[Chapter 221]
[From the Lowest Place (3)]
A way to overcome this situation.
What method could there possibly be?
Eun-ha pondered for a long time while flying through the night sky.
How can I get out of this?
There's no way out.
As his father said, accepting legal judgment for atonement was the best solution.
But he absolutely did not want a future where his father would receive legal judgment and go to prison.
At least 10 years or more.
Even if Eun-ha lobbied the government, his father would have to spend that much time in prison.
Damn it, Baek Seo-jin, you bastard...
Eun-ha cursed.
From the moment he attacked his father, he no longer had any good feelings left for Baek Seo-jin.
Now he's not a teacher, but a bastard.
Eun-ha vowed to somehow find him, the root cause of all this.
It was then.
Buzz
His smartphone vibrated.
Eun-ha rummaged through his chest.
"Twenty-five? Did he find something..."
He checked the sender's name.
Eun-ha looked for a nearby building's rooftop.
Landing on the rooftop, he pressed the call button on his smartphone.
The call connected.
"Oh, what's up?"
[Um... Master.]
A voice that seemed hesitant somewhere.
Eun-ha felt his voice was different from usual, more subdued, and wondered why.
It didn't feel good.
His premonition was right.
[I detected signs that Sirius Device headquarters suddenly became chaotic... So I looked into it and...]
His father had taken his own life.
Eun-ha doubted his ears hearing what Twenty-five said.
No, his mind went blank.
"Say that again, don't joke around. I'm not in the mood for jokes right now."
He couldn't control his emotions.
His voice gradually rose.
His words to Twenty-five became close to threats.
That's how unbelievable and unwanted Twenty-five's words were, hoping they were lies.
But reality didn't change.
It was cruel and brutal.
[Your father, it seems, made an unfortunate choice. When people heard the gunshot and found the scene, it was already too late... It seems the Sirius Group chairman's line was informed, and they're hesitating on how to handle this situation. In my opinion, it's only a matter of time before it's announced to the world...]
As soon as he heard the details.
Eun-ha hung up in the middle.
He spread his wings and flew up.
He didn't want to accept it until he confirmed it with his own eyes.
☆
"Ah, Pandora Clan Lord..."
The cruel reality was before his eyes.
Eun-ha found his father's office, and inside he encountered several employees.
Surprised by Eun-ha's appearance, they bowed their heads seeing his face.
"..."
His father was dead.
In front of the window.
His father was lying with his head on a pool of blood, eyes closed.
He had a peaceful expression.
But Eun-ha couldn't have a peaceful expression like his father.
He couldn't manage his expression.
His face contorted greatly.
"...What happened?"
Eun-ha touched the blood pooled on the floor.
His hand was stained with his father's blood.
He was about to touch his father with that hand but stopped, then caressed his father's face with his other hand.
It's still warm.
There was warmth left as if he might open his eyes at any moment.
Contrary to his wish, the warmth was gradually disappearing.
"It seems he wanted to bear everything alone, so with the gun that fell on the floor..."
At that moment, the employee who seemed to be the highest-ranking spoke to Eun-ha as a representative.
Eun-ha heard the employee's words and looked for the gun nearby.
A gun stained with blood.
Then Eun-ha checked the shape of his father's hand.
It was certain his father had used it.
"Um, Pandora Clan Lord. I understand how you must feel right now, but we can't leave the Chief Secretary like this..."
"Please let me be alone." "..."
"I'm asking you."
"Please understand we can't delay for long. We'll wait outside then."
The employees left the office.
They even closed the office door out of consideration for Eun-ha.
Now Eun-ha slumped down on the floor and looked down at his father.
"Papa..." "Kang..."
Buldak and Kang comfort him.
They rub against his body.
Eun-ha ignored their comfort and just stared at his father endlessly.
"..."
His mind was complicated.
It felt like something heavy was pressing down in his stomach, making his body heavy.
Eun-ha bit his lip.
Perhaps because he bit too hard, the taste of blood spread in his mouth.
"You said you wouldn't do this..."
After a long time passed.
Eun-ha opened his mouth.
It was words full of resentment towards his father.
At the same time, it was words tinged with resentment and anger towards himself.
It's because of me.
Eun-ha blamed himself.
His father was attacked this time because of him.
And his father chose to bear everything himself to protect not only himself but those around him.
Damn it...
He had vowed to make it so no one could touch his people.
But reality was like this.
He couldn't even protect the most precious person and instead received protection.
His own existence felt infinitely shabby.
What hero, indeed.
When he couldn't even protect his father.
"..."
Eun-ha's body trembled.
His body was shaking because his emotions were so intense.
Damn it...
If he could turn back time, he wanted to turn it back and save his father.
What is this situation?
How could he tell his family about his father's death?
Eun-ha felt his eyes getting hot.
Tears welled up in his eyes.
He rubbed his eyes hard with the back of his hand to wipe away the moisture.
Baek Seo-jin, you bastard.
Crunch.
Eun-ha gritted his teeth.
He wanted to kill Baek Seo-jin.
He wished for Baek Seo-jin to die in agony until his anger was satisfied.
But his father wouldn't come back even if he did that.
He had to accept it.
He had to acknowledge it.
His father had died.
"If I had more power..."
He wouldn't have let his father make this choice.
He would have killed Baek Seo-jin right away in Gangneung and prevented this in advance.
It was right then.
"..."
Something flashed in his mind.
Eun-ha opened his eyes wide.
Then he turned his gaze to the white sword hanging at his waist.
Wooong
The Dawn Sword was crying.
The Dawn Sword was faintly trembling, letting Eun-ha know of its existence.
It was saying to use it.
Maybe...
It might be possible.
The Dawn Sword makes results as if they never happened by destroying the cause.
Then it might be able to change even this unreasonable result before his eyes.
Fortunately, his father's corpse was intact.
There was just one gunshot wound.
Other than the gunshot, there was no cause that made his father die, and nothing had been done to his father after that.
Moreover, the gun lying nearby.
The cause was right there.
If he could just destroy that cause─
"─It might be possible."
Eun-ha's eyes gleamed with light.
He had tested the Dawn Sword's effect when destroying the life vessel Mastema had in Gangneung.
It might be possible to save a person too.
Eun-ha stood up.
Wooong
He grasped the Dawn Sword.
The Dawn Sword was responding even more strongly than before.
Eun-ha swung the Dawn Sword down towards the gun on the floor.
Dawn Sword
The white blade flashes.
Golden patterns appear around the white blade.
──!!
The golden patterns that writhe as if alive emit light.
White light and golden light.
Platinum light fills the room.
The gun, the cause, was destroyed.
Now it's time for the result to be destroyed.
Eun-ha turned to look at his father.
"Ah..."
His father's body is enveloped in light.
The hole in his head heals.
Color starts to return to his body that had been losing color.
Eun-ha was at a loss for words seeing his father return to his original state as if time had been reversed.
He didn't know what to say.
He was just purely happy seeing his father come back to life.
Eventually, his father regained consciousness.
"Ugh... What happened? My head feels dizzy. Did I miss and shoot wrong because I was scared? Huh? But why are you here, Eun-ha..."
His father raised his body.
His father, who had been muttering without realizing Eun-ha was there, discovered him.
His father made a surprised face.
Then seeing Eun-ha's expression, he burst out laughing.
"Why is a grown man crying?"
Drip drip.
Tears fall.
Eun-ha could no longer restrain his emotions.
"That's... what Dad should be saying?"
As if he had become a child again.
Eun-ha cried loudly.
The tears wouldn't stop.
Sad and happy.
That's why he cried.
It seemed like the first time he had cried so overwhelmingly after coming back in time.
"Don't try to die on your own."
"...Yes, I'm sorry."
While shedding tears.
Eun-ha made threats.
His father seemed to have just remembered what he had done moments ago.
His father nodded.
"I showed you something you shouldn't have seen. I shouldn't have done it, I've driven a nail into your heart. I'm really, really sorry."
His father hugged Eun-ha.
☆
Perhaps because they had seen each other's unsightly sides.
After that, the two were able to have an open-hearted conversation about various things.
Ironically, his father's death and Eun-ha's tears made the father-son relationship even stronger.
But the time they could open their hearts wasn't very long.
"Ch-Chief Noh!? No, how is this possible..." "Chief Noh! No, in-law! Are you really alive? I rushed here in shock after hearing you had died... I see. Did those bastards not do their job properly and make a wrong report... Those sons of..."
People who were surprised to see the light flash in the office opened the door a little early.
Among them was Han Do-young, the chairman of Sirius Group and Eun-ha's father-in-law, who had hurried to the company after receiving the report.
Those who entered the office were shocked to see Eun-ha's father alive and well.
"Haha... This is how it turned out somehow. I'm really sorry for causing trouble."
Han Do-young cursed at the employees, saying they didn't do their job.
The employees apologized profusely even though they hadn't done anything wrong.
His father made an embarrassed expression seeing that scene.
"Father-in-law. I'd like to take our father home, is that alright?"
"Oh, oh, Eun-ha. Yes, take your in-law home. This person hasn't been sleeping at all lately, so he looks terrible. You, no, in-law. Go home and rest well. Okay?"
At that moment, Eun-ha persuaded Han Do-young.
Han Do-young readily gave permission.
Leaving the employees' puzzled faces behind.
Eun-ha took his father up to the rooftop.
"There are reporters waiting below, so we'll fly through the sky. Quickly, get in my arms."
"Can you hold me? I'm heavy, it'll be hard for you to lift me..."
"Dad, do you know who I am?"
"You're Noh Eun-ha."
"I'm this country's hero."
Eun-ha was in high spirits.
He pointed at himself, making jokes he usually wouldn't.
Then his father burst out laughing.
"Right, my son was a hero. Then shall I let my son hold me?"
It was as Eun-ha had assured.
Lifting his father wasn't difficult.
He manifested his internal mana and lifted his father with a heave.
Eun-ha spread his flame wings and flew into the sky just like that.
"Kang!"
Kang leaped up brightly.
Kang jumped onto his father's chest and rubbed his face against him.
His father hugged Kang tightly and looked down at the night sky.
"The night view is so pretty."
"That's why I sometimes go night flying with Seo-hyeon and Ha-yang."
"What about Yu-jeong and Yeon-hwa?"
"I do it with Yu-jeong too. Just a bit differently. With Yeon-hwa, it's only occasionally. We've been busy lately, you know."
"That's right. To think I'm being held by you, I must have gotten old."
"You're still healthy, what are you talking about."
The father Eun-ha remembered.
Always felt so big.
But now his father had become small, and light enough for Eun-ha to hold in his two arms.
The two silently enjoyed the night view, feeling the flow of time.
Eventually, they arrived in front of the house.
"Mom doesn't know?"
"I guess not."
"Eun-ha, I'm sorry but..."
"Don't ever do something like that again. Next time, I'll tell Mom."
"Okay, thank you."
His father seemed to regret what he had done now.
He was restless even before entering the house.
Then his father composed himself and knocked on the door with the brightest face possible.
"Honey, I'm home!"
Thump thump thump.
Sounds came from inside the door.
Then the door flung open.
"Dad's home!? It's been days! Oh? Oppa came together?"
"You're back? How's the company? Is everything okay now? Eun-ha, did you bring Dad?"
Noh Eun-ae came out first.
Behind her, his mother, Julieta who had come to visit, and Bruno came out one after another.
Noh Eun-ah and Jin Pa-rang were there too.
"Oh, you came too?"
"Eun-ha, you came too? Looks like we all had something in common today."
"Noona? Stupid hyung? Something in common? What do you mean?"
Noh Eun-ah giggled.
She hugged Noh Eun-ae tightly and answered Eun-ha's question playfully.
"You know how we all felt we had to be home today? That's how we all ended up gathering by chance."
"That's right. It would have been nice if Avenir was here too, but he's at the Academy so it can't be helped! How about we all have a party together after a long time!? Bru, quickly go to the mart and get some fireworks..." "Hmm, I'll buy more meat too."
Julieta chatters excitedly.
Bruno agrees with her words and tries to go out with his wallet.
Eun-ha and his father looked at the people gathered at the entrance laughing together.
""..."
The two blinked their eyes.
They wondered what was going on.
For the whole family to gather by chance.
They smiled at the corners of their mouths.
"A party? Fireworks are a bit much, should we just grill some meat?"
"I'll pay for the meat today! Everyone eat well! Eun-ha! I'll give you my card, go buy some meat."
"Dad, if I go out now, I'll get caught by people, you know?"
"Then I'll go!"
"Eun-ae, where are you trying to go alone in the middle of the night?"
"Bibi! Papa! Pupu!" "Kang!"
"It's okay! Buldak and Kang say they'll protect me!"
"You can't go out either. You stand out more than me." "Pupu..."
"Kuku..."
"I'll go buy the meat. I'll just go for a walk with Juli."
"That's fine too... Or take the stupid hyung with you. That guy is only good at eating, so he should be helpful at times like this, right?"
"Hey! Noh Eun-ha! I'm a Twelve Seat, you know? If I go out, people will swarm around me like a pack of dogs!"
"Pa-rang, I told you to be careful with your language as a Twelve Seat, didn't I? What's this about a pack of dogs to people? A pack of dogs?"
"Ugh... There really isn't anyone on my side in this house. Huh? Chang-jin hyung, when were you here?"
"I've been here from the start..."
"You're not family, so go home. You must have a lot of work I assigned you, why did you come here again? Hyung, you didn't come with noona, did you?"
"Yeah? Chang-jin, why are you here?" "Eun-ah, don't joke around... You came here with me, didn't you?" "Ah, did I? Sorry! I forgot!" "Sob..."
Mother, Noh Eun-ah, Noh Eun-ae, Jin Pa-rang, Bruno, Julieta, Han Chang-jin.
Eun-ha and his father laughed out loud seeing the people gathered in the house.
"Aren't you teasing Chang-jin too much? Chang-jin, since you're here, just eat your fill of meat and go."
"Ah, thank you. Father-in..."
"Just eat the meat and go. Got it?"
"Yes..."
It was truly a happy day.
☆
However, his father's crimes hadn't disappeared.
Even if his father stepped down from his position, there was a price to pay for crimes that wouldn't be erased.
Eun-ha pondered and pondered on how to clear his father's crimes.
This is the only way.
Finally, one thought came to mind.
He would give up everything himself.
Eun-ha immediately went to see Im Ga-eul.
Fortunately, Im Ga-eul welcomed Eun-ha's visit even though he came without notice.
"It's been a while since we've had a private conversation. So, what's the matter? I think it's about your father."
"Yes, that's right."
"If you're going to say something like asking me to forgive your father by wielding your authority as
Im Ga-eul had guessed the reason Eun-ha requested a private meeting.
But she didn't anticipate Eun-ha's next action.
Her eyes widened.
"You... What are you doing? I told you it's no use even if you beg like that."
"I'll beg like this."
To the point where his head touched the desk.
Eun-ha bowed his head.
He even banged his head, regardless of whether she was flustered or not.
He prostrated himself and begged like that.
"I'll give up all the merits I've accumulated until now right here. I'll donate my sword to the country and return my Twelve Seat position." "..."
"If you want, I'll even step down as Pandora Clan Lord. I'll just give up everything."
It was an earnest tone.
Im Ga-eul, who was about to raise Eun-ha, hesitated feeling his desperation.
Eventually, she sighed.
"You're asking to exchange crimes for merits."
Crimes for merits.
It was a law that briefly existed after the
Eun-ha intended to revive that law and take on his father's crimes himself.