Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 287

287. Whispering Star (9)

Lee Seoyeon simply glared at Hyun-woo, offering no response.

Hyeon-woo was momentarily speechless. Only then did he realize that he needed to reconsider everything Lee Seoyeon had said.

Even if Yumin’s actions were truthfully revealed, the parts mentioning their romantic relationship had to be linked to Lee Seoyeon.

Perhaps not everything was a lie. It was likely a lie based on some truth.

The story about the South China Union and even Chrome’s whereabouts were probably true.

“Hmm, I knew you weren’t Yumin, but I didn’t expect this…”

But that was just a minor detail; it wasn’t important.

More precisely, that twitchy guy, who was nervously rattling metal fragments as if he were about to have a seizure, was more important.

Hyeon-woo quietly placed Sang-hyun, whom he was holding, down.

Because Lee Seoyeon, the agent of Monstriel, had been dwelling inside her and then emerged, her body was once again in a considerably weakened state.

Ha-hyun, freed from the restraints of will, rushed over to support Sang-hyun.

[Now you realize the truth.]

Gaul whispered anxiously.

[I will completely eradicate the Whispering Star from this world. And I will make the world flow according to its natural order again.]

“No, wait a moment.”

As Gaul took a step forward, Hyun-woo blocked his path again, saying,

“I’ve never been deceived by Monstriel. I knew her intentions from the start. I was just trying to extract more information while making her believe she was deceiving me.”

[What?]

“And regardless of whether she was trying to deceive me, I will protect Monstriel.”

Gaul’s metallic skin twitched madly. Hyun-woo stopped him before he exploded.

“But Gaul, I understand why you’re so agitated. But think about it, this was never a problem that required us to fight like this in the first place.”

Gaul was still making a lot of noise, his thorns raised.

He looked like he was about to explode at any moment, but Hyun-woo thought that at least Gaul would stay still until he finished speaking.

“Gaul, you attacked because you were worried that I would be manipulated by the Whispering Star, right? You were concerned that Monstriel would approach and seduce me under the name of ‘Yumin.’ You thought I would fall for it.”

Gaul didn’t answer. But Hyun-woo could feel how much he was looking down on him.

“That’s why you left Monstriel alone until now, right? Because it’s impossible for stars to kill each other’s main bodies in this world anyway. You thought it was enough to eliminate the agent.”

He didn’t think Gaul would have completely failed to anticipate the possibility that the agent, Lee Seoyeon, was actually alive.

Because Monstriel is originally good at hiding her power.

The reason Gaul was now attacking Monstriel so frantically was because he thought that if she succeeded in seducing Hyun-woo, it could threaten his plans.

What can be learned from this is that Gaul is rational enough to have a conversation.

“I won’t fall for Monstriel’s tricks. Then you don’t need to kill Monstriel, right? Isn’t that so?”

[The Whispering Star is dangerous.]

Gaul answered with a metallic voice.

[You will be seduced in ways you cannot imagine.]

“Maybe.”

Hyeon-woo answered as if it were obvious.

The moment Gaul’s face twisted at that answer, Hyun-woo continued.

“That’s right. I’m the kind of person who could be swayed by the Whispering Star’s seduction. I’m quite the attention seeker. If I’m not loved and have an affection deficiency, I might become a member of the Whispering Star’s retinue [entourage], and if that doesn’t work out, I might even become the Star of the End or whatever.”

If he thought of himself as the most miserable loser in the world.

If he was a lonely person with nothing to look forward to in the future, no one to rely on, and no one to love, he might have been.

But he wasn’t.

Hyeon-woo was not Kang Hyun-woo from this world.

“But I’m not.”

Hyeon-woo said, clutching the Return Stone tightly.

“I acknowledge myself.”

Beyond this, wealth and fame, all sorts of vulgar desires, and even noble beliefs were mixed together and surging, waiting for him.

All of that was Hyun-woo.

“I want to become myself.”

Hyeon-woo stood tall and stared at Gaul.

“I am my own star.”

Gaul didn’t answer.

He was just continuing to move the rattling metal fragments.

He silently stared back at Hyun-woo, and finally gave an answer to Hyun-woo’s declaration.

[I distrust humans.]

And Gaul’s body exploded before his eyes.

***

[I distrust human faith.]

[I distrust human courage.]

[I distrust human will.]

In an instant, Gaul’s fragments pierced Hyun-woo’s body.

Hyeon-woo crouched down and raised his aura to avoid the impact as much as possible, but the thorns tore through the aura and dug into Hyun-woo’s body.

Gaul was like an exploding sun. A sun that shot out thorns and blades instead of light.

Kwa-ja-ja-ja-jak!

In the deafening explosion, in the storm of silver, glittering spears and blades, Gaul was shouting with tens of millions of fragments.

[Humans, cannot, be trusted.]

Large spears were embedded in Hyun-woo’s hands and feet. Hyun-woo’s body, which had lost its crouching posture, was directly exposed to the storm of spears and blades.

Metals seeped into the flesh and bones. Hyun-woo groaned in pain, but he realized that Gaul had attacked to avoid fatal injuries.

The storm of blades passed Hyun-woo and headed towards the Sang-hyun and Ha-hyun sisters and Lee Seoyeon behind him.

Hyeon-woo, enduring the pain of his body being cut open, blocked the attack with his arm, which was possessed by the Constrictor Yayul.

But at that moment, blades that were precisely wielded like scalpels cut out the part of Hyun-woo’s body that was possessed by the Constrictor Yayul.

In a process that was executed like a surgery, Hyun-woo’s left arm was quickly torn off. Blood splattered everywhere.

[I believe in the natural order that is, of course, and should be.]

The spears and blades were embedded, shattered, melted, and then evaporated again, turning the surroundings into a desert.

“G-Gang Hyun-woo…”

“Get lost!”

Hyeon-woo shouted the moment Lee Seoyeon whispered in panic.

Monstriel was no longer an important issue.

Gaul ignored his will and attacked. Now this fight had become Hyun-woo’s personal fight.

He had no intention of giving in, thinking that he would lose or that it was painful.

Now Gaul was his enemy.

Ha-hyun quickly began to create a cocoon that covered Sang-hyun and Lee Seoyeon at the same time.

It was a sturdy cocoon, but it would be difficult to withstand this storm of blades for long.

[I am the gardener of the natural order. I must prune the wrong future and pluck out the seeds that will become harmful.]

[I am the editor of the results. I deny the wrong endings and correct the twisted processes.]

[I am the darkness behind, forcing the sun to rise the next day!]

Hyeon-woo, whose body was incapacitated, tried to use a skill.

He tried to move the intermediate-level golem closest to him with the ‘Domination’ skill to cover his body, but the skill failed as if it were blocked by something.

[My power is severance and combination.]

The shattering star spoke with a constantly shattering face.

[Separating, combining, and harmonizing to bring out new results. What you have been gifted will no longer be yours.]

Hyeon-woo tried to take out Tam. But Tam bounced out of his hand and disappeared into the storm of blades, becoming invisible.

[The Hungry Star’s thing no longer satisfies hunger.]

Hyeon-woo tried to understand this situation. He tried to find a series of rules and methods even in the storm of blades.

But at that moment, his thoughts slowed down and became confused.

The ‘Improved Understanding of Everything’ ability he had gained from bringing down the Ratman Empire had disappeared.

[The knowledge of the Wailing Star is now dead knowledge.]

Hyeon-woo tried to find a way to move through the storm of blades through the Battle Helper.

However, he felt his body becoming dull as even the aura he had managed to gather faded away.

[A nostalgic skill. But it’s just the result of a failure’s struggle.]

Hyeon-woo tried to use the Ego Weapon. This was another self that could not be separated from him.

If he used the Ego Weapon in this state, he would surely die, but this was the only weapon that could induce a change in the situation.

However, even the Ego Weapon only earned Gaul’s ridicule.

[Have you forgotten who gifted it to you? Have you forgotten who tore and divided your ego and created it into a physical entity?]

The Ego Weapon appeared in Hyun-woo’s hand, but soon it was divided into small pieces like the blades Gaul had summoned and scattered.

The faded Ego Weapon, like the other blades, dug into Hyun-woo’s body.

The last resort left for Hyun-woo was the ultimate skill.

But Gaul kept whispering.

[Now that I think about it, you have become a star. Then you no longer need a beast.]

The Beast of the End was blocked before it could even be summoned.

No, Hyun-woo felt a familiar sensation.

The Beast of the End was not blocked, but had been leashed from the beginning.

Gaul had only tightened that leash even more.

Hyeon-woo realized the stuffy feeling he had always felt when using the Beast of the End, and why the Beast of the End had not exerted as much power as it had when he first used it.

It must be because of this leash that Gaul had tied up someday.

[I don’t need a beast that is promised to the end, a beast that brings about the end.]

Gaul urged with a metallic voice.

[You will become a beast that protects humanity!]

A being who puts a leash on even the beast that will bring about the end and urges it to become a beast that protects humans.

Hyeon-woo momentarily felt a sense of déjà vu about Gaul’s identity.

Gaul stood before Hyun-woo. He was terrifyingly huge.

The future, will, and power he was trying to bear were as great as his current appearance.

Hyeon-woo’s knees buckled without him realizing it at that huge figure. There was nothing he could do now.

His whole body was nailed, and his body and mind were being cut away in a state where even resistance was impossible.

[I don’t need anyone who seduces my dog either.]

Gaul passed Hyun-woo as he was. Then he tore apart the cocoon that Ha-hyun had spun in an instant. Ha-hyun felt a pain as if her arms were being torn off.

In the midst of screams, Gaul looked down at Lee Seoyeon.

Lee Seoyeon bit her lip and tried to back away, but Gaul stabbed spears and blades into her hands and feet.

[Are you trying to run away even showing such an ugly appearance, Whispering Star? Now there is nothing left for you to seduce in this world. It’s all because of the destruction you brought about.]

“What are you talking about? I could have won if you hadn’t ruined it!”

The weakened Lee Seoyeon trembled but still sneered. Her power, which had fallen to the point of falling, no longer reached even a single member of the retinue.

It was clear that she would be slaughtered by Gaul this time without being able to escape.

However, Gaul did not feel joy or elation in this one-sided execution.

His mindset was just like a gardener. All of this was just a process of pruning branches so that the tree could grow properly.

Gaul’s hand slowly went up.

Even in the midst of that, Hyun-woo thought about what he could do.

His strength was powerless, and his abilities were exhausted. His will was lacking, and he had no special plans.

The opponent was overwhelming. All Hyun-woo could do with such an opponent was just think.

What can I do?

To the opponent who says that you can’t do anything, so just accept it silently.

What can a single human say to the approaching sea?

All Hyun-woo could do was, as always, say out loud the thoughts that came to his mind every time.

And Gaul heard a whispering voice from behind.

“Get lost.”

Gaul’s neck turned.

At that moment, he saw an unbelievable sight.

Hyeon-woo, who had been lying down until just now, was standing up. The metal fragments that had been stuck all over his body were crumbling into red rust powder like dust and scattering in the wind.

His whole body was red because of the blood flowing down from his whole body.

A spear pierced Hyun-woo’s body again. It was a fatal area.

A lot of blood splattered on the floor, but Hyun-woo only staggered and didn’t fall. And even that spear turned into powder and scattered.

“Even if you separate everything from me… there’s only one thing you can’t take away unless you plan to separate my lifeline from me.”

Hyeon-woo moved his lips with a dying look.

“My blood.”

[The ‘End’ trait has been added to Poison Blood.]

[Limit Break!]

[Poison Blood (Rare) has awakened into Beast Blood ( ).]

Listening to the notification sound that he had never experienced before, Hyun-woo looked around.

Blood was smeared all over the pieces of blades that had been rummaging through Hyun-woo’s body.

Hyeon-woo moved his fingers with difficulty and took out a caramel from his pocket and put it in his mouth.