The Returner

Chapter 427

“A nuke?” (Kim Dah-Som)

Kim Dah-Som stared at Yi Ji-Hyuk in total confusion .

Now normally, a story should start at a beginning and end at a logical conclusion – yet Yi Ji-Hyuk was being himself once more by not providing any context whatsoever and simply saying whatever the heck he felt like .

Kim Dah-Som would’ve relied on her usual tactic of ignoring most of what he said and glossed over it, but couldn’t do that this time .

What he said just now was far too terrifying for that, unfortunately .

“A n-nuke is heading this way? You’re kidding, right?” (Kim Dah-Som)

“Well…” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk scratched his cheek for a bit before finishing the rest of his sentence .

“…It’s possible that mister Choi Jeong-Hoon has this tendency to call me out of the blue to start joking around the stuff like that . While cooperating with the defense minister, no less . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“So, it’s real?!” (Kim Dah-Som)

“No, hang on . It’s possible, right?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“So it IS really headed over here . ” (Kim Dah-Som)

“…Yeah, sounds like it . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

He nodded, and Kim Dah-Som dazedly looked up at the sky above .

A nuke was supposedly falling from somewhere up there .

“W-what should we do, in that case??” (Kim Dah-Som)

“Not sure…” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk shrugged his shoulders .

“Shouldn’t we alert the public about this?!” (Kim Dah-Som)

“But, I think people who need to evacuate have already done that . Well, there’s the question of whether or not those places can double as nuclear shelters, though . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“There are still people staying back inside their buildings, right? They’ll die if left alone, you know?” (Kim Dah-Som)

“Whoa, whoa . Calm down first . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk lightly pounded on Kim Dah-Som’s back . His experience told him that the best medicine for someone suffering from panic attack was a beatdown, but as she was a human underneath, he couldn’t exactly open a can of whoop-a*s on her so he went with the next best thing .

“The nuke might be headed to South Korea, but they didn’t say it’ll land here . We don’t even know how powerful the nuke is, so it might be only as bad as Seoul blowing up to smithereens, you know?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“That’s one seriously wishful way of looking at things . ” (Kim Dah-Som)

“Or, the nuke might get stopped before all that . If we haphazardly blurt out that a nuke is falling on top of us and cause the panicking crowd to rush underground, we might end up with even more casualties than an actual nuke going off, you know? That’s why the higher-ups aren’t saying anything . The government officials aren’t dummies, after all . I mean, they have already evacuated half of the city, right?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

When nicely put, that sounded plausible, but when not-so nicely put… There was no field manual advising people to evacuate because a nuke was falling on top of them .

Didn’t matter if it was a nuke, a tsunami or even a horde of monsters, South Korea’s alert system simply chose to stick to the same pattern of cramming people into shelters .

No one could tell whether that was due to the worries of mass panic or the incompleteness of the alert system itself, but no additional measures being put in place was an undeniable fact nevertheless .

“Ehh… Now let’s see . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk lightly tapped his head .

Maybe because this was an unexpected situation, it felt like the gears in his head weren’t spinning fast enough yet . He just couldn’t get a bead on what his top priority should be right now .

“For now, mm…” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

He scratched his cheek .

‘I guess I’ll help evacuate these two kids . And Ye-Won and mom… Oh, and dad, too . ’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

After coming up with a list of things to do, he was about to extend his hands to left and right only to stop himself .

“By the way, where are we even supposed to escape to?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

According to Choi Jeong-Hoon, eighteen nuclear warheads were randomly targeting the rest of the world, weren’t they? So, where would he go and find a safe spot in the midst of all that?

The very first place he could think of was the American nuclear shelter he stashed his family away back then, but…

“D*mn . This is one of the problems of losing my powers, I guess . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

If this was in the past, he could just pop in and out of there as if it was his own bedroom, but he didn’t think Christopher McLaren would be so willing to open the doors for him at this stage . There was no incentive to do so, after all .

“Jeong Hae-Min . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Ng?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Out of all the teleportation locations you’ve marked down, is there anywhere that seems the safest to you?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Eh? I thought it’d be okay as long as we’re far away from South Korea?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Eighteen warheads are targeting random locations around the world, actually . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“In that case, wouldn’t heaven be the safest?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Well, I agree on that one . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk spat out a lengthy groan .

“Man, what a f*cked-up situation this is . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

If he wanted to survive alone, then sure, there were figuratively thousands of ways to do that, but surviving in that manner would have absolutely no meaning .

“Okay . For the time being, take this kid and head to my house . I’ll join you after fetching Ye-Won and my dad . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“…Got it . You gotta hurry, okay?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Roger . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

While nodding his head, Yi Ji-Hyuk pushed Kim Dah-Som towards Jeong Hae-Min . The younger girl must’ve recognised the severity of the situation since she didn’t say anything and simply grasped the older girl’s hand .

“Okay, see you later . ” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Poof .

After the two girls vanished from his sight, he groaned one more time and picked up his phone .

‘He might be really busy right now, though . ’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk expected the office to be inundated with incoming and outgoing calls, but as if to mock his worries, Choi Jeong-Hoon snatched up his receiver even before the phone could ring three times .

– “Yes, Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk!” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“How long do we have?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

– “Somewhat humorously, we have around two hours . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Was a nuke supposed to be that slow?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

– “Of course not . An ICBM actually breaks out of Earth’s atmosphere before descending on top of the target, you see . It’s supposed to fall at a speed that human eyes can’t see . Its rocket fuel should have been depleted by now, but the demon king must’ve done something to it by the looks of things . The latest report says the warhead is travelling at a speed similar to a regular passenger plane . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Hmm…” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk nodded in acceptance .

“I guess that’s more than enough leeway, then . Can you find a location that will be safe from a nuclear strike? Surely there are bunkers even in South Korea, too? You know, like the holes dug out in some remote mountains for the higher-ups to evacuate to?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

– “Yes, we do . However…” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“However?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

– “I’m not sure why you’re looking for such places, actually . Isn’t there an underground bunker where you regularly enter like your backyard? Wouldn’t that place be the safest?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Where are you talking about?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

– “The Blue House, of course . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Ah!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk slapped his forehead after hearing that .

He believed he had gotten quite used to dangerous situations, but it seemed that he needed to change his mindset . To think that he couldn’t think of something that obvious just because he found himself in a situation like this one .

“Where are you now? Wait, are you still at that construction site?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

– “Yes . We haven’t received any orders to move out, so we’re currently on standby . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“In that case, give Hae-Min a call and tell her to take everyone there . Dah-Som is also with her, as well . Take everyone with you and go inside the Blue House’s bunker . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

– “Everyone present here? But, we won’t get permission for that . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Who cares about some permission or whatnot when we’re about to die? Tell them that if they don’t let you in, I’m gonna show up and cause a big scene there . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

– “Understood . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Yi Ji-Hyuk ended the call and groaned yet again .

“Man, what a sh*t show this is . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Learning about the window of two hours only ended up making him feel weirded out .

If the nuke was to fall in, say, twenty minutes’ time, then everyone would’ve been running around madly as if their butts were on fire, but two hours? He just couldn’t figure out what he should do in the meantime .

“I guess I’ll take care of mom . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

If his priorities were uncertain, then he should simply deal with the most important ones first . So, that would be his family, then .

“Wait, can even I teleport, though?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

After Alpha showed him a new path to take, Yi Ji-Hyuk tried to practice it a bit but there was still a big question mark on whether or not he could even use a high-rank magic like teleportation .

“Eiii, I’m supposed to be a grand mage, aren’t I? Why am I hesitating, anyway?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk extended his hands left and right to gather Mana . And as this pure Mana began filling up his body, this unstoppable rush of…

“Ouch ouch ouch ouch?! Aigooooo, I might die at this raaaate!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

…An unstoppable rush of pain crashed into him .

“Bloody hell?! It hurts to use dark Mana, but it also hurts to use white Mana, too?! What the freak do you want me to do, then?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Dark Mana was the type of energy source that destroyed the user’s body to begin with, so pain accompanying its usage couldn’t be helped . On the other hand, the regular ‘white’ Mana possessed a completely opposing nature to dark Mana so unsurprisingly, it caused a serious backlash after entering his body tainted by so much of the latter energy source .

Meaning, it didn’t matter what he did because this excruciating pain would attack him either way .

“Maaaan, my body’s usefulness is absolute trash!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

His entire figure continued to convulse nonstop, but even then, magical power continued to diligently fill up his insides . He did his best to suppress the dark Mana in him and that allowed some amount of regular Mana to gather .

If his body was like in the past when it was completely filled to the brim with dark Mana, then when regular Mana entered him, it would have been assimilated by the former in an instant .

He closed his eyes while fighting against the intense pain . He now needed to search for his family’s markers he left on them for a rainy day like today .

He then spent Mana to activate teleportation .

*

“…Where did you just appear from, son?” (mom)

“Mom, why do you look like that?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk found his mother inside an evacuation shelter . The crowd was surprised by his sudden appearance in the middle of air, but as the world was filled with ability users anyway, their shock subsided pretty quickly .

“I was working in the kitchen before the evacuation, you see . ” (mom)

Yi Ji-Hyuk smirked a little after looking at his mom kitted out in an apron and a pair of rubber kitchen gloves .

“At least you evacuated properly, though . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Of course . We were told to evacuate so we should, right?” (mom)

“Got it . Anyway, mom? Please come with me . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Go with you to where? No, we should stay put right here . Who knows what might happen by loitering outside?” (mom)

“Eiii, seriously?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk smiled bitterly while lightly pushing away mom’s hand about to slap him in the back .

What the heck? She seems to be hitting me gently, yet why does it hurt right down to my bones?! (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)

He grabbed mom’s hand and activated teleportation once more .

*

“…”

“…”

“Uhm…” (Ye-Won)

Furious steam began rising up from Yi Ji-Hyuk’s head .

Yi Ye-Won smiled awkwardly and quickly discarded the cigarette in her hand, then stubbed it out with her foot .

“What the hell, you dumb little…!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

He groaned grandly .

“I thought you got your act straight these days, yet you’re still fooling around with some throwaway losers?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Oiii, uncle . Did you just call us throwaway losers? Aren’t you being too rude here, man?”

“Gimme a freaking break . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

A group of high school hoodlums hanging around Ye-Won began glaring at Yi Ji-Hyuk with hostile eyes after hearing his reply .

Wowsers?

They are glaring at me? (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)

Yi Ji-Hyuk sighed deeply and pulled out a cigarette of his own before lighting it up .

If Chang-Sik was here, he could’ve sorted these punks out nice and easy, but these losers didn’t seem to be acquainted with that boy, unfortunately .

Here he was, under the impression that he got his sister transferred to a pretty reputable school . His defeat this time came in the form of overlooking the simple fact that no matter what kind of an institution it was, you’d always find these sorts of losers in it .

“If only I had some spare time, I would’ve made you sh*t blood for the next few days but unfortunately, I’m too busy right now so I shall turn a blind eye to… Ouchouchouchouch?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Suddenly, his head was yanked down to the side and he began screaming in pain . Madam Park Seon-Deok was currently yanking at his ear as if it was some kind of a rubber toy .

“How dare you start smoking before your mother!” (mom)

“Aaaah?! Mom! My ear! My ear! Mom!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“You fool!” (mom)

With his ear caught in her vice-like grip, a powerful spike landed on his back and all Yi Ji-Hyuk could do was to curl up his whole body like a grilled squid .

“Hul…”

The hoodlums witnessing that spectacle began shuddering from terror .

You wouldn’t know the pain of that thing unless you’ve experienced it yourself . That thing, it was like Hell’s own shackles that you couldn’t escape or run away from .

“Imma seriously…!” (mom)

Park Seon-Deok released his ear, and he reflexively raised his arms to defend against the next spike aimed at his back .

“M-mom, I made a mistake . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“I’ll deal with you later . For now… Yi Ye-Won . ” (mom)

“Y-yes! Mother!” (Ye-Won)

“Come over here, you fool . ” (mom)

“…Yep . ” (Ye-Won)

Grab .

Park Seon-Deok grabbed a handful of Ye-Won’s hair .

“For now, let us get out of here . We will have a serious talk as a family after leaving, you ungrateful child . ” (mom)

“W-we’re setting off, then . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Feeling somewhat like a taxi driver giving a ride to a bunch of armed thugs, Yi Ji-Hyuk cautiously grasped the hands of Ye-Won and mom then activated teleportation .

“…What just happened?”

The remaining hoodlums watched the three people disappear into thin air as their jaws slowly dropped .

< 427 . There’s a nuke headed this way? -2 > Fin .