Chapter 107: Nine City Reconstruction (2)
Crackle crackle— Boom boom boom!
Pure white lightning and red mist intertwined, causing a massive explosion.
People gathered in the void space where nothing had been visible, drawn to the spectacle.
Crack crack crack— Boom!
A single sword sliced through the air like a beam of light.
The red-haired man seemed about to be split in two, but instantly restored to his original state.
『It’s been a while since I found such a sturdy opponent—it’s quite entertaining.』
The voice of the Heavenly Thunder God Sword carried clear enjoyment.
No. 78 kept muttering while clutching and tearing at his own red hair.
“Hee hee hee… Get out of my head……! No. Don’t go… I’m lonely… Get out!”
No. 78 was resisting the tentacle’s power that tried to brainwash his mind.
Even amid that, the battle with the Heavenly Thunder God Sword continued.
“Thanks to him, the annoying one is gone—feels good.”
Dmitri Petrov, watching the fight, spoke with a carefree expression.
The Heavenly Thunder God Sword had been darting around the subspace, spouting uninteresting stories, and constantly requesting unfair sparring matches whenever there was a chance.
Now that a suitable punching bag had appeared for it, this was practically liberation for them.
“The subspace has become more vibrant—nice.”
Jacob Harrison, looking around, said.
In one direction, two powerhouses clashed, bursting forth with multicolored auras.
Boom… Boom… Boom… Sssss—
In another place, massive steam engine facilities roared as they produced energy.
Dmitri looked at Nine City filling the subspace and spoke as if lost in sentiment.
“Our Anu really loved this place. I wanted to feed it more hellstones.”
“Woof woof!”
Anu wagged its tail and barked, apparently missing the taste of hellstones as well.
“I’m curious too.”
Jacob examined the towering skyscrapers, pipes, and steam engines rising high in Nine City.
There was a reason they couldn’t enter Nine City.
It was because of the thin barrier enveloping the entire city.
Nine City was clearly inside the subspace, yet the tentacle had separated the city from the subspace.
It was in the same vein as an ecological protection measure.
“I heard that once the partner of the great existence restores Nine City, we’ll be able to visit again.”
Dmitri recalled Chae Jin-young’s words.
The plan was not to recreate it as a virtual space in a dungeon, but to restore Nine City in the ‘real’ hell.
There was no need to doubt whether it was possible.
Because this was something overseen by the great existence, the tentacle.
“In the end, nothing will remain in the subspace again.”
“Why nothing? There’s the suspicious chalice, the orb, the sandstorm, corpse dust…”
Whooo—
Amid the swirling sandstorm and bone dust, the scale and sword taken from the Horsemen of Calamity floated in the air.
The ash-gray orb extracted from Demon Spawn and the golden chalice obtained from the dungeon also orbited around them.
At that moment.
Tss… Paat!
The ash-gray orb and the chalice attracted each other, and the orb slipped right into the chalice’s cup.
Shaaaa…
A radiant light burst from the chalice, beginning to dye the subspace in pure white holy power.
“Blasphemous power.”
“Indeed.”
Jacob and Dmitri trembled with unease as they watched the spreading holy power.
It was like painting pure white over an entirely black space, gradually turning everything white.
As the white holy power approached their feet, the two and Anu stepped back.
“Grrrr… Woof woof!”
Anu barked warily at the holy power.
The chalice extended its holy power with terrifying momentum.
Crackle!
It seemed blocked by an invisible cubic barrier, unable to dye the surroundings any further.
The tentacle’s separation and protection system within the subspace had activated.
“O great existence…”
“Thank you.”
“Woof.”
The two and Anu offered prayers of gratitude for the tentacle’s grace.
The subspace, already so colorful it was dizzying, was starting to feel increasingly unpleasant.
“It feels uncomfortable that impurities keep mixing into our own space.”
At Jacob’s words, Dmitri nodded in agreement.
“I wish we could clean it up soon.”
It was at that moment.
Sss…
The Heavenly Thunder God Sword, which had been relentlessly beating No. 78, suddenly vanished.
“Get out… don’t go… leave me alone… don’t leave me alone…”
No. 78 muttered madly while obsessively tearing at his hair in paranoia.
Tss-ts-ts…
As red mist began to spread through the subspace, Jacob said with a hardened face.
“…Let’s run.”
***
Shwaa—
『Hahaha! This one’s strike…』
The Heavenly Thunder God Sword, which had been letting out bizarre laughter, abruptly emerged into the outside world and immediately fell silent.
He quickly scanned the surroundings like lightning.
There was his summoner, Chae Jin-young, and a beautiful woman he had never seen before.
She wore neat black formal attire with a cold expression, but her features were classically beautiful.
『Ahem, I nearly committed a discourtesy in front of such a lovely lady. This one is from the Heavenly Thunder Sect…』
“Shut your mouth. I have something to entrust to you.”
The Heavenly Thunder God Sword’s self-introduction was cut off mercilessly, but he couldn’t say anything in response.
It was partly because the other party was Chae Jin-young, but also because he had failed to properly carry out the recent mission.
He had been tasked with helping Shin Jeong-moon interrogate a villain, but he hadn’t extracted any information at all.
Because of that, he had lost face and his confidence had taken a hit.
『Something to entrust……?』
“This is my sunbae. Since she handles electricity with a sword just like you, how about giving her some guidance?”
Chae Jin-young introduced his sunbae, Choi Hee-yeon, as he spoke.
The blade of the Heavenly Thunder God Sword trembled once upon seeing her.
If it had a face, it might have flushed red.
『For such a lovely lady… this one will take her as my direct disciple.』
“Whether direct disciple or whatever—do as you like. Just make her at least human… no, make her a superhuman already.”
『Finally… a disciple to whom I can pass down the great Heavenly Thunder Sect’s secret Sky Heart Method and Heavenly Thunder Sword Technique……』
Whether he heard Chae Jin-young’s words or not, the Heavenly Thunder God Sword muttered in a voice overflowing with emotion.
“Is this… really okay?”
Choi Hee-yeon looked at the sword showing signs of mental instability and asked in a worried voice.
“Even if it’s gone a bit crazy, its skill is solid. It was already quite skilled before becoming an ego sword, and now that it has literally become a sword itself, its swordsmanship goes without saying.”
Choi Hee-yeon didn’t fully understand about 80 percent of what Chae Jin-young said, but she nodded as if accepting it.
In any case, it meant the skill was outstanding.
Though training under a sword instead of a person felt awkward, in a world where gates opened and Creepers emerged, she understood.
『Lady—no, now I should call you disciple. This one… no, your master will make you the legitimate successor of the great Heavenly Thunder Sect.』
“…I’ll be in your care.”
Choi Hee-yeon listened to the Heavenly Thunder God Sword with a slightly confused expression, but she bowed politely in greeting.
Pleased by her courteous attitude, the Heavenly Thunder God Sword spoke in an excited voice.
『Excellent. The basics are already there, so we’ll move straight to the advanced course. Hahaha.』
“I’m ready, Master.”
Choi Hee-yeon, already adapting, clenched her lips with eyes full of passion.
To ensure their training wouldn’t be disturbed, Chae Jin-young stepped through a portal and disappeared immediately.
***
Tss-ts—
Chae Jin-young emerged from the portal into the secret research division.
Department Head Kim Jeong-moon greeted him warmly.
“Agent Psycho, do you know how long we’ve been waiting for you?”
“It feels more like you were waiting for the item I’m bringing rather than me.”
“Haha. Of course that’s part of it, but I’m happier to see you.”
Kim Jeong-moon headed straight to the lab together with Chae Jin-young.
“I picked up an artifact from a dungeon, and I thought it would have great synergy with the white mana coming from the ash-gray orb.”
Chae Jin-young took out the golden chalice from the subspace.
Now fused with the ash-gray orb, it was radiating holy power in all directions.
“Ooh, this is…”
As Kim Jeong-moon’s eyes sparkled in admiration.
Paaat—
Freed from the subspace and brought into the outside world, the chalice emitted an even more vigorous light.
The entire lab filled with holy power, to the point where it was hard to keep one’s eyes open.
It carried such sacredness that even a non-believer might become a fanatic on the spot.
“Ahh…”
Kim Jeong-moon looked ready to convert immediately.
Of course, to Chae Jin-young, who possessed an immense mental world, it didn’t stir even the slightest emotion.
“It definitely has strong synergy.”
Regardless, he had to acknowledge that it was quite powerful holy power.
『I no longer want such blasphemous objects in the subspace.』
The tentacle recalled the chalice extending holy power within the subspace and revealed clear displeasure.
Shuuu—
Before Kim Jeong-moon could fully convert, Chae Jin-young used psychokinesis to gather all the holy power in the room.
Only then did Kim Jeong-moon’s dilated pupils return to normal.
Having briefly experienced ecstasy, he still savored the afterglow, licking his lips as fragmented words spilled out.
“This is… truly… incredible…….”
“Can you even conduct research in that state?”
At the word “research,” Kim Jeong-moon snapped back to his senses.
He shook his head vigorously to shake off the distracting thoughts clouding his mind.
“I have to. Even if my body turns to dust.”
The secret research division had previously developed recovery potions and the like using holy power extracted from the orb.
But the quantity had been too small for mass production, and further product development had been difficult.
Though they were cooperating with Shin Young Group to increase output, the supply still fell far short of the demand from Hunters.
However, with an artifact emitting this level of holy power, it might be possible.
Not only mass production, but even higher-quality potions.
“Then I’ll leave it to you. Squeeze out as much as you can until I come back for it.”
“When do you plan to return?”
At Kim Jeong-moon’s question, Chae Jin-young stroked his chin.
“Hmm. Not sure—until all the things I need to do are finished.”
“I don’t know what you’re planning, but come back slowly and quickly.”
At Kim Jeong-moon’s ambiguous words, Chae Jin-young let out a short laugh.
“Yes, I’ll come back slowly and quickly.”
***
“Haa…….”
Chae So-young lay sprawled on the sofa like wet laundry, completely merged with it.
She was utterly exhausted from association duties and the endless cycle of dungeon raids.
Even picking up the remote felt impossible; she lay motionless in the silent living room, not moving a single finger.
Just managing to crawl home had been a miracle.
‘I just got off work, but I really don’t want to go in tomorrow.’
Because of what had happened today, Chae So-young dreaded going to the association.
After the surprise inspection by Awakener Intelligence Department agents from the National Intelligence Service, came the task of rooting out GODS spies infiltrated into politics, business, and various Hunter guilds.
Since Association President Yoon Soo-ho had publicly declared full cooperation with the Intelligence Department, she, as part of the secretary’s office, had been dragged into the frenzy as well.
At least as a regular employee she could leave early; Secretary General Myung Ji-yoon was still busy with Yoon Soo-ho even now.
Thinking that far, she felt a twinge of guilt.
‘Maybe I should have volunteered for overtime…’
Of course, contrary to her thoughts, her body had no intention of separating from the sofa.
At that moment.
Tss-ts—
A black portal opened in the middle of the living room.
Her brother Chae Jin-young, whom she hadn’t seen in a while, appeared at home.
But she didn’t have the strength to raise her hand or open her mouth, so she only greeted him with her eyes.
Chae Jin-young looked at his sister with an expression that said she was pathetic.
‘I’m suffering from overwork right now? Cut me some slack.’
Using what little psionic energy she still had left, Chae So-young sent a telepathic message to Chae Jin-young.
“…….”
Of course, the look of utter contempt in her brother’s eyes didn’t change.
At that moment.
The corners of Chae Jin-young’s mouth curled up.
Seeing his eyes suddenly sparkle, Chae So-young instinctively furrowed her brow.
‘What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?’
Instead of an answer, a strange sound came.
Crack crack crack—
A red crack tore through the air in the living room, spreading wide like a portal.
Before she could even sigh at her brother treating the house like a playground.
‘What is that.’
She muttered while staring at the wasteland visible beyond the portal.
The intense heat radiating from the wasteland reached even her skin.
And then Chae Jin-young opened his mouth.
“Little sister, let’s go to hell.”
Chae So-young’s lips trembled violently.
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[1] The Regressor Who Turns Trash Martial Arts into Divine Techniques
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