The Returner Chapter 199

"We’ve arrived."
"Keuk." (Xui Feng)
Xui Feng opened and jumped out of the car as if he wanted to fly the moment it came to a halt.
‘Why did it have to be here?!’ (Xui Feng)
He was busy gritting his teeth.
The location of the Gate was right between the Beijing International Airport and the city itself. Crossing a single river from this location would let one enter Beijing’s CBD, just like that.
He should thank his lucky stars that the Gate didn’t suddenly decide to open up in the middle of the city itself, but even then, this place was already overflowing with many potential dangers.
"Did the monsters come out yet?!" (Xui Feng)
Xui Feng grabbed anyone he could get his hands on and shouted out his question.
A soldier wielding a rifle was about to express his displeasure but upon confirming Xui Feng’s displayed rank, he quickly stood at attention and shouted back.
"Yes, sir!"
"Where are they?" (Xui Feng)
"U-up there, sir!"
Xui Feng redirected his gaze in the direction the soldier pointed at and immediately formed a heavy frown.
"What the hell are those?" (Xui Feng)
He could see several creatures flying around in the air.
"Drakes?" (Xui Feng)
No, these things were different. These monsters possessed a completely different shape from the Drakes he saw in the reports.
"Could they be Wyverns?" (Xui Feng)
He remembered hearing about one of such creature making its appearance in the past just once.
A monster that possessed a body as hard as diamond yet also using its bat-like wings to fly around in the air as freely as it wanted to. He also remembered hearing that no regular firearms damaged it so it took some mighty hard work to bring that one down.
But then, such things should be considered a regular occurrence anyway. Where would you find an instance of people not going through that sort of hardship when hunting down a monster?
If it was a single Wyvern, then the Chinese ability users were more than adequate enough to turn the dang thing into a steamed meat bun in no time at all.
The problem right now was…..
"They are flying up higher!!"
Along with that sharp cry belonging to someone, a spectacle Xui Feng didn’t ever want to imagine unfolded in its full glory.
Kaaaaah!!
Screeching loudly, the flock of Wyverns began rising up higher into the air. (TL: Uhm, would calling a big group of Wyverns a flock grammatically correct? Is there even a word for that? Huh.)
‘What the hell is this sh*t?!’ (Xui Feng)
Xui Feng even forgot that he needed to control this situation and simply gazed on at this unfolding spectacle in a total daze.
Just like a flock of countless migratory birds filling up the entire sky as they prepared to fly away, equally many Wyverns were rising up higher and higher in the air.
"S-stop them!!!" (Xui Feng)
Xui Feng finally regained his wits and cried out.
God d*mn it!! This is Beijing!
17 million people live in this city!! (Xui Feng’s inner monologue) (TL: Actually, it’s around 21.7 million. Dunno where the author got his figures from.)
If that flock of Wyverns spread out and entered the city with that many people, just what kind of events would take place next?
Xui Feng’s hands began shaking uncontrollably.
Without a doubt, horrifying events completely beyond his worst nightmares would happen. A mass-scale tragedy was a given, obviously. But he couldn’t even begin to imagine how big the secondary losses would be.
"F*cking hell!! A d*mn Giant is more preferable than this sh*t!" (Xui Feng)
Xui Feng gnashed his teeth.
Although things did look bleak during the Giant incident, at least they could focus on a single tangible target back then. But now, he couldn’t even begin to figure out how he should go about stopping those d*mn things.
"For the time being, stop them! Do whatever means necessary to stop them from flying away!!" (Xui Feng)
Xui Feng’s loud, sharp yell was heard clearly by the others, and soon, shots of Ether from all over flew towards the airborne Wyverns in a shower of colourful lights.
"Ah, sh*t……" (Xui Feng)
Only after that did Xui Feng realise the mistake he had made.
Just before the Ether attacks landed on them, Wyverns in the air began dispersing to avoid getting hit.
Some of them descended back to the ground to assault the soldiers and ability users that lined the ground, and as the humans became rather preoccupied by this bunch, the rest freely flew around with no destination in their minds.
"N-no, this can’t be happening." (Xui Feng)
Xui Feng dazedly stared at the unfolding situation. How could he even attempt to hunt all those hundreds of Wyverns if they managed to scatter across all over the country?
It was already tough hunting one down, yet he was looking at hundreds of them. Just how much of time would he need before the situation was fully dealt with, and just how many losses would this country suffer in the meantime?
"Euh…."
Just as all strength began abandoning Xui Feng’s legs, his ears caught the hushed voice of a man.
"It’s too early to give up, ahjussi." (Kim Dah-Hyun)
"Mm?"
Xui Feng turned around to look at Kim Dah-Hyun.
"What did this son of a b*tch say?" (Kim Dah-Hyun)
Xui Feng mouthed some choice words even before realising it. Kim Dah-Hyun simply ignored him and began picking up speed as he ran forward in a leisurely manner.
"Well, my earnings and losses ain’t gonna match up on this one, but…" (Kim Dah-Hyun)
If he were to hunt down every single one of those Wyverns, he’d no doubt have to run around until his legs were ready to fall off by themselves.
The hard work he was about to put in here was simply too great to be paid off by one dish of Peking duck, but then again, if he returned home without even sorting out a situation like this one, then he’d be treated the same as the human trash Yun Hyuk-Gyu who couldn’t even finish a job properly.
"I can’t let them happen." (Kim Dah-Hyun)
It was very difficult to find another occasion where one would feel as humiliated and worthless as when Yi Ji-Hyuk was berating and nagging the hell out of that person.
Kim Dah-Hyun dearly wished to avoid that ignoble situation and began running hard, his unyielding desire serving as his fuel.
Chwaaaah!!
Kim Dah-Hyun ran as he split the air and literally rose up into the air above.
Kaahak??
When a human suddenly appeared right next to them, the Wyverns got flustered and began screeching in confusion.
"Hmm…."
Kim Dah-Hyun lightly dusted his arms and legs once, before kicking the air again to fly around like a bird. He used the gathered Wyverns as his footholds and ran around as he pleased in the sky.
Kaaahhak!
Kaahk!!
The Wyverns that were stomped on by him began dropping to the ground one at a time.
"Time for a light stroll, then!!" (Kim Dah-Hyun)
Kim Dah-Hyun gathered a ton of Ether around his legs next.
"Orrrryyyyyyaaaahp!!"
Boooom!!
He instantly broke past the sound barrier and the sonic boom created in his wake boomed throughout the surroundings. He used the air as well as the Wyverns as his footholds and began rushing around at will.
"Huh…." (Xui Feng)
Xui Feng watched with a shocked expression etched on his face.
It wasn’t as if he didn’t see that Korean man’s feats during the Giant incident.
Back then - he definitely saw Kim Dah-Hyun treating that huge Giant creature as his toy, and buying them enough time. And realistically speaking, it was also Kim Dah-Hyun who defeated the monster, as well.
However, how should Xui Feng describe this….?
….Such a thing was possible because the Giant was, well, a giant?
That kind of thought played a substantial part in his brain.
For instance, let’s say that a lion got chased away after getting stung by a wasp. You still wouldn’t call a wasp stronger than a lion, now would you?
Xui Feng thought that the Giant was toyed around with by that man’s overwhelming speed. He certainly didn’t feel that Kim Dah-Hyun was all that strong.
However, things felt completely different right now.
Right now, Kim Dah-Hyun was leaving behind a long trail of afterimages as he freely ran amok in the flock of hapless airborne Wyverns.
"Just how can that even be possible?" (Xui Feng)
It was like looking at a white ray of light with a long tail behind it spinning and swirling wildly around amidst a thick black cloud. Kim Dah-Hyun’s speed was indeed that incredible.
"They are falling down!"
Wyverns were now descending to earth like dark meteors.
Xui Feng gritted his teeth. He knew that they shouldn’t be admiring Kim Dah-Hyuk’s godly performance in the air.
"Make sure to kill them dead so that they won’t get back in the air again! Their bodies are sturdy, so be mindful of them counterattacking, okay!!" (Xui Feng)
Boom! Boom!!
Wyverns crash landed on the ground like large raindrops.
Kaaahh!!
Although they did fall down from Kim Dah-Hyun’s kicks, they didn’t seem to have suffered fatal wounds from that. Wyverns hurriedly got back up from the ground and bared their fangs as they scanned their surroundings.
Too bad, now that they were on the ground, their limitations were far too obvious.
"Attack!!"
Ka-boom!!
Rumble!!
Attacks of Ether from the Chinese ability users quite literally crushed the fallen Wyverns into the ground again.
Flames, ice particles, and lightning bolts focused on a singular point and slammed into it over and over again, causing one explosion after another to resound out.
The monster couldn’t even scream properly and turned into a half-charcoal. It shivered pathetically for a little while, before flopping down, dead.
"Very good!"
By focusing their firepower, it’d not be difficult to hunt down and kill a Wyvern, one at a time. Their problem so far was to do with the creatures flying in the air, as it was not possible to focus their attacks while they were still up there.
Ka-boom!!
Kwa-boooom!!
Explosions resounded out from pretty much everywhere, but Xui Feng didn’t bother with any of them and shifted his gaze back up to the sky.
"More! More!!" (Xui Feng)
The situation on the ground didn't warrant any worry at all.
As far as the sheer number of ability users were concerned, no nation on Earth could come even remotely close to China.
If around 50 users descended on a crash-landed Wyvern, the monsters wouldn’t even have a chance to resist before getting squashed into meat paste. So, what he needed to pay attention to was Kim Dah-Hyun, currently fighting a lone battle way up in the sky against hundreds of Wyverns.
"He’s strong." (Xui Feng)
"….Yes, sir. He is."
Xui Feng felt annoyed by his underling agreeing so easily like this. However, it was he who made that assessment in the first place, so how could he get annoyed at someone else now?
In any case, that man was strong.
Like, seriously strong.
Even if he was using the Wyverns as his footholds as he ran around, it was already a shocking thing to see a human being freely moving around in the air. But then, he even resorted to stomping and kicking the monsters down to the ground, too. You wouldn’t dare to try something like that unless you were completely confident of your balance and skills.
‘Is he a monster, perhaps?!’ (Xui Feng)
Just where did people like that keep popping up from?
All those ability users thought to be strong only a few months ago were no longer being talked about. Not anymore.
‘The NDF.’
Xui Feng scoffed derisively when the Korean ability users and their abilities were starting to become the hot topic of conversation for the rest of the world.
But now, he had personally witnessed their powers for the second time. He had no choice but to admit that the balance of the ability users of the world were tilting towards that small nation now.
Even if Yi Ji-Hyuk was not included in that assessment.
Even without him, Korea was already powerful enough. Even if he was not counted, just how many countries in the world could legitimately claim that they were superior against the Korean ability users?
Xui Feng was confident of China not losing to anyone bar the United States, but even he was honestly thinking that his country should not get on the bad side of South Korea, when they had the likes of Kim Dah-Hyun and Seo Ah-Young in their ranks.
Worse still, there were dozens more ability users like Kim Dah-Hyun back in Korea, too.
"What a horrifying thing that is." (Xui Feng)
It was a scary thing for a neighbouring country to be this powerful.
From the past, the East Asia was a volatile powder-keg of a place where four major global powers had been sharing borders against each other.
China, Russia, Japan and then, Korea.
The tenuous balance barely being kept still was now being broken by Korea’s rather sudden and nonsensically rapid progress.
"Seriously, we can no longer do much about this situation, now can we?" (Xui Feng)
Were the higher-ups accurately analysing this situation right now?
If those fools tried to deal with South Korea the same way as they had done in the past, then a pretty big problem may break out sooner rather than later. Xui Feng promised himself to hold a high-level meeting with all of his superiors as soon as this incident drew to a close.
"Sir, will it be fine to let it go on?"
"About what?" (Xui Feng)
"Shouldn’t we lend our support, sir? It’d get harder for him to move up there once the number of Wyverns decreases."
"…Ah!" (Xui Feng)
Xui Feng slapped his own head, hard.
How could he have failed to think of something that simple?
"Support!! Lend your support! Attack the sky above you!" (Xui Feng)
Xui Feng’s shouts prompted the Chinese ability users to look up. And soon, colourful arrays of light began ascending from the ground below.
"What the heck?!" (Kim Dah-Hyun)
Kim Dah-Hyun saw that spectacle and shuddered in the air.
It felt like he was seeing a wave of rainbow rushing up from the ground.
Because there were so many ability users down there firing their attacks, this situation was no longer on the level of being dangerous, and straight into this whole thing becoming remarkably unrealistic in his eyes.
It’s fine that they look so nice and stuff. It’s fine, but now….!! (Kim Dah-Hyun’s inner monologue)
"I’ll also die if I get hit, you stupid as*holes!!" (Kim Dah-Hyun)
Kim Dah-Hyun yelled out loudly and began swimming in between all the rays of light pouring in. As each Ether shot brushed past him by paper-thin margins, he gritted his teeth and glared at the ground below.
Seeing Xui Feng’s mug down there, a groan automatically jumped out of his mouth. How could that man, with that brain of his, occupy such an important position like that?
‘No, hang on. Well, we’re the same, so….’ (Kim Dah-Hyun)
The NDF, with Seo Ah-Young as its boss, had nothing to say in that regard.
Could it be that every organisation was fated to be saddled with higher-ups whose heads weren’t spinning all that well?
"Doing something not very helpful at all!" (Kim Dah-Hyun)
Although these attacks looked nice, each of these unfocused Ether shots didn’t leave much of a lasting damage to the airborne Wyverns at all.
"What should I do now?" (Kim Dah-Hyun)
When there were plenty of Wyverns filling up the sky, it was pretty simple to toy with them. But now that he stomped half of them back to earth, his footholds had decreased and movements in the air had become that much more difficult.
One could definitely claim that he had done all he could here, but….
‘I’m gonna get slagged off for sure.’ (Kim Dah-Hyun)
Indeed, he’d get chewed out as if there’s no tomorrow.
Well, if he went and said ‘I did my best’, then that d*mn guy would more than likely start the insult train with ‘I don’t need your best so just do your sh*t properly’.
Kim Dah-Hyun was just about to make his mind up about finding a different way of mopping up this situation, but then, a rather familiar, annoyance-filled voice entered his ear canals out of the blue.
"Argh, d*mn it, dude. What the hell are you doing, man?"
"Eh?"
How come he could hear that voice in this place?
Kim Dah-Hyun’s eyes shot open wider as he hurriedly took a look below. And way down there, he spotted the distinctive, cantankerous face of a certain man.
"Ah…."
One thing became certain now.
Kim Dah-Hyun didn’t need to worry about getting slagged off when he goes back home.
Nope, he should start worrying about getting slagged off now.
‘God d*mn it.’
Fin.