The Returner - Chapter 316

“W-what the hell??” (Rhee Jin-Cheol)

He was aware of the monsters madly rushing in from his front. He wasn’t a moron who didn’t know how incredibly dangerous this situation was.

However, Rhee Jin-Cheol simply couldn’t tear his eyes away from Yi Ji-Hyuk right now. And he was sure of being unable to look away even if the monsters pounced on him in this very moment.

That was how overwhelming the spectacle Yi Ji-Hyuk had shown today.

His figure could be called small, but the jet-black ‘smoke’ rising out from that small figure seemed to crazily explode into the heavens like an ascending dragon. Or, maybe something like a devil spreading wide its humongous wings made out of black flames.

‘Is he even human??’ (Rhee Jin-Cheol)

He was well aware of the things Yi Ji-Hyuk had done. And he even knew that this South Korean ability user wasn’t someone he could dare to fight against.

However, hearing it and seeing the truth were two very different things.

That… that couldn’t be called ‘human’ anymore.

Rather than awe, it was pure fear he sensed right now. This sense of discord arising from seeing a non-human being, as well as the listlessness resulting from facing the absolute power, completely wrapped around Rhee Jin-Cheol’s body.

“Comrade Senior Colonel!”

Rhee Jin-Cheol heard the voice calling out to him from behind and nodded his head while looking on utterly dazed. Maybe, this was his body responding automatically. Because, his mind was still completely focused on Yi Ji-Hyuk; his body simply reacted instinctively to the voice, that’s all.

“Comrade! You need to get yourself together! Comrade Senior Colonel!”

“…..I know.” (Rhee Jin-Cheol)

Rhee Jin-Cheol’s dazed eyes still remained fixed on Yi Ji-Hyuk.

‘Can an ability user become that strong?’ (Rhee Jin-Cheol)

He too was an ability user.

He was so strong that people thought his equal could never be found within the People’s Democratic Republic of North Joseon. The reason why he wasn’t purged even after he made a huge blunder the last time was simply because his abilities had been acknowledged by the brass. And he too believed in that fact and could prioritise on saving his own skin first.

And that was precisely why Rhee Jin-Cheol was utterly confident of himself. Confident that his ability would not lose out to anyone in this world. The Chinese ability users he occasionally ran across only reinforced that belief even further.

But now, that confidence of his was shattering into a million little pieces like a glass falling to the ground.

‘That is Rhee Ji-Hyuk….’ (Rhee Jin-Cheol)

The number one ability user in the world.

He was supposed to be on another realm compared to other ability users, but Rhee Jin-Cheol believed that those were merely praises reserved for the Number One, nothing more.

But now, he knew.

That praise wasn’t an empty one.

Yi Ji-Hyuk might be an ability user like the rest of them, but without a doubt, he existed on a different planet compared to them.

‘Can I win against him?’ (Rhee Jin-Cheol)

Him alone definitely couldn’t. Was there a hope if the entirety of the People’s Ability User Brigade was mobilised, then?

Rhee Jin-Cheol smirked helplessly.

Hope?

If Yi Ji-Hyuk decided to direct his hostility towards Rhee Jin-Cheol, then the latter was sure of pissing his pants. Actually, the monsters rushing in at them came across as adorable when comparing them to the idea of opposing that devil-like presence.

“Comrade captain!!”

“I said, I get it!!” (Rhee Jin-Cheol)

“That’s not it! Look!”

“What now?!” (Rhee Jin-Cheol)

Rhee Jin-Cheol turned his head. Then he saw it.

The seemingly-endless march of the monsters, it had been ground to a halt as if the whole thing was a lie.

“….Son of a….” (Rhee Jin-Cheol)

Forget about being dazed, Rhee Jin-Cheol felt like he was going insane at the moment. These monsters dashing forward while devouring and destroying everything in their paths had completely ground to a halt like a bunch of statues.

And then, there was this eerie silence, too.

As if their howls and screeches of a second ago was a hallucination, the whole battlefield was now filled with nothing but silence.

Monsters were holding their breath while lowering their heads to the ground, and meanwhile, the North Korean soldiers were completely confused, not knowing what’s going on here. But they too could sense this heavy air circulating around the battlefield, so none dared to open their mouth.

‘Rhee Ji-Hyuk.’ (Park Yong-Hui)

The Chief of Staff Park Yong-Hui was watching all this spectacle unfold while standing behind Yi Ji-Hyuk.

‘Incredibly dangerous.’ (Park Yong-Hui)

He knew that this young man was South Joseon’s greatest warrior, but even he wasn’t prepared for this level of power. Yi Ji-Hyuk hadn’t displayed any physical ability yet, but this was still more than enough to let the veteran politician estimate how deep the depth of his power was.

‘And the NDF isn’t ordinary, either.’ (Park Yong-Hui)

Yi Ji-Hyuk was one thing, but the NDF agents were another thing altogether; them believing in him and creating a watertight protective cordon like that even when so many monsters were rushing at them were just as an incredible sight to behold, as well.

The agents from the People’s Ability User Brigade showed signs of breaking down the moment they witnessed that many monsters, yet…. This wasn’t even their own home but someone else’s country, so it was an amazing feat indeed for them to not get shaken up after witnessing such a spectacle unfold before their eyes.

‘What a relationship built on absolute trust.’ (Park Yong-Hui)

Park Yong-Hui heard that there seemed to be some sort of rift happening between Yi Ji-Hyuk and the NDF, but that report should be binned now. Didn’t he warn his underlings to compile a report not based on the outward arguments taking place but one on their actual, underlying foundation of trust?

Their relationship was so tight that there was no room to dig in even a little bit.

It was then, a quiet voice entered his ears.

“What are you doing?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“N-ng?” (Park Yong-Hui)

Park Yong-Hui was taken aback by that unexpected voice.

“I said, what are you doing, not attacking them?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Ah…?” (Park Yong-Hui)

The veteran politician’s face reddened slightly.

What the hell? I thought you were going to do something grand after you assumed a hero pose and started summoning your powers!

Wouldn’t everyone think that way??!! (Park Yong-Hui’s inner monologue)

“Y-you want us to attack??” (Park Yong-Hui)

“What’s this? Why is this ahjussi suddenly acting all stumped and stuff?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Choi Jeong-Hoon couldn’t reply.

How was he supposed to answer such a question, anyway?? Even if one had a mouth, one would still fail to say anything.

“I don’t know either.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

….Deaf for three days, mute for three days, and blind for three. (TL note at the end)

Choi Jeong-Hoon squeezed his eyes shut, thinking that he was simply experiencing a newly-married wife’s life under her in-laws’ roof.

“Just fire away, will ya? I’ve stopped monsters for you, haven’t I?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Oh….” (Park Yong-Hui)

Now that Park Yong-Hui thought about it, wasn’t stopping the wave of monsters dead in their tracks an unbelievable achievement in itself?

“F-fire! What are you doing! I said, fire away! Comrade commander!!” (Park Yong-Hui)

He hurriedly yelled into the radio, which in turn prompted Kim Ryong-Seong in the distance to start yelling himself. Not too long after that, the briefly-halted bombardment commenced again.

“Tsk.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk clicked his tongue while watching that scene.

“And they want to wage a war with us?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

They had been harping on and on about strong and prosperous nation, but this…

He had fought off against the armies of various nations before, but this would be his first time seeing such a pathetic sight.

For instance, the American army didn’t stop their attacks even when faced with a despair-inducing situation. So, he couldn’t help but not enjoy this utterly shambolic gathering of an untrained mob.

“Will this even have any effect?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Choi Jeong-Hoon worriedly asked, but Yi Ji-Hyuk’s reply was exceedingly simple.

“Nope.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Then, why do something so useless….?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Yi Ji-Hyuk smirked.

“It’s like we’re interfering in someone else’s war, you know? So, what fun is there if I solve everything for them? Also, I kinda wanted to see these folks sweating buckets for a bit longer, you see.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“…And then?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Besides, they are busy wasting their ammo, right?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“…..Ah.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Since these people lack the ability to manufacture their own ammo, once they are done here, they would probably have to import some more. Sanctioning them later is the job for the higher-ups, and I’m simply doing what I can for now.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Choi Jeong-Hoon’s impressed eyes were now looking Yi Ji-Hyuk in renewed light.

This guy, he might come across as thoughtless sometimes, but he had this tendency of coming up with a really sharp idea or two occasionally.

Just how did he stumble into the idea of burning through the enemy’s ammo cache under such an urgent situation?

“But, what if the damage to this side increases in the meantime?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“That’s none of my business.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Well, he had a point there. Yi Ji-Hyuk wasn’t responsible for every single one of North Korea’s internal strife, now was he?

“Aigo~, this is tougher than I thought.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk adjusted the demonic energy pouring out of his body and stared at the monster swarm.

‘It’s also a bit of waste to sweep all of them away, too.’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Not too long ago, trying to face all those monsters would’ve been a tough ask even for himself. But the story was different now.

First of all, he had absorbed Mana from a demon king, allowing him to regain a portion of his powers from during his peak, so these monsters no longer presented a challenge to him anymore.

And then….

“Darling, they look really cute, don’t they?” (Erukana)

….And then, the Succubus Queen was right next to him as well.

The race most suited for ruling over the monsters was definitely ‘Succubus’. There was no race specialising in taming monsters in the demon world, but Succubi were a race of creatures that went around seducing their victims, so they naturally possessed strong influencing power against creatures weaker than them.

And Erukana just so happened to be the Succubus Queen as well as the 13th demon king, so there was no need for a lengthy explanation here.

‘They might serve me well as my army….’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Back during the initial period of his return, he began weighing the pros and cons of rebuilding his army while absorbing the monsters that appeared before him. However, the grade of the monsters crossing over was just too low and they couldn’t exert much of an impact against large monsters or demon-king-level threats. He decided not to waste his Mana on them in the end.

But now, with these monsters before his eyes…. He felt these creatures didn’t lose out too much in terms of quality against his old monster army. Although, there was a considerable difference in numbers, but still.

“Feels like a few disgusting ones are mixed in among them, but I can just filter them out, right?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“You want to bring them into the fold?” (Erukana)

“I’m thinking about it.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“But, aren’t there a few that won’t let you?” (Erukana)

“I’ll just kill them, then.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“As expected of my darling! You’re so hot-blooded! Kyah-hahaha~!” (Erukana)

Erukana pounced on him and rubbed her cheek against his.

“Groan….” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk didn’t try to push away Erukana clinging onto him. Because he knew that she wasn’t trying to display her affection right now.

She was a being of the demon world. If demonic energy was the symbol of power to him, then it was the energy necessary for her to keep breathing. Just like how humans had to ‘consume’ oxygen in order to survive, Erukana needed to consume demonic energy in order to live.

Even if she came here with enough demonic energy reserve, it was decreasing in the same manner as the air emptying out from an oxygen tank while stuck underwater, so there was no way Erukana wouldn’t feel the psychological pressure right about now.

And here he was, busy pouring out highly condensed demonic energy like this, so of course she’d be very attracted to him.

“There, there. Breathe in. Breathe.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk intensified the demonic energy swirling around him by another notch.

Unless she added the demonic energy left behind in the Core existing in the demon world, Erukana’s current reserve couldn’t even come anywhere close to what Yi Ji-Hyuk possessed currently.

“Hah-ah…. It’s so warm and sticky, darling.” (Erukana)

“Stop saying weird things!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“I’m saying that your demonic energy is sticky, that’s all.” (Erukana)

Erukana smiled seductively and poked her tongue out.

Her tongue seemed a tad more crimson as she licked her lips. It seemed that the Succubus Queen’s true nature had exploded forth after tasting demonic energy.

“There are less than half that can be won over to your side. But can you tell them apart?” (Erukana)

“Hmm….” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk shrugged his shoulders.

“If I start blowing them away, those who don’t want to die will side with me soon enough.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“….Darling, did you know that your simple brain is one of your charms?” (Erukana)

“That’s an insult, right?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Nope, it’s a compliment.” (Erukana)

What did it matter whether it was an insult or a compliment, anyway?

Yi Ji-Hyuk watched the barrage of shells, the corners of his lips curling up. It seemed that he had exhausted the North’s stock somewhat, so he should get started, shouldn’t he?

First of all….

“Open.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk swung his right arm and opened up a Gate in mid-air.

“Come out.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

You’d need a commander that listened well to you when wanting to order around monsters of that level. In that case, he already had a suitable creature waiting on the wings.

Yi Ji-Hyuk then summoned his right-hand-like creature out from the Gate.

“Oh-Sik-ah!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

However, what popped out from the Gate wasn’t his trusty Oh-Sik.

Yi Ji-Hyuk’s eyes nearly popped out from his head after discovering this unexpected being.

“Hul?? Ahjussi, why are you coming out from there?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

< 316. Ahjussi, why are you coming from there? -1 > Fin.

(TL: “Three days” is a misquote of a popular Korean saying “stay blind, deaf, and mute for three years if you’re a newly-married wife”. Long story short, a wife should “behave” in front of the in-laws if one wants a pain-free marriage life or something to that effect.)