Chapter 499: Emergency Meeting (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 499: Emergency Meeting (6)
Jang Yun-tae had never once regretted joining Baek-il.
The top guild in South Korea.
A leader hailed as a hero.
It was absolute perfection.
It was a place that perfectly catered to his ambitions, and ever since joining Baek-il, he had made significant strides as a hunter. Jang Yun-tae had a dream: once he established himself as a core member of Baek-il, he hoped to become a Hero-rank hunter recognized by everyone in South Korea, just like the Mage in White.
Step by step, slow and steady.
That was how he had climbed the ranks.
He had finally earned enough trust to attend executive meetings, harboring the secret hope that he might even be chosen as the guild leader's right-hand man.
But now.
"...Ugh, uuuugh."
Jang Yun-tae groaned.
He was currently holding a grueling head-to-ground punishment posture.
With his hands clasped behind his back and his head pressed firmly against the cold floor, sweat poured down his face. Ten minutes had already passed.
As a B-Rank hunter in his own right, he wasn't someone who should be subjected to such humiliation. Yet, he didn't dare rebel against the terrifying voice raining down on him.
"Hey, are you out of your fucking mind?"
It was a familiar voice.
But the aura was completely different.
Park Min-woo, always so gentle and serious, had completely cast off his facade as the Mage in White. Right now, he was acting like an absolute street thug.
"What did I tell you? I explicitly ordered you to establish a cooperative relationship with Roman Dmitry on the friendliest terms possible! Who told you to just break off the negotiations like that? Sigh, this is driving me crazy. I thought you were one of the quick-witted ones in Baek-il, but does your brain just lack the capacity to understand why I gave that order? Yeah, that must be it. That's why you pulled such a ridiculous stunt. Hey, you bastard! Keep your posture straight!"
"I'm sorry!"
Jang Yun-tae, who had wobbled for a moment, hastily corrected his posture.
At that sight, Park Min-woo's anger flared again.
When he first received the text saying the negotiations had broken down, his sheer rage had been beyond words.
'I should have just gone myself.'
But even in hindsight, that would have been incredibly difficult. Having faced Roman Dmitry in the past, his heart hammered against his ribs at the mere thought of confronting him again.
He didn't care if Jang Yun-tae discovered his true nature.
He had already prepared himself to reveal his real personality to some extent, starting with Jo Dal-su. Besides, to handle matters related to Roman Dmitry in the future, he actually needed a subordinate who knew the truth. Jang Yun-tae wasn't a bad choice for that role. Seeing how he obediently slammed his head to the floor without a single question the moment Min-woo's expression changed, he seemed capable of handling the shocking truth hidden behind the Mage in White.
But that was one thing, and this was another.
Park Min-woo felt dizzy just thinking about the absolute mess Jang Yun-tae had made.
"Get up."
"..."
"I said get up, you bastard."
"Yes, yes, sir!"
Jang Yun-tae sprang to his feet.
His face was drenched in sweat, his mind a tangled mess. He simply couldn't comprehend how things had turned out this way. It was utterly bewildering. On top of the sudden, jarring revelation of Park Min-woo's true nature, he couldn't fathom why someone of the Mage in White's immense stature was making such a massive fuss over Roman Dmitry.
Park Min-woo spoke.
"Listen to me very carefully. Neither you nor the rest of the world has any fucking idea how terrifying Roman Dmitry truly is. A war with the Central Government? Those bastards are all suicidal idiots. If a war had broken out, all of South Korea could have been wiped off the map. I basically saved their miserable lives. So go right now and clean up the milk you spilled. Whether you have to lick it off the floor with your tongue or beg on your bloody knees, fix this mess. Got it?"
"Understood!"
"And keep this in mind: if we want to survive in this chaotic world from now on, we have to cling to Roman Dmitry like our lives depend on it."
Honestly, Jang Yun-tae didn't understand.
But he knew well enough how to act to survive right now.
"I will keep that in mind! I will definitely fix this mess and return!"
* * *
Buzz.
Buzz, buzz.
Kim Jun-hyeok's phone wouldn't stop vibrating.
Glancing at the screen, he saw a familiar number continuously sending text messages.
[This is Jang Yun-tae from Baek-il. Could you please meet with me just one more time?]
[I am waiting in front of the government building. They say I cannot enter unless the Mayor permits it.]
[I am truly sorry. I should have properly conveyed Baek-il's intentions, but I made a momentary lapse in judgment. If you give me just one chance, I want to sincerely apologize and restore our relationship with Incheon.]
[I believe this incident began with a malicious attack by the Central Government. Investigator Moon Tae-jun and Assemblyman Jo Dal-su—aren't they already famous for being trash? Since Baek-il is a group that acts for justice, we want to lend our strength so that the Incheon Government is not shaken by such corruption. These are not empty words. If you meet with me just once, I will prove how sincere Baek-il is about this.]
It was absurd.
What kind of organization was Baek-il?
The undisputed top guild in South Korea.
They had absolutely no reason to bow their heads to anyone in the country, yet Jang Yun-tae was acting with excessive, almost pathetic servility.
Even Kim Jun-hyeok couldn't wrap his head around it.
He knew Roman Dmitry was strong, but he wasn't privy to Roman's past life like Park Min-woo was. If he had known that Roman was a supreme being who had conquered an entire world and brought the Demon Realm to its knees—a being who had forged an empire from a tiny, insignificant plot of land named Dmitry—he would have completely understood Jang Yun-tae's desperation.
An alliance with Baek-il would be a good thing.
However, that was not his decision to make.
Believing there was a reason Roman Dmitry had sent Jang Yun-tae away, he relayed the contents of the messages exactly as they were.
"...These are the messages I received. What should we do?"
"What do you think? Do you think Baek-il's reaction is reasonable?" Roman Dmitry asked.
Kim Jun-hyeok fell into thought for a moment. After careful consideration, he replied.
"I don't understand why Baek-il is going to such lengths either. Even if the Mage in White is a symbol of justice, they must have some hidden motive for being this desperate to ally with us."
"Indeed. That is exactly why I turned them away. Besides, we are more than strong enough without anyone's help."
"Then I will handle Baek-il on my end."
"Very well."
It was a conversation that would have sent the entire world into shock.
Baek-il was an organization coveted even by superpowers like the USA, yet these two were tossing them aside like an afterthought.
Stepping outside, Kim Jun-hyeok pulled out his phone and blocked Jang Yun-tae's number.
[Please, just once...]
His pitiful final text went straight to the trash without even being read.
* * *
Jang Yun-tae bowed his head like a condemned traitor facing the executioner's blade.
"...I am truly sorry. No matter how many times I visited the Incheon Government, I was only turned away at the door. It seems they have blocked me, as I cannot reach them at all. I tried my best to resolve the issue, but there is nothing more I can do. I will gladly accept any punishment. Please, just don't expel me from Baek-il."
His voice was utterly desperate.
Having spent days trying to salvage the situation, Jang Yun-tae ultimately had no choice but to return empty-handed.
Park Min-woo let out a heavy sigh.
Roman Dmitry.
He had recognized him and dreamed of a grand plan. But seeing that plan fall apart from the very beginning, he wondered if this, too, was a punishment from God.
'Whether living as Alexander or as Kim Pan-seok, I always wanted to be one of the Heavenly Demon's people. I thought I would gladly lay down my life if I could just live looking up at his broad back, yet reality is always so harsh. No matter how strong I become, opposing him is impossible. To completely resolve the karma of my past lives and live a decent human life under the name Park Min-woo, I have to bet everything I have on the Heavenly Demon.'
Standing against him was suicide.
The so-called powerhouses of this world? He could guarantee that the moment Roman Dmitry made a serious move, their heads would roll, and the global hierarchy would be brutally reorganized in an instant.
Standing by the Heavenly Demon's side.
That was the only way to survive.
Until recently, he had thought of himself as the hope of this world, but with Roman Dmitry's appearance, the story was entirely different.
Park Min-woo spoke.
"I will give you a mission."
"Just say the word. I will carry it out even if it costs me my life."
"Cut the bullshit and just do as you're told. From now on, you will support the Incheon Government through a shell company. Since they've positioned themselves in direct opposition to the Central Government, they are bound to be short on the resources needed to sustain themselves. They won't reject a hand offering a genuinely reasonable trade."
It was a simple, brute-force method.
Showing sincerity.
He would slowly put in the effort. Once Roman Dmitry realized how dedicated Baek-il was to Incheon, he would eventually change his mind.
"And pass this order down to Baek-il's mages: from now on, anyone who causes even the slightest friction with Roman Dmitry—no, with anyone related to the Incheon Government—will have their head blown off. Obviously, don't word it exactly like that; wrap it up nicely. Understood? If you fail to handle this task properly, or if the public finds out I act like this kind of trash, you are a dead man."
Park Min-woo made a vow to himself.
In this life, he would absolutely stand by Roman Dmitry's side.
"Answer me."
"Understood!"
Jang Yun-tae could only think one thing.
I am absolutely fucked.
* * *
Baek-il and Jang Yun-tae.
That was nothing more than a minor incident.
It was an event soon to be forgotten, and while Park Min-woo was throwing his fit, Roman Dmitry was at the training ground.
Swoosh.
Swoosh, swoosh.
He swung his sword.
Though it was a motion he had repeated countless times, Roman Dmitry never neglected the training required to hone his absolute basics. This had held true even right after he defeated the Demon King. Even after striking down a godlike being, and even knowing he would soon have to leave that dimension behind, he had still dedicated a significant portion of his day to swinging his sword.
That was the very essence of the Heavenly Demon.
No matter how peaceful the moment, his endless desire for strength always spurred him forward.
'It is true that after killing the Demon King, my sense of purpose grew faint. The thought that the realm I had reached might be the absolute peak—that sliver of doubt slowed my progress. But now, I have a new goal.'
The Absolute.
A new enemy.
They would undoubtedly be strong. Though he did not know exactly how strong, that unknown power made his blood boil.
There was not a single moment to spare for a breather.
Feeling alive once more, Roman Dmitry did not stop swinging his sword even as the sun set and rose again. No matter what danger might loom ahead, it would not be able to threaten him. With a strength even more overwhelming than in his past life, he would crush all the problems before him.
And he would definitely reclaim his past life.
Whether it was a god or something else entirely, if any being dared to rob him of his life again, he would blow their head clean off.
Swoosh.
Swoosh, swoosh.
State of Selflessness.
He immersed himself entirely in his own world. He existed as nothing more than a single, perfect sword. While the martial artists of this world would be utterly astonished by experiencing even a mere fraction of this state, Roman Dmitry was polishing his skills to a realm far beyond their comprehension.
In that manner, time passed.
Contrary to the suffocating atmosphere that made it feel as though a Great Disaster would strike at any given second, three months passed in a state of taut, unbroken tension.
* * *
The past three months had been a continuous stretch of anxiety.
Ever since the ominous warning from the USA, the employees manning South Korea's emergency communication network had been working grueling night shifts as if it were the new normal.
Today was no different.
A tedious, nerve-wracking waiting period.
One employee spoke in an irritated voice.
"Why is this Great Disaster taking so damn long? If it's going to happen anyway, I wish it would just get it over with."
"Hey, man. Don't jinx it. What if the world really ends this time?"
"I'm just frustrated. No matter how much we struggle, the arrival of the Great Disaster is a foregone conclusion. The cycle is long overdue, yet there's zero news. We're the only ones suffering in this limbo. The Great Disaster is a trial humanity has to endure, and the longer it's delayed, the more it just drains our lifeblood."
It wasn't hard to understand his frustration.
The Great Disaster.
What had initially occurred in cycles of two to three years had gradually stretched out. Now, six full years had passed since the fifth Great Disaster, yet there hadn't been a single outbreak.
It was bound to be maddening.
Since no one knew when the world would turn upside down, people were cautious about even simple outings now that the cycle was overdue. If they went outside and the Great Disaster began, death would be unavoidable.
Living under such suffocating tension, the emergency network employees groaned with fatigue.
It was then.
Beep!
"Huh? We have a report. An Omen Phenomenon just occurred in LA, USA."
It wasn't a particularly unusual event. Omen Phenomena had been frequent lately, which was why nations around the world had kept their guard up.
However, this time was different.
Just as they were about to report the situation in the USA to their superiors, a flurry of red dots suddenly flashed across the massive main monitor.
"An Omen Phenomenon just triggered in New York as well!"
"We have another one in Chicago!"
"Wait, an Omen Phenomenon was just confirmed in Madrid, Spain!"
Emergency signals poured in like a flood.
In an instant, the employees' expressions froze in sheer terror. Even the man who had just complained about the wait couldn't find it in himself to welcome this development.
"...What the hell."
Goosebumps erupted across their skin.
Omen Phenomena were occurring simultaneously across the entire globe.
What this meant was terrifyingly clear.
The 6th Great Disaster.
Hell had finally begun.