Level -99 Archmage - Chapter 127

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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 127. The Bystander
Park Chan-woo does not know Han Min-o.
To be precise, he knows of him, but cannot classify what sort of person he truly is.
There is only one thing Park Chan-woo knows for certain about Han Min-o.
He is the younger brother of Han Shin, that hypocrite who poses as humanity’s savior.
After the Abyss descended, he should have died by fate’s decree.
He exited the stage quickly, and was never mentioned afterward.
Naturally, there was no way to know him.
‘Blood cannot lie, they say.’
And so caution was unavoidable.
If Han Min-o possessed the same hypocritical nature as Han Shin—
then even without a contract with a Creator, he could still pose sufficient harm to humanity.
Considering the influence a contractor of a divine being could wield, paired with Han Shin, they could form a combination of utter chaos.
Above all else.
‘Is he a vessel capable of holding a divine being, or not?’
Which divine being one contracts with matters, but far more crucial is whether Han Min-o possessed the qualification to do so.
Power that exceeds one’s own capacity often becomes poison.
Shallow compassion is no different.
To keep him alive only for the Creators to steal the divine being from him would be the worst outcome imaginable.
It would be better to let him die, allowing the contract with the divine being to terminate.
Someone would surely look at him and say—
that he judges human life by such a standard.
But……
Park Chan-woo recalled.
The betrayal of those once called heroes, once praised and cheered.
The harm they had inflicted upon humanity.
‘Humans are more frightening than Creators.’
He never trusted Creators to begin with.
But humans, as social creatures, are bound to trust one another.
And when that trust is betrayed, the ripples are beyond control.
It was why Park Chan-woo could do nothing but exercise caution upon caution.
Han Min-o was not someone he knew.
He was someone who should never have lived.
Even if he were allowed to live, the Creators would never relent.
‘Before the large-scale Targeted Abyss begins, I must gather all the information I need within this one.’
The time limit was seventy-two hours.
It was not only about understanding Han Min-o.
He needed to ascertain the level of the Avatars as well—and the Creators who had contracted with them.
How many there were, what hierarchy they held, how much preparation they had made.
He could discern much by observing how they responded within this Abyss.
That way, he could prepare for the large-scale Targeted Abyss.
‘…I may need to bankrupt all of them.’
Park Chan-woo’s gaze upon Han Min-o grew hollow and grave.
* * *
The people thrown into chaos immediately after the Abyss’s invasion quickly regained their composure.
“Han Min-o. The second son of Han Yeon Group?”
“Yeah, that’s right. You can tell from the bodyguards escorting him.”
“Anyway, it’ll be over in seventy-two hours, right?”
“We can hold out that long……?”
There was no need for them to band together and kill Han Min-o.
Once seventy-two hours passed, it would end, and the Penalty amounted to nothing more than the Avatar’s identity being revealed.
Those who were not Avatars had no reason to panic.
The problem was the Avatars.
Han Min-o’s bodyguards.
They watched each other carefully, reading every micro-expression.
‘The Creators seem confused as well.’
‘Is this really an Abyss opened by one of our Creators?’
‘If I’m exposed as an Avatar, my life is ruined.’
They were Avatars whose identities had been perfectly laundered.
No one knew they were Avatars.
They too hid desperately.
Because public perception of Avatars was deteriorating rapidly.
One had only to check the news or social media to find information about Avatars everywhere.
“Humans who’ve made pacts with demons!”
“Avatars. Who exactly are they?”
“How to Tell Avatars Apart from Abyss Threats”
Perhaps it was inevitable, given how much wickedness the Avatars had wrought within the Abyss.
That karma was accumulating swiftly.
They all understood that if things continued this way, an outright “Avatar hunt” could begin before long.
And most Avatars already knew that the Abyss Safety Department was compiling a Hwashin Kill List.
‘Once your name appears on that kill list, the label clings to you for life.’
‘You’ll be watched in real time.’
‘If you’re lucky, it’s just surveillance. If you’re not, they’ll eliminate you quietly, without anyone the wiser.’
Avatars were creatures obsessively concerned with their own survival.
Naturally, they had to avoid the label of “Avatar” coming to light at any cost.
The Avatars’ numbers were still weak at this stage, after all.
“…Young master. Please don’t worry. We will protect you.”
Kim Chan-min, the leader of the security team, spoke.
Over forty security personnel—he carried himself with the bearing of one who led Avatars.
His voice carried not a tremor of hesitation as he undertook the protection of Han Min-o.
Having even given up precious Coins, Han Min-o had no reason for doubt.
“Thank you. Though… it seems the Avatars are indeed targeting me.”
Han Min-o quickly assessed the situation.
Judging by the messages that had appeared, he’d inferred that those trying to kill him were “Avatars.”
It seemed quite a few Avatars were mingled among the crowd of civilians.
If they didn’t want their Avatar nature exposed, they would move with desperation.
“Yes. Just stay close to us. Then you’ll be safe.”
Team leader Kim Chan-min spoke with absolute confidence.
His intuition in recognizing that Avatars were the enemy was sharp enough, but he seemed unaware that every single one of his security personnel was themselves an Avatar.
After that, Kim Chan-min exchanged a wordless look with the other security officers.
‘We have time. Let’s discuss what to do among ourselves.’
* * *
Half a day had passed.
At an hour when everyone had collapsed into exhausted sleep.
Team leader Kim Chan-min gathered trustworthy personnel behind the building.
“My Creator tells me there’s a traitor among us.”
At that, the other security officers nodded.
“Yes. I’ve heard similar things.”
“Whether it’s one traitor or several, the Creator couldn’t say.”
The Creators’ minds were as unsettled as their own.
Kim Chan-min stroked his jaw.
“Eight Coins were blocked. It seems multiple Creators are conducting this Abyss together.”
Eight Coins had been spent attempting to extract Han Min-o.
Yet despite that, Han Min-o had not escaped.
An unknown Creator—singular or plural—had used the same number of Coins to prevent Han Min-o’s escape.
However, it seemed unlikely that a single Creator would have spent eight Coins so recklessly.
Having organized his thoughts, Kim Chan-min continued.
“First, we need to identify and eliminate the traitor. Only then can we finish this Abyss and plan what comes next.”
“You’re not planning to kill Han Min-o?”
“We can kill Han Min-o whenever we want. But the Creators would not want him dead.”
“…What exactly are you thinking?”
“Disguise it as an accident. Separate Han Min-o and eliminate all witnesses.”
“All the people over there?”
“That’s right.”
A direct answer.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he spoke of slaughtering nearly a thousand people.
Among them were the elderly, pregnant women, and children.
But they were Avatars.
Their own survival was paramount.
“Han Min-o could verify it through a ‘Message,’ couldn’t he?”
Someone raised a question.
Kim Chan-min let out a soft laugh.
“Even if his identity is exposed, it’s just a name. None of us use our real names anyway, do we?”
They all operated under aliases.
Kim Chan-min itself was a false name.
More than just his name—his entire background was forged.
‘The power of the Awakened Being Alliance is formidable.’
Though they had once been at odds, the Avatars were quietly pooling their strength.
Avatars existed everywhere, regardless of politics or finance.
Though fragmented like a cellular organization with no clear knowledge of its exact structure or leadership, for the Awakened Being Alliance, falsifying credentials was nothing at all.
The bodyguard who heard Kim Chan-min’s words nodded.
“…That’s true enough.”
“We just need to keep Han Min-o knocked out. As long as he doesn’t confirm anything while the Targeted Abyss is active, he won’t suspect we’re Avatars.”
“The bodies will turn to dust and vanish anyway. He’ll think some of them were Avatars.”
“This isn’t reality—it’s the Abyss.”
“Ah. The Abyss. I love it.”
This place was the Abyss.
To them, a playground.
Most Avatars treated the Abyss this way.
That’s why they could discuss the massacre of a thousand people without hesitation.
“Either way, the traitor wants Han Min-o all to himself. He’s hoping we’ll panic and kill each other instead.”
The bodyguards leaned in, all ears.
How they would proceed with rooting out the traitor.
Kim Chan-min continued in a hollow voice.
“We have one job: secure Han Min-o.”
He looked at each bodyguard in turn.
Those present here could be trusted.
Their true identities were mercenaries who had crossed every battlefield in the world.
After more than a decade of shared hardship, at least they wouldn’t stab him in the back.
Kim Chan-min saw the resolve in everyone’s eyes and continued.
“We’re going to abduct Han Min-o.”
* * *
Park Chan-woo was quietly listening to their conversation.
He didn’t even need to hold his breath.
This was the Abyss, and within the Abyss, his Non-existence skill activated regardless.
As long as he didn’t reveal himself first, they would never discover him.
‘Things are getting interesting.’
An abduction conspiracy.
He’d already anticipated this much.
But what he found truly amusing was something else.
‘The Avatars all think exactly alike.’
Those plotting the abduction weren’t the only ones.
Small groups were forming, watching each other warily.
Waiting to see who would strike first.
They all planned to secure Han Min-o as their trump card and move from there.
Soon one group began moving with sudden speed.
“Ugh!”
“Hnngh!”
Using the darkness, they knocked out the surrounding bodyguards.
“Who are you—mmph!”
A cloth soaked in powerful sedative was clapped over Han Min-o’s face.
The moment he went limp, the masked group immediately spirited him away to a secluded location.
Park Chan-woo followed them slowly.
* * *
‘What’s happening?’
When Han Min-o regained consciousness, he couldn’t believe the situation.
He couldn’t see anything.
His body wouldn’t move—he was bound.
There was no doubt he’d been kidnapped.
‘Avatars. They’re Avatars.’
They were unmistakably Avatars.
He couldn’t afford to panic.
Han Min-o kept his eyes shut, feigning unconsciousness while straining to catch every word around him.
“Wouldn’t it be better to kill him?”
“By now, the others outside must have noticed something’s wrong.”
“If we’re discovered…”
“Either way, there are only two choices. Kill Han Min-o, or kill everyone out there.”
“I think it would be better to keep Han Min-o alive. We can’t simply dismiss the Creator’s wishes.”
“Right. Better to kill a thousand than to have division among us Avatars. Nothing good comes from that.”
Who were these people?
The voices sounded hauntingly familiar.
They’d spoken quietly, yet he knew he’d heard these tones before, somewhere.
‘…The security detail?’
It was absurd.
Unless his ears deceived him, these were definitely the bodyguards.
Was it possible that one of them was an Avatar all along?
That was when it happened.
“Wait. He’s awake.”
One of them, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
He had sensed that Han Min-o had regained consciousness.
The others around him began to panic, speaking over one another in alarm.
“…What?”
“We gave him a sedative strong enough to knock out an elephant—and he’s already awake?”
“Wait. Then he must have heard our voices?”
Ah.
This was the worst possible scenario.
Soon enough, the man who had realized Han Min-o was conscious spoke up.
“I suppose we’ll have to kill him after all.”
Swish.
The sound of a blade cutting through the air.
Then a cold steel edge pressed against Han Min-o’s throat.
Damn.
Han Min-o clenched his eyes shut.
There was no way out of this situation.
“Bad luck, Han Min-o. Farewell…gurk!”
“Agh!”
“What—what is this?!”
Just as the blade was about to sever Han Min-o’s neck.
Someone appeared and began attacking them.
And in an instant, silence fell.
Slip.
The blindfold covering his eyes came away.
Han Min-o opened his eyes cautiously, studying the man who had just resolved the situation.
“Are you all right?”
“W-who are you, exactly?”
“Who am I?”
Han Min-o nodded.
The man, Park Chan-woo, gave a slight shrug and replied.
“Just someone passing by.”

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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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