Chapter 24: Star, Home (9)

“I believe the current key is… also a failure,” a man timidly reported to his superior.

“Ah, fuck! What the hell is wrong with you people?! Why can’t you do your jobs properly?!” the superior yelled furiously.

Thud!

When the superior slammed his desk angrily, the subordinate who had reported to him began tiptoeing around him, hiding his neck like a turtle. Considering how much his superior liked drinking, the subordinate would normally offer up a bottle of wine he had saved for just such a moment.

However, in the current situation, his superior would likely just smash him over the head with the wine bottle, shouting ‘Are you kidding me?!’. Such was the extent of his anger. Thus, the subordinate had to save his breath and remain as quiet as a mouse.

“If this continues, I’m going to receive a reprimand again! Aaaaaah!” Lee Jae-Seong, the Section Chief of the Highoff Clan’s Attack Department and the other man’s superior, pounded his chest several times furiously.

His anger was understandable, as it had already been a year since he had taken charge of ‘Bestla’s Tomb’. He had talked a big game, saying he was different from his predecessors who had failed to accomplish anything. Despite that, he had also failed to show any results. In that case, he would have nothing to say in protest if he were taken as a ‘sacrifice,’ branded an incompetent like his predecessors.

The deadline given to him by the Highoff Clan’s higher-ups was less than a month away. As he had been working for the Highoff Clan for a long time, he knew that the higher-ups would do more than just reprimand him. Thus, Jae-Seong only became more nervous as time passed.

“I have no other choice. Bring that bastard Jin Dae-Hwan here right now!” Jae-Seong yelled, ordering his subordinate to drag the cause of the whole mess over. He thought to himself that he had to do something about Dae-Hwan.

Worried about getting caught in the crossfire, the subordinate ran out of the room without questioning Jae-Seong’s order. Shortly after, he came back, dragging a blood-covered man in with one hand.

“Don’t kill me! Please d-don’t kill me!” The man, Dae-Hwan, earnestly begged for his life, crying and sniveling. The forty-year-old man was once the previous Ou Yezi’s disciple, and the one who had stolen Ou Yezi’s hammer. Ignoring his desperation, the subordinate brought Dae-Hwan in front of Jae-Seong.

“I heard you failed this time too, am I right?” Jae-Seong asked, crossing his arms.

“Ah, Section Chief! Please don’t kill me! If you give me additional ‘Blood’, I’ll somehow…!” Dae-Hwan quickly pleaded.

“Haven’t I already given you everything you needed until now? When you asked for more manpower, I hired more people for you. When you asked for sacrifices, I supplied them without question… I even got you some Celestial Fire because you said something about needing special fire. Despite all that, you failed again and again,” Jae-Seong snapped, scowling at Dae-Hwan.

Dae-Hwan could no longer say anything, so he merely kissed the ground and trembled, unable to meet Jae-Seong’s gaze.

“So tell me, do I have a reason to spare you when my life is also on the line?” Jae-Seong asked, gritting his teeth.

“It w-was because the Celestial Fire you gave me was f-from a low-quality furnace, not from the Divine Fire Furnace…!” Dae-Hwan exclaimed, pathetically making excuses.

“Is it my fault then?” Jae-Seong retorted with a smirk.

“Gasp! I just needed more time and ‘Blood’. One more chance. Please give me one more chance! Then I’ll definitely create a successful key, by any means necessary…!” Dae-Hwan begged and begged in front of Jae-Seong, who looked as if he would blow Dae-Hwan’s head apart on the spot.

For a long time, Jae-Seong stared silently at Dae-Hwan, who just repeated that he could make the key like a parrot. Dae-Hwan’s pathetic begging only worsened Jae-Seong’s anger. He shut his eyes tightly as he thought ‘I never should have trusted this wuss.’

At first, he had been incredibly satisfied with Dae-Hwan’s extraordinary smithing skill. Jae-Seong had felt that Dae-Hwan was the last key to open the ‘treasure chest’ the Highoff Clan had been unable to open for a long time despite their best efforts—the final room of ‘Bestla’s Tomb.’

The final room, where the tomb’s owner and many burial goods were, was known to contain a secret, invaluable treasure. As a low-ranking member of the Clan, Jae-Seong did not know what kind of treasure it was.

However, one thing was certain. If he successfully opened the final room, he would be promoted instantly, as the Clan leader had an interest in the Dungeon. That was why he had boasted so loudly to the others. And yet, that very same boasting had turned into a noose around Jae-Seong’s neck.

“Do you… only need ‘Blood’?” Jae-Seong asked after sighing for a long time.

The problem was that he had no other choice, even if he wanted to use a different method. Because he lacked time, his only choice was to support Dae-Hwan until the end.

Dae-Hwan must have read the air, as he slammed his head against the floor and exclaimed, “Yes, yes! I’ve undergone several rounds of trial and error, but I did nearly manage to reproduce the shape of the ‘key’. In fact, I even unlocked two locks out of three. The reason why I failed on the third one was that I ran out of ‘Blood’ sooner than I thought, and lost the power source… so we only have to fuel it.”

When Jae-Seong heard Dae-Hwan’s explanation, it almost sounded as if everything would be alright. However, he soon felt his anger rising again, because that was how he had fallen for Dae-Hwan’s excuses every time. However, he calmed himself down with great difficulty, trying to convince himself to give Dae-Hwan one last chance. Besides, Dae-Hwan’s last chance was also his own last chance, so he could only give Dae-Hwan everything he wanted.

“Fine. I’ll trust you for now,” Jae-Seong said, clicking his tongue.

“Th-Thank you!” Dae-Hwan exclaimed, sniffling.

“Still. Keep in mind that if you also fail this time… I’ll never go down alone. I won’t only kill you. I’ll also find every member of your family and shred them to pieces,” Jae-Seong said, smiling ominously.

For a moment, Dae-Hwan’s face turned pale, but he quickly slammed his head against the floor with such force that Jae-Seong briefly wondered whether his skull had cracked. Dae-Hwan cried joyfully, “Of course, of course! No questions about it.”

“By the way, why aren't the packages here yet?” Jae-Seong asked his subordinate with a frown, suddenly realizing that the ingredients needed to supply ‘Blood’ had not arrived yet.

“I will return after looking into it,” the subordinate replied. He bowed deeply, and was just about to leave the room when…

Ding!

[The ranking system has been updated with additional information.]

[Dungeon Ranking]

First Place: Jeong Yoo-Jin (150,000 Points)

Second Place: Go Seung-Won (145,495 Points)

Third Place: Lee Jae-Seong (109,500 Points)

…

Fifty-Seventh Place: Lee Chang-Sun (New!)

“What is this?” Jae-Seong wondered, frowning at the message that appeared before him.

* * *

As he approached the last sector, Chang-Sun sensed that something was off.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ thinks the air is too foul now.]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ warns you that she can detect evil all throughout the vicinity.]

‘Blood?’ Chang-Sun thought as he smelled the stench of blood.

However, the smell was of human blood, not monster blood. It was incredibly strong, as if dozens of people had died at once.

‘Something is going on,’ Chang-Sun thought. His intuition told him that was about to see the most insidious side of the Highoff Clan, which was known to be connected with the criminal underworld, and especially the black market.

Moving forward stealthily, he hid in one of the room’s innermost corners, focusing on his sense of hearing.

“Come on, come on. Why aren’t you moving?”

“They’re real slowpokes.”

“Section Chief will be pissed again. Should I blow some people’s heads off? That might make them move quicker.”

“Quit it. He said we need every man right now, so if we did that, he would blow our heads off, saying we could meet the quota that way.”

“Fuck! This is so frustrating!” a man cursed loudly, his voice echoing through the room.

Every word they spoke was horrible, but they did not care. It seemed that they had not even considered the possibility that there would be an intruder in the Dungeon other than them.

Squinting, Chang-Sun observed the situation. Four Players were corralling fifteen civilians into a corner. Most of the civilians appeared to be homeless; among them, others were wearing hospital clothes, as if they had been kidnapped from hospitals.

The whole situation looked suspicious even at first glance. The civilians wept and begged the Players for mercy, but the Players simply beat them every time they made noise. Some of the civilians’ arms had been cut off, and the wounds bled profusely.

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ expresses her anger at witnessing the horrible sight before her!]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ implores you to bring justice.]

In contrast to her usual calm behavior, Minerva, who sought absolute good, was absolutely furious.

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‘Weren’t they making a key for the boss monster’s room? Are they offering sacrifices or something?’ Chang-Sun wondered, sensing a hint of familiarity in what was going on.

The fact that humans were the most common and effective sacrifices available was true both on Arcadia and Earth. Just as Minerva did, the deities who sought absolute good abhorred the idea, but humans were simply seen as a good energy source for ordinary Celestials.

[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ awaits your response.]

Mephistopheles, who was still waiting for Chang-Sun’s answer, was a typical example of just such a deity.

‘There are four of them,’ Chang-Sun thought, counting the number of enemies present.

After deciding to attack all of them at once, he drew a diagram of how to ambush them in his mind. He planned to temporarily spare one person, because he needed to find out how many more people remained in the Dungeon.

Chang-Sun held the [Ice Kite Feather Daggers] between his fingers, cutting the ends of his fingertips to coat them with blood.

[The Skill ‘Blood Toxin’ has been activated!]

[The daggers have been smeared with Ice Toxin.]

As Ice Toxin had proven to be very useful, Chang-Sun covered the daggers with as much Ice Toxin as possible. After checking that the feathers were solid enough, he sprang forth and swiftly sent them flying.

Pah―!

“Who… Argh!” The man closest to Chang-Sun sensed something was wrong and turned around. However, one of Chang-Sun’s feathers struck him in the forehead at that instant.

Crack―!

Crash!

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The man’s head was instantly covered with ice that spread swiftly across his body. He fell backward, his frozen body shattering into pieces.

“Ambush…!” one of the Players yelled.

Belatedly noticing Chang-Sun, the Players drew their swords, but Chang-Sun sliced through one of their throats with [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] before they could react.

Slaash!

The shocked Player’s head flew through the air.

[Equipped the ‘Flame Goat’s Rib Spear’!]

Without looking back, one of the other Players tried to run away, but Chang-Sun threw a bone spear at his back.

Swoooosh―!

Stab!

The bone spear pierced through the Player’s armor instantly, going through his entire body and protruding from his chest. It stopped his body from hitting the floor, leaving the corpse propped up at a strange angle.

“A-Ahhh! Get-get away from me!” the only surviving Player cried fearfully.

The four Players had become one in an instant.

Trying to defeat Chang-Sun somehow, the last Player swung his knife through the air. However, Chang-Sun was faster, slicing through his midsection with [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth].

Gush―!

Bleeding profusely, the Player rolled across the floor, his torso completely separated from his lower body. In mere moments, Chang-Sun sliced off the Player’s arms with the sharp blade of [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] and stabbed him in the heart.

Snik!

“Agh…! Ech…” the Player groaned, trembling as bloody foam spewed from his mouth. The sheer amount of blood he had lost made him feel as if Death itself were gripping his throat, as anemia rapidly set in.

“Don’t… kill… me…!” he begged tearfully. Although he was staring death in the face, he still seemed to have an instinctive desire to live. Despite how little he cared about the lives of others, he still cared deeply about his own.

Like a snake watching its prey, Chang-Sun skillfully used [Viper Eyes] as he asked, “Do you want to live?”

“I do…!” the Player desperately answered.

“Then tell me everything you know about what’s happening inside, how many people are inside, and how strong they are,” Chang-Sun said, looking the Player in the eye.

“A-Ahhh!” the Player screamed, trembling as he was unable to avoid eye contact with Chang-Sun.

That was simply how intimidating Chang-Sun was. His ‘Divine Twilight’ years were partly responsible for that, but it was mainly due to the strong stench of death that had permeated him during his stay in the Underworld. Most people would lose consciousness simply from looking into his eyes; the man had to reveal everything he knew in the end, as if he had been hypnotized.

‘There are thirty people inside, but I guess I only have to be careful of a man named Jae-Seong,’ Chang-Sun concluded after comparing his current status with the information he had just heard. It seemed he would have to use some tricks in order to fight against all of them at once.

“I…told you, so you have to… save…!” the Player tried to say, grasping at straws.

However…

“Oh, that?” Chang-Sun answered with a smirk, thinking that the Player was trying too hard for a person who would die anyway from severe blood loss if he just left the man lying there.

[Equipped the ‘Flame Tiger’s Fang Dagger’!]

“I just asked whether you wanted to live, but I don’t think I said anything about sparing you, did I?” Chang-Sun continued, tilting his head.

Slash!

Chang-Sun mercilessly severed the Player’s head, watching it roll across the floor. The expression on the Player’s face appeared as if he had been about to say ‘Liar!’

[Level Up!]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ enjoys your great wordplay.]

[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ nods lightly as he smells the grim stench of death.]

When Chang-Sun stood up again, the fifteen civilians moved far away from him, staying on guard against him. They reacted that way because they did not know how the man who had suddenly appeared would react, but Chang-Sun did not even look in their direction at all.

[The Authority ‘Soul Exploitation’ has been activated!]

All the bodies outside the Dungeon had been incinerated in the Purgatory Brazier. Just like them, the corpses inside the tomb quickly turned to ashes and were absorbed into Chang-Sun’s body.

Pzzzzz―!

The shadow of Death writhed ominously as it crept across the tomb’s interior.

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