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‘The Creator’
Han Dokyeom quietly closed his eyes, scraping together the last vestiges of his depleted magic. A faint, searing pain climbed his skin. His heart pounded uncontrollably, every cell in his body screaming in protest. These were the symptoms of severe mana exhaustion.
After the world had been turned upside down countless times, after dying and being reborn into darkness over and over, Han Dokyeom finally found a small, white hand nestled in his. The colossal monster was nowhere to be seen.
Only a child with hair as white as a silver fox remained in its place.
The child looked no older than eight. Pulling them into his embrace, Han Dokyeom’s lips parted as he gazed at the spinning void before him.
“Agon, I… I’m sorry… Could you… handle the rear… please…?”
He had truly reached his limit. All he could manage was a strained whisper. His vision blurred, his mind fading into a dark abyss, like walking down a lightless corridor.
‘Now I can finally rest,’ he thought, as his consciousness slipped away and his eyes drifted shut.
“Ugh…!”
The pain erupted without warning. It was a vivid, visceral agony, as if his cells were forcibly splitting and tearing apart. Something tightly coiled within him ripped away, and as it struggled to find its original place, Han Dokyeom writhed, clutching at his chest.
His breath instantly caught, his lungs felt crushed. A piercing, needle-like pain surged through his entire body. It was only when Agon’s face appeared, distorted by the flickering light before his eyes, that Han Dokyeom realized his
Yet, the overwhelming agony left him utterly helpless.
When he finally crawled ashore with Agon’s assistance, the onslaught of pain pushed him to the brink of unconsciousness. There was nothing he could do. Each cough brought up blood, and with every blink, the world spun.
“Cough, cough…! Ugh, ah… ugh…!”
*Whoosh—* *Swish—*
Agon, who had been reaching out to the tormented Han Dokyeom, collapsed weakly beside him. His face, barely able to gasp for air, was ashen white. His trembling hand crawled across the ground, struggling to grasp Han Dokyeom’s raw, scraped fist.
“Hmph…!”
The sensation of his skin being flayed alive washed over him in waves, second after agonizing second. Han Dokyeom squeezed his eyes shut and bit down on his own wrist, his shoulders heaving as he endured the torment.
*Rustle—*
A presence emerged from beyond the gravel-strewn bushes. Even as the world spun around him, Han Dokyeom stubbornly shifted his gaze, searching for the source of the footsteps.
It was someone impeccably dressed, wearing white shoes unsullied by dirt. This person, with sharp, gleaming eyes, stood a few paces away, looking down at Han Dokyeom.
It was Ju Uiryeong, the only one who hadn’t fallen into the water.
Ju Uiryeong strode closer, his vacant gaze fixing on the child cradled in Han Dokyeom’s arms. Seeing the unconscious child, Ju Uiryeong’s eyes sharpened with clarity. After a moment of assessment, he swallowed hard, moistening his dry lips.
“…That child, right?”
“Ugh…! Ah…”
“It’s true, isn’t it? That child… that’s the chimera from before, isn’t it? The child with the Authority!”
Unconcerned by Han Dokyeom’s pained gasps, Ju Uiryeong’s eyes gleamed as he relentlessly questioned him about the child, his demeanor almost frighteningly certain.
“Then…”
Ju Uiryeong’s gaze then swept over to Agon, who was still gasping for breath. Again, Ju Uiryeong’s voice trembled subtly, brimming with conviction, as he asked,
“The person beside them… they must be an Authority too, right?”
“Hnn… haa, ha…”
Han Dokyeom’s breathing was gradually easing. He forced his flickering gaze upwards, meeting Ju Uiryeong’s eyes.
“Ah… now I understand. I’d been wondering how Mr. Han Dokyeom survived the Eulwangli Red Gate… but now I get it. You knew all along, didn’t you?”
“What… huff, what…?”
“You came to Eulwangli because you knew about the Authorities. Mr. Han Dokyeom… you were the one who came to take everything from me. Surely, Mr. Han Dokyeom… you’re Um…?”
Um.
That was Han Dokyeom’s pen name. Ju Uiryeong’s anxious eyes persistently awaited an answer.
‘Yes, at this point, not being suspicious would make him a fool,’ Han Dokyeom thought. ‘He’s probably trembling, wondering if this guy in front of him truly knows something. It must feel like some unheard-of side character suddenly appeared and surpassed him.’
Even if that were true, Han Dokyeom had no need to confirm it.
“Nonsense… ha, stop… it…”
“Why is this nonsense?! It might be to you, Mr. Han Dokyeom, but it’s a crucial matter to me! You are Um, aren’t you? That’s why you knew about the Authorities, right? How else could someone…!”
Ju Uiryeong stomped closer across the gravel, shouting loud enough to make the forest echo. His expression was solemn, like someone on the verge of a great undertaking, and his breathing was slightly ragged.
“But… no matter what, I can’t give up an Authority. So, I’ll take it. Mr. Han Dokyeom, you’re low-ranked and have no way to use it anyway. It might even be better if I have it. I’ll put it to good use.”
Ju Uiryeong’s eyes darted frantically. His gaze wandered for a long moment before settling on Agon’s hand, which was tightly gripping Han Dokyeom’s fist. Then, as if possessed, he reached out to pry Agon’s hand away.
That was precisely what he intended, until a menacing sound erupted.
*Growl!*
Ju Uiryeong’s startled gaze shot directly to Agon’s face. That once beautiful face was now contorted like a monstrous yaksha, hideous to behold. Ju Uiryeong recoiled in shock, stumbling back as if to sit down.
“Why, why is he so fierce…?”
With a face full of confusion and fear, Ju Uiryeong mumbled, unsure of what to do. However, he soon swallowed a few times and shifted his target: the child curled up in Han Dokyeom’s arms with eyes closed.
“I’ll take this child, at least. I helped lure them here, so I deserve some compensation, don’t I? You know, Mr. Han Dokyeom, that you wouldn’t have been able to come here without me, right?”
Ju Uiryeong crawled across the ground toward the child nestled in Han Dokyeom’s embrace. He poked them a few times, and as soon as he confirmed they were unconscious, he grabbed the child’s wrist and dragged them upwards.
“I don’t know how they changed their appearance, but Mr. Geon Ita will know how to fix it. I-it’s fine. I still have Mr. Geon Ita on my side, after all.”
Ju Uiryeong blinked rapidly, as if trying to hide his confusion. He was so weak that he repeatedly flopped backward while trying to drag just one child.
“So I’ll take them. I… I’ll take them with me.”
Han Dokyeom watched this spectacle, breathing heavily, but simply let it unfold. Ju Uiryeong wouldn’t be able to take the child anyway.
Such was the ‘logic’ of Myth Reawakening. Authorities possessed ‘Influence’, and ownership of an Authority was attributed to the individual who exerted the greatest influence, based on the effort hunters dedicated to it.
The answer was already predetermined.
Even if he was desperate for the Authority right before his eyes, Ju Uiryeong would soon realize it. He would face the forgotten sanctions of this world.
Just like now.
[The exalted ‘Overseers’ of ‘Myth Reawakening’ raise an objection regarding this matter.]
Ju Uiryeong’s face snapped up, startled. His eyelashes, raised towards the empty air, quivered. He looked as if he had just realized, or been enlightened.
“Overseers, then… Wait a minute. Just a moment…!”
[The exalted ‘Overseers’ of ‘Myth Reawakening’ declare an issue with the ownership of the Authority, asserting an injustice concerning the Authority’s proprietor.]
Han Dokyeom gasped, a laugh escaping him. This was why Ju Uiryeong could never obtain the Authority.
‘The Overseers.’
Authorities were assets whose shares were recognized as property, so the concept of plunder did not apply.
Ownership wasn’t something one could simply claim or apply for. It was determined by the ‘Overseers’ who constantly monitored the regulations of Myth Reawakening, ensuring objectivity, fairness, and impartiality.
This ‘Influence’ was decided by the manpower, time, and effort a hunter invested to claim an Authority. Even if Ju Uiryeong had contributed to bringing the chimera here, it clearly wouldn’t surpass Han Dokyeom’s achievement in subduing the beast itself.
Even if many hunters were involved with an Authority, the ‘Overseers’ would only acknowledge ownership by the one who exerted the greatest influence.
In short, the ‘Overseers’ raising an objection here was tantamount to restricting the ownership of the chimera to Han Dokyeom.
[The exalted ‘Overseers’ of ‘Myth Reawakening’ reveal the fair and just shares for the ‘Authority of Gluttony’.]
[‘Gapp’s’ Contractor – 35.5%, ‘Orias’s’ Contractor – 64.5%]
[Therefore, the exalted ‘Overseers’ of ‘Myth Reawakening’ assert the unreasonableness of ‘Gapp’s’ Contractor’s ownership claim over the ‘Authority of Gluttony’.]
“This is ridiculous…! What, what kind of talk is this…!”
Ju Uiryeong spat out his indignation. Yet, the ‘Overseers’ responded only with silence.
“I… I brought them here, and that made all of this possible! So, shouldn’t I naturally have the largest share?! But why…!”
[The exalted ‘Overseers’ of ‘Myth Reawakening’ assert the unreasonableness of ‘Gapp’s’ Contractor’s ownership claim over the ‘Authority of Gluttony’.]
The sky rumbled as if roaring. A foreboding gloom, like moments before a lightning strike, enveloped the heavens. Ju Uiryeong’s face crumpled, distorted. Even so, he could not release the child from his grasp.
He stubbornly clung to the child’s hand, pulling them, as if refusing to accept the outcome.
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