The Returner
chapter-241

Chapter 241

(TL: Unedited)

Yi Ji-Hyuk continued to pummel the Cyclops in its eye .

“Die!! Diiiieee!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Both Seo Ah-Young and Jeong Hae-Min spat out helpless sighs while bearing witness to that spectacle .

How could this scene be so… uncool? It was like they were looking at a mosquito buzzing around a person right now .

Yi Ji-Hyuk buzzing around in the air sure looked uncool, but the Cyclops unable to do anything to the annoying thing and constantly going ‘Wuu-uh, Wuu-uh’ was just as uncool, as well .

At least, the Giant from the last time looked scary, but this…!

“Diiiieee!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Even the voice entering the ladies’ ears didn’t sound all that nice, either .

“Why is he so uncool like this?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min uttered out, prompting Seo Ah-Young to nod her head along unconsciously .

Before Yi Ji-Hyuk’s appearance, when the American ability users were still enjoying their fame – those guys came across so cool and wonderful in their combat videos, but this was…

It wasn’t the fault of the camerawork . Indeed, those Americans looked great even when viewed from a far in a wide-angle shot .

So, how come this guy looked so lame?

“Is it because of his face?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Can you even see it right now?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Nope . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Even then, he looks so uncool, right? If you do take his face into consideration… Mm, well, getting closer will make it even worse, won’t it . ” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“It’s a sad situation . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

If only he had a nice face to look at – that would have covered up the lacklustre action, but alas .

“Still, didn’t he look better when the black stuff came out from him? It kinda had that Dark Force charm to it, no?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“But, it was also revolting, too . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

“That’s true, I guess . ” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Indeed, one should ooze black stuff in moderation . He always flung away tentacles every freaking time . Who would look at that and think that’s cool?

Meanwhile, Yi Ji-Hyuk cocked his shoulder back before firing a straight punch forward . The attack caused the huge body of the Cyclops to fly back as it became airborne .

“Hul . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

Seo Ah-Young’s eyes opened up wider .

Would this be how one feels after seeing a person get blown away by a mosquito? The scene laid out before their eyes were so strange that… .

“… . This feels so wrong . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

“M-mm . ” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Just how should any of them go about describing this situation?

“In any case, it should end pretty soon . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

“One shouldn’t be too relaxed, though . ” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“No ways… . We’re talking about that Yi Ji-Hyuk, aren’t we?” (Seo Ah-Young)

Seo Ah-Young’s assertion prompted Jeong Hae-Min to narrow her eyes to a slit .

The leader of the NDF might outwardly look like someone who always complained, rebelled, and plotted on how to cause Yi Ji-Hyuk more grief, but truth be told, she trusted him implicitly when it came to resolving dangerous situations .

‘She’s a weird kid herself, alright . ’ (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min could only sigh in resignation at Seo Ah-Young and her unconcerned face observing Yi Ji-Hyuk’s antics . She knew that no agent affiliated with the NDF was considered normal in the head, but… .

‘How do I look in other people’s eyes, I wonder?’ (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min grew fearful for some inexplicable reason .

“H-hey, Ah-Young-ah?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Ng, unni?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Do I come across, you know, strange to you?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“What do you mean?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Like, my personality, or… . Well, things like that . ” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Seo Ah-Young replied with a bright smile .

“Why do you care about such a thing, anyway? We just have to live the way we look, don’t you think so? Don’t sweat over stuff like that . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

“M-mm… . ” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min’s saddened face shifted over in Yi Ji-Hyuk’s direction .

It was too late to go back now; if she looked strange even to Seo Ah-Young’s eyes, then wouldn’t regular people see her as a utter loon already?

‘I gotta get out of this place real soon . ’ (Jeong Hae-Min)

Seriously now, I’m an idol, no, a former idol no less, so how can I accept being labelled as insane?!(Jeong Hae-Min’s inner monologue)

“Is it because I hung around Ji-Hyuk for too long?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“No, unni . You are originally like that . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

“I envy you . ” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Ng?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Because, you don’t think about anything . ” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“… . What do you mean?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“It’s nothing . ” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min shook her head and shifted her gaze back to Yi Ji-Hyuk, still busying pounding away on the Cyclops’s head over yonder .

Yup, it was obvious that her personality would get warped when being surrounded by such people .

Her sighs were heavier than the usual today .

*

“Urah-cha!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

BOOM!

Every time Yi Ji-Hyuk took a swing, the thudding sound of something enormous smashing into the ground resounded out .

“Urah-cha!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

BOOOOOM!!

Completely engrossed now, he continued his beatdown on the Cyclops .

At first, it was difficult to control his strength and the temptation to use Mana continued to lure him, but once he got going, this whole thing became quite entertaining .

When dealing with small-fries, just a simple kick or punch would send them flying, so he didn’t get to enjoy that feeling of impact to satisfy him . But now, it felt oh-so-good as he pummelled the living daylights out of the one-eyed monster!

“Now this is what I’m talking about . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Now where would be find a sandbag this wonderful?

Sure, it was a living sandbag that did put up some resistance every now and then, and that made things a bit cumbersome, but still, this sensation of landing hits should be not replicable anywhere else .

Just as the Cyclops tried to resist, Yi Ji-Hyuk cocked his waist back and threw a mean hook on the monster’s cheek .

Kuh-wuuuung!!

The human’s fist and the monster’s facial flesh collided to produce a massive explosion of sound .

“It, it’s falling!!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Along with Choi Jung-Hoon’s scream, the huge monster slowly began tilting towards the ground .

“Uwaaaah!!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

If such a huge thing fell, then it’d be no different from a real disaster .

“Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk!! The building behind it!! The buildinggggg!!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

His desperate cries prompted Yi Ji-Hyuk to fling himself forward, irritation writ large on his face .

“Argh, why are you falling that way?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

If he were to make sure that it fell without hitting buildings, then…

Let’s see, at this angle, with this much power!

Kuuoong-!!!

Yi Ji-Hyuk’s roundhouse kick precisely landed on the Cyclops’s waist area .

That humongous body looked as if it was sliding away and by a hair’s breadth, missed crashing into the high-rise before toppling on the ground .

Splash-!!

The slime spectacularly split up like a rising fountain and spread away like real water thanks to the incredible pressure from the falling monster’s body .

BOOOOM!!!

“Nice landing!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk spun around in the air and pointed at Choi Jung-Hoon .

“Misterrr Choi Jung-Hoon!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“… . Yes?” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Count to ten!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Did this guy really lose his dang mind?!

“One! Two!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Seo Ah-Young shot a murderous glare and asked .

“What are you doing??” (Seo Ah-Young)

“… . No, hang on, he said I should… . ” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“And you really went along with that?? Are you crazy?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“I was just… . ” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Mister Choi Jung-Hoon!! Please, get your act together! Don’t you think you’ve been too negatively influenced by that man lately?!” (Seo Ah-Young)

“That’s too harsh, ma’am . ” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Seo Ah-Young shifted her attention away from the despondent Choi Jung-Hoon and shouted at Yi Ji-Hyuk .

“Stop messing around and finish it quickly! Don’t you know that restoration efforts after the incident takes a long time?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“What do you mean, messing around?! You think it’s easy dealing with a monster of that size? It doesn’t even look that hurt after I pummelled it that much, so what do you want from me then, ah?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Why don’t you use magic or whatever to mop up quickly, then?!” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Hah, I told you! I must conserve Mana right now . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk shook his head . It was completely no use talking to that woman .

“Besides, it is kinda getting old, this thing… . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

As he began his descent, he gathered Ether in his fist . It was now time to end this .

Wuuooooh!!

Unfortunately, the Cyclops didn’t seem to agree with him . The monster finally regained its wits and raised its upper torso with the kind of agility that belied its massive frame .

“Ehh?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

And then, the creature swung its huge hand at the falling Yi Ji-Hyuk who was still in mid-air and couldn’t do much to evade the attack .

“Ehhhh??” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

H-hey, I don’t think I can dodge this??

Uh??(Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)

Powwww~!

Accompanied by the sound of a mosquito being smacked to death in the air, Yi Ji-Hyuk’s figure soared high up into the sky .

“Uwaaaahhk!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

His scream spread out like a loud echo and along with his figure, soon disappeared from the range of human hearing .

“Hul, just how far is he going to fly away?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Isn’t he going to escape the Earth’s atmosphere at that rate?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min and Seo Ah-Young marvelled at the spectacle .

Yi Ji-Hyuk’s figure progressively got smaller and smaller, until eventually, disappeared from their view altogether .

“… . Where do you think he’ll land?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Well, he should’ve flew past Japan, at least . ” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Judging from the impact force alone, he might even circle around the planet once and come back from the other direction .

“Well, if it’s him, I’m sure he’ll come back somehow . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Yeah, I mean, he came back from another world and all . ” (Jeong Hae-Min)

That was why these two ladies weren’t worried at all about Yi Ji-Hyuk’s welfare . Because, it was impossible for that man to die unless they were facing the impending destruction of all mankind .

No, hang on a minute – he was completely capable of simply crossing over to the other world and live out the rest of his days there if things came down to that .

Indeed, their problem lay elsewhere .

“In that case, what should we do about that thing now?” (Seo Ah-Young)

Wuuuuuuoohh!!

Perhaps stimulated by the act of blowing Yi Ji-Hyuk away, the Cyclops began roaring out as if to demonstrate its powers, causing Seo Ah-Young to spit out a lengthy groan .

It was only because Yi Ji-Hyuk was here that she could nag him, telling him to finish it up quickly and stuff like that . But, without him around, that Cyclops would have to be treated as a boss-raid mob, instead .

The entirety of the NDF would have to mobilise to deal with a monster of that calibre . She couldn’t even begin to imagine the extent of potential collateral damage to the city and the roads during their struggle .

They didn’t hold back and attacked the Giant monster in the past as freely as they wanted to because they were in the plains near the border area . But if they did that here, forget about being called the NDF, they would be called the National Butcher Force, instead!

“What should we do?” (Seo Ah-Young)

The best scenario would be to lead it outside the city limits, but even that process would result in massive losses .

“That’s why I told him to finish this quickly, but he… . !!” (Seo Ah-Young)

Seo Ah-Young gnashed her teeth, but she could only do so much venting at the dude who wasn’t even here .

“How did things devolve like this… . ?” (Seo Ah-Young)

Just as she was about to go on another tirade of complaints, a black Gate suddenly materialised in the air just above the Cyclops’s head .

“Ng??” (Seo Ah-Young)

That thing kinda looked familiar .

Isn’t that Yi Ji-Hyuk’s personal Gate?

“Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk!!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Choi Jung-Hoon cried out in relief .

As expected of him; even though he got smacked away to god knows where, he opened a Gate to return to the battlefield right away .

Once the black portal opened his mouth wide, everyone’s gaze was locked onto it . But then, the Cyclops decided to respond in the most unexpected way, as well .

Kuwaaah!

The monster opened its mouth wide and placed itself right below the Gate .

“Hul… . ” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“T-that, what should we do now?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Is it thinking of swallowing him up??” (Seo Ah-Young)

Jeong Hae-Min’s eyelids trembled in worry .

“D-do something! Wouldn’t Ji-Hyuk get eaten the moment he emerges from the Gate??” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Well, I guess that’ll happen next… . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Why do you sound so disinterested?! You know that’s no good!” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“M-mm…” (Seo Ah-Young)

It’s no good?

But, wouldn’t Yi Ji-Hyuk come outside no problem by ripping open the monster’s stomach?

If it were me, I wouldn’t even try to eat junk food like that, though . (Seo Ah-Young)

As Seo Ah-Young fell into a dilemma wondering whether to worry about the soon-to-be-eaten Yi Ji-Hyuk or the Cyclops about to eat him, a certain black shadow could be seen within the Gate .

That shadow gradually increased its size, before finally ‘falling’ outside the portal .

“M-mm?!”

“W-what the heck?”

“Hul… . ”

The reactions of everyone after seeing what came out were unsurprisingly similar in nature . Their eyes all grew wide and some even chuckled out wryly, their laughter filled with dumbfoundedness and disbelief .

What the hell is that?!

That, that, that big black thing!!(Choi Jung-Hoon’s inner monologue)

Choi Jung-Hoon quietly muttered to himself as he watched that spectacle .

“And I told him that whaling is illegal… . ” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

He still hasn’t woken up after getting arrest once before!

Really man, that guy is just too… . !(Choi Jung-Hoon’s inner monologue)

A huge whale that fell out from the Gate was now firmly blocking the Cyclops’s open mouth .

Kuh-uuuhh!!

Swallowing a whale at one go was going to be the mission impossible no matter how huge the monster’s body and its mouth was . Besides, the size of the whale itself was no joke, either .

“Isn’t that a sperm whale?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“… . He caught something pretty nonsensical in such a short time, didn’t he?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Report him to the UNESCO!!” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“It’s not UNESCO, unni . It’s the Greenpeace . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Aren’t you a clever one… . ” (Jeong Hae-Min)

The Cyclops couldn’t win against the powerful impact force of a whale slamming into its mouth and its entire body tilted unsteadily, before it crashed down on its back .

Kwa-aaaahng!!

Massive dust cloud rose up next .

“Did it die?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Probably . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Dying is the moral thing to do, after all . ” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Just as everyone began focusing on the final fate of the Cyclops, Yi Ji-Hyuk jumped out of the Gate and loudly yelled out .

“Where is my whaaaale?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Choi Jung-Hoon quietly wiped the dew streaming out of the corners of his eyes .

Someone, stop that guy, please!!

Please!!