Chapter 99
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Tuner's Assassins
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“Hoo...”
The sparkling black mana in the forest and the sharp tingling at his fingertip.
Confirming his decisive strike had landed true, Lee Se-hun swiftly scanned his surroundings.
Assassins shrouded head to toe in black cloth. They looked merely a bit undersized at a glance, but having slain them himself, Lee Se-hun knew their bodies were unnaturally gaunt.
‘Freakish physiques paired with freakishly adept stealth skills... the Tuner's work?’
The Tuner, one of the Ten Evils.
A demon who butchered and remade living flesh at whim—a figure Lee Se-hun was especially on guard against.
Before his regression, it was the Tuner who partnered with the Observer to birth one of the Six Great Demon Gods: the Demon God of Sword Annihilation.
‘Puppeteer last time, Tuner now. Talk about a fan club.’
Puppeteer or Tuner, their approaches diverged, but both fed on human or demon flesh as raw material. It wasn't so surprising he'd drawn their ire back-to-back.
As Lee Se-hun marveled at being targeted by two of the Ten Evils...
Rustle.
New presences prickled from all around.
Their commander felled in an instant, yet no panic—they stalked opportunities with calm precision. The modifications aside, their training ran deep.
‘No sign of Magwang-su either... bigger game than I thought.’
He couldn't grasp the full flow of events, but priorities were clear: check Park Jin-hwan at the workshop first, then above all, locate the vanished Yeom Seong-ha.
Decision made, Lee Se-hun poured mana anew into his index finger, etched with dense tiny script and housing the Unknown's Phalanx. He intoned the activation word.
"Call of the Departed."
Woooong—
Black ripples bloomed from his fingertip.
Dark mana wove pupil-like sigils atop the corpses, which began to whirl slowly.
At last, as every sigil thinned to filaments burrowing inward...
Srrrrk.
The bodies dissolved. Eight shadows took form.
Eerie silhouettes mimicking the assassins' shadows upright. Lee Se-hun's eyes narrowed.
‘Necromancy route. Inefficient ones, if memory serves.’
Sorcery resurrecting corpses wholesale into undead. Flashy facade, but weaker than originals with voracious mana drain—an archaic relic.
No room for nitpicking. Lee Se-hun commanded the undead to guard him, then bolted for the workshop.
Whoosh!
Movement triggered it: darts whistling from every angle, shadows lunging in unison. Assassins weaponizing their own lives. Lee Se-hun seized his Five-Colored Flame Blade.
Shlick.
The undead sheared it all apart.
Chwajajak!
Undead assassins elongated like living whips. They lashed out mute and merciless, carving down every threat to their master.
No weakening—instead shadow traits elevated them to B-rank might. Lee Se-hun gaped in disbelief.
‘What the hell does one finger bone...’
Summit Climbers: bottomless monstrosities, then or now.
Shocked yet appraising their prowess, Lee Se-hun shattered the siege and raced to the workshop.
Kwaang!
“Wh-what's going on?!”
Door kicked flying, Park Jin-hwan stared in shock.
No wounds save faintly puffy eyes. Relief washing over him, Lee Se-hun pressed urgently.
“Ambushed by hostiles—Yeom Seong-ha's gone AWOL. Where's he storm off to when pissed?”
Park Jin-hwan's eyes bulged, then snapped to reality, barking back.
“Waterfall! Northwest up the path—the one the founding master and I frequented!”
“Roger. Leaving guards—stay safe!”
Detaching four undead assassins as escorts, Lee Se-hun vaulted out, streaking back to the forest of the black spear toss.
No tails from the village—ambush confined there. In the cragged woods, he triggered necromantic Eye of Boundary via the Unknown's Phalanx.
Rustle.
Black edges limned every object's bounds. One massive gash hung in empty air. Lee Se-hun thrust out his left hand.
Whoosh!
Finger with phalanx connected; space rent open. Plop—the black spear he'd hurled tumbled free.
‘Foe... offed themselves.’
Aware of total defeat, erased utterly: corpses, garb, not a scrap left.
Tuner's implanted self-erase device, no doubt.
‘Hate these assassin pricks for a reason.’
Tongue clicking at ironclad protocol, Lee Se-hun reclaimed the spear, inspecting it.
Vein-like black tendrils pulsed along the haft. Ominous. He summoned the info pane.
[Shadow Chant Spear]
Grade:Hero | Quality:Mid-Lower
A spear eroded by shadows.
Absorbs life force from contacted targets, converting it to dark-attribute mana. Expend mana to wield boundary-manipulating power.
However, overusing traits risks erosion, impairing performance.
* Absorbs life force → converts to dark-attribute mana.
* Skill Latent Shadow available.
* Skill Projection unavailable.
* Internal erosion limits performance.
‘Projection's locked.’
Weapon art Projection: stockpile force, unleash on demand.
Spent it manifesting Brilliant Eye Dark Spear—single use triggered erosion, nerfing it.
‘Latent Shadow holds, still viable. Now for the rest...’
Turning northwest toward the waterfall, Lee Se-hun spotted a trail at once.
Footprint stamped brazenly, no concealment. Trailing it would lead straight to Yeom Seong-ha.
‘Just stay breathing!’
Could patch severed limbs or worse. Steel resolve, he plunged deeper into the peaks.
Roooaaar.
Petite cascade tumbling over the brookside.
Spray scattering rainbow glints in sunlight, yet Yeom Seong-ha's gaze darkened further upon it.
‘Solace in past reverie...’
Recalling venom spat at Park Jin-hwan, he eyed the spear clutched in hand: the sai.
Master's battlefield scourge. Pre-birth legend, yet scars etched on the sai painted it vivid.
How master swung it. The valorous might and momentum conjured unbidden in mind.
‘No better myself...’
Master's decline gnawed yearly; terror of its end birthed desperate flight into nostalgia.
Eyes twisting at his wretchedness, he studied his stream-mirrored face.
‘Fit to lead the Blazing Flower Sect?’
Claim sect leadership per master's will. Steadfast aim, yet qualms lingered.
Could he helm it like master? Heir the Flame Ring Residual Flame Spear, uphold the legacy?
Aspiring leader and exemplary one unsmirching glory—worlds apart.
‘Scram. No scraps for trash like you.’
Lee Se-hun's icy stare brimmed with letdown. Unthinking, Yeom Seong-ha crushed the sai tighter.
“I...”
Doubts banished reflexively in old days; today, they clung stubborn.
As he stared vacantly...
“The sai, huh.”
Sneer echoed opposite.
“That junk relic still kicking? Park Jin-hwan's one pathetic geezer.”
Middle-aged brute sauntered forth, blood-dark glaive slung shoulder-high. Face registered; Yeom Seong-ha gawked.
“An Gil-hyeon...”
Expelled disciple: slain a dispatched instructor in hazard zone, botched cover-up.
Sudden return after years; tension etched Yeom's face.
“Instructor, properly. Manners lapse unchanged.”
“No call from scum like me.”
Yeom's bite drew halt at brook's edge, An Gil-hyeon tutting.
“Tsk tsk. Leader hopeful so dense... My showing here—clueless?”
Pity dripped as he eased the glaive low.
“Stodgy ex-leaders blind; our Fourth acknowledged my raw deal.”
Fourth Sect Leader Lee Won-ryong greenlit reinstatement. Yeom mulled, spoke measured.
“Ah. Thick with Lee Won-ryong since boot, then.”
“Eh. Fella I iced was next-leader darling once.”
Scriiipe.
Glaive gouged earth deliberate; An Gil-hyeon grinned at Yeom.
“Like now!”
“......!”
Kwaang!
Both stomped launch; crimson blades collided midstream.
Kwaaaaang!!
Clash birthed blast.
Flames snarled devouring; parted. Each whirled spear sheathed in blaze.
Roar!
Flame Ring Residual Flame Spear basics: spear claims space, trailing residual flames pulverize foes.
Often blitzkrieg storms, but kin-style duel shifted dynamics.
Ka-gagang!
Blades kissed tight repelling space grabs first; residual bursts scaled down.
Kang—boom!
Blast recoil warped arcs erratic, flames veiled sights for gaps.
Grueling bids for offensive momentum. Inevitable: Yeom Seong-ha yielded ground gradual.
“Sluggish reflexes...!”
Kaang!
“Kuh...!”
An Gil-hyeon's glaive usurped turf, potency surging; Yeom backpedaled, deflecting desperate.
Pre-decade instructor ascension, A-rank hero tenure: An's edge raw. Yet deeper cause.
‘Bastard... more than one kill...!’
Slaying same-art peer with it: torment, savvy fused at tip, shredding fundamentals.
Kagaak!
Vitals-probing counter forms relentless; Yeom grasped foe true.
Long Lee Won-ryong's hound, culling sect-seizure snags. An Gil-hyeon incarnate.
“Yeom Jin-hyeon tutelage, eh? Skill's dead ringer. Ditch relics—flash those leader-duel twin spears!”
Scoff dismantling core. Yeom roiled dual tides.
Twin spears might've held; master's art no has-been.
Clashing whirl, teeth ground; mana flooded sai's innards.
Woooong!
Blade birthed titan flames. Once impaled hordes: Yeom Jin-hyeon's Flame Demon thrust reborn in Yeom's grip.
Whoosh!
An Gil-hyeon's glaive outsped, raking torso.
Pffang!
Chest seared graze-hot. Pain secondary; eyes locked on sai clutched.
“......”
Haft bisected clean.
Core circuits fried: blade dulled inert, mana mute.
Sai slain; eyes bulged. An tutted.
“Tch. Planned twins, snaps premature... ownerkin.”
“......!”
Veins bulging glare; An snickered.
“Truth stings? Death's-door fogey. Workshop hermit, halved heirloom. Fitting pair.”
“Shut it...!”
“Brat clogged fore-aft... Right, exclusive tale unknown.”
Surveying unraveling Yeom, An purred on.
“Sai heired through Third Leader. Jin-hyeon healthier then, schooling spearplay.”
“Shut up!!!”
Ground-kick, wrecked sai flail; An sidestepped casual, ribs boot.
Thump!
“Guhk...!”
“Hear out. Fourth Lee Won-ryong's reign snapped lineage—sai shelved. Why?”
Brookside sprawl neared, An grinned wolfish.
“Yeom Jin-hyeon botched sai reins.”
“......What?”
“Demo flourish lost flame grip—self-engulfed, wrecked worse.”
“Lies...”
“Arm, chest scars. Cohabited, you clocked 'em?”
Yeom gawked.
Master's prime gash presumed war trophy—mishap scar.
“Fogey quit tardy. Holed compliant, hale now... nostalgia gnawed self.”
Master's echo surfaced.
‘Wield it? Power, time fled me.’
Past shed, seemed. Truth: self's embers, unrekindleable.
“......”
Park, self, master—past thralls. Yeom sank mire-deep.
Lead for master.
True fix?
‘I...’
Conviction cracked first; eyes quaked. An loosed coup de grâce.
“Now whelp stray-dogging dooms his dotage too.”
“......!”
“Endgame compliant? Leader's mercy possible. Eh?”
Hint barbed; sai re-gripped, slackened slow.
Will evaporated. An beamed.
“Sage choice.”
Slouch appraised.
Kill crude: neck, heart. Journey crafts import.
Yeom's yield: investment gilded.
‘Twin art unseen—pity.’
Cheap longstaff eased crush; leader-clash twins tougher.
True shatter demands all; regret quashed.
‘Strike while sure.’
Counters clocked instant—shock veiled. Spare him, peril rebounds self.
Glaive hoisted languid.
Srrk.
Shadow Chant Spear tip lanced head-silent.
“......?!”
Chill steel subconscious-pierce. Jolt spurred glaive whirl swift.
Chance prime, pace lax—deflect ample. Ease bloomed, riposte queued.
Latent Shadow.
Spearhead hazed ethereal.
Whoosh.
Shadow-form phased glaive harmless; blade bore inbound. Eyes ballooned.
Puk!
Right orb skewered instant.
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