In the Name of God - vanish into fiction

It was only a pity that his body was distressingly frail and his mana reserves were low.

Other than that, it was safe to consider him a flawless veteran combat-type Awakener. There shouldn’t have been any opportunity for him to learn combat techniques directly from anyone, yet to possess such combat sense, his younger brother was undoubtedly a genius.

He hadn’t been certain because he had only seen him for a short time from a distance at the promotion exam site, but now he knew.

Even if a position hadn’t been intentionally created through an agreement with the Clan Leader, a talented person of Seong Do-yoon’s caliber could have easily joined Horizon.

‘If a guy who only recently awakened is already at that level, he’ll become a high-ranking Awakener in no time.’

No jealousy arose regarding the talent of the brother he had confirmed with his own eyes.

‘When did he grow up so much?’

He was simply happy, and just as much, he was sorry.

‘I really was the worst older brother.’

To think he had tried to keep such an incredible brother locked up solely under the pretext of danger.

He realized just how much his remarks inside the taxi had been a display of disregarding Seong Do-yoon.

Seong Do-wan could not hide his bitterness at the sight of Seong Do-yoon, who had changed from the past. Thinking of it as the result of the karma brought about by his selfish protection, he could not easily shake off the guilt that tightened around him like a snake.

Obsessed with the compulsion that he had to protect him no matter what, he hadn’t tried to look back at how his brother was being broken. He thought it was enough as long as he was living safely with all his limbs intact, regardless of the form that life took.

“There is only one thing for a fool like you to do.”

“No matter what it takes, protect your brother until ‘that time’ comes.”

“Keep in mind that you are alive for that purpose.”

Just as his parents—who had suddenly brought a newborn baby shortly after the Holy War began—had said, he initially regarded him as a brother and desperately cherished him in order to survive. Even if those who called themselves his parents hadn’t given cold, brainwashing-like orders every day, he wanted to be a more reliable and better brother than anyone.

That remained the case even after his parents died, but the situation began to change once he made a name for himself as an Awakener and rose to the position of Vice Clan Leader of Horizon.

The number of people targeting his brother instead of himself increased daily. There were more than a few bastards who tried to use and manipulate his purely kind brother at will.

He made the worst choice to protect his brother from all of them. He thought it was better to take all the resentment upon himself rather than letting his brother be hurt by countless humans.

He wanted him to think that it wasn’t the whole world that was harsh to him, but that the human who was his brother was simply an irredeemable bad guy… he wanted him to think that way.

Because if he hid quietly, unable to do anything out of resentment and fear toward his brother, there would be no reason for him to be in danger.

He believed that was the way to protect his brother safely and for a long time.

Thinking about it now, it was no different from unilaterally abusing his brother.

“At this rate, I’m no different from those people.”

Recalling how his deceased parents had treated him, Seong Do-wan once again reflected on his selfish actions committed against Seong Do-yoon.

Grrrr—

Before he knew it, the monsters had reached the immediate vicinity.

The sounds of growling and the peculiar, bizarre noises of monsters were heard from all sides, and the ground shook due to their heavy movements.

Seong Do-wan, standing alone while receiving the full attention of the monsters, took out black fingerless gloves from his jacket pocket.

On the surface, they looked like simple leather gloves, but they were made by processing the hide of a Dragon-type Boss Monster encountered in an A-rank dungeon. This was one of the few artifacts that could remain intact even while holding Seong Do-wan’s powerful mana and his ability. His shoes, made as a set, were of the same material.

After clenching and unclenching his gloved hands a few times, Seong Do-wan looked around at the monsters with cold eyes.

‘I’ll handle them as quickly as possible and move.’

Recalling Seong Do-yoon’s exhausted appearance and his injured ankle, Seong Do-wan clenched his right fist tightly. Blue mana, like fire, surged from his fist in an instant.

Seong Do-wan’s fist, imbued with mana, struck the hard ground powerfully.

Thump—!

The sound of the earth’s axis ringing echoed.

Like massive ripples spreading across a vast sea, a purple hue burst outward in all directions from the point where Seong Do-wan struck. The air instantly became heavy, and a subtle toxicity spread.

Screee!

Kiyaaa!

The feet of the monsters standing on the purple ground began to melt rapidly. Hands that touched the ground while staggering, bodies that fell—whatever part touched the earth was corroded in an instant.

Seong Do-wan looked indifferently at the monsters that were melting and disappearing before they could even flee.

Even in the midst of this, he was worried that his brother might be overexerting himself.