The Returner Chapter 390

Choi Jeong-Hoon’s eyes began trembling.
The world was about to change?
"…We, we need to stop that…" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
However, he knew the truth deep inside.
"That" couldn’t be stopped.
Without Yi Ji-Hyuk, they simply did not possess the necessary power to reverse this situation. No, wait - before he could do that, he hadn’t even fully understood what was about to transpire in the first place.
‘Just what are they trying to do here?’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Would the completed pathway to the demon world open up through that black Gate?
Choi Jeong-Hoon clenched his teeth.
Just one demon king was enough to drive the entire world to the brink of annihilation. If it weren’t for Yi Ji-Hyuk, this world would’ve been destroyed a long time ago already.
But then, what would happen if a doorway opened up and allowed the demon kings to freely come and go as they pleased?
It’d be over.
No matter what humanity tried, they wouldn’t be stopped.
Choi Jeong-Hoon opened his mouth with a determined expression.
"Things… won’t work out the way you think." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Alpha’s expression shifted slightly as he stared at Choi Jeong-Hoon.
"Do you have a hidden ace up your sleeve?" (Alpha)
"…"
Choi Jeong-Hoon didn’t bother to reply and raised the walkie-talkie.
"You saw everything, yes?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
– "Yes."
"Has it started yet?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
– "They are already on their way."
"You sure informed us quickly enough." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
– "Do your best to extricate yourselves from there. There’s nothing more I can do from this side."
"Understood." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon smirked and tossed the walkie-talkie on the ground. He had no more need to communicate to anyone now.
"Prepare to evacuate!" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Teleporters that accompanied the group hurriedly rushed towards their respective groups.
Some hadn’t escaped from Alpha’s mind control yet and were still aimlessly rampaging around.
"Well, well." (Alpha)
Alpha watching on slowly shook his head.
"Looks like ballistic missiles are headed this way. I sincerely hope that you didn’t see me as someone incapable of predicting this turn of events. If you did, then well, you’ve greatly underestimated me." (Alpha)
Alpha smirked deeply and spoke, causing Choi Jeong-Hoon’s expression to distort.
"Knowing and stopping it are two different things." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
"Ah, well… That’s true. However, here’s the thing…" (Alpha)
Alpha lightly scratched his cheek, before breaking out into a rather innocent smile.
"Why don’t we experience this brilliant and hot ‘sentiment’ together?" (Alpha)
It was right then.
The Chinese teleporters dashing towards their designated spots suddenly began dropping dead right where they stood.
"W-what’s wrong with them?!"
A single round hole could be seen in each of their foreheads.
"Snipers…" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon instantly figured out what was going on and shouted out loudly.
"Protect Miss Jeong Hae-Min! Surround her now! Hurry!" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
If they lose Jeong Hae-Min here, it was plainly obvious what the fate waiting for them would be like.
Thankfully, she was standing right next to Yi Ji-Hyuk, and the other NDF agents were surrounding him in a protective cordon already, so all she had to do was to simply stay right there.
Choi Jeong-Hoon gritted his teeth.
"Mm, how should I say it…" (Alpha)
Alpha spoke in a slightly embarrassed tone of voice.
"It’s true that there are some people who argue that using modern firearms results in the loss of identity for ability users, just like what the religious extremists sometimes say. But I’m the type to not care about the methods as long as the end results are satisfactory, so… So, I’m not really opposed to using sniper rifles. That’s why I had them ready ahead of time." (Alpha)
"…You b*stard!" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
"You seeing me in that light is truly unfortunate. Honestly, isn’t it more cheap and dirty to drop nuclear bombs on someone’s head and merrily go on your way? At the very least, wouldn’t you say it’s more dramatic by staying here and protecting the world to the end even at the cost of everyone turning into ashes? Besides, who knows? If the bombs drop as they intended and the world was saved, then your name might appear in the history books in the future, Mister Choi Jeong-Hoon. As one of the brave heroes who saved this world." (Alpha)
Alpha cackled and shook his head.
"Of course, the current world would do its best to hide such an event from the public consciousness. After all, this is the perfect opportunity to say, North Korea blew itself up while illegally testing their nuclear arsenal, wouldn’t you say? And you might be touted as the brave people who lost their lives while trying to put a stop to the North’s reckless nuclear ambition. Although the level of importance might be lower, you’ll still be hailed as a man who performed meritorious deeds for his nation." (Alpha)
"You sure can talk in this situation." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
"It’s because I don’t really feel the urgency." (Alpha)
Alpha raised his head and stared at the sky.
"Not sure about America, but if either China or Russia had fired their missiles, then they should’ve arrived by now… How amusing. Then again, if they had the guts to pull the trigger this easily, then our world would’ve been destroyed a long time ago. On the other hand, they can’t press the switch when they need to and that’s why the initiative has always rested with the Americans. Wouldn’t you agree, Mister McLaren?" (Alpha)
Alpha cackled even louder than before.
"It’s our reunion in such a long while, so don’t you think it’s rude to greet me in this way? Why don’t you say something, at least?" (Alpha)
Too bad for him, no one here was insane enough to deliver a device enabling him to communicate with Christopher McLaren in the current situation.
The surroundings remained incredibly chaotic as the teleporters continued to drop dead and those under Alpha’s mind control were still rampaging around.
"ICBMs are on their way! We gotta get out of here, now!"
Some attempts were made to organise the situation somehow, but none of them succeeded.
Anxiety clouded Choi Jeong-Hoon’s expression.
‘It’s not going to be easy at this rate.’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Almost half of the teleporters had been sniped already. Which meant that at least a half of the group needed to stay behind.
The South Korean side with Jeong Hae-Min in their ranks could get most of their people out of here, but even she was incapable of evacuating every single NDF agent at the same time.
Seo Ah-Young chewed her words out to address Choi Jeong-Hoon.
"For now, we need to get out of here first." (Seo Ah-Young)
"But…" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
"Those who need to survive must survive first. If the bombs drop while we dither about, everyone will die, right?" (Seo Ah-Young)
"Yes, we will." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
"So, let’s not get people killed pointlessly. Get Hae-Min-unni to teleport some of our people first, then have her come back next to Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk and take the rest away." (Seo Ah-Young)
Choi Jeong-Hoon nodded his head.
Jeong Hae-Min listening on from the side also nodded her head, a determined expression etched on her face.
‘I wanted to evacuate Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk first, but…’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Perhaps due to Kim Dah-Som’s desperate healing attempt, the gaping hole in Yi Ji-Hyuk’s chest had been filled back up to some degree.
Rationally speaking, Yi Ji-Hyuk should’ve been the first to be evacuated from here. But doing that meant Jeong Hae-Min would have no mark to come back to.
"Unni, hurry!" (Seo Ah-Young)
"I got it!" (Jeong Hae-Min)
Jeong Hae-Min shot up and quickly moved to one side. Those protecting her continued to surround her and moved at the same time.
"Director, go with them." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
"No, I’ll stay behind." (Seo Ah-Young)
"To prepare for any unexpected eventualities, you must go with them, now." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
"You should go on ahead first, Mister Choi Jeong-Hoon." (Seo Ah-Young)
"We don’t have the time to argue! Hurry up and go, will you?!" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon yelled at her in anger, causing Seo Ah-Young to flinch and drop her head.
"Okay." (Seo Ah-Young)
"…I won’t die in a place like this one. So, hurry up and leave. The longer you take, the worse my chances are of getting out of here alive." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
"I said okay, didn’t I?!" (Seo Ah-Young)
Seo Ah-Young dashed towards Jeong Hae-Min’s location.
The latter confirmed the former standing next to her and grabbing her hand, and only then did she activate her teleportation ability.
"…?"
Jeong Hae-Min’s eyes quivered.
"It, it’s not working?!" (Jeong Hae-Min)
But, how?
It was then, a hushed voice drifted towards them.
"Of course it won’t work." (Alpha)
Alpha was wagging his finger in a truly detestable manner.
"I’ve been saying this since a while ago, but you people seriously underestimated me. I’ve been planning for this event for months upon months. I already knew all of the ways you’d likely respond. And quite obviously, I’ve made plans for that, too. You can’t teleport out of here." (Alpha)
Choi Jeong-Hoon’s brows trembled from shock.
"It was your weakness, your stupidity, to think that the ability users are only good for fighting against the monsters. We’ve been preparing for war ever since the beginning. As far as the variety of abilities and utilisation of them are concerned, none of you can come anywhere remotely close to us." (Alpha)
"So, what are you saying? You want us to die together, you crazy son of a b*tch?!" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
"Hmm. No, it’s a little different." (Alpha)
Alpha scratched his cheek again.
"I’m not saying we should die together right now. And I definitely don’t want us to die together. Strictly speaking… I’ll live, but all of you will die. Not because of the nuclear weapons, however." (Alpha)
His voice was filled with undeniable certainty.
"Although it’s a bit strange to say you can be rest assured, but well, none of you will die today from nuclear bombs." (Alpha)
Choi Jeong-Hoon failed to understand what Alpha was saying here.
What gave that man such confidence to declare his thoughts so openly to everyone?
"McLaren must be thinking that nukes will fall just because he gave his orders. Unfortunately, such an event won’t happen today. Didn’t I say this? We’ve been preparing for war for a long time." (Alpha)
"…Spies?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
"No, no. We can’t do that since they have installed ability user-specific sensors in many strategic locations. No, we went with a somewhat more old-fashioned way. We simply have taken over many of those missile silos by force. I’ve also said this before that there are more people than you think who sympathise with our cause. Where do you think they are right now?" (Alpha)
Choi Jeong-Hoon was rendered completely speechless just then.
It was at that moment that he truly understood just for how long Alpha had been planning this whole thing.
He finally realised why Alpha had been designated as the most dangerous individual on the planet, and why Christopher McLaren was so obsessed with his capture.
If Yi Ji-Hyuk was a landmine, this guy was more like a crate of TNT.
"So, the number of fired missiles will be a lot lower than you might expect. And if it’s only a handful of nuclear arsenal, then… Well, I’m sure we can do something about them." (Alpha)
"…Are you saying that your ability is that good?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
"No, no, no. Not at all." (Alpha)
Alpha cackled on.
"Mister Choi Jeong-Hoon, you don’t seem to have grasped the true meaning of this doorway." (Alpha)
"…What?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
"You see, this thing called the doorway? It’s just a method to connect this side to that side. It doesn’t end at that, however. No, the two worlds will actually synchronise, instead. You must’ve been thinking that when the door opens here, all sorts of demonic beings will pour out from it, but in actual reality, this side acts more like a key. Meaning, many different places will open up. And when this side is connected to them…" (Alpha)
Suddenly, the black Gate resonating behind Alpha slowly began to balloon up. Then, it blanketed the world in darkness.
"This place will become the demon world itself. Yes, this very spot! Hu-hahahaha!" (Alpha)
Alpha broke out into a maddened laughter.
However, Choi Jeong-Hoon’s ears didn’t recognise that as a laughter at all.
The ground was dyeing in the blackish brown, while the skies were being enveloped in the dark blue hue.
The moon became red…
And the stars in the sky were…
‘…Stars?’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Some things sparkling up there were flying in towards them. And at a considerable speed, no less.
Choi Jeong-Hoon instinctively realised what those were and cried out with a pale face.
"We, we need to get out of here!" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
ICBMs were falling.
However, there was no way to escape when the option of teleportation was no longer available.
Just as Choi Jeong-Hoon sensed the impending doom, a baritone and chill-inducing voice suddenly resounded out.
"You humans can be quite noisy, whether it’s this world or Berafe."
He couldn’t understand what was being said. It was in a language he had never heard before, after all.
However, he could instinctively tell. He had already sensed this massive presence that suffocated him simply by being near several times before.
‘The demon king.’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
An unidentified demon king was looking up at the sky with a creepy smile on its face.
Fin.
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