Chapter 155
Chapter 155
Chapter 155: The River of the Underworld (2)
Translation: godtl
"No place you can't go... That's quite a dangerous statement, isn't it?"
"What's dangerous about it? It's not like I said anything wrong."
"Is that so? How curious. Then how come someone like you hasn't even set foot in the Ranker Palace until now?"
"It's not that I couldn't, but that I didn't. There's no reason to waste my steps on the likes of you."
At those words, Kim Si-hyeok's eyes twitched.
But it wasn't just his eyes that moved.
As befitting someone called a Ranker among Rankers—
Drrr.
Even the slightest shift in his emotions caused the surrounding furniture to tremble faintly.
However.
"Hmph. Getting angry because your mouth slipped? Still a brat, as always. You should learn a thing or two from your oh-so-great older brother."
Kim Mu-yeol didn't even bat an eye, merely letting out a derisive snort.
In response, Kim Si-hyeok's expression grew even colder.
"Shouldn't you be the one learning from my great older brother, Uncle?"
"Me?"
Kim Mu-yeol momentarily looked puzzled as he echoed the question.
"If Father had been in your position, none of this would have happened in the first place."
"Ah. Is that what you meant?"
Then—
"Oh, I learned very well. That's why... I'm the one sitting here now, isn't it?"
Not the older brother.
As Kim Mu-yeol murmured those words, the corners of his lips curved sharply, like a blade.
And coldly.
"You—!!"
Eyes blazing with fury, Kim Si-hyeok drew his sword from his inventory and lunged forward.
Perhaps Kim Mu-yeol hadn't expected him to actually attack.
"Si-hyeok!"
"Hey!"
The startled voices of Lee Yu-jeong and Park Jin-uk followed immediately after.
In sync with their cries—
Crrrk.
A thick, gnarled tree root—its origin unknown—burst through the marble floor, shooting upward.
Considering that his opponent was the Iron Wood King, the root was likely harder than most metals.
Schwing.
But Kim Si-hyeok, now wreathed in a white Sword Aura, sliced through it as easily as cutting tofu.
And with that momentum, he charged straight at Kim Mu-yeok.
Yet, even in the face of that terrifying Sword Saint's Sword Qi—
Kim Mu-yeol remained utterly composed, his lips curled in the same cold sneer.
The reason was simple.
Whoosh.
Swish!
A dark energy and a platinum light wrapped around Kim Si-hyeok before he could reach his target.
"You—!"
Before Kim Si-hyeok could shake them off—
"You crazy bastard!"
"Have you lost your mind?!"
Park Jin-uk and Lee Yu-jeong quickly grabbed hold of him.
"Let me go!!"
Kim Si-hyeok struggled violently, but it was futile.
"You even drew your Sword Aura—you think we'd let you go when you're acting insane?! You'll get branded as a Villain at this rate!"
If it had just been Park Jin-uk, maybe.
"Si-hyeok, get a grip. You're up against the Association President."
But with Lee Yu-jeong—considered his equal and actually on par with him in strength—there was no way he could break free.
Grinding his teeth, Kim Si-hyeok could only glare at his unmoving uncle.
"Seems like your friends have a better grasp of the situation than you do."
Kim Mu-yeol still wore that razor-sharp smile, as if it could slice through flesh.
At that, sparks of fury flared in Kim Si-hyeok's eyes again.
"If these two hadn't stopped me, you'd have died by my hand today."
"Oh? How amusing. Wasn't it just a year ago? Even if we only look at our most recent fight, you were the one who lost, weren't you?"
"That's because you used underhanded—!"
"Underhanded? Are you going to keep calling it underhanded even after you die? Fine, Kim Si-hyeok. I'll admit it—you're strong."
Kim Mu-yeol's smile grew even sharper.
"But no matter how good your sword is, it's useless if you can't wield it properly. If you lost to me despite all that power, you should be ashamed."
Was it just his imagination?
The vitriol dripping from Kim Mu-yeol's lips was as sharp as a blade, but his eyes—
"Truly... you take after your father. I suppose blood really does tell."
Despite his smiling lips, they burned with unmistakable hatred.
"You—!"
The white Sword Aura coiled around Kim Si-hyeok's blade surged violently once more.
But—
"Si-hyeok!"
"For god's sake! Calm the hell down, you brat!"
Unless he unleashed a Killing Move—
There was no way he could break free from Lee Yu-jeong and Park Jin-uk's hold.
Kim Si-hyeok, who had finally ground his teeth, shook off his emotions as if casting them aside.
His body trembled once before he released the sword he had been gripping.
Clang.
Given its considerable weight,
the extraordinary blade struck the floor with a heavy thud.
Kim Si-hyeok roughly wiped his face and asked,
"......Why did you come here?"
"How quick you are to demand answers."
Kim Mu-yeol let out a derisive laugh.
He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and placed it between his lips.
"I don't owe you an explanation."
At those words, Kim Si-hyeok's eyes flashed with fury once more.
But before he could move, someone else acted first.
Swish.
Like a hidden weapon slicing through the air,
a streak of platinum light grazed past Kim Mu-yeol's face.
Along with it, his cigarette was cleanly severed in half, falling to the floor.
Kim Mu-yeol's expression hardened as he glared at the one who had dared cut his cigarette.
"My apologies, Association President. But this is a no-smoking zone. Please smoke outside."
The woman who had been restraining Kim Si-hyeok just moments ago—
Lee Yu-jeong—smiled faintly as she dispelled the Holy Power coiled around her hand.
Thud.
Beside him, Choi Chang-wook stepped forward with a stiff expression.
Kim Mu-yeol subtly raised a hand, stopping his subordinate.
"You've got some nerve."
He plopped down on the nearby sofa as if he owned the place, pulling out another cigarette and lighting it.
The penthouse, which had seemed on the verge of calming down,
descended back into its previous tension.
This time, even Lee Yu-jeong's expression darkened,
creating an atmosphere twice as murderous as before.
"Y-Yu-jeong... you don't have to go that far. Okay?"
Park Jin-uk was the only one sweating bullets, desperately trying to mediate between the two monstrous Rankers.
Then—
"Mmm...."
A small, sleepy groan came to Park Jin-uk's rescue.
"S-Si-yeon!"
It was Si-yeon.
Still half-asleep, judging by her voice,
she tightly clutched a black crystal in one hand as she—
"Uncle...."
—stumbled forward and threw herself into Kim Si-hyeok's arms.
Kim Si-hyeok gently stroked her head.
"Sorry. Did we wake you?"
"Mmm...."
She gave a tiny nod.
Then—
"Huh?"
Si-yeon's drowsy eyes suddenly widened.
They grew larger and larger,
until, in no time at all, they regained their usual sparkle.
"Tree!"
A tree—or rather, the remains of one—burst through the marble floor.
To be precise, it was the trunk of the tree the Iron Wood King had created and the Sword Saint had severed.
Si-yeon dashed toward it.
Then—
"Hee~."
She hugged the trunk.
And soon after—
"It smells nice?"
Rubbing her face against it like a freshly washed pillow,
Si-yeon sniffed the tree trunk before gradually turning toward the source of the pleasant scent.
"Found it!"
Her gaze landed on the middle-aged man silently watching her.
Ignoring her uncle's frantic voice calling,
"S-Si-yeon! Wait!"
she approached the source of the scent with a giggle.
"Hehe!"
And then—she threw herself into the arms of the man whose very presence exuded an aura sharp enough to cut.
No one could have predicted that she would leap into Kim Mu-yeol's embrace.
"......."
"......."
A different kind of silence fell over the penthouse, replacing the earlier bloodlust.
"......Get off."
Like the edge of a blade,
a voice laced with lethal intent shattered the stunned silence.
But—
Perhaps the child, now in the best of moods, couldn't sense it at all?
"Hehe! Smells good!"
Just as she would with Si-mun,
Si-yeon nuzzled her head against him, burrowing deeper into Kim Mu-yeol's arms.
"P-President!"
Choi Chang-wook, standing nearby, hastily reached out to pull her away.
But—
"Secretary Choi? Try moving even a single finger near Si-yeon."
A chilling voice cut him off.
Lee Yu-jeong, who had closed the distance in an instant, glared at him with icy eyes.
"I won't hold back."
Hum.
Her clenched fists shimmered with a blinding platinum light.
Knowing full well the destructive power contained within that radiance,
Choi Chang-wook—
Gulp.
—involuntarily swallowed hard and assumed a defensive stance.
"Listen to Yu-jeong. If you so much as touch a single hair on Si-yeon's head, forget the Villain Act—I'll slaughter every last one of you."
Kim Si-hyeok also lent a hand to Lee Yu-jeong's imposing momentum.
Like a precarious powder keg.
The slightest movement of a finger could set off an explosion—a situation teetering on the brink.
Even in this deadly atmosphere.
"Hehe! Smell."
Si-yeon, still tightly hugging Kim Mu-yeol,
kept rubbing her face against his chest and sniffing repeatedly.
Kim Mu-yeol, looking down at Si-yeon with trembling eyes, asked,
"Wh-what is this... thing?"
"'This thing'? Uncle, haven't you heard? She's Kim Si-yeon. Call her properly."
"That's not what I'm asking!"
For the first time, Kim Mu-yeol raised his voice.
Uncharacteristically,
his face flushed slightly as he shouted,
"What the hell is this kid?! Where did she even come from?!"
"She's my brother's daughter. My niece."
"Wh-what?"
Kim Mu-yeol was dumbfounded by Kim Si-hyeok's words.
But.
"Uncwe? What's an uncwe?"
Kim Mu-yeol's suffering had only just begun.
Kim Si-hyeok, who had been exuding murderous intent as if ready to draw his sword at any moment,
now wore a smile on his usually cold face.
"Uncle is the younger brother of your father... Uh, well. Genealogically speaking, Si-yeon is the youngest descendant..."
But that smile soon twisted into awkwardness.
"Right! Just call him grandpa. No, actually, great-grandpa would be more accurate."
Perhaps because it was getting too complicated,
Kim Si-hyeok simplified it by settling on "grandpa."
At that,
"You bastard! Who said you could decide that?!"
Kim Mu-yeol's veins bulged in his neck as he tried to protest, but,
"Gwandpa! Si-yeon's gwandpa?"
Si-yeon's bright, beaming smile completely shut him down.
"Gwandpa! Hehe! Gwandpa smell!"
As if delighted by something,
Si-yeon rubbed her head against him again.
At this,
"...I'm leaving."
Kim Mu-yeol abruptly stood up from his seat.
But since Si-yeon was clinging to him so tightly,
"Kyaha!"
Instead of falling to the floor, she dangled from Kim Mu-yeol's torso,
bursting into innocent, childlike laughter.
"G-get off! Right now!"
Kim Mu-yeol, looking even more flustered, tried to push the excited Si-yeon away.
"Here, Si-yeon. Come to your uncle."
"No."
"N-no?!"
The refusal seemed to hit Kim Si-hyeok hard,
his mouth hanging open in shock.
"Si-Si-yeon. Are you saying you like that damn grandpa more than your uncle...?"
"Ugh!"
Lee Yu-jeong, who had just smacked Kim Si-hyeok upside the head, smiled gently.
"Si-yeon, grandpa has to go now. Say bye-bye to him and come to me, okay?"
She naturally slipped her hands under Si-yeon's armpits.
Fortunately,
"Mm...!"
Si-yeon seemed to understand, obediently letting herself be lifted.
With her arms wrapped around Lee Yu-jeong's neck, Si-yeon looked at Kim Mu-yeol, who was trembling ever so slightly.
"Gwandpa. Bye-bye!"
She waved her tiny hand.
"......"
Kim Mu-yeol silently watched her for a moment.
"...Go."
Then he turned sharply on his heel.
And just like that, the Iron Wood King—who hadn't flinched even when the Sword Saint drew his blade—left the penthouse in an instant.
Krrrrumble.
A deep roll of thunder rumbled across the sky, thick with dark clouds.
Beneath it,
splash, splash.
Rough, weathered ferryboats rowed forward through the water.
And observing this scene,
"Hey. Are you really okay with this?"
A rugged-looking man standing at the riverbank—the starting point—asked.
"It's fine."
A strikingly handsome man with sharp features answered nonchalantly.
"Being first here doesn't necessarily give you an advantage."
"But Kim Si-mun, this is a Transport Battle. The frontrunners have already passed the starting area. If we don't even begin...?"
The rugged man, Choi Jin-su, voiced his concern, but that was all.
Kwaaaaang!
A deafening explosion immediately drowned out his worries.
"Kill them!"
"You sons of bitches!"
The continuous blasts and shouts.
Seeing this, Si-mun curled the corner of his mouth.
"See?"
From unleashed Auras to arrows, spears, and all manner of long-range projectiles and magic—
Kwa-gwa-gwang!
Screeeech!
As expected of Platinum-rank.
Supernatural attacks clashed back and forth.
The relatively flimsy ferry boats capsized one after another, unable to withstand those powerful attacks.
Naturally.
"Argh!"
"Oh no!"
Most players, who had boarded in pairs as part of the cooperation conditions, fell into the river.
Considering they were classified as high-ranking Platinum players,
the capsizing of ferry boats shouldn't have been a significant blow, but—
"Gahk!"
"P-please... save me..."
As clearly stated in the Arena's guidelines,
the river they fell into was the River Styx of the underworld.
Those who fell in or were even slightly grazed by its waters instantly turned to ashes and sank.
"Huh..."
Choi Jin-su let out a hollow laugh at the sight.
Then, into his ear,
"There are generally two types of people who rush to take the lead like that,"
a clear, feminine voice whispered.
"One is those who've just reached Platinum like us. In other words, people who haven't experienced this kind of Arena before."
The more ignorant, the bolder, as they say.
They couldn't possibly know how dangerous it was to take the lead in this Arena.
"The other is the exact opposite. Those who've experienced countless Arenas like this and are confident in their abilities."
Si-mun raised his hand, pointing at the intact ferry boats.
There was no need to ask who they were.
"Kehahaha! Easy pickings!"
"Now that's a proper initiation!"
"You grow by getting beaten. Don't take it too hard, alright?"
Those who survived the battle at the front.
Each exuded an extraordinary aura.
Choi Jin-su narrowed his eyes slightly as he observed them.
"A team? They're not fighting among themselves."
"No. Not a team."
Si-mun pointed at the pitch-black cave the river led to.
Though 'cave' might not be the right word.
A massive maw, unmistakably the entrance to the underworld, gaped wide open.
"The early stages are for filtering out the rabble. No need to waste energy before the real thing begins."
"The real thing? You mean the main event is beyond that?"
"Correct. Beyond that entrance is where the River Styx truly begins."
"Ha. Even this place kills you on contact. And you're saying this isn't even the start?"
Truly befitting a Platinum Arena.
With a look of disgust,
Choi Jin-su shook his head vigorously before tilting it in question.
"But Kim Si-mun, how do you know all this?"
"Well... I saw it on broadcast."
Si-mun wore a subtle smile.
However.
"Then again, I'm not one to research Arenas much. The best way is to experience things firsthand."
Choi Jin-su, chiding himself for his laziness, failed to notice the oddity in Si-mun's expression.
"No teacher is better than experience."
Si-mun smoothly glossed over Choi Jin-su's self-reproach and walked toward the riverbank.
"Are we setting off now?"
"Yes."
Nodding at Choi Jin-su's approach, Si-mun glanced at the remaining players on the riverbank before answering.
"I've identified most of the players we need to be wary of."
Si-mun took out the Soul Core, the transport objective, from the jet-black ferry boat where it was secured.
"Why take it out? You're not planning to carry it, are you?"
"Exactly."
"But... even for you, wouldn't it be difficult to proceed through the Arena holding that?"
Si-mun chuckled at Choi Jin-su's question.
"True. Whether rowing or fighting, it would definitely be a problem if we used this ferry boat."
Despite his words, Si-mun stepped off the boat with a completely unconcerned expression.
And then.
"But."
Snap.
He flicked his fingers.
[Insufficient Transmutation Power to meet the required level of transmutation.]
[The Philosopher's Stone demands Equivalent Exchange to compensate for the deficiency, requiring 400 Achievement Points.]
[Do you accept? (Yes / No)]
He familiarly selected 'Yes' on the message window that appeared.
Whoooosh!
Like the waters of the River Styx,
an eerie, almost fear-inducing sinister energy gathered behind Si-mun,
converging on the riverbank of the underworld.
Which meant—
Crack.
Crunch.
Screeeech!
Bones, flesh, and souls began to take shape, forming something.
[Constellation Hel watches you with interest."Oh? My essence in the Styx?"]
[Constellation Odin frowns at your transmutation."After Laevateinn, now this..."]
[Constellation Hades silently strokes his beard."Hmm."]
Amidst the rising reactions of the Constellations,
"With something other than those ferry boats, the story changes, doesn't it?"
The massive form took shape.
Choi Jin-su stared dumbfounded,
"That's..."
His gaze fixed on Si-mun's creation.
"A... boat?"