Chapter 78 – Previous Life (2)

“So she won’t fall for it easily after all.”

Coming out of the building, Jin-su clicked his tongue looking back.

He thought heaven had given him a chance becoming a psychic and returning to this sanctuary, but unfortunately Seo Eun’s resistance was strong.

“She’s smart, but more than that, she seems to instinctively sense my true nature.”

Seeing how she felt uncomfortable around Jin-su even when Seonwoo was alive, she seemed to have known from the start.

Because of that, none of Jin-su’s techniques worked on her.

Pretending to be nice didn’t work, and kindness and thoughtfulness didn’t affect her either.

As a result, Jin-su didn’t hide his true nature when alone with her.

There was no point in hiding it anyway.

The problem was that showing his true nature made Jin-su comfortable around her too.

Getting comfortable like that made him want to be with her, and eventually Jin-su fell in love with Seo Eun.

Was he unable to approach the woman he loved because of his nature? Or did he fall in love because his nature was exposed?

Though unsure which came first, Jin-su didn’t care either way.

In the end, everything would go according to his will.

When the person he loved was someone else’s lover,

When the world ended and he became separated from her,

He always found a way in the end.

Just like making Seo Eun alone 2 years ago, even after the world ended Jin-su could become a psychic and attach himself to the land’s new master again.

Compared to seducing Seo Eun, getting close to the Apostle was really easy.

The former theology professor who wanted to be called Apostle was like a child craving recognition.

That’s why he kept clinging to the school that expelled him, and even after becoming a psychic he kept emphasizing being chosen by God.

He wanted recognition from God, and even more than that, recognition from others.

The recognition from God was resolved by becoming a psychic, but recognition from people remained lacking.

No, it got worse after being terrorized. So the Apostle became angry at people, and Jin-su could easily exploit that gap.

“He’s just an old child. Everyone just needed to humor him a bit, why did they keep provoking him. Though thanks to that I could secure my position.”

The Apostle easily relied on him just by satisfying his need for recognition.

Since he wasn’t actually receiving divine revelations despite calling himself God’s servant, it was easy to manipulate the Apostle using “God’s will.”

“Though she has a husband, that’s nothing I can’t easily erase so it won’t be a problem.”

After all, the husband was just a psychic she temporarily chose to survive the chaos.

Such a relationship would be quickly forgotten once out of sight.

“The real problem is that armor-wearing b*st*rd…”

Jin-su clicked his tongue thinking of someone else.

Though he was the one who brought all the people Jin-su had nurtured to this sanctuary, from their first meeting until now he had been a very uncomfortable person.

“Is he really from another world?”

While the people traveling with him seemed genuinely from another world, that knight somehow seemed familiar with this place.

With this world, with Korea, with this city.

“No, he seemed to know something about me too. Did Seo Eun tell him something?”

Though Seo Eun wasn’t the type to say such things, there was no other reason for that knight to give Jin-su such looks.

“Plus, octopus monster and Demon King’s army? Looking at his behavior it doesn’t seem like lies. Will this sanctuary really hold as the Apostle says.”

Though he thought it would hold since it had held until now, it didn’t matter if it didn’t.

Jin-su was confident he could survive with his own abilities.

Plus, he felt he could take Seo Eun away too.

Though losing the sanctuary and subordinates would be regrettable, such things could be built up again.

“Well, even the connections I built using Seonwoo crumbled in an instant.”

He had managed to crawl into Daejeon’s center, but the country collapsed before it could fully bloom.

Because of that, he had to crawl into the abandoned government complex and search through all sorts of documents.

“Well, thanks to that I found a place to hide, so if things get really bad, I can take Seo Eun and escape there.”

That’s when it happened.

Though it was clearly a quiet self-mutter, someone questioned Jin-su’s words.

“What do you mean? Taking Ms. Seo Eun and escaping?”

Jin-su stopped walking.

He had deliberately chosen a secluded path to organize his thoughts.

Since talking to himself while organizing thoughts was a habit, he had kept checking if anyone was around.

After gaining his power, no one could hide from him.

Yet someone was questioning words that shouldn’t be audible even from right in front.

Moreover, the questioning voice was one he knew.

Jin-su turned his head to look at a street tree.

He saw a man leaning against the tree.

The man was a blonde foreigner.

A handsome face with a model-like tall build. But solid muscles could be felt under his clothes.

Not wearing armor like before, Jin-su didn’t recognize him right away.

“Mr. Yeager. What brings you here?”

Jin-su looked with a puzzled face at the knight in casual clothes.

The knight smiled looking at Jin-su.

“Originally I followed secretly because I had something to ask? But seems that’s not all I need to ask about.”

Hearing the knight’s words, Jin-su’s expression hardened.

The knight hadn’t just heard the last words.

Whatever changes came over Jin-su’s expression, the knight seemed unconcerned.

Instead he looked around.

“I wondered since you came to a secluded path, but seems your habit of talking to yourself hasn’t gone away.”

Jin-su’s expression distorted.

It wasn’t from Seo Eun. The knight definitely knew him.

Seo Eun didn’t know he organized thoughts by talking to himself.

Moreover, the knight was different from before.

Just as he had hidden his true nature, the knight had been hiding his true nature too.

An alarm bell started ringing in Jin-su’s head.

This was a crisis.

Jin-su quickly rolled his eyes and started gathering his newly felt power.

Whether Jin-su prepared to flee or not, the knight continued speaking leisurely.

“Though this is secluded too, it seems a bit lacking for a deep conversation?”

The knight smiled looking at Jin-su.

“You’ll have to come with me. We have a lot to talk about.”

At that moment, Jin-su shouted and launched his body.

“!!!”

But no shout was heard anywhere.

Jin-su’s body couldn’t leave that spot either.

Instead Jin-su hung in the air with his mouth wide open.

Because the knight had grabbed his neck and lifted him.

Jin-su couldn’t understand.

Missing the knight’s movement, his shout not being heard before being grabbed – none of it made sense to his common sense.

“Having only seen natural awakened ones like yourself, you wouldn’t know what movements are possible for a properly trained knight.

You wouldn’t know that if you can move external mana, you can create sound-blocking walls either.”

The knight kindly solved his questions while holding Jin-su’s neck.

“Now that I’ve solved my friend’s questions, it’s time to solve mine?

There’s a lot I want to know.

What connections you approached using Seonwoo, what documents you found at the government complex, where you plan to take Seo Eun…”

The knight who had been continuing questions while holding his neck snickered.

“No, there’s something more urgent and important than that. Let me hear this first. Jin-su, how did you get rid of me?”

Jin-su’s eyes widened at the knight’s words.

The clever Jin-su immediately understood what the knight meant.

That’s why it was even more incomprehensible.

Though it was a world where the dead moved, for someone who died years ago to return as a different person.

This was nonsense!

“That’s an expression you’ve never shown me before. Now I’ll get to see other expressions too. Finally able to see my friend’s true expressions. Come to think of it, I must have been quite a terrible friend too.”

At the knight’s words, Jin-su rolled his eyes frantically.

Unbelievable as it was, the way the knight spoke now was definitely the way Seonwoo who died years ago used to speak.

Looking at everything said until now and the recent tone, the knight was the same person as the dead Seonwoo.

No, even if not the same person, nothing would change.

The knight knew his secrets, and knew well about the dead Seonwoo too.

Moreover, he now intended to find out the remaining secrets.

And in a completely different way from the dead Seonwoo!

If the knight were at least Seonwoo, Jin-su felt he might be able to persuade him somehow, but strangely he couldn’t move at all.

Since having his neck grabbed, he couldn’t move even a finger, let alone speak.

Even the power that made him superhuman wouldn’t move, as if turned to stone.

“Well then, let’s catch up as friends meeting after a long time. Though there’s no alcohol, let’s share memories until one of us dies.”

With those final words, the knight launched himself while holding Jin-su’s neck.

Though holding another person’s neck, the knight silently crossed the road and jumped over street trees.

Being dragged by the knight, Jin-su screamed silently.

This knight wasn’t Seonwoo.

Seonwoo would never act like this.

The knight was now planning to torture and kill him. It didn’t matter whether he told the truth or not.

Unlike Seonwoo, it seemed no excuse or persuasion would work on the knight.

Looking at the knight’s eyes, he wasn’t a modern person who could be reasoned with.

He was someone who understood the world through force from a world ruled by violence.

‘Who are you! You’re not Seonwoo!’

Jin-su left the safe zone while screaming silently.

The zombies surrounding the safe zone couldn’t even touch the running knight.

That’s how the two left the safe zone that day, and in the evening, only one person returned.

When I returned, Hoffman was in my room.

“Did things go well where you went?”

“Yes. I came back after watching the two part. Where are the others?”

“Yerim took Zahina saying she’d teach her about makeup.”

Though leaving that face as is would be a sin, becoming even prettier could be problematic too…

While thinking that, Hoffman said to me.

“You look refreshed somehow.”

Did it show on my face?

Since it wasn’t wrong, I nodded.

“Ah, because some things got sorted out.”

Before I finished speaking, there was a knock at the door.

When Hoffman opened the door, Seo Eun was visible.

Seo Eun asked us with a breathless face.

“Has anyone seen Mr. Jin-su this evening?”

Hoffman asked Seo Eun with a puzzled face.

“No. Why are you looking for him?”

Seo Eun’s face contorted.

“Seems he disappeared after meeting me. Everyone’s looking for him. Since I was the last to see him, I’m looking too worried about misunderstandings. Why does this person keep making things difficult…”

Seo Eun sighed then apologized to us.

“Sorry for taking your time. The other two are in the next room, right?”

When Hoffman nodded, she headed to the next room where Zahina and Yerim were.

Hoffman closed the door and turned to me. He said.

“You certainly sorted things out.”

Though without subject or object, both Hoffman and I knew what he meant.

I nodded.

“Completely.”

“Well done.”

At my words, Hoffman nodded with a satisfied expression.