Novel All
Chapter 54
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
Chapter 54
Guardians were fundamentally made of stone or metal, large or small.
They took on various forms: Japanese-style with armor and a longsword, Indian-style with an androgynous appearance and eight arms, Greek-style holding a brass shield and a bronze spear, and even Korean mythical beasts like the Haetae.
[TL/N: Haetae is usually portrayed as a lion-like creature with scales covering its body, a horn on its forehead, and often a bell or flame motifs around it. A mythical creature from Korean folklore and history. It's often depicted as a guardian figure and holds a special place in Korean culture.]
The museum building was spacious, and all the partitions had been removed, allowing a clear view from one end to the other.
Except for the scattered pillars, there was nothing to obstruct the view.
Baekya quickly assessed the overall number.
'About 20 in total.'
It wasn't a number he could incinerate in one go with Law of Light.
The Guardians were teeming with high-ranking entities around A-rank.
Even now, his head ached from the constant 'warning!' alerts.
Even if he could turn five or six of them into white orbs in an instant, countless spears and swords would fly at him the moment he gasped for breath.
Therefore, all big moves were sealed.
He had to resolve this through pure melee combat.
Baekya placed the 'World-Reflecting Mirror' in his inner suit pocket and held the '22nd Century Katana' in his right hand and the 'Eternal Cold Steel Dagger' in his left.
Click. Click.
He had received the Eternal Cold Steel Dagger as a reward for clearing the finale story 'Winter Vanguard.'
It was resistant to heat, so even when he used 'Radiant Sword' at full power to heat the blade, it wouldn't be damaged.
【Traits: Impervious to Water and Fire, Impervious to Swords, Hot Blood, Underdog... are activated.】
【Titles: Sun of Humanity, Destroyer of Cogwheels, Master of Fire, Gargoyle Slayer... are activated.】
Countless notification windows popped up on one side of his vision, while the movements of the Guardians filled the other side.
Creak. Creak!
The brass Indian-style Guardian was moving its joints, turning its neck around.
Its eight arms, adorned with jeweled bracelets, opened and closed like lotus petals a few times.
Boom!
The next moment, the Indian-style Guardian kicked off the museum floor and charged.
The dust that had accumulated on its face fell away in an instant.
It was a terrifying speed, leaving no time to even check its name, basic specs, or rank with 'Insight.'
A beat later, the other Guardians also moved.
The Japanese samurai, the Greek hero, and the Korean mythical beast all sought to bite and tear the unholy intruder to shreds.
The Indian-style Guardian, the first to move, formed a strange hand gesture and thrust its eight hands forward.
Just before those hands could tear Baekya's suit jacket to shreds...
Baekya infused mana into the 'World-Reflecting Mirror.'
Fwaaaash!
Concentric circles spread out from Baekya.
The next moment, only the Indian-style Guardian and Baekya stood in the black and white museum.
The Indian-style Guardian's two pairs of eyes twitched.
The sudden change in space and the redefinition of the 'place to be protected' was the first factor.
The second factor was that all its comrades who had charged together had vanished.
But no matter what anomaly occurred, the goal remained the same: kill the enemy, the cunning intruder, in front of it.
"---, ---!"
The Guardian let out a metallic roar like thunder and continued to extend its eight hands.
Baekya's eyes focused not on the eight hands, but on the Guardian's heart.
The 22nd Century Katana in his right hand glowed like burning coal.
The Eternal Cold Steel Dagger in his left hand didn't turn red, but the heat haze distorting the surrounding space showcased its intensity.
Whoosh!
The eight hands targeted eight vital points on Baekya: the crown of his head, temples, philtrum, neck, heart, lungs, solar plexus, and thighs.
Each strike carried enough power to crush a B+-rank monster.
In response, Baekya swung the 22nd Century Katana just once.
【Golden Ring Eclipse】
【Leaving only a golden ring】
Whirl!
The red-hot blade rotated in a wide arc from right to left.
The tip of the blade drew a bright circle in the air, ending with a curve.
The middle and base of the blade, due to their tremendous speed, drew dark circles as if space itself had been sliced.
The eight arms caught in those circles all rotated in the same direction the blade had spun.
Swish. Swish. Swish!
All eight arms of the Indian-style Guardian twisted and turned, bending to the left.
Baekya switched the Eternal Cold Steel Dagger to a reverse grip and stepped forward.
He stabbed the dagger into the Guardian's heart, where its spirit core resided.
Screech!
Mana sparks flew as the dagger's tip clashed with the Guardian's brass body.
But only for a moment.
The dagger, imbued with both the Eternal Cold Steel's chill and the heat from the Radiant Sword skill, pierced through the Guardian's body.
Thud!
It penetrated the spirit core in one swift motion.
After the Rank 1 gate incident, Baekya could infuse all the flames he wielded with the light of Law of Light.
Naturally, both Radiant Sword and the dagger, empowered by the Radiant Sword skill, contained that power.
The dense mana of the A-rank Guardian shattered into fragments.
Within the mirror world, the Indian-style Guardian crumbled and dissipated like melting snow.
Its four blood-red eyes reverted to green.
The Indian-style Guardian brought its eight hands together in a prayer-like gesture and bowed its head.
"The place I was protecting... was not this ruin."
"I know."
A sad yet gentle smile appeared on its lips, which had been filled with wrath.
"In the end, I couldn't protect anything."
A moment later, even that smile turned into white orbs and scattered.
Tssss.
The incineration was complete.
The high-quality mana that had formed the spirit core flowed into Baekya.
A burning sensation, like drinking strong liquor, warmed his stomach.
There was also a tingling sensation, like bubbles of carbonation, as if he had swallowed a mouthful of starlight.
Baekya took a deep breath and gathered the absorbed mana.
'This is more efficient than I thought?'
The payback from Law of Light decreased the stronger and denser the opponent's mana was.
He had expected at most a drop or two of good quality mana, but this was closer to a mouthful.
The Constellation spoke in his mind.
Ding.
【"I never imagined you'd pull it into the mirror world."】
"I didn't want to get surrounded and beaten up."
【"You've been recklessly charging in all this time, even though you knew this strategy? You weren't enjoying watching me burn with frustration, were you?"】
"How did you know... no, never mind."
【"What?"】
"The reason I haven't been interested in strategy until now is that I am the strategy. Don't they say that if your body is good, your head doesn't have to suffer?"
【"Is that right? In my memory, it was the opposite. Your world's sayings change too quickly."】
"Anyway, I haven't used it until now because I haven't had the need to, not because I didn't know how. Please understand that."
【"Alright."】
Baekya focused his mana once more on the hand mirror in his inner pocket.
"Then, I'll go again."
【"Go ahead."】
Just before dismantling the mirror world, he asked one more question.
"But are you satisfied with this kind of picture?"
【"What do you mean?"】
"If I remember correctly, you seemed to enjoy watching me bleed and roll around."
【"That's a groundless slander. Do you think I'm such a twisted Constellation?"】
【Your Constellation 'Sunny' frowns and refutes.】
【"You know everything, so why are you acting like this? It's thrilling to fight your way up from the bottom, but it's the most fun to trample those below from the top."】
"...."
Baekya's lips twitched.
It was unclear whether it was a smile or a frown, or perhaps both.
【"Don't deny it. You're the Awakened I chose. I can see right through you."】
【Your Constellation 'Sunny' smiles slyly and strokes your cheek.】
Instead of answering further, Baekya dismantled the mirror world and faced the next Guardian.
Crash!
The black and white world cracked and shattered.
Color returned for a moment, and...
"Intruder!"
The Greek-style sculpture, wielding a spear, charged forward.
Tssss!
Once again, color drained from the world.
That day, Baekya incinerated and devoured a total of 17 broken Guardians.
"Huff, huff!"
By the time the battle ended, the sun had almost completely set.
He lay on a sofa in the abandoned museum building, gasping for breath.
His sweat-drenched abs twitched between his torn suit jacket and shirt.
The Eternal Cold Steel Dagger was rolling on the floor, and the 22nd Century Katana had several chips in its blade.
The mirror overloaded a few times, forcing him to take out the Winter Vanguard's Standard to assist.
The rewards of the fierce battle were more than enough.
Baekya smiled like a sports player who had won after a hard-fought match.
"I succeeded."
The Constellation spoke in a tone that suggested they were bursting with pride.
【"You're brimming with starlight."】
"It feels like I'm just one step away from A+."
【"Since you're already here, why not finish off the remaining three?"】
【Your Constellation 'Sunny' expresses curiosity.】
A warm breeze, unseasonably warm for the time of year, blew in, drying his sweat and ruffling his hair.
In the direction the wind was blowing, there were three Guardians remaining inside the museum.
They were the Korean Haetae, the Egyptian Anubis, and the Chinese Terracotta Warrior.
Unlike the other broken Guardians, they didn't attack even after seeing Baekya.
After a moment of contemplation, Baekya replied.
"I'll take those into the Subspace."
【"You're not going to incinerate and absorb them?"】
"Seeing as they're staying still, they're probably not broken. In that case, it's definitely more profitable to take them. As I said, Guardians aren't cheap. If these weren't broken, I wouldn't even consider using them as fuel for Law of Light."
【"So you're saying you'll take them and sell them."】
"You're wise."
【"Shouldn't you find their owners and return them?"】
【Your Constellation 'Sunny' says something they don't mean.】
Baekya approached each Guardian and examined them carefully.
"As far as I know, these were in Jeongwon's warehouse. He killed me once, so let's consider this payback. I'll burn that damn watch and return them double."
He pushed the three Guardians into his inventory ring.
The museum, which had been filled with 20 Guardians, was now empty.
Baekya dusted off his hands and smiled with satisfaction.
"Now, that bastard Choi Gimin will come looking for me at my warehouse."
【"How do you know?"】
"No matter how much of a punk and a scumbag he is, he's still a Ranker. That means neither the goods he acquires nor his power is something smuggling organizations can easily handle."
【"So?"】
"So he gets paid a lot upfront."
【"He's got guts for a thief."】
"He has some Ranker pride, so he won't want to stiff anyone. There aren't that many places that can handle stolen goods like this."
【"So he'll try to steal more Guardians?"】
"And there just happens to be an ownerless warehouse. A warehouse with two A+ rank Guardians."
Baekya left the museum with a bold laugh.
It was time to prepare for the fight with Choi Gimin.
He had to subdue him, use the information gained from him to upgrade his artifacts, and then challenge the 51st floor with those artifacts.
'Aitel.'
To him, Earth was a cradle.
But no one could stay in the cradle forever.
* * *
In a private room of a members-only club.
A man sat on a luxurious leather sofa, legs crossed, with a wicked grin on his face.
"Heh, hahaha! Hahaha!"
A halo shaped like a circle of green scales floated above his head.
He had his braided dreadlocks tied up neatly, wore flashy designer sunglasses, and was dressed in a sensual Versace shirt.
Despite his rough fashion sense, he was a handsome man who would turn heads on the street.
His face was flawless, and his expression was cheerful. His name was Choi Gimin.
He was a Ranker fluctuating between the top 10 and 20 in the national rankings and the most famous gangster in Korea.
He leaned forward and grabbed the ice bucket on the table.
He took a swig of whiskey straight from the bottle in the ice bucket and then put it down next to the sofa.
"Ah."
He wiped the liquor from his mouth with his sleeve.
"Ah. I guess I was really underestimated."
He took ice cubes from the ice bucket and threw them mockingly at the hunters in black suits lying on the floor.
Thud. Thud!
The ice cubes hit the heads of the suited hunters and shattered.
Their faces contorted in pain.
They were elite agents from the Management Bureau.
There was even a Ranker in the top 30 among them, and they were a formidable strike team that had once subdued a top 20 Ranker with a group of five or six.
It took less than 10 minutes for them all to be crushed by Choi Gimin.
"Lee Baejeong, that bastard, told me to bring you in? You bastard, back then you were begging me to help you, and now your attitude has changed?"
Choi Gimin laughed at the Management Bureau agents sprawled on the floor.
"Ah. I'm also hesitant to kill all of you, you know? Believe it or not, I'm a patriot too. For me to live as I please, the country needs to be in good shape, right? So..."
Just as he was about to utter a dreadful condition.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
His smartphone rang loudly.
"Hello! What? ... What? You got robbed? What nonsense!"
He hurriedly got up from the sofa and paced back and forth after receiving the call.
"Alright! I'm on my way!"
He shoved his smartphone into his pocket and left the room.
"Shit! Consider yourselves lucky!"
The Management Bureau agents tried to follow him, but their frozen bodies showed no signs of movement.
Choi Gimin ran down the hallway, thinking.
'Who the hell would steal that? Shit! When you're having bad luck, things like this happen. ... Come to think of it, that bastard Daeho hasn't returned. And Baekya's warehouse had powerful Guardians too. I need to go there tomorrow.'
He pushed open the exit door with both hands.
'He really is our sun, whether alive or dead. When he's alive, he protects us with the Awakened Protection Law, and when he's dead, he protects my pockets with his legacy. I don't know why he ends up like that in the future, but it's all in the past now. ... Huh?'
Choi Gimin frowned and looked up.
Dozens of laser pointers were aimed at him.
"Hands up!"
"Don't move! Or We'll shoot!"
Dozens of fully armed Awakened Management Bureau agents were positioned in front of him.
Not only were there white ordinary halos, but also several Chosen Ones' halos, boasting various colors.
"Ah."
Choi Gimin didn't even blink in the face of their numbers.
"Looks like I have to make another run today."
The green scale-like halo above his head vibrated rapidly, emitting a threatening sound.
He slowly took off his sunglasses.
"I'll go easy on you. You'll be free in a few hours."
His eyes flashed yellow-green.
Flash.
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]