Chapter 212 Epilogue. Only those who lived today.
As soon as Seo-woon finished speaking, the four men guarding the frail man were covered in thick armor. This happened simultaneously with a brief flash of the thick gold necklaces they wore and a surge of mana. "Hmph. Are these things considered commonplace now?"
Although the four men's demeanor and the intense aura emanating from their bodies changed, Seo-woon seemed unfazed in the slightest. Karina answered Seo-woon's question.
"They're not exactly common, but they're not particularly difficult to obtain either. It's said that Earth's alchemy has now surpassed the mainland dimension."
Hearing his words, Seo-woon curiously looked at the four men wearing golden armor. "If they want us to fight like this... We'll have to. But know that I'm not as docile as Ki-chan." As soon as Seo-woon finished speaking, he pulled out an item from his subspace.
"Wait a minute..." The frail man shouted with a pale face, but Seo-woon waved the object in his hand in the air without hesitation. Then something incredible happened. He had merely waved the object in the air, but their location had shifted.
"Brother... What's this?"
Ki-chan asked, surveying the sports field-sized area surrounded by a blue barrier. "We can't turn the front of our parents' house into a bloodbath. This is the other side of the dimension called Earth. Earth, but it's not Earth. Or is it somewhere else within the dimension called Earth? It's hard to explain."
The technology for splitting dimensions by channeling the chaos emanating from interdimensional rifts was so intertwined with life and death that it had naturally developed. Seeing Seo-woon speak so casually in front of them, the men became even more nervous.
While it's a common belief that modern players have surpassed Jin Seo-woon these days, this was only true when compared to a few of Super Match's best players. They were just ordinary players, not official Super Match debuts. Seo-woon's gaze fell on the men, who were standing like sacks of rice, holding their breath.
The moment Seo-woon's gaze landed on them, even the slightest movements of nervousness could be felt in every detail. "I haven't used this in a long time." With those words, long streams of energy erupted from Seo-woon's fingertips. The Blood Bone Technique.
This was the martial art that had kept Seo-woon alive in Cloyd, along with the Unyielding Fist. Pulling out ten ki strands with both hands, Seo-woon approached step by step, as relaxed as if he were on a leisurely stroll.
—Kakak!
"Huh?" In an instant, Seo-woon disappeared, and a sharp scraping sound of metal echoed. Before anyone could react, Seo-woon had already rushed past the men and was clutching a small man's head tightly; the man's eyes were wide with surprise.
"Ki-resistant armor?" Seo-woon asked in surprise.
But no one answered. The small man could barely breathe as the powerful energy extending from Seo-woon's fingertips tightly wrapped around his body. The other men couldn't utter a word because Seowoon's powerful energy was scratching deeply at their armor.
"I'm going to die." This single thought echoed in the four men's minds. Like butterflies caught in a spider's web. This was exactly their situation.
"Seo Seo-woon! You don't seem to understand. Don't you dare mess with the Super Match officials..."
—Bang. The frail man was beheaded before he could finish his sentence. As his body slumped to the ground, Seo-woon rolled the man's head forward with his hand.
The four men's eyes naturally turned to the head as it rolled toward them.
—Crack! Seo-woon's powerful energy pierced through the thick iron plate on a man's chest. "No... Don't..." Those were the man's last words.
When the Super Match, a massive arena dedicated solely to combat, was created, countless items were derived from it. Classes were broadly divided into knights, mages, and warriors. Naturally, as they researched and trained to counter each other, countermeasures began to emerge one by one.
Especially when a warrior capable of using ki appeared, the knights and mages had difficulty fighting them. Naturally, the warriors' importance increased. Even knights who used aura had difficulty fighting warriors one-on-one. That armor changed the tide.
It was a magic spell that dispersed highly concentrated energy. By permanently applying Dispel magic to the armor, the effectiveness of the warriors' swords and ki energy was greatly reduced. It became impossible for warriors to penetrate the knights' high defenses.
A countermeasure was also developed, but it differed from Seo-woon's method of defeating the enemy with pure strength. It was inconceivable that armor designed to disperse warriors' energy could be penetrated by ki. "Ah, it disperses energy. Is that magic?"
Seo-woon's question remained unanswered. After examining the death knight's armor for a moment, Seo-woon nodded, as if making a decision, and looked at the remaining three. At the same time, the three people who had been retreating quickly turned and ran.
However, before they could even take a few steps, Seo-woon, his eyes blazing with madness, lunged at them, and they all met their end.
Juriell and Liling-wei watched this scene with their throats dry. They had never imagined that Seo-woon would actually kill them. Only Karina watched their deaths with a satisfied smile.
After Seo-woon's disappearance, Sweden suffered many losses at the hands of Japan.
Japan, eager to erase its shameful history by overthrowing Seo-woon, was unwilling to leave Sweden, where Seo-woon resided, alone. Unfortunately for Sweden, not a single dimensional portal had opened.
Naturally, it was unable to conduct any trade or business with other dimensions on its own. On top of that, Japan flatly refused to export any goods to Sweden. With its vast capital, Japan was isolating Sweden and effectively draining it dry.
It was predictable, but with the development of alchemy and magic, oil prices plummeted. Less than 30% of all vehicles now run on petroleum.
Electric cars and magic-powered vehicles dominated the market. Even after oil prices plummeted, the remaining 30% of the market could only survive because oil was cheap, and as a result, it was a dying industry.
Given such a shift in the political landscape, the economies of countless oil-producing countries that had amassed wealth were naturally shaken.
During this turbulent period, Japan's economic attacks dealt an even greater blow, so it was only natural that Karina felt a sense of satisfaction when she saw Seo-woon tear the Super Match officials to shreds.
Deep down, she wished Japan would be completely brought to its knees like it had in the past. The person who had caused the carnage in the blood-soaked arena remained unblemished, not a single drop of blood on them.
"I see there are a lot of interesting items now." As Seo-woon spoke, he took out the Dimension Lock and spun it around in the air; the corpses and the alien world disappeared, revealing the familiar sight of his parents' house once again.
"Brother… Are you okay?" Seowoon shrugged at Ki-chan's words.
"What?"
"Still, killing people is so easy…"
"Karina. Is there a problem?"
"No, not at all. Besides… No corpses, no crime. No matter how you look at it, there's no problem."
In response, Seo-woon smiled brightly as always and entered the house. The others followed. "I can't help but feel that something has changed."
Juriell and Liling-wei nodded in agreement with Ki-chan's words. Seo-woon had definitely changed a lot after going through two years of hell.
To survive in such an environment, he had no choice but to change. He just wasn't fully aware of it. After finishing his meal, which he had stopped for a while, Seo-woon spent a few days at his parents' house, savoring the moments he had long missed.
During those few days, no one bothered Seo-woon because of the deceased Super Match officials. This was thanks to Karina's intervention. With Seo-woon's return, Karina's position in Korea had changed once again.
From being a powerless agent of a declining country, she was now an agent responsible for Seowoon.
After spending precious time with his parents and reliving his lost happiness, Seo-woon prepared to return to the Wonju Mountains. "Don't go just yet."
"I have some things I need to do. It's close, so I'll stop by often." Despite his mother's sad words, Seowoon said these words and left with the others.
Originally, he had wanted to stay with his parents for a month or two, but… As the days passed, Juriell, he could see the growing confusion on Liling-wei and Ki-chan's faces. He couldn't bring himself to tell his parents about the chaos he'd experienced in the dimensional rift.
Naturally, none of the three asked any questions and waited in silence. As soon as they entered the house built into the mountain, Ki-chan spoke. "I'm feeling dizzy. What's going on?"
He asked again, not even giving him a moment to catch his breath, and both women looked at Seo-woon intently with sparkling eyes.
Seo-woon, who had taken off his shoes at the entrance, glanced at Ki-chan strangely and smiled. After cautiously removing his shoes, Seo-woon opened the refrigerator, poured himself some water, and took a sip, causing Ki-chan to narrow his eyes. "Brother!"
"I know, I know."
***
"So… did you return after that?"
"Yes. I sealed Metis with the false gods. I broke the seal and returned. You know what happened after that, right?"
Ki-chan narrowed his eyes and asked Seo-woon. "Are you sure Metis is dead?"
"I won't make mistakes twice." Ki-chan shook his head at his resolute answer. "Stop! Then you can't use the original spirit now?"
Liling-wei asked urgently, as if she'd just remembered something. "Can't I use it? Or don't I? Something like that. There's no need to create a new original spirit. I've filled Zhongdian, but I have no intention of creating one."
Seo-woon's eyes deepened at his answer, which was on another level. She was reminded once again that she was standing before a warrior who had reached the Mugeok level and seen the end of martial arts. Seeing Seo-woon again, whom she'd forgotten because she'd become too comfortable and familiar, a warrior's blood began to boil in Liling-wei's heart.
"The sun has already risen." At this moment, sunlight streamed in from the forest outside the window, illuminating the living room. "
Pfft. It was a long story. Thanks for coming back." When Juriell said this again, Seo-woon's face turned red.
"I'm sleepy. I'm going to bed now." After saying this, Seo-woon went to the bedroom, while the remaining three looked at each other and smiled. The three people who had survived eight years without Seo-woon, relying on each other, were happy just to not feel his absence.
The group woke up as the sun rose overhead and had a light lunch. While everyone else was asleep, Ki-chan went into the city and bought some food.
–… In Japan, they claim that Jin Seo-woon has returned and that Super Match officials have a deep role in his disappearance, and they are pressing for his extradition to Japan.
In response, the South Korean and Swedish governments refute these claims, saying, they stated that it was impossible to extradite Jin Seo-woon to Japan and confirmed his return… The news announced Jin Seo-woon's return as a last minute announcement. "Ah, I forgot about them."