Chapter 114
Kim Ki-young's eyes, sprawled on the floor, showed no emotion. He looked like a broken person who had lost his mind.
Whoosh-!
Kim Ki-young's body is swallowed up by the black curtain raised by Bihyeong.
Though he had cleanly disposed of Kim Ki-young, who had made outrageous threats, the anger rising in one corner of his mind did not subside.
'To dare touch my family...'
As a demon god, he had given up everything and returned to Earth for one reason - the people most precious to him, whom he wouldn't trade for anything in the world.
Threats to his family were the final 'line' for Lee Seong-jun.
This meant that Kim Ki-young and the other executives of the Returnee Alliance had crossed a line they should never have crossed.
Fortunately, thanks to thorough preparation in advance, there was no damage, but he had no intention of letting this slide.
'Blood must be paid for with blood.'
He intended to make them pay an equivalent price.
Lee Seong-jun, filled with cold anger, immediately contacted the vice president, Ko Tae-hyun, to inform him of the recent events.
As expected, the reaction was exactly as he had anticipated.
"Those trash dared to...!"
Harsh curses flowed from Ko Tae-hyun's mouth as he heard the full story.
"I'll take measures immediately."
Ko Tae-hyun made a quick and accurate judgment as usual and offered the best solution he could, but Lee Seong-jun cut him off abruptly.
"No."
He hadn't contacted Ko Tae-hyun expecting direct help in the first place.
It was a minimal courtesy for the relationship built with the Hunter Association over the years, and a warning, so to speak.
"I'll handle this personally."
In the past, he had to compromise and back down to some extent due to lack of power, but now there was no need for that anymore.
He had gained sufficient power and reputation.
'I'll clean this up thoroughly as an example so that no one will ever dare to lay a hand on my family again.'
It was time to show the nature of the blood demon and demon god who had been feared by all thousand continents, suppressed within him.
Perhaps reading Lee Seong-jun's fierce intent, Ko Tae-hyun, unlike usual, couldn't easily respond.
"..."
There was a brief silence, but soon, Ko Tae-hyun's voice came through.
"I understand."
He instinctively knew.
Lee Seong-jun wasn't asking for permission now.
It was a kind of notification.
There was no right of refusal from the start.
Preparing for the imminent future was the best choice that could be made at present.
"I'll make the best preparations to clean up as neatly as possible."
Vice President Ko Tae-hyun. Indeed, he was a person with sharp instincts who knew how to give the desired answer.
Thinking this, Lee Seong-jun, filled with cold anger, headed towards the headquarters of the Returnee Alliance.
* * *
Returnee Alliance Headquarters, Main Conference Room.
The expressions of the Returnee Alliance executives, who had been smiling confidently of their victory just a few hours ago, were now as stiff as stone statues.
"There's still no contact from the Knight Commander's side."
"...There's no notable news from the Shadow Unit targeting Kim Ji-young either."
"We've lost contact with the Chief of Staff as well."
It meant the plan had failed.
Literally in the worst situation, the Returnee Alliance executives sitting in the conference room couldn't hide their anxiety, their faces turning pale.
However, not everyone was like that.
Choi Seung-tae.
An executive holding the position of Mumunju and ranked 5th, he could be considered one of the top executives of the Korean Returnee Alliance. He was sitting with a relaxed smile.
'Everything is going according to plan.'
To be honest, he didn't think the plan itself would succeed.
After all, the opponent was Lee Seong-jun.
He was a person who had always shown what was expected, no, even more than that.
How could such an extraordinary monster have left his weakness unattended without any countermeasures?
Nevertheless, he didn't oppose Kim Ki-young's plan.
'With this, I can surely save my life.'
The Alliance Leader, Tae Sang-cheon, had a cruel nature that deserved to be called a tyrant.
However, he wasn't a reckless brute who acted on his whims.
He wasn't foolish enough to cut down the executives in a situation where the alliance's strength had diminished.
Therefore, he had induced some key executives, including Kim Ki-young, rather than easily disposable pawns, to participate directly in the plan and take action.
'He won't think of striking down the remaining key executives in a situation where the main executives of the Returnee Alliance have disappeared.'
Daring to predict, he would probably just vent his anger briefly.
If rumors spread that civilians were involved, there would be considerable pressure from the government and the association, but that was something they could sufficiently handle.
'The only variable that could exist is... Lee Seong-jun, that guy's course of action.'
From preliminary investigations, Lee Seong-jun deeply cherished his family.
In other words, the Returnee Alliance had now touched what Lee Seong-jun valued most.
He would certainly retaliate in some form.
Retaliation from Lee Seong-jun, a ranker-level powerhouse, could be described as chilling, but Choi Seung-tae's expression showed little agitation.
'...We can handle this sufficiently as well.'
If he couldn't handle it in the first place, he wouldn't have started this.
'If I hide out in the overseas, World Returnee Alliance until the Alliance Leader emerges from his closed-door training, there shouldn't be any major problems.'
The World Returnee Alliance was a force with such great power and authority that even rankers or Guardians, let alone ordinary hunters, couldn't easily deal with them.
Even Lee Seong-jun wouldn't dare to think of touching them lightly.
There might be various questions and inquiries from the executives of the World Returnee Alliance, and it might be somewhat inconvenient in many ways, but at least there would be no risk of losing his life.
'If I search for the fastest plane right now and leave the country... I should be able to enter the headquarters of the World Returnee Alliance by tomorrow morning.'
Just as Choi Seung-tae, thinking he had safely overcome a major crisis, was inwardly suppressing a laugh...
Weeeeeeng-!
A warning sound began to ring inside the main conference room.
It meant an emergency situation had occurred.
"What's going on?!"
"Go out right now and find out what's happening quickly!"
At the executives' communication, one of the returnees on standby in the conference room hurriedly moved outside to assess the situation.
But he soon returned.
Of course, he didn't come back voluntarily on his own feet.
Bang-!
The returnee's body, flung along with the door panel, rolled on the floor.
As the executives' eyes widened at the sudden situation...
"How nice of you all to gather in one place. Thanks to that, I won't have to go through the trouble of searching for you."
Along with a cold voice, a figure emerged from the thick dust.
The face of the man reflected through the slowly settling dust was someone all the Returnee Alliance executives knew well.
"L-Lee Seong-jun?"
It was inevitable that an expression of shock appeared on Choi Seung-tae's face, who had thought he had overcome a major crisis.
"You didn't think you could cross a line that shouldn't be crossed and still be safe, did you?"
Lee Seong-jun's sudden appearance was a completely unexpected situation.
However, the situation itself could be said to be very good.
'Lee Seong-jun is alone.'
It meant he had moved independently without borrowing the power of the Hunter Association or government agencies with public authority.
'...This is an opportunity.'
Choi Seung-tae's eyes lit up with a calm expression.
"Coming in recklessly like this, haha! Did you think you could handle all of us alone?!"
Of course, even if all the Returnee Alliance executives here attacked together, they couldn't defeat Lee Seong-jun.
But he was confident they could hold out and buy time.
'Given the commotion with the alarm sounding, if we can hold out for about 10 minutes, hunters from the association or government officials will arrive.'
They might not be of much help in terms of raw power, but they could be used as a shield or shackles to bind Lee Seong-jun's movements.
In other words, they could create enough of an opening to escape.
'If I can just safely leave this place, cornering Lee Seong-jun will be easier than eating cold porridge.'
With solid evidence, he would be branded as a criminal, a villain who suddenly attacked in the middle of the night.
It meant they could throw him in prison, even preventing him from seeing the light of day.
"Foolish guy, blinded by anger over your family being threatened, you've made a self-defeating move."
"...Your delusions are severe."
As Lee Seong-jun, letting out a hollow laugh, lightly flicked his curled middle finger, it was at that moment.
A sphere that drew a red line flew and penetrated Choi Seung-tae's shoulder.
Crack-!
Along with the sound of bone breaking, a scream erupted from Choi Seung-tae's mouth.
"Kuugh-!"
Kneeling on the floor, gripping his shoulder with one hand, Choi Seung-tae's eyes widened.
'Ki manipulation...?'
It wasn't ordinary ki manipulation either.
It was ki manipulation so fast and precise that even he, Choi Seung-tae, at the pinnacle of S+ rank, couldn't even react.
'Just how many martial arts has he mastered?'
Deep bewilderment settled on Choi Seung-tae's face as he looked at Lee Seong-jun.
For good reason, the attack methods Lee Seong-jun had shown to the world were limited to fist techniques and sword techniques.
In fact, even that alone was truly remarkable.
Not to mention ordinary martial artists, even masters who had reached the realm of ascension struggle just to polish one path.
Mastering two martial arts to the realm of ascension alone could be said to demonstrate unbelievable talent.
Yet, Lee Seong-jun's attack method just now was clearly ki manipulation.
'As if fist techniques and sword techniques weren't enough, he even handles ki manipulation at the realm of ascension?'
Choi Seung-tae's shock and surprise grew at Lee Seong-jun's martial prowess, whose limits seemed unknowable.
However, before long, Choi Seung-tae shook his head from side to side.
'...It's an impossible thing.'
He had never even heard of a martial artist who had cultivated three paths, three martial arts.
Then there was only one answer.
'He must be acting to gain the upper hand.'
There's no way he could have properly cultivated ki manipulation.
At best, he could probably only shoot out energy bullets like just now.
Of course, even this alone could be said to demonstrate truly monstrous talent.
But it wasn't a variable they couldn't handle.
'The damage might be greater than I thought, but we should be able to hold out for about 10 minutes.'
Having finished his mental calculations, Choi Seung-tae urgently raised his voice.
"You bastards, what are you standing there gawking for?! Don't give him a chance to attack, push forward!"
At Choi Seung-tae's shout, it was the moment when the executives who had been standing awkwardly gathered their wits.
'Blood Flower Sky Opening, Full Bloom.'
Lee Seong-jun, who had shaped a red sphere in the air as he stretched out his hand, lightly flicked his fingers.
The blood flower bud that had been gathered into a round sphere bloomed fully like a spring flower, then radiated petals in all directions.
Whoosh-!
In the main conference room, which could by no means be called spacious, there was no way there could be space to avoid the flower petals spreading in all directions.
The fully bloomed red petals traced trajectories, piercing through the bodies of the executives.
"Kuuuugh-!"
"Kyaaaaargh!"
Hot blood gushed from the wounds of the executives crying out in pain, soaking the floor.
The white marble floor was instantly dyed red with blood forming rivers, and naturally, mouths and noses were filled with the pungent smell of blood.
A world dyed red with blood, the scene visible was truly like hell.
It was when despair was filling Choi Seung-tae's eyes at the sight of a world where all that could be seen was death incarnate.
The red-eyed Asura, who could be called the lord of this hell, slowly began to move his steps.