Chapter 181: Eliminating a Dark Past
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 181: Eliminating a Dark Past
“What about the hunters and returnees over there?”
“Of course, they’re all in combat. But those things are classified as Rank-Ex dimensional entities. Even the American hunters and returnees have their limits.”
Seol-hyang bit her thumbnail.
“But by the time other countries could grasp the situation and send support to the U.S., it would be too late. If they send their S-rank hunters abroad for support, they'll be finished the moment the same situation occurs in their own country.”
“What about the returnees?”
“We’ve already deployed everyone we can send from our side. But we’re severely outnumbered.”
Just at a glance, there were dozens of them.
A Rank-Ex Dimensional Entity wasn’t something even a returnee could take down easily.
With so many of them swarming the area, it was only natural that even the returnees were reaching their limit.
After all, returnees were few in number.
“Let’s go.”
When I looked at Seol-hyang and said that, she looked back at me with a complicated expression.
She knew my firepower would be a help, but as my lover, she didn’t want to send me.
“In a way, Erebos is a loose end from Girasung that we failed to catch. We have to be the ones to solve this.”
“I knew you’d say that.”
Seol-hyang let out a long sigh.
She looked out at the burning landscape of America.
“Heavenly Demon.”
“Yes.”
At her call, Ahyu immediately stepped forward.
“Asura and Eunhyeon are currently pursuing Erebos. You need to finish him.”
“That’s hardly a challenge.”
Ahyu scoffed, scattering camellia petals into the air.
After watching her, Seol-hyang turned back to me.
“And Ha-chan, there’s something you need to do first.”
My eyes filled with curiosity at her words.
“Something I need to do first?”
“Eunnamu has appeared.”
The moment I heard her name, my body went stiff.
I never imagined Eunnamu would show up here.
“Where is she?”
“In America. She’s being pursued by the gods right now.”
As soon as I understood, I turned to look at Si-ho.
I had to help her, now.
“Calm down.”
Baeksan stopped me.
Looking into my wavering eyes, he gestured with his head.
“Hear her out first. It’s not like that woman is weak, and if those god bastards have crossed over to Earth, they won’t be able to use their full power.”
Baeksan seemed to already know something.
After listening to him, I calmed down a little and turned back to Seol-hyang.
“What should I do?”
When I asked, she gave me a faint smile and explained.
“Observing her movements, it’s more likely she’s luring them rather than just being chased. She’s probably after something.”
“In that case…”
“Your power is the most effective, Ha-chan, even against gods.”
Seol-hyang, who normally would have told me never to go, looked me straight in the eye.
“Eunnamu’s plan is uncertain, but this is an opportunity to wipe out the gods in one fell swoop. I need you to go there, Ha-chan.”
“…Seol-hyang.”
I looked at her, deeply moved.
I could feel her absolute faith in me in her words.
I was incredibly grateful for that fact.
“You understand, don’t you?”
Seol-hyang then glanced to my side.
It seemed she was entrusting this to me not only because she believed in me, but also because she trusted Baeksan, who was always by my side.
After all, Baeksan was the strongest Regressor.
“Tsk, this is why they call her the Iron-Blooded Empress.”
Baeksan reacted as if he were used to this side of Seol-hyang.
It seemed that in his world, Seol-hyang had done this sort of thing many times.
“Kang Ha-chan, take that one with you too.”
Just then, Baeksan mentioned Heuksan.
Come to think of it, the reason I came straight to the Returnee Association was that my sister had told me she’d met Heuksan.
I nodded and looked at Seol-hyang.
“Seol-hyang, I’ll take Heuksan with me.”
“Hmm.”
Seol-hyang seemed to ponder it for a moment.
She was likely worried, given Heuksan’s history of causing trouble.
But she soon nodded.
“Alright. Do that. She’s probably in the second-floor training room right now.”
“Thanks.”
With Seol-hyang’s permission, I decided to find Heuksan first.
I told Ahyu and Si-ho to wait while I explained the situation.
If things got worse over there, we had to be ready to leave immediately.
I went up to the second floor and immediately looked for the training room Seol-hyang had mentioned.
Fortunately, it wasn’t hard to find.
Almost the entire second floor was dedicated to training rooms.
The inside of the training room was quiet when I opened the door.
Most of the returnees were busy responding to the crisis in America.
In a corner of that room…
Someone was standing silently.
With wild, disheveled hair, the woman stood with her fists clenched. It was a face I knew well.
Baeksan—the woman I called Heuksan for convenience.
Her eyes were closed, and red sparks were crackling around her body.
A moment later, she opened her eyes and looked at me with crimson pupils.
“…Kang Ha-chan.”
Her voice, as she said my name, was laced with a hint of displeasure.
What did she and my sister talk about?
Whatever it was, I could tell it wasn't something she was happy about.
“So you were the same after all.”
At her next words, my head tilted to the side.
The same?
I had been helping Heuksan with her training since the Tower of Revelation incident, and I felt she was slowly starting to open up.
I had felt a sense of pride in that and had hoped she would learn to get along with others.
But the look in her eyes now was completely different from before.
She was looking at me with the same total lack of trust as the day we first met.
“Dammit, Kang Ma-ri.”
The moment he saw Heuksan’s reaction, Baeksan seemed to realize something.
“Kang Ha-chan, Kang Ma-ri told her about my existence.”
His next words made even me flinch.
At the same time, I understood Heuksan’s entire reaction.
Heuksan had only just begun to trust me, little by little.
She had trusted me, Kang Ha-chan—not her future self, not anyone else.
But what if everything I’d done to help her wasn’t out of my own volition, but someone else’s?
Even if that someone was her future self, she would have felt betrayed.
What Heuksan, with her deep-seated distrust of people, needed wasn’t someone who used her or approached her with an ulterior motive.
She needed someone who would simply and purely stay by her side.
Even if that wasn’t my intention, it was natural for Heuksan to feel that way.
“Heuksan, I…”
“Shut up.”
When I called her name, she spoke with an incredibly cold expression.
“Now that I’ve heard it, everything makes sense. The power you have, your abilities, and the way you acted like you knew so much about me.”
As she spoke, Heuksan’s lips trembled.
As if she felt like a complete fool, that profound distrust of others began to settle in her eyes once more.
“Don’t you dare spew that bullshit about doing this for the world. I don’t give a fuck about the world.”
She shouted as if she hated the very idea of being used.
Why on earth would my sister tell Heuksan about this at a time like this?
I couldn’t understand it.
I only knew that I had to hold onto Heuksan right now.
“Heuksan, please let me explain.”
“I told you to shut up!”
With that, Heuksan hurled a bolt of red lightning at me.
I quickly dodged the incoming bolt, and she immediately rushed toward me.
I twisted my head to avoid a punch that seemed to carry all her pent-up frustration.
But Heuksan didn’t falter, twisting her fist to try and grab my collar.
Thwack!
But I had also trained with Baeksan and had memorized Heuksan’s patterns.
Because of that, I managed to raise my hand and slap her wrist away before she could grab my collar.
She didn’t stop, immediately launching her next attack.
But the next one, and the one after that, were blocked just the same.
Red lightning exploded with each exchange, trashing our surroundings, but Heuksan had no intention of stopping.
She had to know she couldn’t beat me with Baeksan on my side, yet she was like a runaway train.
As the battle dragged on, Heuksan began to pant heavily.
The training room was now scorched black with red lightning.
But no matter how much time passed, Heuksan showed no signs of stopping the fight.
Is she really planning to see this to the end?
This couldn’t continue.
With the situation with Eunnamu waiting, I didn’t want to waste any more time like this with Heuksan.
Just then, Heuksan attacked me again.
Seeing the madness in her eyes, I finally bit my lip.
“I said, just listen to me!”
A red aura, its output now seriously amplified, began to swirl around my body.
It seemed this conversation wouldn’t happen unless I subdued her myself.
Dodging Heuksan’s punch, I dove deep into her guard.
Heuksan quickly tried to pull her arm back, but my hand had already reached her.
My hand landed on Heuksan’s shoulder.
At that moment, along with my increased output, red lightning erupted.
Crackle!
With a burst of red sparks, red lightning engulfed Heuksan’s entire body.
Hit by the attack, Heuksan gritted her teeth, her body trembling.
My base output is higher than Heuksan’s.
So when lightning that surpassed her own output flowed into her, even she couldn’t help but be electrocuted.
“Ugh, ghk.”
Overwhelmed by my power, Heuksan slowly sank to her knees.
Even so, she didn’t lose consciousness, stubbornly enduring. Her mental fortitude was truly something else.
Looking at her, I glanced toward Baeksan’s presence.
My words wouldn’t get through to the current Heuksan.
To her, I was already someone who had betrayed her trust.
Therefore, the only one who could talk to her now was Baeksan.
“Let me take over.”
As if he knew what I was thinking, Baeksan spoke. I nodded.
Right now, I had no choice but to trust him.
And then, my consciousness faded.
*
The moment Ha-chan yielded control to Baeksan and lost consciousness.
Baeksan opened his eyes and stared at Heuksan before him.
What should I do with this fool?
He looked down at Heuksan with a displeased expression.
He had no intention of possessing the body for long.
With a fight against the gods imminent, there might be another moment when he needed to take over.
Ha-chan’s body had grown much stronger, enough to handle a short possession without much strain, but it was still not something he could do at will.
“Hey.”
To end the conversation quickly, Baeksan opened his mouth. Heuksan’s body flinched.
She must have sensed something in his tone.
“…Is that you?”
Heuksan glared at him with menacing eyes.
Just seeing that look made Baeksan feel annoyed.
Should I just smack her one first?