How a legendary returner lives

It was Yoon Young-Soo.

The secretary of the Salvation Guild and Jin Song-I’s right-hand man, he slumped down into his seat. It was already late, but that didn’t matter.

Should he say he was bewildered?

What he had just experienced was something that could not be explained in words.

The call to Jin Si-Hoo had been around 9:20 PM.

And the current time was 9:50 PM.

When Jin Si-Hoo first said he would go to the U.S. without a teleportation ability, he had thought the guy was just joking.

But after only a few seconds, he was in Japan, and he was in complete shock.

Then, after about a minute—or at most two minutes—he arrived in the U.S., entered the gate in Texas, and in about 10 minutes, the gate was cleared.

‘…He’s a monster.’

There was no doubt about it.

The real Jin Si-Hoo was a monster. Yoon Young-Soo couldn’t even begin to imagine the extent of his power.

And just recently, he had finished talking to Jin Song-I.

‘…John Marcel…’

John Marcel, the guild master of Helios, was a disciple.

It was astounding. Too perfect, if anything.

What kind of trick was used that even Jin Song-I couldn’t properly recognize?

No, if someone who didn’t know saw this, the whole situation itself would seem impossible.

Who was John Marcel? An S-class awakener for years, he was the most active awakener in the U.S.

His activities didn’t just stop at clearing gates.

There were many awakens without backgrounds among them.

Many orphans who became A or S-class awakeners, and many who proposed unfair contracts to them.

John Marcel always proposed fair contracts and gave them the freedom to switch guilds without penalties, as long as they grew.

It was joked that about one-third of all C to S-class awakeners in the U.S. went through Helios.

A guild that taught everything—from fighting techniques and how to use skills to efficient gate-clearing techniques.

Such a guild was rare. Helios was certainly an impressive guild.

It was because of that kind of guild that Jin Song-I went to the U.S. in the first place. He was just too dedicated to service.

But the guild master was a disciple.

‘…It’s chilling.’

How many people were wearing masks, he wondered.

And with that, Yoon Young-Soo reaffirmed Jin Si-Hoo’s importance.

Yes, this would do.

Jin Si-Hoo was Jin Song-I’s brother. The phrase “reliable ally” was unnecessary.

He was an extremely powerful ally.

Yoon Young-Soo had made up his mind.

Now.

It was time to send Jin Song-I to Seoul.

A long time ago, South Korea didn’t have the ability to clear S-class gates. They requested help from the U.S., and at that time, the U.S. native awakeners, the first awakeners, were called the world’s top awakeners.

He was a man overflowing with mischief.

The condition he presented was, “Don’t let the most capable awakener in Korea come to Seoul.”

This was all that Jin Si-Hoo had been told. But there was more to the story.

Some of the awakeners active in Seoul at the time had colluded with the U.S. native awakeners.

Because of that promise, Jin Song-I had continued to operate in Pangyo.

The Salvation Guild started in Pangyo, and five years ago, Yoon Young-Soo founded a guild called “Jin Song-I” in Seoul under his name.

Whenever Seoul’s gates were up for bid, they cleared them with Jin Song-I.

Jin Song-I couldn’t just live in Pangyo.

He needed to grow more. There was no need to think too deeply—Seoul was much bigger than Pangyo. The number of gates appearing in Seoul far exceeded the number of gates across all of Gyeonggi Province.

Jin Song-I had to come to Seoul and clear a few gates. Politicians who turned a blind eye to this “loophole” believed it was some great benefit, and this had to be broken.

Politicians, businesspeople, and even awakeners who treated Jin Song-I like a secondary player in the political world had to be made nervous. Simply put, if they became a nuisance, they would be killed.

Yoon Young-Soo immediately sent a text to Jin Song-I.

[Master, it’s time for you to come to Seoul.]

The reply didn’t come immediately.

After about five minutes, Yoon Young-Soo’s watch vibrated.

[Yes, proceed.]

* * *

There was a man with a very grim expression.

It was clear—he was furious.

He slammed the desk.

“Jin Song-I, that damn woman…”

Words that didn’t suit his handsome face kept spilling out, incessantly.

“Did you think I was joking when I told you to stay quietly in Pangyo?”

“Master, please calm down.”

“Calm down? Shut your mouth and calm yourself down.”

“…”

“Hey, Bu-Gilma.”

“Yes, Master.”

“This damn woman, how did she clear it?”

“…We don’t know. Nothing has been revealed about what appeared in the gate.”

The handsome man, Lee Seong-Jae, a pure SSS-class awakener in Korea, gestured as if to continue.

“They say the members of Helios who entered with Jin Song-I didn’t see anything either.”

“Why? Don’t they have eyes? Are they all blind?”

“…Apparently, Jin Song-I ordered a full retreat, and even after we checked all their watches, nothing special was found.”

“Surely, there’s something. Did any of them act weird, or anything?”

“The only strange thing was that Helios’s guild master, John Marcel, suddenly stopped retreating and ran toward Jin Song-I.”

Awakeners who enter gates always bring their watches. It was mandatory. A legal obligation.

The watches always had the automatic recording function on, and most of the watches had been checked.

But there was nothing unusual. What stood out was Jin Song-I’s heroic actions: after assessing the situation, she ordered everyone to evacuate while she stayed behind to hold off the ghosts. That’s why the media was making such a fuss about it.

“Hey, do you believe this?”

Lee Seong-Jae knocked the monitor in front of him, turning it around. The monitor displayed a news article.

[The highest-ranked gate ever, conquered by Korea’s Jin Song-I. Should Chilgang’s ranking be revised?]

“The highest-ranked gate? Seriously, does this make sense? Is this some kind of error?”

“…Honestly, we haven’t doubted the gate measurements in the last 10 years, but with the recent surge of abnormal gates, we can’t rule out the possibility of it being accurate.”

The reason for such comments was simple.

There had been no monsters except for ghosts in the gate—at most, there was a Ghost King.

Yet the gate’s ranking changed, becoming above SSS-class.

And Jin Song-I cleared it alone? Does that even make sense?

More than anything, Jin Song-I hadn’t given any interviews.

That was the biggest problem.

Jin Song-I’s watch. And Jin Song-I’s own words.

If Jin Song-I showed her watch, everything would be cleared up. Even if she just spoke, the questions would be resolved.

Right now, nothing was resolved.

Then, the vice-guild master spoke up cautiously.

“However, some unusual scenes have been captured from the watches of some of the Helios guild members.”

Only then did Lee Seong-Jae show interest.

“You said there was nothing special? This guy has grown. Is he lying?”

“…It’s not that. I just wasn’t sure whether to mention it.”

“So, what is it?”

The sub-guild master, as if waiting for the moment, tapped his watch. A large hologram appeared in midair.

The video began to play on the hologram.

The Helios guild members were visible, all fidgeting anxiously, staring at the gate.

When would someone come to rescue them?

Would Master Jin Song be okay?

They muttered things that were hard to listen to, and just about three seconds before Isungjae was about to explode with anger, the sub-guild master slowed the playback.

Slowly.

The gate shimmered like waves. Then, a man appeared. The sub-guild master paused the video at that exact moment.

“You can’t see his face clearly, but it’s this man.”

His appearance was very blurry. All that could be discerned was that he wore a black Balmacan coat and was a man. That was all.

Isungjae, who had been watching quietly, spoke up.

“Play it again.”

“Okay.”

The sub-guild master resumed the video, now at 0.2x speed.

However, as soon as the video resumed, the man’s figure disappeared from the scene.

Like smoke.

“…What the hell is that?”

“We have two theories.”

“Tell me.”

“Either the man’s speed was so fast that the video couldn’t capture him, or his appearance was merely reflecting someone waiting outside the gate.”

The sub-guild master rewound the video, and once again, the blurry figure of the man in the black coat appeared in the hologram.

Isungjae said nothing, quietly watching the man in the video.

The sub-guild master spoke again.

“If we could only confirm Jin Song’s watch, it would be easier. But she continues to refuse.”

“…”

“She claims that her watch broke during the battle, and with an SSS-level gate, that’s understandable, according to the majority of opinions…”

BAM!

The sub-guild master couldn’t finish his sentence as Isungjae slammed his fist down on the desk, shattering it.

“…Seoul is mine. Don’t let that woman come to Seoul, no matter what. Stop her by any means necessary.”

On the desk, where the computer monitor had fallen, there was a news article displayed.

[Did Jin Song, who massacred Isungjae’s ‘Conqueror’ guild members, return to Seoul?]

There’s no hatred without reason.

There’s no flight without reason.

Everything happens for a reason.

Isungjae pointed at the man in the black coat.

“And that bastard, find out who he is, right now.”

The sub-guild master, though skeptical, had no choice.

“…Understood.”

* * *

At the Texas hotel, Jin Song was with Jin Sihoo.

An awkward silence lingered.

They each had their own reasons.

Jin Song felt guilty.

Jin Sihoo was bewildered that his sister was being beaten.

It was Jin Sihoo who spoke first.

“So, is it all certain now? No more doubts?”

“Since the moment I left our house in Pangyo, everything was already unraveling. I just didn’t want to accept the reality. I wasn’t doubting or anything. By the way, didn’t the secretary give you the watch that the apostle used? Why didn’t you contact me?”

“Because I was pissed off.”

“…You’ve really grown up.”

“I was always bigger than you.”

Jin Song couldn’t help but laugh at the response. But then…

“I heard from the secretary during our call earlier that you got to Texas in five minutes, right?”

Jin Sihoo didn’t deny it.

“Yeah.”

“…I could feel it in the gate, but you really are a monster.”

Jin Sihoo chuckled.

“I’ve heard that so much that it doesn’t even feel new anymore.”

“…Sihoo.”

“Yeah?”

“The diary you gave me, I read it.”

“Really? What do you think?”

“…It was sad.”

Jin Sihoo remained silent, as if wanting to hear more.