Chapter 113
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Nonsense Like an Alliance (2)
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In stark contrast to Kang Moon-guk, who was quite reasonable, Jin Sang-hyuk was completely inflexible.
As if on cue, the Hunters beside Jin Sang-hyuk charged at me.
*Fwoosh.*
"You...!"
"What do you think you're doing?"
The one who blocked their coordinated attack was none other than Choi Jae-hyung with his shield.
— Good timing.
Kim Kang-woo's voice came through the 1-Chat.
It was Kim Kang-woo who had sent Choi Jae-hyung here.
Jin Sang-hyuk planted his bastard sword into the ground and stared at me and Choi Jae-hyung.
"Don't push your luck just because you have Representative Kang behind you."
"..."
"I'm saying this as a fellow guild Hunter, Choi Jae-hyung. Know your place."
"My place?"
"You're a Raon Guild Hunter, and I'm the Vice-Representative."
The Raon Guild was known for its many rules and regulations.
Chief among them was its strict top-down command structure.
While every guild had one, Raon's was particularly severe.
Choi Jae-hyung's rank within Raon wasn't low, but it wasn't high enough to defy an order from Vice-Representative Jin Sang-hyuk.
Choi Jae-hyung lowered his shield.
"So?"
"What did you say?"
"So what are you going to do about it?"
"Hey, I think you're going too far."
At the Hunter's comment on his defiant attitude, Choi Jae-hyung shrugged as if it were nothing.
"Going too far? I haven't gone anywhere."
"Are you planning to disobey an order?"
"How about you give an order first, Vice-Representative? As I recall, you haven't given me any orders."
"That's because you... Fine. Get out of the way. That's an order."
Jin Sang-hyuk's voice, laced with authority, showed that he hadn't become the Vice-Representative of the Raon Guild through sheer luck.
You know what?
Whether it’s illegal or cutting corners, it all takes skill.
An idiot who tries something illegal gets caught right away, and their corner-cutting is obvious.
You need to have something to pull off illegal acts or clever tricks.
Someone with nothing can't do it.
I tightened my grip on the Sky Sword.
Jin Sang-hyuk was right.
No matter if Choi Jae-hyung was Kang Moon-guk's prized disciple, as a Raon Guild Hunter, he had no choice but to obey the Vice-Representative.
I couldn't let myself be indebted to this guy any further.
As I took a fighting stance, the Raon Guild Hunters, who had been standing back, grew tense.
Something fluttered before my eyes.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Isn't this going too far, even for you?"
"This is ridiculous."
The Raon Hunters muttered amongst themselves as they saw it.
Watching the cape fall to the ground, Jin Sang-hyuk sighed.
From behind, I chuckled at the sight of Choi Jae-hyung.
For someone like me, who held more ill will than good feelings toward the Raon Guild, it was a satisfying sight.
"Are you saying we should settle this without ranks?"
"I didn't say anything that extreme."
"But isn't that what your actions imply?"
A tense atmosphere descended as Choi Jae-hyung raised his sword.
"Didn't I tell you I came here under Representative Kang's orders?"
"Let's hear what orders the Representative gave you."
"He told me to cooperate with Representative Park."
"And the result of that cooperation is insubordination? How amusing."
Watching someone else's internal squabbles was entertaining, but I wasn't free enough to just stand by and watch forever.
"Hold on, let's talk instead of fighting."
"I have nothing to say."
"This is my business."
"What business? You're the ones who started fighting amongst yourselves. Hey, move."
I pushed Choi Jae-hyung aside and stepped forward.
I thought being indirect would work, but it seemed I had misjudged the situation.
"You. This situation might not be pleasant, but you couldn't have come here without expecting something like this, could you?"
A man who was a Vice-Representative, no less, wouldn't have come without knowing about the conflict between the Aria Guild's masters.
"You probably just ignored it, thinking it wasn't your problem. After all, it works out for you if we tear each other apart and self-destruct."
There's a limit to what can be done in a company based solely on the representative's will.
Especially if that representative wasn't the one who built the company but was dropped in like a parachute hire, it would be strange if there wasn't any pushback.
I pointed a finger at the massive cliff that had formed on the summit of Mount Yukbaek.
"We're going there. No, we have to go there."
I didn't know how many monsters they had captured, but it was impossible for Jin Sang-hyuk's party to break through God Veritas's unique barrier and get out.
"I'm not going to talk nonsense like an alliance. Just cooperate. I doubt you want to die here just fighting monsters."
"I'll overlook that heretic, but I will hold you responsible for this incident. Are you prepared for that?"
"Park Si-woo will handle that."
It wasn't my problem.
Jin Sang-hyuk sheathed his bastard sword.
The Raon Guild Hunters beside him glanced at each other before lowering their weapons.
*Thud, thud.*
Jin Sang-hyuk walked over, picked up the cape from the ground, and tossed it to Choi Jae-hyung.
Choi Jae-hyung snatched the airborne cape with one hand.
"Don't ever do that again."
Choi Jae-hyung nodded reluctantly and put the cape back on.
Everyone's gaze turned to one spot.
"You little rat."
Park Si-woo and Jeong Cho-ah appeared.
I didn't want to see another fight break out after I had just managed to calm down Vice-Representative Jin Sang-hyuk.
"Hey, this guy is..."
"I know."
"You do?"
"If he has a brain, he won't try to fight in this situation."
*I was about to fight, though.*
Both Choi Jae-hyung and I simultaneously looked at Representative Jin Sang-hyuk.
Jin Sang-hyuk's face flushed, and he cleared his throat.
"I was merely testing your reaction."
"Oh, come on, Vice-Representative. I saw you swing your sword at Han-gyeol... Don't you dare step on my foot. These are expensive shoes."
Bowing his head, Choi Jae-hyung quickly pulled his foot back.
I didn't particularly like Jin Sang-hyuk, but I could somewhat understand his troubles.
Park Si-woo brought a hand to his ear and gave some instructions to Kim Kang-woo.
A moment later, the status window chimed.
[‘Jin Sang-hyuk’ has joined the Aria Guild (Black) chat room.]
— You're the only one invited to the chat room.
— Am I not the only one?
Jin Sang-hyuk's gaze fell on Choi Jae-hyung.
— I didn't realize you were counting that guy.
— Even if he's a heretic, he's one of us.
To an outsider, it might have sounded like a statement of profound loyalty.
*Well... I guess he's not completely without it.*
Jin Sang-hyuk's sense of loyalty and affection was just a bit skewed compared to a normal person's.
Fortunately, Jin Sang-hyuk brushed it off as a joke and moved on.
*Rumble.*
The sky trembled as dark storm clouds gathered.
The clouds swirled around one area like the eye of a storm.
Something shot out from within them.
Large and elongated, it struck the ground with immense force.
*CRASH!*
The ground shook violently as if from an earthquake.
The area it swept through was utterly devastated, and the impact was so great that the tree I was leaning on had half its roots torn out.
"Wh-what is that?"
Choi Jae-hyung was clinging to the same tree as me.
Before long, the thing had completely settled on the ground.
— Why is *that* here?
I heard Choi Soo-hyun's voice in my ear.
Its body was slowly revealed through the dark clouds.
*KRAAAAAAAH!*
The creature, now fully on the ground, let out a deafening roar.
Its long, massive body had dozens of legs.
Its face resembled a dragon's, with four snakes on either side of its head like horns.
Two pairs of black wings sprouted from its spine, flapping slowly.
It was smaller than the Youngno, but its presence was no less majestic.
"Hraesvelgr."
I had a feeling when I saw its tail, but seeing its full form confirmed it was Hraesvelgr.
Hraesvelgr, known as the Corpse-Swallower, could be found in places like cemeteries, battlefields, and cursed lands.
"Why is that thing here?"
"Dammit."
The ones who reacted to Hraesvelgr after me were Park Si-woo and Jin Sang-hyuk.
"Hraesvelgr was the boss of the dungeon Yoo Chae-young failed to clear. It's said that the great disaster back then was contained to Eunpyeong District only because the boss, Hraesvelgr, never appeared."
Even without the boss, the incident at that time was called a great disaster and was remembered for the immense damage it caused.
The snakes attached to its face looked down in our direction.
Dozens of lights shot out from the snakes' open mouths.
The Hunters scattered, each fending for themselves.
I leaped as high as I possibly could.
*Fwoooosh.*
The area where the light had vanished turned black.
The blackened space was slowly expanding, devouring the nearby life forms.
In the center of the blackened earth, Jeong Cho-ah appeared, dressed in a white t-shirt and sweatpants.
Cho-ah casually brushed the dirt off her clothes.
For a moment, her arm turned black before returning to normal.
"What did she do?"
Jin Sang-hyuk, who didn't know about Cho-ah's ability, muttered in confusion.
It was one thing to be fine after getting hurt, but I never expected her to take an attack like that head-on.
*Well, I guess that's just like her.*
I climbed down the tree hanging from the cliff.
Choi Jae-hyung drew his bastard sword.
"We'll take that one."
"I'm counting on you."
At Park Si-woo's trusting reply, the Raon Guild Hunters also drew their weapons.
Choi Jae-hyung, who had been watching, hesitated.
"Get lost."
"There's no need to tell me to get lost, is there?"
"That's an order from the Vice-Representative."
"Yes, sir."
Choi Jae-hyung brushed a dust-covered rose on his cape with his hand and turned his back.
As soon as we were at a distance, a massive knight materialized where Jin Sang-hyuk had been standing.
It was Jin Sang-hyuk's Transcendent Skill.
*Fwoooosh!*
A crimson light shot toward the giant dragon-knight.
As Jin Sang-hyuk swung his bastard sword, the knight's sword sliced off one of the snakes on the creature's head.
A portion of the crimson light that he failed to block flew toward me and my party.
I was the first to reach out.
The light vanished as it collided with the wave of magical energy extending from my hand.
The Anti-Magic Field consumed a lot of mana, but its effect was undeniable.
My eyes met Cho-ah's.
"It kind of hurts my heart if you keep taking the hits for me."
Instead of answering, Cho-ah picked up her pace and moved toward Park Si-woo.
I knew why she deliberately let herself get hit.
Because that's how Origin Recovery worked.
*Should I call it harsh?*
There were often times when I worried, just looking at that small back of hers.
"I know."
At my signal, Park Si-woo swung his light saber.
*Clang!*
Along with the dagger, several nearby trees were cleanly sliced through.
Yoo Se-yeon appeared from between the severed tree trunks.
*Not yet.*
An incredibly sharp magical energy approached.
A straight-flying gray sword aimed for the neck of Cho-ah, who was perched on a tree branch.
"Cho-ah!"