The Returner
Chapter 170

Chapter 170

“It’s white?!” (Affeldrichae)

Affeldrichae cried out in surprise .

Yi Ji-Hyuk’s Mana was dark, and naturally, its colour was also black . That fact could never be changed through one’s will or technique .

If that was the case, then what could that white light shining out of Yi Ji-Hyuk possibly be?

However, as soon as her initial surprise wore off, she was able to immediately deduce the identity of that mysterious light .

That was the energy originally residing within Yi Ji-Hyuk from the get-go .

Quite unlike the residents of Berafe, who were all creatures of Mana, Yi Ji-Hyuk possessed a different sort of hidden power . However, it was so, so pathetically weak that he couldn’t use it at all . Yet, it was being unleashed in full right now .

‘But, when did he??’

Just when did that energy grow by that much?

The amount residing within him was too small to be of any use, but now… . She was aware of the humans of this world using that energy like their version of Mana supply, of course . Indeed, people surrounding Yi Ji-Hyuk utilised them on the daily basis, after all .

However, the amount of energy they possessed far, far outstripped what he had, and that was why they could safely, continuously rely on this energy form . As a matter of fact, Yi Ji-Hyuk’s energy was no different to that of what a regular civilian possessed .

But then, the amount of energy he was emitting right now was almost on the same level as that woman, Seo Ah-Young .

How was this possible?

‘… . Ah . ’

Affeldrichae finally realised that the energy being emitted from Yi Ji-Hyuk’s body had actually been amplified through the Dragon Hearts mounted on his arms .

Sure, his energy had certainly grown since the beginning, but the current amount had been, without a doubt, augmented greatly by the Hearts .

But, why did he bother?

Even if he amplified his own energy through the Hearts, it was still no greater than that of Seo Ah-Young’s . Yi Ji-Hyuk’s most powerful attacks didn’t work on Beltreche, so how could such a weak energy affect the demon king now?

It was then, the energy emitted from Yi Ji-Hyuk’s body was sucked back inside as if time itself had been reversed .

And then… .

“… . Ah!!”

Affeldrichae was deeply astonished .

Yi Ji-Hyuk’s right arm began ballooning up as black and white lights covered it up .

‘No, stop!!’ (Affeldrichae)

Even before she had the chance to cry out, she sensed an immeasurable power going on a rampage inside Yi Ji-Hyuk’s body .

“Beltrecheeeeee!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Beltreche too realised something was wrong, and with a tense expression, roused all the Mana it currently possessed, gathering it into its hand and thereby fortifying it greatly .

“Heuwaaaahpp!!” (Beltreche)

The reptilian demon king’s fist hardened like forged steel as the Mana thickly overflowed .

And then, Yi Ji-Hyuk and Beltreche both dashed towards each other .

The human’s ballooned-up right arm and the demon king’s own fortified arm collided .

KKKKAAAA-BOOOOM

There was a massive explosion .

The explosion that seemed to swallow up the entire world was promptly accompanied by a shockwave so powerful that it gouged out the desert sand as if they were wet mud, and blew them all away .

“Kyyaaahhh!!” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min got caught in the shockwave and was flung far away; seeing this, Kim Dah-Hyun gritted his teeth and flew up, managing to grab her in a nick of time .

“Are you alright??” (Kim Dah-Hyun)

“Uh, ng . ” (Jeong Hae-Min)

As she replied, her eyes continued to search for the trace of Yi Ji-Hyuk among the mighty dust storm still obscuring her vision .

Finally, the dust storm settled down, and… .

“Ah, ah… . ”

Jeong Hae-Min lost all strength in her body .

Yi Ji-Hyuk was lying on the ground, covered in a sheet of white dust .

His entire body seemed to be twisted in an unnatural manner, while his right arm was nowhere to be seen, cut off right below his shoulder . Blood was pouring out from that wound as if it was a leaky tab .

“J-Ji-Hyuk… . ” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Her face paled into a white sheet .

She knew that she just had to go over there . She just had to… .

It was then, she spotted Doh Gah-Yun rising up from the ground .

“Ah… . ” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min couldn’t tell what exactly had happened, but even Doh Gah-Yun was utterly covered from head to toe in blood as well . Seeing that there was a gaping wound in her back, she must’ve done something at the moment of impact, but no one could tell what that was .

Doh Gah-Yun fully emerged out of the ground, placed her weakly-trembling hand near Yi Ji-Hyuk’s mouth, and then, tore off a section of her clothes to dress his wound .

“What about the demon king?!” (Kim Dah-Hyun)

Only after she heard Kim Dah-Hyun’s urgent voice did Jeong Hae-Min recover her wits and scan the vicinity .

There it was, in that crater over there!

Kim Dah-Hyun finally located Beltreche, collapsed on the ground in a crouching position .

“Is it… dead?” (Kim Dah-Hyun)

Beltreche was kneeling in a pool of blue blood, its entire body a mess of cracks and many grievous wounds . If that thing was a human, it’d have died a hundred times over from such wounds .

However, that thing collapsed there unmoving like that, was still a demon king, so obviously, it was impossible for anyone to lower their guards yet .

“We gotta!!” (Kim Dah-Hyun)

Kim Dah-Hyun loudly yelled out, which prompted Seo Ah-Young to roar out as a follow-up .

“Finish it!!!” (Seo Ah-Young)

With that call to arms, the ability users who were still awake and on two feet, began pouring out all of their attacks in the crater Beltreche was collapsed in .

Kwa-boom!!

Booom!!

Countless explosions continued to go off one after the other .

All the ability users present now attacked without holding back, as if they wanted to spend every single drop of Ether residing within their body .

“Heaaaaler!!” (Doh Gah-Yun)

Meanwhile, Doh Gah-Yun’s desperate call sharply dug into people’s ears .

Choi Jung-Hoon didn’t even have the time to feel the sense of incongruence when Doh Gah-Yun yelled out, and shouted out loudly himself .

“Chris, Chris!! We need a medic! Hurry!!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Even he could tell that Yi Ji-Hyuk’s current status was not good at all .

“Jimmy!!” (Christopher McLaren)

Christopher McLaren hurriedly called out to the American ability user .

“Get out of my way!” (Affeldrichae)

Affeldrichae had already arrived at the location by then, however; she pushed Doh Gah-Yun away and quickly checked Yi Ji-Hyuk’s status .

“… . It’s not good . ” (Affeldrichae)

It was already a feat of miracle that he didn’t die from the external wounds, but the truth was, the status of his internals was far graver .

Never mind the right arm that had disintegrated during the explosion, the cells on his shoulder had all died . Not only that, with all of his Mana reserve gone, this body that had been deeply stained by the dark Mana was undergoing a transformation at a frightening rate as well .

“N-no, this can’t go on!” (Affeldrichae)

At this rate, the ‘existence’ of Yi Ji-Hyuk would vanish .

She needed to find a way to… .

It was then!

Ka-boom!!!

Along with the noise of the atmosphere being torn apart, several ability users were flung away like kites with their strings cut .

“Ah!!”

Affeldrichae’s eyes trembled greatly .

That collision was powerful enough to send a shiver down her spine, yet…

Beltreche had stood back up and now was glaring at Affeldrichae and Yi Ji-Hyuk still lying on the ground with its yellow eyes .

Its entire body had spider-web like cracks running all over to its extremities, while its left arm was ripped in half, the white bones underneath exposed to the air… .

But, undeniably, it was standing tall, while Yi Ji-Hyuk was lying face down on the ground . Clearly, this was Yi Ji-Hyuk’s defeat .

“Euh… . . Yi, Ji, Hyuk… . ” (Beltreche)

However, Beltreche’s condition was also obviously not good, as it faltered grandly and had to steady itself on the ground with its arm .

“How dare you push me to this degree with your pathetic self!” (Beltreche)

Beltreche correctly diagnosed his current condition .

His Mana reserve didn’t want to recover, only to leak away from it . It was as if its origin source had been shattered; it had received a crippling, devastating damage .

At this rate, the reptilian demon king wouldn’t be able to maintain its physical form and cease to exist altogether in the near future .

“However, I still won . ” (Beltreche)

Beltreche confidently declared his victory . And then, it placed its still working right hand on the ground .

“Open up!!” (Beltreche)

It gathered all of its remaining Mana and opened up a Gate there .

A jet-black hole opened up like the jaws of a devil .

“Kekeke . ”

Beltreche was a demon .

As long as there was Mana, it could always recover its damaged body or its depleted lifeforce . Simply by establishing a connection with the demon world, Beltreche would not have any trouble recovering from this sort of wounds .

Not only that, didn’t it leave behind a half of itself back in the demon world, too?

Also, opening up a Gate was a simple matter, what with all the ominous, negative energy filling up the air of this desert supporting its efforts greatly .

Not to forget, it was opening up a small Gate just to let a little bit of its own energy enter from the other side, not its entire remaining half, so it wasn’t difficult at all .

Beltreche didn’t even need a lot . It only needed a minute amount of Mana to heal up its physical body, that was all .

“And so, I’ve finally achieved victory against you . ” (Beltreche)

Sensing the blooming dark Mana leaking out of the Gate below its feet, Beltreche announced its victory once more .

The dark Mana dug deep into the reptilian demon king and rapidly healed its body .

“Kekekeke!!” (Beltreche)

Yi Ji-Hyuk had no way to recover from his wounds, while Beltreche did, so clearly, this was its resounding victory .

Pure, unadulterated delight filled up the demon king’s eyes, and having figured out the current situation, only despair filled up Affeldrichae’s eyes .

“And now, I shall finish this once and for all . ” (Beltreche)

Affeldrichae stood before the fallen Yi Ji-Hyuk with a determined expression . Doh Gah-Yun, and Jeong Hae-Min, who had appeared besides them now, also stood to shield Yi Ji-Hyuk .

Seeing this all-too pitiful resistance, Beltreche extended its long tongue to lick its face . There was no greater pleasure than to crush the other’s feeble resistance and achieve its goal, after all .

‘…Mm?’

Unfortunately, Beltreche couldn’t continue on with its celebration .

‘What’s this?’ (Beltreche)

There was something wrong with the dark Mana leaking out from the Gate . Because, way more Mana than when that Gate was opened started flooding out now .

‘… . It can’t be?!’ (Beltreche)

No, it couldn’t be .

Yi Ji-Hyuk was still unconscious . And his body showed not one hint of movement . Which meant that he wasn’t using some sort of an underhanded trick here, and if it wasn’t him, then… . However, there was no one in this world capable of controlling dark Mana like this .

Besides, this sensation Beltreche was feeling – it was rather different to all of those .

How should the demon king put it… .

It was as if some unknown force was forcibly widening the Gate not from this side, but from the other side .

“Who dares!” (Beltreche)

Beltreche’s flustered gaze lowered to the ground, and that was when a certain voice resounded out to everyone’s ears .

[How dare you… . ]

The voice that easily pierced straight past one’s eardrums and lodged deeply into one’s brain .

The voice that sounded sensuous, seductive, and capable of shaking the moral foundation of all living things .

In that moment Beltreche heard that voice, terror and despair dyed its eyes completely . Its brain was immediately flooded with the name of this mighty being .

“Nooo!! No, this can’t be!!” (Beltreche)

Beltreche tried to escape from the radius of the Gate on the ground, but then, a half-translucent hand, so white like a fleeting phantom, shot out from the darkness and grasped onto Beltreche’s leg .

“Kuwaaahhck?!?!”

Beltreche’s leg, as thick and hard as an elephant’sdonger, got crushed by that hand as if it was made out of paper, blue blood exploding and spluttering to everywhere . (TL: Yes, the ‘private part’ bit is from the raw . BTW, TSS reference FTW!)

The hand grabbing onto the reptilian demon king slowly dragged the yelping Beltreche into the Gate’s centre .

“Why! Why are you doing this?! Why!!!!” (Beltreche)

Even though it was getting dragged in, Beltreche continued to cry out in pure terror .

“He’s no long the same person as you know! So, why are you still protecting him!! Whyyyyy!!” (Beltreche)

Its desperate callings finally resulted in a hushed reply .

[You asking, cuz you really don’t know?]

The voice was transmitted directly into the listener’s head .

Listening to that seductive voice, Beltreche became even more acutely aware of its own impending demise . Because, that voice, which should’ve sounded airy and cheery as it always had been in the past, clearly displayed her boiling anger right now .

“P-please, I beg of you!! Spare me!! Save me!! Oh, great thirteenth dem… . ” (Beltreche)

KWA-DU-DU-DUK!!

Beltreche’s body suddenly began to grow much, much thinner, starting from its lower torso . As if the innards were being sucked out while the exterior shell was left as is, the demon king’s body shrivelled up at a visible pace .

“Ah, ah-ahhhh… . . ” (Beltreche)

The ray of light denoting one’s life gradually faded away from Beltreche’s yellow eyes . And finally, Beltreche’s empty shell plopped to the ground with a loud thud .

Everyone present bore witness to this spectacle without being able to say a single word .

They had given their all in this fight, and even Yi Ji-Hyuk had to sacrifice his arm yet they still failed to defeat this demon king . But now, an unknown presence rendered such a creature utterly powerless, and killed it just like that .

The shock brought on by this turn of events left everyone here completely speechless .

Affeldrichae sensed the gaze of the being watching them from beyond that jet-black Gate, and shuddered in fear .

The worst, greatest demon king .

The one creature she never, ever wanted to run into had ‘appeared’ before her now .

[… . Affeldrichae . ]

She shuddered even more as that voice called out to her .

[Bring him here . ]

The owner of that voice was calling out to Yi Ji-Hyuk .

< 170 . Count on it, lizard -5 > Fin .