Chapter 45
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: CDT (6)
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Hunt Begins
Rage
I slashed at the crows indiscriminately.
One, two, a hundred, two hundred of them.
I'd held out this long thanks to the awakening skill 'Hunt Begins.'
The buff from 'Hunt Begins' only lasted a measly three minutes.
Which meant my stamina rose, but there was a limit when facing these mindless swarms coming at me from every direction.
"Haa... Huu... Haa..."
My heart pounded like mad.
Every organ in my body screamed at me to stop fighting right now.
Only my brain...
kept commanding me to kill them.
...Damn it. There's no end to them.
It was just the cramped space of a classroom, yet monsters poured in from all sides.
Each one had its own combat power and completely different fighting styles.
Unpredictable attacks.
Attacks that were hard to defend against.
Blood trickled from the scratches their claws had left all over my body.
"...Tired already? I'm disappointed. I thought you'd be stronger."
"...Shut up."
"Maybe it's because you're not using your magic effectively...?"
"I said shut up."
"The strong endure any trial. Even if that trial demands your death as collateral."
"Shut up!!!!"
Slash, slash, slash!
I cleaved through the three crows closing in nearby.
They collapsed, spewing black blood.
Their corpses were sucked back into the barrier.
There wasn't a spot on my body free of their blood.
I wiped the blood from my eyes.
"Alright. Twenty-eight left now. The battle's almost over. What will you do? Get complacent just because it's winding down? Let your guard down?"
"Complacent...? Don't make me laugh."
My first rule of engagement.
Never let your guard down until the enemy is completely dead.
I'd faced far worse monsters during Yoon Ji-yeon's training.
These crow bastards were nothing to me.
Slash—.
I cut them down mercilessly.
Not a single muscle in my body rested for even a second.
I twisted my waist, extended my arm joints, dodged their attacks with my neck, and kept my legs running nonstop.
...And then I felled the last one.
"Urk—!"
The moment I killed the final one, vomit surged up.
The price of pushing my body to its limits.
Clap, clap, clap—.
The bastard was applauding.
"...Good. You've proven you're not trash. Congratulations."
"Wait... I'll kill you... too."
"...But you're still an idiot. As I said, you can't beat me right now."
I dragged my body forward, slowly approaching him.
My vision blurred.
Dizziness.
The crow grinned at me.
"Not trash... but an idiot... with grit. Like a gladiator... Good... That killing glare. Pain. Disgust, murderous intent, and contempt...!"
The crow approached me instead.
And knelt before me.
"Cut me down. Show me even greater murderous intent...!"
Slash!
I didn't even listen—just slashed.
The crow's face split diagonally.
"...Abandon everything and be reborn. My king. Claim all the world's riches."
He reappeared behind me.
And once more, hundreds of crows crawled out from the walls.
"Alright. Three hundred again. Play some more. Or... are you despairing once more?"
"..."
Kiiing...
My sword scraped against the floor.
I didn't even have the strength to hold it straight.
No thoughts came to mind anymore.
I couldn't even hear sounds.
I just... wanted to tear that bastard apart...!
Seeing me like that, the crow grinned wide.
"...That expression... It's beautiful... Come, kill me. Or your comrades all die. Show me your grit!"
A wild boar.
Yeah, I was a wild boar.
A beast charging on pure instinct.
Slaying evil was my instinct.
Crows rushed me from all directions.
I gripped my sword and charged.
'He's a real beast...'
Tae-hyun's movements were like a boar rampaging through the mountains.
Aside from the motions to slash, he barely even breathed.
"Incredible...! Already five hundred...! Haha...! This is more than I expected."
Slash, slash, slash... slash...!
His swordsmanship didn't take more than three seconds before felling the next crow.
After one, not even three seconds before the next.
Just slashing and slashing and slashing.
"Haha... Truly amazing. This guy's growth... even piques my curiosity. Just how strong will he get? I'm dying to know..."
He was growing stronger even as he fought, acquiring new skills.
An absurd rate of growth.
It was undoubtedly the most standout talent among the <Keys>.
'...Where the remaining keys are... that'll be the real issue.'
If Joker was around, finding the rest wouldn't be a problem.
It all came down to a race against time.
Once all the keys gathered, the world would finally be reborn.
Humans called it the 'apocalypse'; they called it 'rebirth.'
Slash, slash!
Tae-hyun cleaved down the last remaining crow.
A total of six hundred.
No ordinary cadet could kill that many.
It was a straight-up massacre.
Clap, clap, clap—.
The crow applauded.
Tae-hyun stared at him with unfocused eyes.
"Incredible. You might have the greatest talent among the 'kings.' When the king killed you, he had no idea. That you had such tremendous potential..."
"...Killed...?"
Tae-hyun's brow twitched.
"Killed me...?"
"Yes. When our king killed you. You were still just worthless human trash back then. But look at you now...! Incredible."
He knew about the regression.
The black-masked man I'd met in Siberia.
The one who'd cut down Lee Jung-tae in a single stroke.
Black mask, black robe, tall stature, long hair dragging in the snow.
"...You're... not that man?"
Tae-hyun asked.
The crow knelt once more.
"Allow me to reintroduce myself. We are the 'Black Mask.' Humanity's hope and pioneer. Our king has taken ten servants. Kirius and Joker are among them."
"..."
"But don't worry. You're equal to the 'king,' so you won't become a servant. Come with me now. I've decided I want to keep you alive."
The one who'd sliced the mighty S-Rank Hunter Lee Jung-tae in one cut.
His servant.
The servant's claw.
And Tae-hyun facing that claw.
...Tae-hyun still couldn't even reach that man's toes.
"...Puhaha!!"
Tae-hyun burst into laughter.
The crow grinned along.
"Finally... lost your mind? Realized your place?"
"...Puhuhuhu...! Puha...!"
It was only natural.
It'd only been five months since his regression.
If that black-masked man stood at the mountain's peak, Tae-hyun hadn't even set foot on its slopes.
The reason Tae-hyun laughed.
It was a sign of joy.
"...Thanks."
"Pardon...?"
In that instant, light erupted around Tae-hyun.
...A golden aura.
An aura so blinding you could barely keep your eyes open.
It enveloped Tae-hyun.
'The power of transcendent awakening...!'
The crow recognized it immediately.
The chosen awakening power, manifest only in the selected ones.
"Ooh... Ooooh...!!!! Incredible!!!! My king!"
The crow couldn't hide his astonishment.
Transcendent awakening.
Two powers had been granted to Tae-hyun upon regression.
First: Regressing with all abilities doubled.
Hero's Return
Effect: Activates upon the caster's death. Regresses with all abilities to the most memorable point in time. All stats doubled thereafter.
And now, the second power: transcendent awakening.
The One Who Will Become King unlocked.
Effect: All stats doubled. (Duration: 30 minutes)
Broken bones began to knit back together.
Wounds that bled sealed shut.
My breathing steadied as stamina returned.
'This... is transcendent awakening.'
It felt like I was flying through the sky.
All my stats had doubled.
Clones burst from the slime weapon.
From the original four clones to eight now.
The slime clones surrounded him, weapons at the ready.
Tae-hyun smirked faintly and asked,
"...Realized your place?"
Tae-hyun touched the scratch on his cheek.
It healed instantly.
"...Yeah. I know it very well now."
"...That power. Please use it for us... for the world. My king."
Tae-hyun thrust forward his sword, gleaming golden.
He said,
"Only days of getting stronger lie ahead. I know why I need to grow stronger. And... I know my strength has no limits."
"...Meaning..."
Tae-hyun grinned.
"I've decided to kill you all."
The crow stood.
No more leisure for him either.
Every one of the crow's feathers gleamed like blades.
"I'll take you, even if I have to kill you."
Tae-hyun still wore his smile.
The clash between Yoon Soo-ah and Kirius was a battle of the absolute best.
Buildings in the training grounds crumbled from a single strike of theirs.
Without Yoon Soo-ah's barriers, the cadets would've been caught in the crossfire.
"...Hellfire."
A massive blazing inferno erupted from Yoon Soo-ah's hand.
Kirius summoned surrounding crows to form a black wall.
Kaboom—! Boom!
The crows perished in Hellfire's heat.
But their overwhelming numbers held the advantage.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Crows pierced through Hellfire, hurtling toward Yoon Soo-ah like missiles.
"Guard."
Yoon Soo-ah deployed her barrier.
The crows smashed into it and died.
But more crows swarmed from every direction.
Soo-ah spread her arms wide.
"Flame Pillar."
Roooar—! Kugaboom!
On a scale worlds apart from Tae-hyun's Flame Pillar.
The flames spread like a tornado in all directions.
Incinerating every incoming feather.
"...What a monster! Puhahaha!!! But can't attack? Feels like you're just defending?"
"...Does it?"
"Urk!"
In that moment, blades protruded from Kirius's gut.
The blades ignited, burning his insides.
"Kuhk... Hup...! Pu... Puhahaha! Yeah. That's more like it."
"Cocky brat. Still got leisure left?"
Blizzard.
8th-circle magic.
Hundreds of massive icicles summoned around Yoon Soo-ah.
They rained mercilessly on Kirius.
Pababababa...!!
The icicles exploded into ice bombs on impact.
She'd layered a Freeze skill over the surrounding area too.
Simultaneous casting at its finest.
Skill morphing was basic for her; chaining was effortless.
Whooo—.
Kirius's spot was frozen solid before she knew it.
The surrounding air chilled as well.
...Kirius fell completely silent.
Only then did Yoon Soo-ah withdraw her mana.
"...Family head..."
Ah-young watched her from within the barrier.
Soo-ah looked at Ah-young.
"...Little sis."
It had been six years since they last met.
Since Yoon Soo-ah became an S-Rank Hunter, they hadn't crossed paths.
They hadn't met when their second sister fell in battle.
Nor when their fourth lost both legs on the battlefield.
Ah-young wiped away her tears roughly.
Forgetting her position as family head, she whined to her long-lost sister like a child.
"...I-I'm doing my best. So..."
"...I know. Even without you saying it."
Yoon Soo-ah didn't show it, but she loved her sisters more than anyone.
The loss of failing to protect her second sister was indescribable.
But that was a hunter's life.
She had to accept it.
"...Getting along with Seo-hyun?"
"...Y-Yeah... Not perfectly, but... I'll try harder. We're all waiting for you, family head..."
"..."
Yoon Soo-ah said nothing.
She made no promises she couldn't keep.
Yoon Soo-ah simply listened without a word.
How long had it been since they talked?
Just normal family chatter.
If this weren't a battlefield, she might've sat quietly and listened all day.
...Yoon Soo-ah let her guard down amid the family talk after so long.
That was her mistake.
Slash—!
In that instant, Yoon Soo-ah's abdomen split into three gashes.
Red blood sprayed out.
"Kuhup...!"
"Family head!!!!"
Ah-young could only scream from inside the barrier.
Kirius's claw drew closer to her.
"Finally found an opening~ Haha!!"
A crow-man flying through the sky.
A tough opponent.
Plus, Yoon Soo-ah was maintaining over ten thousand barriers.
"...Huu."
A rare wound after so long.
Soo-ah cast a heal spell.
The bleeding stopped immediately.
"...Hey. Your scaly friend’s begging to be saved. Show some concern?"
At Kirius's words, Soo-ah glanced at the flame dragon.
"Kaaaaak—!!!"
Three massive crows were clawing at the flame dragon relentlessly.
The flame dragon writhed in agony.
"...Dragon dear. Good job. Return now."
Soo-ah said softly.
The massive flame dragon shrank in an instant.
Now snake-sized, it scurried to Soo-ah's side.
"Grr... Grrr..."
"Yeah, yeah. Good job."
Soo-ah stroked the flame dragon's head.
The flame dragon spun in circles like a puppy, licking Soo-ah.
Kirius laughed at the sight.
"What’s this? Puhahaha!!! Where'd that confidence go? Got an eel instead?? Can't brew snake wine with it? Koreans love that stuff, right?"
"Grr... Guh... Rrr...!"
"Dragon dear. It's fine. Rest now."
Yoon Soo-ah soothed the flame dragon.
Then she clasped her hands together.
Like praying, she carefully chanted the spell array.
"O King of Spirits, lend me your power..."
⟨ Ifrit ⟩
A red spell array appeared.
From within, a cat's paw emerged.
Yoon Ah-young gasped at the sight.
"...N-No way."
A white-furred cat grunted as it squeezed out of the array.
"Ah, Soo-ah. Grab me a sec. Put on some weight lately."
Yoon Soo-ah silently took the cat's paw.
"Huh? You a beast tamer? Got a ton of animals. Puhaha!!"
The white-winged cat flew into the sky.
The cat groomed Soo-ah's cheek or kneaded with its paws, showing affection.
The dragon dear flew over and clung to the cat.
"What's wrong, dragon dear? Who messed with our house pup?"
"Grrl...! Him! Him!"
"Oh. That crow punk behind? Shall we punish him?"
"Grrrr...! Him!"
The three massive crows dove to devour the cat.
The cat smacked its lips.
"...Alright, crow for dinner tonight?"
Kirius roared with laughter.
"...What? Puhahaha! As if you could do anything...!! Kekeke...!"
"Hm. Yeah. Kinda hungry anyway."
Craaaack—!
In that instant, a flaming cat silhouette summoned from the ground.
A colossal cat maw big enough to swallow the giant crows whole.
Kugagagak!
The three cats devoured the giant crows instantly.
Chewed them up and vanished.
"...!"
Kirius flinched in shock.
'...Confirmed.'
Ah-young swallowed hard.
The spirit among spirits.
The guardian deity of fire and cats.
The spirit symbolizing the Yoon Family's founder.
The fire spirit Ifrit.
Ifrit crossed its arms and said,
"You're next. Whole roast for you."
Ifrit cackled.
(To be continued)