Ch.140Season 2 – Strategic Retreat

After my clash with my future self, numerous changes occurred in my body.

First, my movements improved significantly, perhaps because I had observed how my future self handled combat and monster powers.

Even without kaijufication, this body had already surpassed the limits of an ordinary human.

“Draw!”

Clang!

Sparks fly.

From my own body, no less.

When I instinctively blocked Princess Asuna’s blade with both arms, my skin didn’t get cut—it deflected the steel blade.

“What?!”

And I can see it.

Their movements.

Princess Asuna’s servant monster rushing toward me after realizing its master’s attack had been blocked.

Samurai Tengen immediately swung his sharp blade at me from various angles.

But even without being in kaijufication state, I could see those movements well enough to dodge them all.

‘These techniques, these actions I’m performing now! They’re exactly the movements my future self made…’

So this is how he crushed humanity’s hopes one by one.

It makes sense.

It’s not impossible at all.

Plus, he’s a monster who soared as if he’d become a god, using the entire world as his experience points.

He could surely display movements far more impressive than what I’m capable of now.

But that doesn’t mean I’ll give up.

‘As long as the master lives, a servant monster can recover given enough time unless its “core” is destroyed.’

In other words, losing its head might temporarily disable it in battle, but it won’t die permanently.

Knowing this, I was about to take down Tengen first to clear up the misunderstanding with Princess Asuna.

As he raised his sword high, I channeled strength into one fist, preparing to strike.

I’ll also use the Kyokushin Karate “drawing stance.”

But then.

“Grrrr!”

“Oh, you’re…”

“Ina…ri?”

A giant fox jumped between us to mediate the fight.

It was none other than Inari.

And there’s only been one person in history who raised four guardian monsters of the Kitsune family simultaneously.

“Shinwoo, are you okay?!”

“Lady Kurumi!”

“I heard commotion outside so I rushed over, but what on earth is…”

“Sister…”

“…?! Could you be… Asuna?”

The princess’s once-elegant demeanor had vanished, replaced by scars across her face and torn samurai clothing.

But that wouldn’t prevent Lady Kurumi from recognizing her sister.

And the moment their eyes met.

Whoosh!

“Sister! Is it really you?! But how? You should have been captured by Han Shinwoo! Sister! Sister, sister, sister!!”

“C-calm down first, Asuna…”

Princess Asuna abandoned our battle and rushed into Lady Kurumi’s arms.

At first, there were exclamations of joy.

Then she started trembling, seeming to hold back tears.

Yet her face still showed such happiness that she was crying and smiling at the same time.

“How did you escape from the palace? I thought I’d never see you again…”

“Asuna, actually…”

“But sister, your skin looks so good. Your hair too—you look like you’ve gotten younger…”

“Asuna. Did you just return from somewhere?”

A sister who appeared much younger than when they had parted.

Asuna’s brow furrowed as her smile faded.

Then Jaewon, who had gone to the past, ran outside to greet her, asking if she had a good trip.

At this point, even a fool would understand.

“I see… You’re not my present sister.”

“…No.”

Only then did Asuna release her embrace and step back a few paces before sitting down.

Her servant monster, Tengen, naturally returned to her shadow.

People from the mud house began coming outside one by one, having heard the commotion.

“W-what’s going on?!”

“Asuna? Why are you suddenly sitting there?”

“Oh, it’s that human I saw in Japan.”

“Princess Kitsune Asuna? So you survived in the future!”

Our members who had flown in from the past.

Starting with Lady Kurumi, then Lia, Saint Kang Mirae, and Yoo Cheran.

Perhaps because she saw some familiar faces among them, Princess Asuna’s gloomy expression gradually began to brighten again.

Meanwhile, more people who had returned from the surface with the princess were arriving one by one behind us.

But these members were…

“Huh?! Han Shinwoo?”

“Han Shin…! …? He’s small?”

“Wait, isn’t that person over there Captain Cheran?!”

“Huh? C-captain?!”

My mouth fell open at the appearance of people I never expected to see.

***

Until twenty years ago, she was just an ordinary pink-haired girl wandering around.

But now, they say she’s become an indispensable figure in the human resistance.

Yoo Sihyeon, one of the main heroines in the original story.

Currently, she was living in the underground village as one of humanity’s few remaining “Hunters” and a member of the hunting team.

“My goodness, it’s really past Shinwoo! I can’t believe the ally Jaewon brought from the past is Han Shinwoo. This is amazing!”

“Yoo Sihyeon…? Is it really the Sihyeon I know? That woman who tried to hoard everything for herself?”

“Come on! That’s ancient history! I’ve long shed that immature behavior! Now I’m a ‘hero’ who shares whatever I get!”

They say the position makes the person.

So you finally matured in your forties.

In the original story, she kept acting up until she was eaten by a monster, but seeing Yoo Sihyeon now truly become a hero beyond her share left me dumbfounded.

However, the real surprises were just beginning.

“Shinwoo. I’m glad you’re not a villain yet.”

“Mr. Lorensky… I’m shocked you’re still alive!”

“Hahaha. I’ve certainly aged quite a bit, haven’t I?”

The Soviet Union’s only National Authority-Level, Mr. Lorensky, now approaching his 80s with white hair and a grown beard.

“Past Han Shinwoo! I remember you as that guy back then. Let’s fight together to save that demon king and your woman!”

“Yes, I look forward to working with you, Mr. Joo Sangho.”

Korea’s A-class Hunter Joo Sangho, famous for his anger management issues, whom I thought would have died long ago.

“Wow! I never thought I’d meet Shinwoo from this time again! I’m so happy!”

“Xiaoling?! You’re alive?”

“Of course! I’ll have you know I was China’s National Authority-Level in your era!”

Even Xiaoling, China’s National Authority-Level who was once sent to Korea as cannon fodder during the Chinese Forces in Korea incident.

I was extremely worried that most of humanity’s fighting power had disappeared.

Surprisingly, the survivors were the cream of the crop among S-class members.

“Wait, if people of this caliber are here… why is Dorothy the leader?”

“W-what do you mean, why am I the leader?! It’s because I designed everything from this underground village!”

“Ah, that makes sense…”

“Hahaha. That’s right. If we had chosen a leader based solely on strength, humanity would have perished long ago.”

To be fair, Dorothy was actually an intelligence character.

Surprisingly, this Dorothy is said to have an IQ over 200.

Of course, in my world, she never properly utilized her talent and was just a champion who stayed in her room playing PlayStation and eating Doritos…

“By the way, are these all the members who came from the past to help us?”

“No. Katarina is still upstairs guarding the time machine. Along with my children I mentioned earlier.”

“Hmm… who would have thought that Katarina, the Villain’s Troupe leader, and Han Leon, who served right beside Han Shinwoo, would turn to our side…”

“B-but that guy can’t be trusted! Right, Mr. Lorensky?”

“Of course, Sihyeon. I nearly died by his hand once, so we should maintain some caution.”

Mr. Lorensky looked too old to fight now.

Nevertheless, perhaps because of the experience he had accumulated, the aura of expertise that had always surrounded him now felt several times stronger.

While Asuna was the hunting team leader, Mr. Lorensky seemed to be their spiritual pillar, as everyone nodded in agreement with his words.

“So are these five people the entire hunting team?”

“Hmm? No. We used to move in groups of eight despite the danger, but now there are so few people left…”

“Besides us, there’s another hunting team of three people. Well, those people don’t distinguish between day and night, so once they leave, they don’t return for a month…”

“It’s been three weeks since they left, so we should be able to see them next week!”

“Is that so?”

Even with the people here, they formed a team of five, so I wondered who these other three might be.

I was curious, but decided to ask about that later.

Right now, there was something much more important.

“Dorothy. I’ve been thinking outside for a while.”

“About what?”

“To borrow the underground village’s strength, we should probably help develop this village.”

“Father…!”

“Shinwoo, you mean…”

“Hey, monster! Are you saying…?!”

“Yes, it’s exactly what everyone is thinking. They say retreat is also a strategy. Let’s help with the work here for a while.”

“I’ll do anything oppa asks me to do!”

The limited fighting power of the underground village consisted of National Authority-Level fighters who would be considered the strongest even in the past.

We absolutely needed their help.

And to get it, we first needed to improve their living conditions.

‘Since my future self is Han Shinwoo, he probably didn’t do anything strange to Sophia… so I need to be patient for now.’

A hasty knife thrust won’t kill the opponent in one blow.

So with the determination to create a single fatal strike, I decided to step back this time.

To sharpen the ultimate blade that would kill my future self.