Chapter 561: Rebellion (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 561: Rebellion (9)
He didn't doubt it for a second.
Whoosh-!
Not even now, as a faint breeze rustled his hair.
Thud, thud, thud!
Not even as severed limbs fell, spraying crimson blood.
“……!”
Of course. It was only natural.
All four people before him were S-rank Hunters.
All they had to do was pass the promotion match—a mere formality—and they could live a life others would envy.
The family poured immense sums of money into keeping them in the shadows.
So, naturally, they had to obediently follow the family's will.
And they were supposed to be strong.
‘…Is this a dream?’
The scene unfolding before his eyes felt utterly unreal.
It was absurd.
Was it even possible for one S-rank Hunter to defeat four others in a single move?
But soon, he was forced to accept it.
“Keuheuk…!”
“Gaaack!”
“Ah, aaaack-!”
“Cough……!”
Arms and legs.
The pained screams of those who had lost limbs held his sanity in a vice grip, refusing to let go.
“Th-this is….”
Clang!
The wine glass slipped from his weakened grasp, falling and shattering into pieces.
His mind was painted red.
Dantalion's chilling voice, warning him not to let his guard down for even an instant, played over and over in his mind.
Thud!
Kneeling on the broken glass, a hollow laugh escaped his lips.
“Ha, haha….”
Now he understood.
“Yes… I really am a maggot.”
Why he had called him a maggot.
Whether it was knowledge or the future.
Its value changes depending on how the one who holds it uses it.
He had known all along.
The fact that even if given priceless knowledge, he would never be able to draw out its full potential.
That was why he had been kept alive.
Because he knew that only then would his foolish self, his father, and his grandfather endlessly pledge their loyalty to covet more of the depleted knowledge, more of the future.
Conversely, the ones sacrificed for him must have all been exceptional.
The kind who, if taught one thing, could understand ten.
Who could take a single fragment of knowledge and paint the entire picture in their minds, then bring it to life.
Ungrateful geniuses who would no longer have any need for him.
“Heh… heheheheh…!”
Only now did he realize.
The true value of those who had been sacrificed for the family.
They were pillars of the family who could have easily led them down a path of prosperity without ever needing to rely on Dantalion's knowledge.
He, his father, his grandfather.
They had been playing the part of puppet lords in a castle built upon such sacrifices.
“Khahahahat!”
It was laughable.
So utterly, ridiculously laughable.
It was a wonder he hadn't gone mad on the spot.
This whole situation was a joke, and he couldn't stand how pathetic he was for being played by him!
“Ahh… yes, that’s right.”
How could he have forgotten?
Im Na-eun.
A child who had been exceptionally bright since she was young.
Who had never once complained, even though she had to grow up hiding her connection to the family.
The image of that affectionate child who always showed a warm smile to him and the rest of the family.
“My sister….”
When had it started?
When had he started to think of the girl he considered his sister as a mere offering, a sacrificial lamb?
“……”
His head drooped limply.
To Kim Do-jin, who had been watching this unfold, the whole thing was just absurd.
“…What the hell is he doing.”
Was he that devastated because his precious S-ranks lost?
He walked past the men who had lost their will to fight and approached Im Ji-hoon, who sat with his head hanging low.
His hair was plastered to his head with sweat and alcohol.
Blood seeped from his knees, which were pressed against the floor, staining the area red.
“Hey.”
His shoulders flinched at the low voice.
Realizing the man hadn't completely lost his mind, he asked him.
“Spit it out. Where is Na-eun?”
From the moment he had neared the estate, he had felt a strange wavelength.
A distinctly high concentration of mana within the grounds.
And mixed within the irregular flow was a perfectly regular, unpleasant wavelength.
It wasn't an unfamiliar sensation.
This kind of wavelength was a common phenomenon that appeared just before or at the site of a newly formed rift.
Feeling that all-too-familiar sensation, he finally understood.
The reason they couldn't leave this place.
At the same time, he thought.
If Im Na-eun was somewhere here…
“In that underground rift… is that where Na-eun is?”
He suspected that if she was anywhere, it would be there.
“……”
No answer came.
But it was answer enough.
His constantly flinching shoulders were a more accurate indicator than any words could be.
“Hah……”
A sigh was all that came out.
Kim Do-jin didn't know.
He didn't know what lurked in the rift below.
But he was certain it was anything but a safe place.
He thought he finally understood why Im Na-eun had left so sorrowfully, as if he would never see her again.
“These bastards are complete and utter trash.”
Flames ignited in his eyes.
He felt disillusioned with the concept of family all over again.
Why?
Just why?
Isn't family supposed to be the one thing that embraces and cherishes you, even if the whole world condemns you?
So why did these people all treat their family like disposable objects?
“…I don't even know anymore.”
At first, he was sure they were the strange ones, but now he couldn't be certain.
Maybe he was the strange one.
But that wasn't particularly important.
Whether he was strange or not.
The one thing that wouldn't change was his hatred for humans who treated their family as mere consumables.
Just as the sharp edge of his sword aimed for the top of the man's slumped head, ready to strike—
“Stop!”
An urgent voice halted his movement.
A middle-aged man with a sturdy build appeared along with the shout.
Im Cheol-ho, the second-generation chairman leading the current Mirae Group.
He emerged from the darkness and bowed his head respectfully.
“…I will personally guide you to where Na-eun is. So please, stop.”
* * *
He walked down a staircase that spiraled endlessly downward.
Important information poured from Chairman Im Cheol-ho, who was leading the way.
“You were right.”
“……?”
“There is a rift beneath this place.”
It seemed he had overheard what I said earlier.
“I do not know how long it has existed here. However, my father was the first to discover it, and we have lived here ever since to protect it.”
Lived here to protect the rift…?
It seemed there was something more than I imagined lurking inside it.
He continued.
“I was told there were no monsters or anything of the sort when it was discovered. However…”
His steps paused for a moment.
After confirming that I had also stopped, he began walking again and murmured softly.
“Only that a being beyond comparison to any monster occupied the space.”
“……?”
The end of his calm voice trembled slightly.
He could feel the fear, the dread, and the reverence within it.
A being beyond comparison to any monster.
What in the world was it?
“Strictly speaking, he is the true master of Mirae Group. We are merely foxes borrowing the tiger's might, his faithful servants.”
The more he spoke, the deeper into a labyrinth I felt.
The true master of Mirae Group?
A being that lives in a rift?
That would mean… it had to be a being with a distinct ego and intelligence, unlike a monster.
The staircase, which had seemed endless, finally came to an end, and a familiar shape entered my vision.
A black sphere that distorted its surroundings, flaunting an overwhelming texture and presence.
Chairman Im Cheol-ho, standing before it, spoke.
“My daughter is in here.”
“……”
His earlier words came to mind.
A magnificent being, beyond comparison to any monster.
The fear and reverence he had shown when recalling it.
“Will you go in first? Or…”
“I’ll go first.”
I prepared for the worst.
He appeared to have an air of resignation, but I couldn't take it at face value.
I held onto the thought that anything could happen as I reached a hand toward the rift.
My eyes closed naturally, and a floating sensation, as if I were soaring through the sky, washed over me.
Soon, the feel of new terrain under my feet told me I had arrived in an unfamiliar land.
I slowly opened my eyes and read the message before me.
[You have entered the dungeon ‘Swamp of Knowledge.’]
“Swamp of Knowledge….”
The higher the rank of a dungeon, the more information its name tended to provide.
But I still didn't know.
What did a swamp of knowledge evoke?
Not long after, Chairman Im Cheol-ho arrived.
He naturally moved to stand in front of me.
We walked down a long passage, sporadically lit by torches.
When both the path ahead and behind us were swallowed by darkness, he spoke.
“As you have seen, this dungeon's name is the Swamp of Knowledge. I find it quite fitting.”
His face, briefly illuminated by a torch, was etched with deep regret.
“My family, the Ims, are deeply mired in this place. So deep that we can no longer escape on our own.”
It was too late. Far too late.
Whether they struggled or cut their losses.
The time to escape the swamp by their own power had long since passed.
All they could do was bow endlessly, or hope for someone to pull them out.
Perhaps that was why.
“I have a feeling that you reaching this place might be fate.”
A necessary sacrifice for the family's prosperity.
A ripple in the shackles that had been forged over decades, shackles that had now become all too natural.
He finally stopped walking, looked up at me, and spoke.
“Therefore, I would like to ask a favor of you.”
“…A favor?”
Chairman Im Cheol-ho took a breath and nodded.
“If you wish to save Na-eun, you will inevitably have to fight him.”
“And?”
“Please save my daughter.”
“……”
I was dumbfounded.
And I found it laughable.
To make Im Na-eun a sacrificial lamb, the tacit consent of her parents was essential.
Didn't that mean Chairman Im Cheol-ho had also agreed to this?
And now he was suddenly asking me to save his daughter.
As if reading my mind, he shook his head.
“I am not asking for forgiveness, nor have I had a sudden change of heart.”
“What is it, then?”
“I simply… wish to follow fate.”
As if he had made some great resolution, a look of determination settled over his dark face.
“As I said, we are trapped in a swamp. It is already too late to escape on our own. That is why I wish to entrust this to you.”
“Entrust what?”
“If you save my daughter from that being, we will pay for our sins.”
Pay for their sins.
How, exactly?
He continued.
“We will dispose of all the wealth and glory we achieved through him.”
“……”
Dispose of it…
How?
“We will give everything to Na-eun, who was branded an innocent sacrifice and would have suffered her whole life. If she does not want it, we will abide by her decision.”
“Are you… serious?”
“I am. Personally, I would hope you would allow the remaining family enough wealth to live out their days in comfort… but that will be my daughter's choice.”
It didn't sound like a lie.
That made me even more bewildered and curious.
What in the world was up ahead that was making him act like this?
It was then.
-“Do you wish to know?”
The voice of a benevolent grandfather echoed.
-“If you wish to know, then enter. I am inside.”
This time, it was the voice of a grandmother.
-“I’ll be waiting.”
Next came the voice of an incredibly seductive woman.
“……”
In each and every word, I felt a profound, indescribable mystery.
It felt as if my very soul was being laid bare.
Then, another voice resonated in my chest.
[“Hoh… I sense a very familiar presence.”]
This time, it was a familiar voice.
Gula.
She was speaking to me.
[“He must have tasted defeat for an awfully long time… yet it seems the fool still hasn't given up on his dream.”]
A dream?
What dream?
[“The dream of dragging down the existing Seven Deadly Sins and becoming the new master of their seats.”]
New Seven Deadly Sins.
Weren't the positions of the Seven Deadly Sins fixed from the start?
[“There have been no changes from primordial times until now, but that is not to say the seats have never been in peril.“]
In peril… does that mean if they had been overthrown back then, the positions could have changed?
[”There's a high probability that's what would have happened.“]
I grew more curious.
What was this being inside that it would dare to covet the seats of the Seven Deadly Sins?
It was then.
-“Hohol… I see your curiosity about me grows ever larger within you.”
The voice echoed once more.
[“It seems you are curious about him.”]
And another.
The voices of the two distant beings resonated in turn.
-“I am knowledge itself.”
[“He is one who seeks knowledge through the basest of methods.”]
-“And I am also one who uses that knowledge to greatly benefit humanity.”
[“He is also a demon who uses the knowledge gained in such a way to lead humanity to ruin.”]
Similar, yet different introductions.
The two beings' descriptions of one entity finally reached their conclusion.
-“My name is Dantalion.”
[“His name is Dantalion.”]
-“I am a savior who has delivered humanity on several occasions.”
[“He is a great demon who has led humanity to ruin time and time again.”]