Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 215

215. Good Cop, Bad Cop (5)

The number that appeared on the screen was Kang Hyun-moo’s second phone.

His first phone was probably smashed to pieces.

Whether he threw it or it broke in his hand.

Park Hwi-so answered the phone, expecting Hyun-moo to scream. But Hyun-moo didn’t shout or curse.

He just quietly opened his mouth.

[Is it all over?]

“…Yes.”

[If you were to present evidence, you’d probably say that Robert Lee went out of his way to impersonate my father to deliver the return stone, or that my father’s whereabouts are suspicious, right?]

“That’s part of it, but you’ll remember that I once investigated you.”

“I do.”

“At that time, I believed that the information about Kang Hyun-moo was fabricated. There was no way someone like you would be a mere gatherer. So, as I traced the information, I naturally came across your parents.”

[So?]

“The information about Kang Hyun-moo’s father… was strange. There are records of him living for several years after Kang Hyun-moo’s birth. But at some point, he suddenly disappeared. Cleanly.”

[He probably got stabbed to death in some secluded place.]

“…That may be the case, but coincidentally, that time is similar to when the Alliance began to be established. I didn’t make any connection at the time, but now that I’ve found the common ground between Kang Hyun-moo’s father and the Teacher, it’s hard to think they’re unrelated.”

Kang Hyun-moo was silent before letting out a sigh.

It was a deep sigh.

After a long silence, Hyun-moo opened his mouth in an unpleasant voice.

[Old man, you know I’m angry, right?]

“Yes.”

[Do you know why I haven’t asked you to look into my father until now?]

“…I don’t know.”

[Whether it’s in comics, novels, or movies, the story becomes very boring from the moment they start talking about bloodlines. They don’t want to think about plausibility, and they don’t want to lay the groundwork, so they just say, ‘This guy was extraordinary from the beginning’.]

“Reality is different from fiction. Extraordinary people are born with it…”

[An extraordinary guy doesn’t abandon his children and wife and run away. Never.]

For a moment, a list of great men who abandoned their families, like Siddhartha or Rousseau, flashed through Park Hwi-so’s mind, but he didn’t say it out loud.

Kang Hyun-moo continued.

[There was an unavoidable reason? The lion drops its cubs off a cliff to raise them strong? If you drop someone off a cliff, you have to be prepared to be pushed off yourself later. Trying to fit things together and asking for understanding is what scammers do.]

“I understand…”

[I don’t know if you really understand, but anyway, old man. I hate the laziness of my father, or whatever he is, showing up now. No matter how reasonable it is. So, old man, that’s what I’m saying.]

“…”

[I don’t think there’s anything less interesting than my father suddenly appearing here.]

“Is that so…?”

[Because I don’t think I’ll ever let him go back alive. I’m the type to never forget a grudge. Old man, do you think it would be fun to see me kill my father, or not?]

“…I don’t think it would be fun.”

[Right? So, my father is already dead, and even if he’s alive, I’ll kill him. If the Teacher is such a great person, he can’t be my father. There’s no way my father is such a great person. You can tell by looking at my character. He probably got stabbed to death somewhere.]

Even if there was some unavoidable reason, it’s the same. If he hasn’t shown his face until now and has been watching from afar, the anger doubles.

[So, let’s wrap this up here. Is it important that the Teacher might be my father?]

“It doesn’t seem important.”

But just because you close your eyes because you don’t want to face it doesn’t mean the reality in front of you disappears.

In Park Hwi-so’s eyes, Kang Hyun-moo was acting like a child throwing a tantrum.

But from the beginning, the idea that the Teacher might be Kang Hyun-moo’s father was just a far-fetched guess.

Park Hwi-so didn’t think there was any need to force it. As Hyun-moo said, it’s not an important issue.

The important thing is the direction forward.

If Hyun-moo isn’t bound by blood ties, the direction to move forward is clear.

[First, get all the information you can from Robert Lee. You said the Alliance is splitting? Let’s tear it apart. Either they get torn out this way, or they get torn apart by our hands.]

“Yes.”

[Let’s see if the Teacher will just be stroking a cat in the back even if none of his subordinates are left.]

Park Hwi-so was relieved that Kang Hyun-moo was surprisingly stable. And he felt ashamed of himself for rambling on about the Teacher in front of him as if he was excited.

However, Park Hwi-so was wrong.

Kang Hyun-moo was just the type of person who preferred to take action rather than get angry with words.

***

Difficulty: Hell.

Thud, Crack. Crrrunch.

The sound of flesh and bones being torn apart at the same time echoed. Green fluid splattered on the walls of the alley.

Orc warriors screamed and charged at their opponent, but it was almost like giving up.

The moment they faced Hyun-moo standing at the end of the alley, the orc warriors, who knew no fear, felt themselves faltering without realizing it.

Hyun-moo decided to help them a little.

The moment Hyun-moo flicked his fingers, the spiderwebs that had already blocked the retreat all began to return to Hyun-moo.

The orcs, who had been slowly backing away, had their limbs torn apart as if their bodies had gone into a shredder first.

The orc warriors panicked and hesitated at the screams coming from behind.

Death in front, death behind.

But as the spiderwebs became dull with the orcs’ flesh, oil, and armor fragments, some orcs were only injured instead of being cut and were dragged along.

The dragged orcs fell and tumbled, barely surviving only after using their comrades’ corpses as shields.

It wasn’t a long time.

“At that rate, when will you die?”

Hyun-moo kicked the head of the orc that had been dragged right in front of him. The moment the orc’s head was kicked by Hyun-moo’s foot wrapped in black smoke, the orc’s head soared into the air along with its helmet.

The head, which had bounced off the alley walls here and there, stared into the air before falling to the ground with a rough sound.

The orc was still alive at that time.

But the only thing the rolling head was staring at was its own race being slaughtered unilaterally.

“Hoo…”

Hyun-moo took a long, deep breath, covered in blood and flesh.

As soon as Hyun-moo entered Hell, he asked Kirson without saying a word about the area with the most monsters nearby. Then he went and started beating them to death indiscriminately.

Kirson, who was unnecessarily perceptive, mostly told him about places with monsters weaker than Hyun-moo.

But Hyun-moo didn’t stop easily. After completely tearing apart one group, Hyun-moo immediately headed to another place, and the enemies gradually became stronger.

At first, he could solve it with just his hands, but gradually he used more weapons and skills. His body was also becoming covered in wounds.

It was suitable for relieving stress, but Hyun-moo was somehow feeling thirsty.

‘It would be nice to have someone more worth fighting.’

Hyun-moo is not a fighter. He’s not a schemer either.

He’s closer to a predator who doesn’t care about the means and methods to steal victory.

He knows that this kind of fighting for the sake of fighting is not like himself, except for training.

But he couldn’t stand it unless he hit and fought someone enough.

‘I don’t know how strong that Teacher guy is.’

Hyun-moo felt the murderous intent rising again.

He was deeply regretful that he couldn’t kill the guy who was presumed to be the Teacher when he appeared in front of Hyun-moo last time.

‘It must be because I’m not strong enough.’

He has to learn how to catch and kill that guy who uses such strange techniques no matter what. He didn’t want to be unilaterally defeated like last time.

Especially if it’s someone like the Teacher.

‘I need to fight someone stronger.’

For the first time in a while, the desire for training was surging.

‘For example… someone like that.’

Hyun-moo found a giant man wearing a burning helmet at the end of the alley.

The man had skin like cracked steel. Heat like a furnace was leaking out from between the cracked metal-like skin.

Two Iron-Blooded Soldiers were standing next to the man. They were the first ones he had seen since Tam’s trial.

The guy said something to Hyun-moo after seeing him, but Hyun-moo didn’t listen. It didn’t matter who the opponent was.

Thankful that prey had walked in on its own, Hyun-moo’s body was immediately enveloped in black smoke.

***

Boom, Rumble… Black fog covered a huge building like a tidal wave beyond the horizon.

The sound of tearing steel and stone echoed from inside the black fog that instantly engulfed the building.

Before long, the building slowly began to tilt.

The structure, which had barely survived for years with the crystal moss growing on the floor, was instantly destroyed and became ruins. And the black fog swept over it like a wave.

Then, at some point, the black fog soared into the sky before slamming down on the ground in an instant.

The ground trembled with a roar comparable to when the building collapsed.

The impact didn’t stop with just one time. After soaring up and slamming down several times, several more small buildings collapsed due to the vibrations that made the ground surge and shake. Monsters screamed and rampaged.

“It’s quite a spectacle.”

Kirson muttered, watching the scene from afar.

His body was larger than before, with longer limbs and darker skin.

Kirson was the most actively changing subordinate as Hyun-moo became stronger. It was hard to believe he was a goblin now.

“It’s flashy, but it’s unnecessarily conspicuous.”

Ha-hyun said, rolling an orc’s head at her fingertips.

After Hyun-moo started rampaging, the two of them had been following around and guarding him.

Since Kazat was in Pyongyang and Yerdan was helping Park Hwi-so, they were the only forces that could move.

“That’s right. Why is he rampaging like that? The Boss has always been crazy, but not to this extent. Isn’t he more of a sly type?”

“I’m starting to get worried. It seems like he’s forgotten all about how to cultivate his mind from Unni [older sister in Korean, often used as a term of endearment].”

“Well, does that matter? If the Boss wants to do that, we’ll help him from the side.”

Ha-hyun nodded. But her face was filled with worry.

“Ah, it looks like it’s coming to an end now.”

Hyun-moo’s black fog stopped surging and was slowly fading.

The silhouette of the ‘beast’ that had been rampaging in the black fog that had begun to fade could be seen.

To be exact, it was the crystal moss that had been clinging to the outer surface.

The now empty crystal moss was crumbling and scattering glittering powder.

“It would be troublesome if he got into a fight with the Apostles of the Stars while rampaging like that.”

Ha-hyun frowned and headed towards Hyun-moo. At that time, she felt Kirson looking at her with a strange gaze.

“What, why?”

“Uh… no. Miss, didn’t you know?”

“Know what?”