Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 235

235. Star of Hell (2)

Number 8’s strike that cleaved through Hyunmu’s body was, quite literally, instantaneous.

With a gruesome tearing sound, blood splattered everywhere.

Hahyeon watched the bisected body of Hyunmu falling through the air with a bizarre slowness.

There was no scream, only a complete freezing of the body.

And in that moment.

Hyunmu’s body burst with a ‘thud,’ scattering into a shower of blood.

Hahyeon watched the scene like a statue.

He couldn’t comprehend the situation.

A shower of blood?

Did the fake one get processed into blood dust the moment the real Hyunmu died?

Blood poured from the sky like rain.

Tahm spun through the air and plunged into the ground.

Amidst the sound of blood pattering down, someone emerged from the darkness a little later.

It was the one who wielded the Tando [a short sword]. He slowly walked over and gripped Tahm, which was stuck in the ground.

The moment he gripped Tahm, he felt a strange light seeping up from the ground.

It was a fragment of the Star of Itwal, which Number 1 had absorbed.

He looked extremely exhausted and tired, but he finally smiled.

And he greeted Hahyeon.

“Thanks, Hahyeon. I owe you one.”

Hahyeon wanted to scream that it wasn’t true.

That he wasn’t trying to help him. That the one he was trying to help was someone else.

But the moment Hahyeon heard the other person’s voice, he felt a tingling sensation in his lower abdomen, as if Sanghyun inside the cocoon had reacted.

In that unknown, strange sensation, Hahyeon felt as if he had overheard a secret of the world.

“Hyunmu?”

“That’s right.”

Number 8, no, Hyunmu, let out a long sigh. He dusted off his shoulders.

At that moment, the Lenians [Hyunmu’s subordinates] appeared beside him. Hahyeon tried to grasp the situation, his mouth agape.

“It’s me. It was me from the start. I apologize for having to deceive you.”

Perhaps the most dangerous moment of all.

“But this was the last step in the plan I set up.”

***

Hyunmu gave a brief explanation.

He couldn’t explain the plan to Hahyeon in advance, as he needed a genuine reaction.

To increase the odds even slightly, and to reduce the probability of dying even slightly.

Hahyeon couldn’t understand even after hearing Hyunmu’s explanation.

He couldn’t easily believe that the person he firmly believed was real, and whom he was prepared to leave if he died, was actually fake.

Hahyeon felt a headache coming on.

“No, but the fake one firmly believed he was real? Is that even possible? Or are the Cursed Ones just a little lacking in intelligence?”

“Cursed Ones basically believe they are real from the start. Then, when they discover the differences between themselves and the real one, they become obsessed with those differences and try to take them away.”

When Hyunmu first created the Cursed One, he rushed at Tahm as soon as he saw it.

Even if he could have the Restrainer Yayul, a part of his body, Tahm was the only symbol of the clear, real one.

Therefore, Hyunmu deliberately flaunted Tahm among the Cursed Ones.

Number 1 also showed an attitude of obsessing over Tahm as soon as he saw it.

“Perhaps at first, he knew he was still fake. There are several ways to check.”

He could spill blood on the floor, or he could summon a Lenian.

“But he didn’t. Well, rationally speaking, he was probably reluctant to spill more blood after already spilling so much, or he believed that a Lenian would never appear in a place where a fight might break out.”

There must have been several moments when he spilled blood while fighting. But he ignored it.

“Because he wanted to believe he was real.”

The greed for his own identity blinded him.

“…You thought he would?”

“Yeah.”

Hyunmu muttered, sweeping the pool of blood on the floor with his foot.

“I would have too.”

Even knowing it was foolish, he couldn’t help but believe it.

Hyunmu felt anxiety and desperation as he watched Number 1, holding Tahm, perform.

He was afraid that he would take away everything he loved, as if he had really become a Cursed One.

On the other hand, Number 1 felt a similar desperation, as if he really had those things.

The desperation to hold on to what he already had until the end.

So he had no choice but to believe.

That the real Kang Hyunmu was already dead. That he had survived and become the real one.

Hahyeon let out a long sigh.

“Are you sure?”

“About what?”

“You said that if a Cursed One kills you, the fake one replaces the real one. Then he might even inherit all the memories you have now. At that moment, your memories are overwritten on top of the Cursed One’s memories. You’ve already been killed by the Cursed One, but you might not know it.”

Hyunmu didn’t answer.

That was a possibility.

But it was no use thinking about it now.

“There’s no way to check.”

“Kang Hyunmu…”

“But I can be sure of one thing.”

Hyunmu said calmly.

“I’ve never lost to a trial. I don’t think I would have died from some crude curse that Gaul put on me.”

Hahyeon was speechless at Hyunmu’s brazen and confident attitude.

But the reason Hahyeon was concerned about that issue was different.

It was because of Sanghyun.

Hahyeon clearly felt Sanghyun’s will and continuity inside the cocoon. But it was hard to be sure if that was really Sanghyun.

“I wish I could have confidence without any basis like you…”

“What are you talking about? Oh, right, I’m not the problem right now. How are you? Are you okay? I thought Sanghyun would have appeared and killed everyone, but I can’t see her.”

“…What do you mean my sister appeared and killed everyone? If you’re talking about the cocoon, it’s still inside my stomach. But I don’t know what state it’s in right now. It feels like… I’ve become one with my sister, but not really.”

The continuity transmitted from Sanghyun was fragmented, disorganized, and the logic was not properly structured.

It felt like a degraded and damaged film was overlaid on his own film.

It was getting worse again as Sanghyun unilaterally cut off the connection.

“Still inside?”

Hyunmu looked down at Hahyeon’s stomach with a strange expression.

Hahyeon waved his fist and took his gaze away.

“Wait, but you said it was the last plan? It’s not completely over yet! What about the Cursed One that Kawaro captured? And there are still other Apostles left!”

Hahyeon pointed out the goals that had not yet been completed.

The road ahead was still arduous.

Hyunmu was also almost out of cards. From now on, it was really a matter of skill.

The total number of Apostles dealt with so far was three.

Al-Hugin, Itwal, Rampel. And since Hahyeon came here, it seemed like he had also dealt with Curie.

Four if you count Curie. Even if he chased after Kawaro and killed him, that would be five.

The problem was here.

“…Were there a total of six Apostles who entered the shelter?”

Even if the trial was completed, the battle would not be over.

***

Hahyeon led Hyunmu to the second reservoir.

“Boss.”

Kirson was pouring a potion into his mouth.

He had many wounds all over his body, and some bones looked crooked, but he was still in good condition considering he had fought an Apostle.

At least compared to the mass death of Hyunmu’s Cursed Ones, it was an amazing achievement just to have survived.

“You survived well, Kirson.”

“The boss doesn’t know how to cherish his life, that’s why.”

Kirson answered with a grin.

Hyunmu thought that might be true.

Kirson had desperately searched for ways to survive in order to cherish his only life in this world.

On the other hand, he had been careful in his own way, but he had become desensitized to too many deaths and had devised many strategies that disregarded life.

Difficulty: Hell. It was a natural thing, but the Cursed Ones must have been influenced by that thought as well.

If he thought of each death of the Cursed Ones as his own death, Hyunmu would have died more than a hundred times during this trial.

“Um… what’s going on with this one right now?”

Hyunmu asked, looking at Curie, who was lying sprawled on the floor.

Curie, who had her arms and legs cut off, still felt warm.

It wasn’t as hot as a blast furnace like when she was fighting, but it was still hot.

Her face was covered with pure white spiderwebs. It felt like a shroud, but it was clear that Curie was still alive.

“She’s sleeping.”

Hahyeon answered.

“Sleeping?”

“Well… I mean, um. I don’t even remember exactly what I did or how I did it. I don’t think I could do it again even if I tried. I think Sanghyun did something, maybe like manually inputting the ‘Dominate’ skill one by one…”

“I’m sure Sanghyun would have sighed at your pathetic vocabulary if it were her.”

“No, even you wouldn’t be able to explain this! My sister has to come to explain it properly!”

In any case, Curie was completely subdued. In this state, it is easy to end her life.

It is natural to do so in order to obtain Curie’s items, experience points, and fragments.

Hyunmu gripped Tahm and approached Curie.

He had no shame in executing a defenseless opponent. In this terrible world, emotional luxury makes life more dangerous than material luxury.

“Wait a minute. Boss.”

It was Kirson who stopped him. Hyunmu looked puzzled.

“If there’s no reason to kill her right now, wouldn’t it be better to hold off for a while?”

“Is there a reason to keep her alive?”

“Curie might still be useful.”

Hyunmu looked at Kirson.

Suddenly, something came to mind.

Kirson had said that he used to belong to the Conquesting Star’s faction in the West.

And when he listened to Kirson’s occasional words or knowledge, he often felt that he was not an ordinary goblin.

“Are you acquainted with this one?”

“Well, sort of indirectly. But it’s not because of sympathy.”

Kirson said, tapping Curie’s armor.

“Curie is an Apostle who can be reasoned with. If we coax her well, she might become our ally. Besides, she’s now the last remaining Apostle of the Conquesting Star. She’s not a proxy-level Apostle, but still, if the Conquesting Star loses two out of three Apostles, we don’t know how they’ll react. They might send a proxy [a more powerful Apostle] next time.”

*Then we’ll just kill that one too,* he couldn’t say.

Hyunmu knew that this fight had been very lucky.

He was able to get out of it only because the Apostles were fighting and checking each other, forming complex relationships.

If only Kawaro had come, Hyunmu couldn’t be sure if he could have endured it.

Especially if it was a proxy.

“How strong is a proxy?”

“Don’t ask such childish questions, Boss.”

Hyunmu made a shameful expression and kicked Kirson’s leg.

Kirson had to grab his leg and roll on the floor.

“Anyway, the visit of a proxy is not a positive thing. Especially if it’s the Conquesting Star, there might be a need to change the map. It’s better to owe a debt to the star than to be at odds with it right away.”

“Then what about the trial?”

Hyunmu’s trial is to kill five Apostles. If he lets Curie live, he has to kill the remaining two, but Kawaro has already run away.

Whether he can kill them is another matter, but there is only one Apostle left.

“Oh, about that.”

Kirson scratched his chin and answered.

“The boss doesn’t belong to any particular star, so there probably won’t be any star penalties even if he fails. Punishment is given to subordinates. Even if there is something, the worst that can happen is death, but the boss comes back to life even if he dies. Or you can postpone clearing the trial a little later.”

“Didn’t you tell me not to think of death as nothing?”

“We have to use it if we can use it. Well, the choice is up to the boss. But if you kill Curie, the Conquesting Star will have no choice but to move the proxy. Because the intermediate stage is skipped. That’s definitely not a good thing.”

Hyunmu had no choice but to agree with Kirson’s words.

The Conquesting Star had two Apostles killed this time, and one might die soon.

Judging from the appearance and actions of the Apostles, it is clear that the star is not very kind.

“Still, I don’t want to unconditionally do good deeds while expecting the other party’s uncertain favor.”

“Then let’s get some proper collateral.”

“Collateral?”

“Curie is the key keeper of Ulgan’s Furnace. Let’s get that key.”

“What’s that for?”

“That’s…”

Just as Kirson was about to explain, Hyunmu suddenly felt a chilling coldness stroking the back of his neck.

At the same time, Hahyeon and Kirson also startled and looked towards the third reservoir.

From beyond the dark darkness, a cold, blue energy that felt like it could be touched was leaking in.

The sound of footsteps echoed silently in the reservoir.

“Ah, this tranquility. It seems the situation has been resolved. This is why I’m late.”

The Apostle of the Wailing Star, Ivanov.

The moment he saw him, Hyunmu felt a sense of being overwhelmed by an unknown force.

But at the same time, he also felt that one of the problems he had been worrying about had been solved.

In Ivanov’s grasp, something was hanging with its neck grabbed.

The Apostle of the Starving Star, Kawaro, was hanging there, naked and without any ornaments.