CH 199

The Spider Duke hadn’t recognized Kim Jin-Woo. But he wasn’t so dull as to not feel the sense of hatred in Kim Jin-Woo’s gaze.

But that was the extent of it. All that had been in the eyes of the Spider Duke was curiosity about the recently famous Conqueror and Undefeated Commander. But that curiosity had soon disappeared when the Wailing Lord caused a scene once more.

Kim Jin-Woo realized he still wasn’t strong enough. He has ascended to become a Highlord and had gained so much power that he could even look down on the Counts, and yet, in the presence of an Underworld Duke, he was nothing.

At that realization, his heart turned cold. And at that moment, not a fragment of his emotions could be seen.

“Then, I hope you’ll have a pleasant time.” After finishing her explanation, the imp girl quickly ran out of the room on her short legs and disappeared from sight.

As Kim Jin-Woo looked in the direction where the imp girl had disappeared, he said without even turning his head, “Show yourself.” His cold voice shook the air in the room, and a black shadow emerged.

“Forgive me for my rudeness,” the shadow said.

“If you know that it’s rude, shouldn’t you introduce yourself first?” Kim Jin-Woo replied.

In response to that single sentence, the shadowy figure removed her deep hood. She had pointed ears, pale skin, and a similar appearance to the Under-Elves that Kim Jin-Woo had seen across the Underworld, but the red jewel embedded between her forehead was something different.

Identifying the monster at once, Kim Jin-Woo asked, “Did the Wailing Lord send you?”

“I heard that it might be rude to request a sudden meeting, so I’m here to ask for your permission first,” the figure said. It wasn’t something that a person who had ruined the auction house just because she didn’t like others looking down on her should have had the right to say,

Regardless, Kim Jin-Woo didn’t care. He remarked, “Despite your appearance, at least you know your manners.” He then added, “Today’s schedule has been canceled anyway, so I guess there’s no reason not to meet.”

Unlike Kim Jin-Woo, who had only unified the 9th Floor and was trying to take over the 11th Floor Counts, the Wailing Lord had even the Dukes under her feet.

The shadowy figure bowed her head in recognition of Kim Jin-Woo’s permission before fading into thin air. Not long after, the Wailing Lord herself appeared.

Seeing the Wailing Lord again up close, she was even more delicate and slender than Kim Jin-Woo had seen from afar, to the point that she looked like a little girl.

But he wasn’t going to be deceived by her appearance. After all, she was a true Highlord who had destroyed the auction house with one simple gesture, and she was a tough opponent in her own right, who had yet to reveal her full powers.

“Nice to…” Kim Jin-Woo began cautiously in greeting.

Swish.

Suddenly, the Wailing Lord hugged Kim Jin-Woo out of the blue, startling him with her sudden action. “I’ve been waiting for today.”

Her words and actions were completely incomprehensible to Kim Jin-Woo, who hurriedly pushed her away.

“I’ve missed you.” She backed away as Kim Jin-Woo pushed her, while still uttering nonsensical statements.

“What is the meaning of this!?” The Lord of Greed’s presence soared at once, and his characteristic ferocious presence pressured the Wailing Lord completely.

However, she seemed unaffected as she repeated, “You don’t know how much I’ve missed you.”

“Say something that I can understa—”

“It’s nice to see you again, Jin-Woo.”

When the Wailing Lord mentioned Kim Jin-Woo’s name—a name that he had told no one in the Underworld—his killing intent rose before he knew it. He asked, poised to draw his sword at any moment, “Who are you?”

But the Wailing Lord continued to smile brightly. Heavy silence fell between the two Highlords. Kim Jin-Woo’s expression was a mix of caution and confusion, due to the Wailing Lord’s incomprehensible friendliess. He had already drawn his sword, but the Wailing Lord was still smiling.

“Tell me, how did you know my name?” Kim Jin-Woo asked the Wailing Lord. Her friendliness was too natural to have been forced, and in response to the unknown danger, Kim Jin-Woo found himself raising his sword higher and higher. “Tell me everything about who you really are.”

Possibly belatedly realizing the hostility emanating from Kim Jin-Woo as well as the look of caution on his face, the Wailing Lord let out a soft gasp. “I’m sorry, I’m being too hasty, am I not? You don’t know who I am yet.” But there was no sign of remorse in her voice.

“I’ll introduce myself again, officially.” Still bearing a friendly smile, the Wailing Lord introduced herself. “I am the Highlord who inherited the name ‘Wailing’. Ruler of the 14th Floor in the Underworld…”

For some reason, a playful smirk hung from her lips. Finally, she concluded, “...and the protector of your friend, So-Hee.”

When he heard the name ‘So-Hee’, Kim Jin-Woo’s entire body trembled as if he had been struck by lightning. Upon hearing a name that he’d never expected to hear in his Underworld, his face turned ghostly pale.

“S-So-Hee is alive?” Kim Jin-Woo exclaimed.

“So, she was right. She said you’d definitely be surprised,” the Wailing Lord remarked.

“Is So-Hee alive!?” Kim Jin-Woo screamed, losing his composure.

The Wailing Lord nodded, a compassionate look written all over her face. “Although she couldn’t come with me due to the circumstances, she’s in good health. And she misses you very much. Ah, and she had a message that she wanted me to pass on to you.”

After holding her breath for a moment, she whispered softly, “I don’t resent you. So, don’t be sorry. My little Jin-Woo.”

***

“You’re all free now.”

The dark and narrow tunnel had been Kim Jin-Woo’s entire world, and yet, with those few words, he ran out of the world he once knew.

But for someone who couldn’t even eat on his own without someone telling him how to, it was too difficult a task, and he quickly lost his way soon after. If not for the warmth that had wrapped around his hand by his side, he would have been left as fodder for a creature somewhere in the Underworld without ever knowing of the outside world.

“Jin-Woo, let’s go.” With a pure white smile that felt out of place in the Underworld, a soft, gentle hand grasped his own rough hand that was full of calluses. “Never let go of this hand.”

The frustration he felt from being lost dissipated in an instant thanks to her angelic smile.

“Let’s go.” The girl bravely strode forward.

Where does such courage come from in such a small body? Kim Jin-Woo wondered. Seeing her walking ahead with no fear or hesitation, he mustered all his strength and followed her behind. He followed her closely, as if the only objective in his life were to never let go of her hand.

But the world outside the labyrinth was indeed too rough for both him and the girl. Nowhere was safe, and no one could be trusted.

“From now on, don’t trust anyone. Don’t trust anyone but me. No, don’t even believe me. You must only believe in yourself, understand?” Her sense of commitment to her mission couldn’t be seen from the look in her eyes alone, but the brightly shining girl now looked bare and tired compared to the day she had first stepped out of her labyrinth.

Kim Jin-Woo desperately wanted to be of help to her. Thus, he stole the eggs of a cassowary, famous for being ferocious even in the Underworld. But that was a mistake.

“Sis. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry.” Seeing the giant birds flapping their wings and howling threateningly as they surrounded the two of them, Kim Jin-Woo realized his mistake.

But she showed no signs of resentment. Rather, she embraced him tightly. “It’s okay. We can still escape.”

It was his own mistake, and yet, he continued to believe her. Only after he was driven into a steep pit did he realize that it was her first and last mistake.

“Sis! Sis!”

“Jin-Woo! You must live!”

From the narrow pit in the darkness, Kim Jin-Woo could see the cassowaries rushing toward her. And that was the last memory he had of the girl, So-Hee.

***

“H-How!?”

The coldness of the relentless Conqueror as well as the majesty of the great Lord disappeared without a trace. Kim Jin-Woo trembled, as if he had returned to the days when he was nothing but a small and insignificant tunnel digger.

The Wailing Lord looked at him with a hint of compassion and said, “Let her fill you in on the details. She’ll be coming to see you soon.”

“Ah…” He let out a sound that was neither an exclamation nor a moan.

He was delighted to know that the girl who was once everything to him was still alive, but he was also filled with despair by the knowledge that it was none other than he who had put her in such a situation in the first place. Nevertheless, he was beyond relieved that she was alive.

“Do you want to hear more?” The Wailing Lord whispered in a sweet voice, and Kim Jin-Woo nodded without thinking deeply. The Wailing Lord continued, “Then this isn’t the best place to do so, isn’t it? Let’s go inside and talk. It seems you’re as hated by the Nobles here as I am.”

***

Only after a long time had passed since entering the room was Kim Jin-Woo able to regain his composure. Belatedly, he shuddered at his ugliness, but the milk had already been spilled. Thinking that he could still regain his dignity, he put on a stern look.

But when the Wailing Lord smiled at him with a look that seemed as though she had already seen through him, Kim Jin-Woo knew that the Lord’s image that he had worked so hard to create had been shattered.

“Why didn’t So-Hee come together with you?” he asked.

“I would like to tell you, but she doesn’t wish to tell you the reason yet,” the Wailing Lord replied.

“Why?”

“When the time comes, she’ll come for you personally. Then, she’ll explain everything to you. Until then, all you can do is wait patiently, even if you’re anxious about it. As you know, So-Hee doesn’t like to repeat herself.”

And with that, the Wailing Lord started to divulge all sorts of details that Kim Jin-Woo hadn’t even asked about: From whom she had learned Korean, how hard she had struggled while learning, and how lonely she had felt standing among the rigid and inflexible Underworld Nobles.

When Kim Jin-Woo had first exchanged his thoughts with the Wailing Lord, she had felt like a high and mighty existence. But seeing her babbling in front of him, she seemed like an innocent and chatty little girl.

“Actually, So-Hee tried to stop me from meeting you, but in the end, she couldn’t break my stubbornness.” She proudly celebrated her own little victory with her chin raised.

“Why did So-Hee dissuade you from seeing me?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

The Wailing Lord smiled again, raising her nose proudly. “Because if I met you, I would attract the attention of the other Highlords.” But this time, her smile wasn’t the innocent girlish look she had shown just before; it was the smile she’d had when Kim Jin-Woo had met her the first time.

“Other Highlords?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

“You really don’t know anything, huh?” The Wailing Lord’s smile was no longer friendly nor innocent, and there was something about it that could make one anxious just by looking at her.

“You are the Fourth, and I am the Third.” She pulled out four fingers, then three, and then two. “And the Second and First were around long before I did.”

“What do you…” Kim Jin-Woo inadvertently blurted out, trying to figure out what kind of number game she was playing, before falling silent again. After all, the biggest common factor between them was the fact that they were both Highlords.

“Yes, I awakened before you, and there are those who awakened before me. And they’ll constantly try to test you, as you’ve now met me,” the Wailing Lord said, Behind her brightly shining eyes, there was a hint of terrifying madness. “Their tests are going to be tough. But you have to get through it.”

The Wailing Lord spoke to Kim Jin-Woo as if she were taking care of her own little brother, but her demeanor said otherwise. Rather, she looked at him as if she were going to die from the anticipation of what’s to come next. As if this were all… fun.

“The moment you give them even the slightest opening…” She licked her red lips and smiled. “They’ll tear you to shreds and swallow you whole.”