Chapter 98: Skirmish
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 98: Skirmish
Despite merely perching on the windowsill and looking down, she unleashed a wave of pressure on a completely different level that crashed down upon them.
Watching her, only Song Hyeok-seo reacted, his hand crudely tightening around the grip of his greatsword.
“Where is Ha Si-ho?”
“Doesn’t my presence here answer your question?”
With those words, Cheon Hong-ryeon leaped from the window, landing lightly on her feet.
Seeing her land without stirring so much as a speck of dust, the members of Girasung surrounded her, their killing intent palpable.
Just as she’d implied, Song Hyeok-seo was scowling at the current situation.
The school, their target, was completely empty.
There wasn't a single student, not even an ant; it was clear someone had evacuated the premises in advance.
Just a few minutes ago, the school had been full of students and teachers.
To complete an evacuation of this scale in an instant could only mean one thing: the World Returnee Association was involved.
Even if they had anticipated an attack, this response was far too swift.
It wasn't as if they could be on high alert for an attack every single day.
This meant they knew the entire plan.
‘So there really was a mole leaking information from inside?’
But everyone who knew the details of Girasung’s operations was under a contract with the boss.
Was there really someone willing to risk the consequences just to inform the Association?
He didn't know. Thinking had never been his strong suit.
All he knew for sure was that the Association had gotten their hands on the intel. And that the plan had gone awry.
Cheon Hong-ryeon’s eyes, filled with arrogance, swept over the Girasung members as she let out a light laugh.
“What a pathetic rabble. Asura, it seems the only S-ranks here are you and that little kid next to you.”
“That’s right. We brought this many just to tie you down.”
The moment he finished speaking, his shadow surged upwards.
He had already submerged the entire school in his shadow.
If the enemy was fully prepared, they would have to improvise.
He hadn't expected the students to be completely gone, but tying down Cheon Hong-ryeon had been part of the original plan anyway.
He knew she would be here.
In that case, he would prioritize that objective.
Even enveloped in shadow, the ever-composed Cheon Hong-ryeon began to slowly roll her shoulders.
“So? Do you really think you can tie me down? I’d say it’s more likely you’ll all die by my hand first.”
Seeing her unwavering composure, Song Hyeok-seo’s eyebrow twitched.
“Asura.”
Just then, the young returnee beside him, realizing the situation, broke into a smile.
“Looks like our friends from the Association know our plan.”
“The kid is sharp.”
The moment she said that, Cheon Hong-ryeon’s face twisted into a demonic grin.
“Then did you see this coming?”
Camellia petals began to scatter through the air.
Srrrk—
A breeze swept past, carrying the camellia petals with it.
And in that instant, new camellias bloomed from the necks of the Girasung members.
“Kuhak!”
Belated screams echoed from all around.
The Girasung members on the left were collapsing, clutching their severed necks as blood gushed out.
An unseen sword strike had taken their heads.
Zzzzzzing!
But there was one person who had met her blade head-on.
Amidst the ringing of steel, the boy she had called a kid raised an eyebrow and grinned.
“Hoh.”
Seeing him, Cheon Hong-ryeon’s gaze sharpened.
“You’re from a Murim world. And you’ve achieved Half-Rejuvenation.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Heavenly Demon. In my world, the Namgung Clan is the Strongest Under Heaven.”
A cerulean energy began to gather around his blade, carried on the ringing of steel.
“Shall we see how you measure up to the Heavenly Demon of my world?”
As a storm of heavenly lightning erupted around the smiling boy, a torrent of red petals poured forth from Cheon Hong-ryeon.
[Asura, you should get going.]
On the verge of battle with Cheon Hong-ryeon, Namgung Cheon-ryong sent a telepathic message.
Hearing his voice, Song Hyeok-seo silently stared at him, gripping his shadow greatsword.
If he left, his shadow domain would soon disappear.
Which meant Cheon Hong-ryeon’s power would no longer be weakened.
The S-rank returnee, Namgung Cheon-ryong, would have to face Cheon Hong-ryeon at her full strength.
[I have no intention of giving up the chance to fight this world’s famous Heavenly Demon.]
He had been uneasy when Namgung Cheon-ryong volunteered to take on Cheon Hong-ryeon, and it seemed his fears were justified.
Namgung Cheon-ryong was a returnee who had grown bored with his own dimension, where there was no one left worth fighting, and had simply come back to Earth.
With his eccentric personality, he was an oddball who had recently joined Girasung for the sole purpose of fighting new, powerful opponents.
Watching him, Song Hyeok-seo sighed internally and turned away.
The man wouldn't listen to reason anyway.
If this had been his intention from the start, then whatever happened to him wasn't his responsibility.
‘In any case, now that the plan has been derailed...’
The original plan was worthless now.
It was better to create a variable the enemy couldn't predict.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
The instant Song Hyeok-seo turned, Cheon Hong-ryeon’s sword shot toward him.
Clang!
But her blade was once again blocked by Namgung Cheon-ryong.
He grinned, his eyes burning with a fervent desire for battle.
Cheon Hong-ryeon’s eyes began to contort.
According to the original plan, she was supposed to be the one to pin down Song Hyeok-seo.
But now, an unexpected S-rank returnee had appeared before her.
Considering Eunnamu had no information on him, Girasung must have sensed something and prepared him separately.
“Heavenly Demon. If you look away, I’ll take both of those eyes from you.”
“Hah.”
Watching Namgung Cheon-ryong swing his sword at her, Cheon Hong-ryeon let out a small sigh.
Her eyes turned crimson as rage began to emanate from her body.
She had just let Song Hyeok-seo escape, all because of this Namgung Cheon-ryong.
Namgung Cheon-ryong felt a chill run down his spine as he watched her, and he let out a dry laugh.
The demonic energy, or magi, that now poured from her was so intense it began to corrode even him, a master whose own immense power was on the verge of the Life and Death Realm.
He knew she was famous, but this was a true monster.
A competitive fire surged from the pit of his stomach to the top of his head.
“I was going easy on him. Do you think I’ll do the same for you?”
“Then don’t hold back!”
“Insolent brat.”
Finally, with a shout from Namgung Cheon-ryong to ward off the magi, heavenly lightning and camellia petals clashed.
The other Girasung returnees, far weaker than the two combatants, could do nothing but scream.
*
Song Hyeok-seo’s shadow tore through the city center.
Meanwhile, screams began to erupt from all over as people looked up at the sky.
The distorted sky was reflecting the image of another dimension.
“It’s begun.”
Peering up at the sky from within the shadows, Song Hyeok-seo muttered to himself.
Girasung’s greatest gambit. It was to connect a dimension to the skies above Jung-gu, Seoul.
For years, Girasung had been researching artificial dimensional gates, accumulating knowledge.
The knowledge they had amassed by pressuring experts in dimensional studies had finally led to a breakthrough.
As a result, their research had progressed beyond small-scale artificial gates to opening massive ones.
Their research into dimensional gates had effectively reached a singularity.
Earth’s dimensions are warped because of the Tower of Revelation.
It’s like a fishing net with a wide mouth but a narrow opening.
It’s a structure that’s easy to enter but difficult to leave.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that all dimensional shifts occurring on Earth are due to the whims of the Tower of Revelation.
It is virtually impossible for an individual to intentionally travel to another dimension from Earth.
That’s why, even if some returnees wished to go back to the dimensions they came from, they were forced to remain on Earth, unable to cross the dimensional walls warped by the Tower.
Therefore, Girasung’s research developed in a different direction.
If you can’t go to it, bring it to you.
Instead of traveling themselves, they would connect another dimension so it could come here.
The first fruit of that research was the artificial dimensional gate.
Girasung went a step further and was conducting the next phase of their research.
Dimensional Fusion.
Opening a gate on a planetary scale to fuse and bind the dimensions themselves.
And their current goal was to invade such a dimension and create a world of their own.
‘It’s absurd.’
Some might call it an impossible plan, but the tenacity of a returnee is a terrifying thing.
Returnees are beings who managed to survive and come back from worlds of nothing.
To them, tenacity was second nature, and the impossible was simply something to be overcome.
That was why Girasung was now charging forward like a runaway locomotive, seeking to overcome that very impossibility.
They didn't care if minor parts broke along the way, as long as they reached their destination.
‘That’s the difference between us and the World Returnee Association.’
The World Returnee Association manages all affairs related to returnees with careful consideration.
In contrast, Girasung poured all its efforts into researching the gates themselves, solely to achieve their own desires.
As a result, they had reached a level where they could proudly call themselves the world’s foremost experts on dimensional gates.
‘And that’s why I...’
Song Hyeok-seo had no choice but to join Girasung.
Their knowledge of dimensional gates was overwhelmingly superior.
He believed that with their help, he could retrieve his sister’s body, which had been consumed by a dimensional rift.
But even Girasung, despite all their research, had yet to fully comprehend everything about dimensions.
Opening a massive gate like this one now had required them to pour in so many resources and take on so much risk that they considered this their one and only shot.
In fact, even they couldn't predict the problems that would arise from opening such a large-scale gate.
And yet, they had committed an act of this magnitude.
The reason was none other than to draw out Ha Si-ho.
The gate in the sky was absurdly massive, large enough to cover the entire sky above Jung-gu, Seoul.
On top of that, a gate of this size was an instantaneous one.
‘Even if the hunters and returnees respond quickly, there’s a limit to how they can handle a large-scale instantaneous gate that appears without any warning.’
If left unchecked, the civilian casualties would be astronomical.
At worst, Jung-gu, the heart of South Korea’s capital, could be wiped off the map.
There was only one person who could stop a gate of this scale.
Ha Si-ho, the pinnacle of spatial ability users.
Of course, it wouldn't be easy for her to stop it.
She would have to expend a considerable amount of power.
‘And that’s what we’re after.’
While Ha Si-ho exhausts all her energy stopping the gate, and while the returnees and hunters are busy fighting the dimensional entities pouring out of it, we will focus solely on Ha Si-ho, abduct her, and escape.
Girasung had no reason to stop the dimensional entities or the gate.
Dealing with this chaos was the job of the World Returnee Association and the hunters; it had nothing to do with Girasung.
To them, chaos was an opportunity.
That was why they had gone through with this.
‘In the end, isn’t that how it always is?’
Climbing the exterior of a building using his shadows, Song Hyeok-seo let out a dry laugh as if recalling the past.
‘The ones with more to protect are always the ones who are easier to break.’
It is incredibly difficult to hold on to what you have until the very end.
No matter how tightly you grip, something is bound to slip through your fingers.
And this time, the one who slipped through would be Ha Si-ho.
Song Hyeok-seo didn't know how much information had been leaked.
But even if they knew, some things are simply unstoppable.
The large-scale instantaneous gate had been in preparation for a long time.
Whether Song Hyeok-seo had joined or not, Girasung had been planning this for a long time and was determined to see it through.
“Kyaaaaah!”
“Dimensional entities!”
At that moment, through the translucent, instantaneous gate in the sky, an endless number of dimensional entities stared down at the prey below, licking their lips.
The destination connected to this gate was none other than Classification: Fantasy 32.
A hellscape of a world where humans did not exist, only monsters.
The one returnee from that dimension was confined to a psychiatric hospital, a madman who spent his days scribbling pictures of monsters on the walls.
That was how abnormal Fantasy 32 was.
‘Someone said they were like the Zerg from that game.’
Recalling an older Girasung returnee who had peered into the dimension and called it disgusting, Song Hyeok-seo stood tall on the rooftop.
At that moment, the sky cracked wide open, and the dimensional entities began to pour out.
The large-scale instantaneous gate had opened.
Screams and chaos erupted from below.
“Come forth.”
As Song Hyeok-seo stared at the sky and uttered the word, yokai began to emerge from the shadows, covering the rooftop.
They had appeared at the call of the master of spirits and goblins.
A while ago, Song Hyeok-seo had used an artificial gate to summon the yokai from his own dimension.
He had left that dimension with his sister, Se-hee, to no longer live as the King of Yokai.
But for her sake, he had become the King of Yokai once more.
“You will attack the hunters who try to stop the dimensional entities.”
The master of spirits and goblins once again ordered the yokai to attack humans.
He had decided to become Asura once more.
It was at that moment.
A chill shot through his entire body, and sensing a massive wave of energy, Song Hyeok-seo froze.
“This is…”
A sensation he had felt not long ago.
The moment that sensation triggered his sense of danger.
KRA-KOOOOOM!
*
*
A bolt of red lightning suddenly shot up into the sky.
For an instant, the entire area was ignited in crimson light, so intense that he could see nothing. Song Hyeok-seo narrowed his eyes against the glare.
As his vision slowly returned, his eyes filled with utter shock.
Beyond, in a blue sky where all the clouds had been blown away, the dimensional entities that had been about to pour down were all gone, wiped out by that single bolt of red lightning.
Before that absurd output of power, not a single entity from the massive dimensional gate had managed to emerge before being swept away.