The Wrath of a Nascent Soul
CIA Director Miles Luke could not fully process what had just happened.
The moment he registered the explosion, his office and everything around it had already erupted. By the time he regained his senses, a man stood tall before him.
“...Yujin Han.”
There was no mistaking the identity of the man before him. He had been the single most important person of interest in recent days.
Yet knowing the man and accepting the current situation were two entirely different matters.
“Do you even understand what you’re doing right now?”
Thanks to his long career, he managed not to show any outward agitation, but his voice still trembled faintly. It had to be because of the inscrutable aura radiating from the man standing before him.
It felt as though a transcendent being who had long since risen above humanity was gazing down at an insignificant insect.
Dream Illusion Mind Snatching Art
“Urk…!”
Miles Luke felt a brief wave of dizziness, but he could not pinpoint exactly what had occurred. Only afterward did a belated suspicion surface—had the other party just read his memories?
“How… how dare you do something like this…?!”
“That is exactly what I wanted to say. What kind of nerve does it take to pull off what you people did?”
“You are attacking the United States of America right now! In a way that cannot be denied or forgiven!”
“You struck first. Did you not prepare yourselves to be struck back?”
Miles Luke found himself at a loss for words.
How could covert intelligence operations against a single individual possibly compare to the brazen act of terrorizing an entire nation’s intelligence agency?
This was retaliation that completely defied common sense.
Yet even as he recognized how far beyond reason the response had gone, he could not easily devise a way to punish the one responsible.
“Did you not receive my call? I told you I would inform you of exactly what you had touched. I even left a courteous warning so you could prepare.”
“You will regret this. Not only you, but your associates, and even the country of your birth—everyone will pay the price! Do not think you can touch the United States and walk away unscathed!”
“Hmm. Is that the extent of it?”
Han Yujin laughed, visibly amused.
“So, how exactly do you plan to retaliate?”
“Are you relying on that trivial power of yours? Yes, I suppose that would be enough to make anyone arrogant. But you seem to be laboring under a massive delusion, imagining yourself as some kind of god!”
Despite the dire situation, Miles Luke’s voice grew stronger.
“No matter how transcendent your strength may be, the world is not a place one can live in alone. You asked how we would retaliate? First, we will pressure the country you belong to and turn you into a pariah. No matter which nation you flee to, we will ensure you are driven out the same way. At the same time, we will manipulate public opinion until you become the world’s most wanted criminal!”
“Is that all? You intend to ostracize me?”
Stunned for a moment by the dramatic summary, Miles Luke growled again.
“The lives of everyone connected to you will plunge into the abyss of ruin. No matter how strong you are, one hand cannot defeat ten, and you cannot exist in multiple places at once. Do you truly not care?”
“Retaliation against those around me. What comes after?”
“...Wherever you go, you will be hunted and attacked without cease. The moment your location is discovered, you will spend the rest of your life hiding like a rat, constantly fearing missiles falling on your head.”
“Missiles alone would be acceptable?”
“There is more than enough justification to deploy nuclear missiles. The more you rampage without knowing your place, the more we will be forced to do so!”
No matter how powerful you are, you cannot survive a direct nuclear strike.
That absolute conviction was plain to see.
“Then are you not worried that the scale of my retaliation will rise to match?”
“Do as you please. America does not negotiate with terrorists! The harder you struggle, the more completely you will be isolated—that is the lesson you will learn!”
“After circling around and around, we arrive at the same conclusion. You intend to ostracize me. How amusing that you are willing to pay for it with your own deaths.”
Han Yujin continued to smile as though the entire exchange entertained him.
“After I have killed every last one of you with my own hands, do you truly believe there will still be brave souls willing to ostracize me?”
“...Are you saying you will go down in history as the worst terrorist humanity has ever known?”
“I am merely responding to what you began. You struck first, and now that you face retaliation, you attempt to crush me with threats. It is a magnificent attitude. Yes, it puts me in an excellent mood.”
He had wondered if they possessed some other source of confidence, but that did not appear to be the case.
These people simply could not escape their conventional view of the existing world order. It was not purely due to foolishness; their understanding of mysticism was simply too shallow.
Because they did not realize that a being at the Nascent Soul stage could plunge the entire planet into hell, they could still afford to be brave.
“Miles Luke, allow me to correct one of your misconceptions.”
Han Yujin spoke calmly.
“A nation is not a mental monolith in which every citizen shares identical thoughts and hearts. If I carry out full-scale retaliation and merely lend a little strength to those who disagree with you, the regime will collapse and the situation will reverse in the blink of an eye.”
“Nonsense! Who would ever side with someone like—”
“It is a truth proven countless times throughout history. The only failures occurred when the instigator lacked sufficient justification or power. Even if I lacked justification, I possess more than enough power to compensate for it many times over. What is your opinion?”
Wonyoung Jin-in Aura
At the same time, the presence of a Wonyoung Jin-in that had only been subtly revealed surged forth without mercy.
Miles Luke, whose face had flushed crimson with rage as he prepared to refute the claim, froze solid.
“People who grasp immense power often delude themselves into believing they have become one with that power. You must have heard it at least once. The tale that when one becomes a ruler, even the hormones in their brain change, altering their very thought processes. However…”
Han Yujin pointed his index finger directly at the trembling man’s forehead.
“They say that when death stands before them, everything returns to its original state. They realize anew that they are not the power itself, but merely one insignificant human trapped within the cycle of birth, aging, illness, and death.”
Miles Luke instinctively understood.
This was not a threat. He was truly about to die.
And just as the other man had said, every scrap of empty confidence peeled away, leaving only the realization that he was nothing more than a human being.
“Did you truly not know? If you were willing to plunge another person’s life into the abyss with a few mere words of command, that you yourself could suffer the same fate?”
“I… I… I…”
Han Yujin clicked his tongue as he watched the man struggle to form words.
The next instant, flames erupted from the tip of his index finger and engulfed the director’s head, burning it alive.
The man screamed and thrashed for more than ten seconds before collapsing, his head burned completely black in a horrific sight.
Kwaaaang—!!
Ruuuuumble…!
The CIA headquarters building was collapsing in chaotic ruin.
Most personnel had already evacuated. The initial explosion and violent shaking had been severe enough to be mistaken for an earthquake, and fires had broken out across the complex.
Yet those who had made it outside quickly realized this was no ordinary natural disaster.
Because a colossal cloud dragon was personally demolishing the building from the sky, exhaling pure white clouds with every breath.
The form of that cloud dragon was now so famous that no one on Earth failed to recognize Han Yujin’s trademark.
—!!!
A roar like countless storms colliding erupted, and the final remaining section of the building shattered like a sandcastle beneath the dragon’s pure white claws.
Some of the onlookers screamed. Others wept. A great many fled in panic, scrambling into vehicles or simply running for their lives.
“T-terrorism…! Yujin Han is attacking America…!”
One agent muttered, completely at a loss.
He drew the weapon at his waist, then looked back and forth between his pathetic firearm and the overwhelming majesty of the cloud dragon dominating the sky, trembling helplessly.
“Why…! Why?!”
The moment someone cried out, Han Yujin—who had been floating calmly beneath the cloud dragon—shifted his gaze toward the fleeing figures.
Dozens of crimson lines of flame shot from his outstretched hand, each one striking its target with perfect accuracy.
Kwaang—!!
Vehicles exploded. People were instantly reduced to ashes. The strikes eliminated those responsible for the Latchkey operation, but to any outside observer, it looked like nothing more than indiscriminate slaughter.
That attack became the spark. Everyone began fleeing in terror, screaming as they ran.
Ruuuuumble…!
Han Yujin gazed down at the wreckage of the CIA headquarters, where the dust of collapse had not yet settled, then slowly scanned his surroundings.
His delay had been worthwhile. Several news helicopters were filming the scene from a distance. And beyond them, objects were rapidly approaching from farther away.
He smiled inwardly and waited a few seconds.
What had begun as tiny black specks rapidly grew larger. Fighter jets screamed in and launched their missiles. They had closed to this range despite being capable of firing from much farther away, suggesting the orders had been issued somewhat late.
Shweeeeee—!!
The missiles tore through the air at Mach speeds, but the cloud dragon moved far faster. Its pure white clouds snatched the warheads from the sky and crushed them.
Rumble…!
Thud…!
Sparks flashed briefly within the clouds before vanishing entirely—an almost anticlimactic sight.
Han Yujin considered destroying the fighter jets for a moment, then thought of something better and moved.
By the time a flash of light and a long trailing tail registered, he was already inside the helicopter belonging to America’s most prominent news network.
“Kyaaaak…!”
The female reporter who had been narrating the situation screamed in shock. Even the pilot jolted hard enough to shake the aircraft violently.
“I have no intention of eating you, so please calm yourselves.”
Six Paths of Reincarnation
Using the Six Paths of Reincarnation, Han Yujin quickly steadied them, then looked at the female reporter and the cameraman beside her.
“Do you not have any questions for me? Would you like to know why I am doing this?”
Perhaps because the skill had already calmed them somewhat, a spark of professional instinct flashed in both the cameraman’s and reporter’s eyes.
“W-what is your reason for carrying out this… this kind of attack?”
The reporter still stuttered slightly, but she managed to ask the question. She thrust the microphone toward him with the frantic urgency of a rookie.
The cameraman, equally flustered, hurriedly adjusted his equipment to capture Han Yujin.
“You must be quite confused, so I will explain as simply as possible.”
In a calm, composed tone that contrasted sharply with their panic, Han Yujin continued.
“CIA agents attacked me first while I was in Korea. They attempted to kidnap not only me but also my acquaintances and their families. Several people were shot and nearly killed in the process.”
“Is… is that true?!”
“It is the truth. The moment I learned what was happening, I demanded they stop. Instead, they threatened me with human experimentation and continued issuing threats with no room for negotiation whatsoever.”
“So… you chose this large-scale retaliation?”
Han Yujin nodded without denial.
“What other choice did I have? They refused to cease their threats, sent agents to kidnap me, and opened fire the moment I resisted. When blades are being thrust at you from every direction, what other response is possible?”
“B-but… couldn’t you have requested protection from the police, or from the government…?”
“The opponents were CIA agents acting on the will of the United States government. They were people who operated while ignoring every law and principle of justice. Do you honestly believe such methods would have stopped them?”
He gestured toward the collapsed building and the chaos below.
“I have destroyed the CIA, but that was merely removing their tool. The true criminals who threatened me, attempted to kidnap me and my people, and tried to take our lives by force are…”
His hand, which had been pointing downward, rose and shifted horizontally.
It pointed toward Washington, D.C.
“The President of the United States inside the White House.”
“Th-that’s…!”
“He is an evil man. A terrorist who sought to toy with the lives of innocent people—including myself, my acquaintances, and their families. Is this what America calls justice? Must a mere hunter like myself obediently die simply because America commands it?”
At that exact moment—
Shweeeeeeeee—!!
Another barrage of missiles rained down from the distance. As the witnesses screamed, Han Yujin’s cloud dragon released a heavy growl and intercepted every single projectile.
Ruuuuumble…!
Kuguuung…!
Once again the missiles vanished inside the clouds, flashing uselessly before disappearing.
“Look at this,” Han Yujin said, as if he had been waiting for the interruption. “They are now trying to shoot down this helicopter without hesitation, even though it carries innocent American citizens.”
This time he did not soothe their terror with the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
Thanks to that, they felt with vivid clarity that they had nearly died in a missile strike just seconds earlier.
“Is this truly something a president elected by your votes is permitted to do? If I had obediently reported this to the police or sought help from the government against such a person, do you believe I would still be alive right now?”
Without waiting for an answer, he continued.
“I am simply exercising the natural right of resistance granted to every person on this Earth. No nation or power may arbitrarily violate basic human rights. Anyone who orders such an immoral act must pay the appropriate price.”
He moved as though preparing to leave the helicopter.
“My next destination is the White House. Remember this well—the one who created this situation was not me, but the other party. And America is not the only one that refuses to negotiate with terrorists.”
The next instant, he transformed into a streak of light and vanished as though teleporting.
Had it not been for the long tail of light that lingered and slowly faded, no one would have been able to tell where or how he had disappeared at such speed.