Chapter 102
Chapter 102
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Unforgivable Sins
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Where do you think you're going! Choi Dong-wook, stop right there!"
Young-jin shouted in a threatening voice, his sword held ready.
Thankfully, he didn't charge in recklessly, which Do-jae considered a relief.
He was following his instructions well.
Because the three monsters standing beside Choi Dong-wook.
Were all powerful creatures over level 100, far too much for Young-jin to handle.
"He's done the unthinkable..."
And as Do-jae slowly walked past Young-jin, he couldn't help but frown.
The moment he saw their names, he knew that Choi Dong-wook had committed an act unforgivable for a human.
[Character Information]
Name: Yoo Seong-un
Level: 103
Classification: Human (Chimera)
Details: Age unknown, Gender unknown, 232cm, 150kg
Status: Hostile
[Stats]
Strength: 300 / Stamina: 215 / Agility: 190 / Spirit: 0 / Resistance: 0
[Skills]
Passive: None
Active: None
The creature at the forefront, seen through the Eye of the Golem.
It displayed Character Information, not Monster Information.
Meaning, as the classification indicated, it had once been human.
*‘I had my suspicions from the photos, but seeing it in person is utterly repulsive.’*
The others were the same.
Of the six chimeras guarding Choi Dong-wook, three had originally been human.
And among them was someone Do-jae recognized.
*‘Park Chan… He was reported missing. So he was in Choi Dong-wook’s hands all this time…'*
B-rank hunter, Park Chan.
A man who, thanks to his handsome looks and witty remarks, had also been active as a celebrity.
But his sudden disappearance five years ago had caused a media frenzy, and now here he was, turned into a chimera by Choi Dong-wook.
"Who the hell are you?"
Choi Dong-wook shouted from behind his chimeras.
He was holding a large bag.
Glancing around, Do-jae saw that the research facilities were destroyed. Choi Dong-wook must have anticipated their arrival.
"Choi Dong-wook, don't try anything foolish. Come quietly."
"Bullshit. Like I'd ever go with you. I don't even know who you are."
"If you come without causing any trouble, I'll give you a chance to use your abilities for good."
He meant it.
While waiting for the MID's investigation, Do-jae had given it some thought.
It would be a waste to let a brilliant scientist like Choi Dong-wook simply rot in a prison cell.
If the Mana Accelerator he had acquired could be stably produced without using human ingredients, the world would change dramatically once again.
As Do-jae absorbed more of the Sealed Memory, the number of dungeons was increasing exponentially, and humanity's abilities needed to grow to match.
If someone like Choi Dong-wook could perfect the Mana Accelerator, it could reduce the sacrifices of ordinary people until the day Gellahan appeared.
It might be an overly optimistic thought, but for Do-jae, who felt the burden of Gellahan's existence, he wanted to cling to even the smallest hope.
*‘I don't want to give him a chance, but…’*
Of course, the moment he saw the chimeras, his thoughts had shifted slightly.
He questioned whether Choi Dong-wook, who had committed such a demonic act, truly deserved to live.
Still, if he could turn the chimeras back to normal and cure the members of the Suppression Corps suffering from the Transcendence Stones, there was a way to rehabilitate him.
Through brainwashing.
"Kyahahaha! Get lost! I'm using my brain and skills more righteously than anyone! Who's the one obstructing the grand plan for humanity's leap forward! What would ignorant fools like you know!"
Choi Dong-wook clutched the bag to his chest and nodded at the chimeras.
At his signal, two level 100 chimeras and three level 60 chimeras charged.
"Let's go, Park Chan!"
Choi Dong-wook fled, carried by Park Chan, the strongest of the six chimeras.
Clang- Clang-!
Fending off the attacks of the five ambushing chimeras, Young-jin shouted to Do-jae.
"Sir! I'll handle things here! Go after Choi Dong-wook!"
Do-jae read Young-jin's expression and immediately summoned four black-light golems.
"Young-jin, don't overdo it. If it gets too much, just run."
"Got it, don't worry!"
Nod-.
Do-jae gathered mana into his sword.
The Black Scale gradually shifted from black to blue.
Vwooom-.
He swung the sword, now fully charged with mana, in a diagonal slash.
Fwhoooosh-!
A mass of mana shot forward, exploding with a tremendous roar and tearing through the chimeras' flesh.
The same technique Ridirian had used.
Sword Wind had been unleashed by Do-jae's hand.
"Grrrrr..."
"Grrrk..."
"Kiriririk..."
The three that had been sent flying by the Sword Wind.
Though their wounds were so large their bones were visible, their flesh was already regenerating.
"I'll be back!"
Leaving the chimeras behind, Do-jae dashed off in the direction Choi Dong-wook had fled.
***
"Hey, you bastard, can't you run any faster?"
Choi Dong-wook slapped the head of Park Chan, who was running at full speed.
CRASH-!
Behind them, he could already hear the sound of Do-jae smashing through walls in pursuit.
"Damn it! Was it the support pins? Not enough of them?"
Choi Dong-wook thought he wasn't getting proper speed because he hadn't implanted enough cores in Park Chan's legs.
Park Chan, now a chimera.
In his chimera form, he possessed abilities exceeding those of his prime.
His two legs had been replaced with those of a Kabra, a grade-3 monster said to be the fastest of its kind, allowing him to move at incredible speeds.
And yet, they were barely staying ahead of Do-jae, a fact that displeased Choi Dong-wook.
"That idiot Park Do-hwan. Couldn't even retrieve a single damn Transcendence Stone!"
The more he thought about it, the more desperately he wanted the Transcendence Stone.
His ultimate goal wasn't merely to enhance awakeners with Transcendence Stones.
Enhancing them was just a transitional phase.
In the end, Park Do-hwan and Kim Hwan-soo had siphoned off and used the humans who were meant to be nothing more than a bridge to creating chimeras.
Thanks to them, after the Transcendence Stone was lost, he could no longer create any decent chimeras. He had been forced to give up on even better materials than Park Chan and hide away in this underground lab.
"Hey, hey, can't you run faster?"
CRASH-!
Despite constantly berating the tirelessly running Park Chan, Choi Dong-wook eventually caught sight of Do-jae.
Do-jae was closing the distance. Realizing this couldn't continue, Choi Dong-wook had Park Chan stop.
"I won't do these experiments anymore. I'll live quietly. Can't you just let me go?"
Then, Choi Dong-wook raised his hands, speaking as subserviently as possible.
But both he and Do-jae knew it was a plea that would fall on deaf ears.
"I'll give you one last chance. Rescind your command to the chimera and come with me."
"Please. I'll live as quiet as a mouse. Just this once..."
"I won't say it again. Choose."
Do-jae slowly began to raise his mana.
In truth, their conversation was utterly pointless.
He didn't need the Eye of the Golem to know that Choi Dong-wook couldn't be trusted.
"Don't you want to become stronger? Someone as strong as you could become the greatest awakener in history! The Transcendence Stone, if we can just get it back..."
"You're wrong. I'm here because of those suffering from the side effects of that Transcendence Stone."
Choi Dong-wook was surprised that Do-jae knew about the Transcendence Stone.
That meant the man before him was from the Suppression Corps, or at the very least, connected to the MID.
"Kyahahaha. So that's it. You should have said so earlier. I wrecked my facility for nothing, didn't I?"
Choi Dong-wook smiled.
Currently, there was no one in the MID who could handle the side effects of the Transcendence Stone.
He knew without seeing that there must be people suffering from them, and he was the only one who could solve the problem.
Until now, he had been trying to escape, making a hasty judgment because Kim Hwan-soo was relentlessly pursuing him. But if his opponent was from the MID, there was room for negotiation.
However, Do-jae's next words made Choi Dong-wook flinch.
"It doesn't matter. I was planning on destroying the facility anyway."
"Destroy it? I think I must have misheard you."
"No, you heard me right. And you'll have to turn that chimera back to normal. What you've done is something no human should ever do."
Gnash-.
Choi Dong-wook ground his teeth.
Who was he to talk about what it means to be human?
Park Chan was a beautiful work of art.
A magnificent creature created by taking only the necessary parts from dozens of monster species, allowing him to transcend the limits of humanity.
Park Chan had been reborn as a new being, one that could dare to be called an evolution.
And Do-jae was disrespecting that creation.
"So, you're one of those bastards you can't reason with, huh?"
Choi Dong-wook dismounted from Park Chan.
And he gave Park Chan a command.
No, he commanded all the chimeras he had created.
"Kill that bastard!"
"Grarrrgh!"
Shwwwiing-!
Park Chan attacked Do-jae with his asymmetrically large arm.
The arm, bulging with thick sinews, collided with Do-jae's Black Scale, creating a deafening sound.
BOOM-!
Do-jae was pushed back slightly by Park Chan's incredible strength.
Despite the clash of sword and flesh, Park Chan's arm was completely unscathed.
"An ogre's arm, and coated in mana, no less..."
Do-jae readjusted his stance.
He wasn't a level to be taken lightly, but the power he'd just experienced was greater than expected.
Shashashak-.
Other chimeras began to appear one by one, seemingly out of nowhere.
One crawling on the ceiling, one bursting from the ground, another smashing through a wall.
The steadily gathering chimeras all launched their attacks at Do-jae.
Vwoooom-.
In response, Do-jae summoned his golems.
If all the appearing chimeras were on Park Chan's level, the golems would have been useless, but creating a chimera of that caliber was difficult, so the golems were more than enough to handle them.
"Kiyaaaak!"
Rumble-.
As the fight began, Choi Dong-wook prepared to slip away.
Do-jae didn't miss it. He kicked Park Chan to create distance and then lunged toward Choi Dong-wook.
Choi Dong-wook himself was physically weak, so Do-jae decided to deal with him first.
Of course, he didn't plan to kill him, just knock him out and restrain him with Golem Armor.
But just then.
Fshoooo-!
The one clinging to the ceiling sprayed a blue liquid at Do-jae like an atomizer.
"That's Kriul's neurotoxin! And not just any neurotoxin—it's a new, concentrated formula I concocted myself! Kyahahaha!"
Choi Dong-wook laughed maniacally.
The chimera on the ceiling was a weak one with almost no combat ability.
But the poison sac inside its body contained an incredibly potent neurotoxin, an improved version of Kriul's poison.
A creature made for the sole purpose of delivering that poison.
It was a disposable chimera, unable to withstand its own neurotoxin and now writhing on the floor, but it had done its job.
"Park Chan! Kill him!"
Drenched in the poison, Do-jae stood motionless.
Park Chan sharpened his thick claws and flew toward Do-jae.
Shwoook-!
Then, he swung both hands wide, aiming for Do-jae's neck.
Clang-!
However, Park Chan's claws stopped just short of Do-jae's neck.
"That's got a bit of a kick to it..."
Do-jae had caught Park Chan's thick wrist with one hand.
He spun around once and slammed him into the ground.
KWABOOM-