The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

Saintess vs Saintess (1)

Transformed into the form of a giant bat, I concealed myself with the stealth skill and flew all over the battlefield.

Since my appearance was invisible, no one looked up at the sky.

In that gap, I used the Explosion skill on the Sura guild members focused on the fight, devastating the battlefield.

KWAANG—!!

"Damn it! Those Hwasan guild bastards...!"

"Holy Church lackeys!"

"Wait, where are they even attacking from... Aaargh!!"

In this form, I could use basic skills with just a glare.

My red eyes gleamed, and massive explosions erupted on the ground below.

Hunters from the Hwasan guild were also firing off fire-attribute skills, so nobody found anything suspicious.

'Should I bring down their command tower first?'

KWAAANG—!

A barrage of stealthy bombings crashed down like rain upon the Sura guild.

The Hwasan guild wasn't sure what was happening, but since luck fell their way, they pressed the advance.

Among them, some hunters cheered loudly as if they'd accomplished a great feat.

'Tch, I'm the one who did that.'

The reason I hid myself so thoroughly was because the Sura guild was related to that world.

If they saw my current form and reported it to their higher-ups, I might end up caught in the crossfire.

Because then it would be confirmed, from their perspective, that the 'Demon King' existed on Earth.

'The less they know about the Demon King being on Earth, the calmer they'll stay.'

The organizations these people had on Earth were unexpectedly huge.

The Sura guild right below me was the top guild in China, and the Holy Church boasted a scale with branches across the world.

Fortunately, the two weren't on good terms, almost like sworn enemies.

Even now, the reason they were fighting the Hwasan guild was to eliminate the Holy Church.

'But if, say, right here...'

What would happen if the Demon King they feared appeared?

In the end, they might realize, 'Now's not the time to fight each other!' and join forces again.

Just from what I saw before—like Kang Hyun-seok at the Golden Gate or Alois who appeared from the rift—I could tell those guys wouldn't care a whit for human lives if it suited their objectives.

'Most importantly, their organizations vastly outnumber ours.'

They couldn't have gathered that many people without some ability.

At least in terms of recruiting or instigating, they were ahead.

Looking at Kang Hyun-seok and the Poison guild, plenty of Earthlings had fallen for their persuasion.

If they truly tried to incite people, those around me would definitely get caught up in it.

'But... something feels off.'

Just when did they come to Earth?

I could guess, like Sang-ah's mother or the church folk, that they came through strange rifts.

But the problem was, each person seemed to arrive at different points in time.

Maybe some flew over to the past and had started building their power since then.

'No way... not as far back as colonial times or the Joseon dynasty?'

I didn't know the details, but my goal remained to erase them from the face of the Earth.

KWAANG—!

With continuous barrages of Explosion skills, the Sura guild hunters screamed and died in droves.

Among those falling like autumn leaves, the ones who looked S-rank or A-rank were barely alive.

But even they were helplessly finished off by Hwasan guild's aces.

'That bastard's a better fighter than I thought.'

Kwon Yongjun, son of guildmaster Kwon Yongha.

With his hand to the ground, his magic power manipulated the earth, splitting it asunder.

Lava erupting from the cracks looked like a small-scale volcanic explosion.

KUGUGUGUNG—!

Just from his area skills he looked strong, but in close combat he was no slouch, either.

One Sura guild hunter swang a gun with a blade attached—it forced him to dodge both blade and bullets.

The combination weapon, with rapid movements, would disorient any opponent.

But Kwon Yongjun dodged everything with expert moves.

He even caught a bullet fired at point-blank with his fingers, then flung it back into his opponent's shoulder.

Then, grabbing the enemy's shoulder as he writhed in pain, he spewed lava to finish him off.

'Not all talk after all.'

Clearly, he'd undergone harsh training from his father.

To be blunt, even if Sang-ah molts, her chance of beating him now is slim.

For her to surpass him, she needs to get even stronger.

SHUUUNG—!

Just then, some plane zipped past me. It was as fast as a fighter jet, but I could still track it with my eyes.

'Is that the Angel guild again?'

Angel guild's plane was flying somewhere in a hurry.

I'd concealed not just my appearance but even my presence, so they hadn't noticed me.

'But where are they rushing off to? The battlefield's here.'

****

"Why isn't anyone responding!"

On the Sura guild's second airship, Yoo Hwayeon shouted in anger.

She was an executive of the Sura guild and a spy from the Poison guild.

To carry out the orders of subordinate Kang Minji, she'd planted her men on the first airship in advance.

By now, her men should have used the S-rank spirit stone cannon on the helicopter carrying the boy, according to plan.

She tried to contact her men for confirmation.

"Ugh...!"

Something had definitely gone wrong. Just then, the second airship received a request for reinforcements, so they were heading to the battle.

If her subordinates had failed, she would have to take care of it herself. But there was one problem with that.

"Why do you look so troubled?"

"Ugh...!"

At the girl's voice from the back seat, Yoo Hwayeon flinched.

Sura, in a white veil covering her head and face, sat in the back seat.

Unlike the first airship on the frontlines, the second airship now rushing to the battlefield was smaller.

Of course, it was only smaller in comparison—a space bigger than a school auditorium.

"Yoon Hwayeon."

"..."

Though the voice came from a distance, it felt strangely close.

"At this point, can't you just tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"Why are you targeting that boy who has nothing to do with the current situation?"

When Sura bluntly pressed her, Yoon Hwayeon's lips quivered.

He'd warned her repeatedly that the boy was a dangerous element, but she kept pressing relentlessly. W

hy was she so obsessed with him?

"Because... he's the enemy."

"Why is he an enemy? He's not even a member of the Hwasan guild."

"..."

She was so infuriatingly persistent, it was vexing.

According to the Sura guildmaster, she wasn't supposed to interfere in this battle.

She should be in headquarters like a delicate flower in a greenhouse... but she'd stubbornly disobeyed and boarded the airship.

'Does she have a crush on that kid, or what?'

Yoo Hwayeon glared at a photo of the boy Ma Seongjin. With Sura on the airship, the whole plan was already in shambles.

Damn troublesome girl. Did she somehow guess she was a spy?

'What should I do?'

Sura was an assassination target anyway. She briefly considered killing her here, but couldn't.

Guarding her closely was S-rank hunter "Jin Rain" in a black suit. As an A-rank, Yoo Hwayeon was no match to break through that wall.

'But why is there still no report?'

He should have gotten news that the boy had been killed by cannon fire by now.

But whether they ran into tough resistance or what, there was nothing but silence. At least he hoped they succeeded, so that Ms. Minji...

"An aircraft is approaching from the front!"

"What?"

KWAAAANG—!!

In that moment, a mysterious aircraft slammed into the airship.

With a massive roar, the control room at the bow was rocked with a huge impact.

It was easy to tell someone had just pulled off the crazy stunt of crashing a small plane into the airship.

Through the swirling dust, a completely undamaged aircraft appeared, even after ramming into them.

The nose of some plane jutted into the cockpit window, and on the wing behind it was the emblem of a certain guild.

"Those bastards...!"

SWISH—!

Yoo Hwayeon never finished his sentence; his voice was cut off.

Someone had slashed his neck with a spear, beheading him.

"Huh?"

In front of the lifeless body of Yoo Hwayeon stood someone who seemed to have just exited the plane.

Dressed in thick, pure white clothing and wearing a white mask, this person was recognizable to anyone in the Korean hunter community.

"Angel guild!"

Shouted the suited man who had been beside Sura—no, Ah-rin.

Seeing the masked person kill Yoo Hwayeon in a single blow left no doubt.

'S-rank...'

At that moment, several hunters poured out of the crashed plane.

As if following a prearranged plan, they began attacking the Sura guild hunters on the airship.

"These bastards are the same as the Holy Church."

Said the masked man who had cut off Yoo Hwayeon's head.

"Kill them all; it doesn't matter."

With those words, the Angel guild hunters fought even more fiercely.

But the Sura guild did not sit idle and mounted a counter-attack.

There were no weaklings aboard—they were on the way to battle the Hwasan guild, after all.

"Especially..."

The masked hunter pointed at Sura—Ah-rin, in her white veil.

"That girl must be captured at all costs."

With that, the hunter charged at Sura.

Unable to react in time to his incredible speed, Ah-rin would have been caught—but the suited man beside her jumped in to block the attack.

"Sura-nim! Please escape!"

This was why the guildmaster had ordered her not to get involved.

S-rank versus S-rank—the phrase "when whales fight, the shrimps' backs break" wasn't wasted here.

It wasn't hard for Ah-rin to guess why she was being targeted. Because she was "Sura".

She was a vessel for the soul of a god, a Saintess. Her very existence made her a public target. But even so...

'I will survive.'

In this crisis, she alone could protect herself. Ah-rin summoned her sword.

According to the guildmaster, she was destined to become the body for the demon god.

So unlike her Sura guild, the opposing factions would surely try to kill her. She had always expected this kind of situation.

'I will survive and definitely...!'

There was still a wish she had yet to achieve. Until then, she absolutely could not die.

CHAAANG—!

At that moment, a powerful beam of light shot up from the ground.

Ah-rin predicted at once it was a vertical attack, and wrapped magic power around her sheathed sword to block it.

"Ungh!"

The force was far stronger than expected, and Ah-rin caught her breath.

Even blocked by her sword, the pillar of light could not be deflected.

Only after being blasted through the ceiling and onto the airship's roof did she escape its force.

Looking around, she saw clouds. Only then did she realize she was on the roof of the airship.

She had been blown dazzlingly high up. Who could have fired such an attack?

SLIIIDE—

Just then, Sang-ah turned at the scent of something strange.

The soft, feather-like sound suggested a giant bird, but standing there was a person.

A girl with pure white wings. With a mask concealing her face, there was something uncanny about her presence.

"You...?"

"..."

Her ivory-white hair and the wings growing on her back defined the word "angel."

From her attire and mask, it was obvious she was a member of the Angel guild.

However, her build suggested a middle schooler, and from her scent, Sang-ah could tell they were almost the same age.

Even so, she belonged to a major guild. They seemed similar but also somehow different.

"..."

"..."

Aside from the sound of the airship slicing through the air, there was nothing.

The silence was finally broken by the winged girl. Light gathered in her hand, and she formed a single spear.

From that, Ah-rin could easily guess what would happen next, and drew her sword.

"Well, the situation calls for it."

"..."

The Angel guild had been deployed to support the Hwasan guild.

B-ranks fought among B-ranks. A-ranks with A-ranks. S-ranks with S-ranks. And...

"What's your deal?"

"..."

"So you won't answer, huh."

Saintess would face another Saintess.