Chapter 527 – The Story of Those Left Behind (2)

It’s strange.

One could be angry and ask, “What the hell is this?”

I completely understand, and also understand it well.

Right now, Ryu Kang-hyuk honestly couldn’t wrap his head around it either.

It wasn’t that long a time, but…

The experiences he had accumulated during that time.

It kept whispering to him.

“Grandma-ster? Why?”

“Trust me and stop it! Just for a few seconds!”

Try stopping the attack just for now.

But maybe it was because Ryu Kang-hyuk’s statement was too shocking.

Or perhaps because they were in the heat of battle, they couldn’t stop.

Everyone exchanged anxious glances but couldn’t bring themselves to cease their attacks.

“I don’t know what it is, but I’ll stop for now.”

“Got it!”

“Don’t you all have plans?”

“Before you start chatting warmly, are you just going to leave me here?!”

Except for the future sister-in-law group, that is.

They completely halted their attacks and were lightly approaching.

It almost felt like a lie, how they had been fighting fiercely just moments ago.

Not to mention, on top of that.

“Didn’t you hear that?”

『W-well…!』

“If you don’t want to move for the rest of your life, then follow quietly.”

『Ah, I understand…』

Meanwhile, they were stating fairly intimidating things to others.

They were coercing everyone to follow Ryu Kang-hyuk’s words.

“F*ck, thank you, sister-in-laws!”

Ryu Kang-hyuk felt tears welling up; he was truly grateful.

He even vowed to prepare a proper thank-you gift through Kim Shinwoo later.

Thanks to that, the rest of the group hesitated and gradually ceased their offensive.

Of course, it didn’t mean they completely trusted Ryu Kang-hyuk.

They started hiding behind him, unable to shake off their anxiety.

And even Cheonma, who shot him a last glance full of distrust, said…

“Are you out of your mind to trust that guy?”

“No, f*ck. Just stay quiet! Please!”

“……Fine…”

Hearing Ryu Kang-hyuk’s serious tone, Cheonma lowered his fist and stepped back slightly.

Ready to swing his fist as a minimum insurance.

Of course, Cheonma never had to use that fist again.

“……Ryu Kang-hyuk, did you do this?”

“It wasn’t me. Something’s off.”

Because all the monsters had abruptly halted in their places.

「……Why…?」

『……What on earth is happening…』

At least, they all shot sharp glares, keeping their guard up.

But they would never charge forward first.

To the monsters, their presence seemed suddenly unimportant.

It was very different from when they had rushed in crazily from the start.

After hearing something cracking in the sky, he looked up and it felt strange.

He briefly made eye contact with a few monsters, but they did nothing and just kept flying.

Normally, they’d have rushed in at the cost of losses.

“Old man, was it because of this that you asked us to stop attacking?”

“Yeah, that’s right, sister-in-law.”

Suddenly, it felt like all aggression had been completely drained from them.

And the moment Ryu Kang-hyuk looked back up at the sky again…

He was able to replace his earlier weird feeling with certainty.

Because.

“Why are you suddenly raising your head?”

“You’ll understand when you see it.”

“……Huh? F*ck…?”

Now, between the monsters, the sky was gradually becoming visible.

Originally, there had been monsters crowding the ground and even filling the sky.

It felt like he had entered a structure that turned the ceiling into monsters.

But now, patches of the concealed sky were faintly visible.

This meant…

“It seems like their numbers have decreased!”

“Seems like it. Though it’s a subtle change.”

The number of monsters had indeed diminished.

Considering the time since they entered through the gate, it had been quite a while.

But during that time, the numbers hadn’t decreased at all.

“Is it because our Fury wiped them out?”

“Even after a long while, it didn’t seem like there was much difference…”

“……Is that so…?”

“Now that I think about it, the monsters’ presence seems quite reduced.”

No one understood what was happening.

Monsters were suppressing their instincts, not attacking.

Moreover, without anyone noticing, their numbers were even shrinking.

What could possibly justify such behavior, and where had those who disappeared gone?

“Did they dig underground like a Red Dragon parenting warning?”

『Ah, that’s incorrect information from an illegal translation. Buy the official revised edition.』

“Oh, f*ck. There was definitely a cover… Those hunters are scamming again.”

Anyway, Ryu Kang-hyuk decided to wipe those thoughts away and focus on what needed to be done.

「Grandma-ster. What will you do now?」

“Well, let’s think positively.”

Whatever it was, the monsters seemed to be waiting for something as they stood still.

Besides, if you look at it calmly, the number of monsters to deal with has decreased, right?

“Should I dish out one big blow and see what happens?”

Ryu Kang-hyuk levitated one particularly heavy dildo he had.

Originally meant for fishing for blue marlin, it was something his wife often used.

However, given the circumstances, he decided he had no choice but to use it this time.

“I’m sorry, love… I didn’t want to use this…”

Whatever it was, it needed verification on whether they would just remain still after taking a hit.

If they stayed put, that’d be great; if they attacked again, he’d take them down.

“Howl… Hell’s Judgment Do…”

Soon after, as Ryu Kang-hyuk began to accumulate energy in the dildo.

[You all…]

Someone suddenly spoke to them.

They couldn’t see who it was.

But the voice rang very clearly.

As if it was whispering right beside them.

From that strange voice came two pieces of information.

That it was the voice of a pitiful and weak woman.

And that there was not a trace of hostility in that voice.

Of course, despite that, everyone’s guard rose even further.

“Who, who are you? Not Hitler, is it? This time it’s Goebbels?”

「G, Ghost! We’re done for!」

“Someone protect me! I’m scared of not being visible!”

The voice—disembodied and eerie—stirred the primal fear in them.

They didn’t know where it was coming from.

Focusing on that voice, Ryu Kang-hyuk quietly growled.

“……Who are you?”

He braced for a hit at the slightest change.

But the woman did not answer his threatening question.

Instead, she just called out to everyone even more earnestly than before.

[I’m begging you.]

The sudden intrusion of an unexpected visitor.

The reactions seen were all different.

Panic, surprise, vigilance, suspicion.

But the moment they heard her next words…

Their reactions unified in sheer astonishment.

[Can you help Shinwoo…]

An unheard-of voice uttered a familiar word they never expected.

In the silence, everyone paused and exchanged glances.

Ryu Kang-hyuk broke that silence with a casual remark.

“Ah, f*ck. Speaking of which, where did that bastard Kim Shinwoo go?”

Was it because the prior battles had been remarkably arduous?

Or had a bit of leisure brought back their thoughts?

Or did they momentarily forget him among the numerous monsters?

In any case, they all momentarily spaced on it.

「Wasn’t he meant to be the last one here?」

“Could it be that our Husband got caught up in our attacks?”

“Considering our assassins couldn’t sense anything, he doesn’t seem to be here right now.”

“Now that I think about it, the GPS my daughter planted isn’t registering his location either.”

Kim Shinwoo wasn’t here.

At first, he thought, could he have run away? But Ryu Kang-hyuk quickly dismissed that possibility.

At the very least, the Kim Shinwoo he knew was a bastard but wouldn’t run away.

“When I shot, Shinwoo was definitely missing, so I shot.”

“Wait a minute, did you shoot without knowing?”

Especially, he wouldn’t have gone so far as to trap only the future sister-in-laws here.

「Could it be that he left for something more important?」

“I think he went to pump up some coins at the exchange.”

And that thought wasn’t just from Ryu Kang-hyuk.

Others also rallied to defend Kim Shinwoo.

They too would have completely ruled out the possibility that he had run away.

“That bastard is probably off grinding for mobile game rankings.”

“”””””…….”””””””

Only Spencer’s remark was something no one could bring themselves to dispute.

In any case, while everyone pondered over the whereabouts of the elusive Kim Shinwoo.

The Red Dragon, who had been silent this whole time, muttered to himself.

It could have been dismissed as unimportant, letting it slip by.

『That Shin from back then…? No, it feels too…』

It wasn’t just a dismissible word.

That particular word made its presence known and urged Ryu Kang-hyuk to question it.

“Wait, are you saying this is a God?”

『Indeed…』

God.

Since the moment he first heard it, he couldn’t shake off an eerie feeling.

There was a peculiarity in that voice that couldn’t be explained by voice modulation.

Then he noticed something peculiar in the previous statement made by the Red Dragon.

“When you say ‘back then,’ have you heard of it before?”

『…That may be, though it’s similar yet different from before…』

The Red Dragon was feeling a sense of déjà vu.

“When was that?”

『…….』

“Tell me, you bastard.”

『That…That is…』

Yet, it didn’t easily divulge that information.

Ryu Kang-hyuk felt he might get a response after a few good hits, but he decided against it.

In a situation where he hadn’t dealt with the monsters completely, wasting energy would just be a loss.

Above all.

[That bastard must have contacted you to reclaim something.]

『……Is that different from that God…?』

The present being, referred to as a deity, was currently resolving that query.

[It’s a fragment that fell off from that bastard, so while it may be alike in essence, it’s fundamentally different.]

『I see…』

However, from their conversation, one pertinent question prompted Ryu Kang-hyuk to interject.

I understand that contact was made.

But reclaiming what?

“What, did that bastard take something special from him?”

[It’s something you all used to have.]

“What is that?”

In that moment, Ryu Kang-hyuk sensed the unseen deity smiling.

It felt as if an invisible smile matched a light remark.

[Regression.]

One uttered lightly.

For such a casual statement.

It was a word imbued with overwhelming weight.

---