Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: The Void Hunter, Cheongunhyojadong (6)
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10.
“We think we’re kindergarten teachers or something?”
Do Ye-jin was at a loss for words.
Common sense…… is different from what I know…… as if it were the most obvious thing in the world……
“Old man!”
Hong-gu, who had stopped in front of room 113.
He confirmed that room 113, like the other rooms, had no door, and shouted off toward the far end of the corridor.
“There’s an empty room here. Please close the door once you put these kids inside. Room 113.”
Looking that way, a middle-aged man was sitting cross-legged. Empty soju bottles and beer cans were scattered messily around him. He narrowed his eyes.
“Fuck, more newbies?”
“Not exactly newbies. Kids from the <Association>.”
“You fucking asshole. Why’d you bring them here? You think I’ve got nothing better to do?”
“Shit. Sister Hee-seon took an interest. I’m just following orders.”
At that moment, a spark of interest lit up in the middle-aged man’s eyes.
“Hee-seon’s interested? This could get fun.”
“Right?”
Hong-gu roughly shoved the First Hunting Platoon inside. The moment Park Ji-won rolled onto the damp floor with a groan, Do Ye-jin charged at him ferociously.
“What the hell is this!”
“Whoa, whoa. Do it right now.”
“Okay.”
As the middle-aged man swiftly formed hand seals, a haze rippled at the entrance to room 113.
“Argh!”
Do Ye-jin was a half-beat too slow.
The next instant, excruciating pain hurled her body backward. She had slammed her forehead into an invisible wall and tumbled away.
“See? Fiery temper, huh? She’s a proper crazy bitch with no fear, so watch out. I’ll be back soon with sis.”
“Got it.”
While Hong-gu led the hunters away, Do Ye-jin kept pounding her fists against the invisible door.
“Wanna make a bet? You’ll never break it that way.”
The middle-aged man staggered over then and plopped down right in front of the doorway.
“There’s a right way to break it, but no reason for me to tell you.”
A bushy beard.
A face streaming with grime.
Even in the torchlight that dimly lit the dank corridor, it was clear just how filthy this middle-aged man was.
“Oh, right. Name’s Kim Wan. As you can see, I handle training the newbies. Make yourselves at home in this dump.”
“Can’t relax here. Let us out!”
“What’s the big rush? Huh?”
“Otherworld hunters are coming! I’ve said it a million times…… no one listens.”
Kim Wan responded as if it were no big deal.
“Otherworld hunters in the Nightmare Zone too? I like it. They must have some solid skills.”
“So frustrating! This isn’t a joke!”
“Who said it was?”
Kim Wan cracked open a beer can, the *pssh* echoing through the dark corridor.
“Kid, you know why we only nabbed one subordinate while you guys took down four?”
“……?”
“What’s this?”
Kim Wan raised his left hand. A grotesque skull bracelet was fastened around his wrist.
“Gear forged from an otherworld hunter soulstone.”
She panicked for a split second.
This old guy has gear like Jeong Ha-kyeong’s……?
“There’s like ten more guys with stuff like this besides me.”
“Obvious bullshit.”
When Heo Cheon-gyeom scoffed, Kim Wan waved him off.
“This old man doesn’t lie when he’s drunk. You kids—how many died in your latest raid?”
Do Ye-jin didn’t answer.
The Great Library…… just recalling that day’s slaughter brought a headache crashing in.
“We lost exactly two.”
“……Two?!”
“It’s not that we’re weak and slow on subordinates. The top brass are perfectionists. We only raided once everyone was properly leveled and geared.”
“Who’s the top brass?”
“You don’t know Raid Leader JO.W?”
“JO.W?”
Jo Hee-seon.
Oh Jeong-su.
Won Hong-gwang.
Made from the initials of their surnames, probably.
“Everyone’s heard the name Jo Hee-seon, right? Korea’s volleyball ace.”
“……For real?”
“Won Hong-gwang—the weebs’ll know him. Famous pro gamer.”
Heo Cheon-gyeom’s eyes blinked at the name, so he must really be famous.
“What about Oh Jeong-su?”
“Don’t lose your shit. Elite from the 707 Special Mission Group.”
……707 Special Mission Group?
Unlike the boys, Do Ye-jin had zero interest in special forces or combat units, but even she knew Korea’s premier spec ops unit.
“What a fucked-up world. There’s that saying—the world has to end for the little guys to climb up? All bullshit. The big shots from the old era are still big shots in the new one.”
Kim Wan ended his wistful rambling, then drained the beer can in one gulp. Heo Cheon-gyeom bristled.
“Those hotshots only bagging one subordinate now—that’s legendary. The <Association> brass are the real elites.”
Kim Wan clucked his tongue and wagged a finger at the boy and girl.
“To us, you look like dumb hotheads. Gotta be careful. Charging in like that won’t cut it.”
“Real funny…….”
Park Ji-won spoke up, her voice thick with suppressed pain.
“The <Association> didn’t even know otherworld hunters existed, despite all their intel.”
“Fair point.”
“And if the <Association> hadn’t been winning nonstop, hunters wouldn’t even be spilling out of the Nightmare Zone. What’s hotheaded about that?”
Park Ji-won put it like this.
The <Association> had fought all along for hope beyond mere victory.
“Those retarded types who think so unrealistically always die first—how the hell have you survived this long?”
That voice came from someone then. Looking back, the boss-lady from before was walking over.
“Oh, Hee-seon. Already here?”
“You’re fifty years old and yapping away with kids like it’s a party?”
Flanking her came two men, yawning expansively.
One was a lanky young guy.
The other a hulking middle-ager.
You could tell at a glance who the ex-pro gamer was and who the 707 guy was. All three radiated massive presence.
[Lv : 61]
[Lv : 63]
[Lv : 58]
“Won Hong-god for real……?”
Won Hong-god? Won Hong-gwang’s nickname?
As Heo Cheon-gyeom muttered in awe, the young guy Won Hong-gwang flashed a sleazy grin.
“Damn, they’re all actual kids. Nightmare hunters out of these?”
The middle-aged Oh Jeong-su cut straight to it, though. He drew Heo Cheon-gyeom’s folding sword and held it out.
“Pretty innovative weapon. Where’d you score it? Never seen anything like it at the <Forge>.”
“Not telling murderers like you. Ever.”
“Murderers?”
Oh Jeong-su cocked his head blankly, then glanced back at Hong-gu. Hong-gu started sweating profusely.
“W-well, it’s like……”
Once Hong-gu finished explaining, Jo Hee-seon cackled, and Oh Jeong-su snorted derisively.
“Here’s a fun fact. Why do the world’s top special forces set sky-high entry bars, even while chronically short-staffed?”
“……No clue.”
“Because a comrade’s gotta be someone you can trust with your back in hell itself.”
Oh Jeong-su sighed and turned to Kim Wan.
“Have we killed everyone up to now?”
“Nope.”
Kim Wan shook his head, and Won Hong-gwang snickered.
“We don’t kill every heteromorph, but anyone who never loses their fight to the bitter end? We spare ’em and pull ’em out. Those are the keepers.”
“You hear that? No unbreakable spirit, and you’re not a comrade—you’re baggage. Baggage that wipes out teams.”
As Oh Jeong-su glared Do Ye-jin down like he was crushing her again.
“Taking in green rookies like you? Shows just how pathetic the <Association> is.”
“Choi Jeong-gyun’s been saying that forever.”
Someone stepped out of the shadows. In that instant, Do Ye-jin felt every drop of blood in her body freeze solid.
“Just keeping this monster bitch alive proves it.”
……Choi Jeong-gyun?
“Monster bitch? You mean this kid?”
Former [National Army Headquarters] raid leader.
“Not a kid. It’s a subordinate.”
The man who’d led the charge to kill Do Ye-jin more than anyone. The man who’d abandoned the east in protest of the council’s ruling.
“Rip that gut open right now. It’ll cough up the subordinate soulstone on the spot.”
In this nightmare land.
He stood before the girl, smirking viciously.
“Damn right. I, Choi Jeong-gyun, guarantee it.”
The room stirred noisily.
“What’s that mean…… this kid’s that infamous subordinate weapon?”
“Wasn’t that <Association> crap?”
“Crap my ass. It’s legit. You doubting Choi Jeong-gyun?”
An ugly silence settled in.
The situation…… isn’t good. The subordinate weapon’s true nature has been <Association> top secret.
But Choi Jeong-gyun shows up?
Jo Hee-seon, who’d listened quietly, suddenly smacked Kim Wan’s shoulder.
“Old man, open the door.”
The invisible door swung open.
Jo Hee-seon strode in and seized Do Ye-jin’s collar, hoisting her into the air.
“Hey. Know our raid’s creed? Motto? Whatever?”
“H-how would I……!”
Insane strength. Airway crushed.
Ryu Hyeon-ji lunged to intervene, but Jo Hee-seon booted her in the gut.
“[While chit-chatting, we kill three more heteromorphs.] Seen the classic [John Wick]? That’s where JO.W comes from.”
Right then.
*Shing.* Jo Hee-seon yanked a dagger from her belt sheath and shoved it in Do Ye-jin’s face.
“Know what this is? Gear forged from a subordinate soulstone.”
Do Ye-jin sucked in a sharp breath.
“Subordinate or not, I can split that skull wide open.”
The blade’s menacing aura.
Definitely…… this crushing power feels familiar…… it’s a subordinate……
“So spit it honest. Lie once, and your eye’s mine. You really the subordinate weapon?”
“I said yes!”
“You shut it.”
Do Ye-jin gasped for air and finally choked out “Yes.”
“Next. Can you wield that power for real, or nah?”
“…….”
“No side-eye. Forget your friends—answer me. Shield them one more time. Their eyes go first.”
Her head was a jumble.
What do I say? Why’s she asking?
Sizing up my worth?
What would Shin Tae-yeop do? Do Ye-jin hated her own dumb brain.
“……No.”
“Huh?”
“Can’t.”
“You can’t right now?”
“Won’t ever. Failed no matter how much I trained.”
“Yeah?”
That instant.
Jo Hee-seon’s smirk vanished, her eyes gleaming icy cold.
“Then that soulstone inside’s got more use than you.”
“……What?”
“See ya, kid.”
Right then.
[Unique skill, 《Divinity Attraction》 activated!]
Do Ye-jin’s eyes flashed dark cyan…… huh?
What’s……
The dagger Jo Hee-seon thrust lost all form, wavered like heat haze, and got sucked straight into Do Ye-jin’s eyes.
What?
Moments later.
An info window appeared before her.
[Unique skill, 《Divinity Attraction》 activation complete]
- Subjugated the authority of the Nightmare Subordinate, ‘Temple Gravekeeper, Irukusa’.
- Additional modifier applied to unique skill, 《Subordinatization》.
“W-what…… fuck. What the hell did you just do?”
She couldn’t respond.
As the room buzzed, Jo Hee-seon spat curses and drew another blade from her belt.
“What did you do!”
Screams erupted from outside then.
Followed by *buuuuuu…… buuuuu……* trumpet blasts.
“No biggie.”
Jo Hee-seon turned to the murmuring crew and shook her head.
“Just the once. Bog-standard heteromorph alert──”
──*Buuuuu buuu buuu.*
Jo Hee-seon’s face twisted. She shook Do Ye-jin’s collar and bellowed.
“You fucking bitch, you the scout? <Association> scum incoming?”
<Association> doesn’t give a shit about small-time trash like you.
She wanted to say it.
But couldn’t. Thunder had just ripped the world asunder.
He’d finally arrived……
Indescribable dread made her heart throb wildly. Jo Hee-seon flung Do Ye-jin to the floor.
“Hong-gu, sound the emergency.”
“Y-yes!”
“We sortie now. Kim Wan, old man—watch these shits close. No escapes.”
Then.
*Ping.* A sharp sound rang out.
Hong-gu yelped “Huh?” and flew backward, crashing into Kim Wan and rolling.
“You moron, what the fuck?”
Do Ye-jin saw it in that instant.
The arrow buried in his gut.
Roheiritsu’s arrow.
Do Ye-jin moved without thinking.
Subordinate power snapped the iron shackles binding her wrists. She then shattered Ryu Hyeon-ji’s, Heo Cheon-gyeom’s, and Park Ji-won’s shackles too.
Then a flash set the world ablaze.
An ear-splitting boom threatened to rupture eardrums.
No time to process what happened—the ceiling began crumbling.
Dust. Rubble. Rebar shards.
It all battered her back over and over.
“Protect Ji-won!”
“Huddle! Huddle!”
The First Hunting Platoon clutched the wounded Park Ji-won tight, waiting for the collapse to halt.
“Everyone okay?”
“……Yeah. For now.”
“Me too.”
Only when the fierce aftershocks finally died.
Did the world reveal itself as utter hell.