Murim Login - Chapter 581

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 581
Crack—Boom!
The whip of fire lashed across the ground. The accumulated snow melted, and the Yeti’s blood boiled. From between Kim Hwa-jong’s clenched teeth came a voice that seemed to spit out the words.
“Song Cheon-woo, you bastard….”
The old butler’s wide-open eyes remained fixed on the spot where, mere seconds ago, a person had collapsed.
If it was going to end like this, if he was going to meet such a death, I should have killed him with my own hands. But Song Cheon-woo had summoned some final strength from nowhere and hurled himself into the deep crevasse, choosing his own death.
An end too good for a traitor. And what troubled me even more than that was….
“An important witness has vanished. I apologize, Young Master.”
“No.”
Choi Min-woo shook his head at Kim Hwa-jong’s murmur, almost like a sigh. His gaze remained fixed on the crevasse, whose depths were utterly unfathomable.
“There is no need for you to apologize, Kim Butler. It is my fault for not being more cautious.”
Victory dulls one’s vigilance. Perhaps it was even more so because the battle had been far from easy. Choi Min-woo poured a potion—not even half-empty—over his body.
Sizzle. With the sound of flesh burning, the wounds began to close gradually. He felt a faint pain as he continued speaking.
“Song Cheon-woo likely believed this was the only way to save his family.”
“….”
“I do not misunderstand the situation, but… it seems he was far more desperate than we had imagined.”
Kim Hwa-jong muttered in a rough tone.
“Foolish bastard. There’s no guarantee his family will even survive this, so what was the point?”
“That is how much he feared it. Is it not human nature to grasp at hope even in the depths of despair?”
Choi Min-woo answered in a quiet voice and finally tore his gaze from the crevasse. Though the exact depth was unknown, it appeared to be hundreds of meters at least—a cliff so vast that Song Cheon-woo, already on death’s door, had virtually zero chance of surviving the fall.
“We must summon the Guild members. No, it would be faster to dispatch personnel from the Guild House.”
These two had walked together for over twenty years. Kim Hwa-jong immediately grasped Choi Min-woo’s intent.
“Are you thinking of recovering the body?”
“I am not certain it will be possible, but we should at least attempt it. Song Cheon-woo is still the director of the Ares Guild’s European headquarters.”
Even if his breath has ceased, his position remains. If we could prove even half of what transpired here, the shockwaves would ripple far beyond the fortress that is Ares and shake Seok Go-jun himself.
“Attempted murder, murder for hire—whatever it may be called, it will be a stain that even the sub-guild leader of that Ares Guild cannot wash away. Especially not in circumstances like these.”
A fortress built over decades does not crumble easily. But Seok Go-jun is different. Choi Min-woo intended to marshal every resource at his disposal to drag him from his throne.
“From now on, things will become incomparably busier. For me, and for you as well, Kim Butler.”
Kim Hwa-jong smiled, pride evident in his expression.
“I have waited for this day.”
“I am fortunate that you have always stood by my side, Kim Butler.”
“Use me while I still have years left, Young Master. We must make that dog Seok Go-jun regret ever committing such vile acts.”
“That is precisely my intention.”
Choi Min-woo nodded and began walking away from the crevasse. Whether from the fierce battle with Song Cheon-woo or from the considerable blood loss, exhaustion swept through his entire body, and his steps grew heavy.
And as his consciousness grew increasingly hazy, retracing the path he had taken, Choi Min-woo’s footsteps suddenly froze.
Splash.
Filthy slush—a mixture of snow and blood—scattered around him. Kim Hwa-jong, following behind, asked in a bewildered voice.
“Young Master?”
But Choi Min-woo did not answer. Staring silently at his own foot, half-submerged in the murky puddle of slush, he suddenly murmured.
“Regret.”
“Pardon?”
“Didn’t Kim Butler just say he’d make Seok Go-jun regret committing such a dog-like act?”
“He did say that, but what’s the problem with—”
“The ‘why’ was missing. There was no question about why Seok Go-jun committed such a dog-like act in the first place.”
Choi Min-woo stared at the puddle, thinking. With just one step, filthy water would splash and ripples would spread—so why had Seok Go-jun sent Song Cheon-woo, who belonged to the Ares Guild, as an assassin to kill him?
Because he was exceptionally skilled? Or because he was a traitor?
Both were wrong. This was…
‘A trap.’
The moment that word struck his mind like lightning, my body trembled. Not from the shock of the revelation that had finally dawned on me, and certainly not from the exhaustion that gripped my entire being.
No, from the very beginning, it wasn’t just me that was shaking.
Rumble, rumble, rumble…
New ripples spread across the puddle that had slowly grown still, and unmelted snowdrifts collapsed. The earth itself was trembling. As the entire Snow Mountain convulsed, terrified cries of Yetis echoed from all directions. And at the center of all these phenomena was a tremendous resonance.
Crack, booooom!
Choi Min-woo and Kim Hwa-jong turned their heads simultaneously as if they’d made a pact. The ground split like a spider’s web with tremendous vibration. The thread-like cracks in the earth connected to the darkness behind them.
Crash, crack, crack!
A Crevasse.
A colossal darkness whose end was impossible to fathom opened its maw. Darkness flowed from the widening gap. No—a tremendous surge of Mana shook the Snow Mountain and tore through space itself.
Whoooosh!
And the two men could see it.
Beyond the split in space, an endless blue sky and buildings stretched out. The world they had lived in and would continue to live in.
“…A Monster Wave.”
Two worlds that touched but should never have connected were now linked. A roar announcing the beginning of that calamity echoed across all directions.
– Grrrraaahhh!
Before the abyss that finally revealed itself, Kim Hwa-jong stepped forward to shield his young master, his eyes darker than ever before.
Step.
A blizzard swirled violently. Stained black by Mana, it was no longer pristine white or beautiful.
* * *
“Team Leader, how about a drink?”
At the sight of a team member approaching with a soju bottle held cheerfully, the Team Leader answered curtly.
“No thanks, you bastard.”
Despite his words, his glass was already raised. The team member, grinning as if he knew better, filled the empty glass.
Glug, glug, glug. The Team Leader threw back the soju that filled the glass in one gulp, then dipped a slice of flounder sashimi deep into the sauce and swallowed. The chewy texture lifted his mood slightly.
“…Damn, it does taste good though.”
“Right? It’s famous in the Hunter Community, I hear.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. There are lots of reviews online. People say it’s the best after finishing a Raid Team.”
“Well, those guys collected plenty of Mana stones after finishing their raids, so of course the booze tastes good to them. There’s no one like me who came up empty-handed.”
“…Oh boy. Here we go again, Team Leader.”
The Team Leader smacked his lips. If he’d been affiliated with a Guild, it wouldn’t have mattered whether he came up empty on a Raid or not, but leading a freelance Hunter Team was different. He had to scrape together pocket change to cover his crew’s share, even if it meant going without.
Of course, that included this cheerful bastard who’d just approached him.
“Team Leader, you’re not angry, are you?”
“Forget it. Pour me another drink.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Team Leader chuckled as his subordinate snapped to attention and poured with enthusiasm, then turned his gaze beyond the railing. Though the raid had fallen through, sipping alcohol while admiring the pristine white landscape blanketed by the recent snow wasn’t so bad after all.
‘Pyeongchang really does have beautiful scenery.’
No wonder they’d built so many ski resorts around here.
Muttering to himself, the Team Leader continued emptying his glass while appreciating the surroundings. The countless visitors flocking to the ski resort today and the gondolas ceaselessly rising and falling were a perfect testament to how thoughtless these people were.
“Hey, isn’t it ridiculous?”
The team member who’d been eagerly devouring sashimi lifted his head.
“What is?”
“There’s a Gate sitting right on top of the mountain, and Mana’s increased by seven percent, yet they’re still doing this nonsense.”
Moreover, when he came down and checked, there was a monster wave that had erupted in Busan below. The Team Leader shook his head in disbelief.
“I mean, even when COVID broke out when I was young, there were idiots who still went to ski resorts.”
“Corona?”
“…Never mind. Just finish eating.”
The Team Leader heaved a deep sigh and drained his glass again. It was right then, as he thought about what was happening in Busan, that his chest grew tight.
“Uh, uh uh! Uh uh uh uh!”
“What?”
“…Why is she acting like that again?”
At the sudden outburst, all eyes—including the Team Leader’s—snapped toward one spot. A female Hunter in her twenties, who’d been deep in thought about something, was shaking her smartphone like a madwoman.
“Wow, jackpot! This is insane! This is insane!”
The Team Leader responded with a worried expression.
“Yeah, it does seem that way.”
“No, that’s not it! Remember what I said earlier? That handsome guy with the mask—I felt like I’d seen him somewhere!”
The Team Leader recalled the group of Hunters he’d encountered earlier, and in particular, the young man who’d been at the back of their group.
“Right, you did say that. And thanks to those guys, we wasted the whole day without a raid.”
“But that person! Wow, he’s really incredible. Kim So-hye, your eye for detail is insane. How did you recognize him?”
“I’m about to lose my mind listening to this. Can you please just tell me what you’re talking about?”
“Look at this, look!”
The Team Leader frowned as a smartphone was suddenly thrust in front of his face, but the moment he saw the face displayed on the screen, his eyes widened.
“What? Is this real? It does look similar, but…”
“I’m telling you it’s him! Don’t you trust me, Team Leader?”
“No.”
“Ah, come on. This time I’m certain, so believe me! I’ve spent thirty years as an idol fan and developed an eye for this!”
“You’re twenty-five years old. Did your father also do fan activities?”
“Anyway, I’m right! If I’m wrong, you don’t even have to pay me today!”
A slave to capitalism wagering her daily wages. The Team Leader finally felt inclined to believe her. Along with curiosity.
‘If this is true… why would someone of that caliber come all the way out here?’
On the smartphone screen was a handsome face that could pass for a celebrity, accompanied by a brief article.
[Pyeonghwa Guild House Team Leader Choi Min-woo. “The Emergency Rescue Team is for everyone”]
A big shot. And a tremendously important one at that.
Though I hadn’t seen his face clearly, the composed gaze and distinctive aura that came through even in photographs seemed to match.
‘If this is true, then all the other Hunters must belong to the Pyeonghwa Guild House as well.’
Choi Min-woo had become so famous recently that the Team Leader had heard stories about him multiple times. But even if only half of what was said was true, he should be swamped with work—so why would he lead Guild members to visit a B-rank Gate in Pyeongchang?
‘Wait. Then that man I saw on the way down earlier…?’
The moment that thought reached me.
Boom—boom—boom—boom!
A tremendous tremor swept through the surroundings. In an instant, all noise ceased and everyone’s heads turned in unison toward a single direction. And among them, the Team Leader was the first to sense the catastrophe.
Just before the tremor erupted, his gaze had already fixed on one location.
‘…That place….’
The location where we’d climbed up with hope only to descend in disappointment. The B-rank Gate known as Yeti’s Winter Mountain Range.
And in the next moment, reflected in the Team Leader’s wide-open eyes was a portion of the mountain slowly collapsing inward and a pitch-black darkness descending upon it. From amid the devastated remains of the gondola and buildings, a spine-chilling roar echoed forth.
– Grrrraaaaaahhh!
A Monster Wave. And people still remaining at the Gate.
Gripped by suffocating terror, the Team Leader shouted with a voice barely squeezed out.
“Report it! Report it now!”
A frightened question came back.
“W-where to?”
“The Hunter Association, the Pyeonghwa Guild House, Jin Tae-kyung… anywhere, right now!”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————