Chapter 28: The Price of Envy

#28

“You really should’ve known when to stop gorging yourself.”

Despite his words, Dokyeom chuckled.

Immediately afterward, the plummeting mutated creature slammed into the ground, unleashing a tremendous earthquake. Water pooled on the ceiling cascaded down in a sudden downpour. Dokyeom shook his wet hair once, then gazed down at the mutated creature writhing in convulsions below.

‘Kweeeeeeek—!! Squawk—!!’

As the mutated creature thrashed its limbs, struggling in agony, a particular spot on its back stood out: a cluster of scales impaled in reverse.

Beneath these inverted scales, a hideous tangle of dark blue veins pulsed like a grotesque mass of flesh.

“Han Yuseong—!!”

Dokyeom cupped his hands around his mouth, raising his voice. The sound echoed through the cavern, quickly reaching Han Yuseong.

“Han Yuseong, aim for the spot on its right back where the scales are inverted! Where those dark blue veins are visible! Ah, just find the place with all that bulging flesh! And tell my Agon too!”

[‘Orias,’ the demon of ‘Lemegeton,’ flits anxiously by your side, urging you to please hang on properly.]

Regardless of the demon’s frantic movements, Dokyeom, precariously suspended, kept his eyes fixed on Han Yuseong and Agon’s actions.

Directly beneath the mutated creature’s inverted scales, as Dokyeom had indicated, lay the buried ‘Authority.’

Even with ‘mutation,’ there were limits to how much a monster could transform by consuming its kin’s magic stones. Ordinarily, the mutated creature should have already perished, its entire circulatory system twisted beyond recognition.

It was precisely that ‘Authority’ that enabled its tenacious life force.

The ‘Authority’ converted absorbed magic stones into vitality and power.

That was why they had lured the creature into consuming the falling ‘ore.’ The ore the mutated creature had devoured contained the power to ‘maintain’ its current state, preventing the decay of corpses and allowing it to survive for months without food.

This was also the reason why the original ‘Han Dokyeom’ could survive for months without sustenance. Furthermore, this power of ‘preservation’ extended its effects to skills, to a certain degree.

Simply put, as long as the mineral the mutated creature had swallowed remained undigested, the skills Dokyeom had cast would ceaselessly entangle and battle within, tormenting its body.

‘Kweeeeeeek—!!’

The monster, spewing blood and rolling on the ground, slammed its fists against the floor. Han Yuseong and Agon, having understood Dokyeom’s words, were already moving swiftly.

The two figures surged forward, charging towards the mutated creature. Han Yuseong wielded the swords gripped in both his hands, while Agon lashed out with his sharply extended claws.

A deafening roar, as if an explosion had erupted, swept through the area, and violent repercussions rippled across the water’s surface. Even as the mutated creature spewed blood and writhed, it shrieked and violently attacked its surroundings.

“At this rate, I doubt we’ll be heading home today.”

Dokyeom pulled back the gun’s barrel, loading a live round. Leaning heavily on the rope, he extended both hands, gripping the gun, downwards. The muzzle was aimed at the mutated creature’s head.

[‘Orias,’ the demon of ‘Lemegeton,’ wipes away a tear, saying it’s ‘a little lower than that.’]

“Alright, alright. I just need to shoot this and then I can go down.”

Following Orias’s instruction, Dokyeom lowered the muzzle slightly. The moment Orias gave the sign of approval, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.

‘‘

‘Thwack—!’

This was it. Dokyeom had done everything he could. Now, everything hinged on Han Yuseong and Agon.

A beam of light burst from the muzzle, cleaving through the air. A droplet of water splattered Dokyeom’s nose. It was then that the mutated creature, exhaling ragged breaths, raised its head to look up at the beam of light.

Despite the excessive distance, Dokyeom felt as though his gaze had met that of the mutated creature. Its eyes seemed devoid of color, like a monochrome world. The boiling hatred, envy, jealousy, and malice within them choked him.

Entwined within that clear gaze was a small, withered, and powerless Dagon.

A young, fragile being, born without the strength of its kin, isolated within its pack, yearning for power. That was the true nature and reality of the mutated creature.

All of this stemmed from its envy of its own kind. The Authority the mutated creature had swallowed was ‘Envy,’ one of the seven deadly sins. Who was it that said jealousy and greed were but two sides of the same coin?

The monster was merely a puppet, having accidentally swallowed the ‘Authority’ scattered for amusement, then manipulated on a stage. Regardless of who had swallowed the Authority, this outcome was all but predetermined.

“Han Yuseong—!!”

Dokyeom let out a final cry. The bullet struck precisely between the mutated creature’s brows. Han Yuseong had already crouched low, poised to spring. Beneath his feet, the ground began to crater under an unseen force. A dark blue light, like a flash, coalesced and blazed upon his white blade.

Finally, Han Yuseong shot forward like an arrow towards the monster. As the swords in his hands crossed before his eyes, a low, resonant word escaped Han Yuseong’s lips.

“”

It was Han Yuseong’s ultimate skill, his sole S-rank ability. Like a streak of light, Han Yuseong shattered the mutated creature’s tough scales, pierced its membrane, and tore through its organs. A massive torrent of tangled veins and flesh, like unraveling threads, gushed from the mutated creature’s body.

The mutated creature shrieked and wailed, dragging its body as it crawled towards the bluehole. It sought to conceal itself beneath the water.

Dokyeom clenched his jaw, gripping the rope tightly. His gaze shifted to Agon, who followed close behind. With every muscle taut, Agon stared at the mutated creature, his nose wrinkled in a grotesque grimace.

As his pupils contracted to mere pinpricks, Agon moved with explosive force.

His ‘‘ skill. It would elevate Agon’s abilities to rival an S-rank hunter of a higher tier.

Agon muttered something between his teeth. It was likely a skill. Flashes of light rained down. Amidst the blinding flashes, Agon fiercely swung his fingertips. His fingertips aimed for the ‘Authority,’ a mass of flesh beneath the inverted scales.

This was the end for the mutant who had slaughtered his comrades. Dokyeom thought he might have glimpsed tears in Agon’s eyes.

Agon must have known that killing the mutated creature was an act directed at someone who was once a comrade. He must have realized, with a sense of mourning, that this was the only way to appease the grievances of his fellow comrades.

Agon’s claws dug into the inverted scales, tearing through the flesh and ripping out the ‘Authority’ lurking within.

The mutated creature’s shriek transformed into an explosive roar that reverberated through the cave, shaking the world as if it were on the verge of collapse from the shockwave. Dokyeom, clutching the rope tightly, struggled to endure the tremor.

The helplessly shaking world gradually subsided, followed by a profound silence.

Dokyeom opened his tightly squinted eyes, quickly looking down. The mutated creature’s body, spewing gouts of blood, seemed to freeze still. But then, with a heavy thud, it collapsed, spilling its organs.

‘Whoosh—’

Everything turned to ash, rising into the air. Its grotesque, bizarre arms and its repulsive internal organs now scattered like dust.

The mutated creature’s eyes, filled with regret, fury, injustice, and sorrow, began to lose their color.

As even its faintly glowing, lifeless eyes faded, Dokyeom saw a body collapse beside it. It was Agon. Behind Agon stood Han Yuseong, breathing heavily.

The task they never expected to accomplish finally reached its conclusion amidst a blend of emptiness and overwhelming relief. They had done it. The moment they realized this, an surge of emotion welled up in everyone.

Agon, gasping for breath as if he had run a full sprint, seemed overcome with exhaustion and collapsed onto the ground. The ‘Authority’ Agon had torn out was now a fist-sized orb, rolling beside him.

“…I guess I can go down now.”

Dokyeom watched them silently for a moment, then gave the rope a sharp tug. The climbing nails and hooks he had used on the way up clattered here and there. Pulling them out to retrieve the rope, Dokyeom tied a knot in a loop and slid down the rope.

Han Yuseong, startled that Dokyeom might fall, rushed forward to catch him, but before he could, Dokyeom checked the shortened end of the rope and leaped directly into the bluehole.

“Pwha!”

After all, even an E-rank was still a hunter. With better stamina and a sturdier body than ordinary people, this level of impact was certainly not enough to harm him.

Dokyeom took Han Yuseong’s outstretched hand and climbed onto dry land, completely drenched. Where the mutated creature had vanished, a pitch-black object lay, untouched by light. Dokyeom pushed through the ashes, walked over, and picked up the black object.

He had only ever imagined it in text, but seeing it in reality, it was surprisingly crude. It was a jet-black metal bracelet, completely devoid of any pattern. Though outwardly rough, it was an SS-rank item and a precious weapon coveted by everyone in the world with red-rimmed eyes. Yes, a weapon.

“Take it, Han Yuseong.”

Dokyeom tossed it to Han Yuseong without a second thought. Han Yuseong snatched the object from the air, his brow furrowed slightly as he looked down at the black bracelet in his hand.

“It came from an SS-rank boss, so it must be good, whatever it is. I think you’ll have more use for it than I will, Han Yuseong.”

It was an item Dokyeom couldn’t use even if he kept it. This was a ‘Weapon’ item capable of manifesting weapons. People called such items ‘Floating Weapons.’

Weapons would appear as one thought and willed them, then float in the air when not in use, disappearing into a storage-like form. It was SS-rank, and its hardness was so immense that it had never once been broken.

It was the perfect weapon for Han Yuseong, who was currently holding a dull, worn-out sword.