Chapter 84 – Chaos (4)

The next day, in the branch manager’s office on the top floor of the <Cleaners> branch. Caroline was reporting to the branch manager.

“Confirmed three people were brainwashed among those on the list. We released their brainwashing.”

The Association sent support teams and summoners to people thought to be brainwashed based on what they heard from Chairman Kang yesterday.

They met several people under the pretext of new negotiations and succeeded in releasing brainwashing on the spot.

“But there are several people we can’t approach, so we can’t say all brainwashing has been released. And there’s no guarantee only the people we heard about from Chairman Kang were brainwashed.”

“Definitely some remain. This has become very troublesome.”

“Seeing that they all disappeared after finishing brainwashing, the contaminated summoners seem to have scattered a kind of landmine in our world then left.”

At Caroline’s words, the branch manager nodded. He thought the same.

The enemies scattered brainwashed people in other dimensions before causing trouble to make things difficult for summoners, and prepared to return again after finishing work.

“They prepared thoroughly and viciously.”

“We realized too late. If not for Sun-woo’s party, there’s a high possibility even the last path to return to our home dimension would have been blocked.”

The branch manager sighed at Caroline’s words. Until recently he couldn’t return home because of his summoner status, but now it had become a place he couldn’t go at all.

The branch manager shook his head to scatter thoughts of home. Now was the time to concentrate on Association work.

“Other branches are also responding well, right?”

“We conveyed it immediately after hearing the story from Chairman Kang, but several places seem to have suffered considerable damage. Even now, other branches and headquarters are frantically searching for brainwashed people.”

“Tsk, brainwashing humans must have been a nearly impossible ability. Contaminated and strengthened ones are terrifying.”

“Still, we breathed a sigh of relief because we can restore brainwashed minds by colliding them with memory erasure abilities.”

The branch manager sighed at her story.

“Just the other day we were watching the Blood Cult like a fire across the river… My thinking was short. Who knew there would be a fire here too.”

Though they heard about brainwashing on the murim side, the Association got hit without making any particular preparations.

“People still remain brainwashed, and even if the Association blocks it, superpower-related information has clearly leaked considerably. The Summoners show an attitude of not caring as long as summoner information isn’t exposed…”

They could block information flowing to ordinary people, but information leaking bit by bit to the upper levels of governments and corporations seemed difficult to block anymore.

“Now it’s time for this world to change too. In such a developed world, it’s remarkable we blocked it until now.”

The branch manager nodded at her words.

“That’s an issue for headquarters to decide, and we have to manage starting with this Korean branch. There’s a saying in this country’s proverbs, ‘the rolling stone removes the embedded stone,’ right? We’re still in the rolling stone state. They follow the work as if complying, but are considerably uncooperative.”

“It can’t be helped. Korean people tend to value connections. We need to spend time coaxing them.”

“I wonder if there’ll be that much time.”

The branch manager shook his head and stood up from his seat.

“Well then, I’ll go make those connections. Caroline, please take care of connections with Summoner Sun-woo. But don’t fall too much for the other person.”

At the branch manager’s words, Caroline smiled a mysterious smile.

***

“Emergency restoration due to the burial at Gungpyeong-ri Route 39 has been completed. The fatality is tanker truck driver Jeon Ui-pyeong. Currently the cause of the accident appears to be a landslide due to the tanker truck explosion, and detailed causes are under investigation.”

An announcer on a television appearing over 60 inches was talking about the accident (?) that happened several days ago.

Whether the Association used its power, externally it seemed to be concluded as a simple accident.

“In the end, the dead mercenaries aren’t mentioned.”

The ordinary mercenaries and one summoner riding in the front car died, but the news didn’t mention their story.

Sun-woo also knew it couldn’t be helped. If people working as mercenaries additionally died, problems would naturally arise.

According to Caroline, they seemed to inform families they died abroad.

Even if everything was understandable, the bitter feeling couldn’t be helped. Because if Sun-woo also died in missions from now on, it seemed no one would remember him either.

But Sun-woo scattered his unsettled mind. Today was a happy day. He finally properly obtained a house.

Thanks to suddenly increased income, he could buy a detached house next to the training ground.

Though other dimensions were eaten by contamination and the Association was frantic with various incidents, times like this made it necessary to have small happiness.

A two-story house with a small yard. It was a larger house than when he lived with family.

Living alone didn’t require a big house, but this was the only property available near the training ground. Plus, memories from when living with family were also reasons that made him choose this house.

Cleaning and managing a big house was also quite a task, so he decided to hire a housekeeper. Though costs would go out, it wasn’t time to be constrained by that much money.

And he made one room a game room. Though he didn’t have much time to concentrate on games like before, he felt he should hold onto hobbies.

While traveling various dimensions and fighting unrealistic enemies, somehow the difference between reality and unreality was becoming ambiguous. He needed something to hold onto, and for Sun-woo that was just gaming.

Plus, a quite stylish sports sedan stood in front of the house. It was Sun-woo’s own car purchased with the house. Now his running speed didn’t differ much from car speed, but he needed to be careful of other people’s eyes.

Having bought a house and car, and the situation with the Korean Association being not bad. Compared to the global crisis, these were trivial things, but for Sun-woo who still considered himself a petty bourgeois, it was a quite satisfactory situation.

Sun-woo, who looked around the house with a satisfied expression, prepared to go to the training ground near the house. Now it was time to train.

***

Several days later, Dimension Delta (commonly called Central Plains).

Huashan Sect grounds.

Thanks to guests visiting Huashan after a long time, Huashan was in quite a noisy situation.

They were guests from the Orthodox Alliance, and came with a request to dispatch one of the Huashan disciples to the Orthodox Alliance.

Normally they could have dispatched without any problem, but the timing and target became problematic, causing quite a commotion.

The few remaining elders after the upheaval 15 years ago all gathered to say a word each to the sect leader, and thanks to that, the sect leader suffered from migraines for a while.

Anyway, since they had to make a conclusion, the sect leader approved the dispatch after several reviews.

And now, Nan-seol was in the main hall giving farewell greetings to the elders and sect leader.

“Ugh, I really don’t like it. Must we send this child to such a place at a time like this? Can’t we just keep her at Huashan to continue her studies? It seems like after a long time a Sword Empress will emerge from Huashan. An unnecessary dispatch at such a time.”

The youngest elder was sitting on one side continuously grumbling.

“Well, since she entered the absolute level, confining her only to Huashan isn’t the answer. The time for external wandering is right. But Sect Leader, isn’t the dispatch location completely a sinecure? It doesn’t seem suitable for experiencing real combat and the martial world.”

The second elder seemed to refute the youngest elder’s words, then was bringing up his own story again.

Sect Leader Hwa Munsaeng sighed at the repeating story.

“Please stop. Haven’t we talked about this already.”

At the sect leader’s rebuke, the grumbling elders finally closed their mouths.

Hwa Munsaeng shook his head side to side, then looked at Nan-seol sitting like a picture before them. A smile naturally came.

The cute little one who came to continue her father’s wish grew up so well to become Huashan’s hope. Looking at Nan-seol, he and the elders naturally smiled.

When she with outstanding enlightenment and diligence who was rapidly growing stagnated at the end of first-rate, everyone worried a lot, but at some moment she leaped beyond realms and was growing rapidly.

Now there were no disciples of the same age within Huashan who could match her, and she was clearly even better than the later-generation leaders called the Five Dragons of the age.

Thanks to that, the sect leader had no choice but to agonize repeatedly over this decision.

At first he tried to ignore it like the youngest elder said, but it wouldn’t do to confine a young martial artist who ascended to absolute level only within Huashan.

But carelessly sending her on training was just right for dying in chaotic times like now.

From some time ago, conflicts intensified among the Orthodox faction, Evil faction, and even the Demonic Cult, so fights continued between sects and martial artists, becoming a situation where no one knew when a great war would break out.

Moreover, Nan-seol lost her father to the Demonic Cult, so she might step forward emotionally if she met Demonic Cult people.

Though sorry to Nan-seol, rather turning her to a sinecure like now could be a somewhat safer martial world journey.

“But I don’t know how they requested you specifically.”

“Isn’t it obvious? These days our child’s skills are becoming famously rumored everywhere, so under the pretext of skill verification, they wanted to shove her in a corner.”

The second elder spat out a remark at the sect leader’s words.

When the sect leader glanced at him, he turned his head away, seeming to know he was also at fault.

“Anyway, it’s definitely a good opportunity for you, so be careful and come back.”

“If anyone picks a fight, properly show Huashan’s power.”

“Be careful with your body.”

“Always think once more before moving.”

“All men are devils, so cut down all those who pant after you.”

Following the sect leader’s good wishes, the elders also stepped forward adding a word each. There were good words and extreme words, but all were words for her.

Nan-seol gave greetings to the sect leader and elders, then left the main hall with her master. She had already finished greetings to other fellow disciples, and now everyone couldn’t be seen thanks to morning training.

“Tsk tsk, for Dao gate disciples to get excited like this, engulfed in killing intent and fame. My senior brothers and everyone are worrying.”

Hong Jeong-in, Nan-seol’s master and the only female among the elders, looked worriedly at Huashan’s appearance engulfed in a strange fervor.

“Everyone looks good being energetic.”

Nan-seol answered with a gentle smile.

“Certainly your personality has changed a lot too. I thought it changed after ascending to absolute level, but it doesn’t seem to be that. I wonder if it’s related to what you were doing when you weren’t visible during personal training.”

She could keep it secret from others, but deceiving her master was impossible. Nan-seol had no choice but to say she came to do things she couldn’t explain instead of explaining summoner work itself.

Fortunately, her master only asked if it was work that didn’t weigh on her conscience and didn’t interfere with training, then didn’t separately mention her being invisible.

Instead, she only brought up a word or two about her changed appearance.

Each time, Nan-seol could only feel sorry to her master. She was a master served like a parent since childhood. Not being able to tell her settled as sediment in one corner of her heart.

“Still, it’s mysterious. I didn’t think you’d accept this matter without any words. They say at the Orthodox Alliance, a combat squad dealing with the Demonic Cult and Evil faction is being created, but entering a squad that searches for the hidden Blood Cult, if it were you from a while ago, it would have been unimaginable.”

At her master’s words, Nan-seol made a slightly awkward expression. Since she couldn’t say the current incident itself was something the Blood Cult plotted, it was no wonder her master didn’t understand.

“By any chance, did you meet a man during that time?”

“What?”

“There are also stories of breaking through blocked realms after meeting the opposite sex.”

Nan-seol shook her head at her master’s joke.

Shortly after, the two people arrived before Huashan’s mountain gate. There, three men were waiting for her.

Two men from the Orthodox Alliance, Hwangbo Ja-gyeom and Wang Mun-pung, and,

“Huh? There’s a young man I’m seeing for the first time.”

“I joined late. I’m Min Sun-woo, a member of the same squad.”

A young man wearing strange clothes made a fist-and-palm salute toward her, and seeing that, Nan-seol’s face bloomed brightly.

“Wait? Is it really because of a man?”

Hong Jeong-in looked alternately at Nan-seol and Sun-woo with an absurd expression.