Chapter 310
Chapter 310
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 310
Chapter Title: Black Witch (4)
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The 'Night' wavered.
Bound by the curse in the narrow room, Lee Hyuk-soo frowned.
"……."
From one to ten.
Incomprehensible events were unfolding one after another.
The moment the fourth night froze.
Demons swarmed in, and suddenly the 'Great Rift' tore open.
When the outer god emerged through the door, Lee Hyuk-soo felt a profound dizziness.
Dizzying.
Overwhelmingly so.
Frail.
Humans were.
The battle between that guy Sepiro and the demon gods was beyond anything he could comprehend.
A realm unreachable even after a lifetime of relentless training.
It felt like witnessing a 'war of the gods'—one that transcended mere magic, warping phenomena and hurling entire worlds.
'Are we the ones who have to fight beings like that?'
Was there any hope?
He couldn't see even a sliver of possibility.
Even Lee Hyuk-soo, with his unbreakable spirit that never gave up.
If he felt this way, what about everyone else?
The humans playing this game in the Night's domain felt utterly insignificant.
'To the demons, we're nothing more than toys.'
He realized it.
But then... a sudden thought.
'The Prophet must have known all along.'
The Prophet came to mind.
He had known early on about the demon gods' power—and entities even stronger.
More than anyone, he must have bone-deep awareness that humanity could never reach them, no matter how desperately they struggled.
Yet the Prophet had never once given up.
On the contrary.
'...He always tried to solve it in ways they couldn't imagine.'
He had never hesitated.
Never stopped moving forward.
The Prophet that Lee Hyuk-soo knew wouldn't despair in this moment.
Far from it.
"Why aren't the witches killing us?"
He would search for a way.
After the demon gods retreated and that entity Sepiro got sucked into the Great Rift.
The witches appeared and bound all the demons and humans with curses.
"……We're probably affected by the 'Great Rift' too."
A heavy voice echoed from the next room.
It was Han Shin.
The two had been locked in fierce combat when they were bound side by side.
He sneered.
"Give up, Lee Hyuk-soo. The Black Witch has claimed the Night. We're done for."
"You seem to know something."
The incarnation of the Moon's Lord, Aheta.
It was no surprise if he knew secrets ordinary people didn't.
"The Black Witch... she's like the origin of curses. Closest to the sole curse spirit born from the Abyss's curse. As long as the Abyss endures, the Black Witch is immortal."
"What does that have to do with her keeping us alive?"
"You idiot, still don't get it? The Great Rift is like a 'convergence of curses.' We've been cursed. A curse so powerful we can never escape."
Cursed?
He tilted his head.
He didn't feel any anomalous curse effects.
"You can't predict how this curse will manifest. Be grateful if it just kills you. ...Though the demons seem to have already started."
"……?"
Still spouting nonsense.
One thing was clear: Han Shin knew more and had seen more than he had.
In normal conditions, Han Shin was stronger than him.
But the difference was that Lee Hyuk-soo never gave up.
"We need to break free of this curse's bonds, Han Shin."
"Even if we do, it's pointless. Leaving the 'Night' is impossible."
"You planning to give up without trying? Disappointing."
"……Use the 'Coins.' Coins have the power to dispel curses too."
Han Shin clicked his tongue and offered advice.
Coins.
But he didn't have many left.
He'd used them all up during the hidden game.
About 100 remained.
If the bonds didn't break with those, it was all over.
'Fortunately, 30 seems enough to break the bonds.'
Using 30 Coins, the bonds snapped.
Now free, Lee Hyuk-soo stepped out of the room.
He glanced at Han Shin in the next room.
"You just gonna stay there?"
"What, playing caretaker? I could leave if I wanted."
"Don't die."
"……?"
Han Shin looked up at Lee Hyuk-soo like he was insane.
Lee Hyuk-soo said in a serious tone.
"You have to die by my hand, Han Shin."
"Guess I'll live forever then."
Meaning he'd never beat him.
Lee Hyuk-soo turned away without a care.
"……The outside is the witch's domain."
Ignoring Han Shin's mutter, Lee Hyuk-soo advanced down the corridor.
And soon, he understood what Han Shin meant by 'witch's domain.'
"Why is the corridor...?"
It was rising.
Toward the sky.
Defying impossible angles.
Countless paths twisted and floated in midair.
And that was just the start.
"Sss."
"Tell."
"Me."
Flesh chunks stitched together, carpeting the floor.
...Demons.
No, 'what used to be demons.'
The witches had 'stitched' the entities glitching from the Great Rift's influence like this.
To connect them into one massive error.
The flesh lunged at Lee Hyuk-soo.
He instinctively knew.
If it touched him, he'd become like them.
...That was why Han Shin hadn't escaped.
He knew.
No hope out there.
The witch's domain.
A world riddled with curses was like this.
'I can't escape alone.'
He faced reality.
Not enough on his own.
He needed allies to pool strength.
Lee Hyuk-soo recalled.
The particularly strong ones among the hidden game participants.
And to rescue them, he needed more Coins.
'Han Min-oh.'
His disciple should have plenty.
He'd shown exceptional talent in the casino games.
Finding Han Min-oh wasn't hard.
"Anyone there! People here!"
A loud voice echoed boisterously down the corridor.
Dodging the flesh, Lee Hyuk-soo found him.
"Huh? M-Master!"
"Use Coins to break the bonds."
"Tried that, didn't work."
"Takes 30."
"Ah...!"
Soon, Han Min-oh broke free and emerged.
"How many Coins you got?"
"About 200 left."
"Enough. Follow me. People to rescue."
"Yes!"
Han Min-oh nodded with resolve.
The people to save were already decided.
Adrianna, Yoo Jin-seo, and Aurum.
Even the demon merchant 'Dagon.'
Freed from the curse's bonds, they began their escape together.
"Why are the others still asleep?"
Han Min-oh tilted his head.
Almost everyone else was out cold.
They wanted to save them, but couldn't.
It even looked like nightmares plagued them.
Dagon spoke up.
"Because they weren't affected by 'Him.'"
"Him?"
"Anyway, we need to head to the surface. I can feel 'His' presence."
Ignoring Lee Hyuk-soo's question, Dagon grew impatient.
The saint Yoo Jin-seo chimed in.
"We don't have much time. If the 'Black Witch' notices, we'll fall back into nightmares."
"Mm, waking 'Him' comes first. Seems He's the only one who can counter this 'nightmare.'"
The Night's domain brimmed with nightmares.
An overwhelming power no one could escape.
But they had snapped out of it thanks to Park Chan-woo's influence.
The problem was if the Black Witch noticed and plunged them back in.
Once was luck. Twice or thrice, and they'd forget themselves.
And end up like those 'flesh chunks.'
"……."
Lee Hyuk-soo felt something off deep down.
The demon and the saint both referring to the same person as 'Him.'
Who the hell was 'Him'?
But no time for deep thought.
Flesh closing in from all sides nonstop.
Paths shifting every second, bizarre phenomena everywhere.
"Dagon. What's the Black Witch's goal?"
Aurum spoke up.
He couldn't fathom her intentions.
The Great Rift loomed right there.
Door closed, but still a massive threat.
Yet.
The Black Witch was amplifying the errors.
Even though bigger errors could reopen the Great Rift!
Dagon bit his lip.
Something nagged at him.
"The Lord of Pride... ."
"Lord of Pride?"
"She plans to turn Lady Adora into the complete Lord of Pride. That's the Black Witch's aim."
He was certain, having climbed the Tower of Pride with Park Chan-woo.
The Black Witch was fixated solely on the 'Lord of Pride.'
Probably using these 'errors' for it.
"Come to think of it... there was a witch in the Tower of Pride."
Lee Hyuk-soo muttered as realization dawned.
Orc Master and witch.
Choose one side to climb the tower.
Could Adora be that witch from back then?
"What exactly is the Lord of Pride?"
Collecting his thoughts, he asked. Dagon sighed.
"I think it's a being that can dominate errors. At this point."
...Otherwise, the Black Witch wouldn't obsess over creating the 'Lord of Pride' like this.
If Adora became the Lord of Pride, it was all over.
For them, humanity's future, maybe the entire Abyss.
The curses never ended.
A place utterly unlivable.
Now he understood why the witches were sealed in the 'Abyss.'
Just existing, they scattered curses, affecting the world.
Corrupting the land, rendering it unusable.
But when they finally reached the surface.
Despair gripped them.
"The sky... ."
"……The Black Witch."
The Black Witch had become the 'Night' itself.
A curse of pure malice.
The entire surface turned to filth.
And in the center.
"Ah, Lady Adora!"
Dagon cried out.
There stood Adora, radiating brilliant light against the Black Witch.
Adora glanced at them and pointed one way.
"……Take care of 'Him.'"
The sole untainted spot.
Where filth couldn't enter.
But the moment it touched, it corrupted existence.
It would curse before even reaching.
That much was clear without touching.
Yet.
"Whoa!"
Dagon and the others plunged into the filth without hesitation.
Their bodies stained with curse.
Skin blackened, existence gnawed away.
But they kept swimming.
And finally reached it.
...Where 'Him'—Park Chan-woo—was.
At the same time, everyone gasped in shock.
Park Chan-woo was still dreaming.
But beside him.
"This light...?"
"……'Wish.'"
Countless 'Wishes' glowed.
Soon, the 'Wishes' surged toward them.
All who touched Park Chan-woo forcibly awakened their 'Wishes.'
Not only did the curses vanish.
Nine tails sprouted from the backs of the gumiho Yoo Jin-seo and Aurum.
Ten tails total.
Dagon's wings gained an extra pair, and Lee Hyuk-soo and the others underwent changes rivaling cataclysms.
At the same time.
Feeling an oddly familiar aura, Lee Hyuk-soo trembled and said.
"……Prophet… sir?"