Chapter 69
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Seoul, Devil, Saintess - 3
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In his past life, Lee Hyun-wook had been a ‘slow starter.’ It had taken him a considerable amount of time to discover how to grow his abilities and become a hero, which meant there were numerous incidents he had never experienced firsthand.
‘But that doesn’t mean I don’t know about them.’
To make up for his late start, Lee Hyun-wook had put in a painstaking effort.
He diligently trained his abilities and combat skills, of course, but he also never neglected to acquire information and knowledge.
‘And I gathered all sorts of intelligence while working for the Guardian Information Department.’
Thanks to this, he knew a great deal about the events that had occurred before he became active.
He had even made contact with insiders from the Villain factions to extract their secrets.
This was precisely why he knew the Villains’ movements in such minute detail.
But this, right now, was something he had never heard from anyone.
Lee Hyun-wook looked at the Saintess, Emilia Müller.
Currently twenty-seven years old, a striking beauty, yet she was a complete mess at the moment.
The woman known as one of the world’s foremost Priests looked, ironically, sickly herself.
Dry hair, dark circles under her eyes, bloodshot cheeks, chapped lips.
But right now, her eyes alone were sharp and clear.
‘…She’s trying to see right through me.’
She had brought up the word ‘Villain’ and seemed to be gauging his reaction.
Honestly, he flinched inwardly, but on the outside, he feigned a look of puzzlement.
Naturally, agreeing that he knew about them would be a foolish move.
“Hmm, Villains… like the bad guys in comic books?”
At Lee Hyun-wook’s innocent question, Emilia remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“You really… don’t know? For real?”
“Frankly, I’m not sure what you mean by Villains.”
“Then, have you perhaps heard of the ‘Guardians’?”
“……”
“Oh? If you’re truly the hero who stopped the fourth wave, there’s no way you wouldn’t know about this.”
She even knew the correlation between Villains and Guardians.
And even the mechanism that triggered the ‘Quest’…
As far as Lee Hyun-wook knew, this woman was neither a Villain nor a Guardian.
That meant she had obtained this information through other means.
“Yes, that’s right. A Hidden Quest to become a Guardian appeared before me, but I refused it.”
After he killed Yang Ju-seop during the Unlucky Event at Seoul Station, a ‘Hidden Quest’ to become a Guardian had appeared, but he had rejected it. At the time, a warning message had followed, stating that the opportunity might not come again if he refused. Perhaps because of that, there had been no word since he ended the wave and stopped the demon summoning.
“Why? Isn’t it common knowledge that quests are incredible opportunities? Why would you turn it down?”
“I believe the System is the very cause that ruined the world. I don’t want to be its puppet.”
“Ah… an ‘anti-Systemist.’ That’s quite unexpected.”
When Lee Hyun-wook gave a plausible excuse, Emilia nodded.
“In that case, are you one of those Guardians, Director-General?”
He knew she wasn’t, but he asked anyway.
“No, I was just… close with someone who used to be a Guardian. Yes, so I thought you were one and was going to ask for a favor… Ha, I’ve said too much. Shit, just forget what I just said.”
This woman definitely had ‘special information.’ But now was not the time to press her for what it was.
“Phew, anyway, for now, the surveillance of the ‘White Tree Guard’ I asked for earlier is more important.”
“…The internal traitor you suspect is one of those ‘Villains,’ I presume.”
She seemed to hesitate before slowly nodding.
“Yes, most likely.”
“The Villains, who are they?”
Lee Hyun-wook asked, feigning complete ignorance.
“That… I don’t know the details myself. Just that they’re a secret organization trying to conquer the world by exploiting the System, and that the person I trusted most… was murdered by them.”
That was slightly incorrect. They weren’t exploiting the System; the System was providing them with the opportunity.
‘By the way, if it was the person the Saintess trusted most…’
It had to be Nicholas Steele, the former commander of the White Tree Guard.
‘That man was one of the founding members of the Guardians.’
He was also the first ‘Chairman,’ but he had suddenly gone missing during a dungeon raid.
They had searched the dungeon for months afterward but had never even found a body.
It was far too anticlimactic an end, no matter how you looked at it…
Years later, after Gordon Price’s true identity was revealed, it came to light that it had all been his scheme.
‘In other words, Nicholas figured out Gordon’s identity and gave the Saintess some kind of hint.’
That was why the Villains had tried to eliminate Emilia, who knew something…
But as long as a major figure like Gordon Price controlled the Guardians, there was nothing she could do… Hiding and lying low would have been her best option.
‘This woman thought I became a Guardian candidate right after I stopped the fourth wave, and she planned to use me to dig up information on Gordon Price? She was trying to make a move of her own.’
Thinking about it, it was a considerable gamble, a desperate act from a cornered position.
“In that case, was that the reason for your… somewhat strange behavior, Director-General?”
“Well, I’m not really the type of person who fits the ‘Saintess’ nickname to begin with…”
She mumbled, then nodded. As expected, her reckless behavior was also a disguise.
“The conspicuously crazy acts were to avoid having to leave the Saint Dome. As long as I’m in my right mind, do you think people would leave me alone? They’d be calling me from every damn place.”
Inside the Saint Dome, no one could kill the Saintess. That was because all who were granted entry had to receive a ‘Sacred Covenant’ spell, preventing them from harming her.
In short, even the Villains had no choice but to lure her outside to assassinate her.
“…But I couldn’t turn a blind eye to this incident.”
Lee Hyun-wook nodded.
‘What a shame.’
To think there was such a backstory, yet the world would only remember her as a crazy woman…
“But to ask me, someone you’ve never met, to handle such an enormous task…”
Lee Hyun-wook said, feigning apprehension, and she chuckled and nodded.
“I’m sorry. Honestly, it’s a gamble. I felt like if I didn’t take it now, I might never get another chance.”
When all seemed lost, a glimmer of possibility had appeared.
An untainted newcomer who was clearly not a Villain and who even operated ‘Hugin.’
She had placed her ‘bet’ on Lee Hyun-wook.
“So, my request, can you do it? Hah… to think I’d resort to asking a stranger I’ve just met…”
For the first time, a bitter expression crossed her face. A sense of powerlessness emanated from her.
She was one of the S-rank Players, of whom there were only thirty-one known in the world.
But her abilities prevented her from fighting on her own… She always needed someone’s protection.
‘It seems she hasn’t had many people she could trust and rely on.’
After all, the person she trusted most had been killed through betrayal, and she herself had faced numerous assassination attempts afterward.
She even knew there was a traitor in her midst, so building her own faction would have been an unaffordable luxury…
Lee Hyun-wook met her gaze, then smiled faintly and nodded.
“Alright. Fortunately for you, it seems you’ve placed your bet well.”
At those words, Emilia’s eyes widened.
“You can trust me. However…”
“Hm, yes?”
“…You’ll have to keep trusting me, not just for today, but from now on. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of need for the great Saintess’s help in the future, won’t I? I’ll make sure you owe me a debt today, and I’ll be collecting on it for a long, long time.”
Lee Hyun-wook demanded this with an air of confidence so overwhelming it was as if he had already succeeded.
Because…
‘I already know who the traitors are.’
In the first place, he had intended to deal with them even if she hadn’t asked.
Emilia stared blankly at Lee Hyun-wook for a moment, then slowly nodded.
“Fine, by all means. Actually, a business relationship is more comfortable—hic—”
A hiccup escaped again, and Emilia covered her mouth with her hand.
“Ah, I thought I was saying something cool for once… hic! Ugh… Anyway, when we go outside, everyone will be dying to know what we talked about, right?”
She picked up the whiskey bottle again.
“The crazy, lecherous Saintess got captivated by the hero who stopped the wave, tried to seduce him, but ultimately failed to achieve her goal. How’s that? People will be so appalled they won’t dare ask any more questions, right?”
Then, she unbuttoned a few buttons on her blouse.
For the first time, a look of bewilderment crossed Lee Hyun-wook’s face.
“Wait, is that… a believable excuse?”
“Why do you think I’ve been acting crazy? Ever heard of the psychological term ‘eccentricity points’?”
“Just what kind of persona have you been putting on…”
“Curious? If I come to truly trust you, I might tell you in detail.”
With those words, she staggered over and helped Lee Hyun-wook to his feet.
“I’m just going to cling to you naturally.”
She then pressed herself tightly against Lee Hyun-wook’s right arm.
‘Somehow, I don’t think her reckless persona is a complete act…’
When the two emerged from the VIP room after their conversation,
Woo Seong-mun and Peter, who were waiting in the hallway, both frowned.
“…Ah—Peter! I guess my charm has really faded lately—!”
She complained, her words heavily slurred.
“Pardon? What do you mean…”
“I was trying to soak up some of the hero’s vigor before casting the wide-area magic, but, ah, forget it!”
At her words, Peter Clarke, the commander of the White Tree Guard, blushed.
“Hah… Emilia, please—you are the face of the Saint Dome.”
He sighed deeply, walked over, and placed a large hand on the crown of Emilia’s head.
Golden particles of light rained down from his palm.
*Fwoosh—*
It was ‘Purification,’ a status-curing magic that could even detoxify alcohol.
“Ack! I told you, please, stop using Purification on me…”
Instantly sober, Emilia’s shoulders slumped, her face a mask of someone who had lost all will to live.
Watching her, Lee Hyun-wook was once again amazed by her acting.
“It’s almost time to prepare for the Holy Field. You need to get a grip.”
“Hah… I know…”
Emilia muttered and glanced at Lee Hyun-wook.
The Saintess’s Seoul purification operation, and simultaneously, the operation to root out the Villains within the White Tree Guard, had begun.
***
At an office building construction site on the outskirts of Seoul, stealthy footsteps were converging.
They were counter-espionage agents from the National Intelligence Service’s Player Team 3,
special agents who specialized in intelligence warfare against Players.
And in an alley a short distance away, a black van was parked.
- …Hey, Team Leader Won! If you guys go in alone, it’s a suicide mission!
“Hah…”
- I’m begging you. The Black Tiger Unit’s suppression team will be here soon, just wait until then!
“Dammit, Director! Didn’t I tell you we’d lose him then! How many times has this happened?”
Player Team 3’s leader, Won Jin-soo, shouted in frustration.
His team was tracking Okita Kaito, the ‘Red Player’ known as the Sword Saint Slayer.
A few days ago, the man had smuggled himself into the country through Busan Port.
A series of major incidents had erupted since then, causing his presence to be somewhat forgotten,
but their pursuit had never ceased for a moment.
But the man was as elusive as a ghost.
There had been more than one occasion when they thought they had him cornered, but each time, he had vanished without a trace.
‘Shit, I wondered how the hell he could do it…’
A forensic examination of the scenes revealed the use of the ‘Shadow Link’ skill—the ‘Shadow Baron’ was also involved.
‘This is no ordinary matter! If we don’t catch them soon, something huge is going to happen!’
The combination of the ‘Shadow Baron’ and the ‘Sword Saint Slayer’… they were the perfect assassins.
‘Someone is definitely going to die. And a very important someone at that…’
They had to stop them, no matter what.
Won Jin-soo, the man in charge of this case, couldn’t help but feel rushed.
“Everyone, listen up. We have no choice. We have to hold him here.”
Ignoring the Director’s order, he picked up his shield and headed toward the office building.
He entered the building with extreme stealth.
“Alright—deploying the drone now.”
A magic drone under a Silence spell took flight, observing the building’s interior,
and discovered a man sitting cross-legged inside the bare-bones structure.
Won Jin-soo confirmed the scene through the ‘goggles’ linked to the magic drone.
‘…It’s him!’
The man sitting cross-legged inside the building…
It was Okita Kaito. It had to be him.
‘Damn it, what the hell are you doing in someone else’s country!’
He swallowed his curse and gave the hand signal to ‘enter.’
*Thud— Thud—*
With him in the lead, a total of twenty-four Player agents ascended the stairs.
But of course, they wouldn’t be able to subdue the infamous Sword Saint Slayer.
‘But I can hold out until the Black Tiger Unit’s suppression team arrives.’
Won Jin-soo was a B-rank, Tier 1 Tanker, ranked 194th among South Korea’s Players.
‘No matter how fierce his attacks are, holding on for a few minutes won’t be a problem.’
They soon reached the sixth floor, right in front of the door to the room where he was.
Won Jin-soo kicked the steel door.
*CRASH—!*
The entire door flew off its hinges, and Won Jin-soo charged inside, shield first.
In the darkness ahead, he could see the man, still sitting cross-legged.
Twelve of the twenty-four agents entered in perfect formation, surrounding him.
“Don’t move!”
Then, Okita Kaito slowly opened his eyes.
“Okita Kaito! You’re completely surrounded! Resist, and you’ll be turned to dust!”
In addition to the twenty-four Players here, three sniper Players were aiming at him.
“……”
He raised both hands above his head and stood up.
‘…What is this?’
This was rather unexpected. A clear sign of surrender, an almost pure submission…
Won Jin-soo felt an unexplainable sense of unease and gripped his shield tightly.
“…He’s surrendered. Restrain him with the magic circle.”
But just then, the man’s right wrist slowly twisted, forming a ‘gripping’ shape.
“Shit, Kaito! Don’t move! If you move one more—”
The shout from the deputy team leader standing to the man’s right was cut short.
Okita Kaito’s right hand was now on the floor.
And in his grasp was a single sword.
‘Damn it, when did he draw?’
Even though Won Jin-soo had not taken his eyes off him, he had failed to perceive the movement at all.
The next moment, the bodies of three agents to his right, including the deputy team leader, collapsed.
*Splat—*
Two heads rolled into his line of sight.
One of them was his deputy’s.
‘…Subspace Draw!’
A technique that cuts the enemy the instant the sword is drawn from a subspace.
That was the legendary, deadly blade that had cut down the Sword Saint, Guk Pyo-seong.
“Snipers—what are you doing—!”
But there was no response.
*Swish— Swish—*
In that instant, the man’s sword moved twice more, and several more agents fell.
Blood splattered onto Won Jin-soo’s left cheek, but he continued to stare straight ahead.
‘If I look away, I die.’
Soon, the man’s gaze fell upon Won Jin-soo.
He took a step forward and swung his sword.
A surprisingly straightforward attack trajectory.
‘—I can block this!’
Won Jin-soo advanced, imbuing his shield with the ‘Vanguard’s Will’ skill.
A shield-enhancing skill that could withstand a troll’s strike—just as the two pieces of metal were about to collide,
‘…It’s gone?’
The sword vanished from his hand.
Yet his hand continued to move as if swinging a blade.
And the moment its path cleared the shield,
from his grasp—
*Vwing—*
The sword reappeared.
It was as if it had blinked, disappearing for an instant before returning.
‘Ah, subspace…’
Won Jin-soo understood the true meaning of the Subspace Draw.
But that was his last thought.
The blade, having bypassed the shield, touched his neck.
*Shhhlick—!*
That was the end.
With Won Jin-soo dead, the rest were easy prey.
In just a few seconds, all twenty-four necks had been severed.
And right after that…
*Shhhhiiiii—*
Something shot up from his shadow and took the form of a person.
It was a man in a gray mask, holding a blood-soaked dagger in each hand.
That’s right. He was the one who had dealt with the snipers.
He glanced around the scene and expressed his admiration.
“Wow, killing them all by beheading. You got some weird obsession or what?”
“……”
“Anyway, after Sword Saint Slayer, you gonna get the nickname Saintess Slayer now? Haha—”
The man in the gray mask chuckled and asked.
Okita Kaito slowly turned his head to look at him.
His expression was cold, betraying no emotion.
He placed the sword in his right hand back into the subspace and walked toward the stairs.
“…The title of Sword Saint is passed down only through a battle of sword against sword, and now it is mine. I am… not the Sword Saint Slayer, but simply the Sword Saint.”
***
With preparations for the Holy Field deployment in their final stages, Lee Hyun-wook activated ‘Hugin.’
*Wheeeing—*
The spherical orb instantly transformed into a mechanical crow.
- ‘Hugin’ is activated, expanding ‘all senses’ by up to 50 times.
* Mana drain per second: 24~120
Hugin took flight, and everything in the vicinity came within his perception.
‘A 50-fold expansion of the senses. This is a truly incredible ability.’
He returned his vision to his own body and moved lightly.
The beating of his heart, the flow of his blood, the twitching of his muscles, the inflation of his lungs—
every single one of those minute sensations was felt with absolute clarity.
An unbelievable increase in ability, and thus, an overwhelming penalty.
An item that was, by nature, virtually impossible to use in combat.
‘But I can.’
He slowly drew the Unsa-amsu from his back and gripped it.
‘Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I properly swung a sword.’
Since waking up in the past, he had mostly waged a kind of firepower-based warfare using his metal control.
But Lee Hyun-wook was a man whose talent was acknowledged by Choi Young-jun, the man who would one day be called the Sword Saint.
In truth, close-quarters combat, wielding a weapon, was what he was most confident in.
‘Even if that bastard Okita Kaito manages to break through my firepower…’
Lee Hyun-wook slowly moved the tip of his sword.
‘…I can stop him.’