Chapter 101: Verification of Doom (7)

All the pieces of the puzzle fit together.

The reason why the color of the healing potion they gave him was so dark.

The reason why they urged Sa-hyeok to take the healing potion during every break.

All of it was a setup to poison him.

And the question of why they brought a Flame Sorcerer to a dungeon full of fire was also answered.

In a fire-filled dungeon, a Flame Sorcerer becomes stronger, but the monsters’ fire resistance increases even more.

Therefore, it was rare for a Flame Sorcerer to participate in a raid like this.

The reason was simple.

The Flame Sorcerer’s target from the beginning wasn’t the monsters, but Sa-hyeok.

He was planning to k*ll Sa-hyeok with flame magic in a place where the power of a Flame Sorcerer is maximized.

So, he didn’t care about the monsters’ fire resistance.

“……These bastards.”

The moment he realized that everything they had done was to k*ll him.

Even the compassion that had been pooled at the bottom of Sa-hyeok’s heart was burned to black.

“Puh-huh……”

A hollow laugh escaped his lips.

To think he tried to save these things, thinking they were human.

‘Yeah, d*mn it, are there any other monsters?’

Do they have to drop magic stones and artifacts when they d*e to be considered monsters?

Do they have to look monstrous to be monsters?

‘No.’

If they tried to harm him, whoever they are, they are all monsters.

Even if they speak like humans and look like humans.

Three years ago, in the h*ll of Seoul District 3, Sa-hyeok made a vow.

He would k*ll every single monster.

“……From now on, I will treat you all as monsters.”

No one here could possibly understand the endless hatred contained in those words.

Swish-

That’s why one of them, without fear, started to move.

The Combat Hunter who used the iron club earlier.

He stealthily moved his feet somewhere.

The spot where the boss, the King of Decapitated Demons, had died.

There, the artifact left behind by the boss remained.

A thin and long, simple double-edged sword.

Slide-

He reached for the sword instead of the iron club.

Did he think it would be better to face Sa-hyeok with a sword rather than an iron club?

No.

It was because the sword was an artifact.

An artifact, an item containing special functions that cannot be used with ordinary magic or martial arts.

He thought.

He could face him if it was an artifact.

No, maybe he could even k*ll him.

‘I’ll k*ll you……!’

Thud.

He gripped the hilt of the sword.

He poured mana through the hilt.

And nothing happened.

‘What……!’

The moment a bewildered look appeared on his face.

“That’s junk.”

Sa-hyeok’s gloomy voice pierced his ears.

“Wha…… What……?”

“That’s a junk artifact.”

Earlier, when the artifact dropped.

Sa-hyeok had lightly stroked the hilt with his hand and tried injecting mana.

There was no response.

That’s how he knew it was junk.

“Kuh……!”

Desperate.

He swung the sword and rushed towards Sa-hyeok.

At that moment.

Swish!

Mubuchamdo pierced through his shoulder.

Joints shattered and bones were ground to pieces.

“Kyaaaak!”

The sword fell to the floor with a scream.

As soon as he neutralized him, Sa-hyeok reached out to the other side.

Towards the spot where the iron club he was wielding had fallen.

Whoosh-

Clack!

The iron club flew into Sa-hyeok’s hand.

Sa-hyeok, holding the iron club, said to him.

“Say hello. It’s your weapon.”

“P-Please spare me……”

Whack!

Sa-hyeok struck him with the iron club and said.

“The monster can talk.”

“S-Stop……”

Crack!

Snap!

Crush!

Thud!

Splatter!

Sa-hyeok struck him countless times with the iron club.

Only after the dull sound turned into a splattering sound did Sa-hyeok stop.

Clang!

“Hoo……”

After throwing the iron club to the floor, Sa-hyeok let out a long sigh.

The blood that splattered on his cheek felt warm and unpleasant.

Sa-hyeok calculated.

There were a total of three enemies here.

One died from poisoning, and one was just literally smashed to pieces.

And now only one remained, the Raid Leader.

Sa-hyeok turned his head towards the Raid Leader.

“D-Don’t come closer……!”

A trembling voice.

The one sentence he uttered was a command.

It meant he had something to rely on.

He was holding the key.

The key to this dungeon.

“……If you come any closer, I’ll drop it!”

He held the key close to the bubbling lava.

The key, the only tool that could open and close the gate.

If that disappeared, theoretically, everyone would be trapped here.

The Raid Leader knew that too.

Knowing that, he threatened Sa-hyeok with a ‘you d*e, I d*e’ tactic.

A threat that would force an ordinary Hunter to back down.

However.

“Go ahead and try it.”

Such a thing wasn’t even a threat to Sa-hyeok.

Step.

Sa-hyeok took a step towards the Raid Leader.

“Don’t come closer!!”

Step.

“You f*cking b*stard……!”

Splash!

He finally threw the key into the lava.

Into the bubbling, thick red liquid, the key sank.

After the key completely disappeared beneath the surface of the lava.

The Raid Leader said, giggling like a madman.

“Puh-huh, try to k*ll me! You’ll be trapped here and d*e with me anyway!”

Step.

Sa-hyeok stood right in front of him.

There was no wavering in his cold eyes.

Grab!

Sa-hyeok grabbed his neck with his right hand and lifted him up.

His feet flailed in the air.

Resistance was impossible.

He couldn’t even light a candle now.

It was because the electric shock Sa-hyeok had released earlier had short-circuited his mana circuit.

“Kuh…… Ugh……”

“You want to d*e here with me?”

“Ugh……”

“I don’t care about that, you dropped the key, so you go and get it back.”

“……!!”

Splash.

Sa-hyeok threw him into the lava.

Right where the key had fallen.

“……!!”

He couldn’t even scream.

A pair of arms thrashed violently above the bubbling surface, but that was all.

It only took three seconds for the lava to swallow him whole.

Sa-hyeok’s eyes didn’t waver as he watched the scene.

It was the look in his eyes when he saw the death of a monster, not a human.

Click.

Sa-hyeok focused on photographing the stele again.

It was practically impossible to come back here, so he left behind photographic data as meticulously and thoroughly as possible.

Not satisfied with that, he walked around the boss room, searching for any clues that might exist.

As a result, he found nothing but the stele.

It didn’t matter.

He had come here for this stele in the first place.

He had finished everything he needed to do here.

Sa-hyeok stood in front of the exit gate located at the innermost part of the boss room.

Now, all that was left to do here was to go outside.

And when he went outside……

“Sung In-su…… What should I do with this b*stard.”

Sa-hyeok muttered and placed his hand on the surface of the gate.

Tzzzz-

And he poured his telekinetic power inside through the keyhole.

Sa-hyeok could open the gate without a key using his telekinesis.

That was why Sa-hyeok didn’t even blink an eye when the key fell into the lava and disappeared.

Clank, Click-

The lock on the gate began to slowly unlock.

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At the very moment Sa-hyeok had just entered the boss room.

Incredibly, In-su and Jang-hoon were having a drinking party in the front yard of the mansion.

“This alcohol tastes amazing, really.”

“Have some snacks too, dongsaeng-ah.”

It was a rather bizarre scene.

Was it bizarre because they were drinking in broad daylight with the sun high in the sky?

No.

What was bizarre was Jang-hoon.

Before seeing In-su, Jang-hoon harbored strong distrust and vigilance towards him.

But now, at least outwardly, there was no trace of that distrust left.

On top of that, even Jang-hoon’s usual somewhat blunt and stoic demeanor had completely disappeared.

Putting grilled meat in his mouth, Jang-hoon said,

“Ah, right, remember the guy who came with me today?”

“Mr. Min Sa-hyeok?”

“Yeah, he’s really f*eaking good at grilling meat. You should try some of his grilling too, hyung.”

“That’s a shame, I don’t think that’ll be possible.”

“Why not? You can just come visit our guild building sometime.”

In-su didn’t answer and just gave a strange smile.

Then he looked at Jang-hoon’s face.

Jang-hoon’s eyes weren’t the eyes of a normal person.

His pupils were strangely constricted, and his focus was wavering.

Moreover, he kept licking his lips with his tongue as if his mouth was constantly dry.

No matter how you looked at it, these were the early symptoms of drug addiction.

In-su said,

“Jang-hoon-ah, our father always wanted to move to the countryside. Remember?”

“Of course. But what kind of farming would a man who lived his whole life in Jongno do? It was a pipe dream. Farming isn’t easy either.”

“But the moment it’s achieved, it’s no longer a dream. Look.”

Jang-hoon and In-su looked at the vast field spread out below the hill.

It was peaceful.

“Jang-hoon-ah, I’ve always dreamed of this. Our family living together in a peaceful countryside like this, free from territorial disputes and discrimination.”

“……”

“Once you come, my dream will be fulfilled.”

Suddenly, Jang-hoon felt something welling up inside him.

Father, Mother.

The ones who died fighting monsters during the gate incident, trying to help Jang-hoon and In-su escape.

Pour-

Pouring alcohol into a new glass, In-su said,

“This is for Mother.”

Pour-

“And this is for Father.”

Two empty glasses were placed on the table.

The brothers had a moment of silence.

In-su said,

“Come to this village, Jang-hoon-ah.”

“……”

Unlike before, Jang-hoon didn’t offer any significant refusal.

“Everything you see before your eyes, it’s all mine and will become yours too.”

“Everything……?”

“Yes. The harvest here, the money, the land, the houses, the facilities…… all of it.”

“Pfft, are you acting like a king or something?”

“I can’t say I’m not.”

Smirk.

Hearing those words, Jang-hoon frowned slightly.

In-su continued,

“There must be order for there to be peace, and there must be control for there to be order.”

“Control……?”

“That’s right. And for control, you need a focal point. A leader, a ruler, or well…… a king.”

“King……”

“The king can possess everything in exchange for maintaining order. So just say it. Just by saying it, you can have everything here.”

A sweet voice, tempting like a snake.

Jang-hoon was unknowingly falling for In-su’s words.

“Isn’t there anything you want? Money? A house? Or maybe…… a woman?”

“……What?”

“I told you, everything in this village is yours. Ah, if you’re h*mosexual, I can certainly understand that.”

“What the h*ll are you talking about……”

Even though his mind was clouded by the drugs, Jang-hoon felt an intense sense of dissonance piercing through that haze.

He realized that the b*stard in front of him was starting to spout crazy nonsense.

Clatter.

At that moment, In-su’s third wife approached the table to clear the empty dishes.

She was beautiful.

A beauty that would make anyone, regardless of gender, turn their heads.

Jang-hoon’s gaze involuntarily went towards her.

Seeing that, In-su said,

“Want her?”

“What?”

It was a sentence he couldn’t even imagine.

Jang-hoon was dumbfounded.

“……What did you just say?”

“If you want her, take her. I have two more.”

Jang-hoon’s trembling pupils stopped.

A low, cold voice flowed from Jang-hoon’s mouth.

“Sung In-su, you b*stard, you’re insane.”

“Don’t be foolish, dongsaeng……”

Crash!

Jang-hoon flipped the table over.

Sensing the sudden commotion, the people who were waiting nearby rushed over.

“Chief!”

Without hesitation, they swung their weapons at Jang-hoon.

‘Kwonmu Fist Technique 2nd Form, Defense.’

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

A barrage of punches thrown at a speed impossible for ordinary people to even perceive.

The villagers were instantly turned into a pulp and sprawled on the ground.

Of course, Jang-hoon didn’t stop there.

He also threw a punch towards In-su.

But then.

Rustle!

Vines that sprouted in the blink of an eye wrapped around Jang-hoon’s arm and stopped him.

Jang-hoon said,

“This C-rank nobody……!”

“Yes, you were C-rank.”

“……?!”

“Look closely again, dongsaeng-ah. What rank do you think I am now?”

Crack-

The vines began to coil around Jang-hoon’s body and twist.

Even though he was under the influence of drugs, they were suppressing the body of an A-rank Combat Hunter with such ease.

“Ugh……!”

“Three months ago, I had my rank reassessed unofficially. What letter do you think was stamped on that record?”

“Ugh……”

“It was S.”

“……!”

“You just challenged the sixth S-rank Hunter of Korea, dongsaeng-ah.”

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And at that moment.

Ripple-

Sa-hyeok walked out of the gate.