Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 53

53. Cauldron Bottom (7)

“A traitor? Did you say a traitor?”

Kawaro chuckled. He took off the glove from the hand Hyun-woo bit and threw it on the floor.

Hyun-woo had only left a slight tooth mark on the white glove Kawaro was wearing.

“Were you dropped from the sky or something? Anyone listening would think that bad humans are siding with monsters to attack the remaining humans. A traitor, you say? That’s a refreshingly old-fashioned insult.”

Hyun-woo wondered what Kawaro was talking about. So, Kawaro and the Constellations weren’t the ones attacking humans? Then what were these countless zombies, ghouls, and gasters?

These were monsters that appeared from dungeons and attacked humans.

Standing with those monsters made him an undeniable enemy of humanity.

Even without a savior complex to save humanity, he was an unwelcome opponent.

But Kawaro didn’t seem inclined to explain at length. His expression turned cold.

“If you’re not going to reach the Starving Star, I don’t see any reason to keep you alive.”

A chilling murderous intent brushed past his neck. Hyun-woo sensed death.

That was the moment.

[The Monstrous Star, Augustro, is watching you.]

Oooooooooh!

A monstrous roar that seemed to tear through the heavens echoed. The moment an outcry filled with unknown murderous intent and terror swept through the area, the scattered corpses shattered and flew up, and the cauldron was wrecked and blown away.

Kawaro, his face pale to the point of turning blue, was prostrating himself towards Hyun-woo. Hyun-woo couldn’t understand what was happening in this sudden situation.

“I had no intention of breaking the rules. I was just a little too excited after a long time…”

Hyun-woo realized that Kawaro was speaking to something behind him, not to him. But behind him was just an empty street. He didn’t know what lurked beyond that emptiness, but there was something that made even Kawaro, a Constellation of Yog-Sothoth [a powerful cosmic entity in H.P. Lovecraft’s stories], unable to move.

Oooooooooh!

Despite Kawaro’s apology, a murderous roar swept through again. Kawaro hurriedly turned his back and started running away without saying much to Hyun-woo. The monsters in the procession that had arrived with him were also busy following him.

In an instant, Kawaro’s group disappeared, and the street became quiet again. Hyun-woo was worried that the creature that had roared might come this way, but nothing happened. Rather, the roar seemed to have chased away even the remaining monsters.

It had returned to a peaceful intersection, no different from any other time.

Too many things had happened and disappeared in front of his eyes in an instant, so it was hard to understand exactly what was going on. But one thing was certain.

The monsters in the procession were more powerful than the gasters. The anglerfish, who seemed stronger than those monsters. Kawaro, who rode on the back of that anglerfish. And the unidentified being who had terrified Kawaro with just two roars.

“…Just how many monsters are there in this world?”

He had been confident in his skills to some extent after overcoming this trial. But this incident made him realize painfully.

Hyun-woo was still barely climbing up a step or two from the bottom of the food chain.

***

Hyun-woo trudged back to the shelter. Renian was sitting there, looking dejected. As soon as Hyun-woo entered, Renian hid behind the chair with a surprised expression.

“Butler? Are you back to your senses?”

“Seeing you here, I’m sure it’s safe now.”

“I went to find Butler a little while ago, after the battle. But you didn’t look too good.”

Renian lifted her calf to show him. There were clear teeth marks on it. Hyun-woo felt a pang of guilt. He had been fighting in a slightly deranged state at the end of the battle, and it seemed he had run into Renian in the meantime.

“It’s okay. You’ve eaten a lot of fairy butlers.”

“Is it sucking blood?”

“Yeah.”

Hyun-woo barely leaned back in his chair. His whole body was aching. He had already used the Last Man Standing title perk, and he had no potions left. He had been drinking them like water while fighting.

“Ah, the quest.”

He had completely forgotten about the quest reward. The reward must have increased because of the trial. Sure enough, the success reward was in his inventory. But this time, it wasn’t a Gold Box, but a strange item called Yog-Sothoth’s Gift Box.

“Don’t tell me this is another random box.”

*I hope I can choose something definite now.*

Hyun-woo took out the gift box and opened it. This time, only one card came out. But it was platinum, which he had never seen before. Hyun-woo was taken aback by the appearance of a platinum card, not a silver or gold card.

Soon, with a brilliant light, the card disappeared, and a thin, plain sword appeared instead.

It was a sword with a subtle sky-blue color, made of one piece from the handle to the blade. It looked so unassuming that it didn’t seem like there was anything special about it.

Fortunately, Hyun-woo now had an item to accurately judge its true worth before complaining about its appearance. Hyun-woo took out the monocle of the nosy Admiral Ren.

[Greed 貪 (Common/Genuine)]

[Category: Sword]

[Physical Attack: Low, Magic Attack: Low, Penetration: Low]

[Special Ability: Devours weapons offered as sacrifices and gains their abilities.]

[Note: A weapon said to have been forged directly by Aldimahro, a Constellation of the Starving Star, Yog-Sothoth. Because it eats weapons and changes its shape, no one knows the original appearance of Greed. Traces presumed to be Greed have been found when tracing back the power wielders who suddenly appeared in history and brandished their hegemonic ways.]

“…Common?”

Hyun-woo reread the description with a complicated feeling. After reading it several times, it didn’t seem like a cheat item worthy of a platinum card. But the fact that it was a growth-type weapon and the notes left by Admiral Ren left room for hope.

The weapon of power wielders who brandished their hegemonic ways.

That meant it wasn’t an ordinary weapon.

A weapon that eats weapons. It was also a weapon suitable for Yog-Sothoth. Hyun-woo couldn’t help but expect that the growth limit would be limitless, since it was a gift directly from Yog-Sothoth.

“Renian, what do you think of this?”

“Um… it looks good.”

If Renian said it was good, it must be good. Hyun-woo took out the bleeding dagger from his waist.

It was a dagger he really cherished, but if it absorbed weapons and gained their abilities, there was no need to carry around various weapons.

“Let’s do it.”

Hyun-woo wondered how to absorb the weapon, so he put the blades together and scratched them slightly.

The moment sparks seemed to fly, Greed’s blade crunched and swallowed the bleeding dagger. The sight was no different from a monster, and Hyun-woo was so startled that he almost dropped the sword.

The bleeding dagger disappeared without a trace. Instead, Greed’s appearance had changed slightly. The blade had become slightly shorter, and there was a groove in the middle like the bleeding dagger.

[Greed 貪 (Legendary/Genuine)]

[Category: Sword]

[Physical Attack: Medium-Low, Magic Attack: Medium-Low, Penetration: Low]

[Special Ability: Devours weapons offered as sacrifices and gains their abilities. It has the ability to release bodily fluids, and if bodily fluids are sent to allies, it causes a healing effect, and if bodily fluids are sent to enemies, it inflicts damage.]

[Absorbed Weapon: Bleeding Dagger]

…It rose to legendary grade just by absorbing one thing. Moreover, it absorbed the ability perfectly.

Hyun-woo’s heart began to beat. He looked at Renian with a satisfied expression.

“I already like this.”

“Butler, you just like it if it has a high grade.”

That was an undeniable fact.

***

Instead of going straight back, Hyun-woo stopped by the gym again.

The desk where Baek-Gol had been lying was now neatly cleaned up, but a strange atmosphere still remained.

Hyun-woo thought that this was one of the last spaces where humanity had resisted. But after passing this trial, he felt complicated.

The ravenous ones who still had the intelligence of humans but rushed to devour his flesh. And Kawaro, the human who controlled monsters from the heads of powerful monsters.

Hyun-woo couldn’t even guess what Baek-Gol had fought, what conflicts he had, and how he had met his end.

‘*Is my appearance much different?*’

Hyun-woo also controls Kirson and has the cannibalistic fairy Renian as a pet.

He himself is a monsterized human, but he mercilessly kills the ravenous ones and tears off their flesh to eat. Looking back, it was no different from a monster.

Hyun-woo gave himself a clear answer.

‘*Of course, it’s different, you idiot.*’

Hyun-woo did it of his own will. Only with the desire to survive. He didn’t let his reason be overcome by desire like the ravenous ones, and he didn’t cling to the tail of a snake like Kawaro to live in luxury.

Hyun-woo thought that he would continue to do so in the future.

*Even if he becomes a son of a bitch, let’s become his own son of a bitch.*

*Let’s show that even a son of a bitch has his own pride.*

Hyun-woo smirked and raised the corners of his mouth.

“That’s why I feel like you’re amazing, mister.”

Nameless Baek-Gol, just looking at the letter he left behind, you could see how much he had struggled to protect his noble ideals and humanity.

Even as he was defeated, he said that the reason for his defeat was that he had not protected more morality and humanity.

He was the opposite type of Hyun-woo. But that made him even more admirable.

Some people hate the same type, while others are drawn to the opposite type.

Perhaps because he had just seen a human like Kawaro, this sublime human felt even more attractive.

‘*I wish I could go back to reality and find out who this person is.*’

If this isn’t the distant future, there’s a good chance he’s one of the existing hunters.

‘*It would be nice if there was even a clue to guess…*’

But he had already searched this area enough. Then Hyun-woo suddenly remembered that there were a few books in the drawer. They were books that he had left unattended while looking for relics.

Hyun-woo rummaged through the drawer and picked up the dusty books again.

And he realized how stupid he had been.

It’s not just items with grades and great specs that are valuable. A book can also be an unprecedented item that can change the world.

“…No way.”

This book was a scrapbook recording the process from the occurrence of the dungeon to his last moments.

Almost all the major events were written down, and each chapter had countless notes with dates, saying that he should have done this at this time, and he should have done that.

Hyun-woo was terrified by the weight of his obsessive regret and remorse.

But at the same time, the corners of his mouth went up.

“Baek-Gol, I’ll make good use of that regret.”

Isn’t it enough to save humanity, no matter how you go about it?