Murim Login - Chapter 224

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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 224
A few hours earlier, it was Won Myung-hun’s shout that brought the dozen or so Star Guild members rushing back toward the Gate Entrance to a halt.
“Wait, everyone stop!”
All eyes turned toward him.
Amid the tension of wondering if a terrifying Named Monster might emerge from behind at any moment, Won Myung-hun, who had been lost in thought alone, finally opened his lips.
“Scout.”
“Yes, Guild Master.”
The guild member assigned to reconnaissance duty responded immediately.
With swift feet and skilled with a bow, he had narrowly escaped death thanks to the luck of drawing lots, unlike his other comrades.
“Tell me our current position.”
“Coordinates 175, 37, 990.”
“Forget the coordinates. How much longer until the Gate Entrance?”
“Based on our current pace, I’d estimate approximately seven minutes.”
“Not much left then? There’s only one path to the Gate Entrance from here, right?”
“…Yes, that’s correct, but.”
The scout trailed off with an uneasy expression.
Just as the other guild members, sensing something odd in the flow of conversation, began exchanging glances, a statement came that transformed their anxiety into reality.
“We’re setting up an encirclement here.”
“Pardon?”
“An encirclement? In this situation?”
“Guild Master, that’s—!”
At the guild members’ resistance—something they would normally never dare show—Won Myung-hun’s eyes turned glacial.
“Everyone shut up and follow my orders. I have my reasons for this.”
“But this is unreasonable! The enemy is a Named Monster, gah—!”
Won Myung-hun seized the throat of the guild member who had spoken loudest and growled.
“Defying the Guild Master’s orders inside a Gate? Are you desperate to die….”
It happened in an instant.
The atmosphere in the chamber froze cold. Everyone present understood that Won Myung-hun’s words were not directed at just one person.
From what they had witnessed over the past several years, he was more than capable of following through on such threats.
“I’m s-sorry.”
“This is your last chance. There won’t be a second one.”
Thud.
Turning away from the guild member who had collapsed with a deathly pale face, Won Myung-hun swept his sharp gaze across the surroundings.
“Pathetic bastards.”
Even at his unfiltered profanity, a dozen pairs of eyes remained fixed on the ground.
For those who had endured Won Myung-hun over the past several years, this was familiar territory.
Inside a Gate, one had to be especially careful. He was an A-rank Hunter—a powerhouse none of them could defeat even if they all rushed him together.
“Does your brain not work? Do I look stupid enough to face a Named Monster myself?”
The heads that had been bowed slowly began to rise.
“Then….”
“I’ll deal with those small fries.”
“Small fries? Do you mean the Peace Guild?”
“By now, I’d say they’re completely wiped out.”
Even as they fled in panic, they heard the monster’s roar. The sound alone made their legs buckle and their spines tingle—it was fear incarnate.
Though they hadn’t managed to see what the creature looked like, that very ignorance was what had kept them alive this long.
‘How could five people possibly stand against something like that? They’re already dead.’
This was the consensus among all of them.
Yet only one person differed—Won Myung-hun.
“What if even one of them survives and escapes?”
“That… that would be…”
“Surely not.”
It was a possibility they hadn’t considered.
Under normal circumstances, they might have thought it through, but the terror of facing a Named Monster and their survival instinct had paralyzed their reasoning.
Won Myung-hun spoke to the hesitant guild members with unwavering conviction.
“If even one of those small fries manages to escape the Gate alive, we’re all finished.”
“…”
“An A-rank Hunter who’s been basking in the media spotlight dies. And one of the sole survivors from the Peace Guild decides to talk about us? I don’t need to spell out what happens next.”
The media—the entire nation’s attention—would turn toward them.
Investigators would mobilize, and the press and public media would cover this extensively, churning out new reports daily.
Even if the survivor couldn’t provide clear testimony or physical evidence, the contempt and accusations they’d face would never disappear.
They might have to leave the country entirely. Needing visas just to visit their parents’ graves—the thought alone was horrifying.
“Sometimes public perception matters more than truth. You’ve all experienced that already, haven’t you? Eight years ago?”
“Guild Master!”
“That’s—!”
Violent shock rippled through the Star Guild members.
It was an unspoken taboo. Yet Won Myung-hun himself was bringing it up.
And he was the very person who had orchestrated everything and recruited them all.
Won Myung-hun smirked at the fierce glint in the guild members’ eyes.
“Lower your eyes. You bastards. Before I pluck them all out.”
“…!”
“You chose to join of your own accord. Is there anyone here who didn’t pocket my money? You bought houses with it, bought cars, indulged in booze and women, got married, had kids. And now you’re playing the good father, the faithful husband, living your comfortable lives?”
Won Myung-hun irritably swept his hair back. Each time his piercing gaze passed over them, their bodies trembled.
They wanted to deny it, but everything that came from his mouth was the truth.
They had already crossed a river from which there was no return, and Won Myung-hun was the ferryman who had carried them across.
The boatman had already hidden his vessel. Without his permission, they could never return to the other shore.
Not until their last breath.
“I won’t say more. Hide and establish a perimeter. When I give the signal, be ready to kill anyone.”
Won Myung-hun’s voice, laden with murderous intent, was no different from a Supreme Court verdict.
The members, realizing that appeals would fall on deaf ears, scattered and began forming an encirclement.
“Pathetic bastards. And it’s been eight years already.”
Won Myung-hun muttered under his breath like he was spitting out something bitter, when a guild member approached him hesitantly.
“Um, Guild Master.”
“What.”
“What should we do about Team Leader 1? I mean, Team Leader 1?”
“Kim Jong-hun? Where the hell is that bastard right now?”
“We’ve moved him over there for now.”
Won Myung-hun turned his head in the direction the guild member pointed, letting out a hollow laugh.
Just a few meters away, the man stood with a pallid complexion, his teeth chattering as if entranced by something.
“Pathetic bastard. I’m the fool for keeping someone like that around as an A-rank Hunter.”
Won Myung-hun clicked his tongue softly and waved his hand dismissively.
“Handle it quietly.”
As he turned to leave, the guild member cried out urgently.
“W-what? I… I can’t do that!”
“What are you talking about?”
“I-I won’t commit murder.”
“What? You crazy bastard, what the hell are you thinking… Wait, hold on.”
Won Myung-hun, who had been about to beat the guild member senseless with an exasperated expression, paused.
What he had originally intended to order was simply to keep him quiet—through silencing magic or whatever means necessary. But was that even necessary?
‘Come to think of it, Team Leader 1—there’s no one who knows my secrets as well as that bastard.’
He’d been my right hand for a full ten years. He had decent sense and was skilled as a Hunter.
When that incident happened eight years ago, I believed that Team Leader 1 alone, among all people, would never betray me.
‘If he had opened his mouth, he wouldn’t have survived either.’
It wasn’t a matter of trust but of mutual interest. Despite their different levels of ambition, the two of them could be considered kindred spirits in a sense.
But…
‘He’s become useless now.’
Won Myung-hun had seen many people exposed to the Fear of higher-tier monsters. While the symptoms varied from person to person, there was one common thread.
‘Scrap.’
Those whose souls had been branded by terror could never return to what they once were.
Some went mad and were locked away in special wards; even those who barely recovered could be said to have ended their careers as Hunters.
‘He knows the most about my secrets, and he was the one who personally obtained the Yeti’s necklace.’
On top of that, his title as an A-rank Hunter had become worthless.
Won Myung-hun’s deliberation was brief, and his resolve came even faster.
“Tie him up. I have a use for him.”
“Sir?”
“Named Monster. When that creature arrives, won’t we need some bait to throw at it?”
“…!”
“It works out well. Since Jin Tae-kyung is dead, we need to throw in an A-rank on our side too to make the picture complete.”
Won Myung-hun tapped the frozen guild member’s shoulder and passed by, concealing himself in the nearby brush.
‘Come on, whoever you are.’
The wait was shorter than expected.
Dozens of meters ahead, two figures emerged through the brush, and his lips curved upward.
‘The Guild Master and Jin Tae-kyung. Did everyone else die?’
Jin Tae-kyung, drenched in blood from head to toe, and an elderly mage clinging to his back. By any measure, they looked like wounded stragglers.
‘This will make things easier.’
Especially Jin Tae-kyung—I wanted to kill that bastard myself.
It was precisely when Won Myung-hun had finished preparing to signal his guild members.
“Come out, you fucking bastards.”
At the sight of Jin Tae-kyung snapping his fingers directly at the brush where I was hiding, the smile that had been playing on Won Myung-hun’s lips vanished.
* * *
“I’ve never seen such a rude bastard.”
Looking at Won Myung-hun’s contorted face, I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
How to put it—I felt like I was seeing the true depths of a human being.
“You’re laughing?”
My reaction seemed to have provoked his anger. He licked his parched lips and exhaled hot breath.
“You bastard… don’t you understand the situation you’re in?”
“I understand it perfectly.”
“Then why are you grinning like an idiot?”
“Choose your words carefully. If I hear talk like that, I’ll be tempted to crack your skull open.”
“…What?”
“You should have stopped when I called you Won Myung-hun. Won Myung-hun, you bastard.”
The hyenas’ expressions went blank for a moment.
Won Myung-hun’s lips, which had been clamped shut for a while, finally opened.
“Are you insane?”
“I’m always fine. Isn’t that right, Kim Butler?”
Kim Butler, clinging to my back and observing the situation, answered.
“Quite sound, indeed. Never losing composure regardless of circumstances—that is the fundamental quality a Hunter must possess.”
“What about that bastard?”
“Had this been the time of the Great Cataclysm, we wouldn’t have found his body. Those were rather harsh times, after all.”
“So it seems.”
Crash!
A thick tree shattered under the punch he threw in an instant.
Won Myung-hun, his face flushed crimson with rage, glared at me and Kim Butler.
“You fucking dogs!”
“That rude bastard. He has no respect for his elders. Wouldn’t you say?”
Kim Butler answered calmly.
“The young man does lack some manners. But then again, the world isn’t kind, is it? One must give chances.”
“Is that so?”
“Life is a series of choices. And from what I can see, you’ve already made up your mind.”
“You’re like a ghost.”
“Personally, I’m not fond of that word. I’m getting on in years, you see.”
“I apologize. That wasn’t intentional.”
“Let me get down first. One, two, three.”
Crack.
As Kim Butler leaped down from my back, I heard the sickening sound of bones grinding in his knees.
“Oh my, are you alright?”
“My knees aren’t in the best condition. Heal.”
After the light faded, he tapped his knees and smiled brightly.
“I’m fine now.”
“Wow.”
Magic really is incredibly convenient, I have to admit.
As I let out my admiration, I turned my head toward the piercing gazes coming from all directions.
About a dozen members of the Star Guild, including Won Myung-hun, were glaring at us as if they wanted to tear us apart.
“You bastard… what the hell are you trying to do?”
“What do you mean? I helped you down. You seemed like you’d be shaking a lot during the fight.”
“Fight?”
“Why? Didn’t you come here to fight me?”
“Of course not.”
Won Myung-hun added with a savage laugh.
“We came to kill every last one of you.”
“Oh… you really do talk like a villain straight out of a web novel.”
I was genuinely impressed.
On the other hand, the hesitation that had lingered until now melted away, and my mind became crystal clear. Right, I just need to do it.
“Thanks for saying that. Because of you, my headache’s completely gone. Are you sure you’re not a son of a bitch, but rather a son of a dog?”
“You bastard!”
“Never mind. Shall we go?”
“…What?”
Whoosh!
I suddenly became curious about what expression Won Myung-hun was making right now.
But thinking about it, all such curiosity was pointless.
No matter what expression he’d worn until now, the expression he’d wear from this moment on was already predetermined.
“Bear the pain. No crying.”
Crack!
I spun around urgently and grabbed his arm as it swung toward me, then snapped it. His bone broke instantly, and the spear slipped from his weakened grip.
His smooth, unblemished skin twisted like a demon’s, and a scream tore from his throat.
“Gaaaaaahhhhh!”
“Didn’t I tell you?”
I continued in a composed voice.
“Never bare your fangs again.”
At the same time, I drove my clenched fist into his mouth.
Crack!

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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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