Is It Innate, or Just Missing a Screw?
After letting out a bout of yelling, my body felt hot.
Even though it was the cold of winter, I had moved around so much that it felt like my body was heating up.
Of course, I couldn't risk catching a cold breeze, but just in ti, a good facility caught my eye.
I guess it's because it's winter, but even in this neighborhood, bathhouses were in fashion.
Sang-ah, who was accompanying , gave a disapproving look and refused to go in.
She said she'd go back to the church first and left.
'What's so wrong about taking a bath?'
Since I was in a nice neighborhood anyway, I couldn't just pass by, so I entered the bathhouse and undressed.
Inside, there was an outdoor hot spring, so I imrsed myself in it.
"Ahhhhh! This is the stuff!"
As the warmth of the hot spring touched my skin, my mind automatically cleared up.
I closed my eyes, savoring the feeling of moisture soaking into every corner of my body and the unique scent of the hot spring.
Even though it was just an ordinary neighborhood bathhouse, it felt like I was soaking in so paradise.
Dripdripdripdrip—
Then, soone ca into the bath and imrsed themselves.
Were there any other custors besides ?
I opened my eyes to see, but because of the thick steam, I couldn't secure a good view.
The person, only distinguishable by silhouette, had a rather robust body.
He seed sturdy enough to beat a bear barehanded, and he slowly approached and sat beside .
"Do you like this water too?"
"Huh?"
It was a sohow familiar voice.
I used my wind skill to blow away the steam and saw Kwon Yongha soaking in the tub.
"It was you, uncle?"
"This is my regular spot. Is there a problem?"
"..."
Hearing that this was his regular place, I could understand why Sang-ah avoided it.
She must have hated the idea of running into this guy if she went in together.
"How has Sang-ah been lately?"
"Why are you suddenly asking about that?"
From the tone alone, he might sound like an ordinary father worrying about his daughter.
But considering how he'd treated Sang-ah so far, it definitely wasn't that.
"I'm just curious how much she's grown."
"Normally, if you're a father, you'd ask whether your daughter is healthy, or if she's sick sowhere."
"Well, that's true."
Even as he listened to my words, Kwon Yongha kept smiling.
It was a face expression that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
"But there's sothing I want to ask."
"What is it?"
"Why are you so obsessed with the other world?"
Strangely, most of Kwon Yongha's actions had sothing to do with wzealand.
A pri example was that Sang-ah's mother was from wzealand.
And even Kwon Yongha's legal wife, Kang Minji, couldn't be considered unrelated.
The Poison Guild, which she originally belonged to, was a subsidiary of the Holy Church.
"Have you ever found life boring?"
At that question, Kwon Yongha finally spoke up.
Anyone can get bored at tis.
When a ga you were once interested in suddenly feels dull, or when you realize you can no longer relate to things you used to enjoy.
Boredom is directly tied to interest, and interest is directly tied to empathy.
"Basically, the mont you can't relate to anything is when life is most boring."
That was similar to the feeling I had when I accomplished all my goals in wzealand and returned to Earth.
But these days, since I have new goals, I haven't been feeling that way.
"Yeah, exactly like you said, it's when you can't relate."
"What does that have to do with being obsessed with wzealand?"
"Didn't I just ask? If you'd ever felt bored living your life."
Kwon Yongha opened his eyes, which he'd been squinting like slits.
"I've never once found anything interesting in my entire life."
No matter how well he studied or fought, he didn't find anything interesting.
Praise or punishnt made no difference.
It was as if there was no real stimulus to anything—everything just passed him by.
"Is it even possible to never feel that way in a whole lifeti?"
"Of course not. If you don't feel it, you're not human."
"..."
"But when I was young, everyone around kept praising , saying I seed perfectly fine."
Parents and teachers at school—all of them knew about Kwon Yongha's true nature but never gave him a hard ti for it.
You might wonder if they were in their right minds, but after the arrival of the era of awakeners, there were plenty of people who took such things lightly.
"Powerful traits always affect the owner's personality. You must have seen it a lot in Hand."
Just like Kwon Sang-ah's rampages, there are always so-called 'missing a screw' awakeners in the world.
So people's traits devour their nature, making them monstrous.
Maybe Kwon Yongha's innate disposition was discovered because of that.
"So, to overco that nature, I've been making an effort since I was in middle school."
The hope that if only he could fix his nature, he'd find the world interesting, beca his driving force.
If only the screws were tightened, everything would go back to normal.
"But... even so, nothing changed."
Once he graduated from middle school, Kwon Yongha beca able to control his trait at will.
The screw had basically been tightened since then.
He worked himself to the bone to clamp it even tighter, but it didn't make any difference.
"Even after assembling everything perfectly, I still had to live in boredom."
It felt like being trapped forever in a ga you're sick of.
Was the world rejecting him, or was his own nature rejecting the world?
Even Kwon Yongha couldn't answer that.
"But the more I thought, sothing ca to . About what I'd actually done to tighten those ssed up screws."
At that mont, Kwon Yongha recalled the feeling of bleeding from his entire body.
Finally, he could feel his heart pounding inside.
Why hadn't he realized it before?
When a ga becos boring, you just make new content for yourself.
So he craved power.
—To fight stronger enemies.
For that, he used any ans necessary.
—It's not like morality interested anyway.
In the end, he ca to know about the Holy Church, and, after that, about the other world.
"That's how I ca to know of wzealand."
The reason was simple.
To feel stimulation. To empathize.
"If there are no enemies to fight, you just make so."
"You're absolutely insane."
"Should I take that as a complint?"
"..."
"But thanks to my case, I learned sothing important."
What it ans is that even though Kwon Yongha could control his trait, he remained an abnormal existence.
Which ant—
"Even if you control your trait, if your nature isn't good, it's no use."
Trait and nature are treated separately.
Kwon Yongha was soone who cared nothing for ans or morals, as long as he could feel excitent.
A man born as chaos itself.
His children were born just for that reason.
'But because of that personality...'
It actually made it easier for to use Kwon Yongha.
He's the kind of person with a monstrous nature beneath the skin of a human, but that ant he beca interested in .
An oddball like would be an endless source of excitent for him.
That's not bad, but...
"Any more questions? Feel free to ask."
"No, I'm good."
"Hahaha, don't be like that."
Kwon Yongha slowly drew closer until our shoulders were touching.
The angelic look he gave was downright creepy.
"Get away from ! Gross."
I scrunched up my face and pushed him aside.
Then Kwon Yongha made a disappointed expression and spoke.
"Hm... If you keep that up, I'll get upset."
"And what if you do?"
"I might sulk because of you."
A bearded man in his forties, saying things like that with a sad face.
It was like he was going, 'Hmph! I'm sulking!'
I thought I was going to puke.
"You f***ing..."
"Why? I just feel a liking toward you."
"Take that absurd liking sowhere else! F*** off!"
"Boo hoo hoo hoo..."
He suddenly covered his face and started sobbing.
Wait, is he seriously crying?
Just because I told him to get lost?
It's like he's saying, 'You stole my heart, how could you treat like this!'
Like watching a girlfriend get hurt by harsh words from her boyfriend.
Not that I've ever had a girlfriend...
'What the hell am I even talking about?!'
The more I look, the sicker I feel, but I understand why he's like that.
I must be his number one source of excitent right now.
But why express your excitent in this way, you psycho?
A married man with two wives, shouldn't he be ashad?
'Please. Stop the loss of faith in humanity!'
After losing my genitals in wzealand, this life was precious to .
Now that I was starting over, I wanted to live it aningfully.
I couldn't let this regrown purity be taken away by so middle-aged psychopath!
"I'm just going to leave."
"Wait, already?"
When I stood up in the bath, he suddenly looked at with desperate puppy eyes.
For god's sake, stop making that face!
Why are you making puppy eyes at like so jilted girl?
"Just... you seriously scare , that's all."
"What's so scary?"
"You! You, dammit!!"
Now I was scared to even be in the sa tub.
Losing faith in humanity is at least sothing you do for a pretty boy; this guy's a middle-aged married man.
And that ans I'd basically be NTR'ing his wives—and he's a total psychopath.
'What the hell kind of nightmare hybrid is this?!'
Just one of those things would make my head spin, but all of them together—it's horrifying.
If Sang-ah saw this side of Kwon Yongha, she'd probably break down screaming for a totally different reason.
VVVRRRMMM—!
At that mont, the towel around Kwon Yongha's shoulder started vibrating.
There was a phone inside the folded towel, and the caller screen popped up.
"What is it?"
His previously nauseating face turned suddenly serious.
As soon as he answered, the scattered atmosphere turned grim.
Just his eyes made the situation calm—I could tell why he was one of the four great guild leaders.
"I see."
After a five-minute call, he suddenly got up.
"Where are you going?"
"Sothing ca up. I just got a call from the Angel Guild."
"Why there?"
"I was going to ask for the Angel Guild's help in the clash against the Sura Guild. But thanks to you, we don't need their help now."
aning, I ended up taking that spot.
"But why would the Angel Guild help Hwasan anyway?"
What's in it for them, helping Hwasan?
I asked, and Kwon Yongha answered.
"Do you know how old the Angel Guild's leader is this year?"
No confird info, but it should be at least so old man over eighty.
Much older than Kwon Yongha.
"It's not public, but Guildmaster Baek Soo-hyuk doesn't have long to live."
A leadership vacancy due to the guildmaster's death.
Plenty of forces are waiting to pounce on the Angel Guild once he's gone—including the Sura Guild, who'll be in this war.
"So they're fully cooperating with us to attack the Sura Guild together."
But if I'm here, there's no room for the Angel Guild to step in.
All the temporary alliances made now fall apart because of .
"But that's fine. Working with you is more profitable than teaming up with the Angel Guild."
Laughing heartily, Kwon Yongha stepped out of the bath.
"That...?"
I noticed sothing odd about one of Kwon Yongha's legs.
"Oh, this?"
His right leg was made of iron, unlike his skin-colored other parts.
A clear prosthesis covering a severed leg.
He looked at that and grinned.
"Pretty cool, eh?"
"..."
"If this battle can give the sa thrill again as before, I'll be satisfied."
He said, as if he liked the severed part—and strode right out.
Definitely not a normal person.
****
"Mom, why are you so out of it today?"
In a large room at the Hwasan Guild estate, a mother and son sat talking.
Because of Ma Seongjin's recent deeds, Kang Minji felt like she'd barely escaped death.
Kwon Yongjun, unaware of the truth, just worried over his mother's pale complexion.
"Did that bastard Kwon Sang-ah talk back to you again? That rude brat, I should just...!"
"Settle down, Yongjun. It's not that."
Kwon Yongjun bolted upright, ready to storm out and give Sang-ah a piece of his mind in front of his mom.
But Kang Minji needed to stop him.
Yongjun just got back, so he didn't know—but Sang-ah was currently being treated like a princess by guildmaster's orders.
If he ssed with her, he'd be the one left at a disadvantage.
"Why are you stopping ? Anyone can see it's that brat stressing you out."
"..."
"And lately, dad's been really weird. He keeps sticking with that Ma Seongjin brat and even kicks out of the room so he can hang out with him!"
Fuming with annoyance, Yongjun couldn't stand any of it.
Kang Minji wanted to do sothing, but since Kwon Yongha was taking Ma Seongjin's side, there was nothing she could do.
"This is nuts. If this goes on, dad's only going to side with that Kwon Sang-ah!"
"..."
"You know it too, mom. I'm normal. Even though I have a great trait, I didn't turn out weird. She and I are on a different level."
Kang Minji looked at her only son, visibly anxious.
He might act cocky on the surface, but beneath the table, his legs were shaking.
VVVRRRMMM—
Just then, a vibration ca from Yongjun's pocket.
On the shaking screen, the na 'Lee Se-jung' was displayed. One of the many won he t up with every night.
"Mom, excuse a sec. Gotta take this. That woman's causing trouble—again."
Yongjun took his vibrating phone and went outside.
Judging by how worked up he looked at the caller ID, it was probably going to be a long call.
Left alone, Kang Minji recalled her son's worried face from monts earlier.
'It can't go on like this.'
If things stayed this way, that brat Ma Seongjin would take everything.
These days, Kwon Yongha was basically a puppet, doing whatever Ma Seongjin said.
The thought that she might even have to kneel before that annoying Kwon Sang-ah soday sent chills down her spine.
'And it's not just .'
Her only son Kwon Yongjun might end up the sa way.
Just look at how Kwon Sang-ah, always looked down upon, was now being treated like a princess because of Ma Seongjin's influence.
'If only Ma Seongjin... if only that bastard disappeared...!'
With a grim resolution, Kang Minji made a call sowhere.
The number she dialed was not a Korean one.
Soon, Chinese words began to co through the phone.
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