Murim Login - Chapter 584

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

Chapter 584
Boom—boom—boom—boom!
A pillar of flame erupted skyward. The mountain trembled. Across a radius of hundreds of meters, the space boiled with superheated air as snow, earth, and stone melted away.
A land of death where lava overflowed. Upon that scorched expanse where all things had vaporized, two figures stood like towering monuments.
–
I—will—not—yield—to—you—ever!
The elderly butler Noh Ji-sa gazed upon the mythical beast, blackened with rage, with eyes of perfect calm.
Hell Fire.
Even the infernal flames summoned from the depths of Hell had failed to topple Behemoth. One massive tusk had melted without a trace, and its entire body was charred black, yet the creature remained unbroken.
But…
“Damn thing’s tougher than stone.”
Kim Hwa-jong did not retreat. He could not retreat.
With his one remaining hand, he gripped the Magic Staff with all his strength.
Whoosh.
The short, slender staff was engulfed in flames. As the fire swept across it, a thicker, longer staff emerged anew from the inferno.
A cherished weapon from the age of chaos and upheaval—the staff that had reduced countless monsters to ash and earned its master the epithet “Mage of Calamity Fire.”
Kim Hwa-jong leveled the crimson-tinged staff toward Behemoth and spoke with absolute conviction.
“Stop. You will go no further.”
–
I—will—not!
Behemoth roared. Simultaneously, the thick black mist that had settled like a living thing surged toward Kim Hwa-jong.
Shiiiiing!
It was a rope to bind the entire body, and a blade to tear and shatter flesh.
Yet Kim Hwa-jong regarded the encroaching mist with unwavering composure.
In that instant, the staff in his blood-stained hand struck the ground.
Boom!
A wave of force rippled outward with a deep resonance. Flames bloomed from Kim Hwa-jong’s position, forming a ring of fire that encircled him.
Whoosh—roaaaaar!
Fire was not merely a symbol of destruction, but the power of purification.
The black mist that had been hurled toward him crumbled to ash the moment it touched the flames.
In the vast eyes of the beast that lorded over the earth, the figure of a solitary human stood reflected in perfect clarity.
–
What—is—this?
This was an unexpected turn for Behemoth.
The opponent was merely human. Yet this insignificant, contemptible creature had not only wounded it but had nullified its attack entirely.
–
You—are—human—yet?
A roar laden with overwhelming dread shook the world. But unlike the flickering flames in its eyes, Kim Hwa-jong’s heart remained utterly serene.
The beast before him had made one critical miscalculation.
The fear that dwells deep within every living creature’s heart—it did not exist in this old man he now faced.
‘Thank goodness, Young Master.’
With a murmur that barely escaped his lips, Kim Hwa-jong smiled faintly. His only fear was receding further from calamity even in this very moment.
If only that boy, Choi Min-woo, could survive… nothing else mattered.
‘Even if I perish here.’
Whether crushed beneath the claws of a demonic beast, pierced through by fangs without uttering a final word, or reduced to ash after wringing mana and flesh to their absolute limits—it was all acceptable.
‘As long as Young Master remains safe, that is enough for me.’
Thus, Kim Hwa-jong gripped his staff with joy in his heart.
A reddish glow suffused the tip of the staff as an immense torrent of mana, already exceeding its limits, surged through it. The scorching mana ignited into flame and erupted outward.
“Sweep across.”
Fire Wave.
With a brief incantation, waves of flame rippled and extended outward.
At their terminus stood Behemoth, who unleashed an enraged cry and swung a trunk as long as an elephant’s, yet dozens of times more massive.
Shrieeek!
A wind rose with devastating force, engulfing the waves of flame. The superheated inferno extinguished in an instant, and invisible blades of wind slashed across all directions.
Shhhwick! Crunch!
The ground split and tore like paper. Yet Kim Hwa-jong had already barely escaped the spot.
As Noh Ji-sa charged toward Behemoth’s flank, a low voice escaped between his lips.
“Ignite.”
Blaze.
Boom!
Flames erupted in the wake of his footsteps.
As he transformed into a streak of fire with the instantaneous explosion, a dense shadow fell across Kim Hwa-jong’s head.
Whoooosh!
“…!”
Instinct moved half a beat faster than reason. Fire Shield. Without a sound, the silent incantation summoned overlapping barriers of flame above Kim Hwa-jong’s head.
And in a span of time so brief it could barely be called a moment, an enormous pressure bore down upon the twenty-layered shields of fire.
Craaack!
Everything shatters and scatters.
Overwhelming force and weight. Beyond that, a formidable magical power whose end could not be fathomed shattered the layered shields and shook the caster’s mana.
Pfuuuh!
Dark crimson blood sprayed from between Kim Hwa-jong’s lips.
His vision blurred from the backlash of the dissipating spell. Yet instead of collapsing in place, he gritted his teeth and threw his body forward in a tumble.
Crack! Thud thud!
A fleeting moment granted by the defensive magic.
Behemoth’s trunk scraped past by the narrowest margin, pulverizing the ground. Simultaneously, hundreds of fragments scattered in all directions, grazing Noh Ji-sa’s calves as they passed.
A pain like being seared by flame. Yet the old butler did not groan in agony; instead, he bared blood-stained teeth in a grin.
“Did I not tell you? You cannot go anywhere.”
In that instant, the staff in his hand blazed with superheated intensity. A sphere of flame, conjured from empty air, swelled in size.
Kim Hwa-jong coughed violently, spitting blood as he roared.
“Detonate. Inferno’s barrage!”
Flame Cannon.
With the incantation complete, a brilliant radiance erupted forth.
The supreme flame magic, imbued with power faster and mightier than any cannon, found its mark—the two front legs of the demonic beast that Choi Min-woo had already severed halfway.
— That bastard…!
Crack, BOOM!
In the next instant, Behemoth’s cry was buried beneath the deafening roar that shook the world.
The inferno tore through space itself, rupturing the wound that had not yet healed and ravaging its interior.
Crackle. From the front legs charred black as coal came a terrible agony, and Behemoth unleashed a roar of anguish.
— GAAAAAAAH!
Boom!
At last, they buckled. Both front legs.
The mythical beast that had descended from the Abyss into this world knelt as if the temple itself were crumbling.
Tremendous weight shook the earth, and a colossal cloud of dust rose into the air.
And the one human who had brought Behemoth to its knees was laughing, blood spilling from his lips.
“Hehehehe!”
It was the laughter of a hunter once called the greatest flame mage, and the satisfaction of a butler who had fulfilled his duty.
‘This is enough. This is enough.’
I had rendered half of its four legs useless.
Unless Behemoth sprouted wings, it could not pursue Choi Min-woo.
And because of this, many lives would be spared.
Kim Hwa-jong smiled as he watched the dark shadow hurtling toward him.
‘Still… just a little regret remains.’
Splat! CRASH!
His vision turned white. Kim Hwa-jong felt the tremendous impact and pain engulfing his entire body as he was hurled like a cannonball.
BOOM!
With a deafening crash, his back shattered against the hard stone, and something unstoppable surged up from deep within.
“Cough!”
Noh Ji-sa looked down at the blood he had vomited with dimming eyes. Small fragments of organs were mixed within the dark red pool.
His eardrums had ruptured—his ears rang with deafness—and through his blurred vision, a memory from long ago shimmered like heat haze.
‘The power of flame magic is formidable. Was his previous class perhaps an arsonist?’
‘…What kind of nonsense is that? Either help or get lost.’
‘Fortunately, I won’t have to leave. I’ll help you and everyone here.’
‘Hmm. Then the story changes somewhat. Your name?’
‘Cheon Tae-min.’
When I first met him, I did not know that he, who appeared impossibly young for his age, would become the idol to whom I would devote my entire life.
But that reality came to pass not long after.
One year, two years, five years… When the long and terrible Great Hall war ended, I had become Cheon Tae-min’s shadow.
‘What should I do now?’
As it was for others, the Great Upheaval was an event that had transformed Kim Hwa-jong’s life entirely.
To him, confused by the peace that had finally arrived despite all that waiting, my idol asked calmly in return.
‘What are you trying to do?’
‘I’m not sure. But if you command it, I’ll do anything.’
‘Then join the guild. I need you. I’ve already accepted Jeong-ryong and Cheon Woo.’
‘You mean… the Peace Guild?’
‘Yes.’
‘The name sounds rather dull, if I’m being honest. What about Ares instead? The god of war from Greek and Roman mythology. Ares.’
‘Ares… not bad. Then I’ll do as you suggest and have you join the guild. Don’t worry about your retirement.’
‘…I’m afraid administrative work doesn’t suit me at all. Very well, Guild Master.’
‘I must have told you a thousand times over the past five years to call me Elder Brother. You really never change, do you?’
Just as he’d said back then, Kim Hwa-jong never changed.
Even after the bonds with his trusted comrades and two sworn brothers grew distant, and it became difficult to see Cheon Tae-min’s face, it remained the same.
Peace may have come, but his fiery temperament persisted, and curses never left his lips.
He resolved to change only after a child born amid everyone’s blessings lost both parents in an unexpected accident.
‘Hello.’
‘…Hello.’
At the funeral attended by only a handful of people, the boy—barely five or six years old—looked terribly alone.
The sight of him clinging to his Maternal Grandfather’s leg and offering a greeting with a darkened face pierced the aging Kim Hwa-jong’s heart.
Perhaps that was why he accepted Cheon Tae-min’s proposal so readily when he came a few days later.
‘Can you take care of Min-woo? Can you look after that child?’
The immortal hero who had become humanity’s symbol was always busy.
In the aftermath of the Great Cataclysm, Kim Hwa-jong became the family of the child left alone, standing in for him as he seemed to be perpetually chased by something.
‘Good morning, Young Master.’
Hair and attire neat and tidy. Voice soft and gentle. A smile upon his lips.
The mage of calamity fire who had burned a page of the Great Cataclysm became Kim Butler in this way.
‘Young Master, you mustn’t run! If you hurt yourself, oh my.’
‘Young Master, picky eating is bad for you. Please eat up.’
‘Young Master, please don’t cry.’
Young Master. Young Master. Young Master…
Time flowed like a river.
The child grew into a young man, and white frost settled upon Kim Hwa-jong’s hair.
Even after Cheon Tae-min disappeared without a trace, Kim Hwa-jong remained steadfast at his post.
His young master no longer rushed about impulsively, ate all his food without complaint, and no longer wept thinking of his parents who had departed early.
And it was one day when he discovered the traces of someone he hadn’t seen in a long time upon the grown young man’s face.
‘You mentioned creating a guild.’
‘Yes. I’m sorry, but I’ll need you to serve as Guild Master.’
‘If that is what you wish, Young Master, I will do anything. But what name do you intend for the guild?’
‘Peace Guild. I’ll call it the Peace Guild.’
‘…!’
‘Why does Kim Butler look so… displeased?’
The old butler hesitated, uncertain what to say, his mind flooded with countless thoughts—but then he burst into hearty laughter.
‘No. The Peace Guild. What a magnificent name.’
Thus, past and present converged.
Ever since the Peace Guild was established, Kim Hwa-jong had faced each day immersed in joy and cherished memories.
The young master, who had worn a cold and rigid mask, had softened upon meeting ‘comrades’ for the first time in his life, and the Peace Guild flourished with each passing day.
I had believed that only good things lay ahead. Forever and always.
I had thought I would be able to watch over the young master as he grew. That’s what I believed.
‘This day was surely… the greatest day of my life.’
Cough. Kim Hwa-jong laughed, spitting up blood mixed with fragments of his organs.
The only reason he could laugh even as death approached was because of one phrase he had heard today.
‘Thank you. For becoming my only family.’
And then, what else had the young master said?
‘I’ve always wanted to tell you this.’
Yes. That’s what he had said.
Kim Hwa-jong coughed and lifted his head. His dimming gaze turned toward the black mist that swirled densely before him.
Somewhere beyond that invisible haze, his only hope and his greatest fear was surely alive, fleeing this place.
“I wish I could see you once more…”
A trembling voice escaped between lips stained with blood.
Before the dying old butler, the mythical beast grinned with satisfaction and opened its maw wide.
Roooaaarrr.
A colossal gale swept across all directions.
Flames that had not yet extinguished, severed limbs and blood scattered upon the ground, stone—all of it together.
Everything sucked in like a tornado spiraled within Behemoth’s mouth.
“Young master…”
No. No, it wasn’t. Though it would never reach him, this was my final farewell to him.
A faint smile bloomed across the weathered lips.
“Min-woo.”
The moment that fading voice escaped.
Shrieeeeek, flash!
A brilliant flash erupted from the void, dyeing the entire world white.

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