Chapter 112
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Don't Give Me That 'Alliance' Nonsense (1)
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A cold sweat trickled down Eun-young’s back.
If what she said was true, then the existence known as Song Eun-young should have already vanished from the world.
The reply she received was absurd.
“I don’t know either.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Eun-young scowled.
Yoo Chae-young was the one who brought it up, yet she claimed not to know. Eun-young couldn't make sense of the situation.
Eun-young's face grew redder by the second.
Yoo Ji-han placed a hand on Eun-young’s shoulder.
Was he trying to harm her? She was slightly startled.
Fortunately, that didn't seem to be the case.
“Calm down.”
Reaching over her shoulder, Ji-han opened his palm.
In his hand was a wrapped piece of hard candy.
The moment she saw the candy, Eun-young scoffed.
Was this his idea of calming her down?
“Weird bastard.”
Not long ago he was threatening to kill her, and now he was acting all friendly?
She snatched the candy from his hand and popped it into her mouth.
Crunch, crunch.
Eun-young chewed the candy irritably.
Her mind was a mess.
She didn't know what this 'Abyss' was, or why a divine punishment called 'existence erasure' even existed, but that wasn't the important part.
“Why are you so hell-bent on getting rid of unaffiliated Awakened Ones?”
It was the same for Jeong Hyun-sung, and for herself. If anything, they had wanted the gods' favor; they had never done anything to antagonize them.
Eun-young was far too weak to fight beings like gods.
What on earth were they so scared of, so afraid of?
Yoo Chae-young pointed at Eun-young.
“You people are special. And you, even more so.”
“Because I didn’t disappear into the Abyss?”
That might be true for her, but the ones who had already vanished had no say.
Talking about being special to those who were gone was meaningless.
It was nothing more than a comfort for the living.
The dead are dead.
Before Eun-young could ask for the reason she was special, Ji-han looked up at the ceiling.
The space, which had been just an ordinary office, began to ripple.
The ceiling Ji-han was staring at wavered.
It was hard to believe a ceiling could bend like that.
A crack formed in the sunken ceiling, and a small eye looked down at Eun-young and Ji-han.
The single eyeball split as if undergoing cell division, becoming a cluster of dozens of eyes.
“Tsk.”
Ji-han clicked his tongue in annoyance, drew the dagger from his waist, and threw it.
[Fou. Nd. You]
Black fluid dripped from the wound in the eyeball.
Eun-young gripped Ishtar’s ring tightly.
In that moment, Yoo Chae-young rushed to Eun-young and grabbed her hand.
“I have something to tell you.”
“Something to tell me?”
Yoo Chae-young’s eyes wavered.
Including Ji-han, they had spent nearly a month in the same space, but for a ghost with only a soul remaining, Yoo Chae-young had far too many human-like qualities.
As a being bound to the temple, she couldn't possibly have predicted that Eun-young would enter the temple of the god Veritas.
Recognizing Eun-young was pure luck. But could this be called luck?
It seemed closer to fate than luck.
A rather cruel fate.
A large hand came through the widening gap.
Ji-han picked up his fallen dagger and sliced off the black hand.
Even if the space wasn't large, maintaining the rift for over a month was no easy task.
Eun-young might not have noticed, but the god Veritas had been continuously attacking the pocket dimension for some time now.
There was a reason Ji-han hadn't rushed Yoo Chae-young until now.
‘That woman. She was waiting for something.’
The pain of the body and the pain of the soul are on completely different levels.
The pain currently being inflicted on Yoo Chae-young was severe.
A normal person would have gone mad a hundred times over by now.
It meant she had a reason to endure it and buy time.
He didn't know when that time would be, but Yoo Chae-young had been pushed to her limit. So, Ji-han judged, there was no longer any reason for her to hold back.
Ji-han’s mind raced as he watched the growing number of thought-forms.
Meanwhile, Yoo Chae-young said something to Eun-young.
Having heard Yoo Chae-young’s words right beside her, Eun-young opened her mouth.
“What did you just say? No… I mean, what you just said…”
“It’s the truth.”
Eun-young stumbled backward and collapsed to the floor.
Song Eun-young’s parents had died in the Great Catastrophe in Seoul not long after she became an adult.
Eun-young had been told her parents died fighting monsters. And Yoo Chae-young was a Hunter who had died in the very dungeon that caused that catastrophe.
And yet.
“You’re the one who… who killed my parents?”
“It was an accident… but I won’t make excuses.”
At the time, Yoo Chae-young had not been in her right mind due to corruption.
Eun-young clenched her fists.
Her nails dug into her flesh.
A black spike descended from the ceiling, aiming for Eun-young’s neck.
“Song Eun…”
Fwhoosh.
Eun-young spun around and swung her leg.
Flames erupted in the wake of her kick.
Kwang.
Eun-young slammed her foot down.
Her voice was low and heavy.
“You.”
“…”
“Why on earth did you tell me?”
If she hadn't said anything, Eun-young would never have known that Yoo Chae-young killed her parents.
Looking at Eun-young, Yoo Chae-young lowered her head in guilt.
There were still so many things Eun-young couldn't understand.
At the same time, she felt an indescribable sense of betrayal.
Chess.
She should have won, even if it meant cheating, not settled for a draw.
* * *
Monsters appeared from between the trees.
There were not only boss monsters, but quite a few regular ones as well.
A soldier ant that had been hiding in the bushes emerged.
As I leaned back, the soldier ant’s hot leg grazed past my face.
“Agh!”
I straightened up and swung my sword irritably.
Even with its leg severed, the creature paid it no mind and swung another leg.
I spun to dodge the leg, then kicked up toward its broad face.
Startled by the foot blocking its vision, I plunged my sword into its head.
After removing my foot and pulling out the sword, the soldier ant’s body toppled sideways.
In the face of overwhelming power, strategies were meaningless.
After dealing with a few soldier ants, monkey-like monsters with black fur and red eyes looked down at me from the trees.
What do you do in times like these?
— Mayday, mayday!
The moment I spoke in chat 1, Choi Soo-hyun’s sharp reply came back.
— Cut the crap.
The monkeys all charged at me at once.
— Get back.
At Choi Soo-hyun’s command, I leaped high into the air to create distance.
Something flew toward the spot where the monkeys were gathered.
KABOOOM.
A blue light poured from a magic circle that appeared overhead, killing all the black-furred monkeys.
When the light faded, a circular clearing had appeared in the middle of the mountain.
It looked like a bald spot…
Ahem, ahem.
Actually, this wasn't the only such spot.
Unable to watch any longer, I said something.
— Go easy, will you?
— Ungrateful bastard.
Can’t say a thing to him. Honestly.
I looked down at the dead black-furred monkeys.
— Why do you have to destroy everything?
— What are you talking about?
— You could have just sniped them.
With Choi Soo-hyun’s skill, it was possible to kill all the monkeys without blowing up the entire area.
He even had a multi-target sniping skill, so I didn't understand why he used such an aggressive method.
— Hey, do you know how much concentration sniping takes? In situations like this, just blowing everything up is the most efficient.
— You’re not just enjoying the explosions, are you? If a forest ranger saw this, they’d foam at the mouth and grab you by the collar.
Another explosion went off on the other side.
He must not have liked what I said.
Then again, what's a forest ranger to him?
Choi Soo-hyun was the type who wouldn't bat an eye even if the Minister of Environment showed up.
Objectively speaking, Choi Soo-hyun’s method was rough, but it was efficient.
He did seem to be enjoying himself, but I decided to let that slide.
He’d just returned to being a Hunter after a long time; with his personality, he must have been itching for action.
The fortunate thing was that there was little chance of the monsters escaping the god Veritas’s unique barrier.
I got a message from Kang-woo.
— Han-gyeol, the Director wants to see you.
He should have told me himself, but he always relayed messages through Kang-woo.
It’s not like our communication channels were down.
If I complained, I’d just get an irritable response about how busy the Director was.
When he says jump, I jump. What choice do I have?
Kra-kooom.
A short distance away, trees were cut down in unison, creating a huge gust of wind.
That was clearly Park Si-woo’s handiwork.
— Take it easy. Easy! You people don't know the meaning of moderation!
It was obviously directed at Park Si-woo, and I was dumbfounded.
I'm talking about you! You!
The guy making bald spots on Mount Yukbaek and the one building a highway through it were one and the same in my eyes.
Seeing this, I could understand why those two were best friends.
Struck by Park Si-woo’s attack, the Golden Yeti’s body split in half and collapsed.
As I was running toward Park Si-woo, a greatsword came flying in a straight line from a short distance away.
A flying greatsword, of all things.
Klaaang.
I parried the sword that had been flying at full speed toward my neck.
I braced myself with a hand on the ground, narrowly avoiding a fall.
“That sword is…”
After deflecting it, I recognized it as Jin Sang-hyuk’s bastard sword.
I turned my head in the direction of the footsteps.
Jin Sang-hyuk and two or three other Raon Guild Hunters were approaching.
The greatsword, which had been hovering in mid-air, circled widely before returning to Jin Sang-hyuk’s hand.
Whoa.
He didn't show off any tricks like that when we were fighting the Yeongno.
“Are you one of those types who hides their true power?”
“Park Si-woo’s lackey. Where is he?”
“Who are you calling a lackey?!”
I raised Sky Sword high and swung it around. Just then, a magic bullet flew toward Jin Sang-hyuk.
Paaang.
Jin Sang-hyuk swung his bastard sword and deflected the incoming magic bullet.
“What was that?”
The other Hunters beside him hadn't even noticed the magic bullet flying at him.
This guy's reflexes are incredible.
It meant he wasn't bluffing when he talked about moderation while using a Transcendent skill.
As Jin Sang-hyuk emitted a murderous aura, I waved my hands frantically.
“It, it wasn't me!”
I'm innocent! Innocent!
Jin Sang-hyuk looked in the direction the magic bullet had come from and sighed.
While there were Hunters in the Raon Guild who used magic bullets, no one but Choi Soo-hyun could pull off a long-range snipe like that.
That aside.
— What do you think you’re doing?!
— Weren't you asking for help?
— No, I wasn't.
It seemed that me swinging Sky Sword around out of habit looked like a signal for help to Choi Soo-hyun.
One minute he’s telling me to do it myself, the next he’s doing useless things like this.
He must have been embarrassed himself, because there was no reply.
I looked in the direction where the Golden Yeti had fallen and said.
“If you’re looking for Park Si-woo, he’s over… ah, he’s gone.”
I used mana detection just in case and found he had already moved to the opposite side.
I cleared my throat and changed the subject.
“Why are you looking for Si-woo?”
“To get an explanation for this situation. Frankly, I’ve had a bad feeling ever since I saw that Seo Ji-hoon was a follower of the god Veritas.”
Jin Sang-hyuk narrowed his eyes.
The moment you participate in a raid or event, the god you serve is automatically revealed.
After their only unifying figure, Yoo Chae-young, died, the followers of Veritas had effectively disbanded.
The fact that Seo Ji-hoon of all people had abandoned Elsion to join Veritas was not a pleasant development from Jin Sang-hyuk’s perspective.
“Why is a follower of Actaeon here, and is Yoo Chae-young truly dead? What are they plotting?”
“Well, I know one thing.”
I pointed a finger at Jin Sang-hyuk and the other Raon Guild Hunters.
“They hate you guys more than they hate us.”
Their goal is to annihilate all the Hunters on Mount Yukbaek.
I don't know the god Veritas's ultimate goal, but if all the Hunters here were to die, the next target of their wrath would be the Raon Guild itself.
Jin Sang-hyuk seemed to know the reason for that better than anyone.
“What are you trying to say?”
“You know the saying, ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend,’ right?”
“The prince who said that was murdered by his own retainer.”
“…”
“And the enemy of my enemy isn’t a friend. He’s just another asshole.”