Shin Myungchul — The Novel's Extra

Shin Myungchul is the Hero whose public legend shapes modern ideas of heroism and gives Shin Jonghak his identity. The hidden history is more complicated: Myungchul regressed to save his loved ones despite knowing the act would permit Baal's descent, then spent his later life atoning for that choice. What survives after his death is a recorded reputation, a sealed remnant in Jonghak's consciousness, and the black light Jonghak inherits—not an independently active resurrected Hero.

Biography

Outcall and the recorded past

When the Cube party is carried into a reconstruction of 1972, the setting explicitly warns that this “ghost of the past” is not the real past. Myungchul does not enter the party's scenes in person, but survivors report that he and Chae Joochul divide influence in Gangnam and praise him for bringing peace to Gwanak. The record establishes his early post-Outcall rise without turning the simulation into present-day agency. (Chapters 100–106)

The reputation grows into the legend Jonghak inherits: Myungchul becomes the revered Hero of all Heroes, active since Outcall and eventually praised as the greatest Hero in history. A televised speech tells future Heroes that a Gift is a duty rather than a privilege, inspiring Kim Suho's chosen path. These preserved accounts remain influential long after the man himself has died. (Chapters 255, 338, and 361)

Regression and the concealed cost

Bell eventually reveals that Myungchul originally lived through a different future and, devastated by failing to protect a loved one, asked for regression. Bell warned that the Regression Stone would summon Baal into the world, but the proud young Hero accepted, confident he could defeat the devil. Returned to age seventeen, he protected his family, married his lover, and became a powerful Hero within two years. (Chapters 335–336)

The victory could not prevent every loss: his wife died after giving birth, leaving Myungchul to raise their son and later name his grandson. Bell watched the once self-centered regressor mature, while Baal's eventual descent remained the price of his choice. The revelation breaks Jonghak's idealized faith, but Jin Sahyuk argues that Myungchul risked his life trying to correct the catastrophe, which is itself a heroic act. (Chapters 336–338)

The legacy inside Shin Jonghak

Bell says Myungchul left everything to Jonghak, and Jin Sahyuk uses Reality Manipulation to search the deepest layer of Jonghak's consciousness. Behind a gate bearing Myungchul's name, they find a portion of his soul sealed within his grandson. The figure that regenerates there is therefore an internal remnant sharing Jonghak's experience, not Myungchul restored to life in the outside world. (Chapters 351–354)

The remnant apologizes for the millions endangered by his selfish decision and asks Jonghak to reveal the truth after the war, even if it tarnishes the name he worships. He then entrusts Jonghak with a power meant to help him live honestly and correct that mistake. His fading soul turns to dust and sinks into Jonghak, ending the remnant's consciousness as its legacy becomes the grandson's responsibility. (Chapters 354–355)

Black-light inheritance and public correction

In Jonghak's hands, Myungchul's legacy appears as black light at the tip of the Conqueror Spear. The light binds Morax and burns or purifies demonic energy, a specialized advantage earned through Myungchul's atonement rather than a new act performed by the dead Hero. Baal can later sense Myungchul's soul in Jonghak's heart, but Jonghak remains the person choosing, fighting, and wielding the inherited power. (Chapters 362–364)

After the final battle, Jonghak begins a public declaration as Myungchul's grandson and a Hero of the world. The scene fulfills the direction of his grandfather's last request: the celebrated name is no longer protected by a false, flawless legend. Myungchul's final influence is the truth, power, and ethical burden he left behind, not posthumous command over events. (Chapters 354–355 and 364)

Appearance and personality

Bell's memory shows the young Myungchul with gemlike eyes, long unkempt hair, and good looks that the hair cannot hide. He is proud, arrogant, grieving, and astonishingly confident when he accepts regression. The older remnant in Jonghak's mind is still graceful and strong at heart, but speaks with a grandfather's kindness and openly acknowledges his cowardice, selfish relief, guilt, and love. (Chapters 336 and 354–355)

His character is defined by contradiction. Myungchul knowingly endangers the world to regain his family, cannot fully regret a choice that allowed Jonghak to exist, and nevertheless spends his life trying to atone. His final request sacrifices his heroic reputation to truth. The corpus presents moral development, not retroactive innocence: love explains his decision but does not erase its victims. (Chapters 335–338 and 354–355)

Gifts and abilities

Myungchul is repeatedly treated as history's greatest Hero, and his early career brings peace to the Gwanak region during the unstable years after Outcall. The corpus does not provide a reliable single name for his original Gift or a complete catalogue of his living combat techniques, so his reputation should not be expanded into unsupported powers. (Chapters 100–106, 255, and 338)

His clearly named legacy is black light, a light of darkness that burns and purifies demonic energy. Myungchul acquired it through atonement and sealed it with part of his soul inside Jonghak, who succeeds to the power and channels it through his spear. It is imperfect in general terms but makes Jonghak a natural enemy of demons; every later combat use belongs to Jonghak. (Chapters 351–355 and 362–364)

Regression is not Myungchul's innate ability. Bell supplies the Regression Stone as the medium, warns him of Baal's price, and carries out the return through a devil's power. Likewise, the consciousness encountered decades later is finite: it exists within Jonghak's mind, fades after delivering the legacy, and cannot continue operating as an independent posthumous agent. (Chapters 336 and 352–355)

Relationships

Shin Jonghak: Myungchul names his grandson, becomes the model behind Jonghak's pride and desire to be a Hero, and seals a soul remnant and black light inside him. Their reunion forces Jonghak to replace worship with a more honest love. Myungchul trusts him to correct the public record, while Jonghak becomes the active bearer of both the power and its moral burden. (Chapters 335–338 and 351–364)
Bell: Bell enables Myungchul's regression, warns him about Baal, and watches over his changed life. Much later, Bell keeps a promise to tell Jonghak the truth. Their connection is fateful and destructive, but Bell's testimony also preserves the evidence needed for Myungchul's intended confession and for locating the legacy he left behind. (Chapters 335–336 and 351–352)
Baal: Myungchul's contract and use of the Regression Stone create the route for Baal to descend. He later acquires black light while atoning for that sin, and the power passes to Jonghak as a direct counter to demonic energy. Baal recognizes the remnant in Jonghak, but their final confrontation is fought by the grandson, not by Myungchul returned from death. (Chapters 335–336 and 362–364)
His family: Regression lets Myungchul reunite with his lover, marry her, and have the son and grandson absent from his first future. His wife still dies from illness after childbirth, redirecting his grief toward protecting their son. The family is both the motive for his disastrous choice and the source of the love he cannot honestly deny. (Chapter 336)

Items

The Regression Stone is the crucial object associated with Myungchul. Bell identifies it as both the medium for regression and the medium through which Baal can enter the world; Myungchul accepts that cost and grasps it. The black light is inherited power rather than an item, and the Conqueror Spear belongs to Shin Jonghak, who uses it to channel the legacy. (Chapters 336 and 362)