Chapter 77: Energy Fusion (2)
Vladimir Zhukov was a tyrant whom even the Russian president could not control.
The old power holders bowed their heads to him, and he stood unchallenged at the pinnacle of Russia.
It was only natural for a Zero-grade hunter.
Like Prasad Bachchan, who had declared himself the emperor of India.
Or Liu Qinglong, whom the national chairman deferred to without question.
Or Tachibana Yutaro, who manipulated politicians from the shadows behind Japan’s ruling party.
Zero-grade hunters were beings capable of shaking entire nations.
Among them, Vladimir—along with Prasad—excelled most at wielding power.
His deliberately late arrival in Korea was intentional.
A form of intimidation and dominance.
He was displeased that the newly ascended Zero-grade Yoon Soo-ho had arbitrarily hosted the assembly in Korea, and he intended to establish the proper hierarchy.
He planned to crush the insolent Yoon Soo-ho’s arrogance and clearly define who stood above whom.
Yet strangely, Yoon Soo-ho faced Vladimir without the slightest tremor.
“Haven’t you heard what happened to Prasad Bachchan and Tachibana Yutaro?”
Vladimir furrowed his brow at the question.
One of his accompanying aides tried to whisper something, but Vladimir showed no interest.
“Whatever happened to them has nothing to do with me. I have business with you.”
Before arriving in Korea, he had heard vague reports of GODS’s intrusion at the assembly.
He hadn’t planted any informants, and the press had been blocked from covering it, so he lacked detailed information.
He wasn’t particularly curious either.
Vladimir was the type of man who paid no attention to anything that didn’t interest him.
His sole focus was stepping on others to climb higher.
Tssss—
He released his mana, creating an oppressive atmosphere.
But Yoon Soo-ho didn’t even blink.
“If you have business with me, let’s schedule it properly and meet another time. Go back for today. This is your last chance.”
It was a statement outrageous enough to make one laugh in disbelief, yet Vladimir’s expression only grew more menacing.
He seemed irritated that this Eastern hunter refused to yield even a single word.
He suddenly recalled the Yoon Soo-ho he had met in the past.
Back then, he had only seen the confident youngest 1st-grade hunter.
The current Yoon Soo-ho felt unfamiliar.
The fiery, hot-blooded youth was gone, replaced by a strangely restrained demeanor.
Yet it wasn’t timid or cautious.
Suspicious that Yoon Soo-ho might have found some powerful backer, Vladimir spoke.
“Such arrogance piercing the heavens. It seems—”
Before he could finish, a sharp prickling sensation stabbed the back of his head.
It was a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a very long time.
The same warning signal he had felt right before Prasad Bachchan’s surprise attack in India.
Wondering if this was Yoon Soo-ho’s hidden support, he turned around.
“…?”
His gaze instinctively dropped downward.
KWA-BOOOOM!
His head was slammed straight into the floor.
***
Jin-young, arriving at Incheon International Airport alongside Shin Soo-jeong and the other Crystal Guild members.
The moment he stepped out of the arrivals gate, he frowned.
A bear-like giant had stormed into the airport, scattering murderous mana in every direction.
“Why is that guy…?”
Shin Soo-jeong bit her lip, apparently having unpleasant memories of the bear-like figure.
Locking eyes with Yoon Soo-ho, Jin-young approached the bear-like man while completely suppressing his presence.
At that instant, the man sensed something and whipped around.
Once Jin-young saw his face clearly, he recognized him immediately.
The Russian Zero-grade hunter who had never shown up until the very end of the assembly—Vladimir Zhukov.
He had only ever seen him in photos and videos; this was his first time in person.
He had known the man was massive, but up close, he was on another level compared to ordinary humans.
No wonder his back view had looked like a bear.
As Vladimir’s killing intent turned toward him, Jin-young immediately activated psychokinesis.
KWA-BOOOOM!
He seized Vladimir’s head as though gripping it in an invisible hand and smashed it straight into the ground.
The marble floor cracked and shattered as Vladimir’s skull drove through it.
“…!”
“What the hell…?”
Reporters stared in stunned silence, mouths agape.
At the same time, they wondered who could possibly have floored Zhukov without even touching him.
Jin-young’s power—and even his identity—had never been exposed to the public before, so their confusion was understandable.
The only well-known hunters present were Yoon Soo-ho and Shin Soo-jeong, so suspicion naturally fell on one of them.
Not a single person thought it could be Jin-young.
“Attention, reporters. From this moment, filming is prohibited. Put the cameras away while I’m asking nicely.”
Jin-young swept his gaze over the reporters and spoke.
But journalists who would obediently follow the orders of an unknown hunter were rare. Some openly showed their displeasure.
That was when—
“What the hell is this…?”
The only aide standing beside Vladimir moved.
BOOM!
But without fail, his head was slammed into the floor.
Brrrr…
He convulsed from the heavy impact before going limp.
Pwaaak—
At the same time, Vladimir pulled his own head free from the crater in the marble.
Completely unscathed, he rose to his feet and immediately charged toward Jin-young.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The sound was like an elephant stampeding.
Each explosive step made the entire area tremble.
If Liu Qinglong boasted unmatched speed and Prasad excelled in stealth, then in raw power, Vladimir was undeniably number one.
“Let’s see just how strong you really are.”
Jin-young released his psionic energy to test Vladimir’s strength.
KRRRTS—
The energy, converted into psychokinesis, collided head-on with the charging Vladimir like a tank.
CRACK—CRRRRACK!
“…!”
Vladimir, who had suddenly come to a complete halt in the middle of his charge, wore a rare look of bewilderment.
It felt as though an invisible, colossal wall had blocked his path.
He quickly regained his composure and pushed forward with all his might.
Without activating any special ability—just pure physical strength.
CRUNCH—
The marble floor cracked and caved in deeply under the force of his feet.
“Definitely got some power.”
Jin-young muttered. Finally, Vladimir opened his mouth.
“You… what the hell are you…?”
His words came out haltingly, strained from exerting every ounce of strength.
Shin Soo-jeong translated from the side, and Jin-young replied casually.
“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”
Vladimir gritted his teeth so hard that blood trickled from his mouth.
Soon, mana began surging from his body.
KRRRTS—
The marble floor sank even deeper.
His skin flushed red, muscles swelling as though they might burst at any moment.
Up to this point, it resembled Dolsae’s ‘Berserk’ ability.
But then—
Wooooong—
Vladimir’s body began to grow larger.
His unique ability: ‘Giantification.’
The more mana he consumed, the bigger his body became—and with size came tremendous strength and durability.
Though his speed decreased, the trade-off was a body so tough it more than made up for it.
Vladimir poured every last drop of mana into breaking free from Jin-young’s psychokinesis, continuing to expand.
CRACK CRACK…
At this rate, he looked ready to smash straight through the airport ceiling.
But—
CRUNCH—
The moment his body stopped growing, the swollen skin tore apart.
“Trying to get even bigger? You’ll hurt yourself like that.”
“This is… impossible…”
Vladimir’s face showed genuine shock—something rare for him.
CRACK—
Next, the bones that had been expanding began to fracture.
Jin-young’s psychokinesis had been suppressing the giantification the entire time.
Finally giving up on growing larger, Vladimir struggled desperately to move.
SNAP—CRACK!
In an instant, his limbs’ bones shattered, and his body crumpled inward.
“Gahhh…!”
His massive frame rapidly shrank back down.
“……”
The reporters were naturally speechless, watching in stunned silence. A few still held up cameras, filming through sheer instinct.
Yoon Soo-ho, already accustomed to such scenes, watched with an indifferent expression.
Shin Soo-jeong, on the other hand—having only recently met Jin-young—seemed quite shaken.
It wasn’t just the brutality of the sight; the fact that he had so effortlessly folded a giantified Vladimir was simply unbelievable.
“Gotta give him credit for guts and toughness.”
Jin-young genuinely admired Vladimir’s astonishing durability.
Even though he was generally ranked below India’s Prasad, in terms of sheer toughness, Vladimir surpassed him.
Bones shattered into tiny fragments, blood pouring from every wound—yet the man still hadn’t lost consciousness.
“If I polish him up a bit, he’d make a decent meat shield.”
Jin-young nodded in satisfaction.
One by one, the world’s Zero-grade hunters were finding their designated uses.
Whether they knew it or not.
“Ughhh…”
Vladimir glared with bloodshot eyes, enduring with every ounce of will he had left.
But then—
KRRRRRUMBLE—
Black lightning pierced straight through his body.
BOOM!
Eyes rolling back, foam bubbling from his mouth, Vladimir collapsed unconscious.
Tssss…
His massively enlarged body quickly shrank back to normal size.
Given his exceptional physical constitution, he wouldn’t die—but without treatment, he might end up permanently crippled.
Drawing on his experience healing Prasad and Yutaro, Yoon Soo-ho began treating Vladimir as well.
For good measure, he also tended to the aide who had fainted earlier.
Meanwhile, every reporter’s attention was now fixed solely on Jin-young.
“Please give us your name and affiliation!”
“What’s your relationship with Hunter Shin Soo-jeong?”
“Are you a secretly trained hunter from Crystal Guild?”
Cameras thrust forward as questions poured out in a barrage.
Just as the reporters closed in—
Booooong—
All the cameras suddenly floated out of their hands and rose into the air.
CRACK! Sssss…
They split in half, then disintegrated into fine powder in seconds.
The reporters stood dumbfounded for a beat before belatedly protesting.
“What the hell are you doing right now?!”
“Hunter Shin Soo-jeong, can we take this as Crystal Guild’s official stance?”
“How dare you treat the press like this…”
Most hunters cared—at least somewhat—about their public image.
A good reputation increased the chances of joining major guilds and receiving national support.
Even established hunters occasionally went overboard, but such cases were rare.
That was why most hunters dealt with reporters mildly to avoid conflict.
Reporters, well aware of this dynamic, usually walked a fine line.
“I said no filming.”
“……”
Jin-young spoke in a low tone, but the reporters felt an unspoken pressure and instinctively stepped back.
He had no intention of playing along with their games.
He no longer cared if word of his psychokinesis spread by mouth—after all, he had already displayed it openly in front of hunters from every nation at the assembly.
But he had no desire for it to be recorded in photos or videos.
Hearing a description was one thing; seeing it with their own eyes was another entirely.
There was no need to give detailed information to people like the Godfather.
Besides, rumors tended to exaggerate—so they could actually create more confusion than clarity.
“Last chance. Walk away clean right now, and nothing happens. You’re free to write retaliatory articles—but you don’t know me, while I know exactly who you are. Think carefully.”
Jin-young slowly scanned each reporter’s face.
He hadn’t released mana or killing intent.
Yet cold sweat poured down their backs.
Perhaps it was the faint madness glinting in his eyes.
For a moment, they genuinely felt their lives might be in danger.
“Disperse.”
At that final word, the reporters scrambled over each other to flee the airport.
The only ones left were Shin Soo-jeong and the Crystal Guild members, Yoon Soo-ho, and the unconscious Vladimir Zhukov.
Yoon Soo-ho, having just finished emergency treatment on Vladimir, stood up.
He looked back and forth between Jin-young and Shin Soo-jeong before asking,
“What the hell happened?”
“I went all the way to Egypt chasing the prophet. Ran into her by chance.”
Shin Soo-jeong nodded in agreement and added,
“If it hadn’t been for this agent, I would’ve been in serious trouble.”
“What an absurd coincidence.”
Yoon Soo-ho shook his head with a wry smile.
Regardless, Jin-young turned to him.
“How’s the disaster extermination service client acquisition going?”
“As you can see, we still can’t get Russia’s answer… Prasad said he’d return to India and discuss it with Pakistan.”
“What about the U.S. and Canada?”
“The presidents of both associations expressed positive interest. Of course, Hannah and Michelle applied some strong pressure.”
Jin-young had expected the U.S. and Canada to accept—Michelle the prophet’s warning was impossible to ignore.
“When should I head to the States?”
“They said they’ll coordinate with the U.S. government and let us know the schedule.”
Jin-young nodded.
With some time left before departing for the U.S., he planned to take care of things he had been putting off.
Training his younger sister Chae So-young along with the Intelligence Department agents, for one.
And most importantly—
『How about discarding this demonic sword?』
The tentacles spoke in a voice thick with dissatisfaction.
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