Murim Login - Chapter 573

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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 573
Everything has its order and stages.
Naturally, this principle applied to mutated Gates as well.
When mana levels surpassed a certain threshold, alarm sirens would sound, and evacuation orders would be issued to everyone in the vicinity.
Yet the time it took for an ordinary C-rank Gate to escalate beyond a mutated Gate into a Monster Wave was merely tens of seconds.
Faced with an unprecedented, staggering reading, the Gate Management Office could only suspect a measurement error.
Their brief deliberation—lasting less than a minute—ended when the Kraken, having torn through space itself and descended upon this world, obliterated the Gate Management Office first.
Crash!
And the flames of catastrophe spread in all directions in an instant.
The Kraken was the terror of the Black Sea and a powerful king. Beneath such a sovereign commanded fierce and loyal soldiers.
— Ssssshhh!
Fins moving ceaselessly, gills fluttering rhythmically.
With the appearance of a Merman emitting an otherworldly cry, the intersection—crowded with vehicles and pedestrians—fell into sudden silence.
“What is that….”
Someone’s bewildered voice trailed off before it could finish.
Whoosh, crack!
It happened in a mere instant.
A trident encrusted with barnacles pierced through a human body and flew onward, penetrating even the vehicle waiting at the traffic light.
Boom!
Vehicle fragments scattered in all directions with the explosion.
As people stared blankly at the surreal scene, danger alerts were transmitted through the alarm systems installed throughout the intersection and via their smartphones.
Weeeeeeee!
Ding. Beep beep beep. Whoooosh.
Noise shattering the silence.
Only then did those who had been alternating their gaze between the burning vehicles and the standing Merman realize the danger looming before them.
“M-Monster!”
“It’s a Monster Wave!”
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
With screams, the countless crowds crossing the street scattered in an instant.
Desperate to distance themselves from the monsters and survive, all rules and laws had already vanished from their minds.
“Damn it, move!”
“W-Wait…!”
Crash! Thud!
“Gaaaah!”
People trampled over people, and a vehicle that shot forward ignoring the signal struck a pedestrian crossing the crosswalk.
Bang, thud!
“Gasp!”
South Korea, which had become the world’s most densely populated nation since the Great Cataclysm.
Among its cities, the intersection of Busan—called the second metropolis—plunged into an abyss of chaos and terror in an instant.
But exceptions exist everywhere.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Figures moving against the current of the massive crowd.
Though only four in number, their composed eyes and swift, blade-like movements were unmistakable proof that they were seasoned Hunters.
“Three o’clock direction!”
“Roger. All at once?”
“Let’s take the one in front first.”
“Don’t let them scatter!”
Strangers to one another, yet a few brief exchanges were all they needed.
Each of them had fought monsters for anywhere from one to ten years, and they knew precisely what their role was in a situation like this.
‘If we don’t hold the line here… it’s over.’
‘We have to pin them down somehow.’
Fortunately, the number of Mermen that appeared at the Intersection was relatively small. Around a dozen or so.
Though they themselves weren’t particularly high-ranked Hunters, they felt they could manage to drag out the time and hold their ground against that many.
“Encirclement formation, spread out!”
But as they surged forward with a powerful shout toward the dozen Mermen, they froze in the next instant, engulfed in profound despair.
Boom. Boom boom. Boom boom boom!
– Screeeech!
– Screeeeeeech!
The asphalt Road trembled violently. The source of the vibration was hundreds of Mermen charging forward with their massive bodies.
Not the vanguard—the main force had arrived.
Perhaps even this staggering number of Mermen was only a portion of them.
“…Ah.”
It’s over.
The thought that crossed everyone’s mind.
Facing even a dozen Mermen required risking their lives, and for four mid-tier Hunters to handle such a massive number was nearly impossible.
No—it was impossible without support from upper-tier Hunters.
“If we… just hold on while waiting for reinforcements….”
“Hold on?”
To someone’s desperate words, the middle-aged Hunter muttered bitterly.
“We’d be torn to shreds a thousand times faster.”
“…Damn it.”
My entire body felt heavy as waterlogged cotton. I knew I had to fight, but I couldn’t muster the courage.
We too had families, and the desire to live. Only my sense of duty as a Hunter and my will kept my feet from retreating on the spot.
But even that time was running out.
– Ahhh, ahhhhh!
When exactly had she appeared?
Atop a towering building, a stunningly beautiful woman wearing a pearl crown, her long hair flowing to conceal her naked form, sang a melody that spread in all directions.
The Siren.
A witch whose beautiful voice enchants and leads listeners to their doom. The Queen of the Black Sea.
Though only one in number, her intense and haunting voice was more than enough to dominate the entire Crossroads.
People who had been screaming and fleeing in panic froze in their tracks, their expressions shifting to one of rapture as they beheld the half-human, half-bird monster hovering in the air like an angel.
The Hunters gritted their teeth to resist the creature’s magical allure, but their efforts proved futile.
Drip, drip.
Blood seeped between their clenched teeth and trickled down their chins.
The enchanting song that relentlessly burrowed into their ears drained the strength from their weapon-wielding hands, and hundreds of Mermen drew closer with each passing moment, their forms blurring in their vision.
“Damn…it.”
Death loomed before their eyes. Not only would they perish, but the thousand civilians as well—none could escape this fate.
And this massacre would continue without end.
Even if elite Hunters arrived to provide support, they could not possibly protect all millions of Busan citizens.
‘Damn, I never thought I’d die like this.’
It was too late. Already beyond salvation.
It was at that moment when the middle-aged Hunter, having resigned himself to everything, gazed at the Siren with dimming eyes.
– Ahhh, ahhhhh…!
Screeeech, splurt!
With a fierce sound of air being torn, the enchanting song abruptly ceased.
A geyser of deep blue blood, dark as the sea itself, erupted forth, and the wings that had been beating powerfully snapped.
The half-human, half-bird monster that had been gliding through the air with angelic grace plummeted onto the asphalt road.
Whoooosh, crash!
“Huh?”
– Hisssss?
As the enchanting song infused with magical allure ceased, their minds cleared.
The surviving humans and the Mermen who had witnessed their queen’s death before their eyes stared at the fallen Siren with vacant expressions.
Her eyes remained wide open and frozen. The pearl crown had been torn away by the impact of the fall, and her hair splayed outward, revealing something long and pointed protruding from between her breasts.
This was….
“Bone?”
The moment a confused voice escaped the middle-aged Hunter’s lips.
Whoooooosh!
A strange sound accompanied a shadow that fell over everyone’s heads. Those who looked up at the sky could see it.
Something vast and bone-white that covered the distant sky above. And standing at its center, a single man.
“I have descended.”
An arrogant yet powerful voice pierced through everyone’s ears.
When golden hair briefly caught the people’s eyes, the mysterious man pointed at the hundreds of Mermen and continued speaking.
“You. Die.”
– …!
The moment hundreds of Mermen’s eyes widened, the bone-white something that cast a shadow over the intersection flashed brilliantly.
Pap pap pap pap pat!
Bone. They were bones. Sharper than spear blades and faster than arrows, they covered the ground in an instant.
Screeeech! Splurt splurt splurt!
Thousands of bone fragments shot forth simultaneously, shattering scales and tearing fins.
Even a Merman who managed to deflect several bone fragments with his spear was immediately felled by another fragment that came flying at him, his body becoming riddled with holes.
Puff, puff, puff, puff!
The torrential downpour of bones cascading from the sky was meant for monsters alone.
Amid that horrifying spectacle, the humans standing rigid watched as the neatly paved asphalt road became drenched in monster blood in mere moments.
Thud, thud, boom!
In just ten seconds, roughly half of the two hundred Mermen collapsed in an instant.
Or rather, they melted away.
Faced with this unexpected turn of events, a Merman who appeared to be a commander let out an urgent cry.
– Hisss, hisssssss!
– Hiss. Hisss!
The Merman, being half-human and half-fish, was a monster possessed of considerable intelligence.
At the commander’s orders, they swiftly erected a wall using the massive scallop shields strapped to their backs, and seeing this, the mysterious man—the Skeleton King—clicked his tongue.
“What insolence. These wretches dare resist me?”
Yet even so, the outcome would not change.
The Skeleton King’s power existed in a realm far beyond the reach of mere Mermen.
“Let them pay dearly for their defiance against the king… hm?”
Crack, boom!
Sensing something amiss, the Skeleton King suddenly turned his head.
In the distance, Mermen swarmed like ants, their forms reflected in his golden eyes beyond his mask.
“…Look at these creatures.”
At first glance, their numbers exceeded five hundred.
And the Skeleton King, finding them increasingly insolent, suddenly recalled a fact he had momentarily forgotten.
‘Ah, the Undead Legion.’
No matter how urgent the situation, one could not summon the Undead Legion at a Busan intersection.
Especially not when a thousand humans stood watching with wide, unblinking eyes.
“This is not how it should be.”
The Skeleton King muttered with dissatisfaction, and anger suddenly surged within him.
The face of a certain cunning human who had placed restrictions upon him flashed before his mind.
‘What a cursed human. Making me suffer like this?’
The thought that this human had deliberately assigned him to the area with the most concentrated monster forces twisted his ribcage with anguish.
And high above in the distant sky, the Skeleton King turned his gaze toward the direction Jin Tae-kyung had headed moments before, and he could see it.
Whoooosh!
Grrraaaaaah!
Boom! Kaboom!
Massive tentacles and explosions visible even from this great distance.
The Skeleton King, silently observing that spectacle, cast his gaze once more toward the cluster of Mermen huddled on the ground.
“…Now that I look again, they resemble a girl group.”
It was the first time he had found hideous Mermen beautiful.
* * *
Whoosh, boom!
With the sound of artillery fire, seawater erupts skyward.
However, this offensive was far weaker than before, and the range of incoming attacks had noticeably diminished.
The primary reason was likely that the creature’s thirty legs had been reduced to nine.
Crunch!
No—now eight.
– Gwoooooooaaaargh!
“A proper octopus now, I see.”
Toward the wailing Kraken, I unleashed a powerful Divine Form technique.
Dodging the incoming tentacles and pushing off the empty air, beneath my feet lay a pair of enormous eyes.
It was time to end this.
Whoosh.
Flames wrapped around the spear’s blade, rotating sharply. I poured all my power into the strike, driving the spear downward toward its pupils.
Heavenly Dragon Divine Spear, Third Form. Takoyaki.

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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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