Murim Login - Chapter 420

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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 420
When people first encountered monsters, what emotions did they feel?
Shock, terror, fear, bewilderment?
I couldn’t say for certain. It happened before I was born, and if I’m being precise, I didn’t even exist in my mother’s womb yet—I was still on my father’s side.
But those who witnessed that moment in history must have recalled the countless legends and myths passed down through the ages.
Just as I did now.
‘A demon.’
That was the word that flashed through my mind the moment I saw it. A towering figure reaching three meters. Bones gleaming with a dark luster. A form superficially resembling a human, yet fundamentally something else entirely.
Swooooosh.
Like the wings of demons from mythology, the robe draped across its frame billowed as if alive.
The Arch Lich—a demon whose very appearance darkened the world—cast its crimson gaze in a desolate light.
– You, human.
Just a single word.
The air around me trembled. The Skeleton Warlord within my inventory let out a whimper-like murmur.
– Lord of the undead….
A voice steeped in profound dread. The law of power applies to monsters as well.
Yes, as the Skeleton Warlord said, the Arch Lich would be the lord of all undead monsters that existed on this land.
– Human. It is not yet too late. Even now….
Instead of answering, I nodded slightly.
The Skeleton Warlord was right. It wasn’t too late for me, and I still had sufficient opportunity.
‘A chance to stop it. That’s what I mean.’
If this vast metropolitan area transformed into a single Gate, then it would truly be irreversible.
Countless undead monsters would spread like a plague, and the Arch Lich’s power would grow even stronger.
‘Now is the only time.’
Taking a deep breath, I reached out my hand. The shaft of the White Flame Spear, drawn from the void, settled firmly in my grip.
Climbing over the collapsed concrete debris and stumbling out into the open, a thick fog-shrouded ruin awaited me.
In every direction—up, down, left, right. No trace of monsters was visible anywhere.
Ah, scratch that. There was one.
“Good to see you. You bastard.”
Twenty meters above. The Arch Lich, standing upon empty air and looking down at me, ignited its gaze.
– As expected. You can speak the language of the Demon Realm. I did not mishear.
“Studied hard, reviewed thoroughly. But you? You’re not me.”
– I am a being with hundreds of eyes and ears. I have been watching you all along, human.
I suddenly furrowed my brow.
“All along?”
– Indeed. Your performance on the battlefield was quite remarkable.
Familiar magic, I muttered inwardly, then clicked my tongue without showing it.
“So you’re a peeping tom. You didn’t install one in our bathroom, did you?”
– Peeping tom? You speak in incomprehensible words, human.
“Right. If you’d seen my bathroom, you’d have already vanished in shock. No one who’s laid eyes on my magnificent black anaconda has ever survived.”
– Are you referring to the Basilisk?
The Basilisk is a mythical monster said to curse one with petrification merely by meeting its gaze.
It was a Named Monster that appeared only once during the Great Cataclysm.
“Well, it’s similar enough.”
At least the part about being startled and frozen solid is the same, isn’t it?
But the Arch Lich’s reaction to my answer was unexpected.
– That’s it then. The reason you feel so familiar to me.
“What?”
– You, human. I sense the aura of death emanating from you. A thick, dark aura—the same as mine.
“…!”
I was genuinely startled. I thought I understood what the Arch Lich meant by the aura of death.
A certain presence that couldn’t hide its agitation with every word the creature spoke.
‘The Skeleton Warlord.’
No matter how powerful a Named Monster it was, the Skeleton Warlord was still undead.
Had it detected the scent clinging to my body from all our time together, or had it even pierced through the Inventory—that other mysterious space?
If the latter… just how far did its abilities extend?
I activated [Perception]. Blue lines shot upward into the sky along with a system notification.
At the same moment, the Arch Lich’s eye sockets—flickering with ethereal light—curved like crescent moons.
– How amusing.
And in the next instant, black mana flowing from the Arch Lich’s entire form lashed out at the blue lines.
Beep!
–
[???]
This powerful and unknowable force protects itself!
–
[Perception]
This has failed! The designated target cannot be identified!
I suspected as much, but it was true nonetheless.
The Arch Lich, looking down at me with my hardened expression, let out a low chuckle.
– An interesting human indeed. Truly. Perhaps… my suspicion might be correct.
“What suspicion? That you’re about to die?”
– That will not come to pass. I am the lord of all undead. Unlike those pathetic and foolish humans.
The Arch Lich raised a hand of black luster, pointing toward Wu Hei-xing, whose breath had ceased, and Lee Jung-yong, who had turned to black ash.
– It was a most entertaining spectacle. Watching them kill and be killed by one another, I felt a profound joy for the first time in ages. I offer you my gratitude for helping me understand just how insignificant a creature humanity truly is.
“Disappear.”
– Anger makes humans strong. Are you the same?
Ssssshhhhh.
The mist that filled all directions moved like a living thing. As if someone were drawing a picture in empty space, the mist formed a landscape and shape.
A ruined city. Blood flowing like rivers and corpses piled like mountains—at the center of this desolate battlefield, a man rising with a sword as his staff.
I had seen that face only once, yet I could never forget it. The Arch Lich’s quiet voice echoed from the void.
– Lei Fei. That was definitely his name.
“…!”
– A being with a grand and radiant soul. So dazzling that merely watching from afar stirred covetous desire.
With a subtle gesture, the mist swirled and painted a new scene.
Lei Fei staggering toward the Arch Lich, Lei Fei collapsing to his knees before he could reach, Lei Fei drawing his final breath while glaring at the heavens with fury and resentment etched across his face.
And… Lei Fei, reborn as a corrupted being by the Arch Lich, kneeling before a new master.
No—the Death Knight Lord.
Swooooosh.
The mist scattered in a wind that blew from nowhere. The Arch Lich continued speaking slowly.
– Do you know? Humans with noble souls unleash far greater power when they fall into corruption. Truly the finest material… but it’s unfortunate that something even better has come to pass.
I nodded slowly.
“Keep talking.”
– For I have encountered new material. You, human, with a soul far stronger and more immense!
A chilling voice thundered across the sky. Mana flowed from the Arch Lich’s entire form like dark clouds, obscuring the heavens and casting the city in shadow.
And at the center of it all—crimson eyes burning like an ominous sun.
Standing silent as I beheld this spectacle, I suddenly opened my mouth.
“Yeah, so… are you done flapping your jaw now?”
Heat surged through my core. The rage I had suppressed and buried before meeting this creature reared its head.
It erupted like magma from a volcanic region.
“If you’ve said everything you wanted to say….”
Something snapped inside my mind with a sharp crack.
The hours of combat leading the Suicide Squad and the mental exhaustion accumulated facing Lee Jung-yong and Wu Hei-xing—all of it faded in this singular moment.
“Come down here. You bastard.”
If the Arch Lich’s voice that rang out before was thunder, my roar was molten lava.
A fire dragon surged through hundreds of blood vessels churning like an active volcano. The azure flames enveloping the transparent blade of White Flame unleashed scorching heat of extreme temperatures.
And in the next instant.
Screeeeeeech! Boom!
The spear of fire I unleashed with all my might tore through the dark clouds of mana and rended the darkness asunder.
* * *
Rumble rumble rumble! Crash!
The ground trembled violently, and brilliant azure flames embroidered the sky.
Humans and monsters locked in fierce combat kilometers away momentarily forgot their own circumstances, staring blankly at the spectacle.
– Grrrrrowl.
“That is….”
The light that burst forth from the massive city shrouded in thick mist was warmer than anything else, blindingly radiant.
At least for one person standing tall, gazing upon the city. For Choi Min-woo, it was.
‘Jin Tae-kyung.’
That was it. It was him.
No one but Jin Tae-kyung came to mind. He was alive, engaged in battle with the Arch Lich.
Or perhaps with someone else entirely.
‘Lee Jung-yong. Wu Hei-xing.’
Others might call it premature concern, a false accusation, but Choi Min-woo knew how evil a person could become.
At least, the Lee Jung-yong he had experienced was exactly that.
And at the same time… he understood Jin Tae-kyung just as well.
‘You are strong. Stronger than anyone I know.’
There was a time when he had spoken those words to Jin Tae-kyung.
Some might have scoffed, but Choi Min-woo meant every word.
He believed that no S-rank Hunter, not even Cheon Tae-min—his maternal grandfather and the one who had defeated Demon King Asmodeus—could surpass Jin Tae-kyung in strength.
It wasn’t a matter of skill, nor was it about whose aura burned brighter and more powerfully.
It was something only those who had experienced Jin Tae-kyung could truly possess.
‘Trust.’
Jin Tae-kyung had given him trust.
Cheon Tae-min, the hero who saved humanity, had pushed away his young grandson who had lost his parents, but Jin Tae-kyung was different.
He had rejected the whispered temptations of wealth and fame that surrounded him, remained with the Peace Guild, and protected his people through every danger.
No matter who the opposition was.
‘The opponent is the Ares Guild. It will be a perilous path.’
‘I’m something of a specialist in thorny roads.’
‘This time will be incomparably worse than anything before.’
‘Team Leader.’
‘Yes?’
‘It’s alright to be honest sometimes.’
‘…!’
It was the first time anyone had ever said such a thing to him.
Kim Butler, who had always been by his side since childhood, was a thoughtful and warm person, but he could not give certainty.
That was why Choi Min-woo had found the courage to speak.
‘Will you continue to stay with the Peace Guild?’
‘Yeah, that’s the thing.’
I cannot forget the sight of Jin Tae-kyung smiling then. The day we gained people we could call ‘us,’ not guild members bound by a few sheets of paper called a contract.
‘So this is what it was.’
I was always alone. Isolated and lonely. From my earliest memories, I had been separated from everything.
The children I met in my youth were wary of me, and the adults whispered behind my back.
I was hurt, but I never showed it. Only the aging Kim Butler was the one person I could truly open my heart to.
But not anymore. Choi Min-woo suddenly felt a smile bloom across his lips.
Gazing at the flames rising through the thick fog and darkness in the distance, he grasped his sword once more.
Screech!
With a brilliant aura, the monster’s body was cleaved in two.
The moment the brief silence and stillness shattered, a tremendous roar erupted from between Choi Min-woo’s lips.
“Charge-!”
His figure, raising his blade and rushing toward the monsters, resembled someone Lee Jung-yong had seen decades ago.

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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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