The Returner

Chapter 286: Well, let’s see if they can sort it, then (1)

Choi Jeong-Hoon’s life flashed before his eyes.

Before his brain had time to fully comprehend the incoming danger, his body recognised the threat of death first. And he couldn’t react against the sensation of death he felt in that moment.

His body froze up like a stone statue after sensing the pitch-black Ether filled to the brim with malicious intent, and all he could do was to wait for his demise.

“I told you to dodge it!” (Kim Dah-Hyun)

It was then, someone angrily grasped him by his waist.

“Heok!” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Only then Choi Jeong-Hoon was freed from his hypnosis, and he sucked in a cold breath.

The Path Drifter Kim Dah-Hyun rushed to his side, picked him up, and jumped.

BOOOOM!!

The spot where Choi Jeong-Hoon used to stand was soon enveloped in an explosion next.

“A monster??” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Still not fully comprehending the situation yet, he could only ask in a dazed voice, prompting Kim Dah-Hyun to shake his head.

“Nope.” (Kim Dah-Hyun)

It wasn’t possible to figure out yet whether these monsters were capable of emitting Ether or not. Because, well, they were new type of monsters, after all. So, it was not inconceivable that these monsters were behind that Ether attack.

But Kim Dah-Hyun was sure of that not being the case.

First of all, the direction was wrong. Indeed, that Ether attack didn’t come from the monsters’ direction.

No, it actually was in the direction of....

“Over there!” (Kim Dah-Hyun)

The location he pointed at was beyond the Demarcation Line.

Choi Jeong-Hoon’s gaze chased after the pointing finger and he soon caught the sight of bright rainbow-coloured Ether attacks raining down on the Korean ability users.

“Godd*mmit?!” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

He shouted out in pure shock.

“Get out of the way!!” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Before his shout came to an end, the Korean users quickly flung themselves out of the way and dodged the falling Ether shots.

KA-KA-KA-BOOOOM!!

A series of explosions went off.

The attacks had been so ferocious that the agents would’ve been killed for sure if they didn’t react in time.

“Those sons of b*tches!!” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Flames erupted on Choi Jeong-Hoon’s eyes. They openly attacked like this, and expect to be unscathed?

“Put me down!” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Alright.” (Kim Dah-Hyun)

Choi Jeong-Hoon’s voice sounded gloomy so Kim Dah-Hyun quickly placed him back on the solid ground without saying anything else. The former’s expression hardened to an unbelievable degree.

Once the flames from the explosion died down, he could clearly see the situation. The North Korean soldiers in not-too-far distance were looking at their South Korean counterparts while waving their hands about.

“Huh, so no one got hurt, eh?” (Rhee Jin-Cheol)

Griiit.

Choi Jeong-Hoon gritted his teeth.

Senior Colonel Rhee Jin-Cheol carried this strange grin as he made his excuses.

“Our aim was slightly off just now. That’s why I suggested that we should work together earlier, didn’t I? Well, we didn’t do that deliberately, so please don’t glare at me like that, fella. You think we want to kill our compatriots?” (Rhee Jin-Cheol)

Choi Jeong-Hoon continued to grit his teeth.

“Aim” was slightly off?

Not just one or two people, but a whole stinking group was firing their Ether attacks in this direction, so which moron would believe that excuse of poor aiming?

This was the same as openly mocking another person.

When did anyone treat the NDF like this before?

For the first time ever since its inception, another country’s ability users openly provoked and ridiculed the organisation. Even though one could argue that the light cast by Yi Ji-Hyuk played a major role, the truth was, the NDF itself had piled up enough achievements and meritorious records that could not be looked down upon by anyone in this world.

And those b*stards were busy poking that pride with a stick right now.

“Those as*holes dare?!” (Park Seong-Chan)

Park Seong-Chan gritted his teeth and took large strides towards the north. Although the Gate behind him hadn’t been closed yet, and no one knew when the others would open up so the situation remained critical, he simply couldn’t let this transgression slide.

“Mister Seong-Chan!” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Don’t you try to stop me. Imma use this chance to cave their d*mn heads in.” (Park Seong-Chan)

“Please calm down. That’s North Korea.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Should that be a problem?” (Park Seong-Chan)

“They are still inside the North Korean territory!” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Park Seong-Chan stopped walking.

“The moment you set foot inside there, you’ll no longer be protected by the government. And the moment our side’s ability users cross the border, that will serve as the pretext of armed provocation.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Son of a bi*ch.” (Park Seong-Chan)

Park Seong-Chan might be a body-reinforcement type ability user, but that didn’t mean his brain was made out of muscles. Meaning, he wasn’t so stupid that he failed to see what the ramification of him stepping into the North Korean territory would be like.

“Isn’t it fine to go and bring home the heads of a few North Joseon pigs?” (Park Seong-Chan)

“You do realise how preposterous you sound, yes?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“D*mmit.” (Park Seong-Chan)

Park Seong-Chan angrily spat out and kicked the ground.

“You stinking punks. If you’ve got balls, why don’t you come over here? I’ll turn you all into bloody sacks of meat.” (Park Seong-Chan)

Senior Colonel Rhee Jin-Cheol looked back, then asked his adjutant next to him.

“What did he say just now?” (Rhee Jin-Cheol)

“How can we understand what a fat pig is saying, sir?”

“You’re right, comrade.” (Rhee Jin-Cheol)

The two of them began cackling away. So much anger bubbled up in Park Seong-Chan’s head that smoke was about to billow out from his ears.

“Please calm down.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“CALM DOWN?!” (Park Seong-Chan)

Park Seong-Chan roared out.

“Godd*mmit, why must our side always remain as their stinking punching bag and can’t even lift a finger as a proper response? Always holding back and stuff?! It’s not as if we’re weak, now is it?!” (Park Seong-Chan)

“The reason why you don’t fight the crazy fool isn’t because you’re scared of him. You know this, don’t you?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Who doesn’t know that you avoid stepping on sh*t because it’s dirty?! However, if that very sh*t is in your front yard, of course you’ll have to clean it!” (Park Seong-Chan)

Was Park Seong-Chan this eloquent before?

Choi Jeong-Hoon suppressed the rising tide of questions and continued on.

“I understand what you’re trying to say here, but our current situation isn’t so good right now. Gates are opening up all around us.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“F*ck.” (Park Seong-Chan)

Park Seong-Chan spat out a curse word and breathed angrily before turning around.

“If they try that one more time, I ain’t gonna hold back, you hear me?” (Park Seong-Chan)

“Alright. I’ll be the one who won’t hold back if that happens again.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Ah, sh*t! Man, defend that place properly, will ya?!” (Park Seong-Chan)

Park Seong-Chan roared and rushed back into the ranks. Other reinforcement-type users were holding the fort, but the gap created by one of their strongest members recognised even within the NDF not participating proved to be fairly taxing for them.

Monsters flooding out from the Gate was now pushing against the ability users.

Choi Jeong-Hoon watched him and sighed under his breath.

‘He’s not wrong, though.’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

The response towards the North remained pretty much the same.

When the breakout of a war was imminent, it’d be the side with more to loss shrinking back first.

North Korea might still be a Makjang country even now, but the South was one of the well-off first-world countries in the world. It was rather obvious who’d suffer more damage if a war did break out.

So, if there was even a tiny sign of things getting too heated up, then it’d be this side that put the brakes on first.

Of course, people this side understood that repeating this would mean they would eventually run out of room to back off, but it was just too difficult to find another solution at the moment.

‘I’m the same story.’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Choi Jeong-Hoon secretly hated that status quo too, but now that he was the one in charge, he couldn’t help but stop himself from doing anything, as well.

No one in this world would want to become the reason for a war, after all. Indeed, the price his fellow countrymen would have to pay for something he did out of his emotions was too great.

“Don’t look at me with such eyes, fella. I mean, a man can make a mistake or two while working, no?” (Rhee Jin-Cheol)

“We won’t sit back if something like this happens again, so you better watch yourselves.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Huh. A comrade with a girlie face knew how to threaten someone.” (Rhee Jin-Cheol)

‘This son of a b*tch....!’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

If only he could, Choi Jeong-Hoon would’ve rushed in and rip those as*holes’ mouths wide open.

Not wanting to waste his energy talking to them, he turned his head away.

“........”

And after turning around to the opposite side, he saw Yi Ji-Hyuk sitting on a chair sipping on Cola. Even though they were far apart, he could clearly spot the latter’s eyes forming a pair of smiling crescents right now.

Shudder.

He wasn’t sure why, but Choi Jeong-Hoon’s whole body trembled uncontrollably when looking at Yi Ji-Hyuk’s eyes.

Is he laughing at me right now?

He’s really laughing at me?? (Choi Jeong-Hoon’s inner monologue)

“That personality of his....” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

He felt like complaining to Madam Park Seon-Deok right now regarding her son’s twisted personality, asking her what sort of mishaps happened during the child’s upbringing to result in such a rotten man.

“Excuse me, Mister Choi Jeong-Hoon!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Maybe Yi Ji-Hyuk knew that Choi Jeong-Hoon was looking at him, because he suddenly called out to the latter in a loud voice.

“What now?!” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

The reply sounded rather curt.

Anyone who could reply politely in the current situation wouldn’t be a normal human being, but a saint, instead.

“I think it’ll be better if you don’t show your back.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Excuse me?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“More will come, you see?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“......”

What is he talking about? More is coming? What is? (Choi Jeong-Hoon’s inner monologue)

Sudden goosebumps broke out on Choi Jeong-Hoon’s skin.

Sure enough, ‘spheres’ of Ether flew in from the north once more.

“Those sons of b*tches!!” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Rather fortunately – or unfortunately – those attacks weren’t aimed at Choi Jeong-Hoon this time, but the situation quickly got worse. Those Ether blasts were flying in directly at the agents blocking up the Gate.

“Dodge them!!” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

He urgently shouted out, allowing the others to figure out what was going on. They hurriedly abandoned the monsters and escaped out of there.

“You!!” (Park Seong-Chan)

However, Park Seong-Chan rushed into the danger zone, instead.

Although everyone was trying to dodge, there were some who still hadn’t made it out yet. They would surely get hit by the Ether shots if he escaped from here first.

“Uwaaaaah!! Godd*mmit!!” (Park Seong-Chan)

He roared out loudly and pounced in the path of the Ether attack aimed at them.

“Mister Seong-Chan!!” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Choi Jeong-Hoon yelled out, but a voice alone couldn’t stop Park Seong-Chan.

Kwa-booooom!!

Ether collided with his body and exploded.

It exploded sooner and away from its initial target so the other agents were unscathed.

Griiit.

Choi Jeong-Hoon gritted his teeth.

He oh-so wanted to concentrate their firepower and destroy the North right now, but Park Seong-Chan’s safety was his first priority.

“Medic!!” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

If the Elves had come along, then there would be nothing to worry about, but since those two were in America, the method to quickly bring them here....

“Miss Jeong Hae-Min! Please head to America and bring home the Elves! We need the healing magic!” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Got it.” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min seemed to understand the severity of the situation as well, and was about to activate her teleportation right away.

“Ahh, it’s fine. Fine.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“....Ng?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

However, she stopped after hearing Yi Ji-Hyuk’s voice coming from behind her.

“He’s not even badly hurt anyway, so what’s up with all that overreaction? Can’t you see?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

She looked at where he was pointing at to discover the dust settling down to reveal Park Seong-Chan’s figure.

Although his uniform had turned into a rag, his body seemed to be in a pretty good shape. Sure, there were a handful of scorch marks here and there, but none of them looked to be life-threatening.

If he was a regular person, it’d been a fatal attack. However, such a wound could be healed naturally in due course by the body-reinforcement type ability user’s physique.

“That’s a relief.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Choi Jeong-Hoon sighed in relief.

“Relief, my foot.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk slowly got up from his chair.

“Well, I told you to stay sharp, didn’t I? Look at this mess. You all keep getting played like a bunch of fools. And even though that side is openly announcing their intentions to screw with you, you can’t even do anything!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“.......”

Choi Jeong-Hoon lowered his head wordlessly.

He couldn’t even make an excuse here.

“We need to get back at them.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“You want to start a war? Forget about getting even.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Then, you want us to hold back?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Who said we’re going to hold back?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“What then?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“We just won’t do something like revenge. I mean, we’ll be handling the Gates on our side, and they will handle theirs, right?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“R-right. Sure.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Yi Ji-Hyuk suddenly broke into a grin.

“Well, in that case. Let’s see if they can sort it out, then.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Choi Jeong-Hoon saw that cantankerous expression and felt this ominous foreboding fill up his heart.

< 286. Well, let’s see if they can sort it out, then -1 > Fin.