Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Chapter 258 : Connections and the Past (2)

Connections and the Past (2)

James was silent.

There was nothing wrong with what Jung-woo had said.

He still disliked the idea of Alencia having to fight.

He wanted to stop Alencia from having to face an opponent of unknown strength and danger.

But such stubbornness on his part would only put Alencia in greater danger.

Jung-woo was saying exactly that to him now.

"What Alencia needs right now is you."

Parents are the first allies one meets upon being born into the world.

That's why a parent's denial hits harder than their affirmation.

The person you always thought would be on your side, no matter what, rejected you.

"... But right now, you're the one leading Alencia. She knows that and is following you."

James had no particular dissatisfaction with this.

To begin with, he, even as a parent, had nothing to teach or show.

Intentional or not, he had reached out to her in the wrong ways.

What help could someone like him be to Alencia?

"I am definitely the one leading Alencia right now. I don't intend to deny that."

Jung-woo's job was to guide her so she wouldn't lose her way, despite her own shortcomings,

to help her move forward by showing her direction.

"Still, a person can't always move forward looking only ahead. You need someone to support and push you from behind."

Speaking in a calm tone, Jung-woo gave a small smile to James, who gazed at him wordlessly.

"As you know, Alencia has many delicate sides, doesn't she?"

To that, James couldn't refute.

***

Looking back, he felt like he only ever spoke negatively to Alencia.

Intimidated by the thought of her being a Saintess, he tried to protect her from too much.

So James's role was only to stop her.

The broadcast, the awakened inspection, chasing after her mother—

He told her to quit everything.

"I don't want to!"

Then, every time, Alencia would say that, ending the visit and leaving.

Even so, despite hearing those words all the time, Alencia would keep coming to see him—maybe, she wanted to hear something different from him.

"Alencia."

"What."

Sitting in the park, Alencia gazed at the nearby lake, but didn't turn around when she heard James's voice.

She was quite displeased.

She had expected this to happen ever since he suddenly talked about going to America, but she really wasn't in a pleasant mood.

"Did you finish talking with the manager?"

"Yes."

James carefully sat next to her on the bench.

The clear lake and the peaceful people nearby made for a very tranquil scene.

A woman walking her dog.

Children out with their parents enjoying the day.

Alencia's gaze lingered on those children.

"As you thought, I was always denying your fate."

From the moment she was born with the Stigmata, she seemed destined to follow the path set by God.

He'd wanted to shield Alencia from the threats that would eventually come with such things.

"Sarah was half and half, but maybe she figured you would make these choices."

That's why, when Alencia first realized her power as a Saintess and left America, he quietly let her go.

With Jung-woo at her side, his daughter wouldn't be led astray.

However, as time passed, the world grew more chaotic, and with the appearance of the demon(s), he grew more and more anxious.

"So maybe you felt my inner turmoil too."

"... I know."

Alencia knew James's words came from worry.

But even so, her frustration didn't disappear.

"Sarah trusted your choices and prepared for many things. That must have been an act of faith."

"What kind of faith?"

"That you would find good people."

"... When you put it like that, it sounds rather odd."

As James said, Sarah worried, but she believed in Alencia.

That's why she left those recordings and set up those arrangements.

"You're gentle but very strong. Sarah knew that, but I ignored it."

At those words, Alencia felt her chest tighten for no obvious reason.

It wasn't the answer she wanted, but it was what she'd always wanted to hear from James.

"I tried to stop a lot of things, afraid of the world seeing what made you special."

Alencia's power was electricity.

It was the most valuable strength in this era.

Humanity had long strived to use electricity more efficiently and in more diverse ways.

Alencia's authority wasn't just about controlling electricity.

It was about electricity's potential.

All of electricity's possibilities.

Generation and development.

That was Alencia's power.

Until now, the only thing she had used was power generation.

That's because he had prevented Alencia's possibilities—and her development.

"But yes..."

He had been the final wall stopping her from reaching true miracles.

"But now, that's not the case."

As a non-awakened, James could not see the changes happening in Alencia.

But for some reason, he could feel it.

He knew, from the way Alencia looked at him, that something was changing.

Just like how humanity once conquered the dark night with electricity.

He wished Alencia could become such light.

With this prayer reaching the heavens, James smiled at Alencia.

***

James and Alencia returned that night.

They must have talked a lot.

Much more than on the day she left America.

"You seem to be in a good mood."

"Hm? Does it show?"

"Yes. You've changed a lot."

I'd felt it with Estella, too: a Saintess's power is greatly influenced by her imagery and emotions.

When Estella overcame Cade and fought the Demon King, her power far surpassed what it was before.

It was the same for Alencia now.

Though it was a quiet change, I could instantly sense that Alencia's authority had finally been completed.

"In a way, it's similar to my mother's power."

Alencia lifted her head to look straight ahead.

There in front of her was Sarah's legacy in the Polaris Research Institute.

Right after parting with James, she had contacted Leon and come here immediately.

"You just suddenly showed up—what are you talking about, Alencia?"

"During the recent fight, I realized this. If I have to fight somewhere that doesn't have electricity, I'm basically powerless."

When she fought Cade, she couldn't fight at full power because that place was a demonic zone where she couldn't recharge electricity.

The demons must have known that, which means they'll try to force Alencia into environments where she can't recharge.

"But you can't possibly carry this device around, can you?"

"Of course not. Leon, you idiot."

At Alencia's scathing remark, Leon shut his mouth.

His face suggested he was holding back the obvious: that it was basically impossible.

"You're going to link it, aren't you?"

But I could guess what Alencia was planning to do.

"Like what Shin Ah-yeon did."

"That's right."

Just as Shin Ah-yeon had found a way to connect people's wishes via broadcast,

Alencia was going to connect herself to this 'Polaris'.

"Connect it? You don't mean with, like...cables, do you?"

"Of course not. I can't fight with cables stuck to my body."

"Then how?"

"I'm going to create a conduit for the electricity."

Alencia's Stigmata shone and lit up the area.

As she slowly approached, the surrounding devices started to power on naturally.

As if responding to her will.

"Wh-What is this...?"

As a scientist, Leon must have found it incomprehensible.

But I wasn't surprised.

It was only now that Alencia had truly become a real Saintess.

"Just like you transmit images from satellites using electromagnetic waves, I'm going to connect directly to this Polaris and back up energy remotely."

"T-That's impossible. Remotely transmitting power over such a distance is simply unthinkable."

Alencia agreed with Leon.

It was clearly impossible.

"Yeah, it is. But I can do it."

"If that were possible, you could flood the entire world with electricity. You're not planning to turn the planet into a microwave oven, are you?"

"I'm not capable of something that grand. Besides, my power can only be used if humanity exists."

Leon was left speechless again by Alencia's words.

The idea of remotely connecting electricity or what she just said—there wasn't much difference, after all.

"Close to a god, but not a god."

"That's...a rather ambiguous statement."

"It just means I can't directly affect other living beings."

If Saintesses could influence life directly with wishes,

Estella could've just gathered all of humanity's prayers and wished to kill the Demon King.

But that couldn't happen, which was why it was so hard to defeat him.

"Anyway, I'm going to start."

Alencia slowly reached out and placed her palm on the metal pillar.

The research lab's ceiling opened, and the metal pillar began to unfurl like a blooming flower.

As if it were about to absorb all the electricity throughout America.

'Come to think of it, it's just the opposite of what that did.'

Leon seemed to realize that belatedly, and his expression changed.

He understood now why Alencia had said her power was similar to Sarah's.

Just as Sarah had borrowed wisdom from the future, Alencia was bringing the 'future' that electricity could enable into the present.

And that was simply the opposite miracle to the one Sarah had performed.

"Al-All right, let's do this."

"You just said that."

"I-I'm nervous!"

"What are you worried about with me here?"

Of course, there wasn't much I could actually do to help.

Just block any danger that might arise—that's all.

But I believed Alencia could do it.

Bzzzzzzt!!!

At that moment, blue lightning struck down from the sky to the ground.

It didn't absorb nearby electricity.

It was the opposite.

The electricity charged in Alencia's body connected directly with Polaris.

Through the Demon King's eyes, I could see the flow.

The 'conduit' that was at first unstable soon began to form a single shape.

The miracle of Alencia's imagery being manifested as authority.

"... Did...did it work?"

Bzzzzt!

When Alencia pulled her hand away, blue lightning sparked.

Nothing seemed to have changed, but I could sense that Alencia was now perfectly connected to the core of Polaris.

She felt it too, judging by her bright face.

"I-I did it! I really did it! Isn't it amazing?"

A blue conduit connected to Alencia's Stigmata.

A path where electricity, not magic power, flowed.

Just as Estella linked 'life' to me, Alencia succeeded in linking electricity.

"You've become a truly complete Saintess now, Alencia."

"Y-Yeah!"

Her face brightened even more, as if she could feel her power had clearly advanced a step.

Because she had resolved her conflict with James and finally broken down the wall that held her back.

'Now, Alencia will never run out of electricity.'

The total electricity she now possessed would be equivalent to the whole of America.

***

"Is it the Saintess's authority?"

Jin Su-hyuk frowned at the distant, subtle waves of power washing over him.

He could feel that the power of the Saintess, which he'd been wary of for a while, had grown even stronger.

The 'divine art' latent within his body was telling him so.

"Anyway, well..."

He didn't like it one bit, but for now, he couldn't afford to worry about that.

An unforeseen guest had suddenly appeared before him.

"Ivan Hunt."

The most brutal and powerful mage.

The last time he appeared was when he worked with Park Jung-woo in Alcatraz.

"I thought you were on Park Jung-woo's side."

Ivan had killed UnderStellar, and in Alcatraz, had slain those who were hostile to Jung-woo, so Jin Su-hyuk had naturally assumed as much.

"I won't deny it. There are certainly similarities."

"Then impressive. You must know what happens to those who come here alone?"

Hunter Ivan was a powerful awakener, and his flesh was the perfect 'material'.

No matter how great a mage he was, Jin Su-hyuk had nothing to fear from him now.

"I know."

"Oh? Then I'd like to hear your reason."

"There's only one reason for anything I do."

Ivan's eyes, as he spoke, gleamed fiercely.

No, it was more than fierce—they were wrapped in madness.

"To fulfill the Goddess's wish."

And those words—

Even Jin Su-hyuk had not anticipated them.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

24 chapters left.

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