Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 65

65. True Colors (3)

Park Hwi-so’s consciousness remained, but his body wouldn’t obey him.

Park Hwi-so’s bodyguards, who had been waiting at a distance, hurriedly rushed over. Hyun-woo muttered as he watched them.

“Kirson.”

Above the entrance to the underground bunker, Kirson, wearing a yellow raincoat and a gas mask, and two goblins appeared from the dark shadows.

It was thanks to absorbing fragments when he overcame the Trial of the Starving Star, increasing the number of his familiars.

Without any further orders from Hyun-woo, Kirson and the goblins immediately pounced on the bodyguards. The sound of bodyguards collapsing in the darkness of the forest echoed in succession.

“It’s a shame things turned out this way, old man. I thought we had built up quite a bit of trust.”

Hyun-woo flipped Park Hwi-so over with his foot. He was able to subdue Park Hwi-so easily using the Ur-Hurst ring he had gifted him.

Hyun-woo looked at the other half of the Ur-Hurst ring on his hand.

[Eckelhardt’s Obedience (Legendary): The ring itself has no abilities, but it can track the location of someone who possesses Ur-Hurst’s trust and temporarily decrease their stats by 50%.]

He felt a twinge of conscience that what he had entrusted as a symbol of trust was actually a trap, but he couldn’t afford not to consider the possibility of such a situation.

Perhaps Ur-Hurst and Eckelhardt were also in a master-servant relationship where they didn’t trust each other, so he might be using it for its original purpose.

“If you had seen my skills improving through fair fights, you should have been able to predict how I would perform in a real battle.”

Park Hwi-so couldn’t say anything. His tongue was paralyzed by the poison.

Hyun-woo sighed. After contemplating what to do, he plunged Tam into Park Hwi-so’s back.

“Keuh, huh, uhh…”

The moment he felt the cold touch of the sword, Park Hwi-so sensed his death. But he felt the paralyzed tongue moving and slowly loosening.

The poison that had been paralyzing his body began to neutralize.

Hyun-woo was using the special ability of the ‘Bleeding Dagger’ that Tam had swallowed.

It became poison when flowing blood to the enemy, but medicine when flowing to the ally.

Hyun-woo’s blood, which was a potent poison, simultaneously became a powerful antidote.

‘If I had considered him an enemy even a little bit, he might have died…’

Hyun-woo was still unsure what determined the criteria for the effect of ‘harmful to enemies and beneficial to allies.’ Anyway, Park Hwi-so was gradually getting better.

He was slowly able to move his dulled body, but Park Hwi-so didn’t rush at Hyun-woo again. He knew the result would be the same.

“…Amazing.”

Park Hwi-so could only say one word.

“Well, you probably weren’t planning to kill me anyway.”

If he had intended to kill him, he wouldn’t have come so confidently. Hyun-woo sensed that he was trying to subdue him by aiming for non-lethal areas until the end, even though he seemed serious from the middle.

Park Hwi-so had planned to subdue Hyun-woo and then interrogate him about his background and what he was hiding. But now that he had been subdued in reverse, everything was in vain.

“You can even sense that? Anyone would think you’re a veteran.”

It was simply because he had experienced enough of the chilling murderous intent in hell.

Park Hwi-so’s aura was quite sharp, but he didn’t sense any intention to kill. It was precisely for that reason that Hyun-woo decided to give him another chance.

After a period of silence, Park Hwi-so opened his mouth.

“I know that you seem arrogant and cruel, but you are actually a kind-hearted person. However, I was worried because you could make wrong decisions on your own.”

“Old man, what are you trying to say? That I seem prickly and selfish, but I actually have a gentle and kind heart inside? You’re not going to say something cheesy like that, are you?”

“…No. I said something foolish.”

“I’m not saying you saw me correctly, but I’m not a monster, as you said. At least, I’m trying not to be.”

Hyun-woo sighed and continued.

“You asked if I wouldn’t have stopped the Flood if there was no benefit? If I had sensed signs of such a thing happening within my knowledge, I would have tried to stop it. That’s only natural. I want to be famous among humans, not among monsters. More than that, I’m surprised that you’re coming across as such a righteous person.”

“Surprised, you say?”

“Aren’t you the head of a ruthless organized crime group?”

Park Hwi-so bared his teeth and smiled. It was a self-deprecating smile.

“You wouldn’t be far off if you saw it that way. But I have one principle: humanism. Even if destruction comes someday, we must protect humanity and preserve civilization. Thanks to that, the Flood you caused made me very nervous.”

Humanism, huh? I just thought he was some kind of organized crime boss, but he has quite a grand belief.

“That’s impressive. I only like two types of people.”

Hyun-woo held up two fingers and said.

“Useful allies and stupid enemies. I honestly don’t care about useless allies, and I don’t care what happens to them. Smart enemies are just annoying because of the sense of competition. Not to mention the countless unknown people.”

“You need to know about the responsibilities of those in power.”

“Well, as someone who was once included in the countless unknown people, I also know how indifferent those in power are to the ‘countless unknown people’.”

“So, you’re special now?”

“Not yet.”

“Not enough?”

Park Hwi-so asked, as if puzzled.

“Originally, I was thinking of becoming a big shot in some great clan and living a luxurious life. But after stopping the Flood yesterday and seeing the camera flashes pouring down, I suddenly thought, can I be satisfied with just that? I’ve been given the authority of a ruler who governs territory and commands familiars, is it okay to just be a famous person?”

Hyun-woo grinned and continued.

“Instead of reaching for the stars, maybe I can become one.”

Park Hwi-so didn’t fully understand Hyun-woo’s words. But he felt a sinister yet fervent ambition in his words.

A normal person would have thought of him as delusional or a madman, but there was a sense of weight in Hyun-woo’s words.

“So, what, are you going to run for president or something?”

Park Hwi-so asked jokingly. But Hyun-woo replied with a straight face.

“Well, if you were me, would you be satisfied with just that?”

Park Hwi-so felt a chill run down his spine. He couldn’t see Hyun-woo’s face properly because he was standing with his back to the streetlight, but he didn’t have the confidence to face that face directly.

Park Hwi-so lowered his head in front of Hyun-woo without realizing it.

“Old man.”

Hyun-woo whispered above Park Hwi-so’s head.

“Now that things have come to this, I really want to receive an oath of allegiance from you. Although you held a knife to me, I can still afford to be generous. Because I know that no matter how many times you try, I won’t die.”

“…”

Park Hwi-so didn’t ask if he was still talking about loyalty. Hyun-woo was serious about getting obedience from him.

The achievements and organization he had built over a lifetime, his career, his power, everything.

Park Hwi-so looked down at Hyun-woo’s feet.

“That’s why I said it at the gym.”

Kang Hyun-woo’s cold voice came from the darkness.

“If you swear allegiance right now, words will be enough, but next time, you’ll have to kneel down and lick my feet.”

***

Bang, papang!

The fiercely flying hand blades instantly shredded the orc’s body.

The hunters who were fighting nearby watched with a disgusted look at the sound, which was more like whipping than using hands.

Even in the dark sewer, the red trajectory was as clear as if it would be etched into their eyes.

Her real name was unknown, but the beautiful red trajectory was like the fluttering of a butterfly’s wings, so she was given a name.

Red Butterfly.

“Sister, to the right!”

At the same time as Hong-ryun’s cry, Red Butterfly felt a heavy presence in the sewer connected to the right.

An orc holding a flail made of roughly woven wire mesh rushed towards Red Butterfly. Its size was also larger than the other orcs.

Red Butterfly sensed that this guy was the boss of this dungeon.

“It’s the Orc Chieftain! Everyone, step back and form ranks!”

The hunter who was the leader of this expedition shouted loudly. The Orc Chieftain was fast, but Red Butterfly, who was good at moving three-dimensionally, could easily escape.

But Red Butterfly didn’t do that.

Red Butterfly looked the Orc Chieftain straight in the eye and brushed past him. The flail grazed past her by a hair’s breadth.

The Orc Chieftain screamed at the wound he felt in his side. Blood gushed out.

The hunters were flustered when Red Butterfly didn’t back down and immediately started fighting the Orc Chieftain. But the Red Butterfly Squad, who had been working with her for a long time, was not.

“Sister!”

The moment the Orc Chieftain tried to swing the flail again, Hong-ryun collided with him strongly. The Orc Chieftain was pushed back and fell in an instant.

The Orc Chieftain flinched the moment he faced Hong-ryun, who was trying to swing the flail. It was the first time he had seen a human who was a head taller than him.

“Hoo!”

Hong-ryun swung her weapon, a staff. The Orc Chieftain swung the flail to meet it, but it was a foolish choice.

The chain of the flail was tied to the staff, and the Orc Chieftain dropped his weapon. At the same time, his vision went completely dark. It was the Curtain of Mischief skill that had blinded his eyes.

Red Butterfly’s hand blade hotly cut the Orc Chieftain’s stomach in half.

***

Red Butterfly, who had returned after completing the expedition, realized that the atmosphere around the entrance was chaotic.

As she was looking around to see what was going on, a man in a suit approached her.

“Ms. Red Butterfly. Team Leader Lee Ji-tae is waiting for you.”

“Ah, yes…”

Lee Ji-tae? Red Butterfly was flustered but followed the man. Hong-ryun tried to follow, but she gestured to stop her.

It was the first time she had met Lee Ji-tae since the day of the grade assessment test when she received a weapon as a gift.

After that, Lee Ji-tae was busy running around, and Red Butterfly was busy growing under Tae-sung’s schedule management.

As expected of Tae-sung, the support was great and the schedule was harsh, so the growth rate was remarkable.

Until the moment she joined Tae-sung, she wondered if she had done the right thing, but she was starting to think that she had done the right thing.

“But the atmosphere doesn’t seem good.”

Lee Ji-tae said, looking at the other hunters. He didn’t show it openly, but he seemed to have felt the atmosphere enough. Red Butterfly shook her head calmly.

“It’s because of a mistake I made in the dungeon.”

“A mistake?”

Red Butterfly didn’t say that she was impatient.

Red Butterfly was thinking about Kang Hyun-woo. Thinking about the man she had met at the test site, she was chased by an unknown impatience and kept throwing herself into danger and trying to test herself.

It was because the more she grew, the more she seemed to be getting rid of her lingering feelings for him. But if she stagnated even a little, he would come to her mind again.

Constantly pushing herself into fatal situations and confronting new enemies.

That dangerous act was accelerating Red Butterfly’s growth more than Tae-sung’s support.

Even though competing with Kang Hyun-woo was not her original purpose.

“It’s nothing. But what’s going on?”

“It’s nothing… Ah, Ms. Red Butterfly, you probably didn’t see it because you were in the dungeon. I also heard it on the way back from Switzerland. I’d like you to take a look at this.”

Lee Ji-tae took out his phone and played a video. Red Butterfly tilted her head and watched, but her face soon hardened.

A video of monsters pouring out of the dungeon entrance.

It was a Flood video of the Guillotine Dungeon. But the moment Red Butterfly saw the person who appeared as the video passed, her expression changed to another color.

After finally watching the video, Red Butterfly took a deep breath. Her eyes were filled with confusion and questions.

“What is this… Did the Flood happen again? And is that, is that him? Kang Hyun-woo?”

“That’s right. It’s Kang Hyun-woo. The person you met at the test. I’m trying to find out as much information about him as possible, but there’s too little information. It was a time when even the smallest clue was needed. But suddenly, I remembered the only person who had ever fought Kang Hyun-woo. For more than 30 minutes, too.”

Red Butterfly raised her head with trembling eyes.

“That’s you, Red Butterfly.”

Lee Ji-tae began to ask questions.

“What was his level? Did he seem to be hiding his skills? Did he go easy on you?”

“I… I don’t know.”

Red Butterfly said, confused.

“It was clear that he was hiding something. I didn’t feel like he was using his full strength.”

“What do you mean he wasn’t using his full strength?”

“It seemed like he was using a similar aura to me, but it was very short-lived. It didn’t even feel like a skill. In terms of martial arts and abilities, he was worse than me, but he managed to get through it with improvisation. But at some point, I had a hallucination, and I was completely subdued in the meantime.”

A hallucination. If he had such a skill but didn’t use it sooner, it’s clear that there were restrictions or that he was deliberately hiding it.

But the appearance he showed in the video was overwhelming with just his physical abilities.

Red Butterfly was especially stunned by the scene where he instantly defeated the three werewolves at the end.

The Orc Chieftain she had defeated was slightly weaker than one werewolf. But three of them at the same time?

It doesn’t make sense.

It’s the height of abnormality.