The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

Chapter 156 : Bloodline of a God (1)

Bloodline of a God (1)The world reacted intensely to the catastrophe that suddenly occurred at Hand.

A mysterious rift opened in the sky, and monsters poured out in droves.

Of all places, it happened while a popular entertainment show was being filmed at Hand, so a large crowd had been gathered at the time.

As even some fairly famous celebrities were caught up in it, everyone was bound to take an interest.

ㄴWhat happened to our unnis and oppas?

ㄴDid they die, really?

ㄴNo, no—fortunately, they're still alive.

ㄴI was there at the scene too. I honestly thought I was going to die. Starting today, I'm a fan of Angel guild.

ㄴWhat about Masked Singer? Are they all alive?

ㄴYeah, all safe and sound.

ㄴBut Cha Eunju is in the hospital right now.

ㄴCha Eunju from Unity Girls? Did the monsters attack her?

ㄴHonestly, I don't know exactly. Anyway, I'm just glad she's alive.

Fortunately, the celebrities who were staying at Hand were unharmed.

Although one person was lying in the hospital, everyone was said to be out of life-threatening danger.

And even more astonishing... not a single person had died because of the monsters.

ㄴIs it true there were no casualties?

ㄴDon't be surprised. Nearly nobody died.

ㄴHow does that make sense? Is there an error in the tally?

ㄴNot a joke.

ㄴIt was actually plausible. As soon as the monsters came flooding out, the hunters swarmed out, too.

ㄴWere you really there?

ㄴYeah, I was. They burst out as if they had been waiting for this to happen.

ㄴHonestly, since it's run by an international organization, that's the least they should be able to do.

What amazed people the most in this crisis was precisely the lack of casualties.

There were plenty of injured, but not a single death.

However, certain people with a broader perspective accepted this as reasonable.

After all, Hand is an institution for cultivating outstanding awakeners, and there are countless excellent faculty members.

On top of that, a significant number of security robots had been deployed, making its defenses practically perfect.

ㄴBesides, even Angel guild and Hwasan guild were standing by there.

ㄴSeriously, what is this? Was it all a staged event or something?

ㄴAnyway, the response was so quick there wasn't a single scene of ordinary people being torn apart by monsters.

The exact nature of the rift has yet to be revealed.

It looked as if they were hiding something about it, but their defenses left nothing to criticize.

Thanks to this, good reviews were dominating when it came to Hand.

However...

ㄴHow can you say there were no casualties? Haven't you seen this video?

The zero casualty figure being discussed only referred to deaths at the hands of monsters.

The number of people killed or injured by other humans was not zero.

Of course, it wasn't a large number, but it was enough to catch people's eyes.

Still, it couldn't be said that the casualties were entirely Hand's responsibility.

ㄴDamn, this is disgusting no matter how many times I watch.

ㄴWhat did that mother and daughter do to deserve this...?

ㄴIs it even okay to upload this without mosaic? They'll automatically delete it later anyway.

The video showed a mother and daughter being assisted by a security robot.

Just as they were being directed to the evacuation route... a woman suddenly appeared and shoved the robot away.

Then she grabbed the mother and daughter and threw them to the monsters chasing from behind.

And that wasn't the only atrocity committed by this woman.

ㄴThere was more, right? The girl in her underwear.

ㄴUgh... just thinking about it makes me angry.

ㄴAre they even human?

Underwear Mask, who had suddenly appeared on Masked Singer and moved people's hearts.

But, like the mother and daughter, that girl ended up as a sacrifice.

Everyone was united in condemning that woman.

ㄴHow could someone throw a kid like that to be monster food?

ㄴAi Hun XX is trash. Hope I never see her face again.

ㄴSo all those tears at the airport were fake, huh.

ㄴShe was just acting. Babbling about doing something for the victims—how sickening.

ㄴExactly. She was the one who sacrificed them.

ㄴLet's execute her immediately. It's blowing up overseas, too.

ㄴLet's kill, just kill her.

The fact that she was already dead was unknown to the world.

Even if it did get revealed, no one would be on her side.

And the arrows of blame were not pointed at Ai Hoon alone.

That was because it had been revealed who had caused the Hand rift incident.

ㄴWhat even is the Sura guild? That's not a guild, that's a mafia.

ㄴThey were originally rooted in organized crime. Never to be trusted from the start.

ㄴLet's use this as a chance to wipe them out. We can't just leave them alone anymore.

ㄴCome to think of it, didn't Ai Hoon summon monsters from her arm?

ㄴWasn't it all that bastard's doing?

ㄴRight, no wonder their actions felt psychotic.

With the failure of their plan and exposure of their crimes, Sura guild could not escape responsibility.

****

At the headquarters of The World, built on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean.

In a large underground space there, Jay Hoon, the Master of Sura guild, was seated.

Normally, he was not one to recklessly appear in places like this, as his identity was not public.

But this time, he had no choice but to come because of the incident at Hand.

'Damn it, how did I end up in a place like this...'

Jay Hoon, wearing his mask, was full of anxiety.

The Sura guild, which believed and followed him, was the strongest guild in China.

With the power to sway a continent, it was considered one of the world's major hunter guilds.

So no matter what evil they committed, they could usually bury it on the surface.

But now, the worst ordeal had struck the Sura guild.

'The malicious public opinion pouring down from all over the world, I can handle that. I'm used to any kind of accusations by now.'

Public opinion, as it had always been, would eventually fade with time.

But this time there was no sign of it fading easily.

That was because the magnitude of what had been done this time was beyond imagination compared to the past.

'But the real problem is... the guild's manpower has dwindled.'

In reality, all the hunters sent to Hand's Underworld Formation operation had either disappeared or were presumed dead.

Jin Rain and a handful of top executives and military unit members.

Even Ji Ryong-seong, called the strongest top executive, was missing.

Just the loss of two top executives was enough to blow his mind.

Especially because one of them was Ji Ryong-seong—it made things even worse.

More than half the guild members had been wiped out, and with two top executives gone, the internal situation was an utter mess.

'There isn't anyone who can fill the shoes of those two.'

Everyone was volunteering to replace them, practically pulling off their shoes to step forward.

But after Jay Hoon personally reviewed them, none seemed suitable.

He could perhaps fudge someone into his own spot, but no one could replace Ji Ryong-seong.

'If things keep on like this...'

A massive loss of fighters.

This meant they were opening themselves up to surprise attacks from rival groups.

The international cult Holy Church—that bunch was formidable, too.

So far, Sura guild's ability to easily bury bad publicity was due to the positive perception they received for keeping the Holy Church in check.

Sura guild was simply facing a troublesome adversary, but to outsiders, it looked like a group fighting against a cult.

So, unintentionally, they received a favorable reputation.

But this incident had ended even that.

'Damn...'

More than anything, he had lost his only daughter to this crisis.

Currently, his daughter was under fire worldwide, with people demanding her execution.

Jay Hoon himself had no idea what had really happened to his daughter.

He was merely praying for her safety when officials from The World entered the room.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting. There was a lot to take care of."

A huge man entered, taking a seat across from Jay Hoon.

He had the skin tone of a black man one might see in America, but not a single hair on his bald head.

This was Orc Blake, known as the Principal of The World.

"Looks like you had a lot on your mind while waiting."

Then, Raven Holbat—Chairman of Hand and The World's second-in-command—entered.

He took a seat next to Orc, wearing a casually indifferent expression.

'What's this?'

Jay Hoon found it strange.

He was the leader of the group that had tried to destroy their academy.

Jay Hoon had come prepared, expecting them to be aggressive from the start.

But strangely, the mood felt nothing like that.

"Let's not be too menacing. The more I see, the more I just feel sorry for him."

At that moment, a woman appeared beside Raven.

She had black hair and red eyes; Jay Hoon knew her well.

With a smile that contrasted her ominous appearance, she spoke.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Amelda Merlin, an executive of The World. You know why you came here, right, guildmaster Jay Hoon?"

"... Yes."

Jay Hoon responded weakly, looking as if he'd been dragged here, though that was only half true.

It was true that pressure had been put on him to take responsibility for the incident, but for his own reasons, there was no alternative but to come.

"I can pretty much guess why you obediently answered our summons."

"..."

"You came to beg, didn't you?"

Orc saw right through Jay Hoon's intentions.

It was so accurate Jay Hoon couldn't say anything in response.

"I can imagine how you feel. There's simply no other way in the current situation."

"..."

"Of course, we have no intention of erasing Sura guild. For now, we plan to let you live."

At Orc's words, Jay Hoon felt a little relieved.

At least, he could see the Sura guild wouldn't be wiped out.

"But we can't just overlook the harm caused to our Hand."

"..."

"I have a proposal for you."

Raven extended his hand slightly as he spoke.

"How about placing Sura guild under The World from now on?"

"What?"

"Just as I said. Sura guild will now be one with The World."

Upon hearing those words, Jay Hoon's masked face twitched.

It was a blessing amid disaster that Sura guild wouldn't vanish, but being absorbed by The World would bring even bigger issues.

Given the true nature of The World, Sura guild's goals would never be realized.

"Th-that's..."

"Is there any other way? Originally, we were thinking of crushing Sura guild altogether as punishment for this incident."

"...."

As expected, Jay Hoon clamped his mouth shut.

The three leaders of The World waited, generously giving him time.

"Well, it's understandable if you hesitate. Growing up under the protection of the so-called guardian deity, you wouldn't be used to handling a crisis rationally."

"What did you say?"

Jay Hoon's eyes wavered at the Principal Orc's words.

Those words confirmed the fear Jay Hoon had been wondering about in his head.

"So you do know..."

"We've been quite curious about who the Sura Guildmaster actually is. Since you never revealed your face, no one could check."

"...."

"But seeing you here like this, I really don't have to see your face to know."

With certainty settled on his face, orc smiled.

"A fool who inherited the blood of the guardian deity but abandoned his parents and ran away. No wonder you were nowhere to be seen during the empire's great war."

"...."

"You ran here, didn't you, Jade?"

The more he heard, the more Jay Hoon's breathing grew ragged.

Feeling as if a dagger had been stabbed in his chest, he finally took off his mask.

Behind it, his face was twisted in fear and rage.

"If you know who I am, then you should know this as well, right?"

"...."

"You... can't touch me. Isn't that so?"

No attack could ever harm a guardian deity.

The blessing surrounding their bodies made them invincible.

Even the best experts from Mewzealand couldn't inflict a scratch on a guardian deity.

Naturally, their child, Jade, inherited that blessing as well.

"True, we can't hurt a hair on you. But what if it was The One?"

"The One...?"

At Raven's words, Jade's back tingled with a chill.

Jade knew very well who they meant by "The One".

The demon known as the Demon King, who had slaughtered Jade's own guardian deity parents.

Whenever that demon appeared in dreams, Jade always woke up in a cold sweat.

"No way...!"

Just as several ominous thoughts flashed through Jade's head—

"Hey! How have you been?"

A boy in a school uniform suddenly appeared behind Jade.