Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 342

The succession ceremony was over.

What remained were the coordination of opinions among other factions during the banquet, a mountain of piled-up tasks, and the reorganization of the main family.

And, as expected, the world’s attention was overwhelmingly focused on us.

-Lee Chul, the new head of the Sungmu Lee Clan. Who is he?

-The rising head of the family who shattered the Sword God’s power head-on. Sungmu Lee Clan’s head, Lee Chul, is…

-Following the Aerial Fortress, three mobile fortresses like the Eiffel Magic Tower have been sighted, leading to concerns about the Sungmu Lee Clan wielding excessive power…

……

I smiled wryly and set aside the newspapers and newsletters about me and the main family that were being reported daily.

“Lord, you’ve gained worldwide attention.”

“……Why are you like this, Anastasia? I’m already dying of awkwardness from being called Lord, but if even you do that, it’s going to be really tiring.”

“Really? I find it fun.”

Anastasia smiled and sat down in front of me, leaning in.

She playfully fiddled with my fingers.

I sighed briefly, looking at the front page of the newsletter.

“It seems like we’ll face more scrutiny because we’re attracting too much attention. Even if they’re incomplete, we’ve showcased three mobile fortresses.”

A photo of the Aerial Fortress and the mobile fortresses flying around it like satellites was featured on the front page of a foreign newspaper.

Mobile fortresses were often compared to battleships.

They were practically treated as strategic weapons, and with the Aerial Fortress as well, it was inevitable that we would receive public attention.

Too much power for a single family to possess.

External forces are expressing concern about the main family’s excessive military expansion.

“But it’s necessary, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s necessary. In fact, I feel like it’s not enough.”

I looked out at the distant sky from the Lord’s office.

I had heard the prophecy through Serena, but even without that, I could feel that the time was coming.

The Primordial Beast.

That being of destruction is stirring.

Because of that, I felt an impatience I didn’t even know I had.

Will our current preparations be enough to stop it?

‘It’s heavy.’

I felt the world’s survival and destruction weighing on my shoulders.

“Didn’t the government bring up arms reduction this time? They say that excessive force causes vigilance in neighboring countries. What are you going to do about that?”

“I plan to ignore it. If any kind of check comes in… we’ll have to do it the Sungmu Lee Clan way.”

Whether it’s a country, an organization, or an individual, if they block my path, I’ll get rid of them.

A great battle remains.

If they interfere with the preparation for that battle, I’ll have to deal with them first.

‘Of course, that probably won’t happen.’

Those who experienced the test in the Aerial Fortress were learning about the existence of the Primordial Beast, whether they were aware of it or not.

Also, that the existence would awaken in the near future.

Now that not only the Sungmu Lee Clan but also each country is preparing for the destruction, there will be no one who will massively interfere with the Sungmu Lee Clan’s preparation.

“By the way, has any information come in about Behemoth?”

“No, not yet. However, we did find out that they, who had been carrying out terrorist attacks around the world, were gathering something.”

“…It must have been related to the fragments of the beast.”

“Yes, exactly. They took unidentified substances that couldn’t be identified.”

I let out a small groan.

Of the Six Nights, Behemoth, the last evil connection to block my path, remained.

And they are heading to the Northern Frontier.

Northern Frontier, what is there?

‘Jormungandr is there.’

A fragment of the Primordial Beast.

There must be a reason why they are aiming for that.

“Please continue to track the Black Crow Society. The main family will also move as soon as the reorganization is complete. Now… there’s really not much time left.”

The world still seems peaceful.

International affairs are frozen, but they have found some common ground this time, and Behemoth, who had been causing chaos, is also quiet, so it seemed to be returning to normal.

But this must be the calm before the storm.

“Lee Chul, aren’t you afraid?”

Anastasia asked with a worried expression.

I smiled lightly and nodded.

“I’m scared.”

“Re… really?”

“Why do you have that expression after asking, Anastasia?”

“It’s just that it’s the first time I’ve heard Lee Chul say he’s scared so easily.”

“I’m also human, so I feel fear and worry. However….”

As always, I was just finding the best option I could do right now and moving forward.

I was just looking forward to the future where I would win and enjoy the struggle that I would face.

“Lee Chul is strong. I have to be prepared, too.”

Anastasia said that, and I just gave a faint smile.

I finished my short break with Anastasia and got up from my seat.

“Are you thinking of leaving now?”

“Yes, he told me to come today.”

One week after the succession ceremony.

My father called me.

I have to go see my father now.

* * *

My father was not staying at the main family.

He didn’t say why, but I could roughly guess.

There can only be one mountain tiger in one mountain [a Chinese proverb meaning two powerful leaders cannot coexist in the same territory].

No matter how much my father acknowledged my succession as the head of the family, the weight of the name Lee Tae-shin still weighed heavily on the members of the main family.

My father called me to a mountain in a sparsely populated rural area about an hour’s drive from the main family.

I dismissed the Cheollyeongdae [elite guard] who had come as escorts and looked around the entrance of the mountain.

‘Why did you call me here of all places?’

The scenery was good, but it was an ordinary place.

It wasn’t a sacred mountain, and it wasn’t a place where there would be a hideout or safe house.

I climbed the mountain step by step.

I could easily sense my father’s energy without having to look for it.

He wasn’t revealing it outright, but since I had reached the realm, I could easily find it.

‘Barrier?’

And as I passed through the place where my father was, I felt a strong wave of magic.

It’s a spell. A pretty high-level spell at that.

Since this kind of thing no longer affected me, I passed through the swaying transparent barrier and moved my feet.

And my father was there.

A sunny place with good sunlight.

Only then did I know why my father had called me here.

“Father.”

“Did you come.”

I turned my head and looked behind my father.

A tall pine tree stood on a well-maintained flat ground.

A small tombstone was placed in front of the pine tree.

A tombstone with the name of my mother, Choi Yu-jung, written on it.

* * *

“This was a place I visited with your mother during a mission.”

My father suddenly blurted out those words.

“Your mother liked this place. It was because it was ordinary. And she said she wanted to live in a place like this, saying it was quiet and the scenery was good.”

At the foot of the mountain, there was a small village that was hard to believe was in the 21st century.

A stream flowed in front of it.

Perhaps, it would be a place where flowers would bloom in spring.

“Later, after she became pregnant with you, she asked me. If she were to die, to bury her here.”

“I see.”

I paid my respects in front of my mother’s grave.

A moment of silence passed.

I used to hate this silence between my father and me, but now I could wait calmly.

I was the one who spoke first.

“What happened?”

My father’s long disappearance.

The news of his death.

To that, my father simply answered nonchalantly.

“Only what you guessed happened.”

Lee Tae-shin.

Since he started his wandering, he headed to the Northern Frontier, cutting down the remnants of Behemoth who had moved again.

The reason was to free the family from the cursed traits passed down through blood.

However, Lee Hyul-hyun was already dwelling in Lee Gun-sung in that tomb, and he returned after failing.

He was greeted by the Nine Dragons Lord and the Nameless Assassin.

“…I heard that my father’s life is not long. That’s why you had to hide until now.”

“That’s right.”

My father said with an indifferent expression.

“My strength was not normal in the first place. Having such strong power was possible because my life was at stake.”

“Why is that possible?”

I had never heard of or seen such a heavenly punishment.

“It was because of the curse I received when I destroyed the Blood Cult for the sake of your mother’s revenge… A simple and clear curse that death would come as I grew stronger. And such a curse is bound to exert great power.”

If he hadn’t tried to become stronger, if he had stopped there, Lee Tae-shin would have lived a long life.

But he didn’t.

Because there was something he had to burn his life for.

“Is it just because of a curse? I have the power to blow away the curse.”

I thought of Gyeongcheon.

But my father shook his head.

“It is a curse created by offering the lives of thousands of children to ‘fragments of it’. It’s a meaningless act.”

I had to shut my mouth.

‘These crazy bastards.’

Did they kill thousands of children just to kill one person?

‘…If it’s Black Night.’

I suddenly remembered that fact.

But as soon as I remembered, I realized it was impossible.

Black Night was not a sword that distinguished what to cut.

If I were to cut the curse dwelling in my father… it was obvious that it would take his life as well.

“…Then how much time is left?”

“Enough lifespan to carry out my destiny.”

Destiny.

What exactly was my father’s destiny that he sacrificed his life for?

I couldn’t ask.

Because it was not the kind of thing that could be asked and answered in the first place.

“It’s okay. I’ve lived a long enough life. It’s just that the promised end is approaching.”

Silence fell.

And this time, my father opened his mouth.

“Now… I want to hear your story.”

My father’s voice was not that of a giant who had carried the era on his shoulders or the former head of the Sungmu Lee Clan, but sounded just like any ordinary father.

“It will be a long story.”

“It’s okay. If you’re okay, I want to hear the story.”

I opened my mouth and started the story.

About what I learned, what I experienced, and what I prevented.

My father just nodded silently without any exclamations or interjections.

“You have always figured everything out on your own. You did so this time too.”

“Yes.”

“…I am a suspicious person. So I had no choice but to doubt your existence.”

Lee Tae-shin looks back on the past a long time ago.

The memories with Choi Yu-jung, the touch of Lee Chul in his arms.

What did he feel at that time?

What he felt for the child he had embraced more than ten years after giving up everything was suspicion, worry, and confusion rather than joy.

“It’s okay, Father. I know everything. And….”

I told her about my mother’s last moments.

And the will that my mother conveyed to me.

At those words, my father just stared silently at the towering pine tree.

“I am….”

Lee Tae-shin opened his mouth.

But he closed his mouth again.

After a while, my father continued.

“Now that I’ve heard all your stories, it’s my turn to make excuses and apologize.”

At my father’s words, my eyes widened for a moment.

Just now, that father, that Lee Tae-shin, had uttered the words excuse and apology.

“There’s no need to make such an expression. After all, many of the things you’ve experienced. All those things you’ve carried on your shoulders… I can say that it flowed in from a life repeated by my failure.”

Lee Tae-shin looked at the distant demarcation line.

There was no way to deny it.

No matter how well he packaged it, he was a man who had lived a life riddled with failures and mistakes.

He traveled the world to save his lover, but he was not there at the most important time.

He set out to fight to remove the curse of the family, but it was already around the time when Lee Hyul-hyun’s scheme had begun.

He threw away many things as a human being for the sake of the world’s peace and for the sake of the greater good.

He left behind the death of his beloved lover and took a new wife, killed his blood relatives, massacred foreigners, and lived a life of harshly driving his newly welcomed children.

And among those children, a child who inherited Lee Hyul-hyun’s will came out.

As a human being, as a head of the family.

His life was full of failures.

“It was just that I had no choice but to do so.”

“…Just an excuse.”

Lee Tae-shin didn’t say much.

I looked at such a father.

“At least I.”

“…….”

“I don’t think of the struggles in my father’s life as failures.”

His days as the head of the Lee family, Lee Tae-shin, rather than as the human Lee Tae-shin.

No one should have said that my father’s life was full of failures and mistakes.

“My father has only brought that struggle this far. And now, I, his son, have only inherited that struggle.”

My father’s eyes widened a little.

Looking into those eyes, I spoke with determination.

“Please watch over me. I will win at the end of that struggle. My victory will also be my father’s victory.”

My father didn’t say anything.

He just looked into the distance.

I recalled the image of my father that I had seen in my mother’s memory.

The image of him keeping his mouth shut even when my mother continued to nag him.

“…Thank you.”

However, there were words that came out of my father’s mouth.

Were those really the words my father uttered? Or was it just a hallucination heard in the breeze?

I didn’t bother to ask.

* * *

It was a forest where darkness had fallen.

The darkness was so thick and sticky that it felt like it was alive.

And a group of human shadows were passing through the forest.

Those who are human but trying to escape from the appearance of humans.

Behemoth.

The footsteps of those monsters were piercing through the forest and heading somewhere.

“Oh, oh, oh, oh!”

One being muttered and looked straight ahead.

Black.

It was all black there.

The smooth ground, without any grown grass or stones, was dyed black.

“It is regrettable. Cursed Sword God. Did you finally kill the child of God? Truly an ignorant rioter who knows nothing….”

Their gaze was directed at the collapsed black creature.

It was the 1st class monster that Lee Tae-shin had cut down before, the king of the Northern Frontier.

And soon, the Behemoth monster, who had been screaming in agony, stopped his voice.

“Now is just the time to do what we have to do….”

The Behemoth monster wriggled and moved.

It was moving as if sliding, not walking.

He was no longer in human form.

After being cut by Lee Chul’s Black Night in the Aerial Fortress, the apostles called Human-Faced Orbs suffered severe damage to their souls and became just lumps of flesh.

But he, no, the three of them combined into one, didn’t care.

Because what they wanted in the first place was freedom from everything….

“Now the time has come.”

“Preparation is lacking.”

“The cunning Lee Chul. Because of that cursed unbeliever.”

“Then all that’s left is to fill it with our lives.”

Now, all possible preparations for the resurrection of ‘that person’ are complete.

The right era has come.

They discovered the path leading from the Aerial Fortress to the Blue Hole.

They scraped together the fragments scattered all over the world.

Although the unbeliever Lee Chul interfered and did not make perfect preparations… it was inevitable.

And it wasn’t a big problem either.

No one can go against the already created flow.

-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

At that moment, an unidentified cry echoed from beyond the black plain.

“The greatest son of our mother.”

Another 1st class monster that has settled here. It was the existence called ‘Black Cloud’.

“Ah, our lives.”

“We offer it.”

“Lead us.”

The Behemoth monsters who followed the apostle all tore off their masks at once.

At that moment, they shattered like bursting balloons and were absorbed into the ground.

It was offering the insufficient black energy as their lives.

And something began.

The black cloud in the Northern Frontier began to move.

That existence wrapped around all the black energy on the ground.

All the black energy fragments that the dead bodies and Behemoth brought and offered, and the black energy full of the Frontier, soared into the sky following the black cloud.

“That’s the place.”

“At the end of heading here, there is a place where our God is.”

The apostles’ voices flowed out from inside the black cloud.

That ominous flight headed east, further east.

Pacific Ocean.

In the middle.

The black cloud goes through the thick black energy that does not allow access.

Towards the nest of ‘that’ that is wide open.

A mad hymn-like scream followed Jormungandr.

Like a child going to find its mother, the black cloud flying in the sky fell towards the Blue Hole.

And.

─────────────!

Something, woke up.