Level -99 Archmage - Chapter 129

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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 129. Betrayal
“Han Min-o?”
“The youngest son of a chaebol family?”
“Why’d the rich boy abandon his security detail and come here?”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
Han Min-o had appeared suddenly, threading his way between them.
Yet for the past day, he had been sheltered meticulously among his guards.
It was strange—inexplicable—that he would now abandon them to join the masses.
‘How many Avatars are mixed in among the security personnel, I wonder.’
But for Han Min-o, there had been no choice.
The conversation he’d overheard between his abductors.
—That’s right. Better to kill a thousand. There’s nothing good in Avatars turning against each other.
They’d mentioned “division” plainly.
Those five had all been security guards, and “a thousand” slaughtered meant the civilians gathered here—no amount of sugar-coating changed that.
In other words, most of the other Avatars were likely security personnel.
Or perhaps…
‘All of them.’
Too many things didn’t sit right.
The chairman of Han Yeon Group—his father—had assembled a formidable security force for Han Shin’s protection.
He’d spared no expense recruiting strong fighters from across the Abyss, those with genuine reputations.
But these weren’t them.
‘Security personnel I’ve never seen before. They were all swapped out in an instant.’
A complete replacement had occurred.
It was possible the grieving chairman had purged the detail after Han Shin’s death, but the fact that many of them were Avatars multiplied his suspicions exponentially.
None of this could be coincidence.
There was intent here.
‘What are they after?’
His own death didn’t seem to be it.
After all, their options had included keeping Han Min-o alive.
Could it be Han Yeon Group itself?
Kill the chairman, take him hostage, seize the entire organization whole?
‘It would be too sloppy for an infiltration aimed at taking over the group.’
If they meant to hunt the group, all the Avatars would need to be unified.
But the Avatars weren’t unified.
Instead, division had occurred, and they’d abducted him independently.
If that passerby—Park Chan-woo—hadn’t been there, he’d have been dead without a doubt.
“Hello. I’m grateful for the help.”
Han Min-o, now standing among the civilians, spoke with forced conviction.
Everyone’s expressions hardened with wariness.
To them, Han Min-o was a stranger.
A nobleman who’d been separated from the group, kept carefully isolated between his guards.
His security even carried emergency rations and drinking water.
“So why’d you drop the guards and show up here?”
A sturdy man stepped forward, blocking his path, and asked.
Han Min-o hesitated.
Whether to tell the truth or not.
Speaking carelessly could only deepen their anxiety.
But inwardly, Han Min-o shook his head and opened his mouth.
“There are Avatars mixed in among our security.”
“…Avatars?”
“Yes. Five of our guards kidnapped me, and I confirmed they were Avatars. I managed to escape dramatically, but there may be more among them.”
“So? Why should we risk ourselves and take you in? This Abyss appeared in the first place because of you people anyway.”
Resentment was thick in his voice.
It wasn’t just the man’s sentiment.
The eyes turned toward Han Min-o were cold as well.
…Understandably so.
They’d been dragged into the Abyss without warning.
Caught up in something while simply walking—there was no way not to resent it.
“I’m truly sorry about that. I have no right to ask, but I need your help.”
Han Min-o lowered his head.
He couldn’t bring himself to say, “The Avatars might slaughter all of you.”
To mention annihilation meant possessing firepower of that magnitude.
It meant there were enough Avatars that such a thing was possible, should anyone choose it.
Of course, there would be Avatars among the civilians too.
But huddled among the crowds was far safer than standing trembling with anxiety among the bodyguards.
“No shame at all, it seems.”
“Once you’re dead, this Abyss ends, doesn’t it?”
“My child is sick. We need to get to a hospital right now!”
Jeers from all directions.
Though merely a day, for them it had stretched into an eternity.
Clustering outside the building was also a precaution against unforeseen catastrophe.
Having been exposed to the elements for over twenty-four hours, their nerves were wound tight.
And this was the Abyss, no less.
A hellscape where anything could happen.
They stood watch in shifts, taking brief snatches of sleep, their vigilance never wavering.
All they wanted was for it to end, quickly.
Of course, that desire to “end it” aligned perfectly with “it doesn’t matter if Han Min-o dies.”
‘I wish he were dead already.’
‘Why isn’t he dead yet?’
‘I wish someone would kill him.’
Eyes full of resentment and distrust.
They regarded Han Min-o with a coldness and callousness that cut deep.
The second son of Han Yeon Group?
Such credentials meant nothing in the Abyss.
“……I beg of you.”
Han Min-o bowed his head at a ninety-degree angle.
Honestly, he felt like he was going mad from the frustration.
He himself couldn’t understand why the Targeted Abyss had opened up against him of all people.
The world seemed to be tormenting him by force.
It had always been like this since birth.
An older brother so extraordinarily talented.
Forever compared against, forever despised.
Some might envy him as the youngest son of a conglomerate family, but to Han Min-o, that household was a bottomless pit itself.
The very bottom of a hell with no lower depths.
Within Han Yeon Group, Han Min-o was Non-existence.
He had to live holding his breath, as though he didn’t exist at all.
And that was far from all.
Since the Abyss descended, he’d faced near-death crises, and now suffered inexplicable Targeted Elimination while drawing the resentment of the masses.
‘What have I possibly done wrong?’
Not a single thing of his own volition.
He hadn’t chosen to be born, and though he’d worked hard, he simply lacked the talent to keep pace with Han Shin.
Had it not been for the Han Yeon Group background, had he grown up in an ordinary household, Han Min-o would have been happy.
Then he wouldn’t have been targeted, wouldn’t have been kidnapped, and wouldn’t have had to endure the sharp resentment of the people around him.
‘What exactly did I do wrong!’
The world felt cruel.
“Get out!”
“Before we beat you to death!”
“Leave! Leave!”
Emotion amplifies.
Negative emotion in particular tended to spread faster.
Tap.
It was then.
An elderly woman with a kind face approached and gently wrapped her arms around Han Min-o’s shoulders.
“Young people, don’t be like that—accept him, won’t you? He looks so pitiful. He’s still just a boy, isn’t he? And he was even kidnapped—can you imagine how terrified he must have been?”
“Grandmother, it’s because of that bastard that we’re all trapped like this!”
“Don’t be so harsh in your judgment, I’m asking you. And look at you all—fully grown adults acting this way—what’s this about? The world may be going mad, but we haven’t lost our minds yet, have we? Look at how this child’s body shakes. He must have needed tremendous courage just to come here. How terrified he must be. Tsk, tsk.”
The grandmother gently stroked Han Min-o’s back.
Plip, plip.
In that moment, tears welled up and fell from Han Min-o’s eyes.
Though he’d tried to appear unmoved, if he claimed he wasn’t wronged, that would be a lie.
If he said he wasn’t afraid in a situation like this, he’d be lying.
He’d spoken calmly, but being utterly alone—without a single ally—was a wound too deep to bear.
The moment his grandmother stepped forward to shield Han Min-o, the jeering voices began to fade.
Just one person.
But one was enough.
Enough to restore reason to them all.
“…I suppose it is rather pitiful.”
“Yes. Why not take him in?”
“We only have to endure two more days together, don’t we?”
In their eyes, Han Min-o was a victim.
The Abyss was opened by Creators—by demons.
A demon had unleashed an Avatar to kill Han Min-o.
That he’d been kidnapped, that it took such tremendous resolve to reach this place—these things needed no explanation.
The mood had turned.
“……Thank you.”
Han Min-o wept quietly.
Then the man in front of him spoke.
“Pitiful or not, we need to know why. Why were you Targeted?”
“I don’t know.”
“Hmm… Is it because you’re a young master of the Han Yeon Group? Come to think of it, their eldest son went missing recently…….”
“…….”
“If bodyguards did the kidnapping, there must be some connection. All right. Come in.”
The man stepped aside.
Not knowing the reason, he’d woven his own explanation and accepted it—that there was some link worth protecting Han Min-o for.
The moment Han Min-o joined the group, the man spoke again.
“Still, we’ll need to keep watch on those bodyguards too. It seems humans are the most fearsome enemy in this Abyss.”
“Should we increase the watch rotation?”
“Yes, we should. Is anyone willing to help?”
The response was swift.
If multiple Avatars were among the bodyguards, they too were subjects of suspicion.
* * *
Half a day had passed since Han Min-o joined the group.
Darkness crept across the dimming sky.
Fortunately, nothing untoward had occurred.
The people had welcomed Han Min-o far more warmly than he’d expected.
‘The world may be mad, but people are not—not yet.’
Han Min-o turned those words over in his mind.
Only the world was mad.
The people still carried warmth, still held compassion.
……I want to protect these people.
Han Min-o volunteered for watch duty.
‘Avatars are mad.’
An Avatar is not human.
It is a demon wearing a human mask.
You cannot judge them by human logic.
Now that people were on guard, an assault would be difficult—but there was no telling what those creatures might do.
‘If they’re going to move, it’ll be tonight.’
One thing was certain: the Avatars didn’t have much time either.
If they meant to target Han Min-o or wipe everyone out, tonight was their window.
The trouble was, there was no way to know how many Avatars there were.
“Aren’t you tired? You probably haven’t slept in nearly two days since the kidnapping.”
The Sturdy Man approached—a broad-shouldered, solidly built figure.
The one who had first blocked Han Min-o’s entry, the de facto leader of this place.
Han Min-o answered.
“I can manage.”
“I’m sorry about before.”
“No. It’s all right.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
Han Min-o knew the circumstances had left no choice.
Caw!
―Caw!
In the distance, the cries of Corpse Crows rang out with an eerie, unsettling quality.
The man tilted his head.
“Suddenly noisy.”
“What do you think is over there?”
“Hard to say. We should probably scout it out. Want to go together?”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
“The two of us will check it out. Everyone else, wait here.”
The man spoke to the others who had been standing watch.
Then the two of them began walking into the dark night.
They needed to understand why the Corpse Crows had suddenly started calling.
They walked until they reached a place where the rest of their group had vanished entirely from sight.
Han Min-o tilted his head.
“…Nothing. I could have sworn the sound came from around here.”
“That’s because it wasn’t the Corpse Crows making that noise.”
“…?”
“Tsk. You should have quietly gone back. Why’d you have to be such a nuisance and try to join us?”
Thwack.
It happened in that instant.
The man drove a blade through Han Min-o’s back.
―Caw!
―Caw!
Soon, Avatars that had been mimicking the cries of Corpse Crows began gathering around them, one after another.

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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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