The End of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 4) (15 page)

He gaped at her with his own expression of disbelief.

“Does it look like I can?!” he asked in aggravation. His eyes widened disbelievingly at her naïve inquiry. “You think I didn’t know that you were saying all that stuff to push me over the edge? Do you think it’s easy for me to stand here conflicted when the simple thing to do would be to kill you for murdering my mother?” He tightened his jaw in frustration. “But I can’t kill you. I’m more willing to slice my own neck off before I even touch you with that sword.”

She shook her head, determined to not allow his words to soften any emotions within her. She was getting more and more frustrated by the second and she didn’t know why.

“You’re a piece of work, King of Serpents,” she said through clenched teeth. She allowed a moment’s pause before adding, “So, what now? Am I supposed to jump into your arms and be touched that you couldn’t kill me because you still see your beloved Choi Yoori in me?”

She scoffed at his expectant silence. His lack of response only served to vindicate her beliefs that he still saw her as Yoori.

“Get your act together, Tae Hyun,” she advised, feeling her heart rate increase. “Your Princess is dead and will never come back. This is just a warm-up. In our next fight, I’m killing you, and I won’t be going easy on you.”

“Will you really?” he asked, skepticism present in his voice.

Soo Jin felt the air escape her already pained lungs at the absurdity of the question. “Why the hell wouldn’t I be able to?”

He smirked, taking a step forward to meet her. He looked completely fucked up—just like her—but goddamn, he continued to look hot as hell with blood and shards of glass stuck to his body.

“There were exactly nineteen times where you could’ve killed me tonight. I knew you were going easy on me as well. Why didn’t you kill me and get it over with? I’m sure that beloved throne would be all yours if you finished the deed. So, why didn’t you?”

It took all her control to not breathe in the cologne that was becoming a favorite aroma of hers. She looked up at him with unrelenting conviction. “I’m saving everything for our big fight. I just wanted to get a sneak preview of what I was up against. Apparently, I didn’t get much because you were holding back. Regardless, I saw enough. At least I know how hard I had to push to piss you off.”

She laughed dryly, finding amusement in how he was gazing at her. He was looking at her in brooding silence, indicating that he was in deep contemplation about something.

Then, he did something she didn’t expect.

Pushing against the sword with the leather of his black shoe, he kicked it up to her.

Soo Jin caught it with easy grace, yet the expression on her face was anything but graceful. “What are you doing?”

“Go ahead,” he dared. He took another step closer with his arms outstretched. “I’m all yours.”

“Don’t insult me,” she spat. “I was waiting for a momentous battle that will leave a mark on history, not for you to drop down and play dead for me.”

She threw away the sword, silently hating herself for conjuring up other distracting images when he said, “I’m all yours.” What was happening to her? Why was she feeling so out of it? She attempted to shake herself back to logicality.

“Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because my counterpart was with you when I had amnesia that I hold any residual feelings for you, Tae Hyun,” she admonished, knowing all too well why he was behaving this way towards her. “You’re nothing to me but an obstacle I have to climb in order to claim my immortality over this world. When the time comes, trust me when I say that I’ll kill you. With all that said, I hope you prepare yourself well because when we meet again for our battle, I hope you won’t go easy on me like you did tonight. I sure as hell don’t plan on holding back with you.” She began to walk away. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a war to prepare for. Thanks for a disappointing night.”

“An Soo Jin,” Tae Hyun voiced, stopping her in her tracks.

Every part of her mind advised her to not listen to him and to continue to walk away. Unfortunately, her body, which seemed to have a mind of its own and was somehow conditioned to
want
Kwon Tae Hyun to stay beside her, stopped for him as soon as he called out to her.

Soo Jin expelled a weary breath.

Knowing very well that she was dealing with the residual feelings of Choi Yoori’s, she made a mental note to figure out how to deal with this conflict later.

She turned and eyed him tiredly. “What now?”

“You should know that in this world, there are few people who can lie to me and even fewer people who can lie to me and get away with it.” There was a look of conviction on his face, one filled with a determination she couldn’t understand. “There are some I can read as soon as I meet them, but on rare occasions, there are others . . . others who are exceptional, skilled, and cunning like yourself. With those types of people, I have to be around them long enough to understand how they speak, how their bodies react to certain emotions, and what they do when they are bluffing.”

She canted her head questioningly. “What are you getting at?”

“What was my mother wearing the night you killed her?”

Soo Jin lifted her brows in amusement. Although she deduced what he was trying to do, she humored him anyway. “A crème colored blouse and black pants.” She let out a dry laugh. “You’re
that
desperate that you actually want to put me through a lie detector to see if I really killed your mother?”

“
How
did you kill her?” he asked swiftly, ignoring her remark. His eyes were now undecipherable.

Her eyes became equally stagnant and unreadable. “Like I told you . . . with the jagged edges of the alcohol bottle. I slit her wrists.”

“Both?”

“Yes.

“In that case, which wrist did she have a butterfly tattoo?”

Another laugh escaped Soo Jin’s mouth. “It’s been years. Why would I remember such useless details?”

“Because killing someone of her status would give you bragging rights. You would never forget the details.”

Soo Jin fell silent at his correct statement.

She lowered her eyes to the glass-covered tiles and replayed the contents of that night in her mind. When the memories played through her mind like a movie, she lifted her eyes and confidently said, “The right.”

The sternness of his eyes soon faded. Tae Hyun was quiet as he inhaled a painful breath at her correct answer.

Soo Jin smiled, giving him the “I’ve-been-telling-you-the-truth-all-along” look. It was a look filled with pity for his failed efforts to prove that she didn’t kill his mother. She was prepared to make her exit when his next words washed over her and froze her blood.

“I’m winning you back.”

A multitude of emotions deluged through her as she turned to him in bewilderment. “What did you just say?”

“I’m winning you back,” he repeated resolutely, his eyes never leaving hers. “I want you back, and I’ve decided now that I’m
getting
you back.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” she laughed, confused.

“You confirmed that my mother had a tattoo on her right wrist instead of her left wrist.”

She scoffed disbelievingly. “So I forgot which wrist it was and that instantly frees me? Man, Tae Hyun, you are just so desperate to forgive the lookalike of your girlfriend’s, aren’t you?”

Soo Jin wanted to tell him how stupid he was, how ridiculous he was until Tae Hyun vocalized his next words.

“My mother didn’t have tattoos.”

It was then, as An Soo Jin felt fear escalate in her heart, did she realize how cunning Kwon Tae Hyun was. She was a skilled liar, but it seemed that the King of Serpents was equally as skilled when it came to figuring out liars—that, or he was just really good at tricking people into telling him the truth.

“It was a trick question,” she said finally, never ceasing to be impressed with the genius that was the King in front of her.

“You never killed my mother,” he said knowingly, staring at her with newfound knowledge in his eyes. “You were there, but you weren’t the one who killed her.”

She stayed quiet.

“What happened that night, Soo Jin?”

She kept her mouth shut, unwilling to answer his question.

When it was blatant to him that he wasn’t going to get anything out of her, he continued on. “Would you really force Kang Min to kill Hae Jin? Do you really have the heart to hurt her?”

For the first time since her return, Soo Jin’s eyes softened.

“No one will ever touch her or Chae Young again if I can help it,” she confessed. She looked away for a brief moment. “But make no mistake about it, Tae Hyun. I
will
be the one to kill you. I’ve waited my entire life to meet you, and I’m not letting this historic moment pass me by. I know what you’re trying to do, that you’re trying to use me to replace Yoori. I won’t let that happen. I’m here and your Choi Yoori is dead . . . long gone from the moment you left her. Get your head out of the clouds and face me like the person I am to you—your enemy, and the one who will kill you for the most coveted throne. Don’t make the mistake of becoming human for me, Tae Hyun, because you’ll only pathetically die as one.”

He smiled, taking several steps closer to her. When he was finally right across from her, he held her gaze with determination.

“I’ve waited my entire life for you, Soo Jin,” he whispered, his eyes searching hers. “Long before I even knew what I wanted, long before I knew of your name, and long before I knew of your existence. I let go of the love of my life because of all the lies you spread, and I put myself through hell because
I
was the one who left her and broke her when all I wanted to do was run back to her, hold her in my arms, and kiss her until the world faded around us.” His eyes grew stern. “But mark my words tonight: I’m winning her back. There will be no more ifs, ands, or buts. Against your wishes, against your ironclad resolution, and against your will—I’m breaking through that ruthless exterior of yours, and I’m winning her back. And trust me when that life-changing moment happens, I’m never letting her or
you
go again.”

“You know you’re in for one hell of a war then?”

“I do.”

“Promises can be broken,” she reminded him, not knowing herself why she was bringing that up.

Every promise he made to Choi Yoori broke. Why would his promises mean anything now?

He didn’t say anything in reply. He merely nodded and brought a finger up, running it over her cheek with such lazy grace that she was tempted to close her eyes and enjoy it. She realized then that she was going to enter the most epic battle of her life—in more ways than one.

His scent, his presence, and the allure of his confident soul enraptured her. Soo Jin was so conflicted; she resented herself for not being able to control her emotions around him, especially when he stood in such close proximity to her and especially when she could feel his warmth and his love.

She didn’t fight his touch, though she knew she should’ve. She didn’t fight him when he cupped a hand over her cheek, she didn’t push him away when he whispered words that had her heart galloping against her better wishes, and she didn’t put an end to him when she knew he was going to make this the biggest battle of her life.

“Before these next four weeks are over,” he whispered, his warm breath caressing her ear, “I’ll do everything in my power to win you back. And that isn’t a promise—it’s a vow.”

“I’ll kill you before I let you win me back,” she retorted, meaning every word of it.

And with an alluring smile that promised the adherence of his vow to her, he extracted his hand away, took a step back, and walked past her. He only deigned to stop long enough to express words that had her heart racing in dread, fear, and anticipation, for it marked the commencement of a form of war she never wanted to get into with anyone, especially not with someone like Kwon Tae Hyun, who had the indisputable power to make her a God . . . and the indisputable power to make her human again.

“I guess it’s time to start our war then,” he began with finality before quietly adding, “‘Till death do us part, Princess.”

“No matter where you go, we will find you.”

05: The Rumblings of War

In the dead of the night, the world was nothing but a hushed and vacant lot. A raging storm had rolled over the country, bringing with it a tsunami of rain and hail. The weather experts had predicted that this would be the most dreadful and callous storm of the year. They had no idea how right they were. 

Situated in three different points of South Korea, two of the most dominant crime lords and nine of the most powerful assassins in the Underworld resided on three different roofs. Their prideful eyes roamed over the army that had assembled before them.

On one side of the country, dressed in a black coat and equally dark pants, Lee Ji Hoon stood atop his four-story Skulls’ estate. His ruthless eyes overlooked the hundreds upon hundreds of Skulls that had gathered on his rain-dampened land. All were kneeling before him, showering him with the utmost respect.

On the opposite side of the country, at another great King’s domain, the King of Serpents’ infamous Cobras stood in a sequential line at the apex of the four-story Serpents’ estate. All stood on the roof, dressed in black from head to toe. Their eyes moved over the masses of Serpents who were kneeling before them, listening to them while they acted as conduits for their King’s spoken words.

“Serpents,” Ace, the leader of the Cobras and Tae Hyun’s right-hand man, began with pride booming in his voice. “After all our training, all our hard work, and all our blood, sweat, and tears . . . the moment has finally come . . .”

“—Ju Won’s birthday has finally come and gone, and the pact prohibiting us from shedding blood is no longer valid,” Ji Hoon began on the other side of the country, his eyes pulsing with rage. He had enough with a diplomatic and peaceful Underworld. He was ready to shed blood.

“It’s finally time to shake this world up,” said Mina, the other leader of the Cobras. Above her, more rain clouds appeared as the storm worsened around them.

“Before the night is over . . .” said Ji Hoon, his fists curling at either side of him.

“Fifty dead Skulls are to be floating across all the rivers of this country,” Ace commanded fiercely.

“—I want the beheaded bodies of the Serpents and the Siberian Tigers to pile up in the business district,” said Ji Hoon, evoking his gangs’ tradition of starting a war.

A subtle change was present in Ace and Mina’s eyes as they gave out another set of orders that their King had given them.

“Kill them quickly,” they added. “Don’t torture them and don’t drag anything out. Make sure they die a quick death.”

“Kill them slowly,” said Ji Hoon, his voice cold. “I want them to feel every drop of pain.”

“Start our war,” Mina ordered. “Make it memorable.”

An eruption of cheers resonated from the estate until Mina, who didn’t look so satisfied, stared at the rest of her Cobras. They all nodded at her to give their King’s final order of the night.

“But remember not to touch any Siberian Tigers, and if any one of you touches An Soo Jin, then boss and the nine of us will have you floating in the Han River before you could even begin to regret it.”

And finally, at the final point in the country, standing atop the roof of one of Seoul’s tallest buildings in the business district, the Queen of the Underworld stood inches away from the edge with prestige, power, and superiority emanating from her.

She was dressed in a white, long-sleeved suit jacket complemented by white tailored shorts. The short fabric stopped at her thighs, showing off her stunning legs. Kang Min and Jae Won stood behind her; both were dressed in black trench coats that reached the knees of their dark slacks. In this scene, they only served to make Soo Jin look more powerful.

With her hands wrapped behind her back, her gold chandelier earrings and the curls of her black hair dancing in the wind, Soo Jin wore a satisfied smirk on her face. The silhouettes of the city lights flickering across from her reflected in her powerful eyes. Her focus then shifted to the buildings standing parallel and adjacent to hers.

All around, countless lost Siberian Tigers stood on the roofs of the surrounding buildings. They had all convened after hearing whispers that the Queen of the Underworld had not only resurfaced in their world, but that she was also their new gang leader—the newly crowned Queen of Siberian Tigers.

Needless to say, excitement and anticipation radiated from them as their focus locked on their beautiful Queen.

“Good evening,” she greeted, her soothing voice traveling into the misty air and streaming into the phones both Kang Min and Jae Won held in their grasps. As she spoke, her voice was concurrently transmitted into the speakers of the phones that her former Scorpions held in their own hands. The sound of her voice traveled into the ears of the Siberian Tigers in attendance, and in a synchronized wave, an amazing show of respect was bequeathed to her as the Siberian Tigers fell on one knee and kneeled before her.

What a beautiful sight
, thought Soo Jin.

She grinned, feeling every ounce of their respect, devotion, and undying loyalty. She could feel it in the air around them. They were utterly grateful to be reunited with their fellow Siberian Tigers. She could also sense how proud they felt to be surrounded by the Scorpions’ finest gang members and the Queen herself. It was an unlikely union, but a powerful and historic union nonetheless. It brought nothing but pride to Soo Jin and her newly extended family.

Extracting a hand from behind her back, Soo Jin silently gestured for them to rise.

Soon after, she began to speak into the night. “It is an honor to finally stand here before you,” she said while they rose to their feet. “I know that the wait has been extensive and tedious. It has been roughly three years for some of us, and five longer years for all of you. The years have been long and strenuous, but the waiting period ends now.” Cruelty appeared as the sole emotion on her face. “I want to come back with a vengeance; I want this world to be shaken up by its horns; I want the blood of my enemies to stream like water in this fair city, and I want to obliterate them—to conquer them.”

She smiled, gazing at her soldiers as she felt their hearts beat in anticipation.

“Siberian Tigers,” she launched with pride, “do you want to be legends?”

Cheers resonated from them.

“Do you want to shake this world up?”

The cheers grew louder.

“Do you want the world to kneel before you?”

The cheers built up so much that it began to rival the thunderstorm resounding overhead.

Soo Jin beamed, feeling the torrent of violent wind eat at their skins. “Then before the night is over, I want you to go after the Scorpions, Skulls, and the Serpents.” Her voice grew stern when the image of a certain King came to her mind. “But remember, no one touches Kwon Tae Hyun. His head belongs to me and only me.” Her sadistic smile enlarged. “Now go. Start your war, and before the night is over, I want you to bring me fifty-seven live captives so we can introduce them to the once-extinct Siberian Tigers.”

Cheers rivaled the skies as countless Siberian Tigers bowed before their Queen and heeded her command.

With a breathy sigh, Soo Jin turned to Kang Min and Jae Won. She retreated from the roof and took shelter in the high-rise building, biding her time until her Siberian Tigers returned later that night with their live captives.

“This world is not ready for an Underworld war,” she said with amusement, feeling her two gold guns grow heavy behind her back. She let out a laugh as she waited for her captives to come. “But oh well.”

■
■
■

Pandemonium was the only word to describe the city of Seoul when the light of dawn speared through the rain dampened clouds the next morning. The city may have been flooded with excess water from the storm, but the aftershock it awoke to was not from Mother Nature’s scorn; it was the aftereffects of human nature’s brutality.

“. . . In all my years as a reporter, I have never seen anything like this.”

A slender news anchorman wearing thick gold glasses and a brown coat spoke into the camera as his microphone shook in his hands. The lens of the camera zoomed into the scene above him, focusing on the images of the fifty-seven dead bodies suspended above the city. The fresh corpses were hung on long, sturdy ropes that wrapped all around the high-rise buildings in the business district.

Countless news vans lined the streets, their terrified cameras capturing the horror above them.

“Fifty-seven people were brutally murdered last night. Their eyes were gouged out while the number ‘57’ was carved onto the left side of their cheeks. The dead bodies were ruthlessly hung by ropes across the buildings of the business district.”

Soon after, the cameras focused on several buildings where body bags were being wheeled out.

“Fifty-nine dead bodies with their heads cut off were found piled on top of one another in seven buildings throughout the city. On their cheeks were the carved depictions of skulls . . .”

Then, another news channel played the video reel of divers pulling out dead bodies from the waters.

“Fifty corpses were found floating in the Han River with the depiction of a snake carved on their necks . . .”

Chaos.

The entire world was in chaos as they tried to make sense of this unbelievable nightmare.

“The authorities have yet to make a statement about who they think may be responsible for a massacre of this magnitude,” said a female college student, speaking into the camera and recording a video that she and her production crew planned to post on their independent conspiracy website. She held her microphone higher, looking more solemn as she pointed at the dead bodies hanging in the distance. “However, many are saying that it doesn’t appear to be the doing of a small-time street gang. The culprits were able to bypass security, law enforcements, block traffic, and essentially kill hundreds of people in one night without a single witness. Some users on our website are even going as far as theorizing that the people behind these massacres aren’t actually gang members, but leaders of a secret society rumored to not only control the inner workings of government affairs, but also the business and economic affairs of their respective countries. There are a lot of speculations about who may be behind this, but as of right now, nothing is set in stone. The only real detail we know is that it is advised for everyone to be conscious of their surroundings, especially at night. We’ll keep you updated on this matter when the authorities give their official statement in just a few hours . . .”

Days after the media frenzy died down, An Soo Jin couldn’t have looked more aloof and carefree as she sauntered down the busy sidewalk of the business district.

With her black pumps gliding on the concrete with womanly grace and the curls of her hair bouncing vibrantly under the appreciation of the afternoon sun, Soo Jin easily attracted admiring stares from businessmen and women alike. They simply couldn’t keep their fascinated gazes off of her. Her purple silk blouse, which was accentuated with a black pencil skirt that hugged her lower body in all the right ways, was more than catching everyone’s undivided attention. Imparting them with one of her breathtaking smiles, the Queen of Siberian Tigers radiated nothing short of beauty as she maneuvered her way through the congested sidewalk.

Soo Jin eyed her Siberian Tigers, many of whom were scattered all around the business district, going back to their daily lives and pretending to be ordinary businessmen and women, police officers, investigators, and news reporters. She gave them a subtle nod, to which they gave her a slight bow as a show of respect and hurried about their day.

Ah yes
, after three years of inactivity and after devoting so much time to resurrecting her entire gang, she was thrilled to finally get some time away from her busy schedule. Commencing epic wars that had shaken the entire country aside, one of the revered Queen’s passions in life was dealing with the business aspect of the Underworld—or more specifically, enjoying her day job like the rest of her world.

Businesses, investments, negotiations, alliances, and profits.

The layers in her world were like an interrelated pyramid. Entry into the secret society was exclusive and rising up the ranks was even more inconceivable. Nevertheless, for the few who were able to survive the training and were cunning enough to barter through the brutality of this world, the rewards at the top of the food chain were magnificent. Her day job consisted of negotiating deals and services with the Corporate Crime Lords of the 1
st
layer, getting advice in future investments, and starting up her own companies. She loved it. She loved doing all of that just as she loved a good combat.

After three years of absence from this wonderful world, it was an understatement to say that she was exhilarated to be back.

The day was almost over. She had spent most of the day reuniting with old mentors, and she was ready to call it a night—that was until she caught sight of an Advisor inside the lobby of a high-rise building. He was conversing with two younger business associates. Unable to contain the elatedness inside her—as he had always been one of her favorite mentors while growing up—Soo Jin placed all apprehensiveness aside and walked into the busy lobby.