The End of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 4) (55 page)

Tae Hyun regarded Ju Won with no fear or apology. His head held high, he said, “I don’t regret anything. If given the opportunity, I’d repeat everything in a heartbeat.”

Ju Won smirked dryly. Behind him, the majority of the Underworld reprovingly shook their heads. Tae Hyun’s indifference was insulting to them.

“Never the one to be smart and see the error of your ways, are you, Tae Hyun?” Jung Min inquired, voicing everything the majority was thinking. His voice vibrated with vile distaste. He looked at Tae Hyun like he was the worthless disappointment he had always suspected him to be.

Instead of responding to the Advisor, and no longer feeling the need to prolong this superfluous chat, Tae Hyun got right back into the business of why he came. He averted his attention to Ji Hoon, who was still seated quietly—
and quite smugly
—on his throne.

“Let them go,” Tae Hyun said tightly, finally addressing the one who orchestrated everything and brought him here in the first place.

A smile curved on Ji Hoon’s face. He leaned forward, making no effort to command for Hae Jin and Kang Min to be released.

“Do you know why you’re here, Tae Hyun?” he asked casually.

“Let my sister and Kang Min go,” Tae Hyun repeated again, this time more severely. “You wanted me. Now I’m here to take their place. You don’t need them anymore. Leave them out of this mess and take me instead.”

“On the contrary, Tae Hyun,” Jung Min launched ominously from above, “there is someone else we want just as much as you.” His face turned cold. “If not more than you.”

An amused stream of laughter escaped from Ji Hoon’s mouth. He nodded, agreeing to what was stated.

“Where’s the Queen of the Underworld, Tae Hyun?” Ji Hoon inquired in an airy tone. “As I recall, I remember asking for her to come as well.”

“She won’t be coming,” Tae Hyun dismissed sharply. His impatience showing, he firmly said, “Now let them go.”

The amused expression on Ji Hoon’s face dimmed. Tae Hyun’s dismissive tone did not sit well with him. Though he had yet to lose his mocking demeanor, his expression did get more foreboding. “I really wanted her to be here.”

“Why?” Tae Hyun’s caustic voice left nothing to the imagination. “So you could show her how much you love her by screwing up her life some more?”

Ji Hoon laughed boisterously. “An Soo Jin, no matter the circumstances, will always be the woman who stole my heart. Granted, there’s not much of a heart for her to have, she has it regardless. I don’t fare well with the woman who claimed my heart to give herself to someone else—especially to a bastard I hate.” He smirked, comfortably readjusting himself in his throne. He kept a gaze of mocking pity on Tae Hyun. “Your mistake was loving her more than the throne, Tae Hyun. If you had done things right and kept her as your second priority, then you would’ve been able to have both.” His eyes darkened at this rationale. “Which is what
I
plan on having tonight when I finish you off and try to slap some sense into her.”

Tae Hyun’s eyes glanced at the thousands upon thousands in attendance. He found hilarity in Ji Hoon’s illogical train of thoughts. He did not bother to hide it. “You think
they
would be open to you having her?”

Ji Hoon was unfazed by the question. “I am the sole elected Lord of the Underworld. My whims, as long as they don’t interfere with my performance, will be met. The Queen of the Underworld is still the Queen of the Underworld. She is still the pride of this world and still the trophy I want. Even if I have to beat some sense into her to get her to see things clearly again, I’ll do it.”

“You won’t be going near her, you piece of
s
hit,” Tae Hyun snapped, finally losing control when it involved Yoori. With anything else, it would take the sun and the moon to ruffle his feathers. When it came to Yoori, all it took was the mere mention of her name and the wrath of a thousand suns was unleashed, burning anyone who dared to incite his rage.

A frown shadowed Ji Hoon’s face. “Such prideful language from a bastard who is about to die,” he remarked dryly, the veins on his temple visibly throbbing in irritation. He attempted to act as if he had control of his emotions, but the small nuances within his demeanor were telltale signs that he wasn’t doing such a good job with that.

Tae Hyun smirked at this, capitalizing on the anger radiating from Ji Hoon.

“It must be so satisfying to know that the only reason why you’re sitting on that throne is because I didn’t want it,” he instigated tauntingly, showing everyone how he became such a powerful King in the 3
rd
layer. Few men could back up their arrogance; Tae Hyun was one of the few men in the world who had every credential and ability to back up his confidence. “How does it feel, Ji Hoon? To sit there as the second-tier God the Underworld chose by default while you are in the presence of the one they’ve chosen time and time again over you?”

“You are no longer a King in this layer, Tae Hyun.” Jung Min’s voice permeated through the arena. No matter how factual Tae Hyun’s words, Jung Min did not plan on allowing him to blemish Ji Hoon’s new status as the sole King, especially with the entire Underworld as an audience. “It would be in your best interest to speak to Ji Hoon with more respect. He is the sole King of this layer now, and as I recall, the one who gets to decide your fate tonight.”

“I don’t see a King,” Tae Hyun replied acidly, smirking at Jung Min, “just a parasite licking up the throne that I threw away.” At that instance, realization flashed in his eyes once he stated this. Something clicked for him when he turned back to Ji Hoon. His shrewd eyes scrutinized Ji Hoon. “This was your plan all along, wasn’t it? How you got the throne, the things that you allowed to happen . . . you planned this moment all along, didn’t you?”

A slow, dark smile touched Ji Hoon’s lips. With an arrogance that would be unmatched by any other in his society, he got up from his seat and approached Tae Hyun.

“It is ironic that out of everyone in this world, the only one who truly knows me and the ways of my nature is you. An Soo Jin never saw through me, Choi Yoori never saw through me, my alliances never saw through me—hell, the world I grew up in never saw through me. People assumed that I was a King in love, and for this, they looked down upon me. They underestimated my true strength, thereby meaning that I’m given the freedom of doing everything I could possibly do to fool everyone and rise to the top.” He laughed, still taking careful steps towards Tae Hyun. “To be perfectly honest, I didn’t think it would be that easy when Soo Jin came back into the Underworld. As soon as she came back, I knew that I was going to get pushed back for her. The throne was yours to lose and it was hers to fight for. There was no place for me in this equation.”

Tae Hyun scoffed in disbelief. “This was why you so eagerly agreed to allow her into the game, wasn’t it?”

“Every instinct in my body was against it, but I knew all too well how our world works. Even if I didn’t agree, I knew the Underworld would have her regardless. So why not agree to the terms to further exemplify the ‘heartbroken-King-in-love’ persona and to get back in her good graces?” Bitterness encased his eyes. “I’ll admit that I really couldn’t have anticipated being dumped immediately afterwards, but everything that took place following that night became my opening.”

“What about that tantrum you threw at the party?”

“Something done to throw the entire Underworld off and take myself out of the running while the two of you—my main competitors—were left to battle amongst yourselves.” He laughed at the genius of his plan. “In all honesty, I didn’t think it would be that easy for my two competitors to battle it out with one another, weaken each other, and in the process, show the Underworld how weak they truly are.” He pointed a disbelieving finger at Tae Hyun. “But you just made it so easy for me to go to the elder Advisors later, to tell them that it was simply a calculated move on my part to ‘throw a tantrum’ and assure them that instead of seeing two Gods fight, they would ultimately see two Gods fall from grace and become human right before their very eyes.” He sighed. “I told them that I was the only one who deserved the throne and that everything I predicted will come into play. I proposed to them to be the one to take the both of you out if you were to do what I predicted: give up the throne while becoming human for one another.”

“And what better way is it for a King to become a Lord than to have his two biggest opponents fight and become weakened by one another?” Tae Hyun added caustically, his voice also filled with disgust. “Especially when that would make it easier for you to get rid of them once it was time to steal the throne.”

Ji Hoon grinned shamelessly. “It helps to have a calculating mind, especially one that people underestimate. There are no limits to the things that you can do and what you can take advantage of.”

“Why didn’t you just finish us off at the business district? You could’ve ended it right then and there.”

“The agreement was that I would have license to kill you, but I didn’t want to kill you right then and there. I didn’t want to kill you that night, but Young Jae insisted on seeking revenge on his sister. As my token of gratitude for his help with my endeavors, I allowed him his fight.” His grin turned malicious. “I did not want to shoot you and grant you an easy death that night, Tae Hyun.” He looked around the amphitheater and gestured his hands out. “I wanted you to die here, right in front of the Underworld, kneeling before me as a man taking his last breath.”

Returning his eyes to Tae Hyun, Ji Hoon regarded him with full, unfiltered hatred, silently despising him for all that he represented. After swallowing tightly, the veins in his temples became more visible.

At long last, Ji Hoon revealed the type of King that he was: a jealous and embittered one.

“What do you have that I don’t have?” Ji Hoon incited hatefully. “What’s so special about you that hypnotizes our world so much? What’s so special about you that gives you so much influence in our Underworld pyramid? What’s so special about you that people were already prepared to kneel before you as the new Lord when you were only crowned the King of Serpents three years ago?
Especially
when you’re nothing but a spoiled bastard who was merely trained for the 1
st
layer?” His face rippled with rage at his next thoughts. “What’s so special about you that made her give up the throne—everything she has wanted all her life—for you? What the
f
uck do you have that I don’t?”

The stream of anger that emitted from Ji Hoon was potent and unrestrained. His hatred for Tae Hyun was undeniable. He loathed him, and tonight, he was dead set on making Tae Hyun pay for merely existing in his world.

The dimness in his eyes blackened further.

“Where is Soo Jin?” Ji Hoon prompted coolly. Tae Hyun may know the right things to say to get under Ji Hoon’s skin, but in that same token, Ji Hoon also knew the right things to say to get under Tae Hyun’s skin. “I
specifically
asked for Soo Jin as well.”

The muscles on Tae Hyun’s face strained at the mention of Yoori. “She isn’t here, and she won’t be coming tonight.”

Ji Hoon grinned callously at Tae Hyun’s reply. He then spared a glance towards Hae Jin and Kang Min, both of whom were still staring at Tae Hyun with dread in their eyes.

“If you want them,” Ji Hoon began nonchalantly, “then make the choice. Contact An Soo Jin, get her to come here, and I’ll release them both.” He stared at him with amused curiosity. “Who will it be, Tae Hyun? Who do you love more? Your baby sister and Kang Min, or An Soo Jin?”

“She’s already left the country. She knows what’s in store for her here. She won’t be coming back,” Tae Hyun lied easily, feigning disappointment in Yoori as a means to get Ji Hoon to back off. “I can’t make someone who has already left come back, especially to this place—especially when she already knows what’s in store for her here.”

“An Soo Jin—or Choi Yoori—is capable of many things . . .” A voice emerged from the further end of the arena, stealing everyone’s attention with his simple presence.

Wheeling around, Tae Hyun’s eyes settled on the former King of Scorpions, who was now the first official Lord of Japan and the first official Lord of all the Underworlds.

Young Jae surfaced from the first ascension of rows into the arena. He walked slowly around the top row. His eyes were on Tae Hyun’s as he approached his awaiting throne at the adjacent side of the room. As he did this, several of his higher-level Scorpions walked down into the awaiting seats from the opposite side of the arena. They took their seats behind the unoccupied throne—Young Jae’s unoccupied throne.

“But the very last thing someone would call her is a coward. She would be smart enough to leave, but our survival instincts take a backseat for the ones we love, don’t they?” Young Jae forged on, still walking and still staring into Tae Hyun’s eyes. “She would never leave you, Tae Hyun. She has already given up her throne for you, just as you’ve already given up your throne for her. She won’t leave you, but on the flip side, you won’t let her come to this place, will you? Especially knowing what will await her?”

Tae Hyun’s face tautened dangerously. Young Jae’s correct assumptions about Yoori lit the fury inside him.

“She’s your
sister
,” Tae Hyun breathed out, not believing that an older brother could be this cruel to his own sister. It astounded him that Young Jae could conspire to have her come into a summit filled with people who wanted nothing more than to see her punished.