Chapter 770

“Because the Skeleton King… is a monster.”

Silence followed as Team Leader Choi’s voice faded. But his last words kept echoing in someone’s ears.

A monster… A monster, huh.

The Skeleton King turned the bitter truth over in his mind.

It was true. He was a monster.

Monsters were humanity’s greatest and worst enemy in all of history. And among them, he wielded the cursed power of death.

He might look human now, but once the Magic shrouding his body fell away, all that would remain was the skeleton of a dead man who had defied his mortal fate.

That was the only truth.

Yes. That’s all there is.

The Skeleton King looked down at his hands, indistinguishable from a human’s, then raised his head.

Before him stood a young human with a familiar face, though his expression was so twisted he almost looked like a stranger.

The strongest being the Skeleton King had ever seen. Foolish, too, and therefore unable to accept the truth before his eyes.

But if they were to take the only way out, they had to accept that truth and use it.

“That human is right. It is all true.”

“…You.”

So many emotions filled Jin Taekyung’s strained voice. A few months ago, the Skeleton King would not have known what to call them. Now he did.

He shook his head at Jin, who could say no more.

“No matter what you say, this is the only way.”

“……!”

“This body is a monster. Whatever the reason, we cannot be allowed to remain together.”

Of course, some might understand even after the truth came out. They might trust Jin Taekyung and accept that the Skeleton King was different from the monsters they knew.

But…

“How many of them do you think would truly accept this truth?”

The Skeleton King pointed toward the closed window.

Most of the humans out there were ordinary people. They could hardly help hating monsters to the bone. Monsters had taken their families, their friends, or the people they loved.

Monsters killed humans, and humans killed monsters.

The chain forged with the descent of the Demon King Asmodeus was too thick and strong for anyone to break.

Not even a young hero loved by everyone was exempt. No—if everything came to light, he could no longer be the hero he had been.

“Many will condemn you, and Michael Silbert will get everything. So…”

His voice trailed off. Turning away from Jin Taekyung, the Skeleton King put a hand on the doorknob and added one last thing.

“Erase this body in front of everyone.”

Click.

The door closed behind him.

The Skeleton King crossed the hallway in silence without looking back. The lights overhead were bright, but the path before him was dark.

Like that place filled with thick fog and the energy of death.

Like the Gate he had been unable to leave from the moment he first opened his eyes—until one unexpected day, a human had taken him away.

What am I? What’s my name? My past? My homeland?

He thought he finally knew the answer to the questions that had come to haunt him.

He was a monster.

A cruel, savage monster without a trace of reason.

A being born of pure evil, incapable of living alongside humans.

That was the truth. No—it had to be the truth.

Faced with a reality he had no choice but to accept, the Skeleton King gave a hollow laugh.

Damn it. I’ll never be able to go to a club again.

And yet, for some reason, part of him felt relieved.

He was a monster without a heart, incapable of even ordinary emotions.

He was supposed to be.

You didn’t need anyone to tell you. Living day to day taught you soon enough: life was a series of choices.

They weren’t all grand ones. Small decisions started the moment you opened your eyes in the morning.

Get up or stay in bed? If I get up, take a shower? Or just wash my face and hair before heading out?

It depended on the situation. If you woke earlier than expected, you could sleep a little longer. If you were worried about being late, you could skip the shower.

What mattered was considering the result before you chose.

Because you were the one who had to live with it.

And right now, I stood at a crossroads where I could barely bear either choice.

“You… fucking lunatic.”

I barely managed to force the words out.

I might have been cursing the one who had left, or the other person still in the room.

Or maybe myself, unable to go one way or the other.

“Mr. Jin Taekyung.”

My tangled thoughts made my head throb. At the quiet voice in my ear, I closed my eyes without a word.

“You must choose.”

It felt like an invisible awl had gone straight through my skull. Every word made the headache worse.

“He has already chosen his path. A sacrifice that only he could decide to make…”

I grabbed him. Thud!

I didn’t know when I’d opened my eyes, much less how I’d ended up gripping Team Leader Choi by the collar.

Riiip.

The collar of his crumpled designer shirt tore under the force of my grip. Above my whitening knuckles, a pair of eyes silently gazed at me.

“Do as you wish. Beat me to a pulp. Break my limbs, or even kill me. But…”

His breath trembled. So did his voice.

“Afterward, you must choose. You must.”

“……!”

“You know time won’t wait for us.”

His words, his gaze—the strength went out of me all at once.

The energy boiling through my entire body as if it were about to explode, the hand clenched with all its strength—everything felt strangely unfamiliar.

I stumbled back as if I’d come to my senses after being possessed.

“…I’m sorry.”

I knew Team Leader Choi had done nothing wrong. Everything he had said was true. It was simply the only solution capable of breaking through this situation.

If the Skeleton King hadn’t offered it himself, Team Leader Choi would never have said a word.

That was who he was.

His cool judgment had shown him the only solution, but he had the decency not to force that sacrifice on someone else.

Some might call him a hypocrite. I wouldn’t. I knew the Skeleton King wasn’t just another monster to be killed and disposed of to him, any more than he was to me.

Even if he were the one who had to sacrifice himself, he would have offered it as the solution before anyone else.

Unlike me, Team Leader Choi was a born leader.

If the choice had been his instead of mine, he wouldn’t have run from it. He might have suffered alone, but he wouldn’t have turned away from the truth like a coward.

Damn it.

Time wouldn’t wait for us.

At the thought of his words, another world waiting for me beyond this one flashed before my eyes.

Murim.

If the Main Quest hadn’t blocked the Login function, if I could spend far longer thinking about this there, what would I choose?

No. Given enough time, would I even be able to choose?

And could I live with the result?

I’d fought countless battles. I’d struggled to survive and fought to protect my people.

But both paths before me ended in pain.

If I refused to sacrifice the Skeleton King, this world would fall into Michael Silbert’s hands. If I did sacrifice him… I didn’t think I could bear it.

Somewhere along the way, the Skeleton King had become my friend.

A comrade I’d fought beside. A friend.

Not someone I could sacrifice for the sake of the greater good.

I’d have to erase him. Do it myself, in front of everyone.

A cheap trick like using the Inventory to fake his Erasure wouldn’t work. Michael Silbert wasn’t that careless.

Proving I had complete control over the Skeleton King wouldn’t change anything, either.

To humanity, monsters were a raw nerve no one could touch. Hadn’t decades of experiments already shown that monsters could never be tamed?

The Skeleton King was unprecedented. But some truths were rejected the moment they became known.

In the end… there’s only one answer.

I closed my eyes. Countless thoughts flashed through my mind, and then I spoke.

“Team Leader Choi.”

He had been waiting in silence for my decision.

“Go ahead.”

“Is there any chance the approval to reestablish the World Hunter Federation could be revoked?”

“Why do you suddenly—”

“Just answer me.”

I opened my eyes. Team Leader Choi studied me with a conflicted look before replying.

“There is no chance of that.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“The World Hunter Federation is now indispensable. Given the current situation, with magical power levels rising every day, it is the only way to stop a spark that has already been lit from spreading.”

“Even if something happens to me or that bastard?”

“……!”

His eyes shook violently. A moment later, he understood what I meant and shouted.

“Mr. Jin Taekyung!”

But I had already chosen.

Neither the first path nor the second. A third one, dark and choked with thorns.

I would kill Michael Silbert, the man at the center of it all.

“No!”

“Nothing’s impossible. It’s just difficult.”

I answered calmly and kept going before he could interrupt.

“If I pull this off… you’ll need to make your move, Team Leader Choi. Magic Johnson will do everything he can to help.”

“Stop! Stop talking!”

“There’s Chuck Hagel, Faye Chen, and Prince Felix too. Get the support of the S-rank Hunters you’ve built ties with and the nations friendly to us. Then take control of the reestablished World Hunter Federation.”

“I don’t want to hear it! And how could I possibly…?”

“Your maternal grandfather walked that path. If you can make people understand the weight of Cheon Taemin’s name, you have a shot. If that seems impossible, you could back Magic Johnson instead.”

I grinned.

“Well, you’re smart enough to figure it out yourself.”

“……!”

“Still, one more thing, just in case. Even if Michael Silbert loses his head, the rest of his organization will remain. You should find those people and get rid of them first—”

Shing.

A cold sound cut me off.

A sword stood in my way.

Team Leader Choi had drawn the Hero’s Sword without my noticing. He glared at me, his face set.

“You’re not going.”

“Hmm. I don’t think you can stop me.”

“Nothing’s impossible. It’s just difficult.”

He threw my words back at me. I stepped toward him.

“Fine. I was going to rough you up anyway. This works out.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everyone knows we’re close. If I beat you half to a pulp before I leave, it might keep them from getting suspicious.”

“……!”

“……!”

Team Leader Choi gritted his teeth. A dazzling aura flared around him, its immense power rippling along the blade and stirring the air.

Rumble. Whoooosh!

A tremor spread through the entire building. The wind rose into a gale.

“You really do have talent. You’ve improved a lot.”

I gave him a calm smile and was about to step forward when—

Bzzzt.

A faint vibration sounded from somewhere, cutting through the tension between us.