Chapter 19
The Randellof Family (2)
Vladivostok Airport.
“Welcome, Sehyun.”
As Sehyun and Inha stepped out of the airport, two members of the Randellof Family came to greet them.
A huge man with a neatly cropped military-style haircut.
He was Sasha’s subordinate, the one who had personally ignited the hand warmers.
“Are you Mardel?”
“Yes. And you are…?”
“Chae Inha. My colleague.”
Sehyun introduced Inha, and Mardel nodded respectfully.
Inha, who couldn’t understand Russian, awkwardly nodded along.
Hmm, unexpected.
From his appearance, he seemed aggressive, but he was actually quite polite.
Since Sasha could be intense, someone like Mardel was needed to keep him in check.
“Apologies, but we’ll take you straight to the Rift. It’s better not to draw attention.”
“Yes. I also prefer to handle it quickly.”
Sehyun answered, and Inha leaned closer, whispering:
“…What did he say?”
“He said we’re going straight to the Rift. Though I don’t understand why people who claim to avoid attention drew so much in Korea.”
Probably because back then, Sasha led the group and didn’t sweat the small stuff.
This time, careful Mardel was guiding them.
Doing your job well… good for you.
In his past life, Sehyun, who had no combat ability, had mostly handled these kinds of tasks.
It was also when he had learned Russian and various other languages.
Sehyun gave Mardel a sympathetic nod, leaving Mardel looking puzzled.
“Shall we go?”
Outside, an old, worn sedan was parked with the engine running.
Upon closer inspection, paint had peeled off in patches, and rust had formed.
“…This is… not exactly what I expected. I didn’t ask for anything fancy, but for a community welcome, this is way too modest.”
Compared to the Foundation’s extravagant spending, it was almost laughable.
“…It’s better not to draw attention,” Mardel repeated.
“Yeah, I get it,” Sehyun muttered as he got into the car with a slightly disappointed expression.
Clatter-clatter-clatter──
The old sedan, sounding unreliable, sped down the long road.
Outside the window stretched endless plains rarely seen in Korea.
Bored, Inha rested against Sehyun’s shoulder and closed her eyes.
Sehyun, however, did not let his guard down.
No matter what, these are mafia people.
The Randellofs weren’t the type to talk themselves out of trouble, but they weren’t exactly harmless either.
He might need to protect himself if necessary.
Of course, he already had the means prepared.
Screech─!
Suddenly, the car stopped.
“What… what is it?”
“There seems to be a problem on the road.”
Looking outside, a massive black bear was crouched in the middle of the road.
“…Problem? This is more than just a problem.”
“Normally, we’d wait, but now we have no choice but to deal with it.”
“Excuse me? But…”
Mardel got out of the car.
Grrr!
The bear noticed him, shook its head, and rose to its full massive height.
The black bear, marked with a crescent on its chest, looked at least three times bigger than Mardel.
Roar!!
Its bellow shook the ground. It could easily be mistaken for a monster from the Rift.
“How can a bear just be in the middle of the road… truly… dynamic.”
Whoosh──!
Flames ignited around Mardel’s arm.
The bear, apparently provoked, glared and charged at him.
At the same time, Mardel swung his fist.
Crack─!
His punch hit the bear’s forehead, sending a shockwave through its skull.
Grrr──!!!
The bear staggered back and barely managed to support itself on its hind legs before scurrying away over the hill on all fours.
Sehyun was momentarily stunned.
“…Why did he light a fire?”
The sheer physical strength that rattled the bear’s skull was pure, without a trace of stellar power.
…In Russia, people just tear apart bears.
While Sehyun was still stunned, Mardel calmly got back in and took the wheel.
“Time was lost. We’ll depart immediately.”
Roar──!
Leaving the bear’s roar behind, the old sedan moved forward.
So this is normal in Russia…
Clatter-clatter-clatter──
The car puffed thick exhaust as it stopped in front of snow-capped mountains.
White-suited figures were scattered across the peaks, while Sasha sat in a chair, drinking.
“Why so late?”
“…Ran into a bear on the road. My apologies.”
“Hmph. Late over something trivial. I thought that old car had broken down or something.”
…A bear on the road is trivial?
Sasha rose and approached Sehyun, who had just stepped out of the car.
“The goods?”
“Safe in the trunk.”
“And this woman?”
He gestured toward Inha.
“…She’s an Awakened. Should be on your list too.”
“Hmm. Freezing ability, I take it?”
Because of Inha’s history defeating a Terrarian Deathworm, the Randellofs considered her a freezing-type Awakened and once approached her.
Though technically a misunderstanding, considering her weapon now, it wasn’t entirely wrong.
“Let’s say yes.”
“Good. Stay put. We’ll handle the hunt.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sasha opened the trunk, checked the boxes, and gave Mardel instructions.
“Gather the team. Enter within ten minutes.”
“Yes.”
Sehyun started moving as well.
He clapped his hands to draw attention to the stacked boxes near the Rift.
“Come on, take one at a time~. Don’t fight over taking two~.”
Everyone gathered around the boxes, eyes sparkling with anticipation.
“Even without freezing ability, this equipment can withstand the Rift.”
“What? There? Even fireproof suits won’t help there.”
“The boss contacted us directly, so it must be reliable.”
Sehyun opened the boxes. Their faces fell.
It was full of hand warmers.
“…Hand warmers?”
“Actually closer to cool packs, but take them anyway.”
Sehyun cheerfully handed out the cool packs.
“Shake them for about three minutes.”
“….”
The team eyed the packs skeptically.
“…You’re telling us to go in with hot packs?”
“Shake them enough, heh-heh.”
“Boss! This Asian guy… what nonsense—huh?”
Clatter-clatter-clatter──
All heads turned as Sasha and Mardel shook their cool packs.
“See! This is how you shake them!”
“….”
Seeing the peculiar looks from the family members, Sasha shouted in excitement:
сука!! If you don’t do it properly, I’ll kill you!
Some reluctantly started shaking the packs, though a few still sneered.
They’ll just tire themselves out…
Sehyun shook his pack and approached the Rift.
Just approaching, the heat radiating from it was intense.
Clearly, not an ordinary boss monster.
Sehyun already knew its identity.
“All in!”
Sasha led the white-suited team, equipped with cool packs, into the Rift.
Sehyun and Inha followed with the other members.
Before them stretched lava flowing across the ground, contrasting sharply with the snowy mountains.
Huff… huff…
Some team members began sweating, showing signs of dehydration and shortness of breath.
They had ignored Sehyun’s earlier advice.
Heh… I told you not to ignore it…
A man about to collapse suddenly had a cool pack placed in his hand.
Instantly, the coolness enveloped him, as if air conditioning had been turned on. His eyes widened.
“This is…!”
Sweat stopped, and his condition quickly returned to normal.
Looking up, he saw Sehyun, who handed him the pack.
“I told you, right? Just holding it isn’t enough—you need to use it properly.”
“…Heh.”
Those who ignored Sehyun began shaking their packs.
No one dared insist stubbornly now that they’d seen the effect firsthand.
Sehyun smiled and approached Sasha.
“How’s it feel?”
“Hmph! Not bad at all.”
“Better educate the juniors. They almost exhausted themselves.”
Sasha waved his hand.
They’re dumb, but they follow once they experience it… But are you okay?
Sasha noticed Sehyun’s empty hands shaking a cool pack.
“Why shake something like that, embarrassing.”
“….”
“I prepared mine.”
Jingle─!
Sehyun showed the pocket watch inside his jacket.
Sasha’s expression darkened.
“…You had that and gave me this?”
“I only have one. Don’t want it? Don’t use it.”
“…сука.”
Nearby, Inha stretched leisurely, empty-handed.
“Come to think of it… why am I fine?”
“You have your weapon.”
Sehyun gestured to the sword at her waist.
The blade, forged from scrap heat-resistant metal, was now properly sharpened.
It gave her sufficient resistance to the flames.
“Of course, you don’t need to step in. This mission is strictly support.”
The monster they were about to hunt, a direct subordinate of the Apocalypse’s Four Divine Beasts, ‘Fire Dragon Deidka’, possessed stellar power far beyond normal boss monsters.
Inha was only here to gain combat experience under Sehyun’s protection.
“Really? I wanted to try out the sword you gave me…”
Inha looked slightly disappointed.
“….”
Not long ago, she had been just a normal cosplayer, yet now she was completely accustomed to combat.
Was I just clumsy before?
Shaking off the thought, he refocused on reality.
He was just grateful Inha followed him so well.
Rumble-rumble-rumble──
“There it is!”
The ground shook as if a volcano erupted.
Tension rippled among Sasha and the family members.
Screeeek──!
From afar came the cries of monsters, followed by flying creatures resembling pterosaurs pouring from the crater.
“We’ll handle most, but protect yourselves.”
“Don’t worry, Inha.”
“Okay.”
Inha drew her sword.
The blue rift on the blade absorbed heat, turning red-hot.
The Randellof members used their abilities to generate cold.
Sasha’s silver hair whipped around as she released cold over the area, a smile on her face.
Normally, most of the team, including Sasha, would have to use their abilities for environmental control.
Thanks to Sehyun’s cool packs, everyone could focus solely on combat.
“This should be manageable.”
“….”
Confident Sasha spoke, but Sehyun was deep in thought.
In my previous life, around this time, the Randellof Family attempted the Rift. They failed miserably.
After the Apocalypse, Hailhwan reattempted and succeeded, gradually absorbing the Randellof Family into the Foundation.
Hailhwan used this method to absorb other communities into his own.
But not this life.
Today, we strike first.
In short, Sehyun would block Hailhwan’s plans from the start and carry out his own.
Something impossible before, but now feasible.
“Let’s see how this goes.”
Screeeek──!!
The pterosaur-like swarm filled the red sky, descending rapidly.
