Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: The Void Hunter, Cheongun Hyoja-dong (8)
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13.
“We’ll set night watches every hour. I’ll decide the order.”
The watch rotation was Shin Tae-yeop, Ryu Hyun-ji, Do Ye-jin, Park Ji-won.
“That leaves a one-hour gap.”
“I’ll cover it. I’m the squad leader, after all. Gotta pull my weight.”
Shin Tae-yeop let out a weary sigh, then extinguished the flame he’d been using for light.
“Now get some sleep. We need to recover our strength as fast as possible.”
Outside, a storm raged ferociously, howling like a beast.
The cold wind made everything feel brutally frigid.
Do Ye-jin pressed close to Ryu Hyun-ji, sharing memories of happier vacation days.
“What are your sisters’ names?”
“The eight-year-old is Ryu Hyun-rim, and the seven-year-old is Ryu Hyun-hee.”
Just then, the sound of Shin Tae-yeop scribbling furiously in his notebook drifted over as he muttered to himself.
“It’s June now... Sandstorms don’t hit the Korean Peninsula. Is the climate affected by this otherworld too?”
Of course, it was just musing aloud.
No genius was around to keep pace with Shin Tae-yeop’s thoughts.
“So much to think about... So much to sort out...”
Shin Tae-yeop suddenly seemed to sense her gaze and looked up at Do Ye-jin, flashing a sly grin.
“Not asleep? Perfect. If someone’s not sleepy, they can pull a full shift on watch.”
“No, no no. I am? I’m super sleepy right now? Like, if I collapse, I’ll pass out on the spot?”
Without waiting for a reply, she yanked the blanket over her head.
That very night.
In her dream, Do Ye-jin glimpsed strange memories. Once again, they weren’t her own.
「What the hell... is this...?」
A twilight-shrouded wasteland.
Two knights stood there, both clad in armor.
Their weapons couldn’t have been more different.
The knight in dark blue wolf armor wielded a greatsword.
No, it was too massive to call a sword. More like a blunt club.
And the knight in golden armor... What...? How...?
Kim Baek-jun’s sword.
It was the Dawn Sword.
Far more elegant and radiant than now, its blade intact and unmarred.
「From the start... bringing you into this mixed world... wasn’t to kill you...」
The knight of light coughed up blood.
His abdomen had been brutally pierced by the wolf knight’s greatsword.
「Pathetic excuses from a loser.」
The Dawn Sword had pierced the wolf knight’s chest too. But... it was too shallow to be fatal.
「To leave you with a fragment... of the dawn’s milestone...」
And then.
Bewilderingly. Somehow.
On the brink of death, the man of light wore a desperate smile.
「Someday... your soul will awaken... from eternal nightmare... and return to the light...」
The dream ended there.
Do Ye-jin’s eyes snapped open as she bolted upright.
Her body was drenched in cold sweat.
The chill seeped deeper from the dampness, making her shiver as she checked her wristwatch.
06:31?
Morning starlight... Watch duty?
A clank of gear drew her gaze upward. Shin Tae-yeop was suiting up in full kit and shushed her.
“Quiet. Wake the others without a sound.”
“...?”
“Look outside... That monster-looking bastard. Doesn’t seem to sleep.”
Peering out the window, terror drained all strength from her limbs.
Demons flying through the starry sky.
Scouring every corner of the city without mercy.
“How’d they get here so soon... We’ve only rested four hours.”
“Don’t ask me.”
“What now?”
“Find a building with an underground shelter. Like a church. Wake the others and gear up.”
“You?”
No sooner had she spoken than Shin Tae-yeop formed a rapid series of hand seals.
“Gotta draw its attention elsewhere. Won’t last long.”
Far off, an apartment burst into flames.
The demons swarmed toward it in unison.
“Let’s go!”
At first, luck seemed to be on their side.
The squad slipped out of the abandoned shop.
They hugged the outer walls of buildings, creeping along cautiously.
One building. Another.
We can escape.
They won’t know. They’re fixated on the fire.
It was less optimism than a prayer.
But Roheiritz was no pushover.
Suddenly, the world went dark.
“...No way.”
Shin Tae-yeop muttered.
A glance skyward, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
“It figured out the fire was bait already?”
Demons blotting out the black sky.
And the sensation of fingers probing every inch of their bodies. The bastards were hunting full throttle.
“No more moving...! Over there—take cover!”
An alley mouth ahead.
A decrepit, medieval-style cathedral with a seedy vibe.
“That’s not a cathedral, it’s a haunted house...”
The cathedral’s interior was rundown and damp.
And eerie. Unidentifiable dark blue moss writhed across the walls.
“Details later—inside!”
Once everyone was in, Shin Tae-yeop barred the main door and lit flames for light.
Silence.
The faint crackle of fire.
“What now...?”
“Find an escape route.”
“Escape route?”
“Back door for evac, usually leading to underground tunnels toward safe outskirts. Common in medieval churches.”
He didn’t just run?
In that split-second crisis, he thought of this too?
Do Ye-jin suddenly grew curious.
“Hey. Weren’t you just a normal high schooler, Shin Tae-yeop?”
“...Yeah.”
“But how do you know so much about tactics and strategy?”
Unlike the third batch of recruits, Shin Tae-yeop had been a key player in Nightmare Hunts from the start.
“Virtual... virtual reality games.”
Shin Tae-yeop said, clutching his head as a migraine hit. Park Ji-won chimed in.
“What game? Dragon Age? The Chronicles of Quelm?”
Park Ji-won childishly rattled off popular 2045 VR games. Shin Tae-yeop gave a wry smile.
“Sorry. Can’t remember... what game it was.”
Do Ye-jin tilted her head.
“What? Dementia already?”
She’d meant it as a joke, but surprisingly, Shin Tae-yeop nodded.
“Feels like it. Like chunks of memory are just... gone.”
“Hah... But history’s different here from Earth. Would they even have persecution history?”
That’s when Ryu Hyun-ji cut in.
“Yeah. If my memory’s right... they’d have it here too.”
If my memory’s right?
Has she been to this world before or something?
“Let’s move in pairs. Heteromorphs might be hiding.”
“...!”
“The enemy’ll search around the fire first, so we’ve got some time. Don’t rush and get ambushed by Heteromorphs.”
She forgot her question. Right... Interiors in Nightmare Zones were dangerous spots.
“Ji-won and Hyun-ji, Team A. Me and Ye-jin, Team B. Move out. Ring the bell if you find a door. Let’s go.”
14.
That’s when they ran into the priest.
While Shin Tae-yeop and Do Ye-jin were checking the cathedral’s reception room.
“Feels kinda bitter.”
Do Ye-jin said, scanning the dim nave. It really did.
A male statue with its head severed.
A female statue clutching her face. Skeletons sprawled before it, as if dead mid-prayer.
Were these the gods of a ruined world?
She wondered if followers of the world’s three great religions had met similar ends.
“But he was really a Hunter from another world?”
“No other explanation.”
Shin Tae-yeop clicked his tongue.
“My oversight. No, the Association’s as a whole. Assuming otherworld Hunters only spawned in Hunting Zones.”
“But how... You said there hadn’t been any till now. Why now?”
“Not sure.”
Shin Tae-yeop glanced at Do Ye-jin.
“But your overwhelming presence is the only thing that explains drawing them here.”
“My fault again...”
“Stop. Not blaming you. Just that two back-to-back ambushes let us guess that much.”
Shin Tae-yeop stroked his chin, muttering something. His habit during hyper-speed thinking.
“No way Captain Choi missed this...”
“What? Couldn’t hear.”
“Huh? Nothing. Did I say something?”
Do Ye-jin smirked at his clumsy dodge.
“Nah, you didn’t. Must’ve been a hallucination.”
“Thought so. Stay sharp.”
They glared for a beat, then burst out laughing almost in sync.
Laughter to break the hellish tension.
“Don’t laugh. What if a Heteromorph hears?”
“What? You’re laughing too.”
Moments later, Shin Tae-yeop found an old book atop a podium.
“Leather binding... Bible or something?”
“Can’t read it anyway.”
“Might have pictures.”
Pfft, yeah right.
No sooner said than the first page revealed an illustration.
“...Pretty.”
A pure white sprout.
Rising alone from black soil... scattering dawnlight across the world.
“Spirit Tree...?”
Shin Tae-yeop murmured suddenly. Do Ye-jin asked.
“Spirit Tree?”
“Dunno. Just popped into my head.”
No clue why.
Or why a flicker of longing seemed to dance in the eyes beneath his blond hair.
“You okay?”
“What wouldn’t be?”
“Just... you’ve seemed off since Cheongun Hyoja-dong.”
“This is nothing.”
Shin Tae-yeop flipped rapidly through the bible until the next picture.
The sprout grew steadily.
Sprout to sapling.
Sapling sprouted branches.
Finally, a great tree with snow-white leaves.
“Is the tree sucking up the darkness?”
Do Ye-jin voiced her thought.
Shin Tae-yeop perked up, intrigued.
“What?”
“Look at the pics. Ground started pitch black, right? Now it’s light brown.”
“...You’re right.”
Shin Tae-yeop raised a brow, muttering.
“Religious symbol? Holy relic?”
“Ugh, no fancy words. I don’t get it.”
“Sigh, elementary dropout as expected...”
“What?! You’re technically middle school drop too!”
“Ow! Sorry! My bad! Don’t hit! Yours actually hurts!”
Shin Tae-yeop shielded his head with raised arms, blurting desperately.
“R-religion symbol means like the Christian cross. Symbol of sacrifice.”
As he went to close the bible, Do Ye-jin grabbed it.
“Why?”
“Thought I saw an info window pop up.”
“...?”
Shin Tae-yeop tilted his head, then opened the last page again.
頌.
The Spirit Tree’s trunk.
Familiar script. Like kanji?
The moment she thought it, a long info window unfurled before them.
Rin script...!
They swallowed hard, exchanging glances, then back to the window.
Do Ye-jin stared blankly at “Ledonia.”
Ledonia... Ledonia...?
Strange.
It felt like the characters themselves carried a warm resonance.
“Huge find.”
Shin Tae-yeop, voice tinged with excitement, stowed the bible in his bag.
“Maybe Uncle Choi and Noona Hwayoon can uncover more...”
Shin Tae-yeop abruptly clammed up. Do Ye-jin whispered.
“What’s wrong?”
“Presence. From the reception room...”
Straining her ears, she heard madmen chanting. Color drained from her face.
“Sneak past quietly. Noise might tip off the enemy.”
After ten stealthy steps away, they froze.
The door flew open.
A Heteromorph in ragged hood and wolf mask appeared.
...A priest.
The priest wore a wolf mask.
The madmen behind wore sheep masks—about seven—howling.
“Do Ye-jin, ring the bell! I’ll handle them. We gotta get outta here.”
Shin Tae-yeop started seals in a flash, but Do Ye-jin hesitated.
“...Wait.”
“Wait my ass...”
The priest approached cautiously, halting five paces away.
Something felt oddly careful.
“Not saying fight together! No killing intent from these guys...”
Shin Tae-yeop’s hands froze mid-seal.
“What?”
The priest set his staff down and knelt. The madmen stopped howling, kneeling one by one.
[Rin Script: 頌]
[Overview]
- Lingering Light Recorded in Script: 頌
[Usage]
- ????
頌 signifies peace.
It was the symbol of Ledonia, one of the creation gods who shaped and loved the world.
Ledonia earnestly wished for peace to fill the world.
Peace is tranquility, true happiness.
When sealing the five kings of the abyss, it was natural for the remnants of light to use this script.
Walkers of the light.
May eternal peace be in your lives.