As the oppressive atmosphere left by the Shadow Society visitors began to dissipate, Jin Ho felt a strange tingling sensation spreading through his consciousness. The air around him started to shimmer with an otherworldly energy that seemed both familiar and comforting.
"Jin Ho!" came a cheerful, unmistakably familiar voice from seemingly nowhere.
Every head in the hall whipped around, searching for the source of the voice. Jin Ho's eyes widened in absolute disbelief as a translucent figure began to materialize in the center of the room, gradually becoming more solid and vibrant.
There, standing with his characteristic bright smile and slightly messy hair, was Noe Jin Un. He looked exactly as he had in life, but somehow more peaceful, more radiant, as if death had freed him from some invisible burden.
"Noe Jin Un!" Jin Ho exclaimed, rushing toward his friend with tears already forming in his eyes.
"Hey there, buddy!" Noe Jin Un waved enthusiastically, his grin wide enough to split his face. "Congratulations on the revenge! That was absolutely spectacular! Very dramatic, very satisfying. I especially liked the Blood Thunder technique—did you see how Jin Noeumu's face went all twitchy at the end? Priceless!"
The Blood Flame Sect members stopped in their tracks, staring at the ghostly figure with expressions ranging from awe to confusion. Several Thunder Palace disciples dropped to their knees, unsure whether they were witnessing a miracle or a haunting.
"Is... is that really him?" Blood Protector whispered, his voice filled with wonder.
"A residual consciousness," Blood Flower murmured, adjusting his glasses as his scholarly instincts kicked in. "Absolutely fascinating. The emotional resonance must be incredibly strong for him to manifest with such clarity and personality."
Noe Jin Un turned toward the source of the inner demon voices with his expression brightening even more, if such a thing were possible.
"Oh! And hello to Blood Emperor Uncle and Thunder Demon King Uncle too!" he said with genuine warmth and enthusiasm.
『UNCLE?!』 the Blood Heaven Great Emperor's mental voice cracked with pure indignation. 『Did this boy just call me UNCLE?!』
『UNCLE?! ME?!』 the Thunder Lightning King sounded equally outraged. 『I am a terrifying embodiment of destructive lightning! I am a force of nature! I am NOT someone's uncle!』
Noe Jin Un tilted his head innocently, completely oblivious to the demons' horrified reactions. "Oh, did I say something wrong? I thought since you're both really old and wise, and you're helping Jin Ho like family would, that made you like... wise uncles or something?"
『OLD?! WISE UNCLES?! THE INDIGNITY!』 both demons shouted simultaneously, their mental voices overlapping in shared outrage.
Jin Ho couldn't help but crack a genuine smile despite everything they'd just learned about betrayal and conspiracies. "Noe Jin Un, you haven't changed at all, have you?"
"Hehe, sorry about that!" Noe Jin Un scratched the back of his head sheepishly, a gesture so perfectly characteristic that it made Jin Ho's heart ache. "I didn't mean to offend you, Uncle... I mean, sir... I mean, your lordships? What should I call you?"
『Just... just call us by our names,』 the Blood Heaven Great Emperor said weakly, sounding thoroughly deflated.
『Yeah, that works fine,』 the Thunder Lightning King agreed, his earlier fury completely evaporated.
"Okay! Blood Heaven Great Emperor and Thunder Lightning King it is!" Noe Jin Un beamed at them. "Thank you both so much for taking care of Jin Ho. I was really, really worried about him being all alone with his revenge quest and everything."
The two demons fell into stunned silence, and Jin Ho could sense their complete bewilderment at being thanked so earnestly and directly for their assistance.
『This is... unexpected,』 the Blood Heaven Great Emperor managed.
『Nobody ever thanks demons,』 the Thunder Lightning King added, sounding almost confused. 『What are we supposed to do with gratitude?』
"Noe Jin Un," Jin Ho said, his voice growing more serious as the reality of their situation reasserted itself, "I'm so sorry it took me this long to avenge you. I should have been stronger sooner, should have acted faster..."
"Are you kidding me right now?" Noe Jin Un interrupted, waving his hand dismissively with obvious exasperation. "You did absolutely amazing! I've been watching the whole time, and wow, you've grown so much! The way you combined the blood and lightning techniques was incredible! And the way you stood up to Jin Noeumu at the end—so cool!"
He paused, his expression shifting to something more thoughtful and urgent. "But Jin Ho, I need to tell you something really important before I fade away completely."
"What is it?" Jin Ho asked, leaning forward intently.
"Jin Noeumu had a secret vault hidden deep underneath Thunder Palace," Noe Jin Un said with sudden seriousness. "I only found out about it recently, right before I died, but there's something really, really important down there."
Blood Flower leaned forward with academic interest. "What kind of important?"
"The complete, original Thunder Scripture for one thing," Noe Jin Un replied. "But way more importantly, there are letters. Hundreds of letters between Jin Noeumu and Eum Mugeuk going back like sixty years!"
Jin Ho felt his blood turn to ice water. "Sixty years? They've been working together that long?"
"Even longer, I think," Noe Jin Un confirmed with a grim nod. "And Jin Ho... this is the really bad part... Seol Hwa Rin knew about it. Her name shows up in a lot of the more recent correspondence."
『That manipulative ice witch,』 the Blood Heaven Great Emperor growled with aristocratic disgust. 『The deception runs even deeper than we realized.』
『So we get to fight more people? Excellent!』 the Thunder Lightning King's mood improved instantly at the prospect of additional combat. 『I like fighting multiple enemies at once!』
"There's more," Noe Jin Un continued, his expression growing even more serious. "According to what I managed to overhear before Jin Noeumu killed me, they've been planning something called 'The Four Fragment Convergence' for decades. It sounds really, really bad."
"Four fragments?" Jin Ho repeated, feeling a chill run down his spine that had nothing to do with the temperature.
"I think they mean the four pieces of the Supreme Demon God that got scattered," Noe Jin Un said softly. "And Jin Ho... they need you specifically to complete their plan. They've been manipulating everything from the very beginning to get you exactly where they want you."
The hall fell into shocked silence as the full implications of what they were learning began to sink in.
"Where exactly is this vault?" Blood Wolf asked with practical directness.
"Oh! That's actually kind of fun!" Noe Jin Un's cheerfulness returned like sunshine breaking through clouds. "There's this really complex puzzle lock that only someone with lightning abilities can open. It's in the sub-basement, three levels down, behind a hidden wall that's marked with the Thunder Palace crest."
"And these letters will prove their connection?" Blood Flower confirmed, his analytical mind already working.
"Yep! Everything's documented in excruciating detail. Jin Noeumu was incredibly thorough about keeping records of everything—probably for blackmail purposes." Noe Jin Un's form began to flicker slightly around the edges. "Oh, looks like my time is almost up. Maintaining this manifestation is really exhausting."
"Wait!" Jin Ho reached out instinctively, wanting to hold onto his friend for just a little longer.
"Don't worry about me," Noe Jin Un smiled with that warm, genuine expression that had always made people feel better. "I'm completely at peace now. You gave me justice, and that's honestly all I ever wanted. Just... be really careful, okay? Eum Mugeuk is much, much more dangerous than Jin Noeumu ever was."
He turned toward the two inner demons one final time, his expression bright with gratitude. "And thank you again, Uncle Blood Emperor and Uncle Thunder Demon King! You're the best uncles ever!"
『He's definitely doing it on purpose now,』 the Blood Heaven Great Emperor muttered, but there was a hint of fondness creeping into his mental voice.
『Absolutely on purpose,』 the Thunder Lightning King agreed, though he too sounded oddly pleased rather than annoyed.
"One last thing," Noe Jin Un said as his form continued to fade and flicker. "Don't let them turn you into something you're not, Jin Ho. Stay yourself no matter what they offer you, no matter what they threaten you with. Promise me?"
"I promise," Jin Ho said solemnly, his voice thick with emotion.
"Perfect! Now go find that vault and kick some serious Shadow Society butt!" Noe Jin Un declared with his characteristic enthusiasm. With a final cheerful wave that was so perfectly him, his spirit dissolved into sparkles of golden light that slowly faded into nothingness.
The hall remained quiet for several long moments as everyone processed what they had just witnessed.
"Well," Blood Protector said finally, breaking the contemplative silence, "that was... unexpected."
"But extremely informative," Blood Flower added with satisfaction. "We now have a clear objective and concrete evidence to pursue."
Jin Ho looked toward the stairs leading to the lower levels of Thunder Palace, his resolve hardening into something unbreakable. "Let's go find that vault. I have a feeling we're going to need every single piece of information we can get our hands on."
『Finally, some action!』 the Thunder Lightning King declared with obvious satisfaction.
『Indeed,』 the Blood Heaven Great Emperor agreed. 『Though I must admit, that boy had quite the remarkable personality. Even in death, he managed to be... refreshing.』
Jin Ho smiled despite the gravity of their situation. Even as a spirit, Noe Jin Un had managed to lighten the mood, provide crucial information, and somehow make two ancient demon gods feel appreciated. It was exactly the kind of thing his friend would do.
"Come on, everyone," Jin Ho said to his companions, his voice filled with newfound determination. "Let's go see exactly what Jin Noeumu was hiding from us all these years."