Murim Login - Chapter 402

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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 402
Thump!
What was this sensation?
Hot and cool at once.
Experiencing these two contradictory sensations, the Black Knight gazed down at the transparent spear blade that had pierced through his chest and burst forth.
Slowly raising his head, his gaze fell upon the young man whose expression was unreadable.
“Now then… rest.”
The emotion in that voice was neither mockery of the defeated nor the joy of victory. It was bitter, and at the same time, achingly nostalgic.
Those words filled the Black Knight’s mind completely.
‘Rest.’
And in the next moment.
Crash!
The Black Knight heard the sound of everything that had bound him shattering apart.
The jet-black armor that had barely maintained its form shattered into hundreds, thousands of fragments, and the formidable magical power wavered.
But the greatest change was occurring in his consciousness.
‘That is…’
In the slowed world, visible between the scattering armor fragments—a worn, small child’s shoe.
Simultaneously, countless memories flashed through his mind.
‘I… I want to become a Hunter.’
A young boy speaking of his dreams.
‘I’m proud of you. Thank you for growing so splendidly.’
‘Thank you. Uncle. No… Father.’
A young man who had become a proud nephew and son.
‘Are you there?’
‘Welcome!’
‘…Ah.’
On that day when everything—the fragrance, the warmth, the weather—was perfect, a man who met a woman and fell in love.
‘Will you marry me?’
The young boy who dreamed of becoming a Hunter became someone’s companion.
‘Waa, waa!’
‘This… this child is…’
‘Congratulations on becoming a father. My love.’
At last, he became a father to a child.
‘Dada, mama!’
‘Ha ha ha! That’s right! We’re your dad and mom!’
How could he forget those moments when he was happier than anyone else in this world?
A single tear rolled down his pallid skin, drained of all color.
A tear that wiped away the dark clouds that had filled his mind. At last, it was the tear of the departed one who had remembered himself.
‘Ah, ah…’
Now I understood. Now I finally understand.
He reached out and grasped the small shoe.
The image of an unnamed child crying in their parents’ embrace overlapped with the memory of my Daughter, who had smiled brightly and waved goodbye on that morning when I was meant to die.
“Daddy! Come quick!”
“Have a safe trip. Be careful.”
I had kissed my wife’s forehead and brushed my face against my child’s cheek. My Daughter had giggled at how scratchy my beard was, and I had held her before stepping out through the Entrance.
With the same words I always said.
“Then I’ll be going.”
But that promise was never kept.
Hours later, an unprecedented calamity began in the wake of the Great Upheaval, and I fought with every ounce of my strength. And finally, I faced one being.
“How noble you are, human. What is your name?”
“I am….”
The crimson light blazing in those eyes extinguished as if washed away.
The one with clouded, grayish-white eyes was no longer the Black Knight, nor the Death Knight Lord.
“Lei Fei. That is my name.”
He who had emerged from the long darkness lifted his head.
The glow of sunset filtering through the clouds tinted his pale skin with a reddish hue.
* * *
The system notification rang out at the precise moment I reached out my hand to put an end to it all.
Ding.
– Information regarding the target has been updated.
– Changed information is marked with
[Change]
.
[Lv.120 Lei Fei]
“…!”
My movements froze at this unexpected turn of events.
The Death Knight Lord—no, Lei Fei—who had been gazing at the sky slowly turned his grayish-white eyes toward me. The voice flowing from between his lips was hollow and forlorn.
“It feels like I’ve had a terrible nightmare. Or rather, I wish it had been just a nightmare.”
I had never heard of or witnessed such a phenomenon before. I watched him in silence, then opened my mouth.
“Has your consciousness returned?”
“Yes, only now.”
Lei Fei gazed down at his own hands. They were pale and decayed. From our fierce struggle, parts of flesh and bone had been torn away.
And they were soaked in crimson blood. Human blood, no less.
“What have I done?”
He who had once sacrificed his life for humanity had become the commander of a monster army and slaughtered humans.
I could not begin to fathom what he must be feeling upon realizing this devastating truth.
“Lei Fei.”
I wanted to tell him that it was not his will. That the Arch Lich’s magic had seized control of his mind.
But Lei Fei shook his head.
“You need not speak. I already know what you were about to say. However….”
Lei Fei gestured to his own body as he continued.
「It seems I don’t have much time left permitted to me.」
Everything he said was true. The robust undead flesh that couldn’t be pierced by steel or bullets was crumbling, bit by bit, ever so slightly.
And paradoxically, what sustained Lei Fei now was still the magical power remaining in his body.
「It’s absurd, isn’t it? Here I am, an undead who killed humans, yet I persist through that very power.」
He, who had laughed hollowly, opened his mouth toward me.
「Would it be alright if I asked one thing?」
“…Please, speak.”
I thought Lei Fei desired dissolution. I believed he would wish for rest, liberation from all the suffering.
But in the next moment, the words that flowed from Lei Fei’s lips defied my expectations.
「Help me fulfill my mission.」
“…!”
「The day I became a Hunter, I swore an oath. That I would fight monsters until my final breath. That oath from that day remains valid.」
Lei Fei had already fulfilled his mission. He charged forward valiantly, shattered brilliantly.
That he became a Death Knight Lord and fought humans was the will of the Arch Lich, not his own.
Yet still, he now seeks to fight again. Even though his life has ended, he stands tall, rekindling his mission one final time.
Because of this, I could not help but ask.
“Why, how can you go this far?”
At my question, Lei Fei smiled faintly.
「That’s a foolish question.」
“What?”
「Despite countless monsters and dangers awaiting, the reason you charged forward alone. And the reason I wish to fight until the end. What’s the difference?」
“…!”
「You already know the answer. That’s all there is to it.」
I know the answer.
The moment I heard those words, a chill ran down my spine.
Lei Fei, observing my speechlessness, raised his hand and gestured to our surroundings.
In eyes already drained of life, the vast army of monsters still remaining was reflected.
「This will be… my final battle.」
Whoosh!
He pulled the White Flame embedded in his own chest and handed it to me, raising the sword high.
Instead of the brilliant Aura Blade symbolizing an S-rank Hunter, ominous dark magical power surged and coiled around the blade.
Yet the one wielding this power was not the Death Knight Lord, but a certain Hunter burning through his final mission.
「I wish to fight together. But will they permit it?」
Had a stranger heard this, they would have dismissed it as nonsensical rambling.
But I understood Lei Fei’s words, and answered while tilting the spear blade of White Flame downward at an angle.
“On the contrary, they will rejoice. If they are the people I know.”
「…My thoughts exactly.」
A crimson glow flickered in his ashen eyes.
The magical power drawn forth with all his strength seeped into every corner of the battlefield. A thunderous cry erupted from Lei Fei’s lips.
「Public Security Armed Forces—!」
And in the next moment.
Whoosh, thud-thud-thud.
At the call of the Death Knight Lord—no, the commander of the Public Security Armed Forces—hundreds of Hunters who had laid their bodies upon the Battlefield rose to their feet. Risen from death, they grasped their weapons and converged at a single point.
Lei Fei and I stood at the apex of their formation.
「You lead the charge. The living must end this fight.」
I stepped forward as if entranced.
The monster horde, caught off guard by the unexpected turn, finally unleashed their savage cries and surged forward.
Toward their commander, now become their enemy.
And toward me, standing at the vanguard.
Step, step.
I moved forward slowly but with tremendous force.
Tap, tap-tap.
Gradually increasing my pace.
Lei Fei and hundreds of Public Security Armed Forces Hunters, resurrected as the undead, followed in my wake.
It did not take long before the gentle ripples became a wave that crashed down upon them.
And at the threshold of what would be the final battle, Lei Fei cried out with all his might.
「Sweep them all away!」
That cry which had echoed through the video.
Upon their battered and soiled armor, the five-star red flag—their symbol and their pride—gleamed in the glow of the sunset.
Cradling my aching chest, I became a beam of light and shot toward the monsters.
Screeeech! Crash-crack!
* * *
Thud!
How many had I felled by now?
Hundreds? A thousand?
Crunch! Splatter!
I couldn’t say. I pressed forward like a man possessed, shattering, slashing, piercing, and bursting everything that stood in my way.
Whoooosh!
– Guaaaah!
– Kraaaaah!
Blue phantom fire erupted in pillars, and monsters engulfed in the unquenchable flames shrieked in agony.
And when at last nothing could be heard, I suddenly came to a halt.
“Huff, huff.”
My breathing was ragged. My mouth felt parched, as though I had swallowed a handful of sand.
As the fatigue I had forgotten crashed down upon me, I looked around.
Across the vast expanse, not a single monster remained standing.
Not the Ogres and Trolls that had unleashed their savage cries, nor the Wyverns and Gargoyles that had circled through the air.
And….
Thud, thump!
The Public Security Armed Forces Hunters who had been resurrected as undead as well.
Having fulfilled their final mission, they collapsed one by one like puppets with their strings cut.
As I gazed upon them with an indescribable emotion, I realized what that meant—one singular truth.
“…Lei Fei!”
He sat in the middle of the quiet battlefield. One arm severed, his flank torn open, yet he waited for me with a serene expression.
「You came at just the right time.」
For some reason, something welled up in my chest at those simple words.
I hadn’t even known him for ten years, yet curses spilled from my lips unbidden.
“Damn it….”
「Don’t curse so much. I saw it on TV—it’s become a habit of yours. That won’t make you popular with women. It’s bad for children’s education too.」
Lei Fei chuckled as he spoke. He already knew who I was.
“Is that really what matters now? There has to be some way….”
– There is no such way. Wicked human.
The owner of that voice, deeper and more subdued than usual, was the Skeleton Warlord.
Lei Fei’s eyes widened as he looked at him.
「A monster?」
– I am a commander. A foolish human, but somewhat remarkable.
「So it’s a monster. I don’t know what’s happened, but… well, if it’s you, Jin Tae-kyung, you’ll handle it just fine.」
Lei Fei nodded and lifted his gaze to the sky. In his slowly blinking, ashen eyes, the blood-red sky was reflected.
「Could you deliver a message for me?」
I didn’t ask the foolish question of “to whom?” because I already knew who it was meant for.
「Tell her I love her. And apologize for not being able to return.」
A final testament left by the dead to their family.
I answered, feeling my chest tighten.
“…I will.”
「Thank you. You’re a good person.」
Lei Fei smiled faintly and patted my shoulder with his only remaining hand.
With a dry, brittle sound, his fingers crumbled to dust. Then his arm, his legs, his chest….
In his final moment, a single word escaped his lips.
「Head west. End this war.」
Whiiiish.
The wind blew. The hero, now nothing but a handful of dust, scattered into the void.
As I stared blankly at the sight, dozens of aircraft flying in formation appeared in my vision.

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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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