Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: The Failed Contract
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According to a hunter who had contracted with a demon clan member, it was so horrific that it was recorded in history.
As a result, from ancient times, the GHO had concealed and sealed away all information regarding experiments on contracts with demon clan members.
But the GHO was not God.
Knowledge and information that had already been discovered didn't vanish just because it was sealed and hidden.
Unknown to the GHO, in some corner of the world, those experiments were still being conducted.
"In the end, it failed, huh."
In the basement of a secret mansion owned by Jeong Myeong-hwan, where the Special Selection Squad was stationed under the Minister of National Defense,
the researchers clicked their tongues in regret.
"It would've been a huge success if it had worked."
One of the six researchers shook his head.
[Myung-un - C-Rank Hunter (S-Rank Estimated)]
Having lost the chance to contract an actual S-Rank hunter with a demon clan member, the researchers peeled off their white gloves.
However, what they truly regretted wasn't that their goal ended with Myung-un.
There was a name circled in red pen on the document listing Myung-un's name and personal details.
[Yong-un - S-Rank Hunter (Ranked 4th Worldwide Among S-Ranks)]
Their ambitions were grand.
Even as those ambitions shattered their leadership and tightened around their necks, they couldn't hide their greed even a little.
"There will be other chances. Don't get too down. You haven't forgotten who's backing us, right?"
The promised time with Jeong Myeong-hwan had already passed by three hours.
Still, rather than dwelling on the failure, they comforted themselves by thinking of the next opportunity.
"Let's clean up quickly. Even though it failed, there's no word from him, so something must've gone wrong."
"Yes, we'll clean up."
"Cleaning up~"
After that, they began destroying the experiments one by one to erase evidence of the demon clan contracts.
But that only lasted a moment.
Boom!
"Huh?"
A massive boom erupted from the elevator, the only entrance to this place.
As all the researchers wondered what the noise was,
Crunch! Bang!
The elevator doors crumpled inward, and with a huge explosion, the heavy doors flew across the lab, smashing into the center.
Crash!
Shattering experimental vials and everything in their path, the elevator doors rolled to a stop.
Everyone stared at the elevator doors.
'What the hell is going on?'
At the sudden abnormality, all the researchers were filled with bewilderment.
"Begin."
A low, calm voice echoed through the lab.
'This voice...'
The lab director, who managed and supervised the researchers, turned to look at the elevator upon hearing the familiar voice.
"Lieutenant Park Il-du?"
Confirming that the one causing this chaos was Lieutenant Park Il-du and the Special Selection Squad, the lab director felt anger surge before bewilderment.
He knew full well how Jeong Myeong-hwan viewed this place, so the lab director shouted with a face full of fury.
"Lieutenant Park Il-du! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
At the lab director's words, the researchers also stopped their bewilderment and glared angrily.
Tap. Tap-tap.
Normally, the Special Selection Squad would have bowed their heads first.
But today was different.
At Lieutenant Park Il-du's command, the Special Selection Squad members in the elevator charged toward the lab staff at high speed.
And then.
Crack! Thud!
"Gahk!"
"Kuh, kuaaaagh!"
The massacre began.
The researchers, who had been angry at the attacks from the Special Selection Squad members with pitch-black eyes, had their necks snapped and blood sprayed.
Sensing the situation turning bizarre, the researchers began to fill with terror.
The attacks from those they always thought were beneath them were brutal.
"Wh-what the hell is this?!"
But as the saying goes, the arrogance of those who rise high blinds their eyes.
Amid the slaughter where blood sprayed and researchers died, the lab director harbored greater rage instead of fear.
"Have you gone senile in your old age?"
Lieutenant Park Il-du stood before the lab director, who looked furious.
At Lieutenant Park Il-du's mocking words, the lab director's neck veins bulged.
"Park Il-du!"
Slap!
Lieutenant Park Il-du's palm struck the lab director's cheek.
The lab director's eyes widened in disbelief at the current situation.
"Wh-what do you think you're... "
"Lab Director, it seems you trust Jeong Myeong-hwan blindly..."
"How dare you! The Minister's name!!"
Slap!
Another swung palm made the lab director's body stagger.
"Open your eyes, you fool."
Did he hold back on the first one?
With a stronger slap this time, the lab director finally took in the lab's scenery.
The moment he saw the lab filled with blood splatters and corpses of dead researchers, one word flashed in the lab director's mind.
'Coup.'
The lab director's focus shook as he belatedly grasped the situation.
He finally faced the reality squarely.
Seeing the lab director swallowed by fear rather than anger, Lieutenant Park Il-du smirked.
"That minister you trusted and rampaged under?"
Smirk.
"He's gone now. This spot's empty."
Lieutenant Park Il-du pointed to his head with his index finger.
As he stared at Lieutenant Park Il-du's forehead, a red gem opened its eye in the center.
At the same time, the area below the forehead on his eyes began to turn pitch black.
"To think you had such a power!"
But the fear was brief. True to a man who had spent his life researching demon clan matters, curiosity arose even in this chaos.
"You're truly a fool, kekeke."
What kind of twisted mind makes curiosity arise even when life hangs in the balance?
The two red circles on black backgrounds stared at the lab director's eyes.
They curved into crescents, showing a smile.
But only for a moment.
Thud!
Lieutenant Park Il-du's hand gripped the lab director's head.
And then, one of Lieutenant Park Il-du's red circle eyes changed.
From a red circle to a green square.
The emergence of another demonic eye quelled the lab director's shaken focus, mixed with curiosity and fear.
"Why do you think I left you alive until the end?"
The lab director's brown eyes, now dazed, slowly lost their light.
"Because there's something I need from you."
The brown light faded gradually, turning gray.
"Uh... uh..."
When his eyes fully turned gray, a faint groan escaped the lab director's lips.
And with that, Lieutenant Park Il-du's hand released.
Thud.
The lab director's heavy body fell limply to the ground like a puppet with cut strings.
With dazed gray eyes wide open, it lost all movement, like a corpse.
"Kekeke."
Lieutenant Park Il-du smirked.
The eyes that had changed to green squares stretched long before returning to normal.
"Vaper? What about the rest?"
One Special Selection Squad member approached Vaper, who seemed to savor something with his head raised.
Vaper withdrew the green demonic eye and snorted derisively.
"Got what I needed."
Then, looking at the remaining trembling researchers, he flashed a wicked smile.
"Clean them up."
"Yes, Vaper."
Lieutenant Park Il-du turned his body.
As he walked toward the elevator he came from, as if it were nothing, two Special Selection Squad members followed behind him.
"Let's start."
"Kekeke, it's starting!"
As soon as Lieutenant Park Il-du disappeared, all the Special Selection Squad members activated demonization, radiating thick killing intent.
At the time when hell was unfolding in the lab.
Lieutenant Park Il-du, now Vaper, who had come outside, suddenly changed his dark red circle to a blue one.
It was the activation of the search demonic eye he had given to Sandra in Demonus.
"Vaper?"
The two Special Selection Squad members guarding Vaper sensed his odd behavior and raised their demonic energy.
At that moment, Vaper raised his head toward the sky, where a bright moon hung.
"Retreat."
"Then the ones below..."
"Barum is coming."
"...?!"
At the single word "Barum," the guarding Special Selection Squad members flinched and trembled.
Whoosh.
Vaper immediately activated demonization, spreading demonic wings from his back.
The two squad members exchanged glances, nodded, and spread their own demonic wings.
Then, without hesitation, they kicked off the ground and vanished into the night sky.
After Vaper disappeared, a mere three minutes passed.
Then, four people dropped from the sky to where they had stood.
Boom!
It was Yong-un's group, who had sensed the demonic energy from the squad massacring the researchers.
"Did they spot me?"
Feeling the faint, unstable residual demonic energy, Yong-un glanced in the direction Vaper had fled.
But he soon turned his head and looked down.
"I want to catch them all, but no time."
"Master."
"Supreme One."
Sword Tiger, Myung-su, and Mu-hee, who looked worried toward Yong-un, nodded.
"Just clean up the ones below."
"Yes! Supreme One!"
Sword Tiger, Myung-su, and Mu-hee each raised their energies.
At the end was Yong-un, placing his hand on the ground while harboring vast demonic energy.
The ferocious wave of demonic energy that swallowed the entire space condensed into Yong-un's hand on the floor.
And then.
Kwa-gagagagang!
The demonic energy explosion created a massive hole in the solid ground, like dropping a bomb.
The floor collapsed, and Yong-un and his group fell into the basement.
"Kill them!"
Due to the overwhelming amount of demonic energy, the remaining Special Selection Squad members in the lab bared their teeth.
Yong-un's group, arriving instantly in the lab, drew their swords and daggers against the attacking squad members and began the fight.
It was hell itself.
To mercilessly slaughter ordinary people, who weren't even hunters.
Even in the nightmare of the martial world, civilians were left untouched.
These weren't martial artists or demon clan members.
They were devils incarnate.
"Kuh... guh... "
The last of the remaining ten Special Selection Squad members fell from Yong-un's grasp and collapsed.
"Poor fools."
Having pushed Soul Subjugation to its limit, they had lost all innate essence needed to sustain their souls.
Yong-un murmured softly toward the ones who would die even if left alone.
However, Yong-un soon averted his gaze from him.
He knew well from countless battlefields that mercy toward enemies was poison.
"Supreme One, we'll handle the cleanup."
As Mu-hee bowed her head, dozens of Yasal Association assassins emerged from her shadow and swiftly began tidying up the surroundings.
"Good."
Nodding, Yong-un surveyed the wrecked lab.
Through the extreme Soul Subjugation on the last one, he had seen everything.
Starting from their hideout, who their leader was.
And why they were hiding and doing this.
Yong-un's head turned toward the clear-open sky.
"Retreat."
Retreat?
At the order that shouldn't come from Yong-un's mouth, Sword Tiger and the others widened their eyes.
"He's coming."
Who?
And what exactly had he seen?
"Yes, Supreme One."
Questions abounded, but Yong-un's command was absolute.
Sword Tiger and the rest quickly leaped back up through the hole at Yong-un's order.
"Shadow mages, take the assassins and return to your positions."
At Mu-hee's command, the Yasal Association assassins and shadow mages who had been cleaning stopped and vanished into the shadows.
Finally, Mu-hee knelt on one knee and melted into Yong-un's shadow.
Until then, Yong-un, who had been gazing at the night sky through the gaping ceiling, kicked off the ground last.
He soared over the ruined lab and above Jeong Myeong-hwan's mansion.
"Jackal!!!"
Then, toward Yong-un, now alone, a being swung blue claws.
Boom!!!
Yong-un, standing still and grabbing the blue claws, locked eyes with the fury-filled figure.
"Barum."
Unlike the other Special Selection Squads, another demon clan member with dark blue eyes.
Barum bared his teeth at Yong-un, radiating killing intent.
"I've waited for this day, Jackal!!"
The elongated blue claws shredded the demonic energy Yong-un had spread.
The black demonic tsunami that no one could block was sliced by Barum's blue claws.
And once more, Yong-un's hand clashed with Barum's blue claws.
Boom!! Whoooong—
The being that even the demonizable Special Selection Squad feared.
Barum unleashed toward Yong-un the power everyone dreaded.