Chapter 327: Episode 327

Yusin was walking through the New Continent.

He had long since forgotten about thirst or fatigue. He simply walked, aimlessly but ever forward.

Having reached the eighth-order, Yusin currently possessed three types of Otherworlds.

The first was the 8th Floor, a world created from the Otherworld Garden.

The second was the World of Time applied within the Magic Tower.

And the third was a unique space he had personally forged using the eighth-order.

It was a World of Void that erased absolutely everything except for himself and one chosen target. Simultaneously, it was an Inviolable World that maximized the exclusive nature of the eighth-order, preventing anything from interfering with it.

Yusin had drastically shrunk this Inviolable World down until it barely covered his own body, maintaining this state as he walked.

This was his personal method for crossing the New Continent.

Grrrrrrr!

Even the high-rank monsters of the New Continent could do nothing to him. Visually, they were within arm’s reach, but Yusin and the monsters existed in strictly different dimensions.

Of course, maintaining an eighth-order spell for an extended period consumed a staggering amount of mental fortitude, so Yusin had come up with a clever trick.

He simply entered his mindscape while maintaining the spell on his physical body.

He had developed an instant version of his original Requiem magic and applied it to himself.

The eyes of the physical Yusin walking through the New Continent were cloudy and completely unfocused, but inside…

“Ah, this is pretty fun!”

In reality, he was chilling inside his mindscape.

Lying comfortably on a plush sofa in his pajamas, he scratched his thigh with one hand and held a remote control in the other.

A video of his past was playing on the TV.

“Yeah, yeah! That’s it! Ugh, I should’ve beaten Frost up way worse back then!”

Beside Yusin, a woman with vibrant grass growing out of her skin brought over a plate of sliced fruit.

“Thanks.”

Surrounding him, his companions were all resting comfortably in their own ways.

The soaking wet old woman was carefully grooming her golden hair while looking in a hand mirror, and the chubby baby was ravenously devouring chunks of meat held in both hands.

The bisected man and the decapitated man were sitting on the floor, playing a game of cards. The decapitated man now had his neck fully reattached, though he was wearing some sort of mechanical tube on his head instead.

“Whoa!”

Suddenly, the room shook violently as the mindscape began to blur. Picture frames hanging on the walls and books on the shelves came tumbling down. Yusin fell off the sofa and rolled onto the floor.

“…Ouch.”

Picking himself up, he laughed in embarrassment.

“Sorry, guys. Looks like I tripped over something again.”

His companions laughed pleasantly. The man wearing a tube on his head threw a minor tantrum about his winning card game being ruined, but no one really seemed to mind.

Yusin climbed back onto the sofa.

“Oh, it’s already over. Then next up is the Healer Association arc…”

A rapping sound came from the door. Yusin slapped his knee, exclaiming, “Oh, right!” and stood up.

“Alright, everyone, attention! Let me introduce our new friend.”

The door opened, and the ash man walked into the room. His entire body was scorched black, with only two stark white eye sockets visible.

“This is our new friend who will be staying with us from now on. I want you all to get along without fighting. Now, let’s give him a round of applause!”

The companions clapped and whistled enthusiastically.

The ash man scratched the back of his head shyly as he stepped forward, then bowed politely to greet everyone.

Having finished the introduction, Yusin lay back down on the sofa and picked up the remote control.

-Tower Master.

Ea’s voice rang out.

Within the mindscape, her voice buzzed through the room as if coming from a loudspeaker.

“Yeah, Ea. I’m listening.”

-…Is this your mindscape, Tower Master?

Yusin flashed a faint smile.

“It’s fine. I struggled a bit at first because it felt so awkward, too. Hup!”

Yusin picked up a fallen chunk of meat from the floor and tossed it backward. The chubby baby leaped into the air like a dolphin and snatched the meat perfectly in its jaws.

“Once you get used to it, it’s pretty livable here. The kids are all nice, too.”

-…Please, stay strong.

“How are things outside?”

-The situation isn’t looking very good.

*

[6,000,000,000 : 6,000,000,000]

[49:59:59]

Another one billion had died.

The grueling, days-long second offensive ended, granting humanity another fifty-hour grace period.

Secretary General Phil convened a massive emergency council attended by influential figures from all over the world.

Because the second offensive had been so brutal, the entire globe was showing burning enthusiasm for forming an attack force. Teleporters scrambled frantically, ferrying relevant officials straight to Switzerland.

The council consisted of association presidents from various nations, Official rank-1 hunters, chairmen of global management corporations, and Ministers of Defense.

All the world’s most prominent figures had gathered, but without exception, their expressions were grim.

“No, seriously, if it was going to come to this, why the hell did we disband the attack force back then?” Franz, an Official rank-1 hunter, raised his voice. “If we had deployed as planned, we’d have killed Nemesis and been resting at home by now!”

“Isn’t that wildly optimistic?” Lucia, an Official rank-2 hunter and Archbishop of the Vatican, shot back. “What could we have possibly achieved in the New Continent with a measly force missing both the United States and China? It’s much better to be here planning countermeasures now than to have pointlessly thrown our forces away.”

“The problem is that you got scared and didn’t even try.” Official rank-1 Wang Ya let out a massive yawn before chiming in. “The Supreme Commander’s decision to disband the attack force was rash.”

“Ugh, rash or not, we were outmatched! Do you really have to taste shit just to know it’s shit?” Sitting cross-legged on a velvet sofa, the Pharaoh, Han Yoonjeong, glared at them. “The New Continent has five million monsters at Rank Seven or higher. Trying to break through with the forces we had back then would have just been a pointless slaughter.”

“I see even the great Pharaoh plays favorites. I guess it’s because you’re both from the World Guild.”

At Wang Ya’s sharp retort, she let out a snicker.

“It’s better than a certain petty someone who constantly talks shit about Kim Yusin just because he got crushed in a three-on-one.”

“Why are you bringing that up now…!”

“Enough!”

At the thunderous shout, the noise in the hall died down in an instant.

Seated firmly in the middle of the room, Gabriel Garcia Rodriguez, a hunter with the sheer mass of a mountain, narrowed his eyes.

“What’s the point of fighting amongst ourselves? Right now, we need to put our heads together and come up with an actual plan.”

Gabriel turned his head to look at Secretary General Phil.

“Proceed with the meeting.”

“Thank you.”

Phil gave him a slight nod before speaking.

“Then I will now begin the briefing for the Second Attack Force. Furthermore, I will be disclosing Supreme Commander Kim Yusin’s plan.”

Phil continued his explanation step by step.

“The reason the Supreme Commander disbanded the initial force was to pave the way for a Second Attack Force. The Supreme Commander led the Magic Tower and the Sky Castle across the Pacific, successfully eliminating the Führer who obstructed him in the process. He is currently breaking through the New Continent completely alone.”

The hunters murmured among themselves, exchanging skeptical glances.

“…This is all stuff we’ve already been briefed on. But what about the Magic Tower and the Sky Castle?”

“They’ve both returned to their home country. The core of his strategy is that the Supreme Commander will reach the center of the New Continent alone, and then summon the entirety of the Second Attack Force via a warp gate.”

“The entirety of the attack force?”

The murmurs swelled into a loud drone.

Just then, a hunter sharply raised his hand.

“Isn’t that plan far too absurd? You’re saying the Supreme Commander is going to break through over five million Rank Seven monsters in the New Continent all by himself?”

Hines, America’s leading hunter, also hardened his expression.

“The New Continent has been turned into a Dungeon. I was told that both teleportation and warp gates were completely blocked due to coordinate errors, so how the hell is Kim Yusin supposed to transport a global military force all by himself?”

“I have another point to raise.” Official rank-1 Seraph spoke up. “If warping was possible, Kim Yusin should’ve just crossed straight into the New Continent from the beginning. Why go out of his way to pierce through the Pacific Ocean? None of this makes any sense.”

It was undeniably a reasonable suspicion, so everyone stared at Phil, demanding an explanation. Phil massaged his temples as he replied.

“I’m a complete layman when it comes to magic, so I don’t know the exact mechanics. The Supreme Commander simply told us to trust him and wait.”

“…Trust him and wait?”

The hunters scowled in unison. Right then, a man slammed his hand down on his armrest and stood up.

“This whole charade is so painfully obvious, isn’t it?” Franz scoffed, throwing his arms wide open. “Everyone, think about Kim Yusin’s track record so far. You don’t even have to look far—declaring war on the world, broadcasting the Bahrain incident live, and arbitrarily disbanding a perfectly functioning attack force. No matter how you slice it, the guy is far from normal! And he was a vegetable for five whole years before miraculously waking from his coma. Is there anyone here who can guarantee that bastard’s mental state is one hundred percent intact right now?”

No one could immediately formulate a response.

When the room fell into a tense silence, Franz raised his voice even louder.

“I know exactly how the minds of psychos like him work. ’I can solve this all by myself this time, too.’ ’I’m the only one who can do this!’ Because he’s completely consumed by his own messiah complex, he carelessly disbanded the attack force just to force everyone into waiting for him. I guarantee you, if we just sit on our asses trusting this bastard, we’re all going to pay the price in blood.”

“Hold on.”

A young girl raised her hand and stood up from her seat.

It was Official rank-2 hunter Marie Gold, the leader of the Ghost Corps. Even five years later, she maintained the appearance of a young girl, seemingly untouched by age.

“What do you even know about Kim Yusin to make such sweeping assumptions?”

“Shoo, the adults are talking. Go play somewhere else, kid.”

As Franz waved his hand dismissively as if swatting away a pest, a burst of boisterous laughter erupted from the back of the room.

“Whether it’s out of a desire for validation or whatever else, at least Kim Yusin went to the New Continent alone,” Marie spoke steadfastly, her gaze piercing. “Isn’t it hilarious that you’re the one dragging Kim Yusin through the mud over the attack force being disbanded, when you were the very first person to run back to your own country with your tail between your legs the exact second that disbandment was announced?”

This time, roaring laughter erupted from the side opposing Franz. Franz’s face flushed a deep, furious crimson.

“You little brat…!”

“Now, now, everyone. Please calm down.”

Right at that moment, Duke Esper, the fourth-ranked Official rank-1 hunter, clapped his hands and stepped forward.

“Emotional squabbles won’t help us resolve this situation. Instead of bickering, let’s pool our opinions together.”

Skillfully capturing the room’s attention, he looked around and continued speaking.

“Let’s put it to a vote. Anyone who thinks we can’t just sit here blindly trusting the Supreme Commander, please raise your hand.”

Han Yoonjeong and a few World Guild members remained perfectly still, but the vast majority of the hunters hesitantly raised their hands, nervously reading the room.

Han Yoonjeong clicked her tongue. Beside her, Esper offered a grave nod.

“Honestly, I want to trust the Supreme Commander as much as anyone,” Esper said, turning his attention to Phil. “But I believe it is far too risky to just sit back and wait. In fact, you could even call it deeply irresponsible for us as hunters. President, I believe we must form a second attack force right now, excluding Supreme Commander Kim Yusin, and enter the New Continent.”

Phil fell into a deep silence, his expression hardening as he weighed the heavy proposition.

*

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