Chapter 344

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

w

Chapter 344: The Path of Revenge (5)

Tomorrow at 3:23 PM, Jiseon and Jeonggu’s wedding day.

What will happen when that time comes?

Neither Jiseon, the bride, Bantubangtong, one of the VIP guests, nor Ben Walter, who had just received his invitation, could have imagined it.

—What... What are you talking about? Cutting the guests' necks at the entrance of the wedding hall? It's just a metaphor, right?

When Jiseon asked this, Yeongwoo raised a bastard sword and replied.

"Does this look like a metaphor? As the host of the wedding, there won’t be any empty-handed guests."

There was no need to elaborate further: Empty-handed guests will not leave the wedding hall alive.

Yeongwoo's reputation spoke volumes.

Jiseon sighed heavily, a deep blue exhale escaping her lips.

—...It's my wedding, so why is there nothing I get to decide?

A wedding hall filled with villains from across the universe, bribery, threats, and violence at every corner.

She had never wanted to get married in the first place and hadn’t even imagined what her wedding would look like.

But she had never dreamed it would turn out like this.

Even if she could reset her life and live it thousands of times over, it would be nearly impossible to end up with a day like this again.

—…By the way, where is my wedding hall?

Jiseon asked in resignation.

Yeongwoo shook his head as if she still didn’t understand something important.

"Our wedding hall. You’re not ready to get married yet, are you?"

—Right. Our wedding hall, you idiot.

“The venue’s in Gwangjin District. No buildings, no residents—it’s perfect.”

—….

Needless to say, it was the exact opposite of a normal wedding venue.

—So, what? Are we just getting married in a barren field? Exchanging coins or something?

“Who knows? I’ve never conducted a wedding before. We’ll have to ask Kubu later.”

Given that figures like the founder of a pan-galactic weapons brand and even the King of Ten Thousand Demons might attend, it was hard to imagine this chaotic event being conducted casually in the middle of a wasteland.

“If push comes to shove, we’ll ask Taewon’s side to send over some personnel to set things up.”

When Yeongwoo said this, Jiseon, her logic starting to kick back in, pointed to the sky.

—Wait.

“What?”

—Won’t another wave of mutants appear in the sky around 1 PM tomorrow? Is there even a point in decorating the venue if everything’s just going to be destroyed?

“Well, that’s true…”

It was a sharp observation.

Yeongwoo’s expression suggested he hadn’t thought that far ahead.

He then turned to Ben Walter, who had been standing awkwardly on the sidelines, and gestured at him.

“Are you undressed yet? You should leave before I change my mind.”

It wasn’t just about sending Ben away before summoning Kubu; the man still hadn’t taken off his gear.

“…”

At Yeongwoo’s prompting, Ben reluctantly started removing his armor.

Clank. Thud.

He hesitated for a moment before looking at Yeongwoo and asking,

“Wait… you’re not making me strip my underwear too, are you?”

“That might count as gear. Take it all off. Didn’t you see me come in earlier with nothing on?”

“I don’t have any gear in my underwear.”

“Just take everything off and leave.”

“….”

The defeated stay silent.

In the end, Ben removed even the underwear he had been wearing beneath his armor.

Only then did Yeongwoo’s sharp gaze relent.

“You worked hard to get here. I’ll make sure your way back is comfortable.”

Yeongwoo led the way, pointing to the ultra-high-speed transport system in the distance. Ben’s eyes widened.

“You’re telling me to ride that?”

“Of course. Are you planning to cross continents looking like that?”

Even as a Swordmaster from London, Ben couldn’t possibly travel naked across China and the Middle East to get back to England.

“Let me remove the usage restrictions. Take this. If you don’t arrive safely in England, I won’t get paid tomorrow either.”

Yeongwoo placed his hand on the terminal to unlock access to the transport for Ben, who blinked in disbelief.

“So you’re saying I have to take this back tomorrow too?”

“Most Earth-based guests will use this. Now, hurry up and make some money.”

With that, Yeongwoo shoved the now-naked Ben Walter into the transport terminal. Yeongwoo turned back, watching the startled Swordmaster enveloped in light and whisked away.

“Mother.”

—…Huh?

“Let’s have a look at that weapon now.”

He was referring to the sword Ben had handed over to Jiseon—a mysterious greatsword that allowed its wielder to teleport.

It was finally time to examine the spoils of war.

“It’s probably gear bestowed by Mara. There’s no way something capable of teleportation would be unlocked so early.”

This was a fact he knew from experience.

Equipment of this level, far beyond the ordinary, could usually only be obtained through legendary achievements or transfers from external sources.

The Golden Trail auto-combat greatsword and Bastard were cases in point.

—Here, take it.

Whoosh!

Jiseon picked up the greatsword from the ground and tossed it to Yeongwoo.

A smoky trail followed the weapon's arc.

-This smell is foul.

Bantubangtong scowled, clearly displeased by the stench emanating from the weapon.

And indeed—

Clang!

The sword in Yeongwoo’s hands turned out to be an artifact from the void.

「Lightbreaker」 - Void Greatsword

【Void Step】

【Dark Shadow】

【Ability damage increased by 20%.】

【Void Step】

|You can teleport to the location where the Lightbreaker is.

【Dark Shadow】

|Increases all attack power by 20% against enemies with the light attribute.

“Whoa, what is this? You’ve been keeping something like this all to yourself?”

The Light Splitter.

Looking like a massive conch shell, this grotesque greatsword was unmistakably the weapon of a villain.

Its ominous name, intimidating appearance, and special effect of Dark Shadows all pointed to its purpose: opposing the light.

‘Not that light is always good or righteous. The world isn’t so black and white. And just because you use violence doesn’t mean you’re a villain!’

As Yeongwoo thought this, he shot the Lightbreaker toward the ground ahead.

The massive greatsword from the void landed with a thunderous crash, embedding itself into the earth.

Boom!

Then, as Yeongwoo cast Void Step, his vision instantly turned ashen, and everything around him felt as if it had frozen in place.

‘What? This is…’

The phenomenon was identical to what occurred when he used the Black Sphere at night to summon dungeons.

‘So, it really is a void step.’

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

w

Though he couldn’t fully grasp the mechanism, the teleportation executed by the sword clearly utilized the power of the void for swift movement.

Perhaps it operated on principles similar to wormholes, one of the universe’s many hypotheses.

It was also evident that the act of transforming the surrounding space into ash gray to summon dungeons with the Black Sphere was deeply connected to the void.

‘What exactly is the void? What gives it such immense influence?’

After all, even the Chairman he encountered in the Dogo Dungeon, back when he was a prince, had wielded the power of the void.

Hadn't he nearly been sucked into the void as punishment for incurring the prince’s wrath?

‘And now I’m supposed to take down the ruler of this void…?’

As Yeongwoo questioned whether he was truly on the right path, the frozen scenery suddenly blurred and retreated into the distance.

Whoosh!

The Void Step—that is, the teleportation—was in motion.

Zap!

His ashen vision returned to normal, and the natural sounds that had been silenced came back into focus.

The noises of the people nearby and the distant bustle of the city reached his ears again.

It was only then that Yeongwoo realized he had briefly dipped into another dimension—into the void—and returned.

"Damn."

He hadn’t moved a single step of his own will, yet the Lightbreaker was now standing upright near his left hand.

"How much time has passed?"

When Yeongwoo asked, Jiseon, who had been staring blankly at him, answered.

—Time? What time? Barely 0.1 seconds.

"Insane."

Yeongwoo shuddered at her response, recalling the curse—if it could even be called that—uttered by the guild leader from his prince days.

「Feel the eternity of time within the void!」

It hadn’t been an empty threat.

‘Damn it, that lunatic really did try to trap me in an eternity within the void.’

The void.

In this enigmatic space, time could either flow incredibly slowly or not at all.

If he lost to Mara, the master of this void, during their inevitable clash...

‘I might end up experiencing a fate worse than death.’

A chill ran down Yeongwoo’s spine.

Yet, abandoning his battle against Mara was not an option.

After all, Bantubangtong, the chief of the Red Foot Clan and his first official client, was still standing there, staring at him without a shred of clothing.

“…Lord Bang.”

-What now?

“I think Mara might be a stronger opponent than we anticipated.”

-That was already made clear back on our home planet.

“No, Mara is far stronger than even you realize.”

A realm where the laws of time were defied—the void.

And its ruler, Mara.

Perhaps the moniker "Walks in the Shadows of Cosmic Laws" stemmed from the peculiar time distortion of the void.

Regardless, Mara was an incomprehensibly powerful entity.

To keep his promise to Lord Bang and the others, he would have to face the impossible.

=So, has your resolve wavered?

At this question from Lord Bang, Yeongwoo shook his head.

“True loyalty, in my opinion, is about unwavering determination.”

-Unwavering determination…?

“Even if something is impossible, striving to repay one’s debts at any cost—that, to me, is loyalty and my core value.”

Clang!

Yeongwoo pulled the Lightbreaker from the ground.

“And Lord Bang, along with your brothers, are people to whom I owe a great debt. So even if Mara is the god of this universe, I will not back down!”

Whoosh!

As Yeongwoo raised the Lightbreaker into the air, the void’s distinctive acrid energy dispersed around him.

This time, however, Lord Bang didn’t grimace.

He could see that Yeongwoo’s small feet were still firmly on the path of vengeance.

“Kubu! Are you present?!”

With the Lightbreaker pointed skyward, Yeongwoo called for his tax accountant.

The sky over Samseong-dong split open, and Kubu emerged.

—Yes. I’m here.

“Tomorrow’s ceremony in Gwangjin-gu—is it just a matter of setting a location, and everything else happens automatically?”

So far, they’d only designated a venue and submitted a guest list.

If things continued as they were, the center of Gwangjin-gu would simply host a horde of galactic beings and Earth’s elite bringing bribes to a barren wasteland.

—Of course not.

As expected, Kubu immediately shook his head.

—A formal ceremony is an official ritual managed by the family court. There are specific procedures, and the designated venue must have physical structures in place.

Physical structures.

In simple terms, there needed to be seating for guests or a platform of some kind.

Kubu’s gaze shifted northwest, presumably checking the state of the Gwangjin-gu venue.

—Currently, Gwangjin-gu lacks the necessary structures.

“Then? Is there a contractor for that…?”

—Yes.

"These damn space-faring bastards. Another excuse to take money."

As Yeongwoo cursed, clenching and unclenching his fists, Kubu blinked.

—The family court can provide basic essential structures free of charge.

“Huh? Really?”

So there was something akin to a public wedding venue available for dispatch? What kind of galactic welfare system was this?

—However, if you desire additional installations, you’ll need to hire a private contractor.

Additional installations.

A very vague term.

Yeongwoo asked,

“When you say additional installations… does that include execution platforms?”

—……?

Kubu, seemingly unable to immediately grasp what Yeongwoo meant, hesitated and blinked rapidly.

Yeongwoo clarified.

"Public execution platforms. Can those be set up at the ceremony venue if I pay? Maybe even exhibition halls to display the guests’ monetary gifts?"

At this, Kubu blinked faster than ever before and cautiously replied.

—I will connect you with the appropriate affiliate businesses.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

w