Chapter 289: Episode 289

“S-Sunbae…!”

Her pupils dilated rapidly. At the same time, her face turned an even deeper shade of red, as if pushing past a new limit. Her reaction was so amusing that I couldn’t help but tease her.

“You wish it were a dream that much? Should I just disappear, then?”

“No!”

The patient, who had been lying down, shot up with incredible speed and grabbed onto me.

“Please. Please don’t go anywhere!”

Everyone else stared, aghast. Yoon Seulah covered her mouth with both hands, and Oh Hoseung, who had been drinking water, spilled it all over his pants. Was this really that surprising?

“A-Alright.”

…More importantly, she was too close. She was gripping my shoulders so tightly I thought they would break. Belatedly sensing her colleagues’ stares, she quietly said, “My apologies.”

She quickly returned to her seat and cleared her throat. Then, she shot a glare at Yoon Seulah. “What are you doing? Report, rank-3 Yoon Seulah.”

“Ah, right!”

She quickly began to brief Hong Yeon on the current situation. As Hong Yeon listened, her expression turned icy, and she picked up the radio.

“This is the Commander. Connect me to the person in charge.”

“Y-Yes, sir! Right away!”

Soon, the senior hunter of that sector was connected, and she began to tear him a new one. “You can’t even handle one simple thing?”, “With that maggot-like mentality, what makes you think you can be a hunter?” and so on. It was brutal. The atmosphere in the vehicle grew frigid, and the other hunters sat bolt upright with tense expressions.

“This is unbelievable.” Her anger grew with each new report.

“Yeon.”

Unable to watch any longer, I tapped the top of her head. “You’re still injured. Don’t get so worked up, it’s bad for you. Take it slow.”

She fell silent.

She put down the radio and bowed her head. Then, in a small voice, she replied, “Yes, I understand.”

The other hunters were dumbstruck.

The hunters watching stared with their mouths agape again. Seriously, why was this so shocking to them?

“Hohoho! Yeon.” Yoon Seulah grinned slyly. “So, in the end, you’re just another…”

Hong Yeon’s leg shot out, half-shattering the headrest Yoon Seulah was leaning against. Yoon Seulah trembled, sputtering.

“Please refrain from idle chatter unrelated to the mission.”

As she said this, her face wasn’t angry but flushed to its absolute limit. She slowly lowered her leg and whipped her head away.

…What on earth happened to this girl in the last five years?

“Ugh.” Just then, Hong Yeon grimaced and pressed a hand to her forehead.

“What’s wrong?”

“My mana…”

“Oh no! You two shouldn’t be using your mana!” Oh Hoseung exclaimed. “You both have severe mana exhaustion and were given a slime-based IV drip. If you try to circulate your mana while it’s regenerating, it could cause a backlash!”

“See, you idiot?” I said.

She looked embarrassed and hung her head low. “But Sunbae, what happened to you? You were asleep for five years, and now all of a sudden…”

“You’re only just now getting curious?” I explained the whole story to her—how I had been unconscious due to the side effects of dark magic and had spent that time in my conscious world to return. She didn’t seem to understand 100% of what I was saying, but hey, the important thing was that I was back, so we moved on.

“Let’s get some rest. Both of us,” I said, leaning my head back. “Fighting like that and only getting two hours of sleep will wreck us.”

Nodding in agreement, she leaned back against her seat and closed her eyes. Soon, the sound of soft, even breathing filled the air as she fell fast asleep. They say pros can sleep anywhere.

I turned my head to get some sleep myself. Ugh.

A blinding light. Headlights were pouring in from the side window. Wondering what it was, I saw a vehicle speeding toward us at a terrifying pace.

“Crap! Everyone, brace yourselves!”

Unable to use my mana, I lunged to the side, held Hong Yeon tight, and grabbed a handle with my other hand.

CRASH!

The impact shot through my body, and a ringing filled my ears. For a brief moment, our vehicle was flying through the air after breaking the guardrail. Then came the sound of tree branches scraping against the chassis and windows shattering. The car hit the ground hard, bounced up, and rolled over several times.

RUMBLE-CRASH!

…It hurt like hell. A wave of nausea rose in my throat. The smell of dirt and something burning filled my nose, and my vision swam, blurring in and out. I think my forehead was split open, because I could feel blood trickling down.

I looked to my side. Hong Yeon was unconscious, as was Yoon Seulah. Oh Hoseung was groaning and twisting in pain, and the driver was out cold.

-Tower Master! Tower Master! Are you alright?

’Yeah, somehow still alive.’

I kicked the car door with all my might. Damn it, without mana, I had no strength.

“I’ll do it, sir.” Oh Hoseung stepped up. He tore off the front passenger door, then lifted Hong Yeon and Yoon Seulah, one in each arm. “Can you walk on your own, sir?”

“Yeah, somehow.”

I stumbled out of the car. After moving the two women, Oh Hoseung came back for the driver and the hunter in the back seat, but—

CRACKLE!

A bolt of lightning shot down from the sky. Oh Hoseung dove out of the way, and the vehicle, struck by the lightning, exploded.

“…Ah.”

There were still people inside. Having witnessed two people lose their lives so senselessly right before my eyes, I looked up.

“So you were here.”

A man in a fluttering robe descended from the sky. He had short, spiky hair, menacing eyes, and electricity crackling around both arms.

“This unworthy disciple greets his master.”

Na Daeyong landed in front of me, knelt on one knee, and bowed his head. I suppressed the thousands of emotions boiling inside me, took a deep breath, and spoke.

“Daeyong. What is the meaning of this?”

Na Daeyong didn’t answer. After paying his respects, he slowly rose to his feet. He looked down at me from his great height.

“I would have you promise me just one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Please relinquish the position of Tower Master.”

He was too stunned to speak.

Any last shred of hope I had shattered. ’So that’s what this was really about?’

I covered my face with my hand. “Heh!” An irrepressible laugh escaped through my fingers. “Pfft! Hehehe… Pffft! Hah! Hahahahahahaha!”

My shoulders shook with laughter. I staggered a few steps to the side, still laughing. Na Daeyong watched me with a stoic expression.

“Haaah.” I let out a long sigh and lowered my hand. “…Are you a complete and utter psycho?”

Na Daeyong’s expression hardened.

“Even a dog knows to be grateful to the one who raised it, but you’ve become something lower than an animal.” I glared at him, feeling a surge of irritation. “Daeyong. Did you want the position of Tower Master that badly?”

He remained silent.

“So badly that you’d cast Field Magic on a Child of Mana who’s still just a high schooler, and even kill or silence the people around me? Is that all you amount to?”

“I originally had no great desire for the position of Tower Master,” he said with a long sigh. “However, it is too late to turn back now.”

Mana flowed from his body. Ea’s urgent voice rang in my head.

-Tower Master! A jamming Field Magic, a mana wavelength conversion Field Magic, and a coordinate scrambling Field Magic have all been activated in the vicinity!

I looked up. Through Deva’s Eye, I could see the mana in the sky churning in a horrific vortex. This was why a 4th Floor Manager was so terrifying. And Na Daeyong was serious.

“Hunter, stand back!” Oh Hoseung drew his Hunting Device and stepped forward. “I’ll handle this. Take the Association President and Yoon Seulah and go…”

As he spoke, a bolt of lightning struck him, sending him flying. Several trees were shattered, and from beyond my line of sight, I heard a loud thud. Birds flew up in a flurry.

“Trash.” Na Daeyong lowered his arm.

CRACK!

Lightning fell from the sky, striking the spot where Oh Hoseung had been.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Lightning struck in succession, the surroundings flashing between white and black.

“Stop!”

At my shout, Na Daeyong stopped the lightning and looked at me.

…This bastard’s eyes were completely unhinged.

“So you’ve become a demonkin after all.”

“No matter what you suspect, Master, I have nothing to say.” He spread his arms. The sight of his entire body crackling with arcing electricity was chilling. “Now, I would have you decide which of us is more suited for the position of Tower Master.”

Unbelievable. He was targeting me after I’d exhausted all my strength finishing off a disaster, and he wanted to call this a “decision”? He would be satisfied as long as he could convince himself.

’Ea. I’ve stalled for some time. Can I use my mana now?’

-You cannot! Not only will you be able to use very little, but you will immediately suffer a backlash! It’s not just reckless, it would be worse than doing nothing at all!

This was insane. Truly. But I couldn’t just let him have his way.

“Show me. Show me your power, Master.”

Electricity poured from his arm. Just as I thought it was too late to dodge, Hong Yeon appeared before me, her red hair flying.

SWOOSH!

Hong Yeon swung her sword. The Red Light Energy split the lightning, but she coughed up a mouthful of blood and dropped to one knee. The mana backlash had begun.

“Hong Yeon!”

“…I’m fine.” Her arm trembled as she pushed herself up.

The cold-faced Na Daeyong fired another bolt of lightning, and she cut it down. But as the effects worsened, she collapsed to the ground.

“Stay out of this! This is an internal matter of the Magic Tower!”

“Never again…” She struggled to her feet on trembling legs. “I don’t want to lose you again, Sunbae.”

Na Daeyong snorted and fired another bolt. CRACK! She swung her sword tenaciously and cut down the third bolt. CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! She blocked the fourth and fifth, but the sixth attack broke through, and she dropped her sword as she fell to the ground.

“Seeing an Official rank-1 hunter groveling on the ground is quite a sight,” Na Daeyong remarked, raising his right arm above his head. Electricity swirled around his arm with murderous intent.

“…Alright. I understand.” I made a gesture of raising both my hands. “From this moment on, you are the Tower Master, Mr. Na.”

Na Daeyong’s movements came to a dead stop.

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