The Returner - Chapter 437

‘It’s totally out of control, isn’t it.’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

 

Yi Ji-Hyuk’s body was so far out of his control now.

 

The dark magical energy hidden deep inside was woken up by the regular Mana circulating in his body and like a wild predator about to pounce on a prey, it raised its head and howled viciously.

 

Up until now, the dark Mana was always under his complete control. However, just like how you couldn’t do much about the heat despite your masterful control of the flames producing it, no matter how good his control over this dark magical powers was, he still couldn’t do anything about the breakdown of his body resulting from his reliance on this power.

 

His situation was drastically different this time, however.

 

The dark Mana that followed his will like a well-behaved pet suddenly disobeyed his control and bared its fangs like a wild dog to bite and tear his body apart just to swallow up the regular Mana.

 

He had lost his ability to control, and the truth of his body reaching its absolute limit of tolerance finally felt oh-so real to him. Things were already this bad when trying to use regular Mana, so how much worse would it be when trying to use dark Mana?

 

When using the absolute power as the yardstick and nothing else to explain his situation, then he had been growing weaker and weaker with every breath he took ever since returning to this world.

 

“Are you alright?” (Alpha)

 

Alpha must’ve understood this situation as well, because he asked in a concerned tone of voice.

 

Yi Ji-Hyuk involuntarily chuckled at that question.

 

Being looked at with a worried expression by the worst, most detestable criminal in the world’s history certainly felt novel and quite refreshing. A hollow chuckle automatically left his lips, but it wasn’t as if he didn’t get where Alpha’s concern was coming from.

 

‘It’s quite heavy.’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

 

This sensation of knowing that he was carrying the world on his shoulders. That weight he never really was conscious of had been crushing down on him a lot more recently.

 

Yi Ji-Hyuk got a renewed appreciation of just how much of him the dark Mana had supported until now. Didn’t matter how tough things got or how he found himself stuck in a situation with only despair as company, he never fell into despair when he could still operate his dark Mana.

 

He always thought that he was born without fear but the truth was, the dark Mana must’ve constantly gotten rid of what little semblance of it he had in his heart.

 

Sure, the current Yi Ji-Hyuk would still qualify for the title of the world’s most fearless moron, but compared to his peak days, he certainly had become a lot more fearful. Well, he was already worrying about what would happen if he failed to stop the enemy, after all. The past version of himself would’ve never cared about such things.

 

“You done with preparations?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

 

“Yes, I’m Alpha, a man prepared for anything. I can even be a president if I want.” (Alpha)

 

“Crazy son of a…” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

 

Yi Ji-Hyuk cackled without even realising it.

 

Alpha was indeed insane, but it was also true that this b*stard’s antics were making this situation just a bit more bearable, as well. Without him, this whole d*mn thing would’ve been several times harder to endure.

 

‘Regardless of what he’s planning, I can’t deny that he’s being helpful right now.’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

 

However, he wasn’t planning to forgive this b*stard.

 

A person would eventually die. But that didn’t justify the killing of another person. And in that sense, Alpha’s action of opening up the doorway to the demon world would never be justified with the excuse of the demon world eventually invading Earth sooner or later even if left alone.

 

Without this event, all those people would have lived for several more years. Them dying was all on Alpha’s hands, no one else.

 

Yi Ji-Hyuk wasn’t confused at all.

 

He didn’t even bother to open his mind, either.

 

Not once did he entertain the short-sighted, naive notion of pardoning Alpha’s sins depending on the latter’s achievements when they decided to work together.

 

It’s just that, Alpha was useful to him right now.

 

If he had to join hands with a devil in order to save the world, then Yi Ji-Hyuk would do so with a smile on his face. And the very first thing he’d do after saving the world was to beat up that devil to death.

 

Yi Ji-Hyuk’s mind was all made up and unshakeable, and Alpha too was well aware of his thoughts.

 

They might want to kill each other, but couldn’t because they needed each other, too – indeed, one could call their current actions as somewhat bizarre but understandable.

 

Yi Ji-Hyuk raised his head and stared at the missile.

 

Its outline was clearly visible now. Once nothing more than a black dot in the sky, the missile had gotten close enough to be recognisable with naked eyes. He grinned while taking in the spectacle.

 

“I can also see that ugly mug way too clearly, too.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

 

With how close the missile was and much of its flight speed wiped out, one could clearly see Araksis’s face currently attached on top of the black clone body riding on the weapon.

 

Yi Ji-Hyuk smirked deeply and stared at the demon king.

 

*

 

“So, this is what the humans call abilities?” (Araksis)

 

Araksis was genuinely interested in this pressure currently suppressing the clone’s body.

 

Regular magical powers wouldn’t have been able to suppress it to this degree. Magic was basically a demon king’s slave, after all. Low level attacks of this calibre would’ve ended up being assimilated to Araksis’s own power well before they could get anywhere near it.

 

However, these attacks felt different.

 

Each of the attacks were small and faint, but they still exerted clear and observable physical change without being interfered with by Araksis’s magical powers.

 

And when various powers operating on different wavelengths began exhibiting their effects bit by bit, Araksis could no longer afford to ignore what’s going on here.

 

The evidence of their effectiveness was with the missile carried by Araksis’s slave creature rapidly losing its speed. Was it now flying at half the original speed Araksis had intended?

 

“How amusing.” (Araksis)

 

The demon king began thinking that if humanity used their abilities more effectively then they could prove to be rather useful. Unfortunately, humans were still unfamiliar with their own powers for now and their overall level was still pathetically low.

 

But if they wielded their powers properly, then maybe even demon kings would have to get tense from nervousness.

 

‘It’ll take humanity several generations before learning to utilise this power properly.’ (Araksis)

 

Unfortunately, humanity simply didn’t have such luxury. Not only were their lifespan short, it would take seemingly forever to pass down this power to the next generation. Meaning, it was simply too inefficient.

 

And no matter how leisurely the demon kings conquered this world, the invasion shouldn’t take that long to finish, anyway. Not too long from now, a properly-organised invasion by the main army should start.

 

More than likely, this event Araksis had kick-started would serve as the fuse.

 

Or, should it be referred to as celebratory fireworks, instead?

 

Araksis cackled and looked down at the ground.

 

“I see that you’re quite deeply troubled, oh the 99th demon king.” (Araksis)

 

It spotted Yi Ji-Hyuk glaring right back down on the ground and lightly tutted away.

 

His powerful magical power seemed to have vanished somewhere and now he was trying to muster up some pitiful amount of Mana. This whole scene came across as rather pathetic in the extreme.

 

“So, is this the limitation of the species called humans?” (Araksis)

 

The amount of magical power Yi Ji-Hyuk was currently gathering was certainly not to be trifled with. He had somehow managed to amass more than even Berafe’s top archmage could possibly gather.

 

But even that was all for nought.

 

The 99th demon king of the past who controlled the level of magical power that even demon kings were astonished by, as if it was as natural as breathing to him; the man who possessed more than enough strength and abilities to reach the godhood with the body of a mere human.

 

When looking back at the scale of authoritative majesty he used to emit, the current Yi Ji-Hyuk was no more than a measly little human now. A measly, insect-like human, no less.

 

Demonic beings wouldn’t feel sorry about other creatures, but even then, this sight would surely bring some pang of sorrow to their hearts.

 

“Even at the cost of falling so low, do you still wish to cling to your life so desperately, oh the 99th demon king?” (Araksis)

 

If Araksis lost all of its powers and ended up in a similar state like him, then the demon king would not be able to survive the sense of loss. However, Yi Ji-Hyuk was still searching for a way to oppose Araksis and the rest of the demon world despite his current state.

 

And perhaps that was humanity’s hidden potential.

 

Also, a truly lamentable sight to behold, as well.

 

“Allow me to end your insect-like life, then.” (Araksis)

 

It was then, Yi Ji-Hyuk began muttering something. Although the distance between them was considerable, the demon king’s hearing was miraculously acute and it caught every syllable of every word being spoken just then.

 

“Who’s calling who an insect here? You stinking insect.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

 

“Kekekeke.” (Araksis)

 

That was it.

 

That’s how the 99th demon king should behave.

 

Araksis shook off all the abilities that tried to restrict it and raised both of its arms up high.

 

It was indeed a poetic justice to punish Yi Ji-Hyuk with humanity’s own weapon, but such a thing went against Araksis’s sense of aesthetics.

 

After all, wouldn’t it be only a correct etiquette to send a human like Yi Ji-Hyuk straight to hell through the demon king’s own hands?

 

“Fuu-wuwuwu…” (Araksis)

 

Powerful magical energy rushed and gathered around the demon king’s hands. Mana that burned and sizzled like black flames began soaring into the sky.

 

“And now, try and take this on, oh the 99th demon king. I’m sure this much won’t kill you, am I correct?” (Araksis)

 

Kwa-aaaaaaaah!!!

 

The magical attack Araksis fired flew in towards Yi Ji-Hyuk’s location like a laser beam.

 

*

 

Yi Ji-Hyuk’s brows shot up abruptly.

 

A pre-emptive strike?

 

Even he had failed to anticipate this.

 

“That’s a crass move.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

 

Yi Ji-Hyuk gritted his teeth and extended his hand forward. Only him and maybe Alpha were strong enough to block that in this group. There was no guarantee that Alpha could actually be able to block that, however.

 

Which meant that Yi Ji-Hyuk had to block it himself.

 

‘But, if I do that…’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

 

He was no longer an existence blessed by an endless reserve of Mana. In the case of Mana he was currently using right now, the neutral Mana with no attributes, he needed a far longer time to gather it than the dark Mana. He didn’t feel confident of defeating that clone of Araksis by using every bit of regular Mana in his body, so he simply couldn’t afford to waste any of this valuable magical energy on defence.

 

But if he didn’t do anything now, the only thing remaining would be death for everyone here.

 

“…Alpha!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

 

Yi Ji-Hyuk loudly called out, and Alpha looked back at him with a dazed expression on his face.

 

“Eiii, no way…” (Alpha)

 

“Stop that!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

 

“Hah…” (Alpha)

 

Alpha looked back in dismay before scowling heavily as he stepped forward.

 

“Are you going to pay me overtime for this? If you don’t pay me properly later, I’m going to report you to the labour department.” (Alpha)

 

“If you work as hard as your mouth then sure, I’ll give as much bonus as you want.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

 

“Keuh, I’m so bloody grateful.” (Alpha)

 

Despite his mouth running off at full tilt, even Alpha’s face was filled with an intense level of nervousness. He didn’t want to know how powerful that light beam attack was but unfortunately, he already knew too well.

 

‘Can I even block something like that?’ (Alpha)

 

No, he must block it regardless of what.

 

Alpha gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly.

 

If only he had a bit more wiggle room; he’d have utilised his Gate creation ability somehow, but his current level of strength couldn’t deal with that much output. Things might be different if he learned more about magical energy and powers from Yi Ji-Hyuk, though.

 

“God dam*it!!!” (Alpha)

 

If nothing else worked, he should just use his body, then.

 

Bluish Ether oozed out from Alpha and created seven spheres the size of an adult head. They were condensed, focused balls of Ether.

 

“Man, no matter how you look at this, I’m taking on a big loss here…” (Alpha)

 

Alpha planted his feet firmly on the ground before extending both of his hands forward.

 

The seven Ether balls shifted into position, then they ‘exchanged’ Ether amongst themselves to create a large and transparent shield.

 

“Uwaaaaaah!!!” (Alpha)

 

And right that moment, Alpha’s shield and Araksis’s magical attack collided head on.

 

“Kyaaaaahk!!!” (Seo Ah-Young)

 

The ground bucked and rumbled as if everything was breaking apart. The impact akin to the skies and earth tumbling away knocked the screaming Seo Ah-Young off her feet and flung her away.

 

‘…Did he stop it?’ (Seo Ah-Young)

 

After regaining her wits, the first thing she thought about was that she was still alive. Which meant the magic attack didn’t devour her or anything like that…

 

She raised her head to take a look at the current situation and found Alpha still defending against the magical flash of light with his Ether shield.

 

Kwa-aaaaaah!!!!

 

While tilting the shield at an angle to deflect the attack towards the empty skies, Alpha urgently cried out.

 

“Uwaaah! Bloody hell?! I can’t hold this for long! I can’t…!” (Alpha)

 

“I get it, so shut up for a second!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

 

Yi Ji-Hyuk shouted angrily and hurriedly began waving his hands around.

 

But right at that moment…

 

“You blocked it?” (Araksis)

 

Araksis’s expression distorted horrifyingly as the demon king increased the output of the magical light.

 

< 437. Wouldn’t you say that this is enough? -2 > Fin.