Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: The Skyscraper Twins (1)
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《The Skyscraper Twins》- (1)
01.
"Haah..."
A deep sigh escaped from the lips of Lee Ah-reum, the guild master of 'Dessert Club,' which had now taken over from Ace Guild as the overall leader of the capital region.
"Fuck, seriously..."
She wasn't one to swear often, but with the overflowing worries and stress, she could feel crude curses slipping out unbidden.
"Of all the damn times..."
Ah-reum clutched her throbbing head.
Known among Season Off Fantasy players by her nickname 'Noisy,' she stood before a super high-rise building so tall its peak vanished into the clouds.
"...It's tall, alright."
Jamsil Tower—the landmark representing Jamsil and Seoul, Korea's tallest skyscraper.
A place that should have been bustling with tourists from home and abroad, filled with laughter, was now overrun only by the howls of monsters and the sticky stench of blood.
Of course, now that the boundary between game and reality had collapsed, there was no place free of blood and monsters. But Jamsil Tower and its surroundings were a special case.
The monsters here—the 'undead'—hadn't poured out from rifts in the sky. They had been deliberately summoned by someone.
"Those Graveyard bastards..."
Two days ago, the vicious guild 'Graveyard' had seized Jamsil Tower without anyone noticing. Now, the tower and its vicinity were completely overrun by skeletons and zombie hordes summoned by the guild's necromancers.
"How the hell are they still pulling the same shit."
Graveyard.
A small guild founded by twin siblings who had reached the max level in necromancer.
With only about 30 members, every single one was a max-level necromancer—a peculiar trait fitting their name.
Yeah, up to that point, no issue.
There was hardly another guild in the entire server composed solely of necromancers, so if it had stopped there, they might have earned a decent reputation as a concept-driven occult guild.
...The problem was their bizarre behavior.
"What a bunch of clowns..."
Graveyard always went beyond imagination.
They'd hoard specific item materials under the guise of "sacrifices for rituals."
They'd massacre NPCs to "harvest souls," then cannibalize the corpses.
They'd raid low-tier guilds to "reclaim the flesh of the weak for enhancement materials."
"Fucking weirdos."
Screaming terms like souls, rituals, resurrection of the dead, and spouting incomprehensible nonsense while cherry-picking the most mannerless acts—they seemed less like a guild and more like a cult.
...After endless villainy, they got warnings from the system, penalties on the twin siblings serving as guild master and vice-master, and even forced disbandment multiple times.
But they always resurrected from somewhere, repeating the same antics, earning them the ire of every player on the Korean server as the ultimate villains.
At least, after Dark Ghost's 'Fate' Guild nearly wiped them in a guild war recently, Ah-reum thought they'd stay quiet for a bit. How wrong she was.
With this unprecedented crisis barely underway, they seize Jamsil Tower and pull a hostage stunt.
"Ha, for real."
Selverion had crushed Ace, forcing Dessert Club to handle the entire capital region almost by fiat—stress was already killing her, and now these Graveyard scum were holding hostages.
"This is pissing me off."
Overwhelmed by rage and frustration, Ah-reum yanked at her hair. A clump of glossy black strands came out, but her agitation showed no signs of subsiding.
"What the hell do I do?"
With yet another sigh, Ah-reum looked up at Jamsil Tower again.
If they'd just declared open guild war, fine. But their bizarre hostage siege, fortifying the tower, was a nightmare to resolve.
She wanted to unleash scientists' cosmic schemes, flame mages' fireballs, even the military's missiles to vaporize the whole building. But that would kill the hostages too, inviting massive public backlash.
Sending in guilds and players? Hostage lives at risk.
Infiltrating with invisible assassins and thieves? Opponents were 30 level 2500 necromancers.
Unless it was Sad Clown 'Feroln's' perfect invisibility from October's stage boss, max-level necros would spot amateur stealth from fellow players.
And they weren't idiots—they'd have countermeasures.
A botched rescue could just hand them more hostages.
"Haa..."
But accepting their demand to hand over all of Jamsil outright was impossible. No clear solution came to mind.
To make matters worse, Seoul was a full warzone, so manpower for the tower was limited.
"My head's spinning."
And oblivious to the mess, SPR kept pressuring Ah-reum and Dessert Club. Her insides burned.
In this chaos, what decision should she make?
How to infiltrate a tower held by 30 max-level necromancers with limited forces and safely rescue the hostages?
"......"
Standing there, pondering for minutes, all that surfaced were curses.
"Goddamn corpse-fuckers..."
Another sigh escaped.
02.
────Unsalvageable Falsehood A sticky sentence reeking of thick ink. Just nine short words without clear meaning, yet Graveyard guild master Kang Doo-il chewed them over repeatedly.
Like a cow ruminating, he savored each bite, immersing himself in the mysterious aura emanating from the phrase.
His brain urged interpretation, while his instincts imposed their own meaning. Feeling alive, he quietly closed his eyes.
"Unsalvageable falsehood."
What did this line mean?
A tragic soul named for falsehood, forever denied true salvation?
A frail lamb wandering a world severed from truth?
If unreachable by truth, does falsehood become truth there?
"An intriguing sentence."
Interpretations varied wildly.
Through Sartre: a soul trapped in falsehood's mire, abandoning self-salvation.
Through Kant: 'falsehood' as social suicide denying humanity.
Christian lens: a grave sinner denied even God's grace.
Hundreds of readings surfaced, but no single answer.
Would he ever uncover its true meaning?
"Hmm."
Setting aside his thoughts, Doo-il closed the book with the enigmatic phrase and glanced down at his feet.
— Mmph! Mmmph! Mmph!!
"......"
There knelt a bound middle-aged man.
— Mmph!! Mmph! Mmph!
Tears of terror streamed as he pleaded silently for release, for mercy.
His cheap clothes, graying hair, wrinkled skin marked him no player—but a civilian.
...One of the hundreds Graveyard held hostage in Jamsil Tower.
"Poor soul, shed no tears."
Doo-il wiped the man's tear-streaked eyes with the gentlest smile.
"Your arrival before me is a blessing. Why weep?"
— Mmmph!! Mmph!! Mmph!!
Knowing the fate of those dragged before Doo-il before? The man thrashed harder, but Doo-il ignored it, continuing.
"Wretched soul, rejoice. Soon, I'll grant you true salvation."
Under blond slicked-back hair, blue eyes gleamed sharply in a pale face. Fangs flashed in a twisted smile—like a vampire.
"Among those in the tower, only a few receive it first. Be proud—you're chosen."
— Mmmmmph!! Mmph!
Salvation.
Doo-il had been chosen by this world's creator. To become God's proxy, saving this falsehood-filled realm.
Else, why collapse game and reality, granting him godlike game powers?
Sure, others worldwide had similar gifts—but trials to prove his supremacy.
He must hasten to save these poor souls, proving himself God's worthiest agent.
"Come, poor lamb. I'll save you now."
His salvation? Freeing their souls from this false world—i.e., killing their mortal shells.
"Hm, not death—liberation?"
Doo-il scratched his chin.
Whatever the process, freeing souls from this contradictory world fit "liberation" better than "death."
"What do you think? Doo-hyun?"
He looked up past the man at the wriggling black-haired woman—his twin sister, vice-master Kang Doo-hyun.
"What? Death or liberation?"
Doo-hyun scowled, growling at him.
"Fuck if I care? Quit the god bullshit and just kill him already. I need the corpse."
"Haa..."
Sighing at his sister's denseness.
"You need more faith, Doo-hyun."
Blind to God's will, this foolish sister. Pitying her, unlike him who grasped their fated selection.
"Hah, Doo-il, cut the crap."
Whatever her brother said, Doo-hyun craved only fresh corpses.
Gods, salvation—irrelevant. Her pleasure was dissecting recent dead. That alone.
In-game, she slaughtered NPCs periodically. Now, with game-reality fused, players or civilians sufficed.
Conveniently, dozens of civilian hostages here. A couple for her first?
Her damn brother agreed on killing a few for "salvation" in reality.
Common ground: killing.
He massacres for "salvation"; she savors the corpses' scent.
Why she joined his cultish guild.
Most Graveyard members alike: thrill of slaughter, corpse aroma and taste.
Thus, all necromancers.
For fresh bodies, slaughter's rush, Doo-il, Doo-hyun, Graveyard would do anything.
Game or reality.
"Fuck, can't wait. I'll do it."
...So Doo-hyun—known to Season Off Fantasy players as 'Evangel'—strode past her brother to the hostage.
— Mmmph!! Mmmmmmmph!!
The man wept in terror, thrashing futilely against bonds.
No saviors: Tower fully held by Graveyard and undead.
...His end was sealed.
"Haa, already smells delicious."
Doo-hyun needed no weapon. She approached, claws razor-sharp, and pierced his chest.
— Gaaack!!
No civilian withstands player physique. Agony mixed groans and screams past the gag.
"Mmm, music to my ears."
Savoring the scream, she ripped out his heart.
— Gurk.
"......"
The man collapsed with a final cry; fresh human heart dripped scarlet in Doo-hyun's hand.
"Heh..."
Grinning satisfied, she bit into the heart.
Sticky blood smeared pale lips; sweet blood and death filled her mouth.
"Perfect, really."
Reality amplified flavors beyond game. Alive with irreplaceable ecstasy, she felt it viscerally.
"Let's see..."
Meanwhile, Doo-il rose, approached the gutted corpse, and placed a hand on its forehead.
"Aaaah......"
Salvation's sensation surged.
Cold flesh, yet overwhelming freedom's bliss, divine energy transmitted vividly.
He sensed leading as God's proxy.
"Ecstasy, truly..."
Linked to the liberated flesh, feeling salvation's trace. This moment, Guild Master 'Shangri-La'—Creator's agent 'Kang Doo-il'—felt most alive.
"...Just wait a little."
...Jamsil Tower's pinnacle, closest to heaven's god in Korea.
"I'll save you all."
"Haa, this is a corpse! A real one!"
From Seoul-overlooking heights,
the necromancer twins smiled.