The Tone-Deaf Healer Kills with a Song - Chapter 144

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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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Tone-Deaf Healer Kills with Song – Episode 144
“You’re saying Hanttae cannot be defeated?”
Jung Hwan-jae asked in return, his tone carrying a note of genuine confusion for the first time.
My own expression probably mirrored his bewilderment.
Nike is undoubtedly the number one Guild in the world. Even with a few Rankers in their roster, that position cannot be shaken.
“I naturally understand that a single Ranker’s combat power is considerable, but that doesn’t change the relationship between Nike and Hanttae,” Jung Hwan-jae continued calmly, as if resolving my confusion.
I nodded slowly in agreement. Even Shunt, who seemed caught in some sort of trance, appeared to grasp part of it.
Even Shunt, who seemed caught in some sort of trance, appeared to grasp part of it.
“Probably for the next fifty years, Hanttae won’t be able to surpass Nike’s prestige. Everyone at Nike understands that too.”
Then what could “cannot be defeated” possibly mean?
It was enough to make me wonder if Nike was preparing for an all-out war against Hanttae.
[Liri: I’m not particularly pleased about large-scale conflicts like this occurring between Hunters.]
[Liri: Generally, Assigned Staff Members don’t involve themselves in individual disputes between Hunters, but if Awakeners begin dying in large numbers, they’re structured to intervene even at the cost of some damage.]
With Liri’s message arriving, I suddenly opened my mouth, driven by the subtle anxiety and questions rising within me.
“Then are you saying Nike and Hanttae are actually planning to fight?”
Dante showed no sign of knowing anything about this.
If that were the case, then something irreversible was happening without Dante’s knowledge.
How could he possibly not notice? It was a fundamentally important question.
“There won’t actually be bloodshed in a fight like that. What would two Guilds even gain from fighting each other in the first place?”
Shunt dismissed my words quite simply. Normally hearing this should put my mind at ease, but it doesn’t.
Rather than being reassured, I find myself thinking, “Then what exactly are they scheming?”
“So what is Nike’s actual objective?”
In truth, this is information Dante should be hearing, not us, yet somehow I’ve come to know far more than necessary.
Dante is currently inside a Dungeon, so there’s no way to inform him by phone or other means.
“Nike can’t exist without Dante anymore. So they’re planning to push Nike over alongside Dante and create a new Guild.”
Once a Hunter reaches a certain level of experience, engaging in all-out warfare and conquering Dungeons isn’t the issue.
They’ve accumulated wealth beyond what an ordinary person could even imagine.
What reason would they have to risk their lives entering such places?
Even people from the Hunter Association prefer desk work over fieldwork.
Those who venture into dangerous places are, if anything, even more cautious about safety—never less so.
“What would they gain from creating that Guild? Wouldn’t it be more convenient for them to maintain Nike by putting Dante front and center?”
Jung Hwan-jae continued speaking smoothly, as if reading my thoughts.
Shunt shrugged, saying he didn’t know that much.
Still, the fact that he’d shared this much already meant he’d leaked considerable information.
Especially considering Shunt’s tendency to distort and alter stories, spreading rumors in the process.
Of course, there must be something trustworthy about him for them to do so.
“Ye-ah, are you alright?”
“Yes, of course I’m fine.”
It was probably done with Nike’s consent, but Shunt had a curse placed on him.
A secret-keeping skill that could be called Shunt’s trademark—if he violated the prior agreement, the one who cast it would know immediately, and the recipient would suffer damage.
Unless the caster themselves—or someone possessing even greater magical power or ability—destroys it directly, there’s no way to resolve it. So calling it a curse wouldn’t be wrong.
Hwa-jon, who had brought Shunt here, intercepted Jung Hwan-jae just before.
‘Guild Master, would it be possible to have a brief word before I speak with Hunter Shunt?’
‘Of course. Did that Hunter perhaps attack you?’
Perhaps feeling guilty for asking him to do something difficult, Jung Hwan-jae readily made time for Hwa-jon.
Though we knew it was an unethical task and had expected him to struggle with it, Hwa-jon’s expression remained composed.
In a calm tone, he hinted at how Shunt had attempted to place some kind of curse on him during the initial period when he’d first tried to bring him here.
‘Since it didn’t take effect on me precisely, I’m not sure what type of curse it was, but I felt the magical power linger on me before bouncing back.’
‘Hmm….’
‘According to my assigned staff member, it’s apparently a skill of sorts that helps maintain secrecy.’
‘Ah, I know what that is.’
Realizing an attack was being directed at him, he activated a defensive skill, and at that same moment, he sensed a similar type of debuff emanating from Shunt as well.
Unless one is a healer, it’s nearly impossible to find any trace of what debuff has been placed on someone or what damage they’ve sustained.
With a difficult debuff like Jung Hwan-jae’s, even healers often fail to notice it entirely.
‘Unless Shunt deliberately exposed it, it seems the one who cast the skill was somewhat careless.’
Hwa-jon spoke gently, never once suggesting that those people appeared weaker than him.
So the moment Shunt arrived, my task became to ‘temporarily’ alleviate the curse he was suffering from.
It was a terrifying curse with the condition that if he revealed what shouldn’t be disclosed, Shunt would lose the ability to speak at all.
“I didn’t think this would work.”
“It’s all about when and how a skill becomes useful.”
[Liri: And this is an area where I can help no matter what happens, so don’t worry!]
I’m not removing the curse. I’m ‘suppressing’ the magical power before it activates with my own strength.
Whether only this curse works that way or if it’s a limitation of the caster, I couldn’t say, but the effect of the slip of the tongue has been suppressed to some degree and has disappeared.
So I’m controlling this situation by suppressing once for each question, suppressing once for each question.
The waltz flowing through this space isn’t merely background music.
Each time I take a few steps to match the waltz’s rhythm, magical power flows out and clings to him.
Moreover, by subtly changing the beat when speaking, I resonate the air around us.
This air sings to him in my stead, shaking his memories.
By the time there was nothing more to gain, he was finally freed and could leave the room.
Once data collection was complete, Jung Hwan-jae’s flames momentarily engulfed Shunt.
He was making final adjustments to his memories.
“Can you do that?”
“Strictly speaking, it’s closer to destroying parts of his memory.”
“Destroying?”
“Yes, my magical power is related to death in a sense. I’m killing off certain memory fragments. It’s not that I don’t trust Ye-ah, but it’s better to be certain.”
And to fill in those dead memory fragments, Shunt’s own magical power would create other pieces to fill the gaps.
I didn’t fully understand it, but I reasoned that if you intentionally hide a few puzzle pieces, other similar pieces would be recreated elsewhere to fill the space.
I nodded lightly.
And so Shunt’s interrogation was concluded.
“So I was just caught up in all this, then.”
“That’s right. It does seem like Bell.”
“You’re usually so composed, so why are you speaking so urgently now? I’m telling you it’s fine.”
“I really do want to, but I won’t.”
That evening, Jung Hwan-jae unpacked his belongings in the secret room that Nike had prepared for him.
He said there was no need to worry—his entry into the United States would be reported through proper procedures and processes.
“Ye-ah, what will you do starting tomorrow?”
“Well, I’ll be visiting other Dungeons without Senior Jung Hwan-jae. If I go around with you now that you’re here, it won’t be any help at all.”
I deliberately turned away from the sight of him visibly deflating. I couldn’t lose to this, Yeom Ye-ah.
Jung Hwan-jae said that while he was in the United States, he would meet directly with Nike’s people and gather various pieces of information.
“Since there’s still a little time before I return, he said I could spend the last four days sightseeing comfortably.”
I gazed at his gloomy face before carefully opening my mouth.
The moment his eyes met mine, I continued with what I was about to say.
“How about a date in the United States then?”

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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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