Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

The Finals, and (1)

"Director Jo Chang-woo."

A sound of swallowing could be heard at Na Ji-hwan's heavy voice.

As a former A-rank hunter, the weight of his voice was on a completely different level from that of ordinary people.

It was like a suffocating pressure clutching his throat.

While others struggled to simply breathe, only Jo Chang-woo smiled nonchalantly.

"Yes, president."

"You were the one managing Ji Yeon-hwa. Are you really saying you don't know where she disappeared to?"

"As you saw in the leaked video, there was a large landslide at the end. After that, hunter Ji Yeon-hwa did not return."

"Is that so?"

Na Ji-hwan narrowed his eyes, as if trying to see through Jo Chang-woo.

"So a mere C-rank hunter returned alive and well, but Ji Yeon-hwa, who was close to being S-rank, was the one who had an accident? And according to the search team, no body presumed to be Ji Yeon-hwa's has been found."

"Even so, that's all the information I have. I wasn't at the filming site that day, nor have I been in contact with Ji Yeon-hwa since. You've already checked that yourself, haven't you, president?"

As he said, Na Ji-hwan had already thoroughly checked Jo Chang-woo's phone.

There was no record of calls with Ji Yeon-hwa, nor any other records worthy of suspicion.

"Yes, I checked. Still, even if that's true, you're not free from responsibility for failing to properly manage Ji Yeon-hwa. You'll need to take responsibility for that."

"... Understood."

At Jo Chang-woo's accepting attitude without much protest, Na Ji-hwan let out a quiet sigh.

He didn't like it, but with no concrete evidence, there was no way to press further.

'I'll find out Ji Yeon-hwa's whereabouts before long anyway.'

He'd already commissioned the Information Guild to search for Ji Yeon-hwa's whereabouts.

One of the few organizations that maintained a traditional guild structure instead of management.

He was confident that, since all their members were skilled hunters, they'd find her quickly.

When it came to tracking the Awakener, they were simply unmatched.

"And... Ju Ji-sang."

"Yes, president."

"Are you confident about the finals?"

Though he had shown a bit of wavering in the semifinals, Ju Ji-sang also overwhelmed his opponent and made it to the finals. However, maybe due to recent events, his complexion didn't look good.

"Of course. I'm in the best possible condition right now."

Na Ji-hwan nodded with a worried expression at Ju Ji-sang's display of confidence.

"I hate to say it, but Lee Soo-ah is no pushover. At a minimum, you should consider her at A-rank or above. You must not drop your guard."

"You don't have to worry, president."

Ju Ji-sang clenched and unclenched his fist, showing a fierce grin.

Certainly, until recently he would have been quite nervous before the final.

But not anymore.

'With this strength!'

He now understood how Ji Yeon-hwa had reached S-rank in such a short time.

With the strength he'd received from the Javelin Guild, he believed he could even stand up to the pre-rampage Ji Yeon-hwa.

'I can bring down Lee Soo-ah. I can—no, I will completely shatter her.'

The woman who stole the attention that should have been his.

In this final, he would prove he was the real deal and crush Lee Soo-ah once and for all.

***

"...?"

As I entered the hall where the finals would be held, just before the live broadcast, I felt something sticky wrapping around my body.

At first, I wondered if it was simply due to the density of magic power increasing.

After all, many Awakener were waiting here to watch the finals.

But with even a little focus, it was clear this was something else entirely.

This was not a phenomenon caused by mere magic power.

'Demonic energy (魔氣).'

As I entered the hall, I looked around the audience, each starting to take their seats.

So many people were coming that it was hard to pinpoint the exact location, but there was definitely someone here emitting demonic energy.

'There are no dark mages in this world, so...'

There was only one kind of being capable of emitting demonic energy.

Demons.

"The air feels bad in here. Maybe the ventilation isn't working?"

I wasn't the only one sensitive enough to notice the sticky demonic energy.

Even Sung-hwan, who was an ordinary person, seemed uncomfortable, loosening his tie a little.

"Oppa, this is 'that', isn't it?"

Apparently, Ah-yeon had also noticed, and she asked me in a small voice.

The seats we occupied were assigned to Unique, so it was difficult to properly scan the entire audience.

The management seats were close to the stage, and the seats for the finalists' guilds—Upstream and Unique—were even closer.

Cameras to capture our reactions were set up all around, making it hard to move freely.

Moreover, since the finals were about to begin, interviews would start soon, too.

"Manager Park!"

Just then, I saw a staff member running toward me.

He was so out of breath from hurrying over that he was panting heavily.

"Is something wrong?"

"Hunter Lee Soo-ah is missing!"

"Excuse me?"

"She was definitely in the waiting room... but when we went to get her for the interview, she had disappeared somewhere. Can you possibly tell us where she went? The final is about to start, and at this rate..."

The staff member rambled in confusion, repeatedly wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Hunter Lee Soo-ah is missing? Do you know when she was last seen?"

"As—As far as I know, she was in the waiting room and had her makeup done. She was alone for about an hour, I think, so if she disappeared, it must have been around then."

I checked the time on my wristwatch.

Judging from the time we arrived and the staff member's words, Soo-ah had disappeared about two hours ago.

"And what were you doing for two hours without telling anyone?!"

"W-Well, I thought maybe she'd just gone to the restroom..."

"Who spends two hours in the restroom, for god's sake?!"

As I raised my voice, I could feel eyes turning my way.

The flustered staff made a hasty excuse.

"M-Maybe she was scared and avoided the final..."

But his excuse was quickly cut short.

Because of Shin Ah-yeon's chilling glare.

"... Soo-ah would never do that."

"R-Right, I understand."

"Then hurry up and look for her."

Due to Shin Ah-yeon's subtle pressure with her magic power, the staff member turned pale and ran off to search for Soo-ah.

"Do you think this is related to the ominous energy we're sensing right now?"

"..."

I quietly scanned the demonic energy in the vicinity.

Though some time had passed, this was the lingering darkness I could never forget.

"President, Ah-yeon, stay here. We're about to go live, so the President and the mentor need to be present."

"Huh? Wouldn't it be better if I helped search as well?"

"No."

I slowly shook my head.

The demonic energy filling the area was overtly intense.

This wasn't just overflow from someone failing to suppress their power.

It was calling out.

Calling to those who could sense this demonic energy.

"I think I have a pretty good idea where it is."

***

"Huh, what?"

Something was wrong.

When the staff said the filming was about to begin, she followed him outside, but the place she ended up in wasn't the stage for the finals at all. It was just a stark white room at the end of the hallway.

As Soo-ah stared blankly at it, the staff who guided her turned around and smiled.

It was a gentle smile, but there was a strange chill to it.

"Are you Lee Soo-ah?"

"... Yes?"

"I saw the recent video. The ones who destroyed the prepared original stone."

The man was strange.

He wasn't particularly big, nor did he speak in a rough manner, but there was an odd sense of intimidation about him.

"Especially Shin Ah-yeon and you—very interesting. I just couldn't resist meeting you. Lord Sebin told me to stay calm, but still."

"What do you mean?"

Soo-ah didn't really understand.

That he was interested in Ah-yeon and her?

'Who is this Sebin person, anyway?'

But she had a bad feeling about it.

Soo-ah slowly drew the sword hanging at her waist.

The new weapon Park Jung-woo had given her this morning.

The man looked at it with interest.

"In the video, two things caught my attention, but now it's three."

"Three things?"

"The circle magic used by that woman Shin Ah-yeon. And the way you control magic power fission."

He paused, then pointed at the sword in my hand.

The brilliantly shining, sharp sword.

"Lastly, that artifact. That is definitely not made with the crafting methods of this world."

"What are you..."

Park Jung-woo had given this to me.

Yet he says it's not from this world.

No, more than that—who is this man who knows such things?

Could what he's saying be true?

It was hard to dismiss his words as mere bluff, especially in this strange, unidentified space.

"I was worried about that, so I wanted to investigate quickly. Well, it's not a big deal that the original stone failed, but we're rather sensitive to such things."

"... I don't know anything."

"You're saying you don't know, when you're clearly controlling magic power fission? Then who gave you that sword? You know that much, don't you?"

The man stretched his lips into a grotesque smile, not at all human.

That was when Soo-ah realized the man in front of her was not human.

'A monster? No, that's not it.'

The aura emanating from his body was nothing like magic power.

But recently, she had felt this kind of power before.

It was when she faced the rampaging Ji Yeon-hwa.

The power that flowed from that shadow—it was the same as this.

"Now, why don't you be honest? If you quietly answer my questions, nothing bad will happen."

Something black extended from the man's hand.

A sinister presence, just like the one that rose from Ji Yeon-hwa's shadow.

Slice—!!

"Kuh?!"

Instinctively, she cut it down.

Blue flames burst forth, burning away the blackness at once.

"... How could it be destroyed so easily?"

The man stared at me in astonishment.

But only for a moment, before his face twisted and an even fiercer aura surged from him.

"Foolish thing. If you had just answered, it'd be over without pain."

The polite tone vanished, replaced by a wild surge of energy.

A power on a whole different level from just a moment before.

In the instant she faltered at that power—

Step. Step.

The sound of someone unfamiliar approaching echoed.

"M-Manager?!"

Reflexively, she turned her head and shouted in surprise to see Park Jung-woo standing in the white hallway.

Soo-ah looked from the ominous man in front of her to Park Jung-woo repeatedly.

"It's dangerous here! P-Please run to somewhere safe!"

"Oho."

Contrary to her alarm, the ominous man smiled with interest.

"I wondered if anyone would fall into this trap who could sense demonic energy, and to think someone really did."

"..."

Park Jung-woo didn't answer.

He simply stared quietly at the man.

So much so that his irritated gaze left the man momentarily flustered.

"... Arrogant bastard. Seems you don't get the situation here. Well, since you seem to know this woman well, I'll have to ask you too."

Still, Park Jung-woo didn't reply.

He only walked a little faster.

"You arrogant little shit!! How dare you ignore me! That woman was awfully impudent, and you're even worse!!"

An even denser darkness surged from the man's body.

The white hallway and room were instantly stained black, as a blood-red liquid, like dark blood, began to drip from the ceiling.

'W-What is this?'

Shocked by this unprecedented sight, Soo-ah faltered.

Strangely, she didn't feel much fear, but visually it was extremely terrifying.

"If you can sense demonic energy, you should know what I am. So if you value your life, stop right there—you must know how foolish it is to confront a titled demon..."

KWA-KWANG!!!

Before the man's blustering speech could even end, his form was smashed to the floor.

Standing right in front of her, Soo-ah clearly saw the whole thing.

Park Jung-woo's fist turned black as he instantly closed the gap and smashed it into the man's face.

"...!!!"

His fist fell like a bolt of lightning, slamming the man's body into the floor.

A being that had radiated such overwhelming power—destroyed in a single blow.

CRACK! CRA-CRACK-CRACK!!

Starting from where the man's head hit, the blackened world split apart.

"Ugh!!"

Momentarily blinded by the flash, Soo-ah closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she saw the familiar corridor.

And one more thing.

"Soo-ah-ssi, you're not hurt, are you?"

She saw Park Jung-woo, lightly dusting off his hand as he looked at the ruined floor and the remaining puddle of black blood.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Got wrecked without even getting acknowledged.
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】