After Returning, My Abilities are Infinite

Episode 128. Once things go wrong, they spiral out of control (5)

“That man. He’s that hunter, isn’t he?”

“That hunter?”

“You know, the rising star that hunter Lee Hyun-seung takes around with him…….”

The advance team hunters began to talk about Kim Seung-hyun.

He was walking confidently in front of us, holding a long spear.

“Mr. Kim Seung-hyun has definitely changed. I didn’t recognize him until I heard his voice. How did he change so quickly……?”

Han Yeon-soo said with a bitter smile as she watched his sturdy back.

“I shouldn’t be feeling this way since we’re on the same side, but I’m jealous.”

“Jealous?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure I could win right now if I fight Kim Seung-hyun head-on. Just a few years ago, he was simply a ‘persistent guy’. But before I realized, he was running far ahead of me without looking back.”

“…….”

“I became stronger easily thanks to the characteristics and skills I was born with. And I reached a high position compared to my efforts… So, I try not to feel this way, but it isn’t going very well.”

“It’s normal. All people are like that.”

Thump, thump.

Our footsteps echoed.

“Don’t care about other people. Just do what you normally do. You’re not the type to be self-conscious. Why do you keep trying to change?”

“…….”

“Be an audacious Queen. Still, no one will think strangely of you.”

“I told you not to call me by that nickname.”

Han Yeon-soo laughed half-heartedly.

I smiled at her, then I walked quickly and joined Kim Seung-hyun in the front.

“Seung-hyun Hyeong, it looks like you trained hard. You’ve completely changed.”

“I did my best. But I still have a long way to go until I catch up with hunter Lee Hyun-seung, not to mention you. I need to train a little harder, ha-ha.”

“Well, I know better than anyone else how hard you try. It would be strange if you didn’t become stronger.”

The advance team hunters watched intently as I approached Kim Seung-hyun and acted friendly towards him.

“Hmm….”

However, when they realized I was just asking how he had been, they lost interest and started to talk among themselves.

“Um, Seung-hyun Hyeong.”

“Yeah?”

I poked Kim Seung-hyun in the side and talked to him again only after I confirmed that people were no longer paying attention.

“I have something to tell you. It’s something that the advance team leader shouldn’t hear.”

“Something hunter Lee Young-ho shouldn’t hear? Why? I heard he’s a good man…….”

“He shouldn’t hear. I always have my reasons, don’t I?”

“Okay. What is it?”

Kim Seung-hyun lowered his voice and asked.

Even while arguing with me, he still listened to me intently.

“The thing is….”

But then.

Thwack!

The moment I was about to tell him.

Something huge flew in from the sky and blocked our way.

“Didn’t I tell you to call me before you got here?”

“…Oh.”

At the same time, a deep voice rang out.

It was a voice that I was now somewhat used to. A reassuring voice that eased your mind just by hearing it.

“The fort can’t distinguish monsters from people. If you try to break in from the outside, this big thing will blow your head off.”

Tap, tap!

Said the man standing on a floating iron ball, tapping it with his feet.

“Oh… I’m, I’m sorry. The structure of the fort changed, so I got confused about which side to contact.”

“Well, it’s not a frequent mistake, and I don’t want to blame you. The structure has indeed changed, and honestly, it’s hard to pay attention to every single detail at the front line.”

“…….”

“That’s why I sent Kim Seung-hyun in advance.”

The man, Lee Hyun-seung, smiled faintly and spoke.

Then he said a few more words before looking at me.

“Jeong Si-woo, it’s been a long while. It’s a shame that our overdue reunion had to be at a place like this… But it’s good to see you.”

“Oh, yes. How have you been?”

“Good. Very good, thanks to you. I got to know how it feels like to teach someone… And for the first time in a long while, I wasn’t alone at home.”

Lee Hyun-seung’s face, which had always been indifferent and stiff, was now much softer than before. It was probably because he had found his family. Even though he had added just one person to his usual routine, he seemed to be living a newfound life. I felt very proud.

“Let’s go in.”

Lee Hyun-seung raised his hand, and the vast landscape before us disappeared. A huge wall that looked at least a few dozen meters tall revealed itself. It had been hidden by mana engineering technology.

A masterpiece created by the Association and countries around the world. A fort built to seal off the Monster Land and protect humanity.

-Wailing Wall-

‘I haven’t seen it in a long time.’

It was a shield built with all the technology humankind could muster.

In the past, the Great Overlord knocked down this wall, and the world was run over by a wave of monsters. This wall was the symbol of heroes, and it was the most important structure crucial to protect and drive monsters out of our home planet.

“Don’t just stand there. Come in.”

Dead bodies covered every part of the wall. Monsters crushed by other monsters due to their overflowing population, monsters horribly slaughtered by hunters, and monsters ripped apart and eaten by other hungry monsters, leaving behind only pieces.

There were so many hills and mountains made of those dead monsters around the wall. The smell of rotten flesh and blood was not very pleasant.

“This isn’t a great place to talk casually.”

* * *

“Yeah, call me in five to seven minutes after you leave the camp. I’ll send Kim Seung-hyun in advance, so make sure to contact me. Yes. Even the advance team made up of experienced hunters made a mistake. You guys won’t be much different.”

As soon as he entered the fort, Lee Hyun-seung busily contacted the camp.

“If we make good use of what you sent along with the advance team, we’ll be able to maintain the fort’s function for at least two more months…… And you should bring more mana power generators with you. You forgot the important stuff. Oh, yes. You can distract them over there on your way here…….”

Listening to the serious conversation, the other hunters didn’t chat loudly or laugh and relax. There was no telling when something would happen, and they could be deployed any time.

“Seung-hyun Hyeong.”

In the meantime, I brought up what I was about to say earlier.

“Yes?”

“You know… what I was going to say earlier.”

“Oh, okay. Tell me now, when hunter Lee Young-ho isn’t paying attention to us.”

“Yes.”

I looked up and over at the advance team.

As Kim Seung-hyun said, they were not interested in us at all.

“I need to go inside the fort.”

“What? Wait, did I hear you right?”

“Yes, you heard it right. Inside the fort. I need to go into the -Land of Death-.”

Kim Seung-hyun’s eyes widened.

I continued.

“Inside, there is a terrible being that is asleep, and he’s worse than anything we ever fought against. I’m sure of it. If something triggers him and motivates him to become active, the Wailing Wall will collapse, and it will be the end of the human race.”

“…What?”

“Before that happens, we have to go and stop him. We need to find him, and we need to delay his appearance. And while he takes his time, we need to use all means necessary to find a way to kill him. No matter what.”

Evidence that the Great Overlord was inside, evidence that he would become active, evidence that he was powerful enough to bring about the end of the human race. Or anything to support my claims? I had none. But I spoke with confidence.

Kim Seung-hyun looked at my eyes for a moment and gulped.

“…What do I need to do to help you?”

Sometimes, rather than presenting solid and specific facts and evidence, an unfaltering intense conviction could easily convince people.

“Help me get inside the Land of Death.”

Kim Seung-hyun concentrated on me without even blinking. He looked captivated.

“And….”

Well, in fact.

“Come with me. To take a look at him.”

He looked very gullible.

* * *

“I’m telling you; I didn’t do anything wrong! He did it, and all the evidence says that he did it. Why are you harassing me!?”

“Oh, really?”

A narrow and stuffy interrogation room.

A man in handcuffs was sitting inside the room, shouting loudly.

“Ajusshi.”

In front of him stood a boy who looked about as old as a high school student.

The boy’s hair covered his eyebrows, his eyes were cool and indifferent, and he was as pale as a ghost. His cool atmosphere didn’t suit his young face. Maintaining his expression, no matter how loud the man shouted, the boy spoke.

“Do you know what happened to all the people who lied to me like that?”

Tap, tap.

The boy tapped the handcuffs that were restraining the man.

“None of them are living as human beings.”

“…….”

“They’re living like animals in human flesh or keeping their human minds but living in animal bodies. Some are nothing but rotten bits of meat with only bones left.”

“What…? What are you talking about…?”

Crack.

The boy swung his finger down hard. And the handcuffs that were restraining the man turned to dust. It wasn’t something that a human could possibly do. The man turned pale.

“I hate bad people very much, Ajusshi.”

“…….”

“And you did something bad. I’m showing a lot of restraint right now. I’m stopping myself from killing you to make you pay for your sins. I want to grind you to a pulp, but I’m granting you mercy by letting you die after dozens of years in a cell, eating three meals a day!”

Craaack!

“Aaargh!”

The boy swung his finger one more time, and the next moment, the table collapsed.

The man fell backward onto the ground at the sight.

“I granted you mercy, so you shouldn’t lie like that. You should be honest.”

“Hhh….”

“You did it, didn’t you? I can see everything. You pinned it on someone else by telling him you would pay him, that you would get him out of poverty. You did it, and then you destroyed a family. You ruined someone’s life.”

“It’s… it’s….”

“Speak straight. Killing a person is nothing to me.”

The boy stabbed the man in the chest with his finger. With every single stab, the man balked. His sweat poured down like rain, and he wet his pants. To the man, the boy seemed inhuman.

“I could hit you lightly, and you might end up having a sudden heart attack in half an hour. Or I could blow up your head from afar, and no one will suspect me. This building could suddenly collapse, and I could be the only one to survive.”

“T-t-h-he thing is….”

Listening to the boy list a series of scenarios, the man shook wildly, then barely let out a voice. But at that moment…….

“Oh, sorry. I got a call.”

The boy’s cell phone rang in his pocket, and he took it out and answered the call.

“Yes, this is Sung Hyun-woo. Who is this?”

The boy, Sung Hyun-woo, said in an annoyed voice.

“…Ajusshi? What? Didn’t you say you were going to the front line? Why did you call me all of a sudden? Is there anything you need from me?”

But the moment he uttered the word ‘Ajusshi’, his face lit up as if he was never annoyed.

“Oh… really? I should hurry up. Okay. No, I can help with things like that anytime. So, I just need to bring everyone in the -Jeong Si-woo Division- over there, right? Wow, it’s been a while since we all got together. Yeah, yeah, okay…….”

Beep.

And, as soon as he got off the phone, Sung Hyun-woo’s face turned cold again, like he just took off a mask. The boy’s transformation made the man shake even more violently.

“Sorry, I’m in a hurry, so I can’t let you off any further.”

“Wait, wait… I’ll confess. I’ll confess. I’ll turn myself in. Please….”

“Hmm? So you’ll turn yourself in? Really?”

“Yes, I won’t commit any crimes anymore. Oh, please, just this once… Please let me pay for my sins.”

“Hmm. I see. That’s what you thought. Good for you.”

Sung Hyun-woo smiled at the man’s words.

Then, he tapped the man on his forehead.

“But it’s too late. You’re just saying that because you’re scared for your life. I really don’t like that. Why would I save someone like that when I would have to think about saving someone sincere?”

“…Wha…what!”

“Just die and pay for your sins in the afterlife. You’re going straight to hell anyway, so it might be better to end up there a few years earlier.”

At the same time, the man’s body stiffened like a statue.

Cough, cough.

He collapsed, coughing violently, and Sung Hyun-woo casually picked up the phone installed in the interrogation room.

“He’s having a sudden seizure. Oh. I didn’t do it. He’ll survive if you take him to the hospital right away, so please send someone quickly. Yes, okayyy.”

Sung Hyun-woo, who had matured more, was slightly different from a few years ago.

“…Oh, good. I’m going to get away from all this human trash. It’s been a long time since I went on a vacation with Ajusshi.”