Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Chapter 269 : Decisive Battle (2)

Decisive Battle (2)

A stronger opponent.

Someone who would make him forget his boredom.

All Kang Min-gi ever wished for was a fight for that alone.

He wished for nothing else, and that was Kang Min-gi's deepest desire.

To have a battle that would leave him satisfied, no matter the opponent.

Of course, for such a satisfying battle, there could not be a gap between him and his opponent.

He would not accept one-sided defeat or carnage.

'This person.'

Alencia sensed it.

Currently, she was temporarily receiving all the electricity generated across the United States.

If she ever ran short, it was possible for her to be backed up again at any moment.

'I'm faster now than when I fought the Titan.'

It was a perfect state where her energy could not be depleted.

No matter how much Kang Min-gi was being backed up by the demon, there was no way he should be able to defeat her.

Neither in speed, nor in strength.

'Strange.'

The moment blue currents seemed to flash, Alencia's field of vision shifted instantly.

Each time she blinked, the scenery around her changed, but each time, Kang Min-gi caught up at Alencia's pace.

Unthinkable.

At this point, Alencia's speed was on par with lightning, a speed far beyond what a human could control.

Even Cade had only managed to stay a step ahead and follow Alencia's movement by predicting her, but never completely matched her speed like this.

Bang! Bang bang bang bang!!

Alencia and Kang Min-gi clashed again and again, blue trails spreading around them.

It was a sight like two bolts of lightning colliding in midair.

She heard Ah-yeon's voice, but Alencia could not answer her.

'As I thought.'

She had to devote her full attention to Kang Min-gi now.

If she let her guard down for even an instant, it would surely lead to fatal consequences.

'Every time I raise my speed, I feel a powerful desire coming from the thread connected to Kang Min-gi.'

The power of desire Ah-yeon once used on Baek Hojun at Sichelmond.

Now, every time Kang Min-gi exerted his strength, the aura she felt was strikingly similar to what she felt then.

Perhaps it was holy power only Alencia, as a Saintess, could sense.

'But it doesn't seem like it's just increasing his speed.'

Alencia barely managed to dodge Kang Min-gi's punch, stepping away.

With their speeds and strength being similar, simple close-quarters combat obviously put Alencia at a disadvantage.

There was an overwhelming difference in technique.

The only reason she'd managed to endure so far was simply that Alencia's body was durable.

'What on earth is it?'

Alencia stretched her right hand to the side.

The debris and steel bars scattered around were drawn in by the magnetism emitted from her hand, and started to move.

"This is like magic,"

Kang Min-gi said, smiling as he watched countless steel bars and pieces of metal fly at him, as if he genuinely found it entertaining.

He knew about Alencia's power, but never expected her to be able to do something like this.

Blue flashes streaked through the debris as they spun toward him, looking as if they would grind him to pieces.

It was like a natural disaster.

In the storm of electricity, countless steel bars flew solely at Kang Min-gi, and, lightning-fast, Alencia's attack trailed right behind, targeting him.

An ordinary Awakener, or even a demon, would have been shredded to death long ago.

Anyone watching the fight thought so.

'Absolutely ridiculous.'

Among those watching from the ground, facing off against the demons, Hwang Yeon-ji thought so as well.

From her perspective, honestly, it only looked like streaks of light decorating the sky.

Thunder rumbled. Blue lightning split the heavens.

'Kang Min-gi isn't that fast.'

Having experience from the Ji Yeon-hwa days, Yeon-ji knew Kang Min-gi's abilities fairly well.

He was strong, but he couldn't move that fast, and his strength wasn't on this level.

Compared to others, he was overwhelming, yes, but Alencia's current abilities had far surpassed those of a typical Awakener.

'In that case...'

She remembered Kang Min-gi's typical easygoing attitude.

In that lightness, Ji Yeon-hwa could always sense the hidden boredom and ennui.

She knew.

Being sensitive to how others viewed her, Ji Yeon-hwa could tell how Kang Min-gi saw other people.

To Kang Min-gi, Ji Yeon-hwa was like a stone on the roadside—someone he didn't really care about.

'What did he say, again?'

Kang Min-gi always said the same thing, practically a catchphrase.

"I want to fight a desperate battle where I can show everything I have."

In other words, right now in Korea, there was no one worthy enough for Kang Min-gi to show everything.

He truly meant it when he said so.

Come to think of it, there were even rumors that he'd been truly regretful when Shin Ah-yeon was broken.

'If what we're seeing is the result of Kang Min-gi's desire being manifested, I can guess the rest.'

Being able to fight an equal, under equal conditions.

Meaning, the stronger Alencia became, the stronger Kang Min-gi would also become, rising to her level.

Not all abilities would be the same, of course, but at least their strength and speed would match.

Yeon-ji could grasp that, if only vaguely.

Otherwise, there was no way Kang Min-gi could keep up with Alencia.

"Where are you looking?!"

As those thoughts crossed her mind, a demon with a sharp look rushed Yeon-ji.

In the past, it would have been a threatening blow, but Yeon-ji, having faced top-rank demons several times, could gauge this demon's level.

Stronger than other demons, but not out of her league.

Plus, after her fight with Sol Mayer, Yeon-ji had learned a thing or two about fist-fighting from Jung-woo.

After forging a powerful body, Yeon-ji, who enjoyed close combat, needed to maximize her efficiency.

'How can a mere half-demon...'

Dodging the black chains reaching from all directions, Yeon-ji easily raised her hand to deflect her attacker's blows. Each clash sent a shock through her bones, making the demon, Sebin, grit her teeth.

The most dangerous enemy, the Saintess, was being kept busy by Kang Min-gi.

If she could just defeat this half-demon child, Damian could be rescued.

"... Ji Yeon-hwa."

You should have just died quietly at that point.

As Sebin carelessly muttered that name, Yeon-ji grabbed Sebin's neck and slammed her into the ground.

Had she been human, her neck probably would have snapped from the force, but Sebin barely felt a thing.

If anything, the reckless attack left Yeon-ji with minor injuries.

Neither cared much about that, though.

Especially Yeon-ji, whose attention was now wholly focused on the word the demon had just muttered.

"How do you know that name?"

Almost no one knew that Yeon-ji was Ji Yeon-hwa.

At most, a handful of Unique's members.

And only those deeply connected to Jung-woo.

Among the demons, not a single one had ever known about Ji Yeon-hwa.

After all, there was no reason to consider Ji Yeon-hwa worthwhile.

"Well, why do you think?"

Even as Sebin was being choked, she smiled wickedly at Yeon-ji.

'Good.'

Strike when her focus is on your words.

Yeon-ji's strength was formidable, but in the end, she was a mage.

At such a close distance, Sebin still had the chance to land a critical blow.

"It's you."

Sebin's twisted smile reflected in Yeon-ji's eyes.

The face of the demon who had delivered Yuria's heart to Ji Yeon-hwa.

That was the demon right in front of her.

"You were the one who..."

With her feelings deeply suppressed, Yeon-ji began to speak.

KWA-A-A-ANG!!

The ground beneath Sebin exploded, and a pitch-black spear shot up.

At a speed impossible for Yeon-ji to dodge.

***

His head was ringing.

Jin Su-hyuk realized he had been struck.

A shock that rattled his brain.

A staggering body.

Before he could process what had happened, his body instinctively defended against the opponent's blow.

The skin struck by Jung-woo's fist darkened and hardened, dispersing the impact.

"... I didn't expect you'd throw the first attack while we were still talking."

It meant any further conversation was unnecessary.

Jin Su-hyuk grinned, showing white teeth.

"I wanted to stand with you in a new world, if possible."

Once, Jin Su-hyuk had searched for ways to bring Park Jung-woo over to his side.

But the more he learned about him, the more he realized it was impossible.

Their thoughts, their entire outlooks, were entirely different.

So he had thought that, someday, they would end up fighting like this.

"In the end, this is our fate."

He clenched his fists.

The muscles in his thick arms swelled further, the white dress shirt tearing under the stress.

Matching Jung-woo's fist, which came flying at him again, he launched his own punch.

KWA-A-A-ANG!!

The surge of desire's power further strengthened his muscles and body.

"I have reached this place by trampling on the dreams of countless others."

Absolute strength.

The immense desire that was still accumulating was now pushing him forward from behind.

"Now, you are the last."

The sole returnee.

The one who defeated the Demon King 300 years ago.

And now, the final enemy.

THUD!!

He took a large step forward with his right foot and swung his fist.

He could see it.

He could see everything with utter clarity.

He saw the world.

Everything about the existence that was Jung-woo felt within reach.

Desire, the voice of the world, whispered to him.

"Park Jung-woo!!"

Jung-woo's fist struck Jin Su-hyuk's body first, pounding his chest.

The muscular chest darkened as it absorbed the shock head-on.

His body didn't even budge.

Until now, no one had ever taken Jung-woo's punch and been so untroubled.

At the recoil felt through his fist, Jung-woo's eyes widened slightly, and Jin Su-hyuk's body blow landed squarely on Jung-woo.

KWA-A-A-ANG!!

Jin Su-hyuk's feet dug into the ground of the Dark Star, the air itself shuddering as if space were being torn apart.

Had the Dark Star not been reinforced with "desire," the surrounding area would have collapsed from the force.

Struck head-on, Jung-woo's body was pushed back several meters and crashed into the outer wall.

Reeling from the impact, he could only wipe away the blood at the corner of his mouth.

'... He can reinforce his body with desire?'

Whether it extended from Jin Su-hyuk's wish, or was just an additional effect, Jung-woo couldn't say.

What was certain was that he was drawing power from the flower on his back.

Ironically, it was because Jung-woo himself was also gathering countless desires through the broadcast.

Clearly, the more Jin Su-hyuk gathered, the stronger he would become.

He was exploiting the conditions required for Ah-yeon's "magic" to manifest.

But—

'That goes for me, too.'

His body felt hot.

Just as Jin Su-hyuk was receiving desire from the demon.

Jung-woo, too, felt a surge of vitality like never before.

Ah-yeon now was in a state where she had awakened the power of Stigmata.

Just like that moment three years ago in the rift, when she had reached for him.

Thus, the desire that had been running out was recovering quickly.

Thump, thump, thump.

His heart raced.

He had finally knocked on the "door" he had hesitated to open for so long.

Jung-woo certainly didn't possess as much as Jin Su-hyuk, who stood before him.

He had only one old wish, desperately made three years ago.

To not die.

And now, that alone would suffice.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

12 chapters left.

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