Chapter 219
Chapter 219
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 219
Chapter Title: Slaughter King's Trial
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“What… is this…….”
Crunch! Chomp! Nom nom!
In the empty void where nothing was visible and nothing could be felt, only the sounds of eating echoed loudly.
Something was there, even if it couldn’t be seen—the overwhelming presence was impossible to ignore.
Yoo Seongwon, who had already met the incarnations of several constellations firsthand, immediately recognized it as the presence of the constellation Slaughter King. He tensed up and went on high alert.
“Damn it! Proxy… you’ve summoned me properly this time. I didn’t know what scheme you were plotting… but as expected, you’re out of your mind.”
“Heh heh heh, this is something I absolutely want to tell the original.”
“That’s not a compliment! Damn it!”
Crunch… crunch… crunch… gulp!
Along with the sounds of a massive monster devouring its prey, the whole roasted body made from this pastor’s original was nearly gone.
Sensing that what was bound to emerge was finally about to appear, Yoo Seongwon grew extremely tense.
It wasn’t just any constellation. The Slaughter King, who led countless cruel and grotesque demons, was sure to be a ferocious and terrifying being.
[…Zzzt… Zzzt… Don’t block this signal… I won’t harm the destroyer… This is a subject… Total destruction! Find the star……!]
“Something’s… coming out!”
A bizarre voice came through with static crackling.
He had no idea what it meant, but he could feel a joyful emotion, as if it was praising this pastor.
Then, a red rift formed and opened in the empty air. From it emerged something like a stick-figure human made of red stars in lines—if rotated 90 degrees, it looked like a crudely drawn O-<-< doodle.
[…….]
“An incarnation?”
[Yes… right.]
“W-what are you saying?”
[The constellation ‘Slaughter King’ calls you a ‘raven.’]
Frustrated that Yoo Seongwon couldn’t understand its words, the Slaughter King’s incarnation spoke directly through his status window.
However, the message was so bizarre that Yoo Seongwon couldn’t comprehend it and looked puzzled.
The ‘star-line human’ stood before Yoo Seongwon and formally greeted him before continuing.
“No, why am I a raven?”
[The constellation ‘Slaughter King’ replies, ‘Don’t you eat corpses and cry out with an ominous caw?’ and says that makes you a ‘raven.’]
“That’s some twisted logic. Anyway… you’ve eaten this pastor I offered, so are you here to duel in his place?”
[The constellation ‘Slaughter King’ says, ‘A duel is for equals to test their mettle.’ ‘If not, you must undergo my trial for this star.’]
It was a reaction similar to the constellation’s 66,000 demons, so Yoo Seongwon nodded.
He’d been through this before. Knowing his mission, he waited tensely for what the Slaughter King’s trial might entail.
Since it was obvious there’d be trials or fights in the core dungeon anyway, offering the pastor as a sacrifice and skipping that step felt like a good deal.
[The constellation ‘Slaughter King’ says it’s both a trial and a deal. ‘Sacrifice 100 million humans from this planet called Earth.’]
“What?”
[The constellation ‘Slaughter King’ says that in return, it will cleanly abandon this star and directly aid you, the raven fulfilling your mission.]
“…100 million?”
[The constellation ‘Slaughter King’ asks, ‘Haven’t you already made a deal with me?’ ‘Out of roughly 6 billion humans, offering one-sixtieth is a bargain, isn’t it?’]
Hearing this, Yoo Seongwon broke into a cold sweat and began to agonize.
The Slaughter King’s demand was far too tempting and reasonable.
Sacrifice just 100 million, and a constellation abandons this ‘star,’ joins your side, and provides help—imagining it alone made his heart feel secure.
Considering the scale of the enemies he’d have to fight and the tasks ahead, it was impossible not to waver.
“Umm… hold on. Just a moment.”
[The constellation ‘Slaughter King’ tells you to take your time.]
“Ummm~ Um umm~”
But suddenly, the thought crossed his mind that this proposal itself might be the trial—a trap.
What was the true intent and answer here? Resolve to sacrifice 100 million humans? Or the courage to refuse? Yet the Slaughter King had devoured humans through its apostles until now, so it could be sincere.
‘It said 100 million, but no deadline. So couldn’t I just gather death row inmates from around the world and offer them?’
No need to traumatize executioners—just hand them over to someone like the Slaughter King or this pastor, or capture scavengers and mafiosi. He could easily gather that many.
If it had been a billion, innocents would’ve been on the list, and he’d refuse outright. But this wasn’t a bad deal.
‘Still, the act itself would be problematic… Umm… No, isn’t this a matter of calculation?’
[The constellation ‘Slaughter King’ asks, ‘Why is the raven agonizing so much?’ It says the outcome is the same either way. In the mortal world, it’s always eat or be eaten, everywhere.]
‘…Raven.’
As a young child in the facility, he’d eaten scraps, but he’d gotten out, joined Academia, and forgotten it for a long time.
Now, sudden awakening and this ‘star’s’ mission had brought him here through endless fights.
Was it lumping all that together, calling him a corpse-eater? He didn’t like the title anyway. After mulling it over a bit more starting from that, Yoo Seongwon made his decision.
“I refuse.”
[The constellation ‘Slaughter King’ is puzzled. It expresses bewilderment, asking where else such an offer exists.]
“The offer isn’t bad, and I sympathize with the Slaughter King’s view—most people live that way anyway…….”
[…What?]
Bewildered, it no longer used the status window but spoke in its bizarre manner again.
“But I know there are people who choose the hard path to deny ‘that.’”
The one most shocked by Yoo Seongwon’s response was Park Sukja, watching right beside him.
She’d thought they were in the same boat, but this moment made her realize the difference.
Both from the rock bottom of the slums, both cynical toward the world—but one had received human kindness.
“And that one hard choice, that small act of goodwill, changed my twisted path… so I can’t deny the possibility.”
He knew better than anyone that he was trash who hated this rotten society and didn’t want to step up.
But even trash, if it had a shred of conscience, could change paths through a small kindness—as the old man had proven.
That’s why Yoo Seongwon refused the Slaughter King’s efficient offer.
It proved that the hard path was possible.
[The constellation ‘Slaughter King’ regrets the failed negotiation. It says fighting is the only path left and will test you with ‘strength’ equal to the sacrificed offering.]
‘…It’s finally here? Direct combat with the incarnation!’
Gulp.
Yoo Seongwon tensed as he stared at the Slaughter King’s incarnation.
It looked like an O-<-< rotated 90 degrees, roughly drawn with star lines. It gestured in the air, and a massive fork and knife appeared in its hands.
They were just oversized versions of common restaurant utensils, but as a constellation’s weapons, he couldn’t let his guard down.
[My… weapons… made… myself… ‘All… eaten’…….]
‘It spoke slowly so I’d understand…….’
Since it was fighting directly, the Slaughter King spoke without the status window.
In translation: ‘My weapons, made by me. ‘All eaten.’’—introducing its armaments.
Seeing it proffer the two weapons held in both hands, with their ominous names, Yoo Seongwon sensed they were no ordinary gear. He raised ‘Conqueror Knight Yucheon’s Sword’ to meet them.
[Come… at me.]
“Huuuu…….”
Boom!
The Slaughter King’s incarnation thrust and slashed simultaneously, leaving a red afterimage. Though startled by the speed, Yoo Seongwon somehow blocked with Yucheon’s Sword and counterattacked. The battle truly began.
As expected of a constellation’s incarnation, all its stats surpassed SS-rank effortlessly, showing power and agility Yoo Seongwon struggled to handle.
‘At least… it fights like a wild beast swinging wildly, so that’s a relief?’
[GRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAA!]
A roar accompanied the onslaught. Superior speed and power, but its attacks were straightforward—blocking or deflecting the impact wasn’t too hard.
The problem was those weapons. The fork and knife were terrifying.
Once, he failed to deflect a powerful strike and tried covering with his armor. Red light flickered from the fork, and teeth marks appeared on his golden guardian beast armor as it was eaten into.
“As expected… divine weapons. Damn, lucky it only ate the armor.”
[Yes. ‘All Eaten’ is conceptual weapon of ‘eat all’—touch… eat all!]
“Yeah, yeah! Touch and it eats, but… you can’t eat this!”
[That… special… material… only big!]
“Ah! So it can’t eat much!”
Boom!
Thankfully, Conqueror Knight Yucheon’s Sword wasn’t eaten even when touched by ‘All Eaten’—but the Slaughter King confidently showed it was just a matter of processing time.
He was truly glad he’d obtained Yucheon’s Sword from the Dragon-Phoenix King fight. He endured the tidal wave of attacks, but victory didn’t come easily, and the battle dragged on.
The fight continued even after sunset. The ground cracked and split from the aftermath, roars echoing through the sky, drawing people from all around.
Some were curious about a human fighting their constellation directly; others came to see the identity of the extraordinary Yoo Seongwon.
The apostles inside the Slaughter King’s core dungeon also sensed the ominous aura and exited to watch. Thus, amid a growing crowd of spectators, the battle between Yoo Seongwon and the Slaughter King’s incarnation grew even fiercer.