Chapter 94: Sa-hyeok’s Theory of Revenge
Only then did it make sense.
Why a slime suddenly popped out after killing the knight-type monster boss.
They, the knights, had trapped the monster they couldn’t k*ll within their own bodies, and then sealed themselves underground.
“Hey, you took a picture of the inscription at the entrance of the slime dungeon boss room, right?”
[Ah, yes. Just a moment, that data is…… Here it is.]
“What does it say?”
[‘This is the tomb of heroes and monsters. Pay your respects and retreat.’ ……That’s how it translates.]
Sa-hyeok felt his mind go blank once more.
And soon, he reached a conclusion.
“Then everything we encountered inside the gate…… were events that happened in the Ukvaron Empire……?!”
The dungeon.
Inside, the events of the fallen Ukvaron Empire were being reenacted.
……That was the best conclusion for now.
At least, regarding the knight and slime dungeon.
Bang-ul-i asked.
[Then is the gate a door or portal that connects to the Ukvaron Empire?]
“I don’t think so. Because it clearly states that Ukvaron has ‘fallen.’ If it’s fallen, everything, including slimes, would be gone.”
[Aha, then the dungeons and monsters inside the gate are……]
Sa-hyeok pondered for a while before speaking.
“Let’s think of it this way.”
[How?]
“What if the gates are a kind of information storage space?”
[Huh?]
“What if various monsters that existed in Ukvaron and their habitats are ‘stored’ inside each gate? And by entering the gate, we ‘access’ that stored data?”
[Aha……?!]
“Don’t take it too seriously. It’s just speculation. There’s not enough evidence.”
[But it doesn’t seem like a hypothesis to be dismissed as trivial. If it’s as you say, Hyeong-nim, it explains why artifacts drop in dungeons.]
“What?!”
[Hyeong-nim, do you remember what the last 18 pages of that book were about?]
“Crafting recipes. We used them to make the
[Right. But do you know how it describes those two rings before that?]
“There was another description about the rings?!”
[Yes. Look here. ‘Continuing the will of the sacrificed knights, we have succeeded in developing weapons to confront the slimes. The
After the battle between the slimes and the knights, they succeeded in creating anti-slime weapons through research.
The result was the Lightning Ring and the Flame Ring.
Indeed, lightning and flames were the most effective means of dealing with slimes, so they were well-made.
“……These rings were also made by the people of Ukvaron?”
[That’s right. But isn’t it strange, Hyeong-nim? According to this record, the blueprints for the rings were made after the knights’ sacrifice. Then why would they put this book, these blueprints, where the knights were sealed? They should have used them to k*ll other slimes.]
“That means……”
[The knight-type monsters and this book have no reason to be in the same place. In other words, some manipulation was done to make this book drop in that location.]
“……They created dungeons and artifacts using various events and objects that existed in Ukvaron as materials, and then mixed them and stored them inside the gate? Then, in the case of this dungeon, it’s a place created by mixing the knights, the slimes, and the book.”
[That’s the gist of it.]
“Then who the h*ll did that?”
Sa-hyeok’s voice was sharp as he spoke.
“That means there’s someone who made the gates appear and put dungeons inside them, right?”
[That’s right. I don’t think gates or dungeons would have occurred naturally…… Could it be Antenon who created the dungeons and gates?]
“There’s a high probability. Besides, since they are the ones who caused the harbingers of destruction, they wouldn’t be unrelated to the destruction itself.”
Gate creation and destruction.
All the suspicions pointed to Antenon.
Sa-hyeok closed his eyes and fell into thought.
After his mother was killed by a monster, Sa-hyeok had only one goal.
Revenge.
To k*ll all monsters.
But what if there’s someone who sent those monsters to this land?
What if there’s someone who created dungeons and gates to cause this situation?
Perhaps the blade of revenge should be directed not at the monsters, but at those behind them.
However, the depth of the revenge and hatred Sa-hyeok held was too deep to think rationally.
“Let’s just k*ll them all.”
[Huh?]
“The monsters, the ones who made the gates and sent them here, and their families, relatives, and friends, all of them.”
It was the moment when the target Sa-hyeok held expanded.
[……Are you planning some kind of massacre?]
“We were attacked first, why should we endure?”
[Still, shouldn’t revenge be pinpointed? You should only catch and k*ll those who committed the crime. It seems too much to go after their surroundings as well. It’s like burning down the house to catch a flea.]
“But if you burn down the house, you can definitely k*ll the flea.”
[Ah……?]
“There’s also that saying. If you want to take revenge, dig two graves.”
[Doesn’t that mean you should prepare two graves, one for the target of revenge and one for yourself? It means that revenge is that dangerous……]
“No. It means dig one hole to bury the target of revenge, and another hole to bury their family.”
[Huh……? I don’t think that was the original meaning……?!]
“No, think about it. Do you know what the biggest problem with revenge is?”
[What is it?]
“Revenge begets revenge. No matter how bad their parents were, no child will back down from the avenger who killed their parents, saying, ‘Ah, you killed my parents for that reason. I understand.’ The child will try to take revenge on the avenger. This is the chain of revenge. Then what do you think is the best way to break this chain?”
[……K*ll everyone so there’s no chance for the chain to continue?]
“Correct.”
[But Hyeong-nim, if that’s the case, isn’t it most rational not to start revenge in the first place?]
“That’s not true.”
Sa-hyeok’s slightly heated voice calmed down a bit.
“What happens if I go to the convenience store, buy alcohol, and don’t pay?”
[Of course, you’ll be reported, right?]
“Why?”
[Because you didn’t pay for what you should have……?]
“That’s right. If you receive goods, you have to pay, and if you pay, you have to receive goods. This is a
[Aha…… But how does that connect to revenge?]
“I told you, you have to give if you receive. I received ‘my mother’s death’ from them, so I have to pay them back. The price of death.”
If you’ve been wronged, revenge should be taken, and the revenge that has begun should be thoroughly completed.
That was Sa-hyeok’s theory of revenge.
Having lived for over three years thinking only of ‘revenge,’ his logic was cold and firm.
Enough to make even Bang-ul-i unconsciously nod.
[So what are you going to do now?]
“Prepare for the destruction. First, let’s tell Master and the senior disciples about this.”
[And then?]
“We need to figure out Antenon’s true identity and intentions. They seem to be the culprits who created the gates and dungeons and brought about the destruction, but we don’t have concrete evidence yet.”
[But if they really are the creators of the gates and dungeons……]
“We have to k*ll them all.”
[The enemy suddenly seems to have grown much bigger. Antenon……]
Sa-hyeok only smiled faintly.
He was used to being surrounded by enemies.
From the time he survived in District 3, that h*ll swarming with monsters.
══════════════════
USA, Antenon Headquarters, Chairman’s Office.
The man in the robe entered the office alone.
He was the same man who stood before the magic circle underground.
He took off his robe and hung it in the closet.
The face hidden beneath the robe was revealed.
A man with a sturdy yet sharp face, tired-looking eyes that were chillingly alive.
He looked to be in his mid to late 40s.
Black eyes, short, curly black hair, and a neatly trimmed black beard.
A typical Latin face that could be seen in Spain or France.
But the most striking feature of his face was the deep, X-shaped scar that ran across the center of his forehead.
His name was Damian Calderon.
The chairman of Antenon, the world’s largest arms manufacturer and the multinational corporation that possessed the most dungeon-related technology in the world.
Knock knock-
Someone knocked on the office door.
“Come in.”
A man entered hesitantly.
It was Yang Gi-uk.
The man who fought Sa-hyeok in the golem dungeon and stole the seed.
Cold sweat ran down his back.
Anxiety, fear, self-loathing.
All sorts of emotions were etched on his face.
It couldn’t be helped.
He brought a broken seed, ruining the chairman’s magic circle and ruining the spell.
Damian spoke to the trembling Gi-uk.
“Come here.”
“……Yes.”
Gi-uk approached Damian.
Damian pointed to a wooden box on the table and said.
“Open it.”
Gi-uk opened the box with trembling hands.
Inside was a new whip.
A top-grade whip with a core filled with dragon marrow and a dragon leather exterior.
Damian said.
“It’s yours.”
“……?!”
Gi-uk was so startled he couldn’t speak properly.
He came prepared to be punished, but instead he received a gift.
“I heard your whip broke during the last battle? This whip is sturdier than the previous one, so use this.”
“Chairman, why are you doing this……!”
“Why? Did you expect to be punished?”
“……Yes.”
“That hurts. To think you thought of me as a boss who just throws away his subordinates.”
“Th-That’s not it……!”
“Of course, you made a big mistake this time. The matured seed we worked so hard to obtain was a broken item, and because of that, 20 percent of the magic circle was destroyed, and the production of the ‘Eye’ has been further delayed.”
“I’m sorry, Chairman……!”
“That’s why we need to hurry with the production of the ‘Eye’ even more. So…… help me.”
Thud!
Gi-uk knelt on the floor.
“Just give me the order.”
“Don’t kneel so hard. You’ll hurt your knees.”
Saying so, Chairman Damian picked up a paper from his desk.
“First, I have something to tell you about the Hunter you fought, Min Sa-hyeok.”
“……!”
“He uses a unique power called telekinesis. Well, since there are so many unknown aspects of magic, we’ll keep an eye on this part. More importantly, while investigating, I found out he’s been involved with our Antenon quite a lot.”
“Yes?!”
“When he went to the Korea Central Research Institute for an examination, a Colonnio tried to k*ll him. That means the Colonnio judged him as a ‘threat to Antenon.'”
“The reason is……”
“The Colonnio was completely destroyed, so we can’t know the exact reason. And it’s also suspected that Min Sa-hyeok is the one who killed our employees in the Snow Dungeon.”
“……I will find a way to eliminate him.”
“No, that’s not why I called you.”
“……Yes?”
Question marks appeared on Gi-uk’s face.
“May I ask why……?”
“That friend, Min Sa-hyeok, is a member of Kwonmu-mun.”
“Kwonmu-mun, you say……”
“The guild where Gwak Ja-ryong is the Master.”
“Gwak Ja-ryong……!”
“Just keep an eye on Min Sa-hyeok for now. We’ll focus on securing the remaining materials for the ‘Eye.'”
“Understood!”
“For peace.”
“For peace!”
══════════════════
Seoul, Kwonmu-mun Guild Headquarters.
Five Hunters, including Sa-hyeok, gathered in the Vice Master’s office.
Ha Jeong-kwon, Sung Jang-hoon, Yoon Sam-gu, Lee Jeong-su.
Those whom Sa-hyeok trusted the most.
Jeong-kwon spoke.
“So Sa-hyeok, as you requested, everyone is here.”
“Thank you. There’s something I need to tell you all in person, so I made this request.”
Sa-hyeok took a light breath and opened his mouth.
“I’m going to tell you about…… the destruction.”
