The Hero Returns

* * *

Shu-wuwu—

At first, it was nothing more than a gentle breeze.

'What is he doing?' Hak-joon wondered. Su-hyeun's actions confused him.

Su-hyeun didn't bother to rouse a lot of magical energy nor did he swing the sword in a particularly threatening manner. He wielded that weapon as if it was weightless.

"When he said 'Palm Leaf', isn't that…," Hak-joon pondered.

Whoosh!

But just before Hak-joon could ask his questions, the wind began to blow harsher. Shortly after, it turned viciously sharp.

An unbelievable spectacle happened afterwards.

Pi-pit! Pipipipipipipik—

Splat!

Slice, slice, slice.

In an instant, the sharp wind transformed into a windstorm. It then killed countless of monsters that it encountered along the way. Blood was splattered all around, and mutilated body parts were literally flying in all directions.

Su-hyeun didn't have to swing his sword. The windstorm did most of the job. It appeared to be sharper than any known blades as it mercilessly tore and cut the monsters' bodies.

"Whoa!"

"What the hell is…"

"Blow away!"

However, Su-hyeun wasn't satisfied with that one swing. He felt that something was lacking, so he swung his sword again.

"Palm Leaf."

Whoosh!

Windstorms were roused once more. It was more savage this time. It destroyed the monsters trying to cross from Gangwon Province. A lot of them were killed, and the scene was terrifying.

Drip. Dribble.

Tumble. Drip.

Mutilated body parts were all over the place. Having witnessed everything that transpired at that moment, Hak-joon was speechless; he couldn't believe it. He was amazed that he forgot how exhausted he was.

'If it's bro…'

He wondered if Su-hyeun could deal with all these monsters by himself. It didn't take long for him to realize that it was definitely possible.

Result-wise, it was indeed a possibility. However, the process to achieve that result completely differed from what Hak-joon had imagined.

'What the hell is this?'

He still couldn't believe what he had just witnessed.

'It was…it was too easy.'

It was mere two strokes of a sword.

Su-hyeun caused windstorms to destroy all monsters using only his sword. This was another level of power compared to every wind-type attack skill Hak-joon knew of.

There was no need to suspect 'it' from the very beginning. Su-hyeun was still out of reach somewhere farther than Hak-joon thought.

"You guys feeling okay?"

"Ah…yes," Hak-joon replied with a nod.

Less than one or two minutes ago, they were surrounded by countless monsters. Now, they were all killed. Hak-joon and Thomas were still trying to get a grip on the current situation.

Too tired to even stand, Hak-joon and Thomas simply plopped down on the ground and rested. Even Thomas, who would normally get excited to talk to Su-hyeun, lay on the ground to relax.

"Bro, how did you get here anyway?" Hak-joon asked, eager to know.

"Brother Ju-ho told me that he couldn't get in touch with you," Su-hyeun related. "He informed me of your whereabouts, so I learned that you were here, fighting monsters."

"When did you come back from the trial, though? I thought you would be stuck there for a long while, with no save zones this time."

"About 10 minutes ago? Not sure."

"Ten minutes?" Hak-joon's eyes widened. He could not believe what he just heard.

Hak-joon was puzzled with Su-hyeun's reply. No matter how hard he thought about it, there was just no way that Su-hyeun could have gotten there so fast.

"Brother Ju-ho called me on the phone, and he told me that you guys were here. And then, I got here quickly because of an item I acquired in a trial a while ago."

The 'Celestial King's Feather'…

This item allowed Su-hyeun to teleport to a location from his memories. Its name was similar to a skill that Su-hyeun already possessed.

Su-hyeun explain the item's effect to Hak-joon, and he soon understood. It now made sense how Su-hyeun could travel as fast as lightning.

"Okay… So," Su-hyeun began, "what is up with this situation? Brother Ju-ho simply said it was too urgent and I should hurry up. I wasn't able to ask him for details."

"Well, what happened was…," Hak-joon began to describe what happened during the past 20 days to Su-hyeun.

While listening, Su-hyeun's expression gradually changed.

Gangwon Province had to be abandoned for good. There was an outbreak of dungeons—too many that they proved difficult to stop. Recent events were indeed disastrous.

"Does that mean Gangwon is completely deserted at present?" Su-hyeun inquired.

"Yes."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Hak-joon confirmed. "Before the first dungeon became an outbreak, we had confirmed that everyone was evacuated through the usual means, and the whole of Gangwon Province was set as a restricted area afterwards."

"Really?" Su-hyeun had a strange expression after listening to Hak-joon's explanation. "So that's the case, isn't it?"

Su-hyeun's gaze shifted to his sword, which he put back in its scabbard.

'Will the size of Gangwon be sufficient for it?' Su-hyeun wondered.

He had not confirmed it yet, but that didn't mean he had found a suitable location to test it out either. Any old magic circle would not be enough to withstand the power of his weapon. That's why he had been patiently waiting for the right opportunity.

The situation was certainly terrible, but it was also the opportunity he had been waiting for. If he succeeded today, resolving this crisis would become so much easier as well.

"Very good," Su-hyeun muttered.

"Excuse me? What is good?" Hak-joon asked Su-hyeun.

"I'm going to get rid of all monsters in Gangwon Province," Su-hyeun declared confidently, without hesitation.

Su-hyeun's response didn't surprise Hak-joon. He was in fact expecting it.

He barely managed to suppress the corners of his lips from smiling. "Is it okay for Thomas and I to come with you?" he then asked, hoping for a positive response.

Hak-joon still wanted to fight alongside Su-hyeun even though the latter had gotten so far ahead of him that it was difficult to reach his current level.

Besides, even before Su-hyeun came back, Hak-joon had been feeling quite frustrated by the fact that they had to abandon Gangwon Province.

However, if Hak-joon and others worked with Su-hyeun, Lee Ju-ho would not have any issues about them going to Gangwon and reclaiming it from the monsters. Not only that, they would also raid those dungeons that had yet to be conquered.

But then…

"Nah, there's no need," Su-hyeun refused to Hak-joon's dismay.

Rip.

Gya-ong!

Su-hyeun raised his hand in the air, and Miru emerged. The red dragon poked its head out first. Then after spotting Hak-joon and Thomas, it greeted them.

It had been a while since Hak-joon last saw Miru. He began to pat its head to say hi before turning around to speak to Su-hyeun. "Tell me, why did you summon Miru?"

"I'm going to hop over there for a bit."

"Eh? Where?"

"I'll be back in no time. Take a rest. Recover your strength. Miru, let's get going."

Gya-ong!

Miru turned its back to Hak-joon when Su-hyeun called it. Su-hyeun lightly jumped up and mounted the dragon, and the duo quickly soar into the sky.

Shu-ahahaha—

Despite not activating the gigantic option, Miru's flight speed easily rivaled an average plane.

Hak-joon watched Su-hyeun and Miru took off and muttered to himself, "But this place reeks of blood, you know…"

While standing amidst the blood and thousands of mutilated body parts, Hak-joon could only groan under his breath.

Snore.

In the meantime, Thomas had already fallen asleep and was loudly snoring.

* * *

Swoosh!

Swoosh!

Su-hyeun directed Miru to fly to Gangwon, where all those monsters were coming from.

While riding on the red dragon's back, Su-hyeun could only tut at the sight of countless monsters on the ground.

'Just how many of them are down there?' Su-hyeun mused.

Hak-joon explained that far too many dungeons had appeared in Gangwon, and it was almost impossible to count them all.

And that's why the higher-ups decided to abandon Gangwon Province, which had a low population density, and dispatch the available manpower to the capital as well as to the rest of the province.

Su-hyeun tried to count the monsters currently scattered in Gangwon but eventually gave up. His priority was to check if there were survivors instead of checking out how many monsters made camp in this place.

Shu-wuwu—

Su-hyeun's eye color suddenly changed.

After activating the Sage's Eye, he was able to see clearly everything beneath him. He was like a satellite from space looking down on Earth. It was not that hard to know the monsters' locations, their actual number, and even what they looked like.

It was like practicing clairvoyance.

'For sure it is completely deserted,' Su-hyeun thought.

It seemed that the evacuation had been carried out smoothly. No, wait. If some people could not be evacuated and had to remain in Gangwon, then, unfortunately, it would not be possible for those people to survive until now.

The odds of normal people, not awakeners, surviving amidst all those monsters and their attacks were very slim.

'In that case…'

Su-hyeun rubbed Miru's head, signaling the dragon to stop midair. He then unsheathed the Palm Leaf Sword.

"No more reason to hesitate then," Su-hyeun finally decided.

He looked down at the ground.

Quite a few monsters were looking up at him, sensing his presence from afar. However, the distance between them was too great, and all they could do was bare their fangs and wait for Su-hyeun to come down from the sky.

He closed his eyes for a while. When he opened them, he began to focus on the wind on the Palm Leaf Sword. He firmly held the sword.

—Do you want to know how First Brother fought in his prime?

Su-hyeun was curious about how the Bull Demon King fought during his time, so he asked Sun Wukong about it.

Sun Wukong scratched his chin as he tried to remember. After a while, he realized that he wasn't sure how to relate it to Su-hyeun. However, eventually, he opened his mouth.

—Well, he just swings, and everyone is dead.

When Su-hyeun heard that, he wondered what Sun Wukong was referring to. The latter's information was not that clear.

But not too long after that, Su-hyeun realized that Sun Wukong literally meant what he said. He actually pointed out the obvious.

'That's how I learned about the existence of the Palm Leaf Fan, didn't I?'

Su-hyeun became interested in the fan afterwards.

He never witnessed the Bull Demon King wielding the Palm Leaf Fan before, but he still asked both Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King in passing several times anyway.

…Asking them just what kind of a weapon the Palm Leaf Fan was.

—When it is wielded, everyone dies.

—…

Su-hyeun had never imagined that the Bull Demon King, whose personality was entirely different from Sun Wukong's, would reply in the exact same manner.

But the Bull Demon King was kind enough to elaborate what kind of an item the Palm Leaf Fan was.

He also mentioned how he wielded the fan as a weapon in battle, too.

—The Palm Leaf Fan is basically a fan that controls a typhoon.

—Controls a typhoon? But how do you use that kind of weapon in a fight?

—In layman's terms, it means the fan can control that much power. Moreover, the ability to control the wind through the Palm Leaf Fan thoroughly depends on the wielder's will.

—Wielder's will?

—Do not fear the wind.

The Bull Demon King suddenly said something that made little sense.

—Only then will you be able to command the wind.

Looking back, it was possible that the Bull Demon King had started entertaining the idea of gifting the Palm Leaf Fan to Su-hyeun from that moment on.

After all, it was the Bull Demon King who taught Su-hyeun how to wield the fan. Besides, Su-hyeun had not forgotten his advice: not to fear the wind. This advice was etched on Su-hyeun's memory, for only then he would be able to command the wind, the Palm Leaf Fan.

Su-hyeun did fear the wind until now. But it wasn't because he was scared of being injured. No. On the contrary, he feared that the wind he roused would become too powerful and out of control, and kill countless other people.

That was the only reason why he feared the wind.

'But now…'

Su-hyeun continued to attract the wind. He didn't set any limit for himself. This large piece of land called Gangwon Province was completely deserted right now, after all.

"There's no need to worry," he muttered to himself.

He could do whatever he wanted; he could go all out.

Ki-ing—

As Su-hyeun held the Palm Leaf Sword, magical energy began to surround it. The wind permeating the weapon swirled and danced violently like sharp blades.

Su-hyeun knew he would not be satisfied by simply creating a 'typhoon' here. That wouldn't be powerful enough to kill less than half of the monsters that emerged from the dungeons.

Su-hyeun's weapon was not a fan, but a sword.

It was sharper than before and even more powerful.

"Rage on."

While whispering softly, Su-hyeun released all the wind gathered to the Palm Leaf Sword at once.

"Palm Leaf!"

And then, the wind blew by—no, a 'typhoon' blew by.

Whoosh!

Ku-gu, ku-gugugugu—

A huge typhoon consumed the large land called Gangwon Province in an instant.

Cha-jak, rip.

Ki-aah!

Screams of pain resonated from the ground. Meanwhile, Su-hyeun looked down at his torn and injured hand and muttered to himself, "Well, this much is so-so."

He was still not proficient with handling the Palm Leaf Sword.

Palm Leaf was mighty powerful and aggressive like a bull. Even though it was fairly easy to maneuver the intricacies of its power, the rebound was also equally strong that Su-hyeun often ended up getting injured in the process.

On the other hand, the Somersault cloud was much 'safer'. However, utilizing all of its power was a harder task to accomplish.

Both of them had their pros and cons, and those happened to be in complete opposite of each other.

Ku-ruk, krrrk—

Su-hyeun looked down at the surviving monsters from the sky. They were inflicted with many wounds, but it would only take little time for death to come and take them. The superior-level monsters from blue- and green-colored dungeons were not wipe out by the Palm Leaf Fan's typhoon and were still breathing.

It seemed that due to the large area, the typhoon generated by the sword could not inflict a great deal of impact on an individual target.

'But, if it is only that many…,' Su-hyeun contemplated.

Su-hyeun extended his hand upwards.

Ku-gugugu—

When he did, clouds began to form, consuming a large amount of his magical energy. Currently, it wasn't that hard to use his magical energy to generate heat, then create some steam to 'summon' clouds.

"Strike down!"

Squeeze!

Su-hyeun clenched his fist and spoke loudly, "Somersault cloud."