Chapter 54 – Your Name Is…

A month passed.

Magic beasts did not appear.

Raiders could not believe the reality, entrepreneurs worried about the suspension of the supply of magic crystals, and civilians were relieved by the peace they were enjoying again.

Raiders, who entered an indefinite standby, no longer went to work at their companies.

Se-min sat alone in the training ground of SH Company.

His daily routine did not change.

The only difference was that his raid time was entirely dedicated to training; gripping and swinging Lupus was the same as before.

“Sigh…”

He let out a sigh.

Somehow, he grew anxious. The reason was unknown. A world without magic beasts felt dreadfully desolate. Like looking at a dead lake where nothing moved, he could not shake the feeling that something ominous was happening.

‘That’s just an occupational disease.’

Lee Yu-jin, one of his few friends, said so.

She was also in a state of rest after finishing her album promotions, and spoke of the pain of sharing a common fate, saying she felt anxious like Se-min on days with no events.

Se-min did not agree.

He gripped Lupus again. The Tai Chi Wisdom flowed through his body, strengthening his physique. Se-min’s aura struck the empty air.

A bursting sound echoed.

“Tai Chi is Yin and Yang, Heaven, Earth, and Man, and furthermore, it points to Origin, Prosperity, Utility, and Preservation.”

Se-min spoke aloud. The Tai Chi Wisdom trembled as if in response. Striving to engrave the meaning in his head, Se-min continued his sword path again.

He became the sword itself and cut down everything.

It was an extremely compressed explosion.

No matter what had been there, it would have been shredded. However, he exercised internal restraint, and thus the sword qi, which could destroy anything, faded away after merely tearing the dust in the air into smaller and particles.

Such a process was repeated hundreds, thousands of times in a short span of time.

Se-min soon sat down, panting.

His heart felt like it would burst.

“Arghhhhh…”

He groaned lengthily and lay down.

He had only one consolation now.

Se-min pulled out his cell phone from his pocket.

Title: I burned the World Tree.

Author: Grand Wizard Iana

I ordered it to do some work, but it didn’t do it and kept slacking off, so I got angry and launched a Hellfire at it. Seeing it sickly, it seems like it will die soon, so I should grow a new one, right? Ah, what a hassle. I hope the next one grows up to be obedient.

Se-min quickly posted a comment.

Night Emperor Alaste: That’s neat, Sis. lol. Should I help you? lol

Raider Lee Se-min: You are working hard, Sister! ^^

Se-min was startled.

In the meantime, that punk Alaste commented first. He also didn’t like how he kept talking informally to Sister.

“I’ll pick a day and…”

He would definitely beat up Alaste, express his gratitude to Brother Dokgo Cheonma, and date Sister Iana.

While posting and commenting on the Transcendent Network, Se-min suddenly sensed someone’s presence in the office and stood up.

“Who is it?”

Lately, no one had dropped by the office. Even Yoo Sang-heun resolved minor tasks at home. Se-min opened the training ground door and entered the office.

There was a familiar face.

It was Cheong-myeong, and the man who always accompanied him.

They discovered Se-min and spoke.

“Lee Se-min.”

Unlike usual, the two had a lot of luggage. Each was dragging a suitcase and had sunglasses pushed up on their heads.

“Are you going somewhere to play?”

“We are returning to our country.”

“To China?”

“Yes.”

Perhaps because magic beasts did not appear, it seemed the Triads had recalled them.

Se-min scratched his head. It was a connection made while tailing and slashing at each other, so it felt strange for them to come and say goodbye before returning like this.

“Okay. Safe travels.”

“By any chance…”

Cheong-myeong chose his words, then let out a sigh.

“If you judge that there is no future in South Korea, come to us.”

“What?”

“You just need to find the Murim Alliance and hand this over.”

Cheong-myeong gave him a card. On it, the Hanja for ‘Murim Alliance’ was engraved along with a drawing of a sword. Se-min stared down at it quietly, then looked at Cheong-myeong again.

“Take care.”

“Yeah, okay.”

They dragged their suitcases again and walked out of the office.

It was a sudden visit and a swift exit. Se-min fell into thought as he watched their receding backs.

The strange visits were not over.

Se-min, who was taking a drink out of the office refrigerator and drinking it, choked and coughed for a long time when he saw a foreigner suddenly ring the bell and appear.

Until the Tai Chi Wisdom completely cleared the food stuck in his windpipe, Se-min bent his waist and coughed repeatedly.

It was Camilla, an attractive woman with long black hair. Beside her stood the Raid Security Agency interpreter employee he had seen previously. Looking at Se-min’s state, Camilla burst into laughter.

“What brings you here?”

“Do you not remember Jonathan’s proposal from before?”

“Ah.”

Jonathan had offered him naturalization.

He had said an employee would visit after the subjugation battle, but Se-min had not expected him to appear with Camilla like this. When Camilla’s eyes met Se-min’s, she winked.

“Why is Camilla here?”

“She followed because she said she wanted to meet you.”

“I see…”

Se-min immediately gave his answer.

“I have no intention of going to the US.”

“I see.”

It was an attitude of having expected it.

Camilla spoke to the employee, and when he shook his head, she wore a disappointed expression. Then she pointed to herself and said something to Se-min.

“She is asking if you would go with her.”

“Please tell her I’m not going.”

“Do you have a lover?”

“No.”

“It would be better to say you do, what do you think?”

“Then say I do.”

“You made a good choice.”

He interpreted for Camilla. Camilla said something again.

“She’s asking if it’s the woman who was in the subjugation battle back then. Should I say yes?”

“Please say no.”

Camilla wore a disappointed face.

“She says you can come anytime if you change your mind. The Raid Security Agency shares the same sentiment as Camilla. Please contact us anytime. We will come pick you up in a private jet.”

They handed a document to Se-min. Se-min accepted it. It was a document kindly written in Korean, detailing the benefits and treatment he would receive.

Se-min asked.

“Now that gates no longer appear, do you need me?”

The employee stared at Se-min, remained silent for a moment, and then continued.

“We do.”

He did not explain further.

Once their business was finished, the two left the office. Whether they had come all the way from the US to South Korea just to meet Se-min, or if they had other business, was unknown.

Watching the vehicle with a rental license plate recede through the window, Se-min thought it was a strange day.

***

[A month has passed since gates ceased to appear. Raiders on indefinite standby are clashing in various places. Last night, around 1 AM, an altercation broke out at a bar in Gangnam…]

[Raider Joo Ho-san of Hosan Company described this workless time as a vacation and went on volunteer activities with his affiliated Raiders. For neighbors in need…]

[As work disappeared, the term ‘subsistence Raiders’ emerged. Most of them are Blue Mark Raiders who have not been Raiders for long. With their income gone, they temporarily took jobs at security companies or service firms…]

While turning the news channels, Se-min asked Hyeon Jae-yeong who was preparing to go out.

“Are you going to work somewhere too?”

“No, no! I’m late for my appointment.”

“Girlfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

Hyeon Jae-yeong rummaged through his closet, then suddenly walked into Se-min’s room. Wondering what on earth that fellow was doing, Se-min waited until he reappeared.

When Hyeon Jae-yeong opened the door again, he was wearing Se-min’s Sukajan.

“Uh, how is it?”

“…”

“Do you think I can transform my image with your clothes, Brother?”

Hyeon Jae-yeong had pursued a so-called ‘warm and handsome’ style. He always wore knits and cardigans with cotton pants. However, whatever whim had taken him, he was coveting Se-min’s Dragon Sukajan.

Se-min spoke honestly.

“It really doesn’t suit you.”

“Aw.”

Hyeon Jae-yeong put Se-min’s Sukajan back in the closet and returned to his room. Then, wearing a white shirt and cotton pants as he always did, he ran out in a hurry.

“I’m leaving.”

“Okay.”

Toward Hyeon Jae-yeong’s back as he opened the front door to leave, Se-min suddenly spoke.

“I’m going to Ye-na’s wedding today.”

He froze.

Although he hadn’t mentioned the date, he had already told Hyeon Jae-yeong about her marriage. Hyeon Jae-yeong stared at Se-min. His eyes wavered, then he went back into his room.

“This…”

He handed an envelope to Se-min.

“Please hand this in with yours…”

“Will do.”

The envelope was quite thick. Hyeon Jae-yeong, seemingly perturbed, stared alternately at the envelope and Se-min, and let out a sigh.

“Then, I’m leaving.”

“Please tell Ji-hyun that I want to meet the director again.”

“The director? Got it.”

Hyeon Jae-yeong immediately left the house.

Left alone at home, Se-min flicked through the channels again.

“I should start preparing too.”

Since he only planned to show his face and return, he threw on his Sukajan as usual. Expressing clearly that he was Lee Se-min would actually be more welcome to Kim Ye-na.

After stuffing the congratulatory money envelopes into his Sukajan, Se-min rode his motorcycle toward the wedding hall.

The hall was luxurious. The attire of the guests was also splendid. Since he was a man chosen by Kim Ye-na, he guessed that his wealth would be considerable, but this was beyond expectations. Se-min admired Kim Ye-na.

“She is indeed not ordinary…”

When Se-min approached to hand in the congratulatory money, a man raised his head.

He was a young man whose appearance strangely resembled Kim Ye-na’s.

Upon discovering Se-min, his eyes widened.

“Uh, uh…”

“Here.”

“What about meal tickets…”

“It’s fine.”

Seeing the two envelopes Se-min handed over and confirming that ‘Lee Se-min’ was written on them, his eyes widened again. He called Se-min as he was about to turn away.

“Excuse me, you’re really Lee Se-min, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well… ah, never mind.”

He tried to say something, but other guests flocked in, so he ultimately focused on receiving the congratulatory money.

Se-min turned around. People’s gazes were already gathered on him. The guests whispered his name. Among them, Se-min discovered a man busy attending to guests.

He was the man who would become Kim Ye-na’s husband.

He was a tall man wearing glasses. Although a person’s heart cannot be known by appearance, his impression looked very solid. He possessed ability and a great family background.

Se-min felt pity for the man. He felt like a poor sheep caught in Kim Ye-na’s magic claws. It was as if looking at the Hyeon Jae-yeong of the past.

“You are Lee Se-min, right?”

A group of women approached and spoke to Se-min.

“Yes.”

“We are Ye-na’s friends, and when they said you were coming, we thought it was a lie.”

“Let’s take a photo with Ye-na together.”

Led by them, Se-min headed toward the bridal waiting room.

Kim Ye-na, dressed in a wedding gown, was sitting. She discovered Se-min and smiled brightly.

“You came, Brother?”

“Yes.”

Was it the same for all brides? She looked more beautiful than usual. She did not look like the Kim Ye-na he knew. Today, at least, Se-min could give her a compliment he usually didn’t.

“You’re beautiful.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Se-min stood behind Kim Ye-na and took a photo together. The friends seemed to like it more than Kim Ye-na did. After taking photos a few times, Se-min went out and waited for the ceremony.

The wedding ceremony began.

Standing at the very back, Se-min watched Kim Ye-na’s back as she walked with her father.

He looked back on the past.

He had never imagined he would stand in a place like this.

Se-min chuckled as he watched the happy-looking Kim Ye-na. The groom looked nervous but stood proudly with his shoulders straight. At the question of whether he would make the bride happy, the groom answered loudly, eliciting cheers.

The two kissed.

Leaving the smiling faces of the two behind, Se-min left the hall.

This was enough.

Se-min asked himself where he should go now.

Should he return home?

Should he swing his sword at the training ground?

When he chewed over other options, nothing came to mind. What occupied most of his daily routine was magic beasts. When the creatures disappeared, Se-min was left floating in midair.

Out of habit, he felt his shoulder, but nothing was grasped.

Since the gates disappeared, he had left Lupus behind.

“Should I go on a trip…?”

It was the moment Se-min stretched while feeling the sunlight outside the building.

Ah.

Se-min did not want to believe what he felt.

Ah.

It started without warning.

Countless gates opened their pupils at once.

Se-min tried to return to the wedding hall.

However, a magic beast that appeared first was assailing a person.

Se-min’s figure vanished and then appeared in front of the magic beast.

He swung his hand and tore the magic beast’s head. The aura condensed on his hand was sharper than a blade. Covered in the splashing blood of the magic beast, Se-min raised his head.

Magic beasts were falling from dozens, hundreds of pupils that rose in the sky.

He closed his eyes, then opened them.

In that brief instant, people’s lives sank into death.

His head spun.

Se-min unleashed his aura fully. The Black Mark Raider’s aura dominated the area. The pressure of the aura pressed down on the magic beasts. The creatures could barely move. However, he had only delayed their path to death for a moment; people were still being killed by the magic beasts.

There were many magic beasts, and many people too.

Too many options arose, making his eyes dizzy. Every hour, every second, branches of causality entangling life and death stretched out infinitely.

He looked back.

He felt the energy of a gate in the wedding hall.

The appearance of the beautiful wedding hall now looked like an ominous tomb harboring death.

“Kim Ye-na.”

Se-min muttered her name.

He ran inside the building. The smell of magic beasts already drifted from inside. The crowd fleeing was completely drenched in blood, and they also soon fell, their backs pierced by the pursuing magic beasts.

Se-min swung his fist and smashed a magic beast’s head. Kicking off the wall, he flew and struck their bodies. The magic beasts filling the hallway soon became a few pieces of debris, convulsing on the floor.

Beyond that, slaughter was still taking place.

He closed his eyes, then opened them.

People’s heads fell.

Se-min sprinted toward the wedding hall.

Se-min tore apart the roaring magic beasts at the entrance of the wedding hall. People’s screams echoed in the narrow space.

A woman was just about to enter the maw of a magic beast. It was Kim Ye-na’s friend who had taken a photo with him earlier. She could not even scream and was being sucked toward death.

Se-min ran over and drove his hand into the magic beast’s skull.

The skull shattered.

Just before the bodily fluids splattered and touched Se-min’s cornea.

In that microscopic instant.

At the edge of his vision, a pure white wedding dress was reflected. It was a dazzling white. Toward its center, the magic beast’s talons were flying in.

A long silence as if time had stopped.

He closed his eyes, then opened them.

The wedding dress was dyed red.

Se-min ran.

He grabbed the magic beast’s maw and tore it away. The creature lost its jaw and shrieked, but soon its head was split by the aura, scattering brain matter as it went limp on the floor.

The magic beasts that had enjoyed the slaughter fled outside the wedding hall to avoid him.

“Ye-na.”

Her chest was pierced.

She looked at Se-min.

Her pupils were turning dim.

Kim Ye-na was held in Se-min’s arms, and she slowly turned her head.

The corpse of the groom, already dead and fallen, was there.

“Ye-na.”

Strength drained from her body.

There was no such thing as final words.

A life drew its last breath and reached silence like that.

Se-min rose from his spot.

The vision was heavy with corpses overflowing everywhere. When so many deaths were captured in a single scenery, Se-min felt dizzy. Staggering, Se-min rose and left the wedding hall where not a single living person remained.

Ah.

Se-min saw that Kim Ye-na’s friend, whom he had saved from the magic beast before running to Kim Ye-na, was dead again.

He closed his eyes, then opened them.

The bodies of the magic beasts moved away.

He closed his eyes again, then opened them.

He was grabbing their necks and exploding their bodies. Watching the pieces of flesh shattering and scattering in front of his eyes, Se-min could not understand what this emotion swirling inside him was.

There were too many deaths, too many magic beasts, and too many swirling emotions.

Se-min left the building.

The city was in shambles.

Se-min left the building.

The city was in shambles.

What moved in front of his eyes was not people, but all magic beasts.

The pupils rising in the sky continued to spit out magic beasts. They landed on the unfamiliar land, looked around, devoured moving things, and walked toward Se-min who stood alone, glaring at them.

Se-min felt his back.

Lupus, which was always with him, was not there.

After the gates stopped, one day he thought it was cumbersome and left it at home. At first he was anxious, but soon got used to it.

He thought peace would continue.

No, he hoped it would.

So he put down the sword.

Perhaps, knowing that a day like this would come eventually, he might have preferred to turn his eyes away and ignore it.

Se-min wiped the magic beast’s blood running down his eyes with his palm. The contour of his face caught.

The corners of his mouth were high.

He was smiling.

Turning around, he reflected his face in the window of a stationary vehicle. The mouth was smiling, but the eyes were infinitely distorted. It was a bizarre expression of neither smiling nor crying. Se-min brought his face closer to look more closely.

Through the car window, he saw the driver dead, with his heart pierced.

Se-min laughed aloud.

As the angle of the sunlight shifted, the car window reflected the outside scenery again. In it, Se-min himself and the magic beast targeting his back were reflected together.

Aura burst out from Se-min’s body.

Caught in the aura, the magic beast turned into pieces of flesh.

Se-min turned around. This was no longer the human city he knew. In the far distance, and further away, gates dominated the city’s skyline.

Everything in sight was broken down by magic beasts.

Se-min took a step.

The atmosphere vibrated.

No longer did the Tai Chi Wisdom speak to Se-min. It merely snarled with a ferocious face in response to his emotions. He was a beast larger than all the magic beasts here combined. Every time he swung his hand once, magic beasts exploded to death.

There was no system in the appearance of magic beasts, so different ranks were entangled.

Thus, the magic beasts that devoured humans tangled with each other, fighting and eating one another.

He thought.

What should he do now?

At every instant, all possibilities arose and sank. Too many things were changed by his choices. Should he save the people in front of him, or should he move to save the people important to him?

Important people.

Several faces passed through Se-min’s head.

His cell phone rang.

Se-min picked it up and checked. On the blood-smeared screen, a message from the Raider Bureau was displayed. It was a request to gather at Yongsan. Se-min stared at it and then crushed the cell phone.

Se-min closed his eyes, then opened them.

As many magic beasts as he had killed were walking toward him in groups.

Se-min closed his eyes again.

***

Everything was paralyzed.

Magic beasts poured out from the entirety of Seoul. According to the incoming news, the whole Korean Peninsula was like this, and furthermore, the entire world was in chaos.

Raiders who had been on indefinite standby came out with weapons.

Even as they killed and were killed, magic beasts appeared again. The eyes of creepy red currents watched them from everywhere. There seemed to be no way to escape them.

Shelters no longer had the capacity to receive people.

Evacuation zones were set up around Raiders. Surviving people left their homes and gathered at schools, city halls, and hypermarkets. Raiders gathered individually to build defensive lines as much as they could.

“Hey, I’m telling you, if you just listen to me, I won’t let you die…”

Bang Yu-bi, who was patrolling the area secured by the Iron Horse Company, heard a voice coming out from an alley.

A man had cornered a woman and was whispering something.

“You know how important it is for a Raider to protect you in this situation, right?”

“Don’t do this…”

“I just saved you earlier too.”

The woman’s state was a mess. Chuckling, the man felt the woman’s shoulder. His hand gradually began to slide down.

Bang Yu-bi approached silently, grabbed the man’s hair, and slammed his head against the wall.

He spilled blood from his nose and sprawled on the floor. Spitting curses, he drew a knife but hesitated upon confirming Bang Yu-bi’s appearance. Bang Yu-bi kicked his face. The man rolled on the floor, bleeding again.

“Three seconds. If you don’t get lost, I’ll really kill you.”

Her killing intent grew stronger.

The energy of the Subduing Demon Sword choked the man. He began to flee in a hurry. Bang Yu-bi glared at his retreating back.

Trashy bastards were everywhere.

Since the magic beasts raged, she had witnessed this kind of scene several times.

Bang Yu-bi clenched and unclenched her fists. Then she turned toward the woman. She was trembling.

“Are you okay?”

“Thank you.”

“I’m Bang Yu-bi of the Iron Horse Company. This is an area we protect, so rest assured. You just need to follow me.”

“Yes, yes.”

Bang Yu-bi helped her up. Perhaps because she hadn’t eaten properly, her body was too light. She was even limping.

“Are you hurt?”

“My ankle…”

“Get on my back.”

Carrying the woman on her back, she crossed the city, which had become a mess.

A week had passed since the gates opened simultaneously.

Now, Earth was no longer their land. Endlessly, creatures of the other world poured out through the gates. The terrible smell of the other world she had caught during the subjugation battle was now soaked in the streets like a daily routine.

The end of the brief peace spent without gates was, literally, the end of the world.

She felt the presence of magic beasts in the distance.

She quieted her footsteps.

It was no longer magic beasts but humanity that walked on eggshells in this land. Bang Yu-bi felt anger at that fact, but there was nothing she could do. She merely roamed the city to save even one more person, gathering survivors.

A group of Raiders appeared in the distance.

“Yu-bi.”

“I found a survivor.”

“Good work.”

It was the Iron Horse Company group guarding the area.

“There was a trashy Raider.”

“What did you do?”

“I felt like killing him but held back. I beat him up a few times and let him flee.”

“Yeah…”

Not everyone chose the path of saving people like them.

The rule of law was ruined, and it had now become a shambles where people attacked each other to survive. Some Raiders used their power to satisfy their desires. However, it was a desperate situation where even their strength was needed.

‘Our top priority is securing Raider manpower.’

The Raider Bureau spoke so. They were recruiting Raiders, and a condition was included that, excluding murder, they would not be held accountable for whatever they did against civilians.

Bang Yu-bi spat on the ground.

Corpses of people were scattered everywhere on the streets.

They did not have the spare capacity to bury them. Rather, the Raiders hoped the magic beasts would fill their hunger through these and not attack them.

Soothing the body of the woman trembling on her back, Bang Yu-bi spoke.

“What about the President?”

“He went to the Raider Bureau.”

The Raider Bureau moved their base to the Yongsan base.

“I wonder if there will be a way even if he goes there…”

“They say if we wait a little, the Raider Bureau will step forward, so we must truly hope there is something.”

“Is there enough food?”

“Not much. We’re on our way to rummage through a mart right now.”

“Sigh.”

At least the situation of the Iron Horse Company was on the better side. Order was maintained by Ryu Gwan-cheol’s overwhelming military force. It was unknown what was happening in other places.

“Are all the other Black Mark Raiders confirmed?”

“Yeah. They say everyone is cooperating with the Raider Bureau. Except for one person.”

She also knew who that one person was.

The Black Mark Raider, Lee Se-min.

His whereabouts had been unknown since the day the gates opened simultaneously.

Upper-mark Raiders were performing base defense in cooperation with the Raider Bureau, but for him, rumors of being spotted here and there were only rampant, and his exact location was not identified.

“Brother…”

Bang Yu-bi wanted to see his always confident face.

Then it seemed like this fear would disappear too.