Chapter 180
Chapter 180
Chapter 180: The True Culprit (2)
Translation: godtl
Si-mun stared blankly into the air with slightly widened eyes.
And for good reason.
[The Constellation Black Goat scowls deeply, thinking,"That damn bastard of Chaos! What the hell is he up to now?"]
Ever since the Void Trace had been revealed.
The Constellation Black Goat had been continuously reacting.
'Does she know something?'
Si-mun was about to ask Black Goat directly, but—
"Hyung! Are you okay?!"
"S-Si-mun! What on earth just happened?"
Others beat him to the question.
"Ah, well..."
Si-mun glanced subtly at Black Goat's reaction floating in the air.
'Since there's no further reaction, she must be deep in thought.'
Given Black Goat's personality, it would be wiser—
'To wait for her to speak first rather than prying.'
Having made his decision, Si-mun turned his gaze to the two men.
"It's simple. I manifested a Void Trace."
"A Void Trace?"
"What's that?"
The two men tilted their heads in confusion.
"Exactly what it sounds like. When you use a technique infused with the Void..."
Si-mun flicked the lingering indigo energy in the air.
"This kind of trace gets left behind."
As if it were nothing special.
He shrugged lightly.
In response—
"I've never heard of that before. Jin-uk, have you?"
"Not me either."
The two men exchanged puzzled looks.
Naturally so.
As a top-tier Diamond and a Ranker—
Objectively speaking, weren't they among the pinnacle of Players?
"Si-mun, I've been in the Arena for eight years now... but I've never even heard of the Void leaving traces."
Despite his eight years of experience in the Arena, Park Jin-uk had neither heard of nor seen anything about the Void leaving traces.
"Same here, hyung. I've only met three Void ability users in my life, and I've never heard of anything like a 'trace.'"
"Of course you wouldn't have."
Si-mun smiled faintly.
'This is information that only gets revealed about three years after the Regular Arena begins.'
With the emergence of other species.
And the rarities that start appearing in the Galaxy Arena during the Regular Arena phase.
Void Traces become known roughly three years after the Regular Arena begins.
To be precise, they were analyzed at that point.
'It was Andrew, wasn't it? The one who figured out the Void Trace from an Assassin-class Player with Void abilities.'
Andrew Burns, who would later become a High-ranker representing America.
Back then, he had struggled desperately to capture a notorious Villain with Void abilities—a thorn in America's side.
And ultimately, it was through his SS-rank Trait, Analysis, that he discovered the existence of Void Traces.
Thus—
"This is information the world doesn't know yet."
It was knowledge that hadn't reached Earth yet, still stuck in the Irregular Arena phase.
Naturally, even those at the peak as Players—
Or veterans with years of Arena experience—would have no way of knowing.
At Si-mun's answer, Kim Si-hyeok nodded slowly.
"So it's something only hyung knows."
Yet he showed no sign of suspicion.
"As expected of Si-mun!"
Park Jin-uk was no different.
If anything, Si-mun felt slightly unsettled and asked:
"Aren't you going to ask how I know this?"
"Do we need to? You've been surprising people since forever, hyung. What's one more thing?"
"Ever since you developed the Arena cure, I've decided to trust whatever you do, Si-mun."
Kim Si-hyeok answered casually, while Park Jin-uk's eyes sparkled with unwavering faith.
For a moment, Si-mun was at a loss for words.
'......Well. Should I call this fortunate?'
He let out a quiet chuckle at the absolute trust radiating from Kim Si-hyeok and Park Jin-uk.
'Still, it feels nice.'
Suddenly.
A memory from his past life surfaced in Si-mun's mind.
'Around this time in my past life, I wasn't even in contact with Si-hyeok, let alone Jin-uk...'
Back then, he had gritted his teeth alone.
Struggling desperately to overcome his Mana Disability.
Compared to those days—
'I'm really happy now.'
The excruciating Mana Disability was gone.
Now, he even had a younger brother and a comrade who trusted him unconditionally.
And—
'Yu-jeong too...'
After his Mana Disability had manifested.
He had never been able to see her again—had to let her go without a word.
Yet now, she was by his side once more.
But that precious younger brother of his was now on the brink.
Facing an ending frighteningly similar to his past life.
The smile vanished from Si-mun's face.
'This time, I won't let go.'
Unlike his past life, he would hold onto everything he had grasped this time.
And everything I will hold onto from now on.
Not a single thing will slip through my grasp.
With eyes dark and steady, Si-mun spoke.
"Anyway. The fact that Void Traces remain like this—"
Sssss—
He touched the fading indigo trajectory once more.
"—is proof that the one who killed Chairman Lee Sun-cheol is a Void ability user."
At those words.
"Wait."
As if something had clicked in his mind—
"If it's a Void ability user, then surely...?"
Kim Si-hyeok's face hardened with terrifying speed.
"Yeah. You're thinking right."
Si-mun nodded gravely.
"The CCTV in the chairman's office was turned off right before Yu-jeong entered. And Chairman Lee Sun-cheol's head was severed at that exact moment."
Si-mun's gaze naturally drifted toward the entrance.
"If we're talking about an assassin skilled enough to kill without Yu-jeong noticing despite only a door separating them—there are only three people in the entire world capable of that."
Si-mun's eyes narrowed.
And to his words—
"Out of those three, only one possesses Void attributes."
Park Jin-uk continued.
"Void Strider Daniel. It's definitely that bastard."
Void Strider Daniel.
A top-tier assassin-class player and core member of Desperado, the world's strongest villain organization.
As if recognizing the name—
"Ha!"
Kim Si-hyeok scoffed, roughly pushing back his bangs.
"Those Desperado sons of bitches! First they ambush my brother, and now this!"
Then—
"Hyung. What the hell is Uncle even doing?"
He whirled around to face Si-mun.
"Those psychos have set foot in Korea twice now—how the hell does he not know?!"
"Si-hyeok. Calm down. There's nothing Uncle could've done."
Si-mun sighed softly, trying to soothe his brother.
"They're the ones who terrorized the White House, remember? Even Uncle couldn't possibly track all their movements."
Besides, didn't Desperado have exceptional spatial ability users?
Not even the Association President could fully monitor their activities.
"But still—"
"Enough."
Si-mun cut him off firmly.
Si-hyeok bit his lip hard but said nothing more.
"Si-hyeok. Right now, instead of wasting energy on anger, we need to focus on handling this situation."
"...I know, Hyung."
It was an undeniably pragmatic statement.
Swallowing his fury, Si-hyeok nodded.
Si-mun turned toward the nearly faded Void Trace.
Then—
Click.
He took out his phone and snapped a photo.
"This should be enough to prove Yu-jeong's innocence."
Si-mun immediately sent it to Kim Mu-yeol.
"So what now? We've found proof of her innocence—are we done?"
"No. Now we catch the real culprit and crush him."
"How?"
Si-mun smirked.
Ssss—
He traced the Void Trace again, now almost completely faded.
Sssssss—
The trace emitted the same thick, indigo energy as before.
"I can... sort of read Void Traces."
From the moment he'd entered the chairman's office—
It had been perfectly clear to Si-mun's eyes.
The Void Trace stretching from the window to the chair's headrest.
'Probably because of the gaze from beyond the titles. Or maybe the Obsidian Tablet.'
Well, whichever it was—
To Si-mun, it was as clear as a scratch on glass.
The distorted space left by the Void Trace was visible.
And those traces—
'He went that way.'
Like marks left by sharp claws—
They were scattered across the rooftop outside the window.
Si-mun studied the traces left behind and said,
"Considering Daniel's personality, he's probably still in Korea."
"Figures. That psycho loves watching the chaos his assassinations create."
"He always pulled that shit in the Arena too. Team-killing in secret and getting off on the fallout."
Having been on the receiving end multiple times—
Kim Si-hyeok and Park Jin-uk looked utterly disgusted.
"If I'd just been a top-ranker back then, I would've cut that bastard's head off ages ago!"
Park Jin-uk in particular was grinding his teeth.
"Lucky for you. You can do it this time."
Si-mun smiled at him.
"Then let's go."
"Got it."
"Right!"
They turned toward the half-open window.
Just as Si-mun flicked his fingers to activate Body Linkage—
[Constellation Black Goat gazes at you and says, 'Sweetheart. I think I need to look into this matter.']
The previously severed connection with Black Goat resurfaced before his eyes.
[Constellation Black Goat has given you a mission.]
And it came with a mission attached.
Si-mun immediately checked the mission.
[Mission]
Find the 'owner' who left the Void Trace.
Reward: Shub-Jull the Multi-Faceted Tracker (prepaid), 5,000 Achievement Points
The reward was excessively lavish for merely finding one person.
Especially—
'They're giving the reward in advance?'
The term "prepaid" instantly caught Si-mun's attention.
'Shub-Jull... Judging by the fact it even has a title, it must be no ordinary entity.'
And they're giving it as a prepaid reward?
Yet Si-mun's expression remained far from bright.
And for good reason.
'This isn't even the Regular Arena right now. Isn't it too much to prepay something of that caliber?'
Even at a glance, the prepaid reward was extraordinary.
It was already a prepayment, to begin with.
There was no way an entity like that would be permitted outside the Regular Arena.
As expected.
[This dimension has not yet entered the Regular Arena phase.]
[Please revise the prepaid reward.]
The system immediately demanded a reward adjustment.
[The Constellation Black Goat clicks her tongue and says,"Tsk. Thought I could slip it through," before revising the reward.]
Unlike usual, the Black Goat complied without protest.
[The mission reward has been updated.]
She adjusted the mission.
'As expected. Even the Black Goat must have realized this was pushing it.'
After all, the weight of the Regular Arena and the Irregular Arena were fundamentally different.
Si-mun checked the revised reward.
Reward: Void Hound (prepaid), 5,000 Achievement Points
'A Void Hound? So it's just for tracking?'
He could clearly sense the drop in prestige of the prepaid reward.
'Well, whatever. It's not like I have a choice—I'd have to do all the tracking manually otherwise.'
Since Si-mun had found tracking tedious from the start, he accepted the mission without much regret.
Then—
Ssssshh—
The dimension before him split open.
Grrrl.
An unidentified violet-black quadruped emerged.
A bizarre creature with the appearance of a dog yet crowned with the horns of a mountain goat.
"W-what the hell is that?!"
"Hyung!"
At the sudden appearance of the Void Hound, Jin-uk and Si-hyeok immediately tensed—but that was all.
Kyiing.
Despite its pitch-black exterior,
the Void Hound rubbed its head affectionately against Si-mun's hand, prompting them to lower their guard.
Si-mun smiled faintly and stroked the creature's head and horns.
"Can you track this trace for me?"
When Si-mun pointed to the Void Trace, the hound sniffed at it eagerly.
Then—
Woof woof!
With a loud bark, it bolted out the window.
Jamsil Sports Complex.
On the rooftop of the dimly lit stadium,
"I already know."
A hooded man held a phone to his ear.
-If you know, then return immediately.
"Don't give me orders. I'll kill you before that."
The hooded man spat back sharply.
Beneath the hood, his gaunt face and hollow eyes twisted into a scowl, resembling a drug addict's.
-Daniel. This isn't an order.
"Telling me what to do isn't an order? Then what the hell is?"
-Kim Mu-yeol has issued a ban on Awakened leaving the country. Do you understand what that means?
The voice on the other end remained steady, carrying a weighty tone despite Daniel's irritation.
-He must've caught wind of something. The fact that he hasn't arrested the Sword Saint and the Night Hunter as accomplices yet is already—
The voice continued, weaving increasingly complex words.
"Agh! I don't give a damn about any of that."
Daniel swiftly cut him off.
"Even if the job's done, I'm not leaving like this. I'd feel cheated if I didn't cause at least one more mess."
-Daniel!
"Shut up! Since it's come to this, I'll just take out that Kim Si-mun guy or whatever before I go. Problem solved, right?"
-...Not a bad choice, but the Sword Saint is by his side. It won't be easy.
"Then what about that has-been Do-hu? Heard he came back from the dead just to become a washed-up relic?"
-Lee Yeong-hui... Not a bad idea. She's a first-generation hero—our stock would rise too.
"Right? And if we kill her mom, that arrogant bitch will lose her damn mind, won't she? Kick!"
As if the mere thought delighted him,
Daniel burst into a fit of giggles.
"Then I'll take Do-hu's head before I go. Make sure everything's ready for me to move as soon as the travel ban lifts."
-Understood.
Ending the call,
Daniel slipped the phone back into his pocket.
'Yu-jeong Lee. You'll pay dearly for daring to reject me, you Asian bitch!'
His murderous intent surged.
With eyes brimming with madness, he gazed down at the bustling city below.
Then.
"Well, well. Looks like we've got a little rat."
Daniel's arm, which had been gazing down at the city, swung out in an instant.
And then—
Screee!
A scream reminiscent of a dog's howl tore through the air.
Daniel turned his hollow eyes toward the source of the sound.
There, lying motionless with a hidden weapon embedded between its eyes, was a black dog with goat horns.
"A Void Hound?"
Daniel's brow furrowed."Why the hell is that thing here...?"
His words trailed off.
Bzzzt.
A faint ringing filled his ears.
In the next moment, a dagger wreathed in violet Sword Qi slashed upward.
Clang!
A bright spark briefly illuminated the dim surroundings.
Spotting his ambusher, Daniel let out a short, derisive laugh.
"Ha! So it wasn't just Kim Mu-yeol who caught on?"
"If even that incompetent fool noticed, did you really think I wouldn't?"
A refreshingly handsome young man, his sword sheathed in white Sword Qi.
"Incompetent fool? Hey now, Kim Si-hyeok. Isn't Kim Mu-yeol your uncle?"
It was Kim Si-hyeok.
His expression was one of utter displeasure.
"Only by blood,"he muttered reluctantly, giving a slight nod.
"What kind of bastard...?"
Just as Daniel was about to lose his patience—
"Oh-ho!"
A glint flashed in his hollow eyes.
The reason was simple.
"Isn't that Kim Si-mun, the talk of the town lately? I was just about to pay you a visit, but you crawled here on your own?"
Behind Si-hyeok, Si-mun was approaching.
Si-mun smirked in response.
"The great Desperado must be running a fever, I see. To think the Void Strider himself would come looking for me."
"Not just a fever—more like a full-blown inferno. Especially Mogadam. He's been screaming about blowing you apart at the molecular level."
The Bomb Demon, Mogadam.
Daniel sneered as he mentioned another core member of Desperado, his tone dripping with mockery—as if he expected Si-mun to cower in fear.
But Si-mun simply shrugged.
"Ah, so it's because of that paper-folding bastard? What was his name again... Jace Clark?"
His nonchalance only fueled Daniel's fury.
"Damn. You've got guts spilling out of your stomach. You must be desperate to die."
Daniel's sneer twisted into pure bloodlust.
Then—
"Aren't you the one with guts spilling out?"
Whoosh!
A chilling voice accompanied a slash of white Sword Aura.
Without even bothering to look, Daniel—
Fwoom.
—melted into the Void, effortlessly evading Si-hyeok's strike.
A moment later, he reappeared a short distance away.
Si-hyeok shot him a frigid glare.
"You dare babble about killing my brother right in front of me."
"Brother?"
Daniel's brow twitched slightly.
Then—
"Ah-ha! Kim Si-mun, Kim Si-hyeok. Right, right. So you two are brothers?"
He spun his dagger idly, letting out a small chuckle.
"But you don't look alike at all. Are you really brothers?"
"None of your damn business."
"Eh, fair enough."
With a dry laugh, Daniel glanced between Si-hyeok, who was preparing another strike, and—
"Daniel, you son of a bitch! I'll pay you back tenfold for that stunt you pulled in the Arena last time!"
—Park Jin-uk, who was glaring at him from beside Si-mun with murderous eyes.
'The Sword Saint and the Night Hunter... Even for me, this is pushing it.'
Just considering the class matchups alone was bad enough.
Since ancient times, combat classes countered assassin classes.
And a powerhouse like the Sword Saint, Kim Si-hyeok, was an even more extreme counter.
Not to mention having another assassin—the Night Hunter—on top of that.
"Tch. I was trying to save my techniques to keep them under wraps... but I guess I've got no choice."
"Don't hold back. You won't get to use them ever again anyway."
Bzzzt.
With the distinctive hum of Sword Aura, Si-hyeok charged.
"Hah! You're right, Kim Si-hyeok."
Daniel burst out laughing, even as Si-hyeok closed in.
"When your life's on the line, you shouldn't hold back."
Fwoosh.
His left hand, brimming with Void energy, clenched the air.
"See you later, then."
Then—
"Void Banishment."
With a short incantation, he flicked his clenched hand aside.
Astonishingly—
Kim Si-hyeok, who had been mere moments away from cleaving Daniel in half, vanished without a trace.
"S-Si-hyeok!"
Park Jin-uk shouted in shock, but it was too late.
"Park Jin-uk. You're not much of a threat, but... I like to be thorough. See you in a bit."
With the same motion, Daniel erased Jin-uk from existence as well.
"Heh-heh! Kim Si-mun? Now it's just the two of us."
His smile was drenched in killing intent.
"So it seems."
"Kuh-hah! Not even blinking? Well, I guess you'd need that kind of nerve to act so cocky all this time."
Daniel coated his dagger with thick, viscous Void energy.
"Let's see if you can keep that bravado intact, even when your entire body is twisted beyond recognition."
With that, he swung the blade toward Si-mun.
Sssshhh—
A crescent-shaped wave of dense Void energy sliced through the air, tracing a deadly arc.
"Same to you, Daniel."
Si-mun spread his arms wide, as if embracing the oncoming attack.
"I hope you can maintain that arrogance of yours—right until the very end."
And with that, he welcomed the descending Void.