BRDM 76

chapter 76

Boom—!

A pillar of fire pierced through the ground and shot high into the air.

The hunters’ faces tightened with tension.

“What the hell is that…?”
“We almost died just now.”
“They tried to feed that to us?”

Even while obeying Im Won-young’s order to immediately evacuate the research facility, they were trying to process what had just happened.

If they had been even a little slower getting out… what would have happened to them?

But the most shocking part came next—

Boom! Crack!

Rumble—

“…Team Leader Jang?”
“Executive Director Jung is there too!”
“But… there’s Team Leader Jang’s axe lodged in Executive Director Jung’s shoulder!”

They saw Lee Hyun erupt into the sky just a beat later than the fire pillar, with Executive Director Jung chasing close behind.

Lee Hyun appeared first—
As if he had been violently slammed against something and bounced up. His clothes were torn to shreds, his abdomen bore a deep scar.

When Jung had been struck by Duoksini’s rage, Lee Hyun had retaliated by driving a fist straight into his abdomen.

Executive Director Jung was a natural-born fighter.

But even with that injury, Lee Hyun’s eyes were still fierce, nothing like a man weakened by wounds.

In midair, he twisted his body and stretched both arms outward.

Immediately, the two axes that had been hovering around him snapped into his grip.

Whiiish—

Behind him, Jung followed, with an axe embedded in his right shoulder. But instead of blood, he dripped black pus, an unsettling sight.

[Skill “Frenzied Charge (S)” has been activated!]
[Myth: ‘Lord of the Gloomy Winds’ seeks to punish a mortal daring to defy death!]

Slash!

The two axes crossed, releasing a blinding cross-shaped flash.

It collided with the ashen fog Jung had hurled forward.

BOOM—!!

Rumble—!!

A shockwave rippled across the sky, strong enough to shake the fire pillar itself.

But neither of them cared. They immediately launched into their next moves.

Lee Hyun dove in like a bull, trying to overpower Jung with sheer force.

Jung pulled back, summoning ghosts and spirits into skills to bind him down.

Bang! Crash! BOOM!

The axes and hand strikes collided in rapid succession, skills gouging and aggravating each other’s wounds.

An unrelenting, even battle.

Even after they landed back on the ground, the ferocious exchange continued.

Boom! Crash!

‘…Even if he’s a warrior type, how is he holding his own against Jung, a high-ranker?’

The momentum was clearly in Jung’s favor.

Skill after skill landed, pushing Lee Hyun back step by step.

But from his expression, you’d never think Lee Hyun was cornered.

For every two steps he was pushed back, he forced three forward. For every wound he received, he answered with two axe swings.

As if all that mattered was dragging Jung down.

The shields encasing Jung cracked and splintered before their very eyes.

‘Where is he getting this willpower…!’

[Legacy: “When Tigers Smoked Pipes” – a legion of smoke-entranced goblin spearmen has been summoned.]

Im Won-young wasn’t idle either.

This battle had begun to secure her succession once and for all.

She had summoned Jangsanbeom at full force, and now she unleashed all the spear-wielding goblin spirits she’d collected over time.

Two or three of the grotesque goblins even mounted the Jangsanbeom, rampaging across the battlefield like legendary warriors scourging the world.

Whoooosh!

“…”

And still, Executive Director Jung calmly fended off her onslaught.

Roar—!

The raging storm of fire seemed to declare this battle had no end.

Bzzt—

『We’re hearing explosions from the research lab! What’s happening!? We’ll head in right away—』

『Negative. Hold your positions.』

『But Vice Director! It’s dangerous—!』

『Repeating. Do not move. No retreat path for the enemy must be opened. Out.』

Im Won-young cut off the reinforcements.

There could be another case like Team Leader Park or Team Leader Cheon.

For now, it was up to them alone to confront Jung.

BOOM—!!

With another blast, the three fighters were thrown apart.

A sinister wind blew.

“…A little girl who couldn’t even lift her head in front of me,” Jung said, still gripping the axe dangling from his neck. “Now you can raise your head? You’ve grown quite a bit.”

Fwoosh!

Squelch—

He yanked the axe free. Black ichor spurted like a fountain.

The foul stench of rot spread as the pus streamed down.

The wound pierced deep enough to reach where his heart or lungs should be.

And yet—he stood unbothered.

Proof his very existence had become undead.

“Even your father never dared raise his head before me.”

Clang!

He tossed the axe aside and gave Im Won-young a cold smile.

She only frowned.

“You reek. The stench is unbearable.”

“Is that so? I lost my sense of smell long ago.”

“I always knew you were rotten, but how does it feel to be rotten?”

“Your tongue’s sharper than your father’s ever was. He was always too meek.”

He twisted his mouth.

“How does it feel? Wonderful. Makes me wonder why I didn’t do this sooner.”

Boom!

The Jangsanbeom crashed down where he had stood. A goblin rider thrust a spear at him, but Jung swatted it aside and cleaved the beast in half in one fluid motion.

Slash!

Perfect, clean, merciless.

“The human body is nothing but an inconvenience. Dull senses, endless impulses. But this body—no pain, no fatigue.”

The scar from the axe closed instantly, no more pus flowing.

“For work like mine… nothing could be better. I’m more than satisfied.”

Screeeech!

From the ashen fog swirling around him came wails of the damned.

He thrust his palm outward—

And shockwaves blasted in all directions.

An indiscriminate bombardment that threatened to obliterate everything.

The Jangsanbeom and goblins leapt into the air to avoid it.

His regeneration. His relentless strikes.

This body suited him perfectly.

“Look. This unyielding strength. Tireless, brimming with vitality.”

But—

“Do you truly like it?”

Im Won-young sensed something strange. She felt no emotion from him.

“What?”

“You seem… unnatural. The Jung I knew at least had ambition in his eyes. Now? Nothing.”

“You’re saying I’m just acting?”

“Who knows? Maybe you’re just forcing yourself to believe it, unwilling to admit your choice was a mistake.”

“…Ha. That’s one way to see it.”

His laugh sounded mechanical.

“But no matter. I feel freer than ever.”

“That’s fortunate, I suppose.”

“You wouldn’t understand how liberating this feels.”

“I’m not interested.”

“Perhaps you’d like to experience it? It’s too good to keep to myself.”

“No thanks. I’m fine as I am.”

“A shame. I would’ve offered it gladly—to the daughter of my old friends.”

At that, sparks of rage flared in Im Won-young’s eyes.

Friends’ daughter.

From the very man responsible for her parents’ downfall—those words burned.

“See? No matter how calm you pretend, a few words from me and your mask cracks.”

“…”

“Emotions are useless baggage. Because of them, I lost so many chances.”

He flexed his hands as he spoke.

“All I ever wanted was your grandmother’s approval. But her standards were impossibly high. I stifled my desires, tiptoeing around her whims.”

His lifeless eyes locked on hers.

In those cloudy pupils remained only two things—

Greed.
And madness.

“But now I see. It was all meaningless. To gods, mortals’ choices are just petty obsessions.”

The stench of corruption grew stronger.

“So I decided. To do as I please.”

“…”

“In the end, only results matter to gods. If I prove my faith through outcome, that’s enough.”

Greed and madness merged, flickering like wildfire.

In that moment—

Flash!

The golden circlet on his head shone, spinning.

Vrrrmmm—!!

Like a halo above a saint in a sacred painting.

[Myth: ‘Lord of the Gloomy Winds’ activates the functionality of the circlet, Ginkgoa.]
[Myth: ‘Lord of the Gloomy Winds’ imbues it with the Yin power of Fengdu.]

[The Great Emperor of Fengdu directly oversees his apostle.]

“And so, you will be the first sacrifice, Im Won-young. The final tether of human sentiment he left on this land will be severed with you.”

Fwoooosh!

The halo spun faster, the sinister aura intensifying.

Screeeech!

‘That circlet… it’s channeling the Emperor of Fengdu’s divine power directly! What relic is that…?’

She wracked her memory of Fengdu-related myths. Nothing came close.

Rumble—

The yin wind spread across the ground. The flame storm in the sky bent, wrapping around him.

The Jangsanbeom and goblins tensed.

WHOOSH—!!

Suddenly, an axe hurtled toward Jung’s head.

An attack to break the tension.

Flames shot up to block it. Jung batted the axe aside—

And Lee Hyun burst out of his blind spot, unleashing a Frenzied Strike.

Fwoosh!

BOOM—!!

The divine wind of Fengdu didn’t faze him.

If anything—

CRACK—!!

His strikes threatened to shatter the halo itself.

‘Team Leader Jang… does he know what that relic is…?’

Almost as if answering her suspicion—

Bang! Crash! BOOM! BAM!

Even when his first blows were blocked, Lee Hyun kept hammering, every strike aimed at the halo.

“You… it’s like you know what this is.”

“Maybe.”

He only sneered and swung faster.

“But I do know one thing.”

[Stack accumulated.]
[Lightning will strike!]

“To you, it’s nothing more than pearls before swine.”

BOOM!

A lightning bolt crashed down, only to scatter against the flames.

But Lee Hyun didn’t stop.

If one swing couldn’t fell a tree, he would swing ten.

Flash!

Golden light burst from his eyes. Blue-white lightning arced along his axes.

Bolt after bolt smashed into the flames, rattling them.

‘It’s no good. We can’t finish him like this. Ginkgoa keeps nullifying our attacks.’

Lee Hyun thought fast.

The Jangsanbeom and goblins surged back into the fray, supporting him.

Im Won-young clenched a cigarette between her teeth, drew her sword, and charged.

Shiiiing—

The Four-Tiger Demon-Slaying Sword (Sainchamsa Sword).

A relic forged under the strongest yang energy, imbued with the power of four tigers to banish evil and disaster.

[Four-Tiger Demon-Slaying Sword]
A sacred relic sword born at the peak of yang energy, in the Year, Month, Day, and Hour of the Tiger. Imbued with four layers of tiger’s strength, carrying mystical power.
The 28 star constellations and 29-character incantation engraved on its blade imbue divine force, making it supremely effective at exorcism.

• Type: Sacred Relic. One-handed weapon.

• Origin: The text Gyeongjin Sword Records

She had recently trained one-on-one under Mo Jeong-gyeon.

The energy flowing along the blade was formidable.

Swish! Swish! SLASH!

BOOM!

「Ack! A tiger… a tiger’s coming for me!」
「Begone! Begone—Kyaaaak!」

The ghosts Jung commanded shrieked as the sword’s exorcising aura ripped them apart.

Screeeech!

Left flank, Im Won-young. Right flank, Lee Hyun.

Even pressured from both sides, Jung showed no sign of faltering.

If anything, the faster the halo spun, the heavier the yin wind grew.

They couldn’t close in.

Huff—

‘We can’t win without taking Ginkgoa first. In that case…’

Lee Hyun touched the earring on his left ear.

Cheoyong’s Dance.

And beside it—a new earring he hadn’t worn before.

Branded with a burning goblin sigil.

Jet’s second legacy was about to awaken.