Chapter 146
Chapter 146
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Contact Request, Nowon-gu's Hunters (8)
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13.
“[Nameless Demigod]…… Why the hell did that guy make his own daughter so damn weak? She doesn’t have a scrap of power.”
The most meticulous man of all.
A being who had toyed with the gods even back in his human days, as an apostle…… They said he was that clever.
“What the hell was he trying to do? Was it really just abandoning his daughter?”
Something was off.
A chill of suspicion crept over his entire body.
“Think about it. No matter how you slice it, this doesn’t add up. Doesn’t it feel wrong?”
It was no longer mere suspicion—almost certainty now. Provided the conditions below held true.
“If we haven’t gotten the [Nameless Demigod] all wrong.”
Song Chan-woon stroked the mirror tied to growth and let out a hum.
“The opponent was just Lady Choi Sin-yul. Wasn’t she a strong enough foe?”
“That’s true, but it’s too straightforward. The power itself.”
“No matter how much we rack our brains, it’s beyond us. The gods’ perceptions are vast and superior beyond measure.”
As Hwang Ga-in tried to counter, Song Chan-woon added softly.
“Even if it’s a demigod stripped of its name.”
Song Chan-woon flashed a grin at the ever-expressionless young man in blue, Choi Sin-yul.
The hunter blessed by the absolute monarch of Ikilas.
And now, the demigod bestowed the divine name of Sword God.
“…….”
Choi Sin-yul stared at Do Ye-jin for a long while before shaking his head.
“No idea. I wasn’t granted wisdom for things like this.”
The reason Choi Sin-yul remained a demigod was because he hadn’t fully completed the karma of the hunt, leaving a sliver of humanity behind.
“I see. No answers there…… Which brings me to this: how about we feed this child to the god?”
What?
Hwang Ga-in, circling Do Ye-jin and scrutinizing her body, flinched in surprise.
“To my son? This?”
“That lord is an omnipotent god. He’ll surely discern something from the meal he’s given.”
“What if something goes wrong?”
Hwang Ga-in showed the maternal instinct of any mother. Even if conceived and birthed in three days, it was her precious son.
“No chance. Don’t you know his mouth connects directly to true paradise, Ikilas?”
Hwang Ga-in furrowed her brow in displeasure, but Song Chan-woon just beamed.
“Wait.”
Hwang Ga-in closed her eyes quietly.
She offered a prayer to Him who planned and guided her path.
Should we…… really do that?
No sooner had she asked than a response came down.
In an instant, the dimension tore open.
A blizzard howled, dyeing the world pure white.
And from that rift, an eagle of ice descended and perched atop Hwang Ga-in.
[Do so. That is my father’s will.]
Feeling her body filled with boundless love and grace, Hwang Ga-in opened her eyes.
“An oracle has come down.”
Before that miracle.
Song Chan-woon and Choi Sin-yul knelt in reverence.
“Song Chan-woon, you…… want to die? This was an oracle from the start, wasn’t it? Not your idea?”
Song Chan-woon smirked slyly, but Hwang Ga-in decided to let it slide.
“I’ll overlook it this time. Thanks to you, I got to meet the Lord after so long.”
“Thank you.”
“Now then…….”
Hwang Ga-in pointed her fan at Do Ye-jin.
“I’ll take this one to the Holy Mountain right now. With the other slaves.”
“Oh, right—one last thing, Lady Shaman. About what I mentioned before.”
What she mentioned before?
Hwang Ga-in paused to recall, then snapped her fan open.
“You want to turn the slaves in Gangbuk-gu into an army…… that?”
“Yes. Can I go ahead? Seems like heretics will swarm from Seodaemun-gu soon.”
Heretics…… So like you.
Hwang Ga-in smiled wryly and snapped her fan shut.
“Do as you like. No need to worry about labor shortages anymore.”
Jongno-gu and Seodaemun-gu were overflowing with able-bodied slaves.
“Then, see you at the Holy Mountain in six days. That’s when I’ll offer the [Daughter of the Abyss] to my son as a sacrifice.”
14.
“Will you kill my mom with that sword?”
I had to doubt my ears for a moment.
Mom…… what did she say?
Asking me to kill her own mother? No way.
I wasn’t the only one thrown off. Lee Seong-mi confirmed it.
“You mean…… kill your mother right now? No, right?”
“Yeah.”
Gong Min-young said it with a blank smile. I furrowed my brow.
“What’s your angle?”
“Angle? None. I just want her dead.”
“Why?”
“She’s not my mom anymore.”
“Then…… why not kill her yourself?”
A flicker of irritation crossed Gong Min-young’s eyes then.
“Will you do it or not? If not, we’re done here.”
“…………!”
“I’m heading back to Nowon-gu. You can kill me, team up with that kid, and go to Gangbuk-gu for all I care.”
Gong Min-young stuck her pipe in her mouth and spread her ten fingers.
“Ten seconds. Decide by then. Like I said, time’s tight to kill that Song Chan-woon bastard.”
Just ten seconds?
I swallowed dryly and exchanged glances with Lee Seong-mi.
“Eight seconds.”
Gong Min-young.
An utterly inscrutable woman.
“Five seconds.”
Lee Seong-mi seemed to think the same, but soon sighed and nodded.
“Didn’t the Association Chairman say it earlier?”
“Three seconds.”
“This isn’t a choice—it’s that this is the only option we have.”
“One second.”
Yeah…… that’s what this was.
I let out a long breath and turned to Gong Min-young.
“Got it. We’ll do it your way.”
“Good.”
Gong Min-young flashed that same bright smile.
“But didn’t you say time’s short? Where’s your mother…… right now?”
“Don’t worry too much. She’s on the route to Gangbuk-gu.”
On the route to Gangbuk-gu?
That means…… in a Hunting Zone, right? How?
“It’s decided then? Pick three to go with your brother.”
“Three?”
Gong Min-young pointed her pipe at Lee Ha-ram.
“Choi Su-cheol’s raid party had four. Grab the priest robes they or the test subjects were wearing.”
Right…… we’re disguising as Choi Su-cheol’s raid party to infiltrate. I turned to Lee Seong-mi first.
“Seong-mi, will you come with us?”
“Of course.”
Lee Seong-mi nodded with her usual gentle smile.
“Thank you…… Then let’s make this clear before we go.”
I whispered something to Lee Seong-mi. After hearing it all, she nodded solemnly.
“Got it. I’ll be careful.”
“Good. Now let’s pick the other two.”
“I-I’ll go!”
“M-Me too……!”
Before I finished, two stepped forward. Heo Cheon-gyeom and Ryu Hyun-ji.
These kids……
I felt a swell of emotion but had to shake my head at Heo Cheon-gyeom.
“Cheon-gyeom, head back to Jongno-gu as is.”
“W-Why……? Why?”
“Song Chan-woon’s familiars aren’t pushovers. Rats, demons…… We need supports or rangers, not warrior hunters.”
Heo Cheon-gyeom blinked rapidly as if to protest, but soon hung his head.
“Don’t take it hard. I’ll explain everything to Ye-jin.”
“No…… it’s not that. I just…… can’t help the Chairman…….”
Kids these days aren’t honest.
I patted his shoulder, then turned to the group.
“Now…… we need a ranger-type hunter.”
To my surprise, Lee Ha-ram volunteered right then.
“I…… I’ll go…….”
“You…….”
“No matter how much…… that bitch intimidates us…… we need at least one familiar face…….”
Rage burned in the hollow eyes of the girl who’d stopped crying.
“I’ll kill that Song Chan-woon bastard…… with my own hands…….”
That’s why I felt uneasy.
But Gong Min-young nodded like it was no big deal.
“Do what you want. But if you screw up at a key moment, I won’t hold back.”
Lee Ha-ram glared daggers, but Gong Min-young puffed smoke at her to cut the attitude.
“Then disguise now. Quick—rifle the corpses for priest robes, throw them on. Hoods too.”
15.
Jungneung 1-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul.
On the outskirts of this administrative district where the boundary line lay…… stood a building.
[24-Hour All-Night Sauna]
The old, faded sign was blackened with ash.
“This way.”
Gong Min-young led the way down the long staircase to the basement.
She must come here often.
She probed ahead with her shepherd’s staff, descending with practiced ease.
I stopped at the top of the stairs and glanced down.
They hid it…… pretty damn well.
No room to even set foot on the steps.
They were broken here and there, littered with collapse debris.
Just like ruins.
But why hide it?
I furrowed my brow for a second…… but no point thinking it out.
“What’re you doing? Coming or not? Time’s short.”
No choice……
I lit the way with Dawn Sword; Lee Seong-mi with Lotus Sword. We followed down the stairs.
“Something feels off.”
“Th-There’s a…… rotten smell too. What is it?”
As we reached the sauna entrance, Ryu Hyun-ji and Lee Seong-mi each chimed in.
I felt an ominous aura too.
What is it……?
Then Black & White bared its teeth and growled.
「Smell. Smell. Smell. Smell.」
「Smells like a human devoured by Ikilas.」
What the……?
From the deep darkness below.
Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaa…… a high, shrill wail echoed.
“Gong Min-young!”
I hissed low.
Gong Min-young glanced back, replying casually.
“No need to tense up. It’s just my mom making noise.”
“What……?”
I blinked.
What kind of noise is that……? That’s a monster hunter’s cry, no doubt.
“Hurry up. Even if she’s there, she’s just a snack for you, brother.”
“…….”
“Mom’s in the bathhouse.”
Mom or not.
Someone was inside the men’s bathhouse—that much was true.
The moment we entered the changing room.
My heart jolted with dread.
Clank…… clankclank…… clank.
The heavy rattle of chains.
A nauseating stench…… and intermittent high-pitched wails.
“Mom, I’m home.”
Gong Min-young pushed open the bathhouse door and said that. Instantly.
「KiAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」
A roar that tore at the eardrums.
Chains rattled wildly, as if about to snap.
“Mad ‘cause I haven’t visited? Calm down…… look who I brought.”
Gong Min-young beckoned me closer.
Gotta brace for ambush……
I gripped Dawn Sword’s hilt carefully and stood behind her.
“Ta-da!”
And.
This is…… mom?
I gaped at ‘it’ visible over her small shoulder.
“The son-in-law material who used to sing and show off like that!”
A monster hunter.
Bound in chains flickering with alien frost…… thrashing in the cold pool corner, glaring at us.
“Gong Min-young…… you──”
Something cold settled in my mind.
Why? How?
The scene before me…… her request to kill her mom…… I started to grasp the tragedy.
“──Hurry up and greet her too! It’s my mom. She’s got a temper.”
Damn it all……
I pushed past Gong Min-young, shining Dawn Sword on ‘mom.’
“What the hell is this.”
‘Mom’ was horrifically transformed. Was this even human?
“What is this, I said.”
Eerily pale skin.
Eyeballs rolling white as snow…… mouth torn to both ears.
“I’m asking what the hell this is, Gong Min-young.”
A twisted, massive frame.
Shaking the chains like mad with that monstrous build.
“My mom, I said?”
“That’s not the question!”
I whipped around and barked.
A heavy silence fell.
After a long moment, Gong Min-young smiled with resignation.
“It’s my mom. Before Song Chan-woon captured her and did this…… yeah…… she was my mom.”