Murim Login - Chapter 585

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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 585
Screeeeeech!
The piercing shriek of tearing air descended from above, and thousands of feet that had been scattering in panic suddenly froze. From between the lips of a tourist gazing upward, a hollow voice escaped.
“…What?”
It was not a question held by one person alone.
Civilians fleeing from the beast, hundreds of support troops dispatched to intercept it, Hunters from the Peace Guild rushing down the mountain slope to honor their Guild Master’s final wish—all of them witnessed that sight, and all arrived at the same question.
‘What is that?’
Yet they each possessed different perspectives and vantage points. While civilians harbored pure bewilderment at the beam of light cutting across the sky, the higher-ranked Hunters among the support troops sensed a formidable surge of mana from the distant heavens in that fleeting instant.
Simultaneously, those from the Peace Guild positioned on the mountain slope closer to the action discerned how that beam of light had materialized from empty air itself.
‘…Teleport?’
Who, how, why.
Countless questions bloomed in the minds of countless people. Yet it was Kim Hwa-jong who perceived and understood this entire spectacle more clearly than anyone.
Noh Ji-sa, perched at death’s threshold, grasped the true nature of the azure beam of light spreading as it pressed down the dark mist woven from magical power.
‘That is.’
More destructive than anything else, pure force itself.
Flame. It was flame.
Fiercer than sunlight, as violent as the sun itself—that flame had become a beam of light streaking across the sky. Within that brilliance so dazzling one could scarcely perceive it clearly, the visage of someone seemed to flicker across my dimmed vision.
‘Yes, it is you.’
As the smile deepening at the corners of Noh Ji-sa’s mouth grew more pronounced, the primordial beast that had risen upon mythology opened its cavernous maw toward the beam of light hurtling toward it.
Kwaaaaaaaa—
Wind split asunder, air scattered. Within that gaping mouth wide enough to swallow mountains, a force resembling The Abyss itself swirled.
Yet the beam did not halt. Growing ever sharper and more immense, it transformed into cyan-white flame and swept forward with unstoppable fury.
Goooong.
The world froze. Two forces of power collided, devouring all space and sound in their path.
And in the next instant, Kim Hwa-jong could see. Could hear.
Fwoooosh!
Darkness being torn asunder beneath the blue sky.
Cyan-white flame surging forward, incinerating all that stood in its way, and a single voice ringing out with crystalline clarity in that dazzling, silent world.
“One Annihilation.”
Space warped. The unprecedented flame that fell like a meteor pierced through Behemoth’s still-unclosed maw.
Witnessing the beast’s form collapse with a death cry like thunder, Noh Ji-sa laughed aloud, all pain forgotten.
* * *
Even the greatest master under heaven, even an ancient beast from mythology itself, cannot escape death. Especially not when One Annihilation, channeled with all one’s power, pierces the entire body through the mouth.
–
What…how….
In the eyes of a beast I had never seen nor heard of before, confusion and death descended simultaneously. Its massive form, which had gazed at me with hollow emptiness, slowly tilted.
Kuguguguung!
As the lifeless corpse collapsed, the entire mountain trembled. Simultaneously, amid the colossal clouds of dust rising from all directions, I had to clench my teeth to endure the waves of agony and exhaustion crashing down upon me.
‘I cannot fall.’
One Annihilation is a double-edged blade that pours forth all the caster’s power in a single instant.
But not yet. At least not in a situation like this. The one mercy was that I possessed a power unlike ordinary people—something extraordinary.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
–
[Lv.150 Behemoth]
has been defeated!
– You have acquired vast experience and renown!
– Level Up!
– Abnormal Status,
[Exhaustion]
has been cleared!
– Abnormal Status,
[Internal Energy Depletion]
has been cleared!
– The effects of leveling up have dispelled some fatigue and abnormal statuses!
.
.
.
‘Damn it.’
I barely caught my swaying body as it threatened to collapse.
A level up was certainly one of the system’s most broken features, but it was far from a cure-all unless stacked repeatedly. The exhaustion accumulated in both body and mind was immense, and my limbs tingled as though electrocuted—the lingering aftermath of using that technique.
Yet I could not stop, could not fall. I drew upon the internal energy that had surged into my core with the level up and released it forward in a burst.
Boom!
Compressed air exploded outward, scattering the dust cloud. As my vision cleared, a rounded form covered entirely in pristine white bone emerged before me.
Step. Step.
With each stride across the devastated ground, my heart pounded fiercely. My ragged breathing carried an unmistakable tension and dread.
Yes. I was afraid of the figure I was about to face. Afraid he might appear differently than I had hoped. Afraid I would have to offer a farewell I was not prepared to give.
Tap. Crackle.
As I gently touched it, the bone-formed barrier dissolved and scattered away. And then I could finally see: a dark-faced blonde foreigner, and a middle-aged man leaning against him, clinging to a breath that was fading.
‘This is…’
For a moment, my heart seemed to stop.
Though it lasted only an instant, understanding the situation was not difficult. At the feet of the Skeleton King lay an empty high-grade potion bottle, and from the middle-aged man who appeared to have recovered without issue, strength was already slowly draining away.
I felt the world blur before my eyes as I opened my mouth.
“…Kim Butler.”
At my call, his half-closed eyelids trembled faintly. When our gazes met—his dimming eyes and mine—the corners of his blood-stained mouth curved upward gently.
“You came.”
“…!”
“Yes. I knew it would be you. That light… it was truly warm.”
I clenched my teeth to stifle a groan. Kim Butler had already accepted everything that was befalling him. His altered manner of speech was proof of that.
The man before my eyes now was neither Kim Butler nor the Guild Master of the Peace Guild, but simply a human being—Kim Hwa-jong—offering his farewell.
But…
‘I am not yet ready.’
I cannot accept this sudden parting. I have no intention of smiling as I watch him leave. Before death claims him, I will do whatever it takes to restore Kim Hwa-jong the man to Kim Butler, to the Guild Master he once was.
“But it’s grown cold now. It was so warm just a moment ago.”
I grasped Kim Hwa-jong’s hand as he murmured in a faint voice, slowly releasing my inner energy to warm him.
“It must be because we’re on the mountain. It will warm up soon.”
“Is that so?”
I forced a smile at his weakened question.
“Yes. It’s still winter, after all.”
As the warmth gradually seeped into him, Kim Hwa-jong offered a faint smile.
“You’re right. Just as you say.”
“It will be fine. Don’t worry. I’ll handle everything….”
My words faltered in that moment, not merely from the tightness in my chest, but because what I sensed through the energy I had released revealed the true state of his body, sealing my lips shut.
‘What in the world….’
Every human is born with innate vital essence—the primordial true energy that is the source and root of all cultivation. Yet in Kim Hwa-jong’s body, almost none of this primordial essence remained.
No—it was slowly burning away even now.
‘Like a dying flame.’
In the past, Jeok Cheon-gang’s primordial essence had been damaged in Hanan, but nothing to this degree. Kim Hwa-jong’s condition was beyond recovery.
From observing his body through my energy alone, I could discern enough.
With what resolve he had faced Behemoth. What he had sacrificed to bind the feet of the demonic beast that crawled forth from the deep darkness. And…who he had burned his one and only life for.
“Young Master…. Is Min-woo safe? Is that boy unharmed?”
To his fading question, I answered with forced brightness.
“He is safe. I caught a glimpse of him on the mountain slope—he’s fine.”
“Good. What a relief. Truly a relief.”
What relief could there be when you yourself have come to this state.
As I bit my lip firmly, unable to voice the question that burned within me, the intention transmitted by Skeleton King resonated through my mind.
–
I absorbed the demonic energy that had seeped to the bone and used the highest-grade potions, but it was already too late. Even with this body intervening, there was nothing I could do.
I understand. That is why I cannot blame him. Because I know he did his utmost. Though all of his existence is but illusion wrought by phantom magic, the self-reproach and sorrow now etched upon Skeleton King’s face were real.
– …I am sorry, human.
Suddenly, doubt seized me. It was doubt regarding everything in my current situation.
Why was this creature apologizing? Why was Kim Hwa-jong, who but days ago sat at the same table eating and laughing in conversation, now lying in an irreversible state?
And why. Could I not prevent this.
‘Why in the world.’
I possessed power. The power to prevent calamity and avert untimely death.
One day, a mysterious capsule suddenly entered my life, changing the destiny given to me, allowing me to forge new and precious bonds. And now, one of those bonds was about to sever. One was about to leave my side.
Yet why could I not stop it.
In Shanxi, in Hanan, in Sichuan, in Hubei. In Sichuan, in Busan….
Traveling between the Murim and the Modern World, I had saved so many lives, yet why could I not save this one person standing before me as they slip away.
‘Why.’
It was then, drowning in unanswerable doubt and helplessness.
A soft whisper, then a dull thud.
A cold hand settled over my trembling fist. Kim Hwa-jong gazed at me with warm, tender eyes and opened his mouth.
“It’s not your fault.”
“…!”
“You did everything you could.”
The haze that had clouded his eyes was gone, and the voice that had seemed on the verge of extinction had returned. At the sight of him comforting me with such warmth, my breath caught in my throat.
‘The final flicker of returning light.’
That last flame kindled at the edge of death itself.
No. I couldn’t let him go yet. Gritting my teeth, I poured even stronger vital energy into Kim Hwa-jong’s body, but despite my desperate wish, the life was slowly draining from a body that had reached its limit.
‘More—just a little more!’
I emptied the vital energy coiled in my dantian without reservation. I grasped at the meridians slowly closing, and I kindled the dimming flame deep within his body. Yet despite all my efforts, the end was approaching at a relentless pace.
“It’s cold. I’m not sure if it’s because of the winter you mentioned, or because night has already fallen.”
That couldn’t be. Even now, vast waves of heat were flowing into his body, and the afternoon sun still hung in the sky.
So the cold and darkness that had come to Kim Hwa-jong were things only he could feel. Death, standing at his very threshold, had frozen his body and veiled his sight.
I turned toward Noh Ji-sa, whose breathing had grown shallow, and stammered out words.
“You’ll be fine. Soon you’ll see Team Leader Choi as well, so please just trust me….”
A soft grip.
A hand seized my wrist. At the sight of Skeleton King shaking his head with a darkened face, I finally understood: no words, no actions could stop a person’s final moment.
Now… it was time to let go.
So that he—so that Kim Hwa-jong could depart with a peaceful heart.
“Is the young master safe? That boy, Min-woo—is he unharmed?”
Eyes now clouded with a milky haze. The question murmured in that feeble voice was one I had heard before, but it didn’t matter. I could answer it a hundred times, a thousand times over.
“He’s safe. Not a single hair on his head has been harmed.”
“I wish I could see him. Just one more time, at the end….”
“You will. He’s already on his way here.”
“Is that…truly so?”
“Yes. Ah, there he is now.”
It was a lie. A blatant, simultaneous lie both crimson and pure white.
Upon the Unnamed Mountain, swept clean by chaos, there remained only the three of us and the corpse of the beast.
Yet Kim Hwa-jong could not discern the lie. With only a hazy vision and a clouded mind remaining, he reached out into empty air. As if someone he had desperately awaited would grasp his hand.
A firm clasp.
At my beckoning call, Skeleton King grasped that hand firmly. Noh Ji-sa’s eyes curved like crescents, and a radiant smile bloomed across his lips.
“You came.”
And in the next moment.
“My hand…child.”
The flame that had burned for one person, that had not extinguished for this moment, finally dimmed.
A soft whisper, then silence.
Darkness fell.

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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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