Chapter 115
Thud. Thud.
They couldn't even hold out for 1 minute, let alone 10.
The judgment about Lee Seong-jun made earlier was just Choi Seung-tae's own delusion.
'G-Good heavens, he's even mastered ki manipulation to the level of ascension?'
Choi Seung-tae, looking at the hellish scene, couldn't close his gaping mouth.
Even the core executives of the World Returnee Alliance couldn't handle power so diversely.
A martial artist who handles not only fist techniques and sword techniques, but even ki manipulation at the ascension level of flower realm.
'Even at the flower realm... can he still grow much further?'
Usually, masters at high levels can easily handle martial arts of relatively lower levels.
In other words, Lee Seong-jun, who freely handles three ascension-level martial arts, was a martial artist who had reached a level even higher than the flower realm.
At the overwhelming difference in power that he couldn't even dare to challenge, instinctive fear deeply ingrained in his heart began to rise.
'This is dangerous.'
If such a monstrous being were to finish growing...
How strong would he be?
How high a level could he reach?
Could mentioning the World Returnee Alliance as his backing threaten Lee Seong-jun?
He couldn't resolve the preceding questions that were beyond imagination.
However, he could quickly answer the last question, as it was too easy to calculate.
'Impossible.'
There was no way to stop Lee Seong-jun's rough course of action.
"D-Don't come!"
As death slowly approached, Choi Seung-tae's pants became wet.
Feeling indescribable fear, Choi Seung-tae desperately tried to widen the distance from Lee Seong-jun, dragging his buttocks.
"I said don't come!"
The power of the World Returnee Alliance, which he had believed without doubt to be the strongest backing, became useless.
In Choi Seung-tae's delusion, Lee Seong-jun's power had already surpassed the World Returnee Alliance.
Tears of fear flowed down his cheeks.
Regret washed over him for his foolish choice.
But he couldn't give up on life here.
'I want to live, I must survive.'
The survival instinct ingrained in human nature arose.
Using force or power to pressure, the methods used so far could never stop Lee Seong-jun.
However, there was still a way.
"P-Please, I have a family at home, I only did this because I wanted to make my lovely daughter and wife happy. I'll never do such a foolish thing again... Please spare my life for the sake of my family. If I die, my daughter and wife will become unhappy."
Of course, it was a blatant lie.
Choi Seung-tae had no family.
To be precise, after returning to Earth, he had abandoned his family with his own hands.
He was just one of the common returnees busy indulging in pleasure and luxury in red-light districts every night.
He just made up fictional family members to dig into the fact that Lee Seong-jun cherished his family and evoke sympathy.
It could be considered a good judgment, but unfortunately, Choi Seung-tae had overlooked one thing.
Lee Seong-jun never leaves loose ends.
"Every action has consequences. If you tried to kill someone, you should have been prepared to die."
Lee Seong-jun said calmly, lowering his gaze and reaching out his hand towards the terrified Choi Seung-tae.
Grasp.
As Lee Seong-jun's wide-spread palm grasped his head, Choi Seung-tae's eyes bulged.
"Kuuugh..."
A terrible and frightening power that invaded his mind began to ravage his brain at will.
A dizzying pain he had never felt before struck his entire body, and his brain felt like it would burst at any moment.
He wanted to shake off Lee Seong-jun's hand, but his body wouldn't move as he wished.
All Choi Seung-tae could do now was let out a low groan.
"Uh... ugh."
The view reflected in his eyes gradually faded to black.
At the same time, Choi Seung-tae's consciousness sank into a deep abyss.
* * *
After dealing with the executives of the Returnee Alliance.
When Lee Seong-jun returned home, he felt somewhat bewildered to see his family going about their daily lives as usual.
"You're back?"
"You're a bit late today."
"Nothing happened, right?"
Even though there had been no damage, he thought they would have been collecting themselves after the commotion, but his parents looked too calm in his view.
His younger sister, Lee Seo-yoon, was also watching TV in the living room with her usual expression, without any particular worry.
It was as if nothing had happened.
"Are you all... okay?"
At Lee Seong-jun's question, Kim Ji-young tilted her head.
"What do you mean?"
"On the way home... didn't anything surprising happen?"
It was quite a specific question, but Kim Ji-young's face was still full of confusion.
"Surprising? Nothing different from usual except some black cats clinging around and being affectionate."
"That's a relief..."
Lee Seong-jun nodded, understanding the situation.
'It seems Bihyeong did even better than I thought.'
He had cleaned up so neatly that the family didn't even notice.
Indeed, the techniques of Bihyeong, the Heart Extinction Demon, were equipped with excellent abilities.
Despite handling things in the way he had always wanted, he, Lee Seong-jun, had shown his concern.
Naturally, Kim Ji-young's eyes narrowed.
"Did something happen?"
They were parents who had been together literally all his life, from childhood he couldn't even remember until now, always watching over him with loving eyes.
They knew not only his facial expressions but also the habits embedded in each of his gestures.
There was no way a clumsy lie would work.
"It was nothing, just someone who came suddenly and did business on their own, so I asked in case they had visited you or dad too."
He compressed today's story by including some appropriate truths.
Of course, there were more stories if we went into specifics, but he just glossed over it, not wanting to create unnecessary worries for his parents.
However, as mentioned earlier, both were quite perceptive.
In fact, the eyes of Lee Soo-hyuk and Kim Ji-young, who were staring at Lee Seong-jun, changed slightly, as if they had noticed something.
However, they didn't dig into or probe Lee Seong-jun's lie.
"Ahem, ahem, it's good that nothing happened, you're not hurt anywhere, right?"
Lee Soo-hyuk, who subtly offered words of comfort, cleared his throat and carefully looked over Lee Seong-jun's body.
At that worried gaze, Lee Seong-jun opened his mouth with the brightest smile he could manage.
"Hurt? You know I'm super strong."
He was a hunter, and not just any hunter, but a powerhouse at the ranker level.
No, it wasn't just direct force.
Now, Lee Seong-jun was a very reliable son.
But because he was their child, their son, they couldn't completely let go of their worries.
They wanted to always protect and embrace him from any potential accidents.
It was an inevitable parental feeling.
Of course, they had no intention of meddling or commenting unnecessarily under the guise of concern.
What they could do as parents was just to be considerate, allowing him to rest comfortably without any worries, as usual.
"Have you eaten dinner?"
"Not yet."
"You must be very hungry, go wash up and I'll prepare the meal."
Kim Ji-young, with a smiling eye, immediately moved to the kitchen.
The regular sound of chopping echoed in his ears, and the delicious smell stimulated his appetite.
As the fact that he had arrived home began to sink in clearly, a corner of his heart warmed along with a sense of coziness.
And so, Lee Seong-jun returned to his original daily life.
* * *
Ko Tae-hyun, currently the vice president and de facto power of the Korean Hunter Association, walks down the corridor with a worried expression.
Considering that he had always shown a smiling face recently, it could be said to be a completely opposite appearance.
The place where Ko Tae-hyun, with such an uncharacteristically dark expression, stopped his steps was in front of a wooden door that exuded luxury.
"Ahem, ahem."
Ko Tae-hyun, who lightly cleared his throat, gently adjusted his clothes.
He had to, because the person in this room now was the current head of state of the Republic of Korea.
This meant that the room he was about to enter was where the President conducted his duties.
Even Ko Tae-hyun, the vice president of the Hunter Association, had to act cautiously.
It was the moment when Ko Tae-hyun, having finished checking himself, carefully knocked on the door in front of him.
"Come in."
"Yes."
Ko Tae-hyun, who briefly answered the calm voice, pulled the doorknob.
Entering the room, he saw two phoenixes decorating the wide desk, and a nameplate with Mugunghwa flowers blooming.
Beyond that, an old man leaning back in his chair was visible.
President Do Min-jun.
He was a person who could be said to have the greatest power in the Republic of Korea currently.
"You came earlier than I thought. Sit down first."
Do Min-jun, lifting the horn-rimmed glasses he was wearing, stood up from his seat and moved to the nearby sofa.
Naturally following him and sitting on the sofa, Ko Tae-hyun opened his mouth with a stiff expression.
"I'm sorry... Yesterday's incident was all due to my negligence."
In the middle of the night, a tremendous incident that could shake the Republic of Korea occurred.
Major figures of the Returnee Alliance, including Chief of Staff Kim Ki-young, Mumunju Choi Seung-tae, and Knight Commander Han Sung-jin, all suffered severe injuries to the point of impossible recovery.
This alone could be called a tremendous incident, but it was just the tip of the iceberg.
'...All the injured executives of the alliance have fallen into a state of invalids.'
It meant that the Korean Returnee Alliance, one of the representative forces of the Republic of Korea, had collapsed overnight.
Thanks to Ko Tae-hyun's best preparations after receiving the news in advance, he prevented the incident from spreading to the outside immediately, but it was literally just a temporary measure.
As people begin to question the sudden silence of the Returnee Alliance, the truth will eventually come to light.
"I will accept any disciplinary action gladly, but I would like you to take measures to minimize any harm to Hunter Lee Seong-jun."
Asking to protect the person who caused the incident, it was truly an unreasonable request.
However, Hunter Lee Seong-jun was a person with the ability to make such an unreasonable request.
'The fall of Hunter Lee Seong-jun means the fall of Korea...'
Currently, Hunter Lee Seong-jun was a person who could be said to be the future of Korea.
For the sake of Korea's bright future, he must be protected at all costs.
Strong determination filled Ko Tae-hyun's eyes.
"...I beg you."
Ko Tae-hyun, bowing his head, prepared appropriate answers in his mind, anticipating Do Min-jun's reproaches to follow.
But it was an unnecessary action.
The words that flowed from Do Min-jun's mouth were completely different from what he had expected.
"Disciplinary action... Don't say such nonsense."
A hollow laugh flowed from Do Min-jun's mouth as he shook his head.
"If we discipline you, who on earth are we supposed to assign work to?"
"But..."
Do Min-jun cut off Ko Tae-hyun's words sharply.
"Let me ask you one thing, how many people do you think can erase the Korean Returnee Alliance in a single night?"
At Do Min-jun's following question, Ko Tae-hyun couldn't easily open his mouth.
That's because bringing down the Korean Returnee Alliance wasn't something that could be done just by having power alone.
It required bold yet decisive action, and tremendous self-confidence as well.
How could one easily think of a person who could show such an unrestrained course of action?
"Hunter Lee Seong-jun is literally a genius, an outstanding individual who can't be predicted even with the common sense and knowledge we know, as well as the experiences accumulated over the years."