Chapter 643: Human World [R-18] (72)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 643: Human World [R-18] (72)
My date with Seo Ryeo-hwa didn't end after just one day. We went for drives and sought out places we wouldn't normally go, trying all sorts of delicious food.
And what was Bi-yeon up to, you ask?
She was glued to her computer. Wearing a headset, she was staring daggers at the screen, spewing all kinds of curses.
“This, fuck! What? You said something about my mom? Where are you? Hannam-dong? You just wait, I'm coming right now to grind your face into the asphalt!”
She seemed completely addicted to FPS games lately, and today was no exception—she was in the middle of a ranked match. The way she was furiously arguing with her teammate made her look like a crazy bitch.
I thought she was deliberately staying out of the way to give Seo Ryeo-hwa and me some time alone… but looking at her now, she was just crazy about gaming.
Her hair was a mess, and her desk was littered with leftover food and instant noodle cups. She looked like the stereotypical game addict you’d see anywhere.
Still, I can understand. I was a game addict myself once… though I was never that bad.
I walked up behind Bi-yeon, took off her headset, and, as if picking up something filthy, pinched the collar of her shirt between two fingers and lifted.
“Hey, go take a shower.”
“Ah, come on! Let go! I need to grind that bastard's face into the asphalt right now!”
“Jeez, do you really want to play games if they just stress you out?”
“Grrr—! If you knew how wronged and pissed off I am, you wouldn't be able to stand it either!”
Finding her ridiculous, I gave her a light smack on the head.
“Just go wash up. You're absolutely filthy.”
“Spirits don't get dirty!”
“Don't get dirty, my ass. Come on.”
“Hey! Use Clean on me! One shot of that and I'll be spotless! Hey, Jin Seo-yun!”
I shoved the struggling Bi-yeon into the shower and closed the door.
After washing my hands in the sink, I headed to the living room, where Seo Ryeo-hwa was engrossed in a drama, sipping her coffee.
“Oh my…!”
She was watching a popular historical drama. The way she was focused on the screen, constantly marveling at it, felt strangely cute.
I sidled up next to her, planning to try something a little naughty, but just then, my smartphone vibrated.
[Association Old Geezer]
It was Han Mu-gang, the Association President.
This guy always calls at the worst times…
I deliberately ignored the call.
A message arrived immediately after. I had a feeling reading it would just make me tired, but for him to be this persistent meant something was definitely up.
I opened the message.
[Can you come to the Association for a bit? It's not anything troublesome... I just have a favor to ask. The Witch of Dreadfire is here as well.]
Right after, another message arrived, this time from Im Hye-rin.
[Seo-yun, did you get the call from the President? Could you please just hear him out this once?]
A request from my woman. In the end, I had no choice but to call the Association President.
After a few rings, Han Mu-gang's familiar voice came through.
[Haha, so you pick up right away when the Witch of Dreadfire contacts you... Isn't that a bit harsh?]
“I just saw the message. More importantly, what is it this time?”
[Don't worry. It's nothing major. It's just a favor that only you can handle. You can hear the details when you get here. Oh, and there's an important meeting today. Will you attend?]
“Fine.”
I sighed and ended the call. Seo Ryeo-hwa, still on the sofa, looked up at me.
“Honey, is something wrong?”
“Ah, I have to step out for a bit. Stay here with Bi-yeon.”
“Okay, see you later.”
Leaving Seo Ryeo-hwa behind, I went straight down to the underground parking garage, got in my car, and headed for the Association.
*
I arrived at the top floor, where the President's office was, and knocked on the door.
“It's me.”
“Come in.”
When I entered, it wasn't just Im Hye-rin. All the figures known as Korea's S-Class ability users were gathered there.
…No matter how I look at it, this seems like a pain in the ass.
And there, sitting with his shoulders squared and puffed up with arrogance, was Oh Jeong-seok, the master of the Sun Guild, who was supposed to be in prison.
The Sun Guild, which once represented Korea, was now barely clinging to its legacy, just managing to stay in the top ten.
Oh Jeong-seok didn't even glance at me as I entered, his eyes fixed solely on Im Hye-rin.
This bastard, why is he staring at another man's woman like that?
I deliberately sat down right next to Im Hye-rin. At that, Oh Jeong-seok's sharp gaze shot toward me.
He glared as if he'd just met his lifelong enemy.
But having set foot in the Profound Realm, I had no reason to be intimidated by a guy like him. In fact, it was laughable.
I pulled my chair closer, moving right up against Im Hye-rin. I let out a small sneer, deliberately provoking Oh Jeong-seok.
Im Hye-rin smiled at me from the side, as if finding my behavior cute.
“Hehe, my son-in-law, your actions are so cute.”
“It's annoying. He's staring at my woman.”
Im Hye-rin smiled gently.
The Association President, Han Mu-gang, who was seated at the head of the table, slowly looked around at everyone and raised his voice.
“Now that everyone seems to be here, before we get to the main topic, let's have a round of applause for Jin Seo-yun, who has become one of only three Overlords in the world.”
Clap, clap, clap.
The applause from the ability users awkwardly faded. It wasn't a heartfelt congratulations, but more of a perfunctory reaction to the President's words.
I leaned back leisurely in my chair, casually ignoring the complicated expressions directed at me.
As the applause died down, Oh Jeong-seok was the first to speak, his voice cold.
“…More importantly, what's the reason you've summoned all of us busy people here?”
As if on cue, a muscular giant sitting on the opposite side chimed in with a mocking tone.
“Busy? For someone who should be rotting in prison, that's a pretty funny joke, Oh Jeong-seok.”
I turned my gaze to the muscular man. He had the impression of a gorilla more than a man.
Im Hye-rin, sitting beside me, whispered, filling me in on him.
“That's Lee Dong-yoon, the guild leader of the Black Star Alliance. His nickname is the Butcher of Hell... He's hot-headed, so try not to get involved with him.”
I gave a small smile and nodded.
Oh Jeong-seok glared at Lee Dong-yoon and spoke with a sneer.
“Just because I'm in prison now, you think you're something special? Should I make you crawl on the floor again like last time to remind you of your place?”
Lee Dong-yoon scoffed.
“Heh heh, still bringing up something from ten years ago. You're mistaken if you think I'm the same person I was back then, Oh Jeong-seok.”
A chilling tension tangled the air between them. It looked like they were about to throw down at any moment.
Just then, President Han Mu-gang, at the head of the table, clapped his hands lightly to intervene.
“Haha, that's enough, both of you. If a fight breaks out here, you might upset the Overlord, wouldn't you?”
I frowned slightly as the President suddenly dragged me into it.
What the hell, that crazy old geezer… Why is he suddenly dragging me into this when I'm just sitting here?
Oh Jeong-seok snorted.
“Hmph, Overlord? All sorts of strange things have popped up while I was in prison. Once I make my comeback, that title will be mine.”
Unlike Oh Jeong-seok's confident declaration, Lee Dong-yoon subtly glanced at me, gauging my reaction.
At that moment, a man in a neat suit from across the table spoke up calmly.
“Mr. Oh Jeong-seok, please stop causing trouble. We are all busy people, and this is a waste of time. Let's just hear what the Association President has to say, as we all have much to do.”
Everyone in the room nodded in agreement.
Just then, Im Hye-rin whispered to me again.
“That's Ha Jin-seong, the master of the Yoo-sung Guild. He's cold and calculating.”
I glanced briefly at Ha Jin-seong. He looked more like a long-range fighter than a close-combat specialist.
Han Mu-gang stood up from his seat.
“Very well, let's get to the main point.”
President Han Mu-gang turned off the room's lights and pressed a button on a remote, causing a screen to descend on one of the walls.
“The video I'm about to play shows a recent incident in Guatemala.”
The video began to play. In the sky above a large city, the air distorted and a massive crack opened.
As time passed, the crack shattered, and through the gap, a giant snout slowly emerged.
Someone in the room muttered in a low voice.
“It looks... like a dragon from Western mythology...”
However, as someone who had actually seen a dragon, I didn't think it was a dragon at all.
The creature in the video had multiple pairs of wings and four pairs of eyes.
The monster in the video clashed head-on with the army stationed in front of the crack.
Guns, shells, bombs—nothing worked.
And then, a one-sided massacre.
When the video ended, a heavy silence fell over the conference room.
“What... in the world is that...”
The President nonchalantly played the next video.
“It's not just Guatemala. Recently, similar strange phenomena have been occurring continuously all over the world.”
This time, the video showed a place that looked like Korea.
“This is a crack that was detected yesterday on Ulleungdo Island. And—”
The crack widened, and another monster emerged from the gap.
Three eyes, skin covered in greenish scales, a sharp snout with a flicking tongue, and crude armor like that of a medieval warrior.
If it weren't for the eye on its forehead, it would look similar to a lizardman.
Just then, one of the ability users muttered under his breath.
“It looks almost identical to how Beast-type ability users look when they transform...”
Association President Han Mu-gang picked up on that and slowly continued his explanation.
“They're different. That's their natural form. And their combat power was only about D-Class.”
“D-Class? Isn't that incredibly weak?”
“Keep watching the video.”
At the President's words, everyone's eyes turned back to the screen.
As the video played, the lizardman-like monsters began to pour out endlessly from beyond the crack—one, two... three, four, then dozens, even hundreds of them.
“Crazy... Are all of those D-Class?”
A stir went through the conference room.
Just then, a massive flame shot across the sky above Ulleungdo, engulfing all the monsters in an instant.
Im Hye-rin and Halcyon had wiped them out in one go before the swarm could spread.
Han Mu-gang added.
“Thanks to Miss Im Hye-rin and the Halcyon Guild, we avoided any major damage. But the conclusion is that each and every one of those things possesses at least D-Class combat power.”
All the masters gathered in the conference room were skilled enough to slaughter a swarm of that size on their own.
But the problem was, what if a crack like this opened in the middle of downtown Seoul and hundreds of these monsters poured out at once?
…If hundreds of those things appeared in the city, ordinary citizens would be helplessly slaughtered…
Most people are born with abilities, but only a very small fraction of them actually know how to fight. In fact, far more of them avoid conflict and never even train.
As I was lost in thought, President Han Mu-gang spoke again.
“The bigger problem is that no one knows exactly when, where, or why these cracks are appearing.”
At that, Im Hye-rin quietly raised her hand and spoke.
“I tried to enter the crack directly where it opened. But we couldn't get in. Our approach was blocked, and a short while later, the crack vanished without a trace.”
Han Mu-gang nodded.
“That's right. These cracks don't stay for long. After all the monsters come out, they usually disappear within five to ten minutes, thirty at the most.”
At the end of the table, a woman wearing a mask asked a question.
“Are they still appearing now?”
“The last one was observed three hours ago in Paris, France. After that, all the cracks around the world vanished as if they were never there.”
I tilted my head and asked.
“Is that information certain?”
Han Mu-gang sighed and shook his head.
“I can't be sure. There could still be cracks in our blind spots, in sparsely populated areas. That's why the Association is currently mobilizing all its personnel to track them.”
“Were there no omens or patterns?” Ha Jin-seong asked calmly.
Han Mu-gang displayed a file with organized data and replied.
“We haven't found any regularity yet. The time, location, and conditions are all erratic. For now, the conclusion is that they are unpredictable.”
My gaze grew sharper.
No matter how I look at it… the World Association knows something about the identity of these monsters. Han Mu-gang, that old geezer, too. Otherworlders. This must be related to them.
Im Hye-rin
