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Chapter 167 – Why Is That Guy Here?
“LostYak.”
Min Juri, beside him, stared with wide eyes.
“Your nickname was LostYak?”
“Mm.”
“I had no idea.”
At this point, he decided to show it.
He couldn’t hide it forever.
‘Of course, even this isn’t my real nickname.’
It was still too early to reveal he was Black Scythe.
There was nothing to gain from drawing attention to himself for no reason.
‘There could be people who hold a grudge against Black Scythe, so revealing my identity is dangerous.’
If things went wrong, his younger brother could become a target.
There wasn’t a single upside to revealing who he was.
‘So the later it’s revealed that I’m Black Scythe, the better.’
Instead, he decided to use the name LostYak.
Even if he revealed a nickname, no one would be able to find him in the other world.
‘To use Tracking, you’d have to know the customized appearance too.’
And since it was originally the nickname of someone who had died, no one could find it anyway.
“Democracy-nim, LostYak-nim. Welcome. First, have a seat here. Before the other believers arrive, let’s talk slowly.”
“Is someone else coming too?”
“Of course. Quite a few people have been showing interest in our Reaper Church.”
The four of them sat down on the floor and chatted quietly together.
“You live in Seoul?”
“Yes. It took exactly an hour to get here.”
“I see. Thank you for coming such a long way. The fact that you came all this way must mean both of you do so out of love and respect for Black Scythe-nim, yes?”
“Ah, I wouldn’t go as far as love…”
The conversation mostly flowed between Heo Tae-seok and Min Juri.
Ryu Min simply listened in silence.
In the first place, they didn’t seem particularly interested in him, and he didn’t have anything to say.
“There’s something I’ve wanted to ask if I ever met Democracy-nim.”
“What is it?”
“Are you perhaps… in that kind of relationship with Black Scythe-nim?”
“Y-Yes???”
“You said yes?”
“No! I mean—no! Of course not!”
After shouting, Min Juri stole a quick glance at Ryu Min.
‘Why is she checking my reaction?’
Heo Tae-seok scratched his head and asked again.
“Huh? You weren’t?”
“Of course not! No!”
“And you don’t contact Black Scythe-nim in real life either?”
“No, no. I don’t. Black Scythe-nim is someone I met in the other world.”
Only after she waved her hands frantically with a flustered face did Heo Tae-seok finally believe her.
“Haha, sorry. Since you were always with Black Scythe-nim from the very start, I thought you were lovers… Good thing it was a misunderstanding.”
At the word “good thing,” Min Juri’s expression turned strangely complicated, but Heo Tae-seok didn’t notice.
“Then the partner who went to Nigeria with Black Scythe-nim wasn’t Democracy-nim?”
“I’ve never been to Nigeria in my life.”
“I see. That’s a relief…”
“But why is this place so run-down? I came expecting a huge, grand religious order…”
Maybe annoyed by the repeated “that’s a relief,” Min Juri picked on the building instead.
“This house belonged to my late grandmother. To use the inside more widely, we tore down some walls and fixed it up a bit.”
“Ah… I see.”
As Min Juri grew embarrassed and searched for something to say, people began to file in one by one.
They were all unfamiliar faces, but judging by their looks, they were definitely Players.
As one, then two arrived, the number soon passed ten.
And then, all at once, a whole group of around fifteen poured in.
It was Jo Yong-ho’s crew.
“Hello! We all came because we want to join the Reaper Church!”
“Ohh, welcome!”
With Jo Yong-ho’s group entering, the once-empty space became cramped in an instant.
‘Jo Yong-ho’s real face is the same too.’
As he was thinking that, Ryu Min also encountered an unexpected neighbor.
“Isn’t that actress Seo Arin?”
“Wow, I never thought I’d see Seo Arin-nim in person.”
The one who came in was Seo Arin.
Maybe because she was a celebrity whose stock was rising these days, a lot of people recognized her immediately.
“Ohh, Seo Arin-nim, you’ve come?”
“Nopein-nim?”
“That’s right. Just like you, my face is the same, see? You said you’d definitely come, and indeed! I believed in you!”
“I promised, so I should keep it.”
As Seo Arin answered shyly, her gaze suddenly drifted this way.
“Oh? Um… Ryu Min—”
She started to say “Prophet,” then hurriedly corrected herself. Ryu Min smiled awkwardly at her.
“Ha ha… hello.”
“What brings you here? Are you interested in Black Scythe-nim too, Ryu Min?”
“No. I just stopped by to take a look.”
“I didn’t think we’d meet in a place like this.”
“Neither did I.”
“But the person next to you looks very familiar…”
As Seo Arin muttered while looking at Min Juri, Eom Jun-seok cut in suddenly.
“That person is Democracy-nim.”
“Democracy? That’s the Buffer-nim?”
“Yes, I’m Democracy.”
“Ahh, nice to meet you. No wonder. You vaguely resembled your other-world face.”
As she said that, Seo Arin sidled up to Min Juri and whispered quietly.
“Um, I-I’m curious about something…”
“Yes?”
“Are you… in contact with Black Scythe-nim in real life too?”
“No. I’ve never met him even once.”
“Ah, really?”
Seo Arin’s face fell into a sulk.
To shift the mood, Ryu Min asked,
“Arin. What about Manager An and CEO Ma? They didn’t come with you?”
“I tried to invite them, but they said they weren’t interested, so I came alone.”
Hearing that, Ryu Min nodded.
‘Makes sense. They see Black Scythe as a rival and are wary of him. Of course they wouldn’t come.’
Just then, Min Juri asked with startled eyes,
“You… how do you know Actress Seo Arin?”
“She’s my neighbor. She lives on the floor above mine. She’s also an entertainer signed to a company I invested in.”
“Ah, really?”
For a while, Min Juri stared at Seo Arin without saying anything.
Reading her thoughts, it seemed she was subtly on guard.
‘Don’t worry, Juri. I’m way too old to date someone else.’
Looking around, he saw that almost thirty people had gathered, chatting in low voices.
‘A lot of them showed up.’
There was no need to think of it as something grand just because it was called a “church.”
It was simpler to see it as a social gathering of fans of Black Scythe.
‘And making a place like this was purely to draw in believers, I’m sure.’
Since it wasn’t a true god but a human being they worshiped, with thirty people gathered there wasn’t much to do besides talk.
Tick-tock, tick-tock—
When he checked the wall clock, the time they were supposed to gather had already passed by a lot.
Thinking it was about time to start, Heo Tae-seok stepped up onto a piece of furniture he’d made into a makeshift podium.
“Ahem. Hello, everyone. I am Heo Tae-seok, the founder and leader of the Reaper Church. My nickname is NopeinNoge-i, and I am currently a Level 45 black mage.”
As he began speaking, the murmurs died down, and soon a quiet silence settled in.
“Thank you for coming to the Reaper Church. As you all know from coming here, the Reaper Church is a group that worships Black Scythe-nim. First, if I may share what led me to admire Black Scythe-nim…”
The story grew long, but no one took their eyes off Heo Tae-seok.
He went on and on about his honest family circumstances, the bullying he suffered during his school years, and more, yet no one looked bored.
His voice had pull, and it carried sincerity.
Seeing this side of Heo Tae-seok for the first time, Ryu Min was quietly impressed.
‘He’s surprisingly talented at preaching.’
He’d thought he was introverted, but that wasn’t it.
When it came to Black Scythe, words poured out of him like a flowing river, and he transformed into a different person.
“…And that is why Black Scythe-nim is someone who gave me many realizations in life. I say this without hesitation: I believe he is the savior who will end the despair of this world, the one and only light. And I also came to realize that there are more people than expected who think the same way. That is also why I founded the Reaper Church—”
That was when it happened.
Tap— tap— tap—
In the middle of his sermon, an irritating sound made people turn their heads—and a man was entering, leaning on crutches.
‘Huh? That guy is…’
At the unexpected appearance, Ryu Min’s eyes widened.
‘That’s Joo Seong-tak.’
Joo Seong-tak—the serial killer who competed with Ma Kyung-rok for Rank 2 and 3.
The crippled bastard who’d lost his limbs appeared wearing a prosthetic arm and leg.
‘Why is that guy here?’
Since Joo Seong-tak was a member of Player’s Haven Café, it wasn’t impossible he’d seen the promotional post and come.
‘But he doesn’t seem like the type who’d follow Black Scythe.’
Thinking he must have some scheme, Ryu Min read his thoughts.
Sure enough.
‘That bastard… he came looking for me.’
More precisely, he’d come looking for Hwang Yong-min.
To take revenge on Hwang Yong-min, the one who had made him a cripple.
‘He thought if he went somewhere Players gather, he could run into him, so he came all the way here.’
As expected, he had zero interest in Black Scythe.
“During my sermon, a new believer has arrived. Welcome. I am Heo Tae-seok, leader of the Reaper Church.”
“……”
Without responding, Joo Seong-tak swept his cold eyes across the people.
There was only one thought in his head.
-That bastard who did this to me might be among them.
A thirst for revenge.
Joo Seong-tak’s fury was aimed solely at Hwang Yong-min.
“Believer, are you alright? Your complexion doesn’t look good.”
Perhaps worried by the way he was glaring around, Eom Jun-seok placed a hand warmly on his back, but—
Tap—
“Don’t touch me. I’ll kill you.”
At Joo Seong-tak’s harsh reaction, Eom Jun-seok could only turn away with an awkward smile.
People’s expressions all varied at the sight.
Some clicked their tongues as if to say, What kind of talk is that? Others looked at him with pity, as if thinking, He must be suffering.
Reading those gazes and that atmosphere, Joo Seong-tak’s anger only grew hotter, like a stove fed with firewood.
-X-fuckers, looking at a person with that kind of gaze? Do I look pathetic to you? I’m already pissed off, but maybe I should just kill every last one of these X-fucks.
It was understandable.
When you’re in a position where you’re being pitied, you might react like that.
In a moment of rage, you might even think you want to kill.
‘The problem is, that bastard is a serial killer who kills easily.’
It might not stop at thoughts—he might actually do it.
‘If he uses Corpse Explosion in a cramped place like this, there’ll be massive casualties.’
If things went wrong, everyone could die.
Corpse Explosion was that powerful of a skill.
‘This is making me uneasy…’
Should he leave a time bomb like that alone?
Or should he stop him?
The hesitation didn’t last long.
Because the bastard’s twisted thoughts came through clearly.
-X-fuck. He’s not here. I checked every face, but the bastard who did this to me isn’t here. I came for nothing, X-fuck. Since these unlucky bastards are here anyway, should I just kill them and bolt?
Even just from the tone of his inner voice, it felt sincere.
‘If we fight in here, it’s dangerous.’
Ryu Min felt the need to lure him outside first, and he whispered to Min Juri.
“I’m going to the bathroom for a bit.”
“Okay, go.”
Whether Ryu Min went out or not, everyone remained focused on Heo Tae-seok’s sermon.
Without realizing what Joo Seong-tak was thinking.
‘If I kill three quickly, secure some bodies, then use the enhanced Corpse Explosion with the [Soul Storage] skill I learned recently… I can kill every last one of these bastards in here.’
There were many people, but at best they were around his level.
They wouldn’t have the mind—or the ability—to respond to a sudden ambush.
‘If I do it right, I can cleanly kill them all and leave.’
There was almost no benefit to Joo Seong-tak in killing people.
At best, he could store their souls, and then when using enhanced skills he wouldn’t need to hunt down separate souls later?
There was risk, since it was a crowd, but Joo Seong-tak’s heart was tilting toward killing them.
All because he didn’t like those eyes that had looked at him with pity.
-X-bastards. The ones who can’t even make the rankings think it’s funny that I’m like this, huh? Fine. Just watch. Watch what the cripple you mocked is about to do. Heh heh.
Just imagining the moment after Corpse Explosion—when their faces would twist into horror—made him want to laugh.
Wearing a greasy smile, he was scanning the room, choosing who to kill first when—
Something caught his eye, and Joo Seong-tak’s face suddenly went rigid.
“You… you bastard!”
Because right there, in front of the gate, stood the man he’d been desperately searching for—fully geared up.