Chapter 576: The Conspiracy Begins (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 576: The Conspiracy Begins (9)
Kim Do-jin had completely emptied the national coffers for this plan.
How, you ask?
He had requested that all the mana stones needed to activate the Domain of the Ruler be of the absolute highest quality.
S-rank stones, with a mana concentration and purity of over 99%.
In truth, B-rank or even A-rank stones would have been sufficient for simply expanding the domain.
So why did he insist on only the best?
It was for this very moment.
“You’ve gotten stronger, charge…?”
“What the hell does that mean?”
It was absurd.
An official Association message, speaking so informally.
But this was no time to worry about such things.
“That’s not what’s important right now!”
“Right. It’s cheeky, but the important thing is that we’ve gained power!”
“We can win now.”
“Let’s gooo!!”
All the mana left over after expanding the domain had been absorbed by Kim Do-jin—or more accurately, by the Gluttony within him.
And he had distributed that power to everyone.
「Domain of Gluttony – One For All」
He had planted finely split fragments of Gluttony into the Hunters within his domain, then funneled the overflowing mana into them.
That was the source of the inexplicable power now surging from their bodies.
Naturally, the message sent through the Association was also worded exactly as he’d dictated.
But for now, none of those details mattered.
All that mattered was that they now had the strength to push back the monsters and close the rifts.
“Kill them!”
Waaaaah!
A cheer echoed across the heavens and the earth.
Clad in a vitality they’d never felt before, the Hunters began their advance.
Kkuieek!?
Kheuheoheong…!
Kieeeeeek-!
The tables had turned.
The monsters that had been so triumphantly driving back the humans just moments ago were now the ones being hunted.
No matter how consumed they were by their murderous intent toward humans, even monsters possessed a faint intelligence and emotions.
Which meant that they, too, could feel fear in the face of overwhelming power. They, too, could flee.
Kiiiii!
Uwoaar!
The chaos intensified.
Just like the humans who had pushed and trampled each other to escape when the monsters first appeared, the creatures now shoved aside the comrades they had fought alongside just moments before, desperately trying to get away. Those that fell were mercilessly trampled underfoot.
But there was something they didn't know.
This was the world of humans.
A world where humans might have a place to run, but monsters had nowhere to hide.
“Don’t let a single one escape!” a Hunter at the forefront shouted.
It wasn’t out of concern for the people who might die if one got away.
It was for the money.
Because the mana stones and body parts that dropped from each and every one of them were worth a fortune.
And because in situations like this, the more you killed and the more you contributed, the bigger the reward.
For those called the guardians of humanity, weren’t they being a bit too obsessed with money?
That was the wrong way to think.
The world had changed.
Hollow bullshit like ‘noble sacrifice’ could no longer draw people in.
It took something far more valuable, something tangible you could see with your own eyes: money.
Only something of that magnitude could make people risk their lives for others, for the world.
“Alright… we’re entering the rift now!”
Having annihilated most of the monsters that had poured out, the Hunters split up and entered the rifts.
There was only one way to close a rift in a Break State.
Kill every monster inside and hunt down the boss.
Only then would the rift lose its power and vanish.
“We have to close as many as we can!”
The Hunters rushed forward, each trying to be the first.
Watching them from above, the man was dumbfounded.
“…What in the world is happening?”
The battle, which had been overwhelmingly in their favor, had been turned on its head.
And in an instant.
The Hunters, who had been so exhausted they were on the verge of death, had been revived.
No, it was more than a revival—they were now unleashing 120% of their power.
What was the source of this strength?
He immediately gave an order to his subordinates.
“Find out what happened. Now.”
Not long after, a report came in.
“It seems Kim Do-jin has pulled something.”
“…That name again.”
Kim Do-jin.
Just hearing the name now gave him an automatic headache.
What trick had he used this time to make the Hunters in every single region, not just one or two, suddenly become stronger as if they were on drugs?
“We don’t know the exact method. However… he apparently made a strange request to the government.”
“A strange request?”
“Yes. To plant mana stones in various locations. And… that he needed to use Namsan Tower, so all the refugees in the nearby shelters should be moved to other areas…”
A large quantity of mana stones and Namsan Tower.
Just hearing that told him nothing.
He had no idea how Kim Do-jin had managed to boost the Hunters’ power.
But he did learn one thing.
“Does that mean Kim Do-jin is at Namsan Tower?”
“…Yes. He is said to be at the very top of Namsan Tower, and he hasn't moved an inch.”
“I see.”
Though he didn’t know the exact method, he was certain of one thing.
Something this unbelievable couldn’t have been easy.
Just as they had accepted a significant loss for their plan, it was highly probable that Kim Do-jin was also sacrificing something, in some way.
And that was another opportunity.
A golden opportunity to eliminate the worst enemy who had ruined the organization’s plans time and time again.
“Converge all available forces on Namsan Tower.”
A cold smile crept onto his lips as he continued.
“We kill Kim Do-jin today.”
The Hexagram members hidden throughout the city began to move.
* * *
The fragments of Gluttony, split and attached to the Hunters’ bodies, became my faithful eyes.
“Good. Just keep this up.”
Reports of victory were pouring in from all over.
The Hunters’ advance, empowered, had turned the tide.
In some areas, they had already killed all the monsters outside and entered the rifts to close them.
A little more time, and we would be able to close every rift that had appeared in Seoul.
No, they had to be closed.
Maintaining a domain large enough to cover the entirety of Seoul was taking a hell of a toll.
“This is getting dangerous.”
My head felt like it was on fire.
Even when I had a terrible flu as a child and my fever shot up to 40 degrees Celsius [104°F], it didn’t feel like this.
Ah, I remember that time.
I was so sick I felt like I was dying, so my parents let me eat whatever I wanted.
What did I ask for back then?
“Right, it was a hamburger.”
The taste of that bulgogi burger, which I’d nibbled on with a parched mouth, was still vivid in my memory.
That’s why I can’t eat hamburgers anymore.
Whenever I get a craving and buy one, it never tastes the same, so it’s always a disappointment.
Those were incredibly hard times, but sometimes I think I’d like to go back…
“No, that’s not right.”
I slapped my cheeks with both hands.
Smack!
“Get a grip.”
My mind, which had been drifting away into nostalgia, snapped back into place.
“I was almost screwed.”
A moment later and I might have lost consciousness and collapsed.
I blinked a couple of times, refocusing my blurry vision.
I did the same with my senses.
For a moment, I worked on re-weaving the net of my perception, which had grown loose from the boiling heat.
“……?”
In that brief moment my senses had been compromised, I detected a presence that hadn’t been there before.
It was heading toward my location: Namsan Tower.
It was too far to get a clear read, but I could faintly sense killing intent and malice.
Given the circumstances, it was obvious they were targeting me.
“Hmm… did information get leaked?”
Only the high-ranking officials in the government and the Association were supposed to know I was here.
Oh, and the Association employee who had relayed my messages to them.
His presence was still not far from me.
“He doesn’t seem like the traitor…”
Which meant there was a traitor among those who knew my location.
“They’re really something else.”
I was once again impressed by their intelligence network.
Just how many eyes and ears did they have planted to find out so quickly?
Then again.
“…If they could wrap Han Ju-hee around their finger, manipulating a few others would be child’s play.”
As I sorted through my thoughts, the distance to the presence shortened dramatically.
And it was continuing to shrink in real-time.
It seemed they had chosen a swift, decisive strike over a stealthy ambush.
“What to do.”
I said it calmly, but the situation was quite serious.
There were about a hundred of them.
Most were run-of-the-mill, somewhere between B-rank and A-rank.
But there were a few big shots mixed in.
It was hard to tell precisely from this distance, but they were at least S-rank or higher.
“They’ve picked their moment perfectly.”
They must have been sharpening their blades, waiting for the chance to kill me.
Just as I had anticipated their moves, they must have had a rough idea of mine.
They would have guessed that I was expending a great deal to make this one move.
After all, no power in the world comes for free.
This was the greatest crisis of this terrorist attack.
But it was also the final one.
If I could weather this assault, we would win.
If not… well, I would die, and they would be victorious.
“I knew it was going too easily.”
I got to my feet.
If I had to fight anyway, I’d rather strike back than sit here and take the first hit.
“Hmm.”
I redirected a portion of the mana being distributed to the Hunters back to myself.
My core and circuits were instantly filled with power.
Using this as my material, I began to formulate a spell.
“It’s a forest, so fire and lightning are too risky.”
I ruled out anything that could cause a forest fire.
“Ah, and I should exclude earth too.”
A landslide would be a problem.
That left water and wind.
I glanced down for a moment.
Right.
This was a mountain.
A place with highs and lows.
And water always flows from top to bottom.
“Guess I’ll have to treat our friends to a little swim.”
I converted all the overflowing mana into the water attribute.
The ambient mana around me transformed into streams of water that flowed over my body.
I expanded its size.
I would imitate nature, which makes humans feel infinitely small.
I would mimic one of its greatest disasters.
Kuuuuu…!
A deafening roar emanated from the massive torrent of water.
What was I going to do with this?
Nothing special.
Didn’t I just say?
Water flows from top to bottom.
“Alright, playtime’s over.”
I had already decided on the spell’s name.
「Flume Ride」
Seo-yeon used to love this ride back in the day.
“The ride is now departing~!”
I released the massive torrent of water.
Kwaaaaaa!
With the roar of a violent waterfall, the water began to pour down.
The immense current flowed down from the tower and, as if it had been waiting, began to surge down the mountainside.
It was deep enough to easily swallow a person or two.
Faced with an irresistible disaster, the enemies who had been effortlessly climbing the steep slope were swept away.
“Uwaaaaah-!”
“Krrgh…! He-help… glug…!”
“Puhaaa!”
It was quite a pleasant sight, really. They looked just like a bunch of adults on an amusement park ride.