Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 015
Chapter Title: Shadow Worm, Cha-Ratevil (7)
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9.
“Kim Baek-jun, what should we have for lunch today?”
Lunch?
Ah, already that time?
“That gukbap place again? Their chive pancake was pretty good too.”
“That place, Inspector, you ate everything yourself. Sergeant didn’t even get a single bite. You’re teasing me now, right?”
“That…… was it like that?”
Familiar laughter rang out, then faded faintly.
What was it? Sad.
Because I knew this was a dream.
And that made sense. Laughter…… it’s a relic of the lost old world, after all.
The next time I came to, a familiar voice was growling.
“……This is why I don’t trust you damn humans. Worse than bugs, you fucks.”
Next came a thick, booming voice.
“……Get that crazy bitch out of here. No time. The others’ll be coming soon. Grab that thing and let’s go.”
“Why don’t you do it yourself? Scared of three of us?”
Shouts…… screams…… groans……
Sounds of a fierce brawl. Moments later, gunshots rang out.
Even then, I couldn’t move, and my consciousness sank back into darkness.
“Gasp!”
When I finally opened my eyes on the bed, I couldn’t help but panic.
Right away, I saw a torch hanging on the wall.
It was a dim, damp place overall. And above all, it was freezing cold.
……Where is this?
“As the Star Messenger said, right on the third night.”
A middle-aged man’s voice I didn’t recognize.
I bolted upright on the bed. My head throbbed, and my side and left forearm burned like fire.
……I could feel pain.
“Take it slow. We’re not here to kill you.”
I reflexively checked my body.
My side and left forearm…… massive scars.
Scars mean it’s healed properly. The rest of my body seemed intact too.
[Hunter Privilege, ‘Healing of the Stars’ is repairing the body.]
So I came back to life.
No, not yet…… maybe not.
I slowly unclenched my hands and lifted my head.
I was locked in a cramped cell, and two men were staring at me from beyond the iron bars.
One was a middle-aged man with an intellectual, refined air.
The other…… is that even human?
His face was hidden under an overturned metal bucket like a helmet.
But he was over two meters tall, a mass of muscle that would make bodybuilders worldwide weep and quit.
[Lv : 31]
[Lv : 35]
Above all, their levels were way too high.
Higher than mine. Overwhelming even among Nightmare Hunters?
“Where is this?”
“You can tell just by looking. An underground prison.”
“And you?”
“Remember me as the Raid Leader of the assault team that stood at the foremost front, even ahead of <GodSpring>.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong entered the edge of my vision.
Leaning bloodied against the underground prison corridor wall.
I unwittingly held my breath, but fortunately, I saw her chest rising and falling slowly.
“……You guys?”
“Let me correct you before you misunderstand. I didn’t imprison you, and I didn’t turn your girlfriend into that state. In the latter case, I actually helped.”
“Helped her die?”
“Helped kill.”
The middle-aged man nodded toward the far end of the cell corridor.
I looked and was shocked.
Five Hunter corpses were piled up.
“Do you know you’ve been a target for every fly around for three days?”
I’d been asleep for three days?
“You’re in the prison for safety. Easiest place to guard.”
“Cut the crap…… This is Paradise Zone, isn’t it?”
“The world’s rotten enough that naive Q&A like this doesn’t fly anymore. Look at the foot of the bed.”
Three large leather sacks were stacked. Stuffed full with something.
This……?
Obsidian-like stones.
Cha-Ratevil’s soul stones.
And beneath them, piles of more soul stones.
“The entire Muak-dong turned into a Paradise Zone. The aftermath killed all the Heteromorphs there. And they kindly dropped soul stones—that’s where the trouble started.”
My head started throbbing.
The thread of the incomprehensible catastrophe came into focus.
“Fellow Hunters tried to kill me for these?”
“That’s right.”
“And Jeong Ha-kyeong protected me from them.”
I couldn’t believe it.
No, I didn’t want to believe it.
That this world had become so ugly.
“Were they insane?”
“Weren’t they just true to their nature? First Subordinate soul stones ever. Who knows what power they hold? Isn’t it a chance to become stronger than anyone?”
Frustration rampaged in my head.
I staggered to the bars and gripped them hard in front of the middle-aged man.
“You came for this damn stuff too.”
“No. I came for something more important.”
The middle-aged man dragged a corpse over, propped it against the wall, and sat on its head.
Crack. Neck bone snapping.
“Let’s talk about the Muak-dong raid for a bit. It was a disaster. Success, but over half the assault team wiped out.”
“Now…… over half?”
Dizziness hit me.
Regardless, the middle-aged man kept talking.
“The sacrifice had value. Gave strategic insight to the followers.”
One.
No need to wipe out Heteromorphs one by one in Nightmare Zones. Eliminate the Subordinate, and they all perish anyway.
Two.
Assault teams should be small elite units of max seven.
“The most important is the third.”
“Fuck…… I don’t want to hear it.”
“Whether each assault team member has ‘will’ or not.”
Will.
No such stat exists. What abstract…… Suddenly, the middle-aged man thumped his chest with his fist.
“Shin Tae-yeop, that boy had will. That’s why he led others to end the first Nightmare.”
Next, he pointed at the Cha-Ratevil soul stones over my shoulder.
“You too. Will drove you to charge the Subordinate alone, made a legend. Nightmare Zones are worse than worst. Who twisted that worst fate? You guys with will, right?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Kim Baek-jun. Do you have the ultimate will to end this Nightmare?”
Ultimate will.
The unexpected question made me freeze.
“My assault team pinpointed the second Subordinate’s location. Area identified; now just need exact spot.”
One step.
The middle-aged man approached.
“I judge the Lead Hunter’s power is crucial for that raid. The Hunter who soloed the first Subordinate. But first, I must confirm.”
His eyes flashed as he thumped my chest with his fist.
“What is your ultimate will? Revenge against Nightmares? Justice to save the world? Or beastly instinct like these guys, just to grab power and live high?”
……My will.
I unwittingly held my breath and straightened my back.
I slowly etched the mad world’s scene onto my retinas.
Soul stones.
Unconscious Jeong Ha-kyeong.
Hunters’ corpses.
Modern underground prison. And the old world’s laughter from the dream.
“No lofty justice like that.”
The resolve etched in my heart on the first day of ruin trembled.
“I just want to return the world to how it was.”
“That’s called justice. Very good.”
The middle-aged man extended his hand.
“I’m Choi Uk. Raid Leader of <Romance>. This is Im Yong-gon. Will you join the raid?”
I didn’t take it.
“Fellow Hunters are out for my neck. What makes me trust you with my back?”
“Hate.”
Just one word.
But the killing intent in it was suffocating. Choi Uk pointed at Im Yong-gon.
“This guy was a firefighter. On ruin day, dispatched to a scene—his best buddies massacred. Ran home, mom being chewed to bits.”
“……And you?”
I regretted not shutting up. Choi Uk spat it out like chewing.
“Twelve-year-old daughter torn apart. Right in front of me. Watched her limbs ripped off one by one. Satisfied?”
“Ah…… shit…….”
“If you can’t trust us, trust this hate—pure, without a shred of lie.”
Then four Hunters rushed down the stairs.
Hong Byeong-gyu of Team A in the lead.
Looking closely, they were the Hunters who cleared the path in the boss fight.
A heavy silence fell briefly.
Next moment, Hong Byeong-gyu gripped his axe handle tight. Choi Uk casually raised both hands.
“Not here to fight.”
“Plenty said that before. All went to hell.”
The bucket giant shrugged.
A sledgehammer three times a construction hammer—massive from his back—let out a heavy metallic clang.
“If you’re that hostile……”
Dangerous.
Bone-chilling threat in an instant. Massive bloodshed loomed, so I stepped in.
“Choi Uk really just came to talk.”
Hong Byeong-gyu looked baffled.
Shocked I was awake.
“Bro…… you’re up? When……?”
“Just woke up. Please step back for now.”
He hesitated but yielded the way.
“Then, let’s talk again in three days. After pinpointing the second Subordinate.”
Choi Uk left first, Im Yong-gon casually slung the five Hunter corpses over his shoulder and followed.
Once footsteps faded, Hong Byeong-gyu let out a hollow laugh.
“They really just talked? What about?”
“……Prepping a second raid, asked for cooperation.”
“Raid? Already? Levels are fucking high…… Those bastards picnicking in Nightmare Zone?”
Hong Byeong-gyu’s level as he spoke…… [Lv : 26]?
But his explanation made sense. Muak-dong turning Paradise spewed soul stones; they leveled up.
Yeah. But how’d <Romance> get such high levels?
“All that’s yours. Sixty percent of Muak-dong’s soul stones…… We split the remaining forty into ten each.”
Hong Byeong-gyu pulled a key from his belt and unlocked the cell.
“You gave too much to one guy. Take more.”
“What’re you saying? We took this without conscience. Without you, we’d all be dead.”
“……Didn’t save that many.”
My words brought gloomy silence.
Yeah. Choi Uk’s words must be true.
With a heavy sigh, I stepped out—and freaked.
“Why are you all doing this?”
Hong Byeong-gyu and the other Hunters bowed deeply.
“We mean it. Thanks to you. We’ve…… wanted to say this.”
“…….”
“Yeah, lots died. But how’s that your fault? Bring the bastard who says so. I’ll smash his face.”
Other Hunters chimed in fervently.
“Baek-jun, you’re our hero.”
“Bro, shoulders back proud. Why you like this?”
I finally shook my head and forced a smile. Then got a brief rundown from Hong Byeong-gyu.
I’d been hospitalized in a private room at Sinchon Severance originally.
But Hunters after soul stones were endless. From below, above, even windows. Impossible to guard.
“Fucking bastards…… Safest in Paradise Zone was underground prison. So we moved to Seodaemun Prison.”
“It’s fine. You guys protected me.”
Knowing that eased my chest’s tightness with warmth. But Hong Byeong-gyu shook his head, glancing at wall-leaning Jeong Ha-kyeong.
“We just took turns on watch. Can’t take credit in front of her.”
“What’d Ha-kyeong do?”
“Guarded you three days and nights. Superhuman.”
Three days and nights?
Suddenly, the shouting from the dream resurfaced.
Not a dream.
That was Jeong Ha-kyeong protecting me. My heart ached.
“Let’s go. I’ll escort to the cathedral. Use the soul stones quick to be safe.”
“Risk of ambush on the way.”
“Not zero.”
“Then I’ll go alone tomorrow.”
I picked up Jeong Ha-kyeong, laid her on the cell bed. Starlight twinkled from her wounds.
‘Healing of the Stars’ effect, probably.
“Tomorrow? Better go now.”
“Can’t take an unconscious person into danger. After she recovers.”
Hong Byeong-gyu scratched his head sheepishly at my words.
“Didn’t think that far. Got it. We’ll guard the prison entrance all tonight. Together tomorrow.”
After Hong Byeong-gyu’s group climbed the stairs, I sat against the bed foot.
Thought about Jeong Ha-kyeong’s actions all night.
Hard to understand. Opposite of the self-centered image I had.
Someone who seemed selfish sacrificed herself?
No answer came.
Dawn, 04:32.
Jeong Ha-kyeong finally stirred.
“Cigarette.”
Faint, raspy voice.
She patted her pants pocket.
“Pull one out and light it for me. Ah, fucking breathing’s hard, light it first.”
“Cigarettes are bad for your health.”
I said it but did as told. Put cigarette in her mouth, lit it, placed it.
Soon, she exhaled smoke laboriously.
“Why’d you do something so reckless?”
“You crazy bastard. Who’s calling who reckless?”
Jeong Ha-kyeong gave a disbelieving chuckle, and I bowed my head.
“I heard everything. Truly grateful.”
“So who to who…… Ah, whatever. Sleeping beauty slept so long, dwarfs spun like tops.”
“Got a princess kiss instead and recovered, so even.”
“Kiss? What kiss out of nowhere?”
I pointed at the cigarette filter.
Meant indirect kiss lighting it. Staring briefly, Jeong Ha-kyeong burst out laughing.
“This…… fuck…… even…… when’d you learn that…… ah, my stomach hurts…….”
Was that a gag? Surprising anyway.
Jeong Ha-kyeong. She could laugh this purely.
“Why stare like that. First time seeing someone laugh?”
“Feels like it…… Haven’t heard real laughter since the ruin.”
Laughter.
Glorious relic of the old era.
Why’d I take it for granted? This priceless treasure that makes you happy just hearing it.
“This big a deal? Just a laugh?”
So I laughed too, thinking.
Maybe the best reward for risking life against the Subordinate is this laughter.
“Don’t make me embarrassed. Won’t do it again. For you…… hmm…… rarely, real rarely, when I feel like it, I’ll laugh once.”