How a legendary returner lives

“Convenience is what our Salvation Guild has been providing until now. Bribing, scheming behind the scenes, all that—forget it, let’s just clean it up properly.”

“…Please go ahead.”

“The Salvation Guild will be active in Seoul from now on. We will also have priority to clear any SS-ranked or higher gates across South Korea. No bidding, nothing. If anyone wants to join, they can formally request to join the Salvation Guild. Don’t worry, we’ll be flexible enough to clear gates with a few selected guilds.”

“…I’m not sure about that…”

“And,”

This, in a way, was the conclusion.

Yun Young-su crossed his legs.

“I have no personal feelings toward you, Prime Minister, but I must say this. Why are you here?”

“…What?”

“Why are you here?”

With nothing more than the atmosphere, Yun Young-su was overwhelming Prime Minister Seong Gil-su, who had climbed the political ladder through skill.

“Why is someone without authority wasting my time like this? Do you think I’m making a request here?”

“….”

“Looks like the President is doing well. It’s almost time for a lame duck phase, so he should be nervous, but I guess you haven’t figured out the situation yet.”

Yun Young-su continued as he took a puff of his cigarette, his face grim.

“Tell the President exactly what I said. Stop sending some powerless person to sit here and tell him to come himself.”

Seong Gil-su was genuinely angry. His face flushed red, a look no seasoned politician should show.

He was that angry, but he didn’t know what to say.

Just one phrase kept echoing in his mind:

A powerless person.

How dare this scumbag.

His fists were shaking, but that was as far as it went.

“I almost forgot. I’ll give you 30 minutes. If the President isn’t sitting here in front of me in 30 minutes, this will escalate. Prime Minister, you can leave now.”

Yun Young-su’s way of mixing casual and formal speech kept Seong Gil-su silent.

The power of the Salvation Guild was that significant.

And Seong Gil-su had clearly realized that the Salvation Guild was sharpening its knives.

He knew that trying to argue here would get him nowhere. He had analyzed the situation coldly and clearly.

Seong Gil-su left the room, and soon after, someone else entered.

“Wow, hyung. You really sharpened your knife well.”

It was Hong Hyun, the second most powerful SSS-ranked Awakened after Jin Song-i in the Salvation Guild.

Yun Young-su spoke to him.

“We’ve been too subservient until now. You know it too. The Master has been too lenient.”

“That’s true.”

“It makes sense. As it is, the Master is already a top player in South Korea, even globally, without making a fuss. But sadly, it’s been revealed that there’s a world even the Master can’t deal with.”

Hong Hyun leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.

“Hm.”

“Are those ‘Sado’ guys that strong?”

“Yeah, if you and the Master team up, you might be able to handle one of them, but that guy who appeared in Texas, the 99th, I don’t think even two of you could take him down.”

Yun Young-su had a discerning eye. While he hadn’t seen Karma in person, he had received Jin Song-i’s Watch records.

The power recorded in that Watch was real.

A small smile appeared on Hong Hyun’s lips.

“This is interesting.”

“You’ll find it interesting.”

Yun Young-su casually pushed the glass with the cigarette to the side and grabbed a bottle of liquor, bringing it to his lips.

“The Master needs to grow more. Can you believe that such a unique Awakened being has been stuck in Pangyo, only clearing small gates? Does that even make sense?”

“It doesn’t.”

“Sure, the Master’s sacrifice helped raise the overall level of Awakened individuals in South Korea. But now I get it. Quantity isn’t enough. We need quality. Hyun-a.”

“Why?”

“You need to rank up quickly. You’ll be busy starting next week, so prepare yourself.”

“Are you worried about me?”

“You should be. Hong Hyun is one of the top forces in the Salvation Guild.”

He wasn’t a unique Awakened, but he was an extremely rare SSS-ranked Awakened even globally.

“And go with the second strike team to the Conqueror Guild. Give Lee Seong-jae a warning to make sure he doesn’t climb any further.”

Lee Seong-jae was the leader of the Conqueror Guild.

After the Great Transformation, the world changed, and Awakened individuals formed organizations, often called “guilds,” to clear gates.

A guild was essentially like a corporation, dealing in everything from distribution to production and entertainment. The Conqueror Guild was one such large organization based in Seoul, worth nearly a trillion dollars in market value.

Lee Seong-jae, the guild master and chairman, had a bad relationship with Jin Song-i from the past, and that bad blood had persisted to this day.

After Jin Song-i made up his mind, Yun Young-su immediately got the media to spread the word that the Salvation Guild would be moving its headquarters to Seoul.

In response, the Conqueror Guild spread rumors about Lee Seong-jae’s ties with the U.S. and his bad relationship with the Salvation Guild, suggesting that Jin Song-i should stay active between Pangyo and Seoul as before.

These were all articles sponsored by the Conqueror Guild.

Recently, Jin Si-hoo had had conflicts with a subsidiary guild of the Conqueror Guild, the Naratnim Guild. The situation had become chaotic after all CCTV and other records were deleted, leading to more entanglements with the Conqueror Guild.

A proper warning needed to be given.

So Yun Young-su told Hong Hyun to handle it. But Hong Hyun’s response was something else.

“Can I kill him?”

Yun Young-su’s answer was even more shocking.

“If they don’t listen, kill them.”

—

Lee Seong-jae stood up, his face flushed red, clearly very upset.

It was understandable.

Right now…

“What did you say?”

“Master’s assistant asked me to tell you to stop making a fuss.”

“…Have you all gone mad? Did you take some medicine or something? Huh?”

Hong Hyun, wearing a hoodie, looked completely relaxed compared to the furious Lee Seong-jae.

He crossed his arms and sighed.

“Let’s be honest here. You did climb the ladder, didn’t you?”

“…You little…”

“Take it easy. You’ve been given enough leeway already. How much further do you want to climb? At this rate, you’ll be climbing the Himalayas on all fours.”

Lee Seong-jae slammed his fist down on the table, and it shattered into pieces. Kim Seon-jae, the vice-master of the Conqueror Guild, who had been watching from the corner, closed his eyes tightly.

Not again. That was something hard to replace.

Lee Seong-jae sneered.

“Do you really want to come up to Seoul? Is it that easy?”

“It’s not that hard. It’s just that our Master didn’t have any ambition. It’s easy to do.”

“…You’re all really crazy, aren’t you? What about the relationship with the U.S.? Political pressure? Public opinion? Are you just going to ignore all that? Get real. Stay in Pangyo. That’s where you belong…”

“Sorry, but let’s correct that. It’s not about the relationship with the U.S. It’s with Jamie Wilson, the unique Awakened from the U.S. We’ve played along long enough.”

“Played along?”

“Enough with the ridiculous agreements. If Jamie Wilson officially makes this an issue, things will escalate quickly. The United States might just split in two.”

“You’re insane.”

“Seongjae, even our ‘pig’ knows how much of a monster he is.”

The “pig” refers to a Doberman that the Salvation Guild trains in their reserve strike team. It is a champion at dog shows. By the way, the Doberman originally belonged to a doppelgänger of Jin Si-hoo and is a descendant of this dog.

Hong Hyun continued.

“But our master is no less than him. And we’re not underestimating America, but honestly, you know this too. If you give me just one day, I can kill all the awakened ones in America who follow him.”

Hong Hyun certainly has the ability to do so.

“Of course, the most important thing here is your position. If things go this far, you won’t be alive anymore. Whether you die by my hands or our master’s, you will definitely die. There’s no chance of survival. And…”

Hong Hyun snickered as he thought about it.

“Don’t worry about politics. Unlike you, everything will be handled by today. Public opinion? No one with any sense of reason will oppose it. You should have realized that already.”

“Are you saying you’ll ignore everyone who disagrees with you? I didn’t realize the Salvation Guild was this reckless. Oh wait, no, my mistake. The Salvation Guild is where all the thugs gather.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Did you forget about the incident from eight years ago? I didn’t know your memory was that poor.”

Hong Hyun chuckled.

It would have been strange if he didn’t laugh.

It was simple.

The bad blood between Lee Seong-jae and Jin Song-i started exactly with that incident eight years ago.

The “incident” refers to a confrontation between Jin Song-i and members of the Conqueror Guild at an A-level gate eight years ago. It doesn’t matter who started the conflict; in the end, only Jin Song-i returned alive from that gate.

“Our master said that the Conqueror Guild members started the argument back then.”

“….”

“If it had just been a minor scuffle, we would have let it slide. After all, awakened ones can have disputes. But attacking the back of the master who was fighting the boss monster crossed the line. So, he said he killed them all. I still think this was self-defense, don’t you?”

“People protect their own.”

“Let me return that to you. ‘People protect their own.'”

Lee Seong-jae walked up to Hong Hyun, then bent down and glared at him. Hong Hyun turned his head and smiled as their eyes met.

“This is your final warning. The Salvation Guild will not come to Seoul. Pack your things and go back to Pangyo.”

Hong Hyun sighed deeply.

“You still don’t understand, do you, Seong-jae? The warning isn’t yours to give; it’s ours.”

“…What?”

“I’ll give you exactly one day. Remove all the articles. And don’t interfere with anything the Salvation Guild intends to do. If any of these conditions are broken, you will die.”

Lee Seong-jae’s eyes turned red.

His anger caused his veins to bulge.

“Originally, my secretary said to kill you immediately if you didn’t listen, but I’m soft-hearted. Out of old sentiment, I’ll give you a day.”

Hong Hyun stood up and gestured to Strike Team Leader Yoon Ji-hoo, who had been standing in the corner with his arms crossed. They should leave.

Yoon Ji-hoo shrugged and opened the door to leave, and Hong Hyun followed him. As he was about to leave, Lee Seong-jae spoke.

“You’ve really grown. The little brat who used to follow me around everywhere.”

Hong Hyun turned his head.

“As I said, it’s out of old sentiment.”

“…”

“Think carefully. Why didn’t my secretary or the master come here, and why did I come? We stick to principles. That’s the kind of guild we are. But if it becomes impossible, we won’t be able to back down. This time, we absolutely can’t step back.”