The Returnee Is Having a Hard Time With His Younger Sister chapter 40

40 – Dual Dimensional Door (7)

* * *

On the white ceiling, there is a strangely smelling alcohol scent.

Yeoul, who was unconscious, opens her eyes and finds herself in a hospital room.

Suddenly, her arm itches, so she turns her head to look. A long needle is inserted, slowly administering nutrients.

She raises her hand, which has a ringing bell on the swinging leather, to soothe herself.

Still, the hunger was felt fiercely.

Something unfamiliar yet familiar that flowed through his entire body, like running through his veins.

Magic.

And.

The forgotten sense of omnipotence.

As always.

Breathing, naturally, like taking a breath.

Gathering magical power from the air, processing it within the body, and commanding the world.

“Blaze.”

Spoken with a sharp, splitting voice.

At the same time.

Swoosh, a faint spark appeared on her outstretched index finger towards the empty space.

Horrendously, it had returned to the world that had not listened to her words, but now listened well.

I survived.

Even though I only wished to survive like this.

It hadn’t been long since awakening, sadly, I couldn’t really feel anything.

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Memories emerged one by one, like buoys floating on the surface of water.

I wondered if I had to starve to death here.

There wasn’t even a glimpse of hope, no matter how hard I looked. Because there was simply no means of escape.

However, how.

If I think about it, yes. Yeo-ul swung the sword.

Afterwards, the dimensional door in the air split in half.

In the crevice of the twisting space, Yeo-ul was holding on with all her might.

That was all.

In the end, did he accomplish it?

I just stared blankly at the unextinguished red flame at the tip of my fingers.

Just then, a nurse entered the hospital room to check on her condition.

And, confirmed that Jiwoo had woken up.

Listening to the circumstances.

In the midst of it all, the reality didn’t fully sink in, leaving my mind restless.

What was surprising was that four days had passed.

But what had I been surprised about?

It felt like both that it was too short and too long.

The sense of time was hazy.

No matter how much time had passed, it didn’t feel strange.

And then, the questioning with the investigator.

How did she and Yeoul end up there?

What place was it, and what danger had appeared?

What situation were they in?

As the story continued about these things, there was something unsettling.

Somehow, it was as if I had escaped from that suffocating desert, not Yeoul.

The testimony that contradicted reality was given by Yeoul, who had been found together as a returnee.

As for her, she couldn’t see through why he had made such a statement.

However.

With the feeling of not wanting to retract the words that had saved her life multiple times.

She too aligned her testimony as much as possible to what Yeoul had said.

Listening.

She, as a first-class returnee, was in a state where she couldn’t even use a simple spell due to the extreme environment.

Somehow, she managed to recover her strength and escape by using magic to tear through the fabric of space.

Tearing through the fabric of space, they said.

It sounded quite grand.

But she herself was just a weak luggage of burdens.

It felt like her conscience was being pricked with a needle.

Why did she go to such lengths to divert the blame onto herself?

If I had to guess, it was probably because she had a reason to hide her strength.

It was certainly an extraordinary task to handle such abilities without any magical power, to put it in words that could express the feeling.

If such abilities were known to the world, no one could even imagine the repercussions.

Just like the saying goes, “A needle in a haystack,” it would eventually be revealed, but there was no need for it to happen now, she judged.

After finishing the statement and cross-examination.

The smartphone on the shelf that she had been keeping an eye on.

She reached out and picked it up.

And then, she made a call.

The name ‘Song Yeoul’ was written on the screen.

The dial tone lasted quite a while.

For some reason, she waited anxiously.

Finally, the call was connected.

-Jiwoo?

“…Yes.”

-Are you feeling okay?

“Yes… thanks to you. I’m really grateful, Yeoul.”

-Don’t mention it.

The white desert.

His voice, always the same, without highs or lows, that she had heard to the point of getting tired of it.

When it pierced her ears, finally.

She realized that she had survived.

“Thank you, really….”

After her head thickened, for the first time.

Tears, containing countless emotions, flowed down her cheeks.

* * *

The incident where two returnees who had set out to fulfill their ‘duty’ were caught in what was called the ‘Dual Dimensional Portal.’

The whole story soon reached the ears of the high-ranking officials.

As a result, the presidential office was greatly stirred.

It was an unprecedented event that could not be found anywhere in the world.

Does it mean that under the jurisdiction of the dimensional portal, it was possible for another dimensional portal to be created?

Even according to the statement.

It was isolated from the surroundings like an invisible wall and was almost impossible to use magic due to the excessive concentration of magical power.

Well, whatever.

There was no way to confirm whether the statement was true or not because the isolated space in question had completely vanished.

However, it was certain that a dual-dimensional gate had appeared, and that fact alone was enough to be shocking.

Until now, it had been judged that once an open dimensional gate was created, it could be used as a safe energy source as long as it was properly managed. But now it turned out that this common belief was wrong.

From the perception that it was a place similar to the hunters’ workplace.

It could even change to a perception that the dimensional gate could appear anytime, putting the people around it in danger, like a time bomb.

How should this issue be dealt with?

The higher-ups pondered over it.

The conclusion reached was that it seemed unwise to report this incident to the public.

The reason was clear.

Firstly, about 80% of the energy currently being used was produced based on mana stones.

Unlike the dangerous, inefficient, and unsustainable energy of the previous generation.

It was clean and sustainable – at least it seemed so for now – extremely efficient, and there was no need to embrace the danger of a nuclear power plant unless accidents occurred.

Moreover, open dimensional gates created numerous economic effects.

It was not just about creating jobs for hunters.

When hunters gathered, there was a demand for various goods. This led to the formation of markets, creating even more employment opportunities.

Furthermore, the existence of mana stones was more important than anything else for the foundation of modern magic engineering.

If, by any chance, the production of mana stones were to decrease due to this incident…

The economic and technological impact on South Korea would be beyond imagination.

In addition to that.

The trust in the government, which had failed to properly manage even the risk associated with these matters, would surely plummet.

One might say that the opinions of incompetents were not important in a world ruled by elites.

But it was they who supported the foundations of society.

Not only the elites but also their sincere trust was crucial in maintaining power.

For these reasons, they concluded that it would be best to control the information for now.

Even though it was claimed that the country was stable, it was still a confusing situation.

They presented the logic that they couldn’t worsen the chaos in the country with such a trivial incident.

Fortunately for them.

Not only were journalists controlled and prevented from leaking information, but the scale of the incident was also relatively small, with only a few victims at most.

Even if the incident had been larger in scale, the information would have been contained within their power.

Everyone who heard the related stories had their mouths shut.

Under a world engulfed in chaos, from a mere ordinary individual to the current ruler of South Korea following the collapse of the regime, the command was given.

* * *

Meanwhile.

Park Byung-hoon, a Superhuman police officer who had been quietly investigating behind the scenes for months.

No matter how hard he tried to investigate, due to the clean nature of the incident, he couldn’t find any leads. He was considering giving up when something caught his eye.

It was the location where he last caught a glimpse of his face, an open dimensional gate.

It was determined that it had a purpose to resolve the “obligation”.

And then, the subsequent blockade.

Blocking an open dimensional gate for several days was not a common occurrence. It caused significant economic losses.

There was something fishy.

Something rotten.

He decided to investigate only up until what happened at that dimensional gate.

But even if there was nothing, it was time to let go of the living and the dead.

With that determination, Byung-hoon sought to uncover the truth of the incident.

Without knowing what would happen to him in the future.

* * *

One day.

Yeo-ul, who was sitting on the sofa as usual, called Ji-woo after contemplating.

– Yes, Yeo-ul.

“I will do it.”

– What?

“The teacher’s words. I will do it.”