Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: The Eve
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As I drew close enough to peer into the room, familiar faces came into view. The atmosphere didn't look good at all. Were they dealing with as many headaches as I was?
It happened just as I tried to get even closer. The only unfamiliar presence inside suddenly snapped its eyes open and vanished into the shadows in a flash.
"Who's there?"
A dagger pressed against my throat from behind. I hadn't sensed the approach at all... though I'd half-expected something like this. I raised both hands obediently in surrender.
"Came to see Chorong. And check on the legion while I'm at it."
At my words, the man—no, S-rank hunter Saehan, famed for his moniker "Ghost of Shadow Origin"—narrowed his eyes to slits before sheathing his dagger.
An assassin with an eye-based ability to discern truth from lies, it seemed. My Supreme Soul had tried to raise a mental barrier, but I'd held it back, confirming it.
So he was the reliable S-rank hunter. I knew him, of course. You don't forget someone at S-rank.
And in another sense, I knew him well. His true identity that Seo Ye-rin had mentioned offhand.
‘Black Kill’
The head of an underworld syndicate that wielded darkness freely and took assassination commissions.
If the Black Market controlled over 50%—no, now nearly 70-80%—of Korea's shadows, Black Kill owned about 20% of what was left.
The scraps went to lowlife gangsters and scum worth ignoring. In essence, one of Korea's two major shadow organizations.
An elite few, naturally. You needed shadow or darkness awakening just to qualify for testing.
But that elite status made them exceptional, with missions filtered through brutal standards. A success rate over 90% made it worthwhile.
He melted back into the darkness and shifted into the room. We followed, slipping in quietly and covertly.
"Juha!!"
Like long-lost family reuniting, a woman hurled herself at me, clinging tight: Min Chorong. What troubles had stacked up since we'd last met?
Behind her usual bright smile and joy lurked unmistakable shadows of gloom, depression, and negativity.
"Long time no see. You holding up okay?"
I stroked Min Chorong's head—she still felt like a little sister despite our age—and waved my other hand at the legion, who gazed at me with eyes brimming with delight.
"We're doing great."
"......Of course! ......I'm not......that girl from back then anymore!"
After the brief reunion, I introduced the two watching silently from behind me.
"This is Navilung, a cardinal candidate framed by a demon and locked in an underground prison. And this is......"
"Hmm~ Nice to meet you? Name's Belial. But hey, kiddo—who said you could burrow into our darling's arms like that? Want big sis to give you a scolding?"
That... crazy bitch. I shook my head firmly, cutting off Belial's playful, laughter-laced words, and scanned the group.
"You guys don't look so hot either. What's the deal?"
Shadows darkened Min Chorong and the legion's faces at my question. They hemmed and hawed, dodging a straight answer, until Saehan stepped in.
He gave me a quick, concise summary of everything up to now. I listened quietly, snapping my fingers thoughtfully.
Then, near the end, my eyes flashed—I had to double-take.
"The Saintess had a secret meeting with Cardinal Aoira?"
"That's right. Must've been shady talk about the Saintess selection. More dirty schemes brewing. I'm S-rank, but against the Saintess and her power? Can't touch that. Tsk—this job's totally botched."
A smile tugged at my lips. The three tilted their heads. A bright grin in this unfair mess?
I turned to the pair standing mutely behind me.
"Smells off, doesn't it?"
"Aoira could be scheming with the Saintess. No clue on his exact aim, but she could deliver plenty."
"Hmm~~ Think I know what that pathetic worm's after, though?"
All eyes swung to Belial. She licked her lips, staring only at me with her signature sultry expression, then sidled close to whisper.
"Wanna know?"
"......What?"
"Hmm~~ Contractor wants to know? Gotta tell you, then. Advent. That worm craves Advent. Unleashing colossal evil into this holy, beautiful world."
Those words jogged a forgotten memory.
‘Right! The quest said to block someone's Advent!’
Looking back, it fit. No demon, no matter how notorious, could solo this massive kingdom from a low stage. Needed an Advent at least.
At first, I'd figured Aoira wanted Solomon's clone. He'd lost it when learning I'd hit underground level 5 and tampered with the clone there.
But he folded too quick. Severed the link the moment I half-puppeteered it, like no point sticking around.
Maybe even that mighty demon god's clone was just one card in his deck.
Reading my mind? Belial sighed and shook her head.
"Nah. No way. That worm never dreamed the contractor could beat the great demon god's clone. Survival? Pure luck to flee. The supreme demon god's clone doesn't drop easy. Semi-immune to death, even as a clone."
True enough—normal tactics were hopeless. I'd scraped by on Fortune alone.
"He probably thinks the clone's still down on level 5?"
"So clone's the endgame?"
"Has to be. Value of the primordial demon god, black demon realm's emperor? No sense wasting as chaff."
It clicked in my head. Advent. Quest. Demon. Clone.
"Advent his demon lord to absorb the demon god clone? Solomon's been AWOL millennia. Gunning for new demon god throne?"
That was it. But if so......?
"Thing is, I already absorbed that clone."
Whatever schemes or bullshit, plan's busted, no?
Shouldn't he rage-quit straight to hunting me? Not this leisurely ignore.
"Normally, yeah. But the worm's clueless if it's gone. Some puny thing leaning on demon power puppeting or dominating the great demon god's clone? No shot. All he did was slap a mental suppress—no way to check absorption."
So the idiot demon's punching air?
Issue was, his wild swings were cataclysmic. Ants to his human—casual step crushes us.
"Clone missing? Advented demon lord goes apeshit?"
"Duh~~ What're demons to you? And why just demon lord? This scale screams Demon King plot."
Shit. Mountains on mountains. Gods everywhere? Quest difficulty's insane.
Craved normal foes, sane fights. This demanded max squeeze or bust.
Sighing, I briefed the blank-staring Min Chorong, legion, and Saehan.
"No shock. That cardinal's a demon puppet."
"A Holy Kingdom cardinal—a demon?! Unreal!"
"......So......what now?"
Yeah. One priority left. Big picture set—time to slot pieces.
‘How's he gonna play it?’
Mind spun fast. One fact bubbled up.
"Sacrifice. Advent needs 'em. Massive ones for Demon King in Stage-1."
My gaze hit Min Chorong. Saintess candidate fated for gruesome shredding. Girl with the purest saintly power.
Put differently: prime sacrifice material.
"Saintess and Aoira team up?"
Saintess gains? Tons. Craved title, job lock-in, disciple successor.
What she offers Aoira?
Backing? Nah, demon reveal kills that. Cash? Please.
Deep mull. Answer hit.
"Plans to offer Min Chorong as sacrifice. Candidate's flesh and soul tops most values."
No alternative. Eyes bulged. Perfect trade.
"Likely isolates her soon on some pretext, then snatches."
I pondered, voice bitter.
"Cardinal Bartroy—who swore to hit Aoira with me—probably sacrificed too."
Head up. Faint, precise gaze locked on.
"That so? Great Hero?"
One line sealed it. Bartroy was dead. Core fodder for Demon King Advent. Matched Min Chorong's tier.
Epic of the Greatest Great Hero's 12 Labors
The gaze intensified. Pressure mounted, divine emotions sharpening: sorrow, regret, rage. He truly mourned his faithful incarnation's death.
He'd force-assigned me a quest.