Chapter 116: Inclusio

Episode 116

A cold wind swept past Baek Jun and Yong Hangil, both with tightly closed mouths.

The two stared at each other without flinching.

Behind them stood Jang Seungwook with Colosseum staff, and Hong Yeonseok with Daehan Clan hunters respectively.

Both sides were fully prepared for battle.

“I’ll say it one more time,” Baek Jun said sternly to Yong Hangil.

“As the representative of the Colosseum Survival program, I order you. Immediately send back all personnel who are not part of the pre-agreed security team to their standby locations.”

Baek Jun’s voice was cold as ice.

It was the first time he had spoken to his senior, Yong Hangil, in such a tone.

Yong Hangil, who had been staring at Baek Jun’s face, finally spoke.

“That’s impossible.”

“Master!!”

Baek Jun shouted, his patience finally exploding.

“What on earth are you doing?! Didn’t you clearly promise, and even sign, that you would follow my instructions as the representative until the finals ended?!”

Jang Seungwook swallowed hard behind the enraged Baek Jun.

‘I’ve never seen the President this angry before.’

Jang Seungwook fully understood Baek Jun’s anger.

It was unthinkable for outside personnel to intrude on the Colosseum competition site.

‘Moreover, the President extremely dislikes anyone interfering with the Colosseum live broadcast.’

Even as he thought this, Baek Jun continued to shout.

“You know better than anyone how much I hate external interference in Colosseum! So why…!”

“Why are you being so inflexible?!” Yong Hangil suddenly shouted, interrupting Baek Jun.

He glared at Baek Jun with fiery eyes and yelled,

“Didn’t you just witness Kim Jinsung overcoming both the Void and Illusion rifts?! Do you think you can capture someone of his caliber with just the security personnel we agreed upon earlier if he decides to escape with all his might?!”

Yong Hangil then swept his gaze over Jang Seungwook and the others behind Baek Jun as he continued shouting.

“Kim Jinsung has grown stronger than anyone else through the Colosseum! You think you can control such a person with just that many people? Are you all out of your minds?!”

Despite Yong Hangil’s brazen anger after bringing in unauthorized personnel, no one could easily refute him.

They all felt that Yong Hangil’s words weren’t wrong.

The current Kim Jinsung would be difficult to control even if all reserve forces were deployed.

His performance in the labyrinth had completely exceeded the expectations of all involved.

“I brought the reserve forces in advance for possible safety concerns, and above all, for your sake! How can you be so stubborn without understanding that! The Baek Jun I knew was never this inflexible…. Tsk tsk!”

Yong Hangil clicked his tongue, turning his head with a disapproving expression.

But Baek Jun coldly asked Yong Hangil, maintaining his unchanged attitude and voice.

“Then why did you bring that Abyss Cannon?”

Yong Hangil inwardly flinched at those words.

His gaze naturally turned to the side.

There stood an advanced cannon, much larger than an ordinary tank.

Moreover, a giant mana missile was already loaded in the cannon’s muzzle.

It was ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

Baek Jun continued to confront Yong Hangil.

“Don’t you think I know that one shot from that Abyss missile would turn even Kim Jinsung, who overcame the Void, into ashes?!”

“……”

“You said your goal was capture, right? Do you really think that Abyss Cannon is suitable for capture?!”

This time, Yong Hangil couldn’t easily respond.

The Abyss Cannon.

It was a special weapon designed to tackle powerful Demon Kings appearing in high-level dungeons of the New Continent.

Apart from Yong Hangil, no one present could withstand a single shot from that missile.

The power of the Abyss Cannon was that overwhelming, which is why it was a weapon that required special handling.

Facing Yong Hangil, who remained silent with a downcast gaze, Baek Jun spoke in an even lower voice.

“Just be honest. Say that you want to kill Kim Jinsung, who absorbed Shin Woong’s ability, right here and now.”

“What?!”

Yong Hangil shouted reflexively, his attitude defensive.

But Baek Jun continued to press him.

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice how you’ve been constantly concerned about Kim Jinsung since the third preliminary round, given the high possibility that he absorbed Shin Woong’s ability? You’ve been unusually sensitive about Kim Jinsung!”

“How dare you view me like this?! Do you think I, the master of the Daehan Clan, Korea’s top clan, would try to ruin your program out of fear of an ability like Shin Woong’s?!”

“If not, then why did you secretly send hunters into the labyrinth to set up the Void and Illusion rifts without my knowledge?!”

“……!”

Jang Seungwook’s eyes widened at Baek Jun’s words.

He hadn’t expected Baek Jun to actually bring this up in front of Yong Hangil.

“You bastard!!”

Yong Hangil finally exploded.

An overwhelming aura burst from his body, instantly enveloping Baek Jun and all the Colosseum staff.

“Ugh…?!”

“Huk…!”

Everyone, including Jang Seungwook, grimaced in pain from the crushing pressure.

As everyone groaned, Yong Hangil shouted at Baek Jun with a face more furious than ever before.

“I’ve been tolerating your disrespect out of consideration for our past relationship, but you’ve finally crossed the line! Do you truly wish to die by my hand?!”

As Yong Hangil shouted at Baek Jun, the aura emanating from his body grew stronger.

But Baek Jun seemed unaffected. Instead, he raised his own aura and met Yong Hangil’s gaze.

“Go ahead and kill me.”

Baek Jun spoke softly, not intimidated at all.

“The moment you do, you’ll be at odds with the Korean government. Can you handle that?”

“……!”

“As the master of the Daehan Clan, which receives the most support from the government, you should know what will happen the moment you kill me, right?”

“Y-you… until the end…!”

Yong Hangil trembled with rage, unable to contain his anger.

But he couldn’t easily act against Baek Jun. Everything Baek Jun had said was true.

As Yong Hangil stood there, his hands shaking uncontrollably, suddenly,

“……!”

“……!”

Baek Jun and Yong Hangil’s movements froze as if someone had pressed a pause button.

Then, as if on cue, they both turned their heads sharply towards the dungeon portal.

Simultaneously, the aura emanating from their bodies vanished completely.

“Gasp!”

“Whew…!”

“Cough, cough…!”

The Colosseum staff, freed from the terrifying pressure, finally caught their breath with relieved expressions.

But this moment didn’t last long.

‘…Huh? What’s this?’

This time, they couldn’t help but turn their gaze towards the tremendous energy suddenly erupting from the dungeon portal.

‘Why is such strong dark energy suddenly pouring out of the portal?’

Moreover, the intensity of the dark energy kept increasing.

At some point, it became difficult to withstand even when exerting full effort to raise one’s aura for protection.

Baek Jun, who had also started to raise his mana to protect himself, looked bewildered at this unprecedented situation.

It was unheard of for dark energy to be felt from a dungeon portal like this.

‘What kind of phenomenon is this… Huh?’

At that moment, everyone, including Baek Jun, suddenly looked up at the sky.

They sensed another massive energy above their heads.

‘No…!’

Baek Jun’s eyes widened.

He saw a huge portal of white light in his field of vision.

It was a portal that anyone who had experienced the New Continent would instantly recognize.

‘When did the Trial Portal…?’

Various portals existed in the New Continent.

Like the portal leading to the Demon World Dungeon where the Colosseum competition was taking place, there were portals leading to various places.

The Trial Portal that Baek Jun now saw was none other than the dungeon portal leading to the Celestial Realm.

The problem was that until now, there had been no Trial Portal on Ambages Island.

‘What on earth is going on?!’

First, the tremendous dark energy pouring from the Demon World Dungeon portal, and now a Trial Portal suddenly appearing in the sky.

Two impossible things had occurred simultaneously.

Naturally, everyone’s gaze turned to Yong Hangil.

In this situation, the only one they could rely on was Yong Hangil, the strongest and most experienced hunter from the New Continent.

However, even Yong Hangil was looking up at the sky with disbelieving eyes.

‘It can’t be…!’

Yong Hangil, staring at the Trial Portal with trembling eyes, had completely forgotten about Baek Jun.

A memory had suddenly surfaced in his mind.

A phenomenon he never wanted to experience again was unfolding right before his eyes.

‘Inclusio…!’

Inclusio.

A massive explosion caused by the collision of powerful dark energy pouring from the Demon World portal and powerful celestial energy pouring from the Celestial Realm portal.

No one knew why Inclusio occurred. It had happened only a few times since the birth of the New Continent.

But one thing was certain: when it did occur, its explosive power was tremendous enough to reduce everything in the vicinity to ashes.

Having experienced this phenomenon just once in his life, Yong Hangil shouted loudly as soon as he grasped the situation.

“Everyone, run as far away from the portal as possible!!”

At his words, everyone present began sprinting away from the portal with all their might.

Already sensing that the energy pouring from the two portals was abnormal, they fled with more desperation than ever before, running faster than they ever had.

It was then that,

[You vile demon god, daring to covet the middle world again!]

A thunderous female voice rang out from the Trial Portal.

However, none of the fleeing hunters heard this voice.

Because it was a voice that beings born in the middle world could not hear in the first place.

[Did you think you could escape the eyes of me, the guardian of the celestial realm?!]

The celestial energy pouring from the Trial Portal had now almost reached the powerful dark energy coming from the Demon World portal.

[As long as we guardians exist, you will never again covet the middle world!]

As the woman’s shout ended, the continuously approaching celestial and dark energies finally touched.

And simultaneously.

**BOOM!**

A massive explosion was generated between the two portals, spreading in all directions.

It was powerful enough to engulf the entire Ambages Island.

Much later, as the smoke from the explosion cleared, the scene inside the island was utterly devastating.

Everything on the ground, including the Abyss Cannon installed at the entrance, had been completely shattered into pieces.

Even the hunters and Colosseum staff who had fled were not unscathed from the explosion’s aftermath.

“Is everyone alright?”

– Ugh…!

– There are several injured!

Multiple groans came through Yong Hangil’s earpiece.

Even the Daehan Clan hunters, said to be the strongest in South Korea, couldn’t completely withstand this explosion.

Naturally, the damage was even greater among the Colosseum staff.

– All staff who fled east are injured! Two of them are in critical condition!

– Three severely injured in the north as well!

“Quickly, get them to the infirmary!”

As Baek Jun was rapidly assessing the casualties,

“President! Over there…!”

Jang Seungwook, who was nearby, shouted urgently while pointing in one direction.

Baek Jun’s gaze naturally followed, and,

“……!!”

His eyes widened.

A familiar figure was running at an incredible speed towards the beach.

It was Kim Jinsung.

“No!! Stop him!!”

Baek Jun, realizing Kim Jinsung’s intention, shouted urgently and kicked off the ground. He began running at full speed towards Kim Jinsung.

—