]

“Yeah. But why did Satan take you back? Even going against the system’s command.”

[I don’t know. I was so shocked too. It seemed like he knew you were coming, but it was also weird.]

“He wouldn’t answer even if I asked.”

Satan was surely watching Yu-hyun from somewhere. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent Baekryeon at such a perfect timing.

He had descended to the lower world with Sakyamuni to save Yu-hyun. He did that knowing that he would surely die.

Why? What did he know?

‘I have to meet Satan later.’

He couldn’t request a duel, but he didn’t need to anymore. He belonged to the mixed world now, so he could step on the land where Satan lived as long as he could get there. He couldn’t do anything if Satan didn’t welcome him, but Yu-hyun was certain that he would meet Satan again in the near future.

“By the way, I didn’t greet you properly. I’m really glad to see you again. Baekryeon.”

[I’m really glad too. Yu-hyun.]

Yu-hyun looked up at the night sky, thinking that tonight wouldn’t be lonely.

“Wait! Moving right now is crazy!”

In front of the wide-open Naseng Gate, Kate shouted at the Liberation Army.

But the Liberation Army comrades didn’t listen to her. They wanted to gather their power and head inside the Naseng Gate as soon as possible.

“Kate. No matter how much you try to stop us, we can’t change what’s already decided.”

“Decided? Do you know what will happen if you go right now?”

“The Naseng Gate is open. The gate that we’ve been longing for, the one that leads to Black Thunder Palace. You know it too. This is the best chance to strike her down.”

“Don’t say such nonsense. You’re just trying to take advantage of the savior.”

The field commander and the leader of the Liberation Army smirked and didn’t deny Kate’s accusation.

“Yeah. Since such a strong person went ahead, we have to follow him quickly.”

“He doesn’t need your help.”

“That’s debatable.”

“He’s a transcendent-level being. Even if he fights with a lord, do you think we can interfere with him? That’s ridiculous. You just want to have a share of his glory.”

The leader frowned at Kate’s blunt words.

“Watch your mouth. Don’t belittle the fight of our comrades for liberation.”

“I’m just stating the facts. Taking people who might not even be helpful is nothing but s*****e. But you still want to go, because you want to claim that we also did something when the savior defeats Black Thunder Lord.”

“Kate…”

“Don’t make excuses. You want to liberate other cities near the Naseng Gate and rule them under the name of freedom, don’t you think I know that?”

“…Look, Kate. Look at the situation. The Naseng Gate is open. And the Heukgeomdan who guarded it are dead. The rumor has spread to other cities. A formidable person is going for Black Thunder Lord’s neck.”

“You spread that rumor.”

Kate knew it. That Yu-hyun had a past relationship with Black Thunder Lord.

But the Liberation Army twisted his actions and propagated that Yu-hyun was fighting as if he was leading them.

“Do you know what he was thinking when he went there?”

“Do I need to know? Look at them. The people are looking at us with hopeful faces. They’ve been suffering from all kinds of plunder and oppression, and now they’re starting to hope.”

“What if that hope is based on a lie?”

“It’s our job to make it true.”

Kate didn’t hide her hatred for the leader.

“How disgusting. You’re trying to interpret and use someone else’s kindness as you please.”

“Is that what you say, who helped open the Naseng Gate as a guide?”

“At least I…!”

Kate stopped and bit her lip.

She couldn’t be sure that she didn’t drag Yu-hyun in for her own selfish reasons, and even if she said so, this man wouldn’t believe her.

The leader sighed at Kate’s stubbornness.

“Kate. Face reality. The rumor has spread all over the city and the liberation movement is happening. From many villages, Liberation Army members are gathering and heading to this city. An unprecedented army is gathering. And you want us to wait here sucking our fingers? We don’t know when the Legion will show up again.”

“So you’re going to lead people right now and head for Black Thunder Palace? Fine. Go ahead. I won’t stop you.”

“You’re agreeing so easily after opposing just before.”

“I know you won’t listen to me anyway. But remember this one thing. You who are trying to use someone else’s kindness as you please, you won’t end up well.”

“Keep that in mind.”

He said that, but he didn’t really care.

Kate stormed out of the door. Jimmy, who was waiting outside, saw his sister and tried to approach her, but stopped when he saw her expression. He asked cautiously.

“Sis, are you angry?”

“…Yeah.”

“What did those people say to you?”

“It’s not that. It’s just that… I can’t do anything… That’s why I’m angry.”

Before he left, Yu-hyun told her to do her best in whatever she could, even if it was a small act of kindness.

But Kate wondered if that was really an easy thing to do.

The radicals in the liberation army were using Yu-hyun as their savior and propaganda tool. Kate couldn’t stop them.

“I don’t have the face to see Yu-hyun now.”

“Did you just say Yu-hyun?”

At that moment, someone in a hooded robe approached Kate.

Kate hid Jimmy behind her and guarded against the man.

“Oh, sorry. I just heard a familiar name.”

“…Who are you?”

“Before that, I have a question… The Yu-hyun you mentioned. Is his name Kang Yu-hyun?”

“How did you…”

Kate stopped herself and realized she had made a mistake. But the man in the hooded robe smiled happily at her words.

“As expected! I knew it!”

“…Do you know him?”

“Of course I do. We were old comrades.”

The man said that and pulled back his hood. He also took off his eagle-shaped mask on his mouth.

Kate recognized his face as someone she had seen a few times while working as an intelligence agent for the liberation army.

“Are you… The Mercenary King, Reinhard Adler?”

Yes. He was the man who went by that name. He was a human with transcendent-level strength, and the leader of a special unit composed of various stories. He never failed a mission, and he had connections with many kingdoms. Most people called him ‘The Mercenary King’.

“That’s a code name.”

The man, who now had a mature masculine charm, smiled with his bearded face.

“Call me Yoo Youngmin.”