Chapter 99

Ed, the Vice President of the US Federal Awakener Association, took a deep breath.

“Is everyone gathered?”

“Yes. We’re just waiting for you, Mr. Vice President.”

Hooo.

Ed let out another sigh and entered the hearing room.

It was a hearing held in secret.

As such, the atmosphere was even worse than he had expected.

“Mr. Vice President. Is it true that Choi Gi-woong killed Seong Yo-han?”

Kevin Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the House, fired the opening shot.

Ed cautiously nodded his head.

“Yes. It is.”

“Then is it also true that Choi Gi-woong bypassed all of the Federal Association’s surveillance networks?”

“Congressman, that is…”

“Please answer with only a yes or a no.”

“Yes. It is.”

“Can Choi Gi-woong secretly infiltrate New York if he wishes?”

“…Yes.”

“Do we have any means of controlling Choi Gi-woong as an individual?”

“……”

“Mr. Vice President. Please answer.”

“We do not.”

“Do we have the means to assassinate Choi Gi-woong?”

“Congressman, he is not a terrorist.”

“Answer with only a yes or a no.”

Ed let out a heavy sigh. Then he answered curtly.

“We do not. According to our internal analysis, one of his skills is a means of travel that involves compressing space.”

“What is the skill’s range?”

“If he puts his mind to it… he can get from Manhattan to California in two hours.”

“And we have no way of stopping him.”

Silence fell.

Though the possibility was slim, it meant that if Choi Gi-woong so desired, he could turn the United States into a sea of fire.

“Congressman. That will not happen.”

“Choi Gi-woong swept through Korea’s political and financial circles in a single day. How can you predict what that young dictator will do next?”

The eyes of the Democratic senator, a contender for the presidency, were sharp.

Ed licked his dry lips and spoke.

“I will admit that, frankly, we underestimated Choi Gi-woong.”

Ed cleanly admitted the mistake.

However, in the process, he made it clear that it was not his mistake, but ‘our’ mistake.

“A guy who went from F-Rank to S-Rank in half a year, who created novel things like Buff Stones and Hunting Grounds. He does seem to be a remarkable person. The fact that he’s a young brat is a separate issue.”

With the final words, ‘young brat,’ he firmly defended himself.

He was implying, wasn’t it true that you in Congress also saw Choi Gi-woong as a capable, but arrogant and hot-blooded young man?

“Well, there were some poor choices made by ‘all of us’ in the process.”

Those choices were things like pressuring the Blue House to bring Choi Gi-woong over immediately, threatening to raise tariffs if he didn’t release the Buff Stones, and deploying twenty S-Rank Awakeners from the Federal Awakener Association near the East Sea.

And those threats had come to nothing when Choi Gi-woong bypassed all of their vaunted surveillance networks and killed Seong Yo-han.

Ed felt the mood shifting in his favor.

He tried to drive the point home.

“One more thing. It’s true that the Buff Stones and Hunting Grounds are good. But I find it difficult to agree that they are enormous game-changers…”

Ed stopped talking and looked ahead.

The congressmen’s expressions were not good.

The Democratic and Republican congressmen, who usually seemed eager to kill each other, were now more united than ever in pressuring him.

“Mr. Vice President. I will say just one thing. If you have no means of controlling Choi Gi-woong…”

“……?”

“Bring Choi Gi-woong here by any means necessary. Before your head rolls.”

After leaving the hearing, Ed, his face flushed, shouted.

“We made the mess together, and I have to clean it up alone? You pieces of trash.”

“What will you do?”

Still fuming, he spoke to his aide.

“What do you mean, what will I do? I’ll give what I have to give and take what I have to take.”

“Their side seemed to be quite adamant.”

Ed scoffed.

Meekly bring them over now?

That would mean the end of his political career.

That, he could not allow.

“Do you really think that bastard Choi Gi-woong has the guts to turn New York into a sea of fire?”

Originally, I had planned to secretly go to New York by myself.

But after I took care of Seong Yo-han, I could clearly feel their attitude had changed completely.

The private jet they sent all the way to Portland was proof of that.

“Please let me know if there is any service you require.”

The blonde flight attendant gave a smiling curtsy. Pretending it was a mistake, she even touched my shoulder.

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“I’d like to be alone. I’ll call if I need anything.”

After sending the flight attendant away, I calmly examined the key Seong Yo-han had left behind.

[Key of Dimensional Travel (EX)]

• You can travel to a dimension for which you know the coordinate values. (0/2)

• If you do not know the coordinate values, you will be dropped into a random world.

I felt a desire to use it.

It wasn’t for the purpose of escape, as Seong Yo-han had said.

There were three dimensions for which I knew the exact coordinate values.

This place, Earth, and the Spirit Realm.

And the world where Ian had lived.

I was contemplating two things.

Either go to the Spirit Realm and form contracts with the Elemental Kings, or go to Ian’s world.

I was slightly more drawn to Ian’s side.

There were many ways for me to become stronger there.

Ways to become stronger without consuming my lifespan.

Coincidentally, the number of uses was two. There would be no problem going and coming back.

Fwoong-!

-Do you wish to travel?

The key glowed and responded.

The message was short, but its effect was not.

The moment I responded, I would be transported to a completely different dimension.

So it can be activated just by thinking about it.

With this, I had figured out the condition.

However, whether to use it or not remained a dilemma.

The reason for my hesitation was the very high probability that Ian’s world had already been destroyed.

If so, it would end up being a pointless effort.

If I went to the Spirit Realm instead…

Just as all sorts of thoughts were tangling in my mind, one after another.

Even though I hadn’t heightened my senses much, I heard two people’s voices.

-Are you saying you really didn’t do it, Ms. Jung Hye-in?

It was Vice Minister Jo Hyeon-woo and Jung Hye-in.

-No.

-Please answer honestly. Is that true? Mr. Seong Yo-han…

-It wasn’t me. If it had been, I wouldn’t have come out unscathed either.

-Ah… I suppose you’re right. Then why…

Gulp. Vice Minister Jo Hyeon-woo swallowed and said.

-They’ve changed their attitude.

-What do you mean by that?

-They are being unusually deferential. Our side is also investigating diligently, but… we can’t figure out the reason.

-…Is that so?

-In diplomacy, every word, every single term has meaning. For the Federation, which was pressuring us so strongly until a few days ago, to provide a private jet and invite us to New York is tantamount to complete surrender.

-…….

-Awakener Jung Hye-in. Is his intention still the same? Does he still… refuse to release the Buff Stones and Hunting Grounds?

-He said he would listen to the conditions.

Jung Hye-in said what I had told her to say.

-What on earth are those conditions?

-Well. You’ll find out soon enough.

Vice Minister Jo Hyeon-woo’s voice brightened considerably.

-Is he coming this way?

-……

After hearing that much, I summoned Oried.

“Oried. In the Spirit Realm, I sensed three other beings similar to you.”

-That is correct, Master. The other three Elemental Kings besides myself are them.

I had already felt Oried’s strength during the fight with Seong Yo-han.

That was why.

The Elemental Kings of fire, water, and wind.

Once I contracted with them, my combat power would once again be drastically enhanced.

“I want to contract with the other three Elemental Kings as well. Is there a way?”

When I contracted with Oried, they had not responded to me.

That was probably because I was weaker than them.

-I will try to persuade them, Master.

It had only been a few days, but I liked Oried’s loyalty.

This solved one of my worries.

Woooong-

I stared intently at the glowing key.

Once things in the US were resolved, I would have to check on Ian’s world first.

It was when we arrived at JFK Airport.

There was an old man there to greet us.

“My welcome is late.”

He was the Vice President of the Federal Awakener Association. The Association President, Rachel Carson, was nowhere to be seen.

It also meant that they hadn’t yet let go of their last shred of pride.

These bastards. They still haven’t learned their lesson.

Ed extended a hand to Jung Hye-in with a smiling face.

“You must have had a hard time in Portland. I will be your host from now on.”

The place he took us to was the most luxurious hotel in New York.

We were provided with beds that couldn’t even be compared to the tents at the base camp, and we were served food and drinks.

The atmosphere was amicable from start to finish.

But that was only what was on the surface.

There were ten S-Rank Awakeners stationed nearby.

-No human identifiable as Choi Gi-woong can be seen.

-The interpreter is not Choi Gi-woong. Vice Minister Jo Hyeon-woo is also a Civilian.

They were diligently searching for Choi Gi-woong.

With the conviction that he was hiding somewhere nearby.

And so, it was at the point when the fifth glass of alcohol had been poured.

“Is Choi Gi-woong willing to release the Buff Stones and Hunting Grounds?”

Ed carefully brought up the main topic.

“We would like to accommodate any conditions he desires, within reason.”

That was likely true. He had been deferential the entire time.

But what I wanted was not something reasonable.

Jung Hye-in looked at me. When I nodded, she threw out the words we had agreed upon.

“There is one. If you hand over the database and command authority of the Federal Awakeners.”

In my Polymorphed state, wearing the interpreter’s clothes, I translated her words exactly.

“……”

Ed wore a dumbfounded expression.

“So, you’re saying you want to forge the same slave contract with us that you had with the Oracle.”

“Why not?”

“Is that Choi Gi-woong’s will?”

“Yes.”

“Where is Mr. Choi Gi-woong? I’d like to speak with him directly.”

“Where is Rachel Carson? It seems you don’t have the authority to make decisions.”

When I threw the same question back, Ed looked at us with a troubled expression.

Vice Minister Jo Hyeon-woo looked anxious the entire time.

An expression that said, what on earth are you trusting in to go this far?

Ed frowned.

It seemed he didn’t think the condition we demanded was serious.

“Alright. I apologize for our rudeness. Now, please tell us again. What is it that you truly want?”

“That is what we truly want.”

“Are you saying you wish to sever the friendly relations with the United States?”

I paid no heed to the threat.

“You will have to choose carefully.”

“To demand command authority for some measly Buff Stones and Hunting Grounds? There’s a limit to how crazy you can be.”

Jung Hye-in looked at me, her gaze asking for the next command.

Ed watched her, then pointed a finger at me with a look of dawning realization.

“The interpreter was a lie. Who are you?”

Vice Minister Jo Hyeon-woo was the same.

He whipped his head around with a shocked expression.

Your guess is correct.

[Release Polymorph]

Crack- C-crack-

My bones were twisting.

And with that, my face was revealed. That wasn’t all.

The power that had been released was being unsealed again.

As my Mana surged, the power that had been sealed until now was revealed once more.

Wooooong-

Ed’s breathing grew ragged.

A voice flowed from the small earpiece in his ear.

-It’s, it’s Choi Gi-woong. Mana Pattern analysis confirms, it’s Choi Gi-woong.

During my entire journey into the heart of New York, neither he nor anyone else had been able to discern my true identity.

I was making that point clear.

That whenever I wished, I could turn this place into a sea of fire.

“What are you going to do.”