Chapter 16 –
Lee Su-yeon, a librarian at the Seoul Library, was a person more curious than anyone else.
Her love for mythology stemmed from that very curiosity.
Why did people of the past create myths? Why did they believe in the existence of gods?
Even as the world changed, that curiosity remained the same.
She didn’t have the courage to step onto the battlefields where gods fought, so she found satisfaction in reading stories of gods from books and media.
That curiosity eventually shaped her career path, leading her to become a librarian.
“Hmm?”
One day, she noticed a rather peculiar visitor.
A man with a face as if he were carrying the weight of the world alone. His looks were inexplicably captivating.
With a solid build and an aura that didn’t suit a library at all, he walked in and looked around cautiously.
Her instincts screamed.
‘Who is that man?’
She was curious.
Why would someone like him come to a library?
She approached him and asked,
“Are you looking for a particular book?”
The man looked startled as he turned to face her.
Was he just shy?
Or maybe wary of others?
But on closer look, it didn’t seem like that.
“Were you working at the library during this time?”
“Sorry? What do you mean by that…?”
“Ah, my apologies. Just talking to myself.”
He stared at her as if trying to remember her face, which flustered her—but only for a moment.
Then, the man asked about Beowulf’s epic.
When he asked whether she knew much about it, Su-yeon answered every question with enthusiasm.
Although Beowulf was a fairly well-known epic, not many people came all the way to the library these days to read about it.
It made sense. After all, gods and heroes had now started to appear in real life.
Most people preferred seeing gods and heroes in other forms of media than reading about them in books.
“You really know your Beowulf!”
She excitedly rambled off everything she knew.
It was a bad habit of hers—whenever mythology was brought up, she got overexcited and talkative.
But the man listened intently and asked more questions.
Contrary to her first impression, he turned out to be a very pleasant visitor.
“Thank you.”
“S-Sorry? For what?”
“Thanks to you, I found my path.”
“Huh? Aren’t you going to borrow the book?”
“There’s no need to anymore.”
Without even borrowing the book he came looking for, the man left.
A few days later…
“Beowulf Found Dead Alongside Grendel.”
The article appeared in a small corner of a minor newspaper.
In a world full of monsters, gods, and heroes, the death of a hero wasn’t exactly front-page news.
Unless it was someone like Heracles or Theseus.
But when Su-yeon saw that headline, she immediately thought of that man.
The man who’d caught her attention for some strange reason—the one who had asked about Beowulf.
“Could it be…?”
Her heart pounded.
No one had ever even considered killing a hero.
People believed heroes were protecting the world.
Though many grumbled about gods and heroes behind their backs, no one dared to defy them openly.
Any criticism of the divine was reduced to drunken gossip.
But what if someone truly set out to kill a hero?
That person would surely become an enemy to the whole world.
Yet that man did it.
He wasn’t afraid to become the enemy of the world.
And that madness stirred something in Su-yeon.
It wasn’t just curiosity.
Many great hero epics began when someone refused to live an ordinary life.
“Could it be…?”
Was she witnessing the beginning of such an epic?
And that very day, the man returned to the library—to see her.
“Is he here to kill me, the only witness?”
Despite a hint of fear, her curiosity overpowered it.
Oddly, she didn’t feel any real danger.
In fact, she was intrigued.
Why had he come back?
If he really wanted to silence her, he wouldn’t have bothered returning to the library.
“Back again today?”
She greeted him cheerfully on purpose.
“Nothing much. I just wanted to have a chat with you today.”
Curiosity, rather than fear, consumed her.
She had to know.
What would he say?
Why had he come to find her?
And now—
“Would you be interested in recording my story?”
“…Sorry?”
“I’m asking if you’d like to document a story. The story of a man who will kill all gods and heroes.”
Su-yeon didn’t regret approaching this man.
‘He’s insane! Completely mad!’
Not only did he want to kill heroes—he planned to kill gods too!
Who even thinks such a thing?
Her curiosity sensor went wild.
A voice inside her screamed:
She had to hold on to this man.
He would bring her more thrill than any myth or book ever could.
A welcome spark in her dull librarian life.
“It’ll probably be more shocking than any myth out there.”
She clenched her fists.
What should I say so I don’t sound weird?
Should I just blurt out yes and grab his hand?
Or say I’ve been waiting for him?
No, that would sound crazy.
Trying to calm her pounding heart, she slowly spoke.
“Alright.”
She thought she answered calmly.
Nice. Success. Next question.
“But, um… why me? I don’t even know your name.”
Looking at him, she asked curiously.
The man smiled.
“You seemed to know a lot about the gods and myths. I need that kind of knowledge.”
“That’s all?”
“More or less.”
He extended his hand.
“I’m Kim Do-jin. Looking forward to working with you.”
“I’m Lee Su-yeon.”
She took his hand.
“So, what should I do first? Should I quit my job right away?”
Oops. She let her true feelings slip.
She wanted to leave everything behind and witness the birth of an unbelievable myth right at his side.
She imagined it.
This man killing gods.
And among the collapsing divine beings, him carving out his will like a hero.
She’d be the first to record it all.
Just the thought sent chills down her spine.
“No need to quit right away…”
As if he expected that, Do-jin scribbled his number on a napkin and handed it to her.
“This is my contact info.”
She took it.
“Reach out here from now on.”
“Okay! Then what’s first?”
“I need information about King Gunther from The Song of the Nibelungs.”
King Gunther.
A close friend of Siegfried in The Song of the Nibelungs, who betrays him and leads him to his death.
Though not a hero himself, Gunther was a significant figure—an antagonist of sorts to Siegfried.
“King Gunther, huh. He’s a fascinating character. A wild warrior who, with Siegfried’s help, managed to marry but feared his stronger companion. He even condoned his subordinate’s plan to kill Siegfried. Quite human.”
Thinking her knowledge might be useful for Do-jin’s story, Su-yeon excitedly shared what she knew.
The Song of the Nibelungs, based on Norse mythology, was one of her favorite epics.
Especially Siegfried’s tale.
“But eventually, Gunther gets killed by Kriemhild after she learns of his role in Siegfried’s death. To be slain by one’s own sister… such a tragic end, don’t you think?”
“What’s he doing now?”
“Gunther? Hmm… I heard he retired and now lives near Incheon. You know, since he’s not really a hero anymore.”
Do-jin gave a satisfied smile.
“Thought so.”
“Why are you interested in him?”
“He’s the next target.”
“King Gunther?”
That was kind of disappointing.
But Do-jin shook his head with a smile.
“No, the next target is Siegfried.”
Siegfried—the legendary, immortal hero.
Even upon hearing he was going to kill her favorite hero, Su-yeon didn’t stop smiling.
She wanted to witness it up close.
To see this man become a hero by slaying her hero.
“You’re going to use King Gunther.”
“Yes.”
“Then I should tell you more about him. Did you know he divorced Brunhilde?”
Not many people knew that.
But Do-jin nodded calmly.
As if he already knew.
“I did. That’s why I need more information.”
“Ask away.”
“Do you know where Brunhilde’s relatives are? I heard they’re in Korea, but not the exact location.”
“Hehe. That I can help you with.”
Smiling, she pulled up a map on her phone and pointed.
“They’re living in Jamsil. But I don’t know why they came.”
It was amusing that a figure from Norse myth was living in Jamsil, Seoul—but hey, heroes can go anywhere.
“That’s enough. Thank you.”
“Then I’ll prepare for travel too—”
“No. You have something else to do.”
“Something else?”
Do-jin pulled out a small vial of black liquid.
A plastic bottle the size of a fingertip. The liquid inside was pitch black.
Su-yeon took it from him.
“What is this?”
“You’ll have to figure that out yourself.”
“…What?”
“It’s a kind of test.”
“Didn’t I just prove myself? I gave you the information you needed.”
“Yes. But if that were all I wanted, I wouldn’t have asked you to write my story.”
“…So, it’s a different kind of test.”
She realized that this black liquid held a secret.
Uncovering that secret was her true test.
“Knowing mythology isn’t enough. I need you to prove you won’t drag me down.”
“Haa…”
She sighed, frustrated at the thought of being left behind by such a fascinating man—but nodded.
He had killed a hero.
She understood what that meant in this world.
He had made the entire world his enemy.
He needed to be cautious.
Right. Becoming a hero’s companion was never easy.
“Wouldn’t it be easier if you just told me?”
He shook his head.
“I believe you have enough insight to figure it out.”
“I appreciate the vote of confidence…”
“You have a week. Contact me when you find out.”
“So that’s why you didn’t ask for my number.”
“Exactly. If you’re not qualified, there’s no reason for me to call you. Being a librarian is enough.”
Clear and concise.
“I thought we got close.”
“This is all part of building trust.”
“You’re not worried I’ll betray you to the police?”
“Will you?”
She looked into his eyes.
They pierced her like he could see her soul.
Just looking at him made her heart tremble.
Overwhelmed by his heavy presence, she shook her head.
“No.”
She had no intention of betraying him.
If she did, she’d never get to witness the epic he promised.
Do-jin knew that—and so, he could make such a proposal.
“Of course not. I won’t tell anyone. I don’t even want to.”
“Good.”
He smiled again.
“Figure out the black liquid within a week. If you find out how to use it too, even better. But using the system is cheating.”
“I can’t use the system?”
“Right. No appraisals either.”
“Ugh…”
Without taking even a sip of his ordered coffee, he left.
“Ugh, I kinda want to chase after him now.”
If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have told him about Brunhilde.
Su-yeon clicked her tongue as she watched him leave.
Frustrated.
She really wanted to follow him.
She believed she’d be able to record everything.
Tch.
“So picky…”
But that made him all the more appealing.
The more secrets a hero held, the more satisfying it was to uncover and record them.
“Sigh… What is this black liquid anyway?”
As she packed up the vial to leave, she noticed something.
“Ah!”
She saw the black ink Do-jin had used to write his number had stained her fingers.
“What the heck…”
Something felt off today.
