Chapter 367
Chapter 367
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 367
Chapter Title: Terror (4)
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A deadly screech rang out, accompanied by a shower of wild sparks.
Bzzt—! Crackle!
At the same time, countless chunks of rebar-reinforced concrete slowly rose into the air.
The massive lumps, which no individual could hope to budge, defied gravity all at once. The sight was enough to choke anyone watching with sheer overwhelming pressure.
Boom! Thud!
As the people on site stared in stunned silence, the large, heavy debris began stacking neatly in one corner.
And that majestic scene came to a perfect close as the final piece of rebar concrete settled gently atop the pile.
“Phew. Where to next?”
The one who had put on that overwhelming display—Yoon Ji-yoon, branch manager of the Returner Association—did her best to ignore the awestruck stares directed her way and spoke indifferently.
This crisis was a national emergency of unprecedented scale.
She had no spare attention to divide elsewhere.
-That was the last one, ma’am. Good work.
“...Really? Nowhere else urgent?”
-Yes. There’s still plenty of cleanup left, but nothing so critical that it requires your immediate attention.
Even so, the tension that had gripped her like a blade began to melt away at her secretary’s voice through the bone-conduction headphones.
The moment she’d heard about the terrorist attack, she’d bolted into action, zipping across the city like lightning for hours on end.
Finally, amid this massive disaster, she could catch her breath.
“Phew.”
A soft sigh escaped her lips as she stretched lightly.
How could this happen out of nowhere, with no warning whatsoever?
‘Terror on this scale? No way it was thrown together in a year or two.’
And with that moment of respite, all the nagging thoughts she’d brushed aside came flooding back.
The culprits’ identities and motives. The fallout from this mess. How to handle the aftermath.
Every single one a headache waiting to happen.
“Ah, my head’s already starting to hurt.”
Yoon Ji-yoon forcibly shoved her thoughts elsewhere.
She’d be obsessing over those problems nonstop for a while anyway.
No point agonizing over it alone—it’d just be inefficient.
‘The Blood Alliance vampires were a huge help this time. Without them, the villains exploiting the chaos would’ve ramped up the damage even more.’
And Heinz, their leader, went without saying.
Not just aiding relief efforts, but reining in the underworld groups too.
Teaming up with them instead of making enemies had been the right call, a hundred times over.
‘Come to think of it, there were quite a few other promising faces in the mix.’
Next, her mind drifted to the awakeners who’d stepped up amid the chaos, making their presence known.
Some she already knew, but plenty were total newcomers to her.
‘Does the Ability Management Bureau even properly vet returners?’
So many hidden talents she hadn’t even known existed!
She’d been too swamped to make contact, but her senses—spanning several kilometers via faint currents—couldn’t be fooled.
‘Where the hell were all these people hiding? If they’d just join the Association, things would be so much easier. Especially...’
And among them, a few stood out in particular.
A rare earthling spiritist. And a mysterious figure soaring through the skies in an odd metal suit.
‘The spiritist was no pushover, either—someone even I couldn’t take lightly. Seriously, how many times is this now?’
Another unidentified, unregistered transcendent popping up in Korea.
She wasn’t sure whether to cheer or worry.
“...Then we’ll inform the press accordingly.”
“Moving on. Here’s the latest damage report so far...”
But regardless of her personal musings, the government had already set its course on them.
They needed to sweep away the gloom blanketing the nation after the sudden disaster and distract the public from harsh reality, if only briefly.
Korea’s heroes rising in the crisis.
That was their framing.
Nothing stirred patriotism or got the masses cheering like creating heroes.
💬 Comments — User123 Whoa, is that really a human being? — GratefulFan Thank you so much! 😭 My dad made it out safe because of you! — GearHead I want that suit...! Where can I get one? Looks like magitech—Howard Industries not selling ‘em? And that approach worked even better than expected.
***
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The sudden Seoul terrorist attack left deep scars on Korean society.
Astronomical property damage, massive casualties, and the trauma that followed.
Even with swift action from the government, Returner Association, Pantheon, and others, the death toll hadn’t even been tallied yet. Related agencies were on the brink of paralysis.
At least they’d entered recovery phase after just hours of effort—no martial law was a small mercy.
Naturally, eyes across Korea and abroad turned to battered Seoul.
For more details on the attack.
And per government direction, media coverage began weaving in a specific narrative.
A martial artist cloaked in qi rescuing children from a blazing inferno.
A mage quenching building fires with cascading torrents of water.
A psychokinetic swiftly ferrying citizens to safety.
A priest shielding survivors from chain explosions with barriers.
Focus shifted from the terror’s toll to the heroes’ responses.
Unsurprisingly, attention zeroed in on those highlighted in the media—especially the standouts.
— MagicFan Super weird how that raging fire just vanished, smoke and all. — EarthShaker The ground moving on its own to lift people from rubble was wild lol. Rescuers struggling then suddenly it’s over—they looked so confused lol — Heartstrings What got me was regular folks with no big powers throwing themselves into danger to save people. Nearly teared up. — TechNerd Anyone know what that power suit is? Beams from the hands! No delay, vaporizes walls in one shot! What even is it?! Many heroes were born in the chaos.
Photos and videos spread online, and quick-footed reporters scored interviews with survivors for the news.
“What was going through your mind then?”
“Terrifying. Crashes below, pitch-black smoke blocking the windows. Roof door locked—thought we were done for...”
“Then the suited figure appeared and saved you.”
“Yes! Smashed through the wall, extended a hand, and black threads wrapped us all—”
In that sense, the mysterious hero in full-body metal armor—like something out of a movie—was prime material.
Its romantic appeal naturally drew eyes, and the standout feats sealed the public’s fervor.
— IronManFan Iron Man sighting in Seoul—spec sheet dropped. ⭐ Top Comment — SpecLord Hypersonic flight, zero-to-hundred in sub-two digits, no-delay beam spam via full-body energy field, wrist-mounted laser sword that slices steel like paper, infinite energy wires from right hand lololol — BuildingSaver Held up a tilting skyscraper mid-flight. Movements super efficient—like a computer plotted the optimal path. — ConspiracyNut ↳ Reply The look, the timing... made by them maybe..? That hype naturally flowed to the enigmatic new company, Howard Industries.
A startup boasting overwhelming tech for top-tier magitech orders—and a similar super-hero appearing post-launch.
Obvious connection, right?
— OrderGuy Can I commission one? — ElixirRich They take elixirs as payment. Regular ones won’t cut it tho. — MagitechPro Bet it’s separate top-tier magitech pieces for arms, legs, head, etc. combined. How much would that even cost?! Some even got close to the truth.
Of course, with a dragon heart as the Titan’s core reactor—and requiring the AI-equipped 「Mechanical Eye: Kallikas」 to operate—no identical model was for sale.
The full Titan set was practically a humanoid mini-starship, beyond even special-grade magitech.
‘Well, whatever. This gave us global PR again—good stuff.’
Might as well make the Titan Howard Industries’ official mascot.
It’d ease lingering doubts post-Mjolnir showcase.
‘Of course, after this mess, better hold off on expansion. Got stockpiled resources—time for big donations to polish the image... and divert some potions for disaster relief.’
Money meant little to him anymore.
The wealth he’d gathered from both otherworlds was beyond valuation.
Hans the Immortal King’s treasures alone were mountainous. Ditto for Horus inheriting the 「Golden Vault」.
‘Blood Alliance could donate separately too. Perfect chance to rehab their image.’
Word was spreading of the vampires’ aid from the shadows.
No better shot to shift perceptions of the “demon-marked” outcasts.
Most would still shun them, sure—but closing even one step was valuable.
‘Alright, that’s settled... just this left to handle?’
Beep-beep— Bzzzt—
Beeeep—
In a room filled with harsh mechanical beeps, Hesperon stood alone in full Titan gear.
Wires from his shoulders plugged into the machines’ terminals.
‘Not your average gear, huh. Taking longer than expected.’
This was the Reverse Heaven Society’s DMZ underground hideout.
Riddled with traces of those who hadn’t evacuated in time.
He’d infiltrated via 「Hero’s Footsteps」 to extract clues from their devices.
His main body, projecting as Hans via 「Entity Projection」, had already rifled their memories and gone home.
Heinz 2nd and the Blood Alliance could mop up remnants with that intel—they owned Korea’s back alleys.
Beep—
How much time had passed in futile waiting?
Finally, amid scrolling code in his right eye, the awaited message appeared.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ System interpretation complete. Hack successful. Downloading data. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ New system detected. Normally, even with top-spec AI, hacking random devices like this would be impossible.
Especially ones influenced by alien machine civilizations.
「Mechanical Eye: Kallikas」 was meant as a prosthetic eye, not for complex hacks.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Compatibility confirmed. Security protocols activating... Useful system algorithms detected. Auto-updating software. But Howard’s 「Tech Revolution」 mods and 「Artisan’s Soul」 enhancements shattered those limits.
Hesperon’s 「Chains of Oath」 made it a true body part, not mere machinery.
「Mechanical Eye: Kallikas」 wasn’t separate from Hesperon—it was part of him, a skill evolving alongside.
Boosted by avatar growth buffs and 『Elixir of Growth』.
‘Add Titan-grade starship hardware, and this becomes possible.’
These devices were likely special-issue for covert ops.
Grunt-level data wouldn’t be much, but...
Memory extraction wasn’t 100% perfect—references couldn’t hurt.
And maybe an unexpected windfall, like now.
“...Oh? This is...”
Hesperon’s eyes lit up at the info in his right eye.
Pulled from their database.
A clue to the Reverse Heaven Society’s other key base: their Southeast Asia branch.