Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Chapter 193 : Blade of Misunderstanding (2)

Blade of Misunderstanding (2)

Adam, affiliated with the Bureau of Paranormal Phenomena Management.

He had heard various stories about Park Jung-woo through Enoch.

Naturally, as a seasoned agent, he accepted Enoch's words without suspicion and behaved with the utmost respect toward Jung-woo.

A returnee from another world, the person who helped awaken the Saintess.

A man with tremendous power—or so he thought.

But knowing something and actually seeing it were two completely different things.

"Damn, is he really the same kind of human as us?"

An S-rank who was watching the fight between Jung-woo and Owen muttered that.

It was probably a Hunter named Hugo.

A French S-rank Hunter, renowned as Europe's top dungeon raider.

Even such a figure couldn't dare step into the fight unfolding before his eyes.

'I... can't even see them.'

Adam was also an A-rank Awakener.

Among the agents at the Bureau, he was the most skilled.

However, unlike other S-ranks who followed Jung-woo and Owen's movements with their eyes, adam couldn't even see their figures.

The deafening roar, like a series of bombs going off, and the dungeon collapsing in every direction.

It felt as if he were in the midst of a natural disaster.

"How is that a manager?"

Someone gave a hollow laugh as they spoke.

Probably everyone shared that feeling.

They doubted if he was even the same type of human, much less a manager.

'This guy...'

Ironically, Jung-woo's thoughts as he looked at Owen were not so different from theirs.

'Just what is up with this guy?'

An Awakener might still be human, but Jung-woo's experiences on the other side had elevated his physical abilities far beyond those of an average Awakener.

Yet, Owen was keeping up with him, almost matching his pace.

Of course, Jung-woo hadn't yet used the Demon King's power, but Owen hadn't shown any real sign of using the demons' power either. The only sign was the faintly leaking demonic energy, a subtle proof that he was using a bit of it.

"Not going to use the Demon King's power?"

A massive greatsword fell vertically, radiating a force as if it would split the dungeon in half.

Jung-woo swung his right fist, batting the sword aside, and lunged at Owen's chest.

The moment he came within arm's reach, their gazes met in midair.

"Where did you hear about that?"

"Who knows."

"Are you a demon?"

A huge greatsword and a small human fist.

It was an utterly mismatched fight, but those collided in midair again and again.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!

Both stood their ground, their feet sinking into the ground, unable to withstand the shock of colliding strength.

"The Demon King asking about demons?"

"I'm not the Demon King."

"Then?"

"I'm just a human who stole the Demon King's power."

As they fought, his intentions became clearer bit by bit.

The reason he showed killing intent toward Jung-woo was likely because he mistook Jung-woo for the Demon King.

"... So that's what everyone believes."

The greatsword swung horizontally, flinging Jung-woo back forcefully.

At this point, the dungeon barely retained its original shape.

The unstable magic power in the surroundings became even more unstable.

At this rate, the dungeon itself would collapse before a rift could open and cause a crisis.

"But how am I supposed to believe that?"

"What?"

"How can I believe you're not deceiving us?"

Jung-woo was momentarily at a loss for words at that.

As Owen said, there was no guarantee that he wasn't deceiving everyone.

In fact, even Enoch, who trusted Jung-woo, always kept him under surveillance.

"... Is someone on the demons' side supposed to say that?"

"On the demons' side, huh."

Naturally, Jung-woo did not simply listen to such words from Owen in silence.

He could already sense a strong residue of demonic energy from Owen's body.

"It must have been about two years ago."

Owen steadied his breath and aimed his greatsword at Jung-woo.

"That's when the so-called demons first approached me."

They had likely set their sights on Earth much earlier than that.

From the moment dungeons and gates appeared, demons had gained the opportunity to reach into this world.

And starting two years ago, they contacted powerful individuals across the world.

Some were people of authority, some were strong like himself.

'Who made a pact with those monsters?'

Since then, Owen had steadily tracked the demons.

Yet he could never be sure who among those they approached had actually sided with them.

At least for those in whom he could sense 'demonic energy,' it was easier to tell.

But the rest? He couldn't be sure.

Even Enoch, who exerted great influence over all Awakener, was someone Owen watched carefully.

How could he know whether Enoch, quietly keeping to himself, was secretly waiting for the coming of the demons?

Naturally, Jung-woo, who worked with Enoch, was just another dangerous variable.

"That's why I mixed among them—and by participating in their latest experiment, I was able to obtain great power."

"... What?"

"And there, I heard about you. That you're the human who possesses the Demon King's heart."

Slowly.

His foot moved forward.

"That much means you know I'm an enemy of the demons, yes?"

"You never know. Maybe they didn't trust me, so they gave me false information."

Jung-woo laughed sardonically at Owen's words.

If everything ended in that kind of circular logic, then conversation was pointless from the start.

'No, he never meant to talk in the first place.'

He intended to kill Jung-woo.

It didn't matter whether Jung-woo was on the side of humanity or not.

What mattered was that Jung-woo possessed the Demon King's power, and was an uncontrollable, overwhelming existence.

If he ever changed his mind, it could be too late.

"So that's why you caused all this chaos—to handle things in your own way?"

"If you kill everyone you're suspicious of, eventually the problem will be solved."

"You really think you can handle the demons on your own? From the moment you received the demons' power, you can't defeat them."

Someone of Owen's caliber would certainly have received the power of a top-rank demon.

Just like with Sol Mayer.

If that was the case, Owen couldn't resist the transplanted power of a top-rank demon.

'The odd part is, which top-rank demon is it? I don't know.'

Of course, there was no way that there existed a top-rank demon Jung-woo didn't know about.

Even if 300 years had passed since he left, there was no way a new one would have appeared during that time.

"Ha."

At Jung-woo's words, Owen laughed as if he had expected them.

"If you mean that one, I took it for myself long ago."

He bared his white teeth, his eyes manic.

"The one that tried to devour me—I devoured it instead. Unlike you..."

From the greatsword Owen was holding, the leaking demonic energy began to swirl, darkening as it mixed with something black.

"For the record, I wasn't the one who tried to trigger the rift."

"What?"

"That was the demons' plan from the start."

Of course, the 'they' Owen mentioned referred to the demons.

In other words, this rift incident was being incited by the demons.

'Why?'

If the rift burst, the concentration of magic power would drop.

A huge amount of magic power would be sucked away by the rift.

In other words, much of the hard work done to terraform this world would be undone.

'No, if I think about it...'

Currently, the Odyssey was taking place in America, and S-ranks, the best of humanity, had gathered from all over the world. If a rift crisis occurred now?

Naturally, they could all be wiped out.

"Owen McGregor, don't tell me—"

Did he inform them of the rift before the demons could set it off?

Owen didn't deny it.

He just watched Jung-woo, slowly lowering his stance.

"My only goal is to eliminate every threat."

Probably, the demons hadn't expected Owen would do something like this.

Maybe right now they were searching for him in the Grand Canyon, or preparing to trigger the rift in a hurry.

'If they can, that is.'

The S-ranks from Korea and America were here.

Those with the skill to reach the finals of Odyssey.

Getting past them to trigger the rift was virtually impossible.

If these people couldn't stop it, then no one in this world could.

"If the rift hasn't opened yet, Shin Ah-yeon should be able to prevent it."

His own role was only to kill Jung-woo.

Nothing more.

***

"Owen McGregor..."

Sebin gritted his teeth.

All the plans he had prepared were about to fall apart—all because of Owen.

"Heh heh, it's your own fault for trusting these humans, Sebin."

A gaunt man sneered at Sebin.

The Butcher Henate, still not in his best condition, was nevertheless one of the strongest the demons had to boast.

"... He was an excellent card."

The pinnacle of the present era, the strongest human among the world's S-ranks.

He had been suspicious when he had directly approached them.

But after spending several years quietly carrying out their orders, he had let his guard down—never imagining he would pull a stunt like this.

"Hey, don't get so worked up. It's all resolved if he kills Park Jung-woo, isn't it?"

"Henate, do you really think Owen McGregor can kill Park Jung-woo?"

"Well, probably not."

He knew Owen was strong.

He even had the power of a top-rank demon transplanted into his heart. Honestly, given Henate's current incomplete state, he couldn't guarantee victory now.

But to beat Park Jung-woo?

That was something else entirely.

"There's no way he'd beat the monster who ripped out the Demon King's heart single-handed."

Henate recalled the Demon King he had seen 300 years ago.

The Demon King, Geneva. He had many names, but among the demons, he was called that.

No demon ever dared to raise a sword against him; countless worlds lay beneath his feet.

Even the Saintess, the avatar of God and the symbol of world history, lost his life to him.

To slay the Saintess, the representative of humanity's values, was to possess power beyond that of an individual, transcending the history of an entire race.

Damian might be trying to create a god for the demons now, but Henate revered Geneva as a god in his own right.

But even Geneva was toppled—by Park Jung-woo.

Park Jung-woo, and the heroes he led, brought Geneva's life to an end.

"Still, it's certainly a shame to let this kind of opportunity slip by. If it's the rift, could it kill Park Jung-woo?"

"... If the rift breaks out, it's obviously unstoppable by anyone."

"I heard that mage, Shin Ah-yeon, over there stopped it last time?"

"Nonsense."

Sebin flatly denied Henate's claim.

There may have been such talk, but Sebin believed it meant Shin Ah-yeon just barely managed to stop it right before the rift opened.

"Once a rift opens, no one can stop it."

Barring a miracle, no one can.

If one could just break it open and close it with brute strength, even the Demon King could have done it.

A rift was on a wholly different plane.

"No helping it, then."

Henate began limbering up.

At his sight, Sebin shook his head.

"Not even you should be fighting in this situation, Henate."

"I don't intend to fight."

Henate's gaze turned toward the dungeon Jung-woo had dived into earlier.

"I'm just going to wake up a sleeping friend."

Owen was certainly an impressive figure.

He had suppressed the demon's consciousness and made that power his own.

He deserved applause just for throwing off the demons' control.

Sebin was right.

He certainly was an excellent card.

'So then, I have to make use of that excellent card, no matter what.'

Crunch, crackle!

Henate's body shriveled, transforming into a stream of red veins.

The red veins snaked along the ground, flowing toward the dungeon where Jung-woo and Owen were battling.

To bring disaster upon this land.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

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