Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Just a Passerby
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“Hup...!”
Han Min-oh grimaced.
He had barely escaped with his life after dodging a fatal blow.
Whoosh!
Splat!
An arrow flying in from afar grazed his cheek.
The Incarnations were dead serious.
They were genuinely trying to kill him.
Just as I feared...!
Thank goodness he had prepared for the worst.
He had suspected there might be Incarnations among the escorts.
Plus, the man's suggestion to move separately had struck him as odd.
Choosing such a shady route felt suspicious too.
Thanks to his heightened senses, he avoided instant death.
Team Leader Kim Chan-min! So you were an Incarnation after all!
The Incarnations converged right after.
He recognized them instantly.
They must have revealed themselves assuming he was done for, but he caught a glimpse of their faces in that split second.
Not just one or two.
The number of Incarnations gathering far exceeded his imagination.
All the escorts are Incarnations.
Over forty of them, at least.
And that was just the ones centered around Team Leader Kim Chan-min.
With the Incarnations mixed in among the civilians, the total could be even higher.
Drip!
Han Min-oh, who had been sprinting for a while, suddenly halted.
He had fled in a panic, but was this really the right choice?
They saw my face. They'll hunt me down no matter what.
Just 1km more, and he could rejoin the group.
If he begged for help, the people would fight desperately to protect him.
But countless innocents would die in the process.
Was it worth sacrificing blameless lives just to save his own skin?
If I join them, people die. At least hundreds will perish.
They had accepted him despite knowing he opened the Abyss.
Their leader, an Incarnation himself, had opposed it, yet they showed him mercy out of compassion.
Had they turned him away, he would already be dead.
“Huuuuh.”
He took a deep breath.
The wounds didn't hurt much.
The tension was easing bit by bit.
Shing!
Han Min-oh drew his sword.
They were after him, plain and simple.
If he died, the Abyss would close, and everyone could return to peaceful normalcy.
However.
I'm not going down without a fight.
He had been pelted with stones plenty of times while just standing there.
Each time, he took it without flinching.
Dodging one stone only brought bigger ones.
He had half-given up by then.
But this time, he wanted to resist.
Even if just once, right before death, he wanted to scream at the world that had tormented him relentlessly.
“Given up on life already?”
Swish!
The Incarnations arrived in an instant.
They swiftly encircled Han Min-oh.
Team Leader Kim Chan-min stepped forward from their midst.
“You're really unlucky. If you'd just quietly looked the other way, none of this would've happened.”
“Go fuck yourselves, you bastards.”
“...I thought you were just some meek young master, but you've got some bite after all.”
Kim Chan-min chuckled.
He had glimpsed a new side of Han Min-oh.
Originally, he hadn't planned to kill him.
Killing him would end the Divine Beast's contract, allowing it to escape.
To securely capture the Divine Beast, Han Min-oh had to stay alive.
But the Creators' thinking was shifting.
It wasn't just a lack of awareness.
No trace of the Divine Beast's presence or mana at all.
Not even when he was on the brink of death in the Abyss.
Not now, either.
In the end, even the Creators' patience reached its limit.
Had there been even a hint of the Divine Beast's presence, they would have restrained the Incarnations.
Forced them to obey, no matter what.
But Han Min-oh had too many inconsistencies to be the Divine Beast contractor.
Defective.
Or simply a worthless human.
“With the first son Han Shin dead, and you, the second, Han Min-oh, gone too, Han Yeon Group will be quite the spectacle.”
“...”
“Oh, curious about Han Shin's true identity?”
Provocation.
Han Min-oh didn't respond.
Kim Chan-min shrugged.
“Han Shin was an Incarnation. Like us.”
“Bullshit...!”
But he couldn't let that slide.
Han Shin, his brother, an Incarnation?
Even with demonic talent, he wasn't a real demon.
Just bored from being too exceptional.
He paid little mind to those less worthy than him.
Han Shin was incomparable to these Incarnations.
With everything at his fingertips, why become an Incarnation and obey a Creator?
Han Shin wasn't one to follow orders from anyone.
“Guess you didn't know. Lucky you found out before dying. Han Shin was an Incarnation. One contracted with a very powerful Creator, a real monster.”
It was famous among Incarnations.
Han Shin's absurd power.
Equipment beyond mere talent.
A position unreachable without a Creator's backing—especially a powerful one.
What else could he be but an Incarnation?
“Guess why Han Shin died?”
“...He didn't.”
“Haha! What, you didn't hate your brother after all?”
Kim Chan-min burst into laughter.
He knew the brothers weren't close.
Yet here he was, denying his brother's death.
Kim Chan-min continued.
“Han Shin died to a mage in the 'Second Night.' A very powerful mage.”
“...What?”
“They called it the 'Mage Who Exists Without Existing.'”
Han Min-oh's eyes flickered for a moment.
Han Shin, his brother, killed by a mage?
A 'Mage Who Exists Without Existing'?
What the hell did that mean?
Kim Chan-min stroked his chin.
“Wrong? Maybe a mage too powerful to exist? Word is, he wielded magic chantless at will. Anyway, it's true. No reason to lie now. I just—”
Sneer!
“Wanted you to know you're no different from us.”
“...!”
“I really hate rich bastards. They pretend to be so virtuous up front. But behind closed doors, they do all sorts of filthy shit.”
He was a mercenary.
He had dealt with people worldwide.
He knew how ruthless the wealthy could be, whether he wanted to or not.
If they'd just compromise a little, wars wouldn't happen.
Look.
Even the great Han Shin was an Incarnation in the end.
Despite all the saintly posturing.
Han Min-oh was no different.
Han Yeon Group would soon belong to the Incarnations.
More precisely, a puppet of the 'Incarnation Alliance.'
“Now go join your brother.”
Kim Chan-min passed sentence on Han Min-oh.
...He knew.
He couldn't win.
Still, Han Min-oh resisted desperately.
Not because he wanted to live, but because dying quietly felt too unjust.
He didn't want to submit to fate.
Yet he always had to.
Why am I so weak?
He lacked the power to defy destiny.
Facing raging waves bare-handed was impossible.
He could only get swept away.
I want to get stronger.
Strong enough to stand against fate.
If fate existed, he'd punch it square in the face.
I want to get stronger.
That was it, really.
A hero?
Dreams of becoming a savior like Lee Hyuk-soo?
No, just strength would do.
Nothing more pathetic than the dreams of the powerless.
It was the first time.
He had never craved power this badly.
...The first time.
To resist fate on his own.
Even facing the devil merchant in the Abyss, he only begged for his life.
Never dreamed of fighting back.
But now was different.
Stab!
Even as flesh tore and swords plunged deep.
Han Min-oh didn't scream once.
Didn't beg for mercy.
A bit more, just a bit more!
He resisted.
Against this damned fate.
If he didn't fight here, he'd regret it even in death.
Come on!
His muscles screamed.
Every cell felt like it was burning.
Move!
No more strength in his arms.
Move, damn it!
Too much blood lost.
“Freak!”
“How's he so tenacious?”
Han Min-oh was dying.
Yet he didn't give up.
With venom in his eyes, he roared at the world.
In that instant.
Crack—
Something inside Han Min-oh shattered.
A signal of victory over his wretched fate?
Didn't matter.
“Laughing?”
“Lost his mind as death closes in, huh.”
Han Min-oh laughed.
Yes. Victory.
Even if he died here, it was enough.
Han Min-oh closed his eyes, knees buckling.
No strength left to stand or open them.
Whoosh!
A sword sliced through the air toward him.
Straight for his neck— instant death.
That split second.
Thud!
Shrieeeek!
“Argh!”
“Wh-who's there?!”
“What the— blocked...!”
Chaos erupted among the escorts.
The commotion quickly spiraled out of control.
“Gahk!”
“Hak...!”
“What the hell is this guy?!”
“M-monster!”
Had an Abyss monster appeared?
No idea.
Couldn't open his eyes.
Blood had crusted over; even if he did, he wouldn't see.
But.
The uproar didn't last.
Soon, the world fell silent.
Like returning to the primordial void, utterly still.
If it was a monster, it'd devour him next.
Yet...
Plop.
A presence drew near.
Half-collapsed, Han Min-oh lifted his head and asked.
“Who... are you?”
The one who single-handedly slaughtered over forty escorts.
Powerful Incarnations wiped out in seconds.
Who could it be?
Who could perform such a miracle?
The figure who appeared answered.
In a voice very familiar.
“Just a passerby.”