Chapter 130
Chapter 130
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Events at the Octopus Leg Bridge Dungeon (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Kang Yun-ho, carrying Kang Minju in his arms as he stepped out, couldn't hide his bewilderment.
No, it was more anger than bewilderment.
No matter how harsh the world had become these days, he never imagined there'd be such an ungrateful beast who didn't know the meaning of grace.
"What the hell is this?"
Kang Yun-ho glared at the couple, Jang Seongryun and his partner.
Behind them stood dozens of Awakeners equipped with glasses-style nanobots and clad in deep blue Nano Suits.
Judging by their identical Nano Suits and the communication devices in their ears, they were clearly agents from some organized group.
"We risked our lives to save you, and now you're trying to take us in?"
"We have no grudge against either of you."
Jang Seongryun muttered as he averted his eyes from Kang Yun-ho's razor-sharp gaze.
"It's just my job."
"Your job?"
As Kang Yun-ho furrowed his brow,
Swish.
The agents in Nano Suits parted like the Red Sea splitting.
From between them emerged a man in a black suit, smiling as he approached.
"Pardon the intrusion."
The man who appeared before Kang Yun-ho was none other than a very young man.
Dressed in a loose suit that clashed entirely with the dungeon setting, the young man wore a pure smile paired with cruel eyes.
"Oh ho, looks like it's them."
The young man alternated his gaze between Jang Seongryun and Kang Yun-ho, then nodded.
"They say unregistered Awakeners aren't the only ones wandering dungeons lately—'those things' are too. And it's true."
"Those things?"
"Yokai."
"How did you..."
Kang Yun-ho muttered in surprise, and the young man gave a faint smile.
"I know yokai aren't allowed in dungeons."
There were people in government high ranks or Association leadership who knew about yokai and the world's laws.
Could this young man be one of them?
"Our side is handling some important business in the dungeons lately. So we have to track down all these unregistered Awakeners who could be anywhere and bar them from entry."
"Important business?"
"That's none of your concern."
The young man pointed at Jang Seongryun.
"Mr. Jang Seongryun here is an expert at hunting down yokai like you."
Each time their eyes met, Kang Yun-ho's heart pounded.
It felt like staring at a cursed doll brimming with ominous energy.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Though his heart chilled, Kang Yun-ho kept a calm expression.
"Why treat innocent people like criminals? We just barely survived that dungeon."
"Hmm? People? You say they're people?"
The young man tilted his head, and Jang Seongryun stepped forward like a loyal servant.
"No Awakener these days wears old glasses or outdated Nano Bot helmets on purpose."
"You're not saying that's enough to prove they're not human."
"Of course not."
Jang Seongryun lifted his head and pointed at the unconscious Kang Minju.
"That woman didn't use a skill—she used some strange power. Definitely the kind 'those things' wield."
"You bastard!"
Kang Yun-ho trembled with uncontainable rage at Jang Seongryun's confident words.
"I used my power to save your sorry ass, and this is how you repay me?"
Pricked by his conscience, Jang Seongryun avoided Kang Yun-ho's gaze and bowed his head.
"Enough chatter."
The suited young man smiled at Kang Yun-ho, his eyes curving like half-moons.
"Shall we get going?"
"Like hell."
Kang Yun-ho glanced at the encircling Awakeners and pulled out his phone.
"You can't just arrest people arbitrarily. Who the hell are you? I'm reporting you to the Association."
"Go ahead and report us. It'll just prove you're yokai."
Irresistible power flowed from the young man's half-moon eyes.
Kang Yun-ho held his phone but couldn't press the button.
The moment he twitched a finger, he felt a terror as if his body would be shredded.
Zzzzt.
At that moment, a blue light surged near Kang Yun-ho's legs, where he held Kang Minju.
He had decided to fight back against the young man.
"Is that your ability? A skill similar to Arrow Lightning."
Even as the blue lightning flared, the young man just chuckled.
"You yokai are fascinating. We have to become Awakeners just to get skills like that and grow stronger... but you lot are born with them, right?"
"If you're so confident, come at me."
"Shall I? I know we're never supposed to clash with yokai, but..."
The smile vanished from the young man's lips as his pupils slowly dilated.
"If I kill you here quietly, who would ever know?"
In that instant, Kang Yun-ho saw a white ring-like light flicker in the young man's eyes.
"W-What's this?"
Suddenly, his big toe felt rigid, like stone.
That odd sensation crept up from his foot to his torso, then to his tongue and eyes.
Thud.
Kang Yun-ho's body stiffened like a wooden log, and he collapsed still holding Kang Minju.
"Don't feel too hard done by. Sooner or later... you'll all vanish anyway."
Cryptic words.
But his voice was too soft for anyone to hear.
"Alright then..."
The young man looked down at the frozen siblings, like fish in a freezer, and addressed the agents.
"Dispose of them quietly. Leave no trace."
With those horrifying words, he turned away.
Click.
He boarded the black van parked behind, then winked at Jang Seongryun.
"Good work."
"Ah, yes."
"Keep it up, and you'll be rich soon."
That playful smile held every contemptuous human emotion imaginable.
Jang Seongryun could no longer smile and silently bowed his head.
Vroom.
As the black van departed, the surrounding Awakeners dragged Kang Yun-ho and the unconscious Kang Minju to the back of a large truck.
[My predictions were all wrong. Those four weren't robbers or Association members.]
Nameless sighed from atop the rock pile, watching the scene below with the Heavenly Demon.
[The siblings were yokai, and the couple were lackeys for some shady group. I have no idea what's going on.]
Nameless recalled the man who had subdued Kang Yun-ho with a glance and spoke weakly.
[And that young man used a skill I've never seen before. It sent shockwaves strong enough to fry my circuits.]
The Heavenly Demon agreed on that point.
The power from the young man's eyes was unknown even to him, who had faced countless experts.
"Hmm."
The Heavenly Demon grunted.
He wanted to hurl a punch at the young man right then to gauge his martial prowess.
But Jang Chaewon's threat about not clashing with humans without reason—and some other motive—held him back.
'There'll be another chance.'
Muttering lowly, the Heavenly Demon glanced at the sack full of bangbang fruits and continued.
"Anyway, it was like watching a drama unfold live."
Intriguing. Entertaining.
Nameless felt a twinge of sorrow and frustration at the Heavenly Demon's nonchalant assessment.
[Those yokai siblings risked exposing themselves and their lives to save strangers.]
"It was just a foolish act. Risking their lives for complete unknowns."
The Heavenly Demon's face remained impassive, as if it were nothing.
"Betrayal is human nature. For money, status, fame, power... they'd sell out their own parents."
Nameless bowed its head.
Despite all efforts to reform the Heavenly Demon's personality, his contempt and hatred for humans hadn't improved a bit.
And seeing this mess, there was little to say.
"Still, it's odd. The rule that yokai can't enter dungeons..."
Watching the vehicles cross the dungeon, the Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue.
"Is it because they get caught like that?"
[No, it's not. This is the first time I've seen something like this.]
Nameless shook its head.
[Humans and yokai never clash. Even the government and Association know of yokai but don't acknowledge them officially.]
"Then where'd that smirking young punk come from?"
[Not in Association databases or resident registries. Looks like an agent from a secret government black ops group—records fully erased.]
The Heavenly Demon suddenly recalled Nameless's recent words.
-The team including Cho Hong seemed to handle covert Association tasks.
"Like the neighbors next door?"
[They're officially on the Association roster, just classified. Plenty do off-the-books missions.]
Nameless could hack any network.
Yet even it couldn't uncover all the Association's secrets.
"So the entry ban ties to yokai powers."
[Pardon?]
"That arrow lightning was mediocre inside the dungeon, but outside, it packed a punch."
Nameless nodded enthusiastically at the Heavenly Demon's mutter.
[Exactly. Your observation skills are incredible, Heavenly Demon.]
"Kim did the same before."
The Heavenly Demon recalled Kim Chanwon from the Bull's Eye Dungeon.
Normally able to block seventy percent of Heavenly Demon Supreme Ability, yet he'd struggled there.
[Yes. Yokai powers weaken or amplify in dungeons. Unknown why, but that's likely the entry ban reason.]
"Ridiculous. Just for that?"
[Yokai power changes in dungeons means they can affect dungeons. The divine realm guards against that.]
Stroking his chin, the Heavenly Demon said,
"They see dungeons as dangerous objects."
[Pardon?]
"To safely store dangerous items, eliminate all unstable elements."
A strange curiosity stirred in the Heavenly Demon.
Why can't yokai affect dungeons?
The divine realm ignored humans but meddled with yokai?
Questions swirled, but as always, he suppressed them.
Whatever the answer, it wasn't his concern.
"Alright, time to start."
Rubbing his fists, the Heavenly Demon prompted Nameless's excited response.
[Accepting Minju's deal?]
"No downside."
Boom!
Red energy surged from the Heavenly Demon's body.
As potent Heavenly Demon Supreme Ability enveloped him, vein-worms bulged across his skin.
Shh shh shh.
His form gradually turned transparent, then vanished completely.
Heavenly Demon Supreme Ability.
Using the ancient supreme art to maximize physical power, he began the Hidden Shadow Stealth Technique.
* * *
Shield Boundary Zone, Heavenly Demon's rooftop room.
Thud.
Flying straight from the dungeon, the Heavenly Demon dumped what he'd slung over his shoulder onto the floor.
The yokai siblings, Kang Yun-ho and Kang Minju.
"Wake up."
Like a sorcerer chanting to rouse a jiangshi, the Heavenly Demon spread his arms sternly.
"Urk."
"Blarrgh!"
No sooner had he spoken than Kang Yun-ho and Kang Minju responded with explosive vomiting.
Having carried the siblings on his shoulders at full Night Moon Extreme Speed.
They'd felt like their curled bodies were sucked into a sewer drain.
[Here, take these.]
Unable to watch, Nameless emerged from the rooftop room with wet towels and handed them out.
Kang Minju, recovering faster than her brother, smiled and patted Nameless.
"Thanks."
She rose and bowed to the Heavenly Demon.
"Thank you for saving us."
"I didn't save you."
Seated on the rooftop bench with arms crossed seriously, the Heavenly Demon said,
"The deal appealed to me."
As a Pure Eye (粹眼) clanswoman, Kang Minju innately possessed the mighty 'Heart's Eye' power.
It let her peer into or manipulate human and animal minds, even predict coming dangers.
Having glimpsed future events before blacking out, she'd proposed a deal to the Heavenly Demon.
"So, you can really tune up the Ramas?"
Kang Minju's deal condition.
Free maintenance for the Heavenly Demon's vehicle, Ramas.
Through Heart's Eye, she'd recalled him eyeing the dungeon vehicle intently.
And in their brief talk, she'd offered terms that swayed him.
'Lucky break.'
She sighed inwardly.
Without the Ramas maintenance hook? No chance the Heavenly Demon would've helped, even if the sky split.
"Of course. We've tuned dungeon buggies before—my brother and I."
Kang Minju said confidently.
"Even old cars have compatible parts. We can source good ones online. Plus, oppa ran an auto shop for years..."
The Heavenly Demon's eyes flashed.
"He ran a shop?"
"Yes. Classica Garage—old car specialists."
The Heavenly Demon's lips twitched.
Finally.
A way out from old man Park at the junkyard whining about no parts and tough repairs.
"I'll visit soon. Keep your promise."
"Of course. But..."
As Kang Minju replied, Kang Yun-ho started vomiting again.
"Blarrgh!"
The Heavenly Demon frowned and flicked a zephyr strike with a ping.
Hitting pressure points, Kang Yun-ho softened and collapsed with a thud.
"Oppa!"
[He's fine. Just putting Kim Min-jun to rest.]
"Ah, okay."
Relieved, Kang Minju continued.
"But not lifetime. One-time deal: we'll fix all broken parts."
"Fine."
"Valid for one month."
"Why?"
"No guarantee we'll keep the shop open."
Resignation flowed from Kang Minju's narrowed eyes.
The shop wasn't their main gig, apparently.
"No issue."
Ideal terms for the Heavenly Demon.
He'd heard from Park that replacing all Ramas's worn parts would cost new luxury car prices.
'Fix it all at once.'
"Deal."
Kang Minju smiled as the Heavenly Demon nodded without hesitation.
"If you want, we can mod it for dungeon use too."
"Dungeon spec?"
"Yes. Coat it in special metal for dungeon driving."
"Oh?"
The Heavenly Demon's eyes gleamed.
Modded, it could run roads and dungeons?
[No.]
Sadly, Nameless interjected.
[I told you before. Vehicles in dungeons are strictly controlled. And they can't pass shields.]
"Don't worry. There's a way through."
Kang Minju's words made Nameless shake its head.
[Absolutely not. The Association Awakeners across the street are already glaring, wondering if Heavenly Demon's unregistered.]
"Heavenly Demon? Unregistered Awakener?"
[Ah.]
Nameless scratched its round head with a cheeky tone.
[Your identities were unclear, so we used aliases.]