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

by Con Template

  “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 1st 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.

  “Uncle Dong Min,” Soo Jin greeted with a smile. She stopped a pace behind him, waiting as he turned around to face her. All around them, people in the building were waving their goodbyes and leaving for the evening.

  “Soo Jin,” he greeted back, turning away from the two young men he was speaking to. He wore a surprised expression, the kindness from his face accentuated by the brown knitted sweater and brown pants he wore.

  There was subtle warmth in his eyes that told Soo Jin he was happy to see her. The subtle warmth was a complete contradiction to his actions towards her only weeks prior. She hadn’t forgotten how distant he was when she was ‘Yoori’. Regardless, she understood now that despite his adoration towards her, his main priority was Tae Hyun and eradicating any threat that endangered his advis
ee’s station in life. In this case, it was getting rid of a pathetic and weak human girl who was a walking death trap for the King himself. She understood that he distanced himself from Yoori simply because he had to and took no offense to it.

  She swallowed uncomfortably, pushing the thoughts of Yoori and Tae Hyun aside. Nothing good could come out of it if she allowed those two to plague her thoughts.

  Soo Jin kept the smile on her face when speaking to Dong Min. “It’s been a while. How are you, uncle?”

  She could read the skepticism in his eyes. It had been a while psychologically, but not physically, as he had seen quite a lot of Yoori.

  “I’m good,” he replied with a tentative smile. He still looked very surprised to see her.

  She disregarded the awkwardness and eyed his business associates with a polite smile. Their eyes were firmly set on her as well. Never one to be rude, Dong Min started to introduce the two young men, both of whom were smiling at her with amiable eyes. In that split second, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity to them. There was something oddly familiar about them that she couldn’t quite decipher.

  “This is—”

  “An Soo Jin,” one of the tall men, who was dressed in a handsome pinstriped black suit and had spiky brown hair, interrupted Dong Min with a growing smile. He extended his hand out to her, an air of confidence emitting from him. “You’ve made the most epic comeback I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing in the Underworld.”

  She laughed softly, still ruffled by his presence. What was it about him that felt so familiar to her?

  “Do I know you?” Soo Jin asked, uncertainly shaking his hand.

  She did not get a chance to ask him for his name when his equally handsome friend, the one who wore a pinstriped gray suit and had short dark hair, extended his hand out and said, “It’s an honor to finally meet you. We’ve heard so much about you—in more ways than one.”

  Soo Jin canted her head in curiosity.