Chapter 468

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Chapter 468: The Meeting of Families (2)

Right now, walking out from that column of dust over there are the elder brothers of his father-in-law.

From Yeongwoo’s perspective, as the son-in-law, what should he call them?

‘I don’t know, damn it… It’s my first time getting married.’

As Yeongwoo groaned inwardly, the Earth’s voice once again made itself heard.

○ Eldest Uncle.

“…What?”

○ Technically, from your perspective, he’s your wife’s eldest uncle. Toliman would be your wife’s second uncle.

According to Earth, the eldest of the Centauri brothers, Kentaurus, would be the eldest uncle, and the second, Toliman, would be the second uncle.

○ But usually, people just say ‘Eldest Uncle’. It sounds weird and distant to always add ‘wife’s’ in front.

‘You’re not even human—how do you know this stuff?’

○ I’ve been observing humans for far longer than you have.

“…”

An irrefutable fact.

So Yeongwoo asked again.

‘Then calling them ‘Eldest Uncle’ and ‘Second Uncle’ should be okay?’

○ Actually, ‘Second Uncle’ isn’t really used that much either. Or you could just go with ‘Big Uncle’ and ‘Second Big Uncle’.

Instead of replying, Yeongwoo turned his gaze toward the dark column of dust.

‘…I’m not really in the mood to act that close with them.’

○ Then what else can you do? It’s either ‘Eldest Uncle’ or ‘Second Uncle’.

‘Hmm.’

In the meantime, the scene had grown more grayish than before.

And still, none of the objects in the area cast shadows.

‘I guess ‘Big Uncles’ is technically correct.’

Swoosh.

Yeongwoo withdrew his arm from beyond Aratubank’s shield.

His arm, clean and unharmed, showed no signs that healing was even necessary.

At the very least, Yeongwoo himself wasn’t affected by the strange force enveloping Gwangjin-gu.

And off in the distance, unlike the two slaves who had already fled beyond view, the Negwig was waiting calmly in place.

In other words—

‘This dust might be some kind of planetary environment. If not, maybe the uncles just aren’t interfering with anything related to the Chairman.’

Both the custom mount Negwig and the Vesedel armor “Legitimacy,” which Yeongwoo wore, granted one specific effect.

【Adapts to any planet.】

So unless this was that effect at work, he was likely being protected thanks to the Chairman’s name.

‘Either way, I’m safe for now.’

Having assessed the situation, Yeongwoo gestured to summon Negwig.

Then he turned to the three Strongest Swords, who were trembling beneath the shield.

“I’ll lend you this shield. Ride Negwig and get out of here.”

The Strongest Swords’ eyes went wide.

“You’re… lending it to us?”

“You mean, we’re supposed to ride that… by ourselves?”

At the thought of venturing into the dark space without Yeongwoo, the Strongest Swords shrank back.

Yeongwoo immediately scowled.

“What the hell, can’t you so-called Strongest Swords even run away properly?”

“…Ugh.”

“B-but still…”

“You there—take the shield and get on that thing first.”

After handing Aratubank to the Seongbuk Strongest Sword, Yeongwoo called Negwig closer.

“Once you're out of Gwangjin-gu, send the shield and Negwig back to me.”

As he pointed toward the dark southern sky, Seongbuk Strongest Sword Lee Yoobin asked nervously,

“H-how do we send them back?”

“Secure Aratubank to the reins and let go. It’ll return on its own.”

At that, Negwig let out a low whimper and shook its head as if in affirmation.

—Kkiiiiii…!

“Hurry. We don’t have time.”

Yeongwoo practically forced the Strongest Swords onto Negwig’s back.

“Now do you see how brutal it is being a planetary representative?”

Then he slapped Negwig’s rump with his palm.

Splat!

—Kkiiiieeek!

With a screech that tore through the darkness, Negwig bolted forward.

“Waaaaagh!”

“Ahh?!”

The screams of the Strongest Swords trailed behind like long tails in Negwig’s wake, and as Yeongwoo was left outside Aratubank’s protection, he stood still and looked toward the family heads.

They each had protected their bodies in their own way, and they now looked at Yeongwoo with eyes full of surprise.

Because Yeongwoo alone wasn’t using any respiratory protection.

—Are you alright?

At some point, Maon had started calling Yeongwoo “you” instead of “you bastard.”

Yeongwoo nodded, then turned his eyes toward the gray silhouette flickering at the front of the dust column.

It looked like another pillar.

Sssaaat!

“Ah.”

As soon as Yeongwoo looked that way, the figure revealed itself and fully emerged from the dust column.

Shhhhhh…

Radiating a shadowless, mysterious gray light.

‘That’s… the Centauri brothers?’

What Yeongwoo finally laid eyes on looked nothing like the starry forms he had imagined.

Even the Sun had appeared entirely white and brilliant—just like an actual star.

But the Centauri brothers standing here now—

‘W-what… are they, grim reapers?’

Among the two, the one in front clearly caught the eye.

His helmet looked like an enormous spire turned upside down on his head.

He was so massive that he appeared at least 20 meters tall.

His huge body was draped in a thick cloak, the top of which seemed to vanish into the bottom of the spire-shaped helmet, giving him a surreal, eerie aura.

At a glance, it looked like a floating spire was wearing a cloak.

And beneath that long, floor-sweeping cloak—no legs could be seen.

‘Wait a sec… Then they’re floating?’

To fly freely within a planet that has gravity means a lot.

Even the heads of the noble families here can’t fly on their own without palanquins or machines.

But the Chairman, known as a great being, could fly alone.

That’s why this ability became a standard for Yeongwoo to gauge overwhelming power.

‘Of course, those guys aren’t stronger than the Chairman… but if they are really flying by themselves, that’s insane……’

The second figure appearing behind the spired helmet was no less intimidating.

Shhhhhh...

Unlike the "Spire" who was covered in a thick cloak, the second figure was draped head to toe in a sheer, soft fabric that was light enough to reveal the contours of their face.

The cloth was much longer than the figure’s height, trailing on the ground, and every time they moved, there was a faint sense of motion from inside the fabric.

But there was no sound of footsteps, so whether they were floating or walking was unclear.

Moreover, the silhouette visible through the fabric gave off a strange impression.

Seen from the side, the large drape resembled an almost perfect isosceles triangle.

This meant the second being was about 20 meters tall like the Spire, and whatever filled out the long-draping fabric below added real volume.

Whether it was a tail or something else entirely.

‘Anyway, both of them look horrifying.’

They were so tall that Yeongwoo had to crane his neck to see them, and just looking at those figures draped in cloaks or cloth sent chills down his spine.

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Especially the second being, who gave the illusion of a massive tidal wave moving with intent.

But the real problem was that these things were likely to become Yeongwoo’s uncle-in-laws—and by extension, guardians of Earth.

“……”

So the moment a terrifying thought crossed his mind, Yeongwoo acted without hesitation.

Tat-tat!

He bolted forward, shouting:

“Aigo! Dear uncles……!”

There were still several hundred meters between them, so Yeongwoo had plenty of time to do some performative disarmament as he approached.

Click, clack!

Starting with the illegitimate blade granted by the Chairman, he began driving it into the ground, summoning legendary weapons from his arsenal one by one and dropping them.

Boom, clang!

Behind him, as Yeongwoo ran toward the uncles, epic, mythic weapons fell like footprints in his wake.

And then, finally, when the last weapon, Early Bird, dropped to the ground—

Thud!

Yeongwoo threw himself down and pressed his forehead to the earth in a deep bow before the massive beings.

“This lowly one, Jeong Yeongwoo 07, greets you!”

The Spire, who had been floating and silently watching Yeongwoo approach, slightly nodded his head.

● So very small.

It wasn’t a voice—more like a direct injection of meaning that pierced Yeongwoo’s consciousness without sound.

‘Oh, fuck.’

As soon as Yeongwoo heard it, a chill ran from his groin to his neck, and he involuntarily flinched.

‘Wow, my mother-in-law’s been really generous with me, huh!’

To Yeongwoo’s knowledge, among the three brothers of Centauri, the eldest—Centaurus—was greater in stature than the Sun.

The second, Toliman, was about 10% smaller than the Sun.

The youngest, Proxima, couldn’t even be compared to the Sun.

In other words, his mother-in-law was a being who wouldn’t lose in power even against these terrifying siblings.

And yet, what was their first meeting like?

Compared to the current encounter with these uncles, who had blanketed the sky in black, that meeting with the Sun-like Moro had felt like warm sunshine.

‘They say mothers-in-law love their sons-in-law the most, and truly……’

As Yeongwoo kept his forehead to the ground, desperately yearning for sunlight, another voice echoed from the shadowless space above.

● This is what moved the planets?

After hearing both voices, Yeongwoo was sure.

The "Spire" was the eldest of the Centauri siblings—Centaurus.

And the cloth-draped one was undoubtedly the second brother—Toliman.

The two stars were talking to each other, gawking at Yeongwoo as if he were a strange little artifact.

● I don’t believe it.

● This is the one.

● Still don’t believe it.

● Then let’s test it out.

“……!”

Sensing that their conversation was heading in a very dangerous direction, Yeongwoo lifted his head—only to find that the two beings, who had been hundreds of meters away, were now just twenty meters in front of him.

‘Gasp.’

He was so shocked he couldn’t even let out a proper sound.

“D-dear uncles……?”

Yeongwoo forced a smile, but deep down, he already knew.

The flattery and groveling that had worked with other powerful beings wouldn’t work here.

These beings had no curiosity or reverence for valuable lesser life forms.

What they did have was simply...

● We’re going to erase you now. Try to stop us.

“…W-what?”

Evil—so immense and pure, it was almost innocent in its intensity.

Crack.

Centaurus’s cloak opened, and a massive hand wrapped in tight steel armor emerged.

“Ugh, uncle—no, you bastards.”

They were actually trying to kill the son-in-law of Sun Moro—their own nephew-in-law.

“Wait, what the hell? Are you serious?”

Panicked, Yeongwoo began retrieving the weapons he’d laid out earlier.

Right then, from the dark horizon, came the sound of galloping hooves.

Clomp-clomp!

A Dogo-special mount—adaptable to any planet—came charging forward.

Yeongwoo’s loyal steed, Negwig, returned with Aratubank strapped to its back.

But instead of thinking about the mythical shield, Yeongwoo had only one thing in mind:

“…Do!”

● Huh?

“P-please help me!”

Centaurus gripped Yeongwoo’s head with his massive fingers and laughed.

● The one who can move planets is begging for help?

But they didn’t yet know who he was calling for help.

Toliman, of course, didn’t miss this detail.

● Who are you asking for help, exactly?

Yeongwoo opened his mouth desperately.

『Do……!』

The moment he shouted the first syllable of Dogo’s name with all his might—

Centaurus’s fingers, which had been gripping Yeongwoo’s head, were sliced clean off and sent flying into the black void.

KA-CRASH!

‘Huh?’

A monstrous blade zipped past Yeongwoo’s field of view.

Then came a familiar voice.

—Ah, someone was there? Well, if you’re in the way, you get cut. That’s how it works.

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