Murim Login - Chapter 596

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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 596
A day does not end simply because the sun sets and the clock’s second hand crosses midnight.
As long as there are those still awake and stories worth telling, their time continues on.
That day was precisely such a night.
On a particularly cold afternoon in mid-January, when bitter winds swept across the land.
[BREAKING NEWS] S-rank Hunter Jin Tae-kyung Launches Solo Assault on Ares Guild Headquarters
The sudden breaking news sent South Korea into upheaval. No—the entire world trembled.
And the moment the news spread, countless posts and comments flooded every website.
Hey. What’s going on?
└ What do you mean?
└ I got a sudden alert and checked it, and… are you telling me he just stormed into Ares Guild Headquarters alone?
└ ???
└ ??????
└ Stop spouting nonsense lol. I was watching the news just now and they were looking for him because he disappeared from Pyeongchang. So why did he suddenly attack Ares Guild Headquarters—
└ This is seriously real. What is this?
?? What is this. Is this the Truman Show or something? You’re not trying to fool newbies like me, right?
└ If it were the Truman Show, at least the ratings would be good. Why would we fool newbies like you? It’s real—turn on WBS. They’re broadcasting it exclusively. Seoul Defense Command is mobilizing right now; it’s chaos;
└ Why the fire department?
└ Not the fire department; Seoul Defense Command;
But even if Jin Tae-kyung went to Ares Guild Headquarters, isn’t calling it an “assault” an exaggeration? Maybe he just went to have tea with Seok Go-jun.
└ I doubt it. There were over a thousand eyewitnesses at the scene, and they say Jin Tae-kyung punched the Ares Headquarters building in the chest and stormed in. Even if he went for tea, every cup inside the building would’ve been smashed.
└ Do you have proof? You said over a thousand people saw it. So someone must have recorded it—post a link.
└ The thousand eyewitnesses part is factual, but apparently no one recorded video or photos. They say people only came to their senses after Jin Tae-kyung entered the building. Before that, everyone just watched like they were in some kind of daze.
└ ?? lol So with that many people around, there’s no evidence? Then it’s probably a false report.
└ Yeah, why would Jin Tae-kyung, who disappeared for a while, go there in the first place? Even if he did go, the rest sounds like tabloid gossip. The media’s using this as kindling to start a fire.
In the immediate aftermath of the media’s massive breaking news broadcast, most people refused to believe the shocking report.
The hero who had consecutively suppressed two Monster Waves and then vanished from sight launching a solo assault on none other than Ares Guild itself—it simply defied common sense.
But within mere minutes, the Jongno district was designated a temporary disaster zone, and as Seoul Defense Command’s Hunters and military personnel evacuated citizens while establishing defensive lines, the atmosphere shifted dramatically.
This actually seems to be real.
└ What in the world is happening?
└ Why all of a sudden…?
└ I’m currently residing in the United States. They’re broadcasting breaking news here too. Major news programs including CNN and FOX are all monitoring the situation.
└ Not just the US—the whole world seems to be the same. Both domestic and foreign media are in an uproar;
Domestic and international alike, everyone who received the news felt the weight of a heavy, suffocating atmosphere.
President Baek Han-sung transmitted an emergency statement regarding the current crisis to the media, and experts from various fields were busy analyzing the situation and its causes.
But before complete answers could emerge, the very person at the center and origin of it all revealed himself.
– Hunter Jin Tae-kyung.
Brushing aside the objections of his aides, President Baek Han-sung stepped forward, and the young man who lifted his head at the president’s call—their faces were transmitted through cameras across the nation and throughout the entire world.
Jin Tae-kyung. It was him.
Drenched from head to toe in the red and blue blood of humans and monsters alike, he appeared exhausted, his eyes steeped in an unfathomable sorrow.
His voice, emerging from lips parched and cracked, was desolate.
– I merely did what needed to be done.
Those watching the screen, having forgotten even to breathe, were permitted nothing more than that.
Immediately after, at the Blue House’s request, the live broadcast was cut, and for reasons unknown, the world’s press corps at the scene fell silent.
And what remained at the end of that day was a colossal question.
Jin Tae-kyung and the Ares Guild, the Ares Guild and Jin Tae-kyung.
An unprecedented clash between an individual and an organization.
No one could be certain what exactly had transpired within.
Yet the aftermath of a battle lasting roughly an hour swept through Jongno, and Jin Tae-kyung walked out on his own two feet to stand before all.
This meant that two names wielding tremendous influence not only domestically but worldwide had collided for some reason, and finally, the curtain fell on an individual’s victory.
Because that opponent was the Ares Guild, the situation was shockingly unbelievable.
But what everyone was most curious about and fixated upon was precisely that ‘reason’.
The reason why a young man in his twenties, now established as a new powerhouse and youthful hero, had ventured alone to the Ares Guild.
And that very night, a major media outlet broke predetermined guidelines and ignited the powder keg.
[Exclusive Report] Seok Go-jun Hunter (Current Ares Branch Guild Master) and 25 Others Confirmed Dead; Approximately 500 Total Casualties
[Chief Editor Lee Gang-hee – Jin Tae-kyung. The Hero’s Dark Side. The Demon’s Front Face.]
It was a massive bomb.
Consecutive monster waves unprecedented since the Cataclysm. Before that shock could even fade, the explosion that struck shook everything around.
All of South Korea boiled like a hearth over hot coals, and the heat spread across the entire world.
Past midnight, deep into dawn, the tremendous aftermath showed no signs of subsiding.
Once opened, the floodgates spewed fire as if they would never close again.
Some condemned Jin Tae-kyung as a demon, while others filed formal petitions demanding capital punishment be carried out against him.
But not everyone pointed fingers at Jin Tae-kyung. Rather, the majority still harbored a tangled mixture of belief and doubt in their hearts.
Belief that Jin Tae-kyung, who had accumulated countless achievements, could not possibly be such a person. Doubt that media reports without official announcements were nothing but nonsense.
As such unbelievable time passed, and morning came the next day.
[Closest Associate of the Late Seok Go-jun Hunter, the Late Mr. Go, Surrenders.]
[Official Blue House Press Conference at 10 AM. The World’s Attention.]
A downpour fell to extinguish the fiercely burning flames of condemnation.
And within the rain that poured ceaselessly for two full days from the media and the heavens… finally, one person awoke.
* * *
Pitter. Pitter-patter.
At the sound of rain suddenly reaching my ears, I blinked vacantly.
Within my gradually sharpening vision, a brilliant and magnificent painting entered my sight first.
A familiar ceiling, a familiar painting. I had heard of it so many times that it would be strange not to know it.
‘Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam.’
Only then did I realize I was lying in Choi Team Leader’s Residence.
Turning my head, raindrops drummed against a massive glass window that occupied an entire wall.
‘Could it be?’
As a single thought brushed through my empty mind, my heart pounded fiercely.
Could it be that all of this was merely a nightmare?
Nothing had happened yet, and I found myself hoping that perhaps I had simply logged out after escaping Hanan.
But that absurd hope evaporated like bubbles in the next instant.
“Ah, you’re awake. I came by to check on your condition, and I’m relieved to see you’re conscious.”
A soft, low-pitched voice.
Much younger than Kim Butler’s, and utterly inscrutable.
It was strange that I hadn’t noticed until now.
Shaking off my deep thoughts, I clenched my teeth as I recognized the uninvited visitor’s face.
‘President Baek Han-sung.’
It was him.
And the fact that the President of a nation was here instead of at the Blue House meant that everything that had happened until now was real.
“…Ah.”
“Hunter Jin Tae-kyung?”
What more could I say? I felt only hollow despair.
Instead of answering President Baek Han-sung’s call, I buried my half-raised body back into the bed.
He pulled a chair close to the bedside and opened his mouth with a worried expression.
“It seems your body is still uncomfortable. A doctor will be here soon, so please wait a moment….”
I needed neither a doctor nor a healer. Thanks to the deep rest I’d taken, my body had completely recovered, and what mattered now wasn’t my physical condition.
“How long? How much time has passed?”
“Hmm.”
President Baek Han-sung, who had paused upon hearing my hoarse voice, extended the newspaper he was holding.
“Today’s morning edition. It would be faster if you saw it yourself.”
The moment I took the newspaper, I checked the date first.
Two days had already passed since that day in my memory, and my face was plastered across the front page in enormous letters.
Accompanied by bold headlines.
[The Truth of That Day, Tarnished by Countless Misunderstandings. The Hero Who Never Woke.]
From the headline alone, I could tell how much the media had been talking about me and what happened that day over the past two days.
But what seized me wasn’t irritation or anger—it was a heavy, suffocating sadness.
‘It was real. It was truly real.’
Kim Butler—Kim Hwa-jong—was dead.
Crushed beneath that heavy reality, I stared blankly out the window when President Baek Han-sung spoke to me in a careful voice.
“One media outlet that ignored directives acted hastily, so public opinion wasn’t favorable at first… but fortunately, the misunderstandings surrounding this incident have been cleared up. Especially thanks to Go Se-won stepping forward at the right moment—things were resolved much faster than expected.”
“Go Se-won?”
At the unexpected name, I tore my gaze from the window. President Baek Han-sung, whose eyes met mine, nodded.
“It’s the same Go Se-won that Hunter Jin Tae-kyung knows. The former Sub-Guild Master Seok’s closest aide—the one who served as the Security Team Leader for the deceased Seok Go-jun.”
“….”
“He turned himself in first. The executives from the Seok Go-jun faction who had been resisting until the end were subdued by him. His testimony was also very clear.”
This was help I hadn’t anticipated, even back when I was deciding to spare his life.
Glancing at the newspaper again, I noticed that my face wasn’t the only one on the front page.
A photograph of Go Se-won, wearing his characteristic composed expression, taken before numerous cameras and microphones, was featured in the middle of the front page.
Along with testimony that it was Seok Go-jun who had triggered the two Monster Waves two days ago.
“It was decisive testimony. Moreover….”
President Baek Han-sung, trailing off, furrowed his brow and continued.
“It also served as evidence regarding Seok Go-jun’s corpse that was discovered earlier.”
Seok Go-jun, who had met death in the form of a grotesque abomination—a twisted amalgamation of human and monster. The corpse itself was irrefutable physical evidence.
He shuddered, as though he had witnessed that horrific sight firsthand, and spoke.
“Go Se-won, that friend played a crucial role. Thanks to him, we were able to clear most of the charges against Hunter Jin Tae-kyung.”
I nodded numbly. Charges, legal judgment—words that terrified everyone, yet I felt nothing toward them now.
“I see.”
“Yes. Currently, he’s being held in the Special Detention Center…but he’s hoping to meet with Hunter Jin Tae-kyung as soon as possible. He says he has a debt to repay.”
A debt to repay.
I muttered inwardly and shook my head.
Meeting Go Se-won wasn’t something I would avoid, but there were more pressing matters at hand.
‘Kim Butler. And Choi Team Leader.’
Had Noh Ji-sa’s funeral begun? Had Choi Team Leader regained consciousness? Those were the things I most needed to know.
And just as I was about to open my parched lips.
Creak.
The door swung open without a knock. A blonde foreigner, ignoring President Baek Han-sung entirely, spoke with a grave expression.
“That man. No, he’s awake.”
“…!”

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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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