The All-Time Best Talent was F-Class Purification - Chapter 88

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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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88
Chapter 88 – An Elite Talent Awakened as an F-Rank Purifier
A deep, resonant hum—
Vibrations rose from beneath my feet.
It wasn’t merely noise filtering down from above. The bedrock enveloping this vast space, the skeletal framework of the Third Core Pillar supporting the Neo Seoul Plate at an altitude of 600 meters—it was singing.
Dominion Central Hospital hadn’t been constructed on flat ground. It was a fortress carved into the interior of a colossal rocky mountain that rose from the Lower District, its columnar core hollowed out. Thus, Basement Level 4 here was less a building’s cellar and more the deep viscera of a mountain range itself.
[Experiment initiated. Restraint apparatus disengaged.]
Kang Chang-gyung’s dry voice flowed through the speakers.
It was the signal.
Crash! Shatter!
Four massive cultivation tanks shattered simultaneously. Green preservation fluid cascaded like a waterfall, drenching the floor, and the shadows crouched within stirred to life.
A low, guttural growl—
Through the mist of acrid chemical stench and fishy brine, four pairs of crimson eyes gleamed. They didn’t roar like beasts. Instead, they advanced with mechanical coldness, an eerie silence that made my skin crawl as they encircled us.
‘I need to analyze this.’
I shut down my emotions. I couldn’t afford to think about who they were. I could only assess the number and positioning of threats to neutralize.
Tank. Ranged. Melee. Mage.
A perfect party composition. And far more enhanced than ours.
“Focus on the large one.”
Park Jae-jung adjusted his grip on the Gias Shield, speaking low. His voice didn’t tremble. I could tell he was suppressing something. That unwavering tone was itself evidence of the collapse happening beneath.
A heavy thud.
Lee Seung-ryong moved first. Or rather, [Specimen 101 — Ogre Tank]. A towering frame exceeding three meters. His skin had ruptured across his entire body, replaced by black steel plating. He didn’t charge mindlessly. Instead, he lowered his massive frame, driving his shoulder forward like a rugby player as he barreled toward Park Jae-jung.
A thunderous collision!
“Ugh!”
Park Jae-jung’s body was driven backward. It wasn’t merely a difference in raw strength. This was the combat instinct carved into the tank’s very body. His rationality may have been erased, but his fighting technique remained intact.
“Park Jae-jung!”
I was drawing my dagger to provide support when—
A sharp crack—then rapid impacts!
A piercing sound came from somewhere. Simultaneously, something white embedded itself in the concrete floor before my eyes. An arrow? No—bone.
[Specimen 102 — Bone Ranger (Lee Chung-hyung)].
Deformed vertebrae jutting from the back of the creature hanging above the pipes in the corner were writhing like launching mechanisms. It was targeting Han Su-jin, our healer, and me with suppressive fire.
“Take cover! This isn’t ordinary gunfire!”
I pulled Han Su-jin into my arms and threw myself behind an experiment table.
Rapid impacts!
Sharp bone projectiles rained down like a downpour where we’d been standing.
A piercing shriek—!
Another shadow moved from the ceiling. [Specimen 103 — Spearman (Ju Mi-sung)]. With limbs elongated like a mantis’s, he traversed the wall with terrifying speed, exploiting blind spots. His target was clear: Seo Eun-ha, who possessed the strongest firepower but was vulnerable in close combat.
“This disgusting thing!”
Seo Eun-ha swung her staff, hurling a fireball.
An explosion erupted, but Ju Mi-sung twisted his grotesque joints to evade the flames. Then, pushing off the ceiling, he descended with a bone spear aimed at Seo Eun-ha’s throat.
An explosion occurred, but Ju Mi-sung evaded the flames with a bizarre joint-bending maneuver. Then, he kicked off from the ceiling and came down, thrusting a bone spear toward Seo Eun-ha’s neck.
“Eun-ha!”
Han Ae-ri, huddled in the corner, grabbed Han Su-jin’s arm and screamed.
Clang!
Park Jae-jung wrenched his shield mid-struggle against Lee Seung-ryong, deflecting Ju Mi-sung’s blade at the cost of leaving his flank exposed.
Thud!
Lee Seung-ryong’s massive fist slammed into Park Jae-jung’s abdomen. His reinforced suit tore, and blood sprayed across the floor.
“Cough…!”
Park Jae-jung dropped to one knee.
Perfect.
[Excellent. Truly excellent.]
Kang Chang-gyung’s voice echoed from the monitor overhead.
[I removed the rational centers of their brains, but their combat instincts and skill proficiency remain intact. Moreover, their physical capabilities have been enhanced to S-rank standards. This is the perfect soldier I’ve always dreamed of.]
“Shut up…”
I assessed the battlefield with cold clarity. The tank drew aggression, the ranged dealer controlled positioning, the assassin exploited openings. This wasn’t a monster rampage—it was a coordinated Hunter raid. The only difference was that we were the raid boss.
At this rate, we’d be annihilated.
“Lee Tae-hyun! I can’t cast magic! Min-ji—!”
Seo Eun-ha cried out in desperation.
Flames flickered at the tip of her staff before extinguishing abruptly.
Park Jae-jung was locked in defense mode, paralyzed by guilt, while Seo Eun-ha couldn’t properly channel her magic. One more piece remained unaccounted for. Hovering beyond the cultivation tank wreckage in the rear: [Specimen 104 — Arc Magi (Choi Min-ji)].
It wasn’t engaging in direct combat. Instead, its grotesquely enlarged brain radiated a powerful mana interference wave. A zone-wide silence, twisting the mana currents throughout this entire space and disrupting Seo Eun-ha’s casting. A totem effect. I had to sever that first.
“Park Jae-jung! Stop defending!”
I shouted.
“What?”
“Don’t think of them as comrades! They’re already dead!”
If I didn’t say this, he’d die holding that shield.
I saw Park Jae-jung’s pupils waver. He knew it was wrong.
The Lee Seung-ryong before him—the one who’d called him hyung and followed him loyally—had become a monster wearing flayed skin, and that fist was hurtling toward his skull.
Park Jae-jung gritted his teeth, dropped his defensive stance, and raised the sharp edge of his shield.
“I’m sorry, Seung-ryong.”
Boom!
Park Jae-jung deflected Lee Seung-ryong’s fist with his shield and drove the sharp edge into the ogre’s chest. The massive creature staggered backward from the impact.
“I’ll hold him. Director, please deal with the one in the back.”
Park Jae-jung clenched his jaw. I couldn’t know what decision he’d made.
I pushed off the floor and sprinted forward.
Whoosh! Whish!
Lee Chung-hyung unleashed a barrage of bone projectiles at me. I didn’t dodge. There was no need to.
“Purify.”
I swept my hand through the air.
The bone projectiles scattered into white powder before they could touch me. Those bones weren’t natural structures—they were hastily assembled calcium masses infused with mutant genes by Kang Chang-gyung, unstable compounds held together by mana. Before my purification ability, they were nothing but contaminated refuse.
I felt Lee Chung-hyung’s panic as he retreated. But my priority target was Choi Min-ji. Lee Chung-hyung could wait. For now, getting out of his range was sufficient. I circled around him and leaped onto the cultivation tank wreckage.
Choi Min-ji, suspended in mid-air, spotted me. Interference waves poured forth more violently from her grotesquely swollen head. A pain like a spike driven directly into my brain lanced through me. My feet faltered for a moment.
‘Don’t stop.’
I leaped upward.
[Detection: Experimental Subject 104 (Mage) Barrier Analysis — Composition: Contaminated Mana 92%]
As I closed to arm’s length, the creature unleashed a grotesque shriek.
Kieeeek-!
I channeled purification mana to its maximum into the Shadow Fang dagger in my grip.
“Find peace, Min-ji.”
Thwuck.
The blade tore through the barrier like paper and pierced the core of the grotesquely swollen brain. No blood sprayed. Instead, a brilliant white light flooded into the creature’s skull.
Fwooosh-!
The mana interference wave vanished. The suffocating silence that had pressed down on the air shattered. The red glow faded from Choi Min-ji’s eyes, and her body plummeted like a puppet with severed strings.
Thud.
I landed toward the floor and shouted.
“Eun-ha! Now!”
The moment my cry rang out, Seo Eun-ha’s eyes, which had been vacant as she crouched, flooded with blood. Something was tearing itself free from her bloodshot pupils. Whether it was sorrow or rage, I couldn’t tell. Perhaps even Seo Eun-ha herself didn’t know.
“These… bastards! How dare you touch my friends…”
Suppressed mana exploded from the tip of her staff. Crimson flames coiled like serpents, rising with the fury to consume the entire Research Laboratory.
Kieeeek-!
Ju Mi-sung, hanging from the ceiling, twisted his grotesque joints and rolled across the floor to retreat from the flames. But Seo Eun-ha didn’t stop.
“I’ll kill them all. I’ll burn everything!”
Flames erupted from her staff like a cannon, pursuing Ju Mi-sung. The concrete walls of the Research Facility blackened with char, and glass fragments from the Cultivation Tanks melted away.
‘This is dangerous. She’s losing her rationality.’
Then a sharp crack pierced through the inferno. It was Lee Chung-hyung—still alive. Hanging from the Pipe System, he swiveled his launcher toward Seo Eun-ha.
“Eun-ha! Right side!”
I shouted and hurled myself forward, but the distance was too great.
Clang! Crash!
In that instant, a massive shadow interposed itself before Seo Eun-ha. It was Park Jae-jung. Somehow he’d broken free from Lee Seung-ryong and switched positions—his Gias Shield met the bullets head-on.
“Ugh…!”
White bone fragments embedded themselves in the shield’s surface. Not mere bone—the spinning rounds scraped across the steel surface, throwing sparks.
“Park Jae-jung…”
Seo Eun-ha regained her senses and looked at him.
Park Jae-jung’s condition was dire. Already beaten multiple times by Lee Seung-ryong, his reinforced suit hung in tatters, and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. His body leaned to one side. He wasn’t standing firm—he was forcing strength into his legs to keep from collapsing.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Behind him, the three-meter-tall Lee Seung-ryong advanced. His breath came in heavy snorts, his footfalls shaking the ground. That rhythm echoed clearly even through the chaos of the battlefield.
Grrr… move… move aside…
It sounded like a beast’s cry, yet it held the shape of words. The fact that this monster still remembered language made it all the more horrifying.
“Seung-ryong… please…”
Park Jae-jung’s back filled my vision. The arm holding the shield trembled slightly. I could tell he wasn’t unable to attack—he was choosing not to.
But Lee Seung-ryong showed no hesitation.
The creature raised an enormous fist.
It wasn’t a simple punch.
A lethal technique combining the Tank’s skills—Iron Carapace and Destructive Strike.
Boom!
Shield and fist collided head-on.
A tremendous shockwave erupted, sending experimental equipment flying across the laboratory.
Park Jae-jung’s knees slammed into the floor with a heavy thud.
The concrete cracked in a spiderweb pattern beneath him.
“Arrrgh!”
Park Jae-jung screamed.
He was being overpowered by sheer strength.
A body enhanced to S-Rank levels, combined with a monster’s raw power stripped of pain receptors—it was far beyond what a B-Rank Tank could withstand.
“Oppa! Stop it. Seung-ryong oppa, please!”
Han Ae-ri’s anguished cry pierced the air from her corner.
Watching the leader she trusted and followed attempt to kill her senior right before her eyes—the horrific scene was shattering her mind completely.
‘This won’t work. We’ll be annihilated.’
I analyzed the situation with cold clarity.
Seo Eun-ha’s vision had narrowed from rage, and Park Jae-jung was only defending himself, paralyzed by guilt.
I had to break this deadlock.
First, I needed to eliminate the troublesome ranged dealer—Lee Chung-hyung.
“Su-jin! Focus on healing Park Jae-jung! I’ll take down the sniper!”
“Yes, understood!”
Han Su-jin cast her healing magic with trembling hands.
I pushed off the ground and leaped onto the pipe system above.
Whoosh! Swish!
Four launchers mounted on Lee Chung-hyung’s back fired simultaneously.
A barrage of bone bullets streaked toward me.
“Purification.”
I didn’t dodge. Instead, I unleashed the flames of Purification in a three-meter radius around myself and charged straight ahead.
Sizzle!
The bone bullets entering my domain disintegrated instantly into powder. The mutant genes Kang Chang-gyung had implanted in that creature were unstable structures maintained by magical power.
My Purification ability was a virulent poison that dissolved the very binding structure itself.
“Kyiek?!”
Lee Chung-hyung panicked and tried to retreat, but it was already too late.
I bounded across the pipes and closed the distance in an instant.
I could see the seams where the launchers connected to the spine.
That was the vital point.
“Forgive me, Lee Chung-hyung.”
I gripped Shadow Fang in a reverse grip and drove it into the creature’s back.
Squelch!
High-output purification energy surged through the blade.
White smoke rose from where the mutated bone and flesh had fused together.
“Screeeeeee!”
Lee Chung-hyung convulsed in agony as he plummeted beneath the pipes.
The ranged dealer silenced.
Two remained.
“Eun-ha! Snap out of it! If you don’t burn it, we’re dead!”
I landed on the concrete floor and screamed.
Seo Eun-ha wiped away her tears and gripped her staff firmly.
Her gaze turned ruthless.
“…I understand. I’ll send her off. Mi-sung.”
She chanted the incantation.
Inferno Prison.
Four pillars of flame erupted to trap Ju Mi-sung, preventing her escape, and the monstrous sister shrieked and writhed within the inferno.
Boom! Boom!
Park Jae-jung still held his ground against Lee Seung-ryong’s relentless fists.
The surface of the Gias Shield began to cave inward, and blood sprayed from his mouth.
“Park Jae-jung! If you block now, that person can’t be saved! They’ll just keep suffering!”
That was the moment.
From beyond the shield, from the monster’s mouth, came the faintest whisper.
“…Brother….”
It wasn’t the cry of a beast. It was Lee Seung-ryong’s real voice.
“It hurts… so much… please stop….”
Park Jae-jung lifted his head. The crimson glow faded from the monster’s eyes as thick tears of blood streamed down. Even from where I stood, I could feel what lay behind that gaze—not a plea to be killed, not a plea to be saved, but simply a desperate cry to be released from this torment.
Park Jae-jung remained motionless for a moment.
Just by watching his back, I could sense the battle raging within him. What would I have done? I probably would have collapsed far sooner than Park Jae-jung.
“Yeah… yes, Seung-ryong.”
Park Jae-jung’s voice was low and steady. It didn’t tremble or waver. It was simply hollow.
He straightened his knees and rose to his feet.
He dropped his defensive stance. Instead, he angled the sharpest edge of the shield forward. There was only one offensive skill in Park Jae-jung’s arsenal. He’d explained it before—a technique designed to shatter fortress walls. The final move of a defensive tank.
[Guardian Smash — Siege Mode]
“Big brother will… make it easy for you.”
Lee Seung-ryong raised his fist, but Park Jae-jung was faster.
He twisted every muscle in his body and hurled himself forward with the shield. The tear-stained shield hurtled toward the chest of the brother he had loved.
Craaaash—!
The saddest collision sound echoed through the Underground Research Facility.

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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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