Chapter 48- Father-in-law

[Marfa, Texas]

Walking aimlessly under the dim moonlight, Sung Il-Hwan reminisced about his family and the things he had left behind.

After being offered by the heavenly beings who call themselves the 'Rulers' Il-Hwan become one of the Brilliant Lights who was delegated with a single job.

To kill the Shadow Monarch.

The middle-aged man had the desire to see his family once again and hug his wife for the last time before he departs for the mission which has one way route.

To fulfill his role bestowed by the Rulers, Il-Hwan had no option other than to sacrifice his craving to see his family.

Without him they could remain happy but if Il-Hwan doesn't do what he was supposed to then no one might remain in peace any longer. The world was nearing its end and only some beings are actually capable of bringing any change to the ultimate conclusion.

"Hmm?"

Even the slightest, Il-Hwan felt a presence toward his right. It was faint enough that even high-ranking hunters would have treated it as mere passing wind but not the one who has spent years in a dungeon.

"Reveal your identity, or perish. " With his daggers already clutched in a reverse grip and prepared to launch the very moment the other party does anything suspicious, Il-Hwan warned.

Il-Hwan's eyes shined with a pale yellow shade as he caught a glimpse of the young man currently levitating three meters above the ground with his hand tucked inside his pockets and round-framed black glasses covering his eyes.

'This guy...I have seen him somewhere...' Throwing away the useless thoughts for later, Il-Hwan spoke up once again, this time his voice contained a little hostility.

"I won't ask you the third time, nicely. Reveal your identity or brace yourself for sneaking up on your elders."

The boy seemed Asian so it couldn't be someone from the American government. But the most astonishing realization emerges from the fact that the young man didn't possess even a minuscule mana at all, or he might be impossibly good at hiding it.

Nevertheless, if someone could sneak up on him, then Il-Hwan needs to be wary of them.

"Sung Il-Hwan. The person who disappeared ten years ago and recently was discovered by some A-rank hunters in America before you destroyed the American Hunter Association. You even broke their guy during interrogation as well. Remarkable~"

The teenager clapped in appreciation yet the grin over his lips said otherwise. From Il-Hwan's perspective, this guy wasn't even on his guard even though Il-Hwan was deliberately pouring his mana to make his presence more prominent and terrifying.

"You know about me, so what? Gonna complain to the authorities? "

"Hmm? That's a boring proposal...rather how about I tell you the current whereabouts of the Shadow Monarc- "

Sung Il-Hwan was no longer listening to the guy since he knows more than he should have.

Il-Hwan's connection to the rulers was a restricted knowledge that no one should be aware of yet this guy already was aware of the fact that Il-Hwan was searching for the Monarch of the Dead.

With his left-hand dagger thrown toward the teenager's chest where it could only hurt him but wouldn't fatally injure him, Il-Hwan sped up toward the guy while using the thrown dagger as a decoy.

His movements were agile enough that even an A-rank Hunter would have had a hard time keeping track. The man covered a distance of ten meters within seconds, yet...

"Sorry for this, old man... " The dagger Il-Hwan threw was brushed away like it was a mere fly and when the man neared his opponent, his body froze like some sort of barrier was prohibiting his movements.

However, that wasn't Il-Hwan's current source of apprehension at all since just as the boy pressed his four fingers on Il-Hwan's chest, the latter knew he had screwed up by advancing to close combat.

**BOOOOM**

Like a bullet, Il-Hwan's body shot in a straight path while destroying all those abandoned houses that came in the path.

Just as he was about to put a break on his trail, the same black-haired boy again appeared with his leg raised high.

"Shit!" Il-Hwan barely got the time to cover his face with a cross of his arm before an axe kick dropped over his crossed arms.

*DOOOOM*

The sound of the force applied behind the kick shadowed the small crunching sound that erupted from Il-Hwan's arms. A small crater formed at that spot where the man lay down in tatters.

It took a fucking minute and Sung Il-Hwan was already lying at his opponent's feet.

"This won't kill you, but you surely would feel nasty... " Il-Hwan had no time to fight back before something blurry shot toward him and before he could think of anything, his consciousness faded away.

****

[Haru's POV: ]

'I might have gone a little overboard... '

I used Phantom Blow to make him unconscious since I didn't want to beat my father-in-law more than necessary.

It was an impulsive thought that since Sunbae was about to awaken his mother tonight, why not make the family complete by delivering their father to them?

The reason Sung Il-Hwan was granted power by the Rulers was to kill the shadow monarch but upon finding his own son as the new King of the Dead, Il-Hwan decided that he would rather protect Sunbae. And since the Rulers also had a change of heart and accepted Sunbae as their comrades, those white-winged creatures also supported Il-Hwan's decision.

The reason this older version of Sunbae died in the manhwa emerges from the fact that he was one of the seven Fragment of the Brilliant Light and due to his mortal body being incapable of holding such godly powers, his physical structure deteriorates after he fights against Frost monarch.

"If that's the case then how about... "

With my hands glowing with a dark blue shade I brought my hand over the old man's chest before the region began to glow and his gifted energy began to get sucked up.

I just absorbed the energy that could have endangered his life and made him a normal awakened human. It took me minutes before a tennis ball-shaped pale yellow orb was resting over my hand.

[Name: Essence of Light]

[Rank- B]

[Skill absorbed: None]

[Benefits: Would grant the consumer an immense amount of mana and allow them to enter their Spiritual Body]

[Benefits exclusive to host: Due to the complexity of the host's body, the orb would only work to increase the host's ocean-sized mana reserve by a spoonful. ]

'So I won't be able to manifest my spiritual body eh... ' I muttered under my breath however I had not much interest in Ruler's powers in the first place.

"Agh...where am I... "

My future father-in-law seemed to have woken up after the small nap.

I just need to tell him some truth and face many questions before I push the man back to his family.

'Oh, how happy Jinah would be upon seeing my one-week anniversary gift...I might receive another kiss...hehe~'

****

A/N: - Drop a comment.