Murim Login - Chapter 583

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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 583
Choi Team Leader. Pyeongchang. Monster Wave.
Three keywords that had crashed down upon me suddenly left my mind reeling.
But the data flooding across the massive display screens robbed me of even a moment to think.
– Kwaaaaaa!
– Kyaaaaaaack!
– An, an avalanche!
People screaming and fleeing in panic.
Unable to even think of removing their ski gear, they waddled awkwardly before tumbling, and behind them cascaded an enormous torrent of snow and shattered stone.
– Kwang!
Dozens were swept away by the wave of snow, and crimson blood sprayed forth with a deafening roar.
Buildings collapsed by the rocks were engulfed in flames. And beyond the billowing inferno lay the source of all this devastation.
– Guguguguung!
Though the sun had not yet set, the sky there was dark.
A black cloud descended upon an unnamed mountain peak.
Each time brilliant light flashed between them, tremendous vibrations and thunderous roars erupted.
‘A monster wave.’
I understood instinctively. In that place where light and darkness coexisted, a collision was occurring that would determine the fates of thousands.
And… Choi Team Leader and Kim Butler, along with the Hunters of the Peace Guild, were risking their lives to face the Named Monster.
The voice of an unseen announcer came through the noise.
– The government has currently declared the Pyeongchang area of Gyeonggi Province a disaster zone and has dispatched emergency reinforcement troops. Meanwhile, the monster wave that occurred in Busan….
I had neither reason nor time to listen further.
I spun around urgently and shouted toward the Hunters who stood staring blankly at the display screens of the high-rise building.
“Mage!”
“Y, yes?”
“Mage, step forward! We need to teleport to Pyeongchang! Right now!”
At my forceful cry, several Hunters who had startled awake as if from a nightmare hesitantly raised their hands.
One A-rank Mage and six B-rank ones. But despite stepping forward, their complexions were grim.
“I, I apologize, but we cannot cast teleportation on our own.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve all just finished battling monsters, so our mana fatigue is severe, and we would need to draw a teleportation magic circle, but under the current circumstances….”
The Mages trailed off, their eyes scanning their surroundings. Corpses of victims and monster carcasses scattered everywhere. The road torn to shreds like plowed earth.
It was arguably the worst possible conditions to cast teleportation magic, a spell notorious for its difficulty even among high-ranking Mages.
Skeleton King, who had been observing the situation, opened his mouth with a contorted expression.
“You stupid bas… fools. Do you think this is a time to be picky about conditions? Do it. Damn, this is frustrating.”
Even as he barely suppressed his rage, the ominous aura that leaked out made the Mages gulp.
“B, but right now it’s unavoidable. It’s far too dangerous.”
“It’s impossible. Even if we succeeded against the odds, it’s over 250 kilometers from Busan to Pyeongchang. We cannot cross such a distance in a single leap.”
“Try anyway! Attempt it no matter what!”
Skeleton King’s cry was exactly what I wanted to say.
But at the same time, I know that Mages don’t groan without reason. They’re not Magic Johnson, after all.
The dark-skinned Grand Mage who sent me into that chaotic battlefield in Sichuan without a magic circle is likely beyond the Continent by now.
‘Damn it.’
From my clenched fist, a thick, viscous blood—whether mine or the monster’s, I couldn’t tell—dripped steadily. Perhaps it was both.
“Is there no other way?”
The middle-aged Hunter who appeared to be the highest-ranking among them answered with an anxious voice.
“We’ve already contacted headquarters moments ago. We’re searching for a high-level Mage among the Hunters in Busan who can cast teleportation, but….”
His words trailed off. His expression darkened.
That alone was enough to convey the gravity of the situation. I gritted my teeth as I urged the senior Hunter once more to hurry.
‘Damn it.’
The enemy was a Named Monster. Moreover, a being equal to or surpassing the Kraken.
How much longer could they hold out against such a creature whose power was evident even from mere data screens? How many would survive?
‘Just a little longer. Please hold on just a little longer.’
Muttering an unreachable plea under my breath, I sat down in a cross-legged position.
Until I found a Mage, I needed to recover whatever strength I’d expended.
“Exhale.”
I closed my eyes, suppressing the rising anxiety and rage. Darkness veiled my vision.
At the same time, the faces of those fighting in an even deeper darkness flashed before my eyes.
‘Please… survive.’
Until I arrive.
Whoooosh.
A profound surge of vital energy, infused with desperate longing, radiated outward through every limb and meridian in my body.
* * *
The trunk that cleaved through space and swung down was long and massive.
Resembling an elephant’s trunk, it deflected incoming magic and arrows before surging toward the ground level.
Whoooosh—!
A dense shadow loomed over the people’s heads. Choi Min-woo, gritting his teeth, hurled himself forward and shouted.
“Scatter!”
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Figures burst apart like the wind, dispersing in all directions. The movements of top-tier Hunters who occupied the highest ranks in the pyramid hierarchy of Hunter classification.
Yet if those gathered here were A-rank Hunters, the enemy they faced was a Named Monster from ancient mythology itself.
– Graaaaaahhh!
Behemoth.
The demonic beast that descended upon the present world from the depths of the abyss roared. A powerful Fear that seized souls and movements rippled through the scattered Hunters.
“Gasp!”
“Huff…!”
Two Hunters from the Peace Guild, outside the range of light emanating from [Hero’s Soul], gasped for breath.
Without abundant combat experience and unwavering mental fortitude, they might have lost consciousness or gone mad on the spot.
Yet the cunning demonic beast achieved its desired result with merely the momentary chaos brought by the Fear.
“No!”
Behemoth was half a beat faster than Choi Min-woo’s warning cry upon sensing the danger. And that single moment decided the fate of both men.
Whoosh, crack!
A gust of wind erupted from empty air and came crashing down upon the earth.
High-tier defensive magic woven into armor, muscles honed to their absolute limit, tenacious vitality—no force on earth could withstand the power that shattered and crushed everything in its path.
“Crack. Cough!”
A final gasp accompanied by a spray of crimson blood. With bones, flesh, and organs ruptured throughout the body, even the highest-grade potions were useless.
In that fleeting instant, Choi Min-woo’s gaze met the fading light in two pairs of eyes, and I gritted my teeth.
‘Again…!’
Dead. Dead, and dead again.
Trampled to death beneath massive claws, impaled upon tusks, crushed to pulp by a thrashing trunk.
Thus more than half of the twenty-two Hunters, including myself and Kim Hwa-jong, met gruesome deaths.
Had I not possessed the potions I carried, I would have witnessed even more deaths with these eyes.
But now even those potions were running dangerously low.
‘Damn it all.’
I gritted my teeth. The pain from my shattered molars felt distant, and the blood flowing from my torn lips seemed unreal. Only rage and resolve remained.
And those two emotions alone kept me from collapsing in despair. They allowed me to overcome my fear and charge toward Behemoth.
“Young Master!”
Whoosh!
Leaving Kim Hwa-jong’s anguished cry behind, my mana-infused steps struck the ground with force.
A fierce sonic boom erupted above my head as I surged forward like a beam of light. I twisted my body with every ounce of strength I possessed.
Whoosh, boom!
The earth trembled. Snow that had blanketed the ground scattered, and shattered stone fragments scraped across my forehead. Blood obscured my vision in crimson, while the blades in both my hands blazed with brilliant white light.
Screech, crack!
The thick darkness split open.
As the beam of light that rent the space severed the two front legs standing like pillars, an enormous torrent of blood erupted from the gaping wound.
Splash!
Drenched in green blood from head to toe, I exhaled the breath I had been holding.
I wanted to evade, but could not.
Like Behemoth’s two trembling legs, my body also wavered from the immense force I had expended in that brief moment.
“Two of four legs….”
I muttered softly through my vision stained entirely green.
Fifteen Hunters. A price far too steep when measured against my own life.
Yet Behemoth’s anguished screams were not unpleasant to hear.
–
Grrrrrraaaaaaah! Hu. Man!
“…I hear you. Though I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re saying.”
I replied weakly.
Fatigue and pain I had forgotten suddenly crashed down upon me all at once. The light emanating from the Hero’s Soul in my hand was already beginning to flicker and fade.
‘Just a little longer. Just a little more.’
But that was asking far too much.
The exhaustion that began with the blood battle against Song Cheon-woo had accumulated steadily until now, and the death of the healer, the depletion of potions, the unstoppable hemorrhaging and injuries were breaking him down.
Whoosh.
The world tilted.
No—it wasn’t the world tilting. It was Choi Min-woo.
In his slowly inverting vision, he saw something massive hurtling toward him.
Whoooosh!
Feeling the wind that could crush his entire body, Choi Min-woo closed his eyes.
* * *
Crash!
With the deafening roar, the only light vanished.
Between the thick black fog surrounding everything, a cloud of dust mixed with snow and earth rose up.
Boom, boom, boom!
At Behemoth’s blow—more powerful than ever before—the entire mountain trembled.
The surviving hunters of the Peace Guild stared at the sight with eyes full of despair.
Their hope, however faint it had been in their hearts, had vanished with the light.
Along with the young man who had led them from the front.
‘It’s over. Everything.’
They all sensed it.
Though this world would not end, at least the world they beheld would end today, in this place.
Yet their hearts, facing the end, were strangely calm.
At least they had fulfilled their duty. As humans. As hunters.
There was no regret, for they had poured out the sense of mission they had forgotten while intoxicated by wealth and fame without reservation.
“Damn it, I just signed the contract on my house the other day.”
At someone’s murmur, quiet laughter broke out among the hunters.
“That crazy bastard.”
“If you’re scared, go. I won’t stop you.”
But no one moved. Not even the hunter who had first spoken.
The one who stared blankly at his own trembling legs spat out:
“What’s the point? I’d rather die fighting.”
They all felt the same. Behind them, thousands of people were still evacuating.
The comrades who had fallen before, and Choi Min-woo who had charged at Behemoth until the very end—they had died to protect those people.
“We have plenty of money and pride anyway.”
“Besides, the weather’s terrible for dying. Can’t see the sky because of this damn fog.”
“But why is that elephant bastard suddenly standing still?”
It was the very moment when the few remaining hunters were about to charge at Behemoth, steeling their resolve.
“No need to die.”
With a low voice, the thick fog dispersed. What drove back the darkness as deep as an abyss was not light, but flame.
Roaring inferno!
A figure appeared, cutting through the fog with fierce flames, and added:
“At least you all won’t.”
In the trembling eyes of the crowd, a graying middle-aged man came into focus.
Kim Hwa-jong, who had vanished into the mist pursuing Choi Min-woo, bore little resemblance to his former self.
“…Guild Master, your arm.”
“It’s fine.”
With his left arm torn away, Kim Hwa-jong smiled wearily.
Though he had lost one limb, the smile was possible because he had managed to save something far more precious.
He handed over the person he had been cradling in his right arm to the Hunters and continued.
“All of you leave this place immediately. With the young master.”
“B-but.”
“That’s a Guild Master’s order.”
Grrrrrowwwl.
The beast, having caught sight of its prey that had nearly slipped away, released a low, rumbling laugh.
The faint smile that had lingered at Kim Hwa-jong’s lips vanished.
“Now!”
“…!”
At the fierce command that burst forth, the Hunters realized they had no choice and clenched their teeth.
Taking the limp Choi Min-woo from him, they offered a brief bow and activated their movement technique.
Whoooosh!
Down the steep slope they slid. As Kim Hwa-jong watched them in silence, a faint smile bloomed once more at his lips.
‘You must survive. You must.’
The whispered prayer that would not reach them—and when he turned back, hellfire flickered in the one hand that remained.
“Come then, you wretched beast.”
–
Grrrraaaaaahhh!
The beast’s enormous eyes and the gaze burning with flame collided in the void.
Having sent everyone away and standing alone at the cliff’s edge, Noh Ji-sa intoned what might be his final incantation.
“Hellfire of the abyss, manifest here.”
Hell Fire.
Booooom!

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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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