Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: The War God Arrives
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Incheon Airport entrance.
A man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses that hid his face stepped out into the open.
"I've been waiting for you."
And standing before him was a woman.
None other than Daisy, director of the GHO South Korea branch.
The man glanced over Daisy's face, then removed his hat and tucked his sunglasses into the front pocket of his shirt.
"Lord War God."
The War God had entered South Korea.
"It's been a while since you arrived without the press swarming."
The War God's visits to South Korea were always big news, enough to draw every media outlet in the country.
Yet things were unusually quiet this time around, as if no one had been informed of his arrival.
Satisfied, the War God wore a pleased expression.
"Where's Death Demon Cry?"
"He should be crossing paths with Hunter Yong-un by now."
"Well done."
"If your official notice had arrived even a little later, I wouldn't have known."
"You're here because you saw it."
Squinting under the bright sunlight pouring from a clear sky, the War God broke into a smile.
"Nice weather."
"But... the notice you sent me..."
"Confusing, right? It was the complete opposite of what Charlie wanted."
Daisy glanced once more at the printed copy of the War God's notice clutched in her hand.
[Aid Death Demon Cry, but direct him to Yong-un's home.]
Had this notice arrived even slightly later, Daisy would have given him coordinates not for Yong-un's house, but for the recently infamous Phantom Soul Annihilation headquarters or the Demon Dragon Squad's base instead.
Hunter Yong-un was a powerhouse even the War God acknowledged.
That was why it made more sense to take out his hands and feet—his subordinates—before facing the man himself, eliminating any variables in the final showdown.
But the War God's notice had turned Daisy's thinking on its head.
"Why direct him to Hunter Yong-un's house, though? Taking out his subordinates first would remove all variables before the decisive battle with Yong-un himself."
At Daisy's question, the War God smirked and slipped his sunglasses back on from his pocket.
"That would be effective if I wanted to eliminate Yong-un. But that's not my goal."
"Pardon?"
"I want to confirm the truth."
After that, the War God said no more.
Instead, he brushed past Daisy and climbed into the vehicle she'd prepared, ending the conversation there.
"Take me to that kid Yong-un's house."
The car door shut, leaving Daisy behind.
Following the War God's orders, the driver sped off toward Yong-un's family home.
As the car hummed along, old memories surfaced before the War God's closed eyes.
「Mercenary King! All those spars we had... everything you told me... it was all lies? Were you just toying with me?!」
Back then, the young War God, brimming with betrayal, had raged at the revelation that the Mercenary King was Demon Cry.
The Mercenary King, who had risen to Royal Class status and returned amid universal acclaim, looked down at the War God—who had been waiting behind the scenes to confront him—with a bitter expression.
「It wasn't a lie. I... truly supported you and helped you grow.」
「Then why didn't you tell me from the start that you were Demon Cry?!」
It felt unfair, heartbreaking.
He thought that if the truth had come out sooner, they could have maintained an even better relationship than they had.
To the War God's anguished cries, the Mercenary King quietly turned and headed toward his homeland.
「You're still too young to understand. Even now, after reaching Royal Class, I hide that I'm Demon Cry for the same reason.」
「Mercenary King! Answer me! Mercenary King!」
The Mercenary King's belatedly arriving subordinates grabbed the War God's arms and dragged him away.
As he was hauled off, the Mercenary King gazed down at him with pained eyes and murmured softly.
「Time... time will resolve everything... once time passes...」
That had been their final encounter, after years of camaraderie and shared trials.
"Haa..."
The War God opened his eyes with a deep sigh.
South Korea's scenery whipped by outside, but it registered not at all in his gaze.
Instead, it held only longing for someone.
"Time does heal it all, doesn't it? Now I understand what you meant back then, Mercenary King. The essence of humanity I was too young to grasp..."
The driver glanced at the War God through the rearview mirror.
The man's eyes, filled with melancholy, stared fixedly out the window.
Wiping them briefly, the War God addressed the driver.
"Get me there as fast as possible."
"Yes, sir!"
At his command, the driver floored the pedal.
The scenery outside blurred even faster.
Spotting a young hunter amid the cityscape, the War God smiled faintly.
"I'll deliver the words I couldn't say back then... to someone walking your path. And then I'll come find you, Mercenary King."
Around that time.
"I... I have to go..."
In front of the Phantom Soul Annihilation residence, Myung-su and Barum grabbed hold of Cheon-il, who seemed entranced by something.
"Cheon-il! Snap out of it!"
Myung-su shook Cheon-il's shoulders.
Yet Cheon-il stared blankly ahead, tears welling in his eyes.
"I have to go. Hyung, I have to go."
"Where the hell do you think you're going?!"
Barum, standing before Cheon-il, eyed him with concern.
Cheon-il met Barum's gaze squarely.
"She's calling me. My sister!"
The story of Cheon-il's sister—the crux of last night's entire tale—resurfaced.
"What?"
Myung-su and Barum both looked stunned.
"My sister's calling me from over there..."
Cheon-il pointed off into the distance.
As Myung-su and Barum followed his gesture—
Whoosh!
"...?!"
Bang!
Demonization erupting, Cheon-il shot past them at top speed.
Not content with just running, he donned his mask and fully transformed.
If word of this got out, it could even harm the Supreme One who trusted them.
"Barum!"
"Got it."
Barum raced after the fleeing Cheon-il.
Myung-su, meanwhile, rushed into the Phantom Soul Annihilation house and roused all the ghost souls from their slumber.
"Mu-hee! Mu-hee!!"
The alley before Yong-un's family home bore massive scars on the ground and walls from the hunters' battle.
And the culprits were the mana threads unleashed by Death Demon Cry's members.
Shwick!
Thin as they were, the threads Yong-un flicked away gouged deep, thick wounds into the concrete ground and walls.
Slash.
Yong-un's strike was too swift for the eye to follow.
Gripping his Demon-Slaying Sword and spewing crimson-black mist, he sliced through every incoming mana thread.
"Leader."
"I see. Didn't expect him to cut the threads."
The mana threads were threads woven purely from mana.
Like the sword energy or auras wielded by swordmasters, they possessed matching toughness.
Yet they parted like flimsy string before Yong-un's Demon-Slaying Sword.
"We need to move Zero One."
Ollie, mid-thread deployment, scanned for Polant.
But Polant just shook his head.
"I'd love to, but..."
Ollie followed Polant's turning gaze.
There stood Zero One, one of D.D.C.'s key fighters.
A black-haired East Asian girl stared vacantly at the sky with her characteristically empty eyes.
"Leader?"
"Looks like... Zero One's found something."
At Polant's words, Spears— who had been warping space to disorient Yong-un—appeared at Zero One's side.
Even the mana fluctuations didn't faze her.
She merely gazed afar, faintly emitting mana.
True to his magic hunter roots, Spears keenly observed her mana flow.
Then, aligning his gaze with hers, he spoke.
"Leader, she's calling something."
A long, ash-gray mana thread stretched out like a line into the distance.
As if beckoning: Look here, find me.
"Leader! We can't hold much longer!"
Spears scowled at Zero One's erratic behavior.
Polant gnawed his lip, ruffling his hair in frustration.
"Gonna cost us big. Guess we should be grateful no civilians are around."
Reluctance etched on his face, Polant strode roughly toward Zero One.
His hand seized her long black hair from behind.
And yanked downward.
"......"
Zero One's head snapped back, her vacant gaze tilting skyward.
Hardly appropriate for a child.
Polant kept his grip on her hair, staring her down.
"Move, you demon hound bitch."
Demon tongue.
British-accented demon tongue.
At "demon hound," changes rippled through Zero One.
Like ink spilling over blank white paper.
Black ink slowly invaded her empty pupils, consuming her entire irises.
And then—
Whoosh!
Wind billowed her black leather long coat, revealing a dark pattern on her back that glowed ash-gray.
Much like a Demon Cry—the very beings D.D.C. despised and hunted.
Riiip.
Her coat screamed in protest.
Tearing sounds echoed as raven-like black wings burst from her back.
Unlike typical bat wings of demons, their unique form drew Yong-un's attention—even as he'd felled half of D.D.C.'s crew.
Polant released Zero One's now-ink-black hair.
A single long horn sprouted from her forehead, ash-gray suffusing her entire body.
A demonization straight out of a Demon Cry's playbook...
Was unfolding in Death Demon Cry's top fighter.
Zero One.
"That's one more reason you have to die."
Polant twisted his lips in a sneer.
Yong-un ignored him.
His eyes fixed solely on Zero One, whose demonization lagged even behind Cheon-il and Barum's.
"A Demon Cry?"
"Nah, different. Not your standard Demon Cry."
Crack!
Killing intent flooded Zero One's once-vacant eyes.
A potent demonic aura surged alongside.
Undaunted by her overwhelming presence, Polant placed a hand on her head.
Bold as brass, he stroked the now-demonized girl's hair and addressed Yong-un.
"This kid's a Demon Cry who only kills other Demon Cries, on our orders. In other words, Death Demon Cry."
Polant leaned down, whispering into the fully transformed Zero One's ear.
"Capture him."
Zero One nodded and blurred past her fellow Death Demon Cry members.
In the blink of an eye, she was before Yong-un.
Then—
"Sorry."
With an apology, Zero One pressed her hand to Yong-un's abdomen and unleashed her gathered mana.
Boom!
For the first time, Yong-un—who had never taken a hit from Death Demon Cry—allowed an attack through.
The mana from her palm pierced his body, erupting from his back.
Whoosh!
Ash-gray smoke billowed from Yong-un's back.
And just as swiftly, the smoke faded, as if its purpose fulfilled.