Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Underground Labyrinth (3)
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Gulp. "Huu...."
BM, having downed the vodka, barely regained his composure.
He returned to his workbench and straddled the chair.
"Sorry, but looks like you got the wrong guy."
"......"
"...That lie ain't gonna fly. Who the hell are you? Superhuman? Or maybe a demon?"
"Which do you think?"
"Just looking at you, you seem pretty damn vicious. Demon, huh?"
"Wrong."
"Yeah?"
Behind the sunglasses, BM's gaze shifted upward. As his pupils rolled up into his sockets, the lower part of his eyeballs revealed something like a reptile's iris.
Wyvern's Eye (A)
Distinguishes friend from foe
BM stared at Yoo Ji-tae for a long while before tilting his head.
"See anything?"
"...Who knows. Can't tell."
BM downed more vodka.
The sunglasses were a Level 3 artifact. An ultra-expensive item that completely blocked external vision. And yet, Yoo Ji-tae had pierced right through them like it was nothing.
Even knowing that, BM remained relaxed. As one of the world's top powerhouses, he had every right to be.
"Anyway, yeah. I'm BM. Spare me the real name."
The regressor eyed the drunkard before him.
He was an extraordinarily unique figure. Not just from the regressor's perspective, but in the public eye as well.
"So, what's the deal?"
"I'd like to borrow the 'inner sanctum' of the underground labyrinth for a bit."
"Inner sanctum? You know what's in there? Ah, well, you know my name... So, how long?"
"A few months."
"For what?"
"Got some bastards I need to tie up in there."
BM was always drinking, never staying in one place. He only popped up for massive incidents, shone brightly, then vanished like nothing happened.
That pattern held in the future too. About twenty years from now, during the 'Second Great War,' he'd appear like a comet, slaughtering monsters and shielding people from ancient species—just like in every cycle where he survived.
Yoo Ji-tae glanced around. Fragments of organisms in the incubators. Grotesquely shaped hearts pounding away. Claws slowly elongating.
Bio-experiments like this out the back door, but if forced to pick a side, he was on humanity's.
"A few months is too long. I'll allow 30 days. But I'm a picky bastard. Don't like deals."
"30 days is too short. Might need at least half a year."
"Ears clogged, huh? 25 days."
BM peered into the man's eyes as he spoke.
"...Let's talk it out. You need something, right?"
"Yeah. A ton. But stuff this world doesn't have."
"What if I do?"
"20 days."
BM's brow furrowed.
"Didn't I say no haggling?"
"......"
"30 days was courtesy for bagging that chimera head."
As he spoke, BM reached out. From the ogre-type chimera's severed head on the floor, spider-like legs sprouted. It scuttled up onto the workbench desk by itself.
"This much consideration for a home invader? I'm pretty generous."
"Acting like it's your damn house."
"15 days. Do stray cats get city hall permits for turf wars?"
"......"
"Keep chipping away at my goodwill. 15 days. Take it or leave it."
No reply came.
His head tilted at an odd angle. Just as Yoo Ji-tae thought the previously bored gaze had sharpened, the man's lips split into a grin. It looked like a smile, but felt anything but. 'What the hell? He pissed off or something?' BM narrowed his eyes.
The man glanced around once, then stood without a word. He'd returned to blank-faced impassivity in an instant, but that fleeting sinister smirk nagged at BM's mind. Gulp, gulp... He downed vodka and lurched to his feet unsteadily when the man reached for the chimera head on the table, grabbed it, and hurled it at an incubator.
Clang—!
The incubator shattered instantly.
"......"
BM's eyelid twitched.
"Hey. What the fuck..."
The man reached out again. Utterly unfazed. He snatched the half-empty vodka bottle and lobbed it at the next incubator. The massive glass tank exploded, scattering everywhere. Culturing fluid splashed across the labyrinth floor, and the heart that had been thumping inside flopped onto the dirt, writhing and caking itself in soil.
"Hey."
BM called out to him in a voice edged with more excitement.
These were the tools he'd spent twenty years crafting, research data he'd devoted his life to amassing.
All for one 'miracle.' Treasures he'd built by shunning people, wealth, and fame alike.
Crash—!
And they were shattering in this man's hands.
"Why keep yapping? 10 days, 5 days. Blah blah blah."
"Hey... hey, asshole. Can't you stop?"
That casual attitude, that blank expression, that tone—it was all so alien he couldn't react right away. BM hauled himself up only after the man had smashed five vodka bottles and reached for the sixth.
"You'll regret this."
"......"
"Even using you as experiment material's off the table now."
He couldn't take it anymore.
Even his own body was fully chimera-ized. The moment BM decided to charge, bat-like wings erupted from his back. His hair clumped into snakes, and his right arm darkened to a reddish-black, doubling in length and thickness.
Ahilia's Curse (AA+)
Right arm of Demon Baron Ahilia - Dismantles on contact
Immense demonic power converged in BM's right arm. Dark blue smoke coalesced and flowed. A power that broke down anything it touched into mana particles.
BM rocketed forward in an instant, slamming into Yoo Ji-tae.
Kaboom—!
A miss. The guy had already dodged. The labyrinth floor where BM's hand struck crumbled like haze. Mana-decomposed. It had lost its self-regeneration.
"Let's see you dodge again..."
But then. Something strange happened.
The moment he turned and met the man's eyes, BM's body began stiffening from his toes upward.
"......!"
Like he'd plunged into a pit of sticky taffy, his body refused to obey. Illusion magic? With sluggish motions, BM raised his palm, clenched and unclenched a fist. His fingers were frustratingly slow. Soon, his nails dug into his palm. Black blood burst forth, searing pain lancing through. This was no illusion.
The 'demon blood' coursing through him was in extreme tension.
Why? A first for BM. He couldn't even guess.
Meanwhile, the man snatched a two-handed cleaver axe from the nearby floor. Without hesitation, he strode to the incubators and began smashing them.
"......"
Suddenly, he was stuck just standing and watching.
Each time an incubator burst, BM felt something precious in his chest shatter alongside it.
"Hey. Hey!"
The urgent voice halted the axe swings.
He had no clue what was happening. Who this guy was. How he was so strong. Why he was doing this. Why he was frozen. Nothing clear.
But one thing was certain. A feeling he hadn't had in ages was surging: despair at an untouchable powerhouse.
"Fine."
"What?"
"Fine. Got it. I surrender, so calm down."
"......"
"It's yours. The inner sanctum—as long as you want. Hell, take the whole labyrinth if needed."
"......"
"Please. Just stop."
Now he was ready to talk. For messy problems like this, fists always worked best.
Yoo Ji-tae tossed the axe aside. It spun a few times before embedding in the labyrinth floor.
"Got it."
A sudden curiosity struck.
"Mind if I ask something?"
"Huh? Yeah, sure. Shoot."
"What were you doing here?"
He eyed the incubators he'd smashed and the organism fragments inside.
"Looks messy. Doesn't seem like proper experiments. Way too complex for plain chimeras."
"...You know about chimeras?"
"Yeah. But no idea what you're trying to make."
He'd glossed over it casually in past cycles.
"Nothing impressive... I just want to make a humanoid chimera."
Humanoid chimera creation?
He scanned the fragments again.
Unfortunately, wrong materials and methods. There were signs of solid planning, but flaws. No way to make a humanoid from that.
Seemed he'd misunderstood the silence. Humanoid chimera creation was taboo in every magic world.
BM waved his hands frantically.
"No, don't get the wrong idea. Not for bad reasons. Not mimicking someone, proxy kills, or dirty urges."
"Then?"
"Just... mortals all fear death. Thought I'd make a clone or something."
He forced an awkward smile.
A lie.
Yoo Ji-tae felt his curiosity wane. Truth was, he didn't care what BM made. Probably failed in cycles 3 and 4 too, since no success news ever.
"Planning to rent the inner sanctum three months to a year. I'll drop by sometimes."
"Do as you please. Who's going in?"
"One magic armor. One female superhuman. Both in bad shape. Mental corruption."
"Mental corruption? ...Whatever."
As he stared silently, BM threw up his hands in defeat.
"......I'll check on 'em now and then."
Having faced demon legions, BM knew about 'mental corruption.'
By then, BM sighed inwardly.
'Picked the wrong mark...'
Releasing Ahilia's Curse (AA+), his body moved freely again.
Go another round?
He'd used less than ten percent. Plenty more tools.
Full throttle, drag out the ultimate chimera—might take an arm at least...
The thought flashed, then he sighed deeply again.
Whatever he did, it'd end in loss.
"That all?"
"For now."
"But hey. What's your name?"
After a brief hesitation, he answered.
"Yoo Ji-tae."
Yoo Ji-tae...
First time hearing it. If even he hadn't heard, definitely not an official world ranker.
BM recalled hearing once: hidden ranker-level powerhouses operating incognito. And the strongest among them rivaled the official world #1.
'Rival my ass. Damn it...'
BM shook his head.
He'd even clashed with world #1 before. But this guy's very presence was different.
"......Makes me wanna drink. Fucking hell."
That was when it happened.
Yoo Ji-tae tossed a small glass vial to BM.
"What's this?"
"Rent."
Rent, now? Timing felt off, but from a guy like that, curiosity piqued absurdly.
The yellow-tinted glass bottle sloshed with a pure white liquid. No label, so he'd have to open it.
"Got some class... Booze is always right."
But the moment he uncapped it and sniffed, BM had to doubt his own nose.
BM's face hardened. He turned to Yoo Ji-tae with a grave expression.
His voice sank low.
"Where'd you get this?"