Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Red Danger Unleashed
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Krwang! Krreung...
A sound utterly alien to anything inside a gate reverberated through it massively.
The roar of a mana-charged predator, like that of a lion.
Every time that sound echoed, the monsters' screams battered the gate's walls.
"You're really a B-rank hunter?"
Sharp claws reminiscent of a lion's tore through the monsters, attached to the gorilla's arms.
Monster flesh and skin were nothing like those of beasts.
Even monsters from an A-rank gate were tough and resilient enough that swords barely cut them.
Yet the claws and strength of Jin-mo, measured as a B-rank hunter, ripped off the monsters' limbs in a single go.
Jong-hyeon didn't hold back his praise at the sight.
In an A-rank gate, it typically took two or three B-rank hunters to take down even a single average monster.
But here was one man killing three, four at a time—what fellow Demon Dragon Squad member wouldn't rejoice?
"That's what the measurement said. He never had ambitions as a hunter, so he probably held back and got a rough estimate."
Sword Tiger smirked and replied to Jong-hyeon.
The others nodded as if that nailed it.
Sword Tiger then drew up his demonic energy and shouted.
"That's enough testing. Let's wrap it up—the guy's getting tired."
"Yeah, with the danger level at red, we should finish carefully. Mess it up, and it'll be a headache."
The three Demon Dragon Squad members overlooking Jin-mo's battle leaped down the steep cliff.
Thud.
Despite the height, the trio brushed off the rising dust as if it were nothing.
Sword Tiger emerged from the dust cloud and glanced back at Jong-hyeon.
"What are you talking about? We came in here to trigger gate over."
"Pardon...?"
As Jong-hyeon continued, Sword Tiger proudly unleashed the deep, ink-black demonic energy he'd gained from a year of secluded training.
Rumble.
The destructive nature of the demonic energy struck the ground like an earthquake.
Jong-hyeon and Jeong-won staggered, losing their balance, and exchanged shocked glances.
"Th-this is your level?"
An overwhelming power they'd never seen, even after training together for a year.
It fixed their widened eyes on Sword Tiger's back.
"Demon Dragon Manifestation, 8th stage. Hurry up and follow. Reach 7th stage, and you'll see a new world."
Crunch.
Leaving the stunned duo frozen mid-step, Sword Tiger lightly stretched.
Then, like a coiled spring, he shot toward Jin-mo, who was panting heavily.
Crunch! Thud! Crackle.
"Whoops, failed to control my strength. Rusty after so long?"
Jin-mo, swinging at a monster before him, widened his eyes in shock at Sword Tiger.
"J-just now..."
What had happened?
There'd clearly been a massive monster over two meters tall right in front of him.
But in a blink, with a fierce gust, it vanished.
And around Sword Tiger stood the remains of what had been the monster, scattered in a fan shape.
Like a bird smashed head-on by a truck at 100 kph.
Drip. Drip.
He wiped his crocodile-like face with his hand.
Monster blood clung, dripping down.
In that brief moment of wiping.
Whoosh.
Sword Tiger's form before Jin-mo changed.
A sword, drawn unnoticed, now rested casually on his shoulder.
And then, the bloody spectacle began.
Spurt!
Dozens of monsters that had worn Jin-mo down were bisected in an instant, spraying blood fountains sky-high.
As blood rained down enough to embarrass his earlier wipe, Jin-mo's jaw dropped.
"You pass. You already did, but now you absolutely do."
"H-how..."
"How what? Drew my sword, swung it, put it back on my shoulder."
He'd swung at dozens while just wiping his face?
The hunter combat he'd known felt like a lie; he couldn't contain his shock.
Had he been watching a child's play-fight all this time?
Was this the fight of a true adult—a real hunter?
Thump.
His heart, briefly stilled by shock, began pounding fiercely.
The passion Jong-hyeon and Jeong-won had ignited now blazed in Jin-mo with Sword Tiger's display.
'I want to be like that too.'
It was the moment a dream was born in Jin-mo, who had none before.
Just like Sword Tiger when he first met Yong-un.
= = =
"H-how..."
Unlike the Daegu gate with the Demon Dragon Squad, the Pocheon gate of the Ghost Demon Soul Exterminators was no different.
Amid the Ghost Demon Soul Exterminators' ghost souls—all but First Ghost Soul—Kim Gu stood dumbfounded.
Unlike the Demon Dragon Squad's brutal bloodbath, Myung-su of the Ghost Demon Soul Exterminators fought cleanly.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Fwoosh.
Myung-su, who had vanished, lowered two daggers dripping blood.
Then, all the monsters falling one by one dropped simultaneously with a thud, as if on cue.
It wasn't human speed.
A sleight-of-hand illusion crafted with just two daggers.
For Kim Gu, with mana threads on ten fingers, it snapped his connections.
"You pass. You're now the Seventh Ghost Soul of the Ghost Demon Soul Exterminators."
As Kim Gu's mana threads broke, three identical monster corpses thudded lifelessly beside Myung-su.
If Jin-mo's skill suited the Demon Dragon Squad's beastly transformation, Kim Gu's mana threads fit the Ghost Demon Soul Exterminators.
Mana threads could be sharpened like the Shadow Master, former Sareung Guild leader, for attacks—but cutting wasn't their purpose.
The true value: marionettes.
Manipulating corpses or objects.
The three monsters that fell were such puppets.
"Thank you... But is that even possible? What skill is that...?"
Myung-su looked ordinary, so Kim Gu had thought he could beat him.
That notion vanished instantly.
'Even the mana threads I set just in case... no reaction.'
A ghostly skill for vanishing and hunting.
Cheat-level speed to kill dozens in a blink.
But the real surprise was elsewhere.
"Skill? This isn't a skill."
"Pardon...?"
"My skill's barely D-rank muscle enhancement. I just have a huge dantian—or mana core—so I stay A-rank."
Including his elite assassin abilities from the Night Assassins Society, of course.
"Anyway, Phantom Assassination Technique isn't a skill. Watch."
Myung-su pointed to the Ghost Demon Soul Exterminators behind Kim Gu.
Kim Gu slowly turned.
The smirking ghost souls began fading, all except Seong-min who hadn't learned it.
And it didn't end there.
Sensations of someone touching his body.
Shiver.
"Eek!"
Goosebumps erupted, like being pranked by a ghost.
But only briefly.
"If it were a skill, how could we all use it together?"
The Poison Witch appeared beside him with a smile.
The other ghost souls materialized too.
Gulp.
Kim Gu swallowed dryly.
His eyes widened as he shouted.
"Insane... C-can I learn it too? I want to!"
Like Jin-mo with the Demon Dragon Squad, a hunter's dream sparked in Kim Gu.
A cheat martial art shattering his world's common sense.
For a disinterested hunter like him, it ignited his first desire to grow strong.
Myung-su chuckled at Kim Gu's pure reaction.
"If you catch the Supreme One's eye. He gives everything to those he claims."
"H-how do I do that?"
Tap tap.
Myung-su thumped Kim Gu's chest with his fist.
"Here. Serve the Supreme One with this. Even without words, seeing his true face will make you do it naturally."
Myung-su shrugged, glancing at the ghost souls.
They grinned deeply.
'Supreme One...?'
The first gateway to becoming Yong-un's.
Curiosity about Yong-un stirred in Kim Gu's heart.
Who was he?
Who could surround himself with such powerhouses and grant them this strength?
Like some ghost souls, Kim Gu was gradually becoming Yong-un's.
"Alright... Shall we poke the gate?"
As Kim Gu spaced out thinking of Yong-un, Myung-su's odd words jolted him.
"Pardon? Danger level red... You don't mean..."
Smirk.
"You thought we came to clear an A-rank gate?"
Kim Gu glanced back at Myung-su's grin, faces hopeful.
Meeting the Ghost Demon Soul Exterminators' smiles, he spaced out again.
"Scared? Watch from behind. We're just riding a thrill ride."
Thud.
Thick demonic energy poured from Myung-su, shaking the entire gate.
Thud.
Like a heartbeat, his demonic energy spread.
It clicked the gate's overdrive like a button, shifting it red-danger style.
'He calls this a thrill ride?'
Was it his Sailboat World employee days speaking?
More like, everything so far was play—the air thickening, heavy demonic energy settling.
Kim Gu shook his head at the massive pressure squeezing his breath.
This was no normal situation.
His action mirrored first meeting them, but his heart had changed.
'Even if we go in... it'll be fine, right?'
From doubting joining.
To 'Gulp, it'll be fine, right?'—as a Ghost Demon Soul Exterminator surviving.
= = =
"Something's off."
In Daegu with the Demon Dragon Squad.
"Everyone, brace yourselves."
In Pocheon with the Ghost Demon Soul Exterminators.
"Battle stations!"
The playful faces of the squad leader and First Ghost Soul turned serious.
Before coming, both leaders had researched A-rank gate overs.
Worldwide, the highest were viscount-level at most.
Barum said viscount demons inside equaled three elite Demon Cries guarding former Demon Cry leader Vaper.
But this presence wasn't viscount.
"Earl-level..."
Whispers escaped Sword Tiger in Daegu and Barum in Pocheon.
Crackle!
The emerging foe was at least...
Like the Bupyeong Station demon gate boss that rocked Korea.
"Bite down hard."
"Everyone, Phantom Assassination Technique—begin."
With a unique spatial rip, demons poured from the sky.
If this was disaster...
In the vast rift.
Amid demons, a massive figure at least six meters tall slowly appeared.
"Kuhuhuhuhu..."