The Returner
chapter-148

Chapter 148

Park Sung-Chan gnashed his teeth .

It was half a year again!

Last time, it was six months, too . Yet, here he was, spending another six months inside hell before being allowed back home .

But now, what was the meaning of this c**p?

Park Sung-Chan continued to grit his teeth as he stared at the huge monster in front of his eyes .

The first thing he saw after exiting the Gate was not people, but a dang monster!!

“It was deliberate, right?” (Park Sung-Chan)

“One hundred percent . ” (Yun Hyuk-Gyu)

Yi Ji-Hyuk, you son of a b*tch!

Without a doubt, you sent us over here deliberately, didn’t you?! How could he drop us right in front of this sh*tty monster, when we were supposed to come home?? What the hell is the meaning of this sh*t?!

This dirty, unclean sensation caused Park Sung-Chan’s body to tremble, his teeth gritting even harder .

This feeling, would it be the same thing as him going for a week-long business trip, only to find his desk full of documents upon his return?

“That d*mn human trash!” (Park Sung-Chan)

If he could, he’d go over to where that b*stard was and grind that little sh*t into meat paste . However, even though he had received so much abuse, he found himself unable to fight back .

And that was precisely because the sight of Yi Ji-Hyuk from that cavern had been burnt deeply into Park Sung-Chan’s brain .

Park Sung-Chan always prided himself in being one of the very best within the ranks of physical reinforcement type ability users, yet he got royally trampled on by Yi Ji-Hyuk in combat techniques and in physical strengths .

He got knocked down and punched around endlessly until he couldn’t even get to recover his wits . He’d try to get up with much difficulty, only to get beaten down over and over again . When this routine carried on two times, three times, four, five… . From a certain point in time onwards, he could no longer think of rebelling against Yi Ji-Hyuk .

What an odd thing that was .

When physical strength was concerned, even when power was taken into consideration… .

It just didn’t make any sense when he got pushed around physically, so how could such thing happen?

“Groan… . ”

It wasn’t only Park Sung-Chan, though .

During these past six months, the NDF agents had been utterly, horrendously, and repeatedly abused and tormented by the individual named Yi Ji-Hyuk . After getting beaten up to the point where the victims were beginning to think that the abuser himself must’ve been feeling pretty sick and tired of repeating the same actions, not one could even dream of rebelling against Yi Ji-Hyuk’s tyranny anymore .

In that context… .

“That woman’s a stubborn fool . ” (Park Sung-Chan)

Just thinking about Seo Ah-Young made him shiver .

It’d be only normal for a person to give up after being on the receiving end of so much abuse . But then again, remembering that mad woman getting ready to spit flames out of her mouth in her upside down dangling position after a royal beatdown, well, Park Sung-Chan could only feel a certain sense of dread welling up from the bottom of his heart .

“Euh… . . ”

And they kept on calling her the Insane Witch this and Insane Witch that……

Did any of those idiots know just how insane that woman could be before labelling her with that nickname?

The thing was, though – Seo Ah-Young and her maddened frenzy was one thing, but just thinking about Yi Ji-Hyuk accepting her outbursts with an evil cackle on his lips and then proceeding to torment her even more… . A cold chill crept down on Park Sung-Chan’s backside .

“Whatever, man . They are both insane . ” (Park Sung-Chan)

Park Sung-Chan made up his mind to escape from this organisation as soon as possible .

“Mister Sung-Chan . ” (Yun Hyuk-Gyu)

“Mm?”

Park Sung-Chan turned around and stared at Yun Hyuk-Gyu standing there with an obviously unimpressed body language .

“What’s up?” (Park Sung-Chan)

“So, what are we going to do about that?” (Yun Hyuk-Gyu)

Park Sung-Chan shifted his gaze over in the direction of the distant huge tortoise-like monster, as pointed out by the Spitfire Yun Hyuk-Gyu, and grinned .

“What do you mean, what?” (Park Sung-Chan)

Well, he was feeling really rotten at the moment, anyway .

What a nice target to vent his anger on, that thing .

“I’m just gonna go and see how sturdy its shell is . ” (Park Sung-Chan)

Park Sung-Chan bumped his two fists like a boxer, producing loud thuds, and slowly took steps forward .

***

“And what the hell is that thing now?” (Kim Myung-Woon)

The Red Rock Kim Myung-Woon displayed his irritation at the monster right in front of his eyes .

He only just got here, so what the heck was this?

“Should I just forget about it and go home?” (Kim Myung-Woon)

Now that he took a look around, he was pretty sure that this place wasn’t even in South Korea . In that case, he wouldn’t be in violation of the contract he signed with the KSF even if he abandoned the monster and left .

So, if he just went home like this… .

“Looks like he’s thrown us here deliberately, so if you go home without doing anything, will Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk be so understanding, I wonder?” (Rudra)

“………”

After hearing what the ‘Rudra’ Shin Jung-Ah had to say, Kim Myung-Woon began shuddering grandly .

Yi Ji-Hyuk .

It felt like that those three letters managed to grip Kim Myung-Woon’s brain real tight before shaking it around in wild abandon .

Every one who got dragged away to that unknown space suffered greatly at Yi Ji-Hyuk’s hands, but none of them could claim they had suffered more than Kim Myung-Woon .

At first, he regretted his actions, realising how stupid he had been .

Who knew that Yi Ji-Hyuk could be such an obstinately awful being?

Kim Myung-Woon should’ve been quick to catch the seniors’ strange reactions when he so boldly declared something about flipping the place on its head .

‘Why did I have to be such a dumb as*hole back then?’ (Kim Myung-Woon)

Through that experience, he got to learn an important life lesson, though .

And that would be, Yi Ji-Hyuk was a seriously dangerous and terrible human being, and that he really, reaaally, reaaaaally knew how to hold a grudge .

That petty and insane b*stard, how could anyone guess that he’d specifically torment a fellow human being to that degree for nearly six months, just because of one instance of defiance?! Why didn’t he just kill the poor victim off instead and be done with it?!

For two months, Kim Myung-Woon gave up and was like ‘Just kill me and get it over with’; then for the next two months, it was about him trying to resist violently, hoping that they’d mortally wound each other at least; and for the final two months, he had reached the state of enlightenment and went ‘Fine, do whatever you want’ .

He had finally been liberated from the intense period of torment, yet he’d get to suffer at Yi Ji-Hyuk’s hands again?

Blue veins began popping up on Kim Myung-Woon’s arms .

“Which b*stard should I start smashing down first?” (Kim Myung-Woon)

When Kim Myung-Woon spoke with enough ferocity and intensity to swallow whole a concrete building, Rudra spat out a long, helpless sigh .

‘He ain’t gonna rebel no more, is he?’ (Rudra)

What with such deeply-rooted mental trauma, there was no helping it now .

There was no better evidence of Yi Ji-Hyuk thinking that the NDF truly belonged to him than what was happening now, where ability users were thrown in front of various monsters all over the world with nary an explanation .

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‘And that’s not really wrong, either, is it?’ (Rudra)

No one could say otherwise in the current situation .

Rudra whipped the surrounding air into a storm as he glared at the far away monster .

Well, regardless of what, he still had to eliminate all monsters showing up in front of his face . No reason to walk away over a minor matter like that .

“Let’s go kiiiiiill it!!” (Kim Myung-Woon)

Kim Myung-Woon’s eyes began gleaming in maddened frenzy, prompting Shin Jung-Ah to powerlessly shake his head .

“Someone help me… . ” (Rudra)

***

“Chaaaaa!!”

Flames rose up to the ground .

Seo Ah-Young was already capable of flinging around balls of flames the size of a house, but still, it was not hard to see the extreme rise in her firepower in such a short period of time .

“Ahh, that’s really nice . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk relaxedly bathed in the overwhelming heat of Seo Ah-Young’s flames as if he was in a sauna .

“She’s definitely a kiln, man . A kiln . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

What with his own Ether values rising up as of late, Yi Ji-Hyuk’s body had been strengthened somewhat, and the level of heat like this was perfect to make him feel refreshed .

Of course, he had been incomparably powerful in the past, but his body was no different from that of a normal person even back then . He didn’t have much to complain in that regard, obviously .

Nowadays, though… .

He wasn’t entirely sure what had happened to his body but well, he could no longer feel any heat from any ol’ sources of fire unless it was something like a roaring flame burning right in front of his face .

Here he was, facing a powerful, explosive flame that rose up to the high heavens, enjoying this feeling of sweat coming out of his every pore, flushing out all impurities of his system .

“Hey, ahjumma! Raise up the heat even higher!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Seo Ah-Young became speechless after looking at Yi Ji-Hyuk who looked like he was getting ready to lie down and enjoy a relaxing bath or some such .

“… . . You want it even hotter?” (Seo Ah-Young)

If I throw these flames at you, it’ll surely get even hotter, right?

I can definitely make it much, much hotter for you, you know!!(Seo Ah-Young’s inner monologue)

Just as she began boiling inside again, Yi Ji-Hyuk relaxedly slouched even further in the chair and began nitpicking as usual .

“Uhm, you know, Kim Dah-Hyun might get beaten to death at this rate, so like, aren’t you going to lend your assistance? Even I think firing another shot right about now will make that kid’s life so much easier . Well, I’m sure you know what’s best . Not like I’m trying to nag or anything . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

That d*mn mouth!!

If only! I!

Get to smack that d*mn mouth just once, then I’ve no regret left in this world!!!!(Seo Ah-Young’s inner monologue)

Seo Ah-Young trembled with rage, before somehow managing to forcibly turn her unwilling head away from Yi Ji-Hyuk .

If she continued looking at that man, she’d lose what little hold she had over her mind and go even more mad, so for the sake of her mental health, it was better to utterly erase that man’s presence from her head .

“You’re such an obedient little kid, you know?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Kaaaaahk!!”

Seo Ah-Young screamed out as she threw the gathered flames at Yi Ji-Hyuk .

Never mind a dang monster, she simply had to kill that b*stard first!!

Just what was a monster?

A lifeform that was not a human, and caused a great deal of harm to other humans, that’s what a monster was!

Didn’t Yi Ji-Hyuk perfectly fit the description of a monster? Shouldn’t he be killed immediately, in that context?

Quickly coming up with a sound logical argument in her mind, Seo Ah-Young began pouring down a barrage of attacks on Yi Ji-Hyuk .

“This crazy woman’s starting again . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk yawned and erected a ‘Shield’ to deflect all of her attacks .

She must be suffering from PTSD or something, because she’d lose her sh*t and start attacking him the moment he said something .

‘Well, yeah . Sure, it wouldn’t be too surprising if she did suffer from that . ’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

The ability users possessed somewhat sturdier mental constitutions and that allowed them to endure; but if it were any other regular human beings, they would have lost their minds from the same drabness of that world’s relentless horrors, long before they could die from the physical torment .

So, it was more or less understandable .

Sure, he could understand her, but… .

“Even then, you insolent little… . !!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk’s black tentacle broke out from the surface of the ground and flew towards Seo Ah-Young .

*

“What a splendid spectacle that is . Really now . ” (Kim Dah-Hyun)

The Path Drifter Kim Dah-Hyun clicked his tongue in annoyance as he looked on at the two people going tit-for-tat down on the ground, while perched up on the head of the Giant .

“They are seriously going at it now, huh . ” (Kim Dah-Hyun)

Not only that, right in front of a monster, too!

No, hang on, they often argued in front of monsters back inside that d*mn place, so this was not such a surprising scene, but then again, at the least… . .

‘Stop fighting in front of people from other countries!!!’ (Kim Dah-Hyun)

This was so bloody embarrassing!!

Ah, ah… . One could already hear the sounds of Korea’s international reputation falling to the bottom .

What would the others looking on at this sight think of Korea now? As a country full of crazy, out-there morons?

“Can’t you tell how embarrassing this is?!” (Kim Dah-Hyun)

While Kim Dah-Hyun continued to click his tongue, the Chinese ability users weren’t looking at Seo Ah-Young or Yi Ji-Hyuk, but at him, instead .

‘What the hell is up with that insane b*stard?!’

They might as well call the two Koreans busy fighting with each other in front of them a couple of helpless morons, sure . But then, what about that insane guy sitting on top of the Giant’s head while clicking his tongue? Just how mad was that guy??

Xui Feng wordlessly studied the unfolding spectacle, before asking the officer in charge of information .

“Hey, look here . ” (Xui Feng)

“Yes, sir . ”

“Was there any indication in our files about every single Korean user being a bat-sh*t insane psychopath?” (Xui Feng)

“We have no such information, sir . ”

“Really?” (Xui Feng)

“Yes, sir . ”

Xui Feng deeply nodded his head .

“Okay, fine . Add that in the files, and then, gather every single one of the idiots responsible for collecting intel on the Koreans . ” (Xui Feng)

“… . . Yes, sir . ”

Xui Feng gritted his teeth and spoke up .

“And also, inform the Party bigwigs and get ready to lodge an official complaint . ” (Xui Feng)

“… . . Yes, sir . ”

These sons of b*tches, I’ll make sure to get you back . In full!

Just as Xui Feng thought of this, he became greatly shocked by a certain realisation .

“Huh?!”

What am I doing?

There’s a massive monster in front of me, yet rather than worrying about it, I’m acting as if this crisis has been resolved already!(Xui Feng’s inner monologue)

Xui Feng grasped his head after realising that something was wrong with the way he was perceiving things .

His eyes caught the sight of Kim Dah-Hyun and his clicking tongue sitting on top of the Giant’s head, as well as Seo Ah-Young busy raining down a storm of flames on Yi Ji-Hyuk .

Xui Feng should’ve been deeply worried after witnessing all this, yet before he knew it, he was swept up in their pace and now, he was treating this whole thing as half a joke .

This was coming from a man who took some pride in his ability to differentiate the levels of individual ability users .

“Does this mean that I actually trust their capabilities?” (Xui Feng)

But, these guys??

Xui Feng now was looking at Yi Ji-Hyuk, having dangled Seo Ah-Young upside down in the air, busy smacking her back .

“Hey, you rotten little b*tch!! Know your place before acting up, will ya!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“What did you say, you b*stard?! You think I give a sh*t about that?? I’m gonna kill you first!!” (Seo Ah-Young)

Even in this situation, Seo Ah-Young bared her teeth and tried to bite Yi Ji-Hyuk by any means necessary .

Those idiots?

“Argh, you surprised me, you piece of sh*t!” (Kim Dah-Hyun)

Kim Dah-Hyun dodged the Giant’s violently lashing hands and soared higher in the air while bitter complaints flew out of his mouth .

“…………… . . ”

Mm, so now… . I subconsciously began trusting these people . That’s what happened here… . . (Xui Feng’s inner monologue)

Xui Feng nodded his head as a logical conclusion formed in his head .

Time to retire, then?

Xui Feng began to seriously worry about the sudden decline in his capacity to judge people properly .

< 148 . You can take care of it, anyway -3 > Fin .