Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Tiger Lord's Domain
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The morning sun rose.
Myung-su, who had slept a full day straight, opened his eyes.
"Lee Gwi-hon!"
Realizing he was in the house of the Ghost Killer Soul Annihilation Clan, Myung-su hurriedly shot to his feet.
He snatched up the half-broken sword lying beside him and leaped down from the bed.
"Ugh!"
Myung-su floated up light as a feather, just like always.
But unlike usual, his head nearly scraped the ceiling. Twisting his body backward, he flipped in midair.
Thud.
'What the...?'
He'd moved exactly as he always did.
So what was with this ridiculous leap height and leg strength?
He spun around to eye the bed where he'd started his jump.
For such a casual hop, the bed was awfully far away now.
Myung-su glanced down past his legs at the hand gripping the sword.
Whoosh. Whoosh—
On a hunch, he stirred his mana.
And that's when Myung-su realized the change wasn't just in his legs.
Roar—
Dark green mana surged along the half-sword, filling the entire room.
Myung-su froze in place, stunned by the unbelievable flow of power.
"What in the world is..."
"Brother Ilgwi-hon! You're awake?"
He was trying to make sense of it all when the door swung open. In walked Lee Gwi-hon and Cheon-il.
"Whoa..."
Cheon-il let out a gasp of awe at the blazing dark green flames of mana.
"You alright?"
Myung-su dropped the half-sword from his hand at the sight of Cheon-il—not as a gray-skinned demon, but as a pale-skinned child.
Poof.
The dark green mana flames that had lit up the room snuffed out. Myung-su's hands wrapped around Cheon-il's arms.
Since Cheon-il had been poisoned by the Poison Witch, Myung-su anxiously checked him over from head to toe.
Cheon-il beamed a bright smile and nodded.
"I'm fine, Brother Ilgwi-hon."
"Phew... That's a relief."
Only then did Myung-su let out a sigh of relief.
Prioritizing Cheon-il's safety over his own transformation, Myung-su earned a joyful smile from the boy.
Cheon-il spread his arms and hugged Myung-su tight as he sank down in relief.
"It's thanks to you, brother."
Recalling the moment before he passed out amid the embrace, Myung-su's face lit up in surprise.
"You saved my life, brother. And thanks to you, I got a feel for it. You're my lifesaver."
Lifesaver...?
Myung-su stared blankly, stunned.
"You really mean that?"
"Of course! You're the second-favorite brother after Yong-un hyung!"
Myung-su had lived his whole life as an assassin.
He'd never dreamed of hearing words like these before he died.
Yet Cheon-il's earnest voice made him close his eyes gently.
'An assassin who protects people...'
Yong-un's words echoed in his mind.
When he'd first heard them, they'd stirred his heart—even as doubts crept in about whether it was possible.
But Cheon-il's warm words washed away even those lingering doubts.
Myung-su opened his eyes.
"Brother Ilgwi-hon!"
Before him grinned a pretty-faced child named Cheon-il.
Had Yong-un already told him about the Ghost Killer Soul Annihilation Clan and its ghostly assassins?
Calling him Ilgwi-hon with that radiant smile, Cheon-il made Myung-su rise from his seat and look down at him.
Then, with a bright smile of his own, Myung-su ruffled Cheon-il's hair.
"Thank you, too. Nice to meet you, Lee Gwi-hon."
Did he understand what Myung-su meant?
Cheon-il nodded vigorously at the warm voice and shouted.
"Yeah!"
An assassin created to kill people.
A demon born to slaughter humanity.
These two had joined Yong-un's faction to pursue the contradictory goal of protecting lives.
Sure, they'd kill plenty on Yong-un's orders.
But the ultimate aim was to save lives—those in Yong-un's faction.
Recalling the events at the Ghost Killer Soul Annihilation Clan's house, Yong-un smiled, then hardened his expression again.
'Even if Father and Cheon-il have no ties to you, Poison Witch—if your poison touched those around me, don't complain about the grudge.'
Arms crossed, eyes closed, Yong-un waited for sunrise at Sadang Station Exit 2.
The dark sky brightened, morning light stinging his eyes as he opened them.
The empty subway platform began filling with early commuters.
He knew the location but not the Poison Witch's identity, so Yong-un spread his demonic energy, waiting for anyone connected to her.
"Excuse me?"
Just then, someone approached the man who'd been waiting beside Yong-un for so long.
The only one among them with internal energy—Yong-un turned to look.
And he caught the keywords he wanted from their talk.
"You have the token."
"Are you from the 'Poison Witch'?"
"Follow me."
The man scanned the crowd warily, noticed Yong-un's gaze, and glanced his way.
Yong-un feigned disinterest and looked away. The man whispered to the token-holder.
"The Poison Witch is at Seodal Mountain. Head there."
A whisper so soft it blended with the ambient noise.
Yong-un looked back; aware of his stare, the men nodded once and headed up the exit with the token-holder.
With the info secured, Yong-un moved to follow.
Tap.
"What's a big shot like you doing here?"
The apparent lackey from the Poison Witch grabbed Yong-un's shoulder.
It'd be weirder if he hadn't recognized him after such a blatant stare.
Yong-un looked straight up at the man standing a step above.
"I'm going to meet the Poison Witch."
"Even you, Yong-un—no token, no meeting."
The lackey glanced back briefly.
With Seodal Mountain still far off, he watched the token-holder vanish into a taxi before releasing Yong-un's shoulder.
"Go look if you want. Won't be easy. Heh."
"You think whispering keeps it from my ears?"
"What?"
"Seodal Mountain."
The lackey's eyes widened slightly.
"Should've used a transmission technique. Though it wouldn't have changed much."
Yong-un tossed the mild advice and stepped past him.
The lackey grabbed his shoulder again and yelled.
"Stop."
Swish.
Yong-un turned his head, locking eyes with the lackey.
"You know who I am, and you're still trying to block me?"
"Damn."
No Korean could ignore Yong-un's reputation.
The transcendent hunter who'd swept aside all top S-Rank monsters.
Even high-rank hunters were mere pups before him. The lackey scowled and shouted.
"I know you're hot stuff. But that place? Not easy."
Yet the lackey had some confidence, stepping back but not fully yielding.
"Poison won't stop me."
"Thinking of poison just 'cause it's the Poison Witch? You're not from around Sadang, are you?"
The lackey suddenly said something odd.
"What does that matter?"
"The world has more hidden things than known."
Intrigued despite himself, Yong-un fully turned.
The lackey smirked and said,
"Now I'm curious too. Tiger Lord or Yong-un—who's stronger?"
Reading Yong-un's piqued interest, the lackey shrugged.
"Follow me. You'll get chewed out plenty, but better than you wrecking the place."
Yong-un silently trailed the suddenly guiding lackey.
Guided by the lackey to Seodal Mountain, Yong-un scanned the surroundings with a smile.
"A formation master here?"
"Formation master? World's changed a lot? That a job now?"
"No."
The twisted energy over the whole mountain had Yong-un referencing martial world formation experts without thinking.
But the lackey's reply confirmed no such thing existed here. He held his tongue.
Maybe the long silence on the way broke him.
At Seodal Mountain, the lackey finally spoke.
"Ever heard of recluses?"
How could he not know recluses?
The martial world teemed with them.
Once they entered, they could never leave—martial artists coveted their powerful techniques and wouldn't let them go.
'Of course this world's full of people too. Bound to have recluses.'
Unlike the martial world, this reality had skills Yong-un had never seen.
Its recluses might wield even stranger, more unique powers.
"I know."
He answered with anticipation.
But a sudden doubt made him ask,
"You don't call the Poison Witch a recluse, do you?"
"Poison Witch a recluse? Every hunter knows her."
Good.
He'd nearly lost all his rising battle spirit.
"The Poison Witch's poisons have killed countless. Tons of grudges. How's she still brewing away unscathed?"
"Strong martial arts?"
"Keep saying weird stuff. She's a hunter, but no mana. Means limited skills."
Mid-answer, the lackey froze, clutching his head.
"Argh! Am I an idiot? Why spill all this to you? Stupid bastard. Ah..."
Watching him smack his own head, Yong-un thought,
Yeah, he is.
The lackey grinned at Yong-un.
"Call it a gift for making Korea a superpower."
"Right..."
Plenty he wanted to say, but he let it go.
Smart choice—the lackey unleashed a flood of info as they walked.
"Reason the grudge-burdened Poison Witch lives? Our boss, the Tiger Lord."
"Tiger Lord?"
"Yeah, he's the recluse. Even the Yasal Society gave up killing her, thanks to him."
The Yasal Society gave up?
The ones who'd targeted even Yong-un's family?
Makes sense—plenty of victims would've hired them.
Yet she thrived. Expectations for this Tiger Lord soared.
"We're here."
Halfway up Seodal Mountain, the lackey announced arrival.
The Poison Witch and Tiger Lord were here—Yong-un nodded.
"Got it."
"Huh? Why no questions?"
"Questions about what?"
"Nothing there. Everyone reacts the same when they get here..."
The lackey shrugged at the empty clearing.
But Yong-un chuckled softly and stepped into it.
"That's why I didn't notice."
"Huh?"
Yong-un surveyed around, then raised one hand to unleash demonic energy.
The lackey twitched an eyebrow at the black-flamed haze.
Momentarily.
Studying the warped energy flow, Yong-un reached into empty air.
"Wha...? Wh-what?"
The massive formation—the source of the distortion from the start—cracked like shattering glass.
"Damn it!!!"
Cracks spread, destroying the long-standing formation over Seodal Mountain.
It unleashed the pent-up colossal energy.
"Who goes there!"
Boom!
Vast energy whipped up.
Through the shattered formation emerged its owner—a massive white-haired elder grabbing Yong-un's collar.
No one had breached it before, yet Yong-un's body lifted effortlessly. He met the eyes of the two-meter muscle-bound elder.
"You must be the Tiger Lord."
A two-meter wall of muscle, white-haired elder.
Battle spirit flared in Yong-un's eyes as they locked with the Tiger Lord's.