By Zephyria Park Seung-min laughed, chuckling with great amusement.
“But I don’t know how many times I’ll need treatment. Ah! Right, you know that company, Samyeong Pharmaceutical, right? How about I get some shares as payment? I’ve always wanted to be like a major shareholder of a company. There’s never been a time when medicine was this scarce! Let me use medicine for free, too!”
The Special Unit member standing guard even furrowed his brow at his despicable demeanor. Yang Yohan let Park Seung-min have his fun for a while before calmly replying.
“The price to purify even one instance of Corruption is too high. Then that’s that.”
“…What?”
At the completely unexpected answer, Park Seung-min’s laughter stopped abruptly. He scowled fiercely. He had expected the other person to get angry and beg, but only then did he realize that Yang Yohan, who had been calm all along, had shown not a shred of desperation. He was so excessively calm it was suspicious.
“You’re not the only one with the means to treat Corruption.”
Yohan spoke while looking at the purification energy swirling within Park Seung-min’s body, thanks to the abundance he had poured in. He could also see the purification energy slowly, slowly leaking out because it had been filled beyond its capacity. For now, he must have felt overflowing with power… . At Yohan’s words, Park Seung-min scoffed.
“Hey, that Eternal Stone, that rock-like thing? I saw it myself. They say the Sun Guild handed over a few Eternal Stones to the government in exchange for taking the Corrupted. But that could only treat mild cases? Severe cases were barely treated at all.”
“Perhaps that’s true. But it seems better than you treating me. Given your current attitude, I’m not sure you’ll actually go through with the treatment.”
Speaking calmly, Yohan stood up and gazed intently at Park Seung-min. Kim Ye-ju and Yang Hwa-pyeong, who had been anxiously fretting beside him, also seemed to find sense in Yohan’s words, their expressions hardening. Seeing their change in expression, Park Seung-min’s gaze turned hostile.
“It’s getting very late, so I’d appreciate it if you’d leave. And next time, please call before visiting. You might not know, but what you’re doing today is extremely rude.”
“You, fuck…”
Park Seung-min’s face contorted as he realized the fun he had anticipated wasn’t materializing. Why was this the attitude before him, whose purification energy was incomparably superior to Eternal Stones? Ah, he understood. It was because of pride. Relying on that paltry Eternal Stone… . He tried to think that way, but it felt strangely unsettling.
“You’re making a mistake right now, you know? This isn’t the time to be proud. I’m only meeting with you now because it’s possible.”
“What’s in it for me to meet someone like you?”
That unsettling feeling was forgotten with his next words. Dumbfounded, Park Seung-min’s jaw dropped. Instead of trembling and begging for favor from him, a Purifier, Yang Yohan was staring him straight in the eye and talking back. Yang Yohan even said this:
“Can you really handle this fame?”
“What, fame?”
Fame for himself, a High-level Awakened? Fame? Utterly bewildered, Park Seung-min stammered, unable to speak.
“This is advice for your own good, so live humbly and kindly from now on. Don’t treat the people who are protecting you like servants. You’ll surely regret it later.”
At these words, the feeling of boundless joy and triumph he had felt until just moments before plummeted to the floor. Come to think of it, he had missed a significant portion of the broadcast he had so eagerly awaited because he was talking with Yang Yohan. Overcome with anger, Park Seung-min clenched his fists and trembled. His pride deeply wounded, he stomped out through the front door Yohan had opened, then glared back at Yohan.
“You don’t even know who you’re talking to, acting so high and mighty. You, I won’t let this go. I’ll make you regret today. You damn bastard, coming to help me like a friend…!”
“It’s strange, Seung-min.”
As he began to hurl insults, Yohan interrupted him in a very soft and calm tone.
“I don’t understand why you’re acting like I’ve wronged you. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”
At that, Park Seung-min froze for a moment. Yohan met his gaze, which seemed to say, ‘Could it be?’, and smiled brightly.
“Goodbye. And don’t come back again.”
Finally, he closed the door right in his face. He felt like he was wasting time regretting ever considering such a person a friend. Angered belatedly, Park Seung-min shouted curses and kicked the front door with a loud bang. A moment later, several presences receded, and the sound of a car starting could be heard. Watching Park Seung-min leave from the terrace window, Yohan suddenly thought of his parents and turned his head.
“I’m sorry. But I can explain everything.”
“…No.”
Yang Hwa-pyeong, looking even more troubled than before, slumped onto the sofa. He looked years older, and after wiping his dry face, he said,
“You’re right. Seeing his face, it didn’t seem like he came with good intentions. So even if Yosep were to treat him, how well would he do it?”
“…Right. Come to think of it, soon other Purifiers will start Awakening, and as you said, we have Eternal Stones, so it might be better to ask them.”
Even as he said this, Kim Ye-ju drank water gulp by gulp, whether from thirst or frustration. Then she sighed involuntarily.
“For someone like that to be a High-level Awakened. It’s a disgrace to the nation.”
Yohan felt guilty, thinking his parents had to endure insults they didn’t need to because of him. He approached the two troubled figures and said in a gentle voice,
“I said earlier that I had something to tell you. I’ll show you now. It’s good news.”
“Ah, ah. Yes. You did say that earlier? Yes, what good news does our son have to tell us?”
Kim Ye-ju, who had been patting her chest as if she had indigestion from frustration, asked with a forced smile. In her eyes, there was a flicker of hope, wondering if it was about the Eternal Stones that treated Corruption. Yohan quietly headed back to the liquor storage room.
He re-entered the secret password that Kim Ye-ju had pressed earlier. He realized anew that his memory had greatly improved since Awakening. Stepping into the place filled with a foul odor once more, Yang Hwa-pyeong tried to stop Yohan as he approached Yang Yosep.
“Yohan! Don’t get too close. It might be dangerous.”
Before their eyes were the traces of the two people diligently bringing meals to their possibly dangerous son every day. Yohan looked down at Yang Yosep, who was motionless as if dead. Looking at the bowls filled with food, as if he had barely eaten, he said,
“It’s okay. It’s not dangerous at all. I’m an Awakened too.”
Perhaps Yang Yosep hadn’t eaten on purpose? To drain as much energy as possible so he wouldn’t harm his family.
“But Yohan, you…”
It was just as Yang Hwa-pyeong was about to tell him to step back, saying he was merely a Low-rank Awakened compared to his older brother. Suddenly, the room lit up. They thought perhaps a light had been turned on, but it wasn’t. A soft glow emanated from the second son’s body. It was the same light Park Seung-min had shown, no, a brighter luminescence. Kim Ye-ju covered her mouth, doubting her eyes. Yang Hwa-pyeong, who had been trying to stop Yohan, gaped.
“…My goodness.”
As the light illuminated the room, the foul odor that had filled it vanished instantly. To Yohan, who had seen sights tens, even hundreds of times more foul and horrific in the Abyss, this level of Corruption was nothing. Compared to the Abyss, it was almost clean.
The two watched with bated breath as their son calmly knelt and reached out to Yang Yosep. The fingertips, scattering fragments of light, were placed above Yang Yosep’s head. Purification energy seeped into his body. It flowed down from his head, sweeping over his entire body, and the unpleasant, dirty, and sordid things disappeared without a trace, becoming clean.
“My goodness, my goodness.”
Yang Hwa-pyeong gasped, his mouth wide open, and Kim Ye-ju simply collapsed onto the floor. Tears streamed down the parents’ faces as they watched their severely Corrupted son’s body become clean, and the tentacles rooted to the floor wither away and turn to dust.
“Fool. You didn’t need to try this hard. I wasn’t there anyway…”
Yohan murmured bitterly, watching the gaping wound on Yang Yosep’s back slowly begin to heal as his body was completely purified and his regenerative power returned to normal. He would have returned in just fifteen days if he had waited… . He wiped away the tiny tears that had welled up from a slight pang of guilt for his Hyung.
As the Corruption disappeared and his injuries began to heal, Yang Yosep’s face relaxed. His rough breathing also grew calm. Seeming to have fallen into a deep sleep, Yohan picked up Yang Yosep instead of waking him. He couldn’t have lifted him so easily before, but his strength, now comparable to a mid-tier Dealer, allowed him to lift a person with ease.
‘Please, I hope I’m stronger than Hyung. Please, please…’
With that thought, Yohan carried Yang Yosep out of the basement, followed by a stunned Kim Ye-ju and Yang Hwa-pyeong. Yohan entered Yang Yosep’s room and laid him on the bed. He considered changing his clothes but decided it was too much kindness and simply covered him with a blanket. Yang Hwa-pyeong and Kim Ye-ju lifted the blanket and examined his body, which was perfectly fine with no injuries or signs of Corruption, several times.
“How, how… I see! Perhaps earlier… When that guy came, you also Awakened…!”
Forgetting that Yohan had clearly stated he Awakened as a Low-grade Strength Enhancement Type at the hospital, Yang Hwa-pyeong stammered. At that, Yohan, feeling immensely proud and confident, spoke honestly with a slightly smug expression.
“Uh, actually, I Awakened as a Purifier in the Abyss.”