The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 55

Swordmaster Wants to Live Peacefully – 55

Maynard (4)

“What is this?”

His top was torn to shreds, and his pants were riddled with holes.

Yuseongwoo, looking utterly disheveled, stumbled out of the Abyss and stared at the Azure Sword hanging at his waist.

*When* had that gotten there?

He vaguely remembered seeing Maynard holding it as he lay dying.

“…Crazy, he actually passed it on to me, didn’t he?”

There were only a few reasons why a swordsman would bequeath his cherished sword to another.

Either to entrust his legacy to his disciple.

Or to pass it on to someone who would carry on his will.

Yuseongwoo, now unexpectedly burdened with continuing Maynard’s legacy, clicked his tongue in annoyance.

‘But let’s put that aside for now…’

It was time to address the more pressing issue.

Namely, Min Cheong-un’s… condition.

Although he hadn’t technically *killed* him… Min Cheong-un was, first and foremost, the Guild Master of a major guild and an S-class Diver [a rank indicating extremely high skill and power].

If he suddenly turned up dead, it would obviously cause a huge uproar, so he needed to find a way to manage the fallout.

“…No choice.”

He pulled out his smartphone and made a call.

“Hello, uh, Jiwoo? I need your help. I kind of caused a problem.”

* * *

Yu Jiwoo was dumbfounded by Yuseongwoo’s call.

The situation he described was utterly insane.

“What? So, Min Cheong-un is… incapacitated?”

-Yeah.

“Tell me everything.”

At Yu Jiwoo’s prompting, Yuseongwoo recounted the events that had transpired.

How he’d been tricked by a monster in the Abyss and discovered Min Cheong-un was sacrificing people as offerings.

Yuseongwoo even sent her pictures of the documents he’d found in Min Cheong-un’s house.

It was a detailed list of people he had killed and kidnapped.

“This is solid evidence, but, wait, did you kill him, Oppa [term of endearment used by a younger woman to address an older brother or male friend]?”

-The monster killed him.

“You weren’t involved at all?”

-That guy tried to stab me first, but the monster killed him instead.

“Why the monster? Did you become friends with it or something?”

-We decided to grab a drink together when we both end up in hell.

What the hell…

Yu Jiwoo was speechless.

It sounded like complete nonsense, but knowing Yuseongwoo, it might actually be true.

She chewed on her nails and then sighed heavily.

She just hoped he wouldn’t cause any more trouble.

This was a monumental screw-up, even by his standards.

“Can I even cover this up?”

-You have to do it somehow.

“My life is a mess…”

The scale of Meteor Industries and Taengcheon was incomparable.

No matter how rapidly Meteor Industries had grown and was now slowly entering the ranks of major corporations…

It couldn’t be compared to Taengcheon, which held significant power among Seoul’s Divers.

It had partnerships with several large corporations, was responsible for the defense of Seoul, and had a government minister as its patron.

“This is seriously screwed up.”

-Good luck.

Yu Jiwoo sincerely wanted to strangle Yuseongwoo.

* * *

-Min Cheong-un Missing for 12 Days, Where Did the S-Class Diver Supporting Korea Go?

-Min Cheong-un Dies Alone in the Abyss… Body Not Found.

“Wow, how did you manage that?”

Yuseongwoo watched the news reports on television with keen interest.

News about Min Cheong-un was everywhere, but there wasn’t a single mention of Yuseongwoo.

“…I feel like I’m going to die. I’m never doing this again.”

“The modern media is nothing special.”

“I did all the work, so don’t talk nonsense like Oppa did it. And thank Yuwol later. She helped a lot.”

“Okay.”

Yuseongwoo nodded and changed the channel on the television.

Every news outlet was buzzing with stories about Min Cheong-un.

There were programs featuring panels discussing Min Cheong-un’s legacy, and videos of people expressing hope for his safe return.

“Why are they mourning such trash? They’re strange people.”

“…Min Cheong-un was incredibly skilled at managing his public image.”

“A guy who’s rotten behind the scenes deserves to die.”

Yu Jiwoo, sprawled on the sofa, didn’t even have the energy to argue with him.

She had heard a brief account of what happened from Yuseongwoo.

But it sounded so absurd that she still couldn’t fully grasp it.

“Did you find out anything about the Ascenders?”

“…I don’t have any concrete results, but do you want to hear what I’ve got?”

“Tell me. I need any information I can get.”

“First, understand that there is no definitive information about the Ascenders.”

With that preface, Yu Jiwoo began to share the information she had uncovered.

As she’d said, there wasn’t much solid information about the Ascenders.

Mostly just rumors and speculation.

“The recent increase in missing people, like the homeless, that was Min Cheong-un’s doing. The list of missing people was also accurate.”

“Yeah.”

“And there’s another rumor: a newly emerging religion is rapidly gaining popularity. It’s called the Ascender Church.”

The name itself was suspiciously unsettling.

When Yuseongwoo frowned, Yu Jiwoo chuckled and continued.

“They say the number of believers is increasing at an alarming rate. They say the leader performs miracles… He seems to be an Awakened [person with supernatural abilities] who hasn’t been officially registered as a Diver.”

“If it’s a miracle, then what kind?”

The only miracle Yuseongwoo knew was the one used by the ‘Saintess’ of another world.

Like making a cripple walk or restoring sight to the blind…

It had been quite shocking when he found out that the Saintess’s religion was actually connected to the Demon God.

“They heal the lame or cure mental illnesses?”

“Doctors are going to lose their jobs. Now they’re even curing mental illnesses with miracles…”

If there was one thing the Saintess’s miracles couldn’t cure, it was madness.

The guy pretending to be a Saintess in modern times can even cure mental illnesses.

Wow… If that’s true, he must be a really amazing guy.

It means he can perform miracles that surpass the Saintess, who is favored by God.

“Anything else?”

“Other than that, there are a few rumors floating around. After checking, they’re all unsubstantiated.”

“So, the only thing confirmed is the Ascender Church.”

Yuseongwoo nodded slightly.

Ascender Church, he had a strong feeling that he would encounter them soon.

He also didn’t like the name from the start.

* * *

“…Is it really true that Min Cheong-un went missing in the Abyss?”

“It is a fact that has been investigated thoroughly. We confirmed that residual energy from the Abyss remained in the basement of Min Cheong-un Diver’s house. It is presumed that he was caught in a sudden Abyss and perished with the boss monster.”

“…No, no, that can’t be. That guy is meticulous. He would never be such a fool as to go into the Abyss alone.”

Min Jong-ho.

The Minister of the Diver Management Department.

Min Cheong-un’s father refused to believe that his son had entered the Abyss and died.

Taengcheon’s Guild Master, S-Class Diver Min Cheong-un.

“If it was a sudden Abyss, the alarm would have gone off the moment it appeared with the highest recorded energy level!”

“…The disaster response team reported that the Abyss was in a very unusual state, so the alarm didn’t trigger…”

“That’s nonsense! Has there ever been an Abyss that appeared silently until now! Did you bring the information I requested?”

“Yes, here it is.”

At Min Jong-ho’s roar, the secretary trembled and handed over a stack of documents.

He snatched the documents, flipped through them, and said.

“There was a spike in energy levels near Cheong-un’s house some time ago. Isn’t this related to that?”

“Min Cheong-un Diver addressed that matter himself. He said that there was an energy reaction near his house, but he had never seen the Abyss. So, we dismissed it as a sensor malfunction.”

“…No, that can’t be. How accurate is the measuring instrument?”

“It currently boasts an accuracy of over 96 percent. It is a model that incorporates elven spiritism.”

Min Jong-ho slammed the documents down and tapped the desk with his finger.

Then, as if struck by a sudden realization, he frowned and spoke.

“This was concealed.”

“Yes?”

“That sly bastard deliberately hid the fact that the Abyss appeared. It appeared in the basement of his house!”

“Why would he do that…?”

“There was something he didn’t want anyone to see. Yes, that blue sword. The time he acquired it and this incident seem to coincide, right?”

“Yes, I recall it being almost immediately after.”

“That damn bastard… I wondered where he got that weapon of unknown origin…”

Min Jong-ho wasn’t just the Minister of the Diver Management Department for show.

He gnashed his teeth and cursed Min Cheong-un, who was already dead.

“Foolish bastard. I told you so many times not to touch what you can’t handle!”

Min Jong-ho didn’t feel any great sadness over Min Cheong-un’s death.

He was his son, but he hadn’t invested much affection in him.

He was merely a pawn, a son who was useful to exploit, as a parent.

He could control the large guild of Taengcheon as he pleased, so he was genuinely annoyed that Min Cheong-un had suddenly died.

It wasn’t easy to find an S-Class Diver who followed his orders without question.

He felt more regret over the loss of a useful tool than the death of his son.

“Why did he have to die on his own? Damn bastard. He must have gotten sick from trying to hoard everything for himself.”

‘Even so, he’s still his son…’

The secretary was growing weary of Min Jong-ho’s reaction.

Even though his own son had died, he was lamenting his usefulness instead of grieving.

He had served Min Jong-ho for a long time, and it was clear that he was a man devoid of empathy.

“…And for now, the leader of the Ascender Church has requested a meeting. He is the head of a newly emerging religion that has been gaining traction recently, and he claims he urgently needs to speak with the Minister.”

“A cult leader?”

“Yes, he seems like a cult leader to me as well. But he says he has information regarding the death of Min Cheong-un Diver…”

“About Cheong-un’s death?”

“Yes. He claims to know how Min Cheong-un Diver died.”

“Have cult recruitment tactics changed this much these days?”

When Min Jong-ho narrowed his eyes, the secretary quickly elaborated on what he had heard.

“He claims that Min Cheong-un Diver’s death wasn’t solely due to entering the Abyss. He acknowledges that he was killed by a monster in the Abyss, but asserts that the biggest factor was the ‘human’ who was with Min Cheong-un Diver.”

“Human? Are you saying that Cheong-un was killed by another human? Does that mean he was an S-Class Diver?”

“That’s uncertain; all the S-Class Divers in the country have solid alibis.”

“…Does that imply there’s a Diver whose power is unknown?”

“It seems so. The leader of the Ascender Church seems to be aware of this.”

“I see…”

Min Jong-ho stroked his chin and narrowed his eyes.

How did Min Cheong-un die?

Honestly, he was a little curious.

“…Okay, I need to find the person who killed him. It’s the same as sabotaging my plans. And I have to take revenge, right?”

Revenge should be exacted upon the one who killed his son.

It wouldn’t hurt to hear the cult leader’s story before making a judgment.

“Schedule a meeting. I need to find out who killed Cheong-un. He’s my son, for now.”

‘For now… is it?’

At Min Jong-ho’s cold words, the secretary bowed his head and replied.

“I understand. I will arrange a meeting with the leader as soon as possible.”

“No, take your time. Drag it out as long as possible. Isn’t he trying to meet me because he wants something? If you’re too eager, you’ll be manipulated.”

Min Jong-ho said that and smiled bitterly.