Chapter 128

After texting back that I was on my way, I shoved my phone into my pocket.

When I looked up, Han Seung-hoon was still tilting his soju glass with that same lukewarm expression.

“It would be great if the Gates disappeared like you said. Think of all the things we could do then.”

“It will happen.”

Han Seung-hoon scoffed.

“Well, aren’t you something. Just hearing you say it gives me strength. So, when can you make them disappear?”

“Let’s see. In about a fortnight?”

“A fortnight?”

Han Seung-hoon let out a smirk and rolled his eyes.

“I don’t see a future like that.”

“I guess your ability isn’t omnipotent, Head of department.”

“If you’re going to get rid of them, why not do it today? Why can’t you?”

“I have to clean up the mess I’ve made first.”

“Clean up? What mess?”

“I have to catch the Demon King, and I have to sort out the pecking order for those who want to challenge me.”

Han Seung-hoon’s face twisted into a bizarre expression.

“Wait, wait. Who? The Demon King?”

“Yes.”

“…The Demon King?”

Downing a shot of soju, Han Seung-hoon grimaced.

I couldn’t tell if it was because of the alcohol or what I had just said.

“The Demon King, right. The Demon King.”

Han Seung-hoon licked his lips and lowered his voice drastically.

“That’s the one, right? The one you told me about a long time ago…”

“Yes. The real enemy.”

Well, now that I thought about it, the System was suspicious too.

Ian had said it. That Lu had abandoned us.

The malice contained in those words left a bad taste in my mouth.

There was no guarantee that the System wouldn’t abandon this dimension if things started to go south.

In any case, that was a problem I didn’t have to think about just yet.

“It means their side is also stepping up their preparations.”

From now on, the Demon King would be discovered in various places.

I didn’t know yet if that would be a blessing or a curse.

Han Seung-hoon’s expression hardened even more.

“Can you even catch him? You know. I’d believe you even if you told me you could make meju from red beans.”

Han Seung-hoon scanned me from top to bottom.

“In the future I saw, those guys were no joke.”

“I’ve gotten a bit stronger myself.”

“How much?”

“A bit… a lot.”

Han Seung-hoon’s gaze shifted to the TV on the wall.

—Chairman Choi Gi-woong, who has been nominated as the President of the International Awakener Association, is reported to have invited S-Rank Awakeners to one location. This is for the purpose of a Friendly Sparring…

They called it a Friendly Sparring Match, but it was no different from a challenge.

Their approval of me becoming the Chairman was just for show.

There was bound to be a lot of dissatisfaction.

That’s why I arranged this.

A chance to have a go at it, nice and proper.

The faces of S-Rank Awakeners appeared on the TV screen.

They were in the middle of an interview at the arrivals hall.

They were looking forward to the match with Choi Gi-woong, they would win, and so on. The fighting spirit was palpable, enough to put the World Cup to shame.

“See those hyenas?”

“Yes.”

“How are you going to deal with them? You’re supposed to have a go at it in a week.”

“I’ll have to do my best.”

I stood up with a small laugh. Han Seung-hoon’s expression grew even more cantankerous.

Ah, I shouldn’t be doing this. But seeing that face made me want to tease him a little more.

No, wait.

Thinking about how that man used to torment me when I was a rookie, this was nothing.

I should let him stew in his anxiety for a bit.

“Hey, you punk. Postpone one of them, at least! Where are you going!”

“I told you, I’m going to catch the Demon King.”

“So a guy who’s going to catch the Demon King is acting like he’s just taking a stroll around the neighborhood…”

“Don’t worry about me. Just set the stage.”

“…The stage?”

“So that what I’m doing can become an even bigger issue.”

“Even bigger than this?”

Han Seung-hoon gulped, like an employee burdened with excessive work.

I nodded without hesitation.

“Yes. Even bigger than this.”

So that when I rise to the very top of the sky, no one can object.

I thoroughly read Ian’s Legacy.

Especially the part about the Entesto Raid.

I had read it countless times, and I had fought the bastard countless times in simulations.

Just in case, I even checked how Ian himself had sealed Entesto.

At this point, my preparations were flawless. No, they were so excessive that it might end anticlimactically.

After shaking off the effects of the alcohol, I used Spatial Transfer to fly to Jeju Island.

Fwaaah—

The moment I opened my eyes, I saw Lee Seok-jae.

“Where is it?”

“The initial discovery site is the coast near the old Seogwipo area.”

Lee Seok-jae quickly added.

“As you instructed, I’ve blocked anyone from approaching.”

When I went in the direction Lee Seok-jae indicated, I saw barricades and yellow tape plastered everywhere.

—ABSOLUTELY NO ENTRY, INTERNATIONAL AWAKENER ASSOCIATION—

From that point on, a gloomy energy began to creep up my body.

Durandal also hummed in response.

Lifting the tape and stepping inside, I saw a palm-sized orb.

An orb so pitch-black it looked as if someone had painted it.

The Demonic Energy was flowing from it.

This was it.

Entesto was sealed in here.

As I got closer to examine it, I saw hairline cracks all over it.

It meant the bastard was working hard to break the Seal even at this very moment.

“What about the people?”

“Including the personnel stationed at the Hunting Ground, they were immediately evacuated.”

Lee Seok-jae, who had been watching my expression, spoke cautiously.

“How about requesting support?”

“Support? From whom?”

“There are many S-Rank Awakeners who have currently arrived in the country.”

“Aren’t they all here to challenge me?”

I turned on my phone in front of Lee Seok-jae.

The moment I opened the internet, my face popped up.

—Choi Gi-woong, upon returning to the country, issues a challenge to Awakeners worldwide. S-Ranks, if you’ve got the guts, let’s have a go?

The headline itself was provocative.

The content was even more so.

Next to me was a picture of the world’s most renowned Awakeners glaring at me.

The title was “Choi Gi-woong vs. The World’s S-Rank Awakeners.”

It was crafted to be irresistible to the dopamine-addicted ghouls of the internet.

As expected, the comment section was in an uproar.

Public opinion was largely divided into two camps.

—God Gi-woongㄷㄷ;; He’s sorting out the hierarchy as soon as he arrives.

—Kyah, they call it a friendly match, but Choi Gi-woong declared war. Telling them all to come at him.

—This is a rare spectacle.

—Choi Gi-woong is really enhancing national prestige. Let’s give him an exemption.

—He’s already completed his service, dude.

One camp was wild with excitement, and the other,

—Henry Povil? Ying Xin? He’s going to fight all of them? I don’t think Choi Gi-woong is in his right mind.

—He disappeared without a word and now he’s back, he must be desperate. He has to do something like this to regain all the recognition he’s built up in one go.

—Looks like he’s about to blow his image in one fell swoop too.

was the camp that clicked their tongues and put me down.

Naturally, the latter was overwhelmingly larger.

Why play a game you can’t win?

There were too many bastards pretending to worry about me while hoping for my downfall to even bother reading.

My phone was blowing up even at this very moment.

From Kim Yoon-joong to Im Han-na, and even the PR Team.

Reconsider, why on earth are you doing this, have you lost your mind, Choi Gi-woong you’re driving me crazy, and so on.

“In this situation, what do you think would happen if I joined hands with these guys to catch the Demon King?”

It would be like throwing bait to the very people who gathered to hunt me.

“And it’s not like I’m going in alone.”

“…Pardon?”

Before coming here, I had a word with someone.

“I’m saying this just in case. Don’t change the date, proceed as planned.”

“The date… too?”

Lee Seok-jae’s expression became identical to Han Seung-hoon’s from before.

He’s going to catch the Demon King and fight the S-Rank Awakeners? In such a short time frame?

I gave him the same shrug.

“What’s there to postpone? It’s no big deal.”

“…I understand.”

The reply came out a beat late.

But what mattered was that a reply came.

Both during my absence and now.

This guy. His loyalty was more outstanding than I thought.

I could probably entrust him with a higher role.

Just as I was thinking that.

I felt an energy rapidly approaching.

The moment I turned my head.

With a strong gust of wind, a figure stopped in front of me.

I bowed my head slightly and said.

“You’ve arrived.”

“Mm. You said you were looking for me.”

“Yes. I apologize for interrupting your Secluded Training.”

Before coming here, I had sent a signal to Yeo Ju-kyung with my Mana.

Asking if she could help me.

She had readily accepted my request.

“It’s fine. I was about to come out soon anyway. More importantly, you look well.”

“Thanks to you, Association President.”

Yeo Ju-kyung stood crookedly in front of me.

Her face was grimy, as if she had just emerged from seclusion.

But her eyes looked clearer than ever.

It seemed she had achieved a significant result during her Secluded Training.

Just seeing how much her Level had jumped confirmed it.

She’s reached the point just before EX-Rank.

At that moment, even I felt a surge of emotion.

As if sensing my feelings, Yeo Ju-kyung let out a smirk.

“What do you mean, thanks to me? I was just cooped up in a corner training.”

“Your very existence is a source of strength, Association President.”

“Look who’s talking. It was noisy as soon as I came out of seclusion. It’s all about you.”

“Is that so?”

“I heard you’ve gathered the youngsters to give them a lesson.”

Yeo Ju-kyung referred to the world’s S-Rank Awakeners as youngsters.

“I was about to say that even for you, that might be a bit tough.”

Then she stared at me. For some reason, Yeo Ju-kyung’s expression looked hollow.

“Looks like I worried for nothing.”

This was a new reaction.

Whether it was when I said I’d catch the Demon King, or when I said I’d gather the S-Rank Awakeners to sort out the hierarchy.

In both cases, they had looked at me like I was a madman.

Strangely, Yeo Ju-kyung dismissed it as if it were nothing.

“Please continue to worry about me in the future. Who else would worry about me if not you, Association President?”

“There has to be something to worry about. I was holed up in there to beat you, and now I just feel like I went in for nothing.”

As expected of someone like Yeo Ju-kyung, I guess she could see what level I was at.

“Are you even human?”

“I’m starting to get confused myself.”

“And yet, they couldn’t recognize this monster and talked about having a go at it.”

Yeo Ju-kyung chuckled.

“They’ll find out for sure this time. Who the real crazy one is.”

After saying that, Yeo Ju-kyung loosened her hands.

“So, the purpose of coming here was to catch this thing, right?”

We approached the orb. I had already sent Lee Seok-jae off the island via Teleport.

“Yes.”

“A Demon King, huh. A Demon King. So things like this actually exist.”

She looked at the orb with the same eyes she had used to look at me.

“The raid method?”

“I know it.”

“Right. There’s no way you’d approach without knowing. What’s my job?”

“If you could take the front line, Association President.”

“How long do you think it will take?”

Yeo Ju-kyung said, looking up at the air.

“First, we put up a Barrier so its power can’t escape, then carefully wake this thing up.”

Then she looked back at me.

“To be safe, I think we should set aside a week.”

“No.”

“?”

“At the latest, thirty minutes will be more than enough to catch it.”

“…What?”

Yeo Ju-kyung asked again, as if she had misheard.

“How long?”

“Thirty minutes.”

Why would it take so long to catch the lowest-ranking Demon King?

Thirty minutes was being generous.

As I am now, 10 minutes would be enough.

“Please take the front line, Association President. I will cast magic from the rear.”

“What kind of strategy is so simple…”

Ignoring her trailing words, I lifted the orb.

Simultaneously, I injected Demonic Energy into it.

Jjeojeojeojeok—*

The orb began to crack.

I could already hear it. The sound of my Experience Points rolling in.