The Returner Chapter 187

(Not edited, unfortunately.)

"Of course, what you said about them is all good and stuff! Fine! But, can’t you see what’s going on over there?! That place has been breached!! We might have several millions more zombies before our people realise the extent of their own powers! The damages will be far too severe by then!" (Choi Jung-Hoon)
"You know, I think…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"I know what???" (Choi Jung-Hoon)
"I think, the one underestimating his own agents the most might be you, Mister Choi Jung-Hoon." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"Eh?"
As if to solidify Yi Ji-Hyuk’s argument, a lone man suddenly dropped into the middle of the opening in the barricade. Choi Jung-Hoon looked at that and cried out.
"Mister Park Sung-Chan?!" (Choi Jung-Hoon)
The ‘Iron’ Park Sung-Chan landed hard on the ground, and then proceeded to grab the zombies trying to pounce on new victims. He then chucked them back into the midst of the horde a far away.
"Please, be careful!! What if they get hurt??" (Choi Jung-Hoon)
"Be serious!" (Park Sung-Chan)
Park Sung-Chan shot a glare back.
"You think one or two getting hurt under the circumstances is a problem?! If they are unhappy about it, tell them to sort this sh*t out by themselves! Isn’t this a pure bullsh*t request to begin with?!" (Park Sung-Chan)
No, hang on! It’s not just one or two getting hurt here!
Those you just threw at the zombie horde flew like cannon shells and blew away the others as if they are bowling pins, you know?!
Please think first before saying such a things!! (Choi Jung-Hoon’s inner monologue)
Of course, Choi Jung-Hoon was the type to think first before saying his piece, so he didn’t mutter any of that out this time.
"In any case, please be more cautious!" (Choi Jung-Hoon)
"Cautious can kiss my a*s!!" (Park Sung-Chan)
Park Sung-Chan chucked every single zombie that broke through the barricade back to the rest of the horde, picked the overturned military vehicle up, and placed it where it used to be.
"Can’t you all make a better barricade or something? You think this is enough for a barricade?" (Park Sung-Chan)
"….If we were to barricade you in, we’d need the Grand Canyon." (Choi Jung-Hoon)
Don’t judge everything according to your standards!! (Choi Jung-Hoon’s inner monologue)
Park Sung-Chan finished sorting out the situation, more or less, and jumped back into the zombie horde.
"Argh, again?! Now you want me to go where??" (Park Sung-Chan)
Watching Park Sung-Chan shout at the smartwatch device on his wrist like that, Choi Jung-Hoon was overcome with this thought that he was looking at a husband getting ordered around by his wife to run an errand just now.
‘No, hang on a minute. A wife?!’ (Choi Jung-Hoon)
How dare he, Park Sung-Chan!!
Choi Jung-Hoon’s head was suddenly filled with that thought, but he quickly shook his head to shake it off.
"Am I going mad as well?" (Choi Jung-Hoon)
"What are you talking about?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"It’s nothing." (Choi Jung-Hoon)
Choi Jung-Hoon blushed slightly and glanced at Seo Ah-Young a bit further away.
*
"This is endless." (Seo Ah-Young)
Seo Ah-Young bit her nails.
She was all gung-ho about the whole thing when she started this mission, but now…. As it turned out, it was the case of easier said then done.
Purifying once or twice wasn’t all that difficult, sure, but repeating that process tens of thousands of times proved to be really problematic.
"Hmm…."
This was going to take too long. She brought the smartwatch device closer and pressed the ‘Call’ button.
"Mister Choi Jung-Hoon?" (Seo Ah-Young)
– "Yes, I’m here. Please speak." (Choi Jung-Hoon)
"For the time being, I’ll be sending half of our agents back to the barricade. Please distribute them appropriately. I’ll also hand over the command to you." (Seo Ah-Young)
– "Understood." (Choi Jung-Hoon)
If she handed the reins over like this, then Choi Jung-Hoon would do a fine job on his own. In all honesty, leaving the command of this mission to him from the get-go would have been far more efficient, and she knew that fact very well.
However, she also wanted to show that she wasn’t some useless figurehead.
….To the rest of the world, and more specifically, that d*mn detestable Yi Ji-Hyuk, too.
It wasn’t as if she didn’t feel a pang of regret about needlessly trying to show off here, but in order for her to stand tall as the boss of the NDF, this simply had to be done.
Because, she herself had acutely sensed herself morphing into a nominal leader after Yi Ji-Hyuk made his appearance.
There was no need for a Flame Witch that listened to someone else’s orders and did what she was told. What she wanted was the ‘Seo Ah-Young’ that thought for herself and fought for herself.
"Well, that’s another easier said than done, isn’t it?" (Seo Ah-Young)
Although she was still complaining to herself, she didn’t stop her quest to push the zombies around with her flames.
*
"I’m really getting dizzy here." (Jeong Hae-Min)
Jeong Hae-Min grabbed her forehead and slowly shook her head. She had to give up on the markers she left all over the world and placed them near this location.
Meaning, with the sole exception of the marker in Korea so they could go back home later, she had spent all of her available markers in this place.
Thanks to that, she was now able to go where her presence was required. Unfortunately, even though she was teleporting only one person to a short distance, repeating this action over and over again to this degree would tire her out greatly.
"Heh-eh?"
If it weren’t for Yi Ji-Hyuk putting her through the special training by teleporting all over the world for several days in the past, she’d be laid out flat on the ground by now while watching the stars spin around above her head.
In that sense, she should be feeling rather grateful for what he had done for her, but well, it had to be Yi Ji-Hyuk’s special trait that people couldn’t feel grateful towards him for some reason.
Everyone had gotten way stronger than before after encountering Yi Ji-Hyuk, they gained a certain influence for themselves that other nations could no longer ignore, and some of them even received scouting offers every now and then, too - it was a fact that everyone had become ‘better’, yet why did they keep grinding their teeth whenever they saw Yi Ji-Hyuk’s mug?
"Hah-ah…." (Roabell)
Jeong Hae-Min shifted her gaze over to Roabell next to her. The shorty idol wasn’t the only one feeling pooped out at the moment. The Elf woman too carried an utterly pale complexion at the moment.
"I still haven’t even finished a quarter of the work yet…." (Roabell)
There must’ve been some fruit of their hard labour, though, as the number of the zombies had decreased noticeably. And, in turn, the emergency evacuation centre located beyond the barricade was now brimming full with rescued people.
Ambulances and other various transportation vehicles were continuously ferrying the patients back to hospitals, forming long lines that resembled worker ants going to and fro.
"Are you going to be alright?" (Jeong Hae-Min)
Roabell gritted her teeth when she heard Jeong Hae-Min’s question, before muttering out harshly under her breath.
"That rotten b*stard of a Dark Wizard…. I’ll kill him. I’ll definitely kill him." (Roabell)
"………"
This girl, she definitely looks like an Elf, but… No, wait. She’s an Elf, yet why is her mouth so rough like that?
Wasn’t the images of Elves typically conform to things like them playing carefreely with mother nature and say stuff like "Oh my goodness me? Mister Deer, your eyes are so sparklier and shinier today than yesterday!" or stuff like that?? (Jeong Hae-Min’s inner monologue)
But for some reason, this Elf was rather… combative.
Her class was set in the recovery section, and by listening to her talk, she must’ve been a cleric, too. So why was she behaving in such an uncouth manner??
‘Seriously, none of the females hanging around Yi Ji-Hyuk are normal in their heads.’ (Jeong Hae-Min)
That girl named Dah-Som or something was a stalker-type, and Affeldrichae didn’t even come across as a human being. It was also worrisome thing that Gah-Yun, who used to be such a well-behaved child, had been showing some strange changes in personality lately, too….
Hah….
Ah, so, I’m the only one who’s normal in this group, aren’t I? That’s why he can’t do anything about me, I guess. (Jeong Hae-Min’s inner monologue)
"All this is because that evil, vile man." (Roabell)
"Pardon me?" (Jeong Hae-Min)
"This world will also experience a blood-soaked tragedy because of that demon of a man." (Roabell)
"………."
What on earth is up her now?
Didn’t she say she’s a cleric? But, maybe she’s a fake?
I mean, at this rate, isn’t she gonna say stuff like ‘The end of this world is nigh’? (Jeong Hae-Min’s inner monologue)
"Apocalypse will descend on the world that man resides in." (Roabell)
"Yup, called it." (Jeong Hae-Min)
"….Excuse me?" (Roabell)
"Nah, don’t mind me." (Jeong Hae-Min)
How could she be this uncannily on the money?
It was to the point that Jeong Hae-Min could hardly tell whether she was just good at predicting the flow or this Elf woman was simply being stereotypical.
"Well, even then, we can’t chase him out of here, you know." (Jeong Hae-Min)
"Without a doubt, this is a terribly strange world." (Roabell)
"Which part is?" (Jeong Hae-Min)
"I should say that it is truly bizarre to see people converse with that man as if it’s nothing, and also proceeding to hurl abuses at his way as if it’s the most natural thing in the whole world." (Roabell)
"What’s wrong with that?" (Jeong Hae-Min)
Of course there was something wrong with that. It was so wrong that, Roabell couldn’t even bring herself to feel a sense of disharmony here. She didn’t reply and quietly studied Jeong Hae-Min.
Did these people know of the truth?
Did they know just what kind of an existence Yi Ji-Hyuk, the one they could chat to so easily right now, was like back in Berafe?
Maybe Affeldrichae could speak to him as an equal since she was the Lord of Dragons, but Roabell was just a measly priest, one of many, that worked for the Order of Buzugote so there was no way she’d be able to speak to Yi Ji-Hyuk in a normal manner.
She never really got to ‘experience’ his feats in the ensuing years and only heard about them like that of a passing wind, but even then, she felt her knees buckle at the mere mention of Yi Ji-Hyuk’s name. So, how scary it must’ve been for those people in Berafe who had personally experienced that vile man’s violent behaviour?
At the very least, the existence of Yi Ji-Hyuk was treated as the darkness far above the likes of some demon kings. No, he was an existence even worse than that of a natural disaster.
However, such a calamitous being was being kicked around like a piece of rock and was busy being rolled around here and there.
The gap between the two images was simply far too vast to bridge.
For someone like her, a newbie just arriving from Berafe, the sight of this Yi Ji-Hyuk was as monumentally shocking as watching the creation of the world itself.
"You people are being deceived." (Roabell)
"Really?" (Jeong Hae-Min)
"That man is the devil."
"Ahhh. Well, yeah, I think I heard him being called a demon king or whatever sometime ago." (Jeong Hae-Min)
"You knew already?" (Roabell)
"No, not initially. But then, another demon king came invading this world not too long ago. And Ji-Hyuk beat that thing down, you see." (Jeong Hae-Min)
"Ah….."
"Yeah, that’s when I heard about it. That demon guy was busy yapping on and on about Ji-Hyuk being a demon king and whatnot." (Jeong Hae-Min)
"You know the truth, yet you can treat him in this manner??" (Roabell)
"Mm?"
Now that she thought about it, that made sense, didn’t it?
Jeong Hae-Min fell into a bit of pondering as she opened her mouth.
"Well, you know. It doesn’t really matter, right? I mean, Ji-Hyuk will always be Ji-Hyuk, regardless of what title he’s sagged with, am I right?" (Jeong Hae-Min)
"Even though he’s a demon king?!" (Roabell)
"Of course, his personality is as rotten as a demon king, he’s got no manners, he’s infuriating to talk to, and yeah, he’s like a total trash, but…. But, you know, he’s a nice guy underneath all of that." (Jeong Hae-Min)
Roabell’s dumbfounded eyes struck Jeong Hae-Min pretty hard.
"I must’ve misheard you pretty badly just now. Or is the translation magic giving me errors? Your words don’t seem to match up with each other. Ah, that’s right. This must be what you humans call ‘ironical’ statement, yes?" (Roabell)
"But, it wasn’t?" (Jeong Hae-Min)
Jeong Hae-Min giggled softly.
"He really is a nice guy. It’s just that, he goes about the wrong way to express it, that’s all." (Jeong Hae-Min)
"Is this what they call blinded by love syndrome?" (Roabell)
"W-w-what are you even talking about, blinded by w-what now?!!" (Jeong Hae-Min)
"Don’t worry. I’m the priest of the god of affection, Buzugote. Love between people are something to be cherished, not to be embarrassed and bashful about." (Roabell)
"Kkyaahk?! No, it’s not true!! Never!!" (Jeong Hae-Min)
Meanwhile, Yi Ji-Hyuk stared at the two females some distance away from him going kkyah, kkyah, before wordlessly fished out a cigarette from somewhere within his pocket.
"They are really having fun, aren’t they?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Why are those two insane fools throwing tantrums around when the situation is still crappy?
Urgh, I’d feel so much better if I could just slap some senses into them right about now. (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)
"Argh, my innards hurt." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
He felt this prickling sensation in his gut, meaning the level of his accumulated stress must’ve been nothing to scoff at.
….You see, I might look like this now but I’ll have you know that I lived a thousand plus years without suffering from stress once! (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)
"Huh. By the way…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk tilted his head.
Why am I picking up on this weird feeling?
What is this weird feeling coming out from somewhere in there? (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)
As Yi Ji-Hyuk’s eyes gradually widened, an extraordinary change began taking place.
Ka-boooom!!
Along with a massive explosion, zombies standing to one side flew away in all directions like fired cannon shells. And then, from the falling dust, some ‘zombies’ slowly walked out in a line.
"Well, more zombies." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Indeed, they are zombies like the others.
Doesn’t matter where I look at them from, they are still zombies, alright.
But then, why do they feel a wee bit different?
It’s like, something is slightly off about these guys…. (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)
It was right in that moment that flames lit up on the hands of one of the ‘new’ zombies walking out of the horde.
"Oh….."
Ahhh, so that’s what it was.
If regular folks get infected, we get regular zombies…. And when an ability user gets infected, we get an ability user zombie, I see….
Those d*mn stupid morons, you’re supposed to be ability users, so how can you get bitten by some bugs and end up as an infected?! (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)
"You should all be ashamed!!" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"I don’t think now is the time to argue about that, Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk." (Choi Jung-Hoon)
"I guess you’re right." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
He’s right. We shouldn’t be concerned with the finer points of that right now. The priority would be with defeating those zombies first, somehow. (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)
"Now let’s see…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
If a normal person became a zombie, they would lose all sense of pain and things like their muscular strength would leap up by nearly ten times. It was a common occurrence to see people’s arms getting yanked out or bones shattering into fine dust once they get caught by a zombie.
So, what would happen if an ability user became a zombie, instead?
Rumble-!!!
A ball of flames lit up by the zombie grew as big as a medium-sized house and rose up high into the air.
"Mm….."
Yi Ji-Hyuk formed a refreshing smile and quickly assessed the current situation.
"Yup, we’re screwed." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Not only that, utterly, completely screwed, too.
Uh-whew!!
Fin.
(If you’ve been following me on Twitter, then you probably have heard of the ongoing electricity problem where I live at the moment. Chapter release could get erratic, depending how prolonged the blackouts get. I really hope this ridiculousness won’t persist for long and the the situation normalises soon.)