Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 311

311. Pandemonium (3)

It wasn’t just an Ego Weapon missing its target and returning due to exhaustion; it was an Ego Weapon thrown by a powerful master.

Naturally, its destructive power was beyond description.

Hellen smiled with glee at the sight of the Ego Weapon hurtling forward.

How satisfying would it be to see Kang Hyun-woo impaled by her weapon?

However, the moment the spear left her fingertips, Hellen nearly stumbled forward.

A heavy mass poured out from her dark aura. Countless gold and silver treasures were dragged along behind the Ego Weapon.

“W-What is this?!”

Hellen’s eyes widened in disbelief. The ‘Warehouse Keeper’ skill allowed her to store and retrieve any item, but when ‘borrowing’ items, interest was calculated by the Starving Star [a cosmic entity that demands payment for power].

She could borrow items of immense power, but knowing the risks, Hellen only used it for ‘storage’.

However, the Ego Weapon’s speed was too fast for Hellen to perceive, and the amount of treasure pouring out was enormous.

From junk to simple jewels, and even equipment and items of immeasurable value, were escaping from her grasp.

The Ego Weapon struggled to fly, desperately trying to pierce Hyun-woo, but its speed was significantly reduced by the treasure. Hyun-woo easily snatched the Ego Weapon.

Hyun-woo shattered the Ego Weapon and grinned at Hellen.

“Why the long face?”

Hellen felt that Hyun-woo’s grip resembled someone clutching a heavy net.

Although she couldn’t see it, the net existed.

A net made of shadow spiderwebs.

Hyun-woo had woven it into the Ego Weapon and thrown it into Hellen’s ‘warehouse’. The result was the Starving Star’s treasures, stickily caught in the web.

However, Hyun-woo’s target with the net wasn’t just the treasures inside.

Before Hellen could regain her senses, Hyun-woo quickly yanked his hand back once more.

The moment Hellen staggered, she saw her right arm floating in the air with a slicing sound.

Still wrapped in dark aura, her right arm was pulled into Hyun-woo’s hand along with the treasures.

“Jackpot.”

“A-Ah, ahhh, ahhh!”

Hellen’s face turned pale. She lost her reason.

The treasures that had poured out were accumulating interest from the Starving Star in real-time.

If she didn’t quickly put them back, she would pay a terrible price.

“You bastard, give me back my arm!”

Thump.

Hellen instantly pressured Hyun-woo. But Hyun-woo knew that Hellen could no longer use the ‘Warehouse Keeper’ skill as before.

He had carefully observed the actions she took each time she used the skill.

The right arm had the function of ‘storage,’ while the left arm had the function of ‘borrowing.’

Now that her right arm was in Hyun-woo’s hand, she wouldn’t be able to fight as before, cutting away everything.

However, this was Hyun-woo’s carelessness.

Hellen still had her left arm, which had the function of ‘borrowing.’

After exchanging blows several times in a short moment, Hyun-woo decided to end the fight.

Even with dozens of debuffs, Hyun-woo wouldn’t be pushed back by a one-armed opponent who could barely balance his body.

But at that moment, Hellen made a strange movement.

“Give me back my arm!”

Something bizarre emerged from Hellen’s left arm.

Hyun-woo, who was about to strike Hellen’s left arm, felt his stomach and chest being pierced and was thrown backward.

A giant, golden snake was biting into Hyun-woo’s body.

The snake dragged Hyun-woo across the floor, grinding him down. Hyun-woo struck the snake wildly, but not even a scale was scratched.

“Damn snake!”

“My arm!”

Hellen screamed and chased after Hyun-woo, who was being dragged by the snake.

Even without Rhen, the admiral’s monocle [an item that enhances perception], Hyun-woo could tell that this snake was something different from ordinary monsters.

And the price Hellen was paying to summon it must be enormous.

Even though Hellen had lost her mind, she was still a greedy gambler chosen by the Starving Star.

She chose to raise the stakes themselves to quickly overwhelm her opponent, even if it meant paying interest.

It was a shortcut to ruin, but Hellen chose to gamble.

“Kyaaaaa!”

Then, the golden snake opened its mouth wide and thrashed violently. Hellen discovered that the snake’s fangs, which had pierced Hyun-woo’s body, had melted.

On the other hand, Hyun-woo was simply examining the spot where the snake had bitten him with an unpleasant expression.

“Slightly sour venom.”

***

“Just what are you…”

Hellen rushed at Hyun-woo again. But Hyun-woo, despite his injuries, was not much different from before.

No, he felt even stronger.

Hellen quickly began to be overwhelmed. The debuffs that had been holding Hyun-woo were disappearing.

“What are you…”

Hellen was about to scold the hunters when she finally looked around. The hunters on the hill were being massacred by something with the silhouette of a monster.

“Give me back my arm.”

It wasn’t Hellen who said that.

It was Hyun-woo, his eyes gleaming with greed as he looked at Hellen’s remaining arm.

Hellen felt a chilling shiver down her spine. She made a firm decision before the situation worsened.

Bang! With a loud noise, Hellen created distance. Then, she quickly took something out of her left hand.

Hyun-woo looked on with a “not again?” expression, but what Hellen took out this time changed the surrounding atmosphere.

It was a spear with a faint blue light.

No, rather than a spear, it looked like a giant needle.

“Give me back my arm right now if you don’t want to die!”

It wasn’t just a bluff.

This was impossible.

Hyun-woo sensed it. The aura emanating from the spear Hellen had taken out made Hyun-woo’s instincts scream that he would die.

Even among the items Hyun-woo had created in Hell Difficulty, there was nothing like that.

It was a weapon close to an ‘external’ existence that was rarely seen.

Hellen was committing a crazy act to kill him. It was even a deadly weapon for Hellen herself. He couldn’t imagine the price Hellen would pay for whatever that was.

“Calm down, shall we resolve this with a conversation?”

Hyun-woo trying to talk meant he was at a disadvantage. Hellen, too, seemed reluctant to use this weapon, only clutching it.

But at that moment, something unexpected happened.

The golden snake, writhing on the floor, suddenly stood up and lunged at Hellen.

“No, what is this, ah, damn it!”

Hellen couldn’t even throw the weapon and was sucked into the snake’s mouth.

The sight of the mass being dragged down, gurgling in the snake’s throat, was vividly visible.

He didn’t know what was going on, but Hyun-woo felt that Hellen was trying to use a weapon she shouldn’t have, and someone was trying to stop her.

Then, a sound of thunder suddenly echoed. It was different from the thunder and lightning caused by the typhoon.

The moment a flash of light passed before his eyes, Hyun-woo was thrown back. When he barely raised his head, he saw the golden snake, which had turned into a black pile of ash.

Crack, whack. Hellen struggled to emerge, smashing the charcoal pile.

Soaked in gastric juices, she staggered out with a weary expression.

Hyun-woo didn’t miss the opportunity and immediately ran over and punched the face of the injured woman, who could barely stand.

The sound of her jawbone shattering echoed cheerfully.

Hellen collapsed without even getting out of the charcoal pile.

“Where is it, where is it?”

Hyun-woo soon found the nameless weapon in the snake’s belly. Although its color was slightly faded, as soon as he saw it, Hyun-woo immediately put it into the warehouse through Hellen’s right arm without hesitation.

He didn’t even think that he might use it someday. Because there were things in the world that could be touched, and things that couldn’t.

“Hoo…”

Hyun-woo, who had finally caught his breath, felt his body lighten.

The situation on the hill seemed to be somewhat under control. Now that Hellen had been defeated, it was only natural that the Starving Star’s forces would scatter.

Then it was time to recall one of the reasons why Hyun-woo had been chasing Hellen.

Hyun-woo’s gaze turned to Hellen’s left arm, which was unconscious.

***

“Lee Ji-tae. Are you ready?”

Lee Ji-tae turned his head. Park Do-ryeong was standing on a cliff so high that the clouds flowed beneath his feet.

He was once his friend, his teacher, his enemy, and now, his comrade again.

Park Do-ryeong had an extremist tendency that could not be compromised. Because of this, Lee Ji-tae had thoroughly suppressed him for the past few years to prevent him from surfacing.

But in the end, he had no choice but to join hands with him in the face of the future.

“…It seems everyone is ready.”

It wasn’t just Lee Ji-tae. Many allies were waiting on the mountain.

They were people who served different stars, who originally could not and should not have joined hands.

Military leaders from various countries, clan representatives from various countries, hunters from various countries, and even apostles and agents.

They suppressed their nationalities, politics, history, and all other issues and gathered in one place.

And even more people than those gathered here were moving outside the shadows.

Although there might be minor conflicts and confrontations, their goal was the same.

‘The best future…’

And they were all looking at the person holding the signpost pointing to the goal of ‘the best future.’

A man everyone called Teacher.

The Teacher stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down at the ground covered in clouds.

The ground, where the clouds twisted violently and thunder and lightning flashed, was a scene of utter chaos.

The sun floating in the sky looked like an ominous black sphere, foreshadowing the hell that was about to come.

Lee Ji-tae tried to approach to call the Teacher. But just before that, the Teacher had already returned from the edge of the cliff and was standing beside him.

Lee Ji-tae was not surprised. It was a common occurrence.

But Lee Ji-tae spoke cautiously.

“Teacher, are you alright?”

He was dressed as simply as usual, barefoot, in jeans and a white T-shirt, but today was a little different.

His white hair was graying on the broken mask taped up.

The Teacher had taken on various appearances, but this was the first time he had seen this appearance. Why would he take on such an elderly appearance just before such an important moment?

“Don’t worry. Lee Ji-tae.”

Lee Ji-tae thought he had been worrying unnecessarily.

The current reality is the future that the Teacher ‘chose.’ There was no way there could be a mistake.

The Teacher stood in front of the allies and looked around at them.

“Hello, everyone. Thank you for answering my call on a day like today. As you know, today is a very important day.”

The allies remained silent. The Teacher smiled as he received their gaze.

“There have been a few confusing things lately, haven’t there? Is it really okay to follow me, or if history is going to flow in a better direction anyway, is there really a need for me to try? Is that really the right history to go to? Questions like these.”

The Teacher walked slowly and took a coin out of his pocket.

“Some have turned away after repeating this question, and some have decided to ignore me. But I don’t blame them. Because I understand.”

Lee Ji-tae thought of Park Hwi-so. The person who brought him into the alliance, but who himself had sided with Kang Hyun-woo.

He didn’t know what had made him do that, but the Teacher didn’t blame Park Hwi-so or hold him accountable.

“Originally, in the midst of a huge historical flow, it is difficult for people on the surface to immediately understand the situation. It is only in later generations that they understand, ‘Ah, that’s why this happened at that time, and that’s why this result came out!'”

Flick, flick. The coin bounced in the air and flew towards Lee Ji-tae.

Lee Ji-tae skillfully caught the coin. The Teacher didn’t tell him to open his palm or say what had come out.

“I chose the future where the coin is heads.”

The Teacher looked around at the allies with a blank expression and said.

“There was also a future where tails came out. But I erased it. To me, who has already seen the world where the coin has come out, this moment is just the past.”

This was why the allies followed the Teacher.

The Teacher chooses the future.

A better future, a better future.

The best future.

He cuts off the bad branches and climbs only the good ones.

“To me, the future is not uncertain. We are moving towards an even better future!”

The moment the Teacher raised his hand, the allies also raised their hands with all their might.

They were people who had set aside their beliefs and ideologies and gathered for the sake of humanity.

Of course, Lee Ji-tae knew that the ‘best future’ they envisioned was different for each of them.

Even so, they had sacrificed many things for the best for ‘humanity.’ People who would willingly give their lives to stop the world from heading to hell.

There was also the thought that the Teacher might give them the best that would satisfy them all.

“We are not satisfied with overcoming despair.”

Lee Ji-tae also clenched his fist holding the coin and raised it with all his might. The Teacher powerfully declaimed to everyone.

“We are moving towards the best future!”