The Returner

“Die!! Diiiieee!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Both Seo Ah-Young and Jeong Hae-Min spat out helpless sighs while bearing witness to that spectacle.

How could this scene be so… uncool? It was like they were looking at a mosquito buzzing around a person right now.

Yi Ji-Hyuk buzzing around in the air sure looked uncool, but the Cyclops unable to do anything to the annoying thing and constantly going "Wuu-uh, Wuu-uh" was just as uncool, as well.

At least, the Giant from the last time looked scary, but this…!

“Diiiieee!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Even the voice entering the ladies" ears didn"t sound all that nice, either.

“Why is he so uncool like this?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min uttered out, prompting Seo Ah-Young to nod her head along unconsciously.

Before Yi Ji-Hyuk"s appearance, when the American ability users were still enjoying their fame – those guys came across so cool and wonderful in their combat videos, but this was…

It wasn"t the fault of the camerawork. Indeed, those Americans looked great even when viewed from a far in a wide-angle shot.

So, how come this guy looked so lame?

“Is it because of his face?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Can you even see it right now?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Nope.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Even then, he looks so uncool, right? If you do take his face into consideration… Mm, well, getting closer will make it even worse, won"t it.” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“It"s a sad situation.” (Seo Ah-Young)

If only he had a nice face to look at – that would have covered up the lackl.u.s.tre action, but alas.

“Still, didn"t he look better when the black stuff came out from him? It kinda had that Dark Force charm to it, no?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“But, it was also revolting, too.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“That"s true, I guess.” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Indeed, one should ooze black stuff in moderation. He always flung away tentacles every freaking time. Who would look at that and think that"s cool?

Meanwhile, Yi Ji-Hyuk c.o.c.ked his shoulder back before firing a straight punch forward. The attack caused the huge body of the Cyclops to fly back as it became airborne.

“Hul.” (Seo Ah-Young)

Seo Ah-Young"s eyes opened up wider.

Would this be how one feels after seeing a person get blown away by a mosquito? The scene laid out before their eyes were so strange that….

“….This feels so wrong.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“M-mm.” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Just how should any of them go about describing this situation?

“In any case, it should end pretty soon.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“One shouldn"t be too relaxed, though.” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“No ways…. We"re talking about that Yi Ji-Hyuk, aren"t we?” (Seo Ah-Young)

Seo Ah-Young"s a.s.sertion prompted Jeong Hae-Min to narrow her eyes to a slit.

The leader of the NDF might outwardly look like someone who always complained, rebelled, and plotted on how to cause Yi Ji-Hyuk more grief, but truth be told, she trusted him implicitly when it came to resolving dangerous situations.

"She"s a weird kid herself, alright." (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min could only sigh in resignation at Seo Ah-Young and her unconcerned face observing Yi Ji-Hyuk"s antics. She knew that no agent affiliated with the NDF was considered normal in the head, but….

"How do I look in other people"s eyes, I wonder?" (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min grew fearful for some inexplicable reason.

“H-hey, Ah-Young-ah?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Ng, unni?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Do I come across, you know, strange to you?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“What do you mean?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Like, my personality, or…. Well, things like that.” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Seo Ah-Young replied with a bright smile.

“Why do you care about such a thing, anyway? We just have to live the way we look, don"t you think so? Don"t sweat over stuff like that.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“M-mm….” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min"s saddened face shifted over in Yi Ji-Hyuk"s direction.

It was too late to go back now; if she looked strange even to Seo Ah-Young"s eyes, then wouldn"t regular people see her as a utter loon already?

"I gotta get out of this place real soon." (Jeong Hae-Min)

Seriously now, I"m an idol, no, a former idol no less, so how can I accept being labelled as insane?! (Jeong Hae-Min"s inner monologue)

“Is it because I hung around Ji-Hyuk for too long?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“No, unni. You are originally like that.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“I envy you.” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Ng?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Because, you don"t think about anything.” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“….What do you mean?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“It"s nothing.” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min shook her head and shifted her gaze back to Yi Ji-Hyuk, still busying pounding away on the Cyclops"s head over yonder.

Yup, it was obvious that her personality would get warped when being surrounded by such people.

Her sighs were heavier than the usual today.

*

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“Urah-cha!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

BOOM!

Every time Yi Ji-Hyuk took a swing, the thudding sound of something enormous smashing into the ground resounded out.

“Urah-cha!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

BOOOOOM!!

Completely engrossed now, he continued his beatdown on the Cyclops.

At first, it was difficult to control his strength and the temptation to use Mana continued to lure him, but once he got going, this whole thing became quite entertaining.

When dealing with small-fries, just a simple kick or punch would send them flying, so he didn"t get to enjoy that feeling of impact to satisfy him. But now, it felt oh-so-good as he pummelled the living daylights out of the one-eyed monster!

“Now this is what I"m talking about.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Now where would be find a sandbag this wonderful?

Sure, it was a living sandbag that did put up some resistance every now and then, and that made things a bit c.u.mbersome, but still, this sensation of landing hits should be not replicable anywhere else.

Just as the Cyclops tried to resist, Yi Ji-Hyuk c.o.c.ked his waist back and threw a mean hook on the monster"s cheek.

Kuh-wuuuung!!

The human"s fist and the monster"s facial flesh collided to produce a ma.s.sive explosion of sound.

“It, it"s falling!!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Along with Choi Jung-Hoon"s scream, the huge monster slowly began tilting towards the ground.

“Uwaaaah!!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

If such a huge thing fell, then it"d be no different from a real disaster.

“Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk!! The building behind it!! The buildinggggg!!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

His desperate cries prompted Yi Ji-Hyuk to fling himself forward, irritation writ large on his face.

“Argh, why are you falling that way?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

If he were to make sure that it fell without hitting buildings, then…

Let"s see, at this angle, with this much power!

Kuuoong-!!!

Yi Ji-Hyuk"s roundhouse kick precisely landed on the Cyclops"s waist area.

That humongous body looked as if it was sliding away and by a hair"s breadth, missed crashing into the high-rise before toppling on the ground.

Splash-!!

The slime spectacularly split up like a rising fountain and spread away like real water thanks to the incredible pressure from the falling monster"s body.

BOOOOM!!!

“Nice landing!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk spun around in the air and pointed at Choi Jung-Hoon.

“Misterrr Choi Jung-Hoon!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“….Yes?” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Count to ten!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Did this guy really lose his dang mind?!

“One! Two!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Seo Ah-Young shot a murderous glare and asked.

“What are you doing??” (Seo Ah-Young)

“….No, hang on, he said I should….” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“And you really went along with that?? Are you crazy?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“I was just….” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Mister Choi Jung-Hoon!! Please, get your act together! Don"t you think you"ve been too negatively influenced by that man lately?!” (Seo Ah-Young)

“That"s too harsh, ma"am.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Seo Ah-Young shifted her attention away from the despondent Choi Jung-Hoon and shouted at Yi Ji-Hyuk.

“Stop messing around and finish it quickly! Don"t you know that restoration efforts after the incident takes a long time?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“What do you mean, messing around?! You think it"s easy dealing with a monster of that size? It doesn"t even look that hurt after I pummelled it that much, so what do you want from me then, ah?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Why don"t you use magic or whatever to mop up quickly, then?!” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Hah, I told you! I must conserve Mana right now.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk shook his head. It was completely no use talking to that woman.

“Besides, it is kinda getting old, this thing….” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

As he began his descent, he gathered Ether in his fist. It was now time to end this.

Wuuooooh!!

Unfortunately, the Cyclops didn"t seem to agree with him. The monster finally regained its wits and raised its upper torso with the kind of agility that belied its ma.s.sive frame.

“Ehh?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

And then, the creature swung its huge hand at the falling Yi Ji-Hyuk who was still in mid-air and couldn"t do much to evade the attack.

“Ehhhh??” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

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H-hey, I don"t think I can dodge this??

Uh?? (Yi Ji-Hyuk"s inner monologue)

Powwww~!

Accompanied by the sound of a mosquito being smacked to death in the air, Yi Ji-Hyuk"s figure soared high up into the sky.

“Uwaaaahhk!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

His scream spread out like a loud echo and along with his figure, soon disappeared from the range of human hearing.

“Hul, just how far is he going to fly away?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Isn"t he going to escape the Earth"s atmosphere at that rate?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min and Seo Ah-Young marvelled at the spectacle.

Yi Ji-Hyuk"s figure progressively got smaller and smaller, until eventually, disappeared from their view altogether.

“….Where do you think he"ll land?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Well, he should"ve flew past j.a.pan, at least.” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Judging from the impact force alone, he might even circle around the planet once and come back from the other direction.

“Well, if it"s him, I"m sure he"ll come back somehow.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Yeah, I mean, he came back from another world and all.” (Jeong Hae-Min)

That was why these two ladies weren"t worried at all about Yi Ji-Hyuk"s welfare. Because, it was impossible for that man to die unless they were facing the impending destruction of all mankind.

No, hang on a minute – he was completely capable of simply crossing over to the other world and live out the rest of his days there if things came down to that.

Indeed, their problem lay elsewhere.

“In that case, what should we do about that thing now?” (Seo Ah-Young)

Wuuuuuuoohh!!

Perhaps stimulated by the act of blowing Yi Ji-Hyuk away, the Cyclops began roaring out as if to demonstrate its powers, causing Seo Ah-Young to spit out a lengthy groan.

It was only because Yi Ji-Hyuk was here that she could nag him, telling him to finish it up quickly and stuff like that. But, without him around, that Cyclops would have to be treated as a boss-raid mob, instead.

The entirety of the NDF would have to mobilise to deal with a monster of that calibre. She couldn"t even begin to imagine the extent of potential collateral damage to the city and the roads during their struggle.

They didn"t hold back and attacked the Giant monster in the past as freely as they wanted to because they were in the plains near the border area. But if they did that here, forget about being called the NDF, they would be called the National Butcher Force, instead!

“What should we do?” (Seo Ah-Young)

The best scenario would be to lead it outside the city limits, but even that process would result in ma.s.sive losses.

“That"s why I told him to finish this quickly, but he….!!” (Seo Ah-Young)

Seo Ah-Young gnashed her teeth, but she could only do so much venting at the dude who wasn"t even here.

“How did things devolve like this….?” (Seo Ah-Young)

Just as she was about to go on another tirade of complaints, a black Gate suddenly materialised in the air just above the Cyclops"s head.

“Ng??” (Seo Ah-Young)

That thing kinda looked familiar.

Isn"t that Yi Ji-Hyuk"s personal Gate?

“Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk!!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Choi Jung-Hoon cried out in relief.

As expected of him; even though he got smacked away to G.o.d knows where, he opened a Gate to return to the battlefield right away.

Once the black portal opened his mouth wide, everyone"s gaze was locked onto it. But then, the Cyclops decided to respond in the most unexpected way, as well.

Kuwaaah!

The monster opened its mouth wide and placed itself right below the Gate.

“Hul….” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“T-that, what should we do now?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Is it thinking of swallowing him up??” (Seo Ah-Young)

Jeong Hae-Min"s eyelids trembled in worry.

“D-do something! Wouldn"t Ji-Hyuk get eaten the moment he emerges from the Gate??” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Well, I guess that"ll happen next….” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Why do you sound so disinterested?! You know that"s no good!” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“M-mm…” (Seo Ah-Young)

It"s no good?

But, wouldn"t Yi Ji-Hyuk come outside no problem by ripping open the monster"s stomach?

If it were me, I wouldn"t even try to eat junk food like that, though. (Seo Ah-Young)

As Seo Ah-Young fell into a dilemma wondering whether to worry about the soon-to-be-eaten Yi Ji-Hyuk or the Cyclops about to eat him, a certain black shadow could be seen within the Gate.

That shadow gradually increased its size, before finally "falling" outside the portal.

“M-mm?!”

“W-what the heck?”

“Hul….”

The reactions of everyone after seeing what came out were unsurprisingly similar in nature. Their eyes all grew wide and some even chuckled out wryly, their laughter filled with dumbfoundedness and disbelief.

What the h.e.l.l is that?!

That, that, that big black thing!! (Choi Jung-Hoon"s inner monologue)

Choi Jung-Hoon quietly muttered to himself as he watched that spectacle.

“And I told him that whaling is illegal….” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

He still hasn"t woken up after getting arrest once before!

Really man, that guy is just too….! (Choi Jung-Hoon"s inner monologue)

A huge whale that fell out from the Gate was now firmly blocking the Cyclops"s open mouth.

Kuh-uuuhh!!

Swallowing a whale at one go was going to be the mission impossible no matter how huge the monster"s body and its mouth was. Besides, the size of the whale itself was no joke, either.

“Isn"t that a sperm whale?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“….He caught something pretty nonsensical in such a short time, didn"t he?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Report him to the UNESCO!!” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“It"s not UNESCO, unni. It"s the Greenpeace.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Aren"t you a clever one….” (Jeong Hae-Min)

The Cyclops couldn"t win against the powerful impact force of a whale slamming into its mouth and its entire body tilted unsteadily, before it crashed down on its back.

Kwaaaahng!!

Ma.s.sive dust cloud rose up next.

“Did it die?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Probably.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Dying is the moral thing to do, after all.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Just as everyone began focusing on the final fate of the Cyclops, Yi Ji-Hyuk jumped out of the Gate and loudly yelled out.

“Where is my whaaaale?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Choi Jung-Hoon quietly wiped the dew streaming out of the corners of his eyes.

Someone, stop that guy, please!!

Please!!