Chapter 99: Prelude to the Great Cataclysm (2)
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The regular sound of fingers drumming on the desk echoed.
Across from it sat a middle-aged woman bound to a chair, glaring with venomous eyes.
“Intelligence Department Director. Do you think this is still the Third Republic era? You don’t seriously believe you can touch me in Busan and walk away unscathed, do you?”
At her words, Intelligence Department Director Jeong Bo-hoon let out a short snort.
But he quickly straightened his expression and spoke.
“Chairwoman Cheon Ji-hee. Do you know why I’ve never touched Busan all this time?”
“…….”
At the serious, low tone, Cheon Ji-hee unconsciously swallowed.
“Because you never crossed the line.”
As soon as Jeong Bo-hoon finished speaking, she furrowed her brow again.
“The one who crossed the line isn’t me—it’s you right now. If this incident gets out, it won’t end with just your dismissal as Intelligence Department Director.”
Cheon Ji-hee wasn’t just a metropolitan councilor in Busan; she was also the chairwoman of the Busan Metropolitan Council.
Naturally, she maintained deep ties with the Busan Metropolitan Mayor and had connections to every major figure in Busan politics.
No matter how high-ranking an Intelligence Department Director he was, tying her up and interrogating her was completely outrageous.
“Chairwoman Cheon. You should consider yourself lucky that I’m the one who came.”
“What…?”
Before Cheon Ji-hee could retort—
“At the very least, your limbs won’t get torn off, and your body won’t get crushed like it’s in a press.”
Jeong Bo-hoon leaned in close to her face and spoke softly.
But each syllable that brushed past her ear sent chills crawling over her skin.
Of course, she didn’t want to show that she was intimidated. To reassert her dignity, she raised her voice even more sharply.
“Now you’re threatening to kill me? Fine. Go ahead and kill me if you dare. Perfect timing, actually. I was already sick of watching hunters strut around starting with Yoon Soo-ho these days. While I’m at it, I’ll push through the Awakened Special Law—”
Jeong Bo-hoon let out a short sigh as he watched Cheon Ji-hee’s eyes bulge while she ranted.
This was exactly why talking nicely to people with such rigid, blocked minds was pointless.
He had already experienced something similar in Seoul, which was in some ways even colder and more ruthless than Busan.
Jeong Bo-hoon resolved to drop his complacent mindset.
“Hey, Chairwoman Cheon.”
“What? ‘Hey’?”
Jeong Bo-hoon lightly slammed his hand on the desk.
Crack-crack-crack!
The desk shattered into pieces and collapsed to the floor.
“If you don’t want your head split open the same way, shut your mouth.”
“…….”
Cheon Ji-hee opened and closed her mouth in confusion more than fear.
“It would have been so much better if you’d just shut up from the beginning and answered my questions sincerely.”
Jeong Bo-hoon returned to his polite demeanor and continued.
“You still seem to think the Intelligence Department is a pushover. You know the CIA’s Awakener Intelligence Division, right? The information has already been cross-verified. Stop playing dumb and admit it.”
“CIA…?”
The sudden mention of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency left Cheon Ji-hee muttering stupidly.
Why on earth would the CIA bother cooperating with Korea’s Intelligence Department?
She couldn’t comprehend it.
She even thought Jeong Bo-hoon was overreaching just to intimidate her.
“Situation wrapped up? The Sacred Faction boss and the yakuza too? Got it.”
Jeong Bo-hoon muttered to himself as if speaking on a call with someone.
Hearing that, Cheon Ji-hee’s eyes widened.
The Sacred Faction and the yakuza.
She didn’t yet know exactly what had happened to them—whether they’d been captured or something else.
But if they had been arrested, the situation could spiral completely out of control.
Jeong Bo-hoon continued.
“You must have heard, Chairwoman Cheon. The Sacred Faction and the yakuza. They’re being brought here right now. Don’t you have anything to say?”
“……!”
An earthquake shook Cheon Ji-hee’s pupils.
Her body should have been trembling, but it wasn’t.
It felt as if complete paralysis had set in; she couldn’t even twitch a finger.
***
Yamakawa Shinichi rolled his only unfrozen eyeballs around, lips merely opening and closing.
He had never experienced anything like this in his life, so not only his body but his mind was completely paralyzed.
The fact that his ‘Karmic Fire’—which had burned everything—had frozen over was an unimaginable shock.
“Shinichi. Your mouth’s wide open. Say something. You were so talkative earlier.”
President Jeong approached him and taunted.
Normally, Shinichi would have wanted to break free of the ice right then and there and decapitate President Jeong.
But now, he could only stare with hollow eyes.
“Stop teasing him, sir. What if he awakens and breaks out?”
A petite woman in a flight suit approached them.
Eun Ji-eun, now an official agent of the Intelligence Department.
She was now known by the codename ‘Snow Woman.’
President Jeong turned to Eun Ji-eun and said,
“If he breaks out, we’ll just freeze him again.”
“Well… yeah, I guess.”
“But what do we do? His mind’s completely gone—he can’t even talk. Tsk, I wonder if interrogation’s even possible.”
President Jeong clicked his tongue lightly while looking at Shinichi.
Eun Ji-eun stepped in front of Shinichi and said,
“There’s a good method for times like this.”
“A good method?”
“Teacher Psycho taught me something.”
“…Wait a second.”
President Jeong stepped back at the mention of ‘Psycho’ and said,
“Isn’t that dangerous? What if he dies?”
“He’s a 1st Grade Awakener, isn’t he? He won’t die that easily. He’s still holding out against my ice right now.”
Eun Ji-eun spoke casually with an utterly innocent expression.
Then she turned to Bong Jun-gyu.
“Sir, could you interpret for me?”
“M-Me?”
“Didn’t you do it earlier too?”
“Y-Yeah, I did.”
Bong Jun-gyu instinctively felt fear, but he had no choice but to obey.
“Sir. If you can hear me, blink once.”
Bong Jun-gyu translated Eun Ji-eun’s words exactly and relayed them to Shinichi.
But Shinichi didn’t blink even once.
“Non-compliance means one finger per violation.”
“…….”
The next moment—
Snap.
Shinichi’s frozen pinky finger broke off like a dry twig.
Eun Ji-eun had reached the level where she could manipulate the ice she created without even touching it.
Since Shinichi’s nerves were paralyzed, he felt no pain.
But for a human without regeneration abilities, losing a body part was a massive problem.
Sure, modern technology made prosthetics like artificial limbs quite advanced, but for a hunter whose body was their asset, it was fatal.
“Next will be two.”
Blink.
Only then did Shinichi blink.
“Hah.”
President Jeong let out a hollow laugh and suddenly recalled the first time he met her.
The day he clashed with Ma Du-hwan of Dark Horse—when Psycho had called her his secret weapon and thrown her right into the middle of the enemy camp.
Back then, he had been stunned by Psycho’s insane tactics. Afterward, while escaping the scene with Eun Ji-eun, he had talked with her a bit.
At that time, she had still been an innocent, kind girl.
Why was she following in Psycho’s footsteps?
Eun Ji-eun continued the interrogation without paying attention to the reactions around her.
“You can speak, right?”
“…Yes.”
Shinichi barely moved his lips to answer.
She nodded in satisfaction.
“This should be enough. We can join up with headquarters now.”
“We can go, right?”
At President Jeong’s question, Eun Ji-eun shook her head.
“Where do you think you’re going? Sir, aren’t we partners?”
“Why the hell would I be your partner…?”
“No?”
Eun Ji-eun tilted her head, then suddenly reached out her hand.
President Jeong and the Black Society members flinched.
Crackle-crackle-crack—
A horrific sound came from behind, and President Jeong nearly wet himself.
“Krrgh… Damn it…”
The arms and legs of the Sacred Faction boss—who had been crawling away in an attempt to escape—had frozen solid along with the ground.
President Jeong swallowed after turning to confirm the sight and said,
“Ah, damn, I almost forgot. We’re supposed to transport the yakuza guys, right?”
“Please do.”
Eun Ji-eun smiled brightly and attempted to contact Jeong Bo-hoon.
They had succeeded in capturing the yakuza and the Sacred Faction boss.
With preparations for interrogation complete, she reported that she would join up.
While exchanging communications—
―Hold on. According to Chairwoman Cheon, there are more than just Shinichi’s group.
“Really? I froze them all at once so it’s hard to tell them apart, but I’ll ask.”
Eun Ji-eun approached the yakuza members who were being loaded into a truck by the Black Society.
Yamakawa Shinichi was apparently being loaded last, still in the same spot.
Since President Jeong and Bong Jun-gyu were right there, translation was no issue.
“I heard there are other yakuza besides Shinichi’s group. Are they here too?”
At her words, Shinichi’s eyes widened slightly, but his lips remained firmly shut.
“Hmm… After fingers come wrists…”
Eun Ji-eun spoke the chilling threat in the most innocent tone.
“That… that person… left Busan already…….”
At Shinichi’s confession, her brow furrowed.
She had been so focused on Yamakawa-gumi that she had let another group slip away.
“Sir. Didn’t you say these were all of them?”
The arrow pointed straight at President Jeong.
“Huh? I was definitely told these were the end of it. Hey, Bong Jun-gyu.”
“I’m innocent too, President. Our guys…”
As the endless finger-pointing continued, Eun Ji-eun tuned it out.
Then, with a serious face, she spoke to Jeong Bo-hoon.
“It looks like this was a diversion tactic.”
***
A man in a navy raincoat was walking across a Creep.
After parting ways with Yamakawa Shinichi’s group in Busan, he had come alone to a small contaminated zone in Ulju County.
“This should be about right. Hehehe.”
The man suddenly placed his hand on the Creep and crouched down.
“Guwaaaaak—”
His mouth tore open impossibly wide, and something pitch-black and viscous like Creep poured out in a vomit-like rush.
Gurgle— guuurrrrgle—
The dark vomit writhed on the Creep before quickly taking on human shapes.
“Grrrrr…”
“Urrrrr…”
They looked human on the outside, but they didn’t seem to possess anything close to human intelligence.
Shockingly, they soon began dividing like cell fission—each splitting into two, and those two splitting again.
Monsters multiplying endlessly on the Creep.
Their physical abilities didn’t even reach 3rd Grade, yet each one carried black mana comparable to a 1st Grade Awakener.
Before long, they densely surrounded the man and multiplied so rapidly that they filled the entire contaminated zone.
“In my father’s name.”
The man murmured quietly.
Sssssss…
Soon, black mana poured out from his body.
Dddddddd—
Tens of thousands of artificial human soldiers simultaneously broke out of the contaminated zone and began their march.
The advance that started near the border between Ulju County and Ulsan Metropolitan City quickly headed toward the city center.
Pssss…
The demonic energy emitted by the artificial human legion caused the surrounding plants to rot away.
As they passed the foot of the mountain and came within sight of a university campus in Ulsan—
Paaht—
A pure white light flashed in the cloudless night sky.
Kugugugugung!
Thunder roared, but the artificial human legion paid it no mind and continued advancing.
Only the man in the raincoat raised an eyebrow and looked up at the sky.
The next moment—
Kwaaaaaarrrrung!
Lightning struck downward in an instant.
Pu-kwa-kwa-kwak!
Hundreds of artificial humans were turned into chunks of flesh without even a chance to react.
Only then did the man grasp the situation and issue an order.
“Deploy the barrier.”
Tzzzzzt—
A vast barrier made of pitch-black demonic energy spread out.
The man raised his senses, believing there must be a sorcerer somewhere nearby who could summon lightning.
Then came a deep, mystical voice.
『What are you searching for? This seat is right here.』
The voice came from all directions—even from beneath his feet.
Even with his senses fully extended, he couldn’t pinpoint the source.
『It may be large in size, but it’s not even worth a single claw of the Heavenly Demon’s protective qi.』
“What the hell are you—”
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-boom—
Another lightning strike tore through the massive demonic barrier like paper, annihilating it.
“…….”
The man was at a complete loss for words.
With the false prophet and Yoon Soo-ho both absent right now, he had believed there was no hunter capable of stopping the legion.
His mind went blank for a moment.
Shuuut—
A single sword floated leisurely in front of the legion.
『Shall we have some fun, then?』
The voice emanated from the sword.
The man bit his lip hard and shouted,
“Crush them!”
Tzkwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—
The moment the artificial humans unleashed their black mana in unison—
Pzzzzzt!
A pure white bolt of lightning burst from the sword, ripping apart the demonic energy and dismembering the artificial humans.
Thud. Splat.
Chunks of flesh fell haphazardly to the ground, staining it red.
They weren’t completely wiped out in a single attack, but about a third had been neutralized.
『Young lady, you were supposed to come after it was all over.』
“I got bored just standing around. If Heavenly Sword kills them before we even get any information, that would be a problem.”
Shin Soo-jeong appeared on the battlefield, loosening her body as she spoke.
The man’s lips twitched when he spotted her.
“So you’re the sorceress.”
If he killed the sorceress, the sword would naturally lose its power.
Just as the man was about to give a full command—
Shin Soo-jeong grasped the hilt of the Heavenly Thunder Divine Sword.
Shwaaaaak—
Blue mana wrapped around the blade in a dazzling display.
The Heavenly Thunder Divine Sword imbued with her All Things Enhancement ability.
『Then it should be fine to clean up everyone except that one.』
The sword left her hand and floated back into the air.
Feeling an inexplicable sense of dread, the man thrust out his hand and shouted,
“Kill that woman right now!”
Before the remaining artificial human legion could even move to obey—
Paat—
A flash of light burst from the Heavenly Thunder Divine Sword in an instant.
It looked as though the sword hadn’t moved at all.
Slash—
Tens of thousands of artificial humans had their heads cleanly severed and collapsed to the ground.
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