Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 227

227. Trial of the Stars (3)

The moment Itwaro’s life ended, a strange wave rippled outwards.

Hyeon-woo flinched, a surge of unsettling emotions washing over him.

It felt as if a star had exploded in the distant universe, sending gentle waves that brushed against his heart.

Hyeon-woo suppressed the strange restlessness in his chest.

[The Starving Star, Yogulem, is watching you.]

And the Starving Star, Yogulem, was indeed watching him.

Hyeon-woo couldn’t discern Yogulem’s feelings or thoughts as he observed him. Anger? Curiosity? Surprise? All that was certain was that it wasn’t revenge.

One of Hyeon-woo’s biggest worries while preparing for this war was the ‘gaze of the stars.’

Fighting against voyeuristic stars who constantly watched and scrutinized everything was essentially like fighting someone with a map hack [a cheat in video games that reveals the entire map to the player].

There was no way the other stars wouldn’t know that the Shattering Star, Gaul, had imposed a trial.

However, the Apostles didn’t know Hyeon-woo’s location, and they weren’t even aware that Al-Hugin had been captured.

‘Why?’

There were two possible explanations.

Either the stars weren’t truly serious, or they lacked the means to communicate.

Or perhaps it was a combination of both.

Since confirming the first possibility was impossible, Hyeon-woo focused on the second.

The stars always only stated they were ‘watching,’ never expressing any specific intent.

The sole exception was when he initially attempted to choose a star, when they sent ‘light.’

At that time, the stars displayed feelings of displeasure, curiosity, and so on.

And the Whispering Star, Monstrill, had stated that ‘directly speaking is a dangerous act, and only he has the authority to do so.’

He was once again reminded of how dangerous the power Monstrill possessed could be.

‘So, the stars have almost no influence other than sending their subordinates.’

They could also issue quests or trials, but that was the extent of it.

The stars had to remain almost absolutely impartial observers.

Once Hyeon-woo was certain of this, he could finally assess his chances of success.

Hyeon-woo absorbed the ‘fragment’ from Itwaro’s body.

Looking around, the Cursed Ones wore unpleasant expressions, as if they believed they had been robbed of the last hit.

As if they weren’t just trying to steal the last hit.

“Activation phrase.”

One of the Cursed Ones spoke up.

Hyeon-woo stared at him. It was Number 2, the leader of the second group of Cursed Ones who had agreed to cooperate with Hyeon-woo.

Number 2, being from the initial group, seemed to have hunted diligently, as he was covered in wounds but possessed an unusual aura.

To catch an Apostle, you needed an activation phrase that instantly triggered the poison blood effect.

No, it would work on ordinary monsters as well, not just Apostles. In that case, monsters wouldn’t be a problem.

The Cursed Ones’ memories only extended back to the moment Hyeon-woo was cursed by the Shattering Star, Gaul.

Or, to be precise, it seemed like they were forcibly forgetting the memories in between. There was no need to explain in detail when telling them something.

They would recall vivid memories as if they had remembered something they had forgotten with just a little prompting. Teaching them the activation phrase would be simple.

Of course, even knowing it would only slightly increase their chances.

Hyeon-woo smirked as he looked at the Cursed Ones.

“That’s my insurance. It would be a problem if you tried to take my head after hearing only that.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to tell us and have us fight the Apostles?”

He had considered that too. It was a plausible option.

But Hyeon-woo simply rejected it.

The reason was simple. If the Cursed Ones started catching Apostles, they might become too strong for him to control.

“We’re making all this fuss to stop the Apostles and overcome them together, so you should at least tell us that much.”

“It’ll be worse if they know and start preparing. You have to use it at the moment you’re sure you can kill them. It’ll be a problem if you misuse it rashly and they detoxify or develop resistance and come down.”

Of course, the Cursed Ones didn’t seem convinced. But as he said, they would be in trouble if they killed Hyeon-woo with this knowledge.

“I guess there’s no choice.”

Number 2 muttered.

“But as it is, we’ll hold back until we fight with you. Maybe all four of them will come down to the bottom unscathed.”

“Ha, why don’t you just put a curse on us to die together? You kept watching to kill the weakened guy when you fought Itwaro.”

Number 2 smiled slyly.

“If it’s real, you have to take that penalty.”

He soon approached with the other Cursed Ones to tear off Itwaro’s appendages.

‘That guy’s growth is unusual.’

But he expected this much, of course. It would be strange if there weren’t guys with ulterior motives.

Anyway, everyone is probably thinking about how to kill Hyeon-woo behind the scenes.

Hyeon-woo brought up the quest window.

[Number of Apostles Defeated: 1]

The other Cursed Ones would be able to check similar status windows. And the guys who aren’t here would know that there has been some progress.

Maybe even the Apostles of the Starving Star felt the change.

‘Come to think of it, I still don’t know why the Cursed Ones died so quickly in 10 minutes.’

Since there was no level-up message after that, he initially thought they had been attacked by Itwaro.

However, considering the time it took for him to come down here, it was more likely that he was wandering around the underground cave at that time, not fighting.

‘Anyway, if I catch one more Apostle, I’ll somehow get a chance…’

It was then.

Hyeon-woo suddenly felt another surge-like shock in his chest.

At the same time, a change occurred in the status window he was looking at.

[Number of Apostles Defeated: 2]

***

It was a dark cave filled with the stench of blood.

The blood-soaked dirt floor grabbed at his feet like mud.

Ghouls and gasts were chasing after the Cursed One, who was covered in blood and dirt. The Cursed Ones who had been fighting together were already dead. Some of this blood was theirs.

They were people who didn’t feel even a speck of camaraderie, but they were somewhat trustworthy. At least they might take a blind sword for him, so it was easy to form a line.

But that was it.

They became helpless when the Apostle appeared.

“Damn it, this doesn’t make sense… !”

The Cursed One, muttering curses, had fought Itwaro in the lower levels.

He had run away, but he was able to build some confidence in fighting Apostles through that fight.

But this Apostle was on a different level.

He was at a level that would easily crush Al-Hugin and Itwaro.

Flick.

The Cursed One checked the distance of the monsters and quickly set up dark spiderwebs on both sides. The monsters, who didn’t see the spiderwebs at all, were cut off and covered in blood the moment they touched them.

However, the cave was not strong enough to support the weight. The spiderwebs, having lost their support base, scattered helplessly into the air.

He can only create a very short gap with these tricks. The Cursed One racked his brains and tried to come up with a way.

It was at that moment. The Cursed One discovered a swaying green light in front of him.

Before he could even realize what it was, the surroundings were suddenly enveloped in silence.

The Cursed One looked around with a pale face. The monsters that had been swarming until just now had disappeared without a trace. Then, a familiar voice was heard.

“Don’t run. You’re sweating.”

The Cursed One was dripping with sweat. It wasn’t sweat from running.

Beyond the pitch-black darkness, a huge giant crawling and swaying could be seen.

A skinny man was lying on top of it like a lazy cat.

A beautiful man with pale skin close to white and wearing ornate accessories.

“Why are you trying so hard to live?”

Kawaro of Gluttony and Sloth.

The Cursed One clenched the sword he had in his hand. Kawaro watched the scene leisurely.

But the Cursed One could tell that nothing he did would work.

They were the third group of Cursed Ones. Kawaro, who suddenly appeared, drove them into the monsters and killed them one by one like lice.

Only one was left.

“I’m curious what you’re going to do, but I hope you don’t waste my time unnecessarily.”

“Then why don’t you just pretend you didn’t see me and pass by?”

“I wish I could, but there’s a reason why I’m taking the trouble to talk to you now.”

Kawaro said, rolling around on the giant’s back.

“Reason?”

“I don’t want to be in this dirty, smelly tunnel any longer than I have to. Tell me where Kang Hyeon-woo is. Then I’ll spare you.”

The Cursed One’s lips twisted.

It was an attractive offer. The ‘real’ Kang Hyeon-woo drove him to the battlefield and forced him to fight.

If you ask which is more annoying, the Apostle or Kang Hyeon-woo, it would be a close call.

In the end, the feeling of wanting to stab him in the back is much greater with Kang Hyeon-woo.

But the Cursed One answered without hesitation.

“Get lost.”

“Okay, then.”

Kawaro moved his finger without even trying to persuade him with another word.

It looked like the Cursed One was caught between the slender fingers in Kawaro’s vision.

The moment he lightly pressed the finger, the skill was activated.

Skill: Blood Extraction.

Crack, crack.

The Cursed One’s body began to be crushed as if it were caught in a press in an instant.

The Cursed One tried to resist the invisible pressure, but soon his bones all over his body were shattered and compressed.

Just before the Cursed One was about to become like a squeezed rag, he scattered into a shower of blood.

“Those guys, they’re more loyal than I thought. Annoying.”

Kawaro said with an unpleasant look.

In fact, it was a slightly different feeling than loyalty, but Kawaro didn’t bother to understand the feeling.

Even though he was riding on the giant’s back because he was too lazy to walk, and even moving inside the anglerfish’s belly, Kawaro was still annoyed by everything.

He wanted to go leisurely, but he had no choice but to hurry because of the army of the dead pressing down from above.

“Let’s go.”

The surrounding scenery began to change slowly without vibration. It was Kawaro’s own treasure vault.

Kawaro smiled loosely at the comforting scenery.

The anglerfish can hide its body with illusions and take the form of everything. As the tunnel itself, or as the void itself.

Those who crawl into the belly of such an anglerfish fall into an illusion from which they cannot escape and are slowly digested.

It was a cozy sanctuary that was not disturbed by anyone, a pretty useful temporary palanquin, and a deadly trap.

Kawaro turned his leisurely gaze and thought about Itwaro.

‘It’s about time I got a report?’

She has extraordinary talent for escaping or infiltrating, so he didn’t think she would be defeated.

It was at that moment.

A sudden stinging tremor shook Kawaro’s soul. Kawaro gasped and widened his eyes.

This strange tremor was a scream and aftermath announcing the death of an Apostle. Kawaro realized that he was shaking without realizing it.

It was the death of an Apostle who worshiped the same Starving Star.

“Itwaro?”

Kawaro muttered, staring blankly into the air.

He couldn’t even remember how many years it had been since an Apostle had died.

This world was already like a dead corpse where the passage of time had no meaning.

Kawaro and the other Apostles were in the form of maggots tearing each other apart on top of it.

‘Who is it? Who killed Itwaro?’

But the change didn’t stop there. Another stinging shock came.

Kawaro let out a long sigh. The successive surges that shook his heart made even Kawaro, who had lived for a long time, unable to calm down.

It seemed that an Apostle from another star had died this time, but the shock reminded him of his old memories.

‘This is just like… the Great War era.’

Crack.

A noise disturbed Kawaro’s thoughts. The surrounding scenery was suddenly distorted before he could even do anything.

Along with another rough noise, the head of the anglerfish was greatly split open, and bright light leaked in.

“Kawaro, you son of a bitch!”

Fire and heat that didn’t suit the underground.

Kyrie, the Apostle of the Wailing Star, burning with anger, tore through the back of the anglerfish and invaded.