Chapter 242 - Exclusive Administrator (1)

"Then, as I thought, he's not actually dead."

Golden eyes narrowed. Han Yoohyun's demeanor had completely changed. He was still exhausted and injured, but his eyes, trembling as if they were being tossed by furious waves, had calmed.

If Alpha had also realized that Han Yoojin wasn't dead, how had he known? Sigma smiled. While pretending to be dead, what had he done?

"You must be very aware that you have no chance of winning. I suggest you surrender quietly."

The chains sparking with electricity twisted like snakes swimming in the air, blocking all escape routes.

Han Yoohyun had recovered some mana, but only a small amount, and in his condition it would be too difficult to break through the walls and flee. It wouldn't be impossible, but it would take quite some time, and Sigma wouldn't just stand by.

Given that, recklessly trying to fight him would only result in him wasting the mana he had barely recovered.

"If you keep prolonging things like this, Akates will come back to stop you, Alpha."

Alpha didn't seem to be aware of the current situation at Akates Defense Agency, so Sigma used a combination of intimidation and advice. If possible, he wanted to get his hands on both of them without sustaining any damage. As long as Alpha silently obeyed, this could be treated as an accidental shot while he was subdued after being released by the resistance.

Binding Alpha in a proper contract, and the rank C... how would he present himself? If he found out that the one he had been trying to save had fallen into his hands?

It was clear that this time would be more entertaining than expected.

"If you contract with me, I'll keep both of you safe. Accept my offer before those connected to your recording return. I can promise you a much better deal than what Akates Defense Agency offered."

There was a possibility that the body he held so carefully wasn't safe.

When Sigma said he wanted him to make a sensible decision, Han Yoohyun's brow furrowed slightly. It was true that the mana he had recovered was only a small amount. Like that man said, there was definitely no way out of this.

If he was alone, that is.

Han Yoohyun focused his senses on the call he felt just after recovering his mana. He had been wondering where it had disappeared to.

So, instead of responding to Sigma's offer...

"Irin."

He called out to his elemental. A small red lizard appeared in the air with a spark-like glow. In an instant, its body grew into a small dragon—no, an imugi that had refused to ascend to the sky. The scarlet serpent, with blue flames on its four legs, spun its long body, wrapping around its master as if in defense.

Kwaang!

With a swing of its tail, flames struck the walls. They didn't break. They melted. In an instant, a hole was formed in the incredibly strong walls, large enough for two or more people to pass through.

Han Yoohyun dashed out through the hole and almost simultaneously...

Claang!

Along with an avalanche of chains, golden lightning flashed. The cascade of electricity crashed into the spot where Han Yoohyun had been and then pierced through the wall. The attacks until now were a joke compared to this; the floor was charred and black, and a wall had completely fractured and rapidly collapsed.

The long, destructive light mercilessly penetrated even into the hallway, as if it were fine if it not only caught Han Yoohyun but killed him, but...

"Oh my."

Sigma's attack had only destroyed the walls and the hallway floor in vain.

He looked up just outside the wall.

He had thought that naturally, he would go straight down the hallway towards Mana Hall. But instead of running forward, Han Yoohyun had gone up to the upper floors. Combat Foresight could only be used in direct combat, so he couldn't have guessed that he would reject a fight in favor of an escape like this. If he could have predicted even that, he wouldn't be limiting himself to combat, he would simply be prophesying.

In any case, it was a mistake. And an irreversible mistake, at that.

'What do I have to do?'

Alpha would already be nearing Mana Hall. It was obvious how the Guards near Mana Hall would fare against a Guard of his rank linked to that same Mana Hall.

Sigma didn't hesitate much and began to move. At the very least, he wanted to confirm for himself that the rank C had resurrected.

Clicking, he opened the closed doors and entered a large room. Han Yoohyun stood in front of the blue Hole. The snake had turned back into a small lizard and was perched on his shoulder. Holding his brother firmly in his arms, Han Yoohyun glanced back at Sigma.

"I didn't think you'd follow me all the way here."

"You have something I need to get."

When Sigma pointed at Han Yoojin, Han Yoohyun's eyes darkened. Once again, he realized that this man was similar to Sung Hyunjae.

"You'll never lay a hand on him, so don't even think about it."

With his icy words, flames erupted. The dark blue fire spread everywhere in the blink of an eye. With the Mana Hall right behind him, Han Yoohyun didn't have to worry about mana consumption and ignited flames in endless waves.

At the same time, a lightning bolt struck. Instead of clumsily defending or dodging, strength and force clashed head-on. Dark blue flames intertwined with golden electricity, furious like a tornado.

Kugugugu!

The whole room shook, and simultaneously, the ceiling and the floor cracked. Ignited, melted, and shattered, even the structures receiving the infinite power of the Mana Hall couldn't withstand it and collapsed.

The ceiling, farther from the Mana Hall than the floor, began to collapse completely. Moments later, the dance of flames and lightning surged above the roof. A hole had already formed over their heads, and the impacts began to spread throughout the building.

"It'll collapse any moment now."

Sigma, climbing onto a chain to avoid the melted ground, spoke with a smile. As he said, the central building of the Akates Defense Agency couldn't withstand this series of impacts. The building, tens of floors tall, began to collapse rapidly. As things stood, they would have been buried alive, but...

- I'll take care of it!

With a joyful cry, Irin took off, once again in the form of a scarlet serpent. As it passed straight through the center of the building, a blue light increased and exploded. The upper floors of the building not only melted but vaporized into small pieces of debris, dispersing like rain.

Except for the basement, the building itself had completely disappeared. The people who had fled during the bombings, along with those who had been startled when the building shook again and escaped, stood staring at that scene.

Under the exposed night sky, dark blue flames expanded their territory without losing intensity. The lightning also shone upwards, but the limitations of mana reserves were marked. With Han Yoohyun having the Mana Hall on his back, and Sigma not, there was a huge gap between a bottomless, profound sea and a limited lake.

Hwarrk!

At last, Sigma stepped back before the wave of flames licking at his feet. Faced with overwhelming firepower, neither his skills nor his experience were of use. Although it was an expected outcome, Sigma smiled a little bitterly.

It was right then. The body cradled in Han Yoohyun's arms let out a faint sigh and...

"...Yoohyun."

"...Hyung?"

- Hyung!

Han Yoojin opened his eyes.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I saw a dark and unfamiliar space. For a moment, I was surprised by the completely empty area, and a moment later, my heart sank.

"Yoohyun!"

Even before understanding the situation, my hands trembled. Then my whole body began to shake as if I had been doused in ice water.

What was this? I had asked for a waiting period, but what I meant was to be able to choose when to come back to life. So why was I in this place without a selection window?

Don't tell me time was passing outside. Yoohyun...

"Damn it, rookie! Volleyball! Wilson!"

I had planned to revive immediately. As soon as I died, without wasting time. So fast that Yoohyun wouldn't think I was dead, just that I had passed out for a moment.

In the first place, I had no intention of losing a life in front of my brother; even if Yoohyun knew I had multiple lives, I wanted to avoid dying in front of him as much as possible, but I thought. It would still be fine even if that didn't work out because I could immediately resurrect afterwards.

But this... what the hell?

"Revive me! Right now!"

I shouted, with a choked voice, but there was no response. My heart burned with worry. I couldn't breathe. Please, let time have stopped, or at least slowed down significantly. I was afraid to even imagine what Yoohyun was doing and how he was feeling right now.

Still, he probably knew that this wasn't the real world, right? ...If he didn't. If he hadn't received the system message correctly because I had ravaged as soon as it ended here... Damn it, I needed to know. Please, Rookie,

"Is there no one there?! Anyone!"

Please, for me, for my brother. I looked around, hoping someone would appear. There was no one there, but still, I crawled in the void. As time passed uselessly, my nerves only grew. Before I knew it, tears had begun to fall from my eyes.

I shouldn't have asked for a waiting period, I should have simply asked to be brought back to life immediately. No, to begin with, I should have paid more attention to my surroundings while saving my brother. As soon as the warning message appeared, simply using a shield skill... The warning message.

'...Sung Hyunjae.'

For a moment, I had forgotten. It wasn't the rookie. The person managing the system now was...

"Sung Hyunjae!"

The moment I shouted.

Ding!

A screen lit up. On the bright screen, Yoohyun appeared. My brother holding my body. He had a wet face and a wounded shoulder. Han Yoohyun, with an expression as if he were on the brink of death, fighting not to let go of me until the end.

My mind was completely blank. When I felt the chill of dripping blood, the strength leaving my body, I began to collapse, when someone caught me.

[Keep it together.]

"Ri-hgh- Okay, now."

I couldn't pronounce the words "send me back" properly. I gasped several times for air. I felt a hand stroking my back.

[The young master still resists. I can't interfere, so you'll have to do it, Han Yoojin. Come now.]

Another window appeared in front of me. It also had a keyboard for sending messages. Somehow, I managed to make my trembling hands move. My little brother, Yoohyun.

- Yoohyun.

I sent the message and, on the other side of the screen, my brother's eyes widened. Light entered his dark and wet eyes. My overwhelmed heart also regained energy.

- Hyung is here.

My hands began to move a little faster. The trembling had stopped. It was okay. My brother was okay. Everything was going to be okay. I quickly sent message after message.

"Missions, how do I send a mission? He'll need to recover mana to resist, even if it's just a little! If I send him a mana potion—no, if I just give him that, he won't have time to drink it, so with a reward that replenishes it directly—!"

[If you write a mission, you won't be able to send more messages. There's a quota.]

"That's fine, hurry!"

Even if there were no more messages from me, Yoohyun could wait. When I saw my brother's rejuvenated face, I was certain. It was okay, there wouldn't be any problems. He seemed better than me. Really, like that.

A white-gloved hand reached out behind me. It touched something and a mission window appeared.

[Write the name and details of the mission briefly, and the reward in detail.]

"I don't even have time to write something long."

As I replied, I quickly sent the mission. The mission window appeared on screen.

[Protect me

Let's hold out safely until Han Yoojin resurrects! Defend Han Yoojin's body for 5 minutes against a powerful opponent ^▽^

Rewards: automatic recovery of a small amount of mana]

"...What's with the emoticon? I didn't write any of that."

[That's part of the beginner functions.]

What was he talking about? In addition to that, the tone of the description had also changed.

[Once you have more experience with this, you'll be able to interfere in more varied ways. It seems the young master has recovered safely. Congratulations.]

On screen, Yoohyun stood up. Flames rose to block Sigma... Huh? The color of his flames had changed. Where they used to be black, they had become slightly blue. ...Was it because he was Alpha's body? That damned Sigma started trying to persuade Yoohyun. In his current condition, negotiating would be better than confronting him.

"But when can I come back to life?"

[I'm trying to get you conscious.]

"Consciousness?"

[Right now, you've fainted from the impact of being fatally wounded. You have to press the option to come back to life, but that's impossible while you remain unconscious.]

"I see you understand this quite well."

[... I didn't know until I looked into it a while ago.]

He sounded a bit dejected. Meanwhile, Yoohyun called Irin. The red lizard suddenly grew larger... What was that?

"...Rin?"

T-That... was it because we were in another world? And Irin had possessed the body of a dragon... Why was Yoohyun so calm? Wasn't he surprised? With Rin's help, Yoohyun escaped unscathed and reached the Mana Hall. I could relax completely now. If he was near the Mana Hall, there was no way he would lose to Sigma.

"Anyway, thank you, Sung Hyunjae. That Rookie should have told me all this beforehand... But what happened? How did you end up working in the system...?

I turned around. My eyes landed on a familiar suit. And his face... was...

"Agh!"

Bright pink wool! Where his head should be, a large bundle of yarn floated. Surprised, I reflexively pushed his body. The suit and gloves fell to the ground, and the wool rolled and... tong... rose again.

[That's too much.]

"W-W-Wh-What's wrong with you?! That look-!"

[It's not my real body, so don't worry.]

"I don't feel anything even remotely like reassurance."

^^The ball of wool smiled. Was there a rule that obligated system administrators to possess round objects? Don't twist the ends of the yarn. Don't act cute when you're like this.