Ranker Who Shatters Myths - Chapter 228
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Broken Ranker
Devours Myths
Chapter 228
Heavenly Dokkaebi (3)
【Primordial Dragon Tiamat’s Nest】.
When Lee Hyeon first heard those words from the Bull Demon King, his thoughts came to a complete halt for a moment.
‘Why is that name coming up here?’
There was no way Lee Hyeon wouldn’t know the name of that dungeon.
‘It was when I truly decided I needed to become a proper ranker.’
Was it during his university days, or when he had just enlisted in the Thunder Unit?
A massive dungeon had appeared in the South African Republic region.
The emergence of a 5-star dungeon whose origins couldn’t be traced until then.
That alone would have turned the world upside down, but an even more shocking event occurred.
Logos.
A divine being had descended to the surface through the dungeon.
It was a god named Rabu.
One of the children of Tiamat, the primordial dragon symbolizing the primeval sea.
Strictly speaking, it was merely a lesser god among the countless deities, but,
-There are too many insects. Their constant buzzing is annoying.
Rabu truly had the power to regard humans as ‘insects.’
Whether it wasn’t subject to the restrictions of causality that supposedly separated the heavens and earth was unknown,
but the damage caused by Rabu at that time was beyond description.
Eventually, all UN Security Council permanent members stepped forward, and requests for support from transnational forces were added.
The number of hunters who stepped up at that time alone reached hundreds of thousands, and rankers numbered in the thousands.
And…
‘Top rankers were there too.’
The Nine Heavens stepped forward.
Four of them, no less.
‘Mountain God’ Mo Jeong-gyeon.
‘Son of Shiva’ Rudranath.
‘Sword Saint’ Lu Wucheng.
‘Sacred Wolf’ Logan Redsky.
Their performance was truly dazzling.
Rabu was helplessly overwhelmed by the combined attack of the Nine Heavens and was ultimately sealed and driven back into the dungeon.
Mo Jeong-gyeon’s performance was particularly brilliant at that time.
She showed skills that didn’t fall behind even against Rabu, to the point where one might think the other Nine Heavens or rankers weren’t even necessary.
In fact, it seemed like she might be going easy on Rabu because there were too many eyes watching.
‘Thinking about it now, the Mountain God was indeed holding back a lot of her power.’
Lee Hyeon had thought he wanted to know what perspective he would have on the world when he someday stood in the same position as them.
However,
‘Hyung was different.’
Unlike himself who only looked upward, Moon Su-chan was looking downward.
Refugees who stood dazed looking at their destroyed homes,
Orphans crying loudly after losing their parents,
Hunters who had lost limbs trying to protect them,
Rankers who, despite being seriously injured, first asked about the safety of the citizens they had protected,
The deceased who had been the most noble heroes…
‘Hyung felt sorry for the citizens who had lost their parents and homes overnight. Even for the mobs that had appeared outside the dungeon because of Rabu.’
Probably Moon Su-chan was the only person who would feel sorry for mobs’ circumstances even after becoming a hunter.
He even often worried about the future of the natives who would disappear along with the dungeon after clearing missions.
At that time, Lee Hyeon had secretly worried that Su-chan might cause big trouble later by becoming too immersed in the natives.
‘But from hyung’s perspective, that was natural. After all, he had been in that position himself.’
But that same hyung had gone to Tiamat’s Nest after being revived.
Tiamat was a magic dragon that boasted a primordial form worthy of the title of primordial dragon.
The 【Enuma Elish】 in which she was first recorded dated back to the early days of human civilization, boasting a long history,
and she boasted such supreme hierarchy that it was said all demons and monsters scattered throughout the world originated from her.
The Bull Demon King’s description of her nest as an ‘Illusory Realm’ was probably for that reason.
‘To such a place… hyung went.’
When asked about the reason, the Bull Demon King quietly shook his head.
“I only had a brief conversation with him. I only heard that 【Gehenna】 had coveted Tiamat for a long time.”
“Is that so?”
“But even that brief conversation was entertaining enough. If fate had allowed, I would have wanted to make him my apostle.”
What was fortunate was that Moon Su-chan was safe.
And that he looked healthy.
Lee Hyeon wasn’t immediately curious about why he had gone there.
‘I can ask after we meet again.’
What was most important to Lee Hyeon was that he now knew where Moon Su-chan was.
“Thank you. For telling me.”
“There’s nothing to be grateful for. That was the content of our contract from the beginning. However,”
“Yes. You don’t need to worry.”
Crack! Crackle!
Yeon-woo slowly stood up from his seat, scattering blue-white lightning.
“I already made that promise with the Great Sage.”
“Promise?”
“Yes. I will save my brother, and the Great Sage will save his brother, each respectively.”
“…!”
“But since I’ve heard everything about my brother, I should help the one who hasn’t finished their work yet.”
Lee Hyeon smiled mischievously.
“It’s frustrating, but what can I do? That’s what friendship is.”
“…”
“Will you come with me?”
Lee Hyeon extended his hand to the Bull Demon King.
The Bull Demon King stared intently at that hand with his one remaining eye that hadn’t yet recovered.
After hesitating for just a moment, he grasped that hand and stood up.
Whoooosh!
Instantly, the Bull Demon King scattered into black shadows,
[Oma King withdraws his sanctuary!]
[The Bull Demon King’s gaze begins to follow you.]
[Divine protection is added.]
Lee Hyeon quietly left the sanctuary while receiving the Bull Demon King’s full attention.
And…
He could find the ‘leash’ at the altar that was outside the sanctuary.
[Yarhibol’s Ember]
Yarhibol was originally a guardian deity protecting the oasis, but sometimes when his followers began to forget his grace, he would act capriciously and drop embers of the sun to test their faith. And he would regret it while looking at the ruined city.
This is exactly what Yarhibol dropped during one of his capricious moments. Currently, it is in a contaminated state with the souls of the followers who died at that time clinging to it.
-Type: Sacred Relic. Talisman.
-Origin: Stone tablet ‘Palmyra Inscription’
Lee Hyeon could now see the condition of the ‘leash’ more easily and certainly than when he had the Fiery Eyes.
[‘Sacred Relic: Activating Golden Eyes of Truth to check the condition of Yarhibol’s Ember!]
[Checking the level of contamination.]
[Searching for connection with Sata King of Isan.]
…
‘The Sama Society intentionally contaminated the sacred relic. To properly control Sata King.’
Lee Hyeon felt he understood the mechanism by which the Sama Society handled Sata King.
‘They continuously injected the ember’s curse into Sata King, whose dignity had almost collapsed and who wasn’t in his right mind. And they controlled Sata King by repeatedly withdrawing and re-injecting it…’
「Isan was already in a state of mental collapse from when he was first discovered.」
Bull Demon King’s voice tickled Lee Hyeon’s ear.
A familiar feeling of transmission like Son Wukong’s group.
But what was contained in that tone was deep regret, sadness, and anger toward someone.
「Those bastards had already used Isan to their heart’s content, and were trying to forcibly exploit even the remaining scraps. I was the one who stole that.」
Then suddenly Bull Demon King whispered softly like a demon.
「And now that leash has become yours.」
A sweet voice as if trying to lead Lee Hyeon to corruption.
「What will you do now? Even if only scraps remain, a Logos is still a Logos. You can now freely exploit that mighty divine entity.」
Lee Hyeon stared intently at the ember.
「Aren’t you tempted? By the power?」
Crackle-
The deep blue of the Golden Eyes of Truth seemed to gradually tinge with dark blue,
“Yes. I am tempted.”
「As I thought, you too,」
“But I don’t like this kind of thing.”
That was only momentary.
The Golden Eyes of Truth regained their deep blue color.
Lee Hyeon twisted one corner of his mouth.
“What’s the point of exploiting someone who’s unconscious? We’re not some lacking lowlifes.”
「…」
Bull Demon King was struck speechless.
“I’ll just become friends with Sata King fair and square from the front. I’ll save him and restore him completely like Wuyong Wang.”
Lee Hyeon grinned.
“I’ll become a true comrade of the Seven Great Sages. Doesn’t that look cooler?”
Bull Demon King still couldn’t give any answer.
[Outside the temple, Yarhibol looks at the ember he dropped with sad eyes.]
And even the gaze of the temple’s owner that he had felt since entering the temple.
“So you can stop testing me with things like this. Bull Demon King.”
From the moment Lee Hyeon made a friendship contract with Bull Demon King, he could know everything about what had happened between Bull Demon King and Sata King.
Because he could see all the records of the situation at that time.
[Golden Eyes of Truth has collected all the remaining lingering thoughts here.]
「…You’re talking nonsense.」
Bull Demon King disappeared with a final tongue click.
But Lee Hyeon could find deep relief in that last remark.
‘As expected, he feels deep guilt toward Sata King. Still, he pushes himself because he has to run toward the path he envisioned… The more I see, the more pitiful this person is.’
It wasn’t just Bull Demon King who was pitiful.
All of the Seven Great Sages and Three Law Kings were like that.
‘So let’s drive out 【Heaven’s Teaching】 as quickly as possible.’
He had also gained a reliable ally.
Now it was time to move again.
* * *
Right after obtaining the leash,
Lee Hyeon opened his Golden Eyes of Truth with all his might.
Whoooosh!!
[Golden Eyes of Truth tracks Molech’s Divine Maiden who is trying to fake her death!]
Hissssss…
Beldana, who had tried to take Yarhibol’s ember.
The body of the one who had collapsed with Dueokshin’s front tooth embedded in her head suddenly crumbled into powder and scattered.
On the surface, it looked as if her magic power had gone berserk just before death, causing her body to collapse,
[Molech’s Divine Maiden activates Smoke of Ash and disappears somewhere.]
Kiiiaaa-
-I, I have to escape!
-That bastard… that bastard already knew about the leash.
-I have to run away before he realizes I’m still alive.
-Let’s come back later. When he lets his guard down. If I aim for the leash then instead…
-Lord Molech. Please save me.
It was all too clearly visible to Lee Hyeon’s eyes.
Beldana’s soul rapidly escaping from her body.
The thoughts pouring out in real-time were dizzying to his eyes and ears.
Beldana’s soul quickly disappeared.
She was probably going to approach her subordinates to inform them of her death and somehow prepare countermeasures or means.
‘Seeing that she came this far, it seems she’s gathered quite a lot of information about the research institute… Did she discover some vault where secret documents are stored?’
The corners of Lee Hyeon’s mouth rose.
‘This actually worked out well. I needed evidence to hand over to Astra or the UN anyway, and things that could specify Chairman Peng’s hidden location. If I analyze the materials well, they’ll be a great help in identifying the Sama Society’s weaknesses.’
Perhaps he could even steal the research results that the Sama Society had accumulated over the years.
For Lee Hyeon, it meant he would be robbing all the results that Feng Jinghao had built up over the past decades, following the leash.
It seemed like,
Beldana, who had been bothering him all this time, was trying to become a Santa Claus carrying a bundle of gifts at the last moment.
Lee Hyeon hummed a tune as he followed Beldana’s disappearing soul.
[Stepping with Eodukseoni’s Steps to attempt stealth technique!]
Passs-
The night dokkaebi moved.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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