Chapter 188
Chapter 188
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 188
Chapter Title: ACT.34 What Can Be Stopped (4)
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Failures were swarming in from all directions.
The first wave consisted of the ones that were relatively close.
Since we'd made all sorts of loud noises, it was only natural that the failures in the area would flock this way.
The thought of Hwang Chan-jin being caught in the middle crossed my mind, but I wasn't too worried.
“Min Dan-ah-ssi, please stay next to Min Ji-ah-ssi. It's a straight corridor, so if we just block the front and back and then escape when we see an opening…”
Craaash!
Before I could finish my sentence, a hole was blown through a nearby wall.
And not just that, but through the opposite wall as well.
As I stared dumbfounded at the corridor that had suddenly become a cross shape, Hwang Chan-jin appeared from within the hole.
With a trail of failures dangling behind him.
“…What are you doing? Why are you acting like this?”
“Because this way is more convenient.”
“Are you trying to screw me over?”
“You’re the one who screwed me over first, Kim Se-hyeon. Surely you didn't think I didn't see it?”
[He saw that.]
“…”
Does he have eyes in the back of his head?
If he saw it, then I didn't really have anything to say.
Hwang Chan-jin scoffed lightly and scanned the surroundings.
“Either way, it’s easier to clean this up all at once.”
“That’s true.”
I glanced at the other side of the wall Hwang Chan-jin had broken through.
Something slimy and unpleasant was crawling on the floor.
The failures came in many varieties, so I couldn't know what abilities each individual possessed.
I could use Extreme Eye, but it wouldn't be efficient to check them one by one.
I clicked my tongue softly.
[Using ‘Army of Darkness’.]
“Alpha. Protect those two.”
[As you wish, Lord.]
Min Dan-ah flinched in surprise, then let out a sigh of relief.
I revealed it to everyone during the war with Paradise, so there's no need to hide it now.
“Kiyaaaak!!”
One of the failures opened its maw wide and shot out something like a tentacle.
It was a creature straight out of a monster movie.
Without even drawing his sword, Alpha grabbed the tentacle with his hand and slammed the creature to the ground.
Seeing this, the other failures charged in a frenzy, but the result was the same.
*‘He’s not even drawing his sword.’*
The stats of the failures were around the 50s.
True to their name, their combat power was even lower than a fiend's; there was no way they could overcome Alpha.
“Huh?”
Ruuuumble…
The entire building began to vibrate.
Lee Min-hwa had been on a rampage, but not enough to damage the entire building.
This was probably…
“It seems they left a self-destruct device for the building.”
“A self-destruct device!?”
Lee Min-hwa hurriedly adjusted her firepower.
Hwang Chan-jin was gliding across the icy path he had created, making short work of the failures.
It was almost like he was figure skating.
The image of Hwang Chan-jin in full costume, figure skating to music, made me feel sick, so I immediately erased it from my mind.
“The opposite.”
The building is collapsing anyway.
Lowering our power won't change the outcome.
“Let's just make a big bang and get out of here.”
With that, I gathered as much darkness as I could into the Black Moon Sword and swung.
***
I took a moment to look at the building, now completely collapsed into a pile of rubble.
I had thoroughly destroyed even the interior to ensure no one else could ever use this place again.
With this, Paradise's research data was erased.
*‘...Or so I’d like to think.’*
I clicked my tongue.
The research on the fiends was a joint project with another party, and even then, it was a top-down structure where they only handled a portion of the research.
It was hard to say we had dealt with it completely.
“Paradise is completely finished.”
Hwang Chan-jin muttered.
Paradise, the massive organization that had opposed the official guilds for so long since the concept of players emerged.
It had now vanished into the annals of history.
Lee Min-hwa remained silent, her expression complex.
“Kim Se-hyeon. You know the saying, ‘The end is just another beginning.’”
“Personally, I hate that saying.”
Hwang Chan-jin chuckled at my blunt reply.
How could I not hate it?
When one incident ends, a new one begins.
And in an RPG, the enemies in later incidents are always stronger.
I shook my head firmly and shifted my gaze to Min Ji-ah.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. I can walk on my own.”
Her voice still lacked strength.
She was pretending to be fine, but she winced slightly in pain whenever she spoke.
Her wounds might have healed, but there were likely other reasons.
“Unni…”
“It's not your fault. I told you not to worry so much.”
“How can I not worry when you say that?”
“Sigh…”
Ever since Min Ji-ah regained consciousness, Min Dan-ah refused to leave her sister’s side.
At first, she wouldn't even get close, afraid something similar might happen again, but after Min Ji-ah reassured her, she’d been like this ever since.
Watching them, Hwang Chan-jin continuously tapped his fingers on his crossed arm.
Lee Min-hwa watched the two with a distant look in her eyes, occasionally offering a sad smile.
…Since I don't have a younger sibling, it's hard to chime in.
“Min Dan-ah-ssi. It’s good that you’ve reunited, but we still have matters to resolve. Could I ask for your cooperation?”
“Yes, of course.”
Min Dan-ah wiped away the tears welling in her eyes.
Her eyes were determined, her lips pressed firmly together.
Not bad.
I smiled faintly and asked my question.
“Did they do anything to you, Min Dan-ah-ssi? Is there anything you remember from what happened?”
“I don’t remember most of it clearly. But… I think they said something. That they would plant madness in me. I definitely heard those words.”
“Madness…?”
To artificially induce madness in someone who didn't have it.
Paradise’s experiments on the ‘Guide of Madness’ must have progressed quite far, but something like this should have been impossible.
Hwang Chan-jin narrowed one eye.
“It must be that woman’s doing again.”
“Probably.”
Mind control. Hypnosis. Suggestion.
She had abilities that affected the mind, so she could easily have caused such an effect using Paradise’s experiment logs as a basis.
And since Min Dan-ah’s stats weren't high, it wouldn't have been difficult.
“Does that mean this could happen again later?”
“The possibility isn’t zero.”
As I nodded silently, a shadow fell over Min Ji-ah and Min Dan-ah's faces.
The thought that they could suddenly be forced to fight their own flesh and blood.
Even then, my focus was on Min Dan-ah, who was biting her lip so hard it could have bled.
I hadn't been mistaken that day.
In the original story, she always died, so her talent was never known, but Min Dan-ah possessed a remarkable gift.
“Then we have to catch them before that happens.”
Lee Min-hwa’s eyes turned cold.
To have one's family killed by another's hand.
According to her backstory, Lee Min-hwa had developed a personality that could never forgive such a thing because of what happened to her own younger sibling.
“Their goal… was it to destroy Korea?”
“Different, but similar.”
“Ultimately, it was something about world domination.”
“Did he say that?”
“The guy named Jager I fought said so. I dismissed it as nonsense, but if people like that are banding together and operating in the shadows all over the world, it might not be so impossible.”
They're even crazier than Paradise or the unofficial guilds.
In a way, they're similar to 'The Order'.
*‘It’s not like they’re purely an enemy faction.’*
The 'Facilitators' Organization,' including L-Team.
They are hostile to Korea, claiming its players are a threat, but overall, they are also hostile to the gates and demonic beasts.
Unlike the unofficial guilds, they have a clear goal of preventing the apocalypse.
Ultimately, what they're aiming for is to stand tall over the world after stopping the destruction.
*‘An enemy is an enemy, but if they share the goal of stopping the apocalypse, there might be a way to use them.’*
“…I have something to say.”
Min Ji-ah’s words broke me out of my thoughts, and I looked up.
In that short time, the sisters seemed to have come to an agreement, both wearing the same expression.
It was the face of someone who had made a decision.
“We’re going to leave.”
“…What?”
Lee Min-hwa asked in surprise, but her face quickly hardened.
“It’s dangerous. I can’t allow it.”
“This is our business. Even if you are a guild master, you have no right to interfere in the decisions of people who aren't even in your guild.”
“I’m saying this for your own good. Don't you two know better than anyone how dangerous the situation is?”
“We know. That’s why we’ve made this decision. We don’t want to go through this again. And we don’t want to be used by anyone again.”
Neither was willing to back down.
It was a dangerous choice, just as Lee Min-hwa said.
If they were discovered by those bastards again before we could catch L-Team, there would be no stopping it.
Above all, to evade their pursuers, they would have to leave their home and travel somewhere far away.
That journey would surely be anything but smooth.
“If you’re doing this because you think you’ll be a burden here, you don’t have to think that way. It’s our job to protect the powerless. I swear on the name of Hongryeon, I will ensure your safety.”
“…That’s part of it, but that’s not the whole reason.”
Min Dan-ah’s eyebrows drooped.
“Besides, Kim Se-hyeon-nim said it before. ‘How long are you going to live under someone else’s protection?’ My sister and I want to change, for ourselves.”
“If that’s the case, we can provide support…”
“It seems your minds are made up.”
I reached out an arm to stop Lee Min-hwa.
Instead of answering, the two sisters met my gaze.
They had good eyes.
Lee Min-hwa glared at me, displeased, but then sighed as if giving up.
“Lee Min-hwa-nim. Thank you for what you said for us earlier.”
“If things get tough, you can always come to the Hongryeon Guild. We’ll be waiting.”
“…It would be good to see you again someday.”
“Huh? Oh, yes. Of course. Let’s definitely meet again, Hwang Chan-jin-nim.”
Min Dan-ah replied with a bright smile.
Immediately after, Min Ji-ah and Min Dan-ah left, supporting each other.
I never thought Hwang Chan-jin would say something like that.
As I watched him with a look of genuine surprise, Hwang Chan-jin met my eyes as if to say, ‘What?’
“You’ve changed, haven’t you?”
“…”
Is he ignoring me?
I inwardly suppressed a twitching smile.
He must have heard what Hwang Yu-jin told me. He wants to change, but he’s probably too embarrassed to make it obvious.
Lee Min-hwa seemed to have noticed as well, whispering so only I could hear.
“He has a surprisingly cute side to him.”
“Just don’t say it to his face.”
“I know that much.”
Lee Min-hwa chuckled softly.
Sensing the strange atmosphere, Hwang Chan-jin frowned and changed the subject.
“So, what now, Kim Se-hyeon?”
“What about?”
“In the end, there were two ways to ensure those two sisters didn’t become a threat again. One was to just let them die.”
“…Are you serious right now?”
Lee Min-hwa shot him an icy glare, but Hwang Chan-jin continued, unfazed.
There he goes, earning five points just to lose a hundred.
“But Kim Se-hyeon, you wanted to save them. I respected your opinion, and we went with your choice. As a result, the threat still remains. Now, we naturally have no choice but to take the second option.”
Only one suggestion can be placed at a time.
Since it has already been triggered, there shouldn't be any other suggestions.
The Min sisters would be safe from the risk of awakening as long as they didn't catch L-Team's attention.
And there was only one way to eliminate that one possibility.
“Can you track the location of the two L-Team members who escaped?”
Eliminate L-Team before that happens.
I let out a smirk and answered.
“Already did.”
I had Zeta, who followed them, take measures so I could know their location at any time.
They seemed to be plotting something again, staying in one place without moving, so I dismissed Zeta and summoned Alpha.
“They’re currently staying in one place down south. Even an S-rank teleporter must be reaching their limit after teleporting from here to Busan and back, then moving again like this. Now is our chance to strike back.”