Chapter 48

Episode 48

Outside the crack, the public’s anticipation was similar to that of a national sporting event.

People were all tuned in to the broadcasts, waiting for news about the Dive.

-Exactly 20 minutes have passed since the rush team entered the crack. The wait for Oh Yoo-seong has begun.-

Those outside their homes and away from the television kept up with the news through their car radios and their phones. Even at social media sites, Yoo-seong’s solo Dive was placed third on the trending topics.

Everyone was looking forward to the results.

-Can Oh Yoo-seong return safely?-

-What sort of remarkable findings could he return with?-

Jin Wei-baek was also tuned in to the news as he ate his breakfast.

Chu Seo-jin sat across him, with the expression of someone who wanted to say something. The disciple chose his words carefully.

“What Master mentioned last night… is it true that Yoo-seong now has possession of the Golden Pill?”

“He does,” Wei-baek responded between bites.

“Although it is true that it is not as valuable as it used to be… it is still a priceless artifact.”

The Golden Pill.

It was known to be the last of the Great Pills that still existed. Only an influential company such as Tenz could have gotten hold of it.

A single piece contained an estimated 20,000 units of CE.

Even by today’s standards, where a CE injection was limited to around 5,000 CE per year, it was a valuable asset. The costs of CE they require, and over four years’ worth of CE – all of it could be taken care of by a single pill.

“Even if an average person takes it, he would be able to achieve great heights,” Seo-jin said slowly.

“Would he?”

“Yes?” Seo-jin was visibly flustered at the unexpected response.

“Hey, you aren’t the only one who misunderstands its function, don’t worry,” the old man chuckled.

“Master, what do you mean?”

“It is true that when the Golden Pill is absorbed into the body, it releases a great amount of energy. But would you think that the Buddhist monks would have taken decades to create a pill with such simple function?”

Chu Seo-jin was speechless as he thought of an answer.

Jin Wei-baek watched him for a few moments before continuing his explanation.

“The energy contained within the Golden Pill is just a stimulant. A fuel to initiate change. The amount of CE in the user’s core would remain the same.”

“If so, what exactly changes?”

The old man shrugged. “I can’t say for sure.”

Chu Seo-jin was stunned. It was an answer he had never heard from his Master in the past.

“I believe it strengthens whatever the user lacks in the past. The first time I ate one, my Aura control had improved significantly. The second time, I suffered for a while as my bones and muscles underwent a complete metamorphosis.”

“So, if an average person who had no CE takes it in…”

“The pill would be useless,” Jin Wei-baek’s eyes sparkled as he brought his attention back to the TV screen.

There were more questions in Seo-jin’s thoughts, but he pressed them down and focused on the news. He hoped Oh Yoo-seong would not return from the Dive.

…

Zhang Liu widened his distance from Yoo-seong as soon as he saw the Aura rising from him.

‘This guy…’ he thought.

Then, he whispered through the communicator of the Anonymous suit.

-Get into formation. The one we trained for.

The leader of Team Quartz protested with a trembling voice.

-What do you mean?

-Cooperate. To defeat him.

-Wait, we didn’t agree to this. Our mission was to bring you inside the rift with us.

-Have you forgotten who you’re speaking to?

-Uh…

The team leader bit his lips.

Then, he spoke to the communicator and gave the command to the team.

-Formation!

The team leader had goosebumps. The times had changed for them.

A few years ago, they were a team that stood out, even reaching the status of one of the 4T.

However, soon enough, they had to hold the hand of the devil from across the continent.

‘We had no choice,‘ he thought, as he took his place in the formation.

Zhang Liu had trained them for it. It was a position where the Chinese hunter’s Ki could raise the skill level of each Quartz member to the fullest.

‘With this, your team could go further,’ they were told.

The team leader swallowed as he realized what they were about to do. Not only him, but every member of the team felt it.

‘If we don’t want to be left behind in the industry… we have to cooperate.’

Soon, the rising Ki in each of the members manifested. This was the Demon Slayer Array formation.

It was based on an ancient technique, which had been improved upon by their master, Zhang Liu.

In the past, the formation was only limited to seven people.

The formation allowed them to supplement each other’s shortcomings under the direction of their head. Now, there were eleven people in that formation, including Zhang Liu – an asymmetrical attack that was enclosing Yoo-seong.

We should not be too confident against this person, Zhang Liu thought.

He watched his videos. He saw how this man fought against the Habaek. More impressive was the CCTV footage he watched, where Yoo-seong was able to make contact with Jin Wei-baek’s face.

For Zhang Liu, two things were certain.

First, they were going against an unusual talent. And second, an individual didn’t have a 3333th chance against a full-strength Demon Slayer Array.

Yoo-seong did not move away.

He was crouching as if he was tying his shoelaces.

-Attack!

Zhang Liu then gave the order.

In an instant, the team members swung their blunt weapons at Yoo-seong. The members each had a modified three-stage rod that stretched up to 2.5 meters.

Yoo-seong’s moved quickly, avoiding each swing. Then, he fired his Gellar Gun.

Pop-!

He was aiming for a team member’s legs. The member avoided it without difficulty.

A handful of dirt exploded in the air as the bullet missed.

The Team Quartz’ offense continued.

Kwaduk-!

As Yoo-seong avoided two swings in his direction, he was hit from an unexpected angle.

It was from the team leader, who had been standing quite a distance from him.

The rod was coated with the Aura of a veteran hunter. Yoo-seong felt pain burning on his forearm. In retaliation, he fired his Gellar Gun.

Popop-!

However, he missed again. Both bullets hit the ground. As he fired the shots, he had exposed himself to the members.

They took advantage by swinging at him while he focused on his aim.

This will end soon, Zhang Liu thought with delight.

Yoo-seong kept firing and hitting nothing but the ground and struggled to defend himself against the attacks.

The formation cornered him to a place without any trees or rocks.

Zhang Liu was aware of his Spider Walk ability and made sure he won’t be able to escape.

Unexpectedly, Yoo-seong spoke for the first time since the attack began.

“Finally… done.”

Yoo-seong then made his move.

Each of the bullets lodged on the ground by the member’s feet was still connected to him, through his Aura.

Eleven Parasitic Bees.

One by one, they moved towards their targets. Each bullet did not contain much power; however, Yoo-seong was amazed at his improvement.

The casting speeds.

The number of simultaneous casts.

The control of each bullet.

His technique had greatly improved in such a short span of time.

-Everyone, don’t panic!

Zhang Liu yelled at his communicator.

However, even he was confused and unprepared for this retaliation. One team member closest to Yoo-seong swung his rod.

Yoo-seong used his fists for the first time and smashed the rod. Then, he captured the member and choked him.

Meanwhile, the Parasitic Bees were flying left and right. Two team members fell as they were hit on their thighs.

-Ugh!

-It hurts!

Meanwhile, the team member that Yoo-seong grabbed sank to his knees, unconscious.

Yoo-seong looked around.

‘Three members down, eight more to go.’

One by one, the bullets found their targets, bursting through the members’ thighs and shoulders, disabling them.

As soon as the Parasitic Bees served their purpose, he pulled them back to him, recovering the CE he placed on them.

It was possible because they were connected to him through strings. The technique wasn’t like Psy, where energy was shot out of the body.

‘But… I studied enough’; Zhang Liu was beginning to lose his composure.

The Parasitic Bees was an absurd technique that was beyond the principles of Ki he knew.

He looked around. Only he and the Quartz team leader was left standing.

In an instant, Yoo-seong appeared in front of the team leader, smashing his fist against the man’s face. The team leader’s helmet was broken, and the man collapsed helplessly.

Only Zhang Liu remained.

He took off his helmet.

“Did you… did you intentionally leave me for last?”

‘Impossible. Could he see through the Anonymous suits?’

Yoo-seong nodded.

For him, it was simple. Since they were locked in a formation, he was able to deduce where the commands were coming from.

“Are you going to kill me?” Zhang Liu asked.

Even as he did, it was obvious that Yoo-seong had no intention of doing so.

Yoo-seong had turned his back from him and began to walk away.

Zhang Liu considered the situation.

All the members of Team Quartz were on the ground, but they were all still alive. Not one had been fatally wounded.

It would be a little troublesome for the members to recover from their injuries, but there was no way for Yoo-seong to prove that they had attacked him.

Suddenly, something caught his eyes.

Yoo-seong was back to his original position, where he had crouched. He was fiddling with something on the ground before.

Zhang Liu thought he was tying his shoelaces.

But instead-

Zhang Liu’s eyes widened as he realized what it was.

“What… How?!”

It was an action cam.

Yoo-seong has pulled it out of his Slot and planted it while Zhang Liu and Team Quartz were discussing.

It had captured how the team that was supposed to escort him took an offensive formation and ganged up on him.

“This is the end,” Yoo-seong quietly spoke as if he was reading their prison sentence.