Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Parasitic Infection
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Splat!
In an instant, Shin Yu-hyun vanished from sight.
The skill that compressed mana to its limits, drawing out every ounce of his physical abilities: Limit Mana Overdrive.
The aftereffects were severe, but during its duration, his power surged to unbelievable heights.
And Shin Cheol-jin had already lost his human form.
He'd grown over two meters tall, his entire body covered in thick, tough hide.
'No turning back now.'
Once infected by a parasitic magic beast, it was over.
Its tendrils burrowed into the brain, fusing with the neural pathways.
That was why Shin Cheol-jin's eyes were bloodshot red.
Kraaaaaargh!
With his transformation complete, Shin Cheol-jin unleashed a monstrous roar that echoed like a magic beast's cry.
"W-What the hell...?"
"What's going on here?!"
As the horrific roar erupted alongside an ominous aura, the Black Tortoise Sword Division members stared in utter confusion.
But they instinctively knew something catastrophic had happened. Shin Cheol-jin, Hall Leader of Vermilion Bird Hall, had turned into a monster.
Clang!
Meanwhile, Shin Yu-hyun—accelerated to his absolute limits—launched his assault on Shin Cheol-jin.
Boosted physical stats had eased the strain on his body somewhat.
'Gotta end this before the duration runs out.'
Once Limit Mana Overdrive expired, he'd be immobilized for a while.
No matter how much the burden had lightened, the aftereffects wouldn't vanish entirely.
So he had to take down Shin Cheol-jin before time was up.
The division members in the training grounds alone couldn't stop him.
Right now, Shin Cheol-jin was unmistakably a 5-star boss-level threat.
Kraaaaaargh!
At that moment, Shin Cheol-jin—under relentless assault—roared and slammed his fist into the ground.
Boom!
A shockwave erupted, sending mounds of earth exploding upward around him.
There, in front of the surging dirt, Shin Yu-hyun appeared mid-high-speed dash.
He crouched low, poised just before drawing his blade.
Whoosh!
Hummm!
Inside the sheath overflowing with black flames, Levatein's blade trembled, eager to launch.
Shin Yu-hyun arched his back to the limit and exhaled deeply.
In that instant—
Zero Form: Revised
Black Tortoise Heavy Sword
Super Heavy Draw
Whoosh!
With an explosive burst from the sheath, Levatein was drawn at blinding speed and swung forward.
Screeech!
The rising earth mounds around Shin Cheol-jin split apart.
And beyond them, so did Shin Cheol-jin himself.
It looked as if the space in front of Shin Yu-hyun had been cleaved clean through.
The compressed black flame blade left a dark trail in its wake.
Thud!
As Overdrive ended, waves of exhaustion hit Shin Yu-hyun hard. He stabbed Levatein into the ground and barely stayed upright.
Drip. Drop.
The split earth mounds began crumbling back down.
Slide.
Beyond the falling dirt, Shin Cheol-jin's bisected body collapsed to the ground.
Right then—
Screeech!
From the fallen Shin Cheol-jin's mouth crawled a small, single-eyed orb.
Countless thread-thin tendrils extended from its eye-like body.
It was the parasitic magic beast.
"Bone Spear."
Shin Yu-hyun squeezed out his last mana and hurled a Bone Spear at it.
Splat!
Screeech!
The fleeing parasite was impaled by the black flame-wreathed spear and burst into flames.
'Damn it all.'
Staring at the floating message and Shin Cheol-jin's corpse, Shin Yu-hyun gritted his teeth.
"H-Hall Leader!"
"W-What the...!"
The stunned Black Tortoise Sword Division members rushed toward him, bringing the incident to a close.
The Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan was thrown into chaos once more.
Shin Cheol-jin—the clan's second son and Hall Leader of Vermilion Bird Hall, a key pillar of the family—had died.
And at the hands of the third son, Shin Yu-hyun, no less.
Yet no one blamed Shin Yu-hyun. The clan understood it was an unavoidable situation.
Shin Cheol-jin's body was swiftly handled. On Shin Yu-hyun's orders, Black Tortoise Sword Division members moved it to the freezer.
They'd hold the funeral once Clan Leader Shin Sung-il returned.
'Who would've thought it'd end like this...'
Shin Yu-hyun frowned.
Shin Cheol-jin had been a total piece of trash in his past life and this one alike.
He'd tried to cripple Shin Yu-hyun's dantian using his subordinates and always looked down on him.
Shin Yu-hyun had planned to confront him once he grew strong enough.
'I was going to make him pay back every bit of suffering, over and over...'
Shin Cheol-jin had dismissed Shin Yu-hyun as worthless.
What would be the ultimate revenge against such a man?
Standing at the pinnacle of all superhumans.
That alone would shatter Shin Cheol-jin's pride beyond repair.
Yet here he was, sending the man off like this.
'Why did the parasitic magic beast show up now, of all times?'
Originally, the first parasitic magic beast appeared a year from now.
But it had emerged a full year early—and latched onto Shin Cheol-jin, of all people.
The infiltration route was obvious: the magic beast raid stirred up by the Ironforge Squad yesterday.
'Because of me?'
Ever since the Arachne nest incident—no, since the 3-star unidentified dungeon gate—Shin Yu-hyun had altered the timeline.
He'd saved Nam Yeon-ah, who was supposed to die during the unidentified gate investigation.
In the Arachne nest, only two Black Tortoise members should have survived, with Ironforge Squad fleeing.
But Shin Yu-hyun's intervention wiped out Ironforge Squad entirely, and all division members lived.
That delayed the clan raid—and apparently unleashed the parasitic magic beast too.
And the appearance of a parasitic magic beast meant...
'The Magic Beast Researcher. That bastard's handiwork.'
Grind.
Shin Yu-hyun gnashed his teeth.
The Magic Beast Researcher.
An enigmatic figure of unknown nationality, age, or name.
He was the creator of the parasitic magic beasts.
And that implied...
'He might as well have killed Shin Cheol-jin himself.'
Once infected, it was game over.
The victim became a monster, slaughtering all living things in a frenzy.
So from the moment of infection, Shin Cheol-jin was as good as dead.
Shin Yu-hyun hated that. Being forced to kill him at the Researcher's whim.
'If the Magic Beast Researcher is moving, then the Ashen Cult must be behind Ironforge Squad.'
The Ashen Cult.
One of the international superhuman villain groups, later becoming the core force of the Getia Worshippers.
And the Magic Beast Researcher was one of its executives.
'Ironforge Squad was using Getia's crystal devices.'
The crystal devices were proof Getia might exist in this era.
Which meant...
'Does the Ashen Cult already know about Getia?'
Perhaps Getia was already within their ranks.
That would explain calling themselves a "cult"—Getia styled themselves as gods.
A group worshipping Getia as deities? "Cult" fit perfectly.
'Time to meet those captives.'
The Ironforge Squad executives held prisoner in the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan.
They might know something about the Ashen Cult.
"A failure, then?"
In a mountain distant from the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan's estate.
A single figure in a black hood stood there.
"Never thought both would botch their missions."
The hood shadowed his face completely.
But his voice marked him as a middle-aged man.
'Still room for improvement, I suppose?'
The black-hooded man—the Magic Beast Researcher—crossed his arms, gazing down at the distant clan estate.
Infecting a direct descendant had gone smoothly.
The goal was assassinating two direct heirs.
Success on the second son, but failure on the third.
"Stronger than the infected one, eh?"
The Researcher found it intriguing.
Infection should grant superior power, ensuring mission success.
Yet it had failed.
'Even if the heir assassinations flopped, failing the other objective stings.'
In truth, infecting Shin Cheol-jin was a feint.
The real aim was elsewhere.
"Useless idiots."
The Ironforge Squad executives captured like fools: Madate Heitaro and Ishii Hideki.
Eliminating those two was the true priority—to prevent info leaks.
'No helping it.'
Even with parasitic beasts deployed, failure meant no further moves.
'Gotta cut the Ironforge Squad loose.'
The Researcher decided swiftly.
Their knowledge of the Ashen Cult was trivial anyway.
The cult guarded its secrets ruthlessly.
'Time to pull Black Knight and Invisible Archer out.'
Black Knight: Jin Won-ho.
Invisible Archer: Lee Seol-ri.
Ashen Cult executives dispatched to Ironforge Squad.
With captives at risk of talking, withdrawal was prudent.
But gains weren't zero.
"Shin Yu-hyun, was it? You'll pay dearly for thwarting the cult."
From the Arachne nest to the clan raid and heir hits.
All Ashen Cult operations. Ironforge Squad were mere pawns.
All foiled.
And Shin Yu-hyun at the center.
The Researcher smirked unpleasantly.
Wriggle. Wriggle.
From within his black hooded coat, grotesque tendrils undulated.
A dim basement.
In the underground prison beneath the Clan Leader's quarters, figures hung by chained wrists: Ironforge Squad executives Madate Heitaro and Ishii Hideki.
They'd endured brutal torture, their minds half-broken.
Nails ripped out, bodies covered in wounds.
"The intel?"
"We've extracted everything we need."
"Bases too?"
"Yes."
Shuv nodded with a lovely smile at Shin Yu-hyun's questions.
He was in the interrogation room, with questions for the captives.
Behind him and Shuv, two Black Shadow Squad members waited silently.
"D-Devil...!"
Ishii Hideki rasped in a dying voice.
Shin Yu-hyun approached. Up close, the stench and mangled state were vivid.
"You fools touched what you should never have."
He stared coldly at Ishii Hideki. Their schemes had ravaged the clan, costing lives.
Daring to kill clansmen!
"You must have known this was coming."
"C-Call a lawyer! Th-This is a human rights violation!"
"What? Lawyer? Human rights?"
At Ishii Hideki's words, Shin Yu-hyun's face twisted into a demonic glare.