CHAPTER 275: LEE SEODAM

YEJUN saw it.

As soon as Soline grabbed his hands, a clear piece of memory playing like a movie flooded his mind.

It was a "scene" with Kunwoo and Lee Seodam.

["APA ordered us to hunt down Song Sunho— it seems like he found out something he shouldn’t have," Kunwoo said while wiping the blade of his sword with a white handkerchief. "Are you ready to do your first dirty job?"]

[Lee Seodam looked scared, his pupils shaking. "Do we really have to kill Hunter Song Sunho? He’s an S-Class. It will be a loss to our country if he dies."]

["Kid, dogs don’t ask questions— we just do whatever the higher-ups want us to do."]

In that "scene," Lee Seodam looked like a scared rookie Hunter even though he had been a Hunter for a few years now. But maybe it was the fake carnivore’s first time to receive an order to kill a fellow Hunter.

The following scene supported Yejun’s theory.

["Ah, Sunho-ya. Don’t make my job harder than it already is," Kunwoo complained, bleeding on the ground— his sword broken into two. "Why the fuck is a scumbag like you so strong?"]

Yejun didn’t see the fight, but it was obvious that Song Sunho dominated it since both Kunwoo and Lee Seodam were already bleeding and half-dead.

["People don’t realize how strong I am because I am overshadowed by Moonho Hyung. Of course, I pale in comparison with my older brother," Song Sunho said, scoffing. "However, if the opponent is only someone of your level, isn’t it obvious that I’m going to win?"]

[Kunwoo let out a shallow laugh, and then he turned to Lee Seodam who wouldn’t stop coughing up blood. "I guess we’re dying here, kid."]

["N-No," Lee Seodam said in a shaking voice, his eyes opened wide. "I can’t die here."]

[And then the fake carnivore’s eyes turned glowing red as miasma started to leak out from his body.]

Yejun knew right then that the Virus would come out and possess Lee Seodam.

He was partially right.

The next "scene" was pretty horrific.

[Lee Seodam used Kunwoo’s broken sword to slice Sung Sunho’s body as if he was simply cutting up a tree.]

[How did it become possible with a broken sword?]

[Simple.]

[It wasn’t really broken.]

[A black aura shaped like a sword actually "fixed" the broken sword.]

[That black aura seemed to be filled with all the sinister things in the world.]

[It wasn’t just a sword.]

[There was something about the "blade" that made Song Sunho incapacitated every time he was hit by the sword.]

[Hence, Lee Seodam was pretty much severing Song Sunho’s limbs with little to no resistance. The fake carnivore had a blank look on his face while doing the grotesque act. He didn’t even blink despite the splashing blood hitting his face.]

It wasn’t Yejun’s first time witnessing a murder.

Heck, even he had killed plenty of Hunters in the past.

However, watching Lee Seodam chop up the defenseless Song Sunho with a frenzied look in the fake carnivore’s glowing red eyes gave him a shiver.

Lee Seodam was crazy— in a bad sense!

Yejun was close to throwing up when the "scene" changed again.

This time, Kunwoo was watching Lee Seodam wash his blood-soaked body in the Han River.

["Have you woken up, my liege?"]

["Not yet," Lee Seodam said in a calm yet cold tone. Even his face had changed a bit. It looked older and more jaded now. "I can’t possess this body completely because Chu Wonhee purified it recently. Until I’m truly free, I have to pretend to be the Virus."]

Yejun wanted to see more, but the memories ended right then.

When he opened his eyes, Soline’s pale face greeted him.

"We shouldn’t have seen the last scene you saw because Song Sunho was already dead by then. But it seemed like he used a skill to follow and observe Kunwoo and that young Hunter before he completely died," Soline explained worriedly. "Yejun, that young Hunter..."

"It’s Lee Seodam, Chu Wonhee’s ex-boyfriend," Yejun said through gritted teeth. "That bastard is possessed by the Lee Seodam from the previous world!"

***

YOOL saw it.

Memories that didn’t belong to him flooded his mind, playing like a movie with a tragic ending starring Chu Wonhee and Lee Seodam.

It started as a love story...

... and ended in betrayal.

The older Lee Seodam stabbed the older Chu Wonhee in the heart.

"But why?" Yool whispered to himself. "Why did Lee Seodam betray Wony?"

***

IT HAPPENED so fast.

Soobin noticed when Lee Seodam began to approach Chu Wonhee.

He was supposed to stop the bastard, but before he could even say anything, he disappeared from his sight.

The next thing Soobin saw was Lee Seodam grabbing Wonhee’s neck.

"Hee-ya!"

"Noona!"

"Wonhee-ssi!"

It wasn’t just Soobin.

Everyone in the room who saw Lee Seodam strangling Wonhee yelled and ran towards the two.

However, an invisible barrier stopped all of them.

"Dammit!" Soobin cursed under his breath while pulling out his guns from his Inventory. And then he didn’t hesitate to shoot the barrier. As expected, it didn’t break easily. However, he didn’t stop. "I’ll kill that bastard...!"

***

WONHEE opened her eyes and looked up.

She was then greeted by Lee Seodam who was standing in front of her.

And then she realized that everyone around her was running towards her while shouting her name.

Ah.

Wonhee belatedly realized that Lee Seodam had his fingers wrapped around her neck. "Oppa...?"

"Where’s the older Wonhee?" Lee Seodam asked in a mocking voice. "Didn’t she realize that if she could return to this timeline, then I could do it, too?"

At first, she didn’t understand Lee Seodam’s question.

She didn’t even understand why he was trying to kill her.

Then, in the middle of her confusion, it appeared— a Status Window.

[GUIDE CHU WONHEE, SNAPPED OUT OF IT!

ONG YOOL HAS SUCCEEDED IN HIS MISSION!

THE SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY DOWNLOADING YOUR OLD MEMORIES AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN!

PLEASE HANG IN THERE!]

Wonhee could sense the panic coming from the Status Window...

... and then she suddenly blacked out.

Only for a moment, though.

Ah...

"Hey, I’m not even trying to break your neck yet," Lee Seodam said sarcastically. "Are you this easy to kill now, Chu Wonhee?"

"You talk as if you’ve succeeded in killing me in the previous world," Wonhee said, raising her head to meet Lee Seodam’s gaze. His glowing red eyes trembled for a moment as if he was half-scared and half-nervous. That reaction incited a small laugh from her. "Just to get the record straight, you didn’t kill me— I took my own life for the sake of the world."

Well, not really.

Wonhee simply gave her remaining life force to humanity’s last hope— and that was none other than Hwang Frost, the strongest Hunter in the world.

[Ah, I hope Yejun doesn’t remember that part.]

Because Wonhee was certain Hwang Yejun would hate himself if he found out she died for him to live.

But, on the other hand, she was happy to regain her old memories.

[Hwang Frost from the previous world, the Hwang Yejun of this world fulfilled your promise to me.]

"Did you just laugh at me, Chu Wonhee?"

Oh.

Wonhee almost forgot that Lee Seodam still had his hand wrapped around her neck as she reminisced about the past.

To be honest, she hadn’t remembered everything yet.

But the important memories were flooding her mind slowly yet constantly.

"You’re still looking down on me, Chu Wonhee."

"I’ve never looked down on you, Lee Seodam," Wonhee said, smiling bitterly at Lee Seodam. "It’s not my fault that you feel inferior to me— then and now."

This time, Lee Seodam tightened his grip around her neck as if he was determined to kill her for real. "Your existence is a threat to the world I’m aiming to create— so why don’t you just die quietly this time?"

Wonhee was about to summon a skill when, all of a sudden, a loud and angry shout echoed in the entire room.

"STOP IT, LEE SEODAM!"

Ah.

It was Lee Seojin.

"Argh!" Lee Seodam let out a painful groan, and then his hand grabbed the arm where the hand strangling Wonhee was connected. Obviously, against his will, he finally let go of Wonhee’s neck. "That stupid brat...!"

Wonhee immediately stepped away from Lee Seodam while coughing and catching her breath.

She was saved by Lee Seojin.

[Jin-ah...]

Lee Seojin wasn’t simply yelling at Lee Seodam.

Wonhee remembered that Lee Seojin "inherited" Song Sunho’s Blood Manipulation ability.

[Jin can control Lee Seodam because Lee Seodam is connected to him by blood.]

Just like how Song Sunho controlled Song Moonho even in the previous world.

If Wonhee remembered it correctly, the "thicker" the blood was, the more the user could control their relatives.

That was probably how Lee Seojin could stop Lee Seodam.

"Stay away from Wonhee Noona!" Lee Seojin yelled, using his skill on his older brother again. "LEE SEODAM, FREEZE!"

Wonhee saw the moment the look in Lee Seodam’s eyes changed.

It was the look that he had when he killed all the remaining Guides in the previous world— the look that gave her shivers even now.

[Jin’s ability didn’t work this time!]

And now, Lee Seodam moved to kill Lee Seojin.

"Stop it, Lee Seodam!" Wonhee yelled while running towards Lee Seodam. "That’s your brother!"

Of course, Lee Seodam didn’t listen.

With just one flick of his hand, Lee Seodam made Lee Seojin fall to his knees while coughing up a huge chunk of corrupted dark Mana.

The same corrupted dark Mana that the Virus used in the previous world.

Wonhee’s distraction was an expensive mistake.

The next thing she knew, Lee Seodam had already grabbed her by the arm.

"I’m taking you with me," Lee Seodam said, snapping his fingers. "It seems like you’ve regained your memories, so I’ll steal them before I kill you."

And that was how Wonhee disappeared with Lee Seodam that day.

***

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