Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 199

199. Hell is Coming (9)

Wolmyeong Cat [a cat spirit or entity] sat leisurely, observing Xiaojie.

Xiaojie glanced back and forth between Wolmyeong Cat, Khazad, and Hyun-woo, wondering if the situation was some kind of elaborate joke.

Khazad was the only one who appeared genuinely serious.

However, the intense throbbing from the earlier blow made it difficult to dismiss the scene as a mere jest.

The moment she was struck, Xiaojie understood.

She couldn’t win.

‘How the hell did he summon something like that so easily?’

Ironically, the cat seemed even more powerful than the Death Knight she had summoned with all her might.

It didn’t exude the chilling aura of the Death Knight, nor did it project overt menace, but the raw power simmering beneath its fluffy exterior was undeniable.

Even now, Wolmyeong Cat sat in a seemingly relaxed posture, its eyes never leaving her.

Suddenly, Wolmyeong Cat moved. Xiaojie flinched, but instead of attacking, the cat simply lay down on the floor in a relaxed manner.

Each wag of its tail released a cloud of fur that spread through the air like ink.

‘Could it be that it doesn’t want to fight?’

Xiaojie cautiously took a step.

Wolmyeong Cat responded by sharply thwacking its tail against the rooftop. Xiaojie, who had never owned a cat, couldn’t decipher the gesture.

‘This isn’t a fight I can win.’

Just dealing with Kang Hyun-woo alone was a challenge, but there were three formidable opponents here.

In any case, her primary objective wasn’t to defeat Kang Hyun-woo, but to complete the quest. She still had a plan to eliminate 100,000 people at once.

Xiaojie turned and attempted to leap off the roof with lightning speed. But with a resounding crash, she was hurled back onto the rooftop.

The rooftop fixtures were demolished, and Xiaojie tumbled across the floor like a discarded leaf.

“Cough, huh!”

“Meow.”

Xiaojie trembled, struggling to rise.

Every bone in her body felt broken. Wolmyeong Cat, who had been lying down moments ago, now stood near the railing she had been trying to jump over. She hadn’t even seen it move.

Xiaojie tried to move again, never taking her eyes off Wolmyeong Cat. But in an instant, the cat was upon her, pinning her down with both front paws.

The moment the pink paw pads pressed against her chest, she felt her ribs shatter.

Xiaojie spat out blood and desperately pleaded.

“Huff, heuk! K, Kang Hyun-woo! Y, you won…! Pl, please!”

“I don’t think our Nabi [Korean word for butterfly, often used as a cute nickname] thinks so.”

“Meow.”

Wolmyeong Cat kneaded Xiaojie a few times, and when she remained motionless, it tapped her with a front paw.

Having learned her lesson, Xiaojie barely breathed and remained perfectly still.

It was a poor decision.

Wolmyeong Cat stared at Xiaojie for a moment, then opened its mouth wide.

Darkness like ink enveloped Xiaojie.

Crunch, crunch.

Muffled screams and groans seemed to emanate from within the cat’s fur. Wolmyeong Cat shook Xiaojie around while holding her in its mouth, then flung her away.

Xiaojie convulsed, unable to stand.

Nevertheless, Xiaojie was still alive, a testament to her extraordinary tenacity or the unique resilience of an ability user.

Xiaojie groaned and barely crawled, desperately trying to escape.

“Foolish thing, Wolmyeong Cat doesn’t kill prey easily! It mocks and plays with them, only ending their lives when it loses interest,” Khazad shouted triumphantly. He was also drenched in sweat from the tension, but he was good at talking.

“Wolmyeong Cat is a being born from the oldest fears of our race. Our ancestors once believed that the yellow moon in the sky was the eye of a giant cat. That eye constantly hunted and devoured us, and was said to be the cause of numerous disappearances and unexplained sudden deaths. The fact that such an object of fear was born as an actual being is due to our apocalyptic delusions…”

“Khazad, please be quiet.”

Khazad immediately fell silent.

Wolmyeong Cat showed interest as Hyun-woo approached. Then, it gestured as if to raise its hand and tap Hyun-woo.

Khazad watched with bated breath.

In their mythology, Wolmyeong Cat was the embodiment of fear that hunted and devoured victims.

Even he had almost fainted when he first summoned it.

However, Hyun-woo raised his hand to meet Wolmyeong Cat’s gesture. The cat responded by tapping his hand.

It was an affectionate touch, a stark contrast to its treatment of Xiaojie.

Khazad’s jaw dropped.

“G, Great one… Have you seen Wolmyeong Cat before?”

“No.”

Hyun-woo shrugged.

“But even if it’s a bit chubby, cats are cute.”

Wolmyeong Cat sniffed Hyun-woo’s scent and rubbed against him a few times.

Fur like smoke clung to his body, then scattered and vanished. But soon, it turned its head, as if it had lost interest in Hyun-woo.

Hyun-woo, in turn, ignored Wolmyeong Cat and approached Xiaojie, who was watching the scene unfold.

“What… what the hell are you… a monster?”

The figure before him was barely recognizable as Xiaojie, more like a mangled lump of what she once was.

Hyun-woo smiled crookedly and lowered himself to meet Xiaojie’s gaze.

“I’m Kang Hyun-woo from Korea.”

“The promise… is different.”

“We’re not the kind of people who get hung up on the fine print of a promise, are we? If you’re prepared to stab someone in the back, you can do it anytime.”

“I’m still, still useful! The Death Knight was just a show to demonstrate the success of my plan! Your only goal wasn’t just to kill me, was it? You must have a grander plan!”

“But you’re not essential to that plan.”

Hyun-woo smiled and retrieved a gun from his inventory. Instead of aiming it at Xiaojie, he pointed it skyward.

The moment Hyun-woo pulled the trigger, a red flare shot into the air.

It was a signal to be used anytime, anywhere, even if radio communication was down. Soon, a flare also appeared in the distance.

“Looks like our team members are doing well.”

“What…?”

“Why would I leave those capable team members idle? While you were focused on me, I was subtly modifying your ‘plan’. More… efficiently.”

“You…!”

Hyun-woo pressed his foot down on what was left of Xiaojie’s neck.

Xiaojie gasped for air.

It wasn’t punishment. It was execution.

She realized that Hyun-woo had never intended to let her live.

***

Hyun-woo entered the floor where Lee Ji-tae and Park Do-ryeong were supposed to be.

The room was a wreck, as if a fierce battle had taken place. Shards of debris were embedded in the walls, and broken undead lay scattered everywhere.

He found Park Do-ryeong lying face down in the middle of the room, his body a mangled mess of wounds, likely inflicted by the undead.

Lee Ji-tae was nowhere to be seen.

“Kirson.”

Kirson emerged from the shadows.

“What happened?”

“Should I give you the detailed version, or the brief one?”

“Briefly.”

“The dead and the humans started fighting. I figured they could handle it, so I left them to it. I just cleaned up the leftovers because the finish was sloppy.”

“You only left them alive by a hair’s breadth. It must have been hard to gauge.”

“I thought it would be a bit much if both of them rushed me at the same time.”

Just as Xiaojie had left a Jiangshi [Chinese hopping vampire or zombie] behind, Hyun-woo had left Kirson behind.

Kirson’s role was more surveillance than preventing escape.

He was confident that neither Lee Ji-tae nor Park Do-ryeong would abandon the other to flee. And things had played out as expected.

What bound them wasn’t chains, but their bond with each other.

Then, someone dragged their body out from inside the room. It was Lee Ji-tae, looking haggard.

“Kang Hyun-woo.”

Hyun-woo assessed Lee Ji-tae’s condition.

‘He used his ultimate skill.’

“Xiaojie… What happened to Xiaojie?”

“She’s dead.”

“I knew it….”

Lee Ji-tae didn’t seem surprised that Kang Hyun-woo was with Kirson. He had already witnessed Hyun-woo using monsters.

Lee Ji-tae let out a long sigh.

“I knew you could do it. The process was eventful, but there must have been a reason why you had to deceive Xiaojie.”

“Thanks for understanding without me having to explain.”

Lee Ji-tae smiled contentedly.

“I saw my future with you. What more is there to be surprised about?”

“That’s even more surprising to hear.”

Hyun-woo knelt to check Park Do-ryeong’s condition.

Park Do-ryeong’s breathing was shallow. He would clearly die soon if left unattended.

Lee Ji-tae saw this and spoke with difficulty.

“Kang Hyun-woo, I know you have a grudge against Park Do-ryeong. But… he’s a useful person. Show him your worth. He’s just a man so full of arrogance that he thinks he knows everything.”

Hyun-woo looked at Lee Ji-tae with a questioning expression.

“You’re asking me to save Park Do-ryeong?”

“Of course, I know it’s a difficult request, but you can overwhelm Park Do-ryeong now, can’t you? It’s enough to leave him in a state where he can’t even work as a hunter again. Just keep him alive and leave the rest to the judiciary.”

“Lee Ji-tae. I think you’re misunderstanding something….”

Hyun-woo sighed deeply.

It would have been easier if Lee Ji-tae had realized his intentions and become angry.

He had said he could see the future, so he thought he would understand Hyun-woo’s intentions, be afraid, and feel powerless.

But he still believed in him.

He was trying to appeal to the guilt and goodwill hidden in Hyun-woo’s heart.

Unfortunately, what Hyun-woo was doing now had nothing to do with emotions.

“The reason I told you to keep you alive isn’t for any complicated reason.”

Hyun-woo placed his foot on Park Do-ryeong’s neck. Before Lee Ji-tae could react, Hyun-woo stomped down.

With a sickening crack, Park Do-ryeong’s neck broke. The sound of his breath slowly escaping his lungs filled the air.

Lee Ji-tae stared blankly at the scene, an expression of disbelief on his face.

It felt like he was being pranked.

The teacher and senior who had been struggling to protect him until just now was now a corpse.

“The reason I told you to keep you alive is because I was worried that Xiaojie would take your fragment away.”

“…Fragment?”

Lee Ji-tae muttered, confused.

“Yeah. Star fragment. All the guys who were chosen by the stars have it.”

Hyun-woo raised his right hand, displaying the inscription wrapped around his wrist.

The inscription, glowing with a subtle purple light, was something Lee Ji-tae had barely noticed until now. He had simply assumed it was a unique tattoo.

“What the hell is that….”

“Things that the stars give to their special vassals. It means you’ve been granted the power of the stars. I guess this is the medium for using the power.”

“But I don’t have anything like that!”

“Well, you might feel that way.”

Hyun-woo removed Park Do-ryeong’s mask.

Lee Ji-tae then saw the tattoo that had almost completely covered the right side of Park Do-ryeong’s face.

He had noticed a strange tattoo above his eyebrow before, but now it was much larger and more elaborate.

When Hyun-woo touched the tattoo, it began to be absorbed into his right hand.

“As you can see, it’s in a conspicuous place, but it’s also in a place that’s easily overlooked.”

Even after witnessing this, he couldn’t deny it.

There was clearly ‘something’ special about Hyun-woo and Park Do-ryeong.

Only then did Lee Ji-tae remember.

There was a place where he felt a burning pain when he was granted the power.

Hyun-woo smiled and said.

“If you’re the person I know.”

Baekgol [White Bone, likely a reference to a location or entity].

Suddenly, Hyun-woo grabbed Lee Ji-tae by the collar.

Restrained by Yael, Lee Ji-tae was unable to move. Hyun-woo’s right hand slowly approached Lee Ji-tae’s left eye.

“I had a feeling it would be in this place.”

“Ugh, ughaaaa!”

Lee Ji-tae struggled and screamed, but he couldn’t break free.

Only then did Lee Ji-tae understand why Park Do-ryeong had told him to save his ultimate skill. He also understood the meaning of the words ‘real enemy’.

But it was too late.

With a gruesome sound, one side of Lee Ji-tae’s vision went black.

Hyun-woo, having plucked out Lee Ji-tae’s left eye, dropped him to the floor. Lee Ji-tae groaned faintly, trembling in pain.

Blood flowed onto the floor.

Lee Ji-tae let out a groan mixed with a scream.

“Kang Hyun-woo, Kang Hyun-woo!!”

Hyun-woo found what he was looking for behind Lee Ji-tae’s left eyeball: an inscription shimmering with gold.

It was small, but it seemed complete. However, to fully claim the inscription, he had to end Lee Ji-tae’s life.

Lee Ji-tae seemed to realize this as well.

“Did you keep me alive just to take that away?”

Hyun-woo smiled with a sigh.

“Lee Ji-tae, do you remember when we first met? The name tag snatching game in the ability user test. At that time, you just watched me running around from a high place.”

Even with only one eye, Hyun-woo’s smile was clear.

Hyun-woo’s smile didn’t convey malice, guilt, or even madness.

It was just an awkward smile that said, ‘I can’t help it, but I have to do what I have to do.’

“This is similar to that name tag. And this time, you’re not an observer, but just a participant.”

“What are you going to do with it… by collecting them?”

“This game is about collecting a lot of these name tags. And finally, the person who monopolizes all the name tags wins. And in that arena, you can force your rules on people who don’t have name tags.”

“Do you want to be… a god?”

“No, I have to pick a star first.”

Hyun-woo said with a smile.

“I can’t stand having anyone above me. I want to pull down all the guys I can pull down. Some people seem to want to ride the stars and become winners, but I don’t.”

“If you become a winner like that!”

Lee Ji-tae asked urgently. It was a desperate question for him.

“What kind of world are you going to create if you become a winner? Are you going to fill the world with your evil?”

“Well.”

Hyun-woo paused for a moment and then slowly opened his mouth.

“Let’s just hope that I don’t wish that ‘this kind of world would be destroyed’.”

“Go to hell.”

Lee Ji-tae retorted, cursing Hyun-woo’s futile answer.

The frustration of failure consumed him.

“There’s no need to rush.”

Hyun-woo replied with a smile.

“Because hell is coming directly.”