Level 4 Human in a Ruined World - Chapter 306

Chapter 306: The Successor (5)

As he heard the rough laughter of his mother resounding from above, Yeongwoo recalled something.

— You won’t be able to handle that guy. He’s my brother, but he’s a total maniac.

It was a warning left by his eldest uncle, Song Taeho, who had returned as Steel-Dragon but had yet to see the second uncle return.

However, the real warning Song Taeho had wanted to convey came after that.

— But what’s scarier than him… is your mother.

Your mother.

Jeong Yeongwoo’s biological mother, Song Jiseon.

The entire country knew that Song Jiseon, the youngest daughter of the Jinhyeon Group, had defeated her two older brothers in the battle for control over the company.

Although Yeongwoo didn’t know much about it, the two older brothers who competed with Song Jiseon were notorious troublemakers in business circles and the public eye.

The eldest son, Song Taeho, often made verbal gaffes due to his arrogance and sense of entitlement, while the second son, Song Jeongho, was known for his eccentric personality and frequent involvement in scandals, both big and small.

Yet, it was said that the youngest daughter, Song Jiseon, was even scarier than these two problematic figures.

What kind of person was she?

‘What kind of person? Probably a complete tyrant.’

Even though he had never met his mother in person, Yeongwoo instinctively understood.

— Hah-hah! Is there truly no one here?

Yeongwoo could sense that Song Jiseon must have been quite the force of nature during her human years as well.

After all, even now, she believed she was on an alien planet, yet she showed no signs of being daunted.

It was impossible to imagine just how intimidating she must have been in her youth.

‘Of course, you’d need to be like that to defeat your chaebol brothers and rise to the top.’

As Yeongwoo gulped nervously, Master Bang, who was also looking up at the sky, muttered to himself.

— Is that really… your mother?

“…Yes. I’m not sure whether that’s a good or bad thing, but at least she seems healthy.”

Even from the enormous shadow glimpsed through the clouds, it was evident how triumphant her return was.

‘Maybe the original future of Seoul was meant to be reduced to ashes by Song Jiseon.’

Yeongwoo scratched his chin while marveling at the silhouette of his mother, which impressed him every time he saw it.

Just two days ago, he wouldn’t have been able to muster the confidence to face that silhouette.

But now things were different.

Though he had been branded a “mistake of the Jinhyeon family” by his eldest uncle, Yeongwoo had never needed the “Jinhyeon” name in the first place.

‘This is Metal Seoul, the special city of Dogo. There’s no place for the ghosts of the old world!’

Whoosh!

Finally, Yeongwoo drew his blade, Bastard, just as the iron hooves of Negwig smashed into the ground of Gwangjin-gu.

Boom!

At last, they had arrived at the arena Yeongwoo had set up in the heart of Seoul.

— So, this is the place…?

As Master Bang looked around at the ruins of Gwangjin-gu, Yeongwoo nodded.

“Yes. When strong opponents appear, I usually lure them here and beat them down. I even dealt with one of my uncles here.”

As Yeongwoo said this, he touched the area near his heart, though Master Bang couldn’t begin to guess the reason for that gesture.

— So, you intend to meet your mother here…?

Finally confronted with the grim nature of Mayor Jeong Yeongwoo, Master Bang recoiled.

Meanwhile, Yeongwoo had already raised Bastard towards the sky.

Swoosh!

“Mother…!”

As the Bastard’s powerful cry reverberated through the air, the massive shadow beyond the clouds flinched for a moment.

— …What?

It was a reaction from Song Jiseon.

However, she had no idea that the cry she heard referred to her as “mother” and instead was surprised by something else entirely.

— Who’s there? Could it be a human?

Song Jiseon was startled simply by hearing a familiar language in this city of steel.

At that moment, Yeongwoo directed Negwig towards the center of Gwangjin-gu and swung the Bastard once again.

Whoosh!

“Mother! Over here! Give me the sign!”

And then Song Jiseon responded immediately.

— What are you talking about? Who’s your mother?

A massive presence stirred above, and the shadow looming over the clouds grew even larger.

Song Jiseon was descending closer to the ground.

— I-I can’t believe it…

Her enormous shadow was so intimidating that even the fearsome red-clawed Bantubangtong felt a sense of dread.

But Yeongwoo…

“Who else? You’re my mother!”

…responded without a hint of fear, provoking her further.

“Aren’t you Song Jiseon of the Jinhyeon Group?”

— What…?

Hearing the name “Jinhyeon” seemed to trigger something in Song Jiseon, as she fell silent for a moment before responding in a voice of shock.

— No way… this place is…?

Finally, she realized.

She was looking at Seoul, South Korea.

— What kind of mess has been made here?

As soon as Song Jiseon expressed her frustration, Yeongwoo shouted back at her.

“Come on, we don’t have time for this. Just give me the mark!”

The reason Yeongwoo was so obsessed with the mark of the dragon’s adversary was for the protection of the city.

Although Seoul was reinforced with steel, Song Jiseon was no ordinary dragon either.

— What? You bastard! What did you just call me?

As expected, Song Jiseon’s temper flared, and a stream of curses came flying out of her mouth.

Soon, a bright red mark descended toward Yeongwoo’s head.

Whoosh!

Ping!

Tracing a long arc in the air, it landed directly on Yeongwoo’s head.

It was none other than the adversary’s mark.

「General」

The character for “general”, given to the one who would face the dragon on behalf of the entire city.

When the designated time arrived, the dragon would descend where the mark was placed.

‘Finally!’

Confirming the mark had been secured on his head, Yeongwoo, with a completely different attitude, addressed his mother with newfound respect.

“Mother! Please come down so we can talk!”

Then, thunder echoed in the sky, and Song Jiseon’s voice boomed down.

— You moronic bastard, calling me your mother…

She seemed annoyed as she spoke, but suddenly, she fell silent.

“…!”

Yeongwoo widened his eyes, watching the massive shadow soaring through the clouds.

“You remember, don’t you? You know it’s me, right?”

Though Yeongwoo pressed for an answer, no response came.

Instead, filled with certainty, he shouted toward the sky.

“You’re my mother, aren’t you? Even if you don’t recognize me, you must remember giving birth to me!”

At Yeongwoo’s desperate cry, Song Jiseon, who had been flying above, suddenly stopped all movement.

Swoosh!

“Wha…?”

As the enormous shadow disappeared from view, a moment of intense fury overtook Yeongwoo, and he leapt off the precipice at Negwig, clutching Bastard in his arms.

Taat!

“Song Jiseon! Where did you go? Are you abandoning me again…!”

But before Yeongwoo could finish his sentence, beams of light shot down from the skies all over Seoul.

Paaaah!

“…!”

These were the marks of the mutants and monsters.

The time had already reached 1 PM.

At that exact moment, the ceremonial act unique to the dragon race began.

「An [Abnormal Weather] ice storm has formed in Gwangjin-gu.」

‘Ice storm?’

Before Yeongwoo could even process the thought, the sky turned a deep blue and began to freeze.

Crack!

The ice storm had the terrifying ability to freeze an entire area solid.

Even worse, Song Jiseon’s influence wasn’t limited to Gwangjin-gu; it spread to the outskirts of neighboring regions, suspending the monsters that had just started to descend along the beams of light midair.

‘Freezing an entire space? Is this even possible?’

Crackle, crackle…

Noticing the air itself beginning to crystallize over Gwangjin-gu, Yeongwoo quickly shouted out.

“Are you planning to kill your husband too? You can’t kill me with this! But Jeonggu, he’s weak; he’ll freeze to death!”

He said this to save Master Bang, the Golden Goblin, and Pofu Tenta, who were also present.

Since he couldn’t make her understand the value of the Orc Lord, he instead sold out their only connection—her father.

This strategy proved quite effective.

Crack!

Suddenly, the ice ceiling over Gwangjin-gu shattered, and Song Jiseon, Yeongwoo’s biological mother, appeared.

—Husband? What a laughable term. That means nothing to me.

Roooar!

With a chilling presence, Song Jiseon appeared, her entire body covered in translucent scales, revealing her as a massive ice dragon.

Boom!

As she landed on the ground and pressed her front foot against the earth, the ground beneath her froze and turned a deathly blue.

[Chaebol Leader—Song Jiseon]

‘…Are you kidding me?’

Seeing the title “Chaebol Leader” for the first time since the reset, Yeongwoo couldn’t even keep his eyes open in her presence.

In fact, her entire body was radiating so brightly.

“Goddamn, she’s huge, and now she’s got a blinding light attack too? That’s not fair.”

While Yeongwoo muttered a sarcastic remark, Song Jiseon’s blue eyebrows twitched, sensing something odd.

—What exactly are you?

Just as Yeongwoo guessed, Song Jiseon was an enormous dragon with a total length of about 250 meters.

Due to her long neck, standing upright meant she was looking down at Yeongwoo from nearly 100 meters above.

“Can you even see me from up there? How about coming down so we can talk? Can’t you polymorph or something?”

Recalling his great-uncle who had charged at him as a knight, Yeongwoo made a suggestion, and Song Jiseon’s anger flared again.

—Stop spouting nonsense and answer my question. You can’t even breathe without my permission. Don’t test my patience, I’ve spared you a thousand times already.

Her words were chilling.

Her translucent scales revealed blue blood coursing beneath, indicating her genuine rage.

But Yeongwoo was also holding back to some extent.

“Seriously, exaggerating much? You think I’m not sparing you? You want me to put you in a coffin right now?”

This wasn’t entirely empty bravado—his left arm, holding ‘Aratubank,’ was trembling with wild energy.

—Hmph, just die.

As Song Jiseon’s eyes turned cold and she prepared to freeze the entire area again…

“Wait a moment…!”

From a distance, a frantic voice called out.

“…Huh?”

Yeongwoo turned his head toward the source of the voice, and there, rushing toward them, was none other than Kim Jeonggu, Yeongwoo’s biological father, certified by the universe.

“Both of you, stop! Please stop!”

Without even holding a weapon, Jeonggu flailed his arms as he ran toward them, looking every bit the pitiful father.

His eyes were filled with worry and fear.

Tat-tat!

Yet, courageously stepping into the icy storm, Jeonggu quickly checked Yeongwoo’s condition and then gazed up at the sky.

He looked up at Song Jiseon, the ice dragon, with whom he once spent a passionate night.

“Ji, Jiseon! No, Lady Jiseon!”

Waving his arms toward the sky in a panic, Song Jiseon finally lowered her stiffly held head for the first time.

Groooooan…

She lowered her head to take a closer look at the tiny man beneath her, who seemed like an ant.

—Do you know me?

Panting heavily, Jeonggu began nervously wringing his hands together.

“Do… do you remember? That one time…”

Carefully choosing his words, Jeonggu finally managed to extract a historically significant name for the two of them.

“Re…”

—…!

Song Jiseon’s pupils began to widen.

And almost simultaneously, Jeonggu finished his sentence.

“Renaissance in Bulgwang-dong… Do you remember…?”

—…

What happened next, neither Yeongwoo, Jeonggu, nor even Song Jiseon herself could have predicted.

After hearing Jeonggu’s words, Song Jiseon opened her massive jaws and unleashed a breath attack.

—Dieeeeeeee!

At that moment, Yeongwoo raised his Aratubank, as if he had been waiting for this.

“Well, damn…”

———