The Man with Hypnotic Powers Doesn’t Hold Back the Second Time Around

Chapter 216

Yujin's Suspicion of Pedophilia.

It didn’t take long to dispel the ridiculous accusations of pedophilia.
Thanks to his ultimate move.

"I'll prove my purity in five minutes! You’ll believe me!!!"

-Snatch.

The man’s ultimate move. Betting it all on the line.
Yujin declared he would prove it by showing them.

The compass hanging below a man’s waist is always an honest reflection of his heart.
It would be enough to prove that he felt no attraction to the Saintess.

‘Of course, I can’t actually drop my pants in front of the kids…’

[Hey, Kong. If it comes down to it, let's do this privately where only you can see.]

Just in case, Yujin roped Kong into the plan.
It didn’t matter if the older women saw, but the daughters—well, that might be a different matter.
Besides, public indecency was illegal.
Even with the world-ending apocalypse, some rules needed to be followed.

[...!!!? Why, why just me!?]
[Well, if you’re going to show it, might as well be you. Besides, after last time... it’s not a big deal.]
[That’s... I guess I’m happy you said that, but at the same time, it’s annoying...]
[Stop squirming, you’re making it worse. It’s cute but it’s still annoying.]

Kong made it clear that he wasn’t thrilled, but...
This was to be expected.
Yujin would be terrified if another man asked to look at his private parts.
But Kong and Yujin were close.
They were best friends, and they had rushed to each other’s aid during national disasters.
This request was nothing.

In fact, Kong nodded carefully, confirming Yujin’s assumption.

"What are you trying to do? Ugh. Fine. I know your intentions aren’t impure, so I’ll let it slide."
"Oh, thank you for believing me."

Kong didn’t need to undergo any awkward "eye torture" since the chairman waved it off as a joke.
The others understood and excused it, chalking it up to Yujin being Yujin.

-Gaze.

"......"
‘Sybilla and Alice’s gazes are sharp...’

Both Sybilla and Alice, being from the West, were far stricter than the Koreans.
There was still suspicion in their eyes, but that would be dealt with later.

For now, Yujin decided to explain things, brushing the awkwardness aside.

"Anyway, like I said, I’m in a half-soul state. Just like those monsters."
"How did you end up like this?"
"Well, um..."

Explaining was actually more difficult than Yujin expected.

The truth was, he had regressed, but that was because ‘Mom’ made him.
That 'Mom' was some god-like entity, and when she made him regress, she shoved her power into him.
Until now, he hadn’t realized it because of the seal.

"Oh, what’s this seal?!"
"Well, when I kissed my wives after I regressed, it released the seal. It’s a three-part seal…"

-Wince.

‘Would they even believe me if I explained it all?’

No, explaining it all was practically impossible.
The penalty of 'Ichi' made it so.

In short, properly explaining everything was nearly impossible.

‘It can’t be helped. Let’s just gloss over it…’

-Sigh.

"I’m not sure, but it seems like my unique ability, Perfect Hypnosis, is the reason behind all this."

Yujin decided to go with a quick excuse.
At least his hypnosis powers were indeed tied to the power he had gotten from ‘Mom,’ so it wasn’t exactly a lie.

"Wait, Yujin. What’s hypnosis got to do with all this?"
"Well, hypnosis is fundamentally a power that deals with souls."
"Really?"
"Yeah. That’s why I can move better than those monsters. I’m used to manipulating things."
"Right. If they moved like you, they’d have been wiped out already. Makes sense."

Yujin’s makeshift explanation was surprisingly effective.
After all, who could argue with the man himself?

"Still, though, just yesterday, you were struggling with Niomiya and now you’ve evolved like this in just one day..."
"Well, I have EX-rank abilities too, you know. Just like you, Master."
"Yeah, but bringing up Niomiya is… problematic."
"And also, thanks to you, I’ve gained some enlightenment. I feel like the seal has been lifted."

He pulled out the ultimate card—mentioning his Master.
With that, everyone nodded in understanding, as if to say, "If he’s in the same league as the one who split the gate in half with a sword, it makes sense."

"Seems like it’s not a lie after all."
"......"
‘If that old man believes it, then it’s game over.’

Now, at least the cover-up had worked.

‘But...’

-Deep breath.

"Anyway. There’s a bigger problem than my body."
"What’s that?"
"The gate. What about it?"

Now that the cover-up was done, it was time to address the real issue.

Yujin pointed a finger toward the sky, indicating the still-blood-red glowing gate.
Though the monsters had quieted down, the gate’s ominous glow still lingered.

"The monsters pouring out, that usually happens when a gate goes into a state of overload."

Gate overload.
A phenomenon where monsters continue to spawn, eventually overflowing due to density, causing the gate to explode.

A gate in this state was incredibly hard to deal with.
Inside, the monsters would be packed to the brim.

Considering how, on the first day of his first life, over ten thousand monsters fell, the number of monsters in that gate was at least ten thousand.

"Honestly, it’s impossible. My mana’s going to run out first."
"Well, you’re the only one who can fight them."
"Unlike the S-rank gate, I won’t be able to fight them one by one. Even if I take dozens of mana fuel rods, it won’t be enough."

Even Kong and the chairman, veterans in this kind of battle, acknowledged how impossible it was.
It didn’t matter that Yujin was in a half-soul state; numbers outweighed everything.

"This isn’t the only problem, though."
"What else?"
"To approach the gate, we’ll need a helicopter, right?"
"Probably. Or my plane could work..."
"Getting too close will trigger lasers. From over there."

In addition to that, there were two more minor issues.

First, it was difficult to even approach the gate.
During the first life, dozens of helicopters were destroyed in the attempt—impossible to ignore.

"Kong, your plane almost got shot down too."
"...I’ve seen it a few times, so I figured it was monster-related. But lasers, really?"
"Yep. Real lasers."

"His face turned a bit pale, but... this wasn't the end."

"Second, the Gate has a boss monster. The dungeon's owner, you know?"

"...Do you know who it is?"

"I don't know either. It's just a pattern, and nothing else."

The second problem. The final boss problem.

To retrieve the core and close the gate, the dungeon's owner hidden inside must be caught...

Monsters? As long as I can attack them, they're at an A-rank level, easy enough.

But the boss monster? Could it be that easy?

Could I solo it by myself?

'No way.'

Attempting to solo it without knowing the pattern is a death wish.

There are only two types of people who could handle it.

Those like Kkong or the chairman, who have crisis detection abilities.

Or someone like my master, an extraordinary powerhouse.

I'm neither of those.

In other words, attempting the boss raid solo is essentially suicide.

"Let's sum it up. It's hard enough to defeat them all by myself, it's difficult to approach, and I can't even handle a raid. Is that correct?"

"Yes. The only one capable of fighting is me, and that's a problem."

"Hmm."

After hearing my explanation, the chairman furrowed her brows deeply.

In the still grim situation, even the hero of reversal, she, seemed hopeless...

- Mumbling.

"Money... sponsorship, no. That alone won't do..."

"Chairman?"

"Wait, hold on a second."

I expected her to despair.

But she clenched her head and began to think deeply.

We all stared intently at her.

Could she have a plan—perhaps?

Five minutes later, the chairman raised her head.

"First, let me ask. Can we use the Saintess as a combatant?"

"The Saintess?"

"Isn't she similar to you in terms of attributes? If raised well, maybe she could reach an S-rank level."

"Do you think that’s possible?"

I truly shouldn't have gotten my hopes up.

I looked at the Saintess again.

More precisely, I looked at 'Mom', who had transferred all her power to me, leaving only a shell behind.

[You know the master, right? You've seen her often enough!]

'The only thing I’ve seen often that’s suspicious is her.'

It was the Saintess, pulled out by my transcendent sister.

Based on what my sister had said about her downfall, it was almost certain that she was the 'mom' that Chwimyeon-jjang had mentioned.

In fact, I had even more suspicions.

When I met the Archpriest of the US S-rank Gate raid, Archpriest Ellington from the Holy Church, he said something:

If I were a wine bottle filled to the brim, the Saintess would be the empty bottle with only the scent of wine left.

Even other Holy Church believers said similar things.

At the time, I thought he was just rambling... but what if that was actually true?

The Saintess is hollow. She gave me everything she had.

I am full, having accepted all of her.

It all fits perfectly, doesn't it?

Chwimyeon-jjang didn’t just say, "You'll know with this much."

When I think about it, there was really no one else but the Saintess.

"She is, like me, a spiritual entity. But she’s more like an empty shell. I wouldn’t expect any combat abilities from her."

A bitter tone involuntarily slipped into my voice.

Even now, in this situation, the Saintess smiled with her lips curled in the shape of the Greek letter omega. She acted as if she had shaken off what happened earlier, but for some reason, she seemed a bit pitiful.

In response to my reaction, the chairman also acknowledged the absurdity of the situation and gave up...

"I was just saying it as a joke."

"...Huh?"

"Do you really think that soft thing could properly handle a sword? I was just asking if it could be used as a combatant later on."

I thought she would give up, but instead, a smile appeared on the chairman’s face.

And then,

"In that sense, I urgently have a request not for student Seo Yujin, but for Awakened Seo Yujin."

"...?"

She gave me a look, full of pomp, as if she were sizing me up. I couldn't help but wonder—was this the same person who was wearing diapers just until this morning? No, it was yesterday morning, now that it's past midnight.

Of course, I had no reason not to comply.

If she were an old woman talking about dementia and calling me "little brother," I might have hesitated. But now, she was a living legend of Korea.

Respect was due.

"Affiliated with the Korean Awakened Association. S-rank, number 7, Seo Yujin. I look forward to your cooperation, Chairman Seol Hayeon."

"...Ah, that brings back memories. It was the same with Haru back then."

"It's a lot different from back then in many ways."

"Yeah. Back then, we couldn't even dream of this situation. In many ways."

We both indulged in nostalgia, a moment similar to our first day at school.

But that didn't last long.

Not long after, the chairman gave me a mission.

With a swift motion—her trademark intensity radiating from her—

"S-rank number 1, Ninomiya Aika. I want you to evolve her just like you did."

"...Huh?"

My breath stopped for a moment.

...What? You want me to turn my master into someone like me?

I also became like this thanks to 'Mom,' the Saintess. How am I supposed to do that?

It was beyond difficult; it was practically impossible.

"I think that's going to be tough."

"Come on now. If it’s something you, with your EX-class unique ability, can do, surely this should be possible too."

"Even so..."

"Tsk. Have you forgotten the association's motto? If it’s not possible, make it possible. Even if it’s not possible, make it happen."

"...?"

But the chairman remained unfazed. She simply smiled at me, as if she believed I could pull it off somehow.

"I’ll help with the other things. As for the mana shortage, if you ask for aid from the U.S., they’ll provide mana fuel rods. Right, Sibylla?"

"If it’s Your Excellency, then yes."

"Accessing the gate is also your job, isn’t it? Ninomiya Aika, that one. She flies through the sky whenever she feels like it."

"That’s true, but..."

"So, the only problem right now is the lack of power. In a short time, the only person who could transcend humanity like you is Ninomiya Aika."

"...?"

"You can do it, right?"

"That’s..."

My gaze shifted to one side. I fumbled nervously, rubbing my thighs, and when my own name came up, I froze and looked at my master in surprise.

"M-Master, I..."

"Well, I’ll try."

"You...you’re my disciple!!?"

"I’m sorry, Master."

Even I thought that was the best option.

Evolving my master into someone like me. That was the most solid power we could have.

'I have no idea how to do it... but...'

- A small smile.

"Let’s try."

In the moment when destruction was imminent, the operation that would decide the fate of humanity began.

***

"Yujin. I heard you had sex with Shia?"

"...!!!? How do you know that?"

"And, I bet you did everything with Ninomiya too, huh? I can tell from the way your memory’s come back."

"Hiiiiick!!!!"

I didn’t expect it all to fall apart just three minutes after the operation started.