Chapter 177
Chapter 177
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: Living Armor (2)
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“Could it have been a monster…?”
Isabella cautiously examined Jegal So-young's corpse.
Oh-jin, who had been lost in thought for a moment, snapped back to his senses and shook his head.
*Get a grip.*
For a moment, his gaze had unwittingly drifted toward Isabella.
But logically speaking, there was no way she could have killed Jegal So-young.
*She's been with me the whole time.*
No matter how much stronger she was, there was no way she could have killed Jegal So-young from so far away without him noticing, especially when she was right beside him.
And even if such a method existed, she had no reason to kill Jegal So-young.
*To think she killed her out of blind jealousy is too much of a stretch.*
If jealousy were the motive, her first target would have been Ha-eun, not Jegal So-young.
Oh-jin looked again at Isabella's cold gaze.
The look in her eyes wasn't that of a psychopath who had committed a brutal murder, but rather the sharp gaze of a veteran detective investigating a case.
In other words.
*Isabella didn't expect this either.*
Oh-jin examined Jegal So-young's body, whose head had been split in half, white brain matter oozing out.
Half of her head was gone, as if an apple had been bitten into.
*It was bitten right off.*
Oh-jin calmly inspected the wound, his eyes narrowing.
He could see Jegal So-young's one remaining eye, wide with terror.
"She died without even being able to react."
Literally, in the blink of an eye.
She lost her life.
"Then what about Yu-mi, who was with So-young..."
"Hold on."
Oh-jin channeled his magic into the communication crystal.
The crystal pulsed with a blue light.
But there was no answer.
"Can't you reach them?"
"No."
It seemed they had no choice but to go themselves.
"This way."
"B-Be careful, Oh-jin."
As he started to follow the trail of blood, he felt Isabella tug on his sleeve, her face tense.
A gaze mixed with worry and anxiety.
Oh-jin gave a small nod and slowly started walking.
Bloodstains were scattered at regular intervals, like breadcrumbs in Hansel and Gretel.
"Damn it."
While following the blood trail, the tracks suddenly vanished.
*Is this thing a ghost?*
It felt like he was chasing a phantom.
"This way, Oh-jin. I can smell blood coming from over there."
Isabella pointed in a direction.
Oh-jin activated the Canes Venatici constellation and tried to catch the scent she had pointed to.
Even with Canes Venatici active, he couldn't smell the blood she mentioned.
*The Leech Queen, I suppose.*
At least in terms of detecting the scent of blood, he couldn't compare to her.
"Let's head that way."
"Yes."
He walked in the direction Isabella had indicated.
After walking for a while, cautiously scanning his surroundings, he began to smell the thick scent of blood, just as she'd said.
*How on earth did she smell blood from this far away?*
Oh-jin clicked his tongue softly as he arrived at the place reeking of blood.
"...Damn it all."
Red blood painted the wall like graffiti art.
He saw Jegal So-young's headless body lying limply on the ground.
But it wasn't just Jegal So-young's body.
*Choi Yu-mi.*
The body of Choi Yu-mi, a high-ranking Awakened of the Phoenix constellation, lay severed at the waist.
Her entrails spilled out in a gruesome mess.
Lifeless, empty eyes stared blankly down the alley.
"Hoo."
Oh-jin's eyes narrowed as he examined the still-warm bodies.
There was one thing in common between the brutally murdered bodies of Choi Yu-mi and Jegal So-young.
*Their hearts are gone.*
Their other organs were intact, but their hearts were conspicuously missing.
Oh-jin examined the torn-open chests of the two women.
A hand had broken through their ribs and ripped out their hearts whole.
Seeing as the hearts were nowhere to be found...
*It must have eaten them.*
He recalled Jegal So-young's body, her head crushed like a famous brand's apple logo.
*It only ate half the head, but it devoured the hearts completely.*
For an Awakened, the heart is more than just an organ.
It's where the Stigma bestowed by a constellation takes root.
Even Oh-jin's Black Heaven was rooted in his heart.
In other words, the fact that it specifically targeted and devoured the hearts of the Awakened meant...
*It's hunting the Awakened for the magic of their Stigmas.*
Oh-jin's eyes glinted sharply.
"Oh-jin. There are signs of a fight over here."
He checked where Isabella was pointing.
On a wall untouched by blood, there was a large, fresh-looking hole.
Below it, a deep footprint was imprinted as if made by a hammer strike.
*Hound of Vega.*
Oh-jin used the skill to examine the surrounding traces.
"Kuh."
A tidal wave of information flooded his mind.
Blood, a headless body, a large hole in the wall, and a deep footprint.
From just the small traces left in the alley, he could vividly picture what had happened here.
*Jegal So-young attacked first.*
An arrow of magic, shot sharply from out of sight.
The monster dodged the arrow, which flew faster than sound, with a light twist of its body.
*And then Choi Yu-mi charged in.*
She stomped so hard the ground cratered, drawing her sword.
And then.
*A close-quarters battle raged for about a minute... no, two minutes.*
Traces of the battle were left all over the walls and ground.
Traces of Choi Yu-mi unleashing a storm of sword strikes while Jegal So-young supported her from behind.
*And then they were defeated.*
It wasn't a surprise attack, nor were they careless.
In fact, even though they found the monster first and struck preemptively, they were still overpowered.
Overwhelmed, without even putting up a decent fight.
"Let's go back."
Oh-jin said in a firm voice.
Isabella's eyes widened.
"What about the monster?"
"It's not a monster we can handle."
Of course, if Isabella were to reveal her true power, or if even he himself were in perfect condition, it might have been worth observing the situation a bit longer.
But in their current state, chasing after the monster was too dangerous.
"...Yes, I understand."
After a moment of thought, Isabella nodded.
As she was about to leave with Oh-jin, she gently tugged on his sleeve as if she'd remembered something.
"Oh-jin, shouldn't we contact Woo-hyeok?"
"Ah, hold on."
Oh-jin nodded and took out the communication crystal.
As he channeled magic into it, the crystal began to glow with a blue light.
The light, which had been flickering like a broken lamp, soon shone brightly.
-Pant, pant!
The image shook violently.
Lee Woo-hyeok's ragged breathing came through the crystal.
-O-Oh-jin?
"What's wrong?"
-Kuh!
*Clang! Clang-clang-clang!*
The image shook again, showing Lee Woo-hyeok swinging his sword wildly.
Limp on Lee Woo-hyeok's back was Oh Hyun-bin.
*Damn it.*
Oh-jin, watching the situation through the crystal, bit his lip.
*Did that monster that disappeared earlier go after Woo-hyeok?*
-The Toad! It's the Toad Faction!
"What?"
But what came from Lee Woo-hyeok's mouth was something completely unexpected.
-The Toad Faction attacked us!
The Toad Faction.
The fact that the Toad Faction, which had recently smuggled themselves into Korea, had attacked Lee Woo-hyeok...
*So there really was a connection between the Yonghyeon-dong monster and the Toad Faction.*
Oh-jin frowned as if his head was starting to hurt.
"What's your location?"
-Kuh! N-Near the harbor!
"I'm on my way."
He had planned to run from the monster.
But knowing Lee Woo-hyeok was under attack, he couldn't just leave him.
"Isabella, let's go to the harbor."
"Yes! I'll cast a speed buff on you!"
"No, that's not necessary."
"Huh?"
He pulled Isabella's body close.
"Kyaa?!"
"Stay still."
Oh-jin wrapped one arm around her and fired his wire shooter toward a building's rooftop.
*Thwang!*
The wire wrapped around a protruding rebar, and Oh-jin's body shot upwards.
Since there was no need to meticulously track and scan the surroundings, moving via the wire was much faster.
-Fzzt!
Using Lightning Step to kick off the air, Oh-jin shot toward the harbor at high speed.
-Boom! Rrrrrumble!
A loud roar came from the wharf, where containers were stacked high.
Oh-jin flew toward the sound.
"Damn it! Q-Quickly, kill him!"
"Hurry, before they find out we're here!"
He saw dozens of Awakened, who appeared to be of Southeast Asian descent, launching attacks at Lee Woo-hyeok, who was carrying Oh Hyun-bin on his back.
Oh-jin used Lightning Step to change direction mid-air and soar higher.
He gripped his spear in one hand and gathered his magic.
*Lightning Strike.*
*Fzzzzzzzzzt!!*
Oh-jin fell like a meteor.
A storm of blue lightning raged around the spot where Oh-jin landed.
"Aaargh!"
"W-Who the hell is this guy?!"
"Damn it!"
The sudden appearance of Oh-jin threw the Toad Faction's Awakened into chaos.
"Oh-jin!"
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. I'm fine, but Hyun-bin..."
Oh Hyun-bin, on Lee Woo-hyeok's back, was drenched in a cold sweat and panting heavily.
A vicious wound ran down Oh Hyun-bin's back.
"I'm sorry. We were ambushed by their Executor."
"...An Executor?"
"Yes."
*An Executor of the Black Star Guild is here too?*
He didn't know what rank the Toad Faction's Executor held.
But considering they were at least on par with, or even stronger than, Cheon Do-yoon, who was ranked 6th, it was a miracle they survived an ambush from one.
"Where is this Executor?"
"I-I don't know. He didn't pursue us after the initial ambush."
*He didn't pursue, huh.*
*Did he just dump the tedious work on his subordinates?*
*Well. For someone who's supposedly so relaxed...*
"Damn it! What are you doing? Kill them already!!"
"We don't have time!!"
The faces of the surrounding Toad Faction Awakened were utterly desperate.
They rushed toward Oh-jin and Lee Woo-hyeok as if they were being chased by something.
"Let's run for now."
Knowing that an Executor of the Toad Faction was also here, he had no time to deal with these guys.
-Fzzzzzt!
Oh-jin fired lightning at the charging Toad Faction members as he moved toward the city center.
Just as they were starting to create some distance.
-Hiiiiissssss.
That eerie sound echoed once more.
"O-Oh-jin."
Isabella's face, who had been casting buffs on Oh-jin, stiffened.
The direction Oh-jin was trying to escape.
A sinister cry came from the direction of the city, away from the harbor.
*Damn it.*
Oh-jin's expression twisted harshly.
The thought that he was screwed flashed through his mind.
The Toad Faction's Awakened in front, and an unknown monster behind.
It was the worst possible situation.
"Hiss, hiiisss."
The creature that appeared, radiating a sinister aura, was a monster covered head-to-toe in black armor.
A dark blue flame flickered eerily from between the joints of the armor.
The black-armored monster held a long spear flickering with dark blue flames in one hand and was rapidly approaching them.
"Kuh!"
Oh-jin swallowed a groan and hastily raised his spear.
The black-armored beast, holding its dark blue spear, charged at a terrifying speed.
The distance between them closed rapidly—
And the black-armored beast ran right past Oh-jin.
"Huh?"
Leaving behind a bewildered Oh-jin, who turned his head in confusion.
-Kwachik!!
"Keoheok!! K-Keok!"
The spear violently pierced through one of the surrounding Toad Faction Awakened.
"Hiiiiissssss!!"
The helmet of the black armor split open, and it chomped down on the impaled Toad Faction member like someone eating a chicken skewer, swallowing him whole.
"Aaargh!! H-Help me!!"
"It's him!! He's here!!"
"Run!! Quickly!!!"
The members of the Toad Faction's Black Star Guild screamed, their faces pale with terror.
"...What the hell is this?"
Oh-jin stared, dumbfounded, at the backs of the Black Star Guild members as they fled in a panic.