Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: The Supreme One Has Returned
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GHO Korea Branch Chief's Office.
The heavyweights representing Korea had gathered there.
Minister Baek Myung-hee of the Korea Hunter Management Agency.
GHO Korea Branch Chief Daisy.
And even Lee Yong-un, the representative of Korea's hunters.
The big shots, summoned at Yong-un's call, were stunned by his words the moment they assembled.
"I'd like you to send me first to the place where the Demonas weakening operation needs to happen."
Even for Yong-un, who always defied common sense, this was far too dangerous.
It was a perilously hazardous place where even hundreds of hunters dispatched from the world's top ten superpowers had to brace for death.
And he planned to go there alone.
"Absolutely not."
For Daisy, the GHO Korea Branch Chief, this was something she could never allow.
"I don't need anything else. Just tell me the location."
"It's too dangerous! I can't even tell you the location..."
But unlike Daisy, Minister Baek Myung-hee responded differently.
"It's San Marino. The Demonas located in Europe."
"Minister!"
Daisy stared at her with wide eyes at the minister's words.
Yet the minister only smiled back at Daisy.
"Hunter Yong-un isn't a fool. If he's making this request, it's a decision he's reached after careful thought."
There wasn't a trace of worry on the minister's smiling face.
It was filled only with blind trust, as if she fully believed in Yong-un's plea.
"It won't be dangerous, right? Is there anything I can assist with?"
Yong-un waved his hand at the minister's question.
"No need. I plan to go and come back quickly. Thank you for not stopping me."
"You'd have gone anyway, even if I tried."
With a chuckle, Yong-un rose from his seat.
Without another word, he turned and walked out.
Once Yong-un had vanished, Daisy, now alone with the minister, grabbed the minister's wrist as she reached for her teacup.
"It's undeniable that Hunter Yong-un is remarkable. But San Marino is an entirely different matter."
"I know. Even GHO and the superpower alliance couldn't clear it, so they're only running weakening operations. As a minister, that's basic knowledge I must have."
"And yet you'll let Hunter Yong-un go alone?"
The minister set her teacup down again and shrugged.
"Don't I have even more greed for the strong and heroes than you, Branch Chief Daisy?"
"W-Well, yes, probably."
If something went wrong with Yong-un, all the fallout would land squarely on Korea's shoulders.
Even knowing that full well, the minister's expression remained serene.
"So why did I permit it, then?"
"You trust Hunter Yong-un?"
"I have to. If I don't, as minister, I'd be no supporter to everything Hunter Yong-un does as a hunter—I'd be an obstacle."
"Even so, it's too dangerous. If I were in your position, I'd have clung to his legs to stop him."
A subtle smile played on the minister's lips at Daisy's words.
People in high positions, with so much to protect, inevitably developed that mindset.
"I would have too. Until just a year ago."
A year ago, the Jumak-dong Demonas clearance operation.
During that op, the minister had undergone a profound change.
Back then, she had tried to block Yong-un's declaration of clearing the Demonas, even overstepping her authority.
It had seemed utterly impossible.
And it was every bit as deadly as this.
Ignoring Yong-un's assurances of success, she had fixated solely on the losses if he died.
But Yong-un had shattered all her countermeasures and cleared the Demonas spectacularly, just to prove her wrong.
If it were me back then...
She had stubbornly refused, no matter what.
Watching Yong-un return after clearing the Demonas forced the minister to gain many insights.
"You remind me of myself back then, Branch Chief Daisy. But my thinking has changed now."
If it were me now.
At least as someone leading a faction.
"Yes, we must consider the risks. But when it comes to an individual's choices and requests—even if they seem impossible—we shouldn't block them just by prioritizing damage. We should at least try to understand the heart of the hunter who made that choice..."
That was the realization Yong-un had given her, one she still held onto.
Thanks to it, during the year Yong-un and his faction spent in closed-door training, the minister had contributed to Korea's hunters' growth based on that insight.
Daisy fell silent for a moment after hearing the minister's words.
It wasn't just Hunter Yong-un's doing...
Everyone credited Yong-un for Korea's hunter industry's development and change.
But seeing this, Daisy judged that the minister's quiet support from behind played no small part.
"May I drink my tea now?"
"Ah, yes."
Daisy released the minister's wrist.
The minister then sipped her tea as if nothing had happened.
"Among all the ministers I've seen worldwide, you strike me as the coolest, Minister."
Daisy saw the minister anew today.
She had respected her greatly for rising to minister as a woman, but thought she was just lucky to be overshadowed by Hunter Yong-un.
Now, though, it seemed different.
Minister Baek Myung-hee appeared a greater minister than any Daisy had encountered in GHO across various nations.
Not light admiration, but profound, heartfelt respect from the chest—a massive figure worthy of it.
"If it's that kind of praise, give it to Hunter Yong-un."
"Pardon?"
"He changed me. The one who made that 'impossible' decision I just mentioned."
Daisy, gazing at her with respect, went blank-faced.
The minister set down her teacup, her playful demeanor vanishing into a serious expression.
"I don't know how you'll see it, Branch Chief, but Hunter Yong-un is extraordinary. Beyond age and looks—his heart, depth, experience. All far above mine. A truly great person."
Her respected minister speaking that way about someone in his mid-to-late twenties.
Was it because she saw the minister anew today?
Daisy's gaze, stirred by deep respect, turned to the now-empty seat Yong-un had left.
And she quietly murmured.
"Hunter Yong-un...?"
San Marino border.
Despite not being a superpower, a GHO branch was located there.
There were three such places without superpower status: Italy, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea.
This was one of them.
The GHO Italy Branch.
The sole reason for a GHO branch in a non-superpower nation was to monitor national Demonas—specifically A-Rank ones—and prevent their outbreaks.
Unlike other branches, these existed purely for Demonas management.
With the weakening operation imminent, the bustling Italy Branch received an unexpected visitor.
"Are you Hunter Yong-un?"
Yong-un replied in English to Branch Chief Pamellino's English.
"Yes."
During the year everyone else was in seclusion, Yong-un hadn't idled.
To communicate anywhere worldwide, he had mastered English perfectly over that year.
"I heard you didn't speak it, so I was preparing an interpreter. Your fluency is impressive."
"I studied. Did you hear why I'm here?"
English lacked honorifics, so Yong-un's speech mixed formal and casual.
But communication worked fine.
His studies paid off; conveying intent posed no issue.
Pamellino, grasping his words, wiped her smile and handed over documents with a worried tone.
"But are you sure about this? You can't imagine my shock at the official request."
[A-Rank Demonas 'San Marino' Exploration Request] ......
- Daisy, Korea Branch Chief
She had acted reluctant but ultimately agreed to help.
Even if refused here, Yong-un planned to proceed like at Jumak-dong.
But this spared him the hassle.
Skimming the document, Yong-un handed it back to Pamellino.
"It's just reconnaissance, as stated. I'll go and return."
"Really... are you sure alone? As you see, San Marino's mana levels are at their peak; it needs the weakening op immediately."
Pamellino pointed to the wall-mounted TV in her office.
True to a Demonas-managing branch, it constantly displayed San Marino's mana output and infrared map.
The map brimmed with red dots, showing how saturated the Demonas was.
Pamellino's worried face.
Yong-un looked at her and spoke nonchalantly.
"I'll go and return."
He turned and vanished from the spot.
"Huh?"
Startled, Pamellino rushed to the window.
Seeing Yong-un before the massive San Marino Demonas entrance, she sighed in relief.
"Phew. Well, he's a world S-Rank top-tier; he'll be fine."
Chijijik.
[Entry on standby.]
"Open it for him."
The staff exchanged glances at Pamellino's radioed order, then nodded and shouted.
"Open!"
"Open!"
Kiiiiiiik.
The massive door groaned open with mechanical clamor.
Thud!
It swung wide with a resounding impact.
"God bless you."
Yong-un nodded in response and strode into the open San Marino Demonas.
Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling!
Sung-min of the Six Ghost Souls' room differed from others.
Rainbow ribbons of seven primary colors dangled from the ceiling, and at the center stood a paper talisman inscribed with '????', silently guarding the space.
Sung-min shook his bell toward the enigmatic characters, eyes closed.
Ding-a-ling. Clack.
The bell dropped from his hand. When Sung-min opened his eyes, they had changed from their usual childlike mix of sorrow and brightness to an emotionless void.
Swish.
Rising, Sung-min turned.
The door opened, and Myung-su entered.
"Praying? Sorry."
As Myung-su turned to leave, Sung-min spoke.
"Afflictions."
Myung-su paused at the door.
"Afflictions will come to the small stars that gained light from the great star."
More incomprehensible words from Sung-min.
Myung-su listened quietly.
"Endure. And wait. Until the great star clears the Demon Head Star Cloud."
With that, Sung-min's knees buckled beneath him.
It was unprecedented.
A snowflake fluttered to the floor below his knees.
In a sealed room, a single snowflake falling was impossible.
Yet Myung-su watched it vanish tracelessly on the floor and silently closed the door.
Yong-un's form sliced through San Marino Demonas's skies.
The Demonas looked smaller than Seoul.
But the blockade lines around it, ruined roads, and massive walls at the center gave Yong-un an eerie feeling from above.
Is that it? The thing that made me uneasy?
A huge wall enclosing an even smaller mansion.
Unlike modern styles, the mansion's architecture seemed born after San Marino became a Demonas—wholly unfamiliar.
He strained to peer inside, but an unknown aura shrouding it blocked his view.
Do I need to use that?
Halted midair, still cloaked in Red Heaven Demonic Qi, Yong-un closed his eyes.
Slowly raising his hand, a special energy formed—not the jet-black crimson Red Heaven Demonic Qi he often used.
A violet aura that could cleave Red Heaven Demonic Qi and even sever Barum's blue claws, which it couldn't cut.
Whoooong.
The culmination of Yong-un's unique art, born from slaying the Blade Demon and turning against the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Counter to the Ghost Demon Slaying Squad: Demon Slaughter Ghost Art.
Convergence Slaughter Art of Ghost Demon Annihilation.
Dragon Demon Squad's Dragon Demon Incarnation.
And the pinnacle of Ma Hyeon-dong's secret arts, which forged the current Yong-un and that era's Sword Demon.
The violet energy dyed his eyes black-crimson on the left and white-azure on the right, devouring the Red Heaven Demonic Qi.
What are you? Show yourself to me.
His body awash in violet,
Left eye black with red hue, right eye white with blue—both gleaming brightly.
Suddenly, the mansion's interior, previously hidden, filled his widened gaze.
None other than
the demon inside, staring up at the airborne Yong-un.
"...... You're looking at me."
The peculiar demon gazing up at Yong-un with an inscrutable smile.
It slowly raised its hand, lips curling wider.
Yong-un's expression soured.
Click. Click-click.
Just pointing casually at the sky.
Yet that simple gesture made every monster and demon in the Demonas—previously unaware of him—simultaneously look skyward.
"Kieeeek!"
A massive roar erupted below, and hundreds of winged demons launched into the air.
Hundreds of demons flying with their murky gray-black demonic qi.
Screeching to blacken the sky, they fired skills at Yong-un like avenging foes.
Skills painting Yong-un's sky crimson.
But Yong-un stared down at the peculiar demon in the mansion, ignoring the barrage.
He condensed his enveloping violet energy and spoke.
"This world truly holds much I don't know."
"Kyaaaak!"
Boom! Booom!
The condensed violet swelled massively, spilling beyond Yong-un and expanding outward.
The growing purple orb obliterated incoming skills and swallowed the flying demons.
Then.
Snap.
Once it reached about ten meters radius around Yong-un,
his finger flicked lightly.
The violet sphere, which had shattered skills, cracked—then exploded massively.
Shatter.
Kuoooooom! Boom!!!!!!!
A colossal blast.
Like dozens of missiles detonating midair, the firepower ravaged beyond Yong-un's sky to the ground.
One side of the wall below crumbled, and nearby villages and roads were incinerated in an instant.
With the explosion, Yong-un's form vanished from the spot.