Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Yong-un Is Not the Sword Demon
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Yong-un was not the Sword Demon.
Having returned to reality, Yong-un resolved to live as a modern man, not a martial artist from the Murim world.
So, to survive in this reality where information was scarce...
He had no choice but to throw himself into the fray and gather it firsthand.
"Master!"
At Sword Tiger's shout, a burst of golden yellow mana erupted from Golden Cat, warping the flow of qi around them and spewing out strange runes.
A formation?
The patterns formed by the runes and the distortions in qi they created...
Yong-un could tell at a glance exactly what it was.
Yes. It was a formation.
An illusion formation, frequently used in wars even back in the Murim world.
And it had burst forth from the hand of that woman with the yellow eyeball.
"Sword Dragon?"
Normally, the moment Golden Cat's mana erupted, Sword Dragon should have unleashed his sword qi.
But seeing Sword Dragon do nothing, Golden Cat shot him a puzzled glance.
But only for a moment.
"It's a failure."
Sword Dragon sheathed his drawn sword, straightened his previously bowed waist, and grabbed Golden Cat by the scruff of her neck.
"What are you doing?"
Golden Cat cried out sharply.
But soon after, her face twisted savagely as she clutched her chest.
"Cough!"
A gush.
Bent double in agony, Golden Cat vomited a spurt of bright red blood.
If Sword Dragon hadn't held her, she would have rolled disgracefully across the floor.
"Pfft!"
While Golden Cat was spitting blood...
Yong-un seized her yellow mana and detonated it outright, then turned to look at Sword Dragon and Golden Cat.
"You've patched the formation's greatest weakness. Is this a skill too?"
Flash!
"Interesting."
"Cough!"
The last remnants of her yellow mana were broken down by his demonic energy.
Golden Cat's eyes rolled back as she spewed blood violently.
Yong-un watched the yellow mana vanish from his fingertips with utter nonchalance, a faint smirk curling his lips at the sight.
"Connected to the formation, huh? Clever implication."
Yong-un's gaze shifted to Sword Dragon, whose expression remained utterly impassive.
"You can go now."
Even as his comrade suffered, Sword Dragon showed not a flicker of emotion. Yong-un nodded and waved him off like swatting a fly.
"Killing you here wouldn't change the rankings anyway. Get out."
"Understood."
With Yong-un's permission, Sword Dragon hoisted Golden Cat over his shoulder and vanished straight out the door.
The door clicked shut, and the hotel room where Yong-un and Sword Tiger remained fell silent, as if nothing had happened.
Only the pool of blood staining the floor attested to the visitors' presence.
"Was it really okay to just let them go?"
Perhaps because Sword Dragon looked a bit angry...
Sword Tiger asked Yong-un with an uneasy expression.
But contrary to Sword Tiger's look, Yong-un smiled as he replied.
"He didn't run."
"......"
Sword Tiger slowly bowed his head at Yong-un's praise.
"Still, you must have felt it. No matter how much you grow, your opponents will always be greater."
Yong-un reclined on the bed.
But Sword Tiger remained standing there, head still lowered, as if berating himself.
"Yes... I thought I'd closed the gap, but apparently not."
"Even so, I praise you. Facing your lifelong nemesis without fleeing—that spirit of yours has overcome the greatest obstacle to surpassing him."
"Yes..."
Even after Yong-un explicitly called it praise, Sword Tiger's expression didn't brighten.
In that moment when Sword Dragon had lunged...
He felt ashamed for failing to draw his sword.
But even at Sword Tiger's self-reproach, Yong-un gazed at the ceiling and let out a scoff.
'More importantly...'
The faint smile at the corner of Yong-un's mouth deepened.
'Sword Dragon, huh...'
The image of Sword Dragon, on the verge of drawing his blade, replayed in Yong-un's mind.
That red killing intent from Sword Dragon—stronger than anyone he'd met so far.
'Even if this isn't the Murim, that's martial prowess enough to earn the title of master.'
Feeling a nostalgic pull toward the Murim from that red killing intent, he nodded slightly.
It was two days after the World Competition ended—and two days before the rankings battle began.
A welcome face entered the hotel room.
"I heard good news the moment I arrived."
"Myung-su, is that you? I heard you weren't feeling well."
The sole special inspector at Korea's Hunter Management Agency.
A-Rank #1 Park Myung-su beamed broadly as he bowed to Yong-un and Sword Tiger.
"It's all thanks to you, Sir Yong-un. Congratulations on reaching S-Rank."
Sword Tiger approached Myung-su and slung an arm around his neck in a playful headlock.
"You little punk, that look says you knew we'd win all along? Everyone else was shocked."
"I had a small worry, but it's completely gone now."
"Worry? Wait..."
Sword Tiger's expression slowly hardened, then he snapped his fingers as realization dawned.
"Don't tell me the demon gate..."
"Yes, even in your busy time, Sir Yong-un came to Korea and cleared it for us."
Sword Tiger had heard it directly from Yong-un but hadn't fully believed it deep down.
Handling a distance that would take a full day even by plane, all in one night before dawn?
Hearing it from Myung-su's mouth now, Sword Tiger was swept up in shock all over again, just like the first time.
"Sir Yong-un, may I ask you something? You're really not a magic-type Hunter?"
Myung-su's gaze fixed on Yong-un.
But the answer to Myung-su's question came from Sword Tiger's lips.
"Absolutely not. I stake my name on it. I've seen Master wield a sword like a ghost."
Myung-su showed his first surprised expression at Sword Tiger's words, delivered like a tale of his own exploits.
"Master... you say?"
"Exactly as it sounds. Before we boarded the plane to come here, he became my master."
"So that means..."
"For the rankings battle, Master taught me a martial art."
Myung-su's eyes changed.
From shock to envious admiration.
Then, as if something occurred to him, Myung-su looked at Yong-un.
"Could those morning routines the Unwoo Guild members were doing be...?"
"Master's training method, taught personally."
"Ah..."
Before coming here, Myung-su had stopped by the Unwoo Guild first.
And he'd clicked his tongue at their masochistic morning drills.
Vomiting their guts out every morning, crawling on the ground like they were dying.
How could he not call that masochistic?
Myung-su's dismissive view of them flipped completely.
'Sir Yong-un's training?'
Unknowingly, he clenched his fist and vowed to himself.
Once back in Korea, he'd train with them too.
"You didn't come just for light banter and jokes."
"Ah..."
At that moment, Yong-un's voice cut in.
Myung-su snapped to attention and hardened his expression.
With a serious look, he addressed Sword Tiger and Yong-un.
"You know about the marquis-level weapon we had."
"Marquis-level weapon?"
"Yes. The weapon from the marquis-level demon we judged to still be in Korea."
At the mention of a marquis-level demon's weapon, coming all the way from a foreign land, Sword Tiger reacted.
"Why bring that up suddenly here?"
"Before relaying the minister's words, I thought it best if you two knew the current situation ahead of time."
"Speak."
At Yong-un's curt command, Sword Tiger clamped his mouth shut mid-question.
"We've handed that marquis-level weapon over to the GHO."
"What!?"
Sword Tiger frowned in shock.
But Myung-su, as if expecting it, continued.
"Our tech level was too low to extract anything from it, so it was done under the minister and the president's judgment."
"Go on."
"And until we capture a marquis-level demon, we're receiving support from three S-Rank Hunters—high-ranking GHO members."
At Myung-su's words, Yong-un recalled the foreigners at the demon gate.
'So that's why they were there.'
Yong-un nodded knowingly.
Myung-su pressed on.
"But recently, the GHO made an urgent request to us."
"Directly from the GHO?"
"Yes. Because that marquis-level demon weapon... vanished."
Sword Tiger's face grew stonier by the second.
"The marquis-level weapon? Wait, the GHO... you don't mean here, right?"
Myung-su's gaze dropped to the hotel room floor.
"As far as I know, the GHO's labs aren't at their headquarters but in the basement of the dome where the World Competition was held."
"So you're saying..."
"Yes. We don't know who took the marquis-level weapon... but be careful. Whether a demon or a Hunter has it, its danger level is at least viscount-class or higher."
Sword Tiger's wide eyes turned to Yong-un.
"If anything unusual happens, the minister's orders are to hop on a plane and fly back immediately. Please... take care."
Having delivered the minister's message, Myung-su—true to his busy schedule—left the hotel right away for Korea.
But the bombshell he'd dropped left Sword Tiger uneasy as he asked Yong-un.
"Will it be okay?"
"What do you fear?"
"Not even a baron or viscount—at least an earl. An earl requires at least a royal class to handle. It's a monster where, rankings battle or not, you prioritize your own survival the moment it appears. A catastrophe."
Indeed, countries still lay in ruins, unrecoverable, from the emergence of just one earl-level demon.
Even the world's strongest nation, America, had suffered a state reduced to rubble solely because an earl appeared.
Earl-level demons were catastrophes incarnate.
But to Sword Tiger's impassioned rant, Yong-un replied with a smile.
"A catastrophe? Sounds fun."
"Master? Earls are on another level from the ranking monsters."
"Then isn't this the safest place?"
"Pardon?"
Sword Tiger tilted his head as if hearing sophistry.
"With the rankings battle underway, aren't all those S-Rank monsters you mentioned clustered here? Where could be safer?"
Yong-un was right.
With only two days left until the rankings battle...
All the world's top 10 S-Ranks would be gathered nearby.
So even if an earl-level demon appeared here...
Without needing royals, clearing the gate with those monsters wouldn't be a huge issue.
"Master... you're right."
"Still, I'd like to meet it. That so-called catastrophe."
Even hearing of the catastrophe's emergence, Yong-un's smile didn't fade.
'Humans are such fickle creatures.'
Just because it was in Washington, not Korea, worry turned to anticipation.
Grateful for having no family on this soil, he harbored a small wish inwardly.
To upend this boring atmosphere.
"Tomorrow, we face off against those monster-rank guys, right?"
"Yes."
"I hope tomorrow comes soon."
Suppressing his budding excitement, Yong-un quietly closed his eyes.
'An earl, huh...'
A smile lingered on his lips.