Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Chapter 260 : Connections and the Past (4)

Connections and the Past (4)

Just one day remained before the arrival of the dark star.

Hunters from every nation were on high alert, and Korea was no exception.

No, Korea was twice as tense as other countries.

That was because they knew exactly where the dark star would stop.

'Those who have infiltrated from within...'

There were many more awakeners who had chosen the side of the demons, including the demons themselves.

Some among them hadn't even accepted demonic energy yet, making them even harder to detect.

Hunters whose past activities were unclear, or who had suspicious parts to their records, had to be managed separately.

'Well, there are even those who pretend not to be involved yet clearly are.'

For example, there was Dmitri, who had participated in the demonic zone raid.

For some reason, he never turned his blade on us until the raid had ended.

That didn't mean we could just leave him alone, so we detained him in Korea under the pretext of conducting a status check.

"You seem to be adapting pretty well."

I spoke, looking at the man quietly seated in front of me.

Damian Hertha.

Even with all his strength sealed and under detention, he looked no different than before.

"You also seem rather relaxed."

"Relaxed, huh."

Damian chuckled at my remark.

"It's not really like that. It's just that this matter is no longer in my hands, anyway."

He could no longer kill himself, and all his strength was sealed.

The only one who even knew of his whereabouts was Alencia.

There was no point in telling anyone else, so I hadn't spoken of it to anyone.

Only Alencia had been told in preparation for a possible emergency.

"This is like one grand play, you see. Like the broadcasts or entertainment shows you talk about."

"You're saying it's proceeding according to a script?"

"Something like that."

"For something supposedly proceeding by the script, you seemed pretty flustered when we dragged you in."

In truth, I had beaten Damian up until he was a lump of flesh—just enough to keep him alive.

Afterwards, when I brought him in, the guy had a pretty bewildered look on his face.

'There was one more of them, but seems he left after seeing Damian detained.'

According to Soo-ah, that demon was probably the one sent to retrieve Cade's heart.

Did they really not predict I'd take this course of action?

No, that couldn't be the case.

But at the very least, they must have been certain I wouldn't kill them.

"... I can't deny that."

He said that, but he did not show any particular displeasure.

He probably still believed the greater scheme was on track.

I had already asked him everything I wanted to know, and listened to his answers.

He had, surprisingly, given them up willingly.

So now, there was nothing left to ask—except for one last thing.

"Damian."

This was probably the last question I would ask him.

He had said that all of this was a giant play.

If this was all unfolding as written, then ultimately, what was this play for?

"Your goal isn't simply to turn this world into a Demon Realm."

It was something I had always thought about.

If Damian's goal was to demonify this world, there were too many inconsistencies.

"Even if you knew of our existence, there was no need for you to reveal yourself to me first."

Certainly, once I became aware of the demons' existence, I began to chase after them.

That must have been threatening to them.

"But then there was no need to fight. You could have simply waited in hiding."

It would not have been a long time.

Just until I died, or at least until I grew weak.

Yet they 'deliberately' revealed themselves while I was still around.

They came to meet me, and even seemed to court greater involvement.

In the end, the entire world came to know about the existence of demons.

There was no choice but to be wary and follow my lead.

While all that may have seemed like a challenge sent to me as a demon, if their goal was simply demonification, there was no need to go that far.

Damian wasn't even someone with such a competitive spirit who would want to redeem himself for past humiliations.

"Just as I'm trying to use you now."

They were also trying to use us.

It was probably because they saw someone at my side.

"The power of wishes—you needed it too."

Shin Ah-yeon, and Estella.

And divine art.

They had possessed divine art for a while already.

That was clear, considering the 'technique' used on Sim Chun-hoo.

And that technique had been perfected through Benadic.

"To create someone like me."

The technique used on me was meant to create a Demon King, or rather to 'artificially produce a saint'.

To be precise, in order to make a body comparable to a saint, countless things had been tried and given to me.

'Estella being in the basement of the lab I was in...'

It was all because of that.

They needed to study saints.

And making Damian resemble me—they must have known this as well.

In the end, the fact that only I survived and succeeded was because of Estella's 'wishes'.

"The birth of a demon god."

They were trying to achieve that through Jin Su-hyuk.

That was also why they seemed to have moved in haste.

After all, the dark star was more than enough for that purpose.

A play.

Just as he said, all this was a performance.

For the birth of a demon god, an 'audience' was needed.

"But, I can't figure out what sparked it."

Even though they possessed divine art, at the time of the Sim Chun-hoo incident, they hadn't grasped my identity precisely.

Neither had they when I went to America.

There was no need to mess with me then.

At that time, the demons didn't know about Benadic, and they didn't possess the means to create a demon god.

Naturally, there was no need for an 'audience' either.

So I was curious.

At what point did they come up with a method to create a 'demon god'—was it when they found me?

"... Who knows."

Damian replied with a grin.

"You'll find out soon enough, Park Jung-woo."

***

The dark star appeared, traversing above Korea.

What everyone had seen on the news and in broadcasts was now visible to the naked eye, leading some to even gather in the streets just to witness it.

People held up their smartphones and cameras to photograph it.

But hardly anyone wondered what it really was, or what its purpose was.

It hadn't been causing any problems for some time now, after all.

People never realize how dangerous something is until the danger is right upon them.

【I'm snapping a pic of that dark star right now! Did it come out well?】

【Looks awesome. But seriously, what is that thing?】

【It's passing over Daejeon right now lol】

【Oh, it's coming to Seoul soon.】

As it passed over Jeju Island,

And crossed Korea vertically, people kept taking proof shots—nothing different from people in foreign countries.

Something similar had often happened elsewhere.

But the mood changed a few hours later.

【Why isn't it moving anymore?】

【It's not budging from above Seoul.】

【What the heck, why did it stop? Creepy.】

The dark star had frozen above Seoul's skies.

The internet went wild over this unprecedented event.

Various breaking news articles were posted online, and YouTubers and reporters flocked to the scene.

And then—

Wuuuuung!

A violent wave burst from the dark star, vibrating through space.

Ordinary people only felt a vague terror, but for the awakened, it was different.

They felt the magic power in the area seethe and start increasing.

The amount was not yet at a threatening level, but if this situation persisted for days...

'It'll become just like the scenario described by the association.'

Hunter Park Gwon-seok, who had already been dispatched to the field, couldn't help but shiver.

As the family's breadwinner, this was a terrifying situation for him.

He was awakened, but his wife and daughter were not.

'I have to stop it somehow.'

If the magic power became supersaturated, it would start to threaten the lives of ordinary people.

If their bodies failed to adapt to the changed environment, magic power would become poison and kill them.

And that was not the only problem.

If the concentration of magic power spiked suddenly...

Weeeeeng!!

Sirens blared everywhere.

They were alarms signaling the appearance of gates and dungeons.

And they were now ringing, not just all over the nation, but worldwide.

***

"Thirty-six hours."

Jung-woo looked over the hunters gathered at the association and spoke.

"At the current rate of increase, the maximum length of time an ordinary person could endure is 36 hours. For those especially sensitive to magic power, their lives will be at risk sooner than that."

He wrote the number on a whiteboard, circling it in red several times.

"And after 48 hours, every non-awakened individual will die. Only those who awaken as awakened in this extreme situation will survive."

The death of all ordinary people—this was not something limited to Seoul, where the dark star was.

This phenomenon was affecting the entire world.

Any country that doubted the situation would realize just how dangerous it was upon reaching this point.

"In other words, after 48 hours, the situation will be just like a demonic zone."

"If it's like a demonic zone..."

One of the hunters at the association timidly raised a hand.

Looking at the license around their neck, this person seemed to be a B-rank hunter.

"Even some awakened will have a hard time, and monsters will become several times stronger."

Everyone swallowed nervously at Jung-woo's words.

Even now, out in the streets, sirens were howling like screams.

"That dark star..."

"I'll take care of that, somehow."

"Is there any way to evacuate...?"

"There isn't."

Jung-woo replied, pointing at the breaking news on TV.

The news was mostly reporting on the current situation.

No real countermeasures were being mentioned.

"Isn't it too dangerous just to say that and no more?"

A hunter spoke out in outrage, but Gong Do-yung, who was calmly standing at Jung-woo's side, shook his head.

"There's no way to run anyway. If we try, we'll only cause more secondary damage."

"But!"

Several hunters seemed to agree, glancing at Jung-woo.

He spoke calmly, switching off the news.

"There is only one way to stop this."

To prevent Jin Su-hyuk from reaching the dark star.

And—he had to be able to 'dismantle', not just destroy, the heart.

"Is that even possible?"

"It is."

Of course, it wouldn't be easy.

If it were, Jung-woo would have done it himself.

"If it's with Shin Ah-yeon-nim's magic."

To dismantle that heart, Ah-yeon's "wishes" was needed.

More than what was gathered at either Gangnam or Sichelmond.

'But is even Shin Ah-yeon capable of that?'

The hunters knew Shin Ah-yeon was an extraordinary mage.

After all, wasn't she the one who held back the rift on her own?

But to completely and safely remove that 'heart' which could affect the whole world—could she do it?

But then again, there was really no one else but Shin Ah-yeon who could do it.

"Huh?"

At that moment, a hunter frowned at the breaking news.

The dark star, which until now had hovered in the sky, had begun to move.

And the problem was—it was descending, not moving horizontally.

The dark star was slowly dropping toward the ground.

As if answering someone's call.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

22 chapters left.

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