Chapter 50
Chapter 50
Chapter 50
When Fate Becomes Destiny (5)
—There are a thousand reincarnators around you.
Eventually, the incident erupted. Even Jimun Seo-saeng hadn't anticipated this method.
—I worked as a Hunter at Hunter Hall. Our mission was to eliminate reincarnators. However, we couldn't stop all the reincarnators.
An interview with Hunters affiliated with Hunter Hall was broadcast on American TV.
—Hunter Hall has currently suspended all missions. We no longer receive missions or support funds.
They sought a way to survive through the media. Perhaps it was a wise choice.
Through their interview, I learned that there were about 100 survivors from Hunter Hall and that it had effectively disbanded.
The five Hunters disclosed in detail what had happened to them, and at the end, they showed proof of reincarnation.
Four martial artists and one mage.
They demonstrated their martial arts and magic in front of the camera.
Claims that it was a manipulated broadcast still circulated. As if the broadcasting station had anticipated this, they attached an advertisement at the end of the broadcast.
—On April 1st, we will demonstrate their abilities directly before your eyes.
—The beginning of humanity's transformation, the greatest show will unfold.
Exactly one month after the nuclear power plant collapsed, a show hosted by the broadcasting station unfolded.
An enormous crowd gathered, and broadcasting stations from all over the world sent correspondents.
The hosting station turned this into the greatest show, earning tremendous advertising revenue and signing sponsorship contracts. At the same time, the five reincarnators enjoyed popularity rivaling that of celebrities.
In particular, a handsome twenty-seven-year-old male martial artist and an eighteen-year-old female mage received explosive attention.
Korean media also relayed the broadcast after paying an enormous sum of money.
Thirty minutes of show and thirty minutes of interview.
Despite being a one-time broadcast, the relay rights fee approached 10 billion won. This was because the host promised to compensate three times over if there was any manipulation.
Thanks to this, the relay rights were sold to 70 broadcasting stations worldwide.
The income they earned from this show, including relay rights fees, advertisements, and publicity rights contracts, was expected to reach 2 trillion won.
Even this was short-term profit, and the economic value of subsequent advertisements, increased broadcasting station recognition, and follow-up content was at an unpredictable level.
Thus, the show began.
The location was Central Park in New York, USA.
It was one of the world's most famous parks. They deliberately chose a place without a ceiling to be free from questions of manipulation.
The show began without any stage, with only restricted access lines drawn.
6 PM.
When the promised time came, four martial artists lightly stepped on the shoulders of the massive crowd and descended to the central clearing.
Starting with this, Lightness Skills and martial arts demonstrations followed, and finally, they even showcased Force Projection.
The gazes of the audience watching them were varied. However, one emotion was unanimous.
'Shock.'
The people's shock reached its peak when the mage appeared.
The mage created dozens of light orbs and made them flow among the crowd.
When the mage created a fireball, the audience no longer remained dazed and began to speak.
Reactions varied.
Some cheered, others fled in fear. Most were absorbed in filming, and prayers and curses could even be heard.
As if anticipating the audience's reaction, the mage calmly floated ten balloons and moved arrows of light as if they were alive, bursting them all.
The show was reaching its climax.
All five came out and engaged in a promised martial arts duel. It was a fight between a martial arts master charging at fireballs and a mage countering with dazzling magic.
It was literally a show. Movements far removed from actual combat.
'The martial arts are no joke either.'
Seeing that, I grew irritated. Most of all, what heated me up was the martial artists' skills.
'Those guys were Hunters?'
I could see why Hunter Hall had disbanded.
Most of the masters had died in the fight with Rena, and all that remained were the weaklings now performing in the show.
It seemed they hadn't properly trained in this life either; their skills were pathetic.
Nevertheless, the audience was tremendously shocked.
After the show ended, the interview followed.
They changed into neat clothes as if they had become celebrities and sat in chairs prepared by the staff.
"Reincarnators are real. All reincarnators possess physical abilities above a certain level. They retain the memories of their past lives intact, and they may be dangerous, so please be careful."
The last words grated on my nerves.
—They may be dangerous, so please be careful.
As if packaging themselves as heroes standing against evil.
'With just that level of skill.'
The interview continued. Nothing particularly special, just self-praise or content I already knew.
Just as the interview was reaching its end.
People began to murmur.
The five reincarnators who had been receiving all the attention tried somehow to maintain their composure, but that too was brief.
"L-look there!"
At someone's shout, everyone's gaze turned toward the sky.
There was a woman looking down with an arrogant expression.
The mage Rena.
As unease spread through the hearts of the audience who had already seen the video, Rena raised her hand.
Kwang!
A fireball fell above the reincarnators' heads.
The mage sitting in the chair hastily created a shield, but the fireball pierced through it.
They were those who had lacked skill from the beginning.
The mage, whose body was engulfed in flames, flailed while screaming a blood-curdling scream.
A tremendous commotion arose.
One side of the audience collapsed like dominoes. Screams ran rampant, and the enormous crowd fell into chaos.
The audience on the outskirts managed to leave the spot, but most got tangled up with each other and fell.
Rena watched this and laughed as if delighted.
"Keukeukkeuk!"
Rena created even larger fireballs.
The five fireballs each had a diameter of 10 meters alone.
People were steeped in fear. Some sent desperate looks to the four martial artists who had been conducting the interview.
Two of the martial artists just stared blankly at Rena, while the other two rolled their eyes and then escaped by stepping on the audience's shoulders just as they had appeared.
All that remained for the audience was fear.
And the five fireballs fell directly onto the audience.
Kwang! Kwang!
A chain of explosions.
However, the explosions occurred in mid-air. It was because of ice shields that blocked the fireballs' path.
'Waiting is boring after all.'
The Witch stood in the center of the clearing. I also lifted my body and stood beside her.
"You watched well."
I said to the two martial artists who were trembling.
The Witch and I had been at this place from the beginning. This was because we judged that Rena might appear.
—Cult Leader, if Rena appears, it could become a show for us.
Jimun Seo-saeng had also advised me to utilize this opportunity.
"What are you doing? Are you going to die here?"
The martial artists soon tucked their tails and fled.
Among them was the male reincarnator enjoying the most popularity.
"Really a face I want to punch."
Seeing Rena's face, my fighting spirit ignited.
It wasn't a human expression. Whatever made her so happy, she was showing a deep smile.
"I'm going."
After briefly facing the Witch, I leaped up with all my might.
Seeing me approaching at tremendous speed, Rena's expression hardened. And she created a flame shield.
Kwang!
With the momentum of ascending, I rammed into the shield condensed with flames. Sparks flew in all directions and the audience screamed.
The Witch created a snowstorm to make the sparks disappear, and I flipped my body and stomped down on Rena's shoulder with my foot.
Kwang!
Rena's body fell straight to the ground.
'Witch.'
The Witch, seeing my gaze, understood my intention and condensed ice crystals where Rena had been.
Using this as a stepping stone, I fell toward Rena at maximum speed.
As I raised my knee to crush her fallen body, Rena's body suddenly scattered into smoke.
And dozens of her bodies appeared.
"That one is the real one."
The Witch floated an ice crystal above Rena's head.
"The rest are fake, so ignore them."
As I immediately ran toward the real one, Rena disappeared again and changed positions.
And dozens of smoke plumes rose from the ground and transformed into human shapes.
"I'll handle these guys."
There were fifty martial artists under control. Leaving them to the Witch, I continued to chase Rena.
Rena seemed burdened by close combat and tried hard to create distance. Then she entered the crowd of spectators.
'Damn it.'
This was the situation I feared most.
—At first, you must start as a good character.
Inhalation Strike.
Kukoong!
I stomped on the ground hard enough to bury my ankle. And I expelled the internal energy of Absorption Grappling Water onto Rena's body.
Originally a Force Projection technique for pulling objects, Rena's body flinched greatly and then stopped in place.
A battle of strength began.
At first, Rena struggled, but at five meters away, she turned her body and responded to the battle of strength.
"Keukeuk."
Unlike her fleeing appearance until now, there was no fear in the girl's expression.
"Listen well. This world is mine."
I expanded Absorbing Strike to the extreme and pulled Rena. And I simultaneously unfolded Dragon Spring and Strong Fist.
Putting both speed and power into my fist, I thrust Strong Fist into Rena's body.
Puk!
Strong Fist pierced precisely into Rena's heart.
Rena vomited blood and then collapsed.
'Something's strange.'
I quickly looked back.
The Witch and the Shadow Warriors were still engaged in battle.
The Witch endured the warriors' attacks while trapping them in ice one by one, and the remaining number was about half.
'If the demon died, those guys should have disappeared.'
The Shadow Warriors were fine. That meant the demon hadn't died.
"Come back!"
The Witch shouted. She had also discovered the strange point.
As she said, I kicked off the ground and moved position. In that instant, a black hand rose from under my feet where I had been standing.
"What's going on?"
"I thought wrong."
"About what?"
"What Roisedeur wants isn't amusement."
"Then?"
"Manifestation. He was trying to truly appear on this land. All the guys who died until now were sacrifices."
Rena had been a sacrifice for the manifestation of the demon called Roisedeur.
"Let me ask one thing."
"What?"
I asked more seriously than ever.
"Does that thing also die if I hit it?"
Rena's corpse was splitting vertically. The blood poured from her mouth transformed into a magic circle shape and emitted light.
"Probably."
"Then that's enough."
It doesn't matter what the opponent is. If it's a guy who dies from being hit, I can win.
"There's something called territorial rights in this world."
I took a long breath and drew up my internal energy.
"I'll show you properly."
Kukoong!
Roisedeur’s true form began to appear above the magic circle.
"Wait. I need to move the people back."
I nodded at the Witch's words.
—Cult Leader, you don't need to overdo it, but if possible, it would be good to save the people.
Jimun Seo-saeng had said the same thing.
The Witch immediately created ice walls around Roisedeur’s magic circle. And she created wind to blow the people far away.
It seemed dangerous, but where the people fell, snow one meter high had already accumulated.
"Is that its true form?"
A giant exceeding five meters.
One more red eye on its forehead, a protruding mouth like a bull's, and a tongue split like a snake's.
Fang-like horns jutted from both shoulders, and its tail had spikes like a scorpion's.
Its muscles were a dark brown with a sheen like a beetle's, and its fingernails and toenails were sharp and pointed like spears.
"It's really ugly."
That was my assessment.
Keuooo!
Roisedeur spread both arms as if stretching and let out a bizarre cry. Then the park's grass and soil were swept up by the rising air currents and soared into the air.
Under the overwhelming power, the surrounding ground had already flipped over as if it had become ruins.
"Weak guys have loud voices."
I kicked off the ground and leaped toward the giant's body.