The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

Reverse Wreck (3)

Currently, the phantom spirits were being swiftly eliminated.

Aside from active hunters, Hand also had quite a bit of formidable fighting power.

The faculty who taught the awakened kids were also once veteran hunters.

With those people gathering in Hand, even if a gate burst open, there wouldn't be much danger.

Rather, there was anticipation in seeing how quickly a burst gate could be suppressed.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—!

The ground shook, and several buildings collapsed.

Although it wasn't a gate that had burst, but rather a crack from the Underworld, the disaster was on a much greater scale than a typical gate.

Even Hand's buildings, several times sturdier than regular ones, had collapsed.

The earthquake caused by the pulse from the crack surpassed normal gates.

Usually, with a disaster of this scale, there was always one inevitable issue.

—Casualties.

It was something that always happened during disasters, but of all places, this was happening at Hand.

If even one casualty occurred, the leader of Hand would not be able to avoid responsibility.

This would be used as an excuse to highlight Hand's incompetence, and all sorts of rumors would spread online about Hand's inadequacy.

Vern, who was sitting in the chairman's seat, would inevitably suffer a major blow.

Above all...

'What did the people here ever do wrong?'

Therefore, insurance was needed.

The perfume made by those guys for avoiding phantom spirits was a perfect insurance.

Karen, who slipped the recipe to us, received my praises.

Thanks to her, we were able to make it rain with the perfume mixed in.

The scent had spread all throughout Hand, which is why until a little while ago, the phantom spirits weren't attacking people.

The effective duration was 24 hours.

That was plenty of time to resolve the situation.

However...

"It's been 60 minutes, right?"

"Yes. It's passed."

The perfume that didn't mesh well with the Underworld Formation only lasted 60 minutes at most.

A perfume of the wrong type.

If that was the base, then making it rain now had lost its meaning.

"We're screwed."

When I dismissed the situation in a single word, Vern and Karen were horrified.

By now, the effect of the rain should have worn off, and the phantom spirits would be attacking people.

But there was no time for self-blame.

"I'm truly sorry, Demon King! It's my fault for bringing the wrong one..."

"I'll scold you later. Karen, go to Ah-rin now."

"Understood!"

Accepting the order, Karen jumped off the tower rooftop.

Then, moving swiftly, she dashed over the rooftops of the buildings.

The weather operation had failed. However, it was not a problem that couldn't be solved.

"Vern, what's the state of the city right now?"

"According to the surveillance range of my clones, there are no deaths so far."

Fortunately, major casualties had not yet occurred.

Thanks to the hunters quickly eliminating the phantom spirits.

However, now with the spirits' aggression unleashed, it would soon become difficult to protect civilians.

Phantom spirits were still appearing without pause.

"Come to think of it, today was the day Masked Singer was being held."

"Yes. If something goes wrong because of this, I'll suffer major consequences."

Of all days, some highly popular people were visiting Hand.

The Sura guild had intentionally chosen today, counting on such details.

That's why I made it rain as minimal insurance, but even without the rain, I had planned to handle things myself.

"In that case, there's only one thing to do."

I revealed the horns on my head.

At the same moment, devil wings sprouted from my back and my hair turned white.

Seeing that, Vern exclaimed in admiration, and I said,

"I'll go take out that guy."

Soon, a master-class phantom spirit would emerge from the crack.

If I could just defeat that thing, the crack would automatically close.

Master-class phantom spirits were so powerful that even my legion commander was nearly killed by one.

There was good reason only I could defeat it.

Right now, I was the only one here with the Demon King's Power.

"Please be careful. In the meantime, I, Vern, will deal with this one."

Black smoke was flying toward the rooftop.

It instantly formed into a human shape, reaching for me.

But Vern made it retreat with red thorns sprouting from the floor.

As Vern blocked its approach, I flew toward the crack splitting open the sky.

.

.

"So, it's none other than Ji Ryong-seong, SS-rank hunter of the Sura guild."

"And you must be the chairman of Hand. Raven Holbat. What are you doing here?"

"Is it so strange to be at my own castle? Then what are you people scheming that turned my castle into such a mess?"

Calling it a castle wasn't exactly wrong.

But Raven was talking as if he knew everything.

And then Ji Ryong-seong noticed something even stranger a moment earlier.

"Why were you... with that boy?"

"..."

"Answer me. Just who is that boy?"

The one who'd flown off with wings earlier was Ma Seongjin.

All the investigation so far only confirmed that Ma Seongjin was not a mutamit.

But those devil wings and horns he had just now—what were they?

Plus, his bizarre actions, verified by drone footage.

The more he thought about it, the more Ji Ryong-seong found him terrifying.

"Of all people, the esteemed chairman of Hand... why were you together with that boy!"

It all made things even more suspicious.

The very reason for the Sura guild's existence was to oppose the soon-to-descend devil.

The core of that was, of course, the vessel of the god, "Sura".

That's why ominous alarms kept going off in Ji Ryong-seong's head.

"Hohohoho. For a human, your instincts are sharp."

"What did you say?"

"Not that it matters. It's all for nothing anyway."

At that moment, blood of a dark crimson hue spread beneath Vern's feet.

Blood pooled across the entire rooftop in a great circle, forming a wall at the boundaries.

It soon became a dome, sealing Vern and Ji Ryong-seong inside.

"I'll make you pay the price for plunging my castle into chaos."

****

"Get away! You monsters!"

Phantom spirits swooped at Ai Hoon.

She whipped out a hunter weapon, a whip, and sliced through the spirits.

Seeing the spirits brutally severed as if cut by a blade, Ai Hoon grew furious.

"What the hell is going on! I definitely sprayed the proper perfume!"

"That's true. But what we used was Type B. The duration's only 60 minutes!"

"Why...?"

"I'm afraid... the recipe was switched on us."

Perfume recipes were varied.

That's because the types of Underworld Formation were so diverse, and there were specific pairs for each.

A perfume of the wrong type only lasted 60 minutes.

Worse, the recipes were so similar and effects the same, it was hard to distinguish.

The only guild members who could tell the difference were Lu Huikang and Kang Juhee from Korea's secret division.

Kang Juhee was now deceased, and her abilities had only been passed to Lu Huikang.

"It seems Lu Huikang gave us the wrong recipe from the very start."

"What? Why would he do that!"

"He said this, at the end. He's with the Heaven and Earth Society."

Ai Hoon knew well what the Heaven and Earth Society was.

Those were the ones who wanted to reset the Sura guild and return to the past.

In short, they were enemies within.

"So we were stabbed in the back?"

"..."

It was catastrophic, in every sense.

Their plan to plunge Sura into despair had failed.

To make matters worse, they themselves had suffered loss instead.

This could be seen from Ai Hoon's injured arm, and Kang Ah-rin's expression.

"How does it feel? Seeing your big plan go up in smoke."

"..."

"Jin Rain. Wasn't it you who said this before?"

—I hope you won't regret what happens next, Kang Ah-rin.

"So what now? Who's the one actually full of regret?"

"Kang Ah-rin, you...!"

"What. Going to kill me?"

"Ugh!"

Currently, Kang Ah-rin was Sura. Since she was the top executive, it was forbidden to attack her.

Even if she weren't, killing her would end any hope for Sura guild's eternity.

"If you're going to kill me, hurry up and try."

"That little...!"

Infuriated by Ah-rin's mocking, Ai Hoon lashed her whip.

But Ah-rin lightly dodged it with a jump, and Jin Rain had to restrain the irate Ai Hoon.

"Calm down! She's still Sura! You mustn't kill her!"

"Why not! Why that brat! I was supposed to be Sura! It should've been me!"

"Miss..."

"Isn't it weird? Why do these things happen to me? All through school, I never got punished for anything!"

Ai Hoon pointed to the crack in her arm as she spoke.

Since childhood, no matter what trouble she caused, she was always protected.

Even after she became a singer and school bullying scandals broke out, the guild just silenced everyone involved.

She even had the talent to be promoted to A-rank in record time.

Never once had she fallen or dirtied her hands, living a life of pure privilege.

"Why do I have to protect that little brat instead of myself? I don't get it! I just can't accept it!"

"You must calm down! For now—"

Jin Rain suddenly tore his clothes.

He then bound Ai Hoon's arm like a bandage.

The cracked part was finally concealed, and Jin Rain said,

"You must retreat to safety. The plan to plunge Kang Ah-rin into despair comes after surviving..."

KA-BOOM—!

At that moment, a massive fireball flew at them.

Caught off guard, they were forced to roll across the ground in a group.

As they recovered their wits amidst the explosion, someone was approaching.

"My father was right. To think I'd really find you here."

"Who are you!"

A man was approaching, radiating powerful hostility.

When the smoke from the explosion cleared, his figure was visible.

Recently, he had shown a winning streak in the hunter league; the number two in the Hwasan guild.

It was none other than Kwon Yongjun.

"You're from the Hwasan guild, aren't you...?"

Even Jin Rain recognized who he was, and was taken aback by the unexpected encounter.

But that surprise barely lasted a moment. Suddenly, Kwon Yongjun pulled out a photo.

He stared at Jin Rain's face, comparing it to the person in the photo.

"So it's you. You're the one called Jin Rain."

"That's correct."

The person in the photo was none other than Jin Rain himself.

Now that he had finally found his target, Kwon Yongjun glared at him with murderous intent.

"You... you're the one who turned my mother... into that state!!"

"What? Your mother?"

Jin Rain questioned Kwon Yongjun's words.

If his mother was who he thought—a National Assembly member from Korea.

But Jin Rain racked his memory—he'd never met such a person in person.

"Don't play dumb! You destroyed my mother's bloodline and put her in a coma!"

"What are you talking about...?"

"Who else in the Sura guild would have such an ability but you!"

Having that ability wasn't exactly wrong.

It was why he'd earned the unfortunate nickname "Blood Pellet Destroyer."

But...

"You must be mistaken. I have nothing to do with your mother..."

"Still pretending!?"

Kwon Yongjun stomped, and the ground split apart.

Lava erupted like a volcano.

Sensing the immense magic power and murderous intent from it, Jin Rain clicked his tongue.

Kwon Yongjun was deadly serious.

"Excuse me, but..."

"And who are you!"

Ah-rin timidly interjected amidst the stifling heat.

With utmost politeness, Ah-rin asked Kwon Yongjun,

"I don't know what's happening... but does it have anything to do with me?"

"No? Who are you? If you don't want to die, get lost."

"Oh, is that so?"

Hearing that, Ah-rin's lips curled faintly upward.

"Well then, good luck to both of you~"

With a bright smile, she walked away.

Seeing her face, Jin Rain and Ai Hoon bulged veins on their foreheads.

"I'm going to tear that little brat apart right now!"

"Hold it! First—"

Jin Rain held back the furious Ai Hoon.

Meanwhile...

"Jin Rain!!!"

Kwon Yongjun advanced, surging with overwhelming magical energy.

Seeing this, Jin Rain made a quick decision.

"This is dangerous. You need to escape right now."

"What? You expect me to survive out there, with all those phantom spirits?"

"No, I mean just get to a safe place!"

Rumble, rumble—!

With another earthquake, even more lava burst out.

At Kwon Yongjun's gesture, the lava rolled toward them like a wave.

"Hurry!"

"Argh! Seriously!!!"

In the end, Ai Hoon was forced to flee with a face full of misery.

"Poor thing."

From a distance, Ah-rin laughed to herself.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, Ah-rin's expression changed as she noticed a strange scent.

She instantly leaped backward.

A hulking phantom spirit had landed, trying to crush her.

But it wasn't just that phantom spirit.

She instinctively sensed countless people converging on her.

"This is...!"

And on the head of that phantom spirit stood a man.

"Found you."

Lu Huikang, having found Sura, could barely contain his joy.

Ah-rin could smell the strange scent coming from him.

Members of the Sura guild, but with an aura apart from the rest.

Compared to the original guild members, they smelled different.

"No way...!"

Before she realized it, other Sura guild hunters had gathered around Lu Huikang.

Commanding them, Lu Huikang shouted loudly.

"Everything is for the Heaven and Earth Society!"