Report
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 31
"Wolha!"
"Hyung, what's going on?"
Wolha couldn't understand what was happening.
He had been abruptly thrown into the sky, his body strapped to a glider, and had flown for several kilometers before landing in a nearby park.
He immediately took a taxi back home.
But when he returned, his house was gone.
A black sphere enveloped the entire neighborhood, and the roads were blocked by guild Hunters and Gate Management Department Hunters.
"You can't enter!"
"It's a Gate! Please turn back!"
"So when is the Azure Sky Sword Sect coming?!"
After hours of anxiously waiting, the Gate suddenly disappeared.
It meant the Gate had been cleared.
Of course, just because it was cleared didn't mean they could enter immediately.
The Gate Management Department Hunters had to go in first to conduct various investigations and interviews, which would take at least a few hours.
Buzz!
At that moment, Ilha called.
"Hyung?"
[Wolha? Can you hear me?]
"Yeah, I can hear you."
[Come home right now. You have 5 minutes.]
Wolha frowned, looking at the road conditions.
The police line was airtight, and the gazes of the Awakened agents were sharp, like 360-degree CCTVs.
"It's blocked here."
[Find a way! Tell them you need to use the bathroom or check on your pet cat or something.]
Ilha shouted in frustration.
Wolha thought his brother was being impatient over something trivial again.
It was common for Ilha, who lacked patience and was easily agitated.
"...."
But the reason Wolha was subtly looking around, trying to find a way to sneak in...
...was because his brother's voice sounded so desperate.
'What's going on?'
Ilha hadn't shown any impatience since 'that day.'
This kind of reaction meant something was definitely wrong.
Wolha suddenly realized something.
He had come to trust his brother's words quite a lot.
'I don't know.'
Wolha ran into the neighborhood.
"You can't enter yet!"
"Sir! Sir!"
"Can't you see the halo? That bastard's an Awakened. Don't call out, just go and catch him!"
There was no chance of winning a physical fight against agents who were at least C-Rank.
But Wolha and Ilha's house wasn't far from the entrance to the neighborhood, so Wolha managed to get inside before being caught.
"What's going on?"
"You're here."
Ilha stood up urgently and handed him a suitcase.
It was the suitcase that Ilha had treasured like a sacred object in his room.
He didn't know what was inside, but it was quite heavy.
Even Wolha, an Awakened himself, felt its considerable weight.
"What's in this?"
"Take this and follow the Sun-Moon Divine Sect Hunters. A support vehicle will be here soon, so just join them. I've already made arrangements. The Awakened Support Agency might come later and ask you questions, so just answer truthfully. Don't lie to try and protect me."
"But—"
"Don't worry. It's all a misunderstanding, and I'll be back soon."
The Management Bureau agents pounded on the door as if they were about to break it down.
"Come out!"
Wolha looked back at the door in a panic.
At that moment, the young man who had been standing quietly in the corner of the living room moved.
'Ryu Haneul?'
He exuded an overwhelming presence that made Wolha wonder how he hadn't noticed him before.
The purple halo above his head hummed.
Click.
"What's going on?"
"Well, we were just... Aaaagh!"
"R-R-Ryu Haneul?"
"Why is an S-Rank Hunter here...?"
"What brings you here, or rather... didn't someone just enter...?"
"My friend lives here. I came to check on him because I was worried. Is there a problem?"
The talents who had passed the civil service exam in South Korea knew how to respond when an S-Rank Hunter asked if there was a problem.
"No, sir!"
"Please, go ahead!"
The Awakened Support Agency agents left in a hurry. They hadn't yet received Director Lee's request for assistance.
Ilha asked Ryu Haneul—
"When's the car coming?"
Ryu Haneul answered naturally—
"It'll be at the front in 3 minutes. It's best if you wait outside."
Wolha couldn't understand why Ryu Haneul was speaking politely with someone like Ilha, or why Ilha was acting like a criminal on the run.
"Hyung."
Wolha asked, his voice carrying the weight of a young man who had been the head of the household.
"Where are you running away to? You didn't do anything wrong, did you?"
He might be mature for his age, but he was still only twenty.
His big eyes, framed by short hair damp with sweat and disheveled from running, trembled with anxiety.
It wasn't worry for himself.
It was the fear that his brother's life, which had just started to look up, might be ruined.
The answer came from Ryu Haneul.
His purple eyes shone indifferently and monotonously.
"I can't tell you the details. It's related to Baekya. Just know that much."
"What...?"
It wasn't something he could question, asking why he was the one answering.
Wolha froze at the mention of a name he couldn't even fathom.
"H-Hyung?"
Ilha averted his eyes, as if apologetic.
"I couldn't just ignore it."
"I understand."
Wolha understood Ilha.
His brother loved and respected Baekya even more than he did.
It was impossible for him not to be swayed by that name.
"But you have to come back safe. Okay?"
His voice trembled, sounding a bit pathetic.
He clenched his fists, suppressing the surge of emotions.
Everything was confusing.
The next moment, his mind went blank.
Ilha strode over and embraced him tightly.
His steel-like body was warm, as if it held fire within.
"Don't worry."
"Hyung."
The low voice in his ear.
"I'm not going to fall this far and leave you. If I do fall, I'll climb back up."
The words, spoken as if referring to a distant place…
Somehow, they reminded him of the Hunter he and his brother admired.
"I'm going."
Ilha and Ryu Haneul jumped up through the hole in the ceiling and disappeared.
Wolha stared blankly at the spot where they had vanished.
* * *
Even as a Bureau Director, it was difficult for Lee Baejeong to gather all the agents immediately.
He had no intention of doing so anyway.
He only mobilized a few teams that he could somewhat control.
He quickly gave instructions and started his car.
"Team 1, block the bridge! Team 2, start tracking through CCTV. Teams 3 and 4, join me!"
"Director, where are we going?"
"Follow that Phantom!"
The car lurched forward, throwing him back against the seat.
Even as his smartphone fell twice onto his face, Lee Baejeong managed to type a message in the secret chat room where the eight Regressors, excluding Ryu Haneul, were gathered.
[Lee Baejeong: Emrgecy!]
[Lee Baejeong: Emrgncy! Emrgncy!]
[Lee Baejeong: Baekya is alive!]
[Lee Baejeong: Everyone, get out here!]
The Regressors reacted differently.
[Na Jeongwon: ....]
Na Jeongwon only sent ellipses.
He seemed to be feeling complicated emotions.
Lee Baejeong knew that Na Jeongwon had gone to find Baekya.
It seemed that even though he had given Baekya a second chance, everything had ended before Baekya could assure him that he was different from his past self.
Lee Eunwoo quickly sent a message.
[Lee Eunwoo: Killing Baekya again now would be detrimental.]
He had argued even before the regression that now wasn't the time to kill Baekya.
This was his last chance to push his argument.
[Lee Eunwoo: What about the 50th-floor raid? The 75th-floor raid?]
[Lee Eunwoo: What about the countless Rank 1 Gates he closed?]
[Lee Eunwoo: We can't kill Baekya before we have countermeasures for those.]
[Lee Eunwoo: He's wary of us, but he also seems to have some lingering human attachment. From a utilitarian perspective, it's only right to exploit that emotion!]
Joo Suhyeok showed the reaction he wanted.
[Joo Suhyeok: Enough talk.]
[Joo Suhyeok: Where are you?]
[Joo Suhyeok: Fuck. I'm on my way.]
[Joo Suhyeok: Photo (Jumping out of the window)]
Seeing an agent's smartphone ring, it seemed he was already on his way.
As for Cheong Siyeol...
[Cheong Siyeol: I can't believe it.]
"Damn it!"
Lee Baejeong cursed as soon as he saw the message.
[Cheong Siyeol: I already killed him with my own hands.]
It seemed like they couldn't count on Cheong Siyeol's help for now.
"Open the window!"
"Yes!"
A subordinate opened the window.
Lee Baejeong leaned out as far as he could.
Through the tinted window, he could see the two figures in the backseat, flustered.
'Where are you trying to go? No matter where you go, you're within my grasp.'
He couldn't unleash magic and chase them in the middle of the city.
Ryu Haneul might be capable of that, but Hong Baekya definitely wasn't the type.
They had some distance now, but Seoul was covered in CCTVs.
Once the other teams started blocking the roads, they would be trapped like rats.
Vroooom!
The signal was given.
The massive sedan, like a battleship, made a sharp turn.
'What?'
Lee Baejeong, seeing their direction, couldn't believe his eyes.
'The Tower?'
Their car crossed the Han River bridge and sped towards the Tower.
'They're going to enter the Tower?'
Lee Baejeong grabbed the radio.
"The target is heading towards the Tower. I repeat, the target is heading towards the Tower. Restrict access to the Outer Tower Management building."
The subordinate driving the car asked—
"Is this okay?"
Lee Baejeong smiled like a fox.
"I anticipated this to some extent. It's a good thing if they go to a cleared floor. If civilians aren't involved, we can use our full power."
He was confident he could kill Baekya in his current state within an hour.
"But they won't try to escape to the 50th floor, will they?"
"!"
But if they went to an uncleared floor, it was a different story.
"They wouldn't do that, would they? If they do, it's a good thing for us. It's suicide."
"But they might act recklessly, risking everything."
"They'll die. Definitely."
'Epilogue Stories' were teeming with formidable foes.
Space-time was also distorted, so even if they entered together, one could end up decades ahead of the other, on the opposite side of the world.
"Even Baekya spent months preparing for that place. Those two greenhorns won't last a few days."
Moreover, the Tower became significantly more difficult every 10 or 25 floors.
Just how brutal the 50th floor, where those two intervals met, would be was a matter of global concern.
"They've disembarked. The Outer Tower Management building has been breached."
"Stop them! Damn it! We're disembarking too. Prepare for combat!"
Ilha, no, Baekya, and Ryu Haneul were definitely running towards the Tower.
The area around the Outer Tower Management building was open, with parking lots and plazas.
Ryu Haneul was in the process of knocking away the Awakened agents in front of the main entrance to the Outer Tower Management building.
Lee Baejeong, as soon as he got out of the car, unleashed his skill.
【Heavenly Net】
【The net of heaven is vast and wide, capturing all that passes through its loose yet inescapable weave.】
Whoosh!
A glowing blue net flew towards them, as if it would engulf the entire world.
Baekya turned to look at him, gritting his teeth.
Hostility was clear on his handsome face.
The more Baekya's face contorted, the wider Lee Baejeong's smile grew.
Lee Eunwoo was right.
'Yes, I hate you, Baekya.'
In truth, he believed that Baekya should have been killed even if he hadn't turned evil.
'You are too powerful. As long as you exist, this country will continue to experience a night that never ends, just like your name. And the moment you disappear, we will face the true night.'
This country was too peaceful under Baekya's light.
Politicians questioned other Hunters, asking why they couldn't be like Baekya, and officials were busy bowing to high-ranking Hunters instead of developing institutional and practical measures.
'You didn't save us, you just tamed us. Humanity needs to experience the evening at least.'
In Lee Baejeong's view, this country was too reliant on one person.
If it were a country that would collapse without that one person, it was a country destined to collapse from the beginning.
They had to break free from their dependence on Baekya before it deepened further.
They had to see the true darkness of the night.
"Uaaaaaaaaaa!"
The Heavenly Net flew towards Baekya.
It was a net that missed nothing, so even Baekya couldn't escape it.
But Baekya had no intention of escaping in the first place.
Flash!
The white light of Law of Light flashed.
The blue net vanished like a mirage.
Lee Baejeong yelled—
"Attack!"
The Awakened agents drew their weapons.
* * *
"Run!"
From the beginning, there was no option to fight and win.
I didn't have the strength for that now, and even if I managed to wipe out all the Management Bureau Awakened, who would catch the criminal Awakened afterwards?
Time wasn't on our side.
If even one or two more Regressors joined in, we would be at a disadvantage.
If it were someone strong like Cheong Siyeol or Joo Suhyeok, it would be the end.
I entered the Tower lobby with Ryu Haneul.
The moment the Aitel System's fanfare blared, skills and bullets from the Management Bureau Awakened rained down.
My mana was running low because I had just erased the Heavenly Net.
"Senior!"
Ryu Haneul tried to shield me with his body.
His eyes, pleading for me to remember him, were pitiful and alluring.
I pulled Ryu Haneul along and took out the 'Winter Vanguard's Standard' from my inventory.
【Domain Expansion: Incineration】
Fwhoooosh!
White flames expanded in a sphere, blocking the skills and bullets.
Thanks to the support from the standard, I barely managed to succeed.
From afar, Lee Baejeong swung his hand once more.
This time, Ryu Haneul blocked it with his externally released Dark Heaven Sword Qi.
At that moment, something unexpected happened.
Whether it was due to the standard's power or not, white flames from Law of Light were added to the Dark Heaven Sword Qi.
There might be room for further growth, but I didn't have the time to analyze it now.
"Senior? Are we really going?"
"I didn't expect this to happen either!"
Climbing the Tower was truly a last resort.
It guaranteed escape, and if I succeeded in the raid, reaching A-Rank was almost certain.
It might sound unbelievable, but the Tower's clear rewards were truly extraordinary.
However, the probability of dying horribly was much higher.
But if I stayed here, certain death awaited me.
Now, it was either death or transcendence.
"Aitel! I challenge the 50th floor! Transport me!"
【Are you sure you want to challenge the 50th floor?】
【This story has a high mortality rate and is very difficult to give up midway.】
"I said transport me!"
【Confirmed.】
Fwaaaah!
The ground beneath my feet glowed white-hot.
Ri Bae-jeong rushed towards me, his face filled with frustration.
He lunged at me.
I kicked upwards at his jaw.
Thwack!
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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