Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Demon Shax
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“Nyaaang.”
Isia stretched languidly in her studio apartment.
Her tail stood straight up toward the sky.
Since classes resumed tomorrow, she planned to make the most of today.
Whirr.
She pressed the power button on the PC in the corner of the room, and the fans inside the case spun vigorously.
“Nya...!”
Lately, Isia had been in an exceptionally good mood.
It was because the ‘Dark Knight’ had made his return.
After a month of silence, he had reemerged by uncovering the secrets of that hideous research lab.
‘Of course... I knew he’d come back! Someone with such noble convictions.’
She frequented online communities, so she knew better than anyone how much flak the ‘Dark Knight’ had taken.
As usual, Isia logged into the biggest community, ‘Hero Korea.’
Everyone was in a festive mood.
She wasn’t the only one thrilled about the ‘Dark Knight’s’ comeback.
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[Upvote if you welcome Dark Knight’s return lol]
As a Knight Order member, I’m so moved lol
Just the other day, I thought he was gone for good, but here he is ㄷㄷ
Please stop with the haters now;;
I wish the haters would just get banned.
Anyway, what’s up with that human experimentation lab? Straight out of a movie lol
Recommend- 34628 Oppose- 628
(Comments)-7441
[1st!]
[For real, if you’re Korean, cheer for Dark Knight. Or else!]
[Rumor he hit S-rank?]
ㄴ[What bs? He’s A-rank at best.]
ㄴ[Saw it on XTube?]
ㄴ[You believe that lol? Then I’m the president.]
ㄴ<ㅗ>
[Why didn’t he come back sooner... What about all the crime victims while he was gone?;;;]
ㄴ[What’d you entrust to Dark Knight? He’s not even an official hero.]
ㄴ[I know, but put yourself in the victims’ families’ shoes. Wouldn’t you be pissed?]
ㄴ[What do you know. My heart’s breaking.]
ㄴ[What → What can you do?]
[†Dark Knight Fan Cafe ‘Knight Order’† welcomes Dark Knight’s return.]
ㄴ[Pls don’t advertise outside.]
ㄴ[He’ll go dark again after seeing this lol]
[Dark Knight’s a real hero lol]
[Feels like I’m gonna die happy fr]
[Takes no money, gets all the hate, and still comes back? That’s real hero spirit, tough as nails.]
.
.
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‘Now people have truly felt the Dark Knight’s value down to their bones, right?’
Isia already felt as one with the ‘Dark Knight.’
When he got trashed, it hit her like a knife to the heart.
When he got praised, she felt the glow herself.
“Grrr.”
Her tail swayed gently.
She brimmed with joy.
Tap tap, click.
Isia worked the PC.
Time to restart the ‘Find Dark Knight’ project.
‘Heart pounding!’
The ‘Dark Knight’ rarely left traces, but this time he’d uploaded files to the ‘Black Side’ site.
It was to expose the lab’s corruption to the world, but to Isia, it was a massive clue.
‘Black Side’ boasted perfect anonymity and untraceability—connections routed through servers in over ten countries worldwide.
Even regular investigators couldn’t track it, but it was child’s play for Isia.
She backtracked the detours to the source.
‘Found it.’
Republic of Korea.
Seoul.
She pinpointed the PC that uploaded the video.
‘Huh? This is......’
Salus PC bang, ten minutes from the academy.
And super close to her place.
‘Come to think of it, last time the trail cut off near the academy too. He really must live around here.’
Her heart raced at the thought of unmasking his identity.
She checked every CCTV near the PC bang.
Most passersby were academy boys or local middle schoolers.
Some adults too.
“Nya-aaah.”
Isia deflated fast.
Too many candidates.
No way to narrow it down.
Then a familiar face caught her eye.
‘Shin Noda?’
Grainy footage, but definitely him.
His striking looks made him stand out.
‘Doesn’t seem like the gaming type though.’
As that thought crossed her mind, a shocking idea hit.
“Nyaat!”
What if.
What if Shin Noda was the ‘Dark Knight’?
‘No way. No way! Absolutely not!’
Isia dismissed it as a fleeting delusion.
No way that slacker kid was the noble ‘Dark Knight.’
‘Still, just in case... maybe test the waters?’
Nothing to lose, and he was the most plausible from the CCTV.
His strength far exceeded student level, and as a freshman, he had battle experience beyond his years.
“Nyaong. Nyaong.”
***
「So, wilt thou make a pact with me?」
Kang Yu-jin pondered the demon who called himself ‘Shax.’
‘Even in this mess, do I really have to buddy up with a demon to survive......’
He’d once dreamed of becoming a hero.
His inner sense of ‘justice’ naturally rebelled at joining hands with a demon.
「The ‘Seed of Evil’ is a skill crafted to harvest humanity’s negative energy.」
The demon continued in a cheerful tone.
「I promise. Once the skill hits A-rank, I’ll take the gathered negativity and be off. Thou shalt gain pure power, untainted by evil.」
“One last question. That thug I killed—did you manipulate me?”
When the thug picked a fight, Kang Yu-jin couldn’t hold back his rage.
Unusual for him; he never even showed displeasure outwardly.
「T’was entirely thy will. Demons cannot lie. Trust me.」
With the demon’s firm assurance, another thread of Kang Yu-jin’s conscience snapped.
‘One moment’s mistake, blood on my hands. No turning back now.’
Shax specialized in lies—even claiming demons couldn’t lie was a lie.
In truth, from the moment Kang Yu-jin gained the ‘Seed of Evil,’ he’d been under heavy suggestion to ‘corrupt,’ but the demon hid it.
“I’ll do it. Can’t rot in prison forever.”
「The pact is sealed.」
The backstory of how Kang Yu-jin agreed to this deal was long.
A street in Seoul.
A young man fled police pursuit.
“Stop!”
“Kang Yu-jin! Halt or we shoot!”
His first kill.
He’d beaten the guy’s face to a pulp.
Naturally, he got caught soon after.
Kang Yu-jin knew zilch about hiding bodies or erasing traces.
He didn’t even know what traces to erase.
He became the prime suspect, and cops showed up at his door.
Terrified, he snapped his ankle monitor and bolted.
“Fuck, how’d I end up like this....”
To shake pursuit, he ducked into narrow alleys of the entertainment district.
He slipped into a dark backstreet.
“Hah. Hah.”
Panting hard, Kang Yu-jin.
He’d ditched the cops somehow.
Before him floated the ghost of an elderly man in hanbok, white hair wild.
A spirit bound by skill.
His ‘Necromancy’ draped ghosts over his body, letting him tap their combat skills or knowledge to some degree.
The ghost gazed down coldly.
[Weakling. Had I flesh, I’d thrash thee and drag thee to the magistrate. Didst thou not aspire to heroism?]
The ghost was his ancestor.
Couldn’t contract just anyone.
Needed ties in temperament, bloodline, etc., to the caster.
The ghost was a Joseon-era martial official who passed the military exam for a judicial post—extremely rigid.
“Ugh. What more could I do? I tried. Studied my ass off at the academy, graduated top ranks. Then suddenly, no hero path. What now?!”
Tears welling, Kang Yu-jin vented.
He tilted his head back to stem them.
[With will and skill, opportunity comes like the wind. Yet thou couldst not hold thy temper and slew a man. Is that thy hero’s path?]
Kang Yu-jin’s ancestor, Kang Ja-su, offered no sympathy or cheer—only blame.
Pre-modern era had countless such injustices.
“Fuck that. ‘Opportunity comes’? Labeled a potential criminal, hero road blocked—what opportunity?!”
He spewed the rage boiling deep inside.
[How did such a disgrace emerge from our line? I lend thee no more power.]
The ghost vanished leisurely.
A translucent window appeared before Kang Yu-jin.
『Contract with ‘Kang Ja-su’ terminated.』
“Ha, haha. It’s over. My life’s done. No way back......”
No hero path, villain-bound, now even Necromancy acting up.
Fled in haste, penniless.
Only a sword on him.
Hopeless.
‘Should I die...? Self-immolate in front of parliament, maybe force some law change.’
Extreme negativity flooded his mind.
Yet he felt vitality surging oddly.
Alley trash heap.
He glimpsed himself in a shattered mirror there and jolted.
Black-white eyes.
Sclera turned black, pupils bright yellow.
“W-what? Why’re my eyes like this?”
Kang Yu-jin pondered any anomalies.
Only one.
“Seed of Evil.”
The words summoned the skill window.
-------------<Skill>-------------
◈ Name
Seed of Evil
◈ Rank
D 016
◈ Description
Suffer and hate.
Gain power thereby.
+ Demon Pact Possible
Pact applies bonus stats to skill proficiency.
Bonus Stats: 2016
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Bonus stats 2016.
Each rank-up needed 1000, so nearly two full ranks.
“When’d it level this much? Was I suffering that bad? And this pact—what’s new?”
A cheerful voice echoed in his head.
「As written: pact applies bonus stats to the skill.」
“Uwaak!”
Kang Yu-jin yelped at the voice in his mind, falling on his ass.
The voice introduced itself as the ‘Seed of Evil’s’ creator—a demon.
Insisted no harm intended, and would leave once time came, post-pact.
Mentally cornered, Kang Yu-jin made the pact.
“Ha, haha.”
Checking the skill window, he laughed.
A skill that barely budged despite grinding—up two ranks.
“Now I can contract a new ghost. Even stronger.”
Necromancy rank-up widened his spirit vision.
His senses pinged a powerful grudge spirit nearby.
Normally, grudge spirits shouldn’t possess bodies, but to Kang Yu-jin, who’d lost all, it meant nothing.