How A Mythical Holy Knight Lives As A Villain (Novel) - Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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At some point, Go Johan was drenched in sweat.
“………”
The apostles couldn’t even open their mouths while looking at him.
Then.
Whoosh!
Flames suddenly began to rise on the shirt that was clearly soaked in sweat.
Kuku-kuku-kuku!
The energy amplified further.
Kim Si-on stood tensely, protecting Lee Ha-yeon, and Yoon Seung-ah unconsciously drew her staff and began casting magic.
Saa.
However, as if making their tension meaningless, Go Johan’s energy instantly stabilized.
“Not yet, perhaps three…”
Go Johan muttered incomprehensible words.
“…!”
Yoon Seung-ah noticed the changes in Go Johan.
His upper body was fully exposed due to the shirt that had burned to ashes.
“…The position and shape of the tattoos?”
The position and form of Go Johan’s tattoos had changed.
The pentagram near his neck remained the same, but the bizarre tattoos below had shifted in position and appearance.
Large tattoos on his chest, back, ribs, both arms, and fingers.
They were burning bright red as if generating heat, seemingly quietly sleeping by Go Johan’s will.
“………”
Though the divine eye might not be able to open, it began to be visible to Yoon Seung-ah, who could see the most among the apostles.
“…You’ve divided the curses.”
Go Johan quietly turned and looked at her at those words.
“As expected, you noticed?”
The curses embedded in Go Johan were tangled messily.
Different curses influencing each other, creating a continuous chain reaction of curse activation – an infinite cycle.
With sins at the center, seemingly providing energy and increasing the curse’s intensity.
But.
Woong.
It was visible in Yoon Seung-ah’s eyes.
Something enormous was residing in Go Johan’s heart, enough to make one’s skin crawl just by looking.
‘Sins.’
These were Go Johan’s karma points.
Other curses were separated, centered around the sins.
“I’ve divided everything. Now…”
Squirm.
“Curses won’t erode each other without my permission.”
A form that minimized the influence each curse had on the others.
“Boss, what on earth are you talking about!”
Kim Si-on, driven by instinct rather than knowledge, shouted frustratedly.
Lee Ha-yeon seemed to understand slightly.
“…Player Core.”
She groaned, swallowing her shock.
“The Player Core has been divided into eight.”
“…?”
“One sin, seven types of curses.”
It was as if eight players were residing in Go Johan’s single body.
“Nine,” Yoon Seung-ah added.
“Including the core the Boss originally had.”
The Player Core, naturally formed when awakening as a player, was a secret that no one had yet understood or revealed.
Even Yoon Seung-ah, a top-tier expert in magic and supernatural abilities, couldn’t grasp the concept of a Player Core.
“Nine.”
Nine Player Cores.
“Is that even possible…?”
Kim Si-on, who instinctively felt something was impossible, spoke.
No one could answer.
‘Boss.’
Yoon Seung-ah trembled.
Not from fear, but from an overwhelming excitement.
Knowing Go Johan’s past roughly.
‘When you decide to achieve something, leaving everything behind, you always accomplish it.’
It was a moment when Go Johan’s extraordinary nature was deeply felt.
Only then did Go Johan completely suppress the power that had been raging wildly.
Then.
“Hm?”
Everyone’s gaze turned to the new visitor.
A girl who seemed around eleven years old bowed her head shyly, hugging a cat doll.
“Already awake?”
“…Yes.”
She was Pride, the last apostle.
“…Boss…”
A voice so small it was barely audible.
Who would know?
That she was the strongest among the apostles, half of her being a complete demon.
She quietly approached Go Johan and tightly held his hand.
*
*
*
A few days later.
“Look how good your face looks. Someone couldn’t sleep and has dark circles down to their chin.”
Kim Da-yeon grumbled towards Go Min-ji.
This was a cafe in Cheongdam.
It was early, so the cafe was quiet, with only Kim Da-yeon and Go Min-ji inside.
“What dark circles for a player? Your face looks better than before too.”
Go Min-ji scoffed at Kim Da-yeon.
As Go Min-ji said, a player’s body transcended human limits, and at a high level, one could go days without sleep.
Though even players couldn’t avoid certain diseases or amputations.
“I mean dark circles in my heart.”
Kim Da-yeon said this and smiled at Go Min-ji.
They bickered, but they were friends who had shared their hearts since childhood.
The only friend they could look at without any background or calculation.
“So.”
But time had passed.
“What urgent matter requires clearing out a cafe in broad daylight?”
They could no longer avoid calculations.
An adult who can only use the other person’s background.
But they were the kind of friends who could offer the most they could.
“Was it obvious?”
“Are you crazy? I’m at least two levels higher than you. I’ve apparently planted investigation team members around.”
A strange light flickered in Kim Da-yeon’s eyes.
Association investigation team members were specialized in information gathering and had incredibly superior stealth abilities.
Ordinary rankers couldn’t even sense their presence, and they could easily be mistaken for ordinary people.
“You’ve become quite strong too.”
“If you’re just calling to say nonsense like that, we’ll meet another day. It’s Mom’s birthday today, so I need to go early.”
Go Min-ji said.
“You should bring that kid too.”
“That kid? Johan?”
Go Min-ji nodded.
“You’re really something.”
Kim Da-yeon gave a bitter smile towards Go Min-ji.
But as Go Min-ji said, such trivial stories could be shared anytime.
Now.
“…There’s something called a Black Gate.”
It was time to discuss something more important.
“Black Gate?”
“Do you know about the Sunbaek incident?”
Go Min-ji nodded at Kim Da-yeon’s words.
“I know. Four years ago, right? There was a huge uproar. The appearance of an unknown mutant monster, and then…”
“A player of unknown identity defeated it.”
The aftermath was so significant it could collapse a small mountain.
“And I suppose…”
Go Min-ji’s eyes grew cold.
“A player believed to be operating in the shadows.”
“…How would you know?”
“It’s a Korean matter. How could I not know?”
Whew, Kim Da-yeon sighed.
“That’s right. And the place that player is believed to have belonged to is the Black Gate.”
The Black Gate was a name Go Min-ji had never heard before, so she listened carefully.
“And that Black Gate occupies eight-tenths of South Korea’s underground.”
“…What?”
*
*
*
-Your sister is meeting Team Leader Kim Da-yeon.
Yoon Seung-ah’s voice came from inside the moving car.
-It seems to be about the Black Gate.
It was already known that part of it was revealed during the Sunbaek incident when Pride was subdued.
The association had begun investigating, but they had discovered nothing.
And that Kim Da-yeon was persistently pursuing the case.
-Everything is within the expected range.
Everything was within the expected range and proceeded with Go Johan’s permission.
“Thank you.”
To call his sister, Go Min-ji, to Korea.
‘It’ll start soon.’
As long as he existed in South Korea, their attack would surely be concentrated here.
But as Greed had said.
‘Demon worshippers and traces of demons are emerging overseas as well.’
The assumption that they would only appear in this land was unreasonable.
Kim Se-hyun would protect her, but ironically, the safest place was this South Korea where he was.
-We’ll focus on the Black Gate for now.
With that, Yoon Seung-ah’s voice was no longer heard.
Woong.
Go Johan gripped the steering wheel with a slightly heavy expression.
As he said, if things were about to begin, he could no longer maintain an ambiguous attitude.
Something he had long planned with the apostles.
“Today might be… the last.”
His mother Shin Soo-kyung’s birthday.
It seemed today would be the last time the family would gather and spend time harmoniously.
Something he had always expected.
‘…Oh Goddess.’
His heart was anything but light.
The existence of family that Michael of Travania never experienced.
Only at this last moment.
‘Gabriel.’
‘Brother.’
What he had vaguely felt, Go Johan now felt with each moment as if pouring it out.
He had tried to blend into their circle as a return for something he wasn’t sure he deserved, but it seemed impossible.
So he wanted to push them away.
Woong.
He wasn’t sure if he had done the right thing.
Squeak.
At that moment, Go Johan urgently applied the brakes and stopped the car.
Baaaang!
Horns blaring filled the road, but Go Johan didn’t care and got out of the car.
“What the hell are you doing!”
Incoming curses.
“Driving like a dog just because you’re in a nice car…”
At that moment.
Whoosh.
It felt like flames were rising.
Simultaneously, a black goddess-like woman appeared behind Go Johan.
“Verify everything.”
“…Yes.”
“P-Player…!”
The driver who was angry was so shocked that he sat down.
No matter how familiar players were in this era, they were essentially living weapons.
“I’m sorry.”
Go Johan apologized.
“I’ll compensate you separately if you’re hurt.”
He didn’t hand over a business card, but he would find a way to compensate if necessary.
During this time.
“…!”
They had already disappeared.
In Go Johan’s mind.
[Black Gate detected.]
[Black Gate detected.]
[Black Gate detected.]
[…]
The goddess’s warning sounds were ringing like crazy.