Chapter 31 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Awakener Kim Jihwan (3)
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"Am I... going to die?"
It was an instinctive thought.
This life was done for anyway.
Well, going out in a blaze of glory like this might not be so bad compared to crawling around like a bug...
Suddenly, a face he longed to see flashed in his mind.
The face of his lover who had always stayed by his side. The lovely face of Ji-hyang, who had told him even as she lay dying to forget her and live on.
'How could I ever forget you?'
There had been only one reason he couldn't leave this dungeon.
All the memories he'd built with her remained intact in this area.
Even as an unregistered awakener, wandering the dungeon and recalling traces of his time with Ji-hyang—that was how Kim Jihwan had lived.
-Eat before you go.
Suddenly, Ji-hyang's image shifted to the face of the auntie at Mom's Hand Baekban House.
She always said even if you're broke, eat first... Her face, wearing a smile so much like Ji-hyang's.
"Damn it!"
Kim Jihwan thrust his nearly broken arm up once more.
"I have to hold out until the Association arrives... I can't face Ji-hyang if I die like this!"
Crunch!
His bones shook and his organs crumbled in agony, but he refused to lower his arms.
"Fuck. Hit me harder!"
Blood streamed down his face as he laughed and shouted.
He didn't know how many thunderous impacts rang out. But he endured, and endured again.
"Come on... come at me."
He opened his mouth, and now a lumpy mass of clotted blood poured out.
Was this the end?
Ji-hyang, at least it was a decent last stand, right?
Just as he smiled faintly and tried to lower his arms—
"Fist Demon Seven Forms, Soaring Wind Dragon Fist!"
A booming shout rang out, and suddenly his arms felt light as feathers.
What was happening? He strained his eyes, but his blurred vision wouldn't focus.
* * *
"Hmm."
The Heavenly Demon struck down the Larva King's field-slicing leg and looked down at the fallen Kim Jihwan.
"Not a bug after all."
At that moment, the Larva King, flung backward by the Soaring Wind Dragon Fist, let out a furious, eerie screech.
Kieeeek!
In an instant, the thousands of larvae hovering in the sky aligned in a straight line to shatter the cracked field.
They merged into a massive black spear forged from countless blackened corpses.
"Interesting."
The Heavenly Demon chuckled lowly and stepped out from the shield.
The Larva King's yellowish eyes widened in surprise.
"Monster, no need to break this. I have no intention of hiding inside."
Krurrr.
The Larva King issued a low, grotesque laugh. Then the larvae in formation rocketed toward the Heavenly Demon.
"Heavenly Demon Supreme Force!"
Boom!
A vortex of immense power began swirling around the Heavenly Demon's body.
The overwhelming force twisted bone and flesh, but he calmly accepted the pain and unleashed his fist technique.
"Fist Demon Seven Forms, Selfless Mutual Destruction!"
His raised fists began spinning like high-speed drills.
The Selfless Mutual Destruction strike carried devastating rotational power that grew stronger with every enemy it pulverized.
Pabababam!
Kwoooo!
The spiraling gales exploding from his fists reduced the thousands of incoming larvae to dust.
Plop, plop, plop.
With the sky-blackening horde of larvae annihilated, his fists finally slowed to a halt.
"Looks impressive, but no substance."
Seeing the Heavenly Demon's serene face after dispatching thousands, the Larva King unleashed a thunderous roar.
Kroooar!
"Guh!"
The deafening blast jolted Kim Jihwan awake again.
"What the hell..."
Beneath the colossal Larva King's foot stood a figure.
His vision was hazy, but the back looked strangely familiar.
'Where have I seen that...'
Kim Jihwan's sight blurred once more. It was definitely a silhouette he recognized from somewhere.
"Demon Flame Inferno Strike!"
With the Heavenly Demon's shout, a streak of crimson flame grazed the Larva King's leg.
In that instant, the leg bone—said to be tougher than superalloy—snapped clean in two.
"Still pretty big."
Even with its leg severed, the Larva King towered nearly twenty meters.
The Heavenly Demon leaped to skyscraper height and landed atop its head.
"You reek of that old Blood River Divine Art nonsense, so you must be one of those so-called immortals!"
The man muttered something bizarre, and crimson flames erupted from his fist.
Sensing peril, the Larva King thrust its hands upward.
But like lightning, the Heavenly Demon whipped his hands out, and its massive arms soon crashed to the ground in two pieces.
"Using Heavenly Evil Sect martial arts for this."
As he clapped his fists together, the blazing flames morphed into a pitch-black, sinister blade.
"Lions to hell... Heavenly Evil Ghost Gate Void Fierce Slash."
He plunged the blackened blade into the Larva King's skull.
Aaaargh!
Amid a wail of agony and injustice—
Poof.
The colossal Larva King's body crumbled into black powder, scattering everywhere.
'No way...'
An unbelievable sight.
A monster with a danger rating of 15,000.
One that could single-handedly wipe out a large village—destroyed in a single blow?
"You won't die from that much."
A dignified voice reached Kim Jihwan's ears as he slipped toward unconsciousness again.
"If you're a martial artist, don't make weak faces until you're actually dead."
Suddenly, scorching heat surged from behind him, spreading through his body.
The heat seemed to reassemble his scattered organs and clear his blocked meridians with a refreshing rush.
'Healing... he's a healer?'
Someone with strength surpassing a 1st-grade awakener also had healing skills?
Overwhelmed by shock and relief, Kim Jihwan's legs gave out, and he collapsed.
"Weakling."
'Don't make me laugh. I gave it everything. You're the monster.'
Unable to move a finger, Kim Jihwan could only scream inwardly.
'If I had power like yours... I wouldn't have let Ji-hyang go like that.'
Rage and self-loathing welled up as tears. The faint shadow spoke.
"Well, I'll acknowledge the courage it took to defend this place alone."
A solemn, reverent voice then echoed in his mind.
"You must have felt it this time. A deathmatch on the brink sharpens a warrior's body and spirit."
'A fight brushing death grows the body and spirit...'
Awakeners who entered dungeons daily, treading blood-soaked paths.
If the shadow was right, dungeons were battlefields, and awakeners were warriors.
Those repeating life-risking battles had to grow every single day.
"So that's what it was."
Kim Jihwan's voice mixed realization with regret.
"I misunderstood it all."
His eyes closed again.
And that was the last thing Kim Jihwan remembered.
* * *
A few days later, inside Mom's Hand Baekban House.
-Shield Boundary Zone fatalities include 3rd-grade awakener Sung Kyung-ha from the Association's Investigation Division, and...
-The Association has confirmed partial damage to the Shield Boundary Zone due to a hidden monster emergence and is investigating the cause...
-The hidden hero who single-handedly held off the shield-breaking hidden monster, Kim Jihwan, had his awakener registration revoked four years ago due to an unfortunate incident, but the Association now plans to...
News blared from the TV, filling the bustling diner packed with evening diners.
Ding-a-ling.
The door chime rang as a hulking man coated in dust entered. It was the Heavenly Demon.
"Owner. One grilled fish set meal, one pork stir-fry set..."
"Yes. Just a moment."
Soon, steaming platters of delicious food covered the Heavenly Demon's table.
As he grabbed a spoon and scooped a heaping bite—
Ding-a-ling.
A neatly dressed young man pushed open the door. Kim Jihwan.
"Auntie."
"Oh, kiddo!"
The auntie beamed and welcomed him.
"What happened? You're all over the news! The hidden hero who held the broken shield. The Association's giving you a reward and reinstating your registration!"
"Uh, yeah."
"But where you headed? All dressed up like that. To the Association?"
The auntie blinked in surprise, and Kim Jihwan gave a faint smile.
"I'm... heading home today."
"Huh? Home? Why so sudden?"
"Gonna take a break from awakening work for a bit."
"What're you talking about?"
Shaking his head with a smile, Kim Jihwan pulled a thick envelope of cash from his pocket.
"This is for all the tabs I ran up."
"Keep it. Don't need that."
"No. Take it. Then I can come visit you again."
Grinning wide, he bowed 90 degrees.
"I'll come back. Stay healthy till then."
The auntie stared blankly.
Kim Jihwan, role model to awakeners, hero who saved the city. After years of hardship, success was finally here—yet he was leaving?
"You always wanted to get back to awakening work here ASAP. Why?"
"I'll register again once I'm truly strong. So I can... survive every day."
Cryptic words, but she forced a smile.
"Then eat something first. I'll whip it up quick."
"Nah, my bus is coming up."
Kim Jihwan bowed politely once more.
"Thanks for everything, auntie."
"Kiddo."
"Stay healthy. Promise."
Instead of words, the auntie pulled him into a warm hug.
Having lost her son to a dungeon outbreak thirty years ago, she'd always seen the regular Kim Jihwan as a son.
"Stay healthy till you come back."
"Yeah."
Kim Jihwan seemed to have grown overnight. He strode out with newfound resolve.
"Coming back stronger, properly."
The Heavenly Demon muttered lowly, chewing rice while eyeing the TV.
"As a true warrior."
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