Chapter 57
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Cheonhwa (1)
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Blinds drawn tight, the office was shrouded in darkness.
A man sat on the sofa with his eyes closed.
The man's name was Park Yong-ha.
He was the eldest son of the Cheonhwa Group chairman and currently served as vice president.
"......"
Behind Park Yong-ha's closed eyelids, his eyeballs darted rapidly. At the same time, his lips moved faintly as he muttered something under his breath.
A mumble so faint you couldn't hear it without intense focus.
Even then, it was hard to make out.
"......Haa."
After a long while like that, Park Yong-ha let out a deep sigh. He slowly opened his eyes.
The chief secretary standing before him spoke cautiously the moment he saw his eyes open.
"How did it go, Vice President?"
"It's enough to drive me insane."
"Pardon?"
"The Outer God issued a command."
"A command... you say?"
"Yeah. Destroy the core of the dimensional barrier at the center of Korea? And stop Kim Hyun's actions."
At those words, the chief secretary jumped in surprise and asked back.
"It issued such a command?"
"Yeah. That damn octopus bastard."
Park Yong-ha grumbled in a tone utterly irreverent for speaking of a god. He clicked his tongue and clenched and unclenched his fist.
"How the hell are we supposed to stop Kim Hyun?"
Was Kim Hyun just your average S-Rank Hunter?
"A National Power-level Hunter who clears S-Rank Gates in three minutes and recaptured Pyongyang single-handedly! How are we supposed to stop a woman like that?!"
As if sick of her overwhelming achievements, Park Yong-ha shook his head. He vented his frustration for a while, kicking the sofa repeatedly.
"Haa. Haa."
As Park Yong-ha seemed to calm down a bit, the chief secretary, who had been watching his mood, asked cautiously.
"......So, what will you do?"
"What can I do? Kim Hyun is a lost cause."
"But the Outer God commanded......"
"Who cares."
Park Yong-ha muttered through gritted teeth.
"Messing with that woman is suicide."
She was someone with no hesitation in killing. If you upset her even slightly, she'd come flying in and crush your skull like a bug. Hadn't his own brother just been murdered like that?
"Ugh......"
The chief secretary groaned.
Park Yong-ha let out a deep sigh and muttered.
"A monster like that...... needs an even stronger monster to handle."
His gaze turned to a small wooden statue on the table. The grotesquely twisted sculpture induced nausea just by looking at it.
But it wasn't just a horrific statue.
This was a holy relic containing the power of Azrath, the Outer God currently enshrined by Cheonhwa Group.
It also served as the medium for invoking Azrath's descent.
"We just need to invoke Azrath."
Azrath was a being called an Outer God. It should easily kill a mere mortal like Kim Hyun.
"Our goal is to invoke the Outer God on this land and gain immortality anyway. We can call it staying true to our original purpose."
Park Yong-ha's lips twisted.
"But, Vice President...... We still don't have enough sacrifices for the invocation."
"How many more do we need?"
"We'd need at least twice as many as what's currently stockpiled at Cheonhwa Pharmaceuticals."
Park Yong-ha slammed the table at that.
"......Pathetic. Even after all that investment, we're only at half? What the hell have you been doing?"
In response to Park Yong-ha's rebuke, the chief secretary offered an excuse.
"But to avoid suspicion from others, we had no choice. We're already under some scrutiny from the Superhuman Management Bureau. Increasing the sacrifices further is impossible."
"......"
Park Yong-ha clamped his mouth shut.
He thought for a long while, then eventually bowed his head and sighed.
"No helping it, then."
Park Yong-ha slowly raised his head. The corners of his mouth twisted cruelly.
"We'll have to use the last resort."
"Th-that's......!"
The chief secretary jumped in shock at those words.
Park Yong-ha snorted and shrugged.
"What? Once we invoke it, it's over. We'd win."
"......"
"To win, what can't we do?"
"......Understood."
"However...... To use the last resort, we need to get rid of Kim Hyun first. At least send her outside Korea."
"I'll find a way to handle that."
"Remember. If we fail, we're done for."
So go in prepared to die.
Though the otherworldly passage had Korea—no, the entire world—in an uproar, the home of its owner, Kim Hyun, remained quiet. If anything, it felt leisurely.
And for good reason: Kim Hyun had dumped all the passage-related work on Bathory.
Thanks to that, she'd spent the last few days lounging at home, reading comics.
Roll roll.
She'd been at it for quite a while.
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang, followed by the sound of the door opening.
"Kim Hyun-nim! I'm back!"
Chae Seol-ah had returned after her multi-day vacation.
"I hope you managed well while I was gone...... Aaaah!"
Chae Seol-ah screamed as she stepped inside.
"Wh-what is this?!"
"What's what?"
Kim Hyun emerged scratching her belly to greet her, tilting her head. Chae Seol-ah pointed shakily at something.
"Wh-what's that?!"
"Can't you tell? Comics."
"No, why are comics piled up like a mountain?! All over the house! Everywhere!"
Kim Hyun replied indifferently.
"No bookshelves. Nowhere to put them, so I left them on the floor."
"On the floor!"
Chae Seol-ah jabbed a finger at the floor.
"And those bags! They're obviously trash!"
"I've only been eating delivery the last few days."
Kim Hyun scratched her nape sheepishly.
Chae Seol-ah shrieked.
"If you ate it, you clean it up!"
"I'll do it later."
"Don't lie!"
"Busted."
"If you were going to clean, it'd be done already!"
Chae Seol-ah clutched her forehead and lamented.
"I knew your life skills were a bit lacking...... But I didn't think it'd be this disastrous......"
Kim Hyun grumbled.
"Is this really disastrous? Isn't that a bit harsh?"
"Look around and say that."
Glancing around at her words, Kim Hyun smacked her lips.
"Well...... It is kinda messy."
"Really messy. Very."
"Is it."
Chae Seol-ah sighed deeply and rolled up her sleeves.
"I'll clean."
"No, no. I'll do it."
"You?"
Chae Seol-ah looked at Kim Hyun.
"That distrustful look hurts."
"But you don't know how to clean."
"I can."
At that, Chae Seol-ah paused mid-grab of a trash bag and put her hands on her hips.
She still didn't trust it one bit, but maybe worth checking once. That's what Chae Seol-ah thought.
"Wanna try, then?"
"Sure."
Kim Hyun's eyes gleamed.
The next moment.
The shadow at Kim Hyun's feet spread throughout the house.
"Eh."
Chae Seol-ah let out a dazed sound at the sight.
Kim Hyun grinned and commanded.
"Eat."
Instantly, everything in the house was sucked into the shadow.
The trash bags filling the house.
The comics piled like mountains everywhere.
All vanished in a flash.
And not just that.
"Wh-what?!"
The shadow devoured other things too.
Furniture like the fridge, sofa, TV, bed, and so on.
Randomly strewn clothes, piled popcorn, AC remote.
Even Chae Seol-ah's shoes by the entrance.
Anything touching the floor was swallowed whole.
Shocked, Chae Seol-ah whipped around to Kim Hyun.
"N-no! What about the furniture?!"
"Oh. Forgot."
"It's not just furniture—the whole house is empty! Anything on the floor got sucked in?!"
"Yeah, pretty much."
Only then realizing her own shoes were gone, Chae Seol-ah sighed and shook her head.
"Should've known not to let you clean. Restore everything now."
"Can't restore."
"Huh?"
Kim Hyun scratched her cheek with an awkward smile.
"Didn't clean. Destroyed."
"......"
Rendered speechless, Chae Seol-ah muttered weakly.
"My shoes......"
"I'll buy you new ones."
"Getting home barefoot is the problem!"
"Oh, right."
"More importantly, some of that furniture was original. What now?"
"Gotta replace 'em."
Kim Hyun scratched her nape, then fiddled with her smartwatch to call Bathory.
"Bathory."
-Yes, Demon Lord.
Kim Hyun explained the situation roughly.
-Understood. I'll furnish everything.
-While we're at it, how about getting you a new place suited to your tastes?
"Oh yeah. Need a house."
Kim Hyun was still crashing in the Superhuman Management Bureau's apartment. They hadn't said anything, so she'd stayed, but it was long past time to move.
"But it's a hassle."
House hunting? Total pain.
Even more so after days of lounging.
But Kim Hyun didn't need to agonize.
-Don't worry. I'll set up the perfect place for you! Just leave it to me!
"You sure?"
-Yes! I'll do my best!
The call with Bathory ended.
Kim Hyun turned to Chae Seol-ah.
"Now what."
Couldn't stay in an empty house.
"No idea."
Chae Seol-ah replied glumly, mourning her shoes.
"......Guess no choice."
And so.
Kim Hyun's brief staycation came to an end.