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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 34: Shooting, Star (9)
In Baek Ho’s eyes, Nana appeared.
He had always seen her under the dazzling spotlight, never realizing it until now. In the midst of the dense dust, he could finally see clearly.
She was a star that shone on her own. She didn’t just reflect light; she was someone who emitted light. He hadn’t known this because her brilliance had always been hidden in the glare.
<Shining brightest no matter where you are—♬>
Each note was sung with care as she reached her hand toward the empty space. A tear fell from her moist eyes.
What was she thinking right now?
Was she regretting giving up her bright future?
Was she regretting running away from all the wealth and glory?
Maybe by now, she was recognizing that her choice had been wrong.
Baek Ho asked himself…
So, do you regret it?
“......”
Suddenly, the memory of the day he left home came back.
That day had been his mother’s memorial day.
He didn’t know whether it was the day she died as a human or the day she was consumed as a Reaper.
Regardless, it was the only day of the year when the family could talk about his mother.
And on that day, Baek Ho had made a declaration in front of her photograph.
‘No. I will not live like Father.’
After that, he severed all ties with anything related to Yeomra.
All the limitless payment modules, the dozens of cars in the garage, the access chips for the vehicle entrance… He left it all behind and walked out.
He rode the elevator, passed over two hundred floors, and reached the first floor.
Since he wore a mask daily, the staff didn’t recognize him, and he was able to leave without anyone stopping him.
‘It’s this simple…’
Swoosh—
As the rain poured down, Baek Ho realized something.
He had never left Yeomra HQ on his own.
He had always been surrounded by Seonhwa and Seongyu, traveling only to designated locations.
And he realized that, besides his home, he had nowhere else to go.
‘What have I been doing all this time…?’
Was this the reason he had taken so many lives?
Had he endured these nightmares just to live like this?
The disappointment in himself surged, and depression followed. Just then, a taxi stopped in front of him.
‘Pfft!’
Baek Ho couldn’t help but laugh.
Out of the rear window of the taxi, Frank’s head and one of his arms were sticking out.
The ordinary car was far too small to fit his massive frame.
Frank, wedged in the window, raised his head and spoke.
'How old are you to be running away? Are you going through puberty?'
'Looks like it.'
'Embarrassed? Just get in.'
Together with Frank, Baek Ho left the Necro Plaza and headed to the lower sector.
For the first time in his life, he was leaving Sector 10 behind.
They passed through Sector 20, which was bustling with commerce, and continued through various manufacturing and production zones, finally entering a sector populated by working-class people.
The taxi stopped in Sector 30.
The driver refused to go any lower, stating he wouldn’t go below that level.
Baek Ho didn’t want to go any further either.
Compared to the Necro Plaza, Sector 30 already felt like a slum, and from Sector 31 onwards, it was no longer an environment fit for human life.
He still remembered it vividly.
From the entrance, people high on drugs and half-body prostitutes, all cybernetic, were pointing guns at one another.
‘...This might be pushing it, right?’
‘Frank’s a little scared now.’
Afterward, Baek Ho settled in Sector 30, the lowest area where ordinary citizens lived.
It was a form of bravado.
It was his way of proving that he wasn’t some sheltered flower in a greenhouse.
And most of the time, bravado and recklessness don't lead to good outcomes.
Baek Ho was faced with the darker side of the city that had only ever seemed dazzling.
He witnessed the despair hidden behind neon signs.
The screams and gunshots that rang out daily.
The bodies lying on the streets.
People didn’t trust each other. People despised and hated each other.
It was then that Baek Ho realized for the first time how the undead lived.
He saw how those who had experienced countless deaths on the battlefield for humanity were treated when they returned to the city.
He had never been taught about this in school, and having lived surrounded by necromancers and reapers, he had no way of knowing.
Of course, he never bothered to learn about it.
‘Is this all because of my grandfather?’
‘Well... I can’t say it’s not.’
Baek Ho decided to help them.
In his heart, he wished to offer Yeomra’s money and power, but he wanted to help using his own strength rather than the power created by his grandfather.
There was only one way that came to mind.
Living as a problem solver, not as a commander.
Using his strength for the institution’s vulnerable ones.
Whether it was hypocrisy born from discomfort, the sympathy of the privileged, or a form of atonement he wanted to offer, he didn’t know.
But he wanted to help, even if it was just a little.
He didn’t want to chase a grand goal like saving humanity. He just wanted to live by helping the people in front of him.
As a result, though, he ended up living day by day, constantly strapped for money.
So, does that mean he regrets it or not?
He doesn't.
Even if he hasn't achieved much yet, at least the discomfort in his heart is lessened.
But could he have endured this alone?
No. Without Frank, it would have been much harder.
‘Frank... I can’t remember him...’
His only friend, the one who had always been by his side, was now dying.
He wanted to keep Frank alive, even if it meant erasing his memories, but Frank himself firmly refused.
Once the memories are gone, that person wouldn’t be who they were anymore, he argued.
He’d rather die as himself than live as someone else.
‘Sorry. Please understand.’
When Baek Ho heard those words, he simply said he understood.
He grumbled about it, but deep down, he hadn’t given up.
How could he help anyone else when he couldn’t even protect his closest friend?
< All I can do is quietly watch...♬ >
Baek Ho looked to the side.
Frank, sitting a few steps away, was staring blankly at Nana.
His lips moved slightly, and his shoulders twitched as if he had something to say.
Even though he had lost his memories, his body and soul still remembered I_Vu. He was faintly mimicking their songs and dances.
...It really works.
He had heard that even during the process of Eternalization, memories would sometimes return intermittently.
People assumed this meant that the symptoms of Eternalization were improving, but it was just a temporary phenomenon. Left untreated, it would eventually lead to a major incident.
Anyway, the fact that forgotten memories could come back was true.
Baek Ho decided to use this.
He would make use of the associative power of the song and the strength of Nana’s voice.
He would get help from I_Vu, which was the largest part of Frank’s lost memories.
Only then could he apply shock therapy or whatever method was necessary.
...It’s still not enough.
Was there a powerful way to make the faded memories clearer?
Baek Ho wracked his brain, retracing the past.
When did Frank become a fan of I_Vu?
What was the trigger?
He remembered it was something simple.
That’s right, alcohol.
On a night when he had drunk heavily and was stumbling around the alley, he had bumped into something.
A life-size figure.
It was the I_Vu advertisement board placed in front of a store.
Among the holographic ads, it had caught his attention as an analog marketing method. He definitely remembered it.
It had been a special kind of marketing that became a trend.
‘Uuugh~ Mommmyyy~’
Baek Ho remembered the sight of Frank clinging to the life-size cutout, sobbing uncontrollably.
Why had he done that?
Baek Ho had been drunk too, so he couldn’t recall the reason.
Maybe it wasn’t anything deep.
Maybe it was something simple—he liked her because she was pretty and sang well.
Still, just in case.
He decided to try whatever he could.
[Let me ask you for a favor.]
He sent a message to Nana.
She nodded as she kept singing.
A seasoned professional, she didn’t miss a beat as she carried the performance forward without a hitch.
[Do you remember those standees of your group that were trending a few months ago? The one where you're turning back with a finger heart?]
Nana nodded again.
[Can you do that for me?]
Her voice wavered slightly.
She quickly regained her rhythm and pitch, but the surprise on her face was obvious.
Soon, a message from Nana popped up in front of Baek Ho’s eyes.
–[Here???ㅠㅠ That???]
To her flustered message, Baek Ho replied with a firm nod.
< Even that star must have a star of its own—♬ >
Just then, the song hit the chorus.
Nana raised her long, pale hand toward the ceiling, following the lyrics.
Slowly, she turned around, rising up on tiptoe.
< The one and only star shining in the darkness—♬ >
Twisting her waist and glancing back, she made a finger heart—aimed directly at Baek Ho.
< I hope that star is you—♬ >
Exactly like the standee.
Baek Ho turned his hopeful gaze to Frank.
His mouth rounded in awe, his head bobbing up and down.
Like someone who had just remembered a brilliant idea.
His eyes widened like a person who’d found something precious they thought they lost.
Then he suddenly sprang to his feet.
With reddened eyes, he raised the cheering light stick in his right hand and waved it back and forth.
His mouth opened wide as he shouted.
“I love you, I_Vu! I_Vu forever!”
The sound didn’t reach them.
Seonhwa had used talismans to isolate all noise outside the stage area.
But even her charms couldn’t block the purple glow of the light stick.
A stage that had felt flat and unresponsive began to flood with violet light.
Seeing it, Baek Ho clenched his fist and shouted.
“YES!”
A bright smile bloomed on Nana’s lips as she glanced at Baek Ho, who was grinning like an excited child.
‘Is he really that happy? So, he has been my fan all along.’
She’d had her suspicions ever since their first encounter—when he showed up in front of the agency, waving a banner and a cheering light stick.
< Even that star must have a star of its own—♬ >
Nana sang the chorus again, her expression brighter than before.
She poured her gratitude into every note—for the man who was doing everything he could to honor her unreasonable request to be remembered as someone who had died.
< The one and only star shining in the darkness—♬ >
She was enjoying herself for the first time in a while.
Come to think of it, these past three days, although dangerous, had also been strangely fulfilling.
Her heart felt lighter.
And somehow, she felt that if she were to live on as one of Baek Ho’s Retainer—his bound companion—it wouldn’t matter where or what she was doing.
‘If… if things go well this time… could I join you as a Retainer?’
He hadn’t given a clear answer when she asked.
But judging by the way he responded now, she felt sure he would.
Carrying that joy in her heart, she sang the final line.
< I hope that star is you—♬ >
With shining eyes, she offered her heartfelt truth.
Just like in the lyrics—she said only he could be the star to her own.
Has that truth reached him?
Baek Ho's lips curled into a faint smile as he raised his right hand.
Was he giving her a thumbs up?
Maybe a finger heart?
But what appeared in Nana’s eyes wasn’t a thumbs up.
It wasn’t a heart either.
It was a silver revolver.
…Huh?
The muzzle flashed.
The bullet fired—aimed at the fallen star.
It cut through the air and struck Nana square between the eyes.
Thwack!
Like a watermelon splitting open, she collapsed backward.
Blood gushed over the stage, staining the violet light with a deep, dark red.
⋯⋯⋯
The audience was stunned into silence by the unannounced gunshot.
Mouths hung open as everyone stared at the horror unfolding on stage.
Frank too.
Just as his forgotten memories were finally flooding back, the person he revered had her head blown apart.
The shock hit him like a freight train.
All the pebbles rattling around in his mind were blasted away by the boulder of that moment.
All that remained was the sheer devastation of what had just happened.
His face twisted like a demon’s as he charged at Baek Ho.
Startled, Seonhwa shattered the barrier, and the pig-masked camera operator shut down the feed.
“Baek Ho! What the hell did you do?!”
Frank grabbed Baek Ho’s shoulders and shook him violently.
As a bound Retainer this was the most he could physically do to his master.
“Why did you kill her?!”
Behind the brow of an undead lies their Life Vessel—the Core of their existence.
From the place Nana had been shot, and the force of the bullet, there was no way her Vessel had survived.
If the Vessel shatters, resurrection is impossible.
That’s complete erasure. True death.
“Answer me! Why the hell did you do it?!”
Baek Ho smiled faintly at Frank’s wailing.
“Why else? I did it for you.”
“…What?”
“Franklin Bernstein. Say your personal recognition code. Now.”
The way he cheerfully extended a fist for a bump—it made people shudder.
Baek Ho had always been seen as a good necromancer, but that unwavering belief was starting to crack, and the pain was setting in.
＊ ＊ ＊
The Round Table meeting was hastily adjourned.
As much as UnderHeaven had been thrown into turmoil, all eyes had been on Nana—witnessing not only her but also the moment her forehead was pierced and her life ended.
Masamune’s request, the review of military merits was postponed until the next session.
Chzzzk—
The screens surrounding Commander Baek went dark.
Just as the holographic virtual space began to deactivate completely, he felt an icy blade’s intent graze the side of his neck.
Even without seeing it, he knew.
This was Masamune’s katana.
“…Was this your doing too?”
“I’ve said it plenty of times—no need to draw a sword just to intimidate someone. It’s not scary; it’s pitiful, really.”
He returned Masamune’s earlier mockery with only a few words swapped out.
And then, as if that wasn’t enough, he pointed out what Masamune’s reaction had already betrayed.
“You already know it wasn’t me. Guess that Prototype Beowulf will have to be scrapped, huh?”
“......”
Commander Baek was unaware that Edelin Nana had been created using Selena’s genetic material.
He didn’t know that with her death, the project could no longer continue.
Even if he didn’t know that, he certainly understood that launching the berserker project in this atmosphere was no longer viable.
Doing so would only fan the flames of revolution in UnderHeaven.
“Baekie.”
“Don’t call me that. It’s disgusting.”
“…Don’t get cocky. My work for humanity is only just beginning.”
Srrrng—
With the sound of a sword sliding into its sheath, Masamune’s presence vanished entirely.
Left alone, Commander Baek moved his left hand.
He sent a message to Seonhwa, who was currently with Baek Ho.
He asked her what the hell just happened, and her reply came—painfully slowly.
–[My Lord, this lowly maiden is deeply honored by your message. If I may be so bold—do you not have other matters that require your attention? I hesitated to respond too quickly, fearing I might act without proper regard for your time.]
“…Phew.”
A sigh escaped him.
If he ever retired as Commander and fully devoted himself to his duties as the family head, this would be the first thing he’d fix.
This inefficient corporate culture that clung to outdated customs in the name of honoring their roots.
“My Lord, seriously…”
He could tolerate the uniforms—other corporations were just as eccentric in that department.
But the speech patterns? That had to go.
Commander Baek moved his left hand again and sent Seonhwa another message.
[Ugh… so~ what. happened. to. that. woman~?? I’m dying here~;; just say yes. or. no~!!]
Once again, the reply didn’t come quickly.
All he saw was the [∘∘∘] indicating the other party was typing… and typing…
“…I’m going to lose my mind.”
Frustration began to etch itself onto Commander Baek’s usually composed face.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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