CH 41

“I think I could probably go through the shadows to get on his back, but it wouldn’t be easy.”

In response to Do-jin’s answer, Seon-woo looked at Hyeon-woo while side-eyeing Do-jin. He was not being receptive to the possibility of a trip. Hyeon-woo had to convince him.

“What if I just look at it from a distance.”

“I think you already know the answer to that. Absolutely not.”

“But there haven’t been major casualties yet. They said he isn’t prone to attacking.”

“He might only be docile now while he’s trying to figure out his surroundings.”

Not all monsters had low intelligences. There were some that seemed to prioritize doing things that made them happy.

Seon-woo hated it so much that Hyeon-woo wondered himself if there was any need to actually go over there. But what if that monster really was spotted? Then the story would be different. That would be an indicator that the demon realm was connected to the Earth in some way.

Hyeon-woo dreaded learning the truth behind this mystery, having experienced the horrors of the demon realm for a long time. Dungeon monsters were of no concern — there were plenty of strong people on Earth. The Demon Beasts, however, were a different story. They were on an entirely different level, compared to them.

‘I can’t ignore it.’

Hyeon-woo was desperate. Strong enemies that suddenly appear and hate humans while the Earth currently lacked the talent to deal with them. If humanity was pushed back, their entire society that had been painstakingly reassembled until now would collapse once more.

What would happen if society collapsed? People wouldn’t go to work, and stores would close. If they got to that point, Hyeon-woo would no longer be able to continue being pampered.

‘I’m actually strong!’

You will have to confess everything to your brother and fight hard to achieve peace.

Hyeon-woo thought about the number of demons. Even if they killed and eliminated them, they would continue to spring out of portals like a bottomless well. Fortunately, when he had faced Alberg, the strongest power amongst the demons, the little ones had stopped attacking. But before that he had been in a lot of pain.

Repeat that experience again?

Hyeon-woo absolutely hated it. He could not allow the demons to come directly from the Demon Realm.

Of course, he couldn’t just say that. Hyeon-woo bit his lip carefully. He had to convince Seon-woo somehow.

“I really, really want to go!”

Hyeon-woo grabbed Seon-woo’s hand and met his eyes.

“No.”

“Please yes?”

“Please no.”

Hyeon-woo tried a different tactic.

“Actually, that monster resembles a monster I know. Named Spotty. He helped me a lot when I was having a hard time.”

I didn’t lie. When it had been difficult to run long distances, I would ride on Spotty.

“Like Kero?”

“Exactly.”

“How could that be though? I heard that the entrances from the Demon Realm to Earth are blocked.”

For as much as Seon-woo had been in the Demon realm getting stronger, he knew that much. So he wanted to dissuade his Hyung. Maybe they looked alike, but there was a higher probability that it was a different monster.

“I know that. But it really looks like him!”

“Are there any other characteristics other than the spots on the body?”

“One of the claws on the front toe should be white.”

“Okay. Then I will find out.”

“Thank you!”

“Are you sure you really want to go there?”

“Yes! I really do want to!”

Hyeon-woo responded. Seon-woo contacted the Seon-Hyeon guild member, who was already dispatched abroad, and the answer came back not long after.

[The fourth toe on the left of the front paw is white.]

After hearing the answer, Seon-woo touched his forehead. Obviously, the number of people targeting the first generation has decreased compared to the past. But only the tabloids had really given up; everyone else was still interested.

Did he lie? But he was able to identify a special characteristic and wanted to go despite his urging. It would definitely still be safer at Seon-Hyeon guild’s headquarters.

Didn’t he decide to let his Hyung have a little more freedom? Seon-woo let out a small sigh.

Do-jin’s gaze was fixed on the TV. After the news was a drama. It was a ridiculous drama that Hyeon-woo had been into lately but Do-jin didn’t particularly like it. He didn’t even enjoy watching TV in the first place.

Still, he always ended up watching it with and because of Hyeon-woo. Usually, his impassive face would express itself while watching the drama.

“Ah, turn it up!”

Hyeon-woo exclaimed and opened the bag of potato chips. As he ate his potato chips and immersed himself in the screen, it was a nice sight to see.

Then, Do-jin had the shadow he had sent out return to him. He was able to use his shadows to scout information elsewhere, learning of what the shadow had seen and heard.

It was the ability that he had been constantly using to get information about his Dongsaeng. It was a tightly held secret and he had refrained from using it since he came to the Seon-Hyeon Guild, though recently he had begun using it little by little.

‘Would Ji Seon-woo lie?’

He had said he was hesitant about latest information.

‘It’s definitely dangerous to go out now.’

At least in Korea, the Seon-Hyeon Guild held a lot of influence, but it was a different case in other countries. It was particularly difficult to exert a great deal of influence in the United States, as the Guardian Guild and the Phoenix Guild held most of the power.

Even if they were to secretly leave the country, there was still a risk of being caught. So, the safest thing was to stay within the Seon-Hyeon Guild in Korea.

Do-jin looked at Hyeon-woo, who was frowning. He was wriggling with his hand in the empty bag of potato chips. He quickly got up and opened a bag of cookies. Hyeon-woo naturally started eating new sweets.

Around that time, Seon-woo returned. Hyeon-woo, who had been watching the drama the whole time, got up and approached Seon-woo. Even with the show’s climax running behind him, Hyeon-woo gave his full attention to his brother.

“Ok, Hyung. Let’s go to America.”

In the end, Seon-woo chose to tell the truth to him.

Except for Hyeon-woo, the guild members organizing the affairs for the sudden trip rushed about. There was only one thing Hyeon-woo could do — familiarize himself through the New York Travel Guide. He was not acting like a person traveling to see a dangerous monster.

“Oh and Hyung, take this.”

Seon-woo handed Hyeon-woo an item that had arrived. It was a metal bracelet engraved with a colorful pattern.

[Guardian of Phoenix (Unique)]

Completely defends against incoming attacks from outside 3 times.

Startup word: Phoenix, live forever!

“It will completely block three attacks.”

Only 3 times. Though most would focus on that detail, the phrase preceding was more significant. It provided a perfect defense.

With ‘attacks,’ there’s a big difference between a backstreet bully hitting a person and a dragon spewing its breath. A bully might hurt a few people, but a dragon’s breath has the potential to decimate a city entirely.

Even such an attack could be defended.

“Are you giving it to me?”

“Because to me, Hyung is the most important thing.”

Seon-woo settled the bracelet on his brother’s wrist and continued.

“And don’t not use the bracelet. If you think you might be in any danger, just use it.”

He calmly spoke as if others wouldn’t have shuddered from hearing his words.

“Ugh.”

Thinking so, Hyeon-woo was at a loss for words.

Eh. There’s no way it’s going to be used anyways. Seon-woo and Do-jin were always by his side, and even without them, he was confident that he could stop anything.

“I also have a translation item.”

“You do?”

“Yeah?”

Seon-woo had doubted his brother, as he had not given Hyeon-woo a translation item.

“The Japanese guy gave it to me. Do you know Junichi?”

“Did you mean Junichi Iwamoto?”

“I think that’s his name.”

“Let’s see it then.”

Hyeon-woo brought the translation item that he had thrown in the corner of the room and showed it to Seon-woo. He looked it all over just in case, but it was just a high-end translation item made in the studio. There was no special device in sight.

‘Still.’

He didn’t want to carry what others gave him. Because of that, Seon-woo broke the translation item given by Junichi on “accident”.

“Ah, my mistake. I think he gave you a cheap one. I’ll bring you a new and better one.”

The shattered pieces were dumped into the trash can. Hyeon-woo knew that Seon-woo broke it on purpose, but he just smiled a little and moved on. His jealous little brother was so cute. It seemed that his younger brother’s possessiveness did not fade with age.

Time passed, preparations were made, and then it was the day of their flight.

“It’s my first time flying in an airplane.”

Hyeon-woo entered the airport with an excited smile.

After the portal opened, the number of tourists has decreased, but there were still people who traveled. That’s why the airport was crowded.

“Do we line up there too?”

“No, S-class and higher-ranked Awakened people have separate procedures. They pose different dangers.”

As soon as he finished, they were approached by an airport staff.

“Hello. My name is Park Hyun-chul and I’ll be helping you through boarding today.”

He led them to a VIP room.

“This is a special room that can only be used by S-class Awakened. If you want to simply rest comfortably, I’ll let you be.”

Then, he took a step back and stepped out. In the meantime, Hyeon-woo looked inside and exclaimed with admiration. There was a bar on one side and a few finger foods were nicely laid out next to it. A little past that, there were expensive looking sofas and tables to lounge on.

“This is so amazing.”

“Hyung, what do you want to eat?”

“Is this place a buffet?”

“Only finger food. They will make other food fresh, if you want to order any. There’s also a bedroom in the back, so if you are tired, take a nap.”

Then, he handed the menu to Hyeon-woo.