Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Emergence (2)

The overwhelming speed of Alencia, something that ordinary Awakener wouldn't even be allowed to react to.

Cade blocked and countered it perfectly.

That alone showed just how powerful Cade had become.

'Still.'

If Alencia had arrived, the others would soon follow.

They could hold out long enough until then.

Moreover, there was another 'powerful ally' here.

"There's no need to keep hiding anymore."

One of the corrupted who had been quietly lurking until now.

Raidan Bowl grinned slyly as he stepped forward.

Now, with Cade revealing his full strength to block the path ahead, another top-ranked demon had joined.

"If you go underground, everyone here will die, Park Jung-woo."

He gripped his twin swords, pouring out black demonic energy.

The demonic energy was so massive that some around them gasped in shock, wondering how it had been hidden until now.

'Do I have to reveal my identity too?'

The most shocked was Dmitri.

Now he finally understood what Raidan Bowl meant earlier when he said, 'There's no need to worry too much.'

Cade right in front of him held overwhelming power, and Raidan Bowl, if not as much, still far surpassed the strength of a typical S-rank Awakener.

A monster, probably close to SS-rank.

Power so great it felt that way.

On top of that, something was happening underground.

It was clear that the situation favored the demons.

Even Jung-woo was at a crossroads, whether to go down or fight Cade here.

But—

'Something doesn't feel right.'

For some reason, Dmitri hesitated to reveal himself.

【You wretch, why are you just standing there? Join in already!】

The demon parasitizing his body shouted harshly.

That demon, while perhaps not top-ranked, possessed power close to it.

If Dmitri, an S-rank Awakener who harbored such a demon, joined, it would add another power above S-rank to the demon side.

Then their lack of numbers compared to the opponents would be just about evened out.

After all, there were still several Mimes, the clones of Mimos, left.

'Isn't it better for me to stay quiet and strike covertly, rather than reveal myself openly?'

After a moment's thought, Dmitri conveyed this to the demon in his body.

He had a bad feeling, so he didn't want to reveal himself recklessly.

【That's......】

'As you know, we're far weaker than the others. I think it's better not to fight together needlessly.'

【Indeed, you're right about that.】

He'd thought this before, but Dmitri felt the demon parasitizing him wasn't particularly intelligent.

'This time, I suppose that lack of intelligence worked in my favor.'

Breathing a bit easier, Dmitri decided to observe for now.

And, unexpectedly, his choice turned out to be the right one.

***

Cade, facing Park Jung-woo standing before him, was certain what choice Jung-woo would make.

"So you intend to pass through?"

"Yes."

"You're abandoning the people here?"

"I'm trusting them."

At Jung-woo's words, Cade let out a low chuckle.

He had been the same in the past.

He'd trusted the heroes he led and headed to defeat the Demon King with Estella.

And he had succeeded; humanity had succeeded.

"Well, fine."

Cade had been there back then, too.

It was Cade who had blocked the heroes as an iron wall, then turned and fled as soon as the Demon King died.

"I suppose it's not so bad to do now what I couldn't do back then."

He'd managed to kill a few of the heroes Jung-woo led in that battle, but he'd ultimately lost.

This time would be different.

"Dealing with all the ones you trust—that's my task now."

Unlike before, Estella was here this time.

If he could at least kill her, that would be enough.

Step, step.

Thus, Cade did not bother to stop Jung-woo as he passed by.

Anyway, now that this had been activated, it would not make much difference even if Jung-woo went down.

Forcibly, forcibly.

Because it had been activated by force, it would naturally never reach what he'd originally planned.

'But even so.'

That man must have anticipated such a situation.

Cade smiled, imagining Jin Su-hyuk causing trouble in Korea by now.

"But I didn't think you wouldn't even notice the corrupted hidden among your group. Disappointing."

Directing his gaze at Raidan Bowl for a moment, Cade spoke to Jung-woo as he passed by.

At those words, Jung-woo paused mid-step and smirked.

"I put him there on purpose."

That's all he said before dashing toward the center.

Without even looking back once, heading only for the core.

'Put him there on purpose?'

Not just any demon, but a top-ranked demon?

What could Jung-woo possibly gain from that?

"It must just be a line to sow confusion."

Cade muttered as he drew his sword toward the remaining party members.

Toward Alencia, Baek Hojun, and Kian Rogers.

Deal with them first, then finish off the ones coming after.

For Cade now, this was a simple matter.

'Right now, I am just a few steps from the Demon King.'

Of course, those few steps were infinitely far.

Perhaps a distance he could never cross in his life, but no demon had ever made it this far before.

A momentary absoluteness gained by burning everything with the blade of malice.

"The Saintess and Estella. It must be those two, no matter what."

Cade's gaze fixed on Alencia.

He intended to kill Alencia before Estella arrived.

'Does he not care about us at all.'

Baek Hojun, watching this, let out a hollow laugh.

Baek Hojun and Kian Rogers.

Both were Awakener who had reached the limits of what was possible for humans.

But Cade didn't even glance their way.

Of course.

He never even bothered to block Hojun and Kian's attacks.

He'd taken them bare-handed and never so much as gotten scratched.

Even their most desperate blows were but a gentle breeze to Cade.

To pierce that overwhelming defense, you would have to muster even greater power or have an ability like Soo-ah's that could strike at his very source.

'I have neither.'

No matter how many swords I have with the Thousand Swords, if the blades don't penetrate, there's no meaning.

To him, his sword was like mere raindrops.

Raindrops might wet the body, but what meaning does that have?

"We'll handle the other monster and Raidan Bowl. We'll deal with them and rejoin, so please hold out until then."

"Yes, I understand."

Hojun said this to Alencia, then looked at Raidan.

He too was a top-ranked demon.

Not an opponent to be underestimated.

"Are you satisfied with that?"

Then, Kian spoke to Hojun.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, just saying. I thought you wanted to fight that man."

Even in this situation, Kian maintained his composure.

"So you must have volunteered to stop him yourself."

But the honor had gone to Alencia.

He'd judged it was better for someone with much greater strength than himself to engage.

"If we want to send Manager Park to the center, that was the only way."

"If you say so, I have nothing to add. To be honest, even this side will be tough for me."

With that, Kian glared at Raidan.

A corrupted one. But anyway, 'if Shin Ah-yeon comes', this one would be an easy problem to solve.

The real issue was Cade's side.

'For someone making such a resentful face.'

Apparently, he didn't realize.

Just what expression Hojun himself was wearing right now.

***

The heart of the demonic zone.

As I drew near, overwhelming demonic energy and 'source' spilled over, raising goosebumps.

How many lives must have been sacrificed down here?

It was overflowing to the point of seeming dangerous, spilling from a small vessel and forming countless streams around it.

Watching it all through the Demon King's eyes, I shut my eyes tightly.

"... It's better not to look."

My head throbbed from the sheer amount of information.

What were they trying to do here underground?

A manufactured god.

They said they would create a demon god.

And I'd thought all of it was gathered here.

"With something like this... I don't see how you could make a god."

An uncontrolled rush of unrefined power.

It was certainly powerful, but I didn't think it could be used to create a demon god.

'I'll find out when I go in.'

Jung-woo tightened his fist.

Just as at Alcatraz, to enter here, he'd need to break the 'lid'.

BOOOOM!!

With a tremendous noise, a hole was smashed into the heart of the demonic zone.

Even as I clicked my tongue at the demonic energy spilling from that hole, I leapt inside.

The place where Mimos had been before.

The deepest part of Alcatraz.

'It's almost the same structure.'

Of course, Alcatraz must have been a model garden, created as a prototype before this was built.

There were some differences, but they were probably improvements.

Down, and down further.

"This is strange."

An inverted castle, endlessly resembling the Demon King's abode.

Approaching the deepest part of the demonic zone, I furrowed my brow.

"Why is there no one here?"

Could it be just a simple trap?

No, that couldn't be.

Not even the demons could possibly have created something else of this magnitude.

Everything they'd done so far had been about completing whatever it was beneath here.

No matter how powerful, even for demons it would be difficult to gather the power that required sacrificing so many lives more than once.

BOOM!!

The place, so much like where Mimos had been.

The difference now was that the whole facility was 'throbbing'.

Like a giant heart.

Special metallic outer walls, covered with countless runes.

Magic arrays, like veins, spreading everywhere, lit by golden halos.

'Divine art.'

No, this wasn't just simple divine art.

Within this flow, not only origin, but also demonic energy, flowed as well.

"... Park Jung-woo."

At that moment, someone called me.

When I turned, a man with a pale face was staring at me.

"You are?"

"My name is Sebin. You may consider me the one who assists Lord Damian."

A top-ranked demon.

He held considerable power, but not as much as Cade.

"What are you doing here?"

"......"

Sebin did not answer.

He just quietly looked at me, then slowly turned his back.

"Lord Damian is waiting for you."

Well, I hadn't expected a polite answer.

He was radiating hostility at me, but didn't attack.

Perhaps he knew it would be meaningless anyway.

As I calmly followed him, I saw a place where countless golden streams of light converged.

"You arrived sooner than expected."

There was Damian.

But my eyes were on what stood behind Damian.

An egg.

I had thought this building pulsed like a heart.

But I'd been wrong.

That pulsing—was merely the shockwave from that gigantic egg.

A manufactured god.

Perhaps the egg that contained it.

'That is.......'

At last, I understood.

This was the heart of the demonic zone, the 'demonic heart' maintaining this Sichelmond.

The true king of the demonic zone.

It was here.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

34 chapters left.

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