IRNH C59

#59

He had found everything he needed to find.

Although he was carrying a few severe injuries, kyumin was still alive, and now it was time to drag out the mastermind behind all this madness and interrogate him.

Swoooosh.

The golf club clutched in his grip swung once more, slow but heavy. Its target was the end of the hallway ahead.

“T-this is….”

At the far end of the hallway.

What had unquestionably been blocked off by a wall moments ago was now torn open as though ripped like paper, revealing a staircase.

Only then did Lee kyumin and Kim Seongbin realize where they had been wandering in circles all this time, letting out sighs that sounded more hollow than anything else.

“So that’s why it felt like we were going around in circles….”

Si-hyeon remarked that he too had been lost at first, offering words that weren’t quite consolation, before resuming his steps forward.

Well, even with a staircase, reaching another floor only meant more wandering, so there wasn’t really anything more to say.

“Why on earth did it turn out like this…? Is it really true that my brother caused this? I can’t believe it….”

At that moment, kyumin broke his silence and muttered softly, his voice heavy with grief.

“What was he like before?”

In response to Si-hyeon’s question, kyumin’s face grew gloomy as he continued.

Originally, Lee Gyuhwan was someone who had little to no interest in business or corporate management.

Before founding this LK Corporation, their family already managed a fairly sizable company, and it had been all but decided that the eldest son, Gyuhwan, would take responsibility for it.

However, even back then, Gyuhwan would joke around, saying he wanted to spend his time traveling instead, and that he wished to push the responsibility onto kyumin.

“My brother really loved photography. Especially taking pictures of landscapes and animals.”

kyumin spoke with a tone full of regret.

His following explanation made it even clearer: Gyuhwan had never seemed like the kind of man who, consumed with greed, would turn against his siblings and see them as enemies for the sake of power.

Si-hyeon let out a heavy sigh at this improbable change in Gyuhwan’s character.

Even though the world had been overturned by the Gates,* it was hard to think that a person’s personality itself could be completely flipped overnight. True, one’s innate nature could reveal itself under pressure, but from what kyumin described of his brother’s past, it didn’t seem like Gyuhwan had become this kind of person voluntarily.

*Footnote: “Gate” here refers to supernatural rifts between worlds that cause chaos and bring monsters, a common trope in Korean fantasy novels.

‘Then, is it likely that Lee Gyuhwan was brainwashed as well…?’

Finally, Si-hyeon began to recount what had happened with the Glory Guild members to kyumin.

“Brainwashing…?”

“It’s only a possibility, but yes.”

“I see….”

The misery that had weighed down on kyumin’s face seemed to lift, even if only a little.

He would much rather believe that his brother had fallen victim to something like brainwashing than that he had willingly committed these acts. Voluntary evil and coerced action carried completely different implications.

Seeing kyumin calm himself, if only slightly, Si-hyeon thought to himself that when they eventually confronted Lee Gyuhwan, he should show as much restraint as possible when subduing him. With that thought, he strode quickly down the long, straight hallway.

“Wait a minute, more corridor?”

This was getting irritating. Truly.

The group had been moving for quite some time since the battle earlier. Yet still, the narrow strip of hallway stretched on endlessly, without an end in sight.

A luxurious red carpet lay beneath their feet, and though there were no windows, fine works of art hung upon the walls at regular intervals.

But repetitive scenery, even expensive decor, grew dull after the hundredth time.

“Where on earth are we supposed to begin unraveling this…?”

As he walked down the long corridor that showed no sign of ending, Si-hyeon felt along the walls and surroundings, searching for a breaking point or any weak spot he could exploit.

From time to time he felt a flicker of some presence or energy, but it was vague and fleeting, vanishing like a ghost each time he tried to focus on it.

“What should we do…?”

“What else? If there’s no other way, we’ll break it all down.”

Up until now, they had tried to carefully analyze and dismantle the spells protecting the mansion, worried about triggering something disastrous if they mishandled it. However, after weathering several earlier impacts without incident, and as time seemed too short to delay any further, it was clear that the only option left was to smash it apart with brute force overwhelming enough that not even the formation—or in fact, the barrier—could sustain itself.

‘Right, when we first entered, the name we saw outside didn’t match the one we found inside.’

That discrepancy in names implied something hidden, something he hadn’t noticed before. Activating his Insight Eyes once more, Si-hyeon swiftly scanned the surroundings.

[Trap of Erasure (-) – Irreparable]

“Hm?”

“What is it?”

But what appeared before him was an unforeseen variable.
Dragging up the notification window he had switched off earlier, Si-hyeon quickly read over the message now hovering before him.

[Inner Strength increases by 2.]

[Proficiency in Heavenly Demon Divine Art (SS) increases.]

[Strength increases by 1.]

[Insight (-) has leveled up by 1.]

Though it had seemed unnecessary before and he had ignored it, the alert that his Insight had advanced to a higher stage was displayed clearly in front of his eyes. A flush of vitality spread across his face.

It wasn’t as if anything groundbreaking had changed—but even the faint disappearance of that cursed white box of unknown status eased his lungs of their burdens.

“Taewoon, we need to break this formation.”

With a faint smirk curling up one corner of his lips, Si-hyeon casually draped his hand over Taewoon’s shoulder.

“I am most confident in such tasks.”

Taewoon smiled warmly at Si-hyeon’s renewed vigor and slowly raised his bare hand.

Then, taking the hand resting on his shoulder, he gently brushed it against his cheek before turning his face and pressing his lips upon it.

The confident smile on Si-hyeon’s face slowly began to harden.

By the time Taewoon’s head turned in the direction of kyumin and Seongbin, who were still chatting in awkward tones, the sound of a rusted machine creaking seemed ready to force its way out of Si-hyeon’s throat.

“Yeon Taewoon….”

Still glancing awkwardly at the two behind them, Si-hyeon wrested his burning hand away and whispered under his breath.

“You should call me ‘Taewoon-ah.’”*

*Footnote: The suffix “-ah” is an intimate Korean vocative particle used when addressing close friends or someone younger.

But the only response he received forced him to clutch his head in quiet despair.

Taewoon, however, only smiled faintly at his silent breakdown, before gathering energy at his fingertips for real this time.

Swoooosh.

It was as if a miniature whirlwind had formed at his fingers. Crimson-tinged energy sucked the air around it, pulsating in a dangerously unstable rhythm.

And soon enough, the formless clump of energy began to take the shape of a blade. As the rough outlines solidified into a sword, a razor-thin sharpness shimmered at its edge, flaring with light.

“You should all step back for a moment.”

Yet despite the frighteningly volatile display, Taewoon remained calm, addressing Si-hyeon in a serene tone.

‘Incredible. Truly incredible.’

Marveling inwardly at Taewoon’s gentle voice, Si-hyeon guided the rest of their group safely away, shielding himself with protective qi. But the overwhelming flow of demonic energy prickling at his skin left him drenched in cold sweat.

Though he too had learned the Heavenly Demon Divine Art after returning to this world, the way Taewoon handled it was far fiercer, far more reckless.

He had initially thought this was simply a different style of application, but it now seemed the very attributes of this energy varied from person to person.

Hooong—

Then, all at once, it was as though someone had pressed a pause button on the raging storm—the energy froze mid-surge.

Crrrrk.

When Taewoon’s hand inched forward slowly, what they had believed to be the solid second-floor corridor started folding and crumpling like a crushed tin can.

“Stop.”

The command rang out simultaneously with a sudden presence, and Si-hyeon’s head snapped in its direction.

A man, roughly his build in physique and dressed neatly in a suit, stood confidently in front of Taewoon.

“…Lee Gyuhwan.”

“Hyung!!”

kyumin, recognizing him as well, cried out desperately, half a scream and half a plea, calling out his elder brother’s name. Still, the man ignored him entirely, eyes fixed only on Taewoon.

And soon, his expression twisted with anger.

“I told you to stop. You realized the truth earlier than expected. How exactly did you know, Jeong Si-hyeon?”

“Tch.”

And still, Taewoon refused to halt. Why should he, of all people, take orders from anyone other than his master? In fact, the mere mention of his master’s name enraged him.

A derisive chuckle slipped from his lips as he turned back toward the barrier.

Like a surge of black-red lightning, his sword of condensed energy lashed out freely.

Krrkkk! Thoom! Kwooom!

It wasn’t the explosive sound of something violently shattering, but rather the eerie metallic groans of an intricate mechanism being deftly sliced apart by a massive blade.

‘Tch… damn it….’

And yet even that muted sound left the earth and walls trembling wildly, tearing apart under the stress.

The floor heaved mercilessly beneath their feet, hurling those behind him to the ground.

“Uaaaagh! Brother!”

Confirming the tumbling figures of kyumin and Seongbin sliding backward, Si-hyeon propelled himself into the air.

Kicking lightly off the newly revealed rocky surface beneath the illusion, he landed neatly on a stable part of the crumbling floor.

“Unbelievable. All this chaos just from breaking a single formation!”

He clicked his tongue in frustration. But when he glanced back and saw Taewoon still holding his ground unwaveringly, relief softened his nerves and he turned to check the rest of his companions.

“…Huh?”

And then he realized something odd. Somehow, amid the chaos, Gyuhwan and kyumin had drawn much closer together.

kyumin, desperation etched on his face, seemed to be shouting with every ounce of hope that his brother might return to his senses. His voice rang against Gyuhwan’s square-cut, eerily vacant pupils, fading into emptiness.

“Brother! It’s me! kyumin! Please, snap out of it!”

“kyumin…?”

Gyuhwan frowned slightly as he looked at him, his tone layered with what almost sounded like concern.

“What are you doing here? Always causing trouble as usual, aren’t you? This place is dangerous. Go home.”

“Brother…? Oh, are you… recovered from the brainwashing? That’s what this is, right?”

Step by step, the two edged closer.

Taken aback by the unexpected turn of events, Si-hyeon suddenly noticed something glinting in Gyuhwan’s hand and shouted hastily.

“kyumin! No! He’s not brainwashed at all!”

“Huh? What are you saying—”

Shluk.

But before the warning could sink in, Gyuhwan’s dagger cut through the air in a flash.