"Then wait quietly."
Kim Yoo-jung felt her body being lifted into the air, enveloped by Baek Seo-jun's mana. Monts later, her body was set down in a corner, and she realized the state she was in.
'This feels like… so kind of ornant.'
Unable to move even a single finger, she resembled nothing more than a decorative statue placed haphazardly in a corner. Humiliated by the way she was treated, as if she were so pretty ornant to be displayed, Kim Yoo-jung could not even voice her dissatisfaction.
Baek Seo-jun, who had propped her up like a re decoration, no longer even spared her a glance.
He sat leisurely on the sofa, engrossed in a conversation on his phone.
- "Oh, I've been watching the updates. Just now, Baek Hyung-won released the video, exposing the truth."
Hearing the voice on the other end of the call, Kim Yoo-jung froze in shock. That voice was unmistakable—it belonged to soone no one living in Korea could fail to recognize.
'Choi Kang-in!'
The guild leader of the Kangin Guild, the world's most powerful hunter, and practically the de facto ruler of South Korea. It was Choi Kang-in's voice.
Although she was aware of so connection between Choi Kang-in and Baek Seo-jun, the idea that they were close enough to casually chat left her feeling an overwhelming sense of frustration.
'Why him? Why not my Seo-jin?'
Kim Yoo-jung seethed internally at the thought that soone as powerful as Choi Kang-in was close to Baek Seo-jun instead of her beloved Baek Seo-jin. Yet, as the conversation continued, shocking revelations kept surfacing.
- "That’s true. The video was bound to be released eventually. It was better to release it themselves and retreat on their terms."
- "Right, that makes sense. By the way, have you given thought to taking over the Kangin Guild soon?"
- "It’s likely to happen before long."
Kim Yoo-jung’s body trembled at the implication. Choi Kang-in was suggesting that he intended to hand over the Kangin Guild to Baek Seo-jun.
'The Kangin Guild? To him?'
The Kangin Guild wasn’t just any guild.
All of Korea's guilds, including the prestigious Baekho Guild that she had been so proud of, were effectively subsidiaries of the Kangin Guild. Its dominance was absolute, and its leader wielded unparalleled influence.
For years, Choi Kang-in had been searching for a successor, though most believed the matter had faded into obscurity. Now, Choi Kang-in himself was expressing his intent to hand over leadership to Baek Seo-jun, and not in the distant future—it seed imminent.
'No! Absolutely not!'
Kim Yoo-jung wanted to scream. The Kangin Guild should never be inherited by Baek Seo-jun. It was ant to belong to her beloved son, Baek Seo-jin. Hadn’t Baek Seo-jin once shared his belief that he was being considered as the guild's successor?
Even though Baek Seo-jin had later dismissed it as a delusion, Kim Yoo-jung had firmly believed that the Kangin Guild rightfully belonged to her son.
How could soone like Baek Seo-jun—a re tool for her son’s advancent—be deed worthy of inheriting such an empire?
- "Oh? Soon, you say? Then I must make preparations! Hah, I’ve been waiting so long to finally hand over the Kangin Guild to you."
"Nine years. It hasn’t even been a full decade."
- "Nine years is long enough!"
From their conversation, it beca evident that Choi Kang-in had been planning to pass the guild to Baek Seo-jun for the past nine years.
This ant that the sches she and her husband, Baek Hyung-won, had devised to exploit Seo-mun Ye-jin and reclaim Baek Seo-jun’s position for Baek Seo-jin were dood to fail from the start.
Choi Kang-in had always sided with Baek Seo-jun, treating their downfall as nothing more than a spectacle for his amusent.
'How could this happen?!'
The realization that they had been manipulated all along filled her with indignation and humiliation. Yet, she remained powerless, forced to witness the unfolding events from her corner as nothing more than an ornant.
From her vantage point, Kim Yoo-jung saw five won approach Baek Seo-jun: Seo-mun Ye-jin, Han Se-hee, Lee Ha-yeon, Moriya Yuka, and Kang Yu-ra.
'Han Se-hee, Lee Ha-yeon! You wretched girls!'
Seeing them by Baek Seo-jun’s side only reignited her fury. These won should have belonged to Baek Seo-jin, not Baek Seo-jun.
How could they have chosen that man over her son? If she had the power, she would have forcibly handed them over to Baek Seo-jin, fulfilling his every desire. The fact that she lacked such strength only deepened her despair.
"Hmm, such a fitting decoration for my husband’s office, don’t you think?"
Seo-mun Ye-jin, leaning against Baek Seo-jun’s chest, cast a mocking smile in Kim Yoo-jung’s direction.
'That arrogant wench! She should have borne Seo-jin’s children!'
Kim Yoo-jung seethed at the sight of Seo-mun Ye-jin, who should have belonged to her son, now smirking from Baek Seo-jun’s embrace.
Why was the world so cruel to her son, Baek Seo-jin? Why did it favor Baek Seo-jun, who was ant to exist only as a sacrifice for Seo-jin?
Consud by resentnt, she could only watch as Baek Seo-jun and Seo-mun Ye-jin shared an intense, passionate kiss, their tongues entwined as if to declare her insignificance.
Shortly afterward, Baek Hyung-won entered the room.
***
"You did as I ordered, didn’t you? Hm? My wife! Yoo-jung!"
The mont Baek Hyung-won entered the room, he looked around for Kim Yoo-jung. When he finally saw her standing like an ornant in the corner—visibly unhard yet disturbingly motionless—he rushed toward her in alarm.
But I swiftly subdued him, binding his movents with my mana.
From now on, Baek Hyung-won would never again lay a hand on Kim Yoo-jung.
“Grr! What is the aning of this? I did exactly as you commanded!”
“Do you think following a simple instruction erases your sins? You should count yourself lucky that revealing your cris to the world was all I asked. It’s already more rcy than you deserve.”
“Silence! Release
and my wife at once! And tell
how to save Seo-jin! We are your parents! How dare you treat us this way, you ungrateful wretch!”
“Hahaha… It’s comforting to see you haven’t changed a bit. You’re still the sa—pretending to be a virtuous man to others but incapable of hiding your true nature in front of . If anything, you’ve only grown worse.”
I leveled my verdict at the two of them.
“But it doesn’t matter anymore. Your ruin is inevitable.”
I walked over to Kim Yoo-jung, who stood paralyzed like a statue, and gently stroked her head.
“From this mont on, you’ll beco the vessel for a threat that could destroy the world. And… you’ll witness everything. Seo-jin will fight desperately against that threat, never realizing the body it inhabits is yours. He’ll convince himself it’s a path to redemption for his sins.”
“What… what are you planning?!”
Baek Hyung-won’s panic was palpable as he realized the implications of my words. It was clear he hadn’t anticipated the form my vengeance would take.
“Baek Hyung-won, you will bear witness as your beloved wife and your precious second son fight like maniacs to kill each other. Doesn’t that sound thrilling?”
Though I mocked him, my tone was icy, devoid of any mirth.
This was my revenge.
If they cherished each other so much, then I would force Kim Yoo-jung and Baek Seo-jin to fight to the death. And Baek Hyung-won? He would watch helplessly as the two people he loved most tore each other apart, powerless to intervene.
“No! Stop this! Whatever you’re planning, it’s all my fault! Please, just stop!”
At last, Baek Hyung-won cast aside his pride and begged. But even now, he failed to understand his true cri. To him, mistreating Baek Seo-jun—a tool ant to serve his precious Seo-jin—was entirely justified.
But I didn’t bother addressing that.
“From now on, just sit back and watch quietly.”
Baek Hyung-won could no longer speak. Like Kim Yoo-jung, his body froze in place, his gaze locked on
in impotent rage. He couldn’t even lift a finger.
“Kim Yoo-jung, your sacrifice won’t be forgotten. Seo-jin will rember you as the villain who threatened the world… but I’ll rember you as the perfect vessel.”
Though my words were laced with mockery, she had no ans to retaliate. Her eyes burned with fury, but it was aningless.
It was ti to seal The Fox That Devours Worlds into Kim Yoo-jung’s body—a creature of imnse power, an external threat I needed to eliminate as part of my plan for vengeance.
“It’s fortunate you t the conditions. Truly.”
By sealing The Fox That Devours Worlds and exacting my revenge, I was able to accomplish two goals at once. It was a rare stroke of luck indeed.
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