086 – And Then There Were None #2
‘I heard that Nam Woo-joo went missing in the Labyrinth, but I never thought he would become a Demon. I thought he would last at least another six months.’
In truth, I had known that Nam Woo-joo was destined to become a Demon someday.
It was as inevitable as a ripe persimmon falling from a tree.
It was just that I couldn’t bring myself to tell the truth because Bangdaengi, who followed Nam Woo-joo like an older brother, was there.
In the future I had witnessed, Nam Woo-joo, pushed to his limits, battled the Great Calamity monsters and transformed into a Demon. He then exploded like a Supernova, taking the monsters with him.
I saw that scene from afar too.
It’s a memory I can’t forget.
But the Nam Woo-joo I knew was not supposed to become such a dark and ominous Demon.
Rather, he shone with an incredibly bright light.
Even as he embraced his fate as a Demon and prepared to self-destruct, he emitted a blinding, beautiful light. That’s why everyone began to call the heroes “Supernovas.”
“Was that… Nam Woo-joo just now…?”
Yu Yeo-reum asked me.
As I refrained from jumping to conclusions, Yu Yeo-reum, still shaken from the events that had just occurred, kept talking.
“In truth, Nam Woo-joo came to save us. While trying to break the door by generating great power, he accidentally summoned the darkness of the Labyrinth. After that, I don’t really know what happened…”
Could it be that Nam Woo-joo had figured out the location where Seugal and Yu Yeo-reum were being held? Indeed, he was an excellent man.
According to Yu Yeo-reum, Nam Woo-joo, in his attempt to rescue Seugal and Yu Yeo-reum, emitted tremendous energy, stimulating something somewhere in the Great Labyrinth, and it appeared he fell victim to it.
Suddenly, I thought of the “Conqueror’s Giant” and “Demon Nam Woo-joo.”
“Didn’t Nam Woo-joo say something like he was going to ‘exclude the threat of the Great Labyrinth…?'”
It was as if he were the guardian of the Great Labyrinth.
But when I asked, Yu Yeo-reum shook her head.
“I don’t know…? Did he say that? Seugal, did you hear that?”
“…What? What did he say just now?”
Yu Yeo-reum and Seugal appeared disoriented, still affected by their unique experience.
However, I didn’t doubt my memory.
“Excluding threats, huh.”
It reminded me of an anthill.
When you stick your finger into an anthill, aggressive soldier ants swarm out. Could it be that the Great Labyrinth is operating some kind of “defense system” to exclude threats?
When powerful beings like the highest-ranked Awakened One, Nam Woo-joo, or the “Conqueror’s Giant” appear in the Great Labyrinth, the defense system activates to eliminate the threat.
But why Nam Woo-joo turned into such a “defense system” as a Demon was a mystery to me.
It felt like a critical piece of the puzzle was missing.
“Even events that I, who have come from the future, don’t know, have happened.”
In a way, it was only natural.
Seugal sent me back to the past so we wouldn’t repeat the same mistakes.
I had anticipated this level of variables, so it wasn’t at all a problem.
Rather, it was a great harvest.
Thanks to Demon Nam Woo-joo, we managed to defeat the “Conqueror’s Giant.”
“…Ahhh, it’s scorching!”
When I picked up the white pebble left by the “Conqueror’s Giant,” it felt as though it would burn me.
I could discern through appraisal that this was a fusion concept stone of “Conquest,” “Zombie,” and “Infection.”
A super-grade concept stone capable of creating a mega-beast.
Would consuming it grant tremendous power?
But as concept stones contained toxins and couldn’t be ingested recklessly, that’s where my friend and emergency food supply, Yining, who also acted as a concept stone toxin filter, came in.
“Yining, try eating this.”
When I handed the concept stone to Yining, who was innocently hanging on my face like a mask, it unexpectedly growled.
–Grrr…!!!
Even Yining, who usually went crazy for concept stones, disliked this one.
The seed of calamity to create a mega-beast must be something like this.
This was definitely something not to be eaten under any circumstances.
The important thing was that we survived, anyway!
I smiled contently while watching the videos I had filmed earlier on my phone.
When these get released online, becoming a Mitube star will be a piece of cake.
Comments will flood in, right?
Looks like I’ll be busy editing videos tonight!
“Problem solved!”
As I happily dusted off my palms, an extremely exhausted Yu Yeo-reum grabbed my shoulder.
“It’s not over yet. Didn’t they say they’d send one of us home after this matter is resolved? Surely, the promise hasn’t turned into a lie or been forgotten?”
“…That’s right! The promise!”
Seugal, who seemed to have snapped out of her haze, also realized this.
That’s correct. I did make such a promise.
And I, Hanamjin, am a man who thoroughly keeps contracts and promises.
“Did you two discuss it well? Who is going home? One stays, and one leaves. Think it over carefully. An opportunity like this won’t come again.”
“Send me out.”
Yu Yeo-reum said confidently.
What does Seugal think?
“Ear.”
Seugal asked for my ear.
She whispered something to me when I leaned in closely.
“Alright. The one staying has been decided.”
…
Thus, time passed and it was morning the next day.
The internet erupted because my edited video had been uploaded in the early hours of the morning.
Articles bombarded like they were just waiting for this moment.
“The Truth About Seugal’s Kidnapper!”
“Miss Seugal Returns After 00 Days!”
“Infamous Kidnapper! What led him to start abducting women.”
“Whereabouts of the Yet-Unrescued Miss Yeoreum?”
“The Identity of the Mystery Demon from the Video?”
When I opened the door and went outside, a group of reporters had already gathered in front of my house.
“Student Namjin! Give us your comments about the Seugal kidnapping!”
“What are your thoughts on this entire incident?”
“Do you have any clues about Miss Yeoreum’s whereabouts?”
I put on a sorrowful expression.
Then, I openly confessed my feelings to the countless microphones.
“I never imagined that Nam San-ho, the adopted son of President Nam Tae-geon and the missing person from the tragic incident, would not only kidnap Seugal and Yeoreum but also create a Zombie crisis to confuse the investigation net! Starting from his disappearance at the N-Mart two years ago, everything was meticulously and wickedly planned.”
Click-click-click!
A frenzy of camera flashes.
This feels satisfying.
As you just saw, I turned the kidnappers of Seugal and Yeoreum into ‘Nam San-ho.’
Nam San-ho, who harbored twisted and inappropriate desires toward Seugal, faked his disappearance during the N-Mart incident to become a non-existent individual in the world and proceeded to kidnap Seugal.
However, as the investigation net tightened, he created a ‘Zombie incident,’ staging a confrontation between ‘Zombie Terrorists’ and ‘Kidnappers’ to induce confusion, an act of fabrication.
And this is how the full story of the ‘Seugal Kidnapping Incident’ will be known to the world.
“But! Even such a wicked kidnapper couldn’t overcome me, Hanamjin! Rest assured, I, Hanamjin, will surely find Yeoreum, whom this fiend has hidden somewhere! Also, my gratitude to my father-in-law, President Seo Do-cheol, who keenly identified the true identity of the kidnapper, Nam San-ho.”
Click-click-click!
It feels incredibly good.
Should I use the closing remarks I prepared all night?
“To think that the person we thought was dead was the real perpetrator of every crime. It’s just like that novel. The title of that novel must have been ‘And Then There Were None,’ right?”
Good. I’m satisfied.
Nam Sanho, all the crimes pinned on you must be frustrating, but the dead cannot speak.
The contributions of Seo Do-cheol and Yunami were significant as well.
“Of course, that wretched b*stard Nam San-ho kidnapped my daughter! I told you, didn’t I! Nam San-ho, that guy, is the kidnapper! Do you think I reached this position for no reason? I have an accurate eye for people!”
Particularly, Seo Do-cheol criticized how cunning and dangerous Nam San-ho was, and how unsuited Nam Tae-geon’s judgment was for adopting someone like Nam San-ho.
The world-famous CEO and father of the victim, Seo Do-cheol, declaring that Nam San-ho was the kidnapper left no room for doubt.
Yunami also greatly contributed.
Among the hostages we rescued from Nam San-ho’s Colosseum, Yunami was one of them. Her memories were shaky since she had been infected with the virus for quite some time.
“So… he kept saying that he wanted to make Seugal a zombie… Therefore, he kept kidnapping people… Certainly, he kidnapped Gaull to turn her into a submissive zombie…”
With unclear memories from when she was first captured by Nam San-ho, Yunami testified that Nam San-ho was the one who kidnapped Seugal.
When three people say something, even a non-existent tiger can come to life.
In such a way, Nam San-ho became that tiger.
In this way, I, Hanamjin, can see that the tightening investigation net has loosened significantly.
Or rather, it’s too soon to say ‘completely.’
“Are you feeling okay? The reporters must have asked you all sorts of things, creating quite the commotion.”
I met Seugal, who was staying in a penthouse in the Seonam Group building during a legitimate visit.
Meeting legally in a legitimate place felt rather fresh.
Of course, Seugal approached me like having a seizure, grabbing the collar of my shirt.
“I clearly said that you should let Yeoreum go, right?”
That’s correct.
Seugal whispered to me, “Let Yeoreum go,” and both Yeoreum and Seugal wanted her to be released.
I chose to release Seugal because of that desire.
“Yeoreum would have erased everything she knew about me as soon as she was released. Then, my plan to pin everything on Nam San-ho would have failed, right?”
“What…?”
“Right now, I’m keeping Yeoreum safe in a place that only I know. If you do anything rash or say anything suspicious about me, who knows what might happen to Yeoreum?”
“You…! You promised to send me back home…!”
Seugal glared at me.
It was a look that could have pierced through even a thousand-year grudge.
“I promised to send you back home, but I never said I’d set you free.”
Crunch.
Seugal gnashed her teeth.
Seugal possessed altruism as she thought about Yeoreum.
That altruism became shackles, preventing her from flying out of the cage.
“You wicked person!”
“Seugal, it’s just a change of location. You are still my hostage. Our adventure is just beginning!”
I extended my hand toward Seugal.
Seugal, glaring at me with red eyes, didn’t take it.
Just at that moment.
Thud-thud, step-step-step!
Men in black suits stormed in, and it seemed like they started putting stickers labeled “Seizure” all over the penthouse.
Wow, they started already?
Their temperament is pretty urgent.
“What! Who are you all?”
Naturally, Seugal, who couldn’t comprehend the situation, growled like a fox caught in a trap, showing her ferocious side.
