Chapter 269: A Father's Choice
An explosion of bloodlight and black flames erupted into the sky, sending arcs of lightning tearing through the surrounding city. At the center of the destruction, two figures remained locked together as the ground cracked beneath them.
With two bleeding stumps on his back, Seo-jin was down on one knee, blood pouring from missing an arm as he struggled to hold Butcher's Wrath above his head. One of the Chairman's black feathered wings pressed against the cleaver, its sharpened edge hovering inches from his throat.
"You have no idea what you've done. What I've spent my life trying to accomplish! But why would you? Your kind doesn't build anything. You just take!"
With a furious shout, he drove his foot into Seo-jin's chest, sending him crashing through the street. Rock and concrete collapsed around him as he disappeared into the crater.
"Look around you! Look at what this world has become! We used to have cities where people could live without worrying about a dungeon opening above their heads. Children went to school. People grew old surrounded by their families. And now we hide underground like rats!"
Coughing up blood and chunks of his damaged organs, Seo-jin struggled to pull himself from the crater. His chest burned with every breath, and he could feel several broken ribs shifting as he moved.
[He's regained control.]
"I can see that."
Getting to his feet, Seo-jin swayed as he watched the Chairman advance through the settling dust. The human had regained control, but the pressure coming from his body was weakening. Whatever connection they'd severed had worked, though the Chairman still possessed more than enough strength to kill him. Even if his usual calm demeanor had vanished.
It was probably the only reason any of them were still alive. During their last clash, the Chairman fought more like a man wanting to hurt, rather than kill. The amount of times his bones had knitted back together was a testament to that.
He was running out of options. His new Mutation was impressive, but it wouldn't bridge the massive power gap between them. There was only one thing left that he could do, but be would need time to pull it off, and to find the resolve needed to make the sacrifice.
[He's coming.]
"I've spent decades cleaning up the mess this world became. Feeding people who'd murder for a scrap of moldy bread. Keeping order among people who'd kill and rape each other the moment no one was watching."
Black flames crawled along the Chairman's shoulders as he surveyed the ruined street.
"Do you know how many times I wanted to burn this city to the ground? How often I had to remind myself there was still something worth saving?"
[HP // 934/4500]
[SM // 100/100]
Checking his remaining health, Seo-jin grimaced. He'd barely survived the last exchange, and the Chairman was still advancing as though his injuries meant nothing. Gritting his teeth, Seo-jin forced his body to take a step.
"I don't understand you humans."
His armor hung in broken sections, and blood continued dripping from his missing arm. Despite the damage, he bared his fangs, tightening his grip around Butcher's Wrath.
"You talk as if you're any different. How many have you killed? How many did you sacrifice to force your ascension?"
He spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground.
"I'd wager you've killed more of your kind than I have. So spare me the bullshit."
The Chairman stopped, a faint smile crossing his face.
"Thousands."
Seo-jin raised a brow.
"What?"
"I've killed thousands. Men...women. Children. Some deserved it. Most didn't."
Flexing his fingers, he watched his dark aura gather around his hand.
"And if another thousand had to die to finish what I started, I wouldn't hesitate."
"You're finally being honest."
"You think I don't know what I'm doing?"
The Chairman shook his head.
"I remember every decision I've made. Every single order I've given. I've had decades to consider the ethics."
"And?"
"I'd do it again."
Letting out a low laugh, Seo-jin winced as pain shot through his chest.
"That's the funny thing I've noticed about you humans. Your species always has some grand excuse for the horrors you commit."
"Call it whatever you want. I know what those deaths bought me."
"Sure you do. We both take what we want, kill whoever gets in our way, and tell ourselves it was worth it."
Grinning, Seo-jin exposed his bloodstained teeth.
"Only difference is, I don't pretend I'm doing anyone a favor."
The Chairman's smile disappeared.
"You think this is about me?"
"Isn't it?"
"I gave up any chance of a normal life decades ago. Do you have any idea what I've done to my own children? What I've put them through to prepare them?"
Seo-jin's grin faded a little.
"Yu-na..."
"Do not speak her name. You wore the face of someone she trusted. You wormed your way into her life and turned her against me."
Shrugging, Seo-jin immediately regretted the movement.
"From what I've seen, she did that all on her own. Hating you has nothing to do with me."
A wave of heat rolled across the space between them as the Chairman's wings spread. Seo-jin braced himself thinking he was attacking, but the man remained where he stood.
"I made them into weapons. Decided what they would become before they were old enough to understand what I was asking of them. When they resisted, I made the decisions for them."
He lowered his gaze, his fingers curling into fists.
"There are things I've done that no father should ever do. Things they'll never forgive me for. But I told myself that was fine. They could hate me for the rest of their lives, so long as they lived long enough to have one."
His voice faltered.
"Then you killed Ji-yoon."
Watching him for any sudden movement, Seo-jin kept his cleaver raised.
"I knew the risks."
The Chairman rubbed a hand across his mouth, smearing blood along his chin.
"But I keep wondering if she was frightened when she died. I spent her entire life preparing her to survive this world, and when she needed me, I wasn't there."
For once, Seo-jin had nothing to say.
"Your demons killed her."
"She was trying to kill us."
"She was doing what I raised her to do!"
A burst of pressure ripped across the street from the Chairman's shout.
"And that's the worst part. I convinced myself they'd understand someday. Now Ji-yoon never will."
"So what? You regret it now?"
"No."
The answer came without hesitation, though the Chairman's voice remained strained.
"I regret losing my daughter. I regret every moment I could have spent with her and didn't. But I don't regret what I've built."
Seo-jin frowned.
"What you've built?"
"Do you have any idea what it takes to keep a city running in this world? Clean water, electricity, medicine. People who can maintain the machines, grow the food, teach the children."
The Chairman looked toward the ruined skyline.
"I've spent decades finding those people. Bringing them together. Giving them somewhere they can live instead of spending every day fighting to survive."
He drew a breath, his expression tightening.
"Children go to school there, Seo-jin. They complain about homework, argue with their parents, and worry about things children should worry about. They don't know what it's like to wake up with a monster standing over their bed."
His mouth twisted.
"My daughters never had that. I made sure thousands of other children could."
'What's he talking about?'
[No idea.]
Glancing toward the surrounding destruction, Seo-jin couldn't imagine the Chairman was describing anywhere in this ruined city. Even before their fight. Shatterbay was a cesspool of vice and sin.
"Did fighting with yourself mess up your brain? I see no smiling children. Where the fuck is any of that?"
"Somewhere you'll never set foot. But it's still vulnerable. A Blind can fail. Supplies run short. Equipment breaks down. That's why I needed a territory."
"And you needed to kill thousands of people for that?"
"Yes. To give those people a future."
"But you failed."
"Thanks to you."
Looking down at his trembling hand, the Chairman watched the black flames dance across his fingers.
"But I'm not finished. There's still the World Dungeon. Still a chance to obtain an S-Rank Shard. Hye-jin and Yu-na can finish what I started. I only need to make sure they have what they need."
"You're awfully confident they'll want to."
"They will."
"Even Yu-na?"
The Chairman's mouth tightened.
"She'll understand eventually."
"Or she'll tell you to go fuck yourself."
"She can hate me all she wants. I don't need her forgiveness. I need her alive."
Rising into the air, his wings sent another wave of heated air.
"I've spent fifty years living with that evil thing inside me. Every year I bought came at a price, and after everything I sacrificed, you came along. You killed my daughter, turned another against me, and destroyed my last chance to finish what I started. And now you stand there laughing as though none of it matters!"
"It doesn't matter to me."
Seo-jin adjusted his grip on Butcher's Wrath. He could feel the Brood watching, he could smell their anger and bloodlust on the wind. They were all waiting just like him. Them for his command, and him for the perfect moment.
"Whatever you've built, whatever you've sacrificed, that's your problem. This city is destined to be mine, so of course I would eventually try to kill you."
He bared his teeth.
"If your plans fell apart because of that, then you should've made better ones."
For a moment, the Chairman simply stared at him. Then he began to laugh, a strained sound that ended in a cough.
"You're right."
Seo-jin frowned.
"Of course I am."
"I should have killed you the moment you came back. Instead, I wasted time trying to understand what you were, thinking I could use you."
He shook his head.
"Another mistake. One I won't make again."
Seo-jin could feel the Chairman's aura spike. Just when he thought the man would finally begin his attack, they both noticed movement at the edge of the ruined street.
A lone figure stumbled through the rubble, moving between the wreckage. Seo-jin almost dismissed it as Hye-jin until he recognized the familiar combat gear.
'Yu-na?'
She walked with her head lowered, one hand hanging at her side while the other clutched a small metal container. Blood stained her clothes, and her hair hung across her face as she dragged her feet.
She stumbled again, catching herself on a nearby wall before continuing.
The Chairman turned toward his daughter, the flames around his wings faltering.
"Yu-na?"
She didn't answer.
Straightening a bit, Seo-jin watched her approach. Something was wrong. Her eyes remained fixed on the ground, and she seemed barely aware of the destruction surrounding her.
Seeing his daughter in this state, the Chairman's face contorted as he looked between his daughter and Seo-jin.
"Yu-na! I told you to stay away!"
She continued walking, her fingers tightening around the metal container.
The Chairman stopped.
"Where's Hye-jin?"
She stumbled again, dropping to one knee as her free hand scraped against the pavement.
"Yu-na?"
Her father started toward her, his wings folding behind him as his feet touched the ground.
Seo-jin remained where he stood, his gaze shifting between them. He could hear Yu-na struggling to breathe, each breath catching in her throat as she pushed herself back onto her feet. Taking advantage of the distraction, he ordered Pain and Panic to gather about half mile behind him. The rest were to attack the Chairman when he gave the order, and give their lives to stall him for as long as they could.
The orders sent, he gave his full attention to the Chairman's every move. The man visibly flinched when Yu-na finally raised her head.
Her eyes were swollen, her face streaked with tears and dirt. She looked toward her father, but there was no relief in her expression.
"Dad..."
The Chairman froze.
She opened her mouth, struggling to force the words out. Her hand trembled around the little metal container as she lifted it toward him.
"Hye-jin... she's..."
The moment the Chairman saw the case in her hand, his eyes went wide.
"Don't—!"
He charged forward, and a bright green light erupted from the case in Yu-na's hand.