Chapter 287
The moment he saw the blue eyes shimmering with a clear radiance, Zeon felt electricity course through his entire body.
It felt as though a faint electric current were sweeping through him, causing Zeon to frown slightly.
He had felt this sensation once before.
When he had first met Jin Geumho.
‘He’s using the Heavenly Eye on me.’
Zeon had already expected it.
The Heavenly Eye was one of Jin Geumho’s primary skills.
A fraudulent ability that allowed him to roughly read causality and the flow of fate.
Using this skill, Jin Geumho had gathered people who could benefit him and used them to build Neo Seoul into what it was today.
Even now, he was undoubtedly trying to read something from Zeon through the Heavenly Eye.
But Zeon wasn’t particularly worried.
The Heavenly Eye wasn’t omnipotent.
As its name implied, it could only grasp the general flow of fate, not every minute detail.
Especially not the destiny of someone like Zeon, a being capable of becoming a turning point in the world itself.
After staring at Zeon for quite some time, Jin Geumho suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
“Haha! I seem to have stared too intensely at my guest. My apologies.”
“It’s alright.”
“But I don’t see the others who went with you.”
“I’m sorry. They were unable to return with me.”
“They died?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
Jin Geumho slowly nodded.
Unlike before, his eyes had now sunk into a deep stillness.
Zeon silently watched him.
After a long pause, Jin Geumho spoke again.
“Such talented individuals lost their lives. How were their final moments?”
“I don’t believe they suffered much.”
“At least that’s some relief.”
“Yes.”
“Please, have a seat.”
Only then did Jin Geumho offer Zeon a chair.
After that, he asked no more questions about Lee Jeongho or Claire.
Because of that, it was impossible to tell what he was truly thinking.
Perhaps he had already known the two would die.
However, he likely did not know that Zeon himself was responsible for their deaths.
Even if he suspected it, there was no evidence, so he couldn’t press the issue.
“You’ve worked hard. You returned far sooner than I expected.”
“Fortunately, I was able to complete the mission.”
“So you obtained Mobydick’s Heart.”
“Yes.”
Zeon handed Jin Geumho the spatial necklace containing Mobydick’s Heart.
Jin Geumho silently stroked the necklace.
As though weighing the heart itself.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
“You aren’t asking.”
“…Pardon?”
“Isn’t that normal? Most people would be curious about what I intend to use Mobydick’s Heart for.”
“I am curious.”
“Then why don’t you ask?”
“Because if I learn the reason, I feel like I’ll no longer be able to live freely.”
“How cunning.”
“I’d appreciate it if you called it wisdom instead.”
“If you were truly wise, you would be working for City Hall. That would be for the sake of humanity.”
“I’m not someone grand enough to worry about humanity’s future.”
Seeing Zeon shrug, Jin Geumho smirked faintly.
“Indeed. Everyone has their own circumstances. Right now, we may each be flowing in different directions, but someday we’ll all converge in the same place.”
“I hope that day comes.”
“In any case, you’ve done well. Thanks to you, one of my burdens has been lifted.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
“I should get going now.”
“You won’t stay for a meal?”
“I’d like to return and eat with the children.”
“Ah! You were taking care of children, weren’t you? I’ve thoughtlessly taken up your time. Go on, then. I’ll reward you properly later.”
“Yes.”
As Zeon stood up, Seo Taeran spoke.
“I’ll escort you to the first floor.”
“Ah, I can ride the elevator myself. I’ll see you next time.”
Zeon gave Seo Taeran a slight nod before immediately boarding the elevator.
As soon as the elevator doors closed, Seo Taeran cautiously spoke.
“Are you really going to let Zeon leave just like that?”
“Why?”
“We lost the Numbers. Shouldn’t someone be held responsible?”
“How?”
“Well…”
As Seo Taeran hesitated, Jin Geumho smirked.
“Even with my Heavenly Eye, it’s difficult to read the flow of fate surrounding him. That alone means he occupies an enormous weight in this world. And you want to hold someone like that responsible? Without evidence?”
“The evidence…”
Seo Taeran frowned.
Because she had realized there truly wasn’t any evidence tying responsibility to Zeon.
Meanwhile, Jin Geumho continued speaking.
“I already knew Jeongho wouldn’t return. More precisely, I couldn’t see any flow of fate in which he came back here. And yet I still sent him alongside Zeon. Do you know why?”
“Because only then could you obtain Mobydick’s Heart?”
“Exactly. But I can’t see what happened to Jeongho during the process. Whether Zeon killed him, or whether he was killed by magical beasts—I can’t distinguish between the two.”
“…I see.”
“And to me, the process itself isn’t very important. What matters most is that through Jeongho’s sacrifice, I obtained the result I wanted.”
Tap. Tap.
Jin Geumho lightly tapped the desk twice with the spatial necklace.
Seo Taeran felt chills run down her spine.
Jin Geumho cherished his subordinates.
But at times, he could discard them with terrifying coldness.
Without the slightest hesitation.
Lee Jeongho had been an outstanding awakened one.
He had also carried out all kinds of dirty work for Jin Geumho.
Awakened ones with such loyalty were incredibly rare.
Yet despite that, Jin Geumho showed no attachment whatsoever toward his death.
Ordinary people would at least ask why he died or who killed him.
But Jin Geumho did neither.
By normal standards, it was unquestionably difficult to understand.
Fortunately, Seo Taeran was not an ordinary person.
She understood Jin Geumho more deeply than anyone else.
And yet, even she still felt chills whenever she witnessed this ruthless side of him.
Jin Geumho rose from his seat and spoke.
“Let’s head underground.”
“Right now?”
“We’ve obtained the item we wanted. There’s no reason to delay any longer.”
“I’ll guide you.”
Seo Taeran immediately stepped forward.
The two boarded the elevator.
It was a private elevator connected to the underground levels.
In an instant, they descended dozens of floors beneath the surface.
When the elevator doors opened, an enormous underground facility came into view.
Countless wires and cutting-edge machines were intricately intertwined, while dozens of researchers busily checked various instruments.
At that moment, an elderly platinum-blond researcher, who appeared to be the oldest among them, rushed toward Jin Geumho.
“Mayor!”
“Gentler!”
“Did you obtain Mobydick’s Heart?”
Expectation filled the eyes of the elderly platinum-blond researcher, Gentler.
Jin Geumho did not disappoint him.
“I obtained it.”
“Really?”
Instead of answering, Jin Geumho handed the spatial necklace to Gentler.
Gentler shouted,
“Open spatial dimension!”
At that moment, a massive subspace appeared before them.
Inside it rested a gigantic black spherical jewel, larger than several people combined.
“So this is Mobydick’s Heart? It’s different from the hearts of ordinary magical beasts.”
It was also Gentler’s first time seeing Mobydick’s Heart.
He carefully removed the heart from the subspace and examined it closely.
“As expected, I can sense an enormous amount of attribute energy.”
“Then it should be usable immediately as the power source for Heavenly Punishment.”
“However…”
“What is it?”
“The mana quantity is lower than we expected. A creature large enough to float a body over one hundred meters long in the air should possess an enormous amount of mana, but… this contains far less than even half our estimated amount.”
At Gentler’s words, Jin Geumho frowned.
“So after all that effort, it’s useless?”
“It’s not that bad. But we’ll likely need to obtain another power source to supplement it.”
“Hmm.”
Originally, Gentler had believed that obtaining Mobydick’s Heart alone would solve everything.
The higher the rank of a magical beast, the more mana it naturally possessed.
An S-rank beast obviously held more mana than an A-rank beast, and most of that mana was concentrated within the heart.
If it was the heart of an unclassifiable magical beast like Mobydick, it should naturally have possessed far more mana than even an S-rank magical beast.
“Perhaps some mana was lost during the hunt for Mobydick. Even so, it’s still far superior to using the heart of another S-rank magical beast.”
“Hmm.”
Even after hearing Gentler’s explanation, Jin Geumho’s expression did not relax.
This meant the plan would inevitably suffer delays.
‘Did Zeon tamper with it somehow?’
Jin Geumho asked Gentler,
“Do you see any traces of artificial manipulation on Mobydick’s Heart?”
“None whatsoever.”
At Gentler’s reply, Jin Geumho folded his arms and thought quietly.
‘Am I simply being too suspicious?’
***
Zeon’s steps felt light as he left City Hall.
By handing over Mobydick’s Heart, his transaction with Jin Geumho had finally concluded.
Now that he wouldn’t have to deal with Jin Geumho for a while, he wanted to rest properly for a few days.
After being away for so long, he missed his home and his soft bed.
And he also wanted to see the children waiting there.
‘They say you grow attached after spending enough time together…’
At first, he had never intended to take them in.
But somehow, he had become entangled with the two children, and after living together for so long, he had grown attached to them.
The fact that Levin and Brielle came to mind the moment he returned to Neo Seoul proved that much.
Just as Zeon left Neo Seoul and entered a narrow alley in the slums—
“Hyung!”
“Zeon!”
Suddenly, people appeared behind him.
He recognized who they were from their voices alone.
It was Levin and Brielle.
“Huh? What are you two doing here?”
“What do you mean why? We heard you came back to Neo Seoul, so we came looking for you.”
“Levin’s got connections all around the main gate. That’s how we found out immediately that you’d returned.”
“Is that so?”
Zeon smiled at their explanation.
Brielle cautiously asked,
“You seem safe, so I guess the mission went well.”
“You guessed right.”
“Did the thing I gave you help?”
“It helped a lot.”
“That’s a relief. I felt bad that I couldn’t go with you.”
“You don’t need to feel sorry. Thanks to you, I returned safely.”
Perhaps Zeon’s words comforted her, because Brielle finally smiled brightly.
Levin lightly ruffled Brielle’s hair and said,
“You have no idea how worried she was after you left. She kept saying she should’ve gone with you instead.”
“Then next time, come with me.”
At Zeon’s words, both Brielle and Levin nodded at the same time.
This time, circumstances had prevented them from going together, but if another opportunity arose, they were determined to accompany him.
At that moment, Brielle suddenly tilted her head.
“Zeon! Are you carrying some kind of special item?”
“Why?”
“I suddenly feel this strange refreshing sensation…”
“Really?”
“Yeah! It’s something I’ve never felt before.”
—Piii!
At that moment, Zeon’s subspace opened, and a tiny baby whale revealed itself.
Brielle’s eyes widened at Gaia’s appearance.
“Whoa!”