Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 243

243. Hell’s Star (10)

Hyun-woo muttered in disbelief.

“An Apostle, you say.”

“Not quite an Agent, but an Apostle is still something. Agents are usually former humans anyway, so this is the best I could hope for. I’ve somehow managed to get close to the Serpent’s head.”

Hyun-woo’s expression turned even more incredulous.

“The Serpent, huh.”

“Usually, you have to pass a trial to get this much of a fragment, but the Boss… just hands it out. Our Boss is really generous.”

“I think I’ve made a big mistake. Give me back my right arm.”

“Come on, Boss. At times like this, you should be demanding loyalty in exchange for the reward. Don’t you know the story of the Thousand-Mile Horse’s bones?”

“Thousand-Mile Horse’s bones?”

“A merchant brought the bones of a Thousand-Mile Horse [a legendary horse known for its incredible speed and endurance] to a king who was trying to find one and offered to sell them. The king was dumbfounded and asked why he would buy the bones of a Thousand-Mile Horse instead of the horse itself. Do you know what the merchant said?”

“…If even the bones of a Thousand-Mile Horse are bought at a high price, how much would people pay for a real one? Surely, all the Thousand-Mile Horses in the world would flock to him.”

I know that.

But why does even a goblin like Kirson know that?

Is there a similar saying in the world where goblins live?

“So, you’re going to be the bones of the Thousand-Mile Horse?”

“Why not? I’ll accept it with a humble and grateful heart. Seeing that Kang Hyun-woo is making the likes of Kirson an Apostle, all the talented people in the world will surely flock to him, thinking he’s a pushover. The Boss can just sit back and pick up the talent.”

Hyun-woo was so dumbfounded that he laughed.

But since he didn’t really intend to take it back, he decided to let it go.

Kirson grinned as the atmosphere eased and knelt on one knee in front of Hyun-woo.

“What is it?”

“Boss, let’s be honest, our relationship has been purely business. I had no choice but to serve you, but I wouldn’t have worked this hard if it wasn’t mutually beneficial.”

“That’s true.”

“But having come this far, I’ve realized that you’re the best son of a bitch I serve. Even among all the sons of bitches, the one who recognizes you is the best.”

“You were a pretty useful son of a bitch too. But now that I see it, I want to put a leash and muzzle on you.”

“I’m lucky to have met a son of a bitch like you in this hellish world, Boss.”

Kirson knelt on both knees and prostrated himself before Hyun-woo.

“I will pledge my loyalty to the Boss within the bounds of reasonable conditions that don’t endanger my life.”

“Don’t people usually say they’ll pledge their loyalty without regard for their lives?”

“That’s all bullshit. Even if you bring a dozen of those guys, they won’t be as good as me.”

Kirson’s words weren’t wrong.

Kirson had already risked his life for Hyun-woo several times. Of course, he had also run away from Hyun-woo with his tail between his legs.

But if he had died then, he wouldn’t have been able to receive any more help.

Hyun-woo chuckled and patted his head.

“Get up, you rascal.”

“Hehe, the Boss is secretly soft-hearted.”

Kirson grinned and quickly got up.

“But Boss, you shouldn’t be such a pushover with the other guys. Of course, I don’t think you’ll make the same mistake twice, but increasing your Familiars and creating Apostles are on different levels.”

Hyun-woo was already feeling it.

If Familiars felt like extending your limbs, Apostles felt like cutting off a part of your body and planting it somewhere else.

Perhaps the Agents would be even more so.

The fact that a being like Whispering Star identifies the Agent with itself might be because of that.

“I’m still lacking, but I have more experience than the Boss, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to give you some advice on how to act as an Apostle or Agent. The Boss only knows how to hold the tools, but doesn’t know how to use them.”

“Alright.”

“It’s good to have as many Familiars as possible, but too many will reduce your control, and the question is how to distribute the power that strengthens them. Generally, you don’t give power to Familiars, but only to those who are representative of them. If they pass a trial or show great performance, you make them Apostles.”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“The problem is how much power the Agent gives to the Familiars and Apostles. Familiars are inherently weak, so they get stronger quickly even if you give them a little. On the other hand, Apostles don’t want to give up their power because they want to monopolize it.”

Kirson continued, spreading out all ten fingers.

“For example, if you have 10 units of power, 2 units go to the Familiars, 3 units go to the Apostles, and 5 units are taken by the Agent. In the end, the goal of the Stars is to amplify their power through the Agent, so it’s out of the question to give power to strengthen the Familiars indiscriminately. The reason why Apostles are unilaterally strong is because of that.”

In short, it’s an issue that arises from the conflict between the desire to monopolize power and the strategy of strengthening subordinates.

If you think about it simply, the strategy Hyun-woo should take seems clear.

“If I monopolize everything…”

“The Boss’s few subordinates will be unilaterally slaughtered in the upcoming great war. Yep.”

Hyun-woo chuckled.

Of course, Hyun-woo wasn’t stupid, so he had no intention of doing that.

But in this case, it might be better to think about it in a different way.

As he thought that, Hyun-woo suddenly had a good idea.

He didn’t know if it was a good idea or a crazy idea, but it was a very satisfying idea.

Then Hyun-woo saw Kirson looking at him with a sullen expression.

“What is it?”

“…Nothing.”

Kirson muttered, maintaining his sullen expression.

“Usually, when the Boss has that expression, he’s thinking of something that would make even the devil cry.”

“Come on, where would you find someone as kind as me?”

Kirson tried to laugh it off. But his smile soon disappeared.

He couldn’t laugh because of Hyun-woo’s still eerie expression.

***

Ha-hyun was busy with the cleanup work downstairs.

Inside the shelter, the scars from the Apostles’ attack had not yet healed.

The good thing was that the Agent of the Wailing Star had taken all the corpses, so there was no need to clean them up.

“Oh, Hyun-woo. You’re here?”

Ha-hyun frowned, glanced at Hyun-woo with a nonchalant expression, and turned back to the situation panel.

Hyun-woo felt disappointed at Ha-hyun’s ordinary reaction.

“If I had known I was so easily hurt, I would have raised a dog.”

“Did you expect me to run over and lick you?”

Ha-hyun tapped the desk and continued.

“Since I haven’t been released from being a Familiar, I knew you weren’t dead, and I’ve been tracking your location since you entered the shelter. The spiders are constantly checking. So, it’s been a long time since I was surprised.”

Ha-hyun answered calmly. But then Kirson stepped forward.

“Hey, Miss. What about sending me to a wasteland to find the Boss and unleashing spiders to the point of exhaustion? If the little Miss hadn’t stopped you, you would have become tiny too.”

“What! Wait, is that Kirson?”

Ha-hyun was flustered by Kirson’s condition, even as she glared at him.

Kirson chuckled and continued.

“Every night, she soaked her sleeves with tears, wondering if our Boss was sleeping comfortably, if he was suffering, if he was starving…”

Ha-hyun’s already pale face turned cold as she rushed at Kirson.

But Kirson, whose abilities had been enhanced, skillfully dodged and retreated with a slimy face.

Ha-hyun, who was confident in her agility and reflexes, was startled.

She soon realized something and looked at Hyun-woo.

“Why did you make that thing an Apostle?”

“That thing? He used to be a chief aide to an Apostle.”

Ha-hyun frowned.

Kirson wasn’t weak before. If he had become an Apostle, it wouldn’t be strange if he had surpassed her.

Ha-hyun chose to persuade Hyun-woo instead.

“You know he’s talking nonsense, right? There’s no way I would do that.”

“I know.”

Hyun-woo sighed and said.

“There’s no way you’d worry about me that much. You just happened to be passing by and had nowhere else to go. It’s a shame, but that’s all we are. But I thought we were at least comrades…”

“N-no. It’s not like I didn’t care at all!”

“Oh? Then how much of it is true?”

“That’s…”

Ha-hyun didn’t know how to explain it and was racking her brains.

Hyun-woo chuckled and patted her shoulder.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to force yourself to worry.”

There’s no way Ha-hyun would have worried about him that much.

Officially, she’s just a freeloader, and at best, a friend.

In fact, Hyun-woo had even killed her sister, so he didn’t expect her to be truly loyal as a Familiar.

Ha-hyun looked sullen when Hyun-woo easily gave up on the answer. She seemed to be feeling a little regretful.

Hyun-woo looked around. The atmosphere in the shelter was chaotic.

“Where are you planning to move to?”

“There are three or four candidate sites I’ve been thinking about. Kirson scouted them, but it’s a long way to go. At least they’re less likely to become battlefields.”

Hyun-woo looked at the map Ha-hyun had taken out. It was old and faded, but it was a proper map with detailed depictions of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.

Of course, most of the buildings were now destroyed and the Han River was dried up, so it didn’t mean much. Hyun-woo shook his head after looking at a few of the marked locations.

“We don’t need them.”

“What?”

“I said we don’t need to move. We’re going to stay here.”

“Huh? N-no. Wait. This place is going to become a battlefield where the Stars collide. And some of the Apostles and Agents are out for your blood.”

“I have a plan. But before that, there’s someone I need to meet…”

Hyun-woo began to prepare himself.

It was one of the few pangs of conscience he had.

It’s fun to backstab enemies no matter how many times you do it, but betraying someone who has helped you will always leave a mark on your heart.

“Where is Sang-hyun?”

***

The place they arrived at was a large, vertically dropping drain.

Inside the huge drain, where the bottom could not be seen even with a light, there were faint cobwebs here and there.

Ha-hyun looked down into the drain and said.

“He sleeps here for about 18 hours a day. He hatched as a premature baby, so he still needs to grow.”

“Grow?”

“Yeah. He was supposed to be born almost as an adult, but…”

“He’s small, then.”

He had to see for himself how small he was. But before that, he confirmed one more thing.

“You’re sure he doesn’t have any old memories?”

“Yeah. He can only communicate, but he doesn’t seem to remember anything. He’s definitely an Apostle of the Whispering Star, but he only has the qualifications, and his power isn’t that strong. He’s just like a child.”

“A child? Kirson said you got a lot of help from him?”

“Help? What help?”

Ha-hyun looked at Hyun-woo with a puzzled expression. She really didn’t seem to know anything.

Hyun-woo nodded. Ha-hyun was the kind of person who wouldn’t know she was being manipulated even if she was being manipulated.

Ha-hyun was furious when Hyun-woo ignored her and turned away.

“Hey, wait. What are you talking about? What help did I get from him? He’s just smart and points out things I didn’t see…”

Hyun-woo ignored Ha-hyun’s words and jumped down into the drain. Ha-hyun’s voice echoed faintly in the distance.

After entrusting his body to gravity for a while, Hyun-woo spread out his spider web. The spider web that Sang-hyun had spread out was not something he could hang on to.

The speed of his fall slowly began to decrease. Hyun-woo went down the wall and stopped at some point.

It was quiet and dark all around.

Only the sound of slow-moving air whispered.

In a space filled with silence and darkness, Hyun-woo opened his mouth.

“Wake up, Sang-hyun.”

There was a very slight movement.

It was as subtle as a fallen leaf falling to the ground in the middle of a forest. Hyun-woo focused on the other person with extreme care.

“I know you have all your memories. Get up. Let’s talk.”