Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Chapter 219

Encounter (3)

"Even ordinary people can become Awakeners... isn't that a sweet-sounding promise?"

Jin Su-hyuk said this, glancing at Damian.

He only quietly read a book at the table in Jin Su-hyuk's private room and didn't bother to reply to those words.

"The Awakener Crime Investigation Division, the Tae-yeong Group, the Hunter Association. And even the US Bureau of Paranormal Phenomena."

All of them were watching Jin Su-hyuk's movements.

They were trying to catch his tail, after he had contacted the demons.

"But all of that became meaningless with a single line—that even ordinary people can become Awakeners. If they catch me now, the citizens will never stay quiet."

Only an extremely small minority Awakens.

That still hadn't changed, even after the number of Awakeners had increased.

Only the chosen ones could become Awakeners.

They all lived, believing that was the truth—but now, even they had been given a chance.

Moreover, it wasn't just ordinary people who were interested.

"I'm thinking of granting power to the Awakeners who applied first. That alone should suffice to prove our might."

Damian, closing his book, slowly looked at Jin Su-hyuk.

Currently, Jin Su-hyuk was the only case of turning an ordinary person into an Awakener, but strengthening an Awakener's power was a simple task.

By coincidence, Sol Mayer's incident had greatly advertised the prowess of the demons.

Although his end was tragic, the power that Sol Mayer had demonstrated at the time exceeded even that of S-rank.

"But the time we can buy with this isn't going to be that long."

"That's more than enough. Anyway, we'll be finished soon."

The top-rank demons, who had fused with S-rank Awakeners siding with the demons.

And they had to endure, using the time that the public opinion had granted them, until the final puzzle piece was completed.

"At this point, they'll have no choice but to make a move."

Park Jung-woo.

Jin Su-hyuk thought of that name as he gazed out the window.

If it were him, and if it were Park Jung-woo, he would surely come to the same conclusion.

He would try to hit what could be called the current demon headquarters to reveal the truth.

'Demonic zone raid.'

The one and only large-scale subjugation in the past.

This was a race against time.

Focus on them, from all directions, was a double-edged sword not only for the demons but also for Jin Su-hyuk.

Even if they had bought some time, now they could no longer move recklessly.

They could no longer relocate their base or open a rift.

"We have the advantage. As long as we keep holding out and dragging for time, it'll be enough."

Damian's words were delivered with a bland face, but Jin Su-hyuk could tell that he was betting everything on this.

All that had happened so far was based on the models he'd created in Alcatraz, all leading up to the completion of 'Meteor'.

A power to replace the Demon King.

A miracle barely realized through the power of divine art.

It was Damian's goal to make that miracle collide with this world.

***

Attacking Grand Nova directly was impossible for now.

Therefore, there was only one way to break through this situation.

Redirect the attention focused on that side.

And they had to reveal exactly what the demons were and what kind of plans they harbored.

'Just the information from Alcatraz isn't enough.'

With that alone, they couldn't sway public opinion.

There was also controversy about manipulation regarding the numerous unidentified experiment subjects found there.

Therefore, they needed to get closer to the truth.

I had gathered people in Unique's building to share my plan.

"Demonic zone raid?"

Shin Ah-yeon looked at me, eyes wide.

Demonic zone raid. There were five demonic zones in this world, but only one had ever been raided.

"The only place the demons could possibly hide something is there."

When I said that and looked at Ardan, he nodded.

"In my search for traces of Yuria, I checked every demonic zone but was unable to investigate one single place."

Knowing Ardan's character, there's no way he checked them carelessly.

Even so, not finding anything meant there was a high likelihood that something was hidden in the unchecked demonic zone.

"Which demonic zone haven't you checked?"

"Sichelmond."

"What? But that place is..."

Shin Ah-yeon trailed off.

The demonic zone, sisilmond, straddling the border between Germany and Austria.

It would be a very familiar name to her.

"... It's a demonic zone that's already been cleared, right?"

Unlike ordinary dungeons, even if a demonic zone is cleared, aftereffects remain.

The land is contaminated, and from that contaminated land, monsters continually appear.

It's because the frequency of gate openings increases.

For such phenomena to disappear, the demonic energy of the land must completely vanish, and the contamination level must drop.

Once the demonic zone's king dies, and with no special resources coming out of a cleared demonic zone, the surrounding countries see it as an inconvenient existence.

"Currently, both Germany and Austria are managing it."

Because it sits on the border and has already been raided once, it attracts little attention.

It wasn't a place one could enter easily, either.

"... Hmm, that's true. On the contrary, if the demons have contact with the higher-ups there, it's a perfect place for them to operate in secret."

"Right, exactly. No one would touch such a meritless area by straining the relationship between two countries."

Hwang Yeon-ji seemed to have perfectly grasped the value of Sichelmond.

Valueless land.

Difficult to intervene in from any other country, since it lies directly on the border between them.

Thus, the land where Sichelmond was, was practically a blank spot on the map.

"But to raid a demonic zone that's already been raided... I doubt they'd accept such a preposterous request. Especially since, according to you, the higher-ups of Germany or Austria are already under demonic influence, aren't they?"

"That's right."

"So, how are we supposed to get in?"

At Yeon-ji's sharp interrogation, I just shrugged.

"Secretly."

"..."

But everyone gave me a dumbfounded look.

Honestly, it couldn't be helped.

All official channels had been tried already.

"Requests from the Korean Hunter Association, the US Department of Defense, and the Bureau of Paranormal Phenomena have all been ignored."

Germany and Austria—

Both refused all requests to investigate Sichelmond.

"Well, do we have a choice?"

We'll have to force our way in.

***

"What? You're saying we're going to raid Sichelmond again?"

Baek Hojun looked at me as if to ask if I was being serious.

It was essentially saying we'd raid a demonic zone that had already been cleared.

"Ah, I see, you mean because the demons..."

But after explaining the situation, he nodded without hesitation.

I told him that the demons might be hiding something in Sichelmond and that we needed to sneak in secretly, and Baek Hojun readily agreed.

"Understood, then. Will the other Hunters who participated in the Sichelmond raid join us, too?"

"I'd like that, but honestly, it seems difficult."

Currently, we don't know which Hunters might have had contact with demons.

Besides, if any of those Hunters were to leak information about the Sichelmond raid, things could get twisted badly.

'Damian and Jin Su-hyuk would have already guessed that we're targeting Sichelmond.'

So defensive measures would already be in place.

If details leaked, it could escalate into an international incident, so we had to be cautious.

"In that case... So, those joining us are the S-rank Hunters of Unique, myself, and who else?"

"The US has also pledged to send two S-rank Hunters. Any more than that would be too conspicuous."

Eugene Garland and Ryan Knox.

Both of them were representative Hunters of the US.

With Owen gone, Ryan Knox was more or less America's last hope.

Sending someone like that proved how seriously America took this.

"And besides them, there's Iden Boyd, guildmaster of Odin's Eye."

"Wow, that'd be almost a dream team, wouldn't it? I don't know about the others, but how did you get Iden Boyd...?"

"Well, actually, he came to me first."

"What?"

I remembered what had happened a few days earlier.

Iden, who suddenly appeared at Unique, said to me—

"Let me help."

"...?"

"Hm, was that too sudden?"

It certainly was.

That Iden, who should be in UK, appeared at Unique out of nowhere, and his first words were to ask for help—both things were abrupt.

"The British government has apparently joined hands with the demons. And I doubt they're the only ones."

Iden said, sounding annoyed.

He clearly wasn't happy with the situation.

"Originally, I didn't want to come to you. I haven't forgotten the humiliation of that time."

"Uh, right."

"But as the leader of an organization, sometimes you have to set aside personal grudges."

He bowed his head as he said this.

The arrogant master of the Magic Tower I had seen back then was nowhere in sight.

"What Jin Su-hyuk is doing now is all a continuation of Damian's plan, right? Am I correct?"

"More or less."

"I don't know their objective. Everyone becoming an Awakener—sounds sweet, but honestly, it smells rotten."

Iden is a man obsessed with magic.

To be honest, I didn't think he was particularly wise.

If he had been that clever, he wouldn't have forced Shin Ah-yeon to come, nor would he have misjudged Park Jung-woo.

But he wasn't so stupid as to not recognize the real enemy.

"So I'd appreciate it if we could put aside past grudges and work together."

That request for help was a very broad statement.

It meant joining hands for Iden himself, for Odin's Eye, and for everyone's sake.

"In that case, I have a proposal to make..."

For me, it wasn't a bad deal.

It was a good opportunity to get Odin's Eye to owe me, and I could also borrow Iden's strength.

He was, if not as exceptional as Shin Ah-yeon, still one of the top mages of the present era.

He would surely be a great asset in the Sichelmond raid.

"So, that's about the size of it."

"I see..."

Baek Hojun, flustered, looked at me as if asking if this was really all true.

After all, Iden was a global figure.

My treating him like a convenient chess piece clearly left Baek Hojun at a loss.

'But I might as well use whatever I can. What a waste if I don't.'

Of course, that wasn't something I could say out loud.

Knowing Hojun's character, he'd be even more flustered.

"Will there be anyone else joining as well?"

"We do have one more mage."

"If he's participating, he must be S-rank, right? If so, the great mage... Would it be Great Mage Barack?"

Great Mage Barack often appeared as Iden's aide.

Hearing this, Baek Hojun seemed somewhat relieved—it sounded acceptable.

"No."

"Then who?"

"Ivan Hunts."

A former member of UnderStellar, and the world's worst mage.

Hearing that name, Baek Hojun just stared at me blankly and repeated—

"... What?"

***

While Park Jung-woo was assembling the team for the Sichelmond raid,

there were those who anticipated this and had already started moving.

"This mission is simple."

A man with black hair and golden eyes, with a cold impression.

He quietly spoke as he looked at those standing before him.

"Assassination."

Each of them held a sheet of paper in their hands.

On that paper was the personal information of high-ranking people who had not sided with the demons.

Each was so important that the death of even one would throw a country into chaos—their protection couldn't be managed at the personal level.

But that only held true if the attackers were ordinary assassins.

"To us, UnderStellar, it's a simple, easy job."

The world's most notorious criminal organization, composed entirely of S-rank Awakeners.

They had drawn their blades at the world in earnest.

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

Damn, this signals the start of war.

63 chapters remaining.

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】