Chapter 120 (2/2)

“The number of survivors has begun to decrease one after another!”

“What? As soon as they Cleared it?”

The news was delivered nearly in real-time.

A few minutes had passed in that state, the survivors indicated in the message had decreased precisely by six people.

That meant that only the rescue team member sent by the Chinese government remained in the dungeon.

However, the speed of the events and the situation itself was strange.

“To say that they all died one after the other as soon as they completed the dungeon re-run is a bit unbelievable.”

No matter how they thought about it, it was suspicious.

“… Indeed, since they’re in an environment where the returning stone doesn’t work, it can be only interpreted that way.”

Not all of the people gathered there were fools.

The evidence was too circumstantial for them to believe and merely move on.

An ominous chill clawed its way up everyone’s spines.

*

Paht!

After finishing the second Clearing of the dungeon, I entered the [Door of Hope] with the five survivors.

The destination was a house in Seoul.

“Ah! We’re home!”

It was the first building we returned to after a tiring run at the dungeon that lasted for more than a week. Nate broadly smiled as if he were excited.

Meanwhile, the place where Hibiki’s mind was focused was…

“I’ll go check on the cat to see if it’s well.”

Secretary Kim should be taking care of it, but she still seemed to be in a hurry since she hadn’t seen it for a long time.

“Alright, both of you get some rest, and let’s talk again tomorrow.”

Next, I looked at the three SSS-Class hunters that came along.

The news of everyone’s survival, including them, was not yet known to the media.

They looked at the blue Gate, still floating in the air as if they were possessed.

“An item that enables dimensional travels!”

As they finished moving around like robots according to my command to hold off the wave for three more days and even complete re-Clearing the dungeon, they seemed to realize how extraordinary the current situation was finally.

They looked at me with an awe-filled gaze.

“The method of fighting and the items you use are of a different level…. I was a frog in a well until now.”

Those words were spoken out by a Russian hunter while staring at me.

“The frog in the well applies to all three of us. No, beyond that, the entire human race doesn’t know yet the true nature of the kind of man you are.

“In a place that no one knew, you were going a few stages ahead!”

I was planning to let them stay there for a while.

“So, all three of you are still determined to take part in revenge, right?

At that moment, a fierce flash lingered in their eyes.

Giving the three of them contract-based instructions were intended to end the dungeon. If I swung the contract like a weapon, enslaving SSS-Class hunters, I would be no different from the Chinese. The demand for healing them from the poison and helping them return to Earth was expected to stop there.

But they asked me about my plans.

“Yes, Seo Jin-Wook, we can’t just pretend as if nothing happened. They were trying to shackle our necks and isolate us by getting us lost in a dimension. Those are all unpardonable atrocities against human beings! We must not only let the world know of this, but we must punish those who set this up!”

From that moment on, they joined me with their free will.

I reached out to Secretary Kim through the terminal.

“My god! Guild Masteeeer!”

Secretary Kim, who rushed to the scene after receiving my call and almost fainting, was surprised to see me in person.

“No, how on Earth did you make it out? What did you ride to Korea, and when did you arrive home?! What happened to you? The Chinese bastards are really…!”

I calmed him down and asked him to prepare living quarters for the three guests.

“It’s a secret that we’ve all survived for the time being. Don’t let it leak out, please.”

If they knew we’re back, our enemies would enter into a state of emergency beyond just being suspicious.

It was never what I wanted.

*

The next day, I called Nate to request for the subordinate to be summoned.

“Rargh…”

It, who had been dead for only a few days, was the Chinese soldier that I killed after deliberately feeding an elixir to it to return it to its normal body state.

“It’s rather freshly dead compared to the rest of the subordinates, but it still does look like a zombie.”

I used magic right away.

[Polymorph!]

As the flash passed by the zombie, the remaining form was of an ordinary man who could never be seen as an undead. Warm light lingered on the pale skin, and the pupil that had lost its life became clear.

I spoke after I started recording the video in that manner.

“Nate, please.”

“Mmhmm!”

He invoked a subskill of his unique skill, [Footprints Across Boundaries].

The red Mana spread around like a fog.

[The Memories of the Dead]

The memories that the zombie had collected during its lifetime had started to transfer into Nate’s head slowly. He frowned slightly as if his temples were splitting.

“Preparation is done. What should I ask?”

I asked Nate what I wanted to know. He said that the skill stimulated the dead’s memories like a fishing line cast into muddy waters, fishing it out if he applied force.

“…”

As soon as Nate identified the information, he controlled the zombie for the content to be transferred to speech.

It made it look like it was confessing.

‘It would have been most effective to search the memory of expedition leader Ray Chen, but it’s a shame.’

Fortunately, however, most of the expedition members gathered with only SS-Class or higher held high positions in China’s special forces. Thanks to that, I was able to identify how the mission came down.

The same was true of that corpse who became a zombie and was being exploited of its memories.

“Oh, my. Its memory is more solid than I expected.”

So I found out all the names I needed and the whole story behind the incident.

“Well done!”

After finishing the memory search and recording, I called someone.

‘No matter how it may be, the opponent is the state. It’s dangerous to make a mess without support. Even if we attempt to assassinate assiduously, we’ll be identified as a suspect.’

So I even went through the troublesome act of recording, but it wasn’t enough.

Paht!

The call went through.

The Senator was staring at me in the hologram that came up.

Instead of greeting- I spoke cheerfully.

“Yes, Senator. I am alive!”

But the Senator answered indifferently.

“I didn’t ask.”

Hmm? I wasn’t expecting that kind of reaction.

Even though it was me that called, whose death was confirmed in the media worldwide, the Senator’s expression was sour.

“You’re not surprised at all?”

Then the Senator spoke as if he was muttering.

“I told you so many times not to go. However, when I saw you choose to go anyway, I thought you had the means to come back and had a solid plan. What a hotshot you are.”

He clicked his tongue.

“How about the other hunters? Who lived, and who died?”

“Except for the Chinese, everyone lived.”

Then the Senator smirked.

“It’s like the Chinese have killed themselves while they were acting like idiots. So, what are you going to do now? Seeing that you haven’t made a press announcement yet, I’m sure….”

I replied with a nod.

“Yes, we should retaliate. But this time, we will need a bit of help from the U.S.”