CH 283

Kim Jin-Woo lowered his half-raised body and sat back on his throne. He muttered, “There are others, huh…”

It wasn’t difficult to guess their true identity without even hearing the rest of what Quantus had to say. They were most likely the First and Second Highlords who had awakened before him.

“What kind of beings are they?” Kim Jin-Woo asked. Instead of welcoming the guests in a hurry, he chose to get some information through Quantus first.

“There are a total of two other men who came with the Wailing Lord. One of them had a majestic body with a heavy presence and looked like a heavenly warrior, while the other looked like an agile beast rather than a physically powerful one. Either way, they both seemed pretty suspicious,” Quantus replied.

Unfortunately, the information Quantus provided was limited, as he was a mere summon and was only able to describe the physical appearance of the new guests. However, that didn’t mean the information was completely useless, as Kim Jin-Woo could infer what the two Highlords had inherited.

“The first guy must have inherited the name of the Giant Lord, while the other must have inherited the name of the Beastfolk King[1] or the Earth Dragon,” he mused.

The only successors of the Ancient Lords that he hadn’t yet seen with his own eyes were the Giant Lord’s inheritor, and the inheritors of the Beastfolk King and the Earth Dragon.

“How was their demeanor? Did they seem hostile to us?” he asked.

“They didn’t show any signs of hostility, but the man with the majestic body had a constant uncomfortable expression, as if he saw something he didn’t like,” Quantus replied.

Kim Jin-Woo nodded and said, “Then he must have inherited the name of the Giant Lord.”

Mounted on the spire of Valhǫll, Mjöllnir was nicknamed the ‘Giant Slayer’. If that man had inherited the power of the Giant Lord, it was obvious that the energy emanating from the giant-killing mace nearby would be uncomfortable to him.

“The last guy is a problem. It would be better if that man had inherited the name of the Beastfolk King, but if he inherited the power of the Earth Dragon, things might get a little ugly,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked.

If he was the King of the Beastfolk, he wouldn’t be an issue at all, as he would be similar to the Under-Elves of the past.

However, if it was the Earth Dragon’s name he had inherited, in the worst case scenario, there was a possibility that the Dragon Emperor and his army were under that man’s command.

Kim Jin-Woo knew how powerful they could be. He hoped deep down that the last mysterious man had inherited the power of the Beastfolk Lord.

“Looks like I’ll only get my answer when we meet,” he said. He dismissed his summons and immediately instructed Quantus, “Guide the guests. I’ll be there soon.”

***

The man frowned as he looked at the towering spire in the distance. He remarked, “What a disrespectful guy. They had a guide for us, but all they could do was prepare such a lousy place for us to wait?”

With his common brown hair and moderately average build, one could have mistaken him as just an ordinary, easily-forgettable man, if not for his dangerously dazzling eyes. There was a storm of madness and rage in his eyes that made him look unfathomably terrifying.

“Disrespect aside, don’t you think it’s foolish of him to invite people he’s never seen before straight into his own house?” Catherine asked mysteriously, either to tease the man or to further provoke his anger.

“But even so, isn’t this being a bit thick-skinned of him?” It wasn’t the man with the slender body, but rather the man with the majestic body who replied to her words. “It’s as if he’s openly declaring that he’ll take us down.”

The man looked at the spire with a deadly gaze and said, “This is the worst.”

Catherine let out a deep sigh, already looking beyond fatigued. She wasn’t unaware of the relationship between the man in front of her and the towering spire; thus, she couldn’t retort against his rude demeanor.

“Anyway, he’s the youngest among us to awaken, so let’s keep that in mind and approach this with an open mind,” she said.

She had hoped to ease the tension in the air with that statement, but it had no effect whatsoever. For now, she simply hoped Kim Jin-Woo would show up as soon as possible.

“He’s here,” she finally said.

It was only after an awkward time that was neither too early nor too late that Kim Jin-Woo finally appeared.

“Hmm.” Kim Jin-Woo observed his guests with a rather relaxed expression before slowly approaching them.

Tap. Tap.

It was as if the only sound that existed in the Underworld were the sound of his footsteps. Provocations came and went quietly, before a cold silence filled the space again. Kim Jin-Woo and the men exchanged glances without exchanging a single word, sizing up and observing each other.

“You’re here.” It was Catherine who broke the tension first.

Kim Jin-Woo grinned at her feminine greeting that felt out of place, given the situation. His gaze remained on the two men who were looking at him provocatively. However, he replied, “You’ve returned sooner than I thought.”

“Well, the situation called for it,” Catherine replied.

Listening to the two Highlords’ friendly conversation that seemed to convey their close friendship, the men’s expressions became awkward. They had known that the other two were familiar with each other, but they hadn’t expected this level of friendliness.

“How about introducing yourselves with your own mouths, huh? Just because I acted as the messenger doesn’t mean I’m below you, does it?” Catherine bluntly snapped at the two men.

“Greetings for now. I have inherited the name of the ruler of the ferocious beasts—the Beastfolk King.” The nimble man, the Beastfolk King, curled one corner of his lips into a smirk and greeted Kim Jin-Woo first.

“So, you’re the Beastfolk King. Nice to meet you. I've inherited the power of the One-Eyed Lord. There’s no need to reveal our real names to each other, so let’s call each other whatever we’re comfortable with,” Kim Jin-Woo replied. Once he realized that the power the man had inherited wasn’t that of the Earth Dragon but the Beastfolk Lord, his expression instantly relaxed.

“I don’t know what it is, but your face somehow pisses me off. It’s like you’re plotting something,” the Beastfolk Lord remarked.

“How could that be? I know a couple of Beastfolk myself, so I was just happy to meet someone familiar,” Kim Jin-Woo replied, brushing aside the comments of the Beastfolk King who seemed to take offense at his expression. He then turned his attention to the tall man.

“Pfft. I am the Heavenly Giant Lord.”

Seeing the Heavenly Giant introduce himself with a reluctant expression, Kim Jin-Woo sneered before asking a question as if he’d just thought of it. “It looks like we can communicate with each other? I thought we’d definitely need an interpreter.”

The awkward atmosphere immediately subsided when he spoke those words.

“With regard to that, I learned the language from her…”

“Me too.”

In response to the revelation of their complex emotions, Kim Jin-Woo added in a calm, subdued voice, “Perhaps you were with So… Her as well?”

It was something he had already confirmed with Catherine, but having now doubly confirmed that information in person, Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t help but feel even more conflicted.

“Why is that a bad thing?”

“I am of the same opinion. Besides, it would be better for us to integrate into this side rather than to be treated like insects on the surface. I am sure they will change their mind once they experience it.”

The united feeling of sympathy for having been played by the evil Ancient Lord was brief, as once the topic of the conversation moved to the potential unity of the Underworld and the surface, the Beastfolk King and the Heavenly Giant Lord’s stance quickly changed.

“Anyway, I can’t give a damn about what happens to the surface. After all, they didn’t treat us as human beings in the first place.”

“My kind were forced to live the majority of our free lives in the dark tunnels, thanks to being deceived by the hunters. And that is no different in the present. If that is the case, it will be much better to put the Terrans beneath us for treating us like expendables.”

Kim Jin-Woo frowned deeply at the radical statements of the two Highlords.

It was an unexpected development. Naturally, he had thought that their anger would be directed toward the Ancient Lords who had treated them like chess pieces, but unexpectedly, their hatred was directed only toward the surface.

“I grew up like a beast in the tunnels. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t even be able to mimic a human baby right now.”

The Heavenly Giant Lord nodded upon hearing the Beastfolk King’s statement. The two men concurred that they had no reason to be hostile to the Underworld and enact revenge, even against the very Dukes who had tormented them.

“Urgh.”

As the conversation progressed, Kim Jin-Woo realized what the difference was between them and himself.

He had met humans for the first time in the dark tunnels. The adults had been desperate to shield him from the eyes of the ferocious Overseers, and in the end, had risked their own lives to do so.

It wasn’t that Kim Jin-Woo felt a strong sense of compassion toward the Terrans, to whom he had no real connection with in the first place, but it was a significant enough memory to stop him from thinking that humans were only capable of evil.

But the men in front of him felt differently about the Terrans. The humans they remembered had been like terrifying hunters who wanted to devour them alive in their sleep, and were beings worse than animals who wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice others for their own personal interests.

And of course, how could he forget how he himself had been treated when he rose to the surface? People around him had put on masks of compassion as they sought to exploit him for down gems.

It wasn’t that there weren’t any humans who had treated him with genuine warmth, but even they had been drawn to him by his abilities and wealth as a Deep Floor dungeon baby in the first place.

That was the difference, and it had become a wall that couldn’t be broken down.

The two men didn’t think of themselves as humans. They wanted to be Highlords, the mighty rulers of the Underworld.

Kim Jin-Woo felt his heart sink upon witnessing their anger.

It wasn’t because of sympathy or compassion, however. Just because he had the warmth of a human didn’t mean he was a warm-hearted being. He was as cold-hearted as they came, and as cruel as was necessary.

His heart sank only because there was now a setback in his plans.

“Of course, having my body taken away by the fragments of the Ancient Lords could never be a good thing. That’s why I came to you.”

The two men didn’t seem to have issues with the wild ambitions of the Ancient Lords, and their only concern seemed to be removing the fragments that could take their bodies away.

“You shouldn’t unnecessarily waste your strength. Preserve it instead. After all, we all struggled quite a bit to get to where we are now, didn’t we?” the Beastfolk King remarked. His words sounded like a temptation rather than an invitation.

“Once we get rid of the fragments, there will be no more threats to us, and the Dukes will not be any match for us. So, I hope you can join us. Between the four of us, it will not be that difficult to rule the Underworld.” the Heavenly Giant Lord said. His words sounded like coercion.

The tone of their voices suggested there would be a war should Kim Jin-Woo refuse.

“Do you think the same way?” Kim Jin-Woo looked at Catherine and asked.

“I agree that the fragments should be removed, but I haven’t decided on anything else,” Catherine replied. She seemed to be advocating for neutrality. But her words didn’t help at all in the current situation.

“Anyway, I think we can all agree that we should get rid of the fragments.” The Heavenly Giant Lord grinned.

“I don’t know how we can do it, but I’m sure that we, the Highlords, aren’t liars,” the Beastfolk King added.

While Kim Jin-Woo was deep in thought, the Heavenly Giant Lord and the Beastfolk King seemed to have made their decisions on their own already, having devised a plan to find the fragments.

“I think you guys are misunderstanding something,” Kim Jin-Woo said. “I have no intention of providing free service. In exchange for removing the fragments, I want something in return.”

“Well, of course. Nothing’s free in the world, right? Even more so in the Underworld.”

The two Lords agreed, and asked Kim Jin-Woo what it was he wanted.

“What I want is…” Kim Jin-Woo answered their question immediately. “To prevent the unity of the surface and the Underworld. And you’re going to help me.”

1. For clarity's purpose, the Beastfolk King is the same as the Lord of Youth that was mentioned in chapter 247. ☜