97. Should Have Not Met

After the commander finished talking with Ho Jin, he took up his phone to command Lee Sang-Ho and the other 2 magician rankers to head for the portal in Yangpyeong.

The call reported a dire situation.

The portal explosions affected a ma.s.sive area.

They were defended against, but it was at the cost of many casualties.

On top of that, most of the Awakened magicians had expended their mana.

There was a way for the healer cla.s.s to recharge the magicians' mana by transferring their own.

However, they could only transfer up to their mana pool.

Thus, this meant that there was a limit as to how much mana they could transfer.

Hearing this, the commander's expression didn't look well.

That was to be expected, as the monsters they were currently dealing with were on another level altogether.

On top of that, the portal explosions occurred at 11 separate locations.

Most of those from the guild are summoned against their will to the scene.

However, since the nation was in a crisis, they volunteered willingly. Only due to their efforts was the situation contained at this level.

The call ended, but the commander kept staring at the smartphone.

The entire status of the nation was being reported to him, piece by piece.

Letting out a big sigh, he spoke.

"Ha…. What a dire situation….."

"So the situation over there isn't so good."

"That's right. I think I'll have to make the call."

"What do you mean…."

"The forces that headed out to Yangpyeong have taken too many casualties. However, it is true that the damage in Busan is far worse. Many innocent civilians are being butchered."

"….."

"I did make the call for them to go….. However, it looks like I could lose the lives that I hold so dear to me."

"What will you do? After stopping the portal in Changwon, he's heading to Yangpyeong….."

"It seems that he'll have to go to Busan as well."

"Huh?"

"Look at this. What you predicted wasn't wrong."

The commander put the phone screen up to Ho Jin's face.

The t.i.tle read 'Portal Explosion Scene of Gamman-dong Busan'.

Busan was currently a location where drone or Awakened would go missing if they were sent there.

That's why no one knew of the situation until now.

Scrolling down the screen, Ho Jin saw pictures and data.

The portal exploded at Gamman-dong, moved through Dong-gu, and now was at Jung-gu.

Everything was being destroyed without discrimination by the monsters.

Ma.s.sive loss of human life followed.

When the screen scrolled to the bottom of the page, there was a single low resolution picture that looked as though it was taken far away that caught Ho Jin's eyes.

There was a single person's form.

Looking at that, Ho Jin was surprised as he spoke.

"Is that…. This man is…."

"That's right. This man is probably the overboss of the radical faction."

"The one that Mr. Min-Cheol mentioned, Zekill."

With the portal at his back, he looked upon the monsters.

That was Zekill.

Receiving the phone back from Ho Jin, the commander spoke in a very low raspy voice.

"Aging is a cruel thing. I am still running with heavy burdens on my shoulders because of my greed. But it's not really a burden because I'm doing it due to my own desires…."

Ho Jin had been looking at him for 20 years, but this was the first time that he saw him open up like this.

He always encouraged and raised the morale of those around him.

However, he had become the symbol of righteousness.

What form did that righteousness take to bring him pain, Ho Jin could only listen in silence.

"When…. I have to make decisions like this…. I feel enough pain and agony to make me regret the path that I have walked. The tale of my life that everyone who hears it considers it to be a shameless life."

"….."

"Sacrifices always follow my decisions. Each decision I make, many innocent people lose their lives."

"Commander, you can't help it….."

"Hey Ho Jin….. Everyone says the same thing. That it's a choice that can't be helped and it was the best call you could've made."

"….."

"However, now I'm afraid. Even if I'm consoled like so. Even if I try to make peace with myself. Now, I'm afraid."

"Commander….."

With weight in his voice, Yoon Jong-sun spoke.

He was looking at the sky.

The sky was clear and blue without a single speck of cloud, contrasting with the current gruesome situation.

His eyes were wet from the blinding sunlight.

He took a moment to organize his thoughts before speaking to Ho Jin once more.

It would mean that he made his decision.

"Head to Busan."

"….."

"Please request Min-Cheol and the man heading to Yangpyeong to head Busan instead."

"Yes… Understood, commander."

"Ah… The clear sky seems saddening. Alright, let us go. Time is short."

"Yes…"

-ring ring

"Dark Lady. Did you find something special to report."

"Is that you? The one called Zekill?"

Zekill, who had picked up the phone was speechless for awhile.

It seemed that he was trying to make sense of what was happening.

"….."

"Nice to meet you. I should've contacted you earlier, but it seems I'm a bit late?"

"Who are you…"

"Me? Well… What should I say… Ah! Joker and Ghost's friend. A very very close friend."

"Kuuu….. You!"

"Enough of that. Dark Lady is slowly dying right now. When are you coming?"

"Overconfident b.a.s.t.a.r.d. I'll rip your tongue out."

"How scary."

"….."

"I'll give you 10 minutes. Pulling tongues or whatever, just hurry up and meet with me."

"Dark Lady….. Turn the phone over to her."

"Now I feel like I'm the bad guy in a hostage situation."

Changing the phone to speaker mode, I brought it near Dark Lady.

Glancing towards me, she cautiously opened her mouth.

"Sir Ze… Zekill."

"Did you lose to him."

"I have no excuses."

"Worthless mongrel."

"….."

"I thought of you as a smart little dog…. But for you to end up like this. You're nothing but trash like the rest."

"Sir Zekill… What… What do you mean…."

"There is nothing more you can do. Die. Die while suffering pathetically at the hands of the strong!"

"….."

"That's the only choice left for the weak who cannot fight any longer. Kuhahaha!"

-click

"Glad to see trash flocking to one another."

"N….No way… Sir Zekill wouldn't…."

"What's his cla.s.s?"

"D… Don't know."

"Are you expecting me to believe that?"

"H-Honest! Please believe me!"

"Where do I have to chop off this time to get you to speak properly?"

"Ah! AHH! It's the truth. Please stop…. Just kill me!"

"Now, shall we review what we went over so far?"

"Ha….. Ha……."

"You said the one in Gapyeong is called Pierro? And he's the replacement for Joker as the leader of Joker's forces."

Dark Lady nodded her head weakly as her body had been battered into a mess.

"Zekill is in Busan?"

"T…That's right."

"But Zekill doesn't have any subordinates other than the leaders?"

"That's right. I've never seen or met any of them."

"You also have no idea how many cla.s.ses he has, what special ability he possesses, or anything else at all, even though you follow him as he is your master."

She answered as her body shrank in terror.

"I've never seen what skill or weapon he uses. The one thing I've seen is that he used his bare hands to beat up 4 leaders before."

"Hm…. So Zekill is causing a ruckus up there all on his own? He's overconfident, acting without any subordinates.

"……."

"Pierro and Zekill. Are they the rest of the radical faction? What about the ones that aren't Awakened, such as the head of the a.s.sociation Choi Man Seo?"

"All of our a.s.sociates are at my base, which isn't far from here."

"I'm guessing that even many of those in high rank will be present."

"….. That's right."

"Good. You were a lot more cooperative than I thought, so I was able to end it quickly. Thanks for your hard work."

"……"

"From now on, don't do bad things and live righteously."

“What? What you're saying is…. You're going to let me live…."

"Don't talk nonsense. You can't be left alive. You can reflect in the afterlife."

-slice!

Dark Lady died on the spot.

The information I've obtained from her wasn't that good.

I had more questions rather than answers regarding Zekill.

After that, as if waiting to see when this event would be over, a call came.

It was Ho Jin.

"Yes, Mister."

"Sir Min-Cheol. How did it go?"

"It's been taken care of. The portal has completely become a dungeon."

"Is that so. Thank you for your hard work."

"Not really. But I was able to reap quite the unexpected reward."

"Huh? What would that be?"

"I took down Dark Lady."

"What? Are you talking about one of the leaders of the radical faction, Dark Lady!"

"Yes. I'll tell you the details later. Now is not the time."

"….."

"Do not send any Awakened to Gapyeong."

"What do you mean?"

"It seems that the replacement for Joker by the name of Pierro is there. I'm not sure about his combat capabilities, but I'm sure it'll be dangerous."

"I see. Understood. I'll relay it to the commander. However…."

"Hm? Is there something wrong?"

"Currently I'm heading to Busan with the commander."

"I am thinking of going to Busan as well. I heard that Zekill is there. You're going there with the knowledge that he's there, right?"

"That's right. Did you find out through Dark Lady?"

"Yes, that's correct. I'll head there right away and call when I get there."

"I'll send a helicopter over."

"No, I'll just head there with Warp. I've been to Busan before."

"Then we'll get there as soon as possible after recovering Jong Ho. If you're worried, should we take your mother before moving?"

"No, mother should be okay. It's not like there are portal explosions near there. I'll call you later."

"Yes, I understand. See you."

"KUWWWEHHH!"

"KYAAAA!"

"KUWAAAA!"

"d.a.m.n. It's chaotic here."

It almost looked like a scene from a doc.u.mentary that informed the viewers of the horrors of war.

The city was destroyed and corpses were strewn about everywhere.

Only a few hours ago, this park would have been filled with laughter.

However, only ash and the stench of blood remained now.

A few monsters came into my view.

Destroying everything around them, they were all heading towards a single direction.

It was important to take down Zekill.

However, preventing further damage came first.

The helicopter that everyone was on would be arriving here soon.

Until then, I needed to take care of all the monsters so that I can be completely focused on fighting Zekill.

In one movement, I closed the gap between them and myself.

"KUWEHHHH!"

"……"

Many of its arms spread out it all directions.

Other than that and the head being split in half, it was a monster that looked identical to a person.

I stared at them silently, but there was rage boiling inside of me that I could not suppress.

Each of its many arms held a part of a human body.

Even as they moved rapidly, they were busily shoveling the human corpses into their maws.

Just a moment ago, I had slain 500 radical faction members.

They were human as well.

I know it's a huge double standard, but I was sure that it was different.

Magic resistance? Physical resistance? I didn't care for something so trivial.

The only thought that filled my head was that I had to butcher these monsters without refrain.

Holding tightly onto my Butcher's Sword, I ran towards them.

"Oraaaaa!"

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