Past Life Returner

Joshua had tinnitus the moment he saw me.

Keeeeeen-

It was similar to the noise of a boiling kettle. He suddenly felt like there was no air in his lungs, so he took a deep breath and blankly stared at me. He had never imagined that I would be the largest shareholder of Jonathan Investment and the man with the largest private finances in the world.

However, Joshua was more shocked by how I had accumulated my fortune, and it would have been more convincing to him if I had robbed the U.S. Federal Bank instead of the Bank of England. Then, he realized that my assets were only calculated based on the value of Jonathan Investment, so the actual number had to be greater than what he knew. In addition, people had been saying that Jonathan had not made miraculous investments alone and that the other owner with the larger shares had assisted him to a great extent.

That was Odin?

Joshua finally realized that it was me who had done all those things. Then, my attire caught his eyes as I looked very different in a suit. He seemed to be confused about who I really was because the suit fit me perfectly and I looked like a successful elite. My smile was full of confidence.

He might be someone else who looks similar to Odin.

Joshua was grasping at straws as he did have trouble telling the difference between Asians. However, he immediately grasped how stupid his thought was.

I lost… Odin was already on top of me from the start.

Joshua was truly devastated, but he knew that if he gave up and surrendered now, his plan of having a revolution would be thwarted.

I have to make it through this! Because I finally… finally know what to do!

Joshua began walking toward me while biting his lower lip.

“You are making… a big mistake,” he said.

“Mistake?” I asked.

“I admit that you’re the richest man in the world and the power broker of the world’s largest investment group, but you are picking a fight with the Karjan family. We have enough money and power to inspect your group. It’s not too late now, Odin. Stop the attack before the elders of the family change their minds.” Joshua glared at me.

“I guess you want to talk about the Bilderberg Club. Then, don’t you have to say that you have enough right to ask for inspection rather than you have the power to do so by yourself?” I snapped at him.

Joshua’s face flushed with shame as he remembered what he told me in the dungeon; for example, he claimed that he would willingly give me the partnership of Berlin Telecom and also bragged about the Bilderberg Club. It was like a candle showing off its light to the sun.

“But Joshua, you are not even a part of the Karjan family yet. It’s too early to act as if you belong to them,” I said.

“Thanks to you, I’m now a part of the board of directors,” he replied sarcastically.

“Oh, really? Congratulations. That means you can check what your family asked the White House,” I said.

Joshua returned to the butler and realized that I was right.

“It’s undeniable that the Bilderberg Club is a force that organizes the world’s order, and your family is one of them. However, businesses, banks and politicians formed this group only to fulfill their own interests, so these are not blood-tied alliances. If something seems to be unfavorable to them, they will change things to their own advantage first. This is not a dungeon,” I explained.

Joshua listened quietly to find a clue to rebut.

“Therefore, this has to be done by your family alone,” I added.

“Then, you should think more carefully about it, Odin. There will be no winner if our family and your group clash with each other.”

I said, “Financial wars don’t work like that since the winner takes all. I’d like to tell you about the Russian financial war, but… he’s looking for you. I’ll see you later.”

After a few seconds, someone knocked. Joshua alternately looked at the door and me, then got up. The butler took Joshua to the private room.

“Is he your friend?” the butler questioned.

“Yeah, I met him in Vancouver last year. I didn’t expect to see him this way. Oh, gosh,” Joshua said lightly.

“Can you convince him?”

“It has been only ten minutes. Tell the elders to wait a bit,” Joshua answered.

“There has been no change in the elders’ stance. Please lay aside your pride and speak to the heart. I’m sorry to ask you such a thing.”

“I’m part of the family now, so it’s not just a personal issue to swallow my pride,” Joshua replied.

“But, sir…”

The butler’s eyes became clear, and he warned Joshua, “You don’t understand what I’m saying. This is an order from the elders.”

Joshua’s voice trembled, “You must be kidding. They are not the type who would request that. If you are hiding something, please tell me now. What’s going on? This is… hard to understand. Why should my family behave so servilely? We are the Karjan family.”

“Things are serious in New York and London.”

Wait, it got worse in a few hours? Joshua frowned.

“Jonathan Hunter must have started moving in New York, then in London…” Jonathan said.

“The funds that we thought belonged to Gillian Investment began moving.”

“Why them? I expected New York would do that, but London shouldn’t betray us,” Joshua said.

The City of London was the center of Europe’s economy, so even though the Gillian Group was an independent investment group, they were a part of the same economic zone. On top of that, Gillian was British, so he was a European entrepreneur.

“What are the elders doing in London?”

Joshua raised his voice for the first time to rebuke the elders of his family. However, the butler didn’t scold him as he felt the same way. Then, the butler got an urgent call, and his face became more rigid as he answered. He hung up and said, “Telestar Investment and Gold and Silver Investment have also joined the attack. This is the beginning of the war, sir.”

Jessica Perry was in charge of Telestar Investment. She had become a symbol of women’s success as she used to be a telephone clerk on Wall Street, but she was now moving more than one hundred billion dollars of capital. She was once Gillian’s assistant, and her success story was famous.

The butler’s phone rang again, and he listed names of hedge funds that moved millions to billions of dollars. Joshua realized that there were a variety of diverse hedge funds under Jonathan and Gillian Group.

All the capital is out of the family’s control!

Ironically, the Karjan family was able to identify the owners of those funds, so they grasped the urgency of the situation more than anyone else.

Joshua’s eyes shook.

“Sir!” the butler shouted.

“...Is it too late?”

“It’s up to them to decide when they will increase their attack funds. Then, you can say it’s too late.”

The butler was referring to Jonathan and Gillian. The capitals that joined the offensive line despite the pressure of the group were just following the market’s trend. If Jonathan and Gillian stopped, the market’s trend would be reversed.

Why is Gillian doing this? Joshua shrieked inwardly.

“So, it hasn’t reached a full-scale war yet, right?” Joshua asked.

“Yes, but it can happen anytime. It’s not the time for you to do this,” the butler said.

“How are you going to stop the Gillian Group?”

“Lucas is in London.”

“Why are you mentioning that bounder? You don’t need to ask him. I’ll convince my friend somehow. Let’s start from there,” Joshua said.

***

If Joshua’s family collapsed, everything he had planned and been enjoying in his life would vanish. However, his determination wavered when he saw me because he knew he couldn’t reverse anything once he kneeled down on me.

I’ll be under his control forever.

Joshua tightly squeezed and opened his eyes, but…

Maybe, it was meant to be from the beginning…

Joshua ended up kneeling down in front of me, then he looked up.

“I have lost. I’ll be your man, so please stop.”

He forced himself to say it, but he was sincere about it. He had sacrificed himself for his family because if they didn’t exist, then he would be left with nothing.

“Because of your family?” I asked.

“The reason doesn’t matter. I’m serious that I want to work under you, Odin!”

“There are more forces that attacked your family other than just Jonathan Investment,” I said.

Ah, he must have talked to Gillian Group already! How far had he reached out…

Joshua couldn’t read my face.

“Please join us in the defense line, then Gillian will lose lots of money.” Joshua looked at me earnestly.

“You have become a director, right?”

“Yes.”

“But you must be at the bottom of the hierarchy. Come with me.”

“To where?” he questioned.

“I’ll make you the next head of the family,” I replied firmly.

“No matter how much power you have, you won’t be able to…”

“If your current head is really devoted to the family, then he should resign,” I said.

“Wait, Odin. I’m not done yet. What about the Gillian Group?”

Joshua hurriedly followed me as I forced the butler to request a meeting with the head. The butler brought me to the head, then I began whispering in the man’s ears. This was Joshua’s first time seeing rapid changes in the head’s facial expressions. Like the butler, the head was also a great man who had gone through rough modern history. I spoke unilaterally, and the old head just listened.

Then, a blade-like energy similar to the one that swept the boss room in the dungeon came out from my body.

Whoosh!

It soon filled the entire room, and the rays of light seemed to be divided into dozens as it was so fast. The energy sliced the furniture in the room, and it was so powerful that it looked like a tornado with thorns. Everything, whether it was built with iron or wood, was torn into pieces and fell to the ground. It was so fast and destructive that Joshua couldn’t intervene at all.

In addition, the sparks generated from my body strengthened my power even more. The place had turned into a setting where you could see mythology in action. Lightning bolts flashed, and blade-like storms swept away everything. The only thing Joshua could do was beg.

“Please don’t kill the head. You’ve done enough! I’ll give you my soul if you want. Just take mine! Please leave my family and the head alone!” Joshua wailed. However, the head’s reaction to the scene, where his neck could be cut off and his body could burn at any time, was different from Joshua’s expectation. The head was filled with astonishment in the beginning, but he was now smiling.

The commotion died down as if nothing had happened, and the head beckoned Joshua. I also made gestures at him by moving my chin. Joshua crawled toward the head and checked if he was okay, but not a single blade had passed through him.

“Joshua.” The old head looked at Joshua.

“Yes, sir.”

“Our family will get wings in your generation. Take care of us and attain our family’s long-cherished desire.”

“...Pardon me?”

“Our family is… cough! I’ll clear up everything that would impede you before I step back.”

Then, the head looked at me, and I nodded.

“Please take good care of my grandson. I’m sure he will be able to go through all of this,” the head said.

“That’s why I chose Joshua,” I responded.

Joshua was out of his mind, and I picked up my phone. I told Jonathan, Gillian, Telestar and Gold and Silver Investment to stop the attack. Then, Joshua looked at the head and me in confusion. He couldn’t believe that one single person was controlling all of the funds that were at the forefront of attacking his family. He thought I wouldn’t be the owner of all of them, but he was amazed by the power I had. It was the authority that his family had always desired to possess in their hands, but it was also an ambition that they couldn’t achieve over hundreds of years.

But this guy has already completed his empire… Odin… It was really… Odin…

Joshua became pale, and I reached out to him. It was then that his world was totally destroyed. Everything in his sight was out of focus, and he could only see my hand. It looked huge to him, and he started listening to me.

“The world’s order will be reorganized, so come into my order, Joshua,” I said.

Joshua had no choice but to comply as he knew his family would become a royal family in his generation as long as he was under me.

“Yes, Master.”