The soft thud of the airplane's wheels striking the runway served as a signal—a declaration of farewell to the long, grueling stretch of the extraordinary. Outside the window, the familiar signage of 'Incheon International Airport' came into view. I had finally returned to my world, to my mundane daily life.
"Headquarters required a bit of time to finalize Your Majesty's documentation. Your official status within the Republic of Korea has been settled as an 'international student returning temporarily from overseas studies.' Your residence has been arranged at a high-security, ultra-luxury residence in Gangnam—"
"No. I'm going home."
Exiting the arrivals terminal, I cut off Alessandro's report with clinical finality. The knights of the Bronze-Black Cross trailing behind him silently deployed an awareness-impairing barrier with a twenty-meter radius. Inside that transparent veil, we existed, yet we were perceived by no one. Countless travelers brushed past us, yet they averted their eyes and moved around us as naturally as river water flowing around a massive boulder.
"I said I'm going back to my own house."
"...Your Majesty. That location is far too vulnerable to guarantee a King's safety. To say nothing of magical defenses—"
"Then make it secure. Before I arrive. Isn't that your job?"
What saturated my voice wasn't mere willpower, but the overbearing pressure of a King who brooks no defiance. Alessandro's expression stiffened for a moment, but he quickly accepted his King's whim with the efficiency of a veteran knight.
"I shall fulfill your command."
With a wave of his hand, several knights vanished as if dissolving into the shadows. At this very moment, my cramped, dusty studio apartment on the outskirts of Seoul was likely being transformed into an impregnable fortress by the world's highest-tier magi.
As I climbed into the car, the barrier enveloped the entire vehicle, maintaining total isolation from the outside world. The familiar landscape of my home country streaked silently past the window. I closed my eyes and quietly observed the power within me. I could now control Medusa's Authority over the earth and Tāwhirimātea's Authority over the storm as naturally as my own limbs. The problem was the third power I had usurped—the heat of the Goddess of Volcanoes, Pele.
It didn't rage. Rather, like an eternal hearth, it continuously emitted a faint but distinct heat from the deepest core of my body. I simply hadn't grasped how to draw that heat out yet; it felt less like a danger and more like the frustration of holding an unfamiliar tool.
The Incantation... there must be a key phrase to trigger this power.
The goddess's power breathed quietly within me, as if waiting for its time.
The Four Divine Guardians—the secret organization that maintained the spiritual order of the Republic of Korea. Deep beneath Samgakji in Seoul, within the Central Command Room of the Guardians.
The air in the command room sat heavy as they stared at a vivid red trajectory plotted across a massive holographic map.
"Information from the European Magic Associations matches the divine response pattern observed in Hawaii. It is officially confirmed: the Seventh King has returned to his home country."
A young agent from the Strategic Analysis Department delivered the report, his voice thick with suppressed tension. Team Leader Kang of the Field Operations Department couldn't contain himself and slammed his fist onto the table.
"To set foot on this soil without prior notification! There is a limit to such arrogance! We must deploy an operational team immediately to verify his intentions. If his purpose is impure, he must be neutralized at once!"
"Calm yourself, Team Leader Kang."
Manager Han of the Strategic Analysis Department, who was presiding over the meeting, quietly restrained him. His eyes, framed by deep wrinkles, were filled not with anger, but with cautious deliberation.
"He is no foreign invader. He carries the blood of this land; he is 'our King,' the first born on the Korean Peninsula in hundreds of years. Depending on how we treat him, he could become this nation's guardian deity—or its ultimate catastrophe."
"And you're saying we should just leave a time bomb like that alone without any countermeasures? He's a monster who slaughtered three gods in a row barely after ascending!"
"Which is exactly why we must not move rashly."
Manager Han pointed to the holographic map. The King's path had not stopped at a spiritual node or a critical facility, but at an ordinary residential neighborhood.
"His goal isn't conquest or destruction. He has simply gone 'home.' To the only sanctuary left for a warrior who has burned everything in his path. The moment we shatter that peace ourselves, we will be inviting disaster upon this land with our own hands."
Silence swallowed the conference room at Manager Han's words.
"Maintain all surveillance networks at current status, but do not—under any circumstances—make contact or provoke him. Record every movement and analyze his tendencies. We must know him. We must know what kind of man he was, and what kind of King he intends to become. Our first move... is to wait."
That was the decision of the sages who had protected this land for centuries.
The car came to a stop in front of my familiar studio apartment. On the surface, nothing had changed, but the density of the air was different. The entire villa was protected by layers of invisible barriers, and ancient runes were faintly etched into every corner to repel intruders.
"Good work. All of you, leave now. For the time being, I refuse all contact and visitors. That is an order."
I spoke with a silent warning not to disturb my rest. Alessandro, realizing he could not sway the King's will, gave a silent knightly bow and withdrew. Only after they had vanished did I let out a long breath of liberation, finally being truly alone.
I punched in the familiar passcode and opened the door. The musty smell of a room left neglected for weeks greeted me. Major textbooks were scattered haphazardly on the desk, and discarded clothes hung loosely over a chair. These were the traces of the time when the 'Min-jun Jeong' before he killed a god still existed.
I tossed my bag into a corner and threw myself onto the creaking bed. It was a hundred times less comfortable than a luxury hotel suite, but strangely, the tension in my body melted away like snow. I was finally back. Back from everything, back to myself.
The exhaustion that had been crushing my entire body came rushing in all at once. The life-and-death struggles with gods, the tension of a foreign land, the weight of a life that had suddenly become a King's. All of it seemed to fade away atop this old bed. I pulled the blanket over my head. It was my own small fortress, disconnected from the world.
Tomorrow...
As my consciousness drifted further away, the final thought that occurred to me wasn't about Authorities, or magic associations, or worries about other Kings.
Tomorrow... I need to check the university website. I can't miss the application period for returning to school...
A perfectly ordinary, utterly modern college student's concern.
That was the one thing I wanted to reclaim right now. I slowly sank into a long, deep sleep—into a false sense of peace.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register