This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 223

Chae-rim’s Perspective

Indeed.

Chae-rim had received a call from the Association under the pretext of a regular report, but she found herself wandering about without achieving the intended purpose.

It couldn’t be helped.

It was simply that while she should have been idly writing the report, the situation did not permit it.

Thanks to that, instead of writing reports, she was now running here and there to eliminate the Another that had been spotted all over.

—Kireuk?

Did that creature not understand why it suddenly fell?

She exhaled lightly and thrust her sword at the monster, which lay sprawled on the ground, tilting its head and making weird whimpering sounds.

What she felt traveling through the blade was not the sensation of piercing flesh but rather the hard and unyielding feeling of the sword barely breaking through and getting stuck; a sensation one might only feel when attempting to break something incredibly tough.

If it were in the past?

She would have had many worries about how to deal with this tough thing.

Perhaps, in trying to forcefully take it down, her sword could have also been ruined.

However, there was no need for such concerns now.

As long as the sword was embedded, all she had to do was break it from the inside out.

Though these monsters might consume humans to live, they were still living beings; once their insides turned to mush, how could they possibly remain intact?

With that thought in mind, she brought her fingers toward the blade, embedded in the creature’s body.

Then, just like when she used to play around with her friends, she flicked her fingers lightly…

And a blade burst forth.

The part of the sword where her fingers touched began to vibrate fiercely.

At that moment, the sound penetrated not only her ears but also the body of the fallen monster, and she intentionally amplified it.

And… that was that.

No matter how resilient the creature might be, if its insides were thoroughly ruined, it couldn’t sustain its life.

—Ki, reuk…

With a cry like a dying gasp, the creature’s sharp claws that had been reaching out toward her, standing atop its own body, fell feebly.

Watching the miserable state of what should have been the commander of the monster that had killed many before her deployment, one thought crossed her mind.

Indeed, the path Dogun had shown her was correct.

What if she were the old version of herself standing here now?

Instead of defeating a creature like the commander of the monsters directly, she would have struggled just to knock down one of its subordinates.

There was a chance she might have even become overwhelmed and caught by them.

But what had just happened?

Simply having the means to disrupt her opponent’s balance made it feel incredibly easy to navigate the battle in her favor.

Once balance was disrupted, both humans and monsters alike found it hard to exert their strength.

She had just one regret.

It was her output.

It might have been her output that was insufficient, or perhaps the creature’s exoskeleton was exceptionally thick, but knocking down the monsters from a distance was impossible.

While she could disrupt their sense of balance, delivering a decisive blow remained out of her reach.

Thus, she resolved.

At this point, it seemed that Dogun’s insistence on honing the control aspect was sufficiently in form, so she would need to focus on increasing her output for the time being.

But how should she increase her output?

‘Well…’

She figured that if she asked Dogun, he would explain it well.

‘By the way…’

Given that everything outside was in chaos, she couldn’t help but worry about whether Dogun was okay.

Thoughts of Dogun flooded her mind, but they didn’t linger for long.

At this moment, it was because of Chae-rim’s presence, who was firmly guarding Dogun’s side.

If that person was by Dogun’s side…

Surely there wouldn’t be anything to worry about.

No, it might even be that right now, the safest place was at Dogun’s house.

Chae-rim was that kind of presence.

Just by being there, she reassured those around her.

Thinking that Chae-rim was next to Dogun made the bubbling worries instantly evaporate like a popped bubble; at the same time, she made a vow.

For now, she had no choice but to leave that role to Chae-rim, but one day she would reclaim it.

Of course… she understood.

That it wouldn’t be easy.

How could it be easy?

Taking Chae-rim’s place meant she needed to gain at least as much strength as she had.

So it wouldn’t be easy, but…

‘Dogun said so.’

Yes, hadn’t Dogun taught her?

That until one tries something directly, they wouldn’t know what it truly is.

So, she had to give it a shot.

But first, she needed to take care of these monsters.

With that, she pulled the sword from the creature’s body and dashed toward the next target.

And Chae-rim was unaware.

That to construct the Another more efficiently, other heroes she had temporarily teamed up with viewed her in a certain light.

‘Insane… Did she take that down by herself?’

‘Isn’t she just one year in?’

‘What kind of talent is that?’

‘Shouldn’t she be a top tier with that level?’

What can one say?

To those who were now on the same team as Chae-rim, she appeared to be a prodigy.

‘I want to wrap this up quickly and return to have the meal Dogun makes for me…’

In reality, she was completely oblivious to it, as she was busy thinking about Dogun.

Meanwhile, somewhere far busier than the chaos outside, an urgent meeting was being convened at the headquarters of the Association.

As expected, since the summons were made in the name of the headquarters regarding the news of the “Third Returnee,” no one could refuse the call.

Thus, even those who had left in disappointment after confirming the evidently abnormal state of the man called “Third Returnee” were now flocking into the hastily arranged Meeting Room.

Was it because of this?

The atmosphere in the spacious Meeting Room was not good.

No, it was not just a simple bad mood; it was downright chilling.

Perhaps it was because they had been receiving news about each of their assigned regions through phone calls, texts, and emails during this time.

And among the messages that were being relayed, positive news was scarcely found.

So how could the atmosphere in the Meeting Room be pleasant?

In fact, by that point, one or two people might have burst out saying they were frantically overwhelmed and questioned what was going on, but reality was different.

They couldn’t do that because everyone knew now.

That the Rift Alert, which could be said to be central to the great Another strategy, might have been rendered useless.

What did that mean?

It meant a return to the time before the Rift Alert was developed.

And most of those occupying the seats in the Meeting Room had experienced that period directly.

Thus, they all understood.

What could happen when what was once considered normal became abnormal.

Even in this urgent situation, the reason they all held their positions was that.

If the Rift Alert had truly been neutralized, then there was an urgent need to devise countermeasures.

To minimize potential damage that could occur in the future.

Thanks to that, as everyone kept their seats, strange arguments began to spread among them.

The theories of a declaration of war and preemptive strikes.

The declaration of war theory claimed that the Another had clearly made the “Third Returnee” their messenger to declare war against humanity. The preemptive strike theory was simply a logic derived from that claim.

So if, and truly if, the Another had declared war on them, wouldn’t it be better for them to invade first before the Another came for them?

Under normal circumstances?

Such reasoning would never have gained traction.

It wouldn’t have under usual conditions, but… the moment the one who first brought up this argument mentioned Dogun and Chae-rim, the atmosphere in the Meeting Room began to mildly shift.