Episode 206 Traces (2)
I think I was around seventeen. Of course, this is not about the present, but a story from a previous life.
anyway.
I was lost. But my wandering was only as mild as skipping school. Since I am not good at doing evil things, there is no alternative term for ‘wandering’.
I know it’s too late to be wandering. But in other words, at an age when the storm is at its peak, I’ve calmed down the raging storm.
At that time, I was living my teenage years, pretending to be an adult and killing my teenage emotions. Pretending to be mature, pretending to be indifferent. It was a boyhood filled with ‘pretending’. All the way until I graduated from middle school.
The reason was the house. The environment of our house that I remember was the worst. Even if you look at it optimistically, it is hard to deny that it was trash.
I will skip the detailed explanation. I have no desire to bring up the past, which is too horrible to even remember. Besides, there is nothing more boring than hearing such dirty family history. But if I must elaborate… … .
The life of a bottomless pit that some people imagine. You can think of it as having dug through that hole. If they were simply poor, I would understand, but how much worse it was. Even if the class society and the devil were in power, it would be better than that.
The shadow of civilized society is darker than the devil’s realm.
Anyway, because of that ridiculous family, I ran away from home on the day of my middle school graduation. I felt like I couldn’t stay in that corner of the house any longer. I ran away from home. To be exact, I left home, not like a typical runaway.
I wandered the streets like that. I finally left home, but there was no place to go. I was too old to seek shelter, and I had no relatives to rely on.
There was no money, no way to make money. This was because Korea strictly prohibited economic activity by youth.
I felt like I was being kicked out by everyone. Even though I hadn’t complained or done anything childish, the world wasn’t kind to me at all.
Because of this, my mind became increasingly empty, and I even lost the meaning of life. And it was around that time that I met my teacher.
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‘… What are you doing out there, young man, getting drenched in the rain?’
A man approached me as I was crouching in a back alley, smoking a cigarette. His left sleeve was flapping helplessly in the wind and rain.
The man tilted the umbrella he was holding in his right hand forward slightly. Only then did the torrential rain that had been mercilessly beating my face stop its violence.
I looked up at the man from afar. Then I spoke in a cold, spitting voice.
‘What are you talking about, old fart? If you’re going to make some kind of melodrama, go somewhere else. Don’t pick on people who are doing well alone.’
The sharp attitude I had was a kind of defense mechanism. Even though I knew the other person had no malicious intentions, I was still on guard at that time.
‘Look at this guy. He looks like a fish completely drowning in water, and his eyes are glaring. Well, at least his eyes are filled with poison.’
The man looking down at me made a funny expression. He smiled brightly and replied,
‘And by the way, if you’re going to talk so loudly, at least make some noise in your stomach. How loud does it have to be for it to be heard inside the store? I’ve never heard such a loud rumbling sound before.’
‘…store?’
The man nodded and pointed to the brick wall I was leaning against.
‘The place you built your nest next to me. That’s my store.’
A sign caught my eye. ‘Busan Night Sea.’ It was a rather tacky name.
‘Why aren’t there any customers today?’
Looking at the store name, it doesn’t seem like it’s because of me that business is bad…
‘If you keep sitting there and killing people, you won’t be able to do business, so go somewhere else.’
He said that and then turned around.
Thud thud.
The heavy raindrops struck me again. The heavy rain made circular furrows and splashed water.
Police station.
The man took a few steps, then sighed. Then he looked over his shoulder and spoke to me.
‘And Inma, relax your eyes. If you look at the eyes, there’s a man here who’s been wielding a knife for 20 years, and you look better at stabbing people.’
‘… You old man, are you good at holding a knife?’
‘A swordsman is a swordsman.’
I looked closely at the man’s attire. He was neatly ironed in a pure white top and bottom. He had a navy blue apron tied around his waist, and anyone could tell that he was a Japanese chef.
The man said, tilting his head.
‘Anyway, if you’re going to interfere with my business, then go quickly. Or, you could go to the store and take shelter from the rain. I don’t want to clean up a corpse that’s swollen from the rain tomorrow.’
‘… … .’
‘And I’m going to have to do some business today anyway. Bringing in a beggar won’t make a difference.’
I stared at the back of the man and then got up. Before I knew it, my steps were following his.
The man had a faint smile on his lips. Then he opened the store door.
That day, he might have opened up more to me.
…or maybe you just got a new worker to work at.
It’s not that that gentleman was constantly verbally abusive to me.
‘Because of you, the sea bream became a complete rag! Do you know how much this fish is worth? Apologize to the fish that died because of you. I’m sorry for killing it twice because of my lack of skills.’
‘Didn’t I tell you not to hold the knife like that, huh?! Look. I told you to place your index finger straight up on the sashimi blade! That way, the meat will be cut evenly, you punk!’
‘Why does a child with two hands wield a sword so clumsily than I, who only has one? If you’re going to wield it like that, donate it to me!’
‘You seem to be feeling arrogant these days because customers are complimenting you. You should be humble at times like that. Don’t you know the saying that rice becomes more tender as it ripens? Keep in mind that the world of sashimi is endless.’
There was a time when I couldn’t stand the constant nagging and talked back.
‘My ears are bleeding! And every time you call me, I’m kid, I’m inma, I’m inma. Why do you call me that when you’re just my name?’
‘You’ve been with me for two months and you still call me an old fart. What kind of nonsense is this, that you can do it but I can’t?’
‘Then what do you call me other than ‘old fart’? Should I call you by your name?’
‘Isn’t there a better expression for teacher?’
‘… The teacher is a plague.’
‘Heh heh, you little punk, this. Put the shutter down now. Today, I’m going to give you your belly instead of the fish belly.’
‘Police officer! There’s a former gangster here who’s arresting people… …!’
The repetition of each noisy day. It was early winter, almost a year since I started spending time with him.
The boss asked me out of the blue.
‘Don’t you feel wronged?’
The boss didn’t look at me. He was looking at the students walking down the street.
‘Unfair? What? The boss is exploiting me for little pay?’
‘What’s the point of just using formal language? You’re still eating like a brat. Don’t you want to wear a uniform and go to school like them and live a normal life? That’s right.’
I tilted my head. Then I answered while finishing sweeping the front of the store with the broom.
‘What’s there to feel wronged about? They and I just live in different worlds.’
The boss’s expression became slightly sad at my words. Then he spoke sternly.
‘You are just an ordinary teenager with equal rights.’
‘You said to drink alcohol in broad daylight? Why are you saying something like that all of a sudden?’
‘You should definitely go to school later. Whether it’s college, graduate school, or an academy.’
‘Suddenly? No, and I only have a middle school education, so I can’t go to college, and I’m not interested in studying anyway.’
‘How to meet people and build bonds. That’s something you can only learn by mixing with friends your own age. Especially for someone as socially unskilled as you.’
‘… … .’
‘If you really want to go to school… I will force you to go.’
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I think I just figured it out now.
“Come, Balor Joaquin.”
I wonder what the boss meant by that.
“After I kill Lycan, try to preserve humanity. If you do, you will become the progenitor of all heroes.”
* * *
Two beings walk through the wide-open magic realm of Gehenna, each holding a sword pointed at the other.
Woohoo… … .
As the air shook, a sound like the howling of an animal was heard. The son-in-law shivered at the two transcendental presences, as if they were a sign of the clash between light and darkness.
Kwarrrrung!
The moment the lightning struck, Lycan moved. The ground shattered and burst. With an explosive leap, he closed the distance with Balor Joaquin in an instant.
The Lycan, who was clinging close, swung a lightning sword. A bright yellow trajectory aimed for the human’s throat. A mortal’s reaction was so incredible that he couldn’t even react normally. It wasn’t a metaphor, but every movement of the Lycan was lightning itself.
But Balor’s eyes moved exactly along that trajectory. His senses, heightened to the limit, were close to precognition.
In that fleeting moment when time had lost its meaning, Balor raised his sword, Gram.
Black and white, white and black. Two opposing qualities collided at one point.
Beep- Instead of a loud noise, a white noise erupted. The sound lost its function and concept due to the incredible impact.
He twisted his waist as he struck the ball. The great sword Gram swung around caught the light. It was as if the space was being eaten away by the lines of light.
Lycan naturally used lightning magic to defend and counterattack the eerie movement of the blade. Lightning began to crash down to the ground.
“Chain Lightning.”
The thunder claps again. From now on, it’s the realm of instinct. You have to suppress your judgment and react as your body leads you.
Balor’s sword slashed away the lightning. A few slashes of lightning tore through the air. Then, the lightning sword clashed with the spirit sword Gram. The two transcendent beings trampled the pavement, melting red beneath their feet.
Lycan pulled his sword back briefly and then thrust it in. An attack that forced a counterattack rather than a defense. Balor held his breath and raised his right hand. A pillar of light shot up from below. The sword energy that stretched out with a force that pierced the sky soon cut through the clouds.
The two transcendent beings exchanged attacks and defenses in place. That was all. With just that, the whole area was turned into a wasteland. The axis of the earth was misaligned and tilted to one side like a seesaw.
Lycan was impressed. Wasn’t this really a thing too precious to be kept as a mortal? Above all, that firm resolve and strong strength. It felt like his own arm would stiffen as he attacked.
This thing was something beyond common sense. Lycan felt awe and let out even more terrifying lightning strikes.
“Lightning Punishment.”
Kwarung! Kwarung! Kurururung!
Lightning continued to strike. Hundreds, thousands, hundreds of millions of… flashes of yellow, almost red, flashed through the air. The blood and flesh that covered the entire surrounding area turned into ashes and scattered.
Balor swung his right arm horizontally. The pure white waves swallowed countless electric shocks. Amidst the chaotic interlocking, Balor drew his dragon power again. Then he lowered his sword.
Crunch!
A pure white beam of light brushed past Lycan’s shoulder. The area next to his feet shimmered transparently like a haze. Balor’s sword strike had created a vacuum. The air that had been filled with magical power had become a vacuum, and an empty echo lingered.
The Lycan’s expression became blank. For a moment he felt a chill, but then he burst into a frenzy like a madman.
“As expected. It’s just a shame that even you, someone like you, can’t become a warrior.”
“… … .”
“But now it’s time to see the liver.”
A green light leaked out from the Lycan’s eyes. Balor declared as he aimed his blade at the Lycan.
“Let’s see the end, Lycan.”
The smoke rising from Balor’s left arm consumed his arm muscles and bones. The Lycan’s pupils constricted.
“His power is so great that even your own body, Balor Joaquin, cannot withstand it. It is truly a great and cruel power. But show me.”
Balor looked at his crumbling left arm with a calm expression. He thought. One arm. It was a very cheap price for the power he could use.
Lycan said, his voice full of frenzy.
“The power to defy the heavens and even cut down the gods.”
