Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: 25. Nightmare (5)
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Kang San collapsed to the floor.
Staring at the evil spirit's body crumbling into dust, he struggled to calm his hyperventilating breaths, as if gripped by an anxiety attack.
“Hoo, hoo.”
Guardian's Will.
A cheat skill that pulled him back from the brink of death, but it couldn't erase all the mental damage. The Blood Demon's nightmare lingered vividly. The man called Seo Mun-ho wasn't simply a murderer—he had also shown himself as an ordinary family man, devoted to his loved ones.
A profound disconnect arose.
Seo Mun-ho, committing brutal murders.
Seo Mun-ho, gazing at his family with tender, loving eyes.
They shared the same face, but from their expressions to their auras, they felt like entirely different people. It was impossible to believe they were one and the same.
If I had been in Seo Mun-ho's position, could I have chosen a normal life, rejecting the Blood Demon?
No.
It would have been the same.
Pang Moo-jeong had massacred innocents, slaughtering Seo Mun-ho's family right before his wide-eyed gaze. His screaming wife, his daughter hanging from a dead tree, even the unborn child in her womb. This was the karma the righteous murim had to bear. The moment Pang Moo-jeong committed his atrocity and Mu Yong-cheon, leader of the Murim Alliance, turned a blind eye, the seeds of evil destined to burn the righteous murim were sown.
He understood.
Seo Mun-ho's life.
Seo Mun-ho's motivations.
The desperate struggles Kang San had endured all stemmed from Seo Mun-ho's burning obsession for revenge against the murim.
But.
That doesn't make the life I lived in my past right.
Seo Mun-ho had killed people.
If his victims had been limited to those deserving revenge, even the stuffiest old-timers might have called it justified retribution. The problem was that Seo Mun-ho showed no discrimination. To absorb everything from the Blood Demon, he sought out a remote mountain village and butchered every soul there. Only now did Kang San grasp the turmoil in his heart. Facing the pure innocence of children who welcomed outsiders without prejudice, he still cut them down—knowing full well it made him no different from villains like Pang Moo-jeong.
He had stepped into forbidden territory.
Slaughtering men, women, the elderly, and children alike, Seo Mun-ho had plunged himself into the abyss of evil.
There were no excuses.
No matter his tragic backstory, he had become a villain like Pang Moo-jeong to someone out there.
Somewhere in the world, malice toward Seo Mun-ho would take root—and that was the karma he had to bear.
The real issue is that this karma has been passed down to me in this life.
He swallowed his revulsion.
Steadied his shaking emotions.
This life and the past were different.
That single truth—the one unchanging mantra he repeated endlessly—was the only pillar allowing him to live as the current "me."
“……Hoo.”
His breathing finally settled.
Now was the time to face reality.
Kang San immediately checked his trial rewards.
The twenty-fifth trial.
True to its monstrous S-rank difficulty, the rewards were extraordinary.
[4-Star (★★★★) Skill]
Impregnable
1. When activated, ranged attack skills cannot pass beyond a set area around the caster. They must target the caster with 20% reduced damage. (Cooldown: 1 hour)
2. Base Defense +10%
3. Damage Reduction +10%
[4-Star (★★★★) Skill]
Will of Immortality
1. Usable when HP is 50% or above. Incoming damage reduced by 90% for 5 minutes. Upon expiration, HP drops to 10% or below guaranteed. (Cooldown: 24 hours)
2. When HP falls to 10% or below, immortality effect activates: Base Defense +50%, HP Regeneration +100%.
[5-Star (★★★★★) Skill]
Mindset
1. When special conditions are met, stats surge dramatically.
Three skills.
It was a massive jackpot.
Most hunters never acquired even a single 4-star skill in their lifetime, yet he'd gained ones as potent as his Sanctuary skill. Impregnable and Will of Immortality in particular seemed designed to synergize. Against hordes of monsters, activating both would turn him into an unbreakable wall, living up to the name. Skills truly scaled exponentially with rank—every 4-star here was exceptional.
However.
Mindset—what the hell is this skill?
The description was curt.
His one and only 5-star skill, yet no specifics on the conditions or stat boosts.
Still, he wasn't disappointed. Countless skills had been revealed to the world, and the system's ratings always had solid backing. He figured Mindset was no exception.
Next, the evil spirit's special perk.
[Special Skill]
Memory Replay
1. When special conditions are met, read the target's memories.
2. ?????
From what had been publicly revealed, defeating an S-rank monster granted a special perk—typically one of their skills or weapons. This one seemed underwhelming. Memory replay? The vague wording made it hard to grasp. And with the second effect locked, like Mindset, it would need gradual exploration.
Finally, his stats.
A staggering leap.
When Kang San first set foot in Japan, his base stats averaged in the low 100s. Consecutive trials had boosted all stats across the board, and slaying the S-rank evil spirit delivered another massive windfall. The result? An average stat total hovering around 200—a shocking transformation.
A-rank hunters typically exceeded 500.
He'd finally secured B-rank caliber stats, but factoring in skill bonuses, he rivaled A-rank power. It was a true turning point. He'd half-expected to die midway through the trials, but Azmun's ordeals delivered rewards commensurate with their brutality.
It was over now.
No more trials incoming. Kang San pulled the last remaining teleport scroll from his inventory.
And then.
Time to go home.
Riiip—
He tore it apart.
At that very moment.
Kitakyushu remained swept up in a prayer frenzy.
Gatherings of people prayed fervently under Ailin's lead, the scene almost sacred.
One day, two, three, four.
Time dragged on, but Kang San didn't return.
As anxiety began to bud in their hearts, Representative Shimizu Hiroshi appeared in the square.
“Everyone. I must share a harsh truth. Kitakyushu's hero, who saved countless survivors, is dead. The absence of further rescues proves it, and the hope of his return is, regrettably, an impossible dream.”
“Watch your words!”
“The hero isn't dead!”
The crowd rebelled.
On the sensitive topic of Kang San's death, they viewed Shimizu with hostility.
It was expected.
He knew they'd push back, but he had no choice but to step forward.
“I'm a politician. From the moment you burdened me with this weight, I have a duty to confront uncomfortable truths head-on and resolve them. Do you truly believe Kang San is alive? In the initial raid, the evil spirit killed an S-rank hunter, and even Saito Shusuke barely escaped with his life. I don't know what special abilities Kang San possesses, but his choice to face an S-rank evil spirit alone must be seen as the noble delusion of a hero divorced from reality. If—if—he fell to the evil spirit, what then? Do we just sit here praying for a miracle? No. We must address the crisis before us. For the survivors out there, we can't stay idle.”
He unleashed a surge of passion.
His flushed face and fervent cries left the crowd unable to retort.
He wasn't wrong.
These people clasped their hands in desperate prayer partly out of cowardice—hoping the hero would shoulder dangers they couldn't face themselves. Shame kept it unspoken.
The mood had shifted.
Shimizu sneered inwardly.
If I solve this, I can claim Kang San's achievements. With the people's full backing, the next prime minister spot is mine.
The dead tell no tales.
Lucky for him.
That Kang San hadn't returned alive.
“Just moments ago, I received word from the Italian government. They've agreed to review the crisis and dispatch their priests! No matter how mighty an S-rank evil spirit, darkness monsters can't withstand priests. I, Shimizu Hiroshi, will end Kitakyushu's nightmare! I'll resolve the unsolvable crisis of the past three years and restore peace to you all.”
“Gasp.”
“Italian priests?”
“Then they can really take down the evil spirit?”
It was an enticing pitch.
With anxiety over Kang San's death creeping in, Shimizu positioned himself as the perfect solution.
Flawless.
So Shimizu thought.
Until right then.
“Look over there.”
“Teleport signal.”
Directly behind him.
Just before the white light flared and a figure materialized.
Thud.
Someone took a step forward.
The moment the figure in the glow raised his head, the crowd in Kitakyushu Square erupted in massive cheers.
“Kang San! It's Kang San!”
“Kitakyushu's hero has returned!”
“Waaaaaaaaah—!”
“Kang San! Kang San!”
The square exploded into chaos.
Like they'd encountered a living god, faces flushed with fervor poured out genuine emotion toward Kang San. For him, it was bewildering. He'd rescued countless survivors, but he had no idea what had transpired in Kitakyushu because of it.
Then.
The crowd parted as Jo Han-byeol's group rushed forward.
“Hyung!”
“What the hell is this?!”
Their faces were etched with worry.
Yeon Woo-bin in particular spoke through teary eyes.
“Sending us back alone to shoulder everything—did you think we'd just gratefully accept your sacrifice? This was too far. At least be honest. Say no one else could handle it, convince us. If things went wrong, we'd regret leaving forever.”
“……Sorry about that.”
“What happened in there?”
It was overwhelming.
Yeon Woo-bin venting her emotions, Jeong Chan-woo immediately clinging and demanding details.
It didn't feel bad.
Proof that people here truly cared.
And it wasn't just them.
Jessica and Ailin approached.
“I'm so relieved you're safe.”
“We survived thanks to you, Kang San. And everyone here— they've all been saved by you.”
Beyond them.
Countless faces stared back.
Words escaped him; his mind was a blank.
In their gazes fixed solely on him, Kang San felt an emotion he'd never known in his life.
The joy of reunion ended there.
Though the crowd had endless questions, Shimizu Hiroshi suddenly stepped in, cutting them off.
“Kang San. Did you... flee from the evil spirit?”
Kang San's survival.
Didn't necessarily mean he'd slain it.
In fact, it had to mean that.
He'd barely secured priest aid. If Kang San had soloed the evil spirit, Shimizu's position would turn dire. Unlike Ito Kenta-ro, he'd dismissed the square's prayers, condemning their faith to later flip the narrative and claim all the glory.
He believed.
That it remained unsolved.
Common sense dictated as much.
Kang San spoke.
“No. The evil spirit is gone now.”
“You don't mean...”
Shimizu Hiroshi's eyes trembled violently.
As if answering that dread.
“Yes. I killed the evil spirit.”
He revealed the shocking truth.