Murim Login - Chapter 580

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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 580
The shocking news that a Named Monster called Kraken had landed in Busan leading thousands of Mermen spread rapidly.
Go Se-won was among the select few who received this information before the news alert even appeared on screen.
‘A monster wave.’
He was human, after all. Busan was a metropolis with a population reaching five million. Though he and they were complete strangers, the thought of countless civilians becoming casualties left a bitter taste in his mouth.
‘At least Jin Tae-kyung is around for situations like this.’
Thump, thump.
Guild members moving through the Headquarters interior hastily cleared a path at Go Se-won’s approach.
Go Se-won passed through them with quick strides, murmuring in a low voice.
“Security Team. Respond.”
Beep, beep.
A faint mechanical sound reached his ear, followed by immediate responses.
– Team 3. Transmission complete.
– Team 2. Transmission complete.
– Team 1. Transmission complete.
“Open Area A for VIP visit. Report current location and personnel count.”
Go Se-won intended to deploy the Security Team to Busan with his superior’s approval.
It would save lives, and it would also help improve the recently tarnished image of Ares Guild.
But as the team leaders’ reports came in sequence, his brow furrowed.
– Team 3, all personnel. Currently monitoring the target’s family in London.
– Team 2, all personnel. On standby in Headquarters Area A after returning from London.
– Team 1. Current strength: nine members. On standby on the 100th floor of Headquarters after returning from London.
“Team Leader 1. Say that again. What did you say?”
– Team 1. Current strength: nine members. On standby on the 100th floor of Headquarters….
“Never mind the rest. Drop it.”
Go Se-won stepped onto a magic circle with a low voice.
Whoosh.
A brilliant white light signaling the activation of teleportation magic enveloped him as he moved to Area A, continuing his words.
“Why nine instead of ten?”
– An urgent matter came up.
“An urgent matter. Who was excluded?”
– Kim Ho-jung.
“Kim Ho-jung?”
– Yes.
Listening to Team Leader 1’s dry voice, Go Se-won crossed the Corridor of Area A. His mood grew as sharp and uncomfortable as the clicking of his heels.
“That’s peculiar. I have no record of such a report.”
– My apologies.
“I’m not asking for an apology. I’m asking for a reason. Was it unauthorized absence?”
– Of course not.
Of course not, Go Se-won murmured inwardly.
The Security Team was a pack of hunting dogs raised by the late Lee Jung-yong.
Lee Jung-yong had long been secretly operating massive orphanages and childcare facilities, instilling unwavering loyalty into the orphans with nowhere else to go.
I was no exception, and neither were they.
Among them, Team 1 consisted solely of the most loyal and exceptional operatives. The emergence of a deserter from such an elite unit was rarer than a monster wave.
Especially someone like Kim Ho-jung, who had vanished without a trace.
‘Which means….’
Though the Ares Guild housed numerous senior executives and elders, the Security Team answered to only two people’s commands.
The fact that Kim Ho-jung had disappeared without any report to Go Se-won, one of those two, signified only one thing.
Thud.
The footsteps that had been advancing without hesitation came to an abrupt halt.
It was then that Go Se-won stood silently before a door bearing neither nameplate nor decoration. From beyond it, someone’s cheerful voice rang out.
“Come in. Don’t loiter outside.”
“…!”
Go Se-won swallowed hard and opened the door. Inside the neatly organized office, his sole direct superior awaited him.
“Beautiful weather today, wouldn’t you say, Team Leader Go?”
“Yes.”
Go Se-won offered a brief bow, his gaze sweeping quickly across the room.
The pleasant smile playing at Seok Go-jun’s lips, the whiskey glass in his hand, and something he rolled between his fingers.
‘What is that?’
This was not the Seok Go-jun he knew. Everything in this office felt alien and unsettling to Go Se-won.
Perhaps it was the grating noise that gnawed at his ears.
Click. Click.
Seok Go-jun’s voice blended with the irritating friction sound.
“You needn’t concern yourself with Kim Ho-jung. I had given him separate orders.”
“I see.”
“Aren’t you curious what those orders were?”
Their gazes collided in the empty space between them. Observing Seok Go-jun’s unusually crimson eyes, Go Se-won bowed respectfully.
“No, sir. If it was an instruction from the Sub-Guild Master, there must have been sufficient reason.”
“That’s a pleasant answer to hear. I was beginning to think you resented me lately. Perhaps because I’m younger, and you were always so devoted to my predecessor.”
“That cannot be. While it’s true I owe a debt of gratitude to the former Sub-Guild Master, that does not diminish my loyalty.”
“Is that so? Then I’m relieved.”
Click.
Seok Go-jun rubbed whatever he held in his grasp against his palm once more, shaking his glass with evident pleasure.
“The weather’s nice—shall we have a drink together?”
Go Se-won replied with composure.
“I’m afraid I must decline….”
“So you won’t drink? A shame. It’s fine whiskey.”
Go Se-won, who had been watching Seok Go-jun leisurely empty his glass in silence, suddenly opened his mouth.
“More importantly, I have an urgent matter to report.”
“Go ahead.”
“In Busan….”
In the next moment, Go Se-won’s words trailed off. His gaze had caught upon the holographic PC resting on the table where he’d set down his glass.
The paused screen displayed an enormous octopus and the devastated ruins of the Gwangandaegyo Bridge.
“In Busan, what?”
“….”
After a brief silence, Go Se-won murmured softly.
“You already knew.”
Seok Go-jun released a low chuckle.
“I knew. Before anyone else.”
My chest sinks at the unchanged cheerfulness in his voice.
Feeling the anxiety I’d harbored materialize into something tangible, Seok Go-jun forced himself to speak with composure.
“Then Kim Ho-jung is currently in Busan?”
“I recall you saying just moments ago that you weren’t curious.”
“My apologies. It slipped out without my thinking.”
“Never mind. You need to know anyway.”
Seok Go-jun replied good-naturedly, filling the empty glass with whiskey before continuing.
“That’s right. Kim Ho-jung is in Busan under my orders.”
Seok Go-jun paused, as if considering something.
“Though by now, he might not be.”
“…!”
“Forget that—sit down and have a drink with me. My neck aches from looking up at you.”
This time, Go Se-won couldn’t refuse. Or rather, he had no reason to.
To calm the turbulent storm raging in his heart, he needed to drink.
Gulp, gulp.
As the potent whiskey went down in one swallow, my breathing finally eased.
Holding the empty crystal glass, Go Se-won hesitated before forcing out his words.
“Sub-Guild Master. I don’t know how you managed such a thing, but this approach won’t deal them a significant blow.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because Jin Tae-kyung is there. The one who defeated the Arch Lich. He’s already suppressing this Monster Wave swiftly. This will only add to the Peace Guild’s reputation.”
“Right. That’s true. Jin Tae-kyung. Quite the remarkable fellow.”
I’d spoken his name despite bracing for my superior’s anger, yet contrary to expectation, Seok Go-jun’s smile remained.
And in that gentle smile, Go Se-won felt an even greater sense of foreboding.
“Sub-Guild Master. Surely you don’t mean….”
“To capture the commander, you must lure out the general. It would cause an uproar if discovered, but there would be no lingering consequences.”
“…!”
“Jin Tae-kyung can’t act immediately. But Choi Min-woo—that’s a different story, isn’t it?”
Creak, creak.
With that grating friction, a name flashed through Go Se-won’s mind like lightning.
“Song Cheon-woo. It’s Song Cheon-woo.”
“Correct. You’ve earned yourself another drink.”
Go Se-won accepted the drink, concealing the tremor in his fingertips. His mind struggled to grasp where, exactly, things had begun to unravel.
Yet even amid this chaos, one certainty crystallized within him—his superior’s plan would fail.
“Choi Min-woo is a cautious man. On the surface, he is the master of the Peace Guild, and he has Kim Hwa-jong, who has served faithfully at his side for years.”
“I know. My master has spoken of Kim Hwa-jong many times. And if we consider the additional security personnel, Song Cheon-woo—that old man alone—would find it impossible.”
“Sub-Guild Master. Then why, exactly…?”
Screeeech!
In that instant, a sharp, piercing friction sound erupted, swallowing Go Se-won’s voice.
Instead of answering, Seok Go-jun chuckled softly and opened his palm. Something he had been clutching all along finally revealed itself.
Egg-sized, cradling a darkness as though the abyss itself had been drawn in and imprisoned—the name of that object spilled from Go Se-won’s lips.
“A Demonic Stone…”
Had it been merely an ordinary Demonic Stone, he would not have been shocked.
What now rested in Seok Go-jun’s palm was something that could only drop from Named Monsters—what was called an S-rank Demonic Stone.
Pure, unrefined magical power swirled within it in violent eddies.
“S-Sub-Guild Master.”
Now he understood. How he had been able to artificially trigger a Monster Wave.
At Go Se-won’s trembling call, mingled with sighs and dread, Seok Go-jun muttered low.
“Choi Min-woo. That bastard dies today. Without fail.”
And it would be one of two who would kill Choi Min-woo.
The elderly man with his family held hostage. Or another entity whose very identity even Seok Go-jun could not clearly discern.
“What is certain is that Song Cheon-woo has no choice.”
Seok Go-jun, murmuring softly to himself, smiled with genuine pleasure.
In his eyes, as he habitually caressed the worn necklace hanging from his neck, darkness rippled and danced.
* * *
If someone were to ask how he could move in such a grave condition, Song Cheon-woo would answer in two words.
Will.
It was precisely that—will. The final strength drawn forth by sheer, absolute will. The old man, approaching seventy, summoned every last ounce of his being and hurled himself toward death.
Whoosh! Whirrr!
The world slowed.
The cold sensation of eyes vanished, and a floating weightlessness seized his entire body.
Within that fractured, subdivided instant, Song Cheon-woo’s gaze met two pairs of wide, startled eyes fixed upon him.
Choi Min-woo and Kim Hwa-jong. Their eyes seemed to ask the same question.
‘Why?’
Song Cheon-woo silently answered the question both men harbored.
‘There is no other way.’
Perhaps, had this been days ago, he would have grasped the hand Choi Min-woo extended.
But the Seok Go-jun he had encountered last was… a monster.
Song Cheon-woo had sensed madness in his eyes. If he were to leave this place alive, that man would, without hesitation, eliminate his family.
That was something the Peace Guild could not resolve—something even Jin Tae-kyung or That Person could not solve.
‘Yes, so it comes to this, then.’
With that fleeting thought brushing through his mind, Song Cheon-woo plummeted toward the pitch-black darkness.
The darkness, endless and fathomless, resembled the gaping maw of a monster—and perhaps his own life as well.
‘Was it Nietzsche?’
Someone had said it once: when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes into you.
Song Cheon-woo came to understand this truth far too late, long after everything had already slipped beyond redemption.
Shrieeeeek!
A biting, ferocious wind lashed across his entire body.
Within the howl of that savage gale, a conversation from days past clawed at the edges of his consciousness.
‘This…’
‘Keep it hidden, sir. As you well know, it’s far too dangerous. And quite expensive as well.’
‘…You. You’ve lost your mind.’
‘You’ll need to lose yours too, if you wish to save your family.’
A madman’s words. A mad conversation.
And after days of anguish that felt like decades, Song Cheon-woo had ultimately chosen never to use ‘that thing.’
‘Was that the right choice, in the end?’
As the wind grew more violent, Song Cheon-woo sensed something drawing near through the darkness and closed his eyes.
Crack! Crunch-crunch-crunch!
The long fall came to its end.
His neck snapped first, followed by the shattering of every bone in his body.
And in the next moment, Song Cheon-woo heard something beyond his fading consciousness—a sound.
– Grrrrr.
A desolate creature’s cry, unlike anything he had ever heard before.
He wanted to speak, but the being that had crouched within the abyss for countless ages would not grant its prey a final word.
Crunch!
Darkness arrived.
Massive fangs shattered the lifeless corpse and swallowed the blood.
The old man, who had wished to die as a human rather than a monster, had never used what lay deep in his pocket—that something he had hidden away.
Whoooosh.
The darkness itself became light, erupting outward.

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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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