My Alter Ego’S Path To Greatness Chapter 435
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Harley’s Modern Diary (2)
“Everything’s been cleared up!”
“We’ve already lost a lot of time, so let’s get started right away. The guests are ready too, right?”
“Yes, PD-nim. They said everything’s ready and they’re waiting.”
The filming that had been interrupted by the sudden incident resumed.
In fact, judging by the atmosphere just moments ago, the shoot should have been completely called off. But apparently, something had been discussed between the higher-ups on both sides, because direct orders had come down to continue with the filming.
Of course, that was hardly the development the uninvited guests who had come all the way here wanted, but unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about it.
After all…
“Hmm, looks like we’re finally ready to have a proper, calm conversation!”
They had more important things to worry about right now.
“Ugh…”
“……”
The Returnee celebrities who had stormed in full of confidence, only to be forcibly dragged outside the filming set by someone else.
The ones groaning as they rubbed wherever they’d been hit exchanged uneasy glances before looking toward Harley.
The moment their eyes met his, they quietly lowered their heads.
It was painfully obvious that their spirits had been crushed.
“A conversation… Is there really anything left for us to talk about?”
There was only one person who continued to look him straight in the eye even after everything that had happened. The leader of the group, Cheon Seolhyang.
‘…Why would a monster like that side with the Blood Alliance?’
Of course, that was only how she appeared on the outside. There was no way she could remain calm on the inside.
Having reached such a lofty realm, she had keenly realized the overwhelming difference between their strength and his through that brief clash alone.
‘If that man had really been serious…’
They would all already be cold corpses. It was only natural that the Returnees, who were accustomed to the law of strength, were all carefully watching this man called Manager Ha.
They had deliberately refrained from using their powers as much as possible to avoid causing damage to their surroundings, but when you thought about it, hadn’t their opponent done the same?
‘Even if we’ve grown weaker in actual combat after spending so much time in the entertainment industry…’
It had started when the punch of an action star who had reached the early stages of the Transcendent realm in martial arts was casually blocked by a mere palm.
The actor had then been grabbed by the hand and slammed onto the floor, and a single stomp from his opponent had immediately rendered him powerless.
The protective qi he’d activated at precisely the right moment had been destroyed in a single attack.
The same thing happened to the others. The broadcaster who had once been a dragon hunter, having slain countless dragonkin.
The model who had been a Battle Mage fighting on the front lines of the battlefield.
Before they could even properly show what they were capable of, they were subdued one after another.
Even with the singer’s buff as a priest of the God of Banquets, the result was the same.
In the end, the only one left standing was Cheon Seolhyang, the strongest among them.
But even after using the flexible sword she had wrapped around herself like a belt to fight back, she was forced to give up all resistance before long.
After clashing with her opponent several times, she could no longer deny the fact she had desperately tried to ignore.
No matter what she did, she could never defeat that man.
‘…Who would’ve thought that someone at the Transcendent level was working as nothing more than a manager.’
The same oppressive feeling she had experienced years ago when she had met the chairman of the Returnee Association during her days as a Guardian.
She had never expected to encounter that kind of pressure again here.
She knew Phantom was a Transcendent as well, but she had assumed that he wouldn’t personally step forward just to look after some fledgling idol group.
“Why wouldn’t there be anything to talk about? There’s nothing better than a conversation for clearing up misunderstandings between people! We’ve already gotten to know each other through a little physical conversation, so don’t you think it’s time we had a serious talk?”
The carefree voice of the man drifted into her ears as she was lost in thought.
‘Physical… conversation?’
‘Gotten to know each other…?’
He acted as though the commotion that had just occurred was nothing worth mentioning.
The others, who had been avoiding his gaze and nervously watching him, stared at him dumbfoundedly, their faces saying they couldn’t believe what they were hearing.
But Harley was completely serious. If he weren’t, there was no way they would all still be sitting there in one piece.
‘Well, they probably came here to cause this much trouble knowing that, too.’
They must have already known that the Blood Alliance was dangerous.
They also must have known that if Phantom really wanted to, he could kill them at any moment.
Even so, they had openly stormed in because they had assumed that this side wouldn’t be able to resort to such extreme measures.
‘That’s what makes this such a headache.’
If they killed them for interfering with the project, the idol project would be over.
No, not only that—the image they had worked so hard to rehabilitate up until now would be destroyed in an instant.
The Ability Management Bureau and the Guardians would once again classify them as demon humans and completely ostracize them.
‘Assassination is out of the question too. Even if there’s no evidence, simply becoming the subject of suspicion would be devastating. Brainwashing or turning them into vampires would be the same.’
It was an unavoidable limitation they had to accept from the moment they declared their intention to step into the public eye.
If this had happened in the shadows, they could have dealt with them without anyone ever knowing.
But with this many witnesses around, they had no choice but to handle things according to the rules of the public world.
‘Well, I can understand where they’re coming from, too.’
The Blood Alliance had existed for more than fifteen years.
On top of that, it had been less than a year since the hardliners who had held the reins and behaved like a mafia had disappeared.
From their perspective, it was only natural for it to look like a group of heinous criminals was trying to wash their identities clean and infiltrate society after doing a few volunteer activities.
‘Even if they expected the Blood Alliance to be unable to act recklessly, they still came here knowing they could lose their lives if things went wrong. That’s impressive in its own way.’
Whether it was the sense of justice they had developed as former Guardians, the responsibility they felt toward the status they had been given as the strong, or their affection for the entertainment industry they had spent so long working in…
These people had come here carrying their own sense of justice, so Harley couldn’t simply treat them carelessly.
“Then let’s get to the point. Were you guys the ones who ordered someone to plant a bomb in our vehicle?”
Of course, all of that was only true as long as they had nothing to do with the bombing.
The trouble they had caused today was something he could understand and overlook.
But the bombing was clearly crossing the line.
They had deliberately tried to kill them, and in the process, innocent civilians could have been caught up in it as well.
“…What?”
“A bomb? What are you talking about?”
Harley’s sharpened senses dissected every one of their reactions to his sudden question.
He wasn’t merely analyzing their outward reactions.
The flow of energy within their bodies, the contraction of their pupils, changes in body temperature, hormone secretion, blood flow, muscle tension…
There was no living being in this world that could escape the gaze of someone who had touched divinity through nothing more than the potential inherent in life itself.
Unless it was a non-living entity such as a robot, undead, or spirit.
‘They really didn’t know.’
The result was that all five of them were innocent.
But was it really a coincidence that their visit had happened to coincide with the bombing?
‘Who knows…’
Harley stroked his chin as he looked at them arguing that it was absurd.
Various possibilities flashed through his mind.
From someone manipulating and using them to someone planning to pin the blame on them if the terrorist attack succeeded.
“Hmmm. So you’re saying that bombing has absolutely nothing to do with you?”
“Of course not! No, more importantly, is the bombing actually true?”
Either way, it was a serious headache.
Things were already complicated enough, so how long would it take to investigate everything and track down the suspects?
“Alright, then let’s do this!”
So rather than wasting time worrying about it… Since the incident had occurred in the public eye, he decided to deal with it according to the rules of the public world.
A man stepped out through the main entrance of the building and gave himself a hearty stretch.
“Ughh—! Let’s see… I’ve bought us some time with this, at least.”
A muscular man in sunglasses and a suit, with an appearance that was anything but ordinary at first glance.
It was Manager Ha—Harley, who had left Lycoris in the hands of the other managers and personally driven all the way here.
‘This is killing two birds with one stone. If it’s that woman, she might be able to convince those guys to calm down and behave.’
He nodded in satisfaction as the sign on the building glittered in the sunlight behind him.
***
—Korea Returnee Association, Southern Seoul Branch
One of the headquarters overseeing the Guardians, an organization that, alongside the authorities, symbolized public security in Korea.
Even the government agency known as the Ability Management Bureau sought their cooperation first whenever a matter involving the supernatural arose.
In fact, when it came to dealing with supernatural crimes, they were one of the foremost organizations in Korea.
‘This bombing is unquestionably a supernatural crime. Obviously, the Guardians should step in themselves, shouldn’t they?’
No matter what anyone said, Lunatic Entertainment was a legally established company in the Republic of Korea, and Lycoris were artists under its management.
Regardless of the fact that they were vampires, the moment a magical bomb had been used in the terrorist attack, the Guardians had an obligation to actively intervene and resolve the matter.
‘I’ve already asked Branch Chief Yoon Ji-yoon, who agreed to cooperate with us, to handle it separately.’
As an added bonus, he had handed over the Returnee celebrities under the pretext of investigating their connection to the suspect.
Yoon Jiyoon, who was also Cheon Seolhyang’s senior in the Guardian organization, would be able to persuade them on his behalf while they were being questioned and unable to act recklessly.
Knowing their strength better than anyone, she would also take a more active approach to preventing unnecessary conflict.
‘Just in case, I also reported it through the official channels to the Criminal Investigation Division of the Ability Management Bureau. I pay my taxes diligently, so I might as well make use of my rights.’
Before Hahoe Mask and Phantom appeared, these were the organizations that had somehow managed to maintain public security despite being forced to operate under an incredibly inefficient humanitarian policy while the situation deteriorated by the day.
No matter how careful those bastards were, it wouldn’t be easy to stay hidden once both of those law enforcement organizations started moving at the same time.
Even if they failed to catch them, they could at least corner them…
‘And the moment they show their tail…’
A vicious glint flashed behind his sunglasses.
The tip of his tongue slid over his gleaming white teeth as the corners of his mouth curled upward.
“Ahem, ahem. Alright! Then I’d better make some preparations on my end too!”
Harley nodded firmly and strode away.
With something more urgent coming up, his manager duties would be on hold for the time being.
As for Lycoris, the Blood Alliance could keep a closer eye on them.
Besides, it was rather strange that he had been working as a manager in the first place.
“Let’s see.”
He took out his smartphone and checked an email.
It was a report from Andrew Weaver that had arrived while he was dealing with matters at the Returnee Association.
Apparently, Andrew had been preparing it even before receiving any instructions, because the information was far more detailed than Harley had expected.
“Khahahaha! Well then, how about I go pick up the people who are going to become our employees?”
Strike while the iron is hot. Now that he had his hands on the list needed to expand his intelligence organization, there was no reason to hesitate any longer.
‘But why is the file name “Kill List”?’
Harley tilted his head for a moment before shrugging.
Well, Andrew was a foreigner, so maybe he’d simply confused it with a personnel list.
A list born from one man’s bitter resentment that he shouldn’t be the only one to die quietly emitted a faint light from the Grim Reaper’s hand.
While working as a manager in Korea, Harley was not nearly as enormous as he usually was.
His height, which had easily exceeded 2.3 meters, had been reduced to less than two meters, and his broad, muscular frame had been scaled down accordingly.
He had already caused quite a commotion in Southeast Asia, and his previous appearance was far too conspicuous, so he had taken measures to remove any features that could be used to identify him.
‘I didn’t have a suit that would fit that huge body anyway.’
Concealing the tattoos covering his entire body, including his face, beneath his skin was another part of that effort.
Thus, having lost every distinctive feature and become nothing more than an ordinary, large-built man in a suit, Harley…
Kkiiiik—
“Good grief, the guest is calling, and you won’t even come out to greet me.”
He tore apart the thick metal-sealed entrance with his bare hands and peered through the opening.
“Hiiiikk! A-a monster!”
A woman’s sharp scream rang out from inside, but he paid it no mind and widened the gap enough to squeeze his face through.
“Ugh, it’s musty in here. That’s not good for your health. You should let some air in. With the door sealed up like this, of course the air’s going to get stale.”
Having convinced himself that he was doing this for their own good, he tore the opening even wider.
The sound of twisting metal rang out loudly, but thanks to what appeared to be a soundproofing barrier installed for security purposes, the noise remained confined to the immediate vicinity.
“Hmmm, would that be Huginn?”
Having completely destroyed the barrier’s original function of preventing outside intrusion, Harley stepped inside and slowly looked around.
The basement had no windows and was illuminated solely by electric lights.
More than ten large monitors and countless computers running nonstop filled the room.
‘They certainly seem to have some skills.’
After casually scanning the information displayed across the monitors, Harley nodded in satisfaction. Then he turned his gaze toward the woman sitting trembling on the floor…
“Gaahk!”
He reached one hand behind himself and grabbed the neck of a man attempting a sneak attack.
“Then you must be Munin.”
The man repeatedly stabbed Harley’s arm with the knife in his hand, but there was no way such a level of skill could pierce his flesh.
“Let him go!”
The woman, who had suddenly raised her eyes sharply as though she had never been frightened at all, swung an invisible thread at him.
“Aaghk!”
But the moment Harley pulled on the thread, she was dragged straight toward him and subdued alongside the man.
‘Hugin and Munin, a duo that’s been making quite a name for themselves in the underworld lately.’
Harley smiled contentedly as he looked back and forth between the two trophies in his hands.
The two who accepted commissions and provided information under the name “Eye of Odin” were among the top talents on Andrew’s personnel list.
At the same time, they had been hiding so well that even after mobilizing Hesperon’s entire network based on the information in the list, it had taken considerable effort to track them down.
How could he not be satisfied after obtaining such elites so easily?
‘Ah, right. Physically getting them doesn’t mean I’m done, does it?’
Realizing his mistake, he carefully lowered the two of them to the floor.
“Kahahaha! My apologies! I came here because I wanted to make you two a good offer, you see…”
“……?”
“A-an offer?”
“That’s right, that’s right. I’m sure you’ll be happy once you hear it. You won’t find better terms than these, I guarantee it.”
Harley enthusiastically launched into his sales pitch, completely ignoring the fear in the eyes of the two who were clutching each other’s hands tightly.
After all, he had come here solely to recruit them peacefully.
…For the record.
His recruitment success rate was currently one hundred percent.
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