Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 278

278. The Sky is Falling (9)

“…Confirmed. Someone else is moving the Sky Fortress now. Not even the Sky Fortress itself.”

Lee Ji-tae muttered, sounding confused.

He had tried to control the Sky Fortress through the crystal stone several times, but the Sky Fortress only continued to ascend.

Just as he was starting to feel uneasy, the ascent stopped, but it was still impossible to seize control of the Sky Fortress’s will.

Some powerful being had gripped the Sky Fortress’s will.

“Then just relax. No one’s dying now, just like you wanted, right?”

“It’s not enough to just stop it. We have to destroy the Sky Fortress now.”

Lee Ji-tae calmly returned to his original purpose.

To take the Sky Fortress to an uninhabited place and dispose of it.

But with the Sky Fortress at such a high altitude, that was no longer possible.

Lee Ji-tae glared at the crystal stone and tried to seize control by placing his hand on it a few more times. But it was still impossible.

Lee Ji-tae sighed.

“Okay.”

Then, as he had done dozens of times before, he swung his sword and shattered the crystal stone in one swift motion.

“Are you sure about this? Destroying the means to control the Sky Fortress with your own hands.”

“As long as it doesn’t fall into someone else’s hands. Now that I’ve destroyed the control seat, no one else can control it. Now all I have to do is find the one who’s taken control of this Sky Fortress.”

Just then,

With a sound like thunder, the Sky Fortress finally began to move.

The Sky Fortress was descending.

Lee Ji-tae was taken aback by the coincidental timing, but it seemed to be an unrelated movement to destroying the crystal stone.

“Are you just going to keep watching?”

Lee Ji-tae said, looking at Hyun-mu with dissatisfaction.

“The situation where the Sky Fortress falls into the hands of unknown individuals is not a pleasant situation for you either, Kang Hyun-mu. I can’t trust you, but I trust your greed and arrogance. Is it okay for the Sky Fortress to fall into the hands of others?”

Hyun-mu merely shrugged.

The crystal stone, shattered and rolling on the floor, had a dark purple color, unlike when it was above Saint Petersburg.

Because of this, Lee Ji-tae couldn’t take his suspicious gaze off Hyun-mu.

Hyun-mu pretended not to know, but the color of the crystal stone was suspiciously similar to Hyun-mu’s aura.

However, Hyun-mu, like Lee Ji-tae, didn’t know the details of the situation.

The only thing he could guess was that Renian seemed to be involved in something.

‘Renian…….’

The power of Renian was emanating from the crystal stone. No, the power of Renian was felt throughout the entire Sky Fortress.

It felt like being inside Renian’s stomach. There was only one thing to infer from this situation.

‘Yoomin must have boarded the Sky Fortress. And she must have reached the heart before me.’

Yoomin probably already knew about the heart, so it wasn’t surprising that she arrived first.

Moreover, Yoomin had the ‘Beast of the End’ skill and the other Renian, just like him, so it was safe to assume that this situation was caused by Yoomin.

Fortunately, the situation seemed stable, and there were no other signs of abnormality.

Except for Lee Ji-tae, perhaps.

Hyun-mu thought that if the Sky Fortress was under Renian’s control, there was no need to worry so much.

Unless Renian suddenly went crazy and decided to turn the whole world into a sea of fire and enslave all the survivors…….

‘……Come to think of it, I’m getting a little uneasy.’

Still, Renian is a guy who obsessively avoids fighting.

At least, I didn’t think he would start a world war without telling me.

Besides, it was dangerous to wander around on the Sky Fortress right now. Just because you’re enhanced as an ability user doesn’t mean you’ll be fine even if you fall from thousands of meters above the ground.

Hyun-mu didn’t answer Lee Ji-tae, and Lee Ji-tae took it as a sign that he would stand by.

Silence fell between them.

Lee Ji-tae regretted breaking the crystal stone, albeit briefly.

After breaking the crystal stone, there was nothing left for him to do.

In the end, all he could do was sit blankly like Kang Hyun-mu.

But instead of sitting, Lee Ji-tae stood still and stared at Kang Hyun-mu.

Hyun-mu thought Lee Ji-tae, standing like a stone statue, looked like a reed.

“I still don’t know why you betrayed me. Kang Hyun-mu.”

***

Lee Ji-tae suddenly opened his mouth.

His gaze contained many words.

The countless favors and opportunities he had given, and even respect. But the only answer he received was betrayal.

However, Hyun-mu neither apologized nor made excuses.

“Betrayal? That’s something you can only say when a relationship of trust has already been established.”

“……You were planning to betray me from the beginning?”

“That’s why that statement doesn’t make sense, Lee Ji-tae. To me, you were just a bit… different. From the start, trust or anything like that was impossible.”

Hyun-mu said, slightly raising the corner of his mouth.

“When I was still mired in the mud… when you didn’t even know I existed. I admired you like a star in the sky.”

Lee Ji-tae’s eyes widened in surprise at Hyun-mu’s sudden words.

Kang Hyun-mu admired him?

Hyun-mu had never shown such a side before.

“Then why…….”

“Ah, don’t misunderstand. When I say I admire someone like a star, it means I want to drag them down, bury them in the mud, and step on them to climb up. I’m curious how clear the air is in the upper neighborhood, and I also want to show them how bitter the sewage is in the lower neighborhood.”

Lee Ji-tae’s face hardened. He had an expression of utter incomprehension.

Indeed, no one would be able to understand such senseless malice.

Just grabbing the leg of someone who’s ahead, and wanting to drag down someone who’s on top.

That’s not even competitiveness.

It’s just childish malice.

“Lee Ji-tae, it’s not that I particularly hated you. It would have been the same for anyone above me. Look at Park Do-ryeong. He died without even leaving a will. Well, he came back to life, though.”

“Why? Why go so far…….”

“My personality is just like that from the start.”

Hyun-mu’s answer distorted Lee Ji-tae’s face. But he couldn’t give any further answer.

Hyun-mu could give various far-fetched reasons for dragging Lee Ji-tae down, but in the end, in order for Hyun-mu to take Lee Ji-tae’s place, he had to drag him down.

If you want to be the only hope, you have to eliminate all other hopes.

Lee Ji-tae stared at Hyun-mu for a long time before forcing a smile.

“Then it’s going to be difficult now. Since you know I’m still alive and well.”

“Huh? What are you talking about, Lee Ji-tae? Why would I care about you?”

“What?”

“Once, you were as beautiful as a star. But you’re not as beautiful as you were then anymore.”

Hyun-mu showed Lee Ji-tae a cold sneer.

“There are so many stars in the world. Why would I bother with you?”

Lee Ji-tae’s face hardened instantly.

The days when Lee Ji-tae’s appearance and exposure of Hyun-mu’s sins were troublesome were in the past.

Now, Hyun-mu has seized all the power in South Korea: legislative, judicial, administrative, economic, military, and media.

Even if he uses the power of allies to create a media frenzy abroad, they will be indifferent to scandals in the Far East.

And in the future, such scandals will not even matter.

Confronting each other with force?

It’s questionable whether he can even be an opponent, but even if he is, Hyun-mu is indifferent to contests that directly compete with strength.

All Hyun-mu wants is to drag down those he believes are superior.

“Then…….”

After a long silence, Lee Ji-tae opened his mouth.

“If you drag down, trample, and bury everyone like that, and eventually you stand at the very top.”

Hyun-mu looked at Lee Ji-tae.

Lee Ji-tae was quietly staring at him with burning eyes.

“What will you use as a driving force to live then?”

“Well…….”

Hyun-mu hadn’t thought that far either.

It was too far in the future, and it was a realm that was hard to imagine. But it didn’t seem necessary to think about it.

If an annoying opponent appears in front of him, he can just drag them down then.

“I don’t know, but right now, it doesn’t seem like there’s anyone higher than us on Earth. I feel pretty good about that. So maybe I’ll still be lying around leisurely in a pretty good mood then, just like now?”

“…….”

Talking about space stations or something here would be a boring answer. But it was a sufficient answer for Lee Ji-tae.

At Hyun-mu’s words, Lee Ji-tae fell into deep thought. Hyun-mu couldn’t know what he was thinking.

“Lee Ji-tae, don’t make things too tiring and take it easy. We did something pretty big today, bigger than you think.”

Hyun-mu said, recalling the record mentioned in the White Bone Records.

Originally, Russia would take over the Sky Fortress.

Originally, Adam Fault would start the Țepeș Case [a hypothetical scenario/event].

Originally, Russia would raise the altitude of the Sky Fortress and run away to avoid the Țepeș Case.

But eventually, it would be forcibly crashed by the Țepeș Case.

And a huge cloud of dust would cover the Northern Hemisphere.

Winter would suddenly continue, and winter would never end in the Northern Hemisphere after that. In the worst-case scenario, the difficulty would increase. 2/3 of the Northern Hemisphere population would die within a year. In this extreme cold, the Starry Host wailing would raise their bodies.

Looking ahead to a hopeless future, hell would finally begin.

But Hyun-mu shattered the first stage of this massive flow today.

Hyun-mu looked at Lee Ji-tae.

If Hyun-mu’s guess was correct, the owner of the White Bone was none other than Lee Ji-tae.

Lee Ji-tae left that record with a desire to change the past, filled with remorse and regret, and Hyun-mu changed the past as he wished.

“We saved the world today, just like you wanted.”

Lee Ji-tae had a puzzled expression.

But it didn’t matter. It was fun to tease him if he didn’t know.

Hyun-mu lay leisurely on his back on the floor.

***

Maria Keller watched the Sky Fortress soar high into the sky.

The Sky Fortress, which seemed to rise endlessly, was buried in the darkness of the night sky and seemed to disappear.

But the Sky Fortress, at a high altitude, was the first to receive the sunlight of the rising sun and sparkled.

Maria watched the Sky Fortress disappear to the east before turning her head.

Adam Fault stood like an ancient ruin.

Rain clouds were gathering over Saint Petersburg after the great force had raged.

The waves of the harbor were constantly hitting Adam Fault’s body. Her figure, standing firm to avoid collapsing, looked rusty and corroded.

Maria slowly pulled her wheelchair towards Adam.

“Professor! It’s dangerous!”

A Chrome agent was horrified and tried to stop Maria.

Even now, power was raging fiercely around Adam Fault.

It was weaker than when she was pushing the Sky Fortress away, but it was still enough to turn an ordinary person into a pulp if they got caught in it.

But Maria didn’t hesitate.

It wasn’t the first time anyway.

And it wouldn’t be the last.

“Let go.”

Maria shook off the Chrome agent’s hand and approached Adam.

The closer she got, the more she felt the ominous power raging.

Maria saw the paving stone in front of her wheelchair split in half in an instant. The hot heat rising from Adam felt like a furnace.

“Krrr…….”

As Maria approached, Adam suddenly made a beast-like sound. Her head turned sharply towards Maria.

Adam’s bright yellow eyes were sharply slit vertically, staring at Maria.

It was just the eyes of a beast filled with ferocious murderous intent and madness.

But Maria didn’t slow down her pace at all. Instead, she shouted loudly.

“Adam!”

At that moment, Adam let out a roar at Maria.

A tremendous roar shook the entire harbor.

Maria momentarily staggered and almost lost consciousness. She couldn’t hear out of either ear. It seemed like her eardrums were blown again.

It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter whether she could hear now or not.

“Adam, stop it!”

Maria shouted loudly at Adam once more.

Adam roared at Maria again, but the momentum was weaker than before.

Maria glared and took out the rod placed next to her wheelchair. It was a rod that was worn and polished to a shine.

“Stop it right now, Adam! Unless you want to be punished!”

Maria said, hitting the wheel of the wheelchair with the rod, making a loud bang.

To anyone who saw her, she looked like a tamer training a beast.

But the beast was so huge and ferocious, and the tamer was just a weak, half-paralyzed old woman.

Adam roared and swung her hand. At that moment, Maria’s right arm, which was holding the rod, broke into three pieces with a cracking sound.

Immense pain struck.

But Maria didn’t even groan and switched the rod to her left hand.

Powerful forces raged around Maria like a storm. The gravel turned into sand, and the atmosphere became hazy.

The violent forces that were pouring towards the Sky Fortress seemed like they would crush Maria at any moment.

“Stop it right now! Adam Fault!”

Bang! The moment Maria struck the wheelchair once more, the forces suddenly disappeared.

Maria glared at Adam, sweating from the pain.

Adam’s eyes, which had been standing still for a moment, slowly returned to their original bright brown.

Adam Fault blinked and made eye contact with Maria. Then she realized what she had done.

Adam staggered back and finally knelt at Maria’s feet as if collapsing.

Her shoulders trembled.

Maria did not scold Adam, nor did she question her disobedience.

She just quietly stroked Adam’s back and whispered.

“Let’s go home now. Adam.”