The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

Angel in SF World(3)

Yun Jaeho.

Once an executive of the Angel Guild, his past was stormy and eventful.

His parents lost their home and entire fortune, and abandoned him. Raised in an orphanage, Yun Jaeho was always teased at school for being an orphan.

He couldn't understand why he was being treated that way.

― It's because you lack social skills.
― That's why your parents abandoned you.

No matter whom he asked—teachers or other adults—these were the only answers he received.

As an elementary schooler at the time, Yun Jaeho was easily swayed by their words.

And, being a child without parents, he didn't even have the power to summon a guardian.

Yun Jaeho's life was powerless.

He had neither the strength to protect himself nor anyone trustworthy around.

All he had were the same old contemptuous glances from those nearby.

Even when he became a high schooler, that oppression continued. The school was full of bullies where fists spoke louder than words.

It was only then that he realized:
'If I just stay still, I'll always be prey.'

But he was weak.

There was no one to help him, either. So there was no need to care about means or methods.

He had always lived just taking the beatings from those around him.

If you asked why, everyone would answer the same way:
― It's because you lack willpower.
― It's because you're weak.
― It's your own fault, not anyone else's.

Yeah, it's all my fault.
It's my mistake.
Both my body and mind are trash.

So he fought back. His life had already hit rock bottom, so he grabbed a weapon to at least live like myself for once.

While the others wielded metal pipes, Yun Jaeho took up a knife and a bottle of acid.

But the numbers were 1 to 20. Even armed, it was an unwinnable fight.

It was a situation where even killing in self-defense would leave nothing to say, but it didn't matter.

Rather than being buried in misery, he wanted to shine enough to have no regrets, even if he died.

In the end, the brilliant light was stained the color of blood.

As always, it was Yun Jaeho who ended up lying on the floor, and the others tried to bury him underground.

After all, without parents, there'd be no one looking for him even if he went missing.

And just like that, 'ordinary person' Yun Jaeho disappeared from this world.

― Huh...! What's that?
― It's a Gate! Run!
― Why does it have to open here of all places!
― Aaaaargh!

The others present there were killed by monsters that came out of the Gate.
Since Yun Jaeho was half-buried in the ground, the monsters ignored him and passed by.
He was rescued by Hunters who arrived at the scene, and in the hospital, a miraculous thing was discovered about his body.

― Congratulations on your awakening.

It was a miracle that happened right before death.

He had luckily awakened due to being exposed to the energy that ripped space open when the Gate appeared.

If he hadn't died to monsters, it was said those guys would have become just like him.

While you might not know Yun Jaeho as an ordinary person, as a Hunter, he excelled greatly.

He quit school, became a Hunter, and rose to B-rank in a short time.

Furthermore, he achieved the feat of reaching A-rank just three years after awakening.

With this tremendous ability, entering the major guild Angel Guild happened in an instant.

Before long, he was promoted to an executive, married a fellow Hunter, and had a child.

It was the moment when all his past traumas seemed about to be forgotten.

'Why...'

His wife died.

He wept bitterly at the sight of his wife who went into a Gate and returned as a corpse.

All that was left was his daughter now.

He raised her carefully, hoping she'd never be involved with Gates until she entered elementary school.

He cherished that last ray of hope.

But...

'Why did it have to be you too...'

Even his child disappeared.

Due to the actions of a murderer-Hunter in the middle of the city.

In the end, he lost both his wife and daughter.

Now, nothing remained for him.

It felt like he had returned to the days when he was outcast.

He was, after all, weak.

There was no point in staying in a major guild like this.

If he could just revive his wife and daughter, he thought he would do anything.

Yes.

Anything, no matter what.

****

"This is... taking quite a while."

Gil Tae-ho, leader of the Black Flame Cult, spoke as he cleared away the debris.

Although Gil Tae-ho understood the structure of this Gate perfectly, a problem had arisen.

The path leading to the underground passage had collapsed and was completely blocked by rubble.

"There's so much debris. I never imagined a battle intense enough to cause a collapse like this."

Gil Tae-ho already had an idea whose handiwork this was.

His modified awakened was in the chamber beyond.

That awakened had been brainwashed to eliminate any intruder without hesitation.

If this was the aftermath of such a battle, he could believe it.

"But to fight so fiercely... Just what kind of opponent did they meet?"

Most intruders could be dealt with quickly and effortlessly.

Hunters entering this D-rank Gate couldn't be anything but weak.

Yet given the scale of the aftermath, clearly an unexpectedly strong person had entered.

"Is it someone over level 90 among the B-ranks? Our angel can't be defeated except by an A-rank Hunter."

"...."

"Shall I break through myself?"

Just then, the man accompanying Gil Tae-ho stood in front of the debris.

It was Yun Jaeho, once an Angel Guild executive, and the magic power flowing from his hand was overwhelming.

For Gil Tae-ho, a mere B-rank Hunter, it was an incomprehensible force.

Yet Gil Tae-ho grinned in satisfaction upon sensing it.

"While you're at it, why not try using the gift of power I gave you?"

"...."

The magic power swirling in Yun Jaeho's grasp was dyed black.

The thickening dark magic power began to burn as it gathered heat.

With a hand wreathed in black flames, befitting the Black Flame Cult, he touched the debris.

And then—

KWA-AA-AA-AANG—

Was it as if a bomb had been set on the wall?

Or a cannon from SF fiction had been fired point-blank?

The blocked passage was cleared neatly in an instant.

Gil Tae-ho watched in shock, mingled with a thrill of excitement.

'Getting him on our side really was the right move!'

Yun Jaeho, once an executive of Angel Guild.

When Gil Tae-ho heard of his loss of all family, he slowly approached him.

The Black Flame Cult's way was to approach empty-hearted people and tempt them by offering to revive someone precious to them.

But not everyone gave in. Those who resisted sometimes turned violent instead.

That's why if persuasion failed, not even bones would be left.

Bringing in someone stronger than himself like Yun Jaeho was nothing short of luck.

"As long as the plan works out, I will be able to revive my daughter, right?"

Yun Jaeho, who had blown open the blocked path with ease, spoke.

His lifeless eyes fell onto Gil Tae-ho.

The gaze of a man who had lost the meaning of life and sold his soul to the devil.

It was quite a chilling sight, but for Gil Tae-ho, it was a huge gain.

"I've told you many times. I don't even know the 'L' of lie. If it turns out to be false, do as you wish."

"...."

Gil Tae-ho displayed not a hint of fear, but rather a cocky attitude.

He seemed far too innocent—so Yun Jaeho said nothing.

They pressed through the opened tunnel, removing even the small debris that remained.

THUD THUD—

What appeared beyond was the chamber, now turned into a chaotic mess.

Stepping inside, an intense heat hit them.

It was as if they had stepped onto a preheated frying pan.

"To think the fight was this fierce."

It seemed that the angel had used their wide-area attacks to the fullest.

During his experiments, the angel was never able to heat the whole chamber like this.

"With this much destruction, I doubt there are any corpses left."

"Where are they?"

"Right over there."

Enduring the heat, they headed to the far wall of the chamber.

Kicking the wall aside revealed stairs leading down.

This wasn't something they'd set up themselves—it was an original facility existing inside the Gate.

Since any damaged facilities inside the Gate would be restored within a day, there was no need to worry about it.

As they headed down, Gil Tae-ho spoke.

"We really appreciate you, sir. Thanks to the excellent recruit you brought, our operations have been much smoother."

"You mean that angel-like Mutamit? It's just one of my traits—being able to judge an awakened's talent."

A trait called 'Appraisal', rated at 8 stars.

Thanks to this, he achieved the feat of scouting excellent members for the Angel Guild.

It was a big reason he was promoted to an executive.

"We were honestly shocked when even that kid's parents were killed."

After leaving Angel Guild, Yun Jaeho used that trait in the worst way.

To gain a sacrifice to revive his dying daughter, he killed a couple and kidnapped their child.

Currently, that child was a death angel, killing people in this Gate.

"It's nothing to do with me anyway,"

Yun Jaeho said with indifference, making Gil Tae-ho shudder. Even as a fellow murderer Hunter, it sent chills down his spine.

Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, they opened the giant door ahead and entered.

Walking down the ensuing corridor, Gil Tae-ho spoke.

"We've completed over 90% of the plan. Thanks to Sir kidnapping the awakened, the progress sped up."

"The more magic power, the higher the chance of success."

The missing awakened throughout Korea—

It was all to carry out a certain ritual orchestrated by Yun Jaeho.

If he gathered their magic power in a sacred vessel, it could host the descent of the 'Heavenly Spirit'.
It was Yun Jaeho's goal to ask that Heavenly Spirit to grant his wish and revive his daughter.
And the sacred vessel for possession was that very angel.

"Sir has carried the team. We should reward you, of course."

Though Gil Tae-ho said so, inside he sneered.

Like all cults, the miracles and wishes they offered were always contradictions.

Yun Jaeho wished for reunion with his dead family.

But if he died himself, he'd meet them in the afterlife anyway.

So, granting the wish wasn't really a lie.

'Will the Heavenly Spirit really grant your petty wish?'

That magnificent Heavenly Spirit would obviously prefer someone with more faith like himself.

Once the possession succeeded, he'd just get rid of Yun Jaeho.

"But why did that brat end up fighting in a place like that? And how did such a young kid gain that kind of combat power?"

No matter how talented, for a child of that age to instantly slay even B-rank Hunters was unheard of.

He must have been modified.

"It's not just to drive out intruders. That brat has a trait that lets them steal magic power from subdued opponents."

It was a feature important for gathering magic power for the ritual.

That's why the kid was sent to the upper chamber under the pretext of eliminating intruders.

"If they kill even one person, they can harvest magic power from the corpse."

"To have such a talent at that age."

"You brought the kid yourself, sir. Didn't you know?"

No matter the exact rating, it was an extremely rare trait for a Hunter, for whom magic power was everything.

And to have awakened it as a child? An incredible prodigy.

"Thanks to the magic power we've been supplying, the kid's become insanely strong. Not that she fights willingly..."

So Gil Tae-ho brainwashed the child.
He used a brainwashing skill obtained from a Skill Book dropped by a monster.

"You had that kind of skill?"

"Yep. That's why the kid could become so obedient. Even if the brainwashing is broken, the kid can't escape this place anyway."

He pulled out a small remote from his pocket as he spoke.

"If I just press this button, the kid's paralyzed and can't move. Hold it down, and they'll blow up."

It was a precaution.
To keep anyone from exposing the truth about this D-rank Gate.

"But where is the kid?"

"Hmm... That's odd. The brat should be lurking around here somewhere."

The child always uses a secret passage to enter the upper chamber upon spotting intruders.

But, even though the passage was checked on the surveillance camera, they hadn't seen the kid at all.

Fwoooooosh—

That's when it happened.

Black flames shot out from somewhere, incinerating the upper half of Gil Tae-ho's body.

The small device in his hand was burnt up as well.

Gil Tae-ho turned to ash without even a scream.

Yun Jaeho, startled, looked in that direction.

"One down."

There stood a young boy, who had been hiding in stealth.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
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