Level -99 Archmage - Chapter 126

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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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Episode 126. Destroyer Cygnus
‘Take a successor’s course now, of all times?’
Han Min-o’s expression darkened the moment he left the building.
After meeting with his father, the chairman of Han Yeon Group, he couldn’t bring himself to compose his face.
―You must fill the void your brother left, Min-o.
When had his father ever spoken to him with such warmth?
The man had always compared him to Han Shin, regarding him with nothing but cold indifference.
Did the chairman truly believe Han Min-o would respond now, after all this time?
The reason for the chairman’s sudden shift was transparent.
‘My brother is gone.’
…Han Shin had disappeared.
In the Second Night.
Even when all the trials ended and 860,000 survivors returned,
Han Shin was not among them.
Han Yeon Group launched an extensive search, but he’d vanished without a trace.
‘My brother… is dead.’
The search teams concluded that Han Shin was dead.
In the end, something had happened to him in the Second Night.
He couldn’t accept it.
Han Shin had been so strong.
A man who seemed utterly incapable of dying—not physically, and certainly not spiritually.
Yet somehow, he was gone.
Of course, Han Shin had been a terrifying figure to Han Min-o.
More stranger than family, closer to demon than human.
So there was no sadness, no turbulent ache in his chest.
Only disbelief remained.
―Min-o. Take the helm of Han Yeon Group. I’ll support you however I can until you’re ready to take my place.
The moment Han Shin—who seemed incapable of death—fell, the chairman grew desperate.
From that day forward, Han Min-o’s treatment changed.
He had to fill the void Han Shin left behind.
If Han Shin truly had met with misfortune, the chairman of the group had only one son left: Han Min-o.
The succession had to move quickly.
‘You still don’t expect anything of me, do you?’
One can conceal expression and tone.
But the eyes—the eyes cannot be hidden.
That gaze full of longing.
The chairman still yearned for Han Shin.
He believed only Han Shin could elevate Han Yeon Group to its rightful place.
Han Min-o had never been on his radar.
Why would he be? They’d barely seen each other in a decade.
‘I dislike this as well.’
His brow furrowed involuntarily.
He would reject this absurd group entirely.
Han Min-o had resolved to stand alone.
‘I want to become a hero like Yi Hyeok-soo. Not a cold-blooded villain like you.’
Han Min-o’s role model was none other than Yi Hyeok-soo.
The man who reached the summit with a single sword.
The world ahead would be led by men like him.
Han Min-o, too, wanted to become a hero.
Han Yeon Group, the chairman, Han Shin—they were all far removed from heroism.
They were villains who despised, scorned, and belittled others.
“This way, young master.”
“…There’s no need to follow. Please, let me go home alone.”
The sheer number of bodyguards was enough to leave him awestruck.
Had Han Shin’s death struck the chairman so deeply?
The chairman’s resolve not to lose Han Min-o as well was palpable.
This procession had begun even at the house.
No—it had been continuing for over a week since the conclusion that Han Shin was dead.
‘This is maddening.’
No matter where he went, people clung to him.
They would follow him even if he entered the Abyss.
He couldn’t fathom where these bodyguards came from, but each of them possessed combat prowess that rivaled seasoned masters.
‘At least Level 20.’
The team leader, in particular, seemed to exceed Level 30.
Finding someone with such a high Level was rare even within the Abyss.
Thus, he couldn’t simply flee as he pleased.
They answered to their employer, not to Han Min-o.
Han Min-o exhaled a long breath.
In that instant.
Whoooosh!
“What—what is this?”
“The Abyss!”
“Damn it! Why is the Abyss appearing all of a sudden—!”
“It’s a Sniper Abyss! A Sniper Abyss!”
Violet smoke suddenly erupted from beneath his feet.
It was the harbinger of the Abyss’s emergence.
No message preceded it.
It had begun without warning.
‘A Sniper Abyss!’
He had already encountered abundant information about the Sniper Abyss.
The stories went that if a Creator desired something from a human or harbored a grudge, they would open a Sniper Abyss and kill them directly.
But who had been targeted?
‘Could it be me?’
…He couldn’t yet be certain.
However, the surroundings were transforming rapidly.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the ground, and thick, serpentine vines coiled over the buildings.
The sky hung crimson, darker than twilight.
Caw! Caw!
Half-decomposed crows began circling overhead.
The car he’d been about to enter lay crumpled and overturned, its windows shattered completely.
The atmosphere was unsettling beyond measure.
“Are you—are you unharmed, young master?”
“Protect the young master!”
The bodyguards, regaining their senses, quickly formed a perimeter around Han Min-o.
This place was now the Abyss.
A demon realm teeming with monsters.
Ding!
《Find and kill the human the Corpse Crow speaks of.》
《Upon clearance, the Abyss will terminate.》
《Time limit: 72 hours.》
《Upon failure, the identities of all current Avatars will be exposed.》

Corpse Crow?
The identity of an Avatar?
None of this made sense.
But the moment the message appeared,
“…….”
“…….”
the bodyguards’ expressions shifted subtly.
They were all Avatars, after all.
But wasn’t this peculiar?
What could be accomplished by exposing the identities of Avatars?
‘Has some conflict broken out among the Creators?’
‘If it’s revealed that we’re Avatars, we’ll be buried.’
They could no longer fulfill their role as bodyguards.
That wasn’t all.
If their status as Avatars were publicly exposed, it would have profound consequences for their futures.
Even now, public opinion of Avatars was abysmal.
In time, it would only grow worse.
Of course, if only they were in this place, it might still be manageable.
“P-please! Save me!”
“What in the world is happening?”
“Mom!”
There were many witnesses.
By sight alone, there seemed to be nearly a thousand people watching.
But that was fine.
“If by ‘corpse crows’ you mean those birds flying in the sky up there…”
“Everyone, quiet!”
If I just killed the target, it would clear automatically.
The moment I silenced everyone, the world fell still.
Then they all focused on the sounds of the corpse crows wheeling overhead.
Caw!
Han! Caw!
Min! Caw!
Caw! O!
“…What are they saying?”
“It sounds like they’re calling out one letter at a time?”
“Han-Min-O?”
“Min-O-Han?”
“Han, Min, O?”
As people pieced together the syllables they heard, several possible names emerged.
At the same moment.
‘It’s me!’
Han Min-o’s face went deathly pale.
But there was still a way to escape the Abyss.
“Use a Coin, young master!”
A Coin.
The only passage that allowed forced escape from the Abyss.
Han Min-o pulled a Coin from his pocket.
He’d heard plenty of stories about how there was no surviving a Sniper Abyss without a Coin.
Ding!
《Using ‘1 Coin’ to escape.》
I can escape!
Just as his racing heart began to settle—
Ding!
《Failed.》
《The Creator who opened this Abyss has invested an additional Coin.》
What?
Failed?
Does that mean the Creator blocked me?
‘Damn it!’
His Coins weren’t plentiful.
At most, two.
Since he’d used one, only the last remained.
《Using ‘1 Coin’ to escape.》
《Failed.》
《The Creator who opened this Abyss has invested an additional Coin.》
Han Min-o’s face turned not just white, but blue.
“Young master. What’s wrong?”
“…The Creator doesn’t seem to intend to let me leave.”
“Pardon?”
What nonsense was this?
Wasn’t using a Coin supposed to guarantee escape?
“Please—please use my Coin!”
The bodyguard team leader, growing desperate, thrust his Coin forward.
Han Min-o looked at him with wonder in his eyes, as if asking if he’d be alright.
A Coin was indeed worth its weight in blood.
But the team leader had no choice either.
【Hand over your Coin. Han Min-o must escape this place first.】
…Cursed Creator.
As an Avatar, he had no choice but to comply if the Creator demanded it.
“N-no, it’s quite all right.”
“I’ll repay this kindness without fail.”
Han Min-o lowered his head with genuine gratitude.
Once he escaped, the Sniper Abyss would naturally vanish as well.
For everyone’s sake, he had to flee as quickly as possible.
《Using 1 Coin to escape.》
《The attempt has failed.》
《The Creator who opened this Abyss contributes an additional Coin.》
“Hah……!!”
Just how many does it take?
But more than that—why won’t he let me leave?
“P-please use mine as well.”
“I’ll offer mine too!”
Coins gathered in twos and threes.
Five additional Coins altogether.
……
Yet the result remained the same.
Eight Coins in total had vanished into thin air.
Now they possessed no more Coins.
Han Min-o stared blankly up at the sky.
The Creator was waiting for his death.
But why.
‘Why reveal the Avatar’s identity?’
If he didn’t die, the Avatar would be exposed.
In other words.
There were quite a few Avatars gathered in this place.
But was such a thing even possible?
There would be no way to know who an Avatar was unless they revealed it themselves.
…On that same subject, the Creators were equally bewildered.
Avatar revelation would be impossible unless they knew every single Avatar gathered here.
Even the Creator who made the Abyss possessed no such authority.
In other words.
【There’s a traitor among us.】
【Who? Which bastard opened this Abyss?】
【How dare you betray us?】
The Avatars gathered here.
Their Creators had conspired together.
To secretly capture the Divine Being who had contracted with Han Min-o.
To divide that prize among themselves.
Of course, only after revealing every identity—including each other’s Avatars.
All Avatars and all Creators knew of one another.
So for Avatar revelation to become possible, one of them had to commit betrayal.
【I never trusted you from the start.】
【I knew it would come to this!】
【What’s your aim?】
【Do you mean to monopolize Destroyer Cygnus?】
The fracture spread faster among the Creators than among their Avatars.
…After all, they were demons who had never truly trusted one another.
* * *
Park Chan-woo observed the sight quietly.
The process of cracks forming among the gathered people.
‘The Creators will splinter, and that division will ripple through the Avatars.’
Obvious.
How many Avatars had he killed?
Once his identity as an Avatar was revealed, the future would grow dark.
How many Avatars would sacrifice their own future to protect Han Min-o?
It came down to two possibilities.
Either the bodyguards would kill Han Min-o, or they would eliminate every witness except him.
The first seemed overwhelmingly more likely.
Then he will appear.
‘First, I need to confirm exactly what Divine Being Han Min-o has contracted with.’
The Divine Being Han Min-o contracted with.
And then I’ll know.
Whether Han Min-o is truly worth saving.

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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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