Chapter 57
Among the Stars (4)
A sudden car chase on the highway.
Even before the Reset, that would have been enough to make anyone nervous.
Yet Jong-su remained astonishingly calm.
Before slowing down, he even had the presence of mind to switch on the hazard lights to warn the cars behind them.
Of course, one reason he could stay so composed was because the Gyeongbok First Sword was sitting in the back seat.
Whatever the pursuers were...
The odds that they were stronger than the Gyeongbok First Sword were extremely low.
Still, what concerned Jong-su even more than the pursuers was a rear-end collision.
If I slam on the brakes and they crash into us...
I'll be completely stranded.
Whether he survived the impact was one thing.
Losing their only vehicle would mean he could never keep up with the First Sword on foot.
So he did everything he could to avoid damaging the car.
With the hazard lights flashing, Jong-su steered onto the shoulder and gradually slowed down.
The two Audis chasing them immediately reduced speed as well.
Screeech!
One shot past them before stopping sideways across the road, blocking their path.
The other pulled in tightly behind them, sealing off any escape.
"They've done this before."
Jong-su muttered while engaging the parking brake.
Meanwhile, the occupants of the two Audis stepped out.
"...?"
"What?"
"They're just kids."
Jong-su had been right.
There were five of them.
Teenagers.
They looked no older than sixteen or seventeen.
Of course, every one of them was carrying a weapon, so calling them "kids" felt misleading.
Still...
They were much younger than either man had expected.
"These little punks... They probably don't even have driver's licenses."
"The world's really gone to hell, hasn't it, Hyung?"
Jong-su was someone who respected seniority by nature.
Seeing children behaving this way immediately ignited his temper.
Without hesitation, he shoved open the driver's door.
Partly because he trusted Yeong-woo.
Partly because he himself was stronger than the average person.
But kids bold enough to commit highway robbery weren't ordinary delinquents.
Whoosh!
Before the driver's door could even swing fully open...
A skinny teenage boy rushed forward.
BANG!
He rammed his shoulder into the door, slamming it shut again.
Crash!
"Quit screwing around and stay inside."
His voice sounded as young as his face.
Yet the look in his eyes through the window was vicious.
"What?"
"You little bastard."
Jong-su's temper finally snapped.
He tried to force the door open again.
But—
CRASH!
The passenger-side window suddenly exploded.
A long spear shot through the broken glass.
"Wha—!"
Jong-su turned his head.
The spear tip was already inches from his neck.
At that exact moment—
A hand reached out from the back seat.
It grabbed the spear shaft.
Then...
Like snapping a cracker in half—
Crack.
The spear broke cleanly into two pieces.
"Hyung!"
Realizing instantly what had happened, Jong-su looked behind him.
The teenage robbers surrounding the car also turned toward the back seat.
They had expected their victims to have companions.
But...
None of them had imagined that companion would swing a five-meter-long black sword from inside the vehicle.
SHIIIIING!
The enormous blade swept out of the back seat.
In one motion...
It sliced both the spear wielder...
And the passenger side of the car cleanly in half.
"Ah—! Shit!"
Watching the spearman split apart before his eyes, the skinny boy staggered backward in horror.
Jong-su immediately kicked him hard in the shin.
"Agh!"
The teenager rolled across the pavement.
At the same time...
Yeong-woo kicked open the rear door and stepped outside.
"My..."
"They're all just children."
It was 6:21 PM.
The sun had not yet set.
Bathed in daylight...
The figure of the Gyeongbok First Sword, Jeong Myeong-woo 07, almost seemed to glow.
His golden equipment reflected the sunlight.
The silver-white Mirage boots shimmered brilliantly.
"W-What..."
His appearance should have looked ridiculous.
Yet after witnessing what he had just done...
No one found him funny.
Only terrifying.
Finally...
The only girl among the robbers hurriedly changed tactics.
"Mister...!"
"Please spare me!"
"I'm sorry!"
She threw away her knife and dropped to her knees.
"If you let us go this once, we'll never do it again! Please!"
The other two boys nearby quickly followed her example.
"...We're sorry."
"We really are."
They also discarded their weapons.
But Yeong-woo knew better.
These kids would never have shown mercy to weaker victims.
Their method of attack proved it.
They had immediately thrust a spear through the driver's window without hesitation.
Even the girl's knife was stained dark red with dried blood.
After noticing blood on the others' weapons as well...
Yeong-woo sighed.
"You don't have to apologize."
"I'm a thug too."
"...?"
"Huh?"
The teenagers looked up in confusion.
Yeong-woo's cold voice continued.
"I'm not the type who spares people just because they're young."
"You're all going to die here."
The three kneeling teenagers froze.
Then...
Without exchanging a word...
They made eye contact.
Tap!
All three lunged toward their discarded weapons at once.
They intended to attack together.
Unfortunately for them...
Their opponent was the Gyeongbok First Sword.
SHING!
The instant murderous intent appeared—
A black arc flashed through the air.
A heartbeat later...
Thud...
Three severed heads rolled across the ground.
Only three people witnessed the scene.
Yeong-woo.
Jong-su.
And the skinny teenager still clutching his broken leg.
"Uh..."
Jong-su stared back and forth between the trembling boy at his feet...
And the three heads lying several meters away.
He knew they had tried to kill them.
Even so...
Watching human heads roll across the pavement made him falter.
Yeong-woo glanced at him curiously.
"I'm surprised."
"Haven't you already been through plenty?"
"I have..."
"But killing monsters and killing people are different."
"Instinctively..."
Jong-su forced a bitter smile.
Yeong-woo, however, wasn't smiling.
Instead...
He stared at Early Bird hanging from Jong-su's waist with genuine confusion.
"Are you saying you've never killed anyone?"
"With that sword..."
"You shouldn't have been able to avoid killing someone at the Exchange Center."
Early Bird was the reward for being first at the exchange.
The moment Yeong-woo received his own sword...
People had immediately rushed him.
But this time...
It was Jong-su who looked puzzled.
"At the Exchange Center?"
"I got the sword first."
"Why would I have ended up killing anyone?"
"If anything..."
"I was the threat."
Hearing that...
Yeong-woo was momentarily speechless.
Of course.
It made perfect sense.
Jong-su was larger than Yeong-woo.
He also had a naturally intimidating face.
Once someone like him obtained Early Bird...
No one would dare attack him.
He simply didn't look like an easy target.
Yeong-woo, on the other hand...
Damn it.
An odd sense of defeat washed over him.
He knew his expression had soured.
But he couldn't help it.
The world might have reset...
Yet everyone had experienced an entirely different reality.
"So..."
"You really haven't killed anyone until now?"
"Yeah..."
"I almost got into fights a few times."
"But back then..."
"I hadn't run into anyone this crazy."
Of course...
That was only because Jong-su's physique naturally discouraged conflict.
Even after becoming the First Sword...
Yeong-woo had constantly been challenged.
"Hmm..."
"Still, Hyung..."
"I don't think killing everyone without exception is right."
"It's not indiscriminate."
"They tried to kill us."
"They're paying the price."
"That's true..."
"I know it is..."
Jong-su clicked his tongue and rubbed his jaw irritably.
To him...
Taking a human life was crossing an irreversible line.
Perhaps...
He was the normal one.
"If you can't do it, then step aside."
"I'm not letting a single one of them leave alive."
As Yeong-woo approached the last surviving robber, murderous intent radiating from him...
Jong-su flinched.
Then slowly stepped aside.
Seeing this, the surviving teenager desperately grabbed Jong-su's pant leg.
"H-Hyung!"
"Please stop him!"
"We just didn't know any better!"
"Please!"
His pleading didn't last long.
Yeong-woo swung his sword without even a moment's hesitation.
Jong-su never even saw the movement.
The only thing he clearly witnessed...
Was the boy's head separating from his body.
"..."
Jong-su shivered involuntarily and stepped backward.
The headless corpse swayed...
Then collapsed.
Thud.
"I-Is this really the right thing to do... Hyung?"
His voice trembled.
Yeong-woo calmly searched the dead teenager's pockets.
"If you really can't understand..."
"Think about how many people these bastards have already killed."
"And imagine what those people felt..."
"In their final moments."
"I think..."
"I have a pretty good idea."
After saying that...
Yeong-woo glanced at their battered old Sonata.
"I don't think this thing is drivable anymore."
"Let's switch to a new car."
He meant the two Audis blocking them.
Then he spoke once more.
"If you want to leave..."
"This is your last chance."
"There are two cars."
"If you've changed your mind..."
"Go now."