I Became a Mythical Hunter After Killing the Golden Goblin - Chapter 83

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 83. Settling Old Grudges
“Cough! Hack!”
Pain lanced through me. I stared down in disbelief at the blade that had pierced clean through my abdomen.
What in the—? Staggering to my feet, I turned to see who stood behind me. A man’s eyes blazed with madness as he fixed his gaze upon me.
He glanced between me, gasping through the agony, and the two corpses scattered in the distance—specifically at Lee Ji-yong’s body—before a deranged laugh tore from his throat.
“Kahahaha! Damn it! That’s it! That’s it! You bastards! Die! Die, all of you!”
The man charged at me. His movements were clumsy and amateurish. I sidestepped effortlessly and drove my fist forward.
Boom!
My single punch sent him flying. He tumbled across the ground several times before crashing down. The impact dislodged the hat and mask that had concealed his face.
“Moon Kang-un.”
How was he here? More importantly, I’d thought he’d gone into hiding. What is this?
I reached back and wrenched the longsword from my abdomen.
“Aaargh!”
My vision swam with agony, but I gritted my teeth and pulled the blade free completely. Blood cascaded down in torrents.
A fatal wound—the blade had pierced straight through my abdomen. My exhausted body, already at its limit, refused to obey. My legs buckled beneath me.
“A potion…”
I needed to treat the wound, at minimum. I frantically opened my inventory and grabbed the first potion I could find, shoving it into my mouth. But it wasn’t working. My vitality surged, my body regained some vigor, yet the massive wound in my abdomen showed no sign of closing.
A terrible suspicion crept over me as I examined the blood-soaked longsword. The Sun had appraised it, and—
〚Item: Eternal Immortal Demon Blade
Grade: Unique
Rank: SS+
Description: A longsword steeped in the thick demonic aura of a forgotten demon. Imbued with the unique ability of that forgotten demon.
Ability
-Wounds inflicted by this blade bestow the status ailment: Eternal Immortal Mark [Unique-SS].
.
.
.〛
Damn it. Where did he get a blade like this? A demonic artifact, no less. And one tied to actual demons.
If someone tried to acquire this through the Black Market, they’d need to spend tens of billions at minimum. It was an item utterly beyond the reach of some fired Scouter Team leader drowning in massive compensation payments.
Had he formed an alliance with someone else to attack me?
No. Looking at his state, that didn’t seem to be the case. He just seemed insane. Then where did this artifact come from?
I had no answers. I pushed myself to my feet, tore open my shirt, and wrapped the wound tightly to apply pressure. Healing this would require proper purification and restoration skills.
I’d been meaning to acquire a healer skill for exactly this reason, but damn it all. I walked over to Moon Kang-un, who lay sprawled on the ground laughing harshly, and looked down at him.
“Tell me. Why are you doing this to me?”
At my words, Moon Kang-un’s maddened eyes snapped toward me. As if to say: you’re asking me that?
It was absurd. Honestly, I had no idea what I’d supposedly done to Moon Kang-un to warrant this.
He seemed to think his life was ruined because of me, but he was the one who’d first forced that pathetic slave contract on me, sent assassins after me twice, and orchestrated that terrorist attack on the Association. I was the one being victimized in all of this.
The only harm I’d caused him was trampling that bastard Lee Ji-yong in front of everyone. And even that happened by accident because of Misfortune.
And for that alone, he wanted to kill me this badly?
“It’s… because of you. Cough! Because of you! My life!!!!”
Thwack!
I kicked the bastard’s face without hesitation, knocking him unconscious. He was no different from those other two or that demon creature.
A pathetic fool who believed his suffering was the most fatal, the most unbearable. He’d plummeted into the abyss unable to endure even a single moment of emotion.
I had no intention of understanding him. He was simply contemptible and repugnant—a moron who blamed everyone else until the end, denying the consequences of his own choices.
‘If Moon Kang-un had been an Awakened One, that would have been dangerous.’
I was already exhausted from combat when he ambushed me with a fatal blow. If Moon Kang-un had been even a D-rank Hunter, I would be dead. But fortunately, he was just an ordinary person. No matter how tired or wounded I was, he was no match for me.
“Cough! Cough! Damn it. This pain is killing me.”
I’d lost too much blood. Dizziness washed over me.
Collapsing to the ground, I gasped for breath and transformed Man-byeon into a sword. Then, sensing a presence behind me, I spoke.
“Are you thinking of attacking too? I wouldn’t recommend it.”
The presence let out a soft laugh at my words—the laugh of someone who had abandoned everything.
“I am not foolish. I harbor no particular grudge or resentment toward you. If anything, I feel only guilt.”
The voice was old and weak, yet somehow resolute, as if the speaker had made a final decision.
The presence approached and stood before me. He was an old man—a face I’d seen once before.
“Cough! We’ve met before, haven’t we? In the Association Lobby. Lee Ji-yong’s secretary?”
“Yes. Then and now, I helped the young master trap you. To be honest, I thought you wouldn’t survive this time. You’re more remarkable than I expected.”
He spoke with confidence. I wanted to kill him immediately, but something about the atmosphere made me pause.
“I apologize. My sins are grave. I should have guided the young master away from this path….”
The old man gazed down at Lee Ji-yong’s corpse with both regret and hatred, muttering to himself.
His words carried more resentment than remorse. His face bore the expression of someone who despised himself.
“No matter the young master’s orders, I killed people. I couldn’t refuse. I didn’t want to become a sacrifice. And having stayed by his side, I learned far too much to ever escape.”
The old man removed his glasses and placed them in my hand.
“I’ve gone too far. I’m nauseated by my own actions, and there is so much blood on my hands. Every night, those I’ve killed come to me, their resentment screaming. Why did you do it? What did you do to me?”
Terror. Fear. His face turned ashen. Then it transformed into the expression of someone who had surrendered everything.
“I cannot expose that man’s crimes. But you can. I am exhausted now. I wish only to rest.”
I looked at the glasses the old man had placed in my hand.
“Inside are a camera and a small SD card. Everything is recorded—from the crimes committed by the young masters to their contact with Ma-in and their partnership with him.”
Evidence. The very evidence I’d worried about—proof that would allow me to legally avoid retaliation for killing Lee Ji-yong.
Honestly, I couldn’t understand why this old man was doing this. If I buried this evidence, I would become an enemy to everything bearing the name Changsung.
‘Guilt?’
That must be it. That was the moment.
“I am truly sorry. Please forgive me, as I can only atone in this way.”
Before I could even react, the old man drew a dagger from his robes and drove it into his own throat.
His aged, weakened body collapsed. A diseased mind, worn down by living in the hell of guilt, simply ceased.
Instant death. I laughed hollowly.
“Foolish bastard.”
I stared at Lee Ji-yong’s corpse. This bastard caused nothing but trouble to everyone around him until the very end.
I could hold on no longer and collapsed to the ground. With trembling hands, I pulled out my phone from my inventory and made a call to a number. After that, my consciousness faded.
***
Abyss STAGE-666: the origin point of all demons. This place, commonly called the Demon Realm—the domain of demonic races and devils alike. Somewhere across this vast stage, a scream filled with agony and terror pierced the air.
【KRRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!!!】
The source of that cry was a demonic creature. A colossal worm exceeding fifty meters in length. Deriachs, a being whose appearance seemed to gather every grotesque feature of insects into one form, shrieked and blazed with light as he destroyed everything around him.
Something was terribly wrong with his body. His flesh warped and twisted, refusing to heal.
Moreover, a gaping chasm had torn through his chest where his heart should be, and torrents of black blood poured from that wound.
Half of his soul had been ripped away. And as if that weren’t enough, his most precious unique ability had been stolen from him.
The System had forcibly conscripted it.
His original plan had been simple: descend by force, tear that wretched insect to shreds until his fury was spent, then offer both the creature’s soul and Lee Ji-yong’s soul as sacrifice to erase the penalty.
Even if he proceeded that way, it would only eliminate the penalty—the cost of descent would still multiply, incurring massive losses. Yet Deriachs hadn’t cared. That’s why he’d descended into the avatar’s body in the first place.
But he had lost. The worst possible outcome. Instead of imposing sanctions, the System had opened a Hidden Stage with an amplified penalty.
And the penalties it was collecting, it granted as rewards to that wretched creature. He’d been stripped of everything—even the very clothes forced upon him were torn away.
【How dare you! How DARE you! HOW DARE YOU!! To me, Deriachs!】
Forced into descent, he’d met death, and half his soul had scattered. He was, for all intents and purposes, ruined.
His rank as a mid-tier demon collapsed. Down to low-tier… down to the lowest. He’d fallen to a state barely distinguishable from those unnamed creatures called mere demons.
Rage consumed him. Yet there was no path to vengeance. He could no longer even maintain an Apostle. To recover from this catastrophe would require centuries of absolute focus on healing alone.
But even that wouldn’t restore him completely. And the reason was…
〚Unique Ability: Damp Pit [Ancient-S+] has been forcibly stolen!〛
〚The epithet granted to you—The Damp Worm That Digs Pits—is revoked!〛
〚Your rank falls. Your stats decline. Status Abnormality: Soul Destruction is imposed.〛
The ability that formed his very foundation, the power that had elevated him to mid-tier demon status, had vanished.
【Damn! DAMN! DAMN!!!】
As he raged and spewed agony, a visitor arrived at his domain.
【Fuhahahaha! What a sight! The mighty Deriachs reduced to this! I’ve lived long enough to witness even this!】
Another demon—Keroun, Deriachs’ rival—had come. In human form, he sneered at the blazing Deriachs.
【Get out! Keroun! Unless you wish to die!!!】
The enraged Deriachs opened his massive maw and roared, but…
【Deriachs. You seem to be under a misunderstanding.】
Keroun drew closer to that gaping mouth, his eyes gleaming as he whispered softly.
【We are no longer equals. You are no rival of mine—merely a vermin-like lowest-tier demon.】
In the same instant, Keroun’s hand plunged into Deriachs’ body. Agony erupted in a scream.
【Ahhhhh! Even reduced as you are, you still taste exquisite! Delicious!】
【GRRRRAAAHHHHH!! What are you doing?! Stop! STOP THIS!】
Deriachs’ colossal form rapidly withered. His strength was consumed. His rank was devoured. His memories were consumed.
Everything that the demon Deriachs possessed was being predated upon.
【You! You! How dare you! How dare a demon! The power of the Seven Sins! The very authority of the Demon King!!!】
【Kehehehe. Merely a fragment of the power they granted me. How does it feel? This moment when everything you are is consumed by me!!】
【The Demon Kings will never forgive you, Keroun!!】
【Kehehehe. Do you truly think those sluggish Demon Kings would move just to capture me? I’m afraid not. Besides, I’m leaving the Demon Realm soon. I only came because I sensed your weakened state. This is rather entertaining, isn’t it? Reduced to nothing by a mere insect, your very foundation—your unique ability—stolen away?】
Crunch! Snap! Squelch!
His body crumbled to dust. Life drained away, leaving a withered husk that collapsed. Deriachs felt death embrace him.
A shattered soul is devoured. By that accursed bastard.
【Farewell, Deriachs.】
That was Deriachs’s final memory. The end of the demon who had been called the strongest among the lower-middle tier demons was truly pathetic.
【Hehehehe. Earth… Earth, what an amusing place.】
And Keroun, the spawn of Gluttony who had devoured everything and was now a complete mid-tier demon, licked his lips in excitement.
He savored the taste as he recalled a certain insignificant creature from the memories he had consumed.
【A mere creature carrying seeds!】
How desirable! It was the moment a mid-tier demon set his sights on Shin Ju-ha.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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