Chapter 113
"Full rights?"
As Lee Seong-jun tilted his head, a look of deep contemplation settled on Kim Ki-young's face.
'...Is there no way to bring Lee Seong-jun into the alliance without conflict?'
Although he had an ace up his sleeve, that was only a last resort.
'How should I phrase this to persuade him?'
For a moment, various thoughts came to mind, but the answer was already set.
Considering the prestige he had shown so far, Lee Seong-jun was surely a powerful figure and authority who had reached great heights in the other world.
In other words, he was likely a very intelligent person with accumulated experience.
It would certainly be better to speak frankly without any futile tricks.
'Even to run together towards the Returnee Alliance's long-cherished wish... it would be good for him to know the real purpose.'
Having made his decision, Kim Ki-young carefully opened his mouth.
"Our Returnee Alliance is working towards the liberation of returnees."
"...?"
There was no reply, but the fixed gaze alone was enough to show that Lee Seong-jun was listening, so Kim Ki-young continued speaking.
"Isn't this situation ridiculous? Why should we, who have strong powers, live under more restrictions and surveillance than ordinary people? Wasn't it only natural in the other world we lived in to enjoy power according to one's strength? No, even in this era where hunters' strength directly translates to national power, why are we, who should reign as the strong, being oppressed..."
Lee Seong-jun cut off Kim Ki-young's ceaseless words with a wave of his hand.
"That's enough, I understand everything. You said you'd restore my rights, but in reality, you're just seeking privileges for yourselves."
"...It's not a privilege, it's simply the rights that we returnees should enjoy."
"Well, you can think that way if you want. You're free to have your own thoughts."
Kim Ki-young's sunken eyes swept over Lee Seong-jun, who was shrugging his shoulders.
It was an attempt to read his hidden inner thoughts and figure out what he was thinking.
However, regrettably, nothing was visible.
It felt like facing a huge darkness hidden behind a curtain.
It was exactly the same feeling as when facing Tae Sang-cheon, the leader of the Returnee Alliance.
'As expected, is it beyond my current ability to gauge...'
Although he couldn't read his exact intentions, he could clearly see the expression on his face.
'He's sneering.'
The corner of his mouth raised on one side was clearly a sneer.
It felt like the current goal of his life, his long-cherished wish, was being denied.
Kim Ki-young's brow naturally furrowed.
"It seems Hunter Lee Seong-jun finds our Returnee Alliance's long-cherished wish amusing."
"Rather than amusing, I can clearly see the end of those steeped in a chosen people mentality."
"Our Returnee Alliance has been preparing steadily for a longer period than you think. The result won't be as you imagine, Hunter Lee Seong-jun."
Perhaps because he felt disrespected, Kim Ki-young's voice became increasingly agitated as he spoke.
"I dare say that in the near future, our Returnee Alliance will reclaim full rights from the Hunter Association and establish a righteous world where we have power commensurate with our strength."
"Sure, the bigger the dream, the better."
Looking at Kim Ki-young's impassioned speech, Lee Seong-jun nodded once and took a step forward.
"I highly commend your passion, so I'll specially not interfere as long as it doesn't harm me. Work hard."
As Lee Seong-jun brushed past him, Kim Ki-young urgently grabbed his shoulder and raised his voice.
"Don't you think this situation is unfair, Hunter Lee Seong-jun?"
Unable to control the sudden surge of excitement, he had reached out his hand, but the person in front of him was none other than Lee Seong-jun.
A master of fire techniques, an unmanageable powerhouse.
"Was my speech difficult to understand? I said not to cause me harm, didn't I?"
It was the moment he met Lee Seong-jun's lowered gaze.
He felt his body stiffen like a statue.
It felt like being a prey in front of a predator.
Kim Ki-young hurriedly removed his hand under the pressure crushing his entire body.
However, he didn't immediately leave his spot.
Before meeting Lee Seong-jun, he had steeled himself with considerable determination.
If he was going to back down easily, he wouldn't have made such a resolve in the first place.
Kim Ki-young, with a hardened expression, opened his mouth once again.
"I find it too unfair and unjust... Being suddenly dragged to another world, barely establishing ourselves after surviving countless brushes with death, and then suddenly returning to Earth one day and losing everything! How can we just accept this situation where we receive no compensation for the power, honor, and authority we painstakingly built up?"
Lee Seong-jun listened to Kim Ki-young's story without saying a word.
Of course, he wasn't agreeing with Kim Ki-young's words.
He was merely using it as information because Kim Ki-young's words were resolving one of the questions he had been harboring.
'I wondered how returnees came back to Earth... It seems they're forcibly returned just like they were taken.'
It meant they could return to Earth simply with the passage of time.
In other words, they could return to Earth comfortably without any special effort.
Lee Seong-jun, who had returned to Earth after decades of hardship from the Thousand Continent to the Immortal Realm, could be said to have returned in the most unfair and unjust way of all.
Of course, he had no intention of painstakingly explaining all of his circumstances one by one. Therefore, he would have normally left the place immediately without saying a word.
However, Lee Seong-jun remained standing still.
'Listening closely, it's even more absurd.'
The Returnee Alliance's unreasonable compensation psychology and chosen people mentality were stimulating Lee Seong-jun's displeasure.
'When did they ever care about Razaka running wild...'
Now they're claiming their rights.
Lee Seong-jun's brow furrowed at the nauseating feeling from the Returnee Alliance's extremely hypocritical aspect.
"You might feel wronged in proportion to your efforts, but why are you trying to get compensation from Earth's people for your efforts in another world? What have you and the Returnee Alliance done in Earth, in Korea?"
Kim Ki-young, who had stiffened at Lee Seong-jun's pointed question, couldn't give any answer.
He just trembled with clenched fists.
"Originally, rights are justified when you pay a commensurate price. If you truly want full rights, behave properly from now on."
Kim Ki-young, his face red like a ripe apple, let out a big sigh and slowly moved his lips.
"...If you continue to insist on this negative attitude, we'll have no choice but to change our persuasion method."
"What, are you going to threaten me with force?"
"You could say it's similar."
"Can you handle the consequences of those words?"
Excluding the alliance leader Tae Sang-cheon and vice leader Baek Mu-jin, the Returnee Alliance had as many as 20 hunters of S+ rank or higher.
It could be called a group with considerable power, but it wasn't much of a threat to Lee Seong-jun, who had power on par with rankers.
Nevertheless, Kim Ki-young's expression remained utterly calm.
"Certainly... the current power of the Returnee Alliance could never surpass you, Hunter Lee Seong-jun. But what about other people?"
Lee Seong-jun's eyes narrowed at the sight of Kim Ki-young with a sinister smile on his lips.
"What do you mean?"
"From our investigation, it seems you care quite a bit about your family members, Hunter Lee Seong-jun. But... while you've safely tucked away your younger sibling, you couldn't do the same for your parents."
"..."
Despite Lee Seong-jun's sharp aura that seemed ready to tear him apart at any moment, Kim Ki-young didn't shrink back at all.
'As long as his family members are held hostage, he absolutely won't lay a hand on me.'
There was no reason to be unnecessarily afraid. No, he could even say he had the upper hand.
"Don't resent me too much. This is the result of your own choice, Hunter Lee Seong-jun. If you had accepted my proposal from the start, we could have been good comrades together... Just think of it as kicking away good fortune that rolled in on its own."
It was when a relaxed smile was flowing on Kim Ki-young's lips.
"You seem to think I'm a fool without any learning ability."
A cold voice flowed from Lee Seong-jun's mouth.
Then, a chilling smile appeared on his lips.
"Did you think you were the only ones targeting my family?"
Kim Ki-young's voice began to tremble at Lee Seong-jun's completely unexpected response.
"Wh-what?"
"To prepare for guys like you, I recently took in a very capable subordinate."
"No way...?"
Kim Ki-young's throat gulped down dry saliva.
It was because he instinctively felt that Lee Seong-jun wasn't bluffing.
'Until now... not a single contact has arrived.'
If the plan had progressed smoothly, there should have been contact long ago. Yet not a single executive had made contact first.
This meant that the original plan had been greatly twisted.
'Looking back, everything was going too smoothly to make sense.'
Even though the Blue House security detail that was originally in charge of protection had all withdrawn, Lee Seong-jun's family members continued their social activities.
'There's no way he would carelessly expose his weakness...'
Blinded by urgency, he had been completely played in Lee Seong-jun's hands.
'...Damn it.'
Kim Ki-young, rolling his eyes repeatedly, quickly moved his feet.
Tak-!
He had chosen to flee as a last resort, but it was too futile an action.
Lee Seong-jun, with a slight smile on his lips, moved his body lightly.
Like mist spreading out, Lee Seong-jun's forms scattered like mirages, instantly twisting and pulling out Kim Ki-young's arm and leg bones.
"Aaaagh, murder...!"
He tried to scream as loudly as possible to draw attention from the surroundings as a second-best option, but no voice came out.
It was because Lee Seong-jun had sealed Kim Ki-young's acupoints by emitting his blood energy.
'Wh-when?'
Kim Ki-young's complexion turned pale white.
'Surely Lee Seong-jun didn't directly move his hands?'
If so, there was only one way - he had sealed the acupoints with emitted energy.
'He can use energy so precisely like this...?'
It was unbelievable even after experiencing it directly.
That's because to handle energy, the user must also clearly perceive that energy.
It wouldn't be too difficult with energy of a certain size, but the energy Lee Seong-jun had just handled was so small as to be invisible to the naked eye.
In other words, it was extremely small in size.
Just handling energy alone could be considered an amazing feat, but Lee Seong-jun had used that small energy to accurately seal acupoints.
'Impossible.'
Even Tae Sang-cheon, the alliance leader who reigned over the Returnee Alliance executives as a ruler, couldn't handle energy this precisely.
The internal energy control ability Lee Seong-jun had just shown was literally at an overwhelming level.
'Mo-monster...'
Thud. Thud.
As Lee Seong-jun slowly walked over, Kim Ki-young acknowledged his own mistake. No, he had no choice but to acknowledge it.
'Absolutely, absolutely... shouldn't have messed with him.'
Lee Seong-jun, who had unleashed his pent-up aura, was no longer a being that could be called human.
The eerie red light emitting from his eyes, the overwhelming presence that inspired awe just by looking at it, was the very image of an Asura from legend.
"You know, don't you? That every action has its consequences."
A cold smile bloomed on Lee Seong-jun's lips as he stared into the eyes of Kim Ki-young, who was sprawled on the ground and trembling.
Just from that, Kim Ki-young felt his breath catch in his throat.
Kim Ki-young's eyes began to fill with despair at the immense, indescribable fear he had never felt before.
'I'm, I'm sorry. Please for... forgive...'
Although he was desperately begging for forgiveness, no sound escaped his lips.
In the end, all Kim Ki-young could do was scream an anguished cry inwardly.