Murim Login - Chapter 737

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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 737
Michael Silbert.
There was no one living in this modern world who didn’t know that name.
He was the master of the Odin Guild, hailed as the greatest in the world, and among the countless heroes born from the Cataclysm, he stood out as truly exceptional.
People loved Michael Silbert, who had sacrificed everything to save them, and I too had admired him.
Or rather, I had.
Thud.
Footsteps halting behind me.
At that same moment, as I slowly turned around, I could see him.
A man standing motionless atop the smoldering ashes and ruins, his gaze fixed intently upon me.
“So it is you.”
A single utterance that shattered the brief silence.
Yet it was enough. Both he and I had recognized each other’s presence.
Perhaps even without the countless photographs circulating through every media outlet, that fact would have remained unchanged.
‘This is…’
I felt it.
An immense power condensed within that unremarkable frame—neither large nor small.
It was an aura far more formidable than Lee Jung-yong’s, indeed stronger than any S-rank Hunter I had ever encountered, and my realization did not end there.
“…So it really is you?”
Michael Silbert.
The moment our eyes met—his gray irises piercing into mine—I became certain.
Whose handiwork this Ruins was. From whom this terrible calamity had originated.
And to my question, which echoed his opening words yet differed in meaning, Michael Silbert responded in a measured tone.
“A pointless question. If not me, then who?”
“What?”
“It’s all predictable and trite anyway. Not even worth asking or answering anymore.”
What was this?
What was this bastard spouting right now?
My expression hardened, even my rage momentarily forgotten, and he blinked at me with a bewildered look.
“I don’t understand that expression. We already understood each other’s intentions, and since negotiations have broken down, this is merely the natural consequence.”
“You son of a bitch…”
“Didn’t Huginn warn you through me? That you would pay a price if you refused the proposal?”
Michael Silbert, cutting off my words without hesitation, the hero of the Cataclysm beloved by all humanity, extended his hand and grasped at the ash scattering through the air, continuing his speech.
“I hear you’ve been quite busy these past few weeks. Were you searching for an oasis in that vast desert?”
“…!”
“Let me offer you one piece of advice. There are no perfect secrets in this world. Not even from the Pentagon.”
He opened the fist he had been clenching.
The ash mixed with monster blood evoked a scene I had witnessed countless times weeks ago.
Countless fanatics dying everywhere. The desert sand, sticky with their screams and blood flowing like a river…
And beyond the memories flickering before my eyes, a low voice burrowed into my ears.
“If you truly wanted to create a peaceful and beautiful world, you should have uprooted them completely from the beginning.”
“…You can’t be serious?”
“Considering the opposition consists of fanatical lunatics, it was a perfectly rational transaction. I paid the price for ignoring the warning, and they obtained a weapon for their revenge.”
Now I understand. Finally, I see it clearly.
The true cause of this sudden Monster Wave. The reason why this madman before me can be so confident.
‘Borrowing a knife to commit murder.’
And the moment I grasped everything.
Whoooosh.
My vision burned with searing heat. The triple-decade torrent of thermal energy surging from my dantian transformed into molten lava, flooding through every limb and vessel.
The preparation was already complete.
From the instant I first encountered him, my mind had been ceaselessly calculating the optimal movements.
One step.
A single stride would suffice.
The moment my foot touched the ground, the space between him and me would vanish, and I could silence that babbling mouth with the Extinguishing Flame Divine Fist.
No—I absolutely had to do it.
For the innocent lives who met their end not by monsters, but by the hands of fellow humans.
And to eliminate the seed of catastrophe that would soon bring even greater disaster.
But…
Grip.
Two hands seized both my shoulders, and a familiar voice pierced my ears.
“Jin Tae-kyung!”
“There are eyes watching. Not now.”
Choi Team Leader and Skeleton King.
As I recalled the owners of those hands gripping my shoulders—those who were themselves suppressing their own fury—my seething rage gradually began to subside.
I know. I understand that both of them are right.
It would be easy to charge at the bastard before me right now, but weathering the backlash that would follow would be extraordinarily difficult even for me.
‘I lack both the evidence and justification to convince the world.’
In the eyes of the masses, Michael Silbert is the hero of the great upheaval who vanquished a terrorist consumed by vengeance.
Regardless of whether I could eliminate him, attacking him here would brand me as a public enemy—even if this were the Murim rather than the Modern World.
And perhaps that is precisely…
‘…what that bastard desires most.’
Cheon Tae-min, the beginning and end of the Ares Guild, has long since fallen into a state of unconsciousness.
If something were to happen to me at this moment?
‘Even if I kill him here, I cannot take responsibility for what comes after.’
The greatest enemy stands before my eyes, yet there are also unseen adversaries lurking in the shadows.
As my thoughts reached this point, both my mind and heart grew cold.
Shhhhh.
As the momentum that had swelled to the breaking point subsided, Michael Silbert exhaled a small sigh.
“What a shame. You looked far more impressive when burning with youthful vigor.”
“Shut your mouth before I tear it to shreds.”
“If that mouth could be torn so easily, it would have been shredded hundreds of times over by someone else by now. But do you know what?”
The man continued with a faint smile.
“One day, I suddenly came to my senses and realized that those who had spoken words similar to yours had vanished without a trace. You see, I knew a far more certain method than simply tearing their mouths.”
“…!”
“So today, be grateful that you have such capable friends. The fact that their abilities are exceptional is also great fortune for you, wouldn’t you say?”
His words were directed at me, but his gaze was not.
And the peculiar glint in his eyes as he stared past my shoulder awakened the vigilance that had dulled moments before.
‘Skeleton King.’
Though he had already undergone thorough identity laundering through Magic Johnson and now operated as a Hunter under the Peace Guild, it would be troublesome if he drew unwanted attention.
Michael Silbert was a formidable opponent to contend with, and once a weakness was exposed, he would relentlessly pounce and tear into it.
‘Should I have left him behind instead?’
But even as the thought flickered through my mind, his interest swiftly shifted elsewhere.
“So this is the young Sub-Guild Master of the Ares Guild I’ve only heard rumors about. How is your grandfather doing?”
Choi Team Leader responded with a voice as cold as ice.
“He is well. Though I’m uncertain how he would react to hearing about the Paris branch.”
“I regret that matters have come to this. I personally hold great respect for your grandfather. So please, convey the facts as accurately as possible.”
“Of course. Exactly as I witnessed and heard them.”
An answer without the slightest hesitation.
And it was just as Michael Silbert was regarding Choi Team Leader intently.
Whoosh!
A group approached, cutting across the ruins with a sharp sound. At their head was Huginn, the messenger who had visited the Ares Guild not long ago.
He glanced at us briefly before hurrying to his master and bowing his head.
“Guild Master, everything is ready.”
“Start with the damage assessment.”
“Casualties are approximately three hundred. Of those, we’ve rescued forty-five survivors.”
“That’s sufficient. Have the people gathered?”
“Not only the local citizens, but all of Paris’s journalists are waiting for you, Guild Master.”
“Faster than expected.”
“We were fortunate. The announcement of the new Mana Cultivation Method had already put foreign press on high alert.”
“The CCTV footage?”
“We secured it immediately. Everything was captured perfectly from start to finish. From the terrorist conducting a suicide attack using unrefined mana stones and explosives, to our Odin Guild suppressing the monster wave—all of it.”
At first, I didn’t understand.
What Huginn meant by “ready.”
But as I listened to the exchange between the two of them, my mind grew cold.
‘This is….’
Exquisite.
The announcement of a new Mana Cultivation Method.
An attack on the Paris branch and a monster wave orchestrated using a vengeful Middle Eastern terrorist.
And a press conference with all eyes upon it.
Like dozens of gears, large and small, meshing together without the slightest deviation, they moved according to a meticulously crafted plan.
The reason I can speak so freely in front of my companions is precisely because of this understanding.
Once the gears have begun to turn, there is no stopping them.
No matter how much truth I shout before countless cameras lying in wait in the distance for four days and nights, no one will believe me anyway.
But the far greater problem is that these madmen’s thoughts represent an undeniable reality.
A reality that cannot be solved by force alone.
“I’m sorry, but I must take my leave now. There are many people waiting for me.”
Michael Silbert, who had nodded farewell to me, Choi Team Leader, and finally to Skeleton King, turned slowly.
No—he suddenly stopped mid-stride and added one more thing.
“You’ll be quite busy from now on. Far more than you might expect.”
Crack.
I watched his receding back and clenched my fists with all my strength, but ultimately could not strike.
And not long after, I understood the meaning of what he had said last.
Ding.
— Sudden Quest,
[Serial Terrorism]
has been generated!
— This Quest cannot be accepted or rejected. The system will force the Quest to proceed!
It was January, when the joy of the new year had not yet faded.
Winter turned crimson.
* * *
“It has begun.”
At Huginn’s quiet voice reaching his ear, Michael Silbert asked calmly.
“Where this time?”
“London.”
“The old king will be furious.”
“Buckingham Palace will remain intact. However, London Bridge will collapse.”
Michael let out a soft laugh at his subordinate’s dry jest.
“Once London is handled… eight remain.”
“Yes.”
The ten people Huginn had brought from the Desert were skilled hunters and fanatical zealots without exception.
Each one would execute their mission flawlessly, for the bombs they detonated would topple buildings, and the unrefined mana stones would be more than sufficient to shatter people’s hope into fragments.
Each one would execute their mission flawlessly, for the bombs they detonated would topple buildings, and the unrefined mana stones would be more than sufficient to shatter people’s hope into fragments.
‘And we of the Odin Guild will piece that broken hope back together.’
All preparations were already complete.
This position had been earned through countless sacrifices and efforts.
Not a single mistake, not a single failure could be tolerated.
Michael concealed his smile beneath a sorrowful expression as he heard the approaching reporters and the cheers of the citizens.

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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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