Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 148

148. The Devil Calls (4)

“Hmm?”

Lee Ji-tae turned his head, his expression serious. The Lapis Lazuli team tensed, their hands tightening around their weapons.

“Do you sense something else, Captain?” one of the team members asked, his voice hushed.

“No… I just have a bad feeling,” Lee Ji-tae replied, his gaze sweeping over their surroundings.

The team members grew even more tense. Lee Ji-tae’s premonitions were legendary, often proving more reliable than any detection device.

More than a few hunters owed their lives to Lee Ji-tae’s ‘premonitions.’ They had learned to trust his gut feelings implicitly.

The hunters of the Lapis Lazuli team, understanding each other’s intentions with a mere glance, quickly dispersed, taking up defensive positions and scanning the area.

Lee Ji-tae spent a long moment looking back at the path they had taken, then shook his head, dismissing whatever he had sensed.

“No, it’s not a monster. It seems like there’s a problem with another team,” he announced, his brow furrowed.

“Are you talking about the All-Powerful Alliance team?” someone asked, the name spoken with a hint of concern.

The Lapis Lazuli team naturally assumed the problem was with the All-Powerful Alliance team, given their relative inexperience.

“Yu Seong-yeon belongs to the emerging class, but he’s quite experienced among them, and they also have Johan,” another hunter pointed out, listing their strengths.

“No. It’s not them,” Lee Ji-tae stated firmly, dismissing the possibility.

The agitation among the team grew even greater at the implication that there might be a problem with Yu Seong-yeon’s team.

“Don’t worry. I told them to use the return scroll immediately if things got dangerous. Team Leader Yu Seong-yeon isn’t someone who would overdo it,” Lee Ji-tae reassured them, his voice calm.

The hunters were relieved by those words, but Lee Ji-tae himself remained uneasy. His premonitions were rarely wrong.

His premonitions were as powerful as foresight. It wasn’t for nothing that people said he could see the future.

It wasn’t because of his skills or items. It was his own unique ability that he had from birth.

Lee Ji-tae’s premonitions were most useful when dealing with people.

He could intuitively sense what kind of person the other person was, whether they would be helpful to him, or whether they would bring a negative or positive future.

After he came into contact with the Star, this ability became much stronger.

‘I was able to meet Priest Johan with this talent,’ he thought, recalling how his ability had led him to the priest.

Like Hyun-woo, Johan was also someone who would occupy an important place in the future he had established.

But right now, that very premonition was moving uneasily. Something was wrong.

However, his reason told him, ‘If such a situation had occurred, Johan and Yu Seong-yeon would have already used the return scroll and left.’

It was rare for rational judgment and premonition to be so conflicted and erratic.

In fact, he had experienced such erratic behavior when he first met Kang Hyun-woo in person. To the point of being bewildered.

But instead, that feeling was very strong. It meant that the other person would play a very important role in his life.

If so, he had to bring them over to his side as much as possible, or rather, unconditionally. But the premonition he had now seemed to be about a problem with Johan.

‘Priest Johan was showing withdrawal symptoms, but it wasn’t at a level that would be a problem…?’ Lee Ji-tae pondered, his mind racing.

Lee Ji-tae knew about Johan’s drug addiction. But he also knew that he wasn’t dependent on drugs.

So, he left him alone, judging that if he could heal the emptiness in his heart, he would be able to quit soon.

If he didn’t have the drugs, Johan would have already secluded himself somewhere or committed suicide.

There was only one possibility.

Since entering the dungeon, his symptoms had suddenly worsened due to some other factor.

***

Bang! Rumble….

Johan’s body, protected by the blessing, soared into the air and crashed against the wall. The impact shook him to his core.

The blessing protected him from most attacks and increased his attack power, but it couldn’t be maintained forever. Its duration was limited, and he was running out of time.

He took out his pistol and fired at the Pawn Golem, but ordinary magic bullets weren’t strong enough to penetrate the Pawn Golem’s outer shell. The shots were meaningless, little more than distractions.

The hunter he had given the return scroll to had already left the dungeon a long time ago, following Johan’s instructions.

But Johan didn’t go with him. He had made his choice.

Was his judgment clouded by the drugs? Was he making a terrible mistake?

No. Right now, Johan’s consciousness was clearer than when he was with Yu Seong-yeon. The fog had lifted.

There was no trembling or blurred feeling. It was the most comfortable he had felt in a long time, a strange sense of peace amidst the chaos.

Johan recalled what Yu Seong-yeon had told him, his words echoing in his mind.

‘For now, it’s just trembling and decreased concentration. Next, there will be a moment when you feel like you’re getting better. But after that, a rapid….’

Rapid seizures, vomiting, fever, loss of consciousness. Johan also knew what the next symptoms would be. He had witnessed them firsthand.

He had seen many hunters who had succumbed to this drug and met an unspeakable end, their bodies and minds ravaged by addiction.

But right now, he was comfortable. It was as if the dungeon was holding him back, telling him not to leave, luring him deeper into its embrace.

The Pawn Golems aimed their spears at Johan and slowly approached, their movements deliberate and menacing. If the spear attack hit accurately, even the blessing couldn’t completely block it. It would shatter, leaving him vulnerable.

Johan was certain that he would die here. He had accepted his fate. The Pawn Golems instantly thrust their spears at Johan, their movements synchronized.

Bang!

But the spear shattered against something with a sharp sound. A translucent purple barrier surrounded Johan, shimmering with arcane energy.

It was Johan’s ultimate skill, Veil of Benevolence. A powerful defensive ability that could deflect even the strongest attacks.

Johan couldn’t understand why he had used his ultimate skill. It was a subconscious reaction, a desperate attempt to survive.

‘…I’m trying to commit suicide, so why am I trying to extend my life by a few minutes?’ he wondered, his mind struggling to reconcile his actions with his intentions.

Johan smiled bitterly. He didn’t even want to live, but he felt a sense of resistance to actively giving up his life. A primal instinct to survive, even in the face of despair.

Johan thought that perhaps his desire was to struggle desperately and die in a wretched manner. To fight until his last breath, even if it was futile.

Then, his whole body trembled, and his legs gave way. His hands trembled as if there was an earthquake, shaking uncontrollably.

The third stage of symptoms had begun. The withdrawal symptoms were getting worse and worse, intensifying with each passing moment.

He had expected it, but he didn’t know why the progression was so fast. It was as if something was accelerating the process, pushing him closer to the brink.

‘Why?’ he wondered, his mind searching for an explanation.

Johan reached into his mouth and pulled something out. It was a small, adhesive patch.

It was a patch-type drug. It was commonly used by hunters in combat situations, and if you stuck it to your mucous membrane, the effects would last for a long time, providing a sustained release of medication.

But this wasn’t something Johan had obtained. It was something someone had slipped under the hotel door when he woke up, a silent offering.

‘…I thought someone from Taesung had put it in, worried about my condition,’ he realized, piecing together the events.

Lee Ji-tae neither scolded nor helped Johan with his drug use, maintaining a neutral stance.

But from the perspective of the staff, it would be a problem if Johan panicked, so they had prepared this patch, anticipating a potential crisis.

But after using it, his thoughts changed. The initial relief quickly turned into something sinister.

At first, there was medicine applied to it, but then it started to rapidly reduce the drug concentration in his body, accelerating his withdrawal symptoms.

He had heard of drugs that neutralize narcotics, but they were rarely used because they could cause shock if used incorrectly. The risks were too high.

It had to be prescribed in an extremely safe environment, under the supervision of a doctor, with constant monitoring.

This was terrorism. Someone was deliberately trying to harm him.

But Johan quietly threw the patch on the floor, discarding the evidence. He didn’t know who had done this or for what purpose, but it didn’t matter. He had resigned himself to his fate.

Now he didn’t have a return scroll either. This place was definitely going to be Johan’s tomb. He was trapped, with no escape.

The Veil of Benevolence would disappear in a few dozen seconds. Johan felt the blessing surrounding him fading away, its protective energy waning.

His mana was depleted because of the ultimate skill, so he couldn’t cast a blessing or heal anymore. He was defenseless.

He couldn’t escape because all the strength in his body was gone. The Pawn Golems were pacing around, waiting for the Veil of Benevolence to disappear, their spears poised to strike.

“Cough, cough.”

Vomit flowed down his chin, a sign of his deteriorating condition. Perhaps because of the neutralizer, the effect was much stronger than he had expected, overwhelming his system.

His consciousness began to fade, blurring the edges of reality. As the Veil of Benevolence was lifted, he saw the Pawn Golems raising their spears, their metallic eyes glinting in the dim light.

***

“Johan, you really don’t know anything.”

Johan turned his head at the sudden voice, startled by its familiarity.

It was a tent camp in the desert. Soldiers deployed to stabilize Syria were cleaning their weapons or playing poker, their faces etched with fatigue and determination.

Johan remembered this moment. It was the day before he was dispatched to Al-Mzari. It was because he had heard intelligence that international terrorists were hiding in the dungeon there.

Johan had a slight question. He couldn’t dwell on it for long, his mind struggling to grasp the situation.

“Are you listening to me, Johan?”

It was because he saw her at the end of his gaze. Johan knew what he had to say, the words coming to him instinctively.

“What don’t I know?”

“Did you really think that the reason we drag you around is because you’re a chaplain? Because there’s no one to hear confessions if you die in the dungeon? Do you believe that your soul will be trapped in the dungeon forever and you won’t go to heaven? Do you think we’re such ignorant religious fanatics?”

Johan felt wronged. He had only said what he had heard from the other team members, repeating their assumptions. Johan opened his mouth as if to protest, to defend himself.

“Werner is looking over here with wide eyes, as if to say that’s not the case… Then what is it? Are you saying I’m a convenient mobile free potion vending machine?”

She laughed at Johan’s words, her amusement echoing through the camp. He had only said what he had been feeling inside, but she seemed to like the expression, finding humor in his self-deprecating remark.

“That’s the second reason, and there’s a first reason,” she said, her voice teasing.

“What is it?”

“It’s because you….”

The woman came to Johan’s side and whispered something, her words barely audible.

Johan looked at her in disbelief, his eyes widening in surprise. The woman was wearing a bright smile, her expression radiant.

It was a dazzling smile, full of warmth and affection.

But her face was blurred by the light and couldn’t be seen at all, shrouded in a mysterious glow. But he clearly remembered one name, etched in his memory.

“Anna, wait….”

“It’s time to wake up, Johan.”

***

Johan opened his eyes, gasping for air.

Light was seeping in through the cracks in the black obsidian structure, casting long, distorted shadows across the floor.

He was still inside the Taebaek Dungeon, but he didn’t know how he had gotten here. The transition was abrupt and disorienting.

He clearly remembered the Veil of Benevolence being lifted and the Pawn Golems surrounding him, their spears ready to strike.

He was sure he was going to die, but it was a completely unfamiliar space, unlike anything he had seen before.

‘Am I already dead?’ he wondered, his heart pounding in his chest.

Maybe so. In fact, there is no such thing as heaven, and when you die, your soul just wanders around near the place where you died, trapped in a perpetual limbo.

Johan’s heart began to pound, fear gripping him.

The legend that the dungeon and the outside world are completely different, so if you die, your soul wanders in the dungeon, was a fairly widespread legend among hunters, a chilling tale passed down through generations.

He even knew several superstitious measures to prevent that, rituals and charms designed to ward off the curse.

‘Then, Anna is somewhere here too…,’ he thought, the realization sending a shiver down his spine.

Then, he felt a throbbing pain in his chest. It felt like a rib was broken, a sharp, agonizing sensation. Johan used a healing skill on his ribs, hoping to alleviate the pain.

Disappointingly, he seemed to still be alive. But it was strange. The withdrawal symptoms had completely disappeared, vanished without a trace. On the contrary, he felt a little good, a sense of well-being he hadn’t experienced in years.

He couldn’t understand what was going on. The situation defied logic.

The surroundings were quiet, eerily silent.

There were no golems or hunters. The light seeping in through the structures faintly illuminated the surroundings, revealing the strange architecture of the dungeon.

Ironically, Johan felt reverence in this place, a sense of awe and wonder. He was reminded of the cathedral where he had been baptized, a place of peace and tranquility.

There was no noise or smell that living things usually emit in this place. Only inorganic rocks and the smell of ozone, a sterile and otherworldly atmosphere.

The light seeping in through the structures was warm and cozy, creating a sense of comfort and security. Johan was able to be satisfied for the first time in a long time, finding solace in the unexpected sanctuary.

‘Someone must have moved me,’ he reasoned, trying to make sense of his situation.

But the silence didn’t last long. The illusion of peace was shattered.

One of the Pawn Golems was slowly raising its body from among the broken rocks, centered around its red core, its movements sluggish and labored.

The golem soon discovered Johan, its metallic eyes locking onto him. Johan took out his pistol, knowing it was meaningless, a futile gesture of defiance.

The sound of the firing pin hitting the air echoed loudly, a hollow click that emphasized his helplessness.

At that moment, with a bang, the Pawn Golem’s jaw flew off, shattering into pieces. Johan looked back and forth between his empty gun and the Pawn Golem with wide eyes, his mind struggling to process what he had just witnessed.

But he belatedly realized that someone had attacked the Pawn Golem, intervening on his behalf.

Johan tried to figure out who it was, but his vision was blurred by the rays of light seeping in, and he couldn’t see well. The figure was shrouded in shadow, making it difficult to discern their features.

But the way he was driving the Pawn Golem was somehow familiar, a distinctive fighting style that he recognized.

Rumble… Before long, the golem, which had been hit in the core with a sword, collapsed with a loud noise, its body crashing to the ground.

The golem’s head rolled to Johan’s feet, a grotesque trophy of the battle. The hunter who had smashed the golem approached Johan, his figure emerging from the shadows. Johan mumbled blankly, his voice barely a whisper.

“Anna?”

The other person flinched, their movements momentarily halting.

“It seems you’ve hurt your head, Priest Johan,” the figure said, their voice low and masculine.

At the low-pitched male voice, Johan rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his vision. The illusion shattered.

The person he thought was Anna was definitely not Anna, and from the beginning, it was a man. And it was someone he knew, a familiar face in an unexpected place.

“If the priest wanders around alone, the other raid members will be sad,” the man said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“…Kang Hyun-woo,” Johan mumbled, finally recognizing his savior.

Johan felt like he had hit his head hard, his mind reeling from the confusion and disorientation. To think he would confuse Anna and Hyun-woo, two people so different.

The only thing they had in common was that they both used swords, a superficial similarity that had momentarily deceived him.

“Team Yu Seong-yeon is nowhere to be seen, so it seems they left the priest behind and returned?” Hyun-woo asked, his tone casual.

“I instructed them to,” Johan replied, his voice firm.

To be exact, he created a situation where they had no choice but to do so, sacrificing himself for their safety.

Johan clenched and unclenched his fists, checking his condition. His body was still in surprisingly good condition, considering what he had been through.

He couldn’t understand. The narcotic substance in his body had either completely disappeared, or it was as if he had just taken the drug, experiencing a sudden and unexpected reprieve.

“Has the trembling gotten any better?” Hyun-woo asked, his eyes narrowed.

Only then did Johan raise his head, meeting Hyun-woo’s gaze.

Hyun-woo knew that he was taking drugs. He didn’t know how he had administered the drug, but it was clear that Hyun-woo had done something, manipulating the situation to his advantage.

But now was the time to thank him, to express his gratitude for the unexpected rescue.

“What are you going to do? We have no intention of using the return scroll, so will even the priest leave?” Hyun-woo asked, showing Johan the return scroll, a symbol of escape.

“You’re not going to use the return scroll? Don’t tell me you’re going to clear it alone?” Johan asked, his voice incredulous.

It was an absurd statement, a reckless proposition. Even Lee Ji-tae had never cleared a 5-star dungeon alone, and Hyun-woo was suggesting he could do it?

Then Hyun-woo smiled lowly and shook his head, his eyes glinting with mischief.

“You overestimate me too much. Why would I be alone?” he said, his voice teasing.

When Hyun-woo turned his head, a group of hunters could be seen approaching, their figures silhouetted against the light.

It was the All-Powerful Alliance team, their faces etched with determination.

They were all haggard and bloody, but it didn’t seem like the number had decreased. They had survived, against all odds.

Hyun-woo approached Johan, put his arm around his shoulder, and said, his voice confident.

“I’m going to go with those friends,” he announced, gesturing towards the approaching team.

“…Are you serious?” Johan asked, his voice filled with doubt.

They already looked to be in pretty bad shape, their resources depleted.

No matter how many potions they brought, there was no way they would have any left after four days. Johan couldn’t tell if Hyun-woo’s words were a bluff or genuine, a desperate gamble or a calculated risk.

“Well, some of them may die. But they all take after me and like to do reckless things,” Hyun-woo said, his tone nonchalant.

“It’s crazy,” Johan muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Well, maybe. It’s not like I can always save everyone. But… fortunately, Priest Johan has joined us by chance like this, so if you stay with us, maybe they can save their lives?” Hyun-woo whispered in Johan’s ear, his voice persuasive.

“Or about half of them will die meaninglessly, and Priest Johan will leave with the title of drug addict. How about it?” he added, his words laced with a hint of dark humor.