Chapter 467

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 467: The Meeting of Families (1)

“Father-in-law?”

If one were to speak of Jeong Yeongwoo07’s father-in-law, there could only be one being in this universe.

The youngest of the Centauri brothers of the triple star system—Proxima.

“He’s already here?”

Current time: 1:32 PM.

While the formal meeting was set for 2:00 PM, it was still quite early.

○ This is Proxima’s first visit in person. And not just to my office—he’s coming straight through the atmosphere...

Earth was so moved, it nearly started tearing up.

‘Is that really something to get emotional about?’

Yeongwoo’s brow furrowed.

‘You bastard, didn’t you mouth off to mother-in-law just yesterday?’

That’s right.

Earth had once committed a "discourtesy" by interrupting the planetary summit and asking Sun Moro if she was scared.

But now, it was making a big deal over Proxima’s visit—even though Proxima was much smaller than Moro.

○ Well, I’ve seen Moro plenty of times, but I never thought I’d get to meet Proxima in person.

Then Earth added softly:

○ And they’re the Centauri brothers.

‘What’s that supposed to mean? Just saying that doesn’t explain anything.’

What Yeongwoo knew was that Proxima was the youngest of the three Centauri stars—and that the other two were infamous.

○ The Centauri brothers are the kind who blaze trails even at stellar summits. They're big shots even on a galactic scale.

‘Blaze trails?’

○ It means the other stars move out of their way first.

‘Ah.’

At this point, nothing surprised him.

The universe itself ran on the law of power, so the society of stars wouldn’t be much different.

The problem, though, was that such big shots had arrived on Earth too early.

‘It’s a mess here… Is it really okay for Father-in-law to show up now?’

Even now, Emel and Maon were in the middle of a power struggle, and across the way, Seoul’s Strongest Swords were charging with mutants in tow.

Not to mention the heads of the galactic lower houses, gathered like spectators and murmuring.

‘So what now? We can’t hold the formal meeting with all these people around, can we?’

○ Of course not. And basically, stars and houses have a non-interference pact...

Earth, who had been speaking in Yeongwoo’s consciousness, suddenly fell silent.

‘Huh? What? What is it?’

The moment Earth’s presence started to fade, Yeongwoo sensed something was off.

Kwa-jik!

A sharp rupture echoed from the sky.

A section of the already strangely bent sky suddenly warped even more.

Hwae-eek!

Even Emel, who had been holding firm in the power clash, couldn’t help but turn his head.

The overwhelming sense of dissonance descending from above was now impossible to ignore.

—Wh-what...

As Emel widened his eyes at the grotesquely twisting sky, Maon let out a low laugh.

—Didn’t I tell you this was a complicated planet?

And then, beyond the warped sky, a pitch-black void began to overlay.

T’d’d’d’d...

As if the empty space of the universe were being superimposed.

Even Yeongwoo was filled with fear at the sight, and quickly reached out mentally for his planet.

‘Hey, hey… what the hell is that?’

But this time, unlike earlier when Earth had been choked up with emotion, it whispered in a voice full of fear.

○ Th-the Centauri brothers are here.

‘What? Weren’t you just saying how great they are?’

○ No, the one I wanted to see was Proxima…

‘Then who is that?’

Even as Yeongwoo said this, he already knew.

The infamous stars from whom paths opened on their own at stellar summits—Rigil Kentaurus and Toliman—had arrived on Earth.

‘Wait, then what about Father-in-law? You said earlier that he was on his way.’

○ …The Centauri brothers have the same prefix in their identification codes.

‘What the hell? You confused them because of that?’

Well, it wasn’t like Earth could’ve predicted Proxima’s two older brothers would show up here of all places.

Seeing Centauri’s identifier, Earth had naturally assumed Proxima was coming.

‘Unless you’re the editor, no one can predict the future.’

And even if they had known in advance, what could they have done?

Kwaaahhhhh...!

As the sky darkened, Yeongwoo turned to Maon and Emel.

“Lords.”

—…?

—What is it?

“Let’s resume this fight another time. The formal meeting is about to begin.”

Emel immediately twisted his lips.

—As expected, a lowborn. Hiding behind the stars? As if they would ever...

His sentence—they do not interfere in matters between houses—was swallowed back down.

Because he too had quickly realized something.

The stars that had just arrived were not Moro and Proxima.

Kwah-ahhhhhhhk…!

Then, from beyond the sky, a sound like a giant beast’s roar echoed, as swirling black dust began to appear.

—…Centauri.

Truly, the elders of the universe.

Just from the premonitions, Emel could tell what beings had arrived on this small planet.

Which was precisely why he hastily retrieved his house’s war artifact and stepped back.

—Cowardly and foolish man. You summon calamity to avoid disgrace.

“I didn’t summon them, dammit.”

Yeongwoo clutched Bastard and protested, but Emel gave no reply—instead, he reached toward his ear.

Sshk.

And then, from just below his ear, a pale mask unfolded and covered his nose and mouth.

‘Wait? That bastard just…’

He was protecting his own breathing apparatus.

Sensing something instinctively, Yeongwoo turned around.

He saw that the other beings from space were also protecting their respiratory systems or physiological vulnerabilities in their own ways.

Then, Maon kindly said to Yeongwoo,

—Protect your friends.

“…Friends?”

But Maon’s gaze wasn’t directed at the mutant army.

It was fixed somewhere else entirely.

Following his gaze in haste, Yeongwoo quickly spotted the Strongest Swords of Seoul entering his view.

“Ah.”

The “friends” Maon had mentioned weren’t the mutants—but the humans.

“No way…”

Overcome with a dark premonition, Yeongwoo leapt forward while deploying a protective barrier using Aratubank.

Ta-at!

“Everyone, get under me! Unless you want to die!”

Right on cue, an unusual phenomenon began to occur among the mutants chasing after the swordsmen.

Fsszzzt...

Their skin began to crumble into fine dust and lift into the air.

「Huh?」

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

「Wh-what is this?」

The mutants immediately sensed something was wrong and stopped their chase, looking down at their bodies.

Seeing this, Yeongwoo quickly checked on his "friends"—the laborers summoned from the Returnee’s chamber.

And over there too...

「W-whoa?」

「Yeongwoo, what’s happening?」

Their bodies were turning into black dust, being sucked into the air—more precisely, toward a mysterious black vortex.

They were vanishing.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Realizing the situation, Yeongwoo turned to look at Kang Hongtae, who was also turning into dust like the others.

“Chairman!”

「……?」

“Come shake hands with me! Those guys will come back even if they die, but for you, this is the end!”

「What?!」

At this moment, Yeongwoo extended his right hand as if urging him to hurry up and grasp it.

Then, a voice echoed in Kang Hongtae’s ear.

It was General Kim Younghyeom.

「That power—what are you saving it for? Use it for your country, no, your planet.」

But what truly got Kang Hongtae to move wasn’t the formal plea—it was the rude and chaotic shout from Yeongtae.

「Hey, mister! If you don’t move now, you’ll die for real!」

「……!」

If you don’t move, you’ll die.

No warning could be more intuitive.

「Ugh.」

Finally, Kang Hongtae began to move toward Yeongwoo, and seeing that, Yeongwoo turned his head toward the three mutants who had chased the Strongest Swords.

‘…Damn. Too late.’

As expected, the time of disintegration must have varied based on their level of martial attainment—the mutants chasing the Strongest Swords didn’t even have arms left to shake hands with.

‘Once we recruit Kang Hongtae, each mutant becomes a powerful asset.’

Smacking his lips as he looked at the mutants whose lower bodies were all that remained, Yeongwoo waited.

Soon after, a half-burned, nearly vanished Kang Hongtae stumbled into the Aratubank barrier.

Kwaak!

「W-what… is all this…?」

He was shocked by how different the world and Earth were from what he remembered.

In response, Yeongwoo forcibly opened Kang Hongtae’s right hand and ordered,

“You’ll understand everything once you go up. You’ll be able to observe all of this comfortably.”

「Go up…?」

“Use the Return function.”

At Yeongwoo’s words, a door-shaped emblem lit up on Kang Hongtae’s palm.

Paaat!

It was the return button that, through a handshake, allowed one to become “friends.”

Yeongwoo gripped his hand tightly and said,

“Chairman, congratulations on your conscription.”

「What……?」

Ssshhhaaa!

Kang Hongtae’s body turned into pale smoke and melted into the air.

Finally, the first mutant of this country had become a “friend.”

Piiing!

The moment Kang Hongtae’s body completely disappeared, a clear alarm sounded. Yeongwoo pulled out the whistle hanging from his neck.

Sssk.

「Pumpkin-Colored Whistle」 - Legendary Necklace

【Summons a friend.】

| Yeongtae, Taejoon, Younghyeom, Geumhwa, Hongtae

‘It worked perfectly.’

Confirming that Kang Hongtae’s name had been added to the friends list, Yeongwoo looked at the three Strongest Swords hiding with him under the shield.

“You don’t want to stay here forever, right?”

The three Strongest Swords nodded simultaneously.

“O-of course not.”

“Is there… any chance we can make it out alive?”

In response, Yeongwoo stretched his arm outside the shield to see if he, too, would start turning into dust.

“Do you think I collect taxes for nothing? I’ll try to get you out alive if I can.”

And right around that time, the swirling black dust in the sky began to form a massive pillar descending to the ground.

Kwooooooo!

At last, the two celestial beings in question were about to set foot on Earth.

Shhhhaaa!

As the black dust pillar descended, a pitch-black curtain spread across the sky, erasing all shadows.

“……?”

At the unbelievable sight, Yeongwoo and the Strongest Swords from Earth blinked in disbelief.

‘But… if we can still see things, doesn’t that mean there’s some light somewhere?’

The moment Yeongwoo had that thought, Earth emitted a faint, barely perceptible presence.

○ It has arrived.

From within the dust pillar that had finally touched the ground, something glowing gray began to walk out.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]