Chapter 195
Chapter 195
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 195
Chapter Title: Royal Class
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Royal Class.
Those who stand at the pinnacle of humanity.
They are called kings, the light of mankind.
And as humanity's hope, the strongest among them are granted power befitting their status.
'Worldwide Hunter Law, Article 1, Section 2. Those who despise or show hostility toward Royal Class will be ostracized by hunters worldwide. Retribution shall be sought directly from the Royal Class. Execution on the spot is permitted at maximum.'
The colossal forces that move the world.
Even the GHO cannot touch them lightly.
Just by becoming a brilliant light for humanity, the Royal Class has been elevated to the heavens by all mankind.
They've been granted power worthy of the name "king."
Sasasak.
And now, the iron fist of that king was about to descend upon the VIP room of the Republic of Korea Hunter Management Agency.
Not from one, but from two American Royal Class hunters.
Cheok.
Spello's body began to fade away slowly.
His presence gradually diminished until his form and the white dagger vanished completely, like peering through spotless glass.
"I told you back then that I thought I saw Uncle Spello, right?"
As Spello vanished entirely, Ignito spoke with a hardened expression.
"When it comes to stealth, Uncle Spello is the best in the world."
Spello began to move, and only then did Ignito's face break into a smile again.
He shifted his gaze from Yong-un to somewhere behind his shoulder, blooming into a full grin.
"See? That's why I did it. Now Uncle Spello's pissed."
No sooner had Ignito finished speaking than a voice echoed from right beside Yong-un.
"Kneel."
Spello, whom they'd thought had disappeared, had seized the space next to Yong-un without a single trace of presence.
The chill and white frost emanating from Yong-un's right neck.
Even under Spello's threat, Yong-un looked at Ignito and said,
"Phantom Assassins, move out."
In response to Yong-un's enigmatic tone, Ignito's face twisted in confusion upon hearing the words.
But that lasted only a moment.
Sasasak.
Ignito's expression changed once more.
"Yes, Supreme One."
The reason was clear: the Phantom Assassins' spirits, who had concealed themselves around Spello—now standing silently beside Yong-un—began to press in on him one by one.
Spello's eyebrow twitched.
A voice sounded right beside him, utterly traceless.
"What are you?"
Spello prided himself on being unmatched in stealth.
Yet these guys... what the hell?
He couldn't hide his shock at the spirits possessing stealth skills rivaling his own.
Just as Spello held a white dagger to Yong-un's neck,
Myung-su pressed a black dagger to Spello's.
"Step back."
Spello slowly lowered the white dagger from Yong-un's neck and took a step backward.
"You know what happens if you kill me, right?"
"I do. We'd be at war with the entire world."
"And you're still doing this?"
"Doesn't matter."
"What?"
Wrinkle formed between Spello's brows.
He slowly turned to lock eyes with Myung-su.
Myung-su met his gaze steadily and said,
"Even if it makes the whole world our enemy, it doesn't matter. It's the Supreme One's command."
There was no fear in Myung-su's eyes.
Not even if it meant war with the entire world.
Spello glanced back at Yong-un.
"That guy... means that much to you? Enough that you'd die without a second thought?"
"If it's the Supreme One's order, we'd die right now without hesitation."
Spello's gaze swept past Myung-su to the assembled Phantom Assassins and Demon Dragon Corps.
All of them nodded faintly with resolute eyes, sharing the same conviction.
Spello pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Then kill me."
He'd expected pleas for mercy or offers to let it slide.
Not this.
Myung-su, dagger close to Spello's neck, looked to Yong-un.
"What should we do?"
"If it's his wish, we grant it."
Yong-un's command came down.
"Yes, Supreme One."
To prove it wasn't mere words, Myung-su thrust the dagger into Spello's neck without hesitation.
Tak.
"...?!"
But then.
The dagger, poised to pierce through, halted abruptly against Spello's neck with a solid thunk.
Like striking unyielding stone.
"You were serious."
Unlike the stunned Myung-su, Spello nodded calmly.
"But you picked the wrong opponent. Do you think I earned the title Royal Class for nothing?"
Meeting Spello's eyes, Myung-su sensed something off and released the dagger.
Then, the neck that felt like stone began to turn to ice.
Jjeojeojeok.
And in an instant, Myung-su's dagger froze solid.
"Assassins with plenty of combat experience."
Myung-su let out a deep breath of relief.
He knew better than anyone that if he'd held on, it wouldn't have been just the dagger freezing.
Spello reached out and pulled the frozen dagger free.
Ice shards crumbled from Myung-su's blade.
"A pity. To destroy talents like you with my own hands..."
Chachachang.
Myung-su's special mana stone dagger shattered into pieces in Spello's grasp.
Spello extended his hand, exuding biting cold, toward Myung-su.
"Don't resist. I won't kill you then."
Myung-su stared at the fragments of his shattered dagger before slowly lifting his head to meet Spello's eyes.
"Phantom Assassins."
"Yes, First Phantom!"
Myung-su, eyes fixed on Spello, commanded the phantoms around them.
"I order you: stake your lives... and keep this man from reaching the Supreme One."
"Yes, First Phantom!"
As the phantoms deployed Void Convergence Assassination Technique, Spello withdrew his hand.
Nodding slowly, Spello gripped his white daggers with a regretful expression.
"Choosing that path after all... Very well..."
Saaak.
"In the name of Royal Class, I shall eliminate this threat."
As Myung-su's presence faded under Void Convergence Assassination Technique, Spello too erased his own with his signature skill.
Chaeng! Chachaeng!
A war of silent assassins.
The world's pinnacle in assassination beyond Korea: the phantoms.
Versus the Royal Class Spello, already at the apex.
Their invisible battle began.
Chaeng! Chacha chaeng!
Ice shards scattered and sparks flew from empty air.
A swift, intricate battle impossible to predict or even perceive.
Amid it, Yong-un and Ignito, glaring at each other, took a step forward simultaneously.
Hwaruruk.
Kugung.
Ignito's blue flames clashed midair with the Crimson Asura, whose severed arm had regrown.
Each collision shook the towering Republic of Korea Hunter Management Agency building.
"So this is your real power?"
Ignito let out genuine admiration.
When they met in the basement's fourth floor, he'd dismissed Yong-un as just a skilled assassin.
But facing him head-on as a swordsman revealed the truth: Yong-un was far beyond mere assassin.
Which made it all the more shocking.
'Where the hell did this guy come from?'
He was skilled enough as an assassin to accompany Spello.
Meant to show him he was a frog in a well and shatter his spirit.
But now, his swordsmanship outshone even that.
Tatang. Tatatang.
'And his subordinates' assassin skills are top-notch too...'
The deeper he dug, the more layers emerged from this freak.
When was the last time he'd encountered someone like this?
'Light of Earth.'
It had been since the Mercenary King.
"You're full of distractions."
As those thoughts swirled, a low voice sounded.
Yong-un unleashed Crimson Heavenly Demon Qi explosively.
The Crimson Asura, battling Ignito's blue flames, used four blood blades to block while the remaining four slashed down at Ignito.
Thukung!
The VIP room's solid floor caved in deeply.
Then, from beneath the four blood blades, a blaze of blue flames erupted.
Hwarururuk.
Not for nothing was he called Royal Class.
Ignito, engulfed head to toe in blue flames, turned the four blood blades—and four arms of the Crimson Asura—to ash in an instant.
"Not bad?"
Ignito smirked, unfurling massive wings of blue flame from his back.
That was exactly what Yong-un wanted to say.
'Impressive.'
The Crimson Asura was Yong-un's original technique, devised from an unnamed manual of the Heavenly Brain Master.
A powerful Asura manifesting as eight arms fueled by Crimson Heavenly Demon Qi.
A colossal form purely of Crimson Heavenly Demon Qi.
In other words, Ignito had dismantled it solely with his flames—a skill that burned even pure Crimson Heavenly Demon Qi and its blood mist.
Ssaeaeeaek.
"Still, not quite Royal Class material."
Ignito's eyes sharpened.
The blue wings on his back began emitting strange noises.
And then.
Pishuuuuuk. Tadak tadak.
With the crackle of fireworks, the blue flames turned green in a flash.
Hwaruk.
All surrounding flames shifted color as well.
"I'll make sure you never speak the name 'Royal Class' again."
Ddak.
The moment every flame changed hue,
Ignito snapped his fingers lightly.
Behind Yong-un, the Crimson Asura let out a silent scream and began crumbling.
Kugugugung.
All arms blocking the flames were devoured by the green fire.
Starting from the eight arms, the green flames raced up the Crimson Asura's origin—the Demon-Slaying Sword midway through its blood mist—incinerating the entire form to ash.
"At best, you're Divine General tier. Got anything else?"
Ignito crossed his arms, exuding leisure.
With all of Yong-un's attacks burned away, only faint Crimson Heavenly Demon Qi and the flame-wreathed Demon-Slaying Sword remained.
But Ignito had reason to taunt.
A novel glint in his grinning eyes.
'Like the Mercenary King. There's definitely more.'
It was anticipation.
Not just shock at the assassin turning swordsman.
Instinct.
'Yeah, instinct.'
It just felt that way.
An inexplicable unease from this hunter from a small nation.
His displayed power already surpassed top-4 ranking, but something...
'There's more to him.'
Green flames rippled around the arm-crossed Ignito.
Like his heart, the fire concealed its heat, glaring at Yong-un.
And soon, Ignito's anticipation and suspicion turned to certainty.
As Yong-un's "everything"—the Crimson Heavenly Demon Qi—faded, he regripped the flame-cloaked Demon-Slaying Sword.
Pat.
The green flames clinging to the Demon-Slaying Sword vanished in an instant.
"As expected..."
Above the Demon-Slaying Sword, purple energy—Apex Qi—bloomed,
extinguishing every green flame around in a surge.
Hyaaaaak.
The Apex Qi writhing in Yong-un's dantian fully unleashed.
The gale from its eruption didn't stop at snuffing the green flames.
Chiiiiiik.
The stealths of Spello and all Phantom Assassins in their invisible clash shattered, halting the fight.
Every gaze turned to Yong-un.
A smile crept across Ignito's lips.
"Told you I have a good eye for people."
He knew without fighting further.
Divine General tier? No way.
Just as his instinct anticipated...
Yong-un was Mercenary King class.
"Good. Now we'll get serious."
Ignito and Spello's eyes changed completely.
From this moment, the two Royal Class saw Yong-un not as a ranked hunter.
But as another light, fully qualified for the throne beside them.
"Uncle Spello?"
"Got it."
Viewing Yong-un as Royal Class, they drew forth all their concealed auras.
Earth-shaking energy erupted from Ignito and Spello's bodies.
'One of two things.'
'Die... or live...'
At the epicenter of the immense pressure,
Ignito and Spello charged at Yong-un.
The joint assault of two Royal Class.
"Phantom Assassins!"
"Demon Dragon Corps!"
The startled First Phantom Myung-su and Demon Dragon Corps Leader Sword Tiger swiftly commanded, leaping toward Yong-un.