Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Emergence (4)

"Don't let anyone get close to Ah-yeon unni!"

Soo-ah shouted to the others, warily watching as Cade approached slowly.

She thought the situation was in their favor.

Except for Jung-woo, who headed toward the innermost part of the demonic zone, everyone was here on this side, and they had even succeeded in using Raidan Bowl, who had sneaked in, to their advantage.

"Damn it, how could I suffer such humiliation!!"

Especially, the power of Raidan Bowl was incredible, as if to prove why he was a top-rank demon.

That was why she believed, with this much firepower, they could certainly stop Cade.

No, perhaps they could even defeat him outright.

"Well, I understand."

She thought so—at least until Cade's sword swung just as he closed in calmly.

"It's only natural. You haven't seen the existence called 'Demon King' directly, so you can't possibly know."

Thump. A deep resonance spread through the area.

Soo-ah's eyes saw countless flows.

"What it means to be the demon closest to the Demon King."

The direction the opponent's will was headed.

The movements of magic power, and of special forces such as 'divine art' or 'demonic energy.'

She could see it all—even the flows of wind and earth.

'What is this?'

Countless streams of blue, red, and various colors scattered.

Along the trajectory of the swinging sword, the many flows thundering around them shattered and broke apart.

Not once had Soo-ah ever failed to read her opponent's movement.

But now, it was different.

She couldn't see anything at all.

KWA-AAANG!!!

It was a blow that could not even be called a slash.

If it had been an ordinary 'awakened,' they would not have even had time to react before being obliterated from the world.

A sword blade that tore through countless flows as it flew.

By the time she sensed that Cade had gripped his sword, the swing had already finished.

It was as if the very process of swinging the blade had been erased.

The only ones who saw even a glimpse of that attack's trajectory, growing used to their own speed and possessing incredible vision, were Alencia and Soo-ah.

"...... This..."

Watching the scene, Shin Ah-yeon swallowed nervously.

Dodging rather than blocking was the right answer.

Because her instincts screamed that if she tried to block it, she would die.

"Sir Cade...! Are you trying to drag me down with you?!"

The strike Cade just unleashed—had even Raidan Bowl taken it head on, he would have been split in half. Glaring at Cade, Raidan realized that Cade had unleashed it without holding anything back.

"Well, isn't that so."

Cade lazily lifted the sword he held.

The blade, which should have gleamed silver, now was completely black.

"You're already done with your role anyway."

There was nothing to gain from the information Raidan had provided.

On the contrary, there had only been loss.

"The moment you fell for such a petty trick, you became useless to me."

"T-that's—!"

"Oh, I know. Are you about to protest that you didn't imagine the humans could deceive your own eyes?"

Cade had already seen countless such demons.

Demons who looked down on humans.

What became of them?

They all lost—and died.

Some of them included even the Demon King.

"That's why I never underestimate any of you."

KUKUKUKUNG!!

With Cade's words, the ground began to tremble.

As if an earthquake had occurred, the earth shook violently, and Cade briefly glanced toward the center of the demonic zone.

'So, it's starting.'

It was time to move the castle he had prepared for so long.

The plan to raise the Devil King's—no, the Demon God's—sanctuary into the sky and transform this land into the Demon Realm.

"Looks like we don't have time to talk."

Once that rose, who knows if Jung-woo might return here?

Either way, Park Jung-woo wouldn't be able to do much in that place.

He had to know what catastrophe would occur if he killed Damian or destroyed the heart.

"So, I'll end this before that."

He had no time left anyway.

Little by little, his body was starting to collapse.

'This is bad.'

Shin Ah-yeon bit her lower lip as she gazed at Cade.

She felt a chill at the sight of Cade raising his sword arm to the horizontal.

The blade of malice.

More than anything, a figure befitting that name.

"Don't give him a chance to attack!!"

With Yeon-ji's cry, everyone present charged at Cade as one.

Five blades, and dozens of spells were unleashed at a single target in a barrage.

'Something...'

Eugene was the first to charge in.

His sword strike, swifter than anyone's but Alencia, reached Cade before Cade could even swing.

Cade lightly deflected it with his left hand.

No, not just deflected—he precisely struck Eugene in the chest.

The next to attack was Soo-ah.

Blue flames flared along Cade's body, and she thrust her sword straight at that point.

The maneuver was flawless, but Cade dodged it easily with a simple twist.

The sword held horizontally moved then.

One blow.

He struck Eugene, who lost his balance after taking the blow.

Two blows.

The sword, glancing off, delivered a second strike to Soo-ah as she tried to regain her stance.

Kian Rogers, and Raidan Bowl.

The next target were those two.

Third and fourth blows.

Just fending those off was proof of their high level.

Hojun stopped his sword.

Time, which had slowed down, began to accelerate as he cut down all the spells fired after taking down the four swordsmen.

There, Cade reached Shin Ah-yeon.

KAKAKAKANG!!!

"...... Oh."

Cade's sword, trying to pierce through Shin Ah-yeon's defensive barrier, was deflected.

It had been struck away by countless swords flying in from all directions.

"I thought you had given up resisting."

"......."

It was a desperate blow unleashed through the use of the Thousand Swords.

And yet, all it did was push Cade's sword back.

'What about everyone else?'

Baek Hojun, gasping for breath, checked on the others.

Fortunately, no one suffered fatal injuries.

But, like Alencia, none were in shape to immediately rejoin the fight.

Eugene's shoulder was slashed, Soo-ah had been cut across the waist.

Kian Rogers fared even worse, and ironically, Raidan Bowl was in the best condition.

'With that level of swordsmanship, breaking Raidan's artifact would be possible.'

But Cade didn't do so.

As if he truly no longer needed Raidan's help.

'At this level, he might even be comparable to Manager Park Jung-woo.'

The phrase, "the one closest to the Demon King", was no lie.

Jung-woo too could wield the Demon King's power, but he said he was only at the stage of opening the door and drawing closer to it.

He was close, but not quite there.

But Cade said he was "currently the closest".

Clearly, that didn't just mean acquiring the Demon King's power—it was the realm he had reached.

Similar to Jung-woo, but also different.

Whereas Jung-woo seized that power by will, Cade seized it through his sword.

A monster who shattered all flows and fought in an entirely different domain.

Even though Baek Hojun had swung a sword for ages, he couldn't even imagine reaching such a height.

The only reason he managed to sense and react was because of the countless shattered swords in his hand.

【Hunter Baek Hojun】

As Cade, who had taken a few steps back, began to move again, Shin Ah-yeon's voice echoed in his ear.

It seemed she used magic to communicate her intention directly into his mind.

【Please, make a wish.】

Somehow, Shin Ah-yeon's voice was a bit different than usual.

The power and atmosphere she exuded also changed.

"...... Estella."

He wasn't the only one to notice this change.

For the first time, Cade's expression twisted, and his focus shot toward Shin Ah-yeon.

【If it's Hunter Baek Hojun's wish, I'm sure it will reach.】

Reach what, exactly?

Such a question rose, but one thing was clear.

They had to somehow stop Cade from advancing toward Shin Ah-yeon.

"Tch! What a nuisance!"

KAKAKAKANG!!

Nearly dozens of slashes were instantly repelled in the air.

Normally, that attack would have been impossible for him to reach.

'This is...'

Baek Hojun felt it.

The enormous magic power stirring from his back. And an immense sense of 'wish' distinct from 'divine art'.

The sound of paper fluttering, page after page, could be heard.

Unable to look back, he didn't know what was happening.

The only certainty was that the wish he envisioned was being realized through Shin Ah-yeon.

"I can't understand this."

Cade frowned, facing Baek Hojun, who blocked his path.

The power of wishes Estella wielded was far from omnipotent.

To realize great miracles, it needed just as great a volume of wishes, and the phenomena manifestable by an individual's wish were limited to that individual.

And the form taken by such wish had to be specific—the clearer, the stronger the manifestation.

'It's not a simple display of authority.'

Behind Baek Hojun, blocking his way, two other mages were thoroughly guarding Shin Ah-yeon.

He couldn't see clearly because of them, but he saw pure white sheets stacking one by one atop Shin Ah-yeon's right hand.

Was it magic?

No, it was different.

Then was it an authority?

Not that, either.

If anything, it was something between the two.

'Conceptualization Technique.'

Estella's authority was being manifested through the Conceptualization Technique.

Now, Shin Ah-yeon was constructing what had been incomplete into a more perfect form.

And, using that Conceptualization Technique, Shin Ah-yeon responded to Baek Hojun's wish.

"What is it you can't understand?"

When Cade paused his attack, Baek Hojun raised his sword at him.

Having forced himself to match Cade's movements, his arms were trembling and his breath ragged.

"It's that, despite knowing your lack of talent, you're still so confident."

There was only one thing Baek Hojun wished for.

A higher realm.

To step into the world where Jung-woo and Cade had arrived.

"Isn't it contradictory? To be so sure that you'll reach a higher realm despite knowing your own limitations?"

Indeed, it was a contradiction.

Baek Hojun knew well his own lack of talent.

He had recognized his limits long ago.

So, his longing for higher realms should have faded long ago.

Not only humans.

Demons were the same.

If you realized you could never grasp what you desired, you'd inevitably weaken.

You'd learn to give up and step back.

Yet Baek Hojun's wish now was more vivid than anyone's.

Vivid enough to touch even one who had only ever crossed swords with him.

"Well, it's just something I'm used to."

Baek Hojun was no genius.

But he had lived as if he was one.

That was what people expected and wished for.

Though he knew his own shortcomings, he lived so as not to betray those expectations.

"That hasn't changed, even now."

Kian asked.

Are you satisfied with only that?

Was it really okay to yield the fight with Cade to Alencia?

Of course, it wasn't.

It was only because he knew his inability and admitted his shortcomings that he yielded.

"But, if I have a chance in my hand, the story's different."

It was a path forever out of reach.

Yet, he walked it, holding onto belief.

That naive conviction others dismissed as foolish now became a 'wish' pushing him forward.

A powerful wish became his talent, now residing in his very body.

Baek Hojun wished for only one thing.

To reach greater heights.

"I'll show you, Lee Soo-ah."

He spoke to Soo-ah, who was barely rising, healing from the wound Cade dealt her.

Just like when he first met her.

Back then, he had broken the wall through Soo-ah.

But now, it was the other way around.

Just as he had shattered that wall through the path of a genius—

"I'll show you the end of a sword reached by an ordinary man."

This time, it was Soo-ah's turn.

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

32 chapters left.

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