Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 382: A New Family (3)

—What... what are you saying?

Was it because of the warm aura unique to the golden rain, or was it simply the shock of hearing the words "Song Jiseon's marriage"?

The murderous intent in Song Jungho's eyes disappeared in an instant.

—You're getting married?

Jungho asked again, as if he couldn't believe it, taking a step back.

—Today.

Jiseon replied curtly, exhaling a cold breath, and Jungho asked again.

—No, seriously?

—Seriously. Why would I lie about something like marriage at a time like this?

—Who the hell are you marrying? What kind of idiot would agree to marry someone like you...?

As Jungho twisted his face and started to spit out harsh words, Jeonggu quickly stepped forward, bowing his head.

"Hello, sir! My name is Kim Jeonggu!"

—...?

—Greet him. This guy’s the man who’s going to be my husband.

—...Doesn’t seem like it.

—It’s true, dammit.

Standing at a towering 120 meters tall, Song Jungho finally bent his neck and lowered his gaze to examine Jeonggu, who was standing firmly on the ground.

—And who exactly... are you?

It was a loaded question.

No matter how much of a thorn in his side Jiseon might be, she was still the head of Jinhyeon Group.

From Jungho's perspective, it was only natural to be curious about the identity of the man who dared to marry her.

Why?

What kind of background does he have?

And how did he even develop romantic feelings for this crazy woman...?

—No, damn it. This is ridiculous. Do they think I’m some kind of fool?

Failing to find any rationality in the idea of "Song Jiseon getting married," Jungho rejected the reality, but then Yeongwoo stepped forward, parting the golden rain.

"It’s a political marriage."

—What?

"A political marriage for business benefits. That’s the story behind the union of Song Jiseon and Kim Jeonggu."

—And who the hell are you?

At this point, even Jungho began to realize something was deeply amiss.

The blue scales on his body, imbued with lightning, began to tremble.

"Me? Allow me to introduce myself."

Thud.

Yeongwoo stopped in place, looking around.

"I am the mayor of Metal Seoul, the Strongest Sword of the Korean Peninsula, Jeong Yeongwoo, and the biological son of Song Jiseon and Kim Jeonggu."

—What the...!

An outrageous introduction.

But there had been clues all along.

Earlier, when the golden rain had begun to fall, Song Jiseon had said it herself.

That it was a welcome gift from his nephew.

—You have a son...?

Suddenly, Jungho’s jaw dropped.

It had been over 30 years, so he had nearly forgotten the incident.

But now, he remembered the scandal — the one that had turned the Jinhyeon family upside down.

—You’re... you’re that kid?

Understanding what "that kid" referred to, Yeongwoo closed his eyes briefly before opening them wide and declaring with conviction:

"Yes! I’m Song Jiseon’s only son and the Jinhyeon family’s illegitimate child! The Strongest Sword of the Korean Peninsula, Jeong Yeongwoo!"

—Unbelievable...!

Staggered by Yeongwoo's bold self-introduction, Jungho stomped his foot as if he’d stepped on a landmine.

—How the hell...?

"Is that important right now? What matters is that you have a nephew now, isn’t it?"

When Yeongwoo asked this, Jungho couldn’t respond, only blinking.

It was confusing, but it didn’t feel entirely wrong, either.

—So... what do you want?

"Your only nephew in this shattered world. Doesn’t that make you want to do something for him as an uncle?"

—What?

A nephew he met, or even learned about, just five minutes ago, was now demanding an uncle’s kindness.

—What do you want me to do for you?

Clinging to what little sanity he had left, Jungho managed to respond, prompting Yeongwoo to finally show some courtesy.

"Be a witness at my parents’ wedding. There’s still one spot left."

—There’s a spot left?

No matter how reckless Jungho might be, he was still a child of a business-oriented family.

His sharp mind picked up on something odd immediately.

—You’re saying there are other witnesses at this wedding? Who are they?

"Uh..."

Taken aback by the quick feedback, Yeongwoo blinked.

"Aliens."

—What?

As Jungho furrowed his brow, a loud sonic boom erupted from the sky.

Boom! Crash!

With the sound of an explosion, a massive metallic object began to plummet to the ground.

"What the hell is that?"

Narrowing his eyes, Yeongwoo looked at the falling object, and Jiseon asked her son:

—It’s not a bomb, is it?

"Everyone knows there’s a wedding here today. Who would be crazy enough to send a bomb?"

And it wasn’t just any wedding.

Guests included the King of Ten Thousand Demons and the Universal Destroyer.

"It’s probably a congratulatory gift."

As Yeongwoo drew his conclusion, the mysterious object landed right in front of him.

Thud!

The enormous object, resembling a cannon standing upright, revealed its purpose.

—Ah, are you President Jeong Yeongwoo? We’re here to deliver a commemorative gift from Toma Corporation.

"Oh, Toma."

Recognizing the name, Yeongwoo nodded, and a rat-like humanoid approached from the side of the metallic object, holding out a clipboard.

—Please sign here to complete the delivery.

"Sure."

Thud.

As Yeongwoo placed his hand on the clipboard, the ratman twitched his whiskers and looked back at the gift.

—The commemorative gift from Toma comes with interception capabilities.

"......"

Interception again. Yeongwoo scratched his cheek silently.

"Okay, continue."

—If you press the button on the lower part, you, as the owner of the gift, can intercept any object of your choosing.

"Oh, really?"

This was good news.

While there were already many interception devices at the wedding, this was the first one he could control himself.

—Also... Toma included a memo with the delivery.

"What does it say?"

—It reads, 'Usable on guests... but exercise caution.'

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

The ratman paused, blinking blankly at the odd message.

Then, quickly regaining his composure, he retrieved the clipboard from Yeongwoo.

—Well then, I’ll be taking my leave...!

The ratman trembled as he alternated his gaze between the two massive dragons standing like skyscrapers on either side.

Then, hastily, he set up a teleportation device on the ground and stepped onto it.

Click!

“What? Aren’t you going to hand over a business card?”

—C-Congratulations on your wedding!

That was the last line of the delivery courier who had brought the floral wreath from the Toma clan.

He then became a beam of light and shot up into the sky over Gwangjin District.

Piiiing!

As the courier fled like a man on the run, Song Jungho, who had been staring blankly in the direction he disappeared, took a deep breath.

—Damn it, what did I just witness?

Finally, he came to a realization.

The world he once knew no longer existed.

“Uncle passed away, and now the only uncle I have left is you. So, I don’t want to be on bad terms with my last remaining uncle.”

—W-What… My brother is dead?

“Yes, he arrived a few days before you, but he had an unfortunate accident.”

—There’s no way that bastard would die so easily.

Song Jungho then narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Jiseon suspiciously.

In his experience, the only one strong enough to kill his brother in this room was his crazy little sister.

But in truth, the most insane and powerful person here was none other than Yeongwoo.

—What the hell are you thinking? It’s not me.

—Then who?

When Song Jungho glared at Jeonggu, Jeonggu quickly averted his gaze, shaking his head to signal his innocence.

That left only one person.

—Don’t tell me... it’s you.

As Song Jungho’s gaze settled back on his nephew, Yeongwoo smirked bitterly and spoke.

“Uncle chose death rather than becoming a part of our family.”

—What? Are you saying you really killed him?

“Technically, I didn’t kill him. He chose to die.”

—You crazy bastard!

The tense atmosphere erupted in an instant.

Krrraack!

Enraged, Song Jungho emitted white lightning from his entire body.

Seeing this, Yeongwoo swiftly raised the Aratubank and said,

“Why? Do you want to die too, Second Uncle?”

—You little bastard!

Finally, Song Jungho opened his maw wide and unleashed a lightning breath aimed at his nephew.

Shaaah!

With a deafening roar, countless tendrils of lightning poured down on Yeongwoo’s head.

Yet Yeongwoo didn’t so much as flinch.

The sacred relic of the Red Foots, the Aratubank, stood steadfastly, absorbing the attack.

“I didn’t expect a calm conversation to work anyway! Let’s get into the coffin first!”

As Yeongwoo activated Coffin Binding, the Aratubank, which had been defending against the lightning, opened its outer shell.

Click-clack!

From within,

Fwoosh!

a crimson wave surged forth, racing toward Song Jungho.

—What the…?

Realizing the threat, Song Jungho tried to evade.

But it was already too late—the Aratubank’s tendrils had coiled around his chest and chin.

Crack!

The once-bloodlike red wave had transformed into a sticky, binding substance.

—What is this? Let me go!

Feeling the monstrous substance pulling him, Song Jungho cried for help, but Jiseon didn’t respond.

—I’m sorry. This is for our family.

—What? You crazy…!

But his words were cut off.

The crimson substance completely encased his upper body, tightening its grip.

【Coffin】

| You can place blood relatives into the coffin. Special effects are granted depending on the phase and condition of the stored targets. (0/2)

‘Of course, I thought casting Coffin on a blood kin would immediately seal them inside the coffin, but isn’t this practically the same as a real-time abduction?’

Snap!

Soon, the abduction force for Coffin strengthened another level, and at this moment, Song Jungho’s massive body began to shake.

He was truly being dragged toward Aratubank.

— N-Nephew! What was your name again? Yeongwoo?

“Yes, it’s Yeongwoo. Are you finally ready to talk now?”

— Yeah! That’s right! Let’s talk, but can you put this thing down first?

Even amidst this, Song Jungho struggled to escape the red substance engulfing him, lightning pouring out from his entire body.

Yet, it didn’t go as he wanted.

Meanwhile, Aratubank’s abducting material had already engulfed the top of his head, and soon, it seemed it would consume even the tip of his tail.

In a word,

‘It’s... packaging. They’re packaging him.’

Yeongwoo looked at Aratubank with newfound horror.

Now he realized—it was an incredibly monstrous shield.

‘Well, it is a mythical item, after all.’

Until now, he had thought Aratubank was a lower-tier myth compared to its siblings.

But through this incident, he realized that was a misunderstanding.

Snap!

Aratubank too was an absolutely insane piece of equipment, far beyond imagination.

Crunch!

Finally, the ominous red substance completely covered Song Jungho, from his tail to the top of his head, and at the moment it even swallowed his half-open mouth—

Shlurp!

In the blink of an eye, his entire body was sucked inside the shield.

Krrrch!

With immense force, it dragged him toward the Aratubank, leaving Yeongwoo stunned.

‘Wait, is this how it works? By literally kidnapping people?’

Swoosh!

“What?”

“Huh? Where did he go?”

—What the… where is that guy?

As the enormous figure of Song Jungho disappeared, everyone in Gwangjin District froze in bewilderment.

Then, before Yeongwoo’s eyes, an unfamiliar interface appeared.

「Song Jungho」

| Type: Dragonkin/Thunder Dragon

| Status: Alive/Angry

【Thunder Dragon in the Coffin】

【Will of the Living】

【Legacy of the Dead】

‘What? What is this?’

Yeongwoo blinked rapidly.

It was clearly the effects of having sealed his second uncle in the coffin.

【Thunder Dragon in the Coffin】

| Gain 20% additional lightning damage to final attack power.

【Will of the Living】

| The closer to the states of “Alive” and “Happy,” the more damage reduction is gained, ranging from 5% to 25%.

【Legacy of the Dead】

| In the “Dead” or “Decayed” state, gain a 20% increase in attack power.

“What? So the best effects come when he’s ‘Alive’ and ‘Happy’? But Uncle went in ‘Angry.’”

As Yeongwoo muttered, something unexpected happened.

The Aratubank began to vibrate, and a furious voice roared from within.

∴ You brat! Do you think I’m happy right now?!

Then, Song Jungho’s status changed.

| Status: Alive/Sad

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]