The Returner Chapter 371

(TL: My bad, the chapter isn't edited. You may find spelling mistakes and grammar faux pas here and there. Do forgive me.)

"W-what should we do?" (Jo Ji-Woong)

Jo Ji-Woong's complexion was paler than a sheet of paper as he asked Yi Ji-Hyuk. Others only thought of this situation as being quite serious, but he was a currently-serving member of the KSF and knew how much worse it actually was.

A human's frail body would be ripped to tiny little shreds after getting swept up in the incoming waves of monsters. No, forget about tiny shreds - it'd be a miracle if some of them even remained afterwards.

"Ji-Hyuk." (Jo Ji-Woong)

And so, the only person Jo Ji-Woong could cling onto was Yi Ji-Hyuk. It was far too late to evacuate at this point. The moment he stepped outside the venue, he'd end up becoming a target.

‘But, even if it's Yi Ji-Hyuk….' (Jo Ji-Woong)

Could he pull it off?

That number of monsters wasn't something a single KSF branch could deal with. At the very least, over five branches would have to mobilise every single personnel on their payroll to construct a dragnet, and then request the defence command to perform air raids.

And if he was being brutally honest…

‘Even then, I'm not so sure.' (Jo Ji-Woong)

Jo Ji-Woong had never ever seen nor heard about an occasion when that many monsters appeared all at once.

‘If we can somehow get the NDF to support us….' (Jo Ji-Woong)

Thankfully, there were two NDF agents currently present, so he was hoping to receive speedy assistance from the organization. As long as he did his best to assist Yi Ji-Hyuk and defend this place until then….

Jo Ji-Woong had made up his mind by then and he turned towards Yi Ji-Hyuk, only to discover something rather odd.

Gulp, gulp.

Completely not caring whether the monsters were coming or not, Yi Ji-Hyuk was back in his chair, emptying a cup of cola in one go before grandly burping out.

Jeong Hae-Min watching on from the sideline opened her mouth.

"What should we do? Run?" (Jeong Hae-Min)

"Well, that's also not a bad idea, but…" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk licked his lips.

"Can't we just let the others handle this? If I call Dah-Hyun and tell him that Dah-Som is drinking alcohol here, he might show up in three seconds or less, you know?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"No, it's not like they are playing around in the office, is it? They must be really busy right now…. Still, they wouldn't know you're here, so at the very least they should mobilise…." (Jeong Hae-Min)

It was right then - no one could tell just when she even started it, but well, Doh Gah-Yun was already ending the phone call to someone.

"Report, complete." (Doh Gah-Yun)

"Eh?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Yi Ji-Hyuk, present in the incident location. Report, complete. Requested for halt in dispatch." (Doh Gah-Yun)

"…..Okay, so. You called Seo Ah-Young on the phone and told her that I'm here, is that it?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"That's… correct." (Doh Gah-Yun)

"…And what did she say?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Please take care of it." (Doh Gah-Yun)

"Urgh…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk roughly scratched his head.

"Why did you go and do something no one asked you?!" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Strange. Error in communication? My commander, not Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk. Following directives from Director Seo Ah-Young. Commanding authority during non-emergency situations, with Director Seo Ah-Young. Her commands, prioritised. Development of unexpected situations, reporting in, a priority." (Doh Gah-Yun)

"….Get away from me!!" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"My orders, surveillance on Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk. Can't comply with the get away request." (Doh Gah-Yun)

Yi Ji-Hyuk wordlessly stared at Doh Gah-Yun before turning his head over to Jeong Hae-Min.

"Hey, you know, that order? Don't you think she was given that order, like, all the way back in the beginning?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Looks that way." (Jeong Hae-Min)

"But, it still hasn't been updated yet or something?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Well, Ah-Young is…. Mm, how should I say this, when nicely put, she's got a manly personality that doesn't sweat over minor details, and when not so nicely put, she can be really brainless, right?" (Jeong Hae-Min)

"Mmmm." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk ended up nodding his head. For sure, that simple explanation made a whole lot of sense.

"Whatever the case may be, looks like you'll have to do some work now." (Jeong Hae-Min)

"….Still driving me like a slave and all." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Where's your conscience? Let's be honest, you've been doing nothing but sucking on your thumbs lately." (Jeong Hae-Min)

"What do you mean, sucking on my thumbs?! A firefighter not needing to work is a good thing, so you shouldn't denigrate that with such a demeaning euphemism! The accident not happening in the first place is the best for everyone." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Yes, yes." (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jo Ji-Woong became dazed for a moment there.

These two, don't they have eyes?

Couldn't they see all those monsters rushing towards this place?

"J-Ji-Hyuk!!" (Jo Ji-Woong)

Jo Ji-Woong urgently called out Yi Ji-Hyuk's name and walked in closer.

"Look, everyone is really scared right now." (Jo Ji-Woong)

"Ng?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk looked around him. His former classmates were all clearly panicking, their complexions deeply pale. They had finally realised that it was too late to evacuate from here.

Going outside would surely make them the targets of those monsters, but things wouldn't improve just because they stayed put inside the building. They could see the monsters breaking into various structures from where they were.

"Ji-Hyuk!"

Beginning with Choi Seon-Mi and Min Ye-Jeong, all the other females hurriedly rushed towards Yi Ji-Hyuk.

"Y-you can do something about them, right? We, we won't die here today, right??"

"Hah…" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk spat out a long sigh.

"Guys. A human life is not that easy to end as you fear. Even if you wanna die, it's not that simple." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

He was sure of this, since he was talking from experience.

"But, but, all those monsters are coming this way."

"Eh-whew." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk spat out another sigh.

But then again, it'd be too much of an ask for anyone to keep their cool after seeing that many monsters flooding in this direction. These folks were normal, powerless civilians, after all. Unlike him or his peers, they couldn't even deal with a single goblin.

"Stop being like this, and please do something. We aren't the only people here, you know? I don't think the surroundings have been fully evacuated yet, so if you take even more time, more people will die." (Jeong Hae-Min)

"Yes, ma'am." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk grunted loudly as he stood up from his chair. Although it was annoying, Jeong Hae-Min wasn't wrong there.

Considering the time gap between the evacuation order being issued and the monsters showing up, it was only obvious that the area hadn't been fully evacuated as of yet. In that case, the waves of monsters had to be stopped here.

"Oopsie." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk lightly waved his hand in the air.

A black Gate suddenly opened outside the venue, and Oh-Sik leapt out from there.

"N-ng?!"

Since a strange black hole suddenly materialised out of thin air, his classmates were waiting with bated breaths to see what would happen next, but then, their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when a tiny little puppy showed up, instead.

What was the meaning of this? Was he joking around?

However, Yi Ji-Hyuk didn't need to provide an explanation whatsoever. Because, a black tentacle shot out from his hand and it looked as if Oh-Sik's body was cleanly penetrated by it. Then, the tiny puppy's body instantly ballooned up into an over-five-metres-tall physique of a massive Ogre. That's why.

"…Wha, what's that??"

Kuroooooaaaaar-!!!

Oh-Sik regaining its Ogre's silhouette performed a loud ‘Howling'. No, rather than a regular ‘Howling', now it was much closer to ‘Fear', instead.

All the monsters hearing that frightening roar came to a screeching halt and focused their attention on Oh-Sik.

‘They stopped?'

Classmates watching on stared at the frozen monsters in disbelief. All those scary creatures violently flooding in all stopped still as if they had made a prior agreement or some such.

How could such a thing even be possible?

Krrrrreuk….

Oh-Sik bared his vicious, violent nature, and started threatening other monsters with a guttural growl.

"Is, is that THE Ogre?" (Jo Ji-Woong)

It was already a famous story within the KSF that Yi Ji-Hyuk controlled an Ogre. Far too many people had witnessed it, after all.

Heck, there were witnesses present when he captured the poor creature, so why even waste time disputing it?

Even then, Jo Ji-Woong could hardly believe his own eyes witnessing this spectacle.

"But, is that really an Ogre??" (Jo Ji-Woong)

He had already participated in a fair number of operations so far as a proud member of the KSF.

Only about half a year ago, an Ogre was classified as a super-boss level monster threat that no regular ability users could deal with. But now, it was treated as any other monster that showed up with the frequency of at least once a month these days.

Even if that was the case, Jo Ji-Woong could swear upon his heart that he had never ever seen nor heard about an Ogre like this one. Just from its physique alone, it must be at least double the size of a regular Ogre.

Not just that, but the crimson fur reminiscent of burning flames and its looks many times more dignified than any of its ilk - there was just no way that this guy was a regular Ogre at all.

‘Doesn't it look at least ten times stronger?' (Jo Ji-Woong)

Of course, it was foolish to determine a monster's strength by its exterior, but even after considering that, Jo Ji-Woong couldn't help but feel that Yi Ji-Hyuk's Ogre was many times stronger than regular Ogres.

First of all, it was double the size, and with its roar alone, it managed to tie up all those monsters previously rushing towards this place.

That was not something a regular Ogre could do.

Yi Ji-Hyuk shifted his gaze over to Jeong Hae-Min and spoke.

"Hey." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Ng?" (Jeong Hae-Min)

"Monsters showing up here like this, it means that the Gate's been fully opened up, right?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"N-ng, I guess so?" (Jeong Hae-Min)

"In that case, check out what happened to the defence command and the KSF people defending there." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"….Ng." (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min's expression became just a little flustered. She hadn't thought about that.

‘He's surprisingly thoughtful in things like this, you know.' (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min looked back and discovered Doh Gah-Yun already calling someone on the phone.

"Swift retreat, after the collapse of the defensive line. Some losses incurred, but not serious enough to warrant anxiety." (Doh Gah-Yun)

Yi Ji-Hyuk furrowed his brows.

‘Retreating from the defensive line?' (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Of course he could easily tell that the number of monsters far exceeding one's expectation came flooding out from a single Gate simply by taking one look at the current situation.

But then, his nerves were pricked after hearing that the KSF people managed to retreat without incurring any major losses when knowing that powerless civilians were behind them.

"What about the defence command?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"….Currently regrouping, after experiencing extensive losses." (Doh Gah-Yun)

Yi Ji-Hyuk's eyes narrowed to fine slits.

"Okay, so… they didn't give a rat's a*s about their allies or civilians and hurriedly high-tailed outta there to save their hides? Is that it?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"……."

Even Doh Gah-Yun had nothing to say.

Surely, no one would be able to answer his pointed question right now.

"They really know how to live it up, don't they?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk didn't want to criticise the KSF. Nothing was more important to a human being than one's own life, after all. So, ordering them to sacrifice their lives for the sake of complete strangers was a display of worst dictatorship imaginable.

If it was them voluntarily stepping forward, sure. But systematically demanding such a sacrifice was not a right thing to do. So, they should be commended for their efforts, pulling out from the danger zone without too much losses, but….

‘It still doesn't sit well with me.' (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

The recent actions of the KSF seemed to indicate that they were heading in the opposite direction to his expectations.

"Okay, for now, I got it." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk's eyes remained narrowed.

Whatever the case might have been - the monsters before his eyes had inflicted untold amount of losses to the defence command before showing up here.

"In that case, I won't be holding back, then." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

A dog that bit humans would be put down. That was common sense. And that wouldn't change because he was dealing with monsters, not dogs.

"Okay, then. I'll be right back." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk walked over to the door and opened it, while Jeong Hae-Min was waving her hand to bid him goodbye.

"Be careful during your fight, okay?" (Jeong Hae-Min)

"Urgh." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Just before he got out through the door, Kim Dah-Som trotted towards him and grabbed his hand and whispered softly.

"You mustn't get hurt, okay?" (Kim Dah-Som)

"….Got it." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Doh Gah-Yun looked at them with a slightly unimpressed pair of eyes before sticking very close to his back to step outside as well.

Seon-Mi asked Jeong Hae-Min.

"Aren't you also in the NDF?" (Seon-Mi)

"Yes, I am." (Jeong Hae-Min)

"In that case, why aren't you going with them?" (Seon-Mi)

"Oh. I'm in the support division, you see. Even if I went with them, I won't be able to do much, anyway." (Jeong Hae-Min)

"….I see." (Seon-Mi)

"Cheering him on from here will give Ji-Hyuk the boost he needs." (Jeong Hae-Min)

"Are you a mascot or something?" (Seon-Mi)

Or should it be a cheerleader?

Jeong Hae-Min completely disregarded Choi Seon-Mi's unimpressed glare and instead chose to shout loudly at Yi Ji-Hyuk outside the windows, currently walking towards the monsters.

"Make sure civilians don't get caught in the middle!" (Jeong Hae-Min)

Roooooaaaar-!!

"Argh, too noisy!" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Oh-Sik roaring out an explosive howl flinched from Yi Ji-Hyuk's yell and hurriedly cowered before him.

"Tsk. Why the hell did it have to be today, of all days?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

If it was any other day, he could've left this matter to someone else then take it easy for a while. Too bad, though, he was off-duty today and everyone else was just too d*mn busy to come. That meant he had to take care of it himself.

"Okay, then…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk raised both of his hands up in the air.

"Humans are scheduled to experience yet another tragedy of same-species killing today, so you lot should also join in the proceedings, don't you agree?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Three pitch-black Gates were generated in the air his hands were pointing at.

< 371. That's also not a bad idea -1 > Fin.

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Chapter end