Chapter 295
Chapter 295
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 295
Chapter Title: ACT.59 The End of a Long-Standing Grudge (3)
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[Character, Han Hyeok-jun, uses 'Giant's Flame'!]
It was over in the blink of an eye.
Not only the clones blocking Han Hyeok-jun's path, but also the artificial players who served as Cromwell's loyal subordinates, were all annihilated without leaving so much as a speck of ash.
‘Giant's Flame?’
That could only mean one thing.
The flame giant that devours gods. The flame of Surtr.
Han Hyeok-jun had newly acquired his divine power.
"Wh-what is this..."
Cromwell stared, his face utterly dumbfounded.
The 'fruits of his research' that Cromwell had been so confident about showing the Order had vanished before his eyes in an instant.
As if to say his research was utterly worthless.
Then, snapping back to his senses, he immediately tried something.
"Do you think I'll be caught so easily, you fools! I'm not done yet! I still have much to do!"
Fwoosh!
A sound of something igniting came from behind Cromwell's back, and he shot rapidly into the sky.
It was a short-range flight device using a small rocket thruster.
"Where do you think you're going?"
As Jun Bo-ra made a sharp pulling motion with her hand, as if to say 'not a chance,' Cromwell's body was instantly transported right in front of Han Hyeok-jun.
Cromwell froze for a moment, then frantically tried again, but the result was the same.
"Wh-what's happening! Why do I keep coming back here!?"
"I was wondering too. What did you just do?"
"I grabbed him from a distance with Psychic Touch, then teleported him as is. This way, I can significantly offset the penalty of only being able to teleport things my body touches."
"You figured that out yourself?"
"What, you didn't know?"
"It's not that I didn't know..."
Relying on Teleport as a main skill isn't viable long-term.
It wasn't that I hadn't considered such a combination in theory, but I'd discarded it because even with it, the problem of low attack power couldn't be overcome.
I'd never actually put it into practice.
"There were plenty of better options, so there was no need to resort to that."
"...You think I chose to get Teleport! Jeez!"
Jun Bo-ra snapped, sounding wronged.
It was a 'combination' in name only; it meant using two of the eight limited trait-skill slots just to match the value of one good trait.
The trade-off was immense.
*Still, though.*
In fact, setting that aside, Jun Bo-ra's development was astounding.
She was continuously expanding the limits of a power that had clear boundaries.
*Perhaps.*
In the field of teleportation, which I had given up on researching early on, Jun Bo-ra might just discover something incredible.
While we were talking, Cromwell's escape attempts continued, but each one was thwarted by Jun Bo-ra and ended in failure.
Eventually, the rocket's fuel seemed to run out, and Cromwell, his face contorted in frustration, ripped the device off his back and threw it away.
"You damn... Urk!?"
Han Hyeok-jun approached Cromwell with chillingly cold eyes and grabbed him by the collar.
"Tell me. Why did you do that to my family...!"
Strangely, it felt as if the roles of victor and vanquished were reversed.
Han Hyeok-jun, the one grabbing the collar, seemed to be in more agony than Cromwell, the one being held.
"Family...? Ah, you mean those failures. Right. You weren't alone in that laboratory, were you?"
The moment Cromwell grinned, a sickening crack echoed as his head snapped to the side.
Cromwell himself was not a player, but an ordinary person.
The blow could have easily killed him, but it seemed Han Hyeok-jun had retained enough reason to control his strength so that it wouldn't be fatal.
"Khahaha. You should be thanking me, you know."
"What did you say...?"
"It was I who drew out even a sliver of talent from you when you had none. Your parents and brothers died simply because they lacked the aptitude to accept it. Ah, now that I think about it, didn't your brothers sacrifice themselves to help you escape? Thanks to them, I was quite furious. I ran a few experiments to blow off steam, and because of that, I had plenty of data accumulated, which made it easier to experiment on you last time. Hehe. You're standing there because your family was sacrificed for you, Han Hyeok-jun!"
Crack!
"Bullshit."
Crack!
"Stop spouting bullshit."
CRACK!
Blood dripped from Han Hyeok-jun's fist.
Normally, Jeong Ha-yeon might have stepped in, saying he was going too far, but she just watched the scene calmly.
Had Jeong Ha-yeon also changed without me realizing it?
"Sh-shouldn't you stop there? It'll be a problem if you kill him before we can get information about the Order!"
Instead, Jun Bo-ra, unable to watch any longer, tried to stop Han Hyeok-jun.
Of course, it wasn't because she felt sorry for Cromwell.
She was worried that their key to gaining significant information about the Order would actually die.
"..."
Her words seemed to have an effect, as Han Hyeok-jun stopped his fist.
But in the end, Cromwell's final words made Han Hyeok-jun snap the last thread of reason he was holding onto.
"Kh, hahaha. Han Hyeok-jun. As expected, you are the greatest masterpiece among all my test subjects. I shall watch from above to see just how far you can go."
FWOOOSH!
Flames erupted.
Cromwell didn't even scream.
As if he knew that would only infuriate Han Hyeok-jun further.
Han Hyeok-jun's eyes stared for a long time at the 'thing that was once Cromwell.'
I waited a moment before speaking.
"Feel better now?"
"...No, not yet."
He released his grip on the blackened, unrecognizable shape, and it crumbled into a pile of ash on the ground.
Han Hyeok-jun's eyes were still steeped in hatred.
"I have to rip the Order out by its roots. As long as those bastards exist, there will be more victims like me."
"Oh my. What a splendid ambition."
A leisurely voice shattered the atmosphere.
As everyone turned their gaze toward the voice, Jun Bo-ra unwittingly raised her voice.
"Shurue Foreigner...!?"
"To think that fox would show up here."
Yaogami immediately drew his sword, on guard.
*She came in person.*
As the Apostle managing the Order's East and Southeast Asian branch, if Cromwell was going to make contact with anyone, it would be her.
Furthermore, the 'plan' the Order was currently executing had some connection to Cromwell's research.
From the Order's perspective, Cromwell's research had considerable value, and if his results were real, they would need to escort him, making it highly likely that an Apostle herself would appear.
That was precisely why I had pursued Cromwell.
"Did you come to take Cromwell?"
"...!"
When I deliberately stated what I already knew, Han Hyeok-jun reacted instantly.
I let the corner of my mouth lift slightly.
Shurue Foreigner is connected to the Order.
That fact must have been clearly imprinted in Han Hyeok-jun's mind.
With this, Han Hyeok-jun's next target was naturally set to the East-Southeast Asian branch.
"Too bad, you're too late. Cromwell is dead."
"Oh my... could that pile of ash be him?"
Shurue merely covered her mouth lightly with her hand, showing no further reaction.
Something was strange.
The information Cromwell possessed should have been important to Shurue as well.
If so, she shouldn't be so calm upon hearing of his death.
"You see, that man who knew nothing but his research... his life was never important in the first place."
Shurue took a step toward the ashes.
In that instant, Han Hyeok-jun and I moved simultaneously.
Shwing!
I definitely cut, but I felt no resistance.
To be precise.
My sword passed right 'through' Shurue's body.
Han Hyeok-jun immediately wreathed himself in flames and launched another attack, but the result was the same.
As if what we were seeing was a mere illusion, no attack could touch Shurue.
"Kukuk."
Shurue chuckled softly, covering her mouth.
"Surprised? This is what's called quantumization."
"Quantumization...!?"
"I wouldn't have appeared all alone without any precautions, now would I?"
Shurue walked right past us and reached the pile of ashes.
In that time, Yaogami, Jun Bo-ra, and Jeong Ha-yeon also attacked, but the outcome was no different.
"I am in a state of both existing and not existing in this place. As long as the probability of my being here is not 100%, no one can be certain that I have been attacked."
Ssshhh...
Something rose from the ashes and was absorbed by Shurue.
It was faint, but I could tell what it was.
Shurue had just absorbed Cromwell's memories.
"The plan has already progressed quite far. No matter how you try to stop it, you cannot go against the great wave, so you should just give up."
"Absurd! What you are doing will bring ruin to this world! I will never stand by and watch!"
"Oh, you're quite a passionate man, unlike how you appear. But what to do? Mere passion can't change a thing."
Shurue placed a hand on her cheek as if in concern.
Behind her, the gate we had seen before tore through space and opened.
Having achieved her goal, her intention was now to escape.
"Even if I try to stop her with Teleport, I can't specify the target in a quantum state...!"
Jun Bo-ra asked for help with a troubled expression, but there was nothing I could do either.
I didn't yet have a way to deal with quantumization.
This was purely a case of Shurue having set the stage perfectly.
"Well then, I'll see you all again. Do look forward to it."
Shurue's body slipped through the gate and vanished.
"...We lost her."
Yaogami said in a dejected voice.
Han Hyeok-jun also clenched his fists in frustration.
[All linked quests have been cleared.]
[All rewards will now be distributed.]
[32,000 Coins have been awarded.]
[An Elixir Selection Box (S) has been awarded.]
[You have acquired an additional elixir due to the effect of the 'Growth Support Elixir Package (Gold)'.]
[You have acquired a 'Luxurious Equipment Box'.]
['Hermit's...']
*Why is there so much?*
More system messages were popping up, so I turned off the notifications.
I suppose it was natural to receive so many rewards, having cleared three main quests with a high contribution score.
[Godslayer (EX) (1.67%)]
"Hmm...?"
The proficiency of Godslayer had increased slightly.
I recall it said the proficiency increases when you defeat something with divinity.
The Monstrous Demigod was immature but still in the realm of a demigod, and Shuten-dōji, as the child of an oni who fought against gods, might have possessed a slight amount of divinity as well.
*It doesn't seem like anything has changed.*
Perhaps it's the type of skill that grants something new each time it reaches a certain proficiency level.
I pondered for a moment before closing the status window.
"What is this 'quantumization'?"
"Have you ever heard of Schrödinger's cat? It's pretty famous."
"I think I've heard of it. Something about an experiment that abuses a cat."
"...That's not wrong, but do you not know any other details?"
Jeong Ha-yeon thought hard, then answered hesitantly, as if she couldn't quite recall.
"The cat could be dead, or it could be alive...?"
"That's it. Well, that's not quite right. To be precise, the dead state and the living state 'coexist'... Ugh. I can't believe I have to think about classical mechanics again even when the world is in this state."
Jun Bo-ra shuddered.
Was she an engineering major? That was new.
I finished the explanation in place of Jun Bo-ra, who was clutching her head.
"We could see Shurue's form, but she wasn't entirely there. Therefore, it couldn't be confirmed that our attacks landed. That's the principle by which she evaded them."
Jeong Ha-yeon nodded with a short gasp of understanding.
But there was one person.
Han Hyeok-jun, still looking completely baffled, asked in a serious tone.
"Does that... mean there were two Shurues? That's a big problem."
"...Let's just head back to Osaka for now. Our business in Japan is almost finished."
"Wait, Se-hyeon! Explain it to me!"