Chapter 161
Chapter 161
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: The Survivors, Gyeonghuigung in Jongno-gu (2)
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2.
“R-Revenge...? That's... impossible....”
In the heavy silence.
After a long while, it was Dokgo Young-jae who finally spoke. His eyes were hollow.
“Not just the Chairman... Most of the Keymen are dead too...?”
At his words, the room fell quiet again, like a graveyard.
The next moment.
Whispers of despair leaked out here and there.
“What the hell are we supposed to do even if we go...?”
“The bastard who killed the Chairman President is still alive and kicking...”
“And the bitches who killed the Division Chiefs are holding strong...”
Finally, as if representing all the squad leaders, Park the evangelist locked eyes with Shin Tae-yeop.
“We're done for now... The <Association> is... finished... We should surrender before we all get killed...”
Shin Tae-yeop clamped his mouth shut for a moment.
He could clearly see the emotion in those eyes... It was overwhelming terror.
“If you're pussies, then fuck off. Why the hell are you all yapping nonstop?”
A voice sliced through the room like a blade.
“Just admit you're too scared to do shit.”
He didn't need to look to know. It was none other than... Jeong Ha-kyeong.
“What's <Association> this, Chairman that, no execs—embarrassing with dicks dangling?”
For a split second, he thought it was someone else.
“That's why I never get attached to you human fuckers. You don't know gratitude.”
It was so different from her usual self.
A face cold and expressionless, a flat voice devoid of inflection.
“Whenever a strong bastard shows up, you just think about bowing your heads. Your own skin comes first, right?”
But for some reason.
That unusual calm of hers... only hinted at the rage boiling inside Jeong Ha-kyeong.
“Weak, cowardly, no fucking spine. Even when some shitty asshole acts up, you don't think to smash their face—just grovel.”
Everyone here was mostly key players from the Jongno-gu raid.
“If you know it's embarrassing, smash your heads in, you worthless shits.”
Such criticism was undoubtedly out of line.
“Your pathetic, weak-ass lives.”
But no one could push back against Jeong Ha-kyeong's fierce tirade in that moment.
“If we charge into Nowon-gu right now and kill the Witch and the Sword God, we can save Choi Uk and Do Ye-jin, right?”
Jeong Ha-kyeong glanced at I Ha-ram and Gong Min-yeong as she asked. Gong Min-yeong nodded.
“Yeah? That's it. Choi Uk, who could take over as Chairman President in place of Kim Baek-jun, and Do Ye-jin, who could fight in his stead—they're the ones we gotta reclaim from Nowon-gu.”
“...!”
“That's the reality you need to see with those eyes of yours. If they're not just for show.”
Around then, one of the squad leaders muttered timidly, like half-hearted rebellion.
“What if we can't...?”
“Then die.”
“You think we can beat monsters like the Sword God... or the Witch right now?”
“Then die. World's gone to shit—why overthink it?”
The squad leader who asked mumbled, and Jeong Ha-kyeong let out a sigh.
“Yeah... We might not be able to. The enemy's fucking strong, and we look like total weaklings.”
She glanced at the questioning squad leader with hollow eyes.
“But if it was Kim Baek-jun, he wouldn't waste time bitching about can or can't—he'd just go.”
“...”
“Even if it wasn't someone as crucial as Choi Uk who'd frozen up. Even if it wasn't a subordinate weapon like Do Ye-jin who'd been kidnapped.”
She pointed at the squad leaders one by one with her index finger.
“You, you, you, you, and even one of you lot.”
She shrugged toward the window outside.
“Even if it was some fresh recruit who just walked in, some nameless retard who got that treatment—he'd go. Even alone.”
A gloomy silence settled.
Shin Tae-yeop dropped his gaze, thinking. Yeah... He definitely would have.
“You don't know why Kim Baek-jun hunted every day, even joining the extermination team?”
Jeong Ha-kyeong stood from the Chairman's seat as she spoke.
'Cause he loved hunting? 'Cause he's way stronger than you fucks? Fuck off, you shitheads.”
“............!”
“That retard knew how grueling and tough hunting is, so he stood at the front every day for your sakes.”
She walked toward the exit, staring down the squad leaders with a blank face.
“You wouldn't know. That fucker Kim Baek-jun, during the Exalted Ones raid... he tried to die.”
“...?!?”
“To take that monster down with him, to save you worthless worms wriggling like bugs now.”
What...?
Shin Tae-yeop doubted his ears.
Fighting for someone is easier than you'd think.
But.
Risking your life for someone... That's a whole other world.
Not even for a lover you'd die for.
Not for some saint brimming with worth saving.
For people who, compared to you, are totally useless...?
“That's all the favor you can return to a guy like that? Surrender? That's your bullshit limit?”
Jeong Ha-kyeong sneered coldly as she opened the door.
“Wow, you guys are really something. Not even a hint of shame.”
Kwaaaang............
The door slammed shut with a thunderous boom that seemed to shatter.
Heavy silence flowed once more.
Shin Tae-yeop swallowed dryly for a moment. Wasn't that too harsh...?
But no.
He could see it.
The squad leaders' fists trembling powerlessly. Their lips bitten until they bled.
“That tough sister's right.”
Breaking the silence was Gong Min-yeong, the Nowon-gu hunter.
“If you can't win, you die. Don't think that Lead Hunter over there is as nice as my darling.”
“...?!?”
“Those test subjects who charged in here, right? Wanna end up like them? Surrender if you do. Can't recommend it, though.”
Everyone but Gong Min-yeong blinked and exchanged glances.
“Wait a sec.”
Voicing the confusion was none other than Seo Hwa-yoon.
“Your darling... who the hell is that? Choi Sin-yul?”
“Choi Sin-yul? I'm more loyal than I look. Obviously Baek-jun oppa.”
A cold silence pierced the room like needles. Shiryak whined.
“Shishishi...?”
One squad leader quietly cracked open the door to peek outside.
“She's gone. Coast's clear.”
Only then did everyone exhale in relief.
“Whew, that was close to fucked.”
“Real heart attack.”
Seo Hwa-yoon grabbed Gong Min-yeong's shoulder hard and warned her as she tilted her head.
“Don't say that shit in front of Ha-kyeong, got it?”
“...?”
“She's already on edge—don't poke the bear.”
Gong Min-yeong blinked, then let out an “Ah...” of realization.
“So that's her.”
“What?”
“No wonder... He never looked back no matter what.”
Was it Jeong Ha-kyeong's brutal scolding, followed by Gong Min-yeong's playful joke?
The meeting room's mood shifted completely.
Can't miss this chance now... Shin Tae-yeop wiped a tear and immediately grabbed the Seoul city map and quill from the shelf.
“How old are you?”
“Rude to ask a lady's age... Kidding, twenty-two.”
“Then I'll call you noona from now on. For convenience.”
Gong Min-yeong grinned, amused by Shin Tae-yeop's bold attitude.
“Not bad? Closing the gap quick. Not my type, but... Whatever, do you.”
“You were an exec in Nowon-gu, right?”
“Nothing to brag about.”
“So you've been around Nowon-gu a lot? Can you draw a map?”
Gong Min-yeong took the quill readily.
“Nowon-gu is divided into ten districts for governance.”
She drew a horizontal line bisecting the blank Nowon-gu area.
“Split north and south around Nowon Station. Six in the south, three in the north.”
Six south... three north.
Shin Tae-yeop mulled it over, then tilted his head.
“But that's only nine districts?”
“District Zero, the Sanctuary, is here.”
Gong Min-yeong marked an O at the northernmost tip of Nowon-gu with the quill.
“Surak Mountain. Also called the Holy Mountain—right there... Is the god birthed by Hwang Ga-in.”
3.
“I've been waiting.”
Seodaemun-gu Cathedral.
Pushing open the heavy doors of the chapel, a scent from another world rushed in.
“I was just preparing, knowing you'd come... You used the miracle of the stars?”
“Good you know. Saves me the shitty explanation.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong forced polite speech as she stepped into the chapel.
“And you probably know why I'm here.”
“I've guessed, but not exactly. Tell me yourself.”
This guy...?
Comes here and acts like he knows... Jeong Ha-kyeong and Star Messenger Karen's eyes locked in the air.
“So, what business brings you?”
It might be an irreversible decision.
But no regrets.
Not like her life has any value left worth regretting.
“I want to max out my synchronization rate with the Holy Apostles.”
The next moment.
A sinister gleam of starlight flashed in the Star Messenger's eyes.
“Ah... Finally, the hunters are starting to act like hunters.”
Power is all that matters.
Enough power to get revenge on those dogshit bastards who killed Kim Baek-jun.
“You gonna do it or not?”
No matter the cost, I won't regret it.
“As the one who aids your mission, of course I'll help gladly.”
4.
“Surak Mountain. Also called the Holy Mountain—right there... Is the god birthed by Hwang Ga-in.”
God...?
Suddenly, it felt like space warped, and an alien chill flooded his body.
What... the hell is this?
Shin Tae-yeop shuddered, looking around. Everyone was trembling.
“You mean the god (神) I know, right?”
“Yeah. Star Messenger said the same... Don't ask how. I don't know either.”
“If the enemy's a god, then how the hell... do we even fight?”
Gong Min-yeong pulled out a pipe from her bosom and glanced at the squad leaders.
“You guys got any tobacco? Just a bit, lend me some. Ah, thanks.”
The ten seconds it took her to light a match and puff the pipe felt suffocatingly long.
“Kill it while it's asleep. Nine protrusions total—cut off the pure white one.”
“...Pure white protrusion? How do you know that?”
“Song Chan-un told me. No idea what his game was... But he researched it.”
“Why would he...?”
“What... Probably saw it as a mindless doll.”
Gong Min-yeong muttered “Serves him right” as she inhaled the smoke.
“Maybe he planned a god-slay using me.”
“Why?”
“No clue. Unreadable bastard. Anyway, not important.”
Gong Min-yeong exhaled a long plume of smoke and said quietly.
“He also said anyone who kills the god is doomed to die.”
A stifling stillness blanketed the room.
Someone else has to die.
Shin Tae-yeop immediately slammed the brakes on that despair.
“Then I'll take that on. Don't worry.”
“What?”
“Shi...?”
“O-oppa?”
Shin Tae-yeop smiled at the murmuring crowd, but Gong Min-yeong waved her pipe.
“Nah. You gotta live long. You're my darling's successor, right?”
“...Me?”
“Yeah. That's what he said. So I'll do it. Tired of living. No reason left... Just debts to pay now.”
Shin Tae-yeop opened his mouth to argue... But Gong Min-yeong's playful tone masked utter seriousness.
“Wait. There’s gotta be a way.”
It was Seo Hwa-yoon, who’d stayed silent till now.
“But right now, it's not how to kill the god—it's how to reach it.”
“...”
“One question: that Choi Sin-yul bastard... How's he so strong?”
Im Yong-gon was a hunter chosen by an absolute god too.
Sure, he was absolutely strong.
But not enough to completely overwhelm and kill Kim Baek-jun... Definitely not.
“Simple answer. He cranked his synchronization rate to the limit.”
“Synchronization rate? What's that?”
“You don't know? Star Messenger didn't tell you?”
“...?”
“Basically, becoming one with the Holy Apostles.”
It was news to him.
Seo Hwa-yoon looked to Shin Tae-yeop, but he could only shake his head.
“You really don't? Lets you use the Holy Apostles' power fully. Ah, up to your body's limit, of course.”
Shin Tae-yeop gasped sharply.
Synchronization with the Holy Apostles...?
Such a game-changer existed? As everyone's eyes sparkled, Gong Min-yeong shook her head.
“Sounds great, right? But it's not. Huge risks.”
“...Risks?!”
“Yeah, risks. Unless you're religion-crazed, you'd never even consider it once you know.”
Silence crushed the budding hope.
Finally, Seo Hwa-yoon swallowed and asked.
“Like what? Fail and die or something?”
“Death's like 95%. Crippled useless hunter the remaining 4% or so.”
“............!”
“Truth is, in Nowon-gu, everyone failed except Choi Sin-yul.”
“..............!”
“And even if you succeed...”
“...Even if?”
Gong Min-yeong inhaled deeply, then exhaled as she answered.
“High chance the Holy Apostles takes over your body someday.”