Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 230

230. Trial of the Stars (6)

Kawaro gasped, glaring at Al-Hugin, his face contorted with anger.

Qurie belatedly realized that Al-Hugin was being controlled.

Kawaro, too, could see that Al-Hugin was being manipulated.

However, already on edge, Kawaro unleashed his pent-up rage on Al-Hugin, who had twisted the situation so dramatically.

He regretted not killing him the moment he appeared, disguising it as a mistake.

And he resented Qurie for falling for such an obvious trick.

Kawaro’s fingers twitched involuntarily.

Qurie tried to stop him, but Kawaro’s fingers moved faster.

Skill: Blood Extraction.

The moment Kawaro’s finger pressed against Al-Hugin, a sickening popping sound echoed.

A normal apostle, even injured, wouldn’t have been defeated so easily. They would have felt a binding pressure, nothing more.

But Al-Hugin’s condition was far worse than Qurie had described.

Al-Hugin’s body was covered in blisters, like a grotesque balloon about to explode, inside and out.

His body couldn’t withstand even the slightest pressure and burst instantly.

Foul-smelling fluids splattered everywhere.

The death scream of the apostle reverberated through their bodies and souls.

Feeling their minds reeling, the two stood frozen.

Qurie, who had been hugging Al-Hugin, and Kawaro, with Al-Hugin’s dagger still lodged in his side, were drenched in the pus that leaked from the blisters at point-blank range.

Both felt a searing pain on their skin.

“Aaaargh! Damn it!”

Qurie, protected by her armor, was less affected, but Kawaro, with much of his skin exposed, felt like he had to scrape off his entire body.

“Ah, ah, aaaaah!”

Qurie’s scream-like shouts pierced the air. But Kawaro was too preoccupied to pay attention.

His face paled as blisters erupted on his skin.

Frantically scraping off the pus and blisters, his fair skin peeled away with his fingernails.

His mind went blank, as if bleached white.

He desperately tried to wipe his face, but blisters were already forming there as well.

“A mirror! Someone get me a mirror!”

Just then, sensing an ominous presence, Kawaro whirled around.

Whoosh.

The sound of a spear slicing through the air reached his ears.

“Kawaro, you son of a bitch!”

The voice sounded familiar.

Fortunately for Kawaro, Qurie’s vision was blurred by the fluid that had seeped into her eyes, hindering her aim.

Her voice was filled with rage and grief.

“You’re doing this even though you know you’re dying? I’m going to kill you for sure!”

“Qurie! Damn it, calm down! I was just going to restrain him!”

That was a lie.

Kawaro had used the skill knowing that Al-Hugin might die. He just hadn’t anticipated this outcome.

More concerned about his skin than fighting, Kawaro quickly retreated.

Qurie swung her spear wildly, smashing everything in her path.

The Ironbloods, realizing that Kawaro had killed Al-Hugin and that Qurie was rampaging as a result, immediately seized the opportunity.

The thirty Ironbloods instantly turned on the Famished Star’s kin around them.

It was possible because they were merely temporary allies, and the soldiers were always looking for a chance to betray them.

On the other hand, the ghouls and gasts, who relied on the apostle’s control, were left bewildered and died in droves.

“Keuk, heok!”

Kawaro, having taken refuge to the side to avoid Qurie, frantically scraped off the remaining pus.

His already weakened skin was turning red no matter how gently he scraped.

Driven to madness, Kawaro retrieved a mirror from his inventory.

It was skin scraped off by the hand of an apostle, no less. Moreover, toxins had seeped into it, leaving rough scars all over his face that would be difficult to erase. [Apostles are powerful beings in this world.]

And blisters that he hadn’t managed to scrape off yet remained unsightly all over his body.

“Damn it, you damn son of a bitch… Ugh, ugh!”

Kawaro began to vomit, the poison mixing with his anger and the pus, exacerbated by the wound in his side. His head throbbed, the apostle’s death screams still echoing in his soul.

Black vomit poured out. Kawaro felt a throbbing in his side. The dagger that Al-Hugin had plunged into him was still there.

Kawaro pulled it out. The dagger was also coated with a terrible poison.

After vomiting, Kawaro looked around.

The entire Second Reservoir was in chaos. Although a considerable number had already died, Kawaro belatedly ordered his kin to eliminate the Ironbloods.

Everything was a mess. He never thought he would be so thoroughly manipulated.

“Kawaro!!”

Kawaro saw Qurie screaming.

The sight of bloody tears streaming down her face and drying outside her helmet was vivid.

Unable to remove the pus from her eyes, she seemed to have gouged them out and created new eyeballs.

“This isn’t the time for us to fight each other, Qurie!”

“You should have thought of that before you started playing with your fingers!”

Kawaro was speechless. If he had been a little calmer, none of this would have happened.

But Kawaro believed it wasn’t too late to salvage the situation.

It was Kang Hyun-woo who had put Al-Hugin in that state, and it must have been Kang Hyun-woo who controlled him to wield the dagger.

Therefore, the target who deserved to die, no, who clearly deserved to suffer, was Kang Hyun-woo.

“Hello, hello. Friends!”

Just as Kawaro was about to persuade Qurie, another voice suddenly rang out.

Kawaro immediately recognized the familiar voice.

Kang Hyun-woo was standing inside the Third Reservoir.

He playfully mimicked shooting a gun with both hands and said.

“Our friends are facing trials!”

***

Kang Hyun-woo.

The moment Kawaro saw his playful gesture, he felt something snap inside.

Without thinking, Kawaro moved his fingers, making a gesture to crush Kang Hyun-woo.

But at the same time, Hyun-woo quickly disappeared, riding the shadow web in an instant.

[Special Ability: Constantly produces ‘Darkness’ attribute spiderwebs. Can draw out the abilities of the possessed body to the highest level, and the more possessed body parts, the higher the increase in abilities. If the spiderweb and the body are in contact, it is possible to teleport anywhere the spiderweb is located.]

It was the unique ability of Yael, the Constrictor, teleportation.

In reality, it was moving at a very fast speed, but Kawaro was able to capture the movement.

However, it was difficult to properly use Skill: Blood Extraction on Hyun-woo, who kept disappearing from his sight.

Even in the midst of all this, Kawaro couldn’t understand why Hyun-woo had appeared.

‘Could it be that we’re so angry that he wants us to kill him?’

Then he could run to the crossroads. And by now, he would be caught by the Wailing Star occupying the crossroads. [The Wailing Star is another powerful entity.]

It was an absurd assumption, but it was an incomprehensible movement unless interpreted that way.

Qurie glared and tracked Hyun-woo’s movements before throwing a burning spear.

Bang! A huge crack formed in the ceiling with a sound that tore through the air.

Hyun-woo barely managed to avoid it, but the spiderweb was severed.

Hyun-woo, floating in the air, was easy prey for Kawaro.

Skill: Blood Extraction.

Kawaro made eye contact with Hyun-woo and thought he had caught him.

Until his left thumb strangely went astray.

“Huh?”

Hyun-woo fell straight into the chaos of Ironbloods and monsters fighting.

Kawaro realized that Qurie was looking at him with disgust.

He hadn’t particularly intended to cooperate, but she had naturally assumed that Kawaro would capture Hyun-woo.

Qurie chased after Hyun-woo and immediately jumped into the battlefield. With the apostle joining in, the battlefield became even more chaotic.

Kawaro hurried away, leaving behind the strange sense of discomfort he felt in his left hand.

***

“This is a mess.”

Hyun-woo muttered curses and quickly ran among the monsters.

He hadn’t expected to easily capture the two apostles, Kawaro and Qurie.

But he had hoped for some openings, given that they were covered in Al-Hugin’s venom, which he had put so much effort into creating, and soaked in his blood, and were even fighting each other.

It was a miscalculation.

Hyun-woo was almost caught within 10 seconds of revealing himself.

The overwhelming level difference. It was a gap that was difficult to overcome with mere tricks.

If he fought head-on like Itewallo, he would surely be defeated immediately. [Itewallo is a character known for direct combat.]

‘If there’s any chance, it’s that Kawaro’s skill missed when he tried to use it on me…’

It seemed that the poison wasn’t working properly on Qurie because of her armor and fire.

But he guessed that Kawaro had a chance for the poison to penetrate because he was scratching his whole body due to the blisters.

“Kang Hyun-woo!”

Kwakwakwang!

With a roar, three or four gasts behind him were torn to pieces at once.

Qurie, literally spewing fire from her eyes and mouth, was running towards him. He could feel the intense heat scorching his back.

Soon, Hyun-woo was grabbed by the hair. The smell of burning hair was terribly pungent. At that moment, Hyun-woo shouted.

“Keep your promise, you bastards!”

Qurie paused at the shout. Only then did she expand her senses.

Taking advantage of the fact that Qurie and Kawaro were only focused on Hyun-woo and the battlefield was chaotic, the Cursed Ones had already entered the Second Reservoir. [Cursed Ones are individuals with special abilities.]

Qurie realized something and examined Hyun-woo’s presence.

She couldn’t feel the fragment of the star. [A fragment of the star grants immense power.]

The guy Qurie grabbed was not Hyun-woo but a Cursed One.

The moment Qurie was about to grab the guy’s head and crush it without hesitation, his arm broke with a snap.

It was Kawaro’s skill. He couldn’t crush the apostle’s body, but he could break an arm.

“You idiot, you can’t kill him!”

At Kawaro’s shout, Qurie stared at the fleeing Cursed One with a look of dismay.

She seemed to think that Qurie was blinded by anger and was going to kill Hyun-woo.

“No, who is the idiot…”

She was too angry to even shout. Anyway, the Cursed One was not Qurie’s concern.

“Don’t interfere unless you want to die right now!”

Qurie threw her spear without even looking at Kawaro. It was a warning attack, so she assumed Kawaro would block it on his own.

The moment Kawaro also tried to lightly deflect the spear with his left hand, his wrist bent at a strange angle.

With a thud, Kawaro’s left hand was pierced by the spear.

Qurie’s face also contorted with embarrassment when she saw that.

“No, you idiot. If you can’t block it, at least dodge it!”

Kawaro was just as embarrassed.

The movement of his left hand was strange.

It wasn’t just once, but twice, so it was clearly not a coincidence. The large hole in his left hand didn’t seem easy to heal.

But Kawaro decided that this was better than looking like a fool.

“Will this be enough of an apology?”

“You crazy bastard…”

Qurie’s face twisted. She wondered if he thought he could get away with just a left-hand injury after killing the same apostle.

But anyway, Al-Hugin was dying. Maybe Kawaro had ended Al-Hugin’s pain.

Anyway, Qurie didn’t want to kill Kawaro right away.

“Not nearly enough. You son of a bitch. You’re just like a corrupt official.”

But for now, she decided to postpone antagonizing Kawaro. In the meantime, the Cursed Ones were scattering in all directions or killing monsters.

“Chase the guy with the fragment! That’s the real one!”

Kawaro focused on his sense of smell, and Qurie focused on the presence.

“That way.”

Qurie muttered, staring in the direction of the Third Reservoir.

She thought they were just trying to create chaos on the front lines and escape, but she saw the Cursed Ones all rushing into the Third Reservoir at once.

It wasn’t a strategic move. In the first place, it looked like they had come in a swarm following someone and were now running away in a swarm again.

“That’s how the Cursed Ones are. A disorganized rabble.”

Kawaro scoffed at the sight. It was an illusion that they would move as one because it was himself.

“It’s like how relationships that don’t seem to fit together actually fit together better. Right?”

“Don’t act friendly. It’s disgusting.”

It was then.

[The Famished Star, Yogulem, wishes to grant you a trial.]

Kawaro’s eyes widened.

A trial.

It was the third trial that had come to him.

At the end of the trial, there was always a huge reward waiting.

Kawaro had risen to the position of second-in-command through two trials.

If he passed this, Kawaro would surely have power comparable to that of an agent. [Agents are high-ranking officials.]

No, the position of the agent might change.

‘But why now…?’

Kawaro looked at Qurie and eventually agreed with a trembling heart.

[Quest Generated!]

[The ‘Cats of the Reservoir’ quest has begun.]

[You must obtain Kang Hyun-woo.]