Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Chapter 223 : Embers (3)

Embers (3)

Demon King.

The figure seen through the crack of the door became clearer.

Yeon-ji had said:

Just as she had a conversation with Yuriah, Jung-woo would surely have such an opportunity someday as well.

'But.'

Even though he could see the face through the gap, he still could not reach that place.

He could not reach it.

Even though all it would take was to open the door and walk in, he couldn't do it.

'Not yet.'

Just a little more, let's get used to this strength, just a little bit more.

Enough to open the door, enough to approach that thing.

"Park Jung-woo, could it be that—"

Behind Dune Graham, a red mist formed a grotesque shape.

Butcher Henate.

That thing had never been a proper demon to begin with.

That's probably why it was one of the first to cross over through the incomplete rift from the demon realm.

Dune glanced at Henate's reaction, then shifted his gaze to Jung-woo.

'Was that just now the Demon King's power?'

Honestly, he got goosebumps.

When he had come to his senses, he was already several hundred meters away from where he had originally stood.

"That's not the Demon King's power."

As if reading Dune's thoughts, Jung-woo spoke.

"It's purely my own strength. For now, at least."

Seeing Jung-woo slowly walking toward him, Dune let out a small laugh.

He had heard Jung-woo wasn't even an awakened.

But the strength Dune felt now was more destructive than any S-rank awakener he had ever met.

'If he were to show the Demon King's power on top of this—'

Dune glanced around.

No matter how far they'd been blown, it didn't change the fact that the area was still the heart of the city.

There were people on the streets, and some screamed and ran away.

It was different from his original plan, but this situation wasn't bad either.

"Park Jung-woo, you won't be facing just me."

Behind Dune, Henate took shape from red mist.

An awakened close to Owen McGregor, a top-rank demon, a duke from the demon realm, the power of Henate.

'Certainly... not good news.'

Jung-woo felt Dune's gaze checking the surroundings and clenched his fist.

What that thing wanted was chaos.

Dune's only goal was to fan the embers.

To be honest, UnderStellar's actions bordered on indiscriminate terrorism.

Killing non-awakened, killing awakened as well.

Either way, it was behavior UnderStellar had always exhibited.

The only difference was 'how' it was done.

Dune was an awakened, after all.

And Jung-woo, standing off against him, was an awakened as well.

Strictly speaking, it was a bit different, but people would see it the same way.

But what if this battle caused massive casualties?

"Park Jung-woo, you are strong. But how much can an individual truly protect?"

Calmly, murderous intent spread from Dune's body out across the ground.

The red mist swelled in size and began spreading gradually.

Dune and Henate.

They were the most suitable for this job.

They were beings specialized in the act of killing.

"If people die during our fight, how will the world react?"

Dune said.

"What do you think will happen to the awakened who lose their lives to us? Will they truly be treated like ordinary citizens?"

He bent his knees, lowered his waist, and readied himself.

Shifting his balance slowly from his ankles, knees, and then his waist, he pushed off the ground.

"Never. Not a chance."

KWA-AANG!!

His bent leg sprang straight, and Dune's figure shot toward Jung-woo like a shell.

Wherever he stepped, shadows spread like thorns, jutting out and firing toward Jung-woo.

'Those thorns aren't just aimed at me.'

The range of the shooting thorns was about five meters.

It might be possible to not only stab but also launch them.

The red mist that formed Henate's body would devour anything it touched.

Not just humans; even buildings.

KWA-KANG! KWANG!!

He knocked aside the swung axe with his hand and quickly shifted his gaze.

There was no need to bother blocking the thorns aimed at himself.

If he reinforced his entire body with demonic energy, the thorns wouldn't pierce even a piece of skin.

The important thing wasn't the thorns aimed at him, but the ones aimed at bystanders.

'Good.'

He took a deep breath.

He activated the demonic energy in his heart and accepted the power seeping through the gap in the door.

It was nothing more than a fragment or residue.

And the moment he accepted it, the world gradually slowed.

The movements of the shooting thorns became clear.

He could see the faces of the people screaming.

'Is this... the world that thing saw?'

Jung-woo could imitate something similar to this as well.

In fact, he had been the only one able to track its movements.

But that was the result of pushing his own limits.

The Demon King always saw the world like this.

No wonder it must've been boring and dreary.

KWA-KWA-KWANG!!

The thorns flying at people all stabbed into the ground at once.

The spreading fire of Henate's mist was pushed back and stopped by Jung-woo's force.

Dune's axe was deflected, and his dagger only sliced empty air.

"Ha."

For the first time, Dune was appalled.

'Did he really block them all?'

There were dozens of shadow thorns shot out.

He predicted all their trajectories in an instant and knocked them all into the ground before they could strike anyone.

Was such a feat even possible?

"It's only natural."

The sunken voice of Henate was heard.

"If he couldn't even do that, how could he have killed our king?"

Demon King.

Henate was one of the oldest top-ranked demons.

So he had faced him several times.

In the demon realm, strength was everything. The strong ruled.

Countless had coveted the Demon King's throne.

But not once had that throne ever changed hands.

"The Demon King is strong."

Henate looked at Jung-woo, who turned his gaze upon him.

"And he killed that Demon King."

Now he was even partially using that power.

He was a disaster for demons.

"It's surely a frightening level of strength."

Dune admitted as much.

Jung-woo's strength was beyond the conventional mold.

He could now understand why Damian had prioritized his own plan over eliminating Jung-woo.

That was not a being you could just kill.

You needed to prepare someone to face that.

That's why Damian had worked quietly behind the scenes, buying time all this while.

"But it doesn't mean I can never win."

Dune dropped the axe he was holding.

It had been his favored weapon for a long time, but if he was going to use his ability, daggers would suit him better from now on.

"The embers are not extinguished yet."

As Jung-woo approached to just within reach, Dune brought his hands together, creating a narrow gap.

"Shadow Fall."

The moment he whispered that, Dune's form vanished.

No, to be exact, it was more accurate to say his body dropped into the shadows.

'Is it a technique to move through shadows?'

Many demons used such abilities.

Even Henate himself had such a method of movement.

Slash!

At that moment, something grazed Jung-woo's waist, spraying red blood.

'What?'

Dune was nowhere to be seen.

But from somewhere, Dune had attacked Jung-woo.

'Shadow Fall.'

Henate was inwardly surprised by Dune's power—his 'Conceptualization Technique'.

'He can move through shadows, and take out just a part of his body from any shadow to attack.'

It was simple, but for assassination, there was no greater technique.

Swathe a dagger in Henate's power, stick out his arm from Jung-woo's blind spot via the shadows, and plunge the dagger in.

'There's no need to fight head-on.'

If he fought Jung-woo head-on, he'd never win.

So there was only one method:

Never fight him head-on.

No matter how fast Jung-woo was, he couldn't chase someone moving through shadows.

He couldn't block attacks coming from his blind spots.

'No matter how much stronger you are.'

When it came to killing, the advantage was on Dune's side.

Dune chuckled from within the shadows.

And besides, Jung-woo wasn't his only target.

People in the city were targets for Dune as well.

'There's no need to attack them directly.'

Move into the shadow of his intended victim, then shoot out thorns from within.

He hadn't been able to pierce Jung-woo's skin, but ordinary humans would be smashed to pulp easily.

'Now.'

After stabbing Jung-woo's ankle with a dagger once more, he instantly moved several meters away before Jung-woo even realized.

The downside of Shadow Fall was that it was a little slower than simple shadow movement.

But even so, it was much faster than moving with mere feet.

'The embers...'

Dozens of civilians would die here.

UnderStellar's dispatched members at Pandemonium would kill other awakened.

How would the world respond to that?

"Found you."

"......!"

In that instant, the world flipped over.

Dune felt someone grab him by the collar and yank hard.

"This is certainly an annoying ability. Never thought you'd attack from inside a shadow."

Only then did Dune realize Jung-woo had grabbed his collar and dragged him out from inside the shadows.

"But if that was the plan, Henate should have been somewhere else."

If so, it would have taken longer to find him.

'What...'

Dune looked at Jung-woo.

For a split second, it seemed those eyes had turned pitch-black.

'He tracked my demonic energy to find me.'

Henate realized how Jung-woo had found them.

He'd focused his eyes on demonic energy and tracked Dune moving through the shadows.

Normally impossible, but the Demon King's power made it possible for Jung-woo.

"Henate, you know, I've been feeling it for a while now."

Jung-woo sensed the energy of Henate wrapped around Dune like armor and smirked.

"You've become pretty cowardly, haven't you?"

「......!!」

At that mocking remark, Henate was at a loss for words.

Just as Jung-woo said, he'd continually avoided fighting Jung-woo head-on.

Once, Henate had never fought that way.

He hadn't earned the name "the butcher" by fighting like this.

"Park Jung-woo!!"

Red mist erupted from Jung-woo's body, and in an instant, the two were blown far apart.

Even in the violent explosion at close range, Jung-woo showed no serious injuries.

In fact, it would be accurate to say he had none at all.

The only wounds Jung-woo had sustained so far were the minor ones sustained from blind spots as a result of Dune's Conceptualization Technique.

"Fine. Yes. You're right... this really wasn't a style suited for me."

His body was still incomplete.

He needed to think of what came next.

All sorts of excuses swirled in Henate's mind.

"But if I use my full strength, you won't have it so easy, you know?"

"Not at all."

Henate was definitely an annoying foe, but Jung-woo had never once thought he'd lose.

Not once, from the past until now.

"You bastard."

Dune let out a faint sigh at Henate's voice, seething with fury.

It didn't seem possible to keep fighting like this now.

"Well, I suppose this is fine, too."

Putting his life on the line in this fight.

For Dune, this was something he'd never done, not once.

His role today was nothing more than fanning the embers; that intention hadn't changed even now.

But judging by the demon that had inhabited his body, it seemed that one didn't feel the same way.

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

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】